On 26 August 1071 a large Byzantine army under Emperor Romanus IV met the Saljuq Turk forces of Sultan Alp Arslan near the town of Manzikert to the far east of the Byzantine Empire. The battle ended in a decisive defeat for the Byzantine forces, with the wings of the army routing following withering Turkish arrow fire, and the centre overwhelmed, with the Byzantine emperor captured and much of his fabled Varangian guard killed. This battle is justifiably regarded as a turning point in Middle Eastern, European and to some extent even world history. It is seen as the primary trigger of the...
On 26 August 1071 a large Byzantine army under Emperor Romanus IV met the Saljuq Turk forces of Sultan Alp Arslan near the town of Manzikert to the fa...
Osprey's study of Teutonic Knights from 1190 to 1561. The Military Order of Teutonic Knights was one of the three most famous Crusading Orders; the others being the Templars and the Hospitallers. Like these two, the Teutonic Knights initially focused upon the preservation of the Crusader States in the Middle East. Wielding their swords in the name of their faith, the crusading knights set out to reclaim Jerusalem. Unlike the Templars they survived the crises of identity and purpose which followed the loss of the last Crusader mainland enclaves in the late thirteenth century and, like the...
Osprey's study of Teutonic Knights from 1190 to 1561. The Military Order of Teutonic Knights was one of the three most famous Crusading Orders; the ot...
Osprey's elite title on the rise and fall of European medieval cavalry during an 800 year period. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire there was a decline in professional cavalry forces, and infantry dominated in the Germanic successor barbarian kingdoms. In the Carolingian and Norman periods from the 9th to the 11th centuries, under the impact of Viking, Saracen and Magyar advances, the cavalry arm gradually expanded from the small remaining aristocratic elite. Even so, the supposedly complete dominance of the knight in the 12th and 13th centuries is grossly exaggerated, as...
Osprey's elite title on the rise and fall of European medieval cavalry during an 800 year period. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire there ...
For the overwhelming majority of people outside the French-speaking world the Hundred Years War consisted of a sequence of major English victories, above all Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt. The only significant victor or 'hero' on the French side was Joan of Arc, and she ended up being burned at the stake. Yet somehow the war ended in a French victory and with England's martial energies being turned against itself in the Wars of the Roses. This book is intended to provide some balance. It will describe the campaign that brought the Hundred Years War to a close, with English possessions being...
For the overwhelming majority of people outside the French-speaking world the Hundred Years War consisted of a sequence of major English victories, ab...
Longbows, crossbows, heavy spears, swiss pikes, catapaults, and especially gunpowder artillery and handheld guns such as the arquebus gradually but profoundly changed European warfare.
By about 1260 the steady rise of the European heavily armoured mounted knight to the predominant role in most pitched battles was complete. But though he dominated the actual day of battle, he did not dominate warfare - there were plenty of vital though unglamorous tasks for which footsoldiers were still necessary, 'cleaning up round the edges'. With the development in the 13th century of co-operative...
Longbows, crossbows, heavy spears, swiss pikes, catapaults, and especially gunpowder artillery and handheld guns such as the arquebus gradually but...
From humble beginnings, in the course of three centuries the Portuguese built the world's first truly global empire, stretching from modern Brazil to sub-Saharan Africa and from India to the East Indies (Indonesia). Portugal had established its present-day borders by 1300 and the following century saw extensive warfare that confirmed Portugal's independence and allowed it to aspire to maritime expansion, sponsored by monarchs such as Prince Henry the Navigator.
Intent on finding a sea route to the source of the lucrative spice trade, the Portuguese discovered a route down Africa's...
From humble beginnings, in the course of three centuries the Portuguese built the world's first truly global empire, stretching from modern Brazil ...
The dramatic eruption of the Arab peoples from Arabia after their adoption of the Muslim faith in the 7th century remains one of the most extraordinary events in world history. By the end of that century they ruled a state that stretched from the Atlantic to India, from southern Arabia to Central Asia, covering an area far greater than that of the Roman Empire. Therefore warfare, at least among the nomadic bedouin, was a normal aspect of life. Complemented by numerous illustrations, including eight full page colour plates by Angus McBride, this detailed text by David Nicolle tells the real...
The dramatic eruption of the Arab peoples from Arabia after their adoption of the Muslim faith in the 7th century remains one of the most extraordinar...
In the centuries following the first expeditions down the great rivers of northern Russia by Viking traders and adventurers, the foundations for a new state were laid. Many influences combined in this colourful culture which grew up first around the great cities of Kiev and Novgorod Scandinavian, Finnish, Slav, steppe Turkish, Byzantine. By the time of the Mongol invasions of the 12th century the small enclaves of the old pagan Rus', tolerated by the Khazar Khans for their commercial usefulness, had evolved into a Christian nation. Its story is told here in fascinating detail, and illustrated...
In the centuries following the first expeditions down the great rivers of northern Russia by Viking traders and adventurers, the foundations for a new...
The Battle of Crecy was the first major land battle of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). It pitted the French army, then considered the best in Europe, and their miscellaneous allies against the English under King Edward III and the 'Black Prince', who as yet had no great military reputation; this was the battle where he 'won his spurs'. The Genoese crossbowmen were outshot by the English longbows and the pattern was set for the rest of the day: the French cavalry were committed piecemeal in fruitless charges against strong English positions, losing perhaps 10,000 men in the course of the...
The Battle of Crecy was the first major land battle of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). It pitted the French army, then considered the best in Europ...
Babur, the founder of the Mughul dynasty, was of Turco-Mongol origin - he was descended from Timur-i-Lenk Tamerlane] on his father's side and Genghiz Khan on his mother's. His first raid into India in 1516 was followed by several others, and by the time of his death in 1530 Babur's troops had reached Bengal on the far side of the sub-continent. With eight fine full page colour plates by Angus McBride, and many other illustrations, this text by David Nicolle examines the organisation, tactics and uniforms of Mughul armies from Babur's time onwards.
Babur, the founder of the Mughul dynasty, was of Turco-Mongol origin - he was descended from Timur-i-Lenk Tamerlane] on his father's side and Genghiz...
