Roman Britain's Pirate King

Roman Britain's Pirate King PDF Author: Simon Elliott
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399094394
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
A “fascinating and engaging” study of the naval commander who defied an emperor and ruled in Britain and northern Gaul for a decade (Midwest Book Review). In the middle of the third century AD, Roman Britain’s regional fleet, the Classis Britannica, disappeared. It was never to return. Soon the North Sea and English Channel were overrun by Germanic pirates preying upon the east and south coasts of Britain, and the continental coast up to the Rhine Delta. The western augustus (senior emperor) Maximian turned to a seasoned naval leader called Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Valerius Carausius to restore order. He was so successful that Maximian accused him of pocketing the plunder he’d recaptured—and ordered his execution. The canny Carausius moved first, and in 286 usurped imperial authority, creating a North Sea empire in northern Gaul and Britain that lasted until 296. Dubbed the pirate king, he initially thrived, seeing off early attempts by Maximian to defeat him. However, in the early 290s Maximian appointed his new caesar (junior emperor), Constantius Chlorus—the father of Constantine the Great—to defeat Carausius. A seasoned commander, Constantius Chlorus soon brought northern Gaul back into the imperial fold, leaving Carausius controlling only Britain. But that control would soon come to an end in dramatic fashion, as recounted in this lively, compelling history.

Roman Britain's Pirate King

Roman Britain's Pirate King PDF Author: Simon Elliott
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399094394
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Get Book

Book Description
A “fascinating and engaging” study of the naval commander who defied an emperor and ruled in Britain and northern Gaul for a decade (Midwest Book Review). In the middle of the third century AD, Roman Britain’s regional fleet, the Classis Britannica, disappeared. It was never to return. Soon the North Sea and English Channel were overrun by Germanic pirates preying upon the east and south coasts of Britain, and the continental coast up to the Rhine Delta. The western augustus (senior emperor) Maximian turned to a seasoned naval leader called Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Valerius Carausius to restore order. He was so successful that Maximian accused him of pocketing the plunder he’d recaptured—and ordered his execution. The canny Carausius moved first, and in 286 usurped imperial authority, creating a North Sea empire in northern Gaul and Britain that lasted until 296. Dubbed the pirate king, he initially thrived, seeing off early attempts by Maximian to defeat him. However, in the early 290s Maximian appointed his new caesar (junior emperor), Constantius Chlorus—the father of Constantine the Great—to defeat Carausius. A seasoned commander, Constantius Chlorus soon brought northern Gaul back into the imperial fold, leaving Carausius controlling only Britain. But that control would soon come to an end in dramatic fashion, as recounted in this lively, compelling history.

Roman Britain's Pirate King

Roman Britain's Pirate King PDF Author: Simon Elliott
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399094378
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
A “fascinating and engaging” study of the naval commander who defied an emperor and ruled in Britain and northern Gaul for a decade (Midwest Book Review). In the middle of the third century AD, Roman Britain’s regional fleet, the Classis Britannica, disappeared. It was never to return. Soon the North Sea and English Channel were overrun by Germanic pirates preying upon the east and south coasts of Britain, and the continental coast up to the Rhine Delta. The western augustus (senior emperor) Maximian turned to a seasoned naval leader called Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Valerius Carausius to restore order. He was so successful that Maximian accused him of pocketing the plunder he’d recaptured—and ordered his execution. The canny Carausius moved first, and in 286 usurped imperial authority, creating a North Sea empire in northern Gaul and Britain that lasted until 296. Dubbed the pirate king, he initially thrived, seeing off early attempts by Maximian to defeat him. However, in the early 290s Maximian appointed his new caesar (junior emperor), Constantius Chlorus—the father of Constantine the Great—to defeat Carausius. A seasoned commander, Constantius Chlorus soon brought northern Gaul back into the imperial fold, leaving Carausius controlling only Britain. But that control would soon come to an end in dramatic fashion, as recounted in this lively, compelling history.

