Customer Reviews

Early Roman Armies (Men-at-Arms)

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This book revolutionized my understanding of the Roman legion. Everyone acknowledges that the legion somehow evolved out of the Greek phalanx, which had come to dominate warfare in the years between 500-350 BC to such an extent that we know it was used by peoples as diverse as the Carthiginians and the Etruscans. In fact, it was from the Etruscans that whom most commentators assume that the Romans learned it, while under the rule of Etruscan kings. Sometime between about 400 and 275 BC, however, two new formations came to dominate warfare, the Macedonian phalanx and the Roman legion. Sekunda argues for a very different interpretation of the development of the legion, arguing that it was done in response, not to the Celtic invasion of the early 4th century, but much later due to the defeats at the hands of the nimble samnites. His interpretation may be radical (and may dim the reputation of Camillus, its traditional inventor), but it makes sense. Anyone who wants to weigh in on the early development of the legion needs to at least take his arguments into account to do the topic justice.

For a book series like Osprey that is more devoted to regalia details and great color plates. This book was filled with a fine amount of historical details that have scarcely been mentioned in most military histories. The author proves his three main points. First, the legion came from the Etruscans, not the Greeks. Secondly, it was developed to meet the more formidable threat of the Samnites, rather than the Gauls. Lastly, he proves how resourceful and tenacious even the earliest of Roman armies were.

This book provides to the general reader a good account of how the "classic" Roman legion came into being. As the authors illustrate, it was a very long process of change and adaptation. They make scholarly use of a wide range of literary and archaeological evidence to describe this process. It is a somewhat technical work due to the nature of the surviving evidence, and one should keep this in mind.

Roman historical writing began in 200 BC, and this book studies Roman warfare from 753 BC to 275 BC. For those not too familiar with Roman historiography, Livy is our chief literary source for this period, and he is not always trustworthy. Do not expect this account of Roman military history to flow like a typical narrative of Caesar's Gallic War.

The title of the book is slightly misleading. Italic warfare was dynamic, with a myriad of peoples in close interaction. The book also covers Latin, Etruscan and Samnite armies. This was necessary for the author to explain Rome's early armies, which borrowed a great deal of ideas and equipment from their enemies. This book is certainly not the first to argue this, nor to suggest that the Romans' borrowed their manipular tactics from the Samnites. This book should be read as a supplement to other works like Parker's "Roman Legions", Salmon's "Samnium and the Samnites", and especially Connolly's "Greece and Rome at War".

The book does not provide a conclusion, nor does it provide an adequate context to put Rome's early armies into. This may be due to the book's very short length. What the last part of the book describes is one of the most important military revolutions in European history: the creation of the Roman manipular legion, which allowed Rome to master Italy and then become master of the Mediterranean world.

Overall this a book worth buying. It studies an important topic in Roman history. Osprey's tradition of excellent color illustrations continues here and complements the excellent text.

This book is one that is informative. It gives depth and detail about the early roman armies that Caesar used to expand his vast empire. I recommend this book to all interested in history, or even warfare. It will be an eye opener to all new to Rome. Great book.

This is a very good basic introduction to the subject - and to be honest, as there isn't that much information to begin with, and greater depth would involve listing small bits of archaeological evidence and going into detailed academic arguments over the interpretation thereof.

The Contents are:
P03: Rome's Early History
P08: The Pre-hoplite Army
.Warrior-burials on the Esquiline Hill; The Salii; Salian dress and equipment; The tribal system
P13: The Hoplite Army
.Livy's account of the reforms; The Servian 40 century legion; The 60 century legion
P18: Early Cavalry
.The sex suffragia; The public horse and true cavalry
P21: The Expansion of Roman Military Strength
.The infantry; Legionary blazons; The cavalry
P33: Manipular Warfare
.The Gallic invasions; The Cerosa Situla; Samnite warfare; The Manipular army in Livy
P42: The Plates
P48: Index

I have to admit that more could have been done to explain maniples and cohorts and the various formations; some diagrams would have been useful (and as the font in this volume is VERY BIG, space could have been found by reducing the font size). However, one of the authors has kindly provided a separate Osprey volume on Roman Tactics.

The colour plates are:
A: The Earliest Roman Warriors, c. 700 BC. Here we see `Romulus' and `Remus' -two exemplars of what Roman warriors may have looked like, standing over a fallen Etruscan warrior (who is holding a long sword in very dangerous proximity to Remus - maybe it wasn't his brother who killed him after all...). The authors also give an interesting origin for the myth.
B: Roman Warrior Bands, seventh century BC. This shows warriors and priests warming up for a battle.
C: Horatius at the Bridge, 508 BC. Horatius dressed in a colourful equipage of the period, escaping from Etruscan and Latin hoplites.
D: The Venetic Fighting System, fifth century BC. Four figures "representing the various components of the Venetic battle-line" showing the different armament of the successive lines of the formation.
E: Roman Hoplites defeated by Celts, fourth century BC. Three fairly uniform Romans being massacred by Celtic warriors.
F: Samnite Warriors, c. 293 BC. A member of the `Linen Legion' and five other colourful warriors; a wargaming-figure painter's dream (or nightmare).
G: Sacrifice establishing a treaty between Romans and Samnites. Taken from a mosaic discussed in the text, this is a mixture of ceremonial and warrior figures.
H: Roman Hastatii fight one of Pyrrhus' elephants. An Indian elephant with driver and three crew in a tower, attacking a group of uniformly-equipped Romans.

This is a set of excellent plates, each one full of colour and informative detail.

Further reading:
Roman Battle Tactics 390110 BC (Elite)
Early Roman Warrior 753321 BC
Roman Centurions 75331 BC (Men-at-arms)

Mediterranean Anarchy, Interstate War, and the Rise of Rome (Hellenistic Culture and Society)
Andrea Palladio and the Architecture of Battle with the Unpublished Edition of Polybius' Histories
New Perspectives on Ancient Warfare (History of Warfare (Brill))

Describes and illustrates not only the early armies of Rome, but of their Etruscan, Gaulish, Samnite, Latin, Venetian, and Pyrhhian enemies. The Epiran elephants and the Gauls are especially neat.