Soldiers and Silver: Mobilizing Resources in the Age of Roman Conquest

By the middle of the second century BCE, after nearly one hundred years of warfare, Rome had exerted its control over the entire Mediterranean world, forcing the other great powers of the region-Carthage, Macedonia, Egypt, and the Seleucid empire-to submit militarily and financially. But how, despite its relative poverty and its frequent numerical disadvantage in decisive battles, did Rome prevail? Michael J. Taylor explains this surprising outcome by examining the role that manpower and fi...