Ancient Warfare I.4, DEC/JAN 2008

Deadline: October 30th, release December 7th.

Theme: The Roman conquest of Spain.
Introduction: Jasper Oorthuys, 'introduction to the theme'.

The Source: Jona Lendering, 'A view from the periphery. Appian of Alexandria'
There is no doubt that Appian of Alexandria is among the most underestimated historians from Antiquity. Modern historians who ignore him do so at their peril, because his History of the Roman Empire is an important work.

Theme: Xavier Rubio and F.Xavier Hernandez, 'Cato's Triumph. The battle of Emporion'. Illustrated by Graham Sumner
The Iberian Peninsula was one of the main theatres of war during the clash between Rome and Carthage known as the Second Punic War (218 BC-201BC), especially the coastal country near the Mediterranean Sea. This area, populated by the Iberian people, was the main source of wealth and manpower for the armies of the Barcid family.

Theme: Ed Healy, 'Flame of Freedom. Viriathus the Lusitanian'. Illustrated by Johnny Shumate
Driven by a warrior’s spirit, blessed with the ability to lead, a Lusitanian patriot orchestrated a grave threat to Roman control over the Iberian Peninsula. Viriathus’s reputation runs like a fault line through ancient histories. For the Celtiberians, he was an exemplar of unbending commitment to native independence. For classical historians, he was a romantic outlaw and master of war during one of the bloodiest campaigns in Rome’s history. How did an obscure highlander obtain such notoriety?

Theme: Duncan B. Campbell, 'The siege of Numantia. How Scipio Aemilianus conquered the bravest of all cities'.
One of the lost books of Livy’s great Roman History described how, “in Hispania, the consul Quintus Pompeius defeated the people of Termantia, and concluded a peace treaty with them and with Numantia, but it was annulled by the Roman people.” The year was 141 BC. Until then, Numantia had hardly figured in Roman history, but the inhabitants of the hilltop town were destined to play a major role in the unfolding saga of Rome.

Theme: Kim Stubbs, 'Scipio's Masterpiece. The battle of Ilipa'. Illustrated by Igor Dzis.
The Second Punic War was already in its twelfth year with neither side in a strong enough position to claim supremacy. The Roman general Scipio had been campaigning successfully in the contested province of Spain for over three years but now the Carthaginians had gathered a huge army and marched out to destroy him.

Features

The warrior: Patryk Skupniewicz, 'Late Rome’s Nemesis. Sassanian heavy cavalry'. Illustrated by Dariusz Wielec
The most characteristic feature of the Persian army of the 400 year conflict between the Romano-Byzantine state and the Sassanid (new-Persian) dynasty was its reliance on cavalry. This reflects both the feudal status of the Persian armed forces and the outcome of a long tradition of mounted combat developed among its people.

Be a general: Murray Dahm, 'Xenophon’s Cavalry Commander'. Illustrated by Andrew Brozyna.
Xenophon’s The Cavalry Commander (Hipparchicus which literally means ‘a treatise on the command of cavalry’) is a remarkable work which deserves to be more widely read. Xenophon had commanded Greek forces on their retreat through Persia from the battle of Cunaxa in 401 BC and in this treatise he distils his leadership advice (probably) to his own sons who were about to embark on careers in the cavalry.