The Gladius

Author: M.C. Bishop
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472815874
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 84

Book Description
One of the most feared weapons in the ancient world, the gladius was lethal both on the battlefield and in the arena. Literary sources tell of the terror it inspired, while archaeological evidence of wounds inflicted is testament to its deadly effect. By pulling together strands of literary, sculptural and archaeological evidence renowned expert M.C. Bishop creates a narrative of the gladius' development, exploring the way in which the shape of the short sword changed as soldiers and gladiators evolved their fighting style. Drawing together historical accounts, excavated artefacts and the results of the latest scientific analyses of the blades, this volume reveals the development, technology, training and use of the gladius hispaniensis: the sword that conquered the Mediterranean.

Gladius

Author: Guy De la Bédoyère
Publisher: Abacus
ISBN: 9780349143910
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The Roman army was the greatest fighting machine the ancient world produced. The Roman Empire depended on soldiers not just to win its wars, defend its frontiers and control the seas but also to act as the engine of the state. Roman legionaries and auxiliaries came from across the Roman world and beyond. They served as tax collectors, policemen, surveyors, civil engineers and, if they survived, in retirement as civic worthies, craftsmen and politicians. Some even rose to become emperors. Gladius takes the reader right into the heart of what it meant to be a part of the Roman army through the words of Roman historians, and those of the men themselves through their religious dedications, tombstones, and even private letters and graffiti. Guy de la Bedoyere throws open a window on how the men, their wives and their children lived, from bleak frontier garrisons to guarding the emperor in Rome, enjoying a ringside seat to history fighting the emperors' wars, mutinying over pay, marching in triumphs, throwing their weight around in city streets, and enjoying esteem in honorable retirement.

The Spatha

Author: M.C. Bishop
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 147283240X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 81

Book Description
Adopted from the Celts in the 1st century BC, the spatha, a lethal and formidable chopping blade, became the primary sword of the Roman soldier in the Later Empire. Over the following centuries, the blade, its scabbard, and its system of carriage underwent a series of developments, until by the 3rd century AD it was the universal sidearm of both infantry and cavalry. Thanks to its long reach, the spatha was the ideal cavalry weapon, replacing the long gladius hispaniensis in the later Republican period. As the manner in which Roman infantrymen fought evolved, styles of hand-to-hand combat changed so much that the gladius was superseded by the longer spatha during the 2nd century AD. Like the gladius, the spatha was technologically advanced, with a carefully controlled use of steel. Easy maintenance was key to its success and the spatha was designed to be easily repaired in the field where access to a forge may have been limited. It remained the main Roman sword into the Late Roman period and its influence survived into the Dark Ages with Byzantine, Carolingian and Viking blades. Drawing together historical accounts, excavated artefacts and the results of the latest scientific analyses of the blades, renowned authority M.C. Bishop reveals the full history of the development, technology, training and use of the spatha: the sword that defended an empire.

Eagle Down

Author: Jessica Donati
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1541762576
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Book Description
A Wall Street Journal national security reporter takes readers into the lives of frontline U.S. special operations troops fighting to keep the Taliban and Islamic State from overthrowing the U.S.-backed government in the final years of the war in Afghanistan. A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR “Powerful, important, and searing." —General David Petraeus, U.S. Army (ret.), former commander, U.S. Central Command, former CIA director In 2015, the White House claimed triumphantly that “the longest war in American history” was over. But for some, it was just the beginning of a new war, fought by Special Operations Forces, with limited resources, little governmental oversight, and contradictory orders. With big picture insight and on-the-ground grit, Jessica Donati shares the stories of the impossible choices these soldiers must make. After the fall of a major city to the Taliban that year, Hutch, a battle-worn Green Beret on his fifth combat tour was ordered on a secret mission to recapture it and inadvertently called in an airstrike on a Doctors Without Borders hospital, killing dozens. Caleb stepped on a bomb during a mission in notorious Sangin. Andy was trapped with his team during a raid with a crashed Black Hawk and no air support. Through successive policy directives under the Obama and Trump administrations, America came to rely almost entirely on US Special Forces, and without a long-term plan, failed to stabilize Afghanistan, undermining US interests both at home and abroad. Eagle Down is a riveting account of the heroism, sacrifice, and tragedy experienced by those that fought America’s longest war.

Roman Shields

Author: M.C. Bishop
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472839609
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 65

Book Description
The introduction of the scutum in the 4th century BC revolutionized the way the Romans fought. Instead of being purely defensive, the shield became a weapon in its own right. Using the top edge or boss to punch an opponent, or the lower rim to smash down on their feet, it served to unbalance an enemy and allow the sword to do its work. The versatility of the scutum was characterized by the testudo, a formation the Romans used offensively like a pedestrian tank. Meanwhile, other shield types equipped the auxiliaries who fought alongside the legionaries. The curved, rectangular scutum survived into the 3rd century AD, only to be replaced by an oval, slightly domed shield derived from the oval shields of Early Imperial auxiliaries. Drawing together historical accounts, excavated artefacts and the results of the latest scientific analyses of the boards and fittings, renowned authority M.C. Bishop reveals the development, technology, training and use of the scutum and other Roman shield types.

