The Sarmatians 600 BC-AD 450 (Men-at-Arms) [Paperback]

Richard Brzezinski (Author), Gerry Embleton (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Men-at-Arms | Publication Date: August 19, 2002

The Sarmatians - one of the many nomadic groups to emerge from the great Eurasian Steppe - crossed the Don in about the 3rd century BC to displace their western neighbours, the Scythians, in the lands north of the Black Sea. Later they burst into Asia Minor and Rome's Danube provinces, becoming famous for the prowess of their lance-armed cavalry - first as enemies, and later as allies of Rome. They influenced Rome's adoption of heavy armoured cavalry, and in Roman service they were even posted to Britain. Drawing upon a wide reading of Classical authors and of Russian archaeological publications, this fascinating study is the first major English language attempt to reconstruct their armour, equipment and tactics.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

MARIUSZ MIELCZAREK, born in 1955, is currently Professor of Archaeology at Torun University, Poland. He has conducted expeditions to the Black Sea coast of the Ukraine in pursuit of research into Ancient Greek military history, and has published many scholarly articles and monographs on Scythian, Sarmatian and Greek arms and armour.RICHARD BRZEZINSKI is a historian and a leading expert on the military history of central and Eastern Europe, greatly admired for his primary research and painstaking work in archives in Sweden, Germany and Poland. He has previously written titles on Polish Armies 1569-1696 and the army of Gustavus Adolphus in Osprey's Men-at Arms series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (August 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184176485X
• ISBN-13: 978-1841764856
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #744,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction and overview of Sarmatians, February 21, 2005

By 

Richard J. Brzostek (New England, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sarmatians 600 BC-AD 450 (Men-at-Arms) (Paperback)

"The Sarmatians 600 BC - AD 450" by Richard Brzezinski and Mariusz Mielczarek is an excellent resource about Sarmatians. The book lives up to the typical Osprey "Men-at-Arms" series standards; it provides a brief overview, along with many photographs of paintings and sculptures, and contains color plates depicting various scenes. The book is great as it draws from many accounts of ancient texts that mention the Sarmatians.

The Sarmatians were a nomadic people that came out of Iran in ancient times. There were various groups of Sarmatians, such as the Alans, Iazyges, Roxolani, Siraces, and Aorsi. My interest in the Sarmatians stems from the 17th century Polish nobles belief that they were descended from the Sarmatians. They even made their armor look like what they thought Sarmatian armor was like. This book provided me with insight into this subject. This book brushes on this topic, but by no means focuses on it and is only a small fragment of the information contained within this book.

The authors state that for centuries it was believed that the Sarmatians were the ancestors of the Slavs, as they lived on the same land and as one appeared the other disappeared. Furthermore, the authors state:

"Linguists and archeologists have long dismissed this idea; but at the same time have turned up evidence of the seminal influence of the Sarmatians on Slav language, art and religion. Indeed, it is now accepted that the Sarmatians merged in with pre-Slavic populations. Both Serb and Croat seem to be Slavicised Alan tribal names. The myth of Sarmatian origins took a strong hold in Poland, where the Alans had a minor presence. (p.39)"

Dismissing this idea into the class of myth may be just a form of extreme skepticism. It seems contradictory that the idea is dismissed, yet evidence in support of it has grown. Perhaps, it just goes to show the ancient beliefs were accurate in some cases, and modern re-thinking only distorts us from the truth.

Personally, I found it interesting that swords with ring shaped pommels were popular among the Sarmatians from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD, as my family coat of arms has a sword with a ring shaped pommel.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sarmatian Knights, March 30, 2007

By 

K. Murphy "Fortune favors the Bold" (The thriving metropolis of Masury, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sarmatians 600 BC-AD 450 (Men-at-Arms) (Paperback)

This book was the first Osprey book I ever bought, but has inspired me to come back for, so far, about seventy more. It is an excellent source on this oft-overlooked warrior people, giving a summary of the history of the various tribes (Aorsi, Alans, Rhoxolani, etc.) and then going on to examine tactics, armor, lancing gear, blades, archery equipment, and lassos. Their roles in the 3rd-5th Century Roman army, as well as their possible role in the myth of King Arthur is also examined. The book also briefly looks at the unique Kingdom of the Bosporan Cimmerians, a Crimean people who combined the military thought of the Romans, Greeks, Gauls, Scythians, and Sarmatians. This is an excellent source on some of Rome's most fearsome 'barbarians'!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very good Source of information, June 23, 2005

By 

Saif T. Beg "Qara Saif" (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sarmatians 600 BC-AD 450 (Men-at-Arms) (Paperback)

This is a very good source of information as it gives you alot of detail without going into various documents or expensive books. The details on the pictures and weapons are excellent and that is why this is such a good book. A 5/5 for this one.