According to Simon Elliott, Gnaeus Julius Agricola was Roman Britain’s greatest warrior governor. Perhaps. It is a bold statement and one that drives Elliott’s analysis in his latest book, Agricola in Scotland. Elliott sets up the imperial context for Agricola’s governorship of Britain, from 77 to 83 CE, while along the way he describes many of the elements behind that fascinating story of conquest. Elliott begins with some Roman history 101, providing general context for the empire and the provinces, particularly Britain. This includes a glossary of key terms used in the book. After a chapter with an overview of the Republic and Principate Empire, Elliott digs into the Roman military system, again working from the most basic level. This covers the Legions and Auxiliaries, their weapons and armour, and the regional fleets. He moves onto a general description of Roman Britain in the later First Century CE, including its geography, which would prove so important in Agricola’s campaigns... Read more
Neil Smith
According to Simon Elliott, Gnaeus Julius Agricola was Roman Britain’s greatest warrior governor. Perhaps. It is a bold statement and one that drives Elliott’s analysis in his latest book, Agricola in Scotland. Elliott sets up the imperial context for Agricola’s governorship of Britain, from 77 to 83 CE, while along the way he describes many of the elements behind that fascinating story of conquest. Elliott begins with some Roman history 101, providing general context for the empire and the provinces, particularly Britain. This includes a glossary of key terms used in the book. After a chapter with an overview of the Republic and Principate Empire, Elliott digs into the Roman military system, again working from the most basic level. This covers the Legions and Auxiliaries, their weapons and armour, and the regional fleets. He moves onto a general description of Roman Britain in the later First Century CE, including its geography, which would prove so important in Agricola’s campaigns... Read more
Neil Smith
As featured in English translation: In a completely different style, but still in English, Lindsay Powell's Tiberius, with a preface by Penelope J. Goodman (Pen & Sword Military), evokes a largely unknown emperor, caught between the figure of his immense predecessor, Augustus, and his highly controversial successor, Caligula. Tiberius was above all a competent and effective military man, promoted in the shadow of the popular and flamboyant Germanicus to the rank of designated heir to the Empire. The author deciphers in rich detail the stages of his long-thwarted rise to power. Urged on by his mother, Livia, Augustus's wife, Tiberius was for a long time merely a backup in his father-in-law's dynastic plans. The book devotes an entire chapter to the decisive campaigns led by Tiberius in Illyricum and Germania. The work also includes numerous appendices and a remarkably rich bibliography. Very comprehensive, this biography offers a particularly positive assessment of Tiberius's reign, leaving.. Read more
VaeVictis Magazine - July/August 2025
As featured in English translation: In a completely different style, but still in English, Lindsay Powell's Tiberius, with a preface by Penelope J. Goodman (Pen & Sword Military), evokes a largely unknown emperor, caught between the figure of his immense predecessor, Augustus, and his highly controversial successor, Caligula. Tiberius was above all a competent and effective military man, promoted in the shadow of the popular and flamboyant Germanicus to the rank of designated heir to the Empire. The author deciphers in rich detail the stages of his long-thwarted rise to power. Urged on by his mother, Livia, Augustus's wife, Tiberius was for a long time merely a backup in his father-in-law's dynastic plans. The book devotes an entire chapter to the decisive campaigns led by Tiberius in Illyricum and Germania. The work also includes numerous appendices and a remarkably rich bibliography. Very comprehensive, this biography offers a particularly positive assessment of Tiberius's reign, leaving.. Read more
VaeVictis Magazine - July/August 2025
"This collection of essays was informative and entertaining, and it should prove useful for lay-readers as well as experts in Roman Republican warfare."
Read the full review [link=https://hamsterwrangler.com/beating-tsundoku/in-the-company-of-the-gods/]here[/link]
BEATING TSUNDOKU - Robert Neil Smith - writer, editor, researcher, and tutor.
"This collection of essays was informative and entertaining, and it should prove useful for lay-readers as well as experts in Roman Republican warfare."
Read the full review [link=https://hamsterwrangler.com/beating-tsundoku/in-the-company-of-the-gods/]here[/link]
BEATING TSUNDOKU - Robert Neil Smith - writer, editor, researcher, and tutor.
I recommend it to research libraries and serious scholars alike.
BMCR - April 2025
I recommend it to research libraries and serious scholars alike.
BMCR - April 2025
[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars
Great book.
As someone who found later in life that my family has witches in our past and current it always fascinated me.
Especially when none of us knew of the past yet able do things that sadly centuries ago people would been hounded for.
It's sad history that has happened and good find book that reflects this.
NetGalley, Karen Bull
[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars
Great book.
As someone who found later in life that my family has witches in our past and current it always fascinated me.
Especially when none of us knew of the past yet able do things that sadly centuries ago people would been hounded for.
It's sad history that has happened and good find book that reflects this.
NetGalley, Karen Bull
Tiberius
History has not been kind to the memory of Tiberius Caesar (42 BC-AD 37), second emperor of the Romans. His reputation for capable generalship and sensible civic leadership are marred by reports of cruelty, treason trials and sexual depravity. Some historians have described him as a ‘tyrant’ or even a ‘monster’. But does he deserve this negative… Read more...
