On The Bookshelf, I: The Armies And Enemies of Imperial Rome, by Phil Barker

(Being an occasional review of the books found in my wargaming library. Part of the long delayed series of reviews I keep promising.)

The Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome, by Phil Barker
4th Edition, Sussex: WRG, 1981 (148pp w/B&W Illustrations)

The Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome is one of those books that has become a permanent fixture in the wargames libraries of many historical miniatures gamers. The book was designed as a layman's guide to the basic military operations and equipment of Imperial Rome, from the Late Republic through the Early Byzantine Periods, approximately 88 B.C.-553 A.D., a considerable period for a booklet of only 148 pages.

AEIR, as it is commonly known in wargames circles, was something of a revelation when the first editions appeared in the mid 1970s. Prior to that time, much of the known information regarding the operations and opponents of the Imperial Roman Army was spread through several, rather dense volumes, usually in scattered snippets or academic journals generally unavailable to the wargaming public. Barker boasted that he was doing the wargames community a great service, and in this regard, he was probably correct. Without giving the man more praise than is necessary, the book has literally been a godsend to generations of wargamers attempting to build the armies contained therein, particularly to newcomers and enthusiasts who lack a firm grounding in the subject matter.

AEIR covers, as I have already intimated, a fairly broad range of material. The author concerns himself with strategy and tactics of the Late Republican and Imperial Armies, then discusses the organization of these forces before launching into a discussion of the organization and tactics of several enemy forces: Gauls, Britons, Scots-Irish, Germans, Dacians, Sarmatians, Franks, Saxons, Vandals, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Huns, Pontics, Parthians, Armenians, Palmyrans, Sassanids, and Blemmeye, as well as some of the lesser powers whose methodology could be compared to these major opponents before discussing what he considers to be the most important battles of the period. Notably absent from the list of opponents are the forces of Later Ptolemaic Egypt, the Seleucids, and the secessionist Empires in Britain, Gaul, and North Africa, among others. Some , but not all, of these are covered in the excellent Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars by Duncan Head.

The main body of the work is not concerned with tactics, strategy, or organization (though elements to pop up from time to time), so much as the appearance of the Roman soldier and his enemies throughout the broad slice of history covered. Ian Heath's line drawings provide a good view of many obscure Roman and enemy forces, which might otherwise be a complete mystery to the average wargamer. The impact of these illustrations is quite plain to see: look at any major Ancients range, particularly older ranges produced after the publication of the first edition AEIR, and you're very likely to see miniatures that bear a striking resemblance to the Heath illustrations.

AEIR also dedicates a significant amount of space to sections of the nearly inaccesible Notitia Dignatum, the only period reference to Roman shield patterns and colors currently known to be in existence. Heath has faithfully reproduced over one hundred shield patterns, and Barker has carefully provided the variable color keys provided by the two extant copies of the long lost originals.

Finally, Barker also provides some interesting arguments regarding the colors of Roman equipment, including everything from helmet plumes to shield designs, and speculates upon the viability and possible interpretation of earlier shield patterns not found in the Notitia; much of this is also produced, albeit in B&W, by Heath's hand.

With such a comprehensive coverage of material, it is little wonder that many wargamers consider AEIR to be a indespensible classic. That said, AEIR has never been without its detractors. Many of Barker's theories are based largely upon his own speculations and his notoriously pro-Roman view of Ancient History. In some instances, he incorrectly repeats ancient battle accounts, or adds his own embellishment to certain details without adequately explaining the reasons for this. In other instances, he relies upon poor or inadequate translations, or dismisses archaeological evidence because he finds it to be "extremely unlikely".

One example of this relates to the interpretation of shield colors as known from the very few archaeological fragments currently in existence. Barker incorrectly describes the finds at Dura Europos (he describes one painted scutum, seen here on the Blog, while there were actually two), while he neglects to provide an illustration of this saidsame shield, indicating that it is "far too complicated" to inflict upon the illustrator. Barker goes on to claim that the general type had been abandoned one century before (it hadn't), and that he thinks it highly likely to have been a specially decorated antique used for parades on special occasions - there is absolutely no evidence for this, beyond the author's own imagination.

There are also some fairly significant claims regarding the colors of Roman uniform tunics and helmet plumes. Much of the theory presented here is based, once again, upon the opinion of the author rather than any of the ample archaeological evidence for Roman military clothing unearthed even at the time that fourth edition had been printed.

There is, of course, a great deal more. But the examples I have provided are illustrative of the greater problem. In summation, much of the information presented by the author of AEIR regarding the Romans themselves has since been called into question, either because it is based purely upon speculation or because the evidence cited has been incorrectly interpreted or altered by more recent archaeological finds. Unfortunately, WRG has shown no signs of reprinting the text, which might correct these problems.

On the other hand, the amount of evidence unearthed since 1981 has not been complete enough to totally overturn Barker's work, nor is the absence of evidence evidence of absence, so to speak. So, the book must remain "questionable" for now, though it does retain some utility in the absence of recent work on the same subject.

That said, the material presented regarding the enemies of Rome is probably the best reason to pick up AEIR. Much of the information can be found only in Barker, and because his chief interest is in the Romans, and not their enemies, the information given for, say, the Palmyrans, can be said to be based more upon fact than speculation. At any rate, Barker's work in this area is far more complete, and far more useful to the wargamer, than the recent Ospreys on many of the same subjects, despite the fact that the book lacks color illustration. The information regarding these topics is generally well respected, such that AEIR continues to get the occasional node in Academic bibliographies (including my own).

AEIR is certainly worthy of a place on your bookshelf. The author clearly loves the subject matter, and the text is blessedly free of the textbook like jargon which makes WRG rulesets almost unreadable. The information provided will be an excellent first step for many wargamers new to the Imperial Roman period, and despite the flaws herein, is still more than useful for basic wargaming purposes. In addition, because Barker has pursued research in a subject that is largely "politically incorrect" (military history has been in trouble since long before Phil began writing his guidebooks), this is more than likely to be one of the very few such works generally accessible to the public for the forseeable future.

Rating: B (Worth Acquiring, But Flawed)