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parthianbow

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  2. The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

    in Libri

    Posted

    Every December, I trawl through the newspaper articles 'Best Books of the Year', noting down any titles that appeal to me. I'm picky, so it's usually only a few. In December 2011, The Dovekeepers was one of two titles that I wrote down. I'm usually pleased by these choices, recommended by other authors or academics, but rarely am I transported the way that I was upon reading this magical book.

     

    I won't delve deeply into the plot. Suffice it to say that the novel concerns four women who find themselves in the fortress of Masada after the sack of Jerusalem by the Romans. Through the eyes of these four women, Hoffman weaves an extraordinarily luminous tale, breathing life into ancient Judaea and its people, their customs, religion and habits. We learn much about the Jewish religion, the practices of witchcraft and herblore, the tending of crops and livestock, and the claustrophobia of living in an isolated fortress in the desert.

     

    As most of you know, the story of Masada was a tragic one. As such, this book is full of harrowing and haunting images - particularly the final pages, which constantly had me in tears. Yet it is also full of the love that mothers have for their children, lovers have for each other, and of the deep bonds of comradeship that bring men to fight together to the end. I was entranced from the first page by Hoffman's wonderful writing. As the pages flew by, I found myself counting how many I had left until the end - because I desperately did not want to finish it. For me, that is a rare occurrence, and the mark of a great book and a great writer. Bravo, Alice Hoffman!

     

    Although this novel was published in 2011, I read it in 2012. It's currently the best book I've read this year. It will be very hard for another to knock it off that position.

  3. What's the last book you read?

    in Libri

    Posted

    @Aegyptus: Having recently written a novel about the SEcond Punic War, I'm pretty up to date on 'new' texts on Carthage. Sadly, Miles' excellent book is about the only one. There's Goldsworthy's book, which has been mentioned, and which is also very good, and then back a bit in time to 1995, there's Serge Lancel's Carthage, which is now a little dated, but is very much worth the read. If you go back even further, there's Picard's book on daiy life in Carthage, which has some interesting info too.

  10. Roman ship had on board fish tank

    in Archaeological News: Rome

    Posted

    I think this falls into the unfortunate and all too common area of "We need some publicity for our new find, so we will use whatever headline we can come up with to get it".

     

    Yes,the pipe may have been for an onboard fish tank, but equally, it may have been for lots of other things. Sadly, it's unlikely that the truth of it will ever be revealed - unless another ship with more artefacts is found.

  12. Roman Gladiator's Gravestone Describes Fatal Foul

    in Archaeological News: Rome

    Posted

    A fascinating interpretation, and while I have no doubt that it will be called into question, because it is only speculation, I agree with caldrail that such things must have happened. Referees today are human and can make errors; they were no different in ancient times. There have been instances of corruption in modern sport; it would have also happened in ancient times.

     

    Could this tombstone mean that a summa rudis was bribed to rig a fight? We shall never know for sure, but I love the idea of it!

  21. Teutoberg Forest AD9: The Destruction of Varus & His Legions

    in Libri

    Posted

    Events such as the Varian or Kalkriese disaster did not happen to the Roman Empire very often. Indeed few battles in Rome's entire 750 year history can be compared to the battle of the Teutoberg forest in AD 9. Most would agree that Hannibal's unparalleled victory at Cannae and Carrhae in 53 BC are of similar importance, but the Kalkriese disaster seems to have a special resonance even today. Perhaps it is because the battle took place in the middle of Europe, and the victors are still a recognisable nation (whereas the other victors, the Carthaginians and Parthians, are not)?

     

    This Osprey title is a most welcome addition to the other texts on the subject, not least because of its well-written text and its excellent pictures (by Peter Dennis). In typical Osprey style, it lays out the background to the battle for Germania Magna (the lands to the east of the River Rhine) in the years previous to Kalkriese, the generals who led the opposing armies - Varus and the Cheruscan leader Arminius - the details of their armies and so on, before moving to what is known of the battle itself. Here it should be noted that the descriptions of combat events in the book are NOT historical fact - in fact almost nothing is known of what happened during the real battle. In my mind, this should have been prominently acknowledged. Last of all, the book considers the aftermath - the punitive campaigns to recover lost eagles and honour, and the fact that from AD 9, Rome's policy towards Germania Magna was one of containment, rather than offense.

    (previously published on Amazon)

    It doesn't mention, however, the 3rd Century AD battlefield deep inside Germania Magna that proves that Rome continued to launch attacks into the area for hundreds of years after Kalkriese (i.e. it wasn't all about containment; see relevant threads on here and on www.romanarmytalk.com.) Nor does it mention the fact that there is NO conclusive proof that the site at Kalkriese is THE battlefield where Varus and his men were annihilated. Many many pointers suggest that it is, but frustratingly, there is nothing concrete to prove absolutely that it is.

     

    Interested readers would undoubtedly enjoy the Ancient Warfare (AW) special edition about the Varian Disaster. Find it here. In my mind,the AW magazine pips this Osprey edition by a good margin. Another text well worth reading is Rome's Greatest Defeat: Massacre in the Teutoburg Forest.

  23. Iberian falcata sword, third century BC

    in Trajan's Market

    Posted

    Not sure where to post this, but this is about military gear, so here goes:

     

    Hannibal's Iberian infantry included the caetrati, lightly armed soldiers who used the beautiful and lethal falcata sword. Using an archaeological template supplied to me by Professor Fernando Quesada de Sanz, a world expert on falcata swords, I commissioned a swordsmith (the incredibly talented Iain at Armour Class) to make one for me. It's stunning, and Fernando has said it's one of the three best replicas he's ever seen. Result!

     

    See it here.

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