Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome

by Stephen Dando-Collins

A unique and splendidly researched story, following the trials and triumphs of Julius Caesar's Legio X-arguably the most famous legion of its day-from its activation to the slogging battle of Munda and from Thapsus, Caesar's tactical masterpiece, to the grim siege of the Jewish fortress of Masada. More than a mere unit account, it incorporates the history of Rome and the Roman army at the height of their power and gory glory. Many military historians consider Caesar's legions the world's most efficient infantry before the arrival of gunpowder. This book shows why. Written in readable, popular style, Caesar's Legion is a must for military buffs and anyone interested in Roman history at a critical point in European civilization.—T. R. Fehrenbach, author of This Kind of War, Lone Star, and ComanchesStephen Dando-Collins paints a vivid and definitive portrait of daily life in the Tenth Legion as he follows Caesar and his men along the blood-soaked fringes of the Empire. This unprecedented regimental history reveals countless previously unknown details about Roman military practices, Caesar's conduct as a commander and his relationships with officers and legionaries, and the daily routine and discipline of the Legion. From penetrating insights into the mind of history's greatest general to a grunt's-eye view of the gruesome realities of war in the Classical Age, this unique and riveting true account sets a new standard of exellence and detail to which all authors of ancient military history will now aspire.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Military History, Audiobook, War, Historical

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 22, 2002

About the author

Stephen Dando-Collins is the multi-award-winning author of 48 books. British reviewer, noted playwright Robin Hawdon, says that Dando-Collins is "the modern age's foremost dramatizer of Greek and Roman history," while American reviewer bestselling military author Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman has described Dando-Collins as "a literary giant." Considered an authority on the legions of ancient Rome, Dando-Collins has written ancient and modern history, children's novels, scientific nonfiction, and biographies. The bulk of his works deal with military history, ranging from Greek, Persian and Roman times to American, British and Australian 19th century history and World I and Word War II.
Many of his books have been translated into foreign languages including Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Dutch, Russian, Albanian and Korean.
His most acclaimed book on the ancient military, 'LEGIONS OF ROME,' was the culmination of decades of research into Rome's imperial legions.
Dando-Collins aims to travel roads that others have not, unearthing new facts and opening new perspectives on often forgotten or overlooked people and aspects of history.
He has two new books in 2024: 'CAESAR VERSUS POMPEY: Determining Rome's Greatest General, Statesman & Nation-Builder,' (Turner, US), and 'THE BUNA SHOTS: The Amazing Story Behind Two Photographs that Changed the Course of World War Two,' (Australian Scholarly Publishing).

Reviews

[MacWithBooksonMountains Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ for this popular military history of the Legio X Equestris, a Roman legion, that was levied by Julius Caesar in 61 BC during his governance of Hispania Ulterior. Surprisingly, its legionaries were often middle-aged man, even older. Despite, or perhaps because of that, they were able to sustain marathon-sized forced marches day after day, on barely 1500 calories, carrying roughly 80 lbs in armor and weapons and tools, none of it made for comfort like modern equipment is. The legions fighting spirit is best described by the author’s quote:
“It was a great day to die. And before the sun had set, thirty-four thousand men would lose their lives in this valley. The men of the loth Legion would have had no illusions. They knew that some of them would probably perish in the battle that lay ahead. Yet, to Romans, nothing was more glorious than a noble death. And if the men of this legion had to die, there was probably not a better place nor a finer day for it, on home soil, beneath a perfect blue sky.”

The Tenth was the first legion levied personally by Caesar and the instrumental tool to Caesar’s martial success. Acting as his shock troops, it was chiefly responsible for not only his greatest victories but also was able to stave off defeat when all but utter disaster seemed imminent for the greatest of all Roman generals.
Dando-Collins manages to put together a magnificent account of the greatest of all legions from various ancient sources, including citations, comments and the well-known texts by Tacitus. So then what are we waiting for get that book for it is a good day to read. 😀

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly I must make an admission that I am no expect on this area of history. However I do appreciate a good historical account and that is what you will find with Dando-Collins book on the Roman 10th Legion. I have always enjoyed history books covering this period of time and I was prompted to buy this book after reading Major Clunn’s excellent book In Quest of the Lost Legions, which I would highly recommend to anyone interested in Roman history.

