Ancient Warfare - TheHistoryFiles.com

CARTHAGINIAN ARMIES

Hannibal and his staff at the battle of Zama – art by Giuseppe Rava The Carthaginian army has a mix of all kinds of troops, because of his high proportion of, Spanish and African allies. The Carthaginians relied heavily on mercenaries. Polybius (6.52.4) believed the Roman army was superior to the Carthaginian because Rome fielded […]

Ancient Warfare, Siege

Ancient Siegecraft

Military engineers invented the techniques for overcoming the defenses of fortified cities. One of the earliest inventions was the battering ram, which dates from at least 2500 b. c. e. 15 By 2000 b. c. e. the battering ram was found in almost all armies of the ancient world. The Egyptians also invented the technique […]

Ancient Warfare

King Pyrrhus of Epirus

Pyrrhus Tarentine Cavalryman Pyrrhic Soldiers. It was, of course, Rome’s war against that infamous Hellenistic condottiere king Pyrrhus of Epirus in 280 to 275 that finally brought Rome fully into the purview of Hellenistic international relations. Once the conquest of Italy had been completed, Rome began to expand overseas to create its great empire. However, […]

Ancient Warfare, Battle

Cyrus the Younger – Bid for the Persian Throne

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

Ancient Warfare

Hittite-Hurrian Wars (c. 1620-c. 1325 B. C. E.)

The Hittite Empire at its greatest extent under Suppiluliuma I (ca. 1350–1322 BC) and Mursili II (ca. 1321–1295 BC) The approximate area of Hurrian settlement in the Middle Bronze Age is shown in purple. PRINCIPAL COMBATANTS: Hittites vs. Hurrian Mitanni (later with Assyrian allies); separately, Egypt vs. Hurrian Mitanni PRINCIPAL THEATER(S): Anatolia (Turkey) and the […]

Ancient Warfare, Roman

Jugurthine War

Marius captured Jugurtha, King of Numidia, and, after parading his captive around the streets of Rome he was thrown into the Tullianum prison, where he is said to have been starved to death. A map of Numidia during the Jurgurthine War. After the Second Punic War, Rome awarded their ally Masinissa, king of the Massyliis […]

Ancient Warfare, Germany, Roman

MARIUS’ VICTORY OVER THE GERMANS

The Battle of Vercellae 101 BC was the Roman victory of Consul Gaius Marius over the invading Germanic Cimbri tribe near the settlement of Vercellae in Cisalpine Gaul. ~ art by Igor Dzis Marius and the Ambassadors of the Cimbri. The Cimbri people were an enigma. Virtually unknown until they appeared around 120 BC during […]

Ancient Warfare, Roman

Danube Bridge

The engineer, Apollodorus of Damascus, used wooden arches set on twenty masonry pillars (made with bricks, mortar and pozzolana cement) that spanned 52-meters each. However, the way it was built — in such a short time (103-105) — is still a mystery and it is thought that the course of the Danube may have been […]

Ancient Warfare, History

Carthaginian Supremacy

Ancient Carthage By the 5th century bce active military participation in the west by Tyre had doubtlessly ceased; from the latter half of the 6th century Tyre had been under Persian rule. Carthage thus became the leader of the western Phoenicians and in the 5th century formed an empire of its own, centred on North […]

Ancient Warfare, Battle, Roman

Milvian Bridge – Constantine’s Victory

27 October 312 Forces Engaged Gallic: Approximately 50,000 men. Commander: Constantine. Italian: Approximately 75,000 men. Commander: Maxentius. Importance Constantine’s victory gave him total control of the western Roman Empire, paving the way for Christianity as the dominant religion for the Roman Empire and ultimately for Europe. Historical Setting Rarely has the course of events followed […]