Famous Battles and How They Shaped the Modern World
by Beatrice Heuser and Athena S Leoussi
Our older readers will undoubtedly remember the Saga of Kormak, translated by Regis Boyer and published by Heimdal in 1975. With this new edition we continue our long-held desire to make accessible to all ancient and medieval texts. Thanks to the Islandica collection, we will publish up to two previously unpublished sagas in French per year. The present volume deals with the saga of the peoples of Ljosavatn (Ljosvetningar) and the Moedruvellir in l'Eyjafjoerdur (Moedruvellingar) from the north...
The History of the Peloponnesian War (100 Copy Collector's Edition)
by Thucydides
One of the greatest military commanders in history, Julius Caesar's most famous victory - the conquest of Gaul - was to him little more than a stepping stone to power. An audacious and decisive general, his victories over the Gauls allowed him to challenge for the political leadership of Rome. Leading a single legion across the Rubicon in 49 BC, Caesar launched a civil war which would end the Roman Republic and usher in the Roman Empire, with Caesar at its helm. This examination of the great gen...
Armies of Julius Caesar 58-44 BC (Elite)
by Raffaele D'Amato and Francois Gilbert
Gaius Julius Caesar remains the most famous Roman general of all time. Although he never bore the title, historians since Suetonius have judged him to be, in practice, the very first 'emperor' - after all, no other name in history has been synonymous with a title of imperial rule. Caesar was a towering personality who, for better or worse, changed the history of Rome forever. His unscrupulous ambition was matched only by his genius as a commander and his conquest of Gaul brought Rome its first g...
The spread of Buddism and Tibetan secular power throughout the Himalayas led to a distinctive style of fortifications not found anywhere else. This book looks at Himalayan fortifications, from their creation in the Middle Ages to their destruction and capture by the Chinese in the 20th century.
Heralded as one of the great historical novels of the twentieth century--and an inspiration to generations of people who have fought against oppression and exploitation--Spartacus is a masterpiece of vivid storytelling from one of Scotland's finest writers.
Landscapes of War in Greek and Roman Literature
In this volume, literary scholars and ancient historians from across the globe investigate the creation, manipulation and representation of ancient war landscapes in literature. Landscape can spark armed conflict, dictate its progress and influence the affective experience of its participants. At the same time, warfare transforms landscapes, both physically and in the way in which they are later perceived and experienced. Landscapes of War in Greek and Roman Literature breaks new ground in explo...
Weapons, Warriors and Battles of Ancient Iberia
by Fernando Quesada Sanz
In ancient times, the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) was home to warriors of great renown. Spanish and Celtiberian warriors, both infantry and cavalry, provided the backbone of the Carthaginian armies that terrorized Italy under Hannibal and proved even more ferocious in defence of their homeland against later Roman occupation. The Lusitanian resistance under Viriathus was among the toughest the Romans encountered anywhere. Professor Quesada Sanz details the arms, armour and equipment of...
Warfare in the Age of Crusades
by Brian Todd Carey, Joshua B Allfree
Warfare in the Age of Crusades: The Latin East explores in fascinating detail the key campaigns, battles and sieges that shaped the crusading period of the Middle Ages, giving special attention to military technologies, tactics and strategies. Key personalities and political factors are addressed, including the role of papal monarchy in initiating the crusading expeditions, the relationship between Catholic Europe and the Byzantine empire, the role of the religious military orders, and Islamic a...
While conquering Greece and Macedonia the Romans defeated an intervention by the Seleucid Empire, the most powerful of the Hellenistic states founded by Alexander the Great's successors. Soon Roman armies crossed to Asia for the first time to carry the war to the Seleucids. Here they faced one of the most sophisticated armies of the ancient world, evolved from Alexander's all-conquering war machine with the exotic additions of elephants, scythed chariots and heavily armoured cataphract cavalry....
Hellenistic Naval Warfare and Warships 336-30 BC
by Pitassi, Michael Paul
The Hellenistic period, from Alexander the Great to the Battle of Actium, was a time of great technological change and innovation in naval design. There was a naval arms race between the Successor States that culminated in a plethora of ship types and the largest oared vessels ever built. Michael Pitassi gathers all the available evidence and comparative data to reconstruct the various classes of warship. Each is illustrated with clear diagrams and scale models, with particular attention paid...
Gladiators (Casemate Short History) (Warfare Through the Ages)
by M.C. Bishop
The gladiator is one of the most enduring figures of Ancient Rome. Heroic, though of lowly status, they fought vicious duals in large arenas filled with baying crowds. The survivor could be either executed (the famous 'thumbs down' signal) or spared at the whim of the crowd or the Emperor. Few lasted more than a dozen fights, yet they were a valuable asset to their owners. But how did they fight and how did their weapons and techniques develop? Who were they? This book gives an entertaining...
Greek Warriors (Casemate Short History) (Warfare Through the Ages)
by Carolyn Willekes
Thermopylae, Marathon: though fought 2,500 years ago in Ancient Greece, the names of these battles are more familiar to many than battles fought in the last half-century, but our concept of the men who fought in these battles may be more a product of Hollywood than Greece. Shaped by the landscape in which they fought, the warriors of Ancient Greece were mainly heavy infantry. While Bronze Age Greeks fought as individuals, for personal glory, the soldiers of the Classical city states fought as...
The Military History of Late Rome 565-602 provides a fresh analysis of the Roman Empire from the reign of Phocas (602-10) until the death of Heraclius (610-41). This was an era of unprecedented upheavals which is usually considered to have resulted in the end of antiquity. The usurpations of Phocas and Heraclius led to the collapse of the Roman defences; The Persians conquered Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt; The Avars and Slavs ravaged the Balkans; The Lombards held the upper hand in Italy;...
Histories of the Hundred Years War have been written, and accounts of the famous battles, but until now no book has concentrated on the sieges that played a decisive role in the protracted struggle between England and France. Edward III's capture of Calais in 1347 was of crucial importance for the English, and the failure of the English siege of Orleans in 1429 was a turning point for the French after the disaster of Agincourt. Throughout the war, sieges were a major weapon in the strategic armo...
While in exile on St Helena, Napoleon dictated a commentary on the wars of Julius Caesar, later published in 1836. In each chapter he summarized the events of one campaign, then added comments from the standpoint of his own military knowledge. Over the nearly two millennia between Caesar and Napoleon some aspects of warfare had changed, notably the introduction of firearms. But much remained the same: the rate of movement of armies (at the foot pace of horse or man); human muscle power as the ma...
The Carthaginians are well known as Rome's great enemy of the three Punic wars and Hannibal, their greatest general, is a household name. While narrative histories of the Punic wars (especially the second) and biographies of Hannibal abound, there have been few studies dedicated to detailed analysis of Carthaginian armies and warfare throughout the city-state's entire existence. Joshua Hall puts that right with this in-depth study of their tactics, equipment, unit organization, army composition...