The Sarmatians 600 BC-AD 450 Format: Paperback

The Sarmatians - one of the many nomadic groups to emerge from the great Eurasian Steppe - crossed the Don in about the 3rd century BC to displace their western neighbours, the Scythians, in the lands north of the Black Sea. Later they burst into Asia Minor and Rome's Danube provinces, becoming famous for the prowess of their lance-armed cavalry - first as enemies, and later as allies of Rome. They influenced Rome's adoption of heavy armoured cavalry, and in Roman service they were even posted to Britain. Drawing upon a wide reading of Classical authors and of Russian archaeological publications, this fascinating study is the first major English language attempt to reconstruct their armour, equipment and tactics.

Richard Brzezinski is a leading expert on the military history of Central and Eastern Europe, greatly admired for his primary research and painstaking work in archives in Sweden, Germany and Poland. He has written titles on Polish Armies 1569-1696 and the army of Gustavus Adolphus in Osprey's Men-at Arms series.

Mariusz Mielczarek, born in 1955, is Professor of Archaeology at Torun University, Poland. He has conducted expeditions to the Black Sea coast of Ukraine in pursuit of research into Ancient Greek military history, and has published many scholarly articles and monographs on Scythian, Sarmatian and Greek arms and armour.

Gerry Embleton has been a leading illustrator and researcher of historical costume since the 1970s, and has illustrated and written Osprey titles on a wide range of subjects for more than 20 years. He is an internationally respected authority on 15th and 18th century costumes in particular. He lives in Switzerland, where since 1988 he has also become well known for designing and creating life-size historical figures for museums.