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Discussions from Ancient Warfare Magazine. Why did early civilisations fight? Who were their Generals? What was life like for the earliest soldiers? Ancient Warfare Magazine will try and answer these questions. Warfare minus two thousand years.
The podcast Ancient Warfare Podcast is created by The History Network. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
'I was curious as to how exactly the scouting process worked in ancient armies, although I'm sure it varied widely throughout different cultures and time periods. Additionally, was there every a commonly accepted type of soldier selected for scouting, or did ancient commanders simply send whoever was available? Thanks to Demetri for this question.
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In this episode of the Ancient Warfare Podcast, Marc De Santis talks to historian and author Lindsay Powell about his latest book, Tiberius: From Masterly Commander to Masterful Emperor of Rome, published by Pen and Sword. Often overshadowed by his predecessor Augustus and his notorious successor Caligula, Tiberius is one of Rome’s most enigmatic emperors. Lindsay delves into the life and reign of this complex figure—his military career, political challenges, and strained relationships within the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Was Tiberius truly the brooding recluse history remembers, or have we misunderstood the man who ruled the Roman Empire for over two decades?
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What would be your ideal ancient military? Would it be a semi-nomadic people with skilled cavalry and infantry, and how would you structure this military? Murray gives us his ideas and explains what his historical inspirations for this thought experiment are.
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Dylan Thomas, watching on YouTube, asked, 'I'm curious about the early life of Marcus Furius Camillus. He seems to pop up during the siege of Veii in Livy's work, with few mentions beforehand, and is then an important figure going forward. Are there any primary sources that recount his early life and career?
The man's a legend, easily one of the top ten Romans of all time, but there seem to be scant records of him.'
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"The Peloponnesian War had ripped up the existing alliances in Greece — over the next decades, the main city-states looked for ways to regain money, power, and win battles."
The team discuss the latest issue of the magazine City-States in an Arms Race: Greek innovation in the fourth century BC, issue 101.
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In the last episode, Murray expanded upon an article in the magazine in response to Chris's question. After recording that episode, Murray realised he had not answered the whole question.
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Don Antonius sent this question: 'Was there an inspiring role of Elite Units in ancient armies? Do we have accounts of battles where elite units (not necessarily “veterans”) like the Roman cataphracts, Carthage’s sacred band etc. supposedly lifted the spirits to fight on or evidently change the odds?'
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Chris sent this question for Murray, asking him to expand on one of his articles in the magazine.
'I recently read your article on the siege of Masada in Ancient Warfare magazine. I had a couple of questions regarding the assumptions made about the shortened timeline of the siege. Specifically, you mentioned two assumptions supporting the idea of a shorter siege. Could you provide more information or sources to support this hypothesis?
Additionally, I have a colleague who views Josephus's work with scepticism, considering him a collaborator whose writings might have served as Roman propaganda. Given this perspective, I wondered why there seems to be such heavy reliance on Josephus, especially considering the article's focus on Legion X Fretensis rather than Josephus's narrative.'
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Christopher asks, 'why didn't adversaries to Rome (especially on the Italian peninsula) see the methods by which Rome consistently recovered from defeat and tried to emulate them?'
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In the latest episode of the Ancient Warfare Magazine podcast, Marc De Santis speaks with Murray Dahm about his new book, Roman Soldier vs Dacian Warrior: Dacian Wars AD 85–106.
The wars between Rome and Dacia were some of the most intense and strategically important conflicts of the early 2nd century AD. Fought during the reign of Emperor Domitian and later under Trajan, these battles saw the disciplined Roman legions face off against the determined warriors of Dacia. The struggle ended with Rome’s annexation of Dacia, a victory commemorated on Trajan’s Column in Rome.
Murray’s new book, published by Osprey, examines the tactics, weaponry, and battlefield experiences of both Roman soldiers and their Dacian opponents. In this episode, he discusses the challenges faced by both sides, the effectiveness of Dacian weapons—such as the falx—and how Rome adapted its military approach to counter the threat.
Listen to the episode to learn more about one of Rome’s toughest adversaries and the warfare that shaped the empire’s northern frontier.
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This question came via a comment on an earlier podcast.
'Which type of armour did the legions under Caesar and Augustus use? I understand the lorica segmentata was adopted later, but was it used during Octavian's era?
Additionally, I've found references to three types of scuta (shields): the curved oval used by late Republican soldiers, a slightly curved rectangular version, and the iconic rectangular scutum seen in reliefs of Trajan and Aurelius. Could you clarify which types of shields were used during Augustus' later reign and the periods of Germanicus and Vespasian?'
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Shabbi poses this intriguing question,'how vulnerable were armies during the Bronze and Iron Ages to lightning strikes, whether on the battlefield or while marching, given their use of metal weapons, armour, and formations in open areas?
Could such vulnerability have influenced ancient religions, particularly the widespread belief in storm and lightning gods in various unconnected cultures (like Zeus, Thor, and Indra)? For example, could events like lightning strikes swaying the tide of battle (if such an event is plausible) explain why so many societies independently developed lightning-wielding deities?'
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These questions came via postcard from Michael in Boston.
'What really happened at the battle of Lugdunum (197 CE)? I've read that this battle might have been the largest in Roman history - do you agree?
I've also read that this battle lasted multiple days. How does that work? Did both sides retire at night and resume fighting in the morning, or was skirmishing constant throughout?'
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Two great questions here for Murray on the topic of usurpers.
'It seems Legio VII Gemina raised by Galba in AD 68 in Hispania is quite unique. In terms of being a creation by a usurper. Are there any other similar units raised usurpers and retained by victors? Also, what province Ancient Warfare crew consider the best in terms of starting usurpation/rise of the new Emperor?'
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'For those trying to win wars in the ancient world, large armies were a necessity. However, the personal prestige earned from a victory in single combat was still unmatched.'
In this episode, the AW team discuss issue XVII.6 Duels to the Death: Single Combat in Antiquity.
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For the first episode of 2025, we have this from @mrookeward, who asks Murray to explore some of the tropes (or not tropes) for 'uniforms'. E.g. the Spartan lambda shield, or ancient Egyptian headwear.
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Murray answers four questions in just one episode sent in by David: 1. Were the legions largely (or even completely) replaced by the foederati by the seventh century CE? 2. What do we know about the ethnic makeup of the armies that fought for pagan Rome in the wars of the first centuries BCE and CE (largely legionaries from southern Europe?) compared to the armies that fought for Byzantine Rome in the seventh-century wars (largely “barbarians”?), including Heraclius’s reconquest of Jerusalem in 628 CE from the Persian Sassanid empire? 3. Do you have a view (either way) on the argument—made most compellingly by Tom Holland in his 2014 book, In the Shadow of the Sword—that the Byzantine Roman army of the early seventh century was made up largely of fighters from the southern Levant and northern Arabia (where the Ghassanids came from)? 4. Could Arab forces that formerly made up the Foederati have “declared independence” from Rome in the third decade of the seventh century and ultimately have conquered the Levant from the Romans in the 630s (before engaging in civil war among themselves and the descendants of the Lakhmids, who had fought on behalf of the Sassanid empire three decades later)? In other words, might Muhammad and his original followers all have been former Foederati, who turned against their former Eastern Roman clients, much like the Gothic barbarians did against their former Western Roman clients a couple centuries earlier?
'We’ve all heard of ancient armies catapulting corpses and manure over walls in sieges, but is the modern intuition that this was to promote illness in those cities correct? Are there any primary sources that describe flinging corpses in order to make the defenders sick, or was it more likely just out of convivence for the attackers?' Thanks Thomas for sending that in.
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With the release of Ridley Scott's Gladiator II, the Ancient Warfare team have headed off to their local cinemas (well, almost all of the team) for a screening.
Will this be as influential on future historians as the original Gladiator movie?
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Murray gives his thoughts on this question sent in by Paul, 'were the reasons for war in ancient times any different to the modern era?'
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Jason sent this in for Murry to muse over, 'a lot of old action war movies set in ancient times have two champions or the two kings from both sides meeting in combat as their armies watch on before the battle starts. Has there ever been any historical battles where two men have fought like this, or is it purely fiction? If it is fiction, are there any good stories of two champions or kings meeting in battle?'
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Thanks to Valentine for sending this in. 'I have finished rereading your excellent article, “Men you can Trust,” in Volume 16, Issue 6 of Ancient Warfare. A question arose in my mind that you may be able to answer. With the bulk of Alexander’s army in Asia, and especially India, why did no foreign invader seek to take advantage of the situation by invading parts of Macedonia?'
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JackSarge poses this question for Murray. What effect did the Hunnic invasions into Western Europe have on Britain? Did Attila send emissaries to Britain or make any demands of it?
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Founded in the war against Sextus Pompeius, the 'Legion of the Strait' spent most of its long history in the provinces of the Roman East with Parthians, Sasanians, and zealots.
For this episode of the Ancient Warfare Podcast, the team discuss issue XVII.5 of the magazine, The Legion of the Strait: A History of Legio Fretensis.
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Another question from Miles, what defines heavy infantry in the ancient world? Were Phalangites considered heavy infantry at the time?
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Miles asks, what armour did Macedonian and late Hellenistic Phalangites wear? If they were initially equipped with lighter armour (e.g., linothorax), did they wear heavier metal armour at later points in history? If not, do we know why?
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At what point was Roman success inevitable during Rome's wars to conquer the rest of Italy through the 5th, 4th, and 3rd centuries BC? Murray gives us his thoughts.
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In the latest episode, the Ancient Warfare Podcast team discuss what they think was the most influential weapon in the Ancient World. From the iconic Roman gladius to the powerful composite bow, ancient weapons shaped the course of history in countless ways.
But which one stands out as the most influential?
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Carlos sent this question in for Murray to consider: "Besides elephants, what other units or ideas did the Hellenistic kingdoms adopt from the peoples of the lands they ruled? For example, did they have horse-archer units, etc.?"
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"In the Western empire, what was the last recorded Legion to take the field as a formed/cohesive unit? And the same question for the Eastern Empire."
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"Let's continue that theme [of lost legions]. How new imperial Legions were raised? Did other other legions provide cadres to train?" Murray continues the discussion.
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‘Once the Persians had been defeated at Salamis and Plataea, they withdrew from the Greek mainland. But the war was far from over, and the Greeks went on the offensive.’
For this episode, the team discuss issue XVII.4 of the magazine Finally Finishing The Fight: The Greco-Persian Wars, part II.
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Thanks to Jamie for sending this in: "What was the first wargame? Did it really start at WATU, or are there examples of ancient generals playing games to practice for war, an ancient equivalent of a modern wargame?"
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John Asks: "Hi Murray and all, quick question for AWA (and sorry its not a post card) - Murray mentioned "The Last Kingdom" in the Finis Britanniae episode. My question is: How accurate do you feel Last Kingdom is in its overall theme and description of the period? (I guess that the simple colour schemes everyone wears are not the best example of accuracy). Murray shares his (somewhat rambling) thoughts.
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CliosPaintingBench asks "Would like to ask a question if possible: what do you think are the most visually distinct and impressive ancient warfare armies outside of the ones most audiences would know?" Oh, and Murray also adds a bit to the discussion on the fate of the ninth legion.
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Robert asks "I really enjoyed the article about the Hunnic Siege of Naissus. However, I had a question about the Hunnic siege engines described and illustrated in the article. They look like proto-trebuchets with mantlets to protect the crew, and instead of a counterweight or pulleys, the archer platform looks like primitive cherry picker trucks.
My question is why did the Huns construct these unique engines? Is there any evidence why or do scholars have any theories? Did they have insufficient resources to construct regular siege towers and catapults? Did the Huns want to bring their strength of arrow storms to bear? Or were the Huns just unique?"
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In this episode, the team turn their attention to the silver screen with a look at the newly released trailer for "Gladiator II." Join them as they explore this long-awaited sequel's historical inspirations, artistic choices, and potential accuracies and liberties.
John asks one of the big questions of Roman Imperial military history - what happened to the ninth legion (Legio IX Hispana). Murray presents his theory (and adds on the fate of the other lost legion too - the twenty-second Legio XXII Deiotariana)
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'When a Legion is transferred, is it sent en masse? and generally, were replacement troops put in place to assume the fortifications et al that the departing Legion would have left behind? and is it expected that a transferred legion would take over standard positions in their new territory? And are troops left behind to provide handovers to the incoming staff?'
