Customer Reviews

Rome's Enemies (5): The Desert Frontier (Men-at-Arms)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Usual Men-At-Arms series quality, lots of pictures, interesting historical background. Covers North Africa (Numidia, Nubia), Syria (Palmyra), Mesopotamia (Hatra), Arabia (Nabateans, Lakhmids and Yemenis) and a good bibliography.

Professor David Nicolle made a superb job. In just 40 pages plus 8 competent Angus McBride colored plates; he managed to competently give a broad overview of the main civilizations and tribes that lived in the southern and eastern frontiers of the Roman world.

The title is somewhat misleading, most of the peoples described had excellent diplomatic relations with Rome, even policing the desert and providing auxiliary troops and later serving as foederati; though occasionally there was tension and conflict.

With the colored plates you can see good representations of several of those tribes, and in this book this is quite important so that we can see for example Iranian influences in palmyran dress and weapons or the Egyptian Pharaonic influence in the Meroitic civilization. It includes the following plates: North Africa 2nd - 1st Cent BC; Meroitic Sudan; Nubia 3rd-4th Cent AD; Judaea & Arabia Petraea; Palmyra 3rd Cent AD; Palmyra & Hatra 2nd-3rd Cent AD; Arabia Felix & Aethiopia 4th-6th Cent AD and Iran's Desert Neighbors 3rd-6th Cent AD.

Also very interesting are the black and White photos with pictures of statues of palmyran gods; you will also find excellent archeological drawings of artifacts, fortifications, graffiti and petroglyphs (this is one of Prof Nicolle greatest virtues - he almost always shows his sources to document his claims - the mark of a true scholar).
It's divided by regions so it saves space not describing similar characteristics of different tribes that shared ways of living and fighting. You will find information about Western North Africa (including Berbers and Numids), Nile Valley (including the Noba and Meroe), Southern Arabia (Yemen, Hijaz, Mecca among others), Siria (Nabatea, Idumeans, Palmyra, etc.) and also Mesopotamia (including the Lakhmids, Hatra, etc.).

There are two mistakes that stole one star of the otherwise well deserved five stars this book should get. The birth of Christ dated at 6 AD (that's clearly impossible, Herod the great died 4 BC...all scholars I read about that issue refer between 8 BC and 4 BC); and a siege of Hatra at 137 AD (I know of the Trajan's siege of 117 and the Severan at the end of the II cent. - Probably Prof Nicolle is referring to the 117 AD siege).

Very good book and clearly recommended to get an overview of those Rome's neighbors so often forgotten.

I could not give this book enough stars. The plates are beautiful and detailed even by Angus McBride's standards, but the text by itself would still be worth every penny. It examines a somewhat overlooked subject and researches it in a detailed and captivating manner. It covers the following peoples/regions:
North Africa
Southern Arabia
Central Arabia
Syria (including Herodian and zealot Jewish armies under Roman rule)
Mesopotamia
The plates are:
A: A Numidian prince and two of his warriors
B: A Meroitic Lady and two of her warriors
C: King Silko, a tribal archer, and a Roman mercenary
D: A Herodian cavalryman and an Arab ally are attacked by a Jewish rebel
E: The beautiful Queen Zenobia of Palmyra with her husband Odenathus and a retainer
F: Palmyran armies
G: Ethiopian Governor or Arabia Felix, with Arab troops
H: Arab auxiliaries in Romano-Byzantine service on the eve of the rise of Islam
Also has a good plate commentary and, even besides the plates is visually exciting. Highly recommended!

The dealer gave good service.

The connection with Ancient Rome was sometimes a little thin and in some cases it was clear not much was known about some of these people at the time of Ancient Rome. They were guessing based on material from other times.

Considering where some of these people lived that isn't completely surprising.

This is the usual Osprey book with the usual text by David Nicolle and the usual artwork by McBride. Definitely not McBride at his best.