Roman Empire at War: A Compendium of Roman Battles from 31 B. C. to A. D. 565

The primary purpose of this compendium is to provide readers with a basic, one-volume reference of the most significant battles in Roman Imperial history. The information in each entry is drawn exclusively from ancient, late antique and early medieval texts, in order to offer a brief description of each battle based solely on the information provided by the earliest surviving sources which chronicle the event. Such an approach will provide the reader with a concise foundation of information to which they can then confidently apply later scholarly interpretation presented in secondary sources in order to achieve a more accurate understanding of the most likely battlefield scenario. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Part One: Introduction to Roman Imperial Warfare . . . . . . . . . . . 1 The Roman Imperial Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The Roman Legion, First Century BC–early Fourth Century AD . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The Cohortal Legion, c.105BC–AD313 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Cohortal Legion: the officers and career structure below the centuriate during the Principate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Auxilia of the Principate, 27BC–AD284 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The Roman Army, mid-Third–Fifth Century AD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Limitanei . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Mobile Field Armies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Battlefield Elements: Late Roman Cavalry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Battlefield Elements: Late Roman Infantry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 From the Decline of the Roman West to the Death of Justinian in the East . . . . . . 19 The Roman Navy from the early Principate to the Death of Justinian . 22 The Ancient Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 The Reliability of the Ancient Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Note regarding Battlefield Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Ancient Authors and their Works Relevant to this Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Part Two: Battles of the Roman Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Alphabetical and Chronological List of Battles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Alphabetical List of Battles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Chronological List of Battles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Battles of the Roman Empire, 31BC–AD565 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This “valuable” summary of every significant battle from Augustus to Justinian I is “an indispensable reference guide for any student of the Roman military” (The NYMAS Review). In a single volume, Roman Empire at War catalogues and offers a brief description of every significant battle fought by the Roman Empire from Augustus to Justinian I (and most of the minor ones too). In lists arranged both alphabetically and chronologically, the information in each entry is drawn exclusively from Ancient, Late Antique, and Early Medieval texts, in order to offer a brief description of each battle based solely on the information provided by the earliest surviving sources that chronicle the event. This approach provides a concise foundation of information to which you can then confidently apply later scholarly interpretation presented in secondary sources in order to achieve a more accurate understanding of the most likely battlefield scenario. In writing the battle descriptions, the author has not sought to extensively analyze the evidence contained in the surviving accounts, nor embellish them beyond what was necessary to provide clarity to the modern reader. He allows the original writers to speak for themselves, presenting a succinct version of what the ancient chroniclers tell us of these dramatic events. It is an excellent first-stop reference to the many battles of the Roman Empire. In a single volume, Empire at War catalogues and offers a brief description of every significant battle fought by the Roman Empire from Augustus to Justinian I (and most of the minor ones too). The information in each entry is drawn exclusively from Ancient, Late Antique, and Early Medieval texts, in order to offer a brief description of each battle based solely on the information provided by the earliest surviving sources which chronicle the event. This approach provides the reader a concise foundation of information to which they can then confidently apply later scholarly interpretation presented in secondary sources in order to achieve a more accurate understanding of the most likely battlefield scenario. In writing the battle descriptions, the author has not sought analyze the evidence contained in the surviving accounts, nor embellish them beyond that which was necessary to provide clarity to the modern reader. He allows the original writers to speak for themselves, presenting the reader with a succinct version of what the ancient chroniclers tell us of these dramatic events. It is an excellent first-stop reference to the many battles of the Roman Empire. Pt. One Introduction To Roman Imperial Warfare -- The Roman Imperial Army -- The Roman Legion, First Century Bc-early Fourth Century Ad -- The Cohortal Legion, C. 105 Bc -- Ad 313 -- The Cohortal Legion: The Officers And Career Structure Below The Centuriate During The Principate -- The Auxilia Of The Principate, 27 Bc -- Ad 284 -- The Roman Army, Mid-third-fifth Century Ad -- Limitanei -- Mobile Field Armies -- Battlefield Elements: Late Roman Cavalry -- Battlefield Elements: Late Roman Infantry -- From The Decline Of The Roman West To The Death Of Justinian In The East -- The Roman Navy From The Early Principate To The Death Of Justinian -- The Ancient Sources -- The Reliability Of The Ancient Sources -- Note Regarding Battlefield Numbers -- Ancient Authors And Their Works Relevant To This Study -- Pt. Two Battles Of The Roman Empire -- Alphabetical And Chronological List Of Battles -- Alphabetical List Of Battles -- Chronological List Of Battles -- Battles Of The Roman Empire, 31 Bc -- Ad 565. Donathan Taylor. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Catalogues and gives a brief description of every significant battle (and most insignificant ones too) known to have been fought by the Roman Emperors.