Land Expropriation in Ancient Rome and Contemporary Zimbabwe

This remarkable and novel study highlights the potential for illuminating comparison between Roman and African historical experiences. Mlambo analyses personal testimonies by veterans about their involvement and emotions in the expropriation of land in modern Zimbabwe, which he uses, alongside the ancient clues, to inspire a vivid recreation of Roman veterans as active agents in the land expropriations of the late Republic. --Dominic Rathbone, Professor of Ancient History, King's College London, UK The striking resemblances between decommissioned legionaries in ancient Rome and African veteran guerrilla fighters in present-day Zimbabwe are mutually enlightening. Moving beyond a narrow consideration of a single region or epoch towards an exploration of parallels and contrasts, this book recalibrates the Eurocentric habit of taking classical antiquity as the unique key for understanding social and political life. Mlambo brings African and European perspectives into a fresh dialogue with one another in empirically well-grounded and unexpected ways. --Thomas Widlok, Professor of the Cultural Anthropology of Africa, University of Cologne, Germany A diligent intervention on land expropriation, veterans, masculinity and war in ancient Rome and contemporary Zimbabwe, this magnificent book yokes together two disparate societies separated by 2,000 years and allows them to shine their light on each other in ways that enrich our understanding of history and the limitless possibilities of engaging it. --Tavengwa Gwekwerere, Assistant Professor of Pan-African Studies, California State University, Los Angeles, USA