Art and Culture/Military History of the Ancient World
The first recorded battle in history was at Megiddo, fought in 1457 BC.
The first major battle fought between “East” (Persia) and “West” (Greece) was the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. Traditionally Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory and then dropped dead on the spot.
The 2007 film 300 is based on the Battle of Thermopylae (which means “Hot Gates”) of 480 BC fought between the Persians under King Xerxes I and the 300 Spartans plus 700 Thespians and 400 Thebans led by King Leonidas. A Greek shepherd named Ephialtes ultimately betrayed the Spartans and their allies.
A combined Greek fleet defeated a much larger Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC.
The most famous Persian fighting force was “The Immortals”. Originally 10,000 strong but later reduced to 1,000, they carried spears with either a golden or silver pomegranate (some sources say apple) at the butt end.
The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) was fought between the Greek City States of Athens and Sparta, together with their allies on either side. During the war the Athenians launched an expedition against Sicily, which was annihilated. The most famous commander of this period was Alcibiades of Athens. The Peloponnesian War was documented in an account written by the Greek general Thucydides.
The main Greek City State heavy infantry formation was a phalanx made up of hoplites. The phalanx was a rectangular mass of hoplites in ranks (typically 8 but flexible as per terrain and opponent) and files. A hoplite was usually armed with spear, shield and sword plus body and leg armour.
The Battle of Cunaxa (401 BC) and the subsequent march home of the Greek mercenaries was recorded in a personal account by the Greek general Xenophon in his Anabasis.
The dominance of Sparta was challenged by Thebes and the Spartans were defeated at the battles of Tegyra (373 BC), Leuctra (371 BC) and Mantinea (362 BC). The Sacred Band was the most famous Theban phalanx and the best-known Theban commanders were Epaminondas and Pelopidas.
The Macedonian King Phillip II defeated the Greek City States at the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC). His son, Alexander III “the Great”, invaded Persia and defeated King Darius III at the battles of Issus (333 BC) and Gaugamela (also known as Arbela) (331 BC). He then defeated an Indian army under King Porus at the Battle of Hydaspes (326 BC).
Alexander the Great’s successors fought a series of wars in the aftermath of his death in 323 BC. The best-known battle was fought at Ipsus (not to be confused with Issus!) in 301 BC and resulted in the death of Antigonus the One-Eyed.
A major defeat for the Romans as they began expansion within Italy occurred when the Samnites beat them at the Battle of the Caudine Forks in 321 BC.
One of Alexander the Great’s successors was Pyrrhus of Epirus, who fought against the Romans in a series of victorious but costly battles. His losses at the Battle of Asculum (279 BC) gave rise to the expression “Pyrrhic Victory”.
The Romans fought against the Carthaginians in three Punic Wars for control of the Mediterranean. The Latin term for Carthaginian was Punici. The First Punic War (264-241 BC) was mainly a naval affair but the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) was notable for the exploits of the Carthaginian commander Hannibal Barca and his ultimate conqueror, the Roman Scipio Africanus. Hannibal defeated Roman armies at Ticinus (November 218 BC), Trebbia (December 218 BC), Trasimene (June 217 BC) and most famously at Cannae (August 216 BC). Hannibal’s main opponents in the early years of the war were the Roman generals Fabius Maximus Cunctator and Marcellus. Hannibal spent 15 years in Italy before the defeat of his brother Hasdrubal at The Metaurus (207 BC) and the Roman invasion of Africa forced him to return to Carthage. He then suffered defeat by Scipio Africanus at the Battle of Zama (202 BC). Carthage was destroyed following the Third Punic War (149-146 BC). The major “contemporary” historians of the Punic Wars were Livy and Polybius.
The Roman general Marius defeated the migrating Germanic tribes the Teutones and Cimbri at the battles of Aquae Sextiae (102 BC) and Vercellae (101 BC). He went on to instigate the reform of the Roman army.
Julius Caesar defeated the Gallic leader Vercingetorix of the Averni at the Siege of Alesia in 52 BC.
The latter half of the 1st Century BC was dominated by the death throes of the Roman Republic. The First Triumvirate of Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great and Crassus was broken when Crassus was killed in 53 BC fighting Parthians at the Battle of Carrhae (not to be confused with Cannae!). Caesar and Pompey then fought out a Civil War which culminated in Pompey’s defeat at the Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC).
Brutus and Cassius, two of the assassins of Julius Caesar, were defeated at the two battles of Philippi in 43 BC by the Second Triumvirate of Mark Antony, Octavian and Lepidus. Octavian (later Augustus Caesar) and his general Marcus Agrippa defeated Mark Antony and the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII at the naval Battle of Actium in 31 BC and effectively began the period of the Roman Empire.
The main fighting unit of the Roman Army was the legion which was formed as follows: 6 x centuries (80 men) = 1 cohort (480 men); 10 x cohorts = 1 legion (4,800 men).
The first major defeat suffered by the armies of the Empire was the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD against an alliance of Germanic tribes led by Arminius.
As the Roman Empire expanded there were major battles in Britain against Boudicca at Mancetter (61) and against the Picts at Mons Graupius (83). Probably the best-known Roman commander in Britain was Agricola, whose career was documented by his son-in-law, the historian Tacitus. The Roman Emperor Vespasian also fought in Britain during the early stages of the Roman conquest.
The Jewish author Josephus describes the Roman siege of the Zealots in Massada in Israel (73) during the Jewish Revolt.
Constantine the Great gained control of the Roman Empire in 312 following his victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge outside Rome. It was before this battle that it is claimed that the sign of the cross appeared and Constantine heard "In this sign, you shall conquer" in Greek.
The Roman Emperor Valens was killed at the Battle of Adrianople in 378 whilst fighting Gothic rebels led by Fritigern.
The Battle of Chalons (451) saw the defeat of Attila the Hun by a combined Roman and Visigoth army led by Flavius Aëtius and Theodoric I.
