Sons of Mars: Early Formative Events that Shaped the Roman Empire
How exactly were the Romans able to rise from a small trading settlement near a ford in the Tiber to establishing an empire that stretched…
How Cortes Captured the Mighty Tenochtitlan with 1,000 Spaniards… and smallpox, and 100,000 natives, and guns
In June of 1521 Hernan Cortes had a sizable force of Conquistadors outside of Tenochtitlan but was tasked with rescuing his garrison of a few…
The Fall of the Aztecs, The Bloody Path to Tenochtitlan
Tenochtitlan was an absolutely amazing city. The city was larger than any in Europe at the time and held approximately 200,000 people with some estimates…
Being a Footsoldier in Ancient Battles; A Frontline View of Victory
What was it actually like to fight with the heavy infantry on an ancient battlefield? The average person has their views shaped by Hollywood, but…
Egyptian Warfare and the Largest Chariot Battle in History
The battle of Megiddo was the first reliably recorded battle, and not long after the battle of Kadesh would claim the title of the largest…
Great Sieges: Jerusalem (70 CE) – One Million Lives Lost In 8 Months Of Combat
The Romans generally tolerated other religions, allowing and even welcoming Egyptian gods into their pantheon. Though they viewed the monotheistic Jews as being odd, they…
5 Greatest Underdog Victories in Pre-Gunpowder Battles
Ancient and Medieval generals were often smart enough to avoid battle against a much larger force but throughout history there are many cases where much…
The Shield of Rome: Fabius Cunctator
Many generals are overshadowed or underappreciated for what they did for their state; Belisarius who reconquered much of the lost Western Roman Empire and Tamerlane,…
Alexander the Great’s Elite Hand-Picked Expert Troops: Silver Shields
Alexander the Great was one of the most talented generals who ever existed, but he was helped a great deal by his exceptional army. While…
Single Combat in Ancient Rome
David and Goliath, Hector and Achilles, Romulus and Acro. Great instances of single combat are not limited to these far distant and historically vague events.…
The Siege of Masada: Rome’s Assertion of Authority
During Rome’s centuries as a growing empire it faced countless rebellions and challenges to its dominance of the Mediterranean, the old Italian allies even revolted…
The Sword of Rome: Marcus Claudius Marcellus
All three of the Punic Wars were won by Rome, and the third war saw Carthage’s complete destruction, but there were periods where the Romans…