The Great Illyrian Revolt
The major premise of this book, is that without the Illyrian revolt, Arminius might not have been ready to strike at Rome.
I have heard about Arminius and the lost legions. I used to live in Germany and frequently visited Hermans Denkmal which is a huge statue of Arminius (The Germans call him Herman).
Until this book, I didn’t know what an Illyrian was, but now know these were the people from the western balkans. Whats is now Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro and parts of Albania.
The Illyrian revolt ran for three years. Like its Germanic counterpart, there is a one central figure, a man names Bato, from the Daesidiate tribe. He not only carried out one of the most successful military campaigns against Rome, he also managed to win several battlefield victories too. Unlike the Teutoburg forest revolt, the Illyrians had to face 15 Roman legions.
How this guy doesn’t have the same accolades as Arminius or some of the other revolt leaders of the period is a bit strange.
This is a very good read, and covers not only the revolt, but it also covers the history of Roman influence in the region.
If you are interested in the missing Varus legions, then this book might help shed some new light on the events leading up the loss of four legions in the woods of Germany.The author Jason Abdale seems to believe so.You can buy this book direct from Pen and Sword Books
Please note I was not paid to write this review but was sent a review copy of the book. All comments are my own, and the publishers have not amended the review in any way.