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Caracalla (ePub)

A Military Biography

Ancient History Military

By Dr Ilkka Syvanne
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
File Size: 45.7 MB (.epub)
Pages: 348
Illustrations: 30+ maps, 50 b/w line drawings, 16pp plates
ISBN: 9781473895263
Published: 6th September 2017

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Caracalla has one of the worst reputations of any Roman Emperor. Many ancient historians were very hostile and Edward Gibbon later dubbed him the common enemy of mankind. Yet his reign was considered by at least one Roman author to be the apogee of the Roman Empire. Guilty of many murders and massacres (including his own brother, ex-wife and daughter) he was, however, popular with the army, improving their pay and cultivating the image of sharing their hardships. Surprisingly this is the first full-length biography of this colourful character in English.

Ilkka Syvanne explains how the biased ancient sources in combination with the stern looking statues of the emperor have created a distorted image of the man and then reconstructs the actual events, particularly his military campaigns and reforms, to offer a balanced view of his reign. The biography offers the first complete overview of the policies, events and military campaigns of the reign and explains how and why these contributed to the military crisis of the third century.

As featured in

VaeVictis

Featured in 'Reading List' part of Kill Them All! article

Wargames Illustrated, August 2019

The author provides a wealth of detail about every aspect of the Roman military: building camps; where legions and fleets were raised or posted; arms; equipment; tactics; ranks etc...

The author leaves no stone uncovered when establishing the background for Caracalla's reign and - to top it off - all of it is lavishly illustrated by the author himself.

Miniature Wargames, April 2018 – reviewed by William De Pretre

As featured 'on the shelf' with Neil Smith

Wargames Illustrated, June 2017

About Dr Ilkka Syvanne

DR ILKKA SYVÄNNE* gained his doctorate in history in 2004 from the University of Tampere in his native Finland. Since then he has written extensively about ancient and medieval warfare and his publications include: The Age of Hippotoxotai, Art of War in Roman Military Revival and Disaster 491-636 (Tampere UP 2004), the multi-volume Military History of Late Rome published by Pen & Sword and the critically acclaimed Caracalla: A Military Biography also published by Pen & Sword. He is the co-author with Professor Katarzyna Maksymiuk of The Military History of Third Century Iran (Siedlce UP, 2018) and The Military History of Fifth Century Iran (Siedlce UP, 2019). He was Vice Chairman of the Finnish Society for Byzantine Studies from 2007 until 2016. He was appointed as an Affiliated Professor of the University of Haifa in 2016. He lives in Kangasala, Finland.

Born on this day - Caracalla

4th April 0188

Caracalla has one of the worst reputations of any Roman Emperor. Many ancient historians were very hostile and Edward Gibbon later dubbed him the common enemy of mankind. Yet his reign was considered by at least one Roman author to be the apogee of the Roman Empire. Guilty of many murders and massacres (including his own brother, ex-wife and daughter) he was, however, popular with the army, improving their pay and cultivating the image of sharing their hardships.


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