370 952 iii TIME Sheancienc wonto COMMANDERS ReCGCER HSERAISONINTRODUCTION Time Commanders: Great Battles ofthe Ancient World san exploration of almost 1,800 yeas of military history which examines 16 battles that took place ‘during crucial period in Western culture. When Ramses Il fought the Hittites atthe battle of Qadesh in 1275 ec, Egypt was one ofthe great powers inthe Middle East, it was complex, ich society which was creating art and architecture that is stil viewed as among the great achievements of human culture, When the Roman general Aetius surveyed tia the Hun’s hordes across the wide plain of Chalons in eastern France in 0451, the Egypt ofthe Pharaohs was a distant memary. The Roman Empire was a fragmented ‘wreck, with Rome itself about to suffer Atie's ‘apacious atack, and the Dark Ages were waiting ‘to swallow the wes in centuries of lawiessness. The choice of which bales to include in Great Battles ofthe Ancient World was a dificult one. We have included Tria and Cannae as examples of Hannibal's audacious assault on Rome inthe Second Punic War, but why not the battles of Lake Tasimene and Zama? Equally, while Julius Caesar’ military {genius is represented by the battles of Bibracte and Pharsalia, ‘could be argued that te siege a Alesia or the battle of Thapsus were just as deservingof attention, We have decided, most importantly, to concentrate on land battles, and have alsomade it 2 primary consideration to pick out battles that were particularly significant forthe warring parties. Leucta, {or example, saw the usurping of Sparta’ alitary dominance by Thebes, a crucial pont inthe development of classical Greece; Telamon was the last ‘reat battle between Rome and the Gauls in Cisalpine Gaul; Mons Graupius represented the most northerly point in Britain at which Roman troops engaged avery large aumber of British warrcrs, Our guiding principle as als to create as diverse znd interesting 2 group of battles fom the period as possible. Preceding the accounts ofthe sixteen battles are ‘timeline and biographies often ofthe most notable historians to have provided us with records of the battles descrited in the book The timeline coves the ‘whole time period 1300 80-0 500, and relates the battles to the broad sweep of world history, allowing us to note, for example, that while the Greeks fought the Persians at Marathon, Iron-Age culture was spreading in West Africa and the philosepher Confucius was alivein China, The biographies of the historians ar intended as thumbnail sketches of great figures such as the Greek historian Heredotus, but also as introductions to some lesser-known figures, such as Jordanes, the historian of the Goths. These biographies are useful in gusing readers towards ‘he orignal sources ofthe information we nave about the lasscal past, and to encourage them to consult such sources cirecty The accounts ofthe sixtom battles ae treated as contextual discussions, not only saying who fought whom, but also describing the wide poitical and military events that contributed tothe battles andthe effects ofthe events aftr the fighting itself was ‘over Also included foreach battle are more detailed ‘descriptions of particular aspects of the conflicts, set aparfrom the main narrative text, nd biographies of some ofthe most important individuals taking par. For example, a discussion of how soldiers inthe third century 8c could defend themselves against attack by elephants i cluded withthe battle of Raphia, ‘battle in which Ptolemy, Alexander the Great's Seleucid successor, fielded elephants as a significant part of his amy We have also set out basic statistical informatio fr each battle, giving numbers and types of troops on both sides. Descriptions of the teams who took part in the stugio reconstructions ofthe battles featured in BBC2's Time Commanders series follow te texts on the battles, plus ‘scorecard’ of which teams lost and ‘won thet respective confrontations. These notes are intended asa record of those who made such Important contributions tothe television sores, and as a testimony to the wide range of personal interests and eimecommannens Ss working Ives that can accommodate a passion for military tactics. ‘bibliography and lst of elevant websites follow. ‘The bibliography is intended as a broad uid tothe subject for readers of diferent ages and levls of knowiedge. The list of websites is divided into sites fons general classical history; military history; Roman warfare and Greek warfare, and orginal sources, There ‘are many sites avaliable on all these topics, but we have tried to pick out those thal have active links and are trequently updated. (veal, its hoped thatthe book provides a broad ‘context within which some of the major military ‘confrontations ofthe classical and immediately post- classical periods can be viewed and understood, and also analysed by war gamers and tacticians of every slripe. It is also hoped that readers con gain a clearer knowledge of how we know what we know about such distant events and how, at times, we can be brought \vily into the thick of battle by the turn of phrase of somenne who died centuries ago.TIMELINE eee ec? ee et aero ee Cee eee Sree eee Cee emer a Doerr Anciens World eee cee oe Peni t eee eee eee ee eg eee ea? Pee one ns of Rome, the oo Sen ee ey sbserve that in the 1,800-yearperiad und eee Sees eer renee te nr} and Jesus Christ Some battles n the sequence of Great Batt ee eee eee ee eee aes are separated by ee eee ee ts ee ee et Ceca ents powerful realignment inthe power structures ofthe ee ee ee Ce er eee Se eee rs eee eee ere eer Sa Cee eater ee) {80086 Hoos ist begin tobe made In china 1200 The oldest known Shiprock 300-1200 92 Paved in which Moses ma alive 1800-612 Assan Empire 1200-1291 s Ramee Lt Dynasty Ease 1251-1276 ne Sait Dyrasty of Eel 1278-1215 seRamees, Prac of Eayot {77S Bate of Gadesh 1275-1240 sePetiod ofthe Tolan Wer 1280cUndes the section of Moas,thelsabes leave Eaypt forthe rmsd lane 1200-300 se The Ome peple ule southern Meco ane rertern-cental America 111-255e Chou dynasty in China {61-1000 in Btain Stonehenge Phase the path cross the henge ditch setended into the fl and overt hilt the River Aon 1003p David becomes king al 1000. nia the Rig Ves, tafst adic iterture, 00-4008 The Evuscan pried ftaion reistory ‘i4acCarthage is founded by Poorcian vars. 00-7808 Te ass composed by Home 800-0 20The Mayan ity of Takai ba funded 75948 Rem isfounded 185-727 we Tigath-Peser I, Assan King, 705-681 we Sennacarib, Assyrian King TOD The White Horse of Utigton, Erland 1-531 se Loa (Lan, Chinese phiosopner 8008 The Enuscans, lees tobe natives of Ais Min, ‘etablsh es that setch from narhemtacental Kay 987 acing Nebuchodnezsr sock Jerusalem cite cammannens — 7, 80-800 Period inwhien Pthagors ed 169 ec Gautama Siddhortha Budd ts feanderaf Buds, isbomn 3518 Conc. 479 6), Kung Fut eh Fu-tel Chinese sop, 8am 5504 The Fersian Emp bagies 520. Cyusthe Pesan des, ving baht largest ‘emp to date; his son, Cambysas, suc him 5200 Dars th Great ul over Persia 5004 Romans everthvaw theif honarchy ar establish republic S00 0-10 20 The Nok people vein the fe of resent day Nigeria and use en tos 4908 Bate of Mareton |401-4208e Pred of Herodetus 489 pe Goaame Sida Budana es 480469 Agus he Person ary dete! Leonidas and his Spartan amy a the bate There 002 200etber,Greks deste Pesians anal ble Salomis 7-492 The Parthenn isbn Athans 491-404 The Peaponneson war between Athens and Sparta 427 621 May, Pato, reek pilosphey born 400 46 nnd Panin’s Sutra tho eas Sanshit grammer, 40-9000 The China ster ata stacks by nomadic harden the HSung-nu, forthe ath and west, and begin tobuil, farther protection, parts what wl later cme to called the Gt Wall 400 8-0 280 Monga people rom Koos ete Japan and mix with he acer Jomen populations {590 ee Galle amy sacks Rome 3712 Th lingclassf Sparta is doesvely defeated in ‘he Battle of eucra bythe Thebans under Epainondss3 3962206: Pip rls the Kingem of Macedonia 86(956 sm ot Alroncertne eat abc Frstevisnco of humans in sothwest Corado 380;3088 nchina Shang Yorgesthe Chin Drasy | 2d nents te thant Mass and aol cence 3 Alexander st confonts Dars, igo Pri, an elas tial thea ot as 23} 71 oct, Aan het deci stan Kibet Pein amy Coupe $321,226. Alexander the Great pases though he Ins ‘aly and install Geek ofa inthe aren S21 Alexander isin Pasi Babylon a th ge of 32 322 thors is brought under the cot ofthe aceserion ampire 3018 The grea of Alexandr Ft th Battloot "psn Psa 90 fon thing has oad al along the savannah lr West Aen 208% The atl Sentnum: Ebi detested by Rome and ‘tha Bruseandetne continues or move than 200 years 273.232 oc Asoka the grandson of Chandagust Maurya, alli ‘ote Fret Pune War bess out between Carthage a Rare 21 ac Th Battle of Aegis, in which the Roman fet sinks 0.cathaginan sins 229 Hariear Bara itilein Spain 2250 Batic elamen 222 4 Cleomenes It Spats oestd at Salsa 221-210 in Shi Huangthe fst emperor of Chine 2721 scHascutal sassssinated 218 cHannibal captures they of Saguntum in nethern ‘pai the Second Pani Wa bens 2iBacHenibelccases the hips iss batt tebe ’ 217 stator ona : ‘216 9c Battle of Cannae_ 3 z 2 ‘27000 Hennibal makes a treaty with Philip Vof Macedon = 2uassInchnacompebonftheGetWallepins 5 = 213 cabal occupies Taentum Z 3 211 wcRomansrecove Capua rom Hannibalsforés 207 oe Gnaeus ana Publ Sei at kilo ating the Cotagnansia Spain ae: 207 scHannibts bother, Hassel, cosas the Aipswith ale ere 5 ‘203.4 Hannibal recalled to Atos : : 2026 Te Hen Dynasty founded in Cina ‘2024 Hannibal eceteted atthe Bate Zame 201 ae Carthage rakes peace wth Rome «200 Tade betwee the rabsand East Arcane . ‘onthe Indian Oceanis stabishod f £200. In Metco migrations bein tvard the area thet ae Tescoco, whee th urban centr Teotinuacan deep 198. In Egypt, the Rost Stone i nero § 180% The state of Meroe in Nubia beames a rat 1664 nthe Nes East, alos Eipanes ues rer saad ties eta ude 156-141 InChina, Han Ching rales the Hon Dynasty ‘46 Carthage destoyed by Rome and he and covnvitn sat 1300 The Huns push the Kushan and Scythian nomads west arose the central stan steppes 11906 The Hunsinvage China Jo ge Reme faces sou rebelon in Scly 1008e 6. Jiu Cosas tom 100; The Bont speaking people bein expanding and movrgthrough southeast Aca {004-1 100The Mayan ste Palenque ssetos 908 Outreakot Social War Rome agaist ts tla ales) a9. End of Sai! War aac Sula conan Rome nesemitvadetes, lero Pontus inthe arth af Aa Min, rates wa on Rome td everuns michaf Aa Minor and parts Gree 7 ee Sula besages Mithvadates les in Athens ‘7 actlaley’ comets observed 7wseDesthof Sule 7aeLiculusie consul ‘240 Rome ace second slave uring 724 Lucu teats Mithradatesin Pontus 70 We Bate Sis Rive se Lucu made Armenia one Bette of Tzanccens 05 Caesar Augustusis bmn in Rome (se The Romans conquer the ews 9 lls Coesar at consulate sp Bota of Bitrate Se Roman forces under lus Cassar ved Bitsin “sn Cotsrs second expedition to Brita "20 Bate Carhoe 9 uy Caesar leas his ay ares the Rubee, plunging Rome int ci war 48.009 Aust, Jus Cosa dest Pompey a Phar 4848008 andingin Eaypt, Pompey s murreon the orders of King Ptolemy of Eee 478 lis Const adopt moti foe of the Eytan clensar 4500 The Numiions, tbe inthe cate elena whet ‘snow Apa, arecanqutred by Rome bimecommancerns (9 4580 Te len cand tkes tect 444 Julies Caos s murdered by Brats, Casi and other consis on tees of tach 498027 November, Octavia, Mark Antony and Lepore the Sat uma ot Rome 200 Battleof Philips 375 King Herod (489 reignver Jen 