Siege of Sparta: When The Spartan Women Pitched in to Defend Their City
Most historians should know the term “Pyrrhic Victory,” right? Pyrrhus of Epirus (located in the modern day region of western Greece and Albania) won victories…
Sparta’s Hoplite Warriors: The Most Influential Ancient Military Force
Today, many individuals connect Sparta with a few movies and then dismiss the influential historical city as something of little importance. However, Sparta’s strict military…
The ancient world’s masters: The devastating power of Roman sieges
Tactically, the purpose of a siege is almost always the same – to take control of a strongly defended position. The reasons for launching one…
Mithridates the Poisoner King: Hallucinogenic honey, venom arrows – often experimented with poisons on criminals already condemned to death
Poison had a steady but often quiet or controversial place in the history of warfare. On one hand, it was incredibly useful. Poisoned wells could…
Top Five Roman Generals: Who do you Think Made the List
The Roman Legion was a fearsome military unit. A heavy infantry advance was almost unstoppable, able to take on most enemies. The best aspect of…
War on the Terraces: The Nika Riots
First the stewards and then the riot squad had been unable to deal with the supporters when trouble flared on the stands, and eventually, after…
Ancient Piracy and Teuta: The Illyrian Pirate Queen
Throughout world history, piracy has had a constant presence throughout certain parts of the world. Ancient piracy isn’t often discussed, but one could say that it…
The Reasons Why Rome fell – Lead poisoning is often dismissed as a major cause for the decline of Rome, but the theory does have some merit
The Fall of Rome is a heavily debated topic with an extraordinary range of theories as to how such a great power ultimately fell, and…
The Siege of Numantia: Scipio Shows Young Marius How to Run a Legion
The Roman conquest of Spain was a long and arduous process. Several tribal groups occupied the Iberian Peninsula and each was a fierce and warlike…
Caesar Vs. Attila: Who Was the Better General
Caesar and Attila; two men, born centuries apart and from vastly different cultures. For all their differences, the two were alike in that they dealt…
The Viking Mercenaries of the Byzantine Empire – The Varangian Guard
The Byzantines Hired Viking Mercenaries as Guards The relationship between the Byzantine Emperors and their Varangian Guard was a complex affair. The Byzantines were first…
The End of an Era – The Sack of Rome
Rome, the city that had ruled the world, was in chaos. To the north-west, a great pillar of dirty smoke rose skywards from the Gardens…