Download or read book Hunnic Warrior vs Late Roman Cavalryman written by Murray Dahm and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2022-09-15 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Roman and Hunnic fighting men are assessed and compared in this fully illustrated study of Attila's bid to conquer Europe in the 5th century AD. The Huns burst on to the page of western European history in the 4th century AD. Fighting mostly on horseback, the Huns employed sophisticated tactics that harnessed the formidable power of their bows; they also gained a reputation for their fighting prowess at close quarters. Facing the Huns, the Roman Army fielded a variety of cavalry types, from heavily armed and armoured clibanarii and cataphractii to horse archers and missile cavalry. Many of these troops were recruited from client peoples or cultures, including the Huns themselves. After carving out a polyglot empire in eastern and central Europe, the Huns repeatedly invaded Roman territory, besieging the city of Naissus in 443. With Constantinople itself threatened, the Romans agreed to pay a huge indemnity. In 447, Attila re-entered Roman territory, confronting the Romans at the battle of the Utus in Bulgaria. The Huns besieged Constantinople, but were unable to take the city. In 451, after Hunnic forces invaded the Western Roman Empire, an army led by the Roman general Aetius pursed the invaders, bringing the Huns to battle at the Catalaunian Plains. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and maps, this study examines the origins, fighting methods and reputation of the two sides' cavalry forces, with particular reference to the siege of Naissus, the battle of the Utus and the climactic encounter at the Catalaunian Plains.

Download or read book Late Roman Cavalryman AD 236 565 written by Simon MacDowall and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 1995-11-13 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The twilight of the Roman Empire saw a revolution in the way war was waged. The drilled infantryman, who had been the mainstay of Mediterranean armies since the days of the Greek hoplite, was gradually replaced by the mounted warrior. This change did not take place overnight, and in the 3rd and 4th centuries the role of the cavalryman was primarily to support the infantry. However, by the time of the 6th century, the situation had been completely reversed. Late Roman Cavalryman gives a full account of the changing experience of the mounted soldiers who defended Rome's withering western empire.

Download or read book Byzantine Cavalryman vs Vandal Warrior written by Murray Dahm and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-05-25 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fully illustrated, this enthralling study explores how the Vandals in North Africa attempted to defend their kingdom against the resurgent Byzantine Empire during 533–36. In AD 533, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I launched the first of his campaigns to reconquer the Western Roman Empire. This effort began in North Africa (modern Algeria and Tunisia), targeting the Vandal kingdom established there a century earlier, which also included Sardinia, Corsica and the Balearic Islands. Featuring full-colour artwork and mapping alongside carefully chosen archive illustrations, this book shows how the Byzantine general Belisarius established his formidable reputation in the lightning-fast campaign that ensued, exploring the origins, tactics and reputation of the two sides' forces as they fought for control of North Africa. The landing of Belisarius' forces took the Vandal king, Gelimer, completely by surprise; in September 533 the two sides met in battle near Carthage in an encounter known to posterity as Ad Decimum, with Gelimer ambitiously attempting to trap Belisarius' forces as they advanced. In December, the two sides fought again in a momentous clash at Tricamarum, where the fate of Gelimer's regime would be determined. A third battle ensued in 536, when the rebel Stotzas' Byzantine and Vandal troops confronted Belisarius' forces, the outcome sealing the Byzantine general's standing as the foremost soldier of his age. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and mapping alongside archive illustrations and photographs, this vivid account compares and assesses the two sides' fighting men as they vied for supremacy in North Africa.

Download or read book Barbarian Warrior vs Roman Legionary written by Murray Dahm and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2024-01-18 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This engrossing book pits the legionaries of Imperial Rome against their Germanic and Sarmatian opponents in the 2nd century AD. Shortly after Marcus Aurelius came to power in AD 161, the Roman Empire was racked by a series of military crises. While unrest in Britain and a new war with Parthia were swiftly dealt with, the invasion of Roman territory by the Chatti and Chauci peoples heralded a resurgent threat from the empire's European neighbours. Soon the Marcomanni and the Quadi, as well as the Dacians and the Sarmatian Iazyges, would attack the Romans in a series of savage conflicts that continued until AD 175 and would see the first invasion of Roman Italy since the beginning of the 1st century BC. In this book, the two sides' objectives, weapons and equipment and fighting styles are assessed and compared in the context of three featured battles: Carnuntum (170), where a Roman legion was vanquished and Italy invaded; the 'Battle on the Ice' (172), where the Romans fought their lighter-armed Iazyges opponents on the frozen Danube; and the so-called 'Miracle of the Rain' (174), during which a trapped Roman force facing annihilation was able to defeat numerically superior Germanic forces. Photographs, specially commissioned artwork plates and mapping complement the authoritative text in this engrossing study of Imperial Rome at war.

