- The Library -

[juvenus]

@Constantius: yes, that's the one. it's about 10e so, quite cheap. ok, i'll probably buy it.
btw, SBH you think Jones' work is better than Bury's as far as i understood? you probably think of:
A.H.M. Jones- ‘The Later Roman Empire 284-602: A Social, Economic and Administrative Survey’
do you mind specifying where exactly Bury's work is outdated? cause i'm not interested in every single aspect of the Empire, I'm mostly into Administrative/Military system.

[Constantius]

I had forgotten about these sites, so I will post them here. Not books as such but, pod-casts by a professor and author, enjoy
http://normancenturies.com/
http://12byzantinerulers.com/

[Dragases]

@Constantius: yes, that's the one. it's about 10e so, quite cheap. ok, i'll probably buy it.
btw, SBH you think Jones' work is better than Bury's as far as i understood? you probably think of:
A.H.M. Jones- ‘The Later Roman Empire 284-602: A Social, Economic and Administrative Survey’
do you mind specifying where exactly Bury's work is outdated? cause i'm not interested in every single aspect of the Empire, I'm mostly into Administrative/Military system.

If you're more into administration and the military, then Jones is by far superior. Even though it's almost 50 years old at this stage, no Anglophone author has yet replaced his "Later Roman Empire" as the most complete study on the internal structure of the empire in that era. He has a separate separate chapter on the army and a very useful appendix that provides in depth analysis of the Notitia Dignitatum.

Bury is better as a narrative account of the political events in the fifth and sixth century.

[Magister Militum Flavius Aetius]

Haven't been able to read Jons ore Ferril but I did once manage to acquire a copy of JB Bury from the Library system. Had to ship it from all the way across the state. Orangeburg County actually If I remember correctly

[Constantius]

If you buy an amazon Kindle, you can download each volume of Bury's 'A History of Later Roman Empire' for £1:34 each! not to mention many many ancient authors (Translated or not) for nothing

[juvenus]

If you're more into administration and the military, then Jones is by far superior. Even though it's almost 50 years old at this stage, no Anglophone author has yet replaced his "Later Roman Empire" as the most complete study on the internal structure of the empire in that era. He has a separate separate chapter on the army and a very useful appendix that provides in depth analysis of the Notitia Dignitatum.

Bury is better as a narrative account of the political events in the fifth and sixth century.

yes, that's exactly what i wanted to know. ok, i'll see about Jones, in the meantime i've already gotten Bury's work. as you said, a lot of very detailed narrative...it seems as a useful starting resource.
however, as noted before i'm more interested in the nature of the civilian and military system (especially military). when i say that i mean: the recruiting grounds, ethnic composition, terms of service, dealing with contingencies, command & control element, communications, logistics, training etc.

[Dragases]

yes, that's exactly what i wanted to know. ok, i'll see about Jones, in the meantime i've already gotten Bury's work. as you said, a lot of very detailed narrative...it seems as a useful starting resource.
however, as noted before i'm more interested in the nature of the civilian and military system (especially military). when i say that i mean: the recruiting grounds, ethnic composition, terms of service, dealing with contingencies, command & control element, communications, logistics, training etc.

Jones will give you almost anything - be it outdated - you wanted to know about the late Roman Empire: army, government, church, society, literature, cities etc.

If you just want to focus on the army (in all its dimensions), your best bet is:
Elton, H. (1996), Warfare in Roman Europe (AD 350-425), Oxford.

Contrary to what you'd expect from the title, his book comments on plenty of events throughout the entire fifth century (as far as Theodoric's war against Odoacer). It's based on Elton's original PhD thesis, hence it provides some of the finest first hand research of that time.

Nicasie's Twilight of Empire is also good, but out of print and a lot harder (= considerably more expensive) to find.

[Constantius]

I have just bought 'The Historians of Late Antiquity' by Professor David Rohrbacher, (2003), Routledge, London and New York. Its a survey of the life and works of fourth and fifth century Roman historians. A good guide and reference tool, I haven't yet read it all, but will let you know what I think (bearing in mind I have a massive reading list and revision to get through in next couple of months)

[Joar]

I had forgotten about these sites, so I will post them here. Not books as such but, pod-casts by a professor and author, enjoy
http://normancenturies.com/
http://12byzantinerulers.com/

Very nice! Perfect to listen to while driving.

