Carrhae 53 BC: Rome's Disaster in the Desert (Campaign, 382)

the item arrived wrapped in cardboard to keep it from tearing or bending and came in perfect condition.

The so-called first triumvirate split the power in Rome between Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus. Crassus, anxious for a larger share of glory, initiated an unprovoked campaign against the Parthian Empire in northern Mesopotamia. As author Nic Fields explains, Crassus failed to do his homework; his invasion led to a humiliating disaster for Rome and a realignment of power.The author takes the long way around to get to Carrhae, with an extended discussion of Roman politics and military practices, and those of the Parthians. The discussion is nicely supported by period art and modern photographs, illustrations, and battle diagrams. Well recommended to keen students of the Roman way of war.

This book is an attractive story about how the Parthian horse archers downsized the Roman legionaries strategically. Nic Fields was excellent at explaining the tactics and techniques of the Parthian cavalry removed the Romans by encircling around the legion square on a hot daylight. Amazingly, the high-ranked Parthian horses wore the armour covering to protect from the flying enemy arrows. As a result, the defeated Romans had to roll back to Syria from the Parthian Empire. It is very interesting to read the battle of Carrhae in detail along with beautiful illustrations. Thank you to Dr. Fields for his wonderful job!

Crassus's Parthian campaign is usually exampled to point a moral and adorn a tale, usually in the desert. The actual campaign is well covered By Nic Fields wit a detail of commanders, armies, the campaign itself and the final battle

ho inserito 4 stelle per la qualità delle illustrazioni ma non ho ancora completato la lettura del volume

Pull the other leg; It's got Big Ben attached to it.Only a numskull Roman commander would have arrayed his legions as depicted on pages 50-51. A frontage of legionaries a mere three ranks deep would have had insufficient density to protect a square-formation of --what?-- four hectares/ten acres? Better to have tripled or quadrupled their ranks and reduced the aching void at their backs.The legionaries are also portrayed as if on parade, in the midst of an arrow-storm, but the battle would have been over in a jiffy, had they not formed a tortoise. The front rank would have rested the bottoms of their shields on the ground to take their weight and protect their wielders' faces, shins and feet from arrows fired directly at them. The next two ranks would have completed the tortoise by raising their shields over themselves and the front rank, against plunging arrows.Crassus was no numskull. He had defeated Spartacus (no mean feat) and his tactics had swung the Battle of the Porta Collina in favour of Sulla, his then leader. His tragedy at Carrhae was arrogance which prevented him from adequately assessing his enemy and developing suitable tactics and strategy-- errors which later did for the likes of Napoleon and Hitler. In Crassus's case, he strayed too far from the river Euphrates, and its drinking water, into arid, flat, open countryside favouring horsemen. He also thought that the Parthians would run out of arrows, but erred: their leader, Surena, had organised a camel-train to replenish them and supply his men with fresh horses, water and sustenance. These and the Parthians' mobility and firepower ensured a catastrophic Roman defeat, the more embarrassing and horrifying to Romans because Crassus's army outnumbered Surena's by four or five to one.Crassus had squandered his antidotes, his bowmen and slingers, his slingers in particular. There is a heated debate in Google as to the latters' potency, but Balearic slingers, acknowledged the best, carried three lengths of sling to suit different ranges. The maximum may have exceeded 400 metres, or 440 yards --a quarter of a mile--, far out-ranging the Parthian bow. Parthian bowmen were also unarmoured and presumably vulnerable, even at this distance. That said, slings were probably at their most lethal at up to a hundred and fifty metres. Their slingers lacked shields and body-armour but might have dodged in and out of the legionaries' tortoises, to compensate.I recently bought Osprey's companion-publication 'Roman Soldier versus Parthian Warrior: Carrhae to Nisibis, 53BC-217AD'. I have yet to read it but hope that it will address these points. In the meantine, 'Carrhae 53BC: Rome's Disaster in the Desert' has been a compelling read. I've doffed a star for pages 50-51, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

I love the campaign series. Great histories and good illustrations.