The Enemies of Rome: The Barbarian Rebellion Against the Roman Empire

by Stephen Kershaw

Overview

A fresh and vivid narrative history of the Roman Empire from the point of view of the “barbarian” enemies of Rome.

History is written by the victors, and Rome had some very eloquent historians. Those the Romans regarded as barbarians left few records of their own, but they had a tremendous impact on the Roman imagination. Resisting from outside Rome’s borders or rebelling from within, they emerge vividly in Rome’s historical tradition, and left a significant footprint in archaeology. Kershaw builds a narrative around the lives, personalities, successes, and failures both of the key opponents of Rome’s rise and dominance, and of those who ultimately brought the empire down.

Rome’s history follows a remarkable trajectory from its origins as a tiny village of refugees from a conflict zone to a dominant superpower. But throughout this history, Rome faced significant resistance and rebellion from peoples whom it regarded as barbarians: Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Goths, Vandals, Huns, Picts and Scots.

Based both on ancient historical writings and modern archaeological research, this new history takes a fresh look at the Roman Empire through the personalities and lives of key opponents during the trajectory of Rome’s rise and fall.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643136899
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	02/09/2021
Pages:	508
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Dr. Stephen P. Kershaw has spent the majority of his career in the world of the ancient Greeks, both intellectually and physically. He has been a Classics tutor for twenty-five years and currently teaches at Oxford University. Kershaw has been commissioned to write Oxford University's new course on the Minoans and Mycenaeans, which will include investigations into the Atlantis tale in relation to the eruption of the Santorini volcano. Kershaw also runs the European Studies Classical Tour for Rhodes College and the University of the South. He has written several books, including A Brief Guide to the Greek Myths and A Brief History of the Roman Empire. Dr. Kershaw lives in England.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements xiii