There is a lot there for Murray to answer!
Greg wonders what really happened at the Battle of Panium in 200 BC, and how good a tactician was Antiochus III? Are there some books that you could recommend to me about this subject?
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"Over the course of its long history and expansion, Rome fought a range of peoples. Some were conquered, while others never were. A few would even return for revenge."
In the latest issue, the team discuss issue XVII.3 Rome's May Enemies: Threats from within and without.
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Jan asks what do we really know about ancient massed archery? How was it conducted? We may envision Hollywood-style showers of arrows raining down accurately on a target, but… how realistic is this?
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Euchale writes that he has recently watched a video by Farya Faraji on just how inaccurate a lot of modern "interpretations" of ancient music is. One of his pet peeves is the use of Armenian Duduks for anything vaguely Arabic. Euchale poses two questions to Murray, do you have pet peeve that every movie gets wrong about ancient warfare? And, have you ever researched anything in regard to ancient music in your area of expertise?
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College library director Darren is sponsoring a wargame involving a student tabletop game club (D&D, etc.) and a student history club. Darren writes to ask Murray what, in his opinion, would be the best ancient battle(s) for a group of 18 to 20-year-old students.
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In conversation with Ancient Warfare regular Marc DeSantis, Murray tells us about his new book Finis Britanniae: A Military History of Late Roman Britain and the Saxon Conquest.
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Dave Latham asked about the Kingdom of Soissons, and after a particularly deep rabbit hole, Murray has emerged to give you his musings.
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Mark asks, 'did any of the friendly client states (i.e. Thrace, Cappadocia, Mauretania etc) try to copy Roman legions in terms of equipment, organisation, tactics etc?'
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Thanks to Andy for sending this one in. 'I’m listening to SJA Turney’s Marius' Mules. Over the first three books, he frequently references the medical support for the legions. How developed were the medics? Were their skills another advantage for the Romans ?'
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In a second question from his postcard, Gus asks, what was the difference between bronze and iron weapons and armour in terms of availability, hardness, temper and penetrating ability?
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'After two decades of war, Alexander's successors had found a delicate balance. When Ptolemy's wayward son managed to destabilize matters, the Celts grabbed their chance.'
The Ancient Warfare team discuss the latest issue of the magazine XVII.2 Invasion of the Celts: Brennus' Campaign into Greece.
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In a new Ancient Warfare Answers postcard, Gus asks Thureophoroi - what were they? (light troops/peltast replacements)and where did they originate?
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Aaron asks "On your comment about written battle accounts, were Empire era writings less common, lost to time, or were the generals less educated than Republic era generals?"
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In this episode of the Ancient Warfare Magazine podcast, Murray and Jasper are joined by Stephen DeCasien to discuss rams on ships.
Stephen is a PhD candidate at Texas A&M University studying Nautical Archaeology. His academic interests are Greek and Roman maritime history and archaeology, with a special focus on naval warfare, naval rams, and warships.
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To celebrate the 300th episode of the Ancient Warfare Podcast and Ancient Warfare Answers, Murray answers a curly one, what really happened at the battle of Marathon - Murray has forgotten who asked him this but is a 'big' question nonetheless!
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'A question for Murray, who or what made the decisions about where Roman army units were based or moved around the Empire? I am presuming if it were a vexillation from Hadrian's Wall to York, it would be a local commander's decision, but what if it was a cohort sent from York to Gaul, ie between adjacent provinces? Was that worked out by the military staff of the respective governors? And then what about legions moving from, say, Gaul to Syria for military reasons or even for civil engineering projects? Was there a general staff in Rome comprised of ex-field generals, gnarly old centurions and civil servants, or was it down to the Emperor/Senate (depending on the period) to plan it all?'
Thanks for that question Keith.
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Sara wonders how negotiations between different armies were practically arranged. For example, with Caesar in Gaul, several times he had some type of meetings with different groups. Such as the Helvetii before he had even established himself in Gaul. How was such a meeting arranged before and after a battle?
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Murray answers this question set in by Tim.
'I'm wondering why historians generally accept that Mons Graupius was indeed a great victory for Agricola. My understanding is that Tacitus' account is the only written evidence we have, and archaeology has turned up little physical evidence of the battle.
Is part of the reason that a great victory would have been too big a lie to pass off, so there must be some truth to the story? Or was it generally accepted for generals to make their victories more impressive so no one in Rome batted an eye at Tacitus' account?'
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Nathan wonders how the Praetorian Guard was structured. Was it used in traditional combat or taken on campaigns? While not directly related to ancient warfare, why did the emperors continually use the Praetorian Guard despite their history of treachery, intrigue, and assassination?
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'The time has come to take the fight to the enemy. How do you prepare? Can you rely on your guides, your allies, and your subordinates? Have you secured enough supplies?'
The Ancient Warfare Magazine team get together to discuss issue XVII.1 In the Land of the Enemy: The Challenges of Campaigning.
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Gregorio Gariglio asks, "could you please tell me what really happened at the Battle of Pydna and are the casualty rates that the sources give to us correct?"
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Blake asks "Love your podcast, my question is about Ancient Roman Enemies and the most well remembered. My question is why do we talk about say Spartacus, Boudica or Hannibal over say Genseric or Shapur I? Especially since the latter were more successful against Rome than the former, I have a few theories but I wanted to hear your answer."
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Matthew Tilley asks "who/what were hypastpists? I always hear very vague descriptions, or none at all." Murray gives his thoughts.
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Murray answers three separate but closely related questions this week – from Floody77 – “Hi Murray, I was wondering who you're favourite ancient general was and why ?”; from Euchale : “Who do you think is one of the most underrepresented Generals of ancient times in popular media, compared to how important they were in their time? Any book recommendations to read more about him?”; and from Caleb on Patreon “If an autobiography of an ancient general could be discovered, who would you want it to be written about, why, and what is already known about them?”
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'Since the dawn of the Classical Era up to World War II, thousands have lost their lives fighting over the pass at Thermopylae.'
Jasper and Murray are joined by Michael Livingston and AW regular Myke Cole to discuss their new book, The Killing Ground: A Biography of Thermopylae.
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Patron Simon's second question asks 'Were there notions of "losing well" or instances of exemplary defeat in ancient warfare?'
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Patron Simon (via postcard) asks 'It's often said that Greek armies put their best soldiers on the right. Given that predictability is exploitable, how and why did such a convention arise?'
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'Shortly after Marcus Aurelius came to power in AD 161, the Roman Empire was racked by a series of military crises. While unrest in Britain and a new war with Parthia were swiftly dealt with, the invasion of Roman territory by the Chatti and Chauci peoples heralded a resurgent threat from the empire’s European neighbours. Soon the Marcomanni and the Quadi, as well as the Dacians and the Sarmatian Iazyges, would attack the Romans in a series of savage conflicts that continued until AD 175 and would involve the first invasion of Roman Italy since the beginning of the 1st century BC.'
Marc talks to Murray about his latest Combat title for Osprey on Marcus Aurelius' Marcomannic Wars, Barbarian Warrior vs Roman Legionary: Marcomannic Wars AD 165–180.
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Murray answers a question from a 12-year-old fan from Italy, Greg - How many casualties were there really at Magnesia? The Roman sources say 53,000 for the Seleucids and only 350 Romans died. Is This true?
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Responding to several comments on recent podcasts which have looked at heavy infantry, especially the Macedonian phalanx, Murray looks at the issue of light armed troops in ancient battle accounts.
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Mark wants to hear Murray's thoughts on comparing the Roman wars against the Vandals vs the Punic Wars. Mark writes, 'both the Roman-Vandal and Roman-Carthage wars occurred roughly in the same geographic area and included naval and land-based fighting. However, within 26 years the Vandals had conquered North Africa, the major islands of the Western Med and sacked Rome.
In the 3rd/2nd centuries BCE the 1st/2nd Punic wars lasted over 60 years, and even then, neither side could capture each other's capitals. Granted, the Roman Empire was exhausted and fighting multiple enemies for much of the 5th century CE- but the Roman Republic also fought on multiple fronts during the 2nd Punic War.
Then, in the 6th century CE, Belisarius was able to conquer and annex the Vandal Kingdom in less than a year. Why did these later wars seem to happen at a much faster pace? Did smaller armies and a more depopulated Mediterranean in late antiquity shorten wars? Were logistics better with better ships or Roman roads? Did later armies and navies use different tactics or technologies so that wars were much shorter?'
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Murray answers this question from Jsoth, 'during the battle of Issus, it's my understanding that the Macedonian phalanx struggled and even lost ground against Darius' mercenary Greeks. I was under the impression that if facing off directly, the sarrisa-wielding phalanx would be at an advantage with their longer spears, but here, that doesn't seem to be the case. Do historians believe this is accurate, and if so, why or how?'
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'King at just 20, Alexander of Macedon spent two years securing his northern borders and Greece. In 334 he crossed the Hellespont to begin the campaign his father had prepared: the invasion of Achaemenid Persia.'
The Ancient Warfare team discuss issue XVI.6 of the magazine Alexander versus Darius.
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John asks 'What are your thoughts on the news that we are starting to be able to read some of the carbonised scrolls from Herculaneum. What do you think will be found when we can read them? What would you love to be located, rediscovered?'
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Murray is asked, 'I am reading about Spanish Conquistadors. Since they were unfamiliar with the land, they would capture local tribe members and force them to act as guides. On many occasions, the guides would deliberately lead them astray to be attacked or direct them away from villages. Are there any notable incidents in ancient warfare where this occurred?'
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Negrisan George writes, 'I Read about how the Dacians imposed high tribute on the Romans in the first century AD. I'm not an expert, but I think the Dacians were the only ones who received tribute from Roman Empire.
And then I read how the Daco-Roman wars started: how Trajan invaded Dacia with one-third of the army of the empire. A third can you imagine? And, of course they defeated the Dacians and robbed Dacia.
Was the purpose of the campaign to get the gold from what is today Rosia Montana in Romania? After defeating the Dacians Trajan built Trajan's Column to depict the wars - it was a huge matter of pride for the Romans. Were the Dacians the most respected and feared enemy of the Roman Empire?'
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Murray talks with regular AW contributor Jo Ball about her new book from Pen & Sword on the career of Publius Quinctilius Varus and the Teutoburg Disaster of AD 9.
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We got a Postcard! From Euchale in Heidelberg.
Euchale asks two questions: "1. Have you ever played Age of Mythology. If so, how doyou like the depiction and speech of the various armies of the game? 2. How much of your research happens online, and how much from physical books? Any recommendations on how to find good books related to a topic? Any sources other than books and the internet?"
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"Why does Marcus Aurelius never take the blame for appointing his son his heir rather than the most qualified, like 3 of the 4 emperors before him? Maybe he should have spent less time philosophising and more time being a father."
Murray gives us his thoughts.
JSoth asks "Out of curiosity, if Crassus knew Caeser, then during Carrhae, why not build a heavily fortified camp the night after the first day as Caeser may have done? If the Parthians didn't fight at night, and the army was comprised of 10,000 all-mounted troops, that seems like it would have made at least some sense. In particular, if he would have been able to make palisades tall enough and simply encamped another day, thereby giving more time to come up with a proper answer to the situation."
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Augustus' reign started with a thorny problem. He was now the proud 'owner' of 50-odd legions, and no rivals to his power. For now. His solution was a system that lasted.
The team discusses the latest edition of the magazine issue XVI.5 The Roman Imperial Legions: The army of the Julio Claudians.
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Manos sent this in for Murray to chew over.
'Having heard and read so much about Phillip & Alexander’s training of the Macedonian phalanx as to becoming flexible in manoeuvring difficult battle landscapes as well as proficient when encountering lateral attacks, I remain sceptical about the devastating results in both the battles of Cynoscephalae and Pydna. Was it hubris on the part of Phillip and later his son Perseus or lax training which resulted in both battles’ outcome?'
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Patron of the podcast, Mathew, sent this question in.
Are there accounts of artillery specifically targeting leaders, for example, a Legatus or centurion? Or dedicated expert archers, etc., to do the same? Imagine a sniper-type scenario. This seems like a tactic that could have been used to demoralise a force and eliminate command and control quickly.
