01-31-2015, 03:12 AM
I think that trying to focus on the military side without understanding the overall history of Rome (and its surrounding contemporaries) can be a mistake. You will never truly "get" the military history if you don't understand what the "Conflict of the Orders" were, what the whole Punics Wars were about, or who the Gracchi were. If you can't wax poetically for 20 minutes about those three topics, among a myriad of others, than anything about Marian reforms, the Civil Wars, or anything after that will be completely out of context.
It sounds ridiculous, but grab a copy of The Complete Idiots Guide and the Dummies Guide of Roman history. Read those, take a few very brief notes, try to see if there is anything in particular that really grabs you time frame wise and then come back and ask some more in depth questions about where to look for sources.
If you read the original sources without a good foundation you will be very very confused probably. Baby steps. Craw, walk, run.
It sounds ridiculous, but grab a copy of The Complete Idiots Guide and the Dummies Guide of Roman history. Read those, take a few very brief notes, try to see if there is anything in particular that really grabs you time frame wise and then come back and ask some more in depth questions about where to look for sources.
If you read the original sources without a good foundation you will be very very confused probably. Baby steps. Craw, walk, run.
