The city of Rome was founded, not by the sons of Mars as myth would have it, but by the amalgamation of separate communities of the Palatine and Quirinal hills around 600 BC. From such humble beginnings grew a culture which, by the 1st Century AD, held dominion over much of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Caesar's legions were essential to the maintenance of these territories, and this book investigates the development and growth of the Roman fighting machine. The text explores the organization of the legions, as well as the motivation, the weapons, armor, equipment of the individual soldier.