He presents the Roman general's life in a style that is interesting and easy to read., eoeThe prolific Gabriel. An important and original work of military biography, especially dealing with the day-to-day aspects of soldiering in antiquity., eoeWritten in a fluid narrative style making it accessible to general readers as well as historians.e, Gabriel has always been a great storyteller, and his biobraphy of Scipio Africanus continues that tradition. Gabriel has given us a well-written treatment of the life and military campaigns of one of Rome's most important historical figures that will be enjoyed by military historians, classicists, and general readers alike. A comprehensive, original and important work of scholarship and military biography that is certain to become the definitive work on Scipio., An exciting book from one of the country's leading military historians.

The result is a rich, detailed, and contextual treatment of the life and career of Scipio Africanus, one of Rome's greatest generals, if not the greatest of them all.Ī brilliant work of research and analysis from one of the country's leading military historians. His book offers a complete bibliography of all extant sources regarding Scipio's life. Gabriel draws upon ancient texts, including those from Livy, Polybius, Diodorus, Silius Italicus, and others, as primary sources and examines all additional material available to the modern scholar in French, German, English, and Italian. The Roman imperium was being born, and it was Scipio who had sired it. And yet, paradoxically, Scipio's victories in Spain and Africa enabled Rome to consolidate its hold over Italy and become the dominant power in the western Mediterranean, virtually ensuring a later confrontation with the Greco-Macedonian kingdoms to the east as well as the empire's expansion into North Africa and the Levant.

Before Scipio, few Romans would have dreamed of empire, and Scipio himself would have regarded such an ambition as a danger to his beloved republic. Gabriel establishes Scipio's rightful place in military history as the greater of the two generals.

In this scholarly and heretofore unmatched military biography of the distinguished Roman soldier, Richard A. Today scholars celebrate the importance of Hannibal, even though Scipio defeated the legendary general in the Second Punic War and was the central military figure of his time. Scipio Africanus, surely the greatest general that Rome produced, suffered both these fates. The world often misunderstands its greatest men while neglecting others entirely.

Scipio Africanus by Richard A. Gabriel