{"title":"Ilkka Syvnne","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"caracalla-book-ilkka-syvanne-9781473895249","title":"Caracalla","description":"Caracalla has one of the worst reputations of any Roman Emperor. Many ancient historians were very hostile and Edward Gibbon later dubbed him 'the common enemy of mankind'.  Yet his reign was considered by at least one Roman author to be the apogee of the Roman Empire. Guilty of many murders and massacres (including his own brother, ex-wife and daughter) he was, however, popular with the army, improving their pay and cultivating the image of sharing their hardships. Surprisingly this is the first full-length biography of this colourful character in English. Ilkka Syvanne explains how the biased ancient sources in combination with the stern looking statues of the emperor have created a distorted image of the man and then reconstructs the actual events, particularly his military campaigns and reforms, to offer a balanced view of his reign. The biography offers the first complete overview of the policies, events and military campaigns of the reign and explains how and why these contributed to the military crisis of the third century.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50241748205841,"sku":"GOR009210630","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51846003917073,"sku":"GOR012960888","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1473895243.jpg?v=1751371226"},{"product_id":"late-roman-combat-tactics-book-ilkka-syvnne-9781526793959","title":"Late Roman Combat Tactics","description":"Late Roman Combat Tactics by Dr. Ilkka Syvänne is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand land combat in the period from the Tetrarchy to the death of Heraclius, a period when the Romans faced serious and growing military threats on many fronts. The author’s detailed analysis provides the reader with a complete understanding of the combat equipment worn by the soldiers, types of troops, tactics, different unit orders and formations used by the late Romans and their enemies. Importantly, he lays out the developments and changes in these aspects across this critical period, assessing how the Romans adapted, or failed to adapt to the varied and changing array of enemies, such as Persians, Avars and Arabs.  The discussion examines how the Romans fought at every level, so that it covers everything from the individual fighting techniques all the way up to the conduct of large-scale pitched battles. There is an immense amount of technical detail but the human element and the experience of the officers and ordinary soldiers is not forgotten, with such factors as morale and the psychology of battle (the ‘face of battle’) given due consideration. The thoroughly researched text is well supported by dozens of diagrams and illustrations. A thoroughly illuminating read on its own, Late Roman Combat Tactics is also the perfect companion to Dr Syvänne’s eight-volume Military History of Late Rome.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51606932816145,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51606933078289,"sku":"NGR9781526793959","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1526793954.jpg?v=1750990813"},{"product_id":"nikephoros-ii-phokas-912969-book-ilkka-syvnne-9781399005289","title":"Nikephoros II Phokas, 912–969","description":"Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas:TheWhite Death of the Saracens is the first ever English-language biography of the man who broke the stranglehold of Islam over Byzantine Rome so that by the year 968 his forces could invade the Muslim lands virtually unopposed. This was the result of his military reforms and remarkable gifts as a military commander. The text provides thorough analysis of how he reformed military equipment, tactics and strategy to achieve this. The ambushes, battles and military campaigns are discussed in unprecedented detail. Special attention is also paid to the influence of the ascetic Christian lifestyle of Nikephoros on the morale of the armed forces.  In spite of his religiosity, Nikephoros was a military man through and through, and the civilian population of the Empire were constantly reminded of this. Soldiers were billeted in Constantinople and showered with favours and Nikephoros even pressured the Church to declare soldiers who died in combat as martyrs. Ilkka Syvänne meticulously explores the relationship between the Church and armed forces in the emperor’s policies. Of course Nikephoros had his human weaknesses which led to his untimely assassination. Why and how this happened is also analysed in detail. The assassination of Nikephoros deprived the Byzantine Romans of their ‘Bearer of Victory’, but his military reforms and campaigns had paved the way for Byzantine Rome to reach its apogee under his immediate successors.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51627628429585,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51627628691729,"sku":"NGR9781399005289","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53476717822225,"sku":"NIN9781399005289","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1399005286.jpg?v=1750825039"},{"product_id":"military-history-of-late-rome-425457-book-ilkka-syvnne-9781399021593","title":"Military History of Late Rome 425457","description":"The Military History of Late Rome 425-457 analyses in great detail how the Romans coped with the challenge posed by masses of Huns in a situation in which the Germanic tribes had gained a permanent foothold in the territories of West Rome. This analysis reassesses the strategy and tactics of the period . The book shows how cooperation between the West Roman Master of Soldiers, Aetius, and East Roman Emperor Marcian saved Western civilization from the barbarian nightmare posed by the Huns of Attila. A fresh appraisal of the great clash at the Catalaunian Fields in 451 offers new insights into the mechanics of the fighting and shows that it was a true battle of nations which decided nothing less than the fate of human civilization. Had Aetius and his allies lost the battle and had Marcian not cooperated with Aetius in 451 and 452, we would not have seen the rise of the West and the rise of the scientific thinking.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51629655589137,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51629655884049,"sku":"NGR9781399021593","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1399021591.jpg?v=1750793984"},{"product_id":"caracalla-book-ilkka-syvnne-9781399074827","title":"Caracalla","description":"Caracalla has one of the worst reputations of any Roman Emperor. Many ancient historians were very hostile and Edward Gibbon later dubbed him the common enemy of mankind. Yet his reign was considered by at least one Roman author to be the apogee of the Roman Empire. 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