The classical Near East was shaped by successive empire building. Beginning with the Neo-Assyrians in the tenth century BCE, new Iron Age empires expanded across Mesopotamia and the Levant, swallowing smaller kingdoms to form larger states. The mos
Focus on the “Art” of War: “Trajan’s Column as War Memorial and Primary Source”
In 106 CE the Roman Emperor Trajan (r.98-117) crossed the Danube River heading south at the head of the victorious army, returning from a campaign in what is now Romani
Rome’s first emperor Caesar Augustus (r.31 BCE-14 CE) created a personal bodyguard called the cohors praetoria or Praetorian Guard in 27 BCE consisting of nine double-strength cohorts to protect himself and ensure domestic tranquility after a centur
In 149 BCE the Roman Republic initiated a third and final Punic war against its long-time rival, Carthage, culminating in an event rare in history: the eradication of an entire civilization. Unlike the First Punic War (264-241 BCE) and Second Puni
Like its mortal enemy Rome, Carthage was both a city and an empire, famous throughout the Mediterranean for its material wealth, strong thalassocracy, and the strength of the walls protecting its capital and namesake located in the center of the co
The primary sources emphasize Alexander III of Macedon’s (“the Great” r.336-323 BCE) bravery in combat, and we know from the descriptions of these engagements, mostly from his best biographers, the Greek historian Arrian (c.86-c.160) and the Roman hi
The “Age of the Trireme” parallels Greece’s Hellenic era (c.500-c.338 BCE), and its use as the primary capital ship of both Greece and the major naval powers of the Mediterranean corresponds to this roughly 170 year time span. Although most closely
The earliest type of Iron Age Greek warship, the simple single-masted pentekontor with twenty-five oarsmen on each side was supplanted first by the slightly larger bireme (with two banks for oars) and finally in the six century BCE by the more comp
King Leonidas of Sparta (r.489-480 BCE) and the “Stand of the 300” holds a special place in the annals of Western Civilization. At the end of the second decade of the Persian Wars (499-449 BCE) Leonidas stood with a select group of fellow Spartans
The classical period in Western civilization produced numerous military societies, but perhaps no other culture is more closely associated with martial excellence than the Spartans. This excellence was by design; a product of a comprehensive and o
By the middle of the seventh century BCE, a new style of warfare appeared in Greece requiring a warrior (hoplite, named after his large round shield or hoplon) to fight in close-order, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his comrades in a battle squ
The siege weapons and tactics collectively referred to as siegecraft, used in the Ancient and Classical eras fall into numerous categories, from the very simple to the complex, depending on the resources of the besieging army and the defensive qualit
Classical warfare placed a premium on the clash of heavy infantry on the battlefield, however, Greek, Carthaginian, and Roman generals also utilized forms of light infantry for special roles on before, during, and after the battle. Known as skirmishe
The Achaemenid Persian army that faced the Greeks in the Persian Wars (499-449 BCE) was the product of a half century of evolution as the House of Achaemenes expanded into new territories and merged the fighting styles and martial technologies of con
The Achaemenid Persians were Indo-European speakers who migrated with the Medes (also Indo-Europeans) as horse clans into what is now Iran in the ninth century BCE. Medes formed a kingdom around 700 BCE and subjugated Persians as vassals around c.650
Military operations since the beginning of recorded history have relied on logistics to move men and material on campaign, providing the necessary means to supply and maintain both offensive military forces in the field and defensive postures at ho
