Author: Matthew A. Sears
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351974122
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 386
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Book Description
Understanding Greek Warfare offers a wide-ranging survey of Greek warfare, from the Mycenaeans through to the Hellenistic kingdoms’ clashes with Rome. Each chapter provides an overview of a particular theme and historical period, and a detailed discussion of the relevant sources, both ancient and modern. This volume covers not only the development of equipment, tactics, strategy, and the major wars of Greek history – the "drums and trumpets" – it also examines the political, social, and cultural importance of warfare in each period. Each chapter outlines major scholarly debates, such as the true nature of hoplite battle and whether Alexander the Great had a strategic vision beyond conquest, and includes several short selections from the primary literary evidence. Readable yet scholarly, this book is an ideal companion to courses on Greek warfare and society, and offers detailed suggestions for further reading and research. Understanding Greek Warfare will be a crucial resource for students of war in the ancient Greek world, and of the ancient Greeks in general.
Author: Alan B. Lloyd
Publisher: Classical Press of Wales
ISBN: 1910589381
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280
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Book Description
How do fighting men act and feel in battle? How do they deal with the trauma of conflict? What determines the outcome of battle? Modern research on war, notably that of John Keegan and Victor Hanson, has posed these questions with a new acuteness. In the ancient world, warfare was a constant reality. Much ancient literature deals with it. The present collection of original studies applies the new methods, for the first time, to the warriors of Greece, Rome and Pharaonic Egypt. The contributors demonstrate that the battle-experience of Homer's heroes and of Alexander's infantrymen compares surprisingly with that of Wellington's redcoats.
Author: Hugh Elton
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1526754002
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 201
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Book Description
Traditional military history of battles focussed on the strategies of great leaders, though in modern times many scholars have discussed the face of battle, describing the personal experience of the ordinary soldier. But in between, there still lies a major gap in our understanding of ancient combat: the officers battle. This focuses on how units actually fought and manoeuvred in battle. Hugh Elton seeks to redress this through analysis of the interaction of equipment, morale, leadership, and terrain. After discussing source material and the general model of warfare the author follows, this book outlines by major periods what we know of equipment, organization and tactics, then shows how battle worked in a series of case studies including include Marathon, Issus, Cannae, Cynoscephalae, Mons Graupius, and Adrianople. A total of twenty-four battles are analyzed between the fifth-century BCE and the sixth century CE, covering the wars described by the great historians between Herodotus and Procopius, including accounts written by the soldiers Xenophon, Julius Caesar, and Ammianus Marcellinus.
Author: Simon Anglim
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 296
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Book Description
An illustrated history of warfare in the ancient world includes detailed examinations of armies, equipment, and strategies before gunpowder, in a volume that offers insight into the successes of the Assyrian and Roman forces.
Author: Justin Swanton
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1526740087
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 378
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Book Description
An analysis of ancient Greek, Roman, and Macedonian winning battle formations, from why they worked, the equipment and men used, and how they broke down. Justin Swanton examines the principal battle-winning formations of the ancient world, determining their composition, function and efficacy. An introductory chapter looks at the fundamental components of the principal battle formations of heavy and light infantry, cavalry, elephants and chariots, showing how they bolstered the individual's soldier's willingness to fight. The rest of the book focuses on massed infantry that reigned supreme in this era: the heavily armored Greek hoplite phalanx that was immune to the weaponry of its non-Greek opponents; the Macedonian pike phalanx that was unbeatable against frontal attacks so long as it kept order; the Roman triplex acies which, contrary to popular opinion, consisted of continuous lines in open order, with file spaces wide enough to allow embattled infantry to fall back after which those files closed up instantly against the enemy. A careful study of the Greek and Latin of the sources sheds fresh light on how these formations were organized and worked, reevaluating many conventional notions and leading to some surprising conclusions. Praise for Ancient Battle Formations “This book is both important for its thoroughly researched, original and well-argued historical conclusions and an enjoyable read. Highly recommended.” —Professor F. Noel Zaal (BA, LLB University of Natal, LLM Durban-Westville, LLM Columbia, PhD Wits
Author: Brian Todd Carey
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1781592632
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 209
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Book Description
Warfare in the Ancient World explores how civilizations and cultures made war on the battlefields of the Near East and Europe between the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia in the late fourth millenium BC and the fall of Rome. Through a exploration of twenty-six selected battles, military historian Brian Todd Carey surveys the changing tactical relationships between the four weapon systems - heavy and light infantry and hevay and light cavalry - focusing on how shock and missile combat evolved from tentative beginnings in the Bronze Age to the highly developed military organization created by the Romans. The art of warfare reached a very sophisticated level of development during this three millenia span. Commanders fully realized the tactical capabilities of shock and missile combat in large battlefield situations. Modern principles of war, like the primacy of the offensive, mass, and economy of force, were understood by pre-modern generals and applied on battlefields throughout the period. Through the use of dozens of multiphase tactical maps, this fascinating introduction to the art of war during western civilizationÕs ancient and classical periods pulls together the primary and secondary sources and creates a powerful historical narrative. The result is a synthetic work that will be essential reading for students and armchair historians alike.