In Stephen Dando-Collins book Caesar’s Legion the reader is offered a rarely seen look at the battles and campaigns of Rome’s Legions during the time of Julius Caesar. The centerpiece of the book is the 10th Legion, raised by Julius Caesar and used by him throughout as his elite shock-troops. Not only does the book provide you with an interesting and detailed insight into the 10th Legion but also the author provides you with a detailed narrative of the battles and campaigns fought by Roman Legions throughout the known world.

We read about the officers and men of the 10th Legion including its recruitment, training, makeup and organization along with detailed descriptions of their fighting. The book details all the known campaigns and battles, from the English Isles, Gaul and Italy to the Middle East. The story covers the campaigns against rebelling tribesman in Gaul and Germany to the many set piece battles against other Roman Legions during the Civil War. The narrative continues with the life of the 10th Legion after the death of its founder, Julius Caesar. We follow the Legionaries to the Jewish fortress of Masada and read about the campaign against the Jewish Zealots with its grim ending.

The book is easy to read with a smooth and descriptive narrative. The story is well researched and has a number of maps to assist the reader in following the campaigns of the 10th Legion. No illustrations are provided which is a slight disappointment but more than made up for with the rich narrative. This is a great story and I am sure that anyone who enjoys good historical accounts with love this story of "Caesar’s Legion”.

[R.W. Peake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book convinced me to use the 10th Legion in my own story.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A moderately entertaining popular history of Caesar's Tenth Legion. Though really it's more an general survey of Caesar's battles in the Gallic Wars and Roman Civil Wars. Following Caesar's death, the book bogs down a little but ends with a very well-told narrative of the Roman siege of Jerusalem and the burning of the Temple.

Ultimately though, this book tried to be TOO popular. It attempted what might be called "speculative history" whereby Dando-Collins would frequently state what WOULD have happened in a given situation. Be it a conversation between centurions around a campfire or how legionnaires would have reacted to an inspiring speech (or what the speech WOULD have included--so it's double levels of speculation). While such 'interpretations' might be fairly accurate, it was unecessary and cheap ahnd detracted from the work.

[Sverre · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent portrayal of Caesar’s baddest MFs Legio X and their conquests and grievances. The writing is a bit surface-level for my taste, and I’m a bit skeptical towards the quality of the source material, but this is a good introduction to Roman warfare nonetheless. It made me want to dive deep into Caesar’s «The Civil War» and learn more about his struggles with Pompey.

[Martti · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting find in downpour.com (audiobook) sale. A contemporary historical view for a broad audience of a fascinating historical era. Not only about Caesar, but the also the Marcus Antonius/Cleopatra/Octavius mess afterwards and even after that a bit, like the Jewish revolt and the banishment of jews from Jerusalem for the next 1800 years. Epic history!

About the golden era of the Roman people. When military and intrigue were the name of the game, and Rome was the first Mega-city and how the conquests, slaves, legions, politics needed to hold it all together. Of the times when non-citizens were crucified, how different cults came to being. The story ends about when one of those cults took the torture and killing instrument as their symbol. This book is of the times when you believed that Romans will conquer the whole world, because they just send a bunch of legions somewhere, conquered, drafted new legions from these conquered areas and sent them fighting against some other barbarians across the continent.

I liked the whole book especially because Stephen Dando-Collins analyzes a lot of sources and tries to piece together an objective view of things. When you read Julius Caesar himself writing about his battles with Pompeius, then he obviously exaggerates his numbers and enemy losses and stays silent of the disarray and treachery of his own troops. The loss of morale, punishments, anything making the book-dictating soon-to-be-dictator look bad - fortunately we have other sources aswell and even those all other sources might not give us the full picture, then this epic historical telling of the times is definitely a more balanced overview than any one single source taken separately.