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Chris poses this question for Murray.
'More Roman soldiers were killed in the civil wars against other Roman soldiers than any other adversary. Why was it so easy for usurpers to convince their soldiers to fight against their brethren? And why didn't emperors try to change whatever facilitated this kind of behaviour?'
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In this episode of the podcast, Murray answers two questions, both on the battle of the Hydaspes.
The first was sent in by @gregoriogariglio7750. How many Macedonian and Indian casualties were at the Battle of the Hydaspes?
The second question is from @jsoth2675. Is it possible, or likely even, that the battle of Hydaspes against King Porus was fabricated? Are there any Indian sources that agree a battle took place?
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We are between issues of the magazine for this episode of the podcast. After casting around for ideas, Mark suggested the topic for Friday night's chat: the impact of weather on conflict.
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Murray ponders how little information we have on Aurelian, Probus etc. but Diocletian is well documented in the histories Augusta. Thanks to @Evocletian for sending this question in.
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Daniel writes, 'Plutarch mentions a letter to Alexander from Anaxarchus in his Moralia. It was stated that there were 'worlds innumerable' and that Alexander wept as he had not even conquered a single one. Firstly, could this be an early precursor to the 'multiverse' theory so popular in media at the moment? Secondly, would you be able to comment on the contrast between this statement and the usual notion that Alexander wept when 'there were NO more worlds left to conquer', as these both seem to contradict each other?'
Thank you Daniel for sending that in.
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Jsoth, wonders what account of the battle of Milvain Bridge does Murray find most convincing, and what supporting evidence is of the battle?
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'A general for his stepmother Hatshepsut from a young age, Thutmose III conducted dozens of campaigns into the ancient Near East and Nubia, leaving extensive records.'
In this episode of the Ancient Warfare Magazine podcast, the team discusses XVI.4 New Kingdom Empire Builder: Pharaoh Thutmose III goes to war.
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After recently rereading Thucydides, GC asks, "Fire-signals of an attack were also raised towards Thebes; but the Plataeans in the town at once displayed a number of others, prepared beforehand for this very purpose, in order to render the enemy’s signals unintelligible."
I would have imagined that a fire signal was quite simple, fire or no fire. This implies much greater sophistication.
What is known about this?'
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In this week's Any Warfare Answers, Murray answers this question sent in by Jamie. 'The rest of the guys on the podcast all have their areas of expertise and are each an expert in a different, very specific aspect of ancient history, whereas you seem to have a grasp of all of it.
How did you become such a generalist?'
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Kyle asks, 'What was the mechanism that Carthage (or really any ancient power) used to recruit mercenaries? Were there people whose job it was to travel Gaul, Iberia, Greece, etc., recruiting, or was the sending of mercenaries part of political negations?'
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Something slightly different for this episode of the Ancient Warfare podcast. Regular of the podcast Marc De Santis talks to Murray about his work, focusing on the books Murray has written for Osprey, specifically his four books for the Combat Series.
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In this episode, Murray muses on a question sent in by Nathan asking if, in the ancient world, there was some sort of volley fire such as we see in the 19th century with ranks of infantry.
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Andy has been listening to rival podcasts as points out that 'the term assassin does not turn up until after the crusades. My understanding is there were plenty of assassinations before this. What term did the Romans use? Where these people specially trained?'
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Curt asks Murray, 'did Alexander The Great’s army introduce Pankration to India? If so could Pankration have contributed to the future expansion of martial arts from India to China & other Asian countries?'
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Jasper, the editor of Ancient Warfare Magazine, asked on social media what themes readers felt the magazine had not covered but should or themes it should revisit. The team look at what suggestions were sent in and give some thoughts of their own.
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Jacob wonders, 'if field artillery was ever used against a Macedonian-style phalanx? If not, why not? The close formation and immobility of the phalanx would leave it extremely susceptible to scorpion, ballista, etc fire.'
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Carlos asks, 'in the current war in Ukraine, we've seen Ukrainian soldiers write insulting messages and trolling ones on artillery shells before firing them at Russian forces. Did a similar practice exist in the ancient Mediterranean world with soldiers writing insults and or the use of verbal insults.'
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Wyton asks, 'During the republic, what were the Romans Italian allies armed with, and how did they fight? As legionaries or some other method?'
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Robert asks, 'Why javelins? It seems that a bow would be a much better weapon for a skirmish in the ancient world, but it seems that javeLin armed light troops may have been the most common type in Europe.
Additionally, if using javelins, why not an atlatl to throw them with? This would make a difference in hitting a target, but one has to believe that range would be an important factor while skirmishing.'
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'Is there today or has there been anyone trying to conduct larger-scale experimental archaeology to try and answer some of the common questions about certain infantry tactics/tropes such as the othismos and open vs closed order legions?'
Murray tells us about experimental archaeology.
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Alex asks, 'When is the last documented evidence of one of the original Roman Legions being in existence?
I remember reading about Legio V Macedonica being based in Egypt just before the Arab Conquests in the 640s, but I am unsure if this is factually correct'.
Murray lists us the last documented evidence for the Legions.
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Murray talks with Roel Konijnendijk about his recent work on 19th-century German language scholars and how they laid the foundations of much of the 20th century's understanding of Classical Greek warfare.
Giants like Moltke, Delbrück, Kochly and Rustow's foundations were, however, based on 19th-century understandings of how war worked, and their views (rightfully) have been challenged. This only began in earnest in the late 20th century, and overcoming the dominance of these 19th-century thinkers is still a mountain to climb.
Curt wonders why did Alexander the Great not look westwards, starting with Rome during his conquests? There are a lot of 'what if's' here for Murray to deal with.
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Samuel points out that Xenophon makes reference to the Sciritai as part of the Spartan army foray into Boeotia during the mid-370s). And the sources are a bit patchy.
He asks do we know/can we infer anything about the Sciritai? How did they fit into Spartan society as a whole? What roles did they perform within the Spartan army (on and off the battlefield)? How were they armed?
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Mark, one of our patrons, wonders if Murray sees a place for AI in helping to translate ancient manuscripts. Could AI step up to help with this and help sort and categorise through keywords, names, etc.
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Listener Andy Shaw wonders why the sarissa 'seems to fall out of use between the two periods even though protecting infantry from cavalry remains a consistent problem across ancient and medieval warfare'?
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Murray gives this thought on this question sent in, 'is the supposed decline in the quality of Hellenistic cavalry true or is that exaggeration with Hellenistic cavalry remaining elite well into the conquest of said Hellenistic kingdoms by the Romans?'
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When did the phalanx become the fully-developed formation we imagine? In this issue of Ancient Warfare, we explore the various changes and developments in the seventh through fifth centuries BC that eventually led to the emergence of the 'Classical' Greek hoplite.
The Ancient Warfare team discuss issue XVI.2 of the magazine, The coming of the Hoplite: Shields, spears and shining bronze.
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Murray ponders why Macedonian casualty figures were low and how enemy casualty figures might have been calculated. Did someone go around counting all the dead Persian bodies, or did Macedonian soldiers get to estimate how many Persians they had killed?
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Following his last question from Murray a few weeks ago, Andy asks, 'the question I’ve always wondered is why it seems to fall out of use between the two periods even though protecting infantry from cavalry remains a consistent problem across ancient and medieval warfare'?
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"Alexander's Companion cavalry seemed to be the premier cavalry of its age, and was instrumental in the battles against the Persian empire. Why is it then, under the Successor Kingdoms' Generals, that they faired so poorly when confronting the inferior Roman cavalry? Was it due to the lack of Alexander himself, poor training, or just the professionalism of the Roman Legion?"
Murray gives us his thoughts...
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Imperium Romanum is a YouTube channel dedicated to bringing history to life, with documentaries looking at everything Ancient Rome; from the army and military equipment to politics, religion, culture, lifestyle and much more.
In this episode, Jasper, Murray and Marc are joined by Marc Beermann from Imperium Romanum to talk about what they do.
If you want to enter the competition for a copy of Myke Cole's The Bronze Lie, you need to email [email protected] with you 25 words on what you enjoy about the magazine.
The competition closes on 28 February 2023.
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An interesting 'what if' quest from Jeff, who asks Murray for his thoughts on 'what if the Roman Empire had never fallen and was still around today, what would the world look like? And what do you think a modern Roman Empire would be like?"
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Brendon asks why the Macedonian phalanx at the Battles of Issues and Gaugamela suffered such a low casualty rate from arrows fired by archers?
Murray gives us his opinion.
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Tony sent this in for Murray to think about, 'can you tell us anything about the difference in style of combat when comparing late medieval pike vs ancient Sarissa?'
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One man's pirate is another's daring raider, and the boundary between warrior and pirate can be equally nebulous. Piracy is an age-old problem without a simple solution.
The team discuss issue XVI.1 of the Ancient Warfare magazine Piracy and Raids: Robbers on the Mediterranean.
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Mason sent in a question a few weeks ago, and here he is again with another for Murray.'If Romans were fighting and happened to get surrounded, did they have a formation for that? Did the back line and sides turn around and form a square?'
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'How did the Romans keep track of who actually completed their years of service? What's to stop you from deserting and showing up to claim your pension unfairly? Presumably, this could be tricky in an empire of mostly illiterate people from all over the known world without government driver's licenses or passports'. Murray gives us his thoughts...
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Murray answers a question from a 12-year-old fan from Italy, Greg - How many casualties were there really at Magnesia? The Roman sources say 53,000 for the Seleucids and only 350 Romans died. Is This true?
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Mason sent this question in for Murray to muse over, 'how did the language differences of auxiliary units affect armies on campaign or during battle? Were there any particular Roman generals who were multilingual'.
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In response to an email from David in New York, Murray explains siege mining in the ancient world.
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Murray answers this question from Pascal, 'could you serve as a soldier, officer or even a consul despite some form of physical handicap during the roman republic?'
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Murray got this question from Jonathan via email 'I read about Caesar bridging of the Rhine, is that how armies bridged rivers after him, following his example, what about before him?'
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Bill sent Murray this question, 'how long was the Macedonian Sarissa? I've read a lot about 20' and sometimes longer'.
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Jonathan sent this question directly to Murray 'What was the standard depth of a hoplite line? I see eight mentioned all the time – were there any others?'
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Jasper and Murray are joined by Julien Blurel, the brains behind the Invicta YouTube channel.
In the latest episode, Invicta demonstrates the true size of a Roman legion. This is the first of their new 'true size' series, which aims to bring history to life in 3D using the Unreal Engine.
True Size of the Roman Legion really puts into context the Roman army camp, the Legion on the march and the Roman army order of battle.
You can find it here.
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Patron of the podcast Seanbob sent in this question for Murray to mull over, 'what is up with foreskin collection? I know Ramses wrote on walls about the stacks of foreskins he collected from the sea peoples, and David bought his wife with foreskins (1 Samuel 18:27). So what is the deal?
Was circumcisions popular in some cultures and not others? Why not the whole penis? What did they do with them after they stacked them? Some sort of trophy? Like a deer rack on your Grandpa's wall? It is one thing to like dicks, it is strange to collect foreskins. What is the deal?'
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What happened to all the gear and supplies after a big battle? What did people tend to salvage?
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'Philip II of Macedonia inherited a fragile kingdom under pressure. He absorbed the lessons from his childhood and turned it into a military powerhouse.'
The team discuss the latest issue of the magazine XV.6 Macedonia Rising: The volatile life of King Phillip II.
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How did armies get or store potable water while on campaign? Murray has the answer...
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Murray, once more on his own, discusses what, in his opinion, is a useful analogy for talking about ancient warfare.
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Bryan sent us in this question,'what are some documented cases where the victorious/conquering forces held a deep respect for their defeated foe or for the manner in which their foe fought even though they were ultimately defeated?'
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Bruce emailed us this question, what do the columns (Trajan, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius) tell us about the wars depicted? Are they reliable narratives? Narratives at all?
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Andrew emailed us this question for Murray to answer, why did generals write back to the senate about what they had done? Was that account trustworthy – and how can we tell?
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We are between issues of the magazine, but Murray suggested the team discuss who is our favourite military author or ancient source.
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Patron of the podcast Micius Porcius sent us this question for Murray to answer. During the imperial period, did consuls continue leading armies in war as they had in the Republican period or were legions only led by generals assigned by the Emperor?
