Need some book advices

[sIg3b]

Has this book about my favourite period already been mentioned?

armies.jpg (65.38 KiB) Viewed 2333 times

[76mm]

Has this book about my favourite period already been mentioned?

oh no, I wasn't aware of this one until now...now my very long list is one book longer!

[rbodleyscott]

Has this book about my favourite period already been mentioned?

oh no, I wasn't aware of this one until now...now my very long list is one book longer!

That one should move straight to the very top of the list.

[Paul59]

Has this book about my favourite period already been mentioned?

armies.jpg

Absolutely! If you only get one book on the period, get that one. It covers all you need to know, organisations, tactics, important battles, dress and equipment. It also discusses where the information comes from, ie; original literary sources, archaeological finds etc.

[76mm]

That one should move straight to the very top of the list.

Wow, high praise indeed from the master! The Landmark Herodotus just got bumped into second place...

[rbodleyscott]

That one should move straight to the very top of the list.

Wow, high praise indeed from the master! The Landmark Herodotus just got bumped into second place...

Herodotos is a good read, but if it is the Achaemenid Persian army you are going to read about in Herodotos, you can bump him down to 3rd place, and put "The Achaemenid Persian Army", also by Duncan Head (Montvert publications) in 2nd place.

Duncan's two books are a serious study of the period, with much more specific information than most of the "Coffee Table Book" style history-lite books that have been written before or since.

[76mm]

Duncan's two books are a serious study of the period, with much more specific information than most of the "Coffee Table Book" style history-lite books that have been written before or since.

That's good to know. I stopped buying the Osprey books long ago because other than the pretty pictures most of them contained very little useful info. Thanks for the recommendation.

re Herodotus, not really interested in the Persian army at all, just generally enjoy reading the historical authors.

[rbodleyscott]

re Herodotus, not really interested in the Persian army at all, just generally enjoy reading the historical authors.

We he is certainly a good read.

[sIg3b]

Has this book about my favourite period already been mentioned?

armies.jpg

Absolutely! If you only get one book on the period, get that one. It covers all you need to know, organisations, tactics, important battles, dress and equipment. It also discusses where the information comes from, ie; original literary sources, archaeological finds etc.

No need to tell me. I have the book since 1995 or so, but it´s every bit as good as you say!

Definitely the first book on the period to read, imo.

[SnuggleBunnies]

Now that we're going Medieval:

Armies of the Dark Ages 600-1066
Armies of Feudal Europe 1066-1300
Armies and Enemies of the Crusades 1096-1291
by Ian Heath

All are readily available and excellent wargaming resources.

[NikiforosFokas]

Ok here are my two cents.

For the Byzantine Army (except the book you have)
1) J. Haldon, Byzantine Praetorians. An Administrative, institutional and social survey of the opsikion and tagmata c. 580-900
2) J. Haldon, Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World 565-1204
3)J. Haldon, State, Army and Society in Byzantium. Approaches to Military, Social and Administrative History, 6th-12th Centuries
4)J. Haldon, Byzantine Warfare
5) M. Decker, The byzantine art of war
6) W. Treadgold, Byzantium and Its Army, 284-1081
7)Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests
8)S. Kyirakidis, Warfare in Late Byzantium 1204-1453
9) M. Bartusis, The Late Byzantine Army. Arms and Society 1204-1453
10) J. Birkenmmeier, The Development of the Komnenian Army 1081-1180


For various Medieval Arab Armies:
1)H. Kennedy, The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in Early Islamic State
2)Y. Lev (ed.), War and Society in the Eastern Mediterranean, 7th-15th Centuries
3)Landau-Tasseron, Features of the Pre-Conquest Muslim Army in the Time of Muhammad (article).
4)B. Beshir, Fatimid Military Organization (article)
5) M. Gordon, The breaking of a thousand Swords. A History of the Turkish military on Samarra.
6)D. Hill, The Mobility of Arab Armies in the Early Conquests
7)R. Hoyland, In God’s path. The Arab conquests and the creation of an Islamic Empire
8)D. Pipes, Slave soldiers and Islam The Genesis of a Military System
9)W. Hamblin, The Fatimid Army During the Early Crusades


For Crusader era warfare, I really love this one,
D. Nicolle, Crusader Warfare (2 vols). Of course everything from J. France is a must-read too.

[Paul59]

Now that we're going Medieval:

Armies of the Dark Ages 600-1066
Armies of Feudal Europe 1066-1300
Armies and Enemies of the Crusades 1096-1291
by Ian Heath

All are readily available and excellent wargaming resources.

