01-22-2004, 02:17 PM
I just got Cowan's book yesterday, along with Sumner's. I'm afraid I am not very familiar with the history or equipment of the 2nd century, so I can't comment too much on what is lacking in accuracy, but I was interested to see photographs of the Dura Europos shields. I've seen reconstructed illustrations of these a bunch of times, but it was nice to see the photos of the originals.<br>
<br>
After only a brief skimming of the 2 books I've already noticed a point on which the author's disagree: whether the "Macedonian Phalanx" in Cassius Dio's description was a unit in the true sense of the word: equipment and tactics, or just a romantic title meant to hark back to the success of Alexander over the Persians. It's not surprising to see Roman historians disagreeing over conclusions, but it is frustrating to know I'll have to read a dozen or more books before I'm able to figure out which "facts" about this time period are just opinions!<br>
<br>
-Andy <p></p><i></i>
<br>
After only a brief skimming of the 2 books I've already noticed a point on which the author's disagree: whether the "Macedonian Phalanx" in Cassius Dio's description was a unit in the true sense of the word: equipment and tactics, or just a romantic title meant to hark back to the success of Alexander over the Persians. It's not surprising to see Roman historians disagreeing over conclusions, but it is frustrating to know I'll have to read a dozen or more books before I'm able to figure out which "facts" about this time period are just opinions!<br>
<br>
-Andy <p></p><i></i>
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.redrampant.com">www.redrampant.com