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In the last episode, Murray answered the first of two questions Doug posed, the second question being a request to explain the battle of Crimisus in 340BC.
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Murray tackles this question that Doug emailed in, 'what kind of armies, weapons, and tactics were used by Carthage and Syracuse in the fifth and fourth centuries BC?'
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The Saxon Shore forts get their name from the Notitia Dignitatum and are among the most impressive Roman remains in Britain, but why they were built remains unclear.
The team discuss the latest episode of the Magazine Ancient Warfare XV.5
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It is a big thanks to Gerrard for emailing Murray this question. Murray tells us about who is his favourite military author, and why.
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A few months ago, in response to episode AW137, where the team discussed the Greco-Persian war, Maxnet got in touch via Facebook to ask which source was Murray quoting with respect to the Battle of Marathon. Murray explains the sources.
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It is the 1,900th anniversary of the building of Hadrian's Wall, that is if it was begun in AD 122 and not AD 119. Not only is there doubt over the year construction was started on the wall, but we also are not completely sure what its function was. As such, a good topic for the team to discuss.
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Rich posed this question for Murray, 'we have a relatively good picture of what the Roman Legionary weapons and materiel manufacturing process looked like (at least for some time periods).
Do we have any similar information for the Philippian/Alexandrian Macedonian army? That's a lot of 16-foot-long sarissa shafts and spear points to manufacture, and I'm curious what we know about it'.
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Patron of the podcast Chris writes, 'we are told right before the great Illyrian revolt of AD 6-9, the Romans were preparing a campaign against king Maroboduus and the Marcomanni. It is said he had an army of 74,000 (70,000 infantry and 4,000 Cavalry). What do you guys think the outcome would have been of that war/campaign; would he have stood a chance resisting the roman campaign?'
Murray gives us his opinion.
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Scot emailed us this question for Murray to answer; 'Certain tribal confederations, like the Franks & Saxons, typically bear "namesake" weapons (e.g. the Francisca and the Sax). Is the name of the weapon thought to be derived from the name of the confederation, or is the name of the confederation derived from the weapon?'
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In this episode of the Ancient Warfare Magazine podcast Jasper, Murray and Myke talk to games designer Mark Backhouse about his new game Strength & Honour.
The game allows you to recreate battles from the start of the Marian reforms in Rome around 105BC, when the professional Roman legionaries organised in cohorts replaced the older Republican Legion structure of maniples, through to about 200AD.
Patron of the podcast James poses this question for Murray, 'The number of Spartan soldiers declined from its high of 10,000 to less than 2,000 around its defeat by Thebes due, in part, to increasing economic concentration and the resulting decline in the number of soldiers able to pay their mess contributions. Did Spartan society recognise this decline as a problem, and were there efforts to reverse this trend? If there were, why did they fail?'
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Murray is on his own this week. He answers this question sent in from patron of the podcast, Greg; 'How widespread was the use of Hamippoi in 5th BC Greece?'
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Murray answers this question sent in from Christoper, 'do the sources tell us anything about the Spartan warrior Arimnestus who threw the rock that killed Mardonius? I am curious if we know if he survived the battle and if he would have been honoured for his efforts in the victory?'
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The legion that wrested control of the Mediterranean region from Carthage and the Successor states is very familiar. But some notions have recently been challenged.
Following the discussion of the Roman legion in episode 119, the Ancient Warfare team returns to the topic with this episode looking at issue XV.4 of the magazine.
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Patron of the podcast Lubos asks, 'Why was the greek phalanx so ineffective against the Romans? Were they just obsolete or just that the Greek generals didn't evolve their tactics and formations to counter roman maniples?'
Murray gives us his opinion.
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Sparked by current events in the work patron of the podcast Carlos asks 'what steps did ancient commanders do to ensure that their army's logistics were in order?'
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Murray is still in New Zealand but has found the time to answer this question from patron of the podcast Chris.
'How much do we trust Homer? Are there good examples of corroborating accounts that give us the means to verify or put his missives in context?'
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Murray is on holiday in New Zealand, but while on his travels he has found the time to answer this question from Christopher.
'Do we have any indication as to what Epaminondas of Thebes looked like? He was a fantastic general and I find it strange that we have not found any statues or busts that portray him. Is it because Alexander razed Thebes to the ground?"
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We were due to look at the latest issue of the magazine Rise of the Legion pt.II. As the issue has only just been released, we thought we would save the discussion on that topic for the next full episode of the podcast in May.
In the meantime, Myke suggested the team discuss commanders as tactical units and whether they participated in the fighting, or command from behind the lines?
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Murray tackles this question from Jorn Schneider, 'How did generals plan campaigns and how did armies find out where to go without maps?'
Murray is once more without Jasper but give us his opinion on what he thinks mattered most in Ancient Warfare.
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Murray is on his own this week and tackles this question sent in by Patron of the podcast Paul, 'Name one event in Ancient Warfare where the majority of the sources are in agreement with an event happening, be it a battle or an event during a battle, etc. but you call foul - never happened - and vice versa.'
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While we wait for the latest episode of the magazine to be released, Murray suggested the Ancient Warfare team address one of the questions sent from a listener.
What do you think was the most important factor in ancient warfare?
Anne asks 'how did ancient armies and generals inspire (coerce?) loyalty among the troops?'
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Patron of the podcast Carlos sent us this question, 'what were the methods used by groups like the Romans or any of the Near East powers to counter the firepower discipline and mobility of the horse archer nomad armies?'
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Murray gives his thoughts on this question sent in by Greg 'There are quite a few examples of the use of recon and scouting from ancient warfare (perhaps more where it didn't happen!). Also, we see examples of espionage and intel via xenoi relationships in the Greek world. But how much did we see what we might recognise as military intelligence, and how dependant was it on the personality of a commander?'
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Adam asks 'Slings are an iconic weapon of the ancient period, but don't seem to have been used much in later periods. What made them so suited to ancient warfare?' Murray is on his own and tackles this one.
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Do you think the “Grass Crown” was really a rare award or that it just wasn’t written about very often for whatever reason?
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Murray tackles this question on the Silver Shields.
Do we have any evidence that the Silver Sheilds' actual combat effectiveness began to diminish as they grew old? How much of it was true strength and how much of it was fearsome reputation? How unique were these 'old' veterans in ancient warfare?
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In our last episode before a short hiatus for Christmas, Jasper tackles this question on Hannibal’s logistics that was sent in by Anne one of the Patrons of the podcast.
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In AD 132 began the bloody struggle between two strong-willed leaders over who would rule a nation.
Ancient Warfare Magazine regular Lindsay Powell has a new book out Bar Kokhba: The Jew Who Defied Hadrian and Challenged the Might of Rome. Lindsay is joined by Jasper and Marc to discuss his new book.
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What were the different types of ships used by the Romans navy? Did they only use triremes? Jasper tackles this question from from Douglas Gatto.
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Josh sent this question in for Murray to ponder over. During the Roman period, we have evidence of reasonably specific units based on (original) area of recruitment, e.g. *Legio IX Hispana*, *Cohors Germanorum*, and so on. I was wondering if we have anything similar for the Hellenistic/Successor period. Outside of names that were originally geographic but likely became generic terms for a certain type of unit (Cretan archers and Tarantine cavalry), do we know of any specific recruiting grounds for the innumerable phalangites, thureophoroi, etc. who fought for the Diadochoi?
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Untaxed, but burdened by Rome's demands for ever more infantry and cavalry from their small tribe, the Batavians use the chaos of AD 69 to revolt. It would take the combined effort of nine legions to quell.
The Ancient Warfare Magazine team fields listeners questions.
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Daniel asks, 'I was curious about Roman marines. I see them depicted in video games the same as a classic 1st century legionary, but with their red clothing and shield swapped out with blue. Did Marines fight, and were they equipped the same as a regular legionary soldier? Did they participate in land battles and were they seen as inferior or superior to the regular army? Did they have the same terms of service as their land bases counterparts?
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Murray answers this question, sent in from Manvir. Could Alexander have convinced his men to head further into India? Was one reason for turning back the fear of facing elephants? Was this reflective of poor morale?'
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Jasper tackles this question from one of our patrons.
‘Did Ancient Armies wargame in any fashion we would recognize? Either in the armchair sense, or practically in the fields or on the seas? Did the Romans have wargames exercises to counter barbarian armies or Persian fleets? On the armchair side watching ‘I Claudius’ episode 1 there Augustus is playing a board game he calls ‘Empire’ with Agrippa’s two young sons. I expect this is just a story telling invention of the author or TV adaptation, but is there any basis for such a wargame simulator having existed in Rome or other nation?’
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Thanks to Paul for sending this in, 'what is one battle where sources agree but you don't?' It is a great question and one we may revisit on a full episode of the podcast.
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Murray is flying solo again this week. He tackles the question 'why didn't the Persians react faster to the invasion of 336 BC?'.
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We got this question from Nathan, 'who were the Thureophoroi, where were they from and how did they fight?'
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Find the magazine at: karwansaraypublishers.com/ancient-warfare-magazine
Patron of the podcast Anne asks, what do we know about how Hannibal supplied his troops during his campaigns, particularly through the Alps? With elephants!' Murray gives us his thoughts.
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Find the magazine at: https://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/ancient-warfare-magazine
Murray answers this question sent in by Brian 'The romans took a lot of slaves when they won a battle but how did they turn an angry defeated warrior into a pliant slave?'
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'If ancient soldiers were trained at all, it was generally for fighting in a formation in the battle line. But on rare occasions, generals would train and use troops for special operations.'
The Ancient Warfare team consider Ancient Warfare Magazine XV.1 which focuses on Special Operations in antiquity.
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Patron of the podcast Joshua asks 'I often read about certain battles, sieges, or encounters being influenced through psychological warfare. How effective was psychological warfare in the ancient world? What were the most effective methods?'
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Patron of the podcast Ian asks 'which was the fastest army in the ancient world traveling over land? Herodotus mentions the Spartan relief force that raced to Marathon, travelling around 150kms in 3 days- is this a record?'.
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Breem, Wallace. Eagle in the Snow
Davis, Lindsay. The Falco Series https://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/publications/
Duggan, Alfred. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Duggan
Cameron, Christian. The Tyrant Series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Cameron
Graves, Robert. I, Claudius Graves, Robert. Claudius the God Graves, Robert. Count Belisarius
Harris, Robert. The Cicero Trilogy: Imperium Harris, Robert. The Cicero Trilogy: Lustrum Harris, Robert. The Cicero Trilogy: Dictator
Haynes, Natalie. A Thousand Ships Haynes, Natalie. The Children of Jocasta https://nataliehaynes.com
Holland, Tom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Holland_(author)
Homer. The Illiad Homer. The Odyssey
Keegan, John. The Face of Battle
McCullough, Colleen. The First Man in Rome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colleen_McCullough
Miller, Madeline. The Song of Achilles
Moorhead, Sam. Stutard, David. The Romans who Shaped Britain
Pressfield, Steven. Tides of War https://stevenpressfield.com
Renault, Mary. The Alexander Trilogy: Fire from Heaven Renault, Mary. The Alexander Trilogy: The Persian Boy Renault, Mary. The Alexander Trilogy: Funeral Games
Sidebottom, Harry. https://www.harrysidebottom.co.uk
Sutcliff, Rosemary. Eagle of the Ninth
Vidal, Gore. Julian Vidal, Gore. Creation
Yourcenar, Marguerite. Memoirs of Hadrian
Andrew sent us this question, 'I was wondering how the intertwining of heroic figures into people’s lineage, was viewed by the common people.' Murray gives us his opinion.
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Could Hannibal have won the second punic war? Jasper is busy putting the magazine together so Murray gives us his opinion.
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Alex, part of our patreon community asks 'how much do you feel that luck played a role in ancient combat? Theoretically luck would be more of a factor in the gunpowder age, but I can’t imagine worse luck than being a Roman at Cannae. Low chance of survival, no matter your martial skill. Thoughts?'
Jasper is busy this week so Murray is flying solo.
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Zoe on patreon asks, 'we know about the four horned saddles the Roman cavalry used but do we have any idea of what sorts of saddles might've been used elsewhere in the ancient world?'
