Viriathus

This fascinating biography sheds light on the important yet overlooked military leader who thwarted Rome in what is now Spain and Portugal. In the second century BC, as Rome engaged in the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, they met with determined resistance from the Lusitanian people and their skilled leader, Viriathus. Though renowned in his day Viriathus has been neglected by modern historians, a travesty that Luis Silva puts right in this thoroughly researched and accessible biography. Apparently of humble birth, Viriathus rose to prominence after the treacherous massacre of the existing tribal chieftains and soon proved himself a gifted and audacious commander. Relying on hit and run guerrilla tactics, he inflicted humiliating reverses on the Roman forces, uniting a number of tribes in resistance to the invader and stalling their imperial efforts for eight years. Still unbeaten in the field, he was only overcome when the Romans resorted to bribing some of his own men to assassinate him.