Roman Army Units in the Western Provinces (1): 31 BC–AD 195 (Men-at-Arms, 506)

Those of us who have been collecting and reading the Osprey publications on the Roman army may scratch our heads at the release of new titles, but in the last few decades, the output of Osprey has definitely taken on a more scholarly flavor. We are familiar with the idea that Roman legionaries, auxiliaries and cavalry all had distinctive gear as outlined in the program of Trajan's column, but get ready to find out how all of that has changed based on archeological finds from the past few decades.Osprey's earlier title Imperial Roman Legionary AD 161-284 brought the Osprey series more in line with recent interpretations of physical evidence such as sculptural representations as well as archaeological evidence to give us a broader idea of what Roman soldiers wore. As much as Roman military purists were disgusted with film representations of Roman soldiers wearing an abundance of muscle cuirasses, leather armor and Attic helmets dripping with plumage, get ready for Dr. D'Amato to show you that Hollywood may have been on to something. He hypothesizes that such items were indeed really worn and that sharp distinctions based on modern representations (like videogames or movies) that come after 200 years of uniformity and 100 years of industrially mass-produced equipment in modern armies are wrong. I look forward to more titles in this series on Roman army units, especially in their documentation of the changes of military gear and clothing from the days of Caesar to the rule of Septimius Severus. This volume also does some good in covering Osprey's lack of a book specifically devoted to Roman infantry auxiliaries.The book is organized by evidence found within the old Roman provinces with at least a second volume in the pipeline focusing on the Eastern provinces.The illustrations were top rate, Raffaele Ruggeri's handling of color and draftsmanship has put him in line with Peter Dennis and Johnny Shumate to compete for the mantle of successor to the late Angus McBride!

An excellent addition to my many other, small booklets on Ancient Armies.

I feel after reading this book I got a better idea of how unique and varied the Roman war machine was in regards to the individuals enlisted and how they would have appeared. The authors also did a good job of detailing extant sources as well as archeological excavations that bolstered their case of what the Roman army looked like in the west. And finally, the illustrations were amazing.

This book adds another title to Osprey's massive Men-at-Arms series.

Breaks commonly held assumptions regarding roman uniforms in the early empire. There truly were dozens of different uniforms depending on the province.

Osprey books are always very satisfying. They cover the units very well with great detail. Always pleased with their publications.

Very interesting about the broad diversity of the Roman army and the look it had

My son loves this book. He has already reread it twice.

This book appears to be a reaction against the "traditional" stereotype of all legionaries in lorica segmentata and auxiliaries in mail. Unfortunately however I think the author goes too far the other way. While tombs are probably more accurate than was given credence for in the past, the fact they were painted - and that people did indeed know what they represented - means we cannot treat them in the same way as we can treat a modern photograph.For instance shields are probably depicted as smaller than they were to avoid covering up the individual being portrayed - whereas in life that individual would definitely want a shield than gave a bit of cover. Likewise the assertion that a smooth cuirass must mean leather - tombtones were expensive - detailing could be added with soft plaster and then painted - the size, quality, amount of detailing etc. depended on the pockets of the mourners.Anybody who has served in the military (in any capacity) knows that Officers and Senior NCOs are jolly keen on "uniformity". With the Roman Army (generally) at peace for those 200 years - there would have been a lot of time for drilling, parading, training and looking like a formed body of men - not a bunch of "barbarians". Undoubtedly there would be more variation between units as they adopted a variety of cultural items, just as modern armies have different dress headgear etc.These would have become regimental/unit traditions - and the more practical they were in terms of comfort and serviceability the wider they would have spread.Others have highlighted the flaws in the pictures.But if you're into modelling/wargaming with Roman armies this is a useful antidote to WRG "Armies and Enemies of Rome" - but take it with a suitably uniform pinch of salt.

Good Roman History Booklet Full of interesting information about Roman armour design over time

i will have to get me some more 28mm romans to paint some great ideas and this book is in new unlike part 2 which was damaged but in the same package so damaged before posting out

Well worth purchasing, for Angus McBride plates alone, one of if the best military illustrators ever.A good source material for a professional figure painter like myself.Jim`s Figure Painting Service.

Fantastic product, swift delivery!