This fascinating book contrasts the legionaries of Imperial Rome with their Germanic and Sarmatian adversaries in the 2nd century AD. Shortly after Marcus Aurelius ascended to power in 161 AD, the Roman Empire fell victim to a series of military crises. While turmoil in Britain and the new war with the Parthians were swiftly addressed, the invasion by the Chatti and Chauci heralded a renewed threat from the empire's European neighbors. Soon, the Marcomanni and Quadi, along with the Dacians and the Sarmatian Iazygi, would assault the Romans in a series of fierce clashes that continued until 175 AD and would mark the first invasion of Roman Italy since the turn of the 1st century BC. In this book, the objectives, weapons, and equipment, as well as the stylistic battles of both sides, are assessed and compared in the context of three characteristic battles: the Battle of Carnuntum (170), where a Roman legion was annihilated and Italy was invaded; the 'Battle on the Ice' (172), where the Romans fought against the lightly armed Iazygi on the frozen Danube; and the so-called 'Rain Miracle' (174), during which a trapped Roman force, facing annihilation, managed to defeat numerically superior Germanic forces. Photographs, specially commissioned artwork, and mapping complement the authoritative text in this gripping study of Imperial Rome at war.