Customer Reviews

The Roman Imperial Army of the First and Second Centuries A.D.

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Graham Webster's book is considered to be one of those definitive works on the Roman Army. It is most definitely that, but as previously noted it isn't for the beginner and/or the casual reader. Professor Webster writes the book with the eye of an archeologist. The chapters are very specific and dedicated to such topics as the soldiers clothes, armor, weapons, religious practices, the layout of their camps and forts, their daily rituals, tactics, organization in the field and in garrison. There are other chapters as well but this gives you a clear idea of what the book is about. It isn't an historical account of battles, campaigns, and politics. No this is a book about the institution itself. For those who are truly intruiged by Rome then this is the book for you. I've read it several times over the past five years and I never grow tired of it. For a nice companion book which covers the campaigns and politics read Hugh Elton or Lawrence Keppie.

This book is probably one of the defenitive works on the Roman legions in the English language today. This is not hyperbole. Some would find this work to be dry, but it isn't intended for popular entertainment. Through all the editions it has remained a meticulously researched piece about that most famous, or infamous, of Roman institutions-the Legion. If one is looking for a light read, the equivlant of the college survey class, then don't read this book. But if one has a genuine interest in all things Roman and reading about helmets, sandals, and other assorted minutae then this is for you. Personally I think this book is excellent and I've felt this way for the past twenty years.

Since I was interetsed in ancient military and Roman history I picked up this title. Not a good place to begin if you are new to Roman history due to the highly detailed mannner of this book's layout. I strongly recommend that before tackling this book you start out with the idiots guide to the Roman Empire. That way you'll at least have some background. Well about this book:gives a detailed account of how the Roman army performed their daily rituals, camp formations, battle tactics, etc. But overall well worth the Amazon.com price and well worth your time.

Webster's book is considered a leading source on the topic, and it should be noted that it is not for beginners. That said, it ought also be noted that it is not for the advanced student, either: those of us who have studied the Roman army in some detail will not find many new takes on the sources we have, except for a very interesting discussion of the Etruscan influence on Roman warfare, which I personally enjoyed a lot. As it stands, this book is a definite middle ground: excellent in its own right, but not adequately targeted to either audience. For a student of the Classics who has some background with Roman history this book will indeed be invaluable, but for graduate students and professionals it does not contribute anything radically new, no matter how elegant and stimulating as Webster's treatment may be.

Written in the late sixties by the late Professor Webster, this was THE book about the institution that was the Roman Army in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Academic and very detailed, this work was a significant breakthrough at a time where most historians simply didn't worried too much about military history. The third edition is from 1985, and it updates the book in several chapters. Obviously in the last 25 years immense material came to light in investigations, archeological sites, surveys, academic publications, etc. So this book isn't the reference book that (almost) sums it all, that it was in the seventies. But through the meticulous research, excellent footnotes and great research aids this book deserved and still deserves a five star rating.

This book can be studied at different levels, because it gives you the tools to dig in your research, including a very good bibliography (divided by subjects and chapters), a very complete index of latin terms,an index of the referenced roman military units, etc.

In the frontier systems chapter we get a political policy overview, distribution of military units and the limites (with detailed maps of each limes) almost reign by reign.

The composition of the army chapter describes the units (including vigiles, urban cohorts, pretorian guard, the legions and auxilia), with interesting data like the list of all the legions, their numeration, names, origins, etc, filled with information like troop origins by period (for example, in Augustan times +-65% of the legionaries were Italian; in Hadrians time they were only +-0.9 %!). Also the organization of the units, officers, immunes (and the list of professions that applied for the immune status), training, equipment, dona militaria, standards and musical instruments. There is a decent subchapter on the roman navy detailing deployment and recruitment.

One of the strongest chapters in this book is the camps and forts, where we get excelent plans of many legionary and auxiliary fortifications, even some that can't be visited or studied anymore (urban expansion destroys many archeological sites). It includes information about their interior buildings, like horrea (granary) or the valetudinarium (hospital), and external ones like amfitheaters or draining systems.

The army in the field has interesting information about roman army medical practices, diet, payments, deductions and expenses; although the tactics and combat sections are a little weak for modern standards.

This is a very worthy title, with nice illustrations and black and white plates, some of them doesn't appear often in modern works although they are quite interesting (like the standard bearer of the ala Petriana).

This book is good reading for someone trying to learn about Roman legions without getting swamped. It's detailed enough but not to much to overwhelm and there is a Latin glossary in the back.

This book gives an excellent overview of Roman miltary life. It's concise and just technical enough. - Hibernicus, Leg IX His

I loved this book!I think this book was great because it had so much information.

the book was an ok source of information but it was not at all what i expected