Popular historical science for the win!

[Gerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure how to judge this. In places it reads like a teenagers’ book and its findings aren’t substantiated except by a general bibliography; in other places the battles are well traced and the methods by which legions were raised and then, years later, replenished, is a revelation. In one place, for example, the text reads, “Caesar was thoughtful for a moment, looking at the dust-covered faces of the cavalry scouts. (Chapter III).” Really? That reads like a novel. While there is an atlas-like section of maps at the start of the book, there are no illustrations tracing operations, such as at Dyrrachium and Philippi. The author uses modern ranks instead of the actual titles, as in “lieutenant general” in place of “proconsul.” These things annoyed me, yet I was impressed by the book’s description of the orders and course of battles in the wars fought by the legion. Caesar’s Legion fell just short of saying why the Xth was considered the best, yet its usual position on the right (traditionally the place of honor and in a sword fight one of great importance) testifies to this if not as to just why its army commanders thought so. It does cover the X Legion’s adventures, triumphs, and tribulations as well as possible, and without hero worship, given these stories took place nearly two millennia ago. If not for Classical scholars, the book may be enjoyed by readers interested in ancient military history.

[Liam Lusk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Having read many books over the years about Roman history I found Stephen Dando-Collins' interpretation about the tenth legion to be both exciting and detailed.

If you think history is boring then this book will change your mind.

[Chris Faulkner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic read on the day-to-day of the average Roman legionnaire. Incredibly detailed look at how they were raised, trained, paid and eventually retired.

[Casey S · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book with lots of information on Roman armies throughout the history of the late Republic and Empire. It suffers a little from writing that can be a little too disjointed, unfocused, and informal. Overall though, it's a pretty good book on Roman history, especially for those interested in military history

This book reads like your well-read friend explaining Rome's history to you at a bar. Author Stephen Dando-Collins often compares aspects of the Roman military to modern American and European equvalents, particularly WWII. I found such comparisons helpful to comprehend many things, but they were often unnecessary and distracting ("As Boys Scouts were to learn in modern times, the legionaries had to be prepared. For anything.")
At many points the author takes artistic liberty to speculate the thoughts and behaviors of people, but usually he acknowledges this and supports any claims with historical evidence.

Indeed, I found this book did pretty well discussing any contradictions found in ancient sources and responsibly pointed out such things to the reader. The amount of research from primary sources really shows in the amount of detail in how legions operated. One of the coolest things about the book are the several appendices attached, with info on all the legions and even a section summarizing the primary sources used for the book.

Inevitably, a book covering such a long history must pick and choose which information is relevant, but I found that a book focused on the Tenth Legion often glossed over many details in favor of a more general history of either Ceasar, Augustus, and Vespasian. Such information provides important context, but it detracted from what happened to the Tenth. For example, after Augustus came to power, the book briefly mentions he dismissed many legionaries under the Tenth without any additional detail until a few pages later, which still didn't answer a lot. I think the book would benefit from some restructuring and additional information - or even informed speculation - on the members of the Tenth.

A few nitpicks were some spelling errors and some casual language I personally don't like in a history book (covered in other reviews).

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doing a unit/regimental history of a Roman legion was a great idea, and certainly the 10th Legion would be one of the few to leave enough of an imprint in the documents to make it possible. It's still a difficult proposition, since we don't truly hear the voice of the 10th, but instead the ideas of others (primarily Julius Caesar) projected onto it. In places, though, Dando-Collins makes it work, usually with the workaday details: the connection to Spain, the engineering feats, the cycles of recruitment and promotion.
It can seem a stretch, though, in places, where he has to stretch to suggest the presence of the 10th when the historical record doesn't confirm it... as in specific battles during the Roman civil war b/w Caesar and Pompey.
My primary gripe is the translation of Roman officers into modern parlance: the repetitive mention of colonels or brigadier generals was simply jarring, both as an anachronism as well as the imposition of a modern rank/idea onto troops whose very military lives we were supposed to be seeing (but which were hidden by the modern nomenclature). The same was even more true for naval vessels! Battleships, cruisers, frigates, etc., in place of quinqueremes, triremes, or liburnians. An anachronistic minefield...

