Search

This thesis establishes the importance of the Seleucids' mounted troops. In contrast to previous scholarship the analysis presented here argues that Seleucid cavalry did not decline in quality or battlefield significance in comparison to its Macedonian predecessors, nor did Hellenistic warfare witness a stagnation of tactics. Through the application of modern military theory this thesis reassesses the battles of the Seleucid Empire, demonstrating that the Seleucids' unconventional units of war-elephants, scythed chariots, and camel-archers were intended to operate in conjunction with the standard cavalry through combined arms warfare. This offers a new way of approaching Hellenistic battles, and refutes the persistent scholarly dismissals of these unconventional troops' tactical value and the misguided notion that their use was a symptom, or even cause, of Hellenistic cavalry decline. This thesis also addresses the lack of more recent systematic studies of the Seleucid army. Refuting the standard, but crucially flawed, ethnically-based dichotomy of Greco-Macedonian 'regulars' vs. 'national' levies, this thesis establishes a new tripartite military infrastructure of standing troops, reserve troops, and 'non-regular' troops, directly centred on the military status of the men involved. Reaffirming the existence of a Seleucid military settlement system, the analysis illustrates how this three-way organisation operated within the Seleucids' mounted corps, offering greater clarity to our understanding of the intricate workings of this vast Empire. This thesis also presents a careful assessment of the 'types' of horses available, the effects of their physiognomy on their military capabilities, and the range of potential stud locations throughout the Empire. These aspects are often neglected, and yet prove invaluable for understanding the logistical underpinnings of the Seleucids' mounted force. Similarly, this thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of the Seleucids' infantry:cavalry ratios in comparison to those of their contemporaries and predecessors. This material is likewise broadly unstudied in existing military scholarship, leading to crucial misunderstandings of the infantry-cavalry relationship in ancient warfare. This thesis corrects this, demonstrating that the Seleucids maintained a flexible and high quality mounted force that remained tactically significant throughout the Hellenistic period.

The principle aim of the thesis was to examine the technology of Late Iron Age decorated metal work at a time of dynamic change from both internal and external factors. The objects chosen for this study were predominantly from dry land hoards, and superficially had many aspects in common. The majority of these hoards were deposited in Britain in the mid first century AD (slightly later in the case of Middlebie in south west Scotland), and located in areas of attested historical conflict with the invading Roman army. Predominant amongst the kind of objects in the hoards were those associated with horses and carts or chariots; an artefact type of social and historical significance to native British Iron Age societies. It is argued that the manufacture, use and deposition of these objects were an important factor in maintaining relationships between different Iron Age groups in the face of threats from an invading force. Chemical analysis of objects from this period is important. The first century AD witnessed both technological sophistication and conservatism as the Iron Age metalworkers confronted the introduction, through continental influence and the Roman army, of new materials such as brass, and the re-introduction of piece moulds and leaded copper alloys. Coloured Roman glass was also introduced and used in many parts of Britain, but Insular La Tène style metalwork continued to be decorated using sealing wax red glass (a specific Iron Age technology). On the whole, an innate conservatism in object styles and materials were maintained, irrespective of acquired knowledge and the availability of new technologies. In fact, Late Insular La Tène art developed and flourished, as some indigenous Britons adopted a strong identity through the use of specific objects, technologies and artistic styles; recognisable throughout large parts of Britain.

This thesis aims to understand the ways in which the historical film has vexed its many critics, and in doing so will look beyond its perceived inadequacies to provide a new appreciation of its character, appeal, f unction and development. I have attempted to achieve these goals through a substantial generic study of the British historical film, utilizing notions of myth and ideas derived from reception studies. In terms of overall approach, this project is an example of what David Bordwell has called 'middle-level research', applying theory to a problem-driven, in-depth, empirical investigation. In following the precepts of middle-level research, it is an additional aim of my thesis to contribute to theoretical and methodological debates surrounding the writing of film history and the study of film genre. In chapter one, I review the literature which addresses questions of historical film and film history, and in chapter two I discuss the various ways in which a generic consideration can be conducted, with particular reference to the work of Rick Altman and the idea of genre as mythic-ritual. Beginning in 1930, after which date a coherent genre begins to emerge, I apply the approach expounded in chapters one and two to a wide range of primary sources for British cinema, including Kine Weekly, Sight and Sound, the memoir, the pressbook, and a number of audience surveys. Ile result, in chapters three and four, is an original overview of the British historical film genre in the period until 1980. Chapter five then situates the British historical film in relation to the genres (both British and American) which lie adjacent to it, and chapter six examines the genre and its history in the 1980s, through detailed case-studies of Lady Jane, Chariots of Fire and Henry V. Finally, my conclusions are worked out by setting the genre as I have defined it in the context of two pertinent concepts - British national cinema and British national identity - and the discourses associated with them, in order to elicit key themes and issues. The main thrust of my argument is that recent work on 'the costume film', by Pam Cook, Sue Harper and others, has tended to distort the nature of the British historical film, ignoring generic distinctions made by those who produced and consumed the films in question. I hope that my analysis, and my archival research in particular, will lay a foundation for a clearer and fuller future understanding of films which represent the past.

This thesis embodies the first detailed study of ancient Indian warfare with special reference to the Vedic period. The evidence of archaeology, the Vedic literature, the Nikayas, the Vinaya, and the Epics, has been critically sifted to present a faithful picture of early Indian warfare prior to c.400 B.C. In an introduction we explain the nature of our enquiry, and discuss the sources of our information together with our terms of reference. The first four chapters deal with the four traditional limbs of the Indian army - infantry, chariots, cavalry and elephants. An attempt is made to bring out their growth and development with time. Ancient arms and armour are then discussed and described in the light of literary and archaeological evidence. Forts and fortifications form the theme of the sixth chapter, which traces the growth of human settlements from lowly beginnings to large urban centres fully cognizant of fortified defence. The seventh chapter deals with the development of order and organisation, the rise of monarchy and the warrior nobility, besides the growth of other offices and the division of functions. In the eighth chapter we have discussed the ethics of war and the evolution of moral maxims governing the conduct of warfare from the Rgvedic period down to that of the Epics. The conclusion sums up a few of the more important points made in the body of the thesis.