Warrior
5 primary works • 7 total works
Book 101
Drawn from a wide range of warlike peoples throughout the provinces, especially on the fringes of the empire, auxiliaries wer generally not citizens of the Roman empire. The cavalry of the auxilia provided a powerful fighting arm; organised, disciplined and well trained, it was adept at performing both skirmish and shock action. This book details the many roles of the Roman auxiliary cavalryman, including reconnaissance, communication and policing duties, as well as his role in battle. Motivation for enlisting, conditions of service and experience of battle are all explored.
Book 111
The Huns were the most feared barbarians of the Ancient world, known to their Roman enemies as the 'scourge of god'. Superb horsemen and excellent archers, they fought with a reflex composite-bow that could penetrate armour at 100 metres. In battle they would rush into the fray with surprising speed and apparent chaos, maintaining an incessant barrage until the enemy was sufficiently weakened; thus their very name came to epitomise swift, merciless destruction. This book explores the rise of the Huns and their development in terms of equipment, tactics and society, from their first attacks on the Goths to the death of the Emperor Justinian, including the great battle of Chalons and the reign of Attila.
Book 121
The Pharaohs of Egypt have captured the imagination of readers throughout the ages. Their existence and power have almost taken on a mythical status. In this book, Nic Fields reveals the truth behind these myths and explores the lives of the ordinary soldiers who were the might of Middle Kingdom Egypt. Using rare artifacts he pieces together the day-to-day existence of the Pharaoh's army from archers, to hand-to-hand fighters, through to the "sole-companions" of the Pharaoh.
Book 130
The Taras were the leading power of the scattered Greek states of southern Italy and built their reputation on the unmatched horse warriors who helped the Taras claim and maintain their power. In this book, expert author Nic Fields examines the Tarentine horsemen in detail, discussing their tactics, weapons and equipment and detailing how they operated as mercenaries throughout the region. With a wealth of contemporary sources and rare artefacts, illustrated with specially commissioned colour artwork and photographs of artefacts, this is an intriguing insight into the everyday lives of these horsemen, revealing how they acquired the skills that enabled them to dominate the region.
Book 150
By the outbreak of the First Carthaginian War, Carthage controlled the whole coast of northern Africa. At first, the core of the Carthaginian armies was made up of armed citizens, backed by levies from tributary allies and foreign mercenaries. Later, the mercenaries would become the backbone of these armies. This book explores the heterogeneous mixture of races within the Carthaginian forces, and discusses their clothing, equipment and weaponry. It details their tactical deployment and covers the campaign experiences of the great general Hannibal, who inflicted a number of defeats on Rome, before his eventual defeat at the battle of Zama in 202 BC.
The prototypical 'Roman Legionnaire' often seen on television and in movies is actually the product of nearly a millennium of military development. Far back in the Bronze Age, before the city of Rome existed, a loose collection of independent hamlets eventually formed into a village. From this base, the earliest Roman warriors launched cattle raids and ambushes against their enemies. At some point during this time, the Romans began a period of expansion, conquering land and absorbing peoples. Soon, they had adopted classical Greek fighting methods with militia forming in phalanxes. This book covers the evolution of the earliest Roman warriors and their development into an army that would eventually conquer the known world.
Soon after the Caudine Forks fiasco in 321 BC, the tactical formation adopted by the Roman Army underwent a radical change. Introduced as part of the Servian reforms, the legion had originally operated as a Greek-style phalanx. Now, however, the Romans adopted the manipular system, whereby the legion was split into distinct battle lines, each consisting of tactical subunits, the maniples. Even though still a citizen militia, recruited from property owners supplying their own war gear, it was the manipular legion that faced Pyrrhus and his elephants, the Gauls and their long swords, Hannibal and his tactical genius and the Macedonians and their pikes to name but a few of its formidable opponents. This book looks at the recruitment, training, weapons, equipment and experiences of the legionary at the epoch of the middle Republic, which opens with the last great war with the Samnites (Third Samnite War, 298–290 BC) and closes with the Republic at the height of its imperial glory after the victory in North Africa (Iugurthine War 112–105 BC).