Tag: Political Systems

Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part III: Going To War With the Army You Have

This is the third and final part of our three-part (I, II, III) look at how some 'tribal' or more correctly, non-state agrarian peoples - particularly the Celtiberians, Gauls and also many Germanic-language speaking peoples on the Rhine and Danube- raised armies to fight the Romans (and anyone else who came knocking) in the third, … Continue reading Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part III: Going To War With the Army You Have →

Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part II: Government Without States

This is the second part of our (planned) three part (I, II, III) look at how some 'tribal' or more correctly, non-state agrarian peoples raised armies to fight the Romans (and others) in the third through first centuries BC. Last time, we looked at the subsistence basis of these societies - they're agricultural - and … Continue reading Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part II: Government Without States →

Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part I: Aristocrats, Retainers and Clients

For the next few posts (I, II, III), I want to take a look at how some 'tribal' peoples raised armies, in contrast to the way that ancient (or later) states raised armies. As moderns, we are so familiar with the way that states function that the far older systems of non-state organization and mobilization … Continue reading Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part I: Aristocrats, Retainers and Clients →

Collections: On the Reign of Alexander III of Macedon, the Great? Part II

This is the second and final part of our look at Alexander III of Macedon (this is the second part, the first part is here), who you almost certainly know as Alexander the Great. Last week, we looked at the sources for Alexander's life, the historiography (that is, the history-of-the-history) of his modern reception and … Continue reading Collections: On the Reign of Alexander III of Macedon, the Great? Part II →

Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part V: Epilogue

This is the fifth part of our four(ish) five part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb, IVc) look at how the Roman legions were able to overcome the Macedonian sarisa phalanx in the third and second centuries BC. We have covered the decisive battles in the story, although after 168 it is not … Continue reading Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part V: Epilogue →

Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Addenda: The Provinces

This is the second and (in theory) last addendum to our series on Roman civic governance (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV, V, A1, A2). Having discussed how Rome handles those parts of Italy it controls but which were not part of the Roman Republic itself, we now look at how the Romans govern their … Continue reading Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Addenda: The Provinces →

Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Addenda: The Socii

This week, as an addendum to our series on Roman civic governance (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV, V, A1, A2), we're going to take a look at how Rome handles those parts of Italy it controls but which it does not inhabit. These are Rome's 'allies' (socii), a euphemistic label for the Italian communities … Continue reading Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Addenda: The Socii →

Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Part IV: The Senate

This is the fourth part of our planned five part series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV, V, A1, A2) on the structure of the Roman Republic during the third and second centuries, the ‘Middle’ Republic.’ Over the last few posts we looked at the role of Roman magistrates who carried out a range of … Continue reading Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Part IV: The Senate →