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This article examines the diffusion of military technology in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia from the fourth to first centuries BCE. Arms and armor initially associated with Celtic peoples spread across the Mediterranean and beyond, a process hastened by the adoption of the panoply by the Romans in the century prior to their explosive conquests. This case study in the "globalization" of military technology in the pre-modern world highlights the agency and influence of groups commonly considered subaltern in the geopolitical history of the Mediterranean and its continental environs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern scholarship uses the language of professionalism when referring to the armies of the Romans. The armies and their soldiers are seen to have become more professional from the mid-second century BCE. This paradigmatic view of Roman history invites the question as to whether "professionalism" is the appropriate language to apply to Rome's armies from 200 BCE to the battle of Actium in 31 BCE. The paper confines itself to the period 200 to 31 BCE but raises questions that can reasonably be asked of the use of the terms to describe Roman armies in the imperial period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Res Historica is the property of Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Battle of Chaeronea, fought in 338 BCE between Philip of Macedon and the Greek city-states, is known only from meager literary evidence and a few archaeological finds. For decades, scholars had reconstructed the battle to include a cavalry charge led by Philip's eighteen-year-old son, the future Alexander the Great. More recently, this cavalry charge has been called into question, primarily because of the supposed maxim that cavalry will not trample disciplined infantry. A reconsideration of the evidence, however, including skeletal remains from the battle and studies of equine behavior, suggests that Alexander's charge was feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents panel discussion on topics related to military. It examined the economic clauses in Roman peace treaties of the imperial era and late antiquity in order to show an intentional economic foreign policy of the Roman Empire. It mentions about the spoils of war in the military theoretical and international law literature of the Roman Empire.

Copyright of Athar alrafedain is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

By the beginning of the fourteenth century the court histories of the Īl-Khānate had begun to lament that ‘qarachu’ (non-royal) commanders dominated the realm. The same histories report that these qarachu were drawn from the families of the khans’ royal guardsmen (kešik). The fact that these kešik families had come to eclipse, and in some cases threaten, the power of their Chinggisid patrons suggests a much broader transformation of the Īl-Khān polity from the patrimonial government of the khan's household, which characterised the early Mongol Empire, to a quasi-feudal state, dominated by a powerful military aristocracy. The present study will elucidate how this new aristocracy supported their authority through the hereditary transmission of armies, property and, offices, which entrenched their position at the summit of Īl-Khān polity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents a report from a June 22-25, 2016 ancient political history conference in Dublin, Ireland on the life and legacy of Roman dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix. Topics of presentations delivered include the role of plebians in electing Sulla Felix, Sulla's military victories, and Sulla's military campaigns against Numidian king Jugurtha.

Merovingian society lacked longer periods of peace such as during the Pax Romana. The military was of central importance, not only on the field. Although the militarisation of post Roman society has never seriously been in doubt, the Merovingian elite has not yet been studied more particularly in consideration of its military role. This paper analyses which military groups could be considered part of the elite and which criteria might be used to define it from a modern perspective. As the military and the secular increasingly converged, this is indeed not an easy task. The study argues that even though several groups may be categorised as being part of a military elite, this is much more difficult at less elevated levels of the upper social strata, in which the transition between the elite and the rest of the freeborn, militarily active population is fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The site of Hasanlu, Iran, is best known for its destruction around 800 b.c .e ., likely at the hands of the Urartian army. The period preceding the destruction, Hasanlu IVb, was one of rapid change at the site, which was located at a point of conflict between the burgeoning of the Urartian state to the north and the expansion of the Assyrian Empire from the west. Changes-which have been loosely attributed to "militarization"-are evident throughout Hasanlu, including in the approximately 100 Period IVb burials on the site's lower mound. The IVb burials introduce new, gender specific, militarized mortuary assemblages. This article focuses on the burials of biologically sexed males, arguing that masculine militarization as evidenced in burials is not a monolithic phenomenon at Hasanlu. Rather, careful analysis of male burial assemblages suggests the performance of materially differentiated "masculinities" at the site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a report from a June 17-18, 2016 conference in Munich, Germany on ancient Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus hosted by the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München universty. Topics of presentations delivered included the history of the publication of Marcellinus' works in the Middle Ages, analysis of Marcellinus' ancient codices, and recruitment of Goths in ancient military history.

