Looking for recommendations for recognised modern historians who specialise in ancient Roman history.

by pyschopanda

Hi,

Some of you guys may remember me from asking for help with understanding the battle of Cannae and whether or not Hannibal should have marched upon Rome.

I have found other books as well but unsure to whether or not they are trustworthy or not.

So far I have read /am reading

  • Gregory Daly - Cannae : The experiences of battle in the second punic war

  • Adrian Goldsworthy : Cannae (Fields of Battle) this is so far my favourite

  • Adrian Goldsworthy : Fall of Carthage

  • Robert L. O'connel : Ghost of Cannae - for some reason I am actually struggling to read through this for some reason

Agrippa911

Are you solely focused on military matters or the Punic Wars? If you want to look broader, I'd recommend Syme's Roman Revolution which is the best explanation for the collapse of the Republic and the rise of Octavianus/Augustus. Really good.

Also, if you've done this much background reading I think you should tackle the primary sources like Polybius and Livy who cover the Second Punic War. There's also Caesar who's really our only source for an active general on campaign explaining what he was doing (obviously through a biased lens).