The Roman Emperors of Britain

The Roman Emperors of Britain PDF Author: Tony Sullivan
Publisher: Pen and Sword History
ISBN: 1399064436
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
This book provides a unique take on the history of Roman Britain from Julius Caesar’s first invasion to the end of Roman authority. In 55 BC, on a stretch of beach near Deal in East Kent, the Romans’ first invasion was in great danger of being pushed back into the sea by a host of Britons defending the beach. The eagle bearer of the Tenth Legion jumped into the surf and urged his comrades to follow him, a pivotal moment in Julius Caesar’s first invasion. It was to be another ninety years before Claudius finally subdued part of the island and paraded in triumph into the stronghold at Camulodunum. Roman authority quickly expanded, from Vespasian’s dramatic campaign against the hillforts of southern Britain to Hadrian’s famous Wall in the north. This book will cover not the reign of Emperors but what posts they held in Britain prior to their achieving the throne. Titus served as a tribune directly after the Boudiccan revolt. Pertinax served in three posts: equestrian tribune of the Sixth Legion; praefectus of an auxiliary unit; and finally as a governor of Britannia. It will cover the civil war between Clodius Albinus and Septimius Severus and the later campaigns into Scotland. The upheavals of the third century and the breakaway regimes of Postumus and Carauius, ‘the pirate king’. In the fourth century Britain continued to produce usurpers and tyrants but only one managed to unite the empire, Constantine I. His namesake, Constantine III, was to be the last emperor to lead troops from Britain to Gaul, leaving the province to fend for itself into the fifth century.

Roman Special Forces and Special Ops

Roman Special Forces and Special Ops PDF Author: Simon Elliott
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399090933
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Much has been written about the Roman army and the mighty legions that conquered their empire and then defended it for centuries against all comers. But little has been written about the men and units employed when something more subtle than the march of legions into pitched battle was required. This is the only book available dedicated to Roman special ops and the role of the Speculatores, Exploratores, Protectores and Areani. Simon Elliott reveals the kinds of special operations conducted by the Romans: tactical scouting ahead of the legions, covert strategic reconnaissance in neighboring states, espionage, assassination or abduction of dissidents and enemies, counter-insurgency, and close protection of Roman officials and commanders. While such missions were frequently executed by ad-hoc units or individuals detailed for that specific mission, the author goes on to reveal the evidence for the aforementioned specialist units. He concludes with an analysis of the extent to which these various forces corresponded to a modern conception of Special Forces. These men were the eyes and ears of the Empire, the deadly tip of the Roman sword.

Great Battles of the Early Roman Empire

Great Battles of the Early Roman Empire PDF Author: Simon Elliott
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399069853
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
Dr Simon Elliott describes eight of the greatest, most decisive of the Roman Empire of the first to third centuries. The list includes battles fought from the highlands of Scotland and the forests of Germany to the deserts of the Middle East. They show how the vaunted Roman legions adapted to extremes of terrain and climate as well as a wide array of very different foes, from the wild Caledonian tribes to the sophisticated, combined-arms armies of Sassanid Persia with their war elephants and superb cavalry. Some of the battles even pit the Roman legions against their own kind in brutal civil wars. After an introductory chapter on the Imperial Roman army, detailing its organization, equipment, tactics and doctrine, the author moves on to describing each battle in detail. He sets the strategic context and background of the chosen engagement before analysing the size and composition of the opposing forces, also detailing the nature of the enemy faced. The manoeuvres leading up to the battle are described, followed by deployment and the course of the fighting itself. Finally, the aftermath and implications of the battles outcome are assessed. The well-researched and engaging text is supported by clear maps.

Diocletian and the Military Restoration of Rome

Diocletian and the Military Restoration of Rome PDF Author: Lee Fratantuono
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1526771861
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
The third century AD was one of unprecedented crisis and chaos for the Roman Empire. Nightmares both internal and external threatened to spell the end of Rome’s thousand-year history. Diocletian was born either a slave or a freedman, and he grew up to become the saviour of Rome in her hour of crisis, a powerful military and political leader who transformed the Roman Empire from a hotbed of unceasing strife and turmoil into a renewed, restored, revivified and stable polity. His more than twenty years of power were marked by the ill-fated Great Persecution of the Christians, an undertaking that would prove to be one of the less successful initiatives of his reign, even as in its own way it helped to pave the way for the coming of an equally famous, successful emperor in the person of Constantine the Great. The present study seeks to provide an introduction to the life and times of Diocletian for the general reader, offering a balanced portrait of an immensely talented man in a time of trial and tumult, an accomplished emperor who knew when it was time to retire to his gardens.

