Ancient Warfare 팟 캐스트

Rich posed this question for Murray, 'we have a relatively good picture of what the Roman Legionary weapons and materiel manufacturing process looked like (at least for some time periods). Do we have any similar information for the Philippian/Alexandrian Macedonian army? That's a lot of 16-foot-long sarissa shafts and spear points to manufacture, a…

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine disproves many recent predictions about the future of war. This includes the predictions about the death of the law of war. The perception of the legitimacy of war depends in large part on seemingly ancient notions of Jus Ad Bellum and Jus in Bello. The war in Ukraine shows that legitimacy, or loss of legitimacy, has se…

Patron of the podcast Chris writes, 'we are told right before the great Illyrian revolt of AD 6-9, the Romans were preparing a campaign against king Maroboduus and the Marcomanni. It is said he had an army of 74,000 (70,000 infantry and 4,000 Cavalry). What do you guys think the outcome would have been of that war/campaign; would he have stood a ch…

Scot emailed us this question for Murray to answer; 'Certain tribal confederations, like the Franks & Saxons, typically bear "namesake" weapons (e.g. the Francisca and the Sax). Is the name of the weapon thought to be derived from the name of the confederation, or is the name of the confederation derived from the weapon?' Patreon: patreon.com/thean…

In this episode of the Ancient Warfare Magazine podcast Jasper, Murray and Myke talk to games designer Mark Backhouse about his new game Strength & Honour. The game allows you to recreate battles from the start of the Marian reforms in Rome around 105BC, when the professional Roman legionaries organised in cohorts replaced the older Republican Legi…

Patron of the podcast James poses this question for Murray, 'The number of Spartan soldiers declined from its high of 10,000 to less than 2,000 around its defeat by Thebes due, in part, to increasing economic concentration and the resulting decline in the number of soldiers able to pay their mess contributions. Did Spartan society recognise this de…

Murray is on his own this week. He answers this question sent in from patron of the podcast, Greg; 'How widespread was the use of Hamippoi in 5th BC Greece?' Patreon: patreon.com/theancientwarfarpodcast

Murray answers this question sent in from Christoper, 'do the sources tell us anything about the Spartan warrior Arimnestus who threw the rock that killed Mardonius? I am curious if we know if he survived the battle and if he would have been honoured for his efforts in the victory?' Patreon: patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast…

The primary purpose of any nation’s military force is to fight and win its wars. However, the military instrument of national power does much more than that. Most of those things keep the nation from having to fight wars. US and NATO support to Ukraine provides examples of the non-conflict roles of the military instrument. If you think this materia…

The legion that wrested control of the Mediterranean region from Carthage and the Successor states is very familiar. But some notions have recently been challenged. Following the discussion of the Roman legion in episode 119, the Ancient Warfare team returns to the topic with this episode looking at issue XV.4 of the magazine. Patreon: patreon.com/…

Since 2014, Moscow has used mercenaries in Ukraine, Syria, Africa, and other places to exert military power without accountability. Although these mercenaries, commonly referred to as the Wagner Group, never left Eastern Ukraine, they are now active again with the Russian invasion. Why? What is their value in a conventional war? What dangers do the…

Patron of the podcast Lubos asks, 'Why was the greek phalanx so ineffective against the Romans? Were they just obsolete or just that the Greek generals didn't evolve their tactics and formations to counter roman maniples?' Murray gives us his opinion. Patreon: patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

Russia's use of Militias in the ongoing war has been very different than Ukraine's. The way these militias and auxiliaries act as an element of a nation’s military power will reflect the goals, objectives, and strategic vision of the nation that is using them. The danger is that forces that do not fulfill the criteria of a legitimate belligerent un…

Sparked by current events in the work patron of the podcast Carlos asks 'what steps did ancient commanders do to ensure that their army's logistics were in order?' Patreon: patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

Murray is still in New Zealand but has found the time to answer this question from patron of the podcast Chris. 'How much do we trust Homer? Are there good examples of corroborating accounts that give us the means to verify or put his missives in context?' Patreon: patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

The military element of national power is not just regular armed forces fighting on the battlefield. This episode begins to look at the varied means and methods of using military power, once again drawing observations from the current war in Ukraine. I begin with the use of militias and mercenaries.저자 Chris Mayer National Security and Strategy Consultant

We live in an information age. How can the use of information, in all its forms, be a decisive tool in warfare? I look at the war in Ukraine to describe how the West is being influenced by Information as a tool of national power.저자 Chris Mayer National Security and Strategy Consultant

Murray is on holiday in New Zealand, but while on his travels he has found the time to answer this question from Christopher. 'Do we have any indication as to what Epaminondas of Thebes looked like? He was a fantastic general and I find it strange that we have not found any statues or busts that portray him. Is it because Alexander razed Thebes to …

We were due to look at the latest issue of the magazine Rise of the Legion pt.II. As the issue has only just been released, we thought we would save the discussion on that topic for the next full episode of the podcast in May. In the meantime, Myke suggested the team discuss commanders as tactical units and whether they participated in the fighting…

Murray tackles this question from Jorn Schneider, 'How did generals plan campaigns and how did armies find out where to go without maps?'

Murray is once more without Jasper but give us his opinion on what he thinks mattered most in Ancient Warfare. Patreon: patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

Murray is on his own this week and tackles this question sent in by Patron of the podcast Paul, 'Name one event in Ancient Warfare where the majority of the sources are in agreement with an event happening, be it a battle or an event during a battle, etc. but you call foul - never happened - and vice versa.' Patreon: patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodca…

While we wait for the latest episode of the magazine to be released, Murray suggested the Ancient Warfare team address one of the questions sent from a listener. What do you think was the most important factor in ancient warfare?

Anne asks 'how did ancient armies and generals inspire (coerce?) loyalty among the troops?' Patreon: patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

If war is a continuation of political intercourse with the addition of other means, what are those other means? How do we apply them for success in war and operations short of war? What does that mean for Ukraine? This podcast begins to answer those questions by looking at Economic Warfare.저자 Chris Mayer National Security and Strategy Consultant

Patron of the podcast Carlos sent us this question, 'what were the methods used by groups like the Romans or any of the Near East powers to counter the firepower discipline and mobility of the horse archer nomad armies?' Patreon: patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

In 1938 the Western powers allowed Nazi Germany to annex the border regions of Czechoslovakia and, a few months later, dismember the rest of that country. Some people say that this model is replaying itself today. Have we learned from history? Have others learned lessons we have not?저자 Chris Mayer National Security and Strategy Consultant

Murray gives his thoughts on this question sent in by Greg 'There are quite a few examples of the use of recon and scouting from ancient warfare (perhaps more where it didn't happen!). Also, we see examples of espionage and intel via xenoi relationships in the Greek world. But how much did we see what we might recognise as military intelligence, an…

Initiative, Imagination, Independence. These principles seem more important than ever in today’s vague, ambiguous, complex, and uncertain strategic environment. But, has the United States gone in another direction? COL Jayson Altieri of the USAF Air War College joins me to discuss this.저자 Chris Mayer National Security and Strategy Consultant

We regularly receive emails for Jasper and Murray with suggestions for Ancient Warfare Answers. Greg asked ‘what have been the biggest developments or changes in the past 15-20 years in our understanding of ancient warfare?’ It is too good of a question for just Murray and Jasper, so in this episode of the Ancient Warfare Magazine podcast Greg's qu…