Early Modern Military Theory and Roman Warfare: Salmasius De Re Militari Romanorum Liber First Edition, 1657

Claudius Salmasius

First Edition

Salmasius, Claudius. De Re Militari Romanorum Liber, 1657 advances seventeenth-century classical scholarship on Roman military organization at a moment when European states actively studied antiquity to inform contemporary warfare and governance. Composed by the French humanist Claude Saumaise and encouraged by Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, the work situates Roman military structures, formations, and command within a philological framework grounded in Greek and Latin sources. Completed after Saumaise’s death and prepared for publication by Georg Horn of Leiden University, the volume belongs to a broader intellectual movement in the Dutch Republic that treated Roman antiquity as a practical repository for modern military and political knowledge during the age of confessional conflict and expanding state militarization.

Salmasius, Claudius. De Re Militari Romanorum Liber. Opus Posthumum. Leyden: Johannem Elsevirium, 1657. First edition. Latin text with extensive Greek quotations. Single volume. 244 pages. Includes comparative diagrams of defensive formations within the text. Quarter calf over boards with gilt spine title; binding circa 1800.

DThis is a first edition of a military history of the Roman empire by French classical scholar Claude Saumaise. Saumaise was encouraged to write this work by Frederick Henry, the Prince of Orange and de facto head of state of the Dutch Republic. Saumaise died in 1653, four years prior to the publishing of this work, which had been sidelined by the variety of his intellectual pursuits and itinerant way of life. The Elzevier publishing house, which had bought the work and initially planned on releasing it in 1644, entrusted the completion of the work to Georg Horn, professor of history at Leiden University. The work is almost entirely in Latin, though Ancient Greek sources like the historian Polybius are quoted extensively throughout. Additionally, there are several comparative diagrams of defense formations within the book. Some light staining to boards, minimal rubbing at extremities and wear at the hinge, Hinge still solid. Discoloration at corners of inside front and back cover cover and free end paper due to previous reinforcement that has long been professionally removed. Very small wormholes in the last 5 pages or so of the book on the lower margin, does not affect any text. At the time that this description is being written, only one copy is recorded in American institutions. OCLC search results are at best an estimate and can vary over time. Overall a very good copy.

Item #17229

Price: $1,200.00