23740-40448 The Koguryo kingdom rls North Korea and pat ot South Korea, andthe northeastern Chinese rent Mancha 51 seNva bate of Acti nthe lanian Ses S0seMak Antony commits suicide ‘302 Rome gains conto over Ego the wheat lds there become one of Res min sures of food. tony ane Clopava commit suicide 271-101 Octavian, apte sn of vs Caesar, lesa Rome’ ist emperor, aking the ram of Auge ‘0 The Second Temple in Jesse is rebut 101 Thebith of hit ‘101 Stoe forts are bul onthe Avan and the wet const of elond 10 Settles bain aivngn Madagascar fram Poyesio 09 InChine the fonnarHan dynasty ends 014 Agusts des anda passesto Tiberius 1021-31 Theres mows tothe leo Cop never return to Rome 2022 Crate eels 07 eras ces 40 Th Roman Senate annul Ther wlan reins Caligula emperor 941 Shorty after docaring hist ago Cail is ssasinte by wo Prastran ribunes 10 49 The Romens conquer Brain under the erperrlaudus 947 The ary at Alexia in Eats vag by re0 64 Claudius safer boing poisoned with mushrooms by his giopina 2061 Bat of Watling Son and defeat of Bouicca 2065 Jewsrevl aginst Rome, optrng the ors of Antonin Jessen 0185-73 Roman general esas amy assaults the forces of ewsh rebel Jose Ben Mathias at Jotapatain Galles 1068 Nerocomis suide £969 Roman emperor Gala adopts Marcus Pio Ucrianusas Cesar 1960 Vespsian,agrut spoken goer of hubris, enters Rome andi adopted as parry the Seale 10 70The TempeatJeraslem sbumed after nine onth Roman sige 1 72sulias Agena becomes greta of Bala 10 79Pinythe Elder, Roman natural, witnesses the enti ofthe ng-demant Mont Voi and is vecoma by the tunes se wes orescoa relugees 981 Vospsian ses 1981-96 The rein of Domitian 4988 Ballot Mors Graupis 0 95 Domitian i mucered and succeeded by Nera 20 9727 October, Nera des and Trajan the Spaiebara ferro! ower Gemay,becras emprar 1090-117 Te gn of Fan 100 The fest Chinese cctinayf compiled 0 100 aban Galen the ist contr icreited with ranging the Aricah corse by many the ost inportant ear inthe eich tury ‘4 100-700 pou of src Indian asa eal the eh) inhabit the dart margin betwen the Ades andthe Pcie n whats ow Pers 19105 Wl Lun, aChinece povrmant of ered with the scone paper 19197 9, Madan, Rome iew empeoy, makes hisentryintotiecty 1 120-130 Hadrian aes art wall tobe uit in northern Ergandalongwth seis cf fost separate te Romans ‘rom the barbarians! 10 195 The des are csp ty he Romans rm ersten ‘nthe ety rerame Ali Captlna 0138-181 Therelgn of Ants Pos 1 190-200 Te tame of Gustaicoa in Tethuscan (Cy of the Gods built ner wha ater bacomes Mec Clty 1 161 Marcus Auli becom operon the death ot Antoninus Pus 18196 Roman tars each Cie 10 180 Marcus Aurelius dies is sucoeded by Commodus 1 192 Commies murdoos 10 19 Partinais asso 10 193 Septimus Sees is rduned erpea of Rome 12200 Barbarian invaslons nd el wars agin nthe Roman empire 12200-1450 The Hohokam epee inthe area of Taezon, zon 12211 Sapimlus Severus des and is succeeded as Roan empare: Careas 20217 Caracas mucin hisbaths 1 200The Han Dynasty ands in China 1 258 Marcus Aurelius Alera, Syrian ampere of Rome, i murceea 60 288 Maximinus (The Troan, Roan emer, ie murcerec 9 250-600 Ea classic pari the Maya 49 252-260 Valerian ule the Roman Empl 12.269 ocean's procaimed emperor of Nunes in ‘Asia Minor by hisolders, He i been th commander of meemperrsbedyeuard 19216 Flin, empero Rone, smitéered 10 201 Dicltian becomes emperor of ore 0 200 Tats, king fren, opts hry the ‘elon ines, aking rie there Psa state 1200-645 Yao Petod of Jpn 4 ‘2100-700 Gots, Hus, vars, Ser Crests ap ular 19.16 Dilton ableates: Constants Cron bec. emperor he west ard Gals inthe est 106-207 Te gnats Sere corel pews tome 19312Constantne he Great defeats avert than ridge and isinstartl converted to Chistianiy hen nese aces inthe shy wth the inscrstieninhoe sigh act (Cin thissign you sal conguar 10313 Constantine meats with the east erper Mlan, capital the late Roman Emp; the gre on apy of ‘elgous tolerance, The Edt of Man legalze tan ut alo allows Romans religious choice ‘932549 Constantine chooses Syantum a Nine capital 1387 Constantine, empeer of Remesince 306, ies 19297 Cnctantne’s te oneal acy Caesars, ath ai thot of Augustus; Constantine I anc Constans share the 10380 Anew state wth its apt at Axum inthe Ethiopian ‘mountsins rows and contls the coast of Eritrea and he saa ear to southern Arabia 10.589 August inthe battle ot Aranople te Gath efat tne Reman amy 1038 Gatians,empater of Rome sine 2 10967, fe murdered 0 388 Magus Maximus, te Spansh Roman emperor inthe west since 28, jevccutd 40392 tertnian I emparef Rama snce 19375, iemorderod 0 400 Ohines ovo gd meta stirups ea 400 People om the chief Dal Ratan nathan Irland ross he sh Ses ands alone Soottin east of A 10421 Flavus Content becomes enperr Constantine I of thewestem Ronen Empire 0420 Raman Ava invaded by te Vandals 0491 The Counel of Ephesus 0435-806 a Nevico, Yatchlan onthe Banko the sumacit, scape ‘10439 Vandals tae Carthage 10450 The Hun mvasions of Inia begin 0451 Roman general Active defess Ata the Hun at Chane 10454 tay, tis, the supreme army commander. ‘murdered in Raven by Valentinian il, eempee ofthe west 0455 Rome sacked bythe Vandals ‘10476 The neste Roan Epi formal ends a Ravenna ‘sthetarbarian gnarl OGeacer depeses teas the Roman emparrs, the By Romulus Augustus 10496 1n Chin, the Shon Tops the fats ‘of Mount Songs in Henan province e450 The Manton pope inhabit nertern EeuaderSta eta ae ‘Alta he was ne af the gest Roman isin, “Aomlan was a Grek, Sor toa eat amin “Antocn (now Bota, neste Take ne joned ‘the Roman amy and sere on the Easton ont ann tule slowed Est and Groce. Armas aly setae dem Rome 20378, and began owiehe ck ern ch he fares, his Rerum Gestanum Libr (he Crile af Evens. The book was wten fr Romans, in Lain. “ing Tacitus as hime, Ammians composed 31 boc, covering he years 1096-378 nthe sera the Roman Emp. Ont the ast 18 boks sve covering ‘rans goerer af th Reman posne of Cappadocia (naw eastern Turkey) unde the Roman emperor Hadrian (30117-138), Hewes slder who defetes an aterpt by thedlans, ate that ved in what sow southeastern Fuss to iade Cappadocia in 0134. Besides bing 2 Sole and av moran asministraterin the Rrran Epi, isn was awrite frist sad gearany. Hels bast oa or hie nabs an acount ofthe life of eranderth Great Although Ain ved over 300, years ter Alorande ied, wo row tat his istry | eae aoa kor innate ai, Camel Nepos moved a Rome ‘a yeung man ane became ater of histy His bes oounbaok, De Uris asus (OF Famous Men), wien instar volumes, tld the steve oth lives of goer, historn, Kings, posts andthe fomaus peopl in Romar ard Grek histo "corals Hepa as neo the frst writer to crate nat enol erably testo) f theta ‘ala indidal nance mes, tis was ew fom tf ttre, Ao naw fr Roman erature atthe me was hischolce of subjess, because he wote about foreigners aswel a Romans. Oly 25 of hisbiographis suvne Nt his subjects arin fact, reesrater han Roma, but alzo wate abot Hania nd Hari {ather ana, is tom Gore Nos that we koow shout Epaminandas, the ede ofthe Thebans the the eats of a2:353-378, Bacauee he had ben aside understood military vents and cul acount therm acuraey, asin descrition af the emperors betatow a thet of Adranope. Ammons was ey inleese in aifletet popes and he habs and sans, as shown nhs desaripions ofthe Huns wo resorted such problems tothe Roman Emir inthe fourth century, Ammianvs coud aso ie sting eerptns of unusual events he ad witessed, seh feeing a ship hare wo mils nnd tere huge farthqke In Greace a z0368, sccuat becouse ha based ton the wings f Ptolemy fiend of Alexander who fought alongside hi andor became governor of Eat One his ie was more sates, Polamy ret an exon itor of Alexander if, ‘renin no eng personal experience but on Aled’ ‘nn jon. a asa Ain was able use the Infomation eortained in Prleny' wings iteligerth, Uundastardlag he chalenges Nlxaneer oad and ovareare, Because fiscal usec evga sources, Arian s 20 imsotant example ofthe evolution histori! metho, battle of Lescta.Coraliss Neps used the methoot vein boat hs subjects inp, contas them ith ach ane Hewat incl, simple Latin, when makes hiswork enjoyable tore Diodorus was Grek stron who ted at ota ot July Caesar and te Reman emperr Augustus and wrote ‘what he intnded ta bea Wor ton, wth the tite Bibione histor He vedin Rome fr atime, anc also traveled in Eye. The Bictaca hte wss an enormous undertaking, ‘ing try Boks iodo clans that wing took hime ‘hie yar tat in ressachig bs sujet ater he ‘made regent ooreys that endangered his Me, ho ‘ot alla iodo book has sured, we katt twa erodtusisoneot the rast famoushiserinsof clascal times, He wasa Grek we aval vary widely vsing aly Eat the Near Ea ante aes acu the lack ‘Sea, Athattine, vaveling sch distances would ve ‘akon many yeas. Apart fo the evidence ois awn ey, Heredotus oul also craw an swideronge of writen Sources on the history is tne, Hire books his istry, hich all the sores ofthe Pesan Epi ae tsar withthe Goes, witha reat deat edtional materi n Egypt and Groce tel Herodotus’ History nt only aie entrtainng pecootwitigbut the fst rest wok of istry in Westen ‘re, Hecoversa wicerangect sublets ity SERGE ‘We dont kno for certain, but itis genaraly assumed thet Jordanas was ath wo lie ante ner Danube, ‘though madam scholars suggest he may have oan 2 bishop ofthe Christian church ving in Corstartiople ‘Altaugh not Roman, he wot sty i atin, ands ‘aluabe tous chic ourmastimpatant sure onthe Taso the Gas and Huns inthe ear centri ofthe Fest milenium x, Jrdans' major works his Dearne setibusqe Getaram(On the Oana Dowd of the (Gets), completed into Joranes ls ote istry Eaton ‘vided int tne parts. The st dese wt myths and history up tothe fal of oy, the second nds th he death of Alexander the Gres, ad the hi part continues UuptoCaesars invasion of Gaul, Although Diodorus wasnt ‘hemos accurate sarians, hwo iimptant because it proves inforstion from sures thet would ‘erwin have sured into moder ties. Sos escription tte ile of Alexancar the Gres, expe, helps us to undarstand events uch a the atl of ‘Gaugaela eee uly than we might ethrwise do. Eee history and certs, lites, religion, custors and social history “but constamty ‘emphasizes tat ne taking bout things eh een hist Hetodotut account the tte ‘of Marathon sal the more thrling because te place not longbeforene was tom, anahe piscsit inthe contort ofthe much wider str of th constant Strgae for dominance between ‘ha Pasions ara the Greeks. ‘of ome omits funding the relgn fhe Byzantine ‘emperor Justinian (49 827-565). "tisoniy through dames that we know the work of he sod century Roman plteisn anit ag alias Cassodrus, who haa ten a massive 12vlume history of the Gots. nis wing onthe Huns, eres preres Some ofthe work of nother historian wheze rings ae now ost, Prscus, a rook wo raved among the Hrs. srdanes particulary iterative abut the eaopee of elathe Huns empire eter his death in 10.83,rare “Te orn istoren Tus Livia, beter known Livy as tev the ity Pata macern Pas) in arta tay ‘Nenguath Salt nd Teetur, ne sono te thc greats Roman istration abet Li's personal Me He gew up Pateiim and was aor eaucate In Gree, uni many yor Roman mar ror the wealth levels of ‘city Itisbslened hate moved to Romine 32 2 ith the inion of wring its history tas ony In Rome that Fhe could have fou he records ad ireration Pa nade. Livy atest n ls of papyrus, one ofthe fe ‘exible wring surfaces vada to people inte acon ore Papyrus asa surface made rom the pthof he Py plat that was ces, cid nd hen lu taster tome sees for wing on Rolls