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Roman Empire
General Works
The Roman Army
Roman Wars
Contemporary Accounts
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Books - Roman Empire
General Works
| Ancient Warfare Special Issue 2010: Core of the Legion - The Roman Imperial centuria. Ancient Warfare Special 2010 - Core of the Legion, The Roman Imperial centuria. Special issue looking at the early Imperial century, the best known sub-unit of the Roman Legion. Articles look at the organisation, equipment and battlefield role of the century and the careers of their centurions, as well as a fascinating look at the fragmentary administrative documents that have survived. [see more] |
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Ancient Warfare Volume III Issue 6 .
Carnyx, cornu and signa: Battlefield communications. With its main focus on military signals and standards this issue of Ancient Warfare magazine looks at the evolution of the battle standard from Persian to Roman times, and the various methods used to issue commands across the ancient battlefield, including musical instruments. Also includes a look at late Roman battle tactics, and the battle of Cunaxa. [see more] |
Gladiator: Rome's Bloody Spectacle, Konstantin Nossov. An English translation and update of a Russian original, looking at the development and equipment of the gladiator, the different types of gladiator and how their fought, the rise of the dedicated amphitheatre, and finishing with a look at the difficulties of hosting a gladiatorial games, and the routine on the day of the games itself. [read full review]
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Ancient Warfare Volume III Issue 1.
This is the first magazine that we have reviewed, and contains a wide-ranging selection of articles looking at the role of the mercenary in ancient warfare, from the Nubian archers of the Pharaohs to the Germanic auxiliaries of the later Roman Empire. These are well written articles aimed at the educated general reader with an interest in the topic, with a focus on the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. [see more] |
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Ancient Warfare Volume III Issue 3 .
This edition focuses on the individual heroic warrior, both in reality and in Homer. There is a good mix of articles, looking at Homer's work, its influence on Philip II and Alexander the Great, the shield of Achilles, Achaean armour, awards for bravery in the Roman army, the berserker and two interesting but little known sources. This is a good mix of interesting well written articles. [see more] |
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The Roman Army
The Complete Roman Army, Adrian Goldsworthy. A very good history of the Roman army from the early Republic to the end of the Empire.
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 Arms and Armour of the Imperial Roman Soldier, From Marius to Commodus, 112 BC-AD 192, Raffaele d'Amato and Graham Sumner. A very impressive, hugely detailed, well organised and comprehensively illustrated look at the equipment of the Roman Soldier of the late Republic and early Empire, covering the arms, armour, cloths and symbols of the Roman infantry, cavalry, naval and auxiliary forces. [read full review]
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Roman Wars
Stilicho, the Vandal who Saved Rome, Ian Hughes. A study of the life and times of Flavius Stilicho, a half-Roman half-Vandal soldier and politician who struggled to preserve the Western Roman Empire in the last decades before the sack of Rome in 410 AD. Hughes includes some very useful material on the wider Roman world and army, making this a very useful book. [read full review]
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 Roman Conquests: Macedonia and Greece, Philip Matyszak. A lucid account of the eighty years that saw the Romans go from virtually unknown outsiders in Greece to become the dominate power in the peninsula having beaten the Macedonians in a series of devastating victories that helped established the superiority of the Legions over the Phalanx [read full review]
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| Ancient Warfare Volume III Issue 5 .
The Imperial Nemesis: Rome vs. Parthia. An interesting set of articles that look at the clash between Rome and her eastern neighbours in the Parthian Empire, including articles on Trajan's Parthian War, the armed diplomacy begun by Augustus and the famous Parthian bow. Variety comes with an article on the Athenian general Myronides, and a look at the Breviarum of Festus. [see more] |
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Roman Conquests: Italy, Ross Cowan. A look at the Roman conquest of the Italian Peninsula, the series of wars that saw Rome transformed from a small city state in central Italy into a power that was on the verge of conquering the ancient Mediterranean world. A lack of contemporary sources makes this a difficult period to write about, but Cowan has produced a convincing narrative without ignoring some of the complexity. [read full review] |
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 Actium 31 BC, Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra, Si Sheppard. Despite its title this book actually looks at the entire course of the rivalry between Octavian and Mark Antony, tracing their rivalry from the temporary peace patched up at Brundisium in 40 BC to the eventual outbreak of open war and the decisive battle at Actium. Sheppard also includes a chapter on the evolution of the ancient warship, while still finding the space to cover Actium itself in some detail. This is one of the stronger entries in the campaign series and a well structured and informative look at a key period in Roman history. [see more]
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Contemporary Accounts
The Gallic War , Julius Caesar. One of the great works of western civilisation. Caesar was an almost unique example of a great general who was also a great writer. The Gallic War is a first hand account of Caesar's conquest of Gaul, written at the time to explain and justify his actions. |
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Garrison Life at Vindolanda: A Band of Brothers, Anthony Birley. One of the most significant survivals from the Roman world are the Vindolanda tablets, wooden letters that survived at the site of a fort on Hadrians Wall. These tablets provide a truly unique insight into the everyday life of the Roman army in the early empire.
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Ancient Warfare Vol V Issue 3: The last great enemy: Rome and the Sassanid Empire. This issue of Ancient Warfare Magazine focuses on Sassanid Persia, the last great civilised opponent of Rome (and a major opponent for the early Byzantines). Includes an overview of the Sassanid era, a look at the role of their army, an examination of their many victories over the Romans, and a reconstruction of one type of Sassanid soldier. [read full review]
The Crisis of Rome: The Jugurthine and Northern Wars and the Rise of Marius, Gareth C. Sampson. A study of a forgotten crisis of the Roman Republic, threatened by wars in Gaul, Macedonia and North Africa, and by a series of massive defeats at the hands of the Cimbri. Rome was saved by Marius, the first of a series of soldier-statesmen who eventually overthrew the Republic. [read full review]
