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Seasons
24. Reflections on Warfare in the Ancient World
November 21, 2024
Address two final questions: (1) Why did warfare play a central role in the societies of the ancient Mediterranean? (2) Was the so-called "Western way of war" invented in Archaic Greece and has it been continuously practiced up to the present?
23. Catastrophe at Adrianople
November 21, 2024
The Roman defeat at Adrianople in 378 CE was only the second time in Roman history that an emperor was killed in action against a foreign foe. Assessing the battle, you survey the Goths and the threat they posed in the 4th century, and you examine the military organization and equipment of the Later Roman Empire.
22. The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
November 21, 2024
In 9 CE, three Roman legions were ambushed and massacred in the Teutoburg Forest by Germans under Arminius, a former auxiliary in the Roman ranks. You explore accounts of the battle and the remarkable archaeological discoveries that have shed new light on German tactics.
21. Caesar
November 21, 2024
Between 49 and 45 BCE, Caesar fought a civil war across the empire against his Roman rivals. You examine the battles of Pharsalus, Zela, Thapsus, and Munda, paying particular attention to what allowed Caesar to win in each case, especially since he was often outnumbered.
20. The Sieges of Alesia and Masada
November 21, 2024
You look at developments in siege warfare during the Hellenistic and Roman eras, examining in detail two great Roman sieges: Alesia (52 BCE) and Masada (72-73 CE). Both required enormous networks of camps, towers, moats, and palisades to seal off the besieged.
19. Legion versus Phalanx
November 21, 2024
The two greatest tactical systems of the ancient Mediterranean were the Macedonian phalanx and the Roman legion. They met in battle at several engagements, allowing us to weigh their relative advantages. You consider the results of six battles.
18. The Battles of Cannae and Zama
November 21, 2024
An examination of Roman battles begins with the worst defeat in Roman history, the disaster at Cannae, inflicted by Carthaginian military genius Hannibal. The routed Romans waited 14 years for their revenge against Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in 202 BCE.
17. The Legions of Rome
November 21, 2024
Abandoning the Greek-style phalanx, the Romans created an army that would conquer the known world within two centuries. The essential elements of Roman legionary equipment and tactical formations are examined.
16. Alexander
November 21, 2024
Using the Macedonian phalanx, Alexander the Great invaded the Persian Empire in 334 BCE, winning major battles against overwhelming odds at Granicus (334 BCE), Issus (333 BCE), and Gaugamela (331 BCE), making him ruler over all of Persia.
15. Macedonian Military Innovations
November 21, 2024
Warfare among Greek city-states in the 4th century BCE led to a new style of hoplite combat using a refined version of phalanx. Adopted by King Philip II of Macedon, these tactics helped create a fearsome military machine that was to dominate the eastern Mediterranean and Asia for more than two centuries.
14. The March of the Ten Thousand
November 21, 2024
You follow the exploits of the "Ten Thousand," a contingent of Greek mercenaries caught deep in hostile Persian territory around 400 BCE Their fighting retreat, conducted over 1,500 miles, demonstrated the superiority of Greek hoplites and later inspired Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia.
13. The Athenian Expedition to Sicily
November 21, 2024
The Athenian assault on the heavily fortified city of Syracuse in Sicily represents one of the greatest military follies in history. The ensuing disaster was a turning point in the wider Peloponnesian War with Sparta (431 to 404 BCE).
12. Naval Warfare and the Battle of Salamis
November 21, 2024
You survey the naval developments that led to the trireme in the late 6th century BCE and then focus on the Battle of Salamis, which saw the Persian fleet defeated by Athens. The lecture ends with the Battle of Plataea (479 BCE).
11. The Battle of Thermopylae
November 21, 2024
In the second Persian invasion of Greece, 300 Spartans with allied troops were charged with stopping an enormous Persian force at the narrow pass of Thermopylae, while Greek armies mustered in the rear. Astonishingly, the fight lasted three days before the defenders were betrayed and then massacred.
10. The Battle of Marathon
November 21, 2024
The Battle of Marathon saw the forces of the Persian superpower defeated in the first major confrontation between Greeks and Persians on the Hellenic mainland. The battle itself was strategically indecisive and set the stage for the serious clash of Greek and Persian armies a decade later.
9. A Peculiar Institution? Hoplite Warfare
November 21, 2024
The Greek hoplite was a heavily armed and armored infantryman who fought in a formation called the phalanx, dominating battlefields of the ancient world for almost four centuries (c. 700 to 338 BCE).
8. The Sieges of Lachish and Jerusalem
November 21, 2024
Examine the art of ancient siege warfare by considering the two great sieges at Lachish and Jerusalem during the third campaign of Sennacherib (701 BC). The sources for these events include Assyrian written and iconographic records, accounts in the Bible, and archaeology.
7. The Assyrian War Machine
November 21, 2024
The Assyrian military model of multiethnic, highly mobile armies relying on missile weaponry and chariots was to characterize major Near Eastern powers for centuries. You study the nature of the Assyrian army, the unique features of the empire it created, and the place of warfare in Assyrian imperial ideology.
6. The Trojan War and Homeric Warfare
November 21, 2024
The reality of the Trojan War has been debated since ancient times. In this episode, survey the archaeological evidence for Troy and for warfare among the mainland Greeks, called Mycenaeans.
5. The Battles of Megiddo and Kadesh
November 21, 2024
With New Kingdom Egypt, you get the first fully recorded battle in history: the Battle of Megiddo. You also cover the later Battle of Kadesh, which is attested in both Egyptian and Hittite accounts.
4. Egyptian Warfare from the Old to New Kingdoms
November 21, 2024
Evidence of warfare in Old Kingdom Egypt is ambiguous, but it is much more plentiful in later periods, when the pharaoh's role was increasingly that of a war leader. Egyptian warfare was transformed by the introduction of the chariot.
3. Sumer, Akkad, and Early Mesopotamian Warfare
November 21, 2024
You enter the historical era when written records first become available. Such evidence allows us to reconstruct the conventions and conditions of warfare among the first cities in Sumer in c. 3000 BC and to explore the nature of Sumerian armies, weapons, and battle tactics.
2. The Problem of Warfare
November 21, 2024
Three types of evidence shed light on origins of warfare: human remains bearing evidence of trauma, artifacts that function primarily as weapons, and monuments such as fortifications or depictions of warriors painted on cave walls. Their interpretations are far from straightforward.
1. Why Study Battles? What Is War?
November 21, 2024
Professor Garrett G. Fagan addresses the importance of studying battles and surveys the changing scholarly approach to the subject since the 19th century. He concludes by looking at different definitions of warfare, particularly the "operational" and "social-constructivist" models.
Description
Hollywood has gone to elaborate lengths to recreate the violence and mayhem of ancient warfare in media. But what were ancient battles really like? What weapons, tactics, armor, training, and logistics were used? In this course, Professor Garrett G. Fagan takes you into the thick of combat in some of the most notable battles fought in the ancient Mediterranean.
Great Battles of the Ancient World is a series that ran for 1 seasons (24 episodes) between November 21, 2024 and on The Great Courses
Where to Watch Great Battles of the Ancient World
Great Battles of the Ancient World is available for streaming on the The Great Courses website, both individual episodes and full seasons. You can also watch Great Battles of the Ancient World on demand at Apple TV Channels and Amazon Prime and Amazon.
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Premiere DateNovember 21, 2024
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