of pape wre mad by ‘Bulg singe sheets togeter, eno en hy istry of Rome Baca ery famous even in is clit elscrib Rome rom is very Begins 2 cyan tte, tasingits story upto Livy's ownifetine The tr lad 142 books ve, srl) a the huge ask tok his ‘(ae rte, Among subjects wee the Second Pune Wor eae Gunemecinse td ants asin al. eee utr wasa Geok wit who grow up adv nas ot his Ie nchaarona, in cent Grsce He id atl, how ‘sd known to ha etre ad aught In Rome. Ha sore of the moe polite wero asia mas, deaing ot ny with historia ubeets tins Lives) ut alo philosophic Cte at of debate and publi spain) debates on opie such ‘hr water animal es iigent an land animal” and fiquarian subjects uch 2 th isto of eles antiqitis, Without Plutarch, we shuld nt hae the eaerce we poset bot ates sch as Levetra ana Silas ie, brave he describes tha nhs vs Peopias and Spares respectively. Plutarch woo hs Lvesin pas, Intending that each subject be contrasted withthe ota a thar attudes, behaviour and histories, in such way this teaders woul el they were ering sbout human ture The parof vera conasted farcus Romans wth aus Grek, because was one of Plutarch stated ars to reese understanding tet the wo nations and cures, (ne ot Puta’ many kllsas weiter ayn his noe of ‘nude nbs of lesonder the Gest, he esc Now ‘ode for much of isle, The hose was considered co wil to tide, but Retanderrotced Bucephals was ata of nis on ‘Shadow, Alexandr umes te oes that hs sad was cat of vison lap on histbark, and so tamed i, lola) -1")-) eaeeeaeeees Polite was a Gree historian who mas eed Rome ane ‘etaiedthere without Wal flr the Ronan domination o ‘Greece wes estaished athe bette of Pan in 168 In Rome Feyius ite wit prominent Romans and rave to ‘Spain, creasing the Als nto tl fllowng te rut taken by enn Poyivs istest known fr hs Hisar, which wore edn forty books. He stated wing because wanted tote te loro ha istry f Roman power rom the Second Punic War up tothe bata! Pn, a timespan of 5398. His acount ofthe battle of Telamon wae nelided in Boa of the Mstoes, and that ofthe batt of Raphiain Book Pohbius was onal or his tne the deta of his research tok the Woubieto readin accounts ct storie ovent and, ere posi talk people wo fod tte prt in thar, Ha wa nec the founders ofthe as of hiercal tach Pojbus hal eberved oe of te most ‘omertous events in Roman histo, the destruction of Cartags in 1466 His accounts ofthe bates of Tetamon {and Rapa ould hove been waiter not mc ore than ty Years ater they ha ten place, sits quite possible tat hmatpeople who had been present “i tes Se-a20) ‘omrls Tacitus is one othe gestest Roman itorians, best kon forte wrk of history he Garman, the Histor Histories ane the Armas The fist deals wih the tribes Germs he Rerans had ereeurtered then the Secon ever the Nr of the Roman Epic am 4069-96; tte third ese the Epis from 2016-65. Tatas considered great sre bacause he was able to exert agret many important events and people wthost Teung is foouson hs subject. He ges ust hand acnants of th iva who tak pat inthe ret afar the Roma site emperor and piticians alike, in get data andi considerable insight. Tosi sour ost important oucefr the nso ofthe Roman presence in tain in theft century aD, He hse had asource athe heart of events, because he was mati the daughter Jus aco, governor of Bean in 9077-84, We owe much at ‘rhode battle of Mons Grovpts, reap toTaets' Lite of AncolEgyptians. EGYPT Ramses Il was crowned fve years before the battle of ‘Qadesh, He was in his mid-twenties, a young Pharaoh inthe prime of his life, and ambitious te expand Egyptian power northwards to include cantral Syria. ‘This would bring him ito cone with the Hittite ‘empire tothe north, Egypt's most powertt rival in that direction. Ramses father Seti hadcampalgned {nthe area around Gadesh, but after intial successes the Hittites had recaptured several of his principal gains. The young Ramses! desire to recover the region ineitably was a refecton of his father’s policy. Egypt was a military state and, as heir the throne, Ramses wa trained for war from an ealy age. He spent the fist few years of his reign preparing his army. He expanded Pi-Ramses, acy in northern Egypt from which he would launch his campaign In the fourth year of his eign he ventured north with is armies and captured Amusru, now aclient kingdom ‘ofthe Hittites; then he travelled through Tyre and Byblos. He now had the capability to attack Qadesh from two directions: from the south trough the Bekaa Valley, or from Amurru, Having laid theproundtwork for his plans, Ramses returned to Egypt ‘THE EGYPTIAN ARMY The Egyptian army was composed of Egyptians and ‘mercenaries from various allied states such as Nubi Libya and Canaan. It was approximately 20,000 strong, and was divided equally into fou field divisions: Re, Amun, Piah and Set. The personnel {or each corps was drawn from a specific temple or ‘estate region in Egypt and named afterthe local go. Warfare then generally consisted of esieging or ‘defending walled towns and cities, andthe Egyptian infantey were imoortant because they were the only ‘oops suited to tat type of soldering, The capture of tonns is very prominent in propaganda. Egyptian Infantry were probably reasonably dscilined. Reliefs bime commancers: {and grave goods show soldiers marching information tothe sound of trumpets. However, the chariots were the really prestigious part ofthe ary: they were the main striking force and it was ina chariot tht Ramses himself fought. ‘Many historians have argued that te role of the chariots in Egyptian warfare was to support the Infantry, but it's now generally accepted that the reverse was true: the infantry were there to Support the chariots, Constructing the chariots required skilled craftsmen and a good deal af time. The teats that rove them needed constant taining to be effective. Chariots were built for speed, to advance at allow the archer an board to shoot with his composite bow and retire out of danger. They could effectively herd and ‘massacre scattered troops in the same way that ‘hunters dealt with animals. The Egyptian infantey ‘acted in support, providing secure masses of personnel being which the chariots could retire torest and replenish their ammunition, ‘The Egyptian field divisions were self-contained ‘organisations, which could be empioyed 9a single unit or separately, These civsions were commanded bbymen whom Ramses could trust important landowners with a personal stake in Ramses’ success. ‘Communications between field divisions wore ‘maintained by riders or chariots. Each division consisted of 4,000 infantry (archers and clse-combat infantry) and 500 chariots (wth two men on each charil) The normal patter of deployment placed the infantry inthe centre ofthe battle frration ‘and chariot tthe flanks, THE HITTITES ‘The Hittite Empire extended over what 8 fot Turkey ‘and Syria, pats of Lebanon and the fringes of Iraq. Its control ofthe border areas tended to vary over the years asthe balance of power wit states such as ‘Assyria and Egypt changed. At the tine of Ramses”eime commancerns advance on Qadesh, King Muwatallsh was supreme ‘commander of the Hitite army and took a prominent ‘ole inthe fighting, Muwatallsh’s reigns poorly ‘documented, but we do know he was a strong end able ruler The Hittite army consisted of Hithites and alies ‘and vassals from 18 iferent states. Like all Late Bronze Age armies ofthe region, its chief elements \were chariots and infantry. The siz ofthe army ‘depends on one's interpretation ofthe main Egyptian texts: thore are alternative figures of 17,000.01 37,000 infantry. But it was certainly one ofthe largest armies ever assembled by the mighty Hitte Empire. Itincluded many mercenary troops. ery ite is known about the Hittite infantry at Qadesh beyond the fact that they were mostly spearmen. They donot seem to have engaged in the battle and their primary role may have been protecting the baggage and equipment. Many troops in the Hitite amy fought without pay, Jn return for booty. This was tobe an important factor in the battle and may explain why the Hittite chariots were drawn into premature combat. ‘Asin the Egyptian army, the 3,500 Hittite chariots ‘were an elite unit of high status and the army's Drincipalortensive weapon, Most chariots catied ‘tew of three men: driver, spearman and shieldbearer Perhaps 1,000 of them were alled charots armed with archers, Hitite chariots were probably stronger than thei Egyptian counterparts but heavier and slower. On the Egyptian reliefs commemorating the battle of Qadesh, virtually all the Hittite crews ae ‘shown using javelin and spears, suggesting a desite {or closer combat. At short range itis quicker to throw {a jovelin than to fre an arrow, and a very close range ‘the spear can be used to stab atthe enemy. THE BATTLEFIELD Itis now widely accepted thatthe battlesround ‘nad been agreed upon in advance by the two sides, althaugh the hypothesis isnot based on specific ‘evidence. In spite ofthis agreement, neither side {ic play fae: Ramses arrived eary, while Muwatalish deliberately planned an ambush. If the Egyptians had performed a more thorough reconnaissance once they had reached the area, the battle might have taken 2 very liferent cours. Modern scholars have suggested that the site ‘of Gadesh gave the Hittites the advantage: itwas In territory then under Hittite contol; they would have access to supplies from loyal vassals; it was aelatively short distance from the Hittite home ‘ase; andthe city was both lage enough to protect the army if they lat the battle and in a strongly {artified positon, surrounded by the River Orontes. ‘The Egyptians, in contrast, were about a thousand miles from home, PRELUDE TO BATTLE ‘Throughout March and April 1275 ec the Ezyotions gathered, at Pi-Ramses in northern Egypt, one ofthe largest armies they ever assembled. At the end of April ‘the army eft Egypt by Ue coast ua Lv Ga, tnd ‘there Ramses divide his forces. Turing inland with most of his army, he travelled through Canaan, past the eastside of Lake Galilee, then entered the Beka valley and reached Kumi ‘A smaller portion of the amy, the Ne'Arin "Young. ‘Men’, would play a decisive part in the battle, They "moved north rom Gaza along the coast road to Phoenicia with the purpose of ensuring the loyalty of ‘the Phoenician coastal cities along ther route; they ‘then marched inland va the Eleutheros Valley in ‘Amurtu to Qadesh. An elite unit, personally loyal to Ramses Il they were instructed to approach Qacesh ‘rom the north, surprising the Hittites, who would have been unaware ot ther presence inthe wcity Historians have put forward theories about wat kind ‘of troops made up this unit and what their numbers were: they could have been Canganites dressed and armed as Egyptians; they may have been one ofthe four field divisions of Ramses’ army, or an extra force. Exactly one month after leaving Eayot, Ramses ‘camped with his frst cision (Amun) on a mound called the Karnu'at el Harmel Ridge, south of Qadesh, ‘The valley lay ahead, and Gadesh city was visible. ‘The other thee field divisions, Re, Ptah and Set, were behind Amun along te line of march and separated by about 6.6 miles each (one iter THE COURSE OF THE BATTLE ames and the Amun alison descended trom the ridge, crossed the Labwi forest and then te Orontes River bythe ford of Shabtuna. Two Shasu-bedouin, thought to have been planted by the Hittites to mmisinform Ramses, told Ramses that Muwatallish and his army were nowhere near Qadesh but at Aleppo, 