Roxolani and Iaziges

[Michael Kerr]

Eduard wrote:

I have read the article, but the problem is, just as Tacitus does not actually describe how the nomads would have wiped out the Romans, only assumes, Strabo does not really tell us how the nomads did not do the same with the phalanx they encountered. Except for Plutarch and Ammianus, I usually find our sources on Romans against heavilly armoured cavalry rather disappointing.

Hi Eduard, you are right the sources are disappointing in regards to details "especially against horse archers" maybe a bit of bias there. Also pack horses make sense as they could keep up with the riders. But with the exception of Arrian against the Alans (which some think may have been entirely hypothetical, because there is no historical record of a battle between Romans and Alans that year) they seem to have met at river crossings. I think the Iazyges and Roxolani preferred massive winter raids where they could cross the Danube(Ister) with their wagons to carry loot back and assumed the Romans were holed up in "Winter Quarters". So if they met Roman units they probably would have been small. Maybe wagonloads of loot slowed down the Sarmatians so the Romans could catch them.

Regards
Michael Kerr