Gladius by Guy de la Bédoyère, review — the story of the soldiers who built the Roman empire
These astonishing, multiskilled men collected taxes, built bridges — and fought some wars
The remains of the Roman Republic and Empire straddle three continents, from Hadrian’s Wall in Britain’s north to Leptis Magna in Libya to the colossal columns of Baalbek in Lebanon. Rome haunts us partly because it was so vast and advanced; and partly because, despite this, it declined and fell, leaving the European imagination shadowed ever after by the thought.
However, it wasn’t so much “the Romans” who built all those astonishing structures as Roman soldiers. They did almost everything, as well as fight. They gathered taxes. They manned Rome’s fire brigade (although it wasn’t very effective). They stood guard over the crucifixion of Christ, as the New Testament tells us. They built Hadrian’s Wall, aqueducts, bridges — including Julius Caesar’s incredible feat of building