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the idea behind this book, which traces the Tenth Legion from its creation until it was disbanded. Most of the book is dedicated to the legion’s role in fighting for Julius Caesar, which means Dando-Collins gets to walk the reader through a number of famous battles. This is both a strength and weakness of the monograph as for much of the book it feels as if we are really getting a sort of bio of Caesar, but then suddenly Caesar is wrapped up at extreme speed and killed and the legion goes on to other things.

There were two other things I found disappointing about the book. I would have liked to have seen a lot of time put into what life in the legion was like, and I just never got that sort of day-to-day life view I was hoping for. Also, Dando-Collins chose to use modern ranks like colonel and general to describe Caesar’s officers. I understand he’s trying to make these men’s roles more accessible to the modern reader, but I found it jarring every time a modern rank was mentioned.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Joseph Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to emerge from the pool of Brandon Sanderson I've been submerged in these last few months and towel off with a sweaty history book. 4 Stars

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Stephen Dando-Collins knows his stuff! A little long for me, but that could be because I listened to the audiobook, and the narration was a little dry for a twelve hour listen.

[Boris Tizenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extensive and entertaining historical text that centers around military combat, as well as the background, and personas of some of the major political players of ancient Rome, starting with Julius Caesar.

[Walt O'Hara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caesar's Legion is a short history, primarily focusing on the entire life of the Tenth Legion (aka Legio X Equestris) which was created by Julius Caesar in 61 BC when he was the Governor of Hispania Ulterior. Already immersed in a rivalry with Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (aka Pompey the Great), it wasn't enough for him to inherit Legions 7,8, and 9 from Pompey-- he wanted a unit that would bear his own mark and be loyal to him. Dando-Collins traces the story of the Legions exploits, from the early campaigns in modern-day Portugal, to the Gallic Wars, to the Civil Wars, the assassination of Julius Caesar and its aftermath, and inclusion into the new Imperial Army of Augustus and later Emperors of Rome. Dando-Collins's work is largely unknown to me; I suspect he got most of the facts right (based on the leading historians of the day that have come down to us). His writing style is adventuresome and dramatic, which fits well with his body of work, which appear to be mostly light historical books written for a young adult audience.

I enjoyed Mr. Dando-Collins' specific focus on individual military units. Obviously the focus is on the Legio X Equestris, but there are many other fellow travelling Legions in the book that reappear in the narrative constantly. The Legions raised in Hispania (Pompey's 7-9, Caesar's 10 and later units) appear to have been highly prized by Roman military commanders and deserving of their reputations of ferocity, boldness and toughness. Mr. Dando-Collins has written books on other Roman military units (Nero's 14th Legion, Caesar's Sixth Legion, and the Third Gallica), which, if they follow the pattern of this book, I'd certainly be interested in reading.

I certainly enjoy the author's style-- it's chatty, focuses on the human moments that we can all relate to, and he does not shy away from the unpleasant topics. Directly after the epic Battle of Pharsala, where Caesar defeated Pompey, the much valued Spanish Legions all lapsed into mutiny over pay, retirement and the non-payment of bonuses, causing the entire Caesarian army to grow mutinous by their example. This is a fact that Caesar himself never mentions in his history books. There's a lot of interesting detail in Caesar's Legion; not just about the wide scope of history but also about the day to day life of a common Roman soldier. I enjoyed it-- it's certainly not on the level of, say, Adrian Goldsworthy, but I'd read this author again.

[Ugo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libro fantastico pieno di dettagli storici.

[Nerine Dorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

For many years, Julius Caesar was a cartoon character for me – I admit that I learnt to read by paging through dog-eared copies of Asterix and Obelix comics. But of late, in my increased delving into history, my fascination with the Roman empire has grown, perhaps because some of the juicier bits involve Egypt. Also, as an author of fantasy fiction, I'm a huge believer in gaining an understanding of things of a more military persuasion. Caesar's Legion by Stephen Dando-Collins, which is well narrated by Stuart Langton, certainly gave me a much deeper understanding of the Roman legions, and also the machinations of the empire itself.