Download or read book Late Roman Infantryman vs Gothic Warrior written by Murray Dahm and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-06-24 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ravaged by civil war and pressure from the Huns to the east, in late summer AD 376 the Gothic tribe of the Theruingi – up to 200,000 people under their leader Fritigern – gathered on the northern bank of the River Danube and asked the Eastern Roman emperor, Valens, for asylum within the empire. After agreeing to convert to Arian Christianity and enrol in the Roman Army, the Goths were allowed to cross the Danube and settle in the province of Thrace. Far more people crossed the Danube than the Romans expected, however, and with winter approaching, the local Roman commander, Lupicinus, lacked the resources to feed the newcomers and did not possess sufficient troops to control them. Treated poorly and running out of food, the Goths very quickly lost faith in the Roman promises. Meanwhile, other Gothic tribes also sought permission to cross the Danube. The Greuthungi were refused permission, but soon learned that local Roman garrisons had been depleted to supervise the march of the Theruingi to the town of Marcianopolis, close to the eastern shore of the Black Sea. Taking advantage of this, the Greuthungi also entered Roman territory. Camping outside Marcianopolis, Lupicinus denied the Goths access to the town's food stores, provoking the Theruingi to begin skirmishing with the Roman troops. Fritigern convinced Lupicinus to let the Gothic leaders go and calm their people, but they did nothing to quell the warlike temper of his warriors. Lupicinus summoned troops to him, but in late 376 these Roman forces were defeated – the first of several defeats for the Romans that would culminate in the fateful battle of Adrianople in August 378, at which Roman forces led by the emperor himself confronted the Gothic host. The aftermath and repercussions of Adrianople have been much debated, but historians agree that it marks a decisive moment in the history of the Roman world. This fully illustrated book investigates the fighting men of both sides who clashed at the battles of Marcianopolis, Ad Salices and Adrianople, as the fate of the Western Roman Empire hung in the balance.

Download or read book Late Roman Infantryman AD 236 565 written by Simon MacDowall and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 1994-07-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD the traditional legions of heavy infantry were whittled away and eventually replaced by a force of various arms and nationalities dominated by cavalry and supported by missile troops. However, in spite of this trend towards cavalry, the pedes remained the backbone of the Roman army until well into the 5th century. This book details a warrior who was very different from the legionary who preceded him; perhaps he was not as well disciplined, but in many ways he was more flexible – ready for deployment to trouble spots, and for fighting both as a skirmisher and a heavy infantryman.

Download or read book Roman Heavy Cavalry 1 written by Raffaele D’Amato and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-11-29 with total page 65 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the army of Marc Antony in the 1st century BC, Roman generals hired Oriental heavy armoured cavalry to serve in their military alongside the legions. These troops, both from the northern steppes and the Persian frontiers, continued an ancient tradition of using heavy armour and long lances, and fought in a compact formation for maximum shock effect. They were quite distinct from conventional Roman light cavalry, and they served across the Empire, including in Britain. They became ever more important during the 3rd century wars against Parthia, both to counter their cavalry and to form a mobile strategic reserve. Displaying these impressive and imposing cavalry units using vivid specially commissioned artwork, this first book in a two part series on Roman Heavy Cavalry examines their use over the Imperial period up to the fall of Western Empire in the 5th century A.D.

Download or read book Roman Soldier vs Parthian Warrior written by Si Sheppard and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-07-23 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 53 BC, Roman and Parthian forces collided in a confrontation that would reshape the geopolitical map and establish a frontier between East and West that would endure for the next 700 years. From the initial clash at Carrhae through to the battle of Nisibis more than 250 years later, Roman and Parthian forces fought a series of bloody campaigns for mastery of the Fertile Crescent. As Roman forces thrust ever deeper into the East, they encountered a civilization unlike any they had crossed swords with before. Originating in the steppes of Central Asia, the Parthians ruled a federated state stretching from the Euphrates to the Indus. Although Rome's legions were masters of the battlefield in the Mediterranean, the Parthians refused to fight by the rules as Rome understood them. Harnessing the power of the composite bow and their superior manoeuvrability, the Parthians' mode of warfare focused exclusively on the horse. They inflicted a bloody defeat on the legions at Carrhae and launched their own invasion of Roman territory, countered only with great difficulty by Rome's surviving forces. The Parthians were eventually thrown out, but neither side could sustain a permanent ascendancy over the other and the conflict continued. Packed with stunning artwork, including battlescenes, maps and photographs, this title examines the conflict through the lens of three key battles, revealing a clash between two armies alien to each other not only in culture but also in their radical approaches to warfare.

