This is a detailed study of the armies of Rome and their enemies, including the Etruscans, Samnites, Carthaginians, Celts, Macedonians, Gauls, Huns, Sassanids, Persians and Turks. It is an incredible visual reference of the fighting men of Rome and their enemies, from the earliest settlement on the River Tiber in the 8th century BC to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. It offers a concise and authoritative overview of the rise of the Roman Empire, its campaigns, conquests and tactics, with detailed information on the men at arms. It includes coverage of the Roman navy and sea battles, as well as the artillery pieces, siege engines, defenses and military structures built by the army - from the north-west reaches of the empire to the far east. It is illustrated with over 670 images of military dress, weapons, galleys, ballistas and fortifications. This book details the uniforms of the Roman army and its enemies, from the first decades of tribal warfare in Italy, through the republican and imperial periods, up to the end of the eastern Roman Empire. It includes expert insight into the army's astonishing engineering feats, the discipline of the legions and the relentless expansion of the empire. Including information on the arms and clothing of the Carthaginians, Persians, Huns and Turks and other enemies of Rome, the book is a definitive and accessible visual study of the military dress of the period. There is also a fascinating history of the Roman's artillery, siege engines and fortifications, and a special section on the founding and expansion of its navy.

The uniforms of the fighting men of the American War of Independence are a vivid illustration of the difficulties and complexities of the conflict, and this book brings together for the first time a sweeping survey of what they should have worn, what they really wore, how they were armed, and what they carried with them. As well as illustrations of the soldiers, equipment and kit - with over 450 in total and an unrivalled level of detail in the depiction of the uniforms - the campaigns and battles are explained with specially commissioned maps and plans, and plates and fine-art paintings of the period.

The military history of the ancient peoples of the Middle East encompasses the rise, the rule and the decline and fall of a succession of great empire-builders – from the Sumerians and Akkadians in the 23rd century BCE to the Macedonians led by Alexander the Great in c.330BCE. In the course of these millennia, great military minds developed the war chariot, the cavalry charge of mounted soldiers, the fierce and disciplined infantry formations of the Greek or Macedonian phalanx; they invented the siege tower, battering ram, onager catapult and other tools used to gain entry to a heavily fortified city. Fighting men wielded dagger, sword, bow and arrows, hammer, pike, spear and the 20ft (6m) sarissa used by the Macedonians; they and their leaders developed body armour, greaves, helmets and a variety of shields to protect themselves. In tactics, clothing, weaponry and other equipment of war, military men learned from both their allies and their enemies as they searched for the improvements that would give them the edge when they most needed it – in battle. This book details the costume of the ancient Greek armies and its enemies, from the first decades of tribal battles through the Peloponnesian wars, up to the end of Alexander’s eastern Empire. A detailed and accessible visual study of the fighting dress and arms of the period, it is also a glimpse of the complexity in a vast period and area. The volume explores the arms, armour and military clothing of some of the great ancient peoples: the Sumerians, the Hittites, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Persians and the Macedonians. A very large number of peoples – many of them nomads – came into decisive contact with these eight kingdoms, including Scythians, Phrygians, Hebrews, the Sea Peoples, the Mitanni and the Medes. Two vast empires, those of the Persians under the Achaemenid dynasty and the Macedonians led by Alexander the Great, arose on opposite sides of the ancient world. They came into deadly contact after the Persians had twice attempted and twice failed to invade Greece; and after the Macedonians had conquered Greece in the aftermath of that great clash of civilizations. Alexander took over the Persian empire that Cyrus the Great had built, but then his empire in turn lost its own landholding to internal squabbles and settlements, to be finally overcome by that great behemoth of the ancient world, Rome. With evocative fine art paintings and sculptures and the 600 specially commissioned illustrations, this lavish, intensively researched volume offers an unprecedented study of the uniforms of the period.