Warrior Roman Legionary 58BC-69AD Osprey Books

The period 31 BC- AD 43 saw the greatest expansion of the Roman Empire. In 31 BC Octavian, heir of Julius Caesar, defeated his rival Antony at the Battle of Actium and remodelled the semi-professional Roman army into a permanent force of 28 legions. Recognised as the first emperor and renamed Augustus, his legions conquered northern Spain, all Europe south of the Danube line and Germany west of the River Elbe. The loss of three legions in Germany in AD 9 caused the expansionist policy to falter, but in AD 43 Emperor Claudius began the conquest of Britain. Major conquests then occurred in almost every generation. The Roman world was exceptionally cruel and bloody and it had a chronic case of heroic culture, something fuelled by the conquests of Augustus. The legionaries exemplified this spirit. They were true to the legion above all else, worshipping the Eagle standard of the legion and even celebrating the birthday of the legion, but they could be fickle in their loyalty to emperors. With a strong sense of their own invincibility, even disasters such as the massacre of the Teutoberg forest could only shake them for a while - they knew that the chance for retribution would come. This title provides a behind the scenes look at all aspects of daily life for Roman legionaries, using centurion M. Caelius as an example of the typical legionary.