Numidians 300 BC-AD 300

The Numidian light cavalry were highly skilled horsemen, but were often unfairly derided for their indiscipline and perceived lack of culture. Recent scholarship has revealed that they were equipped with armor and equipment, including carved stone shields and cuirasses, and fielded infantry, slingers, archers, and even war elephants in conflicts across the Mediterranean. This book presents original color artwork, chapters on their weapons and equipment, history, tactics, and organization, and challenges the traditional view of the Numidians as uncivilized barbarians.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 48 pages
Publication date: 21 January 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

The Numidian light cavalry were among the most renowned horsemen in the ancient world, renowned for their swift attacks, swift retreats, and skirmishing prowess. However, they were unfairly derided for their indiscipline, perceived lack of culture, and fecklessness, and dismissed as uncivilized, nomadic barbarians from beyond the fringes of the cultured, settled Mediterranean world. Recent scholarship has shown that there is far more evidence for the armour and equipment of the Numidians than hitherto assumed. The carved stone shields and cuirasses that punctuate the decorative friezes of the stone 'altars at Kbor Klib and Chimtou in North Africa are confident representations of Numidian panoplies, not captured Carthaginian armour as has previously been argued. In this book, this research is presented alongside a close examination of various ancient texts which reveal that the Numidians also fielded infantry, slingers, archers, and even war elephants in conflicts across the Mediterranean, including Spain, Greece, northern Italy, and Thrace. All of these troops are brought to life in original colour artwork, complemented by chapters on their weapons and equipment, history, tactics, and organization.

Weight: 168g
Dimension: 184 x 246 x 6 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781472842190