Download or read book Roman Legionary Vs Gallic Warrior written by David Campbell and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-04-13 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Caesar's war machine clashes with the fearsome tribes of Gaul, forever changing the character of the region and laying the groundwork for the rise of the Roman Empire. In the manner of many Roman generals, Caesar would write his domestic political ambitions in the blood and treasure of foreign lands. His governorship of Cisalpine Gaul gave him the opportunity to demonstrate the greatness of his character to the people of Rome through the subjugation of those outside Rome's borders. The fact that the main account of the subsequent wars in Gaul was written by Caesar himself – by far the most detailed history of the subject, with new reports issued annually for the eager audience at home –is no accident. The Roman Army of the late Republic had long been in the process of structural and change, moving towards the all-volunteer permanent standing force that would for centuries be the bulwark of the coming Empire. Well-armed and armored, this professional army was trained to operate within self-supporting legions, with auxiliaries employed in roles the legions lacked such as light troops or cavalry. The Roman legions were in many ways a modern force, with formations designed around tactical goals and held together by discipline, training and common purpose. The armies fielded by the tribes of Gaul were for the most part lightly armed and armored, with fine cavalry and a well-deserved reputation for ferocity. As might be expected from a region made up of different tribes with a range of needs and interests, there was no consensus on how to make war, though when large armies were gathered it was usually with the express purpose of bringing the enemy to heel in a pitched battle. For most Gauls – and certainly the military elites of the tribes – battle was an opportunity to prove their personal courage and skill, raising their status in the eyes of friends and foes alike. Fully illustrated, this study investigates the Roman and Gallic forces pitched into combat in three battles: Bibracte (58 BC), Sabis (57 BC) and Gergovia/Alesia (52 BC). Although charismatic Gallic leaders did rise up – notably Dumnorix of the Aedui and later Vercingetorix of the Arverni – and proved to be men capable of bringing together forces that had the prospect of checking Caesar's ambitions in the bloodiest of ways, it would not be enough. For Caesar his war against the Gauls provided him with enormous power and the springboard he needed to make Rome his own, though his many domestic enemies would ensure that he did not long enjoy his success.

Download or read book Roman Mail and Scale Armour written by M.C. Bishop and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-07-20 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fully illustrated, this study investigates the origins, evolution and use of the mail and scale armour worn by the soldiers and gladiators of Imperial Rome. Less glamorous than the Roman Army's instantly recognizable plate armour but much more versatile, mail and scale armour were used by both legionaries and auxiliaries throughout Rome's history. Developed by the Celts and quickly adopted by the Romans, mail armour was easy to make and required little maintenance. Scale was a much older form of armour, originating in the Near East during the second millennium BC. As with mail, it was used by both auxiliaries and legionaries, but like plate armour, it was much more fragile than mail. Both types of armour were also used by gladiators (principally as arm defences). New discoveries in both mail and scale, as well as in hybrid forms that mixed the two, mean that much more is now known about the development of these types of defence during the Roman period, their efficacy in battle and how they were manufactured and repaired. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and drawing upon the latest findings, this study lifts the veil on the mail and scale armour used by soldiers, gladiators and others during the heyday of Imperial Rome.

Download or read book Roman Heavy Cavalry 2 written by Andrei Evgenevich Negin and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-11-26 with total page 65 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the twilight of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th–6th centuries, the elite of the field armies was the heavy armoured cavalry – the cataphracts, clad in lamellar, scale, mail and padded fabric armour. After the fall of the West, the Greek-speaking Eastern or Byzantine Empire survived for nearly a thousand years, and cavalry remained predominant in its armies, with the heaviest armoured regiments continuing to provide the ultimate shock-force in battle. Accounts from Muslim chroniclers show that the ironclad cataphract on his armoured horse was an awe-inspiring enemy: '...they advanced against you, iron-covered – one would have said that they advanced on horses which seemed to have no legs'. This new study, replete with stunning full-colour illustrations of the various units, offers an engaging insight into the fearsome heavy cavalry units that battled against the enemies of Rome's Eastern Empire.

Download or read book Roman Legionary AD 284 337 written by Ross Cowan and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-04-20 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Diocletian and Constantine were the greatest of the Late Roman emperors, and their era marks the climax of the legionary system. Under Constantine's successors the legions were reduced in size and increasingly sidelined in favour of new units of elite auxilia, but between AD 284 and 337 the legions reigned supreme. The legionaries defeated all-comers and spearheaded a stunning Roman revival that humbled the Persian Empire and reduced the mighty Goths and Sarmatians to the status of vassals. This title details the equipment, background, training and combat experience of the men from all parts of the empire who made up the backbone of Rome's legions in this pivotal period.

