Ian Heath – författare

The Byzantines had a remarkably sophisticated approach to politics and military strategy.Unlike most of their contemporaries, they learnt very early in their history that winning a battle did not necessarily win a war, and they frequently bought off their enemies with treaties and bribes rather than squander men and matériel in potentially fruitless campaigns. The Byzantine army of the 10th and early 11th centuries, at the height of its power and efficiency, was the best-organised, best-trained, best-equipped and highest-paid in the known world.This splendid book by Ian Heath examines the Byzantine Armies from 886-1118, including the lusty, hard-fighting, hard-drinking 'barbarian' Varangian guard.

In this worthy addition to the Elite series, Ian Heath transports us to the time of the Vikings examining their epic journeys and the ships they made them in.Their methods of warfare are covered, including the organisation of their armies and tactics employed, their appearance and equipment and the general history of these fascinating warrior-explorers. His authoritative text is backed by many fine illustrations and photographs including 12 stunning full colour plates by Angus McBride, one of the world's most respected military artists.

Bursting with full colour illustrations, a handy, complete guide to the Vikings, from the lives they led at home to their voyages of plunder across Europe and into America.The history of the Vikings is bloody and eventful, and Viking warriors capture the popular imagination to this day. They made history, establishing the dukedom of Normandy, providing the Byzantine Emperors’ bodyguard and landing on the shores of America 500 years before Columbus.Beautifully illustrated with colour photographs and original Osprey artwork, this book presents a new window into their way of life including detailed studies of the Hersir, the raiding warrior of the Viking world, and the legendary Viking longship.

The beginning of the 19th century saw the rise of a remarkable Sikh leader in the Punjab province of north-west India.Unifying the feudal rulers under his authority, the conquering Maharaja Ranjit Singh pursued campaigns of expansion for nearly 40 years, creating for the purpose a new regular army on the Western model. His death in 1839 found the frontiers of Sikh and British power in confrontation; in the 1840s the inevitable trial of strength brought British crown and East India Company troops into battle against the most formidable Indian army they ever faced.Its story is told here in fascinating detail, illustrated with rare early paintings and with colourful reconstructions of Punjabi regular soldiers and feudal warriors.

The Reformation in England further distanced the Irish, as the majority of Irishmen adhered stubbornly to their Catholicism.Eventually, in Elizabeth's reign, both sides resorted to the use of force on a large scale in a series of bloody wars and rebellions that were to culminate in the Earl of Tyrone's 'Great Rebellion' of 1595-1603. This text by Ian Heath looks at the history, organisation and tactics of the armies of the Irish Wars 1485-1603, armies which included such troops as the fearsome Irish Galloglasses, who bore a deadly axe six feet long with a blade one foot broad!

The Taiping movement began as the Pai Shang-ti Hui (the Society of God-Worshippers), founded in Kwangsi province in 1846 by Hung Hsiu-ch'uan.A sickly individual of questionable sanity, Hung had become subject to visions which interpreted as demonstrating that he was Jesus Christ's 'Divine Younger Brother', with God's mandate to govern China. This fascinating work by Ian Heath examines the organisation, dress and weapons of forces on both sides of the Taiping Rebellion – a conflict which saw the involvement of around 10 million troops during 15 years of conflict; as many as 600 cities change hands time and time again; and 20-30 million deaths.

The Byzantine Empire's disastrous defeat by the Seljuk Turks at Manzikert in 1071 effectively marked the end of what is often described as the 'middle' period of Byzantine history.Thereafter, surrounded on all sides by younger, more vigorous nations, the once all-powerful Empire slipped into a steady decline which, ultimately, was to prove terminal. However, the Empire's demise was anything but peaceful, and, one way or another, for much of the last four centuries of its existence it was to find itself in a state of virtually constant war.This book examines the fascinating history of the Byzantine Empire and its armies from 1118-1461 AD.

Despite the fact that it was events on the North-West Frontier which perennially awed and captivated Victorian audiences, British India's North-East Frontier saw at least as much military activity.Even the heroic 11-day defence of the isolated outpost of Kohima against overwhelming odds – fewer than 200 British-officered troops against perhaps 6,000 Nagas – failed to capture the public imagination. Today, after the passage of another century, Britain's numerous campaigns and conquests in Assam and the surrounding hills have faded even further into the mists of obscurity.This fascinating text by Ian Heath examines the peoples and places of the North-East Frontier.