A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
A look at history and popular culture
This is the second part of the third part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb, IVc, V) 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 … 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, IIIb, IVa, IVb, IVc, V) 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 … Continue reading Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IIIa: Peak Pike-Phalanx
This is the second part of the second part of the second part of our four part look (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb, IVc, V) at the great third and second century BC contest between the Romans and the heirs of Alexander, asking the question, "What can defeat a Macedonian sarisa-phalanx?" Last … Continue reading Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IIb: Handfuls of Maniples
This is the first part of the second part of our four? four part look (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb, IVc, V) at the great third and second century BC contest between the Hellenistic armies of the heirs of Alexander and the Roman legions. Last time, we looked at the Hellenistic army as … Continue reading Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IIa: How a Legion Fights
This is the second part of the first part of our four part look (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb, IVc, V) at the context between the Hellenistic army and its Macedonian phalanx and the Romans with their legions. Last week, we looked at the weapons, organization and fighting style of the Macedonian phalanx, … Continue reading Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part Ib: Subjects of the Successors
This week on the blog we are starting what is a planned four-part ten-part series (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb, IVc, V) looking at the twilight of Hellenistic warfare and the triumph of the Roman legion. Our core question is a really common one: why was the Roman legion able to decisively defeat … Continue reading Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part Ia: Heirs of Alexander