New Releases for December 2018 - Armies & Enemies of Rome (1 Viewer)

[jjDesigns]

NEW RELEASES FOR DECEMBER 2018
THE ANCIENTS COLLECTION
ARMIES AND ENEMIES OF ANCIENT ROME



The Gauls were Celtic peoples inhabiting Gaul in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly from the 5th century BC to the 5th century AD).

The Gauls emerged around the 5th century BC as the bearers of the La Tène culture north of the Alps (spread across the lands between the Seine, Middle Rhine and upper Elbe). By the 4th century BC, they spread over much of what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland, Southern Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic by virtue of controlling the trade routes along the river systems of the Rhône, Seine, Rhine, and Danube, and they quickly expanded into Northern Italy, the Balkans, Transylvania and Galatia. Gaul was never united under a single ruler or government, but the Gallic tribes were capable of uniting their forces in large-scale military operations. They reached the peak of their power in the early 3rd century BC. The rising Roman Republic after the end of the First Punic War increasingly put pressure on the Gallic sphere of influence; the Battle of Telamon of 225 BC heralded a gradual decline of Gallic power over the 2nd century, until the eventual conquest of Gaul in the Gallic Wars of the 50s BC. After this, Gaul became a province of the Roman Empire, and the Gauls were culturally assimilated into a Gallo-Roman culture, losing their tribal identities by the end of the 1st century AD.



AER-16A
ARMIES AND ENEMIES OF ANCIENT ROME,
ANCIENT GAULS,
WARRIOR CHARGING.
(1 pc)





AER-16B
ARMIES AND ENEMIES OF ANCIENT ROME,
ANCIENT GAULS,
WARRIOR CHARGING.
(1 pc)

 

[jjDesigns]

REPUBLICAN ROMANS

The Roman Republic was the era of classical Roman civilization beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom, traditionally dated to 509 BC, and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire. It was during this period that Rome's control expanded from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world.

Roman government was headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and advised by a senate composed of appointed magistrates. As Roman society was very hierarchical by modern standards, the evolution of the Roman government was heavily influenced by the struggle between the patricians, Rome's land-holding aristocracy, who traced their ancestry to the founding of Rome, and the plebeians, the far more numerous citizen-commoners. Over time, the laws that gave patricians exclusive rights to Rome's highest offices were repealed or weakened, and leading plebeian families became full members of the aristocracy. The leaders of the Republic developed a strong tradition and morality requiring public service and patronage in peace and war, making military and political success inextricably linked. Many of Rome's legal and legislative structures (later codified into the Justinian Code, and again into the Napoleonic Code) can still be observed throughout Europe and much of the world in modern nation states and international organizations.

During the first two centuries of its existence, the Roman Republic expanded through a combination of conquest and alliance, from central Italy to the entire Italian peninsula. By the following century, it included North Africa, most of the Iberian Peninsula, and what is now southern France. Two centuries after that, towards the end of the 1st century BC, it included the rest of modern France, Greece, and much of the eastern Mediterranean. By this time, internal tensions led to a series of civil wars, culminating with the assassination of Julius Caesar, which led to the transition from republic to empire.

Historians have variously proposed Julius Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon River in 49 BC, Caesar's appointment as dictator for life in 44 BC, and the defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. However, most use the same date as did the ancient Romans themselves, the Roman Senate's grant of extraordinary powers to Octavian and his adopting the title Augustus in 27 BC, as the defining event ending the Republic.

THE ROMAN ARMY OF THE MID REPUBLIC 275 – 140BC

The Roman army of the mid-Republic (also known as the manipular Roman army or the "Polybian army"), refers to the armed forces deployed by the mid-Roman Republic, from the end of the Samnite Wars (290 BC) to the end of the Social War (88 BC). The first phase of this army, in its manipular structure (290–ca. 130 BC), is described in detail in the Histories of the ancient Greek historian Polybius, writing before 146 BC.
The central feature of the mid-Republican army was the manipular organisation of its battle-line. Instead of a single, large mass (the phalanx) as in the Greek and Early Roman army, the Romans now drew up in three lines (triplex acies) consisting of small units (maniples) of 120 men, arrayed in chessboard fashion, giving much greater tactical strength and flexibility.

