Adrian Goldsworthy - on Ytube et al.

 Salvete Omnes,

Spring in fuller bloom I suppose, and I have a little post for you here.

a month ago I finished reading the last volume of the Vindolanda-Victory saga by Adrian Goldsworthy (author of The Roman Army at War, and many others on the ancient military history and leaders) - Ferox and Vindex had been my friends for all these years - so to speak. I actually re-read the first three books using the audiobook platform of  Overdrive.
Then I discovered that dr Goldsworthy has his Ytube platform, where he shares his research, knowledge and passion for the ancient Rome and ancient history in general.
There is already a huge number of programs to watch and/or listen to.
Per the Youtube presentations I particularly enjoyed author's program titled  Pontius Pilate's real bodyguards - the Roman army in Judea before the Great Uprising (4BC- 66AD).

So enjoy perusing the Yt library or borrow, rent or otherwise explore the many works of dr Adrian Goldsworthy.

ps

I have not read his Napoleonic series novels. and I am going to start the audiobook on the Rome and Persia wars & rivalry. 

Valete

R. Fabbri and Cricus Maximus

 Salvete Omnes,

 

Having taken a short break from the XVII century Polish-Turkish  wars and horse tribulations I decided to read a novel of the magnificent European and Mediterranean past i.e., the ancient Rome.
There are many writers on the UK and USA sides of the genre, and since I have not yet received the newest one by Harry Sidebottom so I picked  one novel  by Robert Fabbri titled Vespasian, Tribune of Rome. Vespasian takes place during the reign of the princeps Tiberius and his family and his praetorian prefect Sejanus' rule in the capital, involves our main characters getting pulled into many schemes and machinations of then Roman elites. The world depicted in the novel is of passions, warrior-craft, brutality, hot tempers, slaves and pitiless slavery, punishment and pain, suffering, intrigue, quest for power and even love and obviously hatred  - you can read the biography of Vespasianus on Wikipedia and you will get the idea what the potential for a good adventurous novel his life had and this novel may have. The hero is young, perhaps too wise for his years, but then he had to grow up fast and furiously if he wants to survive this ride - yep, there is lots of riding too.
And Swiss-UK author, Robert Fabbri,. delivers the story in his epic style and with dramatic attention to minutiae. Ergo, we, a reader, get a fine epic story, with clearly described heroes and villains and without judgement on their actions. The sidekick from Sabura one Magnus is a gem too.

So I finished it in no time, it was enjoyable and entertaining, and among its scenes and places there is a long sequence devoted to the chariot race  in the famous Circus Maximus of Rome. The scene at the races is important for the book in general and for the characters in the story, and from what I know about the actual Vespasian most likely  important for the whole 9 novel series (I am gearing up to read the 2nd one in the series). 
I could say that if you have an itching to read some ancient Roman history novel this one is quite good. 

Last year I posted this entry about Roman chariots and horse, and here I would like to add some more images in the series on this subject - the ancient Roman horse and its environment. 

 on Academia there are many articles, eg -  
Sinclair Bell - The Costume of the Roman Charioteer -
Virgil at the races -  

The Circus and the Cosmopolis -

 

 a painting of imaginary race at the Circus Maximus  by Viviano Codazzi and Domenico Gargiulo - from my favorite XVII century

Valete

ps

all images are from Wiki Commons

Ancient Roman carriages etc

Salvete Omnes,
we will travel to the ancient Rome and the wider Mediterranean world and will take a look at the Roman vehicle traveling on the famous Roman roads. 

 So this is this rather  short entry on the vast and interesting subject of the  ancient Roman vehicle and its types and varieties -  here the excellent article (and much more in other chapters) by Dr Judith A. Weller titled Roman Traction Systems.
Below various images on Wiki Commons -

 Roman carriage
 
 (replica, more photos here)
 
Some o the vehicles - carts, chariots, wagons and carriages listed below:
horse, mule or oxen oxen carried litter known as 
-basterna

I . Singel axle vehicles

-biga
-birota
-essedum
-cisium (fast traveling 2 person vehicle)
-covinnus
-carpentum
-plaustrum (two wheels)

- quadriga



II .   the second category was the  2 axles (four wheels) vehicles, drawn by horses, mules or oxen:
 

-plaustrum(4 wheels)

-sarracum (serracum)
-carrus
 -carrus arcuatus
 -carrus triumphalis
 -carrus falcatus
-carruca (dormitoria)
-petorrium
-pilentum


Post and mail carriage
-rheda
-angaria
 
and some other types or Roman vehicles
-arcera
-capsum
-benna
-labula (military wagon)

-labularium (military wagon)

-tensae/thensae

Carpentum (Eon Images)


 Nota bene the town dwellers who had money to rent a vehicle they could do it from a cisiarius.
they were slaves or free men who would be driving the hired vehicle, and they were notorious for driving very fast the cisium, covinnus or even rheda carriages.
Those cisiarii (banded into a profession) located at the livery stables  at the town gates, although perhaps also having offices at the mansio (inn) - there were more or less 1 mansio  per 4 mutationes (mutatio or hostel), were spread out in towns along the Roman roads or cursus publicus, and for example Julius Caesar hired a carriage to travel from Rome to Rhone and allegedly his hired coach traveled the distance of some 1,200 kilometers in just 8 days .
 another example or Roman travel - in 38 or37 BC poet Horace traveled along with Octavian's envoy Maecenas  from Rome to Brindisi and wrote about this,  in his poem Sermones or Satirae 1.5.

Valete

ps
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities John Murray, London, 1875. - web version. - where many of the named vehicles are listed and explained with the primary literary and iconographic sources.

Dura-Europos - Rostovtzeff report of 1931-32 excavations - horses & tack

Salvete Omnes,
the Old Year is almost done - it was not the easiest one for many, for me the biggest loss was the death of my beloved German Shepherd dog Inka.
Anyway, perusing great Archive.org I came across several articles and books on the world library site, including  famous professor M. I. Rostovtzeff Report on 1931-32 excavations at Dura-Europos (captured and destroyed  by the Sassanians in AD 256) site in Syria. - curiously the Yale publication was printed in Praha, Czechoslovakia in 1934.

I would like to remind you that one of the best images, attached above, ancient images of the armoured horseman aka clibanarius/cataphractus comes from Dura-Europos (in graffito form) - you can read about the Parthian and Sassanian armor from Dura-Europos in the article by H. Wójcikowski (University of Rzeszow magazine Anabasis 4/2013 - available via academia) or Patryk Skupniewicz, or recent publication from Siedlce University & Azad Univeristy- on the Persian helmets.

 horse archers hunting graffito from Dura-Europos

Horse graffito from Dura Europos - the entire page from the Report - great horse tack and horse conformation information in there.

also professor Simon T. James article on the siege warfare during the siege of Dura-Europos by the Sassanians ( two vplatforms - academia & archive).
Valete!

ps

I am awaiting a book from D'Amato and Negin team on the Roman Heavy Cavalry, recommended to me by Patryk Skupniewicz. I have seen the plates already, 'published' on Facebook ( nota bene I am somewhat skeptical about the  reconstructions and horses etc), but I am quite curious about the text - I enjoyed their work, separate and joint,  in the past. None of these two authors has some serious knowledge (evident in the images and text made available) about the horses and horse tack, but they are solid on sources and excavated materials - nota bene the plates have some amazing artwork by Negin showing armour, weaponry and Roman emblems etc - now, how they have gone on interpreting them it remains to be seen until I read it.