Roman wars against “barbarians” can often be very difficult to cover. In victory, they can be deemed inconsequential or unworthy of special mention by ancient writers, and defeats against “inferior barbarians” were more likely to be explained away or just forgotten about. Even when we have great sources, such as Caesar’s own writings for the Gallic Wars, it can still be a topic with incredible bias. Ludwig Dyck has put together a great book that summarizes pieces of Roman military history that are often not mentioned or difficult to find sources for.
The book’s chapters are largely chronological, with coverage of certain tribes, regions and Roman war within them being the focus so some time jumps occur to give full accounts. Unlike most Roman history works, this one glosses over some of the most major conflicts of Roman history, like the Punic Wars, to give attention to such tribes as the Ligurians, and the important barbarian wars fought between these larger and more documented wars.
The author makes it known that the book is a heavily edited compilation of a series of independent articles that work together to form this complete picture of the Roman’s experience with barbarians. In a sense that makes the book easy to have as a reference, as any chapter can be read without needing to reorient with a previous chapter. The downside is that some of the details can get a bit repetitive, such as giving a lengthy overview of the backstory of a tribe that was covered in detail just pages earlier in the previous chapter.
The scope of this book should also be mentioned as many might think that the fall of Rome to barbarian invaders would be a heavy focus. Dyck tries to clarify with the subtitle “The Era of Roman Conquest” though that is still slightly unclear. Coverage of the barbarian wars stops a few years after the disaster of Teutoburg Forest. The Romans had yet to conquer Britain or Dacia, two key Roman conquests that the book only really mentions in the last overall paragraph.
The research for this must have been quite difficult, as it spans centuries of unclear and sparsely documented conflicts. Occasionally some inaccuracies occur when glossing over other conflicts, but the core of the book regarding the barbarians seems to be largely accurate. For general reading, the endnotes do a decent job, especially when dealing with controversial or undecided topics such as the lineage of certain tribes. Usually, Dyck will pick a side of the argument and move on by the endnote can go in depth on the intricacies of a particular historical argument. This is great to have as history is constantly evolving and new ideas and theories clash over countless aspects of history that many might take as simple fact.
For solid research, however, this book could use some more notes, particularly for scenes of extraordinary or improbable action. Essentially every quote has a nice note showing where exactly it came from, but many passages seem like they should have a note, for verification or as a launching point for more research. For example, when discussing a barbarian war in Spain, Dyck describes the exceptional Spanish cavalry. Special mention is made that the Spanish worshiped horses, adorned them with trappings that included bells around their neck, and that Spanish horses could kneel and be quiet on command. There is even a mention that the Spanish may have invented the horseshoe. None of this has a note, disappointing from a research perspective. A list of sources is given at the end, divided by chapter, but it would be difficult to pinpoint which source gave that particular information on Spanish horses.
Because each of these articles was written to engage the audience, they are full of fascinating depictions of battles and events. From the sources, there is simply a lot we don’t know, but Dyck does a great job of creating an uninterrupted and complete picture of these various events. Getting the feeling of being transported to another time is usually the realm of historical fiction, but Dyck does such a great job of presenting the story that he can allow the reader to really see the events.
Overall, it is a short succinct overview of the Roman barbarian wars until Teutoburg. Even knowing a fair amount about Republican Rome, I found some interesting insight on some of the lesser discussed Barbarian wars, and I enjoyed reading about the famous story of Juno’s Geese saving Rome in chapter two, as well as the iconic quote “Woe to the Vanquished” in that same chapter. Overall it is an entertaining read, great for those wishing to cover some gaps in their knowledge of Republican Rome without pushing through a 1,000-page epic.
By William McLaughlin for War History Online
