The Praetorian Guard PDF Download

Author: Sandra Bingham
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857721631
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
Conceived as a personal army for the emperor, the elite Praetorian Guard soon took over a wide range of powers in Rome, and thus from the very beginning made a much greater impact on the city's life than just as an imperial bodyguard. The Praetorians were in fact inseparable from the whole machinery of state, in some cases even making or breaking individual emperors. Sandra Bingham here offers a timely history of the Guard from its foundation by Augustus in 27 BCE to its disbandment by Constantine in CE 312. Topics covered include arms and insignia; the size, recruitment and command structure of the Guard; duration of service; the duties of individual soldiers and officers; and their families, daily lives and religion.

Author: Boris Rankov
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781855323612
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Book Description
The Praetorian Guard of Imperial Rome was the power behind the throne, with the ability to make or break an emperor. As the main body of troops in Rome, they were the emperor's instrument to discourage plotting and rebellion and to crush unrest. The emperor's most immediate line of defence, they could also be his most deadly enemies. This book details the organization, dress and history of the Praetorian Guard from the time of the late Republic to the Guard's effective destruction at the battle of Milvian Bridge in AD 312. Numerous illustrations vividly depict the uniforms and weaponry of this elite fighting unit.

Author: Robert French Evans
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
"Soldiers of Rome, focusing almost exclusively on the praetorians and legionnaires ? [references] in print not only to the field campaigns during this period but to the military?s role in the plots and counterplots that simmered and boiled around the imperial palace"--Dust jacket.

Author: John Stockwell
Publisher: South End Press
ISBN: 9780896083950
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Since its publication in 1991 this book has stayed in print, although some parts may now be dated. Stockwell examines often unjustified involvement of the CIA in many parts of the world, through thousands of covert operations, which have ended the lives of millions of people. He describes secret and obscure operations, some of which entailed the killing of people by the thousands at Angola, and others such as the one which overthrew the first democratic government in Guatemala, and the creation of the infamous "death squads" in that country and El Salvador, to murder civilians and seed terror among the people.

Author: Ross Cowan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782009264
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
From the civil wars of the Late Republic to Constantine's bloody reunification of the Empire, elite corps of guardsmen were at the heart of every Roman army. Whether as bodyguards or as shock troops in battle, the fighting skills of praetorians, speculatores, singulares and protectores determined the course of Roman history. Modern scholars tend to present the praetorians as pampered, disloyal and battle-shy, but the Romans knew them as valiant warriors, men who strove to live up to their honorific title pia vindex – loyal and avenging. Closely associated with the Republican praetorian cohorts, and gradually assimilated into the Imperial Praetorian Guard, were the speculatores. A cohort was established by Marc Antony in the 30s BC for the purposes of reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, but soon the speculatores were acting as close bodyguards a role they maintained until the end of the first century AD. This title will detail the changing nature of these units, their organization and operational successes and failures from their origins in the late Republic through to their unsuccessful struggle against Constantine the Great.

Author: Guy de la Bédoyère
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300214030
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
The Britain of the Roman Occupation is, in a way, an age that is dark to us. While the main events from 55 BC to AD 410 are little disputed, and the archaeological remains of villas, forts, walls, and cities explain a great deal, we lack a clear sense of individual lives. This book is the first to infuse the story of Britannia with a beating heart, the first to describe in detail who its inhabitants were and their place in our history. A lifelong specialist in Romano-British history, Guy de la Bédoyère is the first to recover the period exclusively as a human experience. He focuses not on military campaigns and imperial politics but on individual, personal stories. Roman Britain is revealed as a place where the ambitious scramble for power and prestige, the devout seek solace and security through religion, men and women eke out existences in a provincial frontier land. De la Bédoyère introduces Fortunata the slave girl, Emeritus the frustrated centurion, the grieving father Quintus Corellius Fortis, and the brilliant metal worker Boduogenus, among numerous others. Through a wide array of records and artifacts, the author introduces the colorful cast of immigrants who arrived during the Roman era while offering an unusual glimpse of indigenous Britons, until now nearly invisible in histories of Roman Britain.

Author: Jeremy Black
Publisher: Thames and Hudson
ISBN: 9780500251768
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The most authoritative and up-to-date account available on special forces in history, with texts by noted military historians. Many of the most famous fighting forces in history have been elite units, trained and equipped for particular tasks, whether as imperial guards, shock troops, fighter pilots, or behind-enemy-lines special forces. This highly illustrated survey covers fifty-two such units, from the Persian Immortals of 2,500 years ago to the Delta Force and Green Berets today. These forces are distinguished by: • a willingness to fight to the death (the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae; the Knights of Malta) • a spearhead role (Alexander the Great’s Companion Cavalry; the Mongol Keshik; the Aztec Military Orders) • specialist skills and endurance (Edward III’s longbow men; Navy Seals) • reliability and loyalty to a leader or cause (the Zulu Impis; Mosby’s Rangers in the Civil War) Each profile lists important dates and includes a key battle and quotations from contemporary sources. The wide range of illustrations includes battle scenes and special uniforms and insignia.

Author: Micheal P. Speidel
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135782547
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
Professor Speidel's book represents the first history of the Roman horse guard ever written and provides a readable account of the intricate part these men played in the fate of the Roman empire and its emperors.

Author:
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428990437
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 507

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Book Description
Jerry Thigpen's study on the history of the Combat Talon is the first effort to tell the story of this wonderfully capable machine. This weapons system has performed virtually every imaginable tactical event in the spectrum of conflict and by any measure is the most versatile C-130 derivative ever produced. First modified and sent to Southeast Asia (SEA) in 1966 to replace theater unconventional warfare (UW) assets that were limited in both lift capability and speed the Talon I quickly adapted to theater UW tasking including infiltration and resupply and psychological warfare operations into North Vietnam. After spending four years in SEA and maturing into a highly respected UW weapons system the Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) chose the Combat Talon to lead the night low-level raid on the North Vietnamese prison camp at Son Tay. Despite the outcome of the operation the Talon I cemented its reputation as the weapons system of choice for long-range clandestine operations. In the period following the Vietnam War United States Air Force (USAF) special operations gradually lost its political and financial support which was graphically demonstrated in the failed Desert One mission into Iran. Thanks to congressional supporters like Earl Hutto of Florida and Dan Daniel of Virginia funds for aircraft upgrades and military construction projects materialized to meet the ever-increasing threat to our nation. Under the leadership of such committed hard-driven officers as Brenci Uttaro Ferkes Meller and Thigpen the crew force became the most disciplined in our Air Force. It was capable of penetrating hostile airspace at night in a low-level mountainous environment covertly to execute any number of unconventional warfare missions.

Author: Claire Holleran
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1405198192
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 804

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Book Description
A Companion to the City of Rome presents a series of original essays from top experts that offer an authoritative and up-to-date overview of current research on the development of the city of Rome from its origins until circa AD 600. Offers a unique interdisciplinary, closely focused thematic approach and wide chronological scope making it an indispensible reference work on ancient Rome Includes several new developments on areas of research that are available in English for the first time Newly commissioned essays written by experts in a variety of related fields Original and up-to-date readings pertaining to the city of Rome on a wide variety of topics including Rome’s urban landscape, population, economy, civic life, and key events