Forts and Roman Strategy

Forts and Roman Strategy
Author: Paul Coby
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2022-09-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 1526772116

Paul Coby here proposes a new system for the recording and mapping of Roman forts and fortifications that integrates all the data, including size, dating and identification of occupying units. Application of these methods allows analysis that brings new insights into the placement of these forts, the units garrisoning them and the strategy of conquest and defense they underpinned. This is a new and original contribution to the long-running debate over whether the Roman Empire had a coherent grand strategy or merely reacted piecemeal to emerging needs. Although the author focuses on several major campaigns in Britain as case studies, the author stresses that his method's are also applicable to elsewhere in the Empire. Lavishly illustrated with color maps, the book is also supported by a website and blogs, encouraging further investigation and discussion.

Forts and Roman Strategy: A New Approach and Interpretation

Forts and Roman Strategy: A New Approach and Interpretation
Author: Paul Coby
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2022-05-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781526772107

Paul Coby here proposes a new system for the recording and mapping of Roman forts and fortifications that integrates all the data, including size, dating and identification of occupying units. Application of these methods allows analysis that brings new insights into the placement of these forts, the units garrisoning them and the strategy of conquest and defense they underpinned. This is a new and original contribution to the long-running debate over whether the Roman Empire had a coherent grand strategy or merely reacted piecemeal to emerging needs. Although the author focuses on several major campaigns in Britain as case studies, the author stresses that his method's are also applicable to elsewhere in the Empire. Lavishly illustrated with color maps, the book is also supported by a website and blogs, encouraging further investigation and discussion.

World Order in Late Antiquity

World Order in Late Antiquity
Author: Kevin Blachford
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2024-11-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0198882262

The East Romans of Byzantium and the Sasanian Persians competed as geopolitical rivals for over four centuries between 224 to 628 AD. Through a series of intractable conflicts these two great empires would develop a dual hierarchy that sought to divide the known world between them. Despite competing claims to universal rule, mutual spheres of interest arose as both empires sought to create rules, norms, and standard practices of diplomatic behaviour to regulate their inter-imperial rivalry. Defined by contemporaries as the 'Two Eyes' of the Earth, this suzerain order aimed to hierarchically organize those considered as 'barbarians'. This period of late antiquity is rarely considered within the discipline of International Relations (IR) but, through an English School approach, Blachford examines the diverse suzerain order of late antiquity as 'barbarous' nomadic tribes challenged the hierarchical ambitions of two rival empires who both claimed a unique role in the maintenance of world order.

People and Spaces in Roman Military Bases

People and Spaces in Roman Military Bases
Author: Penelope M. Allison
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 509
Release: 2013-10-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107039363

Uses artefact analyses to investigate complex spatial and community relationships inside the walls of early Roman imperial military bases.

Hadrian’s Wall: Exploring Its Past to Protect Its Future

Hadrian’s Wall: Exploring Its Past to Protect Its Future
Author: Marta Alberti
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 166
Release: 2022-05-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 1803272759

Celebrating the 1900th anniversary of Hadrian’s visit to Britain and the building of the Wall, this book presents studies from from the point of view of those living, visiting, researching and working along it. The book offers a realistic discussion of current issues and solutions in the exploration, management and protection of Hadrian’s Wall.

Protecting the Roman Empire

Protecting the Roman Empire
Author: Matthew Symonds
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2017-12-07
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1108381936

The Roman army enjoys an enviable reputation as an instrument of waging war, but as the modern world reminds us, an enduring victory requires far more than simply winning battles. When it came to suppressing counterinsurgencies, or deterring the depredations of bandits, the army frequently deployed small groups of infantry and cavalry based in fortlets. This remarkable installation type has never previously been studied in detail, and shows a new side to the Roman army. Rather than displaying the aggressive uniformity for which the Roman military is famous, individual fortlets were usually bespoke installations tailored to local needs. Examining fortlet use in north-west Europe helps explain the differing designs of the Empire's most famous artificial frontier systems: Hadrian's Wall, the Antonine Wall, and the Upper German and Raetian limites. The archaeological evidence is fully integrated with documentary sources, which disclose the gritty reality of life in a Roman fortlet.

