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5.0 out of 5 stars
The Army of the Principate, May 27, 2009
This review is from: The Roman Army of the Principate 27 BC-AD 117 (Battle Orders) (Paperback)
As a rule, Osprey books are not known for being deep reading. But this has got to be one of the most informative and thoroughly researched titles from the series I have ever read - if only it had the color plates the men-at-arms and warrior series are known for, I would consider it the best title Osprey has done on the Roman Army.
This volume examines pretty much every facet of the Roman war marchine from Octavian's taking of the title of Princeps in 27 BC to the death of Trajan in 117 AD, though this cut-off date is a little modest - most of the material in this book could apply to the Imperial Army as late as the mid 3rd Century AD.
The first chapter details the organization of Rome's fighting men during the Principate. The author's treatment of the somewhat confused battle-orders of the auxiliary cohorts is thorough, and he reveals the crucial role played by cohorts that had been indefinitely detached from legions (vexillationes) for special duties. Though elite detachments of legionaries did not become a prominent feature of the Roman Army til the era of the Severi (193 - 235 AD), they existed long before then.
The second chapter discusses the helmets, body armor, shields, and shafted and bladed weapons of Roman soldiers, focusing naturally on the legionaries. Though his treatment of Roman weaponry and armor is thorough and accurate, Fields curiously ignores two weapons - the bow and the sling - that were promiment in the auxiliary cohorts, and may have even been used by legionaries under special circumstances (there is epigraphical evidence attesting to legionaries of the Principate receiving archery training).
In the third chapter, Command and Control, Fields tackles another minefield of Roman studies - the hierarchy of military command and the posts that could and could not be held by various ranks of tribunes and prefects. The roles of purely military officers, like centurions, are also discussed here.
In the fourth chapter Fields briefly examines the tactical philosophies of the Imperial Romans, and the intended strategic and tactical roles for the legions and the auxiliary cohorts. In the fifth chapter we read of a speciality of the Roman armed forces - engineering, including camps, forts, and siegeworks.
The sixth chapter is entitled 'After Actium' - and basically paints a picture of the Roman Military by describing the roles it played in four major campaigns - Varus' disastrous march through the Teutoberg Wald in 9 AD, the surpression of Boudica's rebellion in 61 AD, the Flavian victory over Vitellius at Cremona in December of 69 AD, and Agricola's 'battle too far' at Mons Graupius in Caledonia, in 83 AD.
The author includes as appendices, a list of Roman emperors, a list of Classical historians who wrote about this time period, and a list of legionary titles and their English translations.
Overall this title is an excellent singular source on the Roman Army from Augustus to Trajan, very well-researched, well-written, well-illustrated, and in short well-done!
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4.0 out of 5 stars
The series continues, November 3, 2011
This review is from: The Roman Army of the Principate 27 BC-AD 117 (Battle Orders) (Paperback)
This is the third book in the Battle Order dedicated to the Roman Army written by Nic Fields. Like the previous installments, this is a great introduction to the subject. It details the organization, with clear unit depictions, of the legion, ala, Cohors peditata milliaria, Cohors equitata quingenaria, Turma and Centuria. You will also get some information about the weapons, equipment, training and tactics of the roman army of the principate, with photos of several artifacts. The command structure, junior officers, centurions and equestrian officers are described (although not in much detail), including some junior officers that aren't frequently mentioned like the Cornicularius. Following the same format of the other two books in this series, there are short biographies of important personalities of the period such as Agrippa, Tibério Claudius Nero, Nero Claudius Germanicus Caesar, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, Cneus Iulius Agricola and Marcos Ulpius Traianus. Fields also mentions the engineering feats available to the roman army, including in sieges, forts, fortresses and camps (marching and training camps). Four campaigns are included so we can appreciate the roman army in action, including the battle orders, maps and descriptions of the ambush at Teutuborg, the fight against Boudica at Mancetter, the second battle at Cremona and Mons Graupius. As an extra there is a glossary and a list of the legions active during the principate and their respective titles. It's important to mention that someone who is read about the roman army won't find new information or rare photos of artifacts, but although it has some minor mistakes it's an excellent overview nonetheless. The series "Battle Orders" doesn't have the usual color plates that we're used to appreciate in Osprey publications.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Short Introduction to the Army of the Early Roman Empire with Shortcomings, November 22, 2010
This review is from: The Roman Army of the Principate 27 BC-AD 117 (Battle Orders) (Paperback)
Osprey Publishing has made a name for itself for offering short, tightly focused and highly illustrated books on the history of soldiers, arms and equipment and warfare. 'The Roman Army of the Principate 27BC - AD117' is the latest to join a growing catalogue covering the Roman period from the publisher.
