The first work to lay out Roman strategic thinking from its start
under Augustus until its final demise in 476 CE From Octavian's
victory at Actium (31 bc) to its traditional endpoint in the West
(476), the Roman Empire lasted a solid 500 years-an impressive
number by any standard, and fully one-fifth of all recorded
history. In fact, the decline and final collapse of the Roman
Empire took longer than most other empires even existed. Any
historian trying to unearth the grand strategy of the Roman Empire
must, therefore, always remain cognizant of the time scale, in
which she is dealing. Although the pace of change in the Roman era
never approached that of the modern era, it was not an empire in
stasis. While the visible trappings may have changed little, the
challenges Rome faced at its end were vastly different than those
faced by Augustus and the Julio-Claudians. Over the centuries, the
Empire's underlying economy, political arrangements, military
affairs, and, most importantly, the myriad of external threats it
faced were in constant flux, making adaptability to changing
circumstances as important to Roman strategists as it is to
strategists of the modern era. Yet the very idea of Rome having a
grand strategy, or what it might be, had not concerned historians
until Edward Luttwak's The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire
appeared forty years ago. Although this pioneering work generated
much debate, it failed to win over many ancient historians, in part
because of its heavy emphasis on military force and its neglect of
considerations of diplomacy, economics, politics, culture, and the
changing nature of the threats that confronted Rome. By employing
an expansive definition of strategy and by focusing much of the
narrative on crucial historical moments and the personalities
involved, James Lacey provides a comprehensive, persuasive, and
engaging account of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. It
assimilates the most recent work of classical historians and
archaeologists to correct the flaws and omissions of previous
accounts, thus presenting the most complete and nuanced narrative
of Roman strategic thinking and execution ever published.
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