Military History of Late Rome 395-425

This ambitious series gives the reader a comprehensive narrative of late Roman military history from 284-641. Each volume gives a detailed account of the changes in organization, equipment, strategy and tactics among both the Roman forces and her enemies in the relevant period, while also giving a detailed but accessible account of the campaigns and battles. This volume covers the period from Julian’s accession as sole Emperor in 361 to the permanent division of the Empire into East and West on death of Theodosius I. It therefore encompasses significant defeats for Rome against very different enemies: Julian’s expedition against the Sassanid Persians and Valen’s defeat by the Goths at Adrianople, both emperors being killed. Full attention is paid to all the campaigns of this critical period, illustrating the varied threats which put immense pressure on all the Empire’s frontiers and the varying success of the Roman responses. AUTHOR: Dr Ilkka Syvanne gained his doctorate in history in 2004 from Tampere University in his native Finland. His doctoral thesis was published as The Age of Hippotoxotai, Art of War in Roman Military Revival and Disaster 491-636 (Tampere University Press, Tampere 2004). He has also written numerous articles on late Roman/Byzantine warfare, and contributed seven entries for Blackwell’s Encyclopaedia of the Roman Army (2011). From 2007 to 2016 he was Vice Chairman of the Finnish Society for Byzantine Studies. Dr Syvanne is An Affiliated Professor of the University of Haifa and lives in Kangasala, Finland.