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Ancient Wars
The Ancient period is generally accepted as being 600 BCE to 500 CE, before which was the Archaic period, and after which began the Medieval period. However as there is not an Archaic Wars category, it is acceptable to post pre-500 BCE military questions in this area.
1,657 Questions
How many Persians fought against the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae?
Who was there
The 300 Spartans were Spartan king Leonidas' bodyguard. Sparta was concerned with defending its own land from a Persian amphibious raid, and so was not about to send off a main force. Leonidas also had about 2,000 serf-light infantry. There were also about 4,000 warriors from those Greek states in the Thermopylai area which had not already gone over to the Persians.
How do we tell who won?
Who won hangs on the objectives of the both sides, and who was successful in achieving them.
What were the objectives and outcomes?
The Persian objective was to capture peninsular Greece to establish an ethnic frontier, as the latter had been supporting revolution in the Greek cities along the coast of Asia Minor, which was part of the Persian Empire. Xerxes had a large land force of about 150,000 infantry and 30,000 cavalry, and 600 warships with 120,000 crewmen.
The Persian war fleet was superior to the Greek one, so it provided both outflanking amphibious capability and protection for the resupply fleet; the amphibious capability meant the Greek forces could not concentrate, remaining at home defending their cities, and so able to be picked off one by one.
The Greek strategy was to neutralise this war fleet, both to even up the operational mobility equation and, by depriving the Persians of their essential sea supply route, ultimately force their withdrawal. Given the inequality of the fleets, the Greeks determined to force sea engagements in narrow waters to minimise the effect of the opposing superior ships and numbers: they closed the land route to the south at the Thermopylai pass to force a Persian outflanking amphibious operation in the adjacent strait. When three days of naval engagements failed to give a Greek victory, and the Thermopylai position was outflanked on land, the fleet withdrew to the strait between Salamis and Athens, and by a stratagem of splitting the Persian fleet, defeated the main force and so exposed the sea supply line.
With no resupply, Xerxes was obliged to take half his army back to Asia Minor and the remaining part had to withdraw and winter in northern Greece. The following spring the southern Greek states, no longer threatened by enemy amphibious landings, were able to concentrate in full strength at Plataia and defeat the remaining Persian army and its Greek allies. In parallel, the Greek naval forces captured the rump of the Persian fleet at Mykale in Asia Minor.
Romantic stories of the stand at Thermopylai, based on it being designed to defeat the invasion, conceal the real strategies of both adversaries. The centre of gravity of the might of Persia outside Asia was its Egyptian, Phoenician and Asian-Greek war fleet. Its neutralisation mandated a critical enemy land force reduction and removed the threat of amphibious invasion of the Peloponnese states, allowing them to concentrate against the reduced enemy land forces.
So who won at Thermopylai?
The Persians continued with their invasion until stopped elsewhere.
The Greeks lost the naval engagement offshore, which was set up by the Thermopylai defence, so the latter was to no avail. When Leonidas got news of the Persian outflanking of his position through the mountains, he sent the other contingents off to get inside the walls of friendly cities so that they wouldn't be ridden down in open country by the Persian cavalry when they broke through. He kept the Theban contingent as they were suspected of having already gone over to the Persians, and set up a last stand with his 300 Spartan hoplites and 2,000 serf-light infantry to give the dismissed contingents a head start. The Thebans quickly surrendered and the Spartan 2,300 went down to a man. The other contingents took the benefit of this sacrifice and got away safely.
What is emperor Diocletian known for?
Diocletian unleashed the worse persecution of Christians in the history of the Roman: the Great Persecution.
Diocletian subdivided the Empire into four administrative units and created the tetrarchy (rule by four). He appointed fellow general Maximian as co-emperor in 285. Maximian took overall control of the western part of the empire, while Diocletian took overall control of the eastern part. Then these two men became senior emperors (Augusti) with the creation in 293 of two junior emperors (Caesars) who were subordinates of the Augusti. Diocletian also created the four praetorian prefectures of Galliae(Gaul, Britannia and Hispania), Italia et Africa, Illyricum (the Balkan Peninsula except for Thracia, in the southeast, next to modern Turkey) and Oriens (Thracia, the territories in Asia and Egypt). . Maximian took charge of Italia et Africa and Diocletian took charge of Oriens. The Caesars Constantius and Galerius took charge of Galliae and Illyricum respectively. One of the tasks of the Caesars was to defend the troubled frontiers along the rivers Rhine and Danube respectively, which had been under constant attack from outside.
Diocletian also designated four cities ans new imperial capitals: Nicomedia (in north-western Turkey), Augusta Trevorum (Triers in Germany near the river Rhine) and Sirmium (near Belgrade on the river Danube).