120 miles north. Ramses, for reasons we cannot explain, does not seem io have ordered reconnaissance to verify that information, He advanced, eager to get the advantage of arriving at the battlefield fst, anc camped slightly north-west of the ity, unaware of the Hitite force onthe far side of Qadosh itslt. riving ist ata battlefield was 3 considerable advantage at that time, because it gaveeeete als) The chariot frst made its appearance in \esopotamia in about 3000 ge, Monuments am the ancient cities of Urand Tutub show reavy vehicles with sold wheels in battle >arades. On the earliest chariots the wheels urmed on a fixed axle oined by a poet the yoke af a perof oxen, These Mesopotamian chariots sarried bath spearman and chariotee, although ‘edo not know for certain whether they fought from the platform ofthe chariat itself r sismounted to use their weapons, “The two-wheeled form of the chariot was the ne best suited to warfare. Such charits were fast and manoeuvrable, qualities enhanced by the introduction of spoked wheels, which were ‘much lighter and stronger than solid wrees, and by yoking the chariot to two, or sometimes Four, onagers. The domestication ofthe horse in 2000 sc guaranteed the future ofthe chariot 88.8 weapon of war, Faster, more responsive and with greater stamina than onagers, horses were the ideal propulsion power for chariots, In Egypt, Anatolia, northern India and Greece, the use ofcharits contribute significanty to the balance of military power in the ancient word inte secand millennium 8c, The manufacture of charits in Egypt was established by 1435 ec within 80 years light-ramed chariots with four spoked wheels were being used throughout the Middle East and had been introduced Minoan. Crete andthe southern European mainiand Archaeological remains from graves ofthe ‘Shang dynasty (18th-12Uh century 8; sug ‘that chariots were being used on the Crinese steppes by the 14th century 2c. Rema ns af chariots of , 300 oc, found ina burialsite near Peking, are simiar in construction to Celtic chariots in western Europe. Iti believ that the Etcuscans may have passed the knowledge af chariot-building tothe Celts, who were using chariots in Britain about the fifth cenares aca User Rens, et Tet got te 1th any oF EB reign, 170-1233) wnt second ost TeEzpton rita non to swash {Petes yas we no hn tren temo bukig are many Mae Sven stimteund alte ER arse fay ame pam ome eae tte rego! penalon nao 1388-1236 (eo ransesninoat hd egret vor ed Teioniptomboyhoad Hewet whi far Scones ets, thaws gen spsal atts y hist =t8 em utisoe ren 00 use Tapes a eo ofeapta re EBan foarte war on 1yenrs 0, ou the minty onyhne ee seni Once santraran Rnses connie stars ernccmgteoy uate ems “Fetr nore bar aes ws Para tye Spe tat Rass woe! Patna poe 1256 the ties Moped ape ety wh Ronse tote dveapmertt end esos Detean ewe ins ane srl Rane rari oe Spesiiot ite penensses Foros oa 905, am odiys ieal oo haven a oer at Pacem Epon ity esd 4 Ne the army achance toes afte afong march, “The Egyptians were not, infact going to have this advantage: indeed, quite the opposite. The Revision ‘crossed the Shabtuna ford onto the pain of Gadesh Ramses’ scouts now detected the Hittite fore. The Hittites had sent out their wn scouts to find out exactly ‘where the Egyptians was. They were captured by Ramses, who discavered the deception and elized thatthe Hittite army were close by and read fr war. He immediately dispatched an order forthe Re division tomove quickly to the batteield, whereupon it was ‘ambushed by force of Hitite chariots. a it crossed the plain of Qadesh. The chariots crashed int the flank ofthe Re division, sweeping away the protective screen cof Egyptian chariots. The number ofthe Hittite chariot force is dsputed; in his account, Ramses implies it was 2,500, which would make it detachment. With hele ccarit screen gone, Ramses’ infantry companies last ther cohesion; unprepared fr battle, they cisintegrated ‘nblind panic, the survivors fleeing northwards towards the Amun cama. ‘The Hittite chariots then tured towards the ‘camp, raising clouds of dust, trampling the escaping Egyptian infantry orspearing them from behind Panic overcame the Amun camp; defenders abandoned their positions and weapons asthe Hittite Charlot broke in from the western side, Many of the Hittites then slowed or stopped their advance, clstracte by the lure of booty inthe Egyptian camp. Ramses was in his own camp, nea the Amun camp. He puton his battle ermaur, mounted his chariot and prepared to engage the Hittite chariots singlehandedly. Perhaps accompanied ony by his small chariot borne entourage, he attacked the Hittites on ther easter flank, wreaking havoc on a force whose cohesion and momentum were breaking sown. Taking advantage ofthe speed and ‘manoeuvrability oftheir chariots, the Egyptians began topick ot great numbers of Hittites. Tey attacked, turned, and attacked again at least six times. Inthe bime commannens 23 confusion Ramses was giving his troops a sense af ‘iecton by physically being in te thick ofthe ihtng Muwatalish ordered a second wave of chariats to assist the frst. There were probably no more than 1,000. Speed was ofthe essence because they hadto ‘gett the battle immediately to help the chariots that ‘were reeling undef the onslaught of Ramses’ repeated attacks. The new Hittite chariot force headed ee Ramses’ cami rather than fr his chariot force, to ‘ry to dlistract hmm from his attacks. At this point, the ‘Ne'arn reached the battetei, justin time forthe Egyplians, and attacked the Hitites' second chariot force, joined by Ramses. The Hitite chariots were routed; afew escaped back across the river but most ‘were lled. Many high-ranking Hitite and allies officers were killed, anc many more were chased Into Qader or back across the Orontes. ‘There are conflicting accounts of what followed. ‘The Egyptian version, recorded in the reliefs commemorating the battle, relates thatthe fighting continued intoa second day but, because he had suffered grave losses to hs charit force, Muwatallsh offered truce. Both armies then withdrew tothele ‘nomelands. The Hittite version, based on material excavated from asite at Boghazkoy, the Hitite capita near What is now Ankara, records that Ramses withdrew is amy, in isaray after the events of the fst day, and that Hittite forces then advanced topositions just short of Damascus. ‘hati indisputable s that Gadesh eemained in Hittite hands and that Ramses suffered substantial tosses to his forces. Some yeas later, Ramses signed comprehensive peace treaty with Ileus, ‘Muwatalish’s successor to the Hitt thrane, This treaty settled border disputes between the ‘wo nations, established a defensive aliance between Egypt and the Hittites and evan included a form of extradition agreement.cimecommancens 2s MARAT 490 BC pee oeee a ee ee oreo infighting and there was latent hostility to Sparta, ‘conventions ofthe day, these slaves or support troops ‘Troops of the largest empire the world had ever were nat counted by either side. known descended on a small group of city-states Traditionally the leader of the Athenian army was vith no proven military record. The ods were al the polemarch, one of the three principal m inthe Persians favour ‘ofthe city. At the time of Marathon this office was held by Callimachus, who presided over ten genera, one THE ATHENIAN ARMY ‘of whom was Mitiades; each general headed a force ‘Athens reliee for an amy entirely on its citizens from the ten tribes ofthe city state, The polemarch ‘The troops were called hoplites, meaning citizen vas fesponsibe for leading the army as it marched oldies’. Itwas the duty of every Athenian citizen to __autof te city, and toak the pasion of hanour on perfocm military service and to buy hisown weapons the extreme right wing of the bal line. In terms ‘and equipment. In that sense the Athenian amy was of overall however, professional force but, unlike the Persian army, where e stood. Traditionally, the generals met asa itwas ethnically cohesive. Athenian troops were board to take common strategic decisions, but itis free men, which at Marathon would have worked possible that, contrary to the impression created by to their advantage, because they were fighting for the Greek historian Heredotus (. 484-430/420 tc), ‘the preservation of that status, the polemarch retained overall command over tiscme cammannens: board. Herodotus, our chief source, may deliberately have sought to emphasizethe role layed by Miltiades rather than that of Cllimachus. Hetells us that five ofthe ten field commanders vatedto have Mitiades ‘as the battle commander, despite the convention of ‘rotating days of command: If we believe his account, ‘then, there was some continuity fcomman fr the ‘Athenians at Marathon. [ATHENIAN TACTICS, Hoplites dic not fight individually but were members tf the phatan, a line of hoplites drawn up in ranks, who stabbed with their spears from behind a wal of shields. The shields were all-important: if they were discarded or est, the phalanx could be easily broken. Because they were so reliant on their massed formation, hoplites could only fight efficent an fiat plains. Unlike the Persians, the Athen ans followed @ policy of taking the offensive. Thechief weapon ofthe hoplites was along, heavy spear, nd they protected themselves with their armour of helmet, shield and breastplate. Farmare heavily armoured, and carving pikes wth greater range than the short spears and “swords ofthe Persian foot soldier, the Greeks favoured ‘close-combat battle formations, ying on their mass tobreak through the enemy line. They had no cavalry orarchers. ‘Because the bulk ofthe Persian infantry consisted ‘of archers, the Greek plan wes to advance information until they reaches the edge ofthe archers’ range (roughly 200 yard), then continue marching twice ‘a8 fast as usual in close anks and bring their heavy infantry into play. They would therfore almost ‘certainly nd up fighting in disordored ranks, but that was preferable to giving the Persian archers more time toattack, even though the Greek armour was fo some ‘extent effective against their arrows, iltiadee’ battle formation was eucial tothe ‘Athenian victory at Marathon. The Greek centre was deliberately reduced trom the normal eight ranks to possibly only four, in order to extend the line and prevent the Persian line from overlapping it. The ‘wings, by contrast, were stronger, maintaining their eight ranks. THE PLATAEANS ‘The small Boeotian city of Pataea, on the border of ‘Attia, had been allied to Athens for three decades before Marathon, Plataea sought Athenian protection against Thebes, the mast important city ofthe region, ‘and its long-term policy of bringing the whole of Bocotia under its power. They therefore sent about 1,000 troops to help the Athenians at Marathon, here they were commanded by Arimnestos. THE PERSIAN ARMY ‘We know much less about the Persian army than bout the Greeks. Iwas evidently much larger, but the sources enormously exaggerate the diflerence, some recording Persian numbers as great as 100,000. Eliminating the naval crews logistic ‘troops attendants and camp followers, a credible estimate ofthe total Persian numbers may be 25,000. ‘As conquered lands were incorporated into Persian Empire that stretched from the Indus to ‘Greece, the Persian army became increasingly diverse. {included Sacians, Hyrcanian mountaineers, ikhoassan steppe horses and Ethiopian archers, as well a8 Central Asian troops from the Oxus region, ‘oops