Armies of the Thracians and Dacians by Gabriele Esposito

Armies of the Thracians and Dacians by Gabriele Esposito* is the first book on ancient history I read in a long time and I’m so glad I did. I gave it a very well deserved 4.5 stars and I took half of star off because it lacked maps. I think those were important to get the real sense of where the Thracians and the Dacians were. This is a short book, but packed with fascinating details, as it tells the story of these two armies from 500 BCE to 150 CE. What’s really great in the book that it has lots and lots of pictures with historical re-enactors which bring to life the period. The weapons, clothes, and shields are beautifully presented and I loved that. The photos were created for this book.

Armies of the Thracians and Dacians by Gabriele Esposito

Dacians were on the place where modern-day Romania is and these are my ancestors. This is why I wanted to read this book in the first place. It was lovely to read again about Burebista and Decebal, especially as I forgot many details from when I learned about them in school.

I think this book can be very interesting for people who would like to understand about these peoples with whom the Romans fought for centuries. It brushes on the topic of guerrilla warfare and differences between them on topics such as agriculture and keeping livestock. Of course, the focus of the book is on the military aspect. It’s well worth the read and the pictures are a must see, very realistic and interesting.

Armies of the Thracians and Dacians, 500 BC to AD 150 by Gabriele Esposito

Details about the picture: –
My rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Would I recommend it: yes
Published by: Pen & Sword Military
Year it was published: 2021
Format: Hardcover
Genre(s): History – Ancient
Pages: 192

About the author: Gabriele Esposito is an Italian researcher and a long-time student of military history, whose interests and expertise range widely over various periods. He is the author of numerous books on armies and uniforms and is a regular contributor to many specialized magazines in Italy, France, Netherlands, and UK.
Other books by Gabriele Esposito, published by Pen & Sword: Armies of Early Colonial North America 1607-1713 (2018), Armies of the Late Roman Empire AD 284-476 (2018), Armies of the Hellenistic States 323 BC-AD 30 (2019), Armies of Celtic Europe 700 BC to AD 106 (2019); Armies of Ancient Greece circa 500 to 338 BC (2020); and Armies of Ancient Italy 753 to 218 BC (2020). – AD 30: History, Organization and Equipment.
Website & Social Media Links: Pen and Sword

*I was sent a copy of Armies of the Thracians and Dacians by Gabriele Esposito for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.



4 thoughts on “Armies of the Thracians and Dacians by Gabriele Esposito”

  • You’re spot on about the maps, they would have been so helpful. I’ve read about Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps recently, and looked at the maps in the book, charting the journey. I would be curious to see the book, and study the pictures.

  • I think this one sounds great! I love reading Roman history and for the reasons you stated, this would be a good addition. I’m surprised there were no maps since it included other photos.
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    • Yes. the lack of maps was a bit annoying, but the pictures are so good and lots of them. The pictures are like the ones from the cover. I like seeing replicas because they show how something really looked like, it’s clear unlike with artefacts, which are important for other reasons though. 🙂

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