Maps xv

Introduction: What is a Barbarian? xxxi

1 Mythical and Semi-Mythical Resistance: Aeneas to Tarquin the Proud 1

Aeneas: From Barbarian to Trojan-Italian 1

Alba Longa 6

Romulus and Remus 7

The Reign of Romulus (Traditionally 753-715 BC) 11

The Kings of Rome 16

Lars Porsenna versus the Early Heroes of Rome 19

2 Brennus: The Gaul Who Sacked Rome 23

Invasion 24

Wine and Barbarity 26

Clusium 27

Battle of the Allia 30

Brennus' Sack of Rome 31

Brennus' Defeat and Death 35

When Was Rome Sacked? 37

3 The Plebs: Barbarous Insiders and Internal Resistors 41

Struggling for Plebeian Equality in the Fifth Century BC 42

Struggling for Plebeian Equality after Brennus' Sack of Rome 50

4 Pyrrhus of Epirus: Cadmean and Pyrrhic Victories 61

Italy and Epirus 61

Pyrrhus' Rise to Prominence 63

Italy Turns to Pyrrhus; Pyrrhus Turns to Italy 68

Sicily 74

Maleventum/Beneventum and Home 78

5 Hannibal at the Gates 85

Rome and Carthage Before the Wars 86

The First Punic War 90

Hannibal Takes Control 93

The Second Punic War 97

Post-war Hannibal 109

6 Graecia Capta: Resistance in the Greek East - Philip V, Antiochus III and Perseus of Macedon 115

Barbarism in the Greek and Macedonian World 116

Philip V and the First Two Macedonian Wars 118

Antiochus III 'the Great' of Syria 123

Perseus of Macedon: Third Macedonian War 126

146 BC: Carthage (and Corinth) Must Be Destroyed! 129

Captured Greece and the 'De-barbarisation' and Corruption of Rome 131

7 Viriathus: Iberian Shepherd, Hunter and Warrior 135

The Romans in Hispania 135

Viriathus 138

The Fiery War (Second Lusitanian War) Part 1: Viriathus on the Offensive 141

The Fiery War Part 2: Viriathus on the Defensive 148

Betrayal and Death 153

8 Jugurtha: The Struggle to Free Africa from Rome 157

In the Beginning… 157

First Campaigns: Roman Failures 162

Metellus' Campaigns: Indecisive Roman Success 166

Marius versus Jugurtha: Victory for Rome at Last 170

9 The Cimbri and the Teutones: A Germanic Threat to Italy 175

The Cimbri and the Teutones 175

The Germanic Incursions 178

Marius to the Rescue 181

10 The Italian War: Resistance and Rebellion in Italy 187

Unrest in Italy 187

Champions and Opponents of the Italians 189

The Italian ('Social') War 195

Aftermath 198

11 Spartacus: The Gladiator Who Challenged Rome 201

He's Spartacus 202

Slave Revolts Against Rome 207

Spartacus Breaks Out 213

72 BC: Rome Sends in the Consuls; Rome Sends in Crassus 216

73 BC: Spartacus versus Crassus 218

12 Mithridates VI: The 'Poison King' of Pontus 221

Mithridates Becomes King of Pontus 221

Mithridatic Imperialism 223

The First Mithridatic War 226

The Second Mithridatic War 231

The Third Mithridatic War 232

13 The Parthian Shot: Crassus at Carrhae 243

The First Triumvirate 243

Parthia and the Parthians 245

Crassus on the Offensive 247

The Battle of Carrhae 253

14 Vercingetorix: Rebellion in Gaul 259

Rome and the Gauls 259

Vercingetorix's Rebellion 262

Avaricum 266

Gergovia 269

Alesia 272

15 Cleopatra VII: The Whore Queen of Incestuous Canopus 279

The Ptolemies of Egypt 279

Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator 281

Cleopatra and Julius Caesar 287

Cleopatra and Mark Antony 291

Cleopatra and Octavian 296

16 Arminius: Bring Me Back My Legions! 303

Augustus versus the Barbarians 303

Germania and Germani 306

Arminius, Varus and the Saltus Teutoburgiensis 313

Arminius versus Germanicus 317

Arminius versus the Germans 323

17 Boudicca: Queen of the Iceni, Scourge of Rome 327

Britannia: A Distant, Mysterious, Barbaric Country 327

British Barbarians Conquered (1) 331

Boudicca's Revolt 335

British Barbarians Conquered (2) 343

18 Judaea Capta: Revolts in Judaea 347

Judaea 347

Barbarian Jews 350

The Great Jewish Revolt 352

Bar Kokhba: The Redemption of Israel 360

19 Decebalus: Genocide in Dacia 365

Domitian and the Chatti 365

Domitian and Decebalus 367

Decebalus and Trajan 369

20 Parthia, Persia and Palmyra 375

The Demise of Parthia 375

Shapur I 'the Great' 381

Zenobia: The Most Lovely and Most Heroic of Her Sex 387

The Barbarisation of the Roman Army 393

Shapur II 'the Great' 399

21 Fritigern: The Gothic Hannibal 403

The 'Barbarian Conspiracy' in Britain 403

Fritigern the Goth: The Hannibal of the North 406

Land for Peace 414

22 Alaric the Goth: Sacker of Rome 417

The Rise of Alaric the (Visi)Goth 417

The Great Invasion 424

Alaric: The Sacker of Rome 427

23 Attila the Hun: Born to Shake the Nations 435

The Huns 435

Attila the Hun 438

Attila versus the Eastern Roman Empire 441

Attila versus the Western Roman Empire 444

24 Barbarian Warlords: Gaiseric and the Fall of Rome 449

Vandalism and the Vandals 449

Into the Roman Empire 456

Gaiseric: Into Africa 460

The Fall of Rome 462

Epilogue 471

Notes 475

Bibliography 535

Index 545

Editorial Reviews

"As his exhaustive survey shows, Atlantis has been adapted to countless ideologies and agendas over time, serving the needs of every sort of reader. The tortured moves that Mr. Kershaw documents, by which the Atlantis myth has been recast as fact and willfully misread, remind us of how vital such distinctions are for a society striving to stay free."

Wall Street Journal [praise for Steve Kershaw's "The Search for Atlantis"]

A superb alternate look at Roman history.

New York Journal of Books

Ancient Rome faced many threats from outsiders, so-called barbarians. Relying upon a combination of sources—literature, mythology, and history (Plutarch, Livy)—Kershaw painstakingly chronicles them all in this often-grisly account of an empire under siege.

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