The article presents a report from an April 28-29, 2016 conference on the history of violence in Osnabrück, Germany hosted by the Kulturgeschichtliches Museum Osnabrück museum and the Konferenz für Geschichtsdidaktik historical education society. Topics of presentations delivered include the depiction of victims of violence in art, the conversation of the Villa Schlikker national socialist headquarters into a cultural history museum in Osnabrück, and emotional aspects of the ancient Varus massacre.

In analysing 28 largely whole inscriptions from Salona which mention persons from the Roman military system and freedmen or freedwomen dated to the time of the Principate, the author attempted to obtain the most possible data on relations between freed individuals and their masters, the features of the cognomina of freedmen/women and the status of soldiers who had freedmen/women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of National Palace Museum Research Quarterly is the property of National Palace Museum and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the column at the Temple of Artemis in the extinct city of Sardis, Turkey, including its Greek inscriptions. Particular focus is given to the column of military victory as a message to the Greek deity Artemis, including in regard to the laurel wreath on the column. The article compares the designs Column of Trajan in Rome, Italy (built during the ancient Roman period) and the aforementioned column at the Temple of Artemis, including each column's depiction of a military victory.

The Dacian Wars present at this moment numerous unknown aspects, among these are the military operations of the Roman Army on the Lower and Middle basin of the Mureș Valley. The scholarly opinions on this matter are numerous, in regard to the advance directions, the troop composition, and the period in which the actions occurred - the first or the second war. The author brings into discussion another possible advance route towards the Mureș Valley, across the Lipovei Hills, on a via terrena road type, built and used during the Dacian - Roman Wars. The hypothesis is supported by the discovery of another possible roman road in 1977, which crosses in its turn the Lipovei Hills about 50 km to the east, at Bulci. Related to these events during the wars, the author presents a number of new fortifications at Bârzava, Neudorf and Secusigiu. The one from Secusigiu, judging by its size and analogies, might represent a temporary roman camp and could represent the first tangible proof of a Roman advance on the Mureș Valley during the Dacian Wars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the specific embodiments of the military phenomena, weapons occupy a leading role, as they are the most obvious physical representations. The arrival of Roman power on the lower Danube during Ist century A.D. generated a series of skirmishes in the region, with both the Dacian kingdom, as well as with various tribal factions, more or less under the influence of the said kingdom, on both sides of the great river. In our view, a special interest zone for understanding said phenomena is the Danube Gorge, where, for over a century, the armies of Rome and those of the Dacian kings were in direct and permanent contact, separated only by the great European river. The usage of modern methods of investigation, to the extent that it can be done, combining them with field research and excavations in well-defined micro zones, can provide new insights into the analysis of issues such as the spatial distribution of sites in an area and thus, the issue of relations between these archaeological sites. In this picture, curved weapons discovered in the ruins of the Dacian fortress Divici, an important fort, throws an important light on the importance of this border point. It is likely that the garrison stationed here, obviously related to the power center from the ?ureanu Mountains, was composed of elite soldiers, as the weapons, the type of fortification and the geographical position converge together towards this hypothesis. Located at the meeting point of two distinct worlds, the Dacian warriors on the Danube Gorge built solid fortifications, integrated into a coherent system, which aimed at controlling access to key crossing points across the river. Consolidating their power through trade, but also through plunder, these warriors found themselves at the forefront of the advance of Roman armies towards the Danube, managing to resist until the era of the large Dacian-Roman confrontations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the relationship between the Lower Nubian rulers Qa-ka-Reʾ Iny (whose full titulary is Horus Snefer-tawy.fy, Nebty Senefer-tawy.fy, Golden Horus Nefer, Nesu-Bity Qa-ka-Reʾ, and Son of Reʾ Iny), Gereg-tawyfy and Ankh (Bik-nebu ankh) (his throne name is Wadj-ka-Reʾ) and Egypt's early Middle Kingdom. The article relies heavily upon inscriptions from the Middle Kingdom. An overview of the Egyptian ruler Amenemhat I's policy towards Nubians, including his military campaign against Wawat, Nubia, is provided.

