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?
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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.
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Was there etiquette to starting a battle, or did they just happen? Murray investigates.
What were borders like in the ancient world? Were there hard borders which stopped imperial expansion? Jasper gives us his opinion.
Were the Theban Sacred Band trained to target officers? Murray gives us the answer.
In this episode the Ancient Warfare team are between issues of the magazine, so Mark suggested they discuss coups in the ancient world.
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Jasper explains how the Praetorian Guard became such a powerful force.