Bulletin

Author: United States National Museum
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 494

Book Description

Scipio Africanus

Author: Richard A. Gabriel
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
ISBN: 1597979988
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 452

Book Description
The world often misunderstands its greatest men while neglecting others entirely. Scipio Africanus, surely the greatest general that Rome produced, suffered both these fates. Today scholars celebrate the importance of Hannibal, even though Scipio defeated the legendary general in the Second Punic War and was the central military figure of his time. In this scholarly and heretofore unmatched military biography of the distinguished Roman soldier, Richard A. Gabriel establishes Scipio's rightful place in military history as the greater of the two generals. Before Scipio, few Romans would have dreamed of empire, and Scipio himself would have regarded such an ambition as a danger to his beloved republic. And yet, paradoxically, Scipio's victories in Spain and Africa enabled Rome to consolidate its hold over Italy and become the dominant power in the western Mediterranean, virtually ensuring a later confrontation with the Greco-Macedonian kingdoms to the east as well as the empire's expansion into North Africa and the Levant. The Roman imperium was being born, and it was Scipio who had sired it. Gabriel draws upon ancient texts, including those from Livy, Polybius, Diodorus, Silius Italicus, and others, as primary sources and examines all additional material available to the modern scholar in French, German, English, and Italian. His book offers a complete bibliography of all extant sources regarding Scipio's life. The result is a rich, detailed, and contextual treatment of the life and career of Scipio Africanus, one of Rome's greatest generals, if not the greatest of them all.

The Swordfish Hunters

Author: Thomas Armbruster
Publisher: Sandyhook Sealife Foundation (Ssf)
ISBN: 9780578619453
Category : Fishing
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The vessel rises, then falls into the swells over the Hudson, one of the deepest submarine canyons in the North Atlantic. The crew is hunting the dangerous swordfish, the gladiator of the sea. Through a bone-chilling dawn they labor, pulling lines from the depths. Then - fish on! Killing stick in hand, the greenhorn leans over the railing of the pitching boat, scanning the churning water for the swordfish below. The first mate screams - "Gaff the damn eye." The greenhorn knows this fish is valuable. Boating it could make or break the trip for the entire crew; he cannot afford to miss. He also knows that this fish, one of the largest predators in the Atlantic, is increasingly harder to find. The Swordfish Hunters takes us to sea aboard the Defiance where the author relates his intense, and sometimes humorous, experiences as a commercial fisherman. And it is here, in the NW Atlantic, that he explores the natural beauty of the open ocean against the brutality of mechanized longlining, the technology that has decimated wild fisheries for over 50 years - and the bigger story. Scientists warn that life on earth depends on abundant fish in healthy oceans, raising the question - can the fisheries, especially the swordfish, billfish, sharks and tuna at the top of the food chain, be returned to commercially-viable and sustainable levels? Although the author finds promise in new technology, he also believes that public support at many levels is key. The Swordfish Hunters, a marine narrative embedded with passion, science, and Thomas Armbruster's innate connection with the ocean, begs for that commitment.

Bronze Age Military Equipment

Author: Dan Howard
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783032839
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 307

Book Description
“A very valuable piece of work, providing a splendid overview” of the weapons, armor, shields and chariots used in warfare from 3000 BC to 1200 BC (HistoryOfWar.org). This book is a fascinating discussion of the development of the military equipment of the earliest organized armies. Dan Howard describes the development of weapons, armor and chariots, how they were made and their tactical use in battle. Spanning from the introduction of massed infantry by the Sumerians (c. 26th century BC) through to the collapse of the chariot civilizations (c. 12th century BC), this is the period of the epic struggles described in the Old Testament and Homer’s Iliad, the clashes of mighty empires like those of the Babylonians, Egyptians and Hittites. In Bronze Age Military Equipment, Howard provides “an able and readable review that is supported in the text by drawings and sketches, but there is also an excellent full color photographic section that shows replica weapons and armor created in bronze” (Firetrench).

Illerup Ådal

Author: Jørgen Ilkjær
Publisher: Aarhus University Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Book Description
At the same time that Emperor Septimius Severus was ordering the building of his triumphal arch in Rome, around 203 AD, a large fleet from Norway sailed through Kattegat. Nithijo, Wagnijo, Swarta and 1000 other warriors attacked Eastern Jutland, but were decisively defeated. "Clothes were shredded and armour was torn apart" wrote the Spanish priest and historian Orosius around 400 AD. We can add that shields were smashed, swords were bent and broken and horse harnesses were chopped into pieces. Then the wrecked spoils of war were sacrificed in a lake at Illerup. This book gives an account of the excavation and the detailed studies arising from one of the most impressive archaeological finds of our time, and the reader gains an insight into previously unknown and very surprising aspects of life in the Iron Age. Book jacket.