Podcast Episode 36 - Stubborn Nags of Ancient Rome, Part XII

Someone needed to rally the troops, and Rome’s greatest living general was having a hard time doing it.

Pompey the Great had a—well…great reputation as a commander, which his recruits and veterans alike could see for themselves. He trained and drilled right alongside them, and could swing a sword like a man half his age. But this time his troops weren’t just Romans—desperate times—and a civil war--had caused him to recruit men from the provinces instead of just Italy itself, and they were about to go to war against soldiers who had up until recently been on the same side.

If ever there was a time for an inspiring speech, this was it.

Sources

Beard, Mary. “SPQR.” Profile Books, 2015.

Duncan, Mike. “The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic.” Public Affairs, 2017.

Goodman, Rob and Soni, Jimmy. “Rome’s Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar.” St. Martin’s Press, 2012.

UNRV.com. “Battle of Dyrrhachium.” Retrieved March 21, 2022 from https://www.unrv.com/julius-caesar/battle-of-dyrrhachium.php

UNRV.com. “Battle of Pharsalus.” Retrieved March 21, 2022 from https://www.unrv.com/julius-caesar/battle-of-pharsalus.php