Ancient Warfare Magazine

Editor-in-chief: Jasper Oorthuys Assistant editor: Murray Dahm News editor: Lindsay Powell Proofreader: Naomi Munts Image research: Lauren van Zoonen Design & Media: Christianne C. Beall Design © 2016-2021 Karwansaray Publishers Contributors: Jo Ball

The ancient world, and by extension, its military history, is the period we look for the fundamental firsts. First writing, first political systems, firsts in warfare. "Why, thank you captain obvious, I'd never realized" I hear you say. Fair enough,

The discovery of field ovens now irrefutably supports the presence of a marching camp at Paderborn in Westfalen during the Roman army’s attempt to annex Germania. Archaeological excavations were first carried out on the site of the future educational

The 2023 season of archaeological digs at the Roman fort of Vindolanda in Northern England has produced yet another trove of remarkable military finds. Especially noteworthy from this summer’s cache is a rare phalera. Phalerae were military decoratio

The discovery of the most complete suit of Roman articulated, segmented plate armour (the so-called lorica segmentata) in Kalkriese, Germany in 2018 was instantly deemed a sensation by archaeologists. Dated to AD 9–16, the period of Roman operations

P.A.L. Greenhalgh’s Early Greek Warfare first appeared in 1973, exploring the depictions of horsemen and chariots in Homeric and Archaic Greek warfare in both literature and art. Despite the inherent problems with the source material, Greenhalgh atte

The Roman legion of the Punic Wars deployed in the famous triplex acies, the three lines of hastati, principes and triarii. These men were armed with a combination of hastae thrusting spears, and pila throwing javelins. These seem to have been of dif

The formation of Hannibal’s army at Cannae – indeed his entire battle plan and execution – has long fascinated scholars and professional soldiers. Our best sources are Livy (22.43.8–50.3) and Polybius (3.107–117). According to Livy, the battlefield a

Thucydides, who was on the nearby island of Thasos at the time of the initial attack on Amphipolis (424 BC), was unable to recapture the city, though he did manage to fend off a Spartan attempt to capture the Atheniancontrolled port city of Eion. The

Thucydides famously wrote his history of the Peloponnesian War while in exile from Athens from late 242 or early 423. He had been tasked with defending Amphipolis from the Peloponnesians, but he failed when the city was captured by the Spartan genera

Egyptian chronology is problematic, a fact that has long been recognized. For instance, we are not sure of the dates of Thutmose III – the date of the Battle of Megiddo can thus be found listed as 1482 BC, 1479 BC, 1469 BC, and 1457 BC. There are thr

Djehuty (Dhwti) was one of the commanders of Thutmose III (Dhwti-ms), named as “scribe”, “overseer of troops” (general), “overseer of the foreign lands”, and “overseer of the northern foreign lands”. Peculiarly, he is nowhere named as “commander of t

By Lisa Brody ISBN: 978-1913645403 Wadsworth Museum and Paul Holberton Publishing (2023) - $25.00 www.paulholberton.com A museum catalogue of ancient bronzes might seem an odd collection to review for Ancient Warfare, and indeed there are many pieces

By Simon Elliott ISBN: 978-1399090926 Pen and Sword (2023) - £20.00 www.pen-and-sword.co.uk Elliott here explores the very disparate and varied types of specialist forces across many centuries in the Roman army. Some of them may be familiar, others n

By Anthony J. Spalinger Blackwell, 2004 ISBN: 978-140511371 Spalinger concentrates on the period in which Egypt became a ‘world power’ and created an empire in the Levant and the Near East. Exploring the history of the period as well as technological

As recorded in the Annals inscription from Karnak, Thutmose III leads his army personally through the narrow and dangerous Aruna Road, taking the Royal standard with him. His army follows, having been persuaded to follow and trust their pharaoh that