[juvenus]

Jones will give you almost anything - be it outdated - you wanted to know about the late Roman Empire: army, government, church, society, literature, cities etc.

If you just want to focus on the army (in all its dimensions), your best bet is:
Elton, H. (1996), Warfare in Roman Europe (AD 350-425), Oxford.

Contrary to what you'd expect from the title, his book comments on plenty of events throughout the entire fifth century (as far as Theodoric's war against Odoacer). It's based on Elton's original PhD thesis, hence it provides some of the finest first hand research of that time.

Nicasie's Twilight of Empire is also good, but out of print and a lot harder (= considerably more expensive) to find.

ok, now is see it. btw, i have an excellent book:
The Later Roman Empire 337-425, the Cambridge edition. The best book i've ever read (although i haven't finished it yet). it has around 900pages and there's everything possible:political narrative, religion, art, government, military etc. It's one of the huge series from Cambridge covering entire antiquity.

alright, i think i'm gonna skip Jones in that case, cause this book has it all too. instead i'll try to get that Elton's work.

[Constantius]

Cambridge University press, as might be expected produces some very good scholary publications. Another you might like is: Curta. F,(2006) 'Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages'(500-1250), Cambridge Medieval Textbooks, Cambridge.

[juvenus]

Cambridge University press, as might be expected produces some very good scholary publications. Another you might like is: Curta. F,(2006) 'Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages'(500-1250), Cambridge Medieval Textbooks, Cambridge.

yup, i guess that's a good one too. Cambridge editions are always quality ones. but honestly, i don't need a Cambridge for the Medieval period since there's a multitude of Serbian authors who studied that era and produced many works. Especially, all things Byzantine, Balkans, Slavs and of course, origin of the Serbian state in the 9th century.

[Constantius]

I suppose it must be easier to read in your mother tongue. Never the less Cambridge is world renowned for its research into most fields, late antique southeastern europe no less than others.

[juvenus]

I suppose it must be easier to read in your mother tongue.than others.

In fact, it's cheaper to get book from the local authors. Nothing else.
As for the easiness of reading, it's actually the way easier reading in english. Serbian language has many different dialects and every author writes in his own. The differences are significant and the whole syntaxes may sound and read differently.

[Constantius]

Learn something new everyday, it would seem likely then that most Serbian scholars, should perhaps publish in a neutral version of Serbian language.

[juvenus]

Learn something new everyday, it would seem likely then that most Serbian scholars, should perhaps publish in a neutral version of Serbian language.

surely, but either way, whenever a quality English work is at hand, that's a safe bet

[Constantius]

Rome and Persia in Late Antiquity


Neighbours and Rivals

• Beate Dignas, University of Oxford
• Engelbert Winter, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany

• Paperback

• ISBN: 9780521614078
• Publication date: September 2007

Has not arrived yet, so I cannot say much, but will let you know

[Constantius]

I got the book I also got Collins.R, Early medieval europe 300-1000 third ed, 2010, Palgrave/MacMillan. Both books are very interesting, scholary textbooks.

[Valentinian Victor]

Rome and Persia in Late Antiquity



Neighbours and Rivals

• Beate Dignas, University of Oxford
• Engelbert Winter, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany

• Paperback

• ISBN: 9780521614078
• Publication date: September 2007

Has not arrived yet, so I cannot say much, but will let you know

Very good book, orginally written in German but translated into English due to popular demand from historians and academics alike. I did put this in my book list post as a must have book.

[Valentinian Victor]

Cambridge University press, as might be expected produces some very good scholary publications. Another you might like is: Curta. F,(2006) 'Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages'(500-1250), Cambridge Medieval Textbooks, Cambridge.

Yes, the Cambridge books are very good, if expensive. I bought the two volume 'Greek and Roman warfare' series and even though I saved £150, it still cost me £130 for the two books!

I'd recommend Jones over Bury everytime, Jones is the most quoted scholarly work that uses much more upto date research than Bury. It's not a history of the Late Roman Empire by the way, just examines aspects of it such as the economics, army size etc.