The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World

by Campbell, Brian; Tritle, Lawrence A.

• ISBN13: 9780190499136
• ISBN10: 0190499133
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2017-07-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

War lay at the heart of life in the classical world, from conflicts between tribes or states to internal or civil wars. Battles were resolved by violent face-to-face encounters: war was a very personal experience. At the same time, warfare and its conduct often had significant and wide-reaching economic, social, or political consequences. The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World offers a critical examination of war and organized violence. The volume's introduction begins with the ancient sources for the writing of war, preceded by broad surveys of warfare in ancient Greece and Rome. Also included herein are chapters analyzing new finds in battlefield archaeology and how the environment affected the ancient practice of war. A second section is comprised of broad narratives of classical societies at war, covering the expanse from classical Greece through to the later Roman Empire. Part III contains thematic discussions that examine closely the nature of battle: what soldiers experienced as they fought; the challenges of conducting war at sea; how the wounded were treated. A final section offers six exemplary case studies, including analyses of the Peloponnesian War, the Second Punic War, and Rome's war with Sasanid Persia. The handbook closes with an epilogue that explores the legacy of classical warfare. Authored by experts in classics, ancient history, and archaeology, this handbook presents a vibrant map of the field of classical warfare studies.

Author Biography

Brian Campbell is Professor of Roman History at Queen's University Belfast.

Lawrence A. Tritle is Professor of History at Loyola Marymount University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Contributors
Abbreviations and Spelling Norms
Chronology
Editors' Introduction

PART I Introduction: The Classical World at War

1. War and Warfare in Ancient Greece
L. Rawlings

2. War and Warfare in Ancient Rome
Randall Howarth

3. Writers on War
a. Greece: Winning Ways in Warfare
P.C. Millett
b. Rome: A Story of Conflict
Michael Lovano

4. The Archeology of War
S. James

5. Warfare and Environment in the Ancient World
J. Donald Hughes

PART II The Face of Battle in the Classical World

6. The Classical Greek Experience
John W.I. Lee

7. The Three Thousand: Alexander's Infantry Guard
Waldemar Heckel

8. The Hellenistic Experience with War: Stagnation or Development?
John Serrati

9. War and Society in Greece
N. Sekunda

10. The Rise of Rome
Michael Sage

11. War in Imperial Rome
Phyllis Culham

12. War and Society in the Roman Empire
Colin Adams

PART III Impacts and Techniques: War in the Classical World

13. Men at War
L.A. Tritle

14. Sick and Wounded
Christine Salazar

15. Discipline
Stefan Chrissanthos

16. Mercenaries
Matthew Trundle

17. Logistics: Sinews of War
Donald Engels

18. War at Sea
Philip de Souza

19. Arms and Armor
a. Greek
Eero Jarva
b. Roman
Duncan B. Campbell

20. Under Siege: Challenges, Experiences, and Emotions
Angelos Chaniotis

21. Generalship
Rosemary Moore

22. Military Intelligence
Frank Russell

23. War and Animals
Ann Hyland
a. Horses for War: Breeding and Keeping a Warhorse
b. The Development and Training of Cavalry in Greece and Rome

24. Greek Rituals of War
Daniel Tompkins

25. Roman Rituals of War
John Rich

26. Fighting the Other
a. Achaemenid Persians
Bruce Laforse
b. The Germanic and Danubian Transfrontier Peoples
Peter Wells
c. Military and Society in Sasanian Iran
Scott McDonough

PART IV Case Studies: The Classical World at War

27. The Athenian Expedition to Sicily
Lee Brice

28. The Peloponnesian War and its Sieges
Michael Seaman

29. Epaminondas at Leuctra, 371 BC
John Buckler

30. Demetrius Poliorcetes and Hellenistic Warfare
Thomas R. Martin

31. The Second Punic War
Dexter Hoyos

32. The Eastern Frontier in Late Antiquity: Roman Warfare with Sasanian Persia
A.D. Lee

EPILOGUE: The Legacy of Classical Warfare
Thomas Palaima and L.A. Tritle

Index