10-26-2012, 07:04 PM
Here is a short review of "The Army of Diocletian" by Lecki, 2012:
Regards,
John
“The Cavalry of Diocletian: Origin, Organization, Tactics, Weapons”, Piotr Lecki, (2012),
The book is a study of the Roman cavalry forces of the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. It consists, in addition to an introductory chapter and conclusion, of chapters addressing the following:
• Sources
• The Roman Cavalry in the Army of Diocletian
• Roman cavalry equipment in the 3rd & 4th centuries“
• A chapter covering the uses ad activities of cavalry on the march, and on the battlefield.
Having discussed the sources, in the second main chapter the author proceeds to review the cavalry arm of the late Roman army around the time of Diocletian, starting with the early imperial background, the structure of alae and equites of the cohortes equitatae and then an examination of the “new units”. The text diverted slightly onto other aspects of the army, for example the change in command (from legatus to praefectus) with Legiones I – III Parthicae, which did not seem strictly relevant.
Chapter two also contains a discussion of unit sizes, which having cites the primary evidence (which is inconclusive) then proceeds to agree with the general consensus that the late Roman cavalry vexillationes and cunei were circa 500 strong, citing the various secondary sources who are in accord with this. Absent any concrete new evidence, therefore, unit sizes remain elusive.
Highlights of Chapter 3 on equipment were a discussion of the use of the contus lance, as well as a discussion of the cataphractus/clibanarius troop type (without seeking to conclude on whether there was actually any distinction between them). The chapter contains a full examination of the various other main items of arms and armour with various line drawings.
Chapter 4 on the use of cavalry on and of the battlefield is fairly generic and a lot of what is contained in here is applicable to earlier times. This is probably inevitable given the dearth of primary source material for the time of Diocletian, but one wonders if it might have been more fruitful to look at later Byzantine writers and try to project backwards, rather than citing, for example, Josephus or Arrian.
The book is a translation from Polish and the translation is mostly sound. The main points where this is noticeable are in the use or non-use of definite or indefinite articles, and in the case of Latin names where the conventional English form differs from the form used, for example, Gallien instead of Gallienus.
Overall, the book is a good summary of the state of knowledge of the late Imperial Roman cavalry (and contains much of relevance for the earlier period as well). Readers familiar with the secondary literature mentioned earlier in this thread will probably not find any major revelations here, and progress of knowledge in this area is really dependent on archaeology and epigraphy, as the existing primary historical sources have already been fairly thoroughly examined. The main text is 170 pages, and there are 23 maps, photographs and line drawings.
Regards,
John
“The Cavalry of Diocletian: Origin, Organization, Tactics, Weapons”, Piotr Lecki, (2012),
The book is a study of the Roman cavalry forces of the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. It consists, in addition to an introductory chapter and conclusion, of chapters addressing the following:
• Sources
• The Roman Cavalry in the Army of Diocletian
• Roman cavalry equipment in the 3rd & 4th centuries“
• A chapter covering the uses ad activities of cavalry on the march, and on the battlefield.
Having discussed the sources, in the second main chapter the author proceeds to review the cavalry arm of the late Roman army around the time of Diocletian, starting with the early imperial background, the structure of alae and equites of the cohortes equitatae and then an examination of the “new units”. The text diverted slightly onto other aspects of the army, for example the change in command (from legatus to praefectus) with Legiones I – III Parthicae, which did not seem strictly relevant.
Chapter two also contains a discussion of unit sizes, which having cites the primary evidence (which is inconclusive) then proceeds to agree with the general consensus that the late Roman cavalry vexillationes and cunei were circa 500 strong, citing the various secondary sources who are in accord with this. Absent any concrete new evidence, therefore, unit sizes remain elusive.
Highlights of Chapter 3 on equipment were a discussion of the use of the contus lance, as well as a discussion of the cataphractus/clibanarius troop type (without seeking to conclude on whether there was actually any distinction between them). The chapter contains a full examination of the various other main items of arms and armour with various line drawings.
Chapter 4 on the use of cavalry on and of the battlefield is fairly generic and a lot of what is contained in here is applicable to earlier times. This is probably inevitable given the dearth of primary source material for the time of Diocletian, but one wonders if it might have been more fruitful to look at later Byzantine writers and try to project backwards, rather than citing, for example, Josephus or Arrian.
The book is a translation from Polish and the translation is mostly sound. The main points where this is noticeable are in the use or non-use of definite or indefinite articles, and in the case of Latin names where the conventional English form differs from the form used, for example, Gallien instead of Gallienus.
Overall, the book is a good summary of the state of knowledge of the late Imperial Roman cavalry (and contains much of relevance for the earlier period as well). Readers familiar with the secondary literature mentioned earlier in this thread will probably not find any major revelations here, and progress of knowledge in this area is really dependent on archaeology and epigraphy, as the existing primary historical sources have already been fairly thoroughly examined. The main text is 170 pages, and there are 23 maps, photographs and line drawings.
