Siege Warfare in the Roman World: 146 BC - AD 378

Osprey Elite #126

by Duncan B. Campbell

Osprey's study of various sieges in Rome, from 146 BC to 378 AD. Sieges were often pivotal in Rome's wars, including its conflicts with the Macedonians and Carthaginians in the 2nd century BC; the civil wars of the Republic; and the late Roman wars against the Sassanid Persians, who, alone amongst Rome's adversaries, were equally skilled in siegecraft. This book discusses the siege techniques employed by Roman armies and their opponents throughout the Republic and Empire. It shows that although the 1st century AD has long been considered the golden age of siegecraft, followed by a decline, new and effective siege techniques were in fact used in the following centuries.

Genres: History, Ancient History, Military Fiction, Military History, Nonfiction

64 pages, Paperback

First published May 8, 2005

About the author

Dr Duncan B Campbell is a specialist in Greek and Roman military history. He first became fascinated by Roman archaeology after a childhood visit to Hadrian's Wall. He published his first academic paper in 1984, as an undergraduate at Glasgow University (Scotland), and produced a complete re-assessment of Roman siegecraft for his PhD.
He has made some of his research accessible to a wider readership through Osprey's New Vanguard, Elite, and Fortress series, and he is a regular contributor to *Ancient Warfare* magazine. Besides writing occasional academic articles, he is a frequent reviewer for *Bryn Mawr Classical Review*.
In his latest book, *The Fate of the Ninth*, he discusses the curious disappearance of Rome's Ninth Legion.

Reviews

[Joe Krakovsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

SIEGE WARFARE IN THE ROMAN WORLD 146 BC - AD 378 started out as kind of a slow reading for me, but once it took off it was pretty good. I was going to rate this 4 stars, but the color plates I felt were exceptional, one of which can be seen on the cover. Plenty of photographs and sketches of ancient sites were included.

Whether on land or at sea, Roman tactics in battle were to close with the enemy and overwhelm them with sword and shield. Sure, they had cavalry and a host of light troops, but it was the armored legionnaire who decided the battle. They were usually successful against all enemies, unless they faced a general of Hannibal's caliber. Battles during the Roman civil wars were thus quite bloody affairs.

Besides being quite proficient with their weapons and wearing excellent armor, the Roman legionnaire was a talented engineer. Sieges could be a drawn out affair, and as all officers know, troops need to be kept busy. This being the case, the Roman soldier probably used his shovel far more than his sword.

While marching in the field, the Romans built a fort every time they stopped for the night. It may have been no more than a ditch and a mound formed by the displaced dirt, but it served as a protection from sneak attack during the night.

When going to war with an enemy, the Roman army marched to engage the enemy or followed them back to their place of refuge. Upon reaching the fortified town or city, the first thing the Romans did was build a well fortified camp for themselves. Depending on the terrain they may have two or more camps around their enemy. If it appeared that they couldn't just attack the enemy because of strong high walls then they would settle down for a siege.

One of the first things the Romans would do was encircle the enemy with a wall and watch towers to keep them penned in and keep others out. Caesar once had to build a second wall facing the outside to keep out enemy reinforcements. Once the wall, or walls, were built then they would start building an earthen ramp up against the enemy's wall. When it was high enough they could climb over the wall and after killing all the defenders the rape and pillage could finally begin.

The author does a pretty good job of explaining all the intricacies involved in getting over or through the wall. Of course all this could be avoided if treachery is involved. As a last resort the defenders could be starved into submission.

Among the most famous and one of the best of those ancient siege sites to visit is of course Masada in Israel.

If you happen to be in France, or are going to travel there, make a stop at the Archeodrome near Beaune. There one can see a reconstruction of Roman defensive works, such as legionnaires would have built in Caesar's day.

[Rindis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've generally been liking Osprey's turn towards specialized subjects in their Elite line, and this is no exception. The book takes a look at what is known of Roman sieges from the fall of Carthage to the siege of Cremna (no, I hadn't heard of it either). The bulk of the book is taken up with recounting what sieges we know something of, and points out the large number of cases where the Romans simply stormed the town as fast as possible (as opposed to the usual impression that every Roman siege was a big, lengthy production such as at Alesia). Along the way, there is some reconsideration of the archaeology at Numantia and Dura Europos.

There's no strong theme to the book, but it makes a good survey of the subject. I wish more attention had been given to Dura Europos, as only a couple parts of the fortifications are shown in diagrams and illustrations. On the other hand, apparently there's no good theories as to just what happened (and in what order) there, and it is a large site, so presumably a detailed look could take up most of the book without saying anything conclusive. There's also reproductions of some older (18th and 19th century) diagrams of some of the sites with short critiques.

[Stephen Ede-Borrett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book - perhaps my fault I will accept. Instead of an overview of Roman siege warfare of the period - or indeed of siege warfare in general around the Roman world on both sides of the frontiers - the book is simply a superficial narrative of a number of sieges with very little analysis and, in one case, without even giving the outcome of the siege.
The colour illustrations are, imo, the very worst that I have ever seen in an Osprey title. This is not the artwork itself, which is excellent, but in the colouring where everything is yellow! - grass, walls, earth, etc. (look at the book front cover). The result is unpleasant to look at and appears like a massive printing error where the printer ran out of blue ink! I know this is very subjective but then again this is my review.
Overall, not one of Osprey's better offerings.