Early Roman Armies

Osprey Men at Arms #283

by Nicholas Sekunda, Simon Northwood, Richard Hook (Illustrator)

The early Romans were only one of a number of peoples that inhabited Iron Age central Italy. From the 8th to the 3rd century BC, the Romans undertook territorial expansion, and conflict with neighbouring tribes and cultures resulted in open war, most notably with the Samnites. Alliances were created, too, but the rise of Rome was unstoppable. This title covers the equipment, weaponry and dress of the early Romans, from the traditional foundation in 753 BC to the third century BC, where the dominance of Rome was beyond challenge. It also deals with developments in warfare, covering the early cavalry, the pre-Hoplite Army, the Hoplite Army and the Manipular Army. Etruscan, Latin, and Samnite warfare is also discussed.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Roman History, Ancient History, Military History, Roman, Military Fiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published July 17, 1995

About the author

Dr. Nicholas Victor Sekunda was born in 1953. After studying Ancient History and Archaeology at Manchester University, he went on to take his Ph.D. in 1981. He has taken part in archaeological excavations in Poland, Iran and Greece, participated in a research project on ancient Persian warfare for the British institute of Persian Studies. He has published numerous books and academic articles, and is currently he is Head of the Department of Mediterranean Archaeology at Gdansk University, Poland, and is co-director of excavations at Negotino, Republic of Macedonia.

Reviews

[Shane Kiely · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s an (acknowledged) dearth of reliable source material so the book can’t go into as much detail as I’d like but it takes a good analytic (if occasionally dry) approach to the information (that was) available (at the time it was published). Worth a read for anyone interested in a historical rather than mythologised account of the era.

[Vinicius Couto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Livro muito completo, quer a nível ilustrativo quer a nível de conteúdo. O autor preocupa-se muito em encontrar a precisão em retratar a evolução do sistema militar e dos seus armamentos. A falta de anacronismos, bem como a presença de uma vasta gama de ilustrações presentes neste livro garantem uma boa qualidade de leitura, especialmente para aqueles que gostam de história militar.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to learn about early Rome and its neighbors.