Murray answers this one.
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It's thanks to Alex who emailed in this question, what was the difference between Auxilia & Foederat? Is not why the different name?
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Famously warlike and imperialistic, the Neo-Assyrians cut a swathe across the ancient Near East. Surviving artwork and written sources give us clues as to how they accomplished this.
The team discuss Ancient Warfare XIV.6, the Neo-Assyrian Empire at war.
Listener Rick wonders if there are there any other examples of gaining entry to a city using something like a Trojan horse? Or are there any other examples of using ingenious methods to get into a city?
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Jasper tackles this question from patron of the podcast Ken. How "useful" are the accounts of warfare as described in the Old Testament? I'm interested in a discussion about sources as much as anything (i.e. why were they written, to whom and which biases might have been present).
Are any of the Old Testament accounts helpful in triangulating sources?
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Patron of the podcast Louis asks, what were the impacts of the introduction and subsequent spread of Christianity on the Roman military's practices and that of its opponents? Were there any improvements in the treatment of the defeated, taking into account that most barbarians were also christians although of a different denomination? Or maybe changes in the way discipline was handled could be attributed to the new religious practices.
Murray mulls this one over.
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Murray and Mark talk to James Romm about his new book The Sacred Band: Three hundred Greek lovers fighting to save Greek freedom.
The Sacred Band highlights a monumental era in history, one marked by war, ideological divide, the rise of eros in Greek public life, and the end of freedom. Romm reintroduces the tale of the Sacred Band—previously suppressed by the Greek historian Xenophon, who deeply mistrusted male eros—to the historical record.
James Romm is an author, reviewer, and the James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Classics at Bard College in Annandale, NY.
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Patron of the podcast, David wonders how long it took armies to set up for a battle? Did the opposition interfere or were there rules for that?
Murray ponders the question.
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The Macedonian armies of Phillip and Alexander were almost invincible, but afterwards “Macedonian” style armies seem to be more hit and miss (vs. Romans, Indians, Parthians, Celts etc.). Was this because Philip and Alexander’s troops were uniquely competent, or was it that the commanders after Alexander just couldn’t measure up?
Murray answers this question sent in from patron of the podcast Juan.
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With Jasper away Murray tackles this question sent to us from patron of the podcast Kristoffer, how did ancient leaders address their troops?
Why not support the podcast? Starting at the $5 level, patrons of the podcast receive a copy of Ancient Warfare Magazine: https://www.patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast
In this episode Murray, Jasper and Mark talk to Bret Devereaux.
In 2020 Bret presented his paper 'Mail Armour in the Middle Republic: Adoption, Prevalence and Impact' to the Society for Classical Studies/Archaeological Institute of America Joint Annual meeting.
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Murray answers this question from one of our patrons, Mythic Lore; 'What is known / reasonably theorised about the formations and tactics used during the late bronze age (Mycenaeans, Hittites, Luwians - Trojan War, etc)?'
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Joshua, one of our patrons asks, what was day-to-day life like for the legions when they were not on campaign or actively involved in a war? Jasper tells us all about it.
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Natasha asks, is there any pre-biblical examples of religious wars (if only justified by religions)? Or is "holy war" solely endorsed by a strong monotheistic religion?
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'The second half of the third century AD saw Rome's military leadership embroiled in a deadly power struggle. Meanwhile, on the empire's frontiers, trouble was brewing...'
The Ancient Warfare team discuss issue XIV.5 of Ancient Warfare magazine.
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Murray tackles this question from Juan; It seems that Phillip/Alexander’s army was almost invincible but afterwards “Macedonian” style armies seem to be a lot more hit and miss (vs. Romans, Indians, Parthians, Celts etc.). Was this because Philip/Alexander’s troops were uniquely competent/trained or were the commanders after Alexander just not as good? I’m mostly thinking about the pike phalanx but if there’s any information on the light infantry or cavalry troops I’d love to learn!
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Jasper answers this question from Dag, what's the latest vote on Caesar? A ruthless man who butchered and enslaved women and children for his personal benefit or a saviour in terms of combating and changing a corrupt oligarchy?
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Murray on his own this week, he takes a question from patron 'Celtic Ace' who asks how did the phalanx come about?
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The battle of Cannae was a catastrophic defeat for the Romans, but where did these legionaries come from? Jasper tells us where.
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In this episode, Jasper and Murray are joined by Dr Nicolas Wiater and Dr Alice König who lead the Visualising War project at St Andrews University.
"War is a topic of perennial importance to people from all sectors of all societies, and battle narratives play a major role – in many different forms – in shaping and mediating responses to war. Think of Homer’s Iliad, the histories of Livy, the Bayeux Tapestry, Shakespeare’s history plays, Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Picasso’s Guernica, Shostakovich’s Stalingrad Symphony and Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now – to name just a few. At first glance these representations of battle are all strikingly different. Whether we are conscious of it or not, however, they have long been interacting with each other – in different ways, and to different extents – in artists’, authors’, viewers’ and listeners’ minds, adjusting the ways in which war is visualised and canonising broader ideas about (e.g.) gender, leadership, ‘success’ and sacrifice’.
The aim of the project is to foreground these interactions and explore their impacts. In a nutshell, we ask: how do battles narratives from different media, communities and historical periods both shape and differentiate themselves from each other? How do their interactions reflect and shape broader attitudes to war? And how do the attitudes and ideologies which they generate influence the ways in which people think, feel and behave in their day-to-day lives?"
If cavalry attacked a Macedonian phalanx how did it react? Did the phalanx have a tactic to hold them off? Murray explains..
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If a roman legionary camp was attacked, how fast could it react? Jasper gives us his opinion.
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Murray tells us about the development of the Macedonian phalanx.
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In the late sixth-century BC, it became clear that the expanding Persian Empire and the Greek city states in Asia and the Aegean would soon come into conflict...
The Ancient Warfare Magazine team discuss the latest issue of the magazine XIV.4, The Greco-Persian Wars.
For those who are not already patrons of the podcast, we've updated the tiers. We've also added subscription to the magazine. You can find out more at patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast.
In this episode the Ancient Warfare team are between issues of the magazine, so Mark suggested they discuss coups in the ancient world.
For those who are not already patrons of the podcast, we've updated the tiers. We've added subscription to the magazine. You can find out more at patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast.
A sturdy set of walls is a powerful deterrent: that's why ancient empires devoted so much time to understanding how to best build (and break down) these defensive structures.
The team discuss the vol.XIV-3 of the magazine, Breaking Down the Walls: Fortifications and Siege Warfare.
Murray ponders this query from Michael watching on youtube, 'maybe a side note to this is to draw parallels with the Celtic invasions of Greece and how they fought the phalanx? Or what Hannibal learnt from his Spanish war, and how he applied that against the legions.'
'Torn between the mighty empire that raised him and his own tribal people, a Roman officer's conflicted allegiances lead to an epic historical clash'
The Ancient Warfare magazine team are joined by Joanne Ball from Liverpool University to discuss the new Netflix hit series Barbarians. The action takes place in Magna Germania in 9 AD, with events culminating in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.
Murray gets to grips with Austin's question when he asks 'Achaemenid Persian Immortals, what do we know about them, how did they fight, how where they used etc'.
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
Robert asks, 'Was the Roman Army of the later Roman Empire really that bad as everyone believes? Were they really a shadow of the republican and early empire legions? Although they were defeated at Adrianople, other than that battle, they seemed to have done rather well against foreign enemies but were just stretched too thin and always involved in civil strife.'
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
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J.Soth listening via youtube asks, 'didn't the Roman's employ phalanx tactics premaniple era?'
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
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'Before emerging as the greatest power in the Mediterranean world, Rome spent many centuries in relative obscurity, developing and refining new military tactics and structures that would set it up for unprecedented success.'
The ancient warfare team discuss the latest issue of the magazine Ancient Warfare XIV.2, Rise of the Legion: The Development of the Roman Army.
Jasper answers the question from patron Carlos, 'how did the Romans adapt to the mainly cavalry armies of the Parthians and later Sassanids?'
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
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Murray answers the question from patron Cosma 'What was the process of hiring mercenaries in ancient armies?'
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
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Treb Courie asks, was the iron shank of the pilum designed to be soft and bend easily?
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
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Rams and ramming, is the topic of this Ancient Warfare magazine podcast. The chaps focus on the Actian Victory monument and the Egadi and others found around Sicily.
Jasper, Murray, Marc, Lindsay and Mark are joined by Stephen DeCasien.
J.Soth listening via youtube asks, how was all the intense cavalry action possible in ancient history? Thessalian diamond formation charge, companion cavalry charge/melee engagements, Numidian light cavalry etc. without use of the stirrup or more modern saddle technology? If it's all with a rope or cord and thigh gripping, then they must have had some seriously chiseled legs.
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
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Murray ponders the question, Why did Sparta adopt the Macedonian Phalanx?
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
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Gabriel Ruge emailed this question, did Boudicca have a chance of beating the Romans, were mean her odds were better than 50-50? What if she had signed some sort of alliance with the Caledonians? What if the British used every force multiplier in the book. Attacking from high ground, rough terrain, numbers, movement (chariots) etc.
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
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The team are back looking at issue XIV.1 Crucible of Empires: Warfare in Hellenistic Asia Minor. Thanks to all those who sent in questions, watched and commented as we recorded live.
After the fall of Alexander the Great, the Successors set to work carving out kingdoms of their own. Asia Minor became an important proving ground for these would-be rulers.
In Ancient Warfare Answers, Jasper (editor of Ancient Warfare Magazine) and Murray (deputy editor) tackle your questions on ancient military topics.
In this episode Murray answers a question from patron Disco Shootout, if the Roman Legion was superior to the phalanx and tribal warfare like the Gauls, how could Hannibal use such inferior methods and defeat the Romans for years?
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
In Ancient Warfare Answers, Jasper (editor of Ancient Warfare Magazine) and Murray (deputy editor) tackle your questions on ancient military topics.
In this episode Jasper ponders on if the Romans intentionally downplayed their naval capabilities before the first Punic war? Thank you to patron of the podcast Dag Atle for suggesting this question.
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
In Ancient Warfare Answers, Jasper (editor of Ancient Warfare Magazine) and Murray (deputy editor) tackle your questions on ancient military topics.
In this episode Murray answers Boris's question beyond female warriors from the steppe nomad cultures, where are the others?
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
The ancient warfare magazine team are back this time discussing traitors, discipline and punishment in the ancient world.
If you want to watch the team record live and comment as we go, why not become a patron?
In Ancient Warfare Answers, Jasper (editor of Ancient Warfare Magazine) and Murray (deputy editor) tackle your questions on ancient military topics.
In this episode Jasper explains why Roman republican cavalry so poor? It's thanks to patron Jo-jo Sun for sending us that.
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
In Ancient Warfare Answers, Jasper (editor of Ancient Warfare Magazine) and Murray (deputy editor) tackle your questions on ancient military topics.
In this episode Jasper tells explains why the Roman army drew lots in AD69.
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
In Ancient Warfare Answers, Jasper (editor of Ancient Warfare Magazine) and Murray (deputy editor) tackle your questions on ancient military topics.
In this episode Murray tells us how the ancient Athenian army was organised.
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
In Ancient Warfare Answers, Jasper (editor of Ancient Warfare Magazine) and Murray (deputy editor) tackle your questions on ancient military topics.
In this episode Murray asks did ancient navies use slave rowers?
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
Though not known for his martial prowess, Claudius, like many Roman emperors before and after, needed a military victory to cement his position. Britain was the ideal target.
The team discuss Ancient Warfare Magazine XIII.6.
To watch the show live, as it's recorded, why not become a patron?
In Ancient Warfare Answers, Jasper (editor of Ancient Warfare Magazine) and Murray (deputy editor) tackle your questions on ancient military topics.
In this episode Murray tells us about how Generals learned their craft.
If you have any questions email Jasper at [email protected]
For this landmark 100th episode the Ancient Warfare Magazine team decided to open up the conversation to listeners and asked them to send in their questions.
Thanks to everyone to sent in questions, and sorry if we never got to yours.
These are strange times, with many of us trapped at home Jasper suggested the Ancient Warfare Magazine team share their recommendations for books, movies, articles and podcasts to pass the time.
