New Perspectives on the Roman Civil Wars of 4930 BCE
(Paperback)
Publishing Details
New Perspectives on the Roman Civil Wars of 4930 BCE
By (Author) Dr Richard Westall
Edited by Dr Hannah Cornwell
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Bloomsbury Academic
30th October 2025
United Kingdom
Classifications
Professional and Scholarly
Non Fiction
Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval
937.05
Physical Properties
Paperback
248
Width 156mm, Height 234mm
Description
Offering new and original approaches to the Roman civil wars of 49-30 BCE, the eleven papers presented here for the first time shed light on this crucial moment in the forging of Roman identity. They engage with a variety of problems and topics in political discourse (diplomacy, the concept of libertas, divine paternity); socio-economic structures (allied rulers, military officials, civil war finances, Agrippas family); material culture (the coinage of Julius Caesar, the physical remains of Corfinium); and literary commemoration (Sallust on trauma, the lost Histories of Asinius Pollio).
The case studies presented here contribute to our understanding of a period that is just as fundamental for our view of the Romans as it was to the Romans themselves. Arguing for the unity of the period in question, the volume deploys a multiplicity of methodologies to analyse how the trauma of armed conflict and the breakdown of accepted socio-cultural models not only mediated the contemporary experience of Roman civil war, but also left a lasting impression upon how Romans viewed the world. Incisive and critical, these contributions by a diverse team of international researchers, both emerging scholars and leaders in their fields, offer a new window into the world of the late Republic and early Principate.
Reviews
A new collective exploration of the civil wars of the late Roman Republic. A fresh look at a period that requires an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach. -- Federico Santangelo, Head of Classics and Ancient History, Newcastle University, UK
Author Bio
Richard Westall is Adjunct Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Dallas Rome Program, Italy, and an Associate Member of The Sapienza Centre for the Study of the Mediterranean and Near East in Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages, Italy.
Hannah Cornwell is Associate Professor in Ancient History at the University of Birmingham, UK.
