Making of the Roman Army

by Lawrence Keppie

Book Overview

The Making of the Roman Army explores how a small citizen militia guarding a village on the banks of the Tiber evolved into the professional Roman army. Lawrence Keppie pays particular attention to the transitional period between Republic and Empire - the time of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Augustus. Keppie overcomes the traditional dichotomy between a historical view of the Republic and an archaeological approach to the Empire by making the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806130148
• ISBN13: 9780806130149
• Release Date: April 1998
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A good introductory guide

This is a good guide for anyone who is interested in how the Roman army functioned and how it changed over time. For specialists, this book will seem simple but for advanced undergraduates or disinterested graduate students the book is wonderful and I highly recommend it for them. Non-students should find it readable but may wish to consult other sources as well. Advanced graduate students who are more interested in military history will find it a bit boring. Overall well done and well written for the appropriate audience.

A Very Interesting and Educational Book

I think this book is very interesting because it tells everything about the Roman Army and information you never knew. It includes the great information about people like generals and great emperors like Julius Caesar and his conquest of Gaul.Also tells from what kind of armour they wear to what they used as a weapon.It also explains there stradegies in battle such as when they put there sheilds together and keeping out any flying objects.This book will teach you any type of questions you have about the Roman Army.If you are doing a big report on the Roman Army and you need info this is the book to get and read.It has the table of contents if you need something specific its very helpful in a report or speach of some sort as I said.You will learn the great generals of Rome and How they soon took over all of Europe. ... So read the book and see for yourself.

nice addition to library

I found this book to be a nice companion piece to Graham Webster's The Roman Imperial Army. While Webster took the forensic approach to the Roman Army and focused on the physical structure ( armor, weapons, organization, forts, etc. ) Dr. Keppie looks at the evolution of the army from the republic to the early Empire and the role the army played in this transition both positive and negative. When read in conjucture with Dr. Webster the book fits in nicely. There are pictures, drawings, and layouts of roman camps over diagrams of the archeological excavations of the actual forts and camps. This a very easy/pleasurable read and would make a nice additon to one's personal library.

If this book is a bargin-grab it fast!

This book is a great reference for people interested in the Roman Army. Keppie describes the changes that took place within the army throughout the Republic. He includes pictures and diagrams of how the army set up before battle as well as pictures of the weapons and armor the legions were using at that time. The bibliography is extensive for those interested in finding out more information. This is a book that is used by many other books on the Roman army. Buy it now!

Great book for beginners

The book is very well written for its purpose. It may indeed fill the pages, but it does it well. Highly recommended for readers newly interested in the subject