Killing for the Republic: Citizen-Soldiers and the Roman Way of War

by Steele Brand

"For who is so worthless or indolent as not to wish to know by what means and under what system of polity the Romans... succeeded in subjecting nearly the whole inhabited world to their sole government--a thing unique in history?"--Polybius

The year 146 BC marked the brutal end to the Roman Republic's 118-year struggle for the western Mediterranean. Breaching the walls of their great enemy, Carthage, Roman troops slaughtered countless citizens, enslaved those who survived, and leveled the 700-year-old city. That same year in the east, Rome destroyed Corinth and subdued Greece. Over little more than a century, Rome's triumphant armies of citizen-soldiers had shocked the world by conquering all of its neighbors.

How did armies made up of citizen-soldiers manage to pull off such a major triumph? And what made the republic so powerful? In Killing for the Republic, Steele Brand explains how Rome transformed average farmers into ambitious killers capable of conquering the entire Mediterranean. Rome instilled something violent and vicious in its soldiers, making them more effective than other empire builders. Unlike the Assyrians, Persians, or Macedonians, it fought with part-timers. Examining the relationship between the republican spirit and the citizen-soldier, Brand argues that Roman republican values and institutions prepared common men for the rigors and horrors of war.

Brand reconstructs five separate battles--representative moments in Rome's constitutional and cultural evolution that saw its citizen-soldiers encounter the best warriors of the day, from marauding Gauls and the Alps-crossing Hannibal to the heirs of Alexander the Great. A sweeping political and cultural history, Killing for the Republic closes with a compelling argument in favor of resurrecting the citizen-soldier ideal in modern America.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, Audiobook, Ancient History, Military Fiction, Roman

370 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 2019

Reviews

[Julie Suzanne]

One of my friends couldn't say enough about the amazing lecturer, professor, and human being that is Steele Brand. I mean, for YEARS she's admired him and wished for me that I could experience his teaching. So I bought the book, both the print and the audio version, and the prologue and chapter one was pretty interesting in which I learned about the difference between a citizen soldier and a soldier citizen. A citizen soldier's main life is home, working a farm and making a living off of the land, and for him, war is an interruption to the important work of living life and raising a family. Because of this, he is more likely to demand that the cause for which he is fighting is just, and it's a matter of great honor to defend his land and fight for country. Then, back to work.

A soldier citizen, more like what we have, is a professional soldier whose job is war, and times of peace interrupt the important work of soldiering/warring/fighting. He requires no just cause; he fights to fight, and when its over, he has little purpose but to prepare for the next military engagement. This is a fascinating concept, and Brand's explanations of how our current military is separated from civilian life (and the interesting tactics to do so) captivated my attention. I thought about our military and war within a republic very differently, but in a way that is not actionable or life-changing. It's just, "Wow, pretty interesting!" I now know the why of the crew cut and miles of running.

But that's where it ended for me. The subsequent chapters went on endlessly with insufferable detail about the creation of the first republics and other Roman history. The man has done endless research and is probably THE expert on the topic of war, Rome, and all republics. Holy moly. I mean, it's A LOT of information. While impressive, it's all totally boring to me and inapplicable to my current life.

I would love to experience the charisma of Brand in the classroom, but it doesn't translate that way into print. This book explains an interesting concept of how and why people fight for country in the past and now, but sandwiched in between is unnecessary detail to formulate context. I couldn't finish it; I didn't see the point. I made it to the halfway point, and I'd like to ship the rest to any lover of history for history's sake so that this was not a wasted purchase. Any takers?

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book, providing a detailed understanding of the relation between the soldier-citizens of the Roman Republic and the political system they formed. More than just a history of Republican Rome (though it is that in spades), this book provides a study of the philosophical and cultural underpinnings of a system which relied heavily on an involved citizenry to both serve the state as soldiers and be responsible citizens in the politics of the state. The author makes a strong argument that, in its purest form, the relation between the general-politicians who determined the fate of the Republic and the soldier-citizens who composed their armies was not at all symbiotic. These soldier-citizens kept in check the Imperium wielded by the great commanders when removed from most other restraints, essentially acting as a mobile voting bloc for republican virtue even when on campaign and far from the Forum. The long history of Roman Republican triumphs are analyzed in detail, and the importance of the soldier-citizens themselves (vice their leaders, equipment, or organization) is made clear. The difference between a forced conscription of the population and a willing draft of citizens is well explained. A great book to better understand the role of soldier-citizens in a republic, and how the degradation of those soldier-citizens to mere paid professionals was the death knell of Rome’s republican system. Highly recommended for those wanting to know how the Army of the Republic was the citizenry and how the voting citizenry was the army.

[SnarkyMoggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is quite a good book in looking more into the soldiers of Rome. Why they fought. How they fought. What kept them fighting when all was lost. And also, why the Republic was lost and the Caesars took over instead. It is extremely fascinating, as this is a mixture of politics, wars and the people involved in them.

One side note: There are mentions of how the Republic influenced the beginning of the United States. It felt slightly forced in during a few of the chapters, and broke the usual smoothness of this audiobook.

[Joe Duncan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Most of the first half of this book wasn’t about Rome but the United States, and it reads like American propaganda with a center-right conservative bend. With a twinkle in his eye, he talks at length about the U.S. Founders and how they modeled the U.S. after Rome instead of the Greek city-states. The problem is, the U.S. founders had a very inaccurate picture of both Rome and Greece—much, much has been discovered since then—so it’s odd to hear someone praise to the point of propagandizing a group of men whose opinions were very wrong, historically speaking. Usually, we praise people for being right; not wrong. All in all, it was somewhat interesting that he tried to take a different angle on a well-worn topic, but there are so many centuries between Rome and the U.S., and the world has changed so immensely in that time, that any serious attempt at establishing a link that’s remotely causal is a fantasy. Besides, I thought this was going to be a book about Rome that dove into the lives and perspectives and stories of the soldiers, not the opinions of politicians nearly 2,000 years later.

[Anna C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much America... Ideally, I like my Roman history to have zero references to America. But okay, given that the central purpose of the book is to compare the ancient and modern 'citizen soldier,' there will of course have to be discussions of modern warfare. However, I object to the author using the terms 'American' and 'modern democratic' essentially interchangeably, always with the point being that America has a volunteer army, so the average citizen is divorced from warfare. This leaves out discussion of developed, democratic countries like Israel and South Korea that do have mandatory conscription, and would be a much better point of comparison to the compulsory service of the Roman citizen-soldier.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I overall enjoyed learning experience of the pre Empire army and how it developed, descriptions of the people, generals, and strategies of the early battles where Rome started taking over more of Italy. I did not realize that their were frequent incursions over the Alps into Roman territory so early in their history. The last third covers the wars with Carthage. All is from the perspective of how these events developed and evolved the Roman army into a citizen army. Parts of the book went more in depth that I could easily follow, but that is what the 30 second forward button is for in Audible!

[Dennis Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Killing for the Republic: Citizen-Soldiers and the Roman Way of War by Steele Brand is a great book. It discusses how the role of soldiers as ordinary men in the Roman Republic changed over time as the Roman military faced off against new foes and, ultimately, itself. Brand strikes an interesting balance between historical narrative and its subject matter. I think it could have been a little longer though. The last section has two very hefty chapters, and I think both could have been broken off and given their own sections instead. Still, a good read, especially from the more academic side of roman studies.

[Rowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Killing for the Republic explores the Roman citizen soldiers and the civic ideals that shaped their service, giving a clear outline of Rome’s early conflicts and the part these wars played in forming the republican ideal. Perhaps the middle Republic is placed on too high a pedestal, without full consideration of how such a model contributed to its eventual collapse, yet Brand presents his premise with clarity and is open about where the ancient sources may be idealising the world they describe. The book makes the reader to rethink what they thought they knew, and it succeeds in showing how service, citizenship and the fortunes of the Republic were bound together.

[Derrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and obviously thoroughly researched by someone who understands the source material. As someone who has a keen interest in Roman and military history, the first 2/3 of the book was a breeze to read and was very informative. However, I did get a little bogged down in the last third with the recounting of the aftermath of Caesar’s assassination and the fall of the republic. The numerous titles, ranks, names, places, and dates were difficult to digest. This is likely less the fault of the author, and more the reader.

[Tom Hastings · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have liked more depth to the both arguments being made and the events portrayed. Steele brings a light touch here and I think a heavier one would have served better. In particular, the closing argument needed more detail and contrast between Ancient Rome and Modern America.

For people not familiar with Ancient Rome this will be a good introduction to the era in question. More advanced readers with a deeper knowledge base will want something more detailed.

[Daniel Farabaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book added nicely to a topic that I had read a lot on previously. I have read general histories of the time period, but the author's focus on the nature of a citizen's commitment to the army put this into a different context.

[Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the information but the writing was a little pretentious.