Although the work focuses most on the doings of the renowned Spanish Tenth Legion, we get a broader picture of the Roman military in general, as well as the conflicts from within and without the empire. Love him or hate him, Julius Caesar really was a force to be reckoned with – and there's a reason why he's been immortalised in our cultural objects. While Dando-Collins does enact some dramatic license in this work, he nevertheless leans heavily on existing primary sources – so if you're looking for a meaty engagement with the topic, this is pretty darned good, giving everything from how the legions ordered their camps all the way to the many campaigns the legions were engaged in.

Empire building is a tricky business, as we discover. There are the struggles at the beginning, the glory days, and then the inevitable slow winding down. While it can be argued that imperial powers do a lot of damage to the smaller cultures they assimilate, empires also build something that is bigger than the sum of all their parts – and we still see echoes of Rome in contemporary Western culture to this day. Caesar's Legion is an incredibly useful resource to anyone fascinated by this culture, and if I ever do lay hands on a printed copy, it will be part of my permanent collection. If you're a history buff like me, or simply someone curious to learn more, this is an excellent resource.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Caesar's Legion Stephen Dando-Collins provides readers an account of the most famous Roman legion, the Tenth, that both novices and enthusiasts of Roman history can enjoy. Dando-Collins writes in his introduction that thirty years of research went into this book. The wealth of information presented in the narrative and several appendices makes it show. The book also relies primarily on a wealth of classical sources (Polybius, Tacitus, Plutarch, etc.), and Dando-Collins also does well at presenting all accounts when there are conflicting ones, and pointing out probable or definite errors in the classical sources. There is also a series of maps at the beginning of the book for readers to reference as they progress through the narrative.

Despite the wealth of information, Caesar's Legion doesn't get bogged down in the details. The prose is easy to read, and pleasant, and the chapters are broken up into easily digestible lengths. Dando-Collins also usually uses modern place names and modern ranks in place of Roman ones. This is both a strength and a weakness of the book. Modern terms are easier for the general reader to follow, but if you're interested in further classical reading, or you've already done some, it's not very helpful, since most works use the Roman titles and place names.

The maps also could have been better, in a couple of ways. While it's nice that there are several maps included at the start of the book, they would aid the reader better if they were inserted in relevant parts of the narrative instead. The maps are also all large scale, regional maps, so there isn't much detail. There are no battle maps to help the reader trace the course of the many battles related in the narrative.

Despite a couple of weak spots, Caesar's Legion is an enjoyable, accessible book that both general readers and Rome enthusiasts should enjoy.

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book to ring in the new year. It wasn't what I had hoped in some ways, thus the 3 star rating. This was a well written book that made for an easy read and I would actually say that if someone were looking for a book on Caesar or Rome in general that this wouldn't be a bad one to have. DC did a decent job of tying everything back around to the 10th Legion somehow . . . after rambling on for a few pages here and there about important people and events that didn't matter necessarily when it comes to the history of a particular legion.

Which brings me to what I didn't like about this book. The title is fairly misleading. DC would talk for twenty or thirty pages about Caesar and Mark Antony and Germanic tribes and all the things covered in other books and then on the final page drop some reference like "oh, and the 10th was there of course and we know this because blah." At times, it felt like I was reading a more general book about Rome or Caesar than one that was supposed to be about a particular legion.

I already have his book on Nero's legion so I hope that one is a little more informative about the legion itself rather than events in the world at large.

