"Examines all the possible fates of the famous IX legion . . . takes you on a fascinating detective journey through all the corners of the Roman Empire." — History . . . The Interesting Bits!Legio IX Hispana had a long and active history, later founding York from where it guarded the northern frontiers in Britain. But the last evidence for its existence in Britain comes from AD 108. The mystery of their disappearance has inspired debate and imagination for ...

Since 1975 much new archaeological evidence has come to light to illuminate the immense undertaking of Septimius Severus campaigns in Scotland, allowing for the first time the true story of this savage invasion to be told. In the early 3rd century Severus, the aging Roman emperor, launched an immense shock and awe assault on Scotland that was so savage it resulted in eighty years of peace at Romes most troublesome border. The book shows how his force of 50,000 troops, supported by the flee...

Septimius Severus was Rome's black emperor. Born in the blistering heat of a North African spring in Leptis Magna AD 145, he died in the freezing cold of a northern British winter in York in AD 211. A giant of an emperor, whose career can be counted in superlatives, Severus was in power at the height of Rome's might. He led the largest army to ever campaign in Britain, comprising 50,000 men, part of a Roman military establishment which peaked at 33 legions under his rule. Born into the ric...

"Essential reading for anyone with even a minor interest in the Roman invasion of Britain. Superlative history." — Books MonthlyThe Roman Conquests series seeks to explain when and how the Romans were able to conquer a vast empire stretching from the foothills of the Scottish Highlands to the Sahara Desert, from the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf. How did their armies adapt to and overcome the challenges of widely varied enemies and terrain?...

A concise history of warfare between Ancient Middle Eastern cultures in the age of the Old Testament using archaeology and evidence from the Bible.The period covered by the Old Testament—beginning in approximately 3000 BC—was one of great technological development and innovation in warfare, as competing cultures clashed in the ancient Middle East. The Sumerians were the first to introduce the use of bronze into warfare, and were centuries ahead of the Egyptians in ...

The world of the Roman Republic and Empire is still very much with us, alive and a key companion as we negotiate the trials and tribulations of modern life. We don't just walk in the footsteps of Romans great and small; we walk side by side with them.At its height in the second century AD the Roman Empire stretched across three continents, from Hadrian's Wall in the far north-west to the bustling port cities on the Red Sea, but its influence spread even further afi...

A new study that challenges previous interpretations of post-Roman North Africa. North Africa was one of the richest parts of the Roman Empire, the agricultural powerhouse of the Mediterranean. It was also home to some of the emperor's biggest imperial estates, and prosperous cities of all kinds. Its loss to the Vandals in the first half of the 5th century AD was the mortal blow which both precipitated the fall of the western empire, and set the eastern empire back for decades. Its reconqu...

A renowned historian presents eight of the greatest, most significant battles from the first two and a half centuries of Rome's Imperial period.Dr Simon Elliott describes eight of the greatest, most decisive of the Roman Empire of the first to third centuries. The list includes battles fought from the highlands of Scotland and the forests of Germany to the deserts of the Middle East, revealing how the vaunted Roman legions adapted to extremes of terrain and climate...

The armed forces of Rome, particularly those of the later Republic and Principate, are rightly regarded as some of the finest military formations ever to engage in warfare. Less well known however is their use by the State as tools for such nonmilitary activities in political, economic and social contexts. In this capacity they were central instruments for the Emperor to ensure the smooth running of the Empire.In this book the use of the military for such non-conflict related dutie...

A "fascinating and engaging" study of the naval commander who defied an emperor and ruled in Britain and northern Gaul for a decade ( Midwest Book Review).In the middle of the third century AD, Roman Britain's regional fleet, the Classis Britannica, disappeared. It was never to return. Soon the North Sea and English Channel were overrun by Germanic pirates preying upon the east and south coasts of Britain, and the continental coast up to the Rhine Delta. Th...

The son of a former slave, Pertinax was the Roman Emperor who proved that no matter how lowly your birth, you could rise to the very top through hard work, grit and determination.Born in AD 126, Pertinax made a late career change from working as a grammar teacher to a position in the army. As he moved up the ranks and further along the aristocratic cursus honorum, he took on many of the most important postings in the Empire, from senior military roles in fractious Britain, the Marc...

Much has been written about the Roman army and the mighty legions that conquered their empire and then defended it for centuries against all comers. But little has been written about the men and units employed when something more subtle than the march of legions into pitched battle was required. This is the only book available dedicated to Roman special ops and the role of the Speculatores, Exploratores, Protectores and Areani. Simon Elliott reveals the kinds of special operations conducte...