Marek Szyszko in Osprey Military Pub.

 Salvete Omnes,

this post is not an advertisement for a product, ie., a book, but a quick wholehearted shout-out to all fellow net-travelers  about a friend's journey in publishing and art of illustration history.

copyright @ Osprey Military Publishing

My friend maestro Marek Szyszko from Warsaw, Poland UE, has finally illustrated a volume for Osprey Military Publishing.

For some years I had been advocating Mrek's brushes and his wonderful art to various history publishers in the 'West.'

examples of Marek's cover for *Karwansaray 

About 9 years ago I started lobbying for maestro Marek with the Karwansaray Publishers (of Ancient Warfare Magazine, Ancient History Magazine and Medieval World Magazine et al.) and they readily welcomed maestro Szyszko into their stable of artists and illustrators. 

At the same time I asked the Spanish publisher - Desperta Ferro Ediciones - if they were interested in Marek's talent and expertise in the historical illustration art. They also readily welcomed maestro Szyszko and they have been steadily using Marek's art in their publications ever since (eg these illustrations). Note that my friends Dariusz Bufnal and Mariusz Kozik also had their art published there.

Then, after a year or two later we sent letters to Osprey Military Publishing with the same inquiry.
To my chagrin their editors'  response was negative.

But I did not rest and quietly lobbied for Marek's brushes at Osprey's. Finally last year it took talking to an Italian lawyer, military history researcher  and author Raffaele D'Amato and  his decision to lobby for and to propose Marek Szyszko as his illustrator for the Goths' volume. 

The result of their collaboration (including another Italian searcher and author Andrea Salimbeti) can be seen in this newly published volume: the 8 plates of exquisite and beautiful art  not seen in Ospreys  since the works of late masters Angus McBride and Richard Hook.

Copyright @ Bellona

Nota bene Polish publishing house - Bellona - released an album  of their 'Historyczne Bitwy' military series' covers painted over the years by maestro Marek. 

This is a first volume contains cover art covering the period from ancient - starting with the battle of Kadesh of 1274BC -  to the XVIII century period - Fallen Timber 1794AD. 

Enjoy
ps

*the covers are all from Karwansaray Publishers web and their copyright protected. 

Valete

Tanais - Τάναϊς where Greeks, Romans and Pontic Steppe nomads lived

 Salvete Omnes,

 

Wiki commons has a short but sweet gallery about some equestrian-themed things from the very ancient settlement of Tanais. The old steppe area, previously inhabited by various nomads (as evidenced by multiple kurgans)  and subject to Greek colonization in the VII century BC,  was colonized by the Greeks from the Cimmerian Bosporus in the III century BC, responding to the Sarmatian cultural development and growth across the north-eastern Pontic shores. 

 

The town was located in the main branch of the  Don River (Tanais River or also known as Sylys River) delta - today the ruins located in the delta  are several kilometers from the eastern shores of the Azov Sea or Meotic Sea.

Tanais was an important trading center and gateway for trading parties into the world of the eastern Pontic steppes - where Western goods and commodities were exchanged for the Eastern ones. A frontier town and the city, the end of oikumene.

On Academia there are plenty of articles about this important trading center of the Greek and later Roman trading routes, destroyed   by the invading Goths circa 240AD, and completely abandoned during the end of the V and beginning of the VI centuries AD.
eg on Tamgas from Tanais, on Don Trade Routes during the Greek era, gateway between the ancient Graeco-Roman world and the nomads etc. 

Calete