The Republican army of this period, like its earlier forebear, did not maintain standing or professional military forces, but levied them, by compulsory conscription, as required for each campaigning season and disbanded thereafter (although formations could be kept in being over winter during major wars). Service in the legions was limited to property-owning Roman citizens, normally those known as iuniores (age 16-46).



For the vast majority of the period of its existence, the Polybian levy was at war. This led to great strains on Roman and Italian manpower, but forged a superb fighting machine. During the Second Punic War, fully two-thirds of Roman iuniores were under arms continuously. In the period after the defeat of Carthage in 201 BC, the army was campaigning exclusively outside Italy, resulting in its men being away from their home plots of land for many years at a stretch. They were assuaged by the large amounts of booty that they shared after victories in the rich eastern theatre. But in Italy, the ever-increasing concentration of public lands in the hands of big landowners, and the consequent displacement of the soldiers' families, led to great unrest and demands for land redistribution. This was successfully achieved, but resulted in the disaffection of Rome's Italian allies, who as non-citizens were excluded from the redistribution. This led to the mass revolt of the socii and the Social War (91-88 BC). The result was the grant of Roman citizenship to all Italians and the end of the Polybian army's dual structure: the alae were abolished and the socii recruited into the legions. The Roman army of the late Republic (88–30 BC) resulted, a transitional phase to the Imperial Roman army (30 BC – AD 284).



TMRR-02R
ARMIES AND ENEMIES OF ANCIENT ROME,
THE ROMAN ARMY OF THE MID REPUBLIC,
2 TRIARII, KNEELING.
(2 pcs)

For set-piece battles, the heavy infantry were usually drawn up in three lines.
However, the vast majority of the heavy infantry were stationed in the front two lines, the HASTATI and PRINCIPES. Contained in these two lines were the younger recruits who were expected to do all the fighting. The rear line (TRIARII), was a reserve consisting of older men who formed a line of last resort to provide cover for the front lines if they were put to flight (and also to prevent unauthorised retreat by the front ranks).
The three lines of maniples were drawn up in a chessboard pattern (dubbed quincunx by modern historians, after the Latin for the "5" on a dice-cube, whose dots are so arranged). In front of these three lines of heavy infantry, would be stationed the legion's VELITES.



TMRR-02Y
ARMIES AND ENEMIES OF ANCIENT ROME,
THE ROMAN ARMY OF THE MID REPUBLIC,
2 TRIARII, KNEELING.
(2 pcs)

**PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL DEALER FOR FURTHER INFORMATION**

 

[mikemiller1955]

love the Gaul Warrior...

I wish TMRR02Y and TMRR02R Kneeling....

was offered in a TMRR02W (white shield with eagle wings) version...

I'm only collecting the white shield versions (W's)...

wow!
all the releases this month...
John is really getting after it!

 

[Dragoon]

Well my eyes didn't deceive me in the Nov. Releases. - There was a new figure mixed in the crowd.

 

[Dragoon]

Gallic Fury! - Great new figure from JJD.

Armies & Enemies of Rome continues to be my favorite series.

 

[nysoldiers]

Gallic Fury! - Great new figure from JJD.

Armies & Enemies of Rome continues to be my favorite series.

Agreed! this is a great figure with so much action and realistic facial expression. A couple of more Gauls and new Gallic Cavalry are coming.
I am excited about the Punic Wars range with so many new figures and boats planned.

 

[Dragoon]

Agreed! this is a great figure with so much action and realistic facial expression. A couple of more Gauls and new Gallic Cavalry are coming.
I am excited about the Punic Wars range with so many new figures and boats planned.

That's Great. Happy to hear there will be more Gauls, on foot and horse. John does a wonderful job portraying these fierce and colorful warriors.