Rome at War AD 293-696

Overall, this book gives a good overview of the late Roman Empire. The only shortfall is that the author covered too much history for such a short book. As with all Osprey books, this one includes multiple color and black and white photos. These pictures cover a wide assortment of mosaics, statues, architecture, period coins, and landscape. Of note is that these photos are relevant to the adjoining text. This is not always the case. This book has several uncluttered maps. This is important, as Europe and the Middle East were controlled by different groups, such as the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Franks, Vandals, etc. The author effectively uses color and boundary lines to show the different areas of control. In other maps, the author shows the migration routes of tribes with colored lines to represent different groups. The point is that these maps are clean and easy to understand. The author clearly showed self-restraint by avoiding the pitfall of shoving extraneous detail into the maps. The battle maps for Adrianople and Argentoratum are an excellent example of conciseness. Three graphic maps cover each battle, each depicting a different phase. The battle action is then described in one adjacent paragraph. The text of the paragraph references numerical points on the maps. This is a very clean way to provide a narrative of the battle using minimal space. The author repeatedly ties the book together as seen in the "Portrait of soldiers" chapter. This chapter focuses on five individuals, Abbinaeus, Alaric, Theoderic, Narses, and Shahvaraz. These individuals are also described in previous chapters. The author initially focuses on combat and general history. He then uses this chapter to go back and expand on the history of these individuals. It is a nice writing technique that ties the book together and draws the reader back into the story. The final chapter is a fascinating analysis of the Roman legacy. The author discusses the various schisms that arose in Christianity. He also describes how the Eastern Empire developed diplomacy as a practical way to avoid conflict when it was getting weak. Bottom line: the author did a pretty good job in covering so much history in such a small book. That said, the reader might have difficulty absorbing all the information, as there are many different tribes, groups, emperors, and other entities. Still, one would have a hard time finding a better synopsis of the decline of the Roman Empire.

An excellent introduction to this chaotic and misunderstood period in Roman history. It covers a broad time period but does an excellent job of detailing the roles played in both Rome's falls and recoveries by Christians, Barbarians, Persians, and the economy. It also has a very useful time chart, and plates taken from the Osprey warrior volumes on the late Roman infantry and cavalry, as well as countless excellent maps and battle-charts. Highly recommended!

This book gives a concise summary of the Roman revival under Diocletion and Constantine, the decline of the Western Empire, and the rejuvination of the east that came with Justinian's reconquest of Italy and Northern Africa from the Germanic tribes. Extras include: passages from contemporary sources, good maps, photos, and a few artistic illustrations.

This is a tightly organized book covering primarily the Eastern Roman Empire during the years indicated in the title of the book and using the standard format for this series. I'm quite familiar with this period, and found nothing essential left out--an amazing amount of material is covered in a minimum number of pages in a very readable manner. As indicated, the main focus of the book is the eastern empire, but the western empire is covered as relevant though the German successor kingdoms are not covered in detail. Highly recommended if you have any interest in this period at all.