Chickenhawks of the Roman Empire - Ehrlich & Ehrlich
Parallels between 21st century USA and the Roman empire go beyond the superficial. They can help us understand mechanisms at work today.
Paul and Anne Ehrlich point out in One With Nineveh (p. 241), that after the empire began to decline, political leaders went from true military leadership exemplified by Julius Caesar to a sham campaign by Claudius
The Romans increasingly depended on barbarian mercenaries to man their legions as the empire declined. The personal involvement of the Roman elite in actual combat likewise declined — Caesar led his troops in battle; Nero did not. Claudius had a faux campaign in Britain, complete with an elephant. He paraded up and down the beach collecting seashells and the like, which he took back home as booty. It was the first-century equivalent of prancing on the deck of an aircraft carrier in a military costume you haven’t earned.