Customer Reviews

Warriors of Rome: An Illustrated Military History of the Roman Legions

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I am a fan of the work of Michael Simkins. His art both in re-creating the arms and armor of ancient Rome, and in the line drawings and explanations of the equipment, makes this a great addition to your library. His text is a basic starter for historical research, which I often refer to, just to save time in my studies! The color plates are in a style which shows equipment and the way it was worn, not fancy backgrounds. I appreciate this style. The photos of the recreated helmets, armor and swords are stunning

Noted Roman military scholar Michael Simkins and illustrator James Field team up to give us a detailed if somewhat less than comprehensive history of the development of the Roman soldier from the late republic thru the rise of Constantine. After a concise introduction that sketches the basics of how a Roman soldier was recruited and lived, Simkins text then gives us detailed glimpses into some key campaigns of Roman history and how the progression of such campaigns influenced the development of the Roman military machine. Alas, the last campaign he details in this manner is Masada, omitting some key campaigns of the triumphant Second and tumultuous Third centuries that are so important in understanding the evolution of Roman arms. Some of this slack is taken up in the excellent closing chapters that survey individual items of legionary and auxiliary equipage ranging from military belts thru edged weaponry.

Linking all this is of course the beautiful illustrations of James Field coupled with extensive color and black and white photographs of sundry Roman military gear from both archaeological recoveries and reenactor reconstruction's. Field's plates are wonderfully fluid whether displaying legionaries on mundane guard duty or engaged in desperate close combat. Each plate of course comes with a detailed image summery to allow the reader to identify specific items in the course of their actual use.

All in all, this is a highly recommended work that if not quite in the league of Peter Connoley is nevertheless still well worth the time and expense of any Roman military history buff.