Download or read book The Battle of the Catalaunian Fields AD 451 written by Evan Michael Schultheis and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2019-01-30 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A reassessment of the famous fifth-century clash between Hun and Roman forces: “An excellent job of research with original documents.” —The Past in Review This book reconsiders the evidence for Attila the Hun’s most famous battle, the climax of his invasion of the Western Roman Empire that had reached as far as Orleans in France. Traditionally considered one of the pivotal battles in European history, saving the West from conquest by the Huns, the Catalaunian Fields is here revealed to be significant but less immediately decisive than claimed. This new study exposes oversimplified views of Attila’s army, which was a sophisticated and complex all-arms force, drawn from the Huns and their many allies and subjects. The ‘Roman’ forces, largely consisting of Visigoth and Alan allies, are also analyzed in detail. The author, a reenactor of the period, describes the motives and tactics of both sides. Drawing on the latest historiography and research of the primary sources, and utilizing Roman military manuals, Evan Schultheis offers a completely new tactical analysis of the battle and a drastic reconsideration of Hun warfare, the Roman use of federates, and the ethnography of the Germanic peoples who fought for either side. The result is a fresh and thorough case study of battle in the fifth century. Includes maps and illustrations

Download or read book Byzantine Cavalryman C 900 1204 written by Timothy Dawson and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 2009-08-18 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Osprey's study of the Byzantine cavalrymen, who were regarded as the elite arm of the military during the Middle Byzantine period (867-1204). The cavalry executed high speed reconnaissance, agile arrow barrages and crippling blows to enemy formations. Its ranks were filled primarily through direct recruitment or hereditary service by holders of military lands, but in times of crisis irregulars would be temporarily enlisted. Few books provide any accessible study of the medieval Romaic soldier's life, and this colorful addition to the Warrior series seeks to redress this imbalance. Offering a thorough and detailed examination of their training, weaponry, dress and daily life, this book re-affirms the importance of cavalry troops in military victories of the period. Making use of original Greek source material, and featuring unpublished manuscript images, this follow-on volume to Warrior 118 Byzantine Infantryman c.900-1204 brings the world of the Byzantine cavalryman vividly to life.

Download or read book Late Roman Army written by Karen R. Dixon and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-06-23 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using a full range of original literary sources, modern Continental scholarship, and current archaeological research, Pat Southern and Karen R. Dixon provide a stimulating overview of the historical period, the critical changes in the army, and the way these changes affected the morale of the soldiers.

Download or read book Armies of Julius Caesar 58 44 BC written by Raffaele D’Amato and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-09-16 with total page 65 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gaius Julius Caesar remains the most famous Roman general of all time. Although he never bore the title, historians since Suetonius have judged him to be, in practice, the very first 'emperor' – after all, no other name in history has been synonymous with a title of imperial rule. Caesar was a towering personality who, for better or worse, changed the history of Rome forever. His unscrupulous ambition was matched only by his genius as a commander and his conquest of Gaul brought Rome its first great territorial expansion outside the Mediterranean world. His charismatic leadership bounded his soldiers to him not only for expeditions 'beyond the edge of the world' – to Britain – but in the subsequent civil war that raised him to ultimate power. What is seldom appreciated, however is that the army he led was as varied and cosmopolitan as those of later centuries, and it is only recently that a wider study of a whole range of evidence has allowed a more precise picture of it to emerge. Drawing on a wide range of new research, the authors examine the armies of Julius Caesar in detail, creating a detailed picture of how they lived and fought.

Download or read book Catalaunian Fields AD 451 written by Simon MacDowall and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-09-20 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A description of Attila the Hun's invasion of Gaul in AD 451, the Roman response and the eventual battle of Chalons. The battle of the Catalaunian Fields saw two massive, powerful empires square up in a conflict that was to shape the course of Eurasian history forever. For despite the Roman victory, the Roman Empire would not survive for more than 15 years following the battle, whilst the Huns, shattered and demoralized, would meet their downfall against a coalition of German tribes soon after. This book, using revealing bird's-eye-views of the plains of Champagne and detailed illustrations of the opposing warriors in the midst of desperate combat, describes the fighting at the Catalaunian Fields and reveals the broader campaign of Hunnic incursion that led up to it. Drawing on the latest research, Simon MacDowall reveals the shocking intensity and appalling casualties of the battle, whilst assessing the wider significance and consequences of the campaign.