from the Euphrates region, Ezyptian and ‘Sudanese troops from the Nile egion and Indian ‘troops trom the Indus ragion. The Persian army thus had no uniformity of language or fighting tradition, but atts core it depended onthe original populations of the Empire, the Medes and the Persians who were the best-trained and equipped troops as well a the most highly motivated. The officers also came from these ‘populations, tts most likely these were the crucial Gea aird “The Athenian general Miltiades was born around 50 uc, an astocrat ofthe Phila aril, prominent Athenian dynasty. He was appointed ‘archon in 524/523 wo and later, around 516 80, Hippias, the rant of Athens, sent him to succeed his uncle as ruler ofthe Thracian CChersonese, an Athenian dependency inthe Gallipoli Peninsula Relations with Hippias became strained and Mitiades was obliged to ‘seek an accommodation withthe Persians; hence he accomparied the Persian army on Darius! Scythian carrpaign. Yet he grew increasingly insecure and sought rapprochement withthe new ‘democratic government in Athens, cooperating with them during the Ionian revolt and helping to ‘seize the island of Lemnos, possibly in 499 8c. ‘When the revolt collapsed in 493 8c, he fed to -Aens, wire he survive a tial for tyranny and re-entered paltical life. His experience he was ‘aged about 60 atthe time of Marathon) and ability made him a powerful igure, and he was, lected tothe board of generals to oppose the impending Persian invasion: a good choice because of his rst-hand knowiedge of the enemy. Miltiaes fought tenaciously at Marathon, ‘though probably more to saves own skin than for anyother reason, He had spent only afew years inthe new democratic Athens and had no ‘choice but totake up thelr cause. He claimed ‘tchave championed the breaking up of Darius! bridge ofboa's over the Danube, wen he was on the Soythian zampaign, but may have invented the stor later to improve his standing at Athens. After Marathon he was gven a leet and in 489 8¢ made an unsuccessful attack on Pares. His ‘enemies took advantage of the failure and had him fined. He died of @ wound soon afterwards, but his son fom his second mariage, Cimon, ‘would become a major Greek statesman and general ofthe 470s and 460s,iet=\=)-F- alee 19,000 Athenian hpltes, each armed with an «eight-foot thrusting spear and a short sword and equipped with a hopion shield, three feet in diameter, Faced with bronze and highly decorated, as well as acuirass (oreastplat), usually of stiffened linen, but sometimes of bronze. The hoplite wore a helmet, usually of the Corinthian type, which covered the head except for eye-holes and was topped witha high horsehair erst 1,000 Piataean hopites: Athenian allies, essentially identical tothe Athenian hopies. 1,000 skirmishers, most of wham were probably armed only with javelins. They wore vitally no protective armour and many did nat even have shields. It was the custom to wrap the eloak around the left rm for basic protection, 5,000 Persian arohers, via wore a long sleeved tunic, trousers and cap, were armed with ccompasite bows and were inclined to fight in close formation, rather than as a loose ling of skirmishers, 5,000 Persian sparabara(shield holders), wo held rectangular wicker shields, from behind which the archers fred their arrows. Their clothing was similar tothe archers’. They were also armed with sicfoot long thrusting spears which put them al 2 significant disadvantage when facing Greek hoplites in close combat, Al, 2,000 ete Sakai bowen, who wore broadly similar clothing tothe Persian infantry, but a diferenty shaped cap, 2,000 elite Saka spearmen, who cated short spears and (possiblyround) wicker shields. They, too, wore largely similar clothing to the Persian Infante, but wore acitferently shaped cap. 1,000 elite Persian idan, armed with thrusting spears, swords and round shields, These hele he centre ofthe tne 2,500 Persian infantry archers (skirmishers: these were the weakest part of the army, lacking armour orhelmets, and so were especially reluctant to fightin close combat 1,250 Persian infantry javetinmen (skirmishers): also a weak pat ofthe army. Some might have shields, but none wold have armour or helmets, ang they dsiked fighting hand to hand. 1,250 Persian intanty singers (skcmishers: another weak element, some equipped with shlelds but none with amour or helmets, and undisposed to fighting hand to hand, 2,500 heavy cavalty riding unatmoured horses, ‘The riders may have worn linen cuirasses. They were armed with javelins, which were thrown before a charge, as well as swords or ates for han-to-hane fightin. A few may have been equipped with longer nyston style lances to match the enemy, However, the Persian cavalry presence at Marathoris disputed 2,500 light cavalry, 2zain chiefly armed with Javelins and swords for back-up. These would not be armoured, There were perhaps some contingents of horse archers rr / da]fut iet=l=ie tla) ein lad ‘The Bale of Marathon and the marathon race ‘covering 26 miles ae linked because the race ‘named after the battle. Legend has itthat, lunineditely after the Crock victory, fully armed pit ran the distance from Maratonto Athens, roughly 25 mils, to warn the people af the city that the defeated Persians, wio iad fled to their ships, might sail to Athens and attack it. (Overcome by hisexartions, the Greek soiier died after delivering his warning. The unneris often identified as Pheidippides, but Herodotus states ‘that Pheiaippides' run wasin fact from Athens to Sparta and took place before the battle, The [Athenian generals asked him, a atanes runner, ‘ogo othe Spartans and appeal for their ep in the looming confrontation withthe Persians, He {said to have travelled 150 miles in two days. Inthe event, the Spartans announced that they ‘could not go into battle until the moon was ful five days after Pheidippides reached them, so the Athenians had to face the Persians without ‘Spartan help, Nevertheless, the legend of the race to reach Athens tives on. ‘roops at Marathon, although itis uncertain exactly at ethnicities were represented. Wltary service seem to have been compeleory for ai Persians, nobility and bondsmen alike. Herodotus tells us that from five to 20 boy was taught ‘to ride ‘and to use the bow’. The Grook historian Strabo implies that military service proper took place between 20 and 24, while Xenophon tells us that on leaving the ‘army, Persian men remained subject to mobilization until they were 50. PERSIAN TACTICS ‘The traditional fighting unit of te Persian infantry vas the ‘archer par, consisting ofan archer shooting ‘om behind the cover of arg shield held by @ partner. Such units would have been the crucial Persian troops at Marathon. They gathered in close formation so as to make a wall. Ther key tactic was ‘owait until the enemy came close, when they would assault them with volley of arrows from behind the ‘wal. Thus the Persian fighting syle was essentially efensive, despite the fact that they were the striking army at Marathon, They aimod to avoid intensive hand-to-hand combat; instead, being lightly armoured, they eed on motility PRELUDE TO BATTLE ‘As soon as the Persian fle sailed across the Aegean and attacked the city-state of Eretri, the Athenians correctly guessed the Persian strategy. Dats hoped to Gra the Athenian military out ofthe city to march to the aid of Ere, giving the Persian army the choice of destroying the Greek army inthe open or bypassing it and sailing directly for Athens, attacking the city nile the amy was away. Hence, while part of the Persian army under Artaphernes was laying siege to Eretria, the remainder crossed with Dats and landed inthe Bay of Marathon. When Callimachus hears that the Persians had landed in the Bay of Marathon, ne encamped his army st the shrine of Heracles, where he was joined by the Plataeans. A stand-off ensued for eight days. as, the armies peacefully confronted each other, the ‘Athenians hoping to holdout until Spartan assistance arrived. However, on the ninth day the Athenians found out that Eretria had fallen by treachery; Artaphernes was now fee to attack hens. According to Herodotus, a huge debate followed between the Athenian generals about whether to attack, fve voting in favour and five against. Begged todo so by Miltiades, Calimachus cast the deciding vote in favour. Daspite the custom of rotating days of ccommang, it was agreed that Miltiades should take charge. The battle lin was drawn up. Callimachus led the right wing. Then came the Athenian tribes in order, while the Plataeans occupied the left wing. In order aot to be outflanked by the Persians, the ‘Athenians extended their ine to make itaf equal length to the enemy's. TERRAIN The Athenians were camped onthe top ofa hil to the west, while the Persians were camped down the hitlon a plan tothe eas. Tothe south, and thus to the Persian itt, lay the sea and the Bay of Marathon, Behind the Persian camp was a large marsh lanked tothe south bya beach where the Persian feat was moored. To the north ofthe plain i the River CCharadra, running roughly parallel tothe coast ‘THE COURSE OF THE BATTLE In Herodotus’ account of the battle, the Athenians bbegan the alack. Their centre traops ran towards the Persians, who were astonished, thinking the ‘manoeuvre suicidal, Because they coud see neither cavalry nor archers withthe Athenian hopes. fae COMMANDERS Be For the Athenians, however, this was the moment of psychological breakthrough. They had been intimidated foryors by tales of how fearsone and invincible was the Persian army; now they ‘were running towards them to fight ang, if possible, defeat them, Weighed down wit shields, spears and armour, the Athenians built up tremendous momentum as they an towards the Persians and, when they met them, struck wth tremendous force, cutting deeply into the ranks. They fought furiously but were pushed back by the Persian centre, On the wings, however, the Greeks and Plataeans defeated the Persians; then the wings joined and smashed through the Persian centre. Route, the Persians ran cesperately for their ships to escape, AFTERMATH “The Athenians secured seven Persian ships but the remainder managed to escape, Now the concern for the Athenians was that these, or the ships with ‘Ataphernes, would reach Athens before them, However, as soon as Dats pur to sea, the Athenian army marched back ta the city and arived in time to prevent the Persians from securing a landing, Seeing their opportunity lest, the Persians turned arounet and returned to Asia The vitory was hugely significant forthe Greeks, ait helped to give some solidarity tthe cisunited Cily-sates. Ten years later the Persians again attacked Greece wth an enormous force. They met defeat in the Battle of Salamis in 480 ec, and in two successive land battes the folowing year. These forays marked the last notable attempt to expand the Persian Empire. The detest at Marathon did natin itself significantly affect the power ofthe Persian Empire, but it id give the Greeks the psychological advantage in the more decisive encounter ton years later. Se ee ee ee eyPeloponnesian League. By dominating this league ‘Sparta became master of most ofthe Peloponnesus ‘Although Sparta fought beside Aten inthe Psi ‘Wars, the rivalry of the two powers sharpened ‘afterwards, coming toa head inthe Peloponnesian ‘War. Having won the war and wrecke 2, Spa wonchae he Kins Peau ater a war with Persia and fecused on entrenching its hegemony over Greoce. ‘The