Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime & FREE Returns

FREE delivery: Thursday, July 22 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Details

Only 2 left in stock (more on the way).

$$20.00 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from	Amazon.com
Sold by	Amazon.com

Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Return policy: This item is returnable

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery: Wednesday, July 21 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Details

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Bradley Ethan Books

Fulfilled by Amazon

Other Sellers on Amazon

$18.91
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: BOOKS etc. _

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 2 images

Follow the Author

Ross Cowan

Warrior 72: Imperial Roman Legionary AD 161-284 Paperback – September 1, 2003

by Ross Cowan (Author), Angus McBride (Illustrator)

17 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Paperback

"Please retry"

$20.00

$14.91

$7.98

Paperback
$20.00

21 Used from $7.98 6 New from $14.91

Between AD 161 and 244 the Roman legions were involved in wars and battles on a scale not seen since the late Republic. Legions were destroyed in battle, disbanded for mutiny and rebellion and formed to wage wars of conquest and defence. This volume explores the experience of the imperial legionary, concentrating on Legio II Parthica. Raised by the emperor Septimus Severus in AD 193/4, it was based at Albanum near Rome and as the emperor's personal legion, became one of the most important units in the empire.

Print length

64 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Osprey Publishing
Publication date

September 1, 2003
Dimensions

7.24 x 0.17 x 9.9 inches
ISBN-10

9781841766010
ISBN-13

978-1841766010
See all details

Frequently bought together

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Some of these items ship sooner than the others.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

by Ross Cowan Paperback
$20.00
Only 2 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00.
by Ross Cowan Paperback
$20.00
Only 17 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00.
by Ross Cowan Paperback
$16.27
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by Game On! Play On! and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00.

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Ross Cowan
41
Paperback
28 offers from $10.01
Ross Cowan
51
Paperback
29 offers from $8.17
Ross Cowan
46
Paperback
16 offers from $15.55
Nic Fields
26
Paperback
12 offers from $10.59
Raffaele D’Amato
62
Paperback
33 offers from $12.00
David Nicolle
25
Paperback
32 offers from $9.33

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Ross Cowan
51
Paperback
29 offers from $8.17
Ross Cowan
41
Paperback
28 offers from $10.01
Ross Cowan
46
Paperback
16 offers from $15.55
Nic Fields
26
Paperback
12 offers from $10.59
Ross Cowan
42
Paperback
33 offers from $11.82
Nic Fields
89
Paperback
32 offers from $15.59

Special offers and product promotions

Amazon Business: Make the most of your Amazon Business account with exclusive tools and savings. Login now

Editorial Reviews

Review

Produced to the very high standard that Osprey books have become known for.

From the Publisher

Insights into the real lives of history's fighting men, packed with full colour illustrations, highly detailed cutaways, exploded artwork of weaponry and armour, and action-packed battle scenes.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1841766011
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Osprey Publishing (September 1, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 64 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781841766010
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1841766010
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.24 x 0.17 x 9.9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,348,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #162 in Military Life & Institutions History
- #2,331 in Ancient Roman History (Books)
- #2,800 in Archaeology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
17 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		73%
4 star		22%
3 star 0% (0%)		0%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		5%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Doug Welch

Illustrations to fill you in on the Decline and Fall

Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2013

Verified Purchase

This book is one of the few books to cover the Roman legions during the period from Marcus Aurelius through the years of Military Anarchy, a period that gets little coverage but will be getting more now that this book is out. This is the period when the famous lorica segmentata of Trajan's column fame as well as the movie Gladiator disappeared from use as well as Roman troops eschewing the classing two-foot long gladius for the longer spatha. Military fashion took on a far more "Barbaric" look as the Roman army came into contact with more barbarians and came more dependent upon said barbarians to fill the ranks. This could be said to be the transition from Rome to the barbarian armies that rules Europe for the next 500 years.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Gil Cuevas

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2018

Verified Purchase

another good read from that series, needs more detail

Helpful

m ziemann

warrior 72

Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2013

Verified Purchase

Books about specfic periods in history are very informative and give you the information specfic to AD161-284 in Roman history. I enjoyed it because I learned much more in this time period than I previously knew.

Helpful

Robbows

It is as it was

Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2011

Verified Purchase

Ross Cowen goes great guns here, finaly there is some real photos of late roman legionaries, not the hollywood rubbish. very detailed and as can be expected the colour photos help the novice reader see what the common legionary realy looks like! The text from ross is fantastic and flows very well.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Kindle Customer

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2014

Verified Purchase

Good author who knows his subject.

Helpful

John William Lewis

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2014

Verified Purchase

An excellent addition to the series.

