Ancient Warfare

Graeco-Roman and Sassanian before the Eruption of Islam

Ancient Warfare Byzantine 14 Min Read

Byzantine and Sassanian Cavalry Clash. Sassanian Cataphract. Map of the Sassanian and Roman campaigns of the 6th century CE. The end result of the ensuing long and devastating Romano-Sassanian wars of the early 7th century CE was the creation of a military vacuum which was to be adeptly exploited by the Arabo-Islamic invasion forces of the newly established Caliphate in…

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Ancient Warfare Medieval 13 Min Read

THE HITTITES

Map of the Hittite Empire (c. 1300 BC) The Hittites occupied the Anatolian peninsula from approximately 1900 to 1000 b. c. e. The origins of this rugged people skilled in mountain warfare remain obscure, but the evidence suggests that their settlement in Anatolia began with the tribal migrations of peoples…

Ancient Warfare Siege 8 Min Read

The Takedown of Tyre I

Tyre, in what is now Lebanon, was the holdout. It had a unique place as the largest and most important Phoenician port in the eastern Mediterranean, and as an important Persian naval base. Tyre had been a prominent city for centuries by the time that Alexander arrived. The Phoenician merchants…

Ancient Warfare Sail Siege 12 Min Read

The Takedown of Tyre II

Expanding his navy was actually easier for Alexander than might have been expected. Because most of his recent conquests and alliances had involved maritime powers, his new friends were willing to contribute to his fleet-building efforts. According to Arrian, Cyprus sent 120 warships to Alexander, while both Sidon and Rhodes…

Ancient Warfare 22 Min Read

The Roman Conquest of Thrace

The first conflict between the Roman Republic and the Kingdom of Macedonia started in 217 BC, while the Romans were already fighting against Hannibal and the Carthaginians during the Second Punic War. The second conflict with Carthage was particularly dramatic for Rome, involving Hannibal’s invasion of Italy and several heavy…

Ancient Warfare 14 Min Read

Dacian Military Organization and Tactics

Ancient Warfare VI.2 Ancient Warfare VI.2 with ‘The Dacian Wars of Domitian and Trajan’. From a cultural point of view, the Dacians were quite different from the Thracians: across the centuries, they had developed a sedentary way of life in which agriculture played a prominent role. Most of the Dacians…

Ancient Warfare Battle 10 Min Read

Cyrus the Younger – Bid for the Persian Throne

Route of Cyrus the Younger, Xenophon and the Ten Thousand. Persian Immortals Battle of Cunaxa – First phase of battle Battle of Cunaxa – Second phase of battle It all began with sibling rivalry. Darius II (r. 424-404 bc), Great King of Achaemenid Persia, had many children with his wife…

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CARTHAGINIAN ARMIES

Hannibal and his staff at the battle of Zama – art by Giuseppe Rava The…

SUMERIAN TROOPS

The almost constant warfare among the Sumerian city-states for 2,000 years spurred the development of…

The Frankish Way of War

The kingdoms and peoples of Europe and North Africa just before the East Roman Emperor…

The Mauryan Empire Military

Chandragupta governed a true monarchical imperial state. The king ruled with the help of a…