In a single volume, Roman Empire at War catalogs and offers a brief
description of every significant battle fought by the Roman Empire from
Augustus to Justinian I (and most of the minor ones too). The
information in each entry is drawn exclusively from Ancient, Late
Antique, and Early Medieval texts, in order to offer a brief description
of each battle based solely on the information provided by the earliest
surviving sources which chronicle the event. This approach provides the
reader a concise foundation of information to which they can then
confidently apply later scholarly interpretation presented in secondary
sources in order to achieve a more accurate understanding of the most
likely battlefield scenario.
In writing the battle descriptions, the author has not sought to analyze
the evidence contained in the surviving accounts, nor embellish them
beyond that which was necessary to provide clarity to the modern reader.
He allows the original writers to speak for themselves, presenting the
reader with a succinct version of what the ancient chroniclers tell us
of these dramatic events. It is an excellent first-stop reference to the
many battles of the Roman Empire.