A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
A look at history and popular culture
This is the third part of the fourth part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb) look at the how the Roman military system and its manipular legion were able to defeat the Hellenistic military system and its Macedonian sarisa phalanx in the third and second centuries BC. Last time, … Continue reading Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IVc: Perseus
Hey folks, this week is a bit of a gap week as I am heading out to the annual meeting of the Society for Military History (and, indeed, by the time you read this, I will be there). Normally, I post the abstract of my conference talk for these sorts of things, but since I … Continue reading Gap Week: April 19, 2024 (Manor Lords First Impression)
Fireside this week! Apologies for having so many of these so close together, but the recent car troubles I've had have eaten into my time quite a lot. At the same time I am getting ready for the annual Society for Military History conference coming at the end of next week. In an effort to … Continue reading Fireside Friday, April 12, 2024
This is the second part of the fourth part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa) look at the context between the Roman military system based on the manipular legion and the Hellenistic military system structured around the Macedonian sarisa phalanx in the third and second century BC. Last time we … Continue reading Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IVb: Antiochus III
Fireside this week! Apologies for having two of these in a row, but as I noted last week, I've had some unexpected (but good) travel, which has made a bit of havoc in my schedule and I am still trying to catch back up. Nevertheless, I wanted to use this week's fireside to muse a … Continue reading Fireside Friday, March 29, 2024 (On Roman Values)
Fireside this week! The ACOUP schedule might end up being a little unstable for the next few weeks as the coincidence of illness, the dense part of the teaching semester and unexpected travel are playing havoc on my schedule. I can only promise that we will finish the series on the failure of Hellenistic armies, … Continue reading Fireside Friday, March 22, 2024
This is the first part of the fourth part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb) look at why the thing to use to beat a Macedonian sarisa phalanx is, in fact, a Roman legion in the third and second century BC. Last time, we finished our look at the third-century successes … Continue reading Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IVa: Philip V
This is the second part of the third part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa) look at the performance of the Roman army and its legions in the third and second century BC against the Hellenistic armies of the heirs of Alexander. Last time, we sought to assess some of the assumed … Continue reading Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IIIb: Pyrrhus
This is the first part of the third part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa) look at the triumph of the Roman legions in the third and second century over the Hellenistic armies of the heirs of Alexander. Last time, we looked at some of the operational and strategic advantages that the … Continue reading Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IIIa: Peak Pike-Phalanx
Fireside this week! We'll pick up looking at some of the successes of Hellenistic armies next week. Percy, having found a use for some of my books. And of course, less I miss a chance to note, at the top of the pile there is the Brill's Companion to Diet and Logistics in Greek and … Continue reading Fireside Friday, February 23, 2024 (On the Military Failures of Fascism)