THE ENEMIES OF ROME

Who were the enemies of Rome, the figures of legend who rose up against the empire and fought for independence or even, in some cases, domination? What do the writings of antiquity’s most eminent historians reveal of the reality behind the stories which surround figures such as Spartacus and Attila the Hun? In this series of fascinating historical accounts Philip Matyszak presents the extraordinary individuals who strove for freedom from Roman rule.

Boudicca, the warrior queen of the Iceni, led a rebellion in Britain that saw Londinium burn. The Carthaginian general Hannibal famously marched his army, including thirty-eight elephants, over the Alps. Matyszak weaves together the literary and the archaeological evidence to look at the growth and eventual demise of the Roman empire from the viewpoints of the people who fought against it, from the edges of the empire to the streets of Rome. Some enemies of Rome were noble heroes and others were murderous villains, but each has a fascinating story to tell.