Late Imperial Romans - West

This DBA Late Imperial Roman (West) DBA II/78a army depicts the forces of Julian (aka Flavius Claudius Iulianus) at the battle of Strasbourg in 357 vs. the Alamanii. I worked in France one summer and was in Alsace near the battle-site. At this time Julian was Caesar of the West; he did not become Roman Emperor until 361. Also known as Julian the Apostate, he was the last pagan emperor of Rome. I was inspired to paint this army after reading the historical novel "Gods and Legions" by Michael Curtis Ford, which covers the life of Julian. The primary source used to identify the units present was Ammianus Marcellinus; a number of secondary sources were also consulted. Shield patterns are taken from the Notitia Dignatum. Most or all of these units would have followed Julian to the East for his campaign against the Sassanids in 363, so with the addition of another 4Kn element it could be used as a LIR East army as well. Figures are 15mm Old Glory. It was painted in 2007. All shields are hand-painted.

On the left are the Scola scutariorum secunda (1x3Cv); on the right are Julian and the Scola gentilium seniorum (1x3Cv General).

A close-up of Julian and the Scola gentilium seniorum.

The Equites catafractarii (1x4Kn)

The Legiones Palatina: (l-r) Pannoniciani seniores, Primani, Moesiaci seniores (3x4Bd).

The Auxilia Palatina: (l-r) Batavi seniores,Cornuti seniores, Brachiati seniores (3x4Ax).

The Equites primo sagitarii on the left and the Equites Dalmatae Passerentiaci on the right (2x2Lh).

Skirmishers: the Fortenses on the left and the Celtae seniores on the right (2x2Ps).

Balistarii (1xArt)

The Roman camp. I modeled it as a Roman watchtower on the Rhine frontier to go with the army theme of Julian's campaign of 357 in Gaul which culminated in the battle of Strasbourg.

Palmyrans

This is my first blog post. I hope to use this blog to share pictures of my wargaming armies. I have many painted armies already so there will be a mixture of new projects and old armies which have never been photographed before. The bulk of my collection is ancient or medieval, though there is some fantasy, 19th Century and 20th Century as well. My miniatures are primarily 15mm. I do have an ongoing 28mm project for a Doctor Who game, but I will save that for a future post.

First off are my Palmyrans. The ruins of the city of Palmyra are in the Syrian desert. During Roman times it was a powerful city that made a failed bid for empire in the Middle East under Queen Zenobia in the 3rd century AD. Below is a group shot of my Palmyran DBA army, II/74b: 1x4Kn Gen, 3x4Kn, 2x2Lh, 4x4Bw, 2x3Bw or 2Ps. I belive they were painted in 2006. The 15mm figures are all Old Glory, purchased from Rudy Scott Nelson at Time Portal Hobbies, except for the camp, which is a Donnington Zenobia with an Essex tent and palm tree.

Below are the 4 cataphract elements (4x4Kn), the backbone of the army. Each element has a uniform color used on the horse barding and helmet tails. The general is the front right element.
Here is a closeup of the general. The standardbearer is carrying a red draco.
Next are the Palmyran light horse (2x2Lh).
The foot part of the army consists entirely of archers. The 4x4Bw elements are regular Palmyran city bowmen. The maroon and turquoise uniforms are inspired by frescoes showing Palmyran troops.
Next are the irregular archers, either 2x3Bw or 2x2Ps. I used a bit of maroon or turquoise on these but they are mostly in white.

Last but not least is the camp. It features the famous Queen Zenobia on a camel, along with a tent and palm tree. Her fate was to be paraded through the streets of Rome in chains after being defeated by the Emperor Aurelian.