
Sword of Rome: A Biography of Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Jeremiah B. McCall(Author)
Pen & Sword Military (Publisher)
Published on 1. September 2012
Book
Hardback
192 pages
978-1-84884-379-0 (ISBN)
Description
Marcellus' military exploits were largely unmatched by any other aristocrat of Roman Middle Republic. As a young soldier in the First Punic War, he won a reputation for his skill in single combat. In his first consulship, he earned a triumph for defeating a Gallic tribe, no small feat in and of itself, and also slew the Gallic chieftain Britomartus in single combat. Consequently, he earned the spolia opima, an honor, according to Roman antiquarians, that had only been earned twice before, once by Romulus himself. He went on to defeat the hitherto-invincible Hannibal in a small battle around the central Italian city of Nola, and subsequently led an army to subdue and plunder the powerful city of Syracuse in an epic 2 year siege (despite the ingenius defensive measures of the inventor Archimedes). Yet, despite his undeniable success as a warrior and commander, Marcellus met with considerable political opposition at Rome.Marcellus' career not only makes exciting reading, but gives an excellent vantage point from which to view the military and political struggles of the period and the role of military successes in the aristocratic culture of the Roman Republic.
His biography will be an important addition to existing works on Roman military history.
His biography will be an important addition to existing works on Roman military history.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
South Yorkshire
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
Illustrations
8 b/w maps
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-84884-379-0 (9781848843790)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
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E-Book
07/2012
Pen and Sword
€6.99
Available for download