Spartans were unique amongst the Greeks, 3 fact reflected inthe constitution, wich shared the ‘ule ofthe state betieen two kings, drawn from two rayal dynasties, so that one would check the power of the other. One king would command the army on campaign wile the other ruled at home. At the time of Leucra, the kings were Cleombrotus and Agesilaus ‘respectively. Sparta wes an intensely closed, conservative and regimented society, For two centuries itwas the most feared fighting free in Greece. The Spartan legacy ls not one of culture and civilization, like its neighour tothe north. The Spartans excelled atone thing: war. POWER STRUGGLE Plato claimed thatthe natural state of Geek afairs was war rather than peace. Te constant jockeying for ‘ower between the Greek city states isthe central theme of ancient Greek history. The battle of Leuctra ‘must be understood in this ight and, more specifically, in the content ofa wider struggle between ‘Thebes and Sparta from 396 10 362 80 After Athens ‘surrendered in 404 ac and ended the nearly 30-year long Peloponnesian War, Sparta was unguestionably the dominant Greek power With Athens crushe ‘Thebes emerge as the most serious challenger ‘Spartan hegemony. However. a bloody trial of strength would leave both parties seriously weakened ‘Sparta set about consolidating her political and military hegemony in all regions. The height of sImecommanbers 23 Spartan power came in 380 Be when Olynthos ‘apituiated and a Soertan garrison occupied Thebes. (Occupation was particularly humiliating forthe ‘Thebans, because 1 382 8c a pro-Spartan faction in ‘Thebes had invited Spartan troops into the city, and that free took contol ofthe Kadmeia, the Theban citadel, In 979-0. the Thebans managed to cast ff this burden whe" some Theban exiles, including Pelopidas (who wasto playa crucial role at Leuctra), Niberated the city wih Athenian help. However, inthe complex world of ancient Greek reafpottis, tis Athenian-Theban alliance was ‘simply a marriage cf convenience to thwart Spartan hegemony. Soon Atiens grew anxiousat therise of ‘Theban power. Around 373 gc the Thebans reunified ‘Boeotia under something tke the terms ofthe traditional Boeotian Confederacy. Alarmed at such aggressive expansionism, Athens persuaded Thebes toattend a peace conference with Sparta. Athens {and Sparta came toan agreement, but Epaminondas, ‘perhaps eager fr acontrontation with Sparta all, ‘along, refused to grant the Boeoian cities autonomy 2s the terms ofthe 2eace demanded. He insisted to ‘Agesilaus, one of re two Spartan king, that Thet had never interfered in Laconia with Spartan business. Ate ssuing final ultimatum to Thebes, the Spartans sent theiother king, Cleombrotus, who was ‘an campaign in Phocis, to Boeotiawith his amy. Tactics Inantiquity the Thebans had a reputation for physical pawer and determination to fight hardin batle, Their Infantry was grouped in deeper ranks than was usual among the Greeks at that time, when eight to twelve shields were the erm: at Leuctra the ranks were filty ‘deep, This expose the troops’ flanks more (at Leuctre ‘they were eight shields wide) and the intial effect of spear thrusts was reduced as more men were taken out ofthe front ranks ae moved tothe ear. However, itee ce Oe een: ieee Gon aie ene eee ea Ge ete Cw nees Stennett en emiek eit ee Cierra eee eto inc rete nam semen) ee Poneman tasers a eer! ce eee Peer rem ora ere erent eee crete eat ee cee ence ree ue Olena Ceres Be cea hcnlad tere hg admiral hor cee ee coe ier een ts Beearemner ri ar eee rs nee at Gere ee orc) hae re ed uA aCe CuLey ceo Gere tNi eit moe ae ues Pee eco een ee Pieter areata oe hadreservations about Agesileus exgressive policy eset ee Fearing the consequences of politica) trial ite eee ec ocr tot prea eee ce ec Cte ad er cere Ne eee eo eee Be cn nec Pio tec a tant a ees if, Deer aero ected nl ies Cie nce a aye Cera ayer, tte Creu Cero Nee ie rane ots Lit a a Sas Nr oe eet vie Ea hoe pera et aeito Cif eerie eg oe sie see rant psa Pee creer ance ts Peat srees eee Nyt Ome ern he ae raeiiity mee aeariant y archers and slingers. Inthe centre were his legions from Syria, on the right his legions from Cilicia and seme troops from Spain. Ahenobarbus was in command an the lef,eitelolar tale) El iae alee‘Scipo inthe centre and Atdnius onthe right ‘The main line was very deep: each cohort was. deployed inten ranks. Pompey had ordered his infantry nt io advance, but to sty stil and throw their pila when the enemy ‘was within ange. He knew his legionaries were not 9s effective 2s Caesar's, He planned to win te battle ‘with nis eavaly, by smashing Caesar's cavalty and heeling around foattackthe flank and rea of Caesars infantry. Toointer the obviods superiority of Pompey's ‘cavalry, Caesar took a single cohort from the third line ‘of each of his legions and stationed it behind his ‘cavalry, invisible tothe enemy. For the batlle Caesar's ‘men were given the password ‘Venus, Bringer of Vict’, while Pompey's army had the password “Hercules, Unconquered THE COURSE OF THE BATTLE Caesar's front line advanced weile Pompeys infantry remained in postion and his cavalry surged forwards, (Caesar's cavaliy gave way. During the charge Pompey’s cavalry lost their cohesion and merge into one great ‘mass, too closely packed to fight effectively. Caesar ordered his fourth in, the back-up leglonaries, ta attack, causing immediate panic among Pomgey's cavalry, who stampeded to the rea. Pompey’s supporting light infantry were abandoned and massacred or dispersed by Caesar's legionaries Pompeys main attack tad fale. Meanwhile, the main infantry lines engaged. (Caesars men had charged as usual and then noticed that Pompay'c infantry was not moving, To provent them losing formation, the centurions halted the line, isplayng their superb discipline. They cformed and ‘charged again, When they were within 50 feet of the enemy they threw their missiles, then charged with ‘awn swords. A fierce struggle followed, The second ling of infantry was drawn in. The fourth line of Caesar's infantry, the one backing up the cavaly, attacked the exposed flank af Pompey’ infantry, throwing it into disorder Caesar ordered his third line to advance, The pressure on Pompey's army was now too much, ‘AL first they retreated slowly but more and more ‘ofthe units issolved, until te retreat was otal, AFTERMATH Caesar made sure that as mary as possible of his, nem’ legiorares were spared; but he allowed is ‘troops to massacre the foreign auxiliaries, Pompey had left the battlefield almost as soon as his cavalry were swept away. As the defeat became obvious, he put aside his general's cloak and rode forthe coast; atleast, ‘hiss the account gven in sources favourable to Caesar. (Of Pompey's army, 24,000 were imprisoned and 15,000 killed. Nine eagles, the legions’ standards, ‘were captured. Most of Pompey's army was pardoned, including M. Junius Brutus, who would later be one of the leading conspirators in Caesar's assassination, (Ceesar claimed that he lost only 200 men ard, because oftheir typically aggressive styl of leadership, 30 centurions. Having sent Mark Antony back totaly, the pursued Pompey to Egypt, where Pompey was tricked and murdered bya representative ofthe Egyptian king, who was unlling to give help tan enemy of Caesar. When Caesar arived in Alexandria, an envoy from the Egyptian king presented him with Pompey's head and signetring. Caesars reported tohave Wept, He gave honourable burial to Pompeys ‘ody. While he wasin Egypt Caesar embarked on an afairwith the 21-year-old quedn Cleopatra ‘Caesar's eventual success i the ei wars brought about the death ofthe Raman Republic, system designed to prevent any single paltician from ‘becoming too powerful. Thereafter rie Rotten could ‘oppose him, and political power in tm was solely his. This led to his assassination an furthr civil war [ett -1e let =)a) Ina standard legion of Caesar's time there were '59 centurions: fie ithe first cohort ofthe legion and 54 in the remaining nine cohorts. The five Centurions inthe frst cahort (prim erdines) were ranked, in descending order, as primus pilus, princeps, hastatus, princéps posterior and hhastatus pesteriar The six centurion in each of the other nine cohorts wete ranked as pilus parler, pilus posterior, princes prior, princeps bosteriy, hastatus prior and status posteicy, By the time of the battle of Pharsals, ‘centurion Were professional Sluis ike'the ‘edna legionary (les gregarius) All certuriahs Were of equal rank except the primus pilus, who took part in councis of war with the generals. The primary role ofcenturions was to ‘maintain discipline among the ordinary soldiers ‘and provide leadership in battle. Despite this apparently limited ole, however, the generals, ‘depended heavily onthe Support of their centurions, and Caesar clearly went to great lengths to win their support. During his pursuit of the Gallic chieftain Aviovitus, for example, Caesar records that his troops became so despondent about ther prospects of defeating the enemy that every soldier made out a wil, {and the camp was full of eumours that, should Caesar call forthe army to march, it would refuse tooo. Caesar's solution tothe problem was to ‘summan all he centurions and address them in ‘group. He made an eloquent speech and -in hisown account, at least -the centurions were so convinced by his arguments that they became ‘much more positive in their reacinessto go into battle, Leaving aside the [ssue of how far Caesar wrote up hls speech later the mere fat that he feltitimportantto speak fect to the Centurions shows how vitl they were toa general's slccess in war” Centurions were distinguished from ordinary soldiers by cress, both to denote thei rank and tobe visiblein the chaos of baltle. Acenturion’s helmet was decorated witha transverse (ear-to- car) crest rather than afont-to-back one like the ‘ordinary soldier's. He alsocaried a short sick, sometimes used to deal out corporal punishment, Centurions’ armour was generally mare richly decorated than the comman soldiers‘ and they wore their swords on the right rather than let side,‘The morale and confidence ofthe len’ were very igh inthe lead-up tothe battle at Watling Steet. They had ‘been successful in thei assaults on Roman power and hha, so far, escaped unscathed. ‘While allthis was going on in eastern and central England, Suetonius Paulinus, the Roman governor of Britain from aD 59 to 61, was blissfully unaware that events had taken such a bloody turn, since he was receruipad with inviting Rngloesy, ane af thea remaining centes of resistance to Roman rule in Britain, With the absence from central England of the legions that were being used in north Wales, resistance to the advances ofthe Iceni was much ‘weaker than it might otherwise have been. THE ROMAN ARMY “The professionalzation ofthe army was completed Under the rule of the Roman emperors. The cohort remained the basic tactical unt ofthe lgion. In this period a legion consisted of + 9 cohorts, numbered II-X, each of 480 men, in si centuries of 80 men apiece, ec byacenturion; + the First Cohort of 800 men, divided into fve double sized centuries f 160 mer +} asmallcavalty force of 120 men, used mainly asescorts or messengers. Depending on the tactical situation the legion might also empioy arilery. Light bolt shooters such as scorpios (dart-throwers) and cheirobalistras were often used by Roman troops onthe battlefield, sometimes mounted on mule-drawn cars for mobil In contrast tothe Roman