Manius Curius Dentatus: The Sources, The Record, The Man (Forgotten Men of the Roman Republic) Hardcover – February 26, 2026

Manius Curius Dentatus is one of the most consequential figures of the early Roman Republic and one of the most neglected.He held the consulship three times, celebrated three triumphs and an ovation, and broke the Samnite confederation in the war that secured Roman dominance over central Italy. He turned back Pyrrhus of Epirus at the Battle of Beneventum, conquered and absorbed the Sabine nation, and commissioned Rome's second aqueduct. Yet no biography has ever been written. No single work has brought together the full record of his life and career in one place.This volume fills that absence. Drawing on every surviving ancient reference, including Polybius, Plutarch, Cicero, Valerius Maximus, Frontinus, and the Fasti Capitolini, it examines each source, assesses its reliability within its proper context, and constructs the most complete account the historical record permits. Where the evidence is firm, this book says so. Where it is ambiguous, competing interpretations are weighed honestly, and where it is silent, the silence is acknowledged without apology.Includes a chronological timeline, source concordance, and glossary of terms. Read more