Soldiers Citizens And The Symbols Of War

In this comprehensive overview of ancient warfare, Antonio Santosuosso explores how the tactical and strategic concepts of warfare changed between the beginning of the fifth century b.c. and the middle of the second century b.c. and why the West—Greece, Macedonia, and Rome—triumphed over the East—understood geographically as Persia or ideologically as Carthage. He also shows how the role of warrior related to the role of citizen and how the symbols and propaganda stemming from war emphasized and promoted the values of Western societies.When considering the evolving role of the citizen as warrior, Santosuosso finds that these roles were indistinguishable from each other in the earlier stages of classical Greece. The Peloponnesian War, however, challenged this system by introducing new army types, such as mercenaries, peltasts, and light infantry. Soon after, Macedonia introduced the cavalry, thrusting it, along with heavy infantry, into a place of prominence and diminishing the complementary roles of citizen and warrior typical of earlier times. Later, the advent of the Roman legion continued this evolution, altering again the place of the citizen in ancient society.Rich in analysis, Soldiers, Citizens, and the Symbols of War is a valuable and accessible source for students of ancient warfare and classical society and provides thorough coverage of the major battles of antiquity—Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis, Plataea, Sphacteria, Leuctra, Granicus, Issus, Gaugamela, Synoscephalae, Pydna, Trebia, Cannae, Ilipa, and Zama.

In this comprehensive overview of ancient warfare, Antonio Santosuosso explores how the tactical and strategic concepts of warfare changed between the beginning of the fifth century b.c. and the middle of the second century b.c. and why the West?Greece, Macedonia, and Rome?triumphed over the East?understood geographically as Persia or ideologically

In this comprehensive overview