Les Pirates Contre Rome [French]

By: Sintes, Claude

English summary: For several years now, our media have been showing us images of Somali or Nigerian pirates attacking container ships and oil tankers. Those attacks have been so serious that UN authorities had to resolve to take exceptional measures to contain them. In antiquity, Romans experienced a very similar situation: a particularly virulent form of piracy appeared on the desolate shores of southern Anatolia and in Sicily which gradually spread throughout the Mediterranean basin and which, in combination with other factors and more localised piracies, eventually interfered with the expansion of that era's superpower. This work offers a few keys to help readers understand ancient pirates: why did they become pirates, what were their tactics, their tricks, what types of boats did they use, how did they choose their booty and how did they share it, could the people they attacked defend themselves?Only Pompey, Rome's greatest general, managed to defeat them. He surprised all of his contemporaries because he resorted to turning the pirates into settlers by giving them the means to live, rather than condemning them to be crucified as was the custom at that time. French description: Notre monde est confronte aujourd'hui aux pirates somaliens ou nigerians qui attaquent indifferemment les navires de plaisance ou les petroliers. Les Romains ont connu eux aussi bien des difficultes avec le pirate, ennemi insaisissable des qu'il etait dans son element, refractaire a tout traite et que le peuple haissait plus que tout. La fin de la Republique romaine permet d'observer un moment de l'histoire antique ou deux formes de piraterie cohabitent. La petite piraterie, immemoriale, derangeante, dangereuse pour ceux qui la subissent mais qui n'interfere pas outre mesure dans la conduite du monde. Autrement plus preoccupante est la grande piraterie car ce ne sont plus des individus isoles qui s'y livrent mais des peuples entiers, avec leurs villes, leurs ports, leurs arsenaux. Apparue sur les rivages desoles de l'Anatolie, en Cilicie, une forme particulierement virulente de banditisme marin va gagner peu a peu le bassin mediterraneen, se combinant avec d'autres facteurs et d'autres pirateries localisees pour finalement gener l'expansion souveraine de Rome. Cet ouvrage donne a comprendre comment ces forbans travaillaient, quels etaient leurs bateaux, leurs tactiques, leurs butins mais aussi quels efforts a du deployer le Senat romain pour reduire puis eliminer ces redoutables Ciliciens.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: French
• ISBN: 2251338446
• ISBN13: 9782251338446
• Release Date: May 2016
• Publisher: Les Belles Lettres
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.83 lbs.