| The Sarmatians 600 BC-AD 450 (Men-at-Arms) | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Brzezinski
Creator: Gerry Embleton
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
Buy Used: $7.57
You Save: $10.38 (58%)
New (23) Used (9) from $7.57
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 611918
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 48
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 7 x 0.2
ISBN: 184176485X
Dewey Decimal Number: 355
EAN: 9781841764856
ASIN: 184176485X
Publication Date: August 19, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The Sarmatians - one of the many nomadic groups to emerge from the great Eurasian Steppe - crossed the Don in about the 3rd century BC to displace their western neighbours, the Scythians, in the lands north of the Black Sea. Later they burst into Asia Minor and Rome's Danube provinces, becoming famous for the prowess of their lance-armed cavalry - first as enemies, and later as allies of Rome. They influenced Rome's adoption of heavy armoured cavalry, and in Roman service they were even posted to Britain. Drawing upon a wide reading of Classical authors and of Russian archaeological publications, this fascinating study is the first major English language attempt to reconstruct their armour, equipment and tactics.
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| Customer Reviews:
Sarmatian Knights March 31, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book was the first Osprey book I ever bought, but has inspired me to come back for, so far, about seventy more. It is an excellent source on this oft-overlooked warrior people, giving a summary of the history of the various tribes (Aorsi, Alans, Rhoxolani, etc.) and then going on to examine tactics, armor, lancing gear, blades, archery equipment, and lassos. Their roles in the 3rd-5th Century Roman army, as well as their possible role in the myth of King Arthur is also examined. The book also briefly looks at the unique Kingdom of the Bosporan Cimmerians, a Crimean people who combined the military thought of the Romans, Greeks, Gauls, Scythians, and Sarmatians. This is an excellent source on some of Rome's most fearsome 'barbarians'!
A Very good Source of information June 23, 2005
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a very good source of information as it gives you alot of detail without going into various documents or expensive books. The details on the pictures and weapons are excellent and that is why this is such a good book. A 5/5 for this one.
An excellent introduction and overview of Sarmatians February 21, 2005
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
"The Sarmatians 600 BC - AD 450" by Richard Brzezinski and Mariusz Mielczarek is an excellent resource about Sarmatians. The book lives up to the typical Osprey "Men-at-Arms" series standards; it provides a brief overview, along with many photographs of paintings and sculptures, and contains color plates depicting various scenes. The book is great as it draws from many accounts of ancient texts that mention the Sarmatians.
The Sarmatians were a nomadic people that came out of Iran in ancient times. There were various groups of Sarmatians, such as the Alans, Iazyges, Roxolani, Siraces, and Aorsi. My interest in the Sarmatians stems from the 17th century Polish nobles belief that they were descended from the Sarmatians. They even made their armor look like what they thought Sarmatian armor was like. This book provided me with insight into this subject. This book brushes on this topic, but by no means focuses on it and is only a small fragment of the information contained within this book.
The authors state that for centuries it was believed that the Sarmatians were the ancestors of the Slavs, as they lived on the same land and as one appeared the other disappeared. Furthermore, the authors state:
"Linguists and archeologists have long dismissed this idea; but at the same time have turned up evidence of the seminal influence of the Sarmatians on Slav language, art and religion. Indeed, it is now accepted that the Sarmatians merged in with pre-Slavic populations. Both Serb and Croat seem to be Slavicised Alan tribal names. The myth of Sarmatian origins took a strong hold in Poland, where the Alans had a minor presence. (p.39)"
Dismissing this idea into the class of myth may be just a form of extreme skepticism. It seems contradictory that the idea is dismissed, yet evidence in support of it has grown. Perhaps, it just goes to show the ancient beliefs were accurate in some cases, and modern re-thinking only distorts us from the truth.
Personally, I found it interesting that swords with ring shaped pommels were popular among the Sarmatians from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD, as my family coat of arms has a sword with a ring shaped pommel.
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