Barbarian Warrior vs Roman Legionary: Marcomannic Wars AD 165180

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

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 empires 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 involve 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.

Author Bio

Murray Dahm is a freelance historian and the author of several titles for Osprey, including Late Roman Infantryman vs Gothic Warrior. He has written more than 50 articles for magazines such as Ancient Warfare, Medieval Warfare and Ancient History. Murray lives in Australia. Giuseppe Rava has established himself as a leading military history artist. He lives and works in Italy.