Pivotal turning point of antiquity

Review of Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic by Tom Holland

This is a narrative panorama of one the great historical watersheds: the slide to the destruction of the Roman Republic. Holland begins with the rivalry of Marius and Sulla. In the late 2^nd century BCE, these two generals appeared in the period when Rome was expanding so rapidly that a new source of manpower had to be found: rather than exclusively rely…