Republican Rome

Republican Rome, the Army and the Allies by Emilio Gabba is a seminal collection of essays that redefines key debates about the late Roman Republic and the emergence of the Principate. Long influential in Italian scholarship and here made available in English translation, Gabba’s work examines the interplay between Rome’s military system, Italian society, and the political upheavals of the first century BCE. At its core are his classic studies of the professionalization of the Roman army, in which he argues that the so-called Marian reforms of 107 BCE were the culmination of over a century of gradual development rather than a dramatic turning point. He then traces how a standing army reshaped political life, both by creating opportunities for new Italian elites and by raising enduring challenges over veterans’ settlement.

The volume also includes Gabba’s influential account of the Social War, setting the conflict within the broader political struggles of the age and offering a close reading of Appian’s narrative. Additional essays address M. Livius Drusus and Sulla’s reforms, the equestrian class, and the lex Plotia agraria for Pompey’s veterans, while two incisive review-essays on Toynbee’s Hannibal’s Legacy and Badian’s Foreign Clientelae showcase Gabba’s critical precision. Distinguished by originality, disciplined imagination, and clear argument, these essays remain indispensable for students and scholars of Roman history. Republican Rome, the Army and the Allies offers English-speaking readers access to one of the most important voices in modern Roman historiography.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1976.