These books are fantastic, even better are Ian Heath's other books for the Wargames Research Group; "Armies of the Middle Ages" volumes 1 and 2.

The Crusades title was rather old (published 1978), and perhaps not quite as detailed as the Feudal Europe and Middle Ages books, but an updated and expanded 2nd edition was released in 2019. I only found out about the new edition yesterday, but I have ordered it, and will let you all know how it differs from the original.

[SnuggleBunnies]

These books are fantastic, even better are Ian Heath's other books for the Wargames Research Group; "Armies of the Middle Ages" volumes 1 and 2.

The Crusades title was rather old (published 1978), and perhaps not quite as detailed as the Feudal Europe and Middle Ages books, but an updated and expanded 2nd edition was released in 2019. I only found out about the new edition yesterday, but I have ordered it, and will let you all know how it differs from the original.

The Armies of the Middle Ages books are great, but they are unfortunately not available for reasonable prices right now as far as I can tell. I only have the second edition of Armies and Enemies of the Crusades, so I couldn't tell you of any edition differences.

For those who are interested, Heath also wrote/illustrated two volumes of Armies of the Sixteenth Century, with one for Meso/Colonial America, and one for Britain and the Netherlands. I can also heartily recommend his five volumes on the 'native' armies of Asia in the Armies of the Nineteenth Century series.

[Paul59]

The Armies of the Middle Ages books are great, but they are unfortunately not available for reasonable prices right now as far as I can tell. I only have the second edition of Armies and Enemies of the Crusades, so I couldn't tell you of any edition differences.

With the Crusades book being released in a second edition last year maybe there is hope that the Middle Ages volumes will be reprinted in the future. In the meantime, they are often available on eBay, but they are normally quite pricey as you say.

[Benedict151]

I think the Ian Heath books are excellent (he also did 'A Wargamers Guide to the Crusades' as well) and well worth having. I'm interested to know if the 2nd Edition of A & A of the Crusades is significantly different to the 1st.

I'd also the second the suggestion re David Nicolle's books (although I find his style at times can be a little off putting) and J France.
For warfare in western medieval Europe I'd be inclined to suggest that -
J France 'Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades' and
J F Verbruggen 'The Art of Warfare in Western Europe During the Middle Ages'

are both almost indispensable

regards
Ben

[Athos1660]

For the French readers, about the Knights :
J. Flori, La Chevalerie, 2013
(very interesting, very cheap !)

[NikiforosFokas]

For the French readers, about the Knights :
J. Flori, La Chevalerie, 2013
(very interesting, very cheap !)

Oh thanks for that

[JPJ]

If I remember correctly, Matrix/Slitherine Store used to offer some or all of the Field of Glory Gaming Companion series separately as ebooks. They cover many centuries and regions. I have only Empires of the Dragon (written by RBS, assisted by Duncan Head, among others). It is good and remarkably instructive.

I would like to have more of the series but cannot find them in the store.
Are they still available, separately or included with old or new Field of Glory products?
If not, can they be made available again?

[Athos1660]

For the French readers, about the Knights :
J. Flori, La Chevalerie, 2013
(very interesting, very cheap !)

Oh thanks for that

If you're interested, there are also :
- an interesting section about the Middle Ages in this great book about cavalry : Fr. Chauviré, Histoire de la cavalerie.
- a book about Medieval warfare I haven't read yet but is praised : Ph. Contamine, La Guerre au Moyen Age, 2003
- a pdf file about artillery by the Musée du Génie with a bibliography
- a website about medieval architecture with books and articles written by the author of the website, Jean Mesqui.

If I remember correctly, Matrix/Slitherine Store used to offer some or all of the Field of Glory Gaming Companion series separately as ebooks. They cover many centuries and regions. I have only Empires of the Dragon (written by RBS, assisted by Duncan Head, among others). It is good and remarkably instructive.

I would like to have more of the series but cannot find them in the store.
Are they still available, separately or included with old or new Field of Glory products?
If not, can they be made available again?

I only know of the Field of Glory: Renaissance Core Rules pdf on Steam.

[JPJ]

If I remember correctly, Matrix/Slitherine Store used to offer some or all of the Field of Glory Gaming Companion series separately as ebooks. They cover many centuries and regions. I have only Empires of the Dragon (written by RBS, assisted by Duncan Head, among others). It is good and remarkably instructive.

I would like to have more of the series but cannot find them in the store.
Are they still available, separately or included with old or new Field of Glory products?
If not, can they be made available again?

I only know of the Field of Glory: Renaissance Core Rules pdf on Steam.

Thanks for the pointer!
Does anyone know about the other ebooks in the series?