Search Results: Warfare

Scythian warfare used state-of-the-art recurve bows and hit-and-run tactics against set infantry formations. Working from nimble horses, Scythian warriors could unleash a cloud of lethal arrows. Known, too, for their innovative use of scale...

Winning battles and forging empires was not just about numbers but also the quality of the troops at any commander's disposal. The best-trained, best-equipped and most experienced fighters could be moulded into devastating units that could...

A hoplite (from ta hopla meaning tool or equipment) was the most common type of heavily armed foot-soldier in ancient Greece from the 7th to 4th centuries BCE, and most ordinary citizens of Greek city-states with sufficient means were expected...

The First Punic War (264-241 BCE) was fought between Carthage and Rome largely over control of Sicily. The war was fought on the island, at sea, and in north Africa. Both sides enjoyed victories and suffered near-catastrophic defeats. The...

Siege tactics were a crucial part of medieval warfare, especially from the 11th century CE when castles became more widespread in Europe and sieges outnumbered pitched battles. Castles and fortified cities offered protection to both the local...

The Battle on the plain of Marathon in September 490 BCE between Greeks and the invading forces of Persian king Darius I (r. 522-486 BCE) was a victory that would go down in folklore as the moment the Greek city-states showed the world their...

While ancient Chinese warfare was often characterised by large armies in pitched battles, siege warfare and the sacking of cities were also regular features. Huge earth walls with towers and encircling ditches or moats became the normal strategy...

The armies of Carthage permitted the city to forge the most powerful empire in the western Mediterranean from the 6th to 3rd centuries BCE. Although by tradition a seafaring nation with a powerful navy, Carthage, by necessity, had to employ...

Vercingetorix (82-46 BCE) was a Gallic chieftain who rallied the tribes of Gaul (modern-day France) to repel the Roman invasion of Julius Caesar in 52 BCE. His name means "Victor of a Hundred Battles" and was not his birth name...

The trireme (Greek: triērēs) was the devastating warship of the ancient Mediterranean with three banks of oars. Fast, manoeuvrable, and with a bronze-sheathed ram on the prow to sink an enemy ship, the trireme permitted Athens to build its...