Mara nyingi vita vya Waroma dhidi ya "watu waovu" vinaweza kuwa vigumu sana kufunika. Katika ushindi, wanaweza kuonwa kuwa wasio na maana au wasiofaa kutajwa maalum na waandishi wa kale, na kushindwa dhidi ya <unk>barbarians za chini<unk> kulikuwa na uwezekano mkubwa wa kuelezwa au kusahaulika tu. Hata wakati tuna vyanzo vikubwa, kama vile maandishi ya Caesar mwenyewe kwa ajili ya Vita vya Gallic, bado inaweza kuwa mada na upendeleo incredible. Ludwig Dijk aliandika kitabu cha kwanza cha historia ya kijeshi ya Roma, ambacho kina sehemu za historia ya kijeshi ya Roma ambazo mara nyingi hazitajwi au ni vigumu kupata vyanzo vya habari. Sura za kitabu hicho ni za mfuatano wa wakati, na kufunika makabila fulani, mikoa na vita vya Kirumi ndani yao ni lengo, kwa hivyo kuruka kwa wakati hutokea kutoa akaunti kamili. Tofauti na vitabu vingi vya historia ya Kirumi, kitabu hiki kinataja baadhi ya mapigano makubwa ya historia ya Kirumi, kama vile Vita vya Punic, ili kutoa uangalifu kwa makabila kama vile Liguria, na vita muhimu vya wageni vilivyopiganwa kati ya vita hivi vikubwa na vilivyoandikwa zaidi. "Mwandishi anaeleza kwamba kitabu hicho ni mkusanyiko wa makala kadhaa zilizochapishwa kwa makini ambazo zinashirikiana kuunda picha hii kamili ya uzoefu wa Waroma na wahalifu.""" Kwa njia hii, kitabu hiki kinaweza kuwa na sura yoyote bila kuelekeza sura ya awali. Lakini upande mwingine, baadhi ya maelezo yanaweza kuwa ya kurudia-rudia, kama vile kutoa muhtasari mrefu wa historia ya kabila ambayo ilifunikwa kwa undani kurasa chache mapema katika sura ya awali. Kwa hiyo, ni muhimu sana kutafakari juu ya mambo ambayo yanazungumziwa katika kitabu hiki, kwa kuwa wengi wanaweza kufikiri kwamba kuanguka kwa Roma kwa wavamizi wa wageni kungekuwa jambo muhimu sana. Dyck anajaribu kufafanua kwa kichwa kidogo <unk>The Era of Roman Conquest<unk> ingawa hiyo bado haijulikani vizuri. Habari kuhusu vita vya wageni ziliacha miaka michache baada ya msiba wa Msitu wa Teutoburg. Waroma walikuwa bado hawajaishinda Britania au Dacia, ushindi mbili muhimu za Waroma ambazo kitabu hicho kinataja tu katika kifungu cha mwisho. Ni lazima utafiti wa jambo hilo uwe ulikuwa mgumu sana, kwa kuwa unahusu karne nyingi za mapigano yasiyoeleweka na yasiyoandikwa vizuri. Mara kwa mara baadhi ya makosa hutokea wakati wa glossing juu ya migogoro mingine, lakini kiini cha kitabu kuhusu barbarians inaonekana kuwa kwa kiasi kikubwa sahihi. Kwa kusoma kwa ujumla, maelezo ya mwisho hufanya kazi nzuri, haswa wakati wa kushughulika na mada zenye utata au zisizojulikana kama vile ukoo wa makabila fulani. Kwa kawaida, Dyck atachagua upande wa hoja na kuendelea na maelezo ya mwisho inaweza kwenda kwa kina juu ya utata wa hoja maalum ya kihistoria. Hii ni nzuri kuwa nayo kama historia inabadilika daima na mawazo mapya na nadharia zinapingana juu ya mambo mengi ya historia ambayo wengi wanaweza kuchukua kama ukweli rahisi. Hata hivyo, kwa ajili ya utafiti thabiti, kitabu hiki kingeweza kutumia maelezo zaidi, hasa kwa ajili ya mandhari za vitendo vya ajabu au visivyowezekana. "Kila nukuu ina maelezo mazuri yanayoonyesha ni wapi hasa ilitoka, lakini vifungu vingi vinaonekana kama vinapaswa kuwa na maelezo, kwa ajili ya uthibitisho au kama hatua ya uzinduzi kwa utafiti zaidi. """ Kwa mfano, anapozungumzia vita vya wageni huko Hispania, Dyck anaeleza kuhusu askari-jeshi wa Hispania waliokuwa na nguvu za kipekee. "Hata hivyo, Biblia inasema kwamba ""waingereza waliwaabudu farasi, waliwapamba kwa mapambo yaliyotia ndani kengele shingoni mwao, na kwamba farasi wa Hispania wangeweza kupiga magoti na kukaa kimya wanapopewa amri.""" Hata inatajwa kwamba huenda Wahispania ndio waliobuni msumari wa farasi. Hakuna hata moja ya hizi ambayo imepigwa marufuku kwa sababu ya mtazamo wa utafiti. Orodha ya vyanzo ni alitoa katika mwisho, imegawanywa kwa sura, lakini itakuwa vigumu kutambua chanzo ambacho alitoa kwamba habari maalum juu ya farasi Kihispania. Kwa kuwa kila moja ya makala hizo ziliandikwa ili kuvutia wasikilizaji, zina picha nyingi zenye kuvutia za mapigano na matukio. Kutoka vyanzo, kuna tu mengi hatujui, lakini Dyck anafanya kazi kubwa ya kujenga picha uninterrupted na kamili ya matukio haya mbalimbali. Kuonekana kama umehamishwa hadi wakati mwingine ni kawaida katika ulimwengu wa hadithi za hadithi za kihistoria, lakini Dyck anafanya kazi nzuri sana ya kuwasilisha hadithi ambayo inaweza kumruhusu msomaji kuona matukio. Kwa ujumla, ni muhtasari mfupi wa vita vya Waroma wa kijijini hadi Teutoburg. "Hata kama ninajua mengi kuhusu Roma ya Jamhuri, nimepata ufahamu wa kuvutia juu ya baadhi ya vita vya Barbarian vilivyojadiliwa kidogo, na nilifurahia kusoma juu ya hadithi maarufu ya Juno's Geese kuokoa Roma katika sura ya pili, pamoja na nukuu ya iconic ""Ole kwa Vanquished"" katika sura hiyo hiyo." Kwa ujumla ni kusoma kufurahisha, nzuri kwa wale wanaotaka kufunika mapungufu katika maarifa yao ya Roma ya Jamhuri bila kushinikiza kupitia hadithi ya kurasa elfu moja. Kwa William McLaughlin kwa Historia ya Vita Online