Ancient Warfare Magazine

Ancient Warfare is a unique publication focused exclusively on soldiers, battles, and tactics, all before 600 AD. Starting with ancient Egypt and Persia and continuing to the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Ancient Warfare examines the military history of cultures throughout Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia and Africa. Ancient Greece and Rome receive the most frequent coverage, due both to the wealth of contemporary sources and the modern fascination with these two great civilizations. Subject-matter ranges from the familiar to the more obscure: while Alexander the Great, the Persian Wars and Caesar’s Gallic campaigns all receive regular coverage, Ancient Warfare also looks at some of the less common parts of ancient military history, from chariots as battle taxis to PTSD in antiquity.

Ancient Warfare Magazine

PRELIMINARIES NEWS ITEMS BY LINDSAY POWELL

Severe drought drove the Huns

Altogether roads lead to Roman prosperity

Authenticating coins of the Roman ‘emperor’ Sponsianus

Egyptians branded prisoners of war

Winepress found at Roman fort of Apsarus in Georgia

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THE PANOPLY OF A ROMAN CONSUL, 218-201 BC DRESSED TO IMPRESS • Reconstructing the appearance of a consul in the exercise of the supreme military command during the Second Punic War can be harder than it may appear at first sight. We have much less evidence for the military equipment of mid-republican Rome than for the imperial period. Yet our sources allow us to put pieces of the puzzle together.

Leading from the saddle

THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF ANCIENT SIEGES ANCIENT TOILET WARFARE • An army's success may result from marching on its stomach, but what came out of it could maim an army and cause environmental damage. Ancient armies seem to have been well aware of this. And yet, little has been published concerning soldiers’ bodily waste.

THE RISE OF THE GREEK HEAVY SPEARMAN GOING HOPLITE • The hoplite is one of the most recognizable figures from the ancient world. His equipment is iconic; his prowess is legendary. But there are many open questions about his path to prominence. When and how did his famous tactics emerge? And what can he tell us about the history of archaic Greece?

THE DEVELOPMENT OF GREEK SWORDS IN THE ARCHAIC AGE THE CUTTING EDGE • As the Greeks after Homer and before Herodotus did not leave us with descriptions of their battles and wars, it is tempting to assume that warfare in this period was unchanging. They did leave us their tools of war, however, and these artefacts have a lot to say if we choose to listen. Swords in Greece changed dramatically in size and shape from 800 to 480 BC, suggesting that warfare was changing too.

HOPLITE AGAINST HOPLITE AT THE BATTLE OF DELIUM, 424 BC ENEMIES OF OLD • In 424 BC, Athens was at the height of her power and ascendancy during the Peloponnesian War. She had won the battles of Pylos and Sphacteria in 425 and had humiliated Sparta. How Athens came to throw away every advantage she had gained within a year is a complex and frustrating tale, but the culmination of Athenian hubris would be seen on the field of Delium (or Delion), fighting against her old foe, Thebes, in 424.

Pagondas’ siege engine

COMBAT MOTIVATIONS OF THE CLASSICAL HOPLITE TREMBLE OR ASSEMBLE • What is it that stimulated the hoplites of ancient Greece to fight? What kept each man from abandoning the phalanx? Though certainly not exhaustive, this article explores some of the main motivations of both the Spartan and Athenian warriors of the classical period, particularly the role of a hoplite's immediate comrades.

THE DECLINE OF HOPLITE ARMOUR ARROWS AND BRONZE • In the archaic period, hoplites wore an extensive set of armour. It lightened steadily across the classical period, until at the end of the fifth...