If you don't already subscribe to the magazine use the offer code awpodcast to get a 33% discount off any Ancient Warfare digital subscription at ancient-warfare.com (offer ends 31 May,2020).
The teams recommendations
Myke Field of Glory Rulebook: Ancient and Medieval Wargaming Rules Great Battles of History - GMT Games Arms and Armour of the Greeks by Anthony M. Snodgrass Persian Interventions: The Achaemenid Empire, Athens, and Sparta, 450-386 BCE by John O. Hyland Classical Greek Tactics by Roel Konijnendijk Greek Military Service in the Ancient Near East, 401330 BCE by Jeffrey Rop
Murray 'Ancient warfare Movie Watching Bingo' 'Ancient warfare workouts'
Marc Michael Woods' In Search of the Trojan War & In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great The Art of War in the Western World by Archer Jones The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire by Edward Luttwak.
Mark HBO’s Rome series Robert Harris’ Cicero trilogy Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome
Lindsay Cassius Dio, Roman History - Loeb Classics Asterix I, Claudius (the TV Series)
Jasper Ancient Warfare Magazine Army of the Roman Emperors: Archaeology and History by Thomas Fischer
"As long as there has been warfare, there have been warriors willing to offer their services to the highest bidder. In this issue, we look at ancient mercenaries across the Mediterranean."
It's a lively discussion with a full ancient warfare magazine team.
Alexander the Great invaded what is today Afghanistan in 330 BC as part of war against Persia. Comprising the easternmost satrapies of Persia, Afghanistan provided some challenging battles in his conquest of the remaining lands of Persia.
In this episode of the Ancient Warfare Magazine Podcast the team discuss Alexander the Great in Afghanistan.
It's thank you to patron of the podcast Jared Grantham for suggestion the topic.
Until the arrival of the chariot, warfare had been an exclusively infantry-based affair. Its invention introduced a new dynamic to the battlefield that shaped warfare for two millennia.
The team discuss Ancient Warfare Magazine XIII-4.
With Jasper away, Murray is MC for this episode of the Ancient Warfare Magazine Podcast. He is joined by Marc Marc DeSantis, Mark McCaffery and Lindsay Powell.
Taking listener questions they discuss the role of contests and rituals in ancient battles.
The team are back to discuss Ancient Warfare Magazine XIII.3 The Rise of Septimius Severus.
'Septimius Severus, also known as Severus, was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of Emperor Pertinax in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors.'
'Natural and man-made geography exerts its influence on warfare, determining the passage of whole armies and fleets, sometimes allowing a single soldier to hold up an entire host.'
The team discuss Ancient Warfare Magazine XIII.2 'Hunting for good ground: The role of geography in warfare'.
You can pick up you copy of the magazine here.
We're back with another Ancient Warfare podcast. In this episode we're going to be discussing tropes; what we know, what we thing we know and where it all goes wrong!
Don't forget if you're not already a subscriber to the magazine you can find her here.
Tarentum in southern Italy may have been a Spartan colony, but when it was under pressure from first its Italic neighbours and then Rome itself, it preferred to call in some help from abroad.
In this episode the Ancient Warfare team discuss the latest episode of the magazine which covers Hellenistic mercenary armies in Southern Italy.
We thought we'd missed discussing a few episodes of the magazine so we decided to look at I.4 the Roman Conquest of Spain. As it turns out, we've apparently looked at this before and we'd forgotten (you can listen here).
After a long hiatus Jasper has returned as MC and joining him are Murray Dahm, Marc DeSantis, Mark McCaffery and Lindsay Powell.
We are once more between issues of the magazine, so in this episode the team have decided to discuss military celebrity in the ancient world, how important was celebrity and perhaps was there any pitfalls to celebrity status?
Joining Angus are Jasper Oorthuys, Murray Dahm, Lindsay Powell, Myke Cole, Mark McCaffery and Marc DeSantis.
Don't forget you can subscribe to the magazine at ancient-warfare.com
Tempted by lowered defences, riches on the Roman side of the Rhine, or just pushed forward by peoples further east, Germanic tribes started to raid and then come across western Europe's great river in large numbers from the third century onward.
Joining Angus to discuss the issue XII.6 An Empire Under Pressure are regulars Jasper Oorthuys, Lindsay Powell, Murray Dahm, Myke Cole and Marc DeSantis, plus all those patrons who watched and contributed live as we recorded.
Are you a patron yet? Fancy access to the exclusive live feed when we record? Why not sign up here.
We're discussing the 2004 film from Director Oliver Stone, Alexander. While it was expensive film to make it wasn't a box office smash. What do the team think?
Angus is joined by Jasper Oorthuys, Mark McCaffery, Murray Dahm, Myke Cole and Marc DeSantis.
'Men recruited from every corner of the empire, auxiliaries played an important role in augmenting Rome's military might. For the soldiers themselves, service meant a path to citizenship and future success.'
In this episode we’re going to be discussing Ancient Warfare Magazine XII.5, ‘Rome’s Indispensable Auxiliaries: Serving up front and on the flanks’.
Joining Angus are Jasper Oothuys, Lindsay Powell, Mark McCaffery, Murray Dahm and Marc DeSantis.
We are once more between issues of the magazine, so running with a random ancient warfare topic, the one that has been pulled out of the hat for this episode is ‘spartan invincibility’.
We have a full house for this episode with Jasper Oorthuys, Murray Dahm, Mark McCaffery, Marc DeSantis, Lindsay Powell and Myke Cole.
'The first decades of the Hellenistic era are famous for the ever-growing warships of the Ptolemies, but naval warfare wasn't just about who had the biggest ships.'
We're discussing Ancient Warfare Magazine XII.4. Taking part in this episode is Jasper Oorthuys, Lindsay, Mark McCaffery, Marc DeSantis and Murray Dahm.
In this episode of the Ancient Warfare Podcast we are discussing unconventional tactics, a topic suggested by one of our listeners (but Jasper can't remember who, so thank you whoever you are!).
We have a full house of contributors, Jasper Oorthuys, Murray Dahm, Lindsay Powell, Mark McCaffery, Myke Cole and Marc DeSantis.
We may have gone a little off topic, heading down the route of special forces, so possibly not as much talk of flying pigs as we might have otherwise have anticipated.
From mail and shields to protection of a more spiritual nature, armour in the ancient world took on many forms and was developed to deal with a number of specific problems.
In this episode we’re back looking at the magazine with issue XII.3 ‘The many means of Protection; Body armour in the ancient World”
Angus is joined by regulars Jasper Oorthuys, Marc DeSantis and Marc MacCaffery.
In this episode we’re going to be discussing the concept of death, dying and killing, how is described and perceived, in the ancient world. It’s thanks to Wim Sonnemans, one of our patrons for suggestion the topic.
Joining Angus are stalwarts of the podcast Jasper Oorthuys, Murray Dahm, Mark McCaffery and Marc DeSantis.
If you enjoy the podcast why not become a patron, by throwing a throw a shekel (or two) in our virtual bowl each month. We do try and give something back to our supporters, who get to watch us record live and Murray have been recording some bits and pieces exclusively for patrons.
'Fierce fighters, masterful mercenaries, backwards barbarians: these were only a few of the ways the ancient Greeks described their tribalistic neighbours to the north'.
In this episode of the podcast we discuss Ancient Warfare XII-2, Wild Allies and Enemies: Thracians in the Fourth Century.Angus is joined by regulars Jasper Oorthuys, Murray Dahm, Marc DeSantis, Lindsay Powell and Myke Cole.
Subscribers of the magazine will realise we’re recording very close to the latest issued XII.2 XII.2 Wild Allies and Enemies: Fierce fighters, masterful mercenaries, backwards barbarians, we felt it didn’t give people enough time to read it, digest it and feed us your questions, so we’ve decided on another 'in-between' episode.
Murray once more suggested the topic for discussion, his was a one word suggestion ‘uniform’, which had us all going off in different directions on what we could talk about, but it's turned into a very interesting conversation.
So joining Angus are regulars Jasper Oorthuys, Murray Dahm, Marc McCaffery, Lindsay Powell, Mark DeSantis, and joining us for the first time we’d like to welcome Myke Cole.
Today’s topic was suggested by Patreon backer Wim Sonnemans, who suggested we might look at training manuals and handbooks. Which is a great topic of us as it is something our very own Murray Dahm has previously researched!
To become a patron of the podcast you can find us at patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast. As a patron of the show you will be invited to watch us record live, and even comment as we are doing so…
We thank those who already support the show, it is very much appreciated….
Control and use of the legions played a critical role in Octavian's carefully orchestrated rise to power.
Angus, Jasper, Murray, Lindsay, Mark and Marc discuss Ancient Warfare magazine XII.1.
Jasper recently published a blog on the ancient warfare website, the title was ‘Why I love Ancient Warfare?’.
To discuss why Jasper loves Ancient Warfare Angus is joined by Jasper Oothruys, Murray Dahm, Mark McCaffery, Marc DeSantis and Lindsay Powell.
The team discuss Ancient Warfare Magazine XI-6.
"With financial aid from Persia, Sparta slowly brought Athens down in Attica, throughout its empire, and at sea."
We were casting around for a topic between ourselves, another film? A piece of kit? Murray suggested we discuss trying to simulated the ancient battlefield. We look at table top games, computer games and re-enactment.
Its a big thank you to those who sent in questions, its really appreciated and it does help guide out conversation.
Horse cavalry has long played a role in warfare. But other, more exotic mounts were also used in the ancient world.
In this episode we’re once more looking a the magazine with volume 11, issue 5, “Riding into Battle: Ancient Mounted Warfare”
So joining me are Jasper Oorthuys, Murray Dahm, Marc DeSantis, Mark McCaffery and Lindsay Powell.
In the final podcast of the year we find ourselves between issues of the magazine so Mark suggested the title ‘300 vs the real Hoplite’.
The gang are joined by Paul Bardunias author of ‘Hoplites at War: A Comprehensive Analysis of Heavy Infantry Combat in the Greek World, 750-100 bc’.
We’re looking at wars in the old Testament in this episode of the podcast. It’s a huge span of history, and only Jasper wrote a piece for this issue of the magazine. As is often the case with the topics we’re not quite so sure on, it turns out to be a very fruitful discussion.
Angus is joined by regulars Jasper Oothuys, Lindsay Powell, Mark McCaffery and Marc DeSantis.
We are once more between issues of the magazine with this episode. One of our patrons came up tonight's topic, we’re going to discuss what we actually know about combat on the battlefield and what it might have been like.
Much of what we read is the work of fiction but since John Keegans “Faces of Battle” in the 1970s historians have attempted to give a picture of what it might have been like for soldiers on the battlefield.
In this episode, we’re looking at volume 11 issue 3 "Rome against Rome: Caesar and Pompey in the Balkans".
We’ve got the dream team tonight… Jasper Oorthuys, Murray Dahm, Mark McCaffery, Marc De Santis and joining us after a brief hiatus is Lindsay Powell.
We’re between issues of the magazine this month so Murray suggested as the new war movie Dunkirk has been released why not try and look for similar examples in the ancient world of turning a Defeat into Victory.
Joining me is Jasper Oorthuys, Murray Dahm and Marc De Santis.
In this episode the team are looking at volume 11, issue two “On the cusp of Empire: The Romans Unify Italy”.
"Before building an empire, the Romans first had to unify the various cultures already living on their doorstep."
If you want to be involved with the podcast why not become a patreon? Before each show is recorded we put the call out for listener input, those contributions hopefully help make the show better for everyone. Our patrons always provide some top notch talking points for us to discuss. You can find the show at patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast.
You may or may not be aware Ancient Warfare has a sister publication Medieval Warfare which Angus also helps produce the podcast for… You can find more information on the magazine at medieval-warfare.com.
Peter, the host, recently recorded an episode discussing with Michael Livingston and Kelly DeVries which Medieval battle that would like to witness?
We thought it was a great idea so we've stolen it for this episode of the ancient warfare podcast.
Angus, Jasper, Murray and Marc discuss the Battles of Mylae, Marathon, the Teutoburg forest, Alesia, Gaugamela, Zama and Scythed Chariots.
A thank you to all our patrons who made suggestions for the show. After we finished recording we realised we'd forgotten to mention the Illiad so we've recorded a "extra" only available to those who support us via patreon.
