Republican Roman Army 200-104 BC, Men at Arms 291, Osprey

The principal source of information on the Roman Republican Army is the sixth book of the Histories of the Greek historian Polybius, written a little before 150BC. This engaging text by Nicholas Sekunda draws heavily on this vital source to outline the equipment and organisation of the Roman Republican Army from 200–104 BC – a time when Rome was growing from a regional to a world power. With plenty of photographs and illustrations, including eight vivid full page colour plates by Angus McBride, this fascinating volume examines such topics as the Roman shield, helmets, the cuirass, greaves, the pilum, legion organisation, the principales and the tactics they employed. Men-at-Arms 283, 291 and 46 are also available in a single volume special edition as ‘Caesar’s Legions’.

Contents: Introduction · Infantry Equipment · Organization of the Legions · Tactics · Other Arms · The Roman Legion in Battle · Bibliography · The Plates.