Osprey Special Editions (Military) : Barbarians Against Rome : Rome's Celtic, Germanic, Spanish and Gallic Enemies

As Rome expanded territorially and her ever-stretching borders increased through and beyond the Italian peninsular, a multifarious clash of cultures ensued, as the tectonic plates of civilisations ground against each other. Conflict and war was inevitable; to the victor, the potential of new territory and dominion; to the vanquished, the humility of subjugation and economic subservience. The conflicts of conquest in turn provoked migration and movement; those uprooted would fight to found new settlements. The Celts, Celtiberians, Gauls, Teutones, Cimbri, and many others all fought without mercy to protect their people, territories and cultures from the Roman onslaught, both in collaboration with other forces (such as the Celts in the Punic Wars), and independently. There were periods of peace and political compromise too, but the dogs of war were never fully kept at bay. This book examines the principal Barbarian peoples that dared to defy the power of Rome - their lifestyle, weapons, tactics and fortunes. In time, Rome triumphed temporarily; yet by the late-5th century AD, an array of Barbarian forces would finally defeat, and dispatch, the mighty Roman Empire.