Armies and Enemies
of Imperial Rome

4th Edition (book)

by Rod Burr

This is a new edition of the standard reference book for those who are interested in the equipment, tactics, and organization of Roman troops and their opponents and allies from the time of Julius Caesar (50 B.C.) to that of the emperor Heraclius (600 A.D.). The first sections of the book cover Roman organization and tactics, those of the opponents of Rome, specific Roman OB's, and brief army percentages have been deleted in favor of separate army lists to be published later.

The material describing the non-Roman organizations and tactics has been substantially expanded from the previous edition. In addition, more direct references to sources are given to allow those who are interested to further explore. Extensive material for both the first section and the last has been taken from the Notitia Dignitatum for the later Empire. The second half of the book combines illustrations and descriptions of figures with typical uniforms and equipment.

The art work is now done by lan Heath who is a competent artist and a great improvement over Phil Barker's previous crude drawings. This section has not been expanded as much as the first sections, although some barbarians, especially Sarmatians and Sassanids, have increased coverage compared to the previous edition. All the shield patterns shown in the Notitia are reproduced, along with descriptions of the two variant color patterns known for each shield from two different manuscrpts.

Overall, this book is a must for anyone interested in the subject, even if he already owns the previous edition. $18.

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