Home
volume xiv, issue iii, fall 2023
Before Augustus

Before Augustus

The Collapse of the Roman Republic

by Natale Barca

Imprint: Casemate

384 Pages, 6 x 9 in, B/W and color

Hardcover
9781636242323
June 2023
In Stock

$39.95

$25.99

Buy

Also available digitally:

Amazon

Apple

Barnes & Noble

Google

Kobo

Casemate will earn a small commission if you buy an ebook after clicking a link here.

Description
Contents
Authors
Praise

Based on a study of ancient sources and contemporary literature, this is a fast paced and compelling new account of the tempestuous last century of the Roman Republic.

The political process that culminated in the transition from Republic to Empire in ancient Rome began with the military reform of Caius Marius in the last decades of the 2nd century BC. Following the Civil War and Sulla’s dictatorship, it developed further with the First Triumvirate of Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus, and two further civil wars. These wars, which saw Caesar pitted against Pompey, and Octavian fighting Anthony, ended in 27 BC with the rise to power of Octavian, the adoptive son of Caesar.

Before Augustus outlines a summary of the last years of the Roman Republic, weaving together the military, political, and social aspects. Scholar Natale Barca sets the protagonists within the complex societal and political system that they operated, analyzing their actions, and the epic battles that ensued.

Preface

I. Caesar
II. Friends and enemies
III. Caesar favors a rapprochement between Crassus and Pompey
IV. The Triumviral Pact
V. The Julian Laws of 59
VI. Cicero
VII. Dark clouds gather
VIII. Clodius the tribune I
X. Cato is removed from Rome
X. A three-step strategy
XI. The Gallic War explodes
XII. Gang warfare
XIII. The exile’s return
XIV. The Lucca Agreement
XV. The military intervention in Egypt
XVI. The suppression of the uprising in Armorica and the conquest of the South-West
XVII. The First landing in Britannia
XVIII. A bridge over the Rhine
XIX. The second landing in Britannia
XX. A crisis explodes on the banks of the Rhine
XXI. An excellent murder
XXII. Caesar enters into friction with the Senate
XXIII. The situation turns on itself
XXIV. Crossing the Rubicon
XXV. The outbreak of the Civil War
XXVI. Pharsalus
XXVII. The Alexandrian War
XXVIII. A gruesome suicide
XXIX. Munda: The last battle
XXX. An ephebe on the victor’s chariot
XXXI. More than a dictator for life, almost a king
XXXII. Cleopatra in Rome
XXXIII. Twenty-three stabs
XXXIV. One day in March in Apollonia
XXXV. The Second Triumvirate
XXXVI. Philippi
XXXVII. New theaters of war
XXXVIII. Octavian, the winner Epilogue. Octavian becomes the princeps, the augustus

Further Reading
Index

Natale Barca was a visiting scholar researcher at University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, and an academic visitor at the University of London’s Institute of Classical Studies and is a member of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies (Roman Society), London. He is the author of thirteen monographs, many focused on the political and military history of the Roman Late Republic.

"...the author does an admirable job of showing just how complicated and interconnected all the great patrician families were and how their jealousies and rivalries ultimately led to their undoing and the end of the great Roman Republic." ~New York Journal of Books

“[A] seminal study drawing upon both ancient sources and on contemporary literature. [Before Augustus] is an impressively presented, extraordinarily informative, and exceptionally detailed and documented account of the tempestuous last century of the Roman Republic before it became fully transformed into the Roman Empire. Strong recommended…” ~Midwest Book Review

“[A] must-read for anyone interested in ancient history… Barca masterfully weaves together military, political, and social aspects, analyzing the actions of the key figures and the epic battles that ensued. Before Augustus is an excellent addition to the study of Roman history and a highly recommended read.” ~Books World

“…like a compelling novel, [Before Augustus] is dense, clear, well documented. Barca, writing with the historical present, talks about everything: political intrigues, wars, big companies, political assassinations, consuls, the Senate, popular assemblies.” (trans.) ~SFOGLIA ROMA

Before Augustus

The Collapse of the Roman Republic

Related Books