LATEST DISCOUNTS & SALES: PROMOTIONS

Close Notification

Your cart does not contain any items

Caesar's Footprints

Journeys to Roman Gaul

Bijan Omrani

$49.99

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

QTY:

English
Head of Zeus
01 August 2017
In the 50s BC, Julius Caesar conducted a brutal war against the tribes of ancient Gaul. On the pretext of curbing an imminent barbarian threat to the Roman Republic, he first defeated and decimated the Helvetii tribe, before subjugating the other Celtic peoples who occupied the territory of what is now France.

Caesar laid Gallic civilisation to waste, but the cultural revolution the Romans brought in their wake transformed the Celtic culture of that country, as the Gauls exchanged their tribal quarrels for togas and acquired the paraphernalia of civilised urban life. The Romans also left behind a legacy of language, literature, law, government, religion, architecture and industry.

From Marseille to Mulhouse, and from Orleans to Autun, Bijan Omrani journeys across Gaul in the footsteps of its Roman conquerors. He tells the story of Caesar's Gallic Wars and traces the indelible imprint on modern Europe of the Gallo-Roman civilisation that emerged in their wake.

By:  
Imprint:   Head of Zeus
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 234mm,  Width: 153mm, 
ISBN:   9781784970659
ISBN 10:   1784970654
Pages:   416
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Author Website:   http://www.wardmccandlish.co.uk/AuthorPhoto/HeadofZeus/Bijan_Omrani.jpg

Bijan Omrani is an historian and classicist specialising in the history of Afghanistan and Central Asia. He read Classics and English at Lincoln College, Oxford. He is the author of Asia Overland: Tales of Travel on the Trans-Siberian and Silk Road.

Reviews for Caesar's Footprints: Journeys to Roman Gaul

'The whole thing hangs together beautifully ... [A] wise, kindly and fascinating guide' Classics for All. 'In places, his book evokes Richard Holmes's pursuit of Robert Louis Stevenson through France in his marvellous Footsteps ... we get a real sense of Omani as a teacher in the parentheses and asides he slips into his narrative, which are charming' Daisy Dunn, Literary Review. 'A real delight. Caesar's Footprints exuberantly marches around France and Britain with the Roman legions, vividly bringing the formation of a shared European identity to life ... Grippingly blends the unified world the Romans created with the landscapes and cultures two thousand years on. It is a bold vision, elegantly evocative, and an accomplished tribute to year zero of our shared modern European identity' Dominic Selwood. 'Wonderful ... Omrani's golden pen produces prose that is a pleasure to read. He is a polymath who delights us with his learning - in literature, history and geography - but wears it lightly. His sense of time and place and true civilisation is extraordinary' Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles. 'Very few writers have the ability to write interestingly as well as rigorously about the Roman world. Bijan Omrani - an extraordinarily talented scholar and writer - is one of them. Read this book' Robert Twigger, author of Red Nile. 'Remarkable ... In the dismal clash between Europeans and migrants today there are echoes of the seismic, much more violent clash between Romans and barbarians. Caesar's Footprints is a compelling, richly researched account of a little understood chapter of European history, packed with insightful parallels between the world of Caesar and our own' Justin Marozzi, author of Travels with Herodotus. 'This terrific account lays bare the horror and cruelty of Caesar's campaigns - as well as the astonishing achievements of the Romans. Bursting with anecdotes and fizzing with unexpected information, Caesar's Footprints compels us to ask - how much does our continent owe to one man and his naked and cynical lust for glory' Boris Johnson.


See Also