Roman conquests. North Africa

297 Pages·2010·2.79 MB·English

by  Fields

To Esther (again)
You remain
My power, my pleasure, my pain

First published in Great Britain in 2010 by
Pen & Sword Military
An imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS
Copyright © Nic Fields, 2010
ISBN 9781844159703
Digital Edition ISBN 9781848847040
The right of Nic Fields to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted
by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library All
rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
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Typeset in 10 on 12pt Times New Roman by Acredula Printed and bound in
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Contents
Acknowledgements
Maps
List of Illustrations
Prologue
Chronology
1. From emporium to empire
2. Army and navy
3. First contact
4. Picking a fight
5. Between the wars
6. Hannibal’s revenge
7. Zama, a lesson learnt
8. A military superpower
9. Hannibal’s retreat
10. The final act
11. The horse lords
12. Mobile warfare
13. Iugurtha’s gamble
14. Sallust on Iurgurtha
Epilogue
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgements
When our thoughts turn to Carthage we automatically think of suicidal Dido and
her fatal love affair, and, of course, the unlucky Hannibal and his elephants.
Dido’s relationship with Aeneas is one of the best-known love stories of all time
and countless writers, poets, painters and composers have been inspired by it.
Similarly, Hannibal’s passage of the Alps, along with the charge of the Light
Brigade and Custer’s last stand, has stirred the imagination of humankind. They
were, however, only two dramatic details on a much larger canvas of historical
(mythical) events. And for that discovery, I am forever indebted to John Lazenby
and his stimulating teaching.
I offer my sincere thanks to Philip Sidnell of Pen & Sword Books for his
Herculean patience with my extreme (glacial, in truth) slowness and
philosophical peculiarities. I am grateful, as well, to Elizabeth James for her
careful and helpful reading and for her understanding of the finer points of the
Latin language. I should like to offer a big thank you to Graham Sumner and Ian
Hughes; the first for his artwork, the second for his mapwork. This volume is far
richer as a result of their artistic talents and labours. Finally, trite though it may
seem, my greatest thanks (as ever) go to Esther, who, once again, has been with
me on this project all along the (rocky) way.
Maps
L M
IST OF APS
1. The Roman Empire at its greatest extent, with North Africa highlighted
2. The Mediterranean basin, 8th-6th centuries BC
3. The Western Mediterranean basin, 3rd century BC
4. The Eastern Mediterranean basin, 3rd century BC
5. Carthage and its hinterland
6. Carthage, 2nd century BC
7. The Battle of Zama
8. The Burning of the Camps
The Roman Empire at its greatest extent, with the area covered in this volume
highlighted.