Friday, April 20, 2007

The Battle That Stopped Rome: Emperor Augustus, Arminius, and the Slaughter of the Legions in the Teutoburg Forest by Peter S. Wells

The Battle That Stopped Rome: Emperor Augustus, Arminius, and the Slaughter of the Legions in the Teutoburg Forest by Peter S. Wells describes the destruction of three Roman legions by Germanic tribes in 9 AD. The book weaves together the literary sources such as they are with archaeology and even a little bit of forensics to construct the battle in the Teutoburg forest. I liked how the book dealt with the various pieces of evidence.

One minor criticism I'm sure some will have is that a couple of short fictional vignettes in the text. These are pretty short and can be easily ignored without taking away from the rest of the book.

A recommended look at a famous Roman military disaster that helped shape the eventual extent of the Empire in northwest Europe.

Is available through Abebooks.

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