For nearly a thousand years, the Roman legions were the most successful infantry formation on a large part of the globe, carving out one of history’s greatest empires. In heavy-soled hobnailed boots and precise cadence, they marched from the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf bringing terror and death, as well as order and civilization. What was the secret of their success—and why did they eventually fail?
To answer these questions, bestselling author and military historian Barry Strauss of Cornell University examines some of Rome’s greatest battlefield victories, such as Cynoscephalae and Zama, as well as some of its greatest failures, including Cannae and Adrianople. Strauss’s most recent book is The War that Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium.
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