(04-26-2018, 10:41 PM)Julian de Vries Wrote: but where is the proof? Where is the evidence... ?
Dunno. That's for others, like you, to determine.
The book - within the constraints of the Osprey 'Warrior' series format - is about the character of the legionaries and the men who led (or attempted to lead) them. I'm interested in virtus, animus, leadership, motivation, heroics and cowardice, hence the blurb for the published version:
"Between 109 and 58 BC, Roman legionaries battled German warriors, African cavalry, Spanish light troops, Pontic pikemen, Armenian cataphracts, and erstwhile Italian allies. They even met fellow citizens in brutal civil war encounters in Italy and Rome itself. When led by charismatic and ruthless commanders like Marius, Sulla, Pompey and Caesar, the legionary was usually victorious, but he was not the disciplined iron warrior of the modern popular imagination. Valiant and furious in combat, the typical legionary was also temperamental and rapacious, frequently disobedient and rebellious, sometimes mutinous and even murderous. He had to be handled with the utmost care; generals who could not inspire the legionary, or supply him sufficient booty, were deserted or killed. This highly illustrated new study traces the history of the legionary over five dramatic decades, from the Jugurthine and Cimbric Wars to the beginning of Caesar’s conquest of Gaul."
Those seeking analysis of the non-existent 'Marian reforms', or extended discussion of organisation and other dull stuff, will be disappointed.