Author: Philip Sabin
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0826422004
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 527
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Book Description
From the author's introduction: Ancient battles seize the modern imagination. Far from being forgotten, they have become a significant aspect of popular culture, prompting a continuing stream of books, feature films, television programs and board and computer games... there is a certain escapist satisfaction in looking back to an era when conflicts between entire states turned on clear-cut pitched battles between formed armies, lasting just a few hours and spanning just a few miles of ground. These battles were still unspeakably traumatic and grisly affairs for those involved - at Cannae, Hannibal's men butchered around two and a half times as many Romans (out of a much smaller overall population) as there were British soldiers killed on the notorious first day of the Somme. However, as with the great clashes of the Napoleonic era, time has dulled our preoccupation with such awful human consequences, and we tend to focus instead on the inspired generalship of commanders like Alexander and Caesar and on the intriguing tactical interactions of units such as massed pikemen and war elephants within the very different military context of pre-gunpowder warfare. Lost Battles takes a new and innovative approach to the battles of antiquity. Using his experience with conflict simulation, Philip Sabin draws together ancient evidence and modern scholarship to construct a generic, grand tactical model of the battles as a whole. This model unites a mathematical framework, to capture the movement and combat of the opposing armies, with human decisions to shape the tactics of the antagonists. Sabin then develops detailed scenarios for 36 individual battles such as Marathon and Cannae, and uses the comparative structure offered by the generic model to help cast light on which particular interpretations of the ancient sources on issues such as army size fit in best with the general patterns observed elsewhere. Readers can use the model to experiment for themselves by re-fighting engagements of their choice, tweaking the scenarios to accord with their own judgment of the evidence, trying out different tactics from those used historically, and seeing how the battle then plays out. Lost Battles thus offers a unique dynamic insight into ancient warfare, combining academic rigor with the interest and accessibility of simulation gaming. This book includes access to a downloadable computer simulation where the reader can view the author's simulations as well create their own.
Author: C. Jacob Butera
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473889995
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 488
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Book Description
“This useful work will appeal to a wide audience, from military buffs to historically minded tourists (and their guides), to students and scholars.” —Choice Greece was the scene of some of the most evocative and decisive battles in the ancient world. This volume brings together the ancient evidence and modern scholarship on twenty battlefields throughout Greece. It is a handy resource for visitors of every level of experience, from the member of a guided tour to the veteran military historian. The introductory chapter outlines some of the most pressing and interesting issues in the study of Ancient Greek battles and battlefields and offers a crash course on ancient warfare. Twenty lively chapters explore battlefields selected for both their historical importance and their inspiring sites. In addition to accessible overviews of each battle, this book provides all the information needed for an intellectually and aesthetically rewarding visit, including transport and travel details, museum overviews, and further reading.
Author: Paul K. Davis
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780195143669
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 484
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Book Description
Surveys the one hundred most decisive battles in world history from the Battle of Megiddo in 1469 B.C. to Desert Storm, 1991.
Author: Adrian Goldsworthy
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 0297864297
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 551
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Book Description
The Pax Romana is famous for having provided a remarkable period of peace and stability, rarely seen before or since. Yet the Romans were first and foremost conquerors, imperialists who took by force a vast empire stretching from the Euphrates in the east to the Atlantic coast in the west. Their peace meant Roman victory and was brought about by strength and dominance rather than co-existence with neighbours. The Romans were aggressive and ruthless, and during the creation of their empire millions died or were enslaved. But the Pax Romana was real, not merely the boast of emperors, and some of the regions in the Empire have never again lived for so many generations free from major wars. So what exactly was the Pax Romana and what did it mean for the people who found themselves brought under Roman rule? Acclaimed historian Adrian Goldsworthy tells the story of the creation of the Empire, revealing how and why the Romans came to control so much of the world and asking whether the favourable image of the Roman peace is a true one. He chronicles the many rebellions by the conquered, and describes why these broke out and why most failed. At the same time, he explains that hostility was only one reaction to the arrival of Rome, and from the start there was alliance, collaboration and even enthusiasm for joining the invaders, all of which increased as resistance movements faded away. A ground-breaking and comprehensive history of the Roman Peace, Pax Romana takes the reader on a journey from the bloody conquests of an aggressive Republic through the age of Caesar and Augustus to the golden age of peace and prosperity under diligent emperors like Marcus Aurelius, offering a balanced and nuanced reappraisal of life in the Roman Empire.
