William Horsted

This colourful study describes and illustrates the troops of the Seleucid Empire in West Asia throughout its turbulent 250-year existence. Founded by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator in 312 BC in the wake of the death of Alexander the Great 11 years previously, the Seleucid Empire came to control much of the territory conquered by Alexander in western Asia, and at its height reached from the Mediterranean to Afghanistan. The colourful armies fielded by Seleucus I and his successors are described and illustrated in this absorbing study of a major power at war in the ancient world. As the fortunes of their realm ebbed and flowed, Seleucid kings deployed vast armies recruited from diverse peoples that drew upon an array of military traditions, including the mighty phalanx, war elephants, scythed chariots and camel-mounted archers. Illustrated throughout with photographs and drawings as well as eight pages of specially commissioned artwork, this fascinating study draws upon a range of literary, archaeological and artistic sources to explore the organization, tactics, weapons and equipment of the varied units of Seleucid armies over two-and-a-half turbulent centuries in the ancient world.

A fully illustrated study of the troops fighting for Caesar and Pompey in three major battles of the Roman Civil War.Triggered by the tensions surrounding Julius Caesar’s return to Rome from Gaul, the civil war that broke out in 49 BC convulsed the Roman world. Commanders and troops loyal to Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, known as Pompey, confronted those following Caesar in a series of brutal battles across the Mediterranean, from Hispania to Greece.William Horsted assesses the similarities and differences between the evolving Caesarian and Pompeian armies, which included not only Roman legions but also auxiliaries from Gaul, Numidia and elsewhere. Even after Pompey’s defeat at Pharsalus (48 BC) and his subsequent death in Egypt, the conflict continued, with Pompey’s relatives and followers continuing the fight until 45 BC. The two armies are examined in the context of three major clashes of the conflict: Dyrrachium (48 BC) in present-day Albania; Thapsus (46 BC) in modern Tunisia; and Munda (45 BC) in Spain. The text is complemented by specially commissioned colour artwork and mapping as well as archive photographs.