The war between Caesar and Pompey was one of the defining moments in Roman history. The clash between these great generals gripped the attention of their contemporaries and it has fascinated historians ever since. These powerful men were among the dominant personalities of their age, and their struggle for supremacy divided Rome. In this original and perceptive study Nic Fields explores the complex, often brutal world of Roman politics and the lethal rivalry of Caesar and Pompey that grew ...

"One of the best books about the ancient world I've ever read. . . . lively and informative." — Toy Solder & Model FigureFor a period of some 200 years, Sparta was acknowledged throughout the Greek world as the home of the finest soldiers—Xenophon called them "the only true craftsmen in matters of war." In this book, Nic Fields explains the reasons for this superiority, how their reputation for invincibility was earned (and deliberately manipulated), and ho...

The third in the Roman Conquests series will briefly cover Rome's first forays into the dark continent during the First and Second Punic Wars, then cover in detail her vindictive final conquest and destruction of Carthage in the Third Punic War. The subsequent long wars against the slippery Numidian prince, Jugurtha, which tested the Roman military system to the limit, also occupy a central place. With a cast of characters including Hannibal, the Scipios, Marius, Sulla and the wily Jugurth...

An epic historical biography of the Norwegian king who laid claim to the thrones of Denmark and England.Harald Hardrada is perhaps best known as the inheritor of "seven feet of English soil" in that year of fateful change, 1066. But Stamford Bridge was the terminal point of a warring career that spanned decades and continents. Thus, prior to forcibly occupying the Norwegian throne, Harald had an interesting (and lucrative) career in the Varangian Guard, and he remai...

The author of God's Viking brings to life " a period in Roman history that provides many twists and turns as Rome emerged from the period of rule by Nero" ( Firetrench).With the death of Nero by his own shaky hand, the ill-sorted, ill-starred Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an ignominious end, and Rome was up for the taking. This was 9 June, AD 68. The following year, commonly known as the "Year of the Four Emperors," was probably ...

Nic Fields draws on detailed knowledge of available sources and his own visits to the battlefield to set the battle within the context of its political situation and religious impact upon history. The Battle of the Frigidus River, fought on 5 and 6 September 394 in what is now Slovenia, was a crucial clash between the Eastern Roman emperor, Theodosius (later 'the Great'), and the usurper Eugenius, who had seized power in the Western Empire. The battle was hard fought and lasted two days. A...

Byzantium. Was it Greek or Roman, familiar or hybrid, barbaric or civilized, Oriental or Western? In the late eleventh century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in Christendom, the seat of the Byzantine emperor, Christs vice-regent on earth, and the center of a predominately Christian empire, steeped in Greek cultural and artistic influences, yet founded and maintained by a Roman legal and administrative system. Despite the amalgam of Greek and Roman influences, however, i...

A military historian's enlightening reassessment of the famous 16th century naval battle between the Ottoman Empire and Pope Pius V's Holy League.The battle of Lepanto has long been considered one of the decisive naval battles of history. Yet, the savage fighting on October 7th, 1571, left the strategic map unchanged. The defeated Ottoman Turks were able to replace their losses and launch a new fleet the following year. In Lepanto 1571, historian Nic Fields...

A gripping account of how and why the legendary 'scourge of God' was able to inscribe his legacy into the annals of military history.One of the most powerful men in late antiquity, Attila's peerless Hunnic empire stretched from the Ural mountains to the Rhine river. In a series of epic campaigns dating from the AD 430s until his death in AD 453, he ravaged first the Eastern and later the Western Roman Empire, invading Italy in AD 452 and threatening Rome itself.

A fascinating and detailed exploration of one of the most famous warships of the Ancient world - the trireme - and its tactical employment by the opposing sides in the 5th-century BC Graeco-Persian Wars.You may be familiar with the Athenian trireme – but how much do you know about the ram-armed, triple-oared warships that it dueled against at the battles of Artemision, Salamis and the Eurymedon River? How similar or different were these warships to each other? And ...

The fascinating story of Republican Rome's gruelling six-year campaign against the insurgent Numidian warlord, Jugurtha.Jugurtha, the adoptive son of Micipsa, king of the Numidians, was initially a much-respected ally of Rome, fighting gallantly alongside the Romans during the Numantine War in Iberia. Over the course of the campaign, however, the ambitious and hot-headed Jugurtha fell in with more unsavoury company, who urged him to stage a coup d'etat and wrest co...

A gripping illustrated narrative of the Cimbrian (or Cimbric) War, in which the armies of the Roman Republic finally defeated the Germanic tribes of the Cimbri, Teutons, Ambrons and Tigurini.Rome's victory in the Cimbrian War was born of a number of huge and devastating defeats at the hands of the Germanic tribes (chiefly the Cimbri and Teutones), who had migrated en masse southwards in the late 2nd century BC. These included the d...