Helpful

JPS

A good one

Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2012

This is one of the better Osprey titles. Although it is probably not the "essential reading" that a somewhat over-enthusiastic reviewer has portrayed it to be, this is a book written by an author who clearly knows his topic sufficiently well to be able to summarize it without leaving any of the important pieces out. The author - Ross Cowan - finished his PhD thesis in 2002 precisely on this period (the title was "Aspects of the Severan Field Army") and published this Osprey title the year after. In particular, Ross Cowan's research focused on The Praetorians and the Legio II Parthica, the favourite and elite legion under Septimius Severus and his immediate successors.

The other two main qualities of this book are to focus on a period which had traditionally been rather poorly covered: the third century crisis and, perhaps more accurately for this title, to show how the Roman Legionary and Roman Legions evolved and responded to this crisis. Two points were of particular interest to me. One was to show that the need for a central reserve force emerged already under the reign of Septimius Severus, and was further developed by Gallienus (but with a stronger emphasis on cavalry), and by some of his immediate successors (Aurelian and Probus) well before the Tetrarchy and the reign of Constantine. The second was to show that, contrary to what sometimes used to be asserted, this did not result in a demise of the Legionary but simply in a breaking up of the Legions into smaller components. Some of these would remain stationed in one or several forts on the frontiers whereas other components, which had probably started off as ad hoc detachments (vexillatio) for specific campaigns became the "new" Diocletianic legions of 800 to 1200 strong.

The structure of this book is the traditional one (terms of service, changes in command and in army organisation, legionary equipment), but the author's grasp of the subject and the rather more limited timeframe makes it more valuable and allows for more information to be delivered. The section on the lanciarii was also very interesting. The piece on the siege of Doura Europos, and the Roman Army units that defended it against the Persians makes also for interesting reading for anyone that has read Sidebottom's Fire in the East. I found it a pity that we could not be treated to the full siege but I appreciate that the author had space limitations. Finally, the demise of Legio II Parthica under Diocletian is also interesting, and somewhat unsurprising given their association with the Severans.

I also very much liked the plates, which is also unsurprising since they were from the Angus McBride. The battle scene between Legio II Parthica and some of the Praetorians at Immae AD 218 was, however, a bit problematic for me. Contrary to another reviewer, I had no problem with the living eagle used as the legion's standard, although I felt perhaps a bit sorry for the poor bird which would have been somewhat stressed and powerless in the middle of the bloody struggle. I was, however, somewhat surprised to see both elite forces fighting it out in their tunics, without armour or helmets. While I do not doubt that this actually happened, as described by the author, I would have appreciated if he had explained this rather unsual episode to us in a bit more detail.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

K. Murphy

Excellent source for a little-known period

Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2007

This essential Osprey Warrior title examines the Imperial Roman legionary from the ascension of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus in AD 161, to the rise of Emperor Diocletianus and the end of the Third Century Crisis in AD 284. The author takes the history, organization, and experiences of the Second Parthica Legion, founded in AD 194, as the foundation for much of his text. He uses the Sassanid siege of Dura Europos c. AD 251, as well as various late Classical accounts of 3rd Century battles in the Middle East, for examples of the legionary in action.
Since this book is something of a sequel to the previous legionary title by Cowan, it contains similar but even more concise information on the experiences of the soldier in the army, as well as the chain of command.
Overall, Cowan paints the image of the 3rd Century Roman legionary as a soldier perhaps even better than his ancestors of Early Imperial Rome. It was perhaps more the stupidity of their leaders, and the general chaos of the mid 3rd Century that gives these soldiers their undue reputation for lack of quality. These troopers, lighter in arms than their ancestors and still fighting with javelin, long sword, and dagger, faced enemies ranging from seething Gothic hordes to cunning Parthian and Persian horsemen, and often emerged victorious.
The eight full-color plates by Angus McBride are awesome, depicting troopers of various legions and posts in their typical clothing and armor. The main text and the plate commentary both look at the armor and clothing, but not with overmuch detail. The author does not dig into the debate as to whether or not the 3rd Century legionary typically wore armor. According to the idea of the lightly-armed lanciarii skirmishers, it would appear that armor or lack thereof would depend on the individual soldier's place in the battle-order.
The text draws from a variety of sources, from Classical to modern historians' work to legionary gravestones to weapon hoards from northern Europe, to paint a picture of the Roman legionaries from the mid 2nd Century to the late 3rd Century-some of ancient Rome's most skilled, versatile, experienced, and arrogant soldiers.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

JPS

A good one

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 18, 2012

Verified Purchase

5 people found this helpful

Excellent book on the subject.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 20, 2012

Verified Purchase

What a terrific little book by Ross Cowan, brilliantly illustrated by Angus McBride. I have an interest in all aspects of 3rd century Roman history, and this is the most informative small book I'm aware of concerning the Roman army of the period. Most other reviewers agree, this is an excellent Osprey.

Anyone interested in the topic and period should also consider reading the outstanding historical novels by Harry Sidebottom.

5 people found this helpful

See all reviews