With Jasper back in the editors chair at Ancient Warfare Magazine he joins regulars Marc DeSantis and Mark McCaffery to discuss Archers in the Ancient World (issue XI.1).
Throughout antiquity, the bow played an important role in warfare, from Assyria and Egypt to Greece and Rome. Heavy infantry and cavalry often got the glory, but archers on foot and horseback often played an important role on the battlefield.
We fielded a lot of listeners questions, many from patrons of the show who support us via patreon. For more information on how you can help us produce the show go to patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast.One of our Patreon supporters suggested for an "extra" we might look at documentary series, such as Barbarians Rising, and the problems of factual programming falling into the same traps that Hollywood feature films fall into.
So after we finished talking about the year of the four Emperors I put the question to the team, curiously Lindsay Powell is actually one of the historians featured in Barbarians Rising.
We hope you enjoy the discussion.
Angus is joined by Josho Brouwers, Murray Dahm, Mark McCaffery, Marc De Santis and a welcome back to Lindsay Powell.
After the suicide of Emperor Nero, four usurpers struggled for control of Rome, plunging the Empire into chaos.
In this episode we look at AD69 the Year of the Four Emperors. Angus is joined by Josho Brouwers, Murray Dahm, Mark McCaffery, Marc De Santis and a welcome back to Lindsay Powell.
In this episode the team investigate Ridley Scott's movie Gladiator.
In this episode we’re looking at volume X, issue 5 “The Empires of Persia at War”.
Angus is joined by I’m joined by Josho Brouwers, Murray Dahm, Mark McCaffery, Marc DeSantis and Sean Manning.
Medes, Persians or Achaemenids? Ancient sources rarely cared to differentiate them. Their tribes united and became kingdoms, and their kingdoms turned into empires. Some of the most decisive chapters of ancient warfare were written when their ever-changing borders brought them face-to-face with the great western powers.
We’ve always promised ourselves we would record some extra podcasts. As we’ve caught with the magazine release we thought it was time for such an episode… So we decided to look at the Chariot Race in Ben-Hur.
Angus, Josho, Murray, Marc and Mark were joined by David Reinke who ,with Graham Sumner, writes the film articles for Ancient Warfare Magazine… It proved to be a marathon recording, and we were terrible at staying on topic of the Chariot race… I hope you enjoy us wandering round the subject..."Once people began to live in settled villages, they started to identify themselves not just based on their language and culture, but also on where they lived. Farmers became, to a lesser or larger extent, tied to the soil. As villages grew into cities and cities became the centres of larger city-states, kingdoms, and even empires, it became ever more important to define territories in a visible way, and to defend them whenever necessary."
We're discussing Ancient Warfare Magazine volume X, issue Wars at the edge of empires.
If you've enjoyed the podcast over the years why not show your support and help us improve the podcast by becoming a Patron of the show via Patreon.
In this episode we’re looking at Volume 10, issue 3: Rome vs Poisonous Pontus: The Mithridatic Wars, 88BC - 63 BC
Don’t forget if you missed the issue you can pick up your copy from ancient-warfare.com. Better still why not subscribe! That way you’ll be fully versed in the subject before you listen to the podcast! I’m joined by stalwarts of the podcast Josho Bouwers, Murray Dahm, Mark MaCaffery and Marc de Santis.
In this episode we look at Ancient Warfare Magazine Vol X, issue 2 "Wars in Hellenistic Egypt: Kingdom of the Ptolemies".
We have a big group of guests with usuals Josho, Murray, Mark and Lindsay, also joining us is Marc de Santis and Seán Hußmann.
In this episode Angus is joined by Josho Brouwers, Murray Dahm, Mark McCaffery, Owen Rees and Roel Konijnendijk.
We’re looking at Ancient Warfare Magazine Volume X issue 1, Conflict between Sparta and Athens: The Archidamian War. Don’t forget if you want to send in any questions for the team you can find us on Facebook either The History Network or Ancient Warfare Magazine.
A long and lively discussion of Ancient Warfare Magazine IX.6 "The Aftermath of Battle".
"When we think about warfare in the ancient world, the first thing that probably pops into mind are images of men, clad in armour, fighting each other. Battle usually draws a lot of attention, and there have been many heated discussions about the nature and mechanics of combat. By comparison, there is often less interest in what happens after battle has been decided and the dust has settled. But the aftermath of conflict is no less interesting than the fight itself, as this issue of Ancient Warfare magazine will demonstrate."
Angus is joined by Josho Brouwers, Murray Dahm, Lindsay Powell, Mark McCaffery and Cezary Kucewicz.
In this episode we’ll be looking at Ancient Warfare Magazine volume 9, issue 5 “At the point of a Sarissa: Warriors of the Hellenistic age”
To discuss the topic Angus is joined by Josho Browuers, Murray Dahm and Marc de Santis.
"The First Punic War (264 to 241 BC ) was the longest uninterrupted war in antiquity and the beginning of a series of military conflicts between Carthage and Rome. During the struggle, these ancient powers fought for the control of Sicily, a strategic point in the central Mediterranean. In the end, Rome was victorious and Carthage lost Sicily."
In this episode we look at Volume 9, issue 4 “The First Punic War”.
To discuss the topic Angus is joined by Josho Browuers, Murray Dahm, Lindsay Powell, Mark McCaffery and Marc De Santis.
Angus is joined by Josho Brouwers, Murray Dahm, Mark McCaffery, Steven Weingartner and Sean Manning.
They discuss Ancient Warfare Magazine volume IX, issue 3 "The Hittites and their Successors".
"Anatolia juts out from Asia and forms an important gateway to Europe. Essentially a large peninsula, it borders Syria in the south, Mesopotamia in the east, and the Aegean in the west. Over the course of time, it has been the home of a remarkable number of different peoples, speaking a great variety of different languages. In the second millennium BC , a powerful kingdom arose whose leaders rubbed shoulders with mighty rulers from other parts of the Near East: the kingdom of the Hittites." More
In this episode Angus is joined Josho Browers, Murray Dahm, Mark MacCaffery, Owen Rees and Roel Konijnendijk.
We look at Ancient Warfare Magazine IX.2 The ascendancy of Thebes.
"The women of Sparta screamed at the sight of the flames that raged just across from the bridge over the Eurotas. Their men were in a panic, rushing to prepare and defend the unwalled city. Fighting had broken out in the nearby village of Amyclae. Lacedaemonians were falling to the earth, dead. The soil of Sparta had been invaded for the first time in centuries. The mightiest warriors of Greece were at the mercy of a new order in the Hellenic world. Thebes had finally ascended to its place of power and control. All it needed to do was learn from the mistakes that Sparta had made."
In this episode of the Ancient Warfare Magazine podcast Angus, Josho, Lindsay and Mark discuss volume 9, issue 1 "The end of empire: the fall of Rome"
"On 4 September AD 476, the Western Roman Empire came to an end. No great battle was fought, no great foreign invasion force marched upon the capital, nor was there an iconic enemy in the shape of a second Hannibal who annihilated Rome’s armies and broke down the emperor’s gates. Odoacer of the Germanic Sciri tribe and military commander in Rome’s employ, simply marched into the city of Ravenna after being proclaimed king by his troops, and dethroned the last Roman Emperor in the West."
In this episode Angus is joined by regulars Josho, Murray, Lindsay, Mark and with special guest Owen Rees. Its a lively discussion looking at Ancient Warfare Magazine volume, VIII issue 6 "The Roman conquest of Greece"
"From the northern rivers and plains of Macedon to the southern heart of the peninsula – amongst whose ragged mountains and plateaux nestled the venerable poleis of old Greece – countless kingdoms, city-states, leagues, and tribes struggled by turns for supremacy and survival in a flux of ever-changing alliances. Into this world, already ancient before their arrival, crashed the youthful republic of Rome that, although relatively unknown at the outset, eventually came to dominate a region once so fiercely independent."
In this episode Angus is joined by Josh Brouwers, Lindsay Powell, Mark McCaffery and Joseph Hall. We look at Ancient Warfare Magazine volume VIII, issue 5 "Rebellion against the Empire: The Jewish-Roman wars"
"It is well known that in the opening statement of his Jewish War, Flavius Josephus imitates the fifth-century BC Athenian Thucydides when he says that “the war of the Jews against the Romans is not only the greatest of the wars of our own time, but so far as accounts have reached us, nearly of all whichever broke out between cities or nations”."
In this episode Angus is joined by Josho Brouwers, Mark McCaffery and Marc DeSantis.
We look at Ancient Warfare Magazine volume 8, issue 4 "The ancient world's fragile giant: the Seleucid Empire at war".
"Seleucus, who eventually acquired the epithet ‘Nicator’ was not a prime candidate to succeed to the largest share of Alexander the Great’s empire when the king died in Babylon in 323 BC. He certainly held some rank in Alexander’s chain of command, but he was not a member of the inner circle, and a host of men had greater claim to rule. As things turned out, this was a good thing for Seleucus, as an early start in the age of the successors usually meant an early end."
In this episode we look at Ancient Warfare Magazine VIII.3 "Swift as the wind across the plains". Angus is joined by Josho Brouwers, Murray Dahm, Lindsay Powell, Mark McCaffery and Owen Rees.
"Cimmerians. Sarmatians. Scythians. Horsemen of the steppes. They emerged from the fog of prehistory around the eighth century BC. Semi-nomadic, they dominated the Pontic Steppes for a millennium. Over centuries, pressure from one steppe people against another kicked off great migratory patterns. The mobile, agile and ferocious horsemen became a scourge upon their more civilized neighbours to the south. Other migrations took them west into Central and Western Europe and east as far as Mongolia."
In this episode we look at Ancient Warfare Magazine VIII.2 "War, trade and adventure: struggles of the Ionian Greeks". Angus is joined by Josho Brouwers, Murray Dahm, Lindsay Powell, Mark McCaffery and Cezary Kucewicz.
"The ancient Greeks originally divided themselves into four major tribes, namely the Dorians, Aeolians, Achaeans, and Ionians. Each of these tribes also spoke a distinct dialect (Doric, Aeolic, Ionic), apart from the Achaeans, who used a form of Doric. The Athenians believed themselves to be the original Ionians and spoke a variant dialect called Attic. The focus of this issue is on the Ionian Greeks. Outside of Attica, Ionians lived on the island of Euboea, on the Cyclades, and in colonies settled in the central part of the west coast of Asia Minor, as well as on the islands off its coast, such as Chios and Samos."
Angus Wallace (from the History Network) is joined by Josho Brouwers, Lindsay Powell, Mark McCaffery and Murray Dahm to look at Ancient Warfare Magazine Volume 8, Issue 1. Deserters, defectors, traitors: Betrayal in the ancient world.
"The ancient world had its fair share of brave and courageous men, who stayed the course despite profound adversity or who seemed to laugh in the face of death. However, our sources also include accounts of people who – out of fear, for personal gain, or some combination of these and other factors – decided to betray their friends, their country, or their principles."
Angus Wallace (from the History Network) is joined by Josho, Lindsay and Mark McCaffery to look at Ancient Warfare Magazine Volume 7, Issue 6. The Reluctant Warlord: The Wars of Marcus Aurelius.
"With Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Empire was for the first time ruled by two emperors, both adoptive sons of the late Emperor Antoninus Pius (r. AD 138–161). Marcus had selected his nine-year-younger adoptive brother Lucius Verus to be his co-emperor. The two individuals could not have been more different in character. While the ascetic Marcus, whose main interest was philosophy, had been taught to “avoid the ways of the rich” (Meditations 1.3.), critics declaimed against Lucius’ luxurious lifestyle and his habits."
Josho, Murray and Lindsay are joined by Roel Konijnendijk to discuss Ancient Warfare issue VII.5
"The march of the Ten Thousand is one of the best documented campaigns in Greek military history, thanks to the detailed narrative of Xenophon. He was a young Athenian expatriate who eventually rose to a senior position of command among the Hellenic survivors of Cyrus’ mercenary army."
For more information Ancient Warfare Magazine visit ancient-warfare.com
Josho once more hosts this episode joined by Murray, Michael and Lindsay.
