The Roman Barbarian Wars

“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 Wars: 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

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. Far from reducing the legions and tribes to names and numbers, historian Ludwig H. Dyck reveals how they lived and fought, and what their world was like in The Roman Barbarian Wars. Through his exhaustive research and lively text, Dyck chronicles the history of this tumultuous time, spotlighting particular battles and leaders with a discerning eye. Romans and barbarians, iron legions and wild tribesmen clashed in decisive battles on whose fate hinged the existence of entire peoples and at times, the future of Rome. Dyck tells of how early Gallic invaders crushed Rome's fledgling legion on the Allia River, how the Celt-Iberians repeatedly outwitted Roman commanders in Spain, and much more. This exploration of ancient history offers a stunning window into the epic world of the Roman barbarian wars.

Translation of: Geschichte der Kriegskunst im Rahmen der politischen Geschichte.

This engrossing book pits the legionaries of Imperial Rome against their Germanic and Sarmatian opponents in the 2nd century AD. Shortly after Marcus Aurelius came to power in AD 161, the Roman Empire was racked by a series of military crises. While unrest in Britain and a new war with Parthia were swiftly dealt with, the invasion of Roman territory by the Chatti and Chauci peoples heralded a resurgent threat from the empire's European neighbours. Soon the Marcomanni and the Quadi, as well as the Dacians and the Sarmatian Iazyges, would attack the Romans in a series of savage conflicts that continued until AD 175 and would see the first invasion of Roman Italy since the beginning of the 1st century BC. In this book, the two sides' objectives, weapons and equipment and fighting styles are assessed and compared in the context of three featured battles: Carnuntum (170), where a Roman legion was vanquished and Italy invaded; the 'Battle on the Ice' (172), where the Romans fought their lighter-armed Iazyges opponents on the frozen Danube; and the so-called 'Miracle of the Rain' (174), during which a trapped Roman force facing annihilation was able to defeat numerically superior Germanic forces. Photographs, specially commissioned artwork plates and mapping complement the authoritative text in this engrossing study of Imperial Rome at war.

Rome's Gothic Wars is a concise introduction to research on the Roman Empire's relations with one of the most important barbarian groups of the ancient world. The book uses archaeological and historical evidence to look not just at the course of events, but at the social and political causes of conflict between the empire and its Gothic neighbours. In eight chapters, Michael Kulikowski traces the history of Romano-Gothic relations from their earliest stage in the third century, through the development of strong Gothic politics in the early fourth century, until the entry of many Goths into the empire in 376 and the catastrophic Gothic war that followed. The book closes with a detailed look at the career of Alaric, the powerful Gothic general who sacked the city of Rome in 410.

This volume focuses on the changing relationship between warfare and the Roman citizenry; from the Republic, when war was at the heart of Roman life, through to the Principate, when it was confined to professional soldiers, and to the Late Empire and the Roman army's eventual failure.

*Includes pictures *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading The birth of Europe as people know it today was hardly an easy and effortless process. The Old World was reshaped by centuries of continuous wars, raids, and the falls and rises of empires. The most turbulent of these events happened at the beginning of the Middle Ages, from the 3rd-7th centuries CE. This was the time when the old slave society gave way to the feudal system that marked the latter Middle Ages, and it was also a period of battles between the Roman Empire and various barbarian peoples. The Roman Emperors waged wars, made and broke alliances, and bribed and negotiated with chieftains of various "barbarian" tribes to preserve the territorial integrity of their Empires, but the razor-edge division between the civilized world of the Romans and that of the "savages" that threatened their borders was dulling with every decade. In fact, the constant need for army recruits swelled the Roman legions with barbarian foederati, a phenomenon that forced both the Romans and Byzantines to use a very subtle way of playing the barbarian tribes against each other via diplomatic schemes and bountiful rewards. A new religion was also taking root: Christianity became a reason for both unification and division, as different people adopted different variations of its teachings. It is true that the Vandals sacked Rome in 455 AD, but even that act was a unique historical accomplishment in itself as they were only the third people to inflict such destruction on one of the world's greatest cities. Despite living on the lawless marchlands of the Roman Empire, the Vandals were able to establish two different kingdoms, and introduce a fairly complicated code of royal succession, that gave stability to their people for some time. The Vandals also proved to be an extremely clever people in their use of violence and war, as they rarely engaged in violence for its own sake. They also often employed clever tactics on the battlefield to defeat the larger and more sophisticated armies of the Romans, and later, the Byzantines. It goes without saying that the Goths played an integral part in the history of Europe during this time, and they remain among the most notorious and controversial groups in history. By the 4th century CE, The Goths were among the prominent barbarian groups who became a threat to the Roman Empire, but they also had contacts with the Romans well before then, and they even traded for awhile. The two branches of the Goths that are best known, the Visigoths and Ostrogoths, stared down the Roman Empire as it neared its collapse and supplanted it with a kingdom in Italy in the 5th and 6th centuries respectively. The Visigoth leader Alaric and the Ostrogoth leader Theodoric are still well-known names due to their deeds and reigns in Europe. In addition to the Visigoths' conflicts with Rome, the ancient author Jordanes has helped keep the Goths relevant with his seminal work The Origin and Deeds of the Goths, which traces the group's history all the way back to about 1500 BCE and covers their migrations and wars on the European continent. While some still discount Jordanes' work as outright fiction, most historians still believe that it's a valuable historical work, and they continue to rely on it in attempts to study and trace the history of the Goths and their various branches over time. The Goths and Vandals: The History and Legacy of the Barbarians Who Sacked Rome in the 5th Century CE examines both groups, and how their actions in the 5th century helped bring about the end of the Western Roman Empire.