From an award-winning historian of ancient Rome, a concise and comprehensive history of the fighting forces that created the Roman Empire. 

“Goldsworthy is a superb historian and talented writer.” —Washington Times 

In Roman Warfare, celebrated historian Adrian Goldsworthy leads readers through more than a thousand years of Roman military history, tracing both the Roman Empire’s dramatic rise and its eventual fall. Roman warfare was relentless in its pursuit of victory, creating an empire that eventually included much of Europe, the Near East, and North Africa. What distinguished the Roman army from its opponents was the uncompromising and total destruction of its enemies. Yet this ferocity was combined with a genius for absorbing conquered peoples, creating one of the most enduring empires ever known. 

Concise yet comprehensive, Roman Warfare is the indispensable history of the most professional fighting force in ancient history, an army that forged an empire and changed the world.