army of earlier times, the legions ofthe imperial period had permanent commanders, the Legionary Legates appointed byt ‘emperor. These were senators, usually in their ear thirties, who held the post for about three years. Next inrank below them were the senatorial trbunes, one {or each legion. Having a permanent commander wa mmanded 2 great advantage in maintaining consistency of iscipline anda sense ofthe legion asa distinct entity with its own character and history. ‘An important feature of this period is the creation ‘ofthe regularly paid, unitrmed and equipped availa (auxiliary force), recruited from the ranks of foreign soldier, for example from Germany or the Near East These troops supported the Roman citizen legions byadling tothe uihors and, in partic, by roving cavalty and other troops such as archers. Auxiliary infantry were organized into independent cohorts, but these cohorts were not combined into legion sized formations. ‘Ausliaty cohorts usually numbered 480 men Insixcenturies, athough a minority were increased ‘toa strength of 800. The vast majority of auxiliary Infantry were armoured heavy infantrymen equipped with javelin, swoeds, shields, mal armour and helmets. They were never armed withthe heavier plum and their uniform was kept distinct from that of the citizen legionares, although thei tactical funetion was similar ‘Axlianycavaly wore organized int ‘unit, called not cohorts but alge. Acavalry ala normally consisted of about 512 men, occasionally 764. Auxiliary cohorts and alaewere each commanded by 2 prefect. Tactics Inmany respects the army of Nero's time employed similar tactical system tothe cohort legions ofthe fist century ac. If anything, its flexibility had been ‘enhanced by he creation ofthe well-trained and disciplined auxilia, In most respects auxiliary and legionary cohorts wera tactically interchangeable, but ‘the legionary cohorts, accustomed to working together and with a legate in command, were easier to control in batle than the independent auxiliary cohorts. The legions were especially suited to acting as areserveag. cINe commaNDeRS (as, foreample, atthe battle o Mons Graupivs in Scotland in a0 83) a allenatively, could form the centre ofthe main attack, asin the defeat of Boudicca. Whenever possible the army deployed in at leastmo lines, and often three or more. Reserves wore vitally mportantta maintaining the forward hrustof an attack. Once the forward troops became exhausted, thay could fall back and regroup while reseres fom the rear moved int take tneir place, Heavy infanty, whether lepionares or ausiaries, ‘continued ta prove very effective. They were provided with excallent support bythe profesional aviary ‘cavalry, and at times the latter played a mare ‘dominant cole. Roman tactics for both infantry ‘and cavalry continued tobe very agaressive. ‘THE ROMAN GENERAL ‘According tothe Roman historian Tacitus (c. 40 56-<. 180117), Suetonius Paulinus was a vey ambitious man ‘who hoped to be considered one ofthe great generals of his day. His situation inthe immediate atermath of ‘the Iceni revlt was bleak. If he lst the struggle _against them, it was ver ikely that Ne woulc lose the entire province, IThe survived and escaped, e would face the wrath ofthe emperor Nero, aman not noted {or evenness of temper and balanced judgement atthe best ofimes. Even the most phlegmaticof emperors would not take kindly to a governor who had lost him a province. To appear before Ner in such a guise was inviting not simply ‘death bul something a great deal worse for oneself ‘and one's entire family If Suetonius or his man were ‘captured, then they faced only torture and death This was one of the most savage campaigs ofthe Roman period because ofthe sheer ferocity af the Britons’ hatred for the Romans. The British atrocities prompted counter atrocities bythe Romans, and a spiral of eribution ensued. After his victory over Boudicea, Paulinus was eventually recalled rom Britain before the febelion had been completely stamped out, because it was felt in Rome that the sheer violence of his reprisals agains the Britons was Gestroying ary chance ofthe two sides re-establishing 1 modus vivend. Very few Roman governors were ever replacecion similar grounds, ‘THE BRITISH IN BATTLE The British tried ta make themselves look tightening In battle, They decorated themselves wit the blue of \woad tattoos, carried brightly painted shields and wore ‘multicoloured clothes, Having washed ther hair in lime they combed it up int spikes to exaggerate the size of ther heads and appear bizarre and menacing Noise was also employed in battle: its recorded that the Gallic tribes, towhom many af the British tribes were related, habitually chase champions to walk out infront of the battle ines and shout challenges to the enemy. Many trumpets were carried and blown as loualy a possible. ‘Some Celtic warriors, mostly members of the retinue of chieftains, were quite well-equipped and still ighters, but they were in the minority. The bulk of the army consisted of peasants, many of whom may have had only improvised weapons, and most of whom had no real military experience, They were confident at ‘the start of battle and individually ferecious but prone to panic i things went wrong. The Celts relied on fierce infantry charge atthe start ofa batle to ‘ny to break the enemy line ‘They also used chariots, which served two purposes: asa mobile misil platform and as transport fo high-status warriors. The Celtic chariot ‘carted a driver and a weir atmes witha javelin, As the chariot drove across the battlefield, the warrior hurled javelin, then jumped out to engage in battle ‘on feot. Inthe meantime, the charioteer retired a short distance from the battle, waiting to collet the warrior ‘and cary him toa place of retreat if quite. aaa lard (altel hel) totee-oel att) From Caesar's invasions of Britain in 85 and ‘54 8c until the abandonment ofthe country tits ‘wn defence by the emperor Honorius in 40.410, Roman culture and, above all, Roman legions wore an integral part ofthe British way of ie But Roman rule was vat universally popular, either immediately after Caesars invasion or even a full century later when Boudica revolted. Inthe intervening period, Rome ha eterminedly expanded itshold on Britain. Caesars two mini-mvasions had given him some knowedge of Britain; his defeat of King Cassivellaunus allowed him to take hostages, vino were then uses surely fr taxes that Caesar levied onthe British, Client relationships ‘were also established ith British tribes who were eager to enlist Romar assistance in struggles with their neighbours. For example, the Aebates, south of he River Thames, welcomed the help ofthe Romans in limiting encroachments by the CCatuvelauni from north of the river These client relationships were strengthened by the emperor ‘Augustus, but Brtaincame more completely under Roman rule after Claudius invasion in ‘043, His legions, ater led by Claudtus himself, quickly subeued opposition inthe southeast, and by 07 a line of Roman control ran from Exeter tothe River Humber. A Roman colonia of legionarywterans was established at Camulodunum, the cult ofthe emperor was established and towns were founded, “The most important British tribes during this period were the Catuellauni and Atrebates on each side ofthe Thames, the Icen! in what is now [East Anglia, the Carita inthe Midlands, he Debunni araund Gloucestershire andthe Duratriges in Dorset. Other, independent, tribes included the Dumoni of Devon, the Brigantes in the north andthe Silurian Orovci in Wales.Dye ee cine atten tier ial (Cassius Dio as left us with aver striking potrait of Boudicca and of her ability to express with geat eloquence her hatred forthe state of being enstaved by the Romans, Notice how skilfully Bougicca makes her points: she tells her people that, although they may have been ignorant about what the Romans had to oer, now they have seen it and they know ifr wnat it Isworth. She lists the Romans’ abuses: theft, taxation on what islet, then further taxes every Year, They would be better off as ordinay slaves, for they are sold only once. She clinches the argument by saying the Romans ae cowards anyway: they cover themselves with armour because theyre so terrified of being hut. “This woman [recounts Cassius Dio} assembled her army, tothe number of some 120,000, and then ascended a tribunal which had bean constructed of earth in the Roman fashion. In stature she was very tal in appearance most terilying, inthe glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh; a great ‘mass of the tauniest hair fll ther hips; araund her neck was a large golden necklace; and she \wote a tunic of civers colours over which a thick ‘mantle was fastened witha brooch. This was her invariable attire, She now grasped a spear to aie her in terrifying al beholders and sooke as follows: “You have learned by actual experience how diffrent freedom is from slavery. Hence, although some among you may previously, ‘through ignorance of which was better, nave been deceive by the alluring promises of the Romans, yet now that you have tried both, you have learned how great a mistake you made in preferring an imported despotism to your ancestral mode of ie, and you have come to realize how much better is poverty with ne master than wealth wth slavery, For what treatment is there of the most shameful or rievous sort that we have not suffered ever since these men made their appearance in Britain? Have we not been robbed entiely of most of our possessions, and those the greatest, while for those that remain we ay taxes? Besides pasturing and tiling foe them all our ather possessions, do we not pay a yearly tribute fr our very bodies? How much better it would be to have been sold to masters once for all than, possessing empty titles of freedom, to have transom ourselves every year! How much better teohave been slain and to have perished than to ‘go about witha taxon our heads! Yet why do ‘mention death? For even dying isnot fre of cast with them nay, you know what fees we deposit ven fr our dead, Among the rest of mankind death frees even thove who ae in slavery to ‘others; ony inthe case of the Romans do the very ‘dead remain alive for their profit. Why isi that, ‘thought none of us has any money chow, indeed, could we, or where would we gett), we are ‘tripped and despoiled like a murderer's victims? ‘nd why should the Romans be expected to display moderation as ime goes on, when they have behaved toward usin this fashion at the very ‘outset, wien all men show consideration even for the beasts they have newly captured? "Have no fear whatever ofthe Romans; for they are superior tous nether in numbers noe in bravery. And heres the prof: they have protected themselves with helmets and breastplates and eaves and yet futher provided themselves with palisades and walls and trenches to make sre of suffering no harm by an incursion of their enemies. Ni AN i iCT talo) lel iit W atc Roman legionary cohorts infantry) ~ nea infantry ~2,500 gh infanty archers — 500 heavy cavalry 1,000 ‘Allied medium cavalry ~ 1,000 ‘ariats— 400 (with two men apiece) Cavalry -2,000 ‘There was an estimates total of 60,000 infantry According to Tacitus, when Paulinus head about the ‘evotof the Iceni he marched his legions through the ‘middle of Britain to London. Although the city was not ‘Roman colonia and therefore not sanctified by the presence of dedicated emperor-cult temple, it was stil an important svategic point for