Romans at War
The Roman Military in the Republic and the Empire
by
Simon Elliott
This book is oversized, at right around 300 pages long. It is also filled with pictures of reenactors, and art and ruins that the Romans left to us. The author gives himself a hard task to show the whole history of Roman warfare in one volume. Normally, books are written about Roman warfare with the history of it split between the Republic and Empire eras. Even if you are writing about just the actual Roman era, without adding in the Byzantine, you are talking about 1000 years of history. In this book the author has taken up the challenge to show us all 1000 years in one book.
These are the chapters of the book:
1. The Roman Republic
2. The Republican Military
3. The Roman Empire
4. The Principate Military
5. The Dominate Military
6. On Campaign and in Battle
7. Non-Conflict Role of the Roman Military
8. Allies and Enemies of Rome
Conclusion
From the earliest times of Rome, to the destruction of the Empire after more than 400 years, the author shows us this panoply of history. In the book are a number of maps and a very nice timeline of the entire period. We are presented with these personalities: Scipio Africanus, Marius, Sulla, Caesar, Trajan, Septimius Severus, Stilicho, and the entire cast of those 1000 years.
Naturally, given a book of 300 pages, this book can only do an overview of most of the historical information. However, I am quite surprised about how much the author managed to stuff into this book. This book is an excellent starting point for someone who wants to learn about the Roman system of war. It is also a handy reference guide for those of us who have already delved deeply into the field. Mr. Elliott has been able to do much more with these 300 pages than I thought possible. It is a pretty amazing feat. Thank you Casemate Publishers for allowing me to review this great book. Do yourself a favor and check out some of the other books by the author.
Robert
Book: Romans at war: The Roman Military in the Republic and Empire
Author: Simon Elliott
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
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