When did the Romans invade Judea?
Emperor Trajan took the areas of present day Iraq in 116 AD. When he died his successor, Emperor Hadrian relinquished the conquests. Lucius Verus, co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius, conquered northern Mesopotamia in 166. The Persians fought a war and retook it in 240. Timetheus, a provincial governor won it back for Rome in 243.
What did the ancient Greeks make their weapons out of?
most weapons were made of bronze or copper up until 100 BCE when they started to make weapons out of iron.
The ancient primary Greek weapons like The Dory was made up of either iron or bronze. The Spartan swords were made up of iron blade, the Kopis were also made up of iron and the shields were made out of wood with an outer layer of bronze.
Ancient greek weapons were made of copper or bronze. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. The very first weapon in Greece was copper then bronze. Later (c.1000BC) iron weapons came into use. Iron tools also allowed the Greeks to make sophisticated armour and shields from bronze.
What literary piece celebrates Augustus's gift of farmlands to veterans of the civil war?
Virgil wrote the Eclogues, a collection of 10 poems. Thepoemswere not about celebratingAugustus'giftof land to veterans. It was about theexpropriations of landed estates carried out near northernItaliantowns to give land to the veterans. His family's farmland in his native Padua was also expropriated.Virgil expressed the feelings that brutal expropriations create. The poems are fictional, dramatised in a pastoral setting. Theyprobablyconfronted the theme, rather tan provide autobiographical content
Marathon, Greece .
Addendum:
The supposed runner Pheidippides carrying the message was already dead, dying of exhaustion after running to Sparta and back over 100 miles.
The run was by the whole Athenian army after the battle as they realised that the Persians had sent another force to take Athens in their absence.
all 9,000 ran back the 26 miles, arriving just in time. It is after them that the modern race is nameed.
What event was the turning point in the Peloponnesian War?
Persia began to give money to the Spartan alliance, which enabled them to mount a war fleet which could match the hitherto dominant Athenian fleet.
The Spartan alliance destroyed the Athenian fleet at Aigospotami, the Athenians were confined to their city wals and starved into surrender.
Why were the roman armies different from others?
First the obvious, they were Roman armies, other nations had their own troops. The Romans seemed, at least to their opponents, to have unlimited resources of manpower. Even after the disastrous defeat at Canae, Rome was able to field another army. The Roman army was not only trained physically, but they also had psychological training in that their commander, in his pep talk before a battle pointed out to the men that they could not be defeated and he would give the reasons. Even if the Romans lost a battle, they would come back at the enemy as many times as needed for a victory. This grit or determination to win was a major factor in every action of the Roman army.
What is the story of the Peloponnesian War?
A 27 year war between Athens and its empire, and Sparta and its allies (known as the Peloponnesian League). Athens lost , was stripped of its empire, and became a second rate power in the Greek world.
Conservative politician Thucydides son of Melesias was orstacised (exiled for 10 years) ending his struggle for political supremacy in Athens with Pericles.
Which battle is considered the most glorious defeat in history?
I say the Battle of Hwangsanbeol, the armies of Bakje fought to the death, literally, and inflicted higher casulties on the opposing Silla armies, for Bakje was out numbered 10-1 the silla forces were 50,000 and bakje had 5,000. And on the western side of the country of bakje, the Tang dystanty sent 130,000 men to help Silla destroy bakje, so General Gyebaek leader of the hopeless army, knowing he would lose, inspired his men to make an epic stand. It was one of the few times in history the losing force ever fought to the death
I can also speak of The Battle of Thermopylae. The 300 Spartans under the command of Leonidas fought to the death even when they knew there was no chance of wining against the Persian army.
How long did it take the Romans to build the ramp up Masada?
3-4 months because the Romans used the pre-existing bedrock as a foundation .
the Romans fought a lot of people. Carthage (modern day Tunisia) was a major enemy of Rome, also the Greek city states and the different tribes to the north of Rome (the Gaul's, Germans, Saxons etc.) were worthy enemy's to Rome.
What were the major factors that provoked the Peloponnesian War?
Athens led the anti-Persian league of a couple of hundred Greek city-states - the Delian League - levying financial contributions to maintain the fleet it provided as its core. After peace was arranged with the Persian Empire, Athens continued the levy, by force if necessary, and spent the money on itself, creating an empire of its own. It used its power and money to interfere in the affairs of Greek cites outside its empire, and so came into collision with the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta.
