The Roman Barbarian Wars: The Era of Roman Conquest

by Ludwig Heinrich Dyck

“A great book that summarizes pieces of Roman military history that are often not mentioned or difficult to find sources for . . . an entertaining read.”—War History Online   As Rome grew from a small city state to the mightiest empire of the west, her dominion was contested not only by the civilizations of the Mediterranean, but also by the “barbarians”—the tribal peoples of Europe. The Celtic, the Spanish-Iberian and the Germanic tribes lacked the pomp and grandeur of Rome, but they were fiercely proud of their freedom and gave birth to some of Rome’s greatest adversaries. Romans and barbarians, iron legions and wild tribesmen clashed in dramatic battles on whose fate hinged the existence of entire peoples and, at times, the future of Rome. Far from reducing the legions and tribes to names and numbers, The Roman Barbarian The Era of Roman Conquest reveals how they fought and how they lived and what their world was like. Through his exhaustive research and lively text, Ludwig H. Dyck immerses the reader into the epic world of the Roman barbarian wars.   “I was reminded, as I picked up this superb book, of that magnificent scene from Gladiator when they unleashed hell on the Barbarian hordes at the beginning of the film. Dyck has produced a book that celebrates the brilliance of the Roman commanders and of Rome itself from its foundation to its eventual demise.”—Books Monthly   “Dyck’s details of ancient battles and the people involved provide as much sword-slashing excitement as any fictional account.”—Kirkus Reviews “His vivid prose makes for a gripping read.”—Military Heritage

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Military History

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 21, 2011

About the author

After majoring in history at the University of British Columbia, Ludwig Dyck went on to write numerous articles for popular history magazines. His book, "The Roman Barbarian Wars: The Era of Roman Conquest," has been re-published by Pen & Sword Books. In 2025, Dyck released the sequel, "The Roman Barbarian Wars II: Tiberius to Trajan.

Reviews

[Geronimo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fantastic read. The author takes the reader deep into the world of the Romans and the peoples they tried to subdue; sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Through incredibly detailed research from a variety of types of sources (especially roman writers and archaeological sources) Dyck gives the reader a real feel for what it was like to be there, both on the ground as a barbarian warrior and roman soldier and from on high as a roman or barbarian general or leader. Dyck takes the reader on an exciting ride though his blow-by-blow account of the various battles and the personalities involved in the battles, including interesting details about the various european tribes, their traditions, battle formations, tactics and weaponry. Dyck also delves into the geo-political climate of the time, explaining the roman reasoning behind their conquests and the barbarian response to these conquests.

I have always been interested in Roman history and have enjoyed many books about it in the past. This book makes a lasting and important contribution to the study of this time, has enhanced my knowledge of this period and will be a staple of my personal library from now on. Thank you Mr. Dyck for this great book.

[Sir Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ceaser was made head general of rome.
With the armys at his disposal.
He went all the way to england.
Fighting the Celtic tribes.
His brief incursion to england was tuff.
Ceaser used war with northern barbarians
To seize power in rome and kill senate.
The 5th triumphant.
Then war with scipio.

[Jeff Hein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy to read, definitely not a dry historical text. Brings great detail and reliable references. Highly recommend. Was very useful in my own research for my novel.

[Roger Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the events described in this history of the Roman Republic and early Empire are complex and deal with many different tribes primarily in Gaul and the Germanic territories, this was a very enjoyable and worthwhile read. It is remarkable, given the common notion of the vast superiority of the Roman legions that they encountered so much difficulty dealing with barbarian tribesmen in Gaul and Germany and that a number of legions, particularly under the Roman leader Varus, were actually wiped out. It is true that other military leaders were successful in exacting revenge but given the huge size of the Empire by 14 AD, it is remarkable that the Romans had such a challenge facing the northern tribes. One notable item that the reader learns from these conflicts is that the winning side often took hostages to ensure the loyalty of those tribes they had defeated....and how often that did not make any difference at all! What a wonderful diversion this book turned out to be from today's bleak news.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is subtitled “The Era of Roman Conquest” and traces the history of the conflicts between the Romans and the various Barbarian tribes that occupied what is now Western Europe. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this book so much. I don’t usually venture into books about war but this one proved to be worth the effort. The author has thoroughly researched the period of the Barbarian wars and presents the chronology of the battles in an engaging way. The details of the battles are here, as much as we can know of them, and the politics of the time as well. This would be a good choice for those interested in Ancient History, Roman history, or military history.

[Jane Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

wars and rumors of wars

A fairly complete history of the battles fought by Rome in Europe. Primarily centered in Gaul and greater Germanium the battles encapsulate the gory details of Roman strategies and mastery of Gaul and attempted mastery of Germanium by Roman Legions.

[Miroslav · Rating 4 out of 5]

I keď je na môj vkus kniha pomerne stručná, vo väčšine kapitol podáva vyčerpávajúci opis diania, predovšetkým o Caesarovej vojne v Gallii a germánskom povstaní Arminia. Potešilo...

[Bonnie_blu · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. I had a bit of a problem reading (and rating) this book. The author states up front that his goal is to make the Roman barbarian wars more exciting to read by adding descriptive details that could have happened based on archeological / historical records, even though we have no way of knowing what actually occurred. I didn't have any issues with this approach, but what did bother me was the author's constant switching back and forth between "historian" voice and "magazine writer" voice. It was jarring and detracted from the narrative. Also, his prolific use of exclamation points was off putting. Finally, the book could have used a more thorough edit (e.g., "Carrhae" was written as "Carrahae"). In my opinion, the book would have been much better if Dyck had picked one particular approach and stuck with it, performed a more thorough edit, and dropped most of the exclamation points.

[T. Fowler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dyck writes a very interesting account of what I would call a military history of Rome's expansion from its origin in 753 BC to the death of Germanicus in AD 19. By necessity, such book just touches on the highlights, but Dyck does it very well, giving the reader a sense of the constant state of violence that seems to have been the normal state of affairs during that period. I would say that he shows you what the forest looks like without becoming bogged down in the trees of historical detail. His narrative is well supported by good maps that indicate the tribes and main towns in Italy, the Iberian peninsula, Gaul and Germania.