* research guide

MY REVIEWS of ANCIENT WARFARE BOOKS

Greece and Rome at War. Greenhill Books, 2006 Peter Connolly wrote 3 excellent books now out of print: Greek Armies, The Roman Army, and Hannibal and the Enemies of Rome. The contents of these three were combined to form this much valued hardcover book. This is absolutely the must have for anyone interested in the Roman army. This volume contains detailed descriptions and illustrations of the armies of the Italians, Greeks, Macedonians, Romans, Carthaginians and Celts. Peter Connolly is an archaeologist / historian with a talent for reconstructing equipment. A research fellow at Oxford in England, he is also a skilled illustrator. He is a noted authority on Roman archaeological finds, so his superb illustrations are accurate and well detailed. His profusely illustrated books are a superb reference for Roman army life. Connolly is a regular contributor to such journals as the Journal of Roman Military Equipment and Roman Frontier Studies. He has also appeared in the occasional TV Roman army documentary. Connolly put out a delightful series of Roman army paperbacks for Oxford Univeristy Press. Osprey Publishings’ books are known for there 6 pages of full color artwork. These titles by Connolly feature illustrations on EVERY page! Sadly, these books appear to be out of print. The Legionary describes the life of a typical Roman soldier by following the career of a historic figure from Trajan’s Dacian Wars, Tiberus Claudius Maximus. Connolly’s text and ample illustrations are all based on the latest archaeology. Unfortunately, specific sources for his illustrations are not given, nor is there a bibliography. These books were intended for a general audience, but it would have been nice for interested readers to know the specific sources for the authors arcaheological illustrations. The Cavalryman continues the career of Maximus into the cavalry. The Roman Fort examines life in a Roman fort by using the Housesteads on Hadrian’s Wall as an example. The Holy Land is in the same style as the above titles, this volume details what life was like in the Roman province of Judea (modern day Israel and Palestine). The book illustrates the introduction of Rome into the affairs of the Jews, the reign of King Herod, the Roman governor Pontius Pilot and Jesus, up to the late 1st century Jewish War with Rome. A popular title, this is still in print.

Roman Legionary, 58 BC - AD 69, and Roman Legionary, AD 161 - 284, by Ross Cowan. Osprey Publications, 2003. These titles are the best overviews of the Roman soldier available from Osprey. The author gives good detail on all the major points, and they were illustrated by the best in the field, Angus McBride. For The Glory of Rome, by Ross Cowan. Greenhill Books, 2007. This offering from Cowan stands out a bit from the typical Roman military texts. Its focus is on the hearts and minds of the soldiers. Rome's conflict with Pyrrhus of Epirus is the principle setting used to illustrate the Roman military psyche: discipline, blood-lust, honor, sacrifice, devotion to the gods, etc. Various anecdotes from throughout Rome's history of war also define these aspects. It is a enjoyable read, with a satisfying degree of detail.

Roman Military Equipment: From The Punic Wars To The Fall Of Rome, 2nd Ed. by Mike Bishop and Jon Coulston. Oxbow Books, 2006. I am very much into the things of history. Helmets, swords, etc. are really quite sculptural—like art pieces. Indeed, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY has an entire wing devoted to armor. That is just a little aside explaining my interest in such objects. Of course, the historian’s value in armor and weapons goes beyond aesthetics. The study of Roman military artifacts informs our view in how they waged war. Typically, when archaeologist discovery the object is published in one of a number of journals. Bishop and Coulston have done an excellent job gathering the most relevant finds into one text—presenting the discoveries that have informed our present understanding of Roman arms, armor and equipment. The official website has further reviews and errata.

Auxilia of the Roman Imperial Army, by G. L. Cheesman. Although this text is approaching 100 years since its first publication, it is still the defining book on Roman auxiliary forces. For a reference on the arms and equipment of the auxiliaries, you are better off going with the more up-to-date books by Peter Connolly.

The Roman Army at War : 100 BC-AD 200, by Adrian Keith Goldsworthy: A solid book on the Roman army, the legions and auxiliaries.

The Making of the Roman Army, by Lawrence Keppie: Roman armies built and maintained the borders over a period of centuries. Naturally, the tactics, equipment, organization, etc all went through changes as the empire grew older. Keppie discusses all these traits and how they related to the various time periods. A very good reference.

The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire : From the First Century A.D. to the Third, by Edward Luttak. This book is pretty much standard reading for Roman army buffs. Luttak describes the changing methods the Romans used for expanding and defending their empire. Although many Luttak's central theory that the Romans had a specific long-term plan for expansion seems doubtful to me, the book does provide a wealth of information which is extremely valuable in understanding the ways of the Roman army.

The Column of Trajan, by Filippo Coarelli. Translated to English by Cynthia Rockwell (first published in Italian as Colonna Traiana). ISBN: 8886359373. This is the BEST illustrated book on Trajan's column! Another book on the subject, "Trajan's Column: the Cichorius Plates," is better known, but the photographs are small and hard to view. I recently found a U.S. distributor for this title: Michael Shamansky, Bookseller, Inc.

Roman Military Decorations, by Valerie Maxfield - a specialized volume about all things related to Roman military awards.

The Antiquaries Journal is published by the Society of Antiquaries of London. The articles cover a range of ancient subjects.

Bryn Mawr Classical Review publishes timely online reviews of current scholarly work in the field of classical studies (including archaeology).

Council for British Archaeology Offers free PDF versions of archaeolgy reports.

Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies The Roman society publishes the journals Britannia and Journal of Roman Studies. Click here for an online index of Britannia volumes.

Institute for the Classical Tradition publishes Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt. ANRW presents all important aspects of the ancient Roman world.

Israel Exploration Society This archaeology society has published a number of titles of interest to the Roman military historian. Their final excavation report dealing with the Roman weapons found at Masada was published in 2007. Their journal, Israel Exploration Journal, has the occasional Roman article.

Journal of Roman Archaeology

Journal of Roman Military Equipment This is the key publication of Roman military equipment studies.