This war spread well beyond mainland Greece to Asia Minor in the east and Sicily in the west, which stopped an early resolution as Sparta had expected. It came to an end when Persia got back at Athens by financing a Peloponnesian fleet to match Athens' fleet, which was defeated, and Athens, isolated and starving had to surrender. Athens was stripped of it's empire and thereafter became a second rate power.
What were the roman dark ages?
The Dark Ages is an old fashioned term which refers to the Middle Ages, the period that came after the fall of the roman Empire. It was usedbecasueit was held that after the fall of the empire, Europe descended into a period ofculturaldecline and anarchy.Nowadays the term is avoided because of its negative connotations and because it is misleading.Historiansnow highlight the fact that during the Middle Ages there were two periods ofculturalrevival. They arecalledtheCarolingianRenaissance, which occurred under Charlemagne, and the Renaissance of the 12th Century.
The policy of tolerance of the customs and religions of the conquered peoples made Roman rule more acceptable to them and decreased the risk of rebellion. In addition to this, the Romans also allowed the elites of the conquered peoples to run local affairs and to use their customary laws locally. This also decreased the administrative load of the provincial governors, whose role was defence and the maintenance of the legions stationed in their province, tax collection, public works and resolving disputes the locals were not able to sort out themselves.
What protected Egypt from foreign attacks?
Egypt was never protected from invasion. Lots of countries invaded Egypt, the most famous are the Greeks, Romans, Ottoman Empire, Mameluke, French, British, Germans up to El Alamein, and Israelis up to the Suez Canal.
What are the 4 tensions between Athens and Sparta regarding the Peloponnesian War?
Well according to Thusydides it was the fear and jealousy of Athens, the Pentecontaetia incident where the attempt to prevent Athens from rebuilding its walls was rebuffed, the resettlements of rebel helots by Athens on a strategic city of Naupactus and the corcyraen incidents.
The immediate incidents that led up to the war. The corcyraean incident, the siege of Potidaea and the Megarian degree.
note: Different sources have different views on the causes or place a higher regard for some in complaisant to others.
http://www.answers.com/Peloponnesian%20war
How did Rome win control of the western Mediterranean?
Roman expansion in the Mediterranean during the Republic was a process that unfolded over time and was the product of a series of separate events, rather than a grand design of conquest.
Originally the Romans expanded into Italy. They then fought the First Punic War against the Carthaginians over the control of Sicily and as a result of the war also gained control of Sardinia and Corsica. This, apart from concerns about the Illyrians on the coast of the Adriatic Sea (next door to Italy) could have been the end of Roman expansion.
Things changed when Hannibal, a Carthaginian general, sparked the Second Punic war and attacked Italy from his power base in Spain. By winning this war, Rome gained control of the western basin of the Mediterranean. The conquest of Greece was the result of Rome getting drawn into the conflicts between Greek states. Western Turkey came under Roman control because it had Greek states who were Roman allies. These expansions were not part of a previous design, or a Roman decision to conquer the Mediterranean. It was the result of how things developed. By this time, Rome was the main power in the Mediterranean and did not necessarily need to conquer the whole of the lands around this sea to maintain hegemony.
Further expansion started when the king of Pontus, in northeast Turkey, started a war against Rome and tried to get the Greek states to rebel against Rome. This lead to the Mithridatic Wars which Rome won, taking over the rest of Turkey. Successive expansion was due to concerns about political instability in the lands near the new borders of the empire. Syria was decaying and was torn by civil war. The Romans annexed Syria to ensure political stability in the area. Civil wars, this time among the Jews, was the reason for Roman intervention in Judaea. Rome sided with one faction and s
What are characteristics of the Roman army?
The Romans had a very well developed army. It was one of the first organized army. They had armor plated uniforms. powerful weapons such as the scorpion crossbow. Had the first military ranks too
Which city-state won the Peloponnesian War?
No city won.
The Sparta alliance with Persian backing defeated the Athens alliance or empire.
How were the Greeks able to defeat the Persians?
They first defeated a Persian force at Granicus and massacred the Greek mercenaries hired by the Persians to give them the armoured infantry they lacked - this stopped Greeks hiring themselves out in future, and so left the Persian unarmoured infantry to face Macedonian armoured soldiers.
They then captured the coast of the eastern Mediterranean Sea which stopped Persia operating naval forces against mainland Greece, thus securing their home cities and source of recruits while they fought in Asia.
They then defeated the Persian main force at Issus and captured the Persian treasury, giving them the financial resources to pay and feed their soldiers and augment their mercenary archers, light infantry and cavalry..
With this augmented force they then attacked the main Persian force again at Gaugamela and defeated it decisively. Coordinated resistance ended and they picked off the rest of the Persian piece by piece over the following few years.
