000			01587nam a2200169Ia 4500
005			20250710124119.0
008			250710s9999 xx 000 0 und d
020			_a9780712698863
082			_a937.06 _bSAN
100			_aSantosuosso, Antonio
245		0	_aStorming the Heavens
260			_bVintage _c2004
300			_a265 pages
500			_aAt the close of the third century B. C., the ancient world was in awe of Rome's clear political, military, and cultural hegemony. But however secure Rome's power may have seemed from the outside, from within it faced a challenge which was to seriously to threaten its supremacy. Social turmoil prevailed at the heart of the Roman territories, and in Storming the Heavens, Santosuosso argues that the behaviour of the Roman armies played a central role in this unrest. The troops became the enemies within, pillaging and slaughtering fellow citizens indiscriminately, while remaining loyal to their leaders - for the livelihood and booty they provided - but not the Republic. The new army abandoned its role as depository for upper class values and became an institution of the poor. Santosuosso also investigates the monopoly of military power in the hands of a few, the connection between the armies and the state's cherished values, and the manipulation, subjugation, and dehumanisation of the subject peoples. In all, he provides a fascinating and dramatic portrait of the Roman army from the time of its greatest supremacy through to the melancholy collapse of Empire in the fifth century A. D.
650			_aRome
942			_cENGLISH
999			_c575366 _d575366