Peulinus” erp ‘on the country, Nonetheless, he decided that he had tosacrfic it fora greater tactical advanage. The Londoners begged Paulinus to defend the city, but he tefused, as he did too, for Verulamium (St Albans), knowing twas 2 sft target forthe Iceni because i was not heavily defended. Paulinus then marched ta the Midlands, His troops included Legion XIV, parts of Legions Il and IX and about 4,500 aula a total of ust 10,000 men, Tacitus is very precise about the terrain on which the battle withthe Iceni was fought, recording that Paulinus chose a spc surounded by woods, with narrow eizance that was protected intherearby a thick forest. Thus positioned, Paulinus hed no fear of being suceniy attacked from the sides tthe back The Iceni, he knew, could approach nly fom the front, Despite the detail of his description ofthe battlegroune, Tacitus does not tell us whereabouts in Britain it was. Some authorities suggest Mancetter, 2 village near Atherstone in Warwickshire asthe most Tely site. Mancetter, whose name means the place of chariots’ wa the location of a Ramen eet on Watling Street, the major Roman road thet stretched ‘rom London to Anglesey. Boudicca and her warirs arrived on te battlefield In huge numbers. There was no organized line of battle, and individual warriors and groups of warns ‘milled around, displaying how many of them had come tofight. The Iceni and thei allies were sosure of victory, reports Tacitus, that they placed their wives {and families in wagons onthe edges ofthe batltied, wanting them to witness tele great feat of arms ‘According to Cassius Dio, Paulinus divided his army into three groups, because, even ithe had created single ine only one man deep, it would not have stretched fer enough to equa the font of the British army. Each ofthe three groups was fered into a densely packed, disciplined body The Romans had the advantage of the high ground. As the Celts earned Uphill atthe Roman egionares, Boudicca leading in her charit, they were met with two volleys of avelins {followed by alegionary counter charge in two wedges, ‘one of legionaries and the other of auxiliaries, ‘Simultaneously, the Roman cavalry charge. The tribesmen were pushed backwards, into and beyond ‘narrow defile, The lie ofthe round and the packed ‘mass of non-combatants and wagons behind their Position combined to trap the Celts and allow the legions and auxiliary cavalry to cut them to paces. Itis estimated that no fewer than 80,000 Britons were indiscriminately slaughtered, because the women and children were targets ofthe Roman attack na ess than the men who had gone to fight. ‘Neither sex nor age was spared,’ as Tacitus pus it. The Remans last 4400 and roughly the same number were wounded Bouicea dnd son afer the battle. The sources disagree about whether her death was the result f| natural causes or of poison The defeat of such a large army inevitably signalled the end ofthe short-lived rbellon of the Iceni. Over ‘the next 30 years, the Romans continued to expand ther presence in Britain, fully conquering Wales and pressing far into ScotlandMONS GRAUPIUS AD 83 Crore fronaries were ful. Agricola also followed a strategy of atacking defended centres of resistance against Roman rule, while atthe same time initiating building projects for new towns and temples, entirely pad for by Rome, to show the British that the Romans were not there simply totaxthem mercilessly without gving anything back. He also picked out children fom rich families and had them educated in Reman manné language and learning. Asa result, Tacitus tells us, ‘acquiring Latin became al the rage among the wealthy families of Britain Agricola then began to push Roman contol north, ‘and in A078 brought his legions into Scotland, Progressing as far north as the River Ty. AGRICOLA'S ARMY When Claudius invaded Britain in ap43, he brought ith im: I Augusta, XIV Genin XX Valeria Vitrx and IX Hispana, They had all previously been stationed on the Rhine, except IX Hispana, whieh came frm the Danube. With thes regular egiovaris also came auxiliaries, probably in ‘equal numbers f the legions were approximately 5,000-6,000 strong then, assuming the same ‘numberof analiaries, the total force would have been at least 40,C00 men. Legio XIV was recalled in aD 68 ‘an withdrawn from Britain completely in a2 70, but ‘most of these regiments would stay in Britain until about Ao 400, a period of almost 350 years. These troops, then, were the backbone of the forces Agricola hadat his disposal when he arrive in Britain ‘The professional Roman soldiers ofthis period were constantly trained to use their weapens, using the methodsoriginally devised to train glaciators, The cohort remained the basic tactical uit ofthe legion In this period a legion consisted of: ‘cohorts, numbered II-X, each of 480 men, insiccenturies of 80 men apiece, each commanded bya centuren; # the Fist Cehort of 800 men, divided into ive double ¥ asmallcaalry force of 120 men, used mainiy as escorts or messengers. Depending onthe tactical situation the legion might ‘also employ atilery. Light bolt-shooters such as sooepis (dart throwers) and cheirobalistras were len used by Roma troops onthe battlefield, ‘sometimes mounted on mule-drawn carts for mabilty. “The legion ofthe imperial period had permanent ne Legionary Legates appointed by the emperor. These were senator, usually in their early thirties, wo held the post for about thee years Directly below them in rank were the senatorial tribunAn important feature ofthis period isthe creation of ‘the regularly pad, uniformed and equipped auxiia. {auxilery force), recruited from the ranks of foreign solders, for example from Germany or the Near East These voo9s support the Roma citizen legions ‘byaddingt their numbers and, in particular, by proving cavalry and other troaps such as arches. ‘Aurliy infantry were organized into independent ceherts, but these cohorts were not combined ino ‘egion sized formations, ‘Auxliary cohorts usualy numbered 480 men in sic centuries, although 2 minority were increased toa strength of 80. The vast majority ofauillary infantry were anoured heavy infantrymen equipped with javelins, swords, shields, mail armour and helmets. ‘Auxiliary cavalry were organized into similarsized nits, called alae. A cavalry ala consisted of about 512 men. Auxiliary cohorts and alaewere each commended by a prefect. Because he held his legions in reserve, only a sali part of Agricola’s army at Mons Graupius consisted Of legionares, the bulk being non-citizen auxiliaries, ‘Alar infantry were armoured and fought in close cxder like the legionaris, but, lacking the higher command structure ofthe legions, wore less easy tacontrol in lerge numbers during 2 battle. The ausiliaries at Mons Graupius were mainly from the Germanic tribes of Batavia (modern Holland) and Tungria (Tangres in modern Belgium). According to Tacitus, Agricola also pitched Briton agains Briton by ringing into battle with him British troops who had proved their loyalty to Rome. Like the Celts, the Romans used noise, or an absence of noise until the critical moment, to intimidate the enemy. ‘Tacitus aso records that Agricola wanted to win the battle usinganly the auxiliaries because the Victory would be all the greater if no drop of Roman blood were spilled. Of course, Tacitus may have Invented this to make Agricola look good; he had, afterall, married Agvicola’s daughter ‘THE BRITISH GENERAL ‘We are told thatthe leader ofthe British was called Calgacus, or Calgaich. Tacitus, in his account ofthe battle, gives him a wonderful speech that makesus ‘eel very sympathetic towards the British, Calgacus ‘stood up before his reaps and sai: “We, the last men on cath, the last ofthe free, have been shielded til today by the very remoteness ‘and the seclusion for which we are famed, We have enjoyed the impressiveness ofthe unknown. Buttoday the boundary of Britains exposed; beyond us lies no nation, nothing but waves and rocks andthe Romans, "more deadly stil than they, for you find in them an arrogance which no reasonable submission can elude, Brigands ofthe world, they have exhausted the lend by their indiscriminate plunder, and row they arsack the sea, The wealth ofan enemy excites their cupicity, his poverty their ust of power." ‘The British had the advantage of being on home ‘youn. Tele troops were largely frm the Caled, ‘ut were probably also drawn from other tries in hat is now northem Scotland. Tacitus recoeds that the Caledon looked like te faichaited warrior of Germany, with ‘edi hair and large limbs. By the time of Agricola's campaigns the Celtic tribes in this ‘gion hada social system sophisticated enough to offer wide-scale resistance tothe Romans, but they respected the might ofthe Roman legions and were Careful not to engage in battle rashly. ‘THE BRITISH IN BATTLE How the British tribes behaved in battle dependes largely onthe situation. They were loosely organized in warrior bands of families and neighbours, withthe ‘most highly metivated and best-equipped warrior in front and the poorer and less enthusiastic in the rear, bime commansens ‘They were especially formidable at the stat ofa battle, especially inthe fst charge, when their tering appearance andthe Figting prawess ofthe bolder men inthe front ranks could sweep an enemy away. But if tha tactic fled to work they often ached the stamina to cany on, and it was easy for theless ‘motivated men in the ear te vanish and avoid the fight ‘Most important, their lack of femal training or ‘r0up discipline meant that the warrer bands were ‘very difficult to manoeuvre as a fighting force, finding ‘thard to change font or direction during a battle That problem nas exacerbated at Mons Graupius by the size ofthe army, which was alms certainly larger ‘than any the tribes had ever assembled before, A plan ‘of action would have tobe simple if the disparate parts ‘ofthe army were not to become confused and begin acting independent ‘Almost ll the British were unarmoured, though 4 few ofthe chieftains may have had mail armoue anda helmet. Tacitus remarks thatthe British catied particularly smal shields, CELTIC CHARIOTS ‘Chariots were not intended to charge headlong into formed enemy units. They were basically missile Platforms and a means of transporting aristocratic warirs swiftly to and trom the fighting line. By this date they were an outdated too of warfare, ut they could still have an effect and the Romans could not ‘ignore them ‘THE SITE OF THE BATTLE "No one is absolutely sure where the batl of Mons Graupius tok place: @ numberof sites have been ‘suggested. Is most likely thatthe battle was fought between present-day Aberdeen and Stonehaven, ‘near what ae now called the Grampian Mountains. ‘The remains of Roman forts and camps have been found inthe region.ze Ime CommanneaSs PRELUDE TO BATTLE The British had been gathering inthe region for at least some days before the battle, sending messengers inal directions, appealing for warriors to come forward to meet the Romans, According to Tacitus, 30,000 troops vere gathered and stil more kept arivng, the bravest and most skilled warriors that ‘could be found. Calgacus made his great spec, and sradvally the British formed themseiyes into aline of battle. They had absorbed lessons from fighting the Romans and arenged their roops on te high ground, ‘ogive them the advantage: The infantry lined up the slopes, while the chariots, cavalry and skirmishers

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