“The Complete Roman Legions”, by Nigel Pollard

 

240 pages, Thames & Hudson, ISBN-13: 978-0500251836

The Complete Roman Legions by Nigel Pollard is by no means a complete history of the Roman legions, but is rather a general overview and introductory work and, as with most other Thames and Hudson’s books, is a brilliant addition to anyone’s library. One of the aspects I most enjoyed about it is that it tries its level best to use all available resources, both archaeological and literary, and all written for a general audience; this means that, for you intellectual types, the absence of footnotes and refusal to delve into the marshes of academic controversy may very well disappoint you, while for the rest of us it is a grand resource on the Legions of Rome.

There is an excellent representation of color photographs and illustrations, each of which helps to bring the legions to life once more as they display the author’s particular points. The book is also plenty-stocked with maps – 11 in all – that help to show the length and breadth of the empire the legions were tasked to defend (keep this in mind while reading; the fact that the Roman Empire lasted as long as it did, under siege from enemies within and without, is testament to the legion’s durability). Lastly, there are a series of “data boxes” that add various tidbits to the general prose of the book and that add necessary detail that need not clutter Pollard’s narrative.

The three sections the book is divided into cover, in order: the legions during the republican period, the legions during the imperial age (and takes up the vast majority of the book), and the legions of late antiquity (when they suffered their greatest trials). Added to this is a wonderful introduction that sums up the many challenges any historian has when attempting to record the records of the Legions of Rome; a brief chronology of the campaigns and battles the legions took part in; and, something I appreciated, a glossary of the most important terms one needs to know when reading about the legions.

Altogether, then, The Complete Roman Legions is a great one-volume introduction to the Roman Legions. Beautifully illustrated, clearly laid out and well-written, while it is meant primarily for a general audience, the references to and quotations of ancient authors, supplemented with a fairly thorough section on further readings, mean that it can be used by serious students to gain basic and important information.