"Looking at ancient warfare through the lens of a logistician and discussing the army train provides a unique way of understanding combat operations. It is often said that amateurs discuss tactics and professionals discuss logistics. No combat operation would happen without the support of supplies, equipment, men, animals, and materiel to sustain those operations"
For more on this issue of the magazine visit ancient-warfare.com
With Jasper away Josho is joined by regulars Lindsay Powell, Murray Dahm and guest Mark McCaffery.
"The rise of Early Republican Rome, from leading city in Latium to imperial power dominating peninsular Italy, seems inexorable. The Romans' aggression, competitive nature and habit of annual campaigning -- for land, slaves, booty and glory -- are often cited as the stimuli for conquest."
Jasper, Josho, Murray and Lindsay discuss Ancient Warfare Magazine VII.2 Struggle for Control: Wars in Ancient Sicily
"Created by the gods and land of the giants, Sicily was a wealthy but deadly prize that dangled in front of many ancient powers. The unfortunate island would be subjected to a seemingly endless series of wars fought by people from all over the ancient Mediterranean. For centuries, the Greeks and Carthaginians would bludgeon each other to the point of exhaustion over a desire to dominate the island. Heeding the siren’s call, the power of Athens would be dashed against Sicily’s rocks. Like a lover forced to choose between two suitors, Sicily would choose Rome over Carthage and thus accelerate the demise of the latter." More
Jasper, Josho, Murray and Lindsay are joined by Egyptologist Arianna Sacco to discuss Ancient Warfare Magazine VII.1 Warriors of the Nile, Conflict in ancient Egypt.
"One of the earliest civilizations in the world, the culture of ancient Egypt blossomed along the banks of the River Nile. Around 3000 BC, the country was already a unified kingdom ruled by a single king. Its powerful rulers built impressive monuments in the form of the famous pyramids during the so-called Old and Middle Kingdoms, many of which still endure to this day. Egyptian civilization would reach even greater heights during the New Kingdom (1549–1069 BC), when its warrior-kings ventured more boldly beyond the safety of their own borders to forge an actual empire." more
Dur: 38minJasper, Josho, Michael and Lindsay discuss the meaty topic of the Celts in the classical world (issue VI 6).
"In 106 BC, a Roman army captured the Gallic stronghold of Tolosa and appropriated a vast treasure hoard. It was soon claimed that they had recaptured the spoils that a band of marauding Gauls had originally looted from the Greek sanctuary at Delphi in 279 BC. The claim, while dubious at best, nonetheless illustrates the ancient tendency to lump Celtic peoples together, treating separate raids by distinct peoples as part of a single menace. In the ancient retelling, both Rome and Greece were sacked by a chieftain named Brennus (albeit in different centuries), a neat onomastic coincidence that is likely too good to be true." MoreJasper, Josho and Michael are joined by Jason Klazmer to look at the the armies of Diocletian (Ancient Warfare Magazine VI-5)
"When Emperor Alexander Severus was assassinated in AD 235, the Roman Empire fell into an abyss that it would only crawl out of after almost fifty years. Roman armies clashed in struggles for the throne, with generals proclaimed emperor by their troops and then meeting violent ends a few months later – often at the hands of those same troops. Besides this internal power struggle, the Empire was also plagued by attacks from without."
Dur: 40min 49sec
In this our first video / audio recording Jasper, Michael, Lindsay and Josho look at Pyrrhus.
Pyrrhus was the second cousin to Alexander the Great, and at only two years he began his career as a penniless exile after his father was dethroned. Pyrrhus would rise to become King of Epirus, King of Macedon and King of Sicily...
True cavalry with men mounted on horse back started to appear from the 9th century BC, as chariots were slowly replaced. Imposing they were used in shock charges, their rapid movement made them ideal for reconnoissance, screening an army and for chasing down the enemy. Though despite there usefulness they only remained a small part of a Mediterranean army, comprising of perhaps only some 10% of the total numbers. In the late Roman empire period cavalry drawn from Northern Europe became more prevalent.
The expense of the horse and equipment often made it the province of aristocrats, creating at times divisions in social and political status between that of the infantry and cavalry.
In this episode Jasper, Josho, Murray, Lindsay and Michael consider questions of the tactical roll of the cavalry, the logistics of providing for the cavalry and their weapons and equipment, and the social status of the cavalry and use of "Barbarians".
Dur: 50min
The Dacians lived in modern day Romania, they had long been a threat along the borders of the Roman Empire. In 101AD Trajan launched the first of two campaigns against Dacia, eventually it would become a Roman province. Though poorly documented the conflict is celebrated on Trajans column in the centre of Rome, providing a spiralling view of the campaign, and at Adamclisi (in modern day Romania) which depicts brutal fighting between Roman Legionaries and Dacian warriors.
Jasper, Josho, Michael and Lindsay discuss how these actions fit in with other actions along Romans frontiers, a look at arms and armour, the lack of sources when looking at the campaign and we take a look at Trajan himself.
Dur: 37min
Jasper and the team are joined by Josho Brouwers to discus warfare in archaic Greece. After Michael's summary of the period we go on to look at the phalanx, how it might function, the equipment the men carried, the suitability of the geography for this type of fighting and what that meant for the numbers of men deployed in the field.
Also touched upon is why the cities fought one another, was it just drunken Greeks tooled up and spoiling for a fight to assert their manliness?
Dur:48min
In the usual wide ranging discussion Jasper, Michael, Lindsay and special guest Jesse Obert look at the Roman Navy. Questioning the received view of the fleets being used in anti piracy duties, and were the fleets even standing forces or more of an adhoc thing brought together when needs must?
And the fleets what kind of shipping did they comprise of, and how did they make war?
Jasper, Lindsay and Michael are joined by Mark Schwartz.
Dur: 43minThe Sassanid Empire would prove to be the last of the Persian middle-eastern empires, and would also be the last great ‘civilised’ rival of Rome. The Great Achaemenid Persian Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great, had displaced the Babylonians in the Middle-East. Ultimately, it sprawled from the Mediterranean to northern India. This empire, the largest in the world, had been overthrown by the meteoric career of a western ‘barbarian’ named Alexander of Macedon, but he did not survive to consolidate his conquest and it quickly split up with various parts being ruled by Alexander’s successors, who warred among one another with none succeeding in re-uniting the former Achaemenid Empire.
With Ian Hughes joining the regulars, they discuss the problem of gaps in the historical evidence that have to be negotiated when looking at the period, and the long lasting conflict with Rome.
Dur: 48min
Jasper, Murray, Mike and Lindsay take a trip down memory lane and revisit Ancient Warfare magazine I.III "Protect thyself. Shields, helmets and armor."
Starting with why we need armour we take a trip through the ancient world covering arms and armour from the Greeks to the late Roman Empire.
Dur: 51min
Jasper, Lindsay, Murray and Mike discuss the use of bodyguards from Alexanders men having to prevent him from getting into harm through to being a symbol of power in Rome, and of course a long look at the Pretorian guard.
The team discuss the daily routine of troops in the ancient world when garrisoned. Through examples found at Vindolanda we investigate sickness rates of soldiers, the freedom they had whilst not on duty and what would happen to them if they could no longer serve.
Dur: 40min File: .mp3
Gaius Marius is credited with introducing wide ranging reforms which would transform the Roman Army into the professional machine of the Empire. Elected consul and unprecedented seven times, he authorised landless citizens to do military service (something that may have lead to the eventually down fall of the Roman Empire as troops became bound to their Generals to ensure their care), he gave them fixed duration of service and as such established a standing army.
But were all of Marius's reforms his own? What was there impact? And was he the great a leader as we are allowed to believe? In a lively discussion Jasper, Lindsay, Murray and Michael discuss Ancient Warfare magazine V-1, The 'new man' who saved Rome. Gaius Marius at War.Jasper, Murray, Michael and Lindsay discuss a the post Alexander Hellenistic world looking at uniforms (or lack of) and the colours they might be, Ross Cowans article sticks and stones and the use of low tech improvised weapons. Michael elaborates on his piece covering the Amphipolis regulation, disciplinary measures of the Macedonian army. And other issues such as Gigantism that the last issue of the magazine touched upon.
Warfare and Religion
Jasper, Lindsay, Murray and Mike tip toe through warfare and religion, a fitting topic for this time of the year!
Merry Christmas!
Jasper and the gang with special guest Mark Schwartz discuss the end of the bronze age and the coming of the Sea people raiding in the Mediterranean.
Belisarius & The Byzantine Empires
Jasper and the team are joined by Ian Huges, author of “Belisarius: The Last Roman General”, to discuss Ancient Warfare issue IV-3, and further explore subjects brought up in the magazine.
Belisarius was one of the greatest Generals of the Eastern Roman Empire, under the Emperor Justinian. He was key to a revival of Roman fortunes.
Dur: 38min
Jasper and the team discuss issues brought up in the Ancient Warfare special for 2010, The Core of the Legions: The Roman Imperial Centuria. Dur: 1hr 04min
Jasper and the team discuss issues brought up in Ancient Warfare magazine issue IV-2 around the topic of sieges in the ancient world.
Before Rome Ruled Italy
A look at the Italian peninsular and the existing peoples before Rome took control. Jasper discusses with Murray Dahm, Lindsay Powell and Michael Taylor issues that the magazine brought up. Dur: 45min File: MP3
Before Radios existed, co ordinating the tactical movements of thousands of men on the battlefield would have required a well organised system of transmitting commands. In the ancient world these commands would be transmitted by trumpets and horns and accompanied by visual standards.
Jasper discusses with Murray Dahm, Lindsay Powell and Michael Taylor issues that the magazine brought up. Dur:40min
Jasper discusses Rome vs and Parthia with Phillip Lindsay Powell, Murray Dahm and Michael Taylor. Dur:40min File: .mp3
Jasper discusses with Murray Dahm, Lindsay Powell and Michael Taylor issues that the magazine brought up. For more information on the magazine go to www.ancient-warfare.com and comments, questions or suggestions email them to [email protected]
Classical heroes: The warrior in history and legend Jasper discusses with Murray Dahm, Lindsay Powell and Sidney Dean issues that the magazine brought up. For more information on the magazine go to www.ancient-warfare.com and comments, questions or suggestions email them to [email protected] Dur:47min
To commemorate the 2000th anniversary of the loss of legions XVII, XVIII (aka XIIX) and XIX somewhere in northern Germany, Ancient Warfare magazine published a special issue. In this episode of the podcast Jasper discusses with Murray Dahm and Lindsay Powell issues that the magazine brought up. File: .mp3 Dur: 1hr
Alexander & The Wars of the Successors Jasper is joined by Michael Taylor, Michael Park, Murray Dahm and Philip Lindsay Powell to discuss Alexander and the wars of his successors. Dur: 42min File: .mp3 For more information on the magazine go to www.ancient-warfare.com and comments, questions or suggestions email them to [email protected]
War as a livelihood - Mercenaries in the Ancient world Jasper is joined by Michael Taylor, Paul Bardunias and Albert Perez Rubio to discuss Mercenaries in the acient world. Dur: 37min File: .mp3 For more information on the magazine go to www.ancient-warfare.com and comments, questions or suggestions email them to [email protected]
Jasper is joined by Christian Koepfer, Glenn Barnett and regular Murray Dahm to discuss the Rome In Crisis, the third age AD. Dur: 30min File: .mp3 For more information on the magazine go to www.ancient-warfare.com and comments, questions or suggestions email them to [email protected]
Jasper is joined by Mark Schwartz and regular Murray Dahm to discuss the Campaigns of Caesar. Dur: 35min File: .mp3
Jasper is joined by Vicky Kalambakal and regular Murray Dahm to discuss the Campaigns of Caesar. Dur: 36min File: .mp3
Jasper is joined by Murray Dahm and Paul McDonnell-Staff to discuss the Age of the Trireme. Dur: 40min File: mp3
Jasper is joined by Murray Dahm, Joe Pietrykowski and Paul McDonnell-Staff to dicuss victory and defeat in the ancient world. For more information on the magazine go to www.ancient-warfare.com and comments, questions or suggestions email them to [email protected] Dur:35min File: .mp3
Jasper Oorthuys and the contributers of this issue of Ancient Warfare Magazine discuss the theme of this issue of the Magazine, light infantry and auxiliaries. For more information on the magazine go to www.ancient-warfare.com Dur: 19min File: .mp3
En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.