The date of Vegetius' Epitoma Rei Militaris, addressed to an unnamed emperor, has been the subject of vigorous debate. Although this military text is most often assigned to Theodosius the Great, this volume questions the likelihood of this belief and concludes that a fifth-century date might be preferable. Vegetius in Context examines the polemical nature of the Epitoma, the role of the emperor in late antiquity, the way in which emperors were addressed, attitudes to barbarization and religion, the use of propaganda, the changing political nature of the Empire, and, of course, pertinent military issues. In particular, the volume looks at the works and ideology of numerous authors from late antiquity, including historians, ecclesiastical writers, poets and panegyrists. A firm tenet of the research methodology is that it is necessary to establish an accurate picture of late-antique military, religious and political discourse in order to divine the most likely milieu into which the Epitoma should be placed - thus 'Vegetius in context', as the title suggests.

Vegetius' late Roman text became a well-known and highly respected 'classic' in the Middle Ages, transformed by its readers into the authority on the waging of war. Christopher Allmand analyses the medieval afterlife of the De Re Militari, tracing the growing interest in the text from the Carolingian world to the late Middle Ages, suggesting how the written word may have influenced the development of military practice in that period. While emphasising that success depended on a commander's ability to outwit the enemy with a carefully selected, well-trained and disciplined army, the De Re Militari inspired other unexpected developments, such as that of the 'national' army, and helped create a context in which the role of the soldier assumed greater social and political importance. Allmand explores the significance of the text and the changes it brought for those who accepted the implications of its central messages.

De Re Militari by Vegetius is the famous strategy book written in times of the Roman Empire. It explains how they organized their armies, battles, sieges, and war strategies. This is the complete official edition and it contains the 4th part (how to perform sieges, city defenses, and naval warfare) which is not included in commonly available basic editions. De Re Militari is essential to understand European strategy and war due to the fact that, besides describing the military might of Rome in practical terms, it was also used by generals and rulers in the next centuries and the Middle Ages to organize European armies, conduct sieges, reinforce castles, train soldiers, and conquer enemy nations. So much so that generals would be judged and measured in warfare skills by their knowledge and understanding of Vegetius.

Flavius Vegetius Renatus, the 4th century AD writer on military matters, was more well known during the Middle Ages than today. His Epitoma Rei Militaris was a kind of Vademecum for many kings and generals. Writers on military training and tactics used Vegetius as a source for their own treatises on these subjects. The Epitoma is found in over 300 manuscripts in Latin, in other European languages and in English. Printed editions are more scarce, especially in English. Lt. John Clarke prepared an English translation in 1767 directed mainly to military personnel. This has been printed in part in this century. Carolus Lang prepared a critical text of the Latin in 1885. Stelten's book is an updated Latin text and a complete English translation.

Just about 1625 years ago, during the Roman Emperor Flavius Theodosius Augustus, or Theodosius the Great, the Roman general Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus, around 394, wrote in Latin the book "Epitoma Rei Militaris" or "De re militari" (Concerning Military Matters), in which he mentions "Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum", later simplified as "Si vis pacem, para bellum", which means "If you want peace, prepare for war".Well, after over 1625 years of wars after wars after wars, the over 7.7 billions of people on Earth demand a change: Si vis pacem, para PACEM! No need to translate, but if you insist: If you want peace, prepare for PEACE!On 24 November 2019 Pope Francis called for a 'world without nuclear weapons' during his Nagasaki visit.Using a lovely imaginary dialog between Sun and Earth, this book is exactly what we need to really prepare for peace, with clear and practical ideas, which will help the over 7.7 B people to have a Harmonious World, with Sustainable Peace, Freedom, Health, Friendship and Prosperity.

How did ancient scientific and knowledge-ordering writers make their work authoritative? This book answers that question for a wide range of ancient disciplines, from mathematics, medicine, architecture and agriculture, through to law, historiography and philosophy - focusing mainly, but not exclusively, on the literature of the Roman Empire. It draws attention to habits that these different fields had in common, while also showing how individual texts and authors manipulated standard techniques of self-authorisation in distinctive ways. It stresses the importance of competitive and assertive styles of self-presentation, and also examines some of the pressures that pulled in the opposite direction by looking at authors who chose to acknowledge the limitations of their own knowledge or resisted close identification with narrow versions of expert identity. A final chapter by Sir Geoffrey Lloyd offers a comparative account of scientific authority and expertise in ancient Chinese, Indian and Mesopotamian culture.

As a veteran campaigner, the Byzantine emperor Maurice (582-602) compiled a unique and influential handbook intended for the field commander. In this first complete English translation, the Strategikon is an invaluable source not only for early Byzantine history but for the general history of the art of war. Describing in detail weaponry and armor, daily life on the march or in camp, clothing, food, medical care, military law, and titles of the Byzantine army of the seventh century, the Strategikon offers insights into the Byzantine military ethos. In language contemporary, down-to-earth, and practical, the text also provides important data for the historian, and even the ethnologist, including eyewitness accounts of the Persians, Slavs, Lombards, and Avars at the frontier of the Empire.