Rome and Her Enemies: An Empire Created and Destroyed by War (General Military) (Paperback)

~ Jane Penrose (Editor) "Rome was the supreme carnivore of the ancient world..." (more)
Key Phrases: hoplite tactics, phalanx formation, heavy infantry, Collection Ltd, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Roman Empire (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a compendium of previous Osprey titles from the Campaign, Men-at-Arms, Warrior, Elite, Fortress, Essential Histories and New Vanguard series. It covers the whole field of Roman warfare from 753 BC to 500 AD and is copiously illustrated... Highly recommended!" -John Prigent, Internet Modeler (March 2008) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

Spanning over a thousand years and an immense geographical area, the Roman Empire was the greatest in world history. At its most powerful, the Empire cast a shadow across the known world, and its legacy continues to influence politics, art and culture around the world today. Rome's power was won on the battlefield, and the greatness of the Empire is reflected in the warlike reputations of the enemies it subdued. Hannibal and the Carthaginians, Mithridates, the Gauls, the Sassanid Persians and the infamous Gothsand Huns are amongst the forces that battled the might of Rome. Rome and Her Enemies juxtaposes the society and military structure of each of these peoples with those of the contemporary Roman army. It is divided into four chronological sections focusing on all the major wars and battles. It is lavishly illustrated throughout, and color photographs, artwork and maps support the text to provide a comprehensive introduction to the rise and fall of an empire created and destroyed by war.

Introduction by Tom Holland, bestselling author of "Persian Fire" and "Rubicon".

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (February 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846033365
• ISBN-13: 978-1846033360
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #356,129 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Rome and Her Enemies, September 24, 2007

By	Rob Gpvm (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rome and her Enemies: An Empire Created and Destroyed by War (General Military) (Hardcover)

This book appears to be written by 2 groups of authors (Note: Jane Penrose is listed as editor not author). 1 group are the standard Osprey history writers. The other group appears to standard journalist(s).
The sections written by the Osprey writers are objective and informative. For example there are sections detailing the training and fighting methods of the Roman Army, Gallic Army, Celtiberian tribes and several other armies. Most of the sidebars in the book are objective and give interesting informatiuon such as explaining the Roman road sytem in Britian. Also the maps and the drawings in this book are clear, colorful and informative.
The sections of the book written by the journalist(s) are based on political correctness. For example, the writer criticizes the portrayal of Attila the Hun as a menace to society stating "his "greatest crime was to be different, in physical appearance, cultural background and attitude towards urban civilisation." However, in reference to China's belief the Huns were a menace to their civilization the journalist(s) claims that those were different Huns.
The journalist written sections also claim during Partia's existence "Rome - apart from a few fleeting successes - had been held as bay for 3 centuries." However, in the chapter concerning Persia's overrunning of Parthia and challenging Rome, the journalist(s) state "The change was significant since the Romans had generally dominated the Parthians and indeed repeated Roman successes had contributed to undermining royal prestige.." This may be 2 politically correct journalist not coordinating their political correctness.
The journalist(s) also blame Rome for causing the Punic Wars stating "the Romans saw an opportunity to advantage themselves" and that Roman expansion was "unconstrained". While there is some truth to these statements Roman expansion was not the sole cause of the wars. Carthage's goal of controlling all of the western Mediterranean (including Sicily) and limiting Roman influence to the Italian peninsula was the other major cause of the Punic Wars.
There are other examples of political correctness throughout this book.
Rome and Her Enemies could have been a very good book but political correctness ruined it.
Hopefully, in the future, Osprey will stick with its standard history writers rather than using journalists otherwise, in my opinion, it could mean the decline and fall of Osprey.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too sloppy, November 22, 2008

By	Cutter - See all my reviews

First off, you can get some valuable introductory information from this book. It's not bad as a general reference, but the amount of mistakes in the little facts of this book make me extremely wary of recommending it to anyone not already well versed in Roman history.

Just one example: The author does not know the differance between a military Tribune and the office of Tribune of the Plebs. It is stated in the book that the Military Tribune over time became the other office of Tribune. This is blatantly incorrect. The office of Tribune was created expressly to guard the interests of the Plebians in the government, and had no connection at all to it's military counterpart. There are too many such misunderstandings of what should be common knowledge of anyone who writes a history of Rome. It's either poorly researched or poorly edited.

Much of the information is questionable and in cases colored by modern aapoligetic concerns as an earlier reviewer has pointed out. It's ok as a quick read, but you can do much better somewhere else.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Overview!, April 12, 2008

By	Jonathan Nikitas "Luftwaffe-Flak-Vierling" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a great book for those who want a overview of Romes Enemies from its glorious rise till its fall. If you want more reading on specific units etc look into the Rome's Enemies series by Osprey where some of this information is taken.