Sea Eagles of Empire

Sea Eagles of Empire PDF Author: Simon Elliott
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750969318
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Winner of Military History Monthly 's 2017 Book of the Year Award The Classis Britannica was the Roman regional fleet controlling and protecting the waters around the British Isles – in other words, Britain's first-ever navy. For over 200 years it played a key role in the northern frontiers of the Roman Empire: it helped to establish the province of Britannia and assisted in Roman military campaigns, as well as controlling the continental coast through to the Rhine Delta. Outside of war, the Classis Britannica also offered vital support for the civilian infrastructure of Roman Britain, assisting in administration, carrying out major building and engineering projects, and running industry. Later, its mysterious disappearance in the mid-third century ad would contribute to Britain finally leaving the Empire 150 years later. In Sea Eagles of Empire, acclaimed historian Simon Elliott tells its story for the very first time.

Hengest, Gwrtheyrn and the Chronology of Post-Roman Britain

Hengest, Gwrtheyrn and the Chronology of Post-Roman Britain PDF Author: Flint F. Johnson
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786478195
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 263

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Book Description
In this book, the author makes use of the methodology he developed in Origins of Arthurian Romances (McFarland 2012) in order to reevaluate the post-Roman history of Britain. He begins by delving into the historical contexts of the key traditional players of the fifth century--Hengest and Gwrtheyrn. A better understanding of these two characters allows for a reexamination of the persons and events of the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries. The text that follows entirely realigns how those centuries can be seen from a chronological as well as a military and political standpoint. The fifth century was not a time of British and Germanic fragmentation as they separated from Rome, but one of slow integration and the formation of kingships that were a result of the economic realities of surviving without the dying giant.

The Pirate King

The Pirate King PDF Author: Sean Kingsley
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1639365966
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
The incredible story of the “Robin Hood of the Seas,” who absconded with millions during the Golden Age of Piracy and who harbored an even greater secret. Henry Avery of Devon pillaged a fortune from a Mughal ship off the coast of India and then vanished into thin air—and into legend. More ballads, plays, biographies and books were written about Avery’s adventures than any other pirate. His contemporaries crowned him "the pirate king" for pulling off the richest heist in pirate history and escaping with his head intact (unlike Blackbeard and his infamous Flying Gang). Avery was now the most wanted criminal on earth. To the authorities, Avery was the enemy of all mankind. To the people he was a hero. Rumors swirled about his disappearance. The only certainty is that Henry Avery became a ghost. What happened to the notorious Avery has been pirate history’s most baffling cold case for centuries. Now, in a remote archive, a coded letter written by "Avery the Pirate" himself, years after he disappeared, reveals a stunning truth. He was a pirate that came in from the cold . . . In The Pirate King, Sean Kingsley and Rex Cowan brilliantly tie Avery to the shadowy lives of two other icons of the early 18th century, including Daniel Defoe, the world-famous novelist and—as few people know—a deep-cover spy with more than a hundred pseudonyms, and Archbishop Thomas Tenison, a Protestant with a hatred of Catholic France. Sean Kingsley and Rex Cowan's The Pirate King brilliantly reveals the untold epic story of Henry Avery in all it's colorful glory—his exploits, his survival, his secret double life, and how he inspired the golden age of piracy.

King Arthur's Battle for Britain

King Arthur's Battle for Britain PDF Author: Eric Walmsley
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1780884001
Category : Arthurian romances
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
For the first time, convincing locations have been found for all King Arthur’s battles.The inspiration for King Arthur’s Battle for Britain came from Eric’s discovery of an ancient Latin text in the British Library that listed the twelve battles of King Arthur. This presented an immediate challenge because only a few of the battle sites mentioned had been previously identified. After a decade searching mountains and moors throughout Britain, guided by references from early sources, Eric believes he has found convincing locations for all of Arthur’s battles.By developing an imaginary scenario for each battle in the chronological order of the text, a believable storyline has emerged depicting Arthur’s struggle to defend his country against nine different enemies, including dissident Britons as well as the invading Angles and Saxons. Eric has also discovered that it was Arthur’s own kith and kin who plotted his demise at the battle of Camlan. By linking clues interwoven with early poetry and legendary texts, Eric has been able to suggest the name of the Romano-British city most likely to have been King Arthur’s ‘Camelot’ and has also identified the site of Arthur’s military headquarters in the west. His search for new evidence confirms the location of Camlan and reveals the real Isle of Avalon, where Arthur was finally laid to rest.King Arthur’s Battle for Britain will appeal to anyone interested in the Arthurian period and the legend of King Arthur. Eric has been inspired by Geoffrey Ashe’s The Quest for Arthur’s Britain and John Morris’ The Age of Arthur.