Satellite and Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Ṭūr ’Abdīn, Turkey

Satellite and Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Ṭūr ’Abdīn, Turkey
Author: Kenneth Silver
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2024-04-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1803277130

Presents results from the Finnish-Swedish Archaeological Project in Mesopotamia (FSAPM) pilot study of Tūr Abdin, Turkey. Aiming to record and document sites in this endangered area to save its cultural heritage, the sites consist of fortified remains in an ancient border zone between the Graeco-Roman/Byzantine world and Parthia/Persia.

Ancient Fortifications

Ancient Fortifications
Author: Silke Muth
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Total Pages: 437
Release: 2016-04-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1785701428

Dedicated to the investigation of fortifications as important and integral elements of ancient built space, the present volume results from the activity of the German based international research network Fokus Fortifikation. Ancient Fortifications in the Eastern Mediterranean and is intended as a guide to research on ancient fortifications and a source of inspiration for new research. Ancient city walls and other fortification structures have long been underestimated. Since the early years of the 21st century, research on ancient fortifications has experienced an international boom, particularly amongst young researchers. They approached the study of fortifications with fresh ideas and new aims, and felt the need to discuss the problems and potentials of these monuments and to develop harmonized research methods and objectives. The outcome is the present bilingual (English and German) book, which offers a condensed view of the network’s extended conversations. The goal is not so much to offer an overview on the development of ancient fortifications, but rather to present versatile and diverse approaches to their research and interpretation and to serve as a kickoff for a new understanding of this category of ancient buildings. The book is divided into two parts: the first part includes 12 chapters on methods of interpretation, documentation, and field project organization; the systematic description and presentation of fortifications; the ‘building experience’; masonry forms and techniques; defensive, symbolic, and urbanistic functions and aspects; on fortifications in written sources, the visual arts, and as a historical source; and on regional and rural fortifications, and regionally confined phenomena. Part two is a catalogue that offers exemplary presentations of fortifications studied by network members; it is arranged in four sections: regions, sites, architectural elements and architectural details. The book is Volume 1 in the new series Fokus Fortifikation Studies. Volume 2 in the series, Focus on Fortification: New Research on Fortifications in the Ancient Mediterranean and the Near East (Oxbow Books), the proceedings of an international conference held in Athens in December 2012, will also appear in 2015.

The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire

The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire
Author: Edward Luttwak
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2016-05-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1421419459

A newly updated edition of this classic, hugely influential account of how the Romans defended their vast empire. At the height of its power, the Roman Empire encompassed the entire Mediterranean basin, extending much beyond it from Britain to Mesopotamia, from the Rhine to the Black Sea. Rome prospered for centuries while successfully resisting attack, fending off everything from overnight robbery raids to full-scale invasion attempts by entire nations on the move. How were troops able to defend the Empire’s vast territories from constant attacks? And how did they do so at such moderate cost that their treasury could pay for an immensity of highways, aqueducts, amphitheaters, city baths, and magnificent temples? In The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, seasoned defense analyst Edward N. Luttwak reveals how the Romans were able to combine military strength, diplomacy, and fortifications to effectively respond to changing threats. Rome’s secret was not ceaseless fighting, but comprehensive strategies that unified force, diplomacy, and an immense infrastructure of roads, forts, walls, and barriers. Initially relying on client states to buffer attacks, Rome moved to a permanent frontier defense around 117 CE. Finally, as barbarians began to penetrate the empire, Rome filed large armies in a strategy of “defense-in-depth,” allowing invaders to pierce Rome’s borders. This updated edition has been extensively revised to incorporate recent scholarship and archeological findings. A new preface explores Roman imperial statecraft. This illuminating book remains essential to both ancient historians and students of modern strategy.

The Fall of the Roman Empire

The Fall of the Roman Empire
Author: Peter Heather
Publisher: OUP USA
Total Pages: 605
Release: 2007-06-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 0195325419

Shows how Europe's barbarians, strengthened by centuries of contact with Rome on many levels, turned into an enemy capable of overturning and dismantling the mighty Empire.