Syvanne Ilkka. Military History of Late Rome, 395-425

Pen and Sword, 2021. — 384 p.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. The Military History of Late Rome analyzes in great detail the pivotal years of 395-425. It was then that the mighty Roman Empire faced the Great Migrations while being wrecked by civil wars. In 395 the task of defending the Roman Empire fell on the great generalissimos Stilicho. He faced a series of hostile bureaucrats, emperors, usurpers and foreign foes until he was killed in a conspiracy in 409. His death led to an event that shook up the Empire to its very core. The city of Rome fell to the Visigoths of Alaric in 410. The book shows why this happened and how and why the Germanic tribes were able to settle inside the borders of the Empire. This, however, is not the entire picture. In contrast to the West Romans, the East Romans survived the civil wars and faced the Germans, Huns and Persia successfully. Why it was so and why were the East Romans able to take control also of West Rome in 425? Dr. Ilkka Syvänne gained his doctorate in history in 2004 from the University of Tampere in his native Finland. Since then he has written extensively about ancient and medieval warfare and his publications include: 'The Age of Hippotoxotai, Art of War in Roman Military Revival and Disaster 491-636' (Tampere UP 2004), 'The Reign of Gallienus' (Pen & Sword, 2019), the multivolume 'Military History of Late Rome' published by Pen & Sword and the critically acclaimed Caracalla.