Copyright of Electronic Turkish Studies is the property of Electronic Turkish Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

When Alexander the Great entered the Indus Valley, he left the topographically and culturally familiar environs of the Near East and the Iranian plateau, and entered the unfamiliar environs of the Indian subcontinent. More than any enemy, those new environs defeated him. Crucial to this defeat was his ignorance of the religions of the subcontinent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most influential ancient military writing in the Middle Ages was that of Vegetius. Hundreds of manuscripts survived, and this work was among the first translated from Latin in the vernacular Western languages, since 1271. The first printing dates from 1474. Some medieval manuscripts included additions that updated the text to their age, and works like those of John Trevisa and Christine de Pizan were developed from Vegetius. Epitoma rei militaris has four books. The time when Vegetius composed this work is still under controversy, but the most probable solution is between 388 and 380. Vegetius was a high civilian official who made a compilation from different Roman military writings as a kind of documentary study for the emperor, in order to suggest a reform of the Roman army. Vegetius was a nostalgic of the old army, and he claimed the superiority of the infantry legions composed from Roman citizens against the cavalry that included many barbarians in his time. His ideas were not suitable for what required the defence at the end of the 4th century. However, the value of this work consists in the various data concerning the Roman military organization and especially in those general principles of military thinking included in the third book. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetius' Epitoma rei militaris, in its discussion of Roman military recruitment in the Late Empire, provides a list of professions deemed unsuitable for military service. Among those groups associated with a lack of manly virtus are piscatores. This article aims to provide a rationale for Vegetius' ostensibly puzzling rejection of men involved in fishing activity by analyzing the antiquarian sources that colored his perception of Roman morality, The treatment of the piscatores thus reinforces the notion of Vegetius as a continuator of reactionary discourse on traditional Roman mores, even though late antique attitudes towards masculinity were clearly changing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article takes issue with the understanding that Clausewitz would be a "philosopher of war". Clausewitz's theory of war is addressed with Lakatos epistemological criteria in mind, which leads to its confrontation with a rival theory: Keegan's theory, according to which war would be a cultural phenomenon. Different expectations are brought about by either theory in what concerns the ancient, Biblical Israel, between the XIII and the X Century BC. Clausewitzian theory's scientific status is established by this test. The text concludes by arguing that the whole field of strategic studies should be built upon Clausewitzian foundations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a report from a June 23-24, 2016 conference in Hamburg, Germany on the ancient history of Athens, Greece. Topics of presentations delivered include aristocracy in ancient Athens, the relationship between Athens and its allies, and the military strategic decisions of general Alcibiades in the Peloponnesian war.

In this essay the author focuses on the Battle for Raichur, India in 1520. The battle was between Krishna Raya of Vijayanagara, an extinct city in India, and Sultan Isma'il 'Adil Shah of Bijapur, India. For the first time in South Asian history cannons, matchlock firearms, and European mercenaries were used. Despite having the superior weaponry Bijapur lost the battle. Particular attention is given to the post-combat diplomacy as well as the demands Krishna Raya imposed on the sultan.

Probes the inconsistency between the dates presented by the `Chronicle' of Jerome and the `Oxford Classical Dictionary' on the year of birth and death of the Roman satirist Gaius Lucilius. Scholars' dismissal of the testimony of Jerome; Use of registry for military service enlistment as basis of determining age; Records on the recruitment of under-aged soldiers.

The article discusses evidence pointing to the Assyrian King Sennacherib's second military campaign to Judah as referenced within the Old Testament passages of 2 Kings 18-19. Topics addressed include an overview of the number of Assyrian military encounters with the Egyptians, the number of Assyrian embassies sent to Jerusalem, and cross references with evidence drawn from non-Biblical historical manuscripts.

Focuses on the role of the auxiliary units of the Roman army especially the battle at Mons Graupius under the command of Agricola. Other studies which dealt with this topic; Other authors' interpretations of the Roman auxiliary units; Reference made to other battles fought; Problems posed by battlefield terrain; Information on different methods used in troop disposition during battles in the Early Principate.

Analyzes the difference between the League armies in Thucydides and Xenophon in the Persian invasion of 480. Sparta's lack of support from allies in external wars; Domination of fear in the Spartan policy throughout the sixth century; Suppression of tyrannies.

The article presents a list of historical articles and essays on topics including medieval law, ancient military history, and social history.