[Tony Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Portrait of a Centuries-long Roman Institution. There's not anything new here, but Dando-Collins brings together all the classic authors (Suetonius, Tacitus, Julius Caesar himself, etc.) and re-images the characters and setting based on this amalgamation of sources. We get an excellent storyteller's survey of the rise of Julius Caesar and the creation of the 10th Legion ("Caesar's Legion" of the title) in Spain. The book loses steam a bit after the 10th drops from Caesar's favor after Pharsala (the battle that won the Roman Civil War for Caesar), yet remains interesting enough through the death of Pompey in Egypt. Then there's a dry stretch for a couple hundred years until we get to the Romans in 2nd century Israel, and a rousing finale with the fall of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple by the Legions, and the scattering of the Jews. It's all great stuff, and will provide a excellent backgrounder for those who want to go on and read or listen to the classic era historians.

[Sang Vo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author stats that it took about 3 decades to do research for this book. The time span for this book is about 100 years spanning from the days of Julius Caesar to the second Jewish rebellion in the Roman Empire. The book is about the days of the tenth legion and more (7th, 8th, 9th). The historical information is well presented with descriptions of the many battles and the famous conquerors themselves. The book tells about the legion enlistment, days as a legionnaire, and their retirement more than any other books i have read (then again i have not read that much on the topic). If anyone is interested in Roman History and Military, than this book is great.

[Gene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read, the scope of the book is definitely broader than just the martial history of the eponymous military unit: the author delves deep into the some of the most fascinating portions of Roman late Republic and early Imperial history, mostly focusing on the logistic, tactical, and political angles.

My only complain is the overwhelming dedication to historical accuracy when it comes to troop disposition and order of battle. I appreciate the effort, and I usually love this sort of stuff, but for a non-academic book, written for the general audience, the level of detail is at times unnecessarily pedantic and kicks the reader straight out of the immersion.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reason I can't give this book five stars is really the one thing that makes it readable. As a history book I don't like the "if" factor that kept cropping up every time a "character" was discussed. For example, "If Centurion Crastinus looked to his left he would have seen..." For me it loses historical authority or authenticity. I know we can't know if he actually looked to his left, but what was there was there, so just say, "to Crastinus' left he saw..." Other than that I really liked the book.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and enjoyable book that provides a detailed view of some of the major Roman military encounters through the eyes of the 10th Legion. The most detail is devoted to battles of the civil war that ended the Republic. The book is a bit hard to get into at first, but the last 2/3 are quite a bit of fun. One caveat--Caesar's Legion is meant for readers who are fairly familiar with Roman history of this period. I believe the book would be far less enjoyable if one were not already knowledgeable regarding the general events described.

[taarak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid work as an introduction to Julius Caeser.

Stephen Dando-Collins paints a vivid and definitive portrait of daily life in the Tenth Legion as he follows Caesar and his men along the blood-soaked fringes of the Empire. This unprecedented regimental history reveals countless previously unknown details about Roman military practices, Caesar's conduct as a commander and his relationships with officers and legionnaires, and the daily routine and discipline of the Legion.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to really understand the workings of a Roman legion, from selection to death on the battlefield and camaraderie to military pride, this is the book to read.

Caesar ably used the Tenth Legion for his own ends, both military and political, a grim testament to the fact that a soldier's life is sometimes to be used and cast away. When I read this book, the men of the Tenth Legion were as real and vivid as if they were standing before me.

[Nathaniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book. It was nice in that it didn't turn into a biography of Julius Caeser and instead focused on his soldiers. However, once he died (sorry if that's a spoiler - I wasn't sure if I needed to mark it as such) the book becomes a little rushed. I enjoyed the first 50% of the book much more than the second 50% in spite of the famous battles the 10th participates in during the reign of later Emperors.

[Nate Mintz · Rating 5 out of 5]

this may be a nonfiction title but it reads more like a historical fiction the book is both entertaining and educational. i originally purchased this book when researching a paper on the daily life of a roman soldier for a college history course and thought that it would be a dry read but to my suprise it was actually hard to put down and was not at all like reading a history book

[Tomerobber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting and informative book providing info about Caesar and the Roman Legions. Lacking in knowledge of this time period for the most part . . . It provided a detailed description in an easy to listen to narrative. Now I have base information to add to. The narrator did an admirable job with the names of characters involved. A worthwhile investment of my time.