But another book on the Roman army? What can possibly be written that new that has not already been said? My own home library, which I refer to daily to research for my own books, positively bows under the weight of tomes on the Roman army. In a competitive market, writers and publishers have to find a new angle. The new book appears under Osprey's `Battle Orders' series, which is pitched as covering "command, deployment, organization and evolution of forces in battle, describing elements of doctrine, training, tactics and equipment." Author Nic Fields covers the required elements well enough. The seven chapters cover the legion, vexillations and auxiliaries, their weapons and equipment; the officers; the Roman army in battle; and how the army used engineering to build camps and siegeworks. There are three `case studies', which show the army in action, and biographies of key generals of the period.
Nic Fields, one time Royal Marine, assistant director of the British School at Athens and former lecturer in ancient history at the University of Edinburgh, certainly knows his sources. He quotes extracts from the usual names - Caesar, Cassius Dio, Frontinus, Josephus, Tacitus and Vegetius - but also mines the not so widely known, such as Festus and Varro, for tidbits. The text is also peppered with examples of surviving inscriptions and letters from the archaeological record. At the end there is a chronology, glossary and a short bibliography. So while being a relatively short read at 96-pages it is rich in content.
Complementing the narrative is a series of graphics and maps that have become Osprey's hallmark. The graphics explain the organization of the Roman army covering the legion, century, and various auxiliary cohorts. The maps detail the extent of the empire in AD14 and 117 (but oddly omits one for the start of the period under discussion, 27BC). Battle plans explain the engagements of Arminius and Varus at Kalkriese ('Saltus Teutoburgiensis'?) in AD9; Boudicca and Paulinus (Mancetter?) in AD61; Flavian versus Vitellian factions at the Second Battle of Cremona in AD69; and Agricola and Calgacus at 'Mons Graupius' (Mither Tap o'Binnachie?) in AD83.
The book is not without its shortcomings and errors. The subject of recruitment and training is largely omitted. The long thrusting spear ('hasta') used by the auxiliaries is not once mentioned, even though the iron spearheads are shown in a photograph (although Nic Fields repeatedly cites the lighter 'lancea'). The 'tessararius' and his duties is nowhere mentioned. The personality profiles seem uneven. Nic Fields devotes just a third of a page to a biography of Marcus Agrippa, yet a page-and-a-quarter to the less accomplished Germanicus. Also rather than mentioning Drusus the Elder extensively in both the biographies of Tiberius and Germanicus, a panel devoted to the young general might have been a better idea recognizing his contribution and impact on the era of the early principate. Several of the photographs, particularly those of sculptures and reliefs, are not sufficiently high contrast to bring out meaningful detail. In one case, the coin supposedly of Drusus the Elder, the brother of Tiberius, is in fact of Drusus Caesar, Tiberius' son. And the picture of the sixteenth century Flemish tapestry seems very out of place with the other illustrations, some of which anyway seem blurry or indistinct.
That Nic Fields is very well read is clear, however, the author can sometimes be self-indulgent. Where else could you find the words of Henry Kissinger speaking on communist leadership quoted in a biography of Vespasian? or the racist-rant of Cecil Rhodes on the superiority of the `whites' when comparing the achievements of the British Empire to the Pax Romana?
The new certainly book stands on its own merits but is perhaps better seen as a successive chapter in the larger story of the development of the Roman army already detailed by Nic Fields. His earlier works cover the Punic Wars 264-146BC and Civil Wars 88-31BC in volumes available in the Osprey `Battle Orders' series. 'The Roman Army of the Principate 27BC - AD117' does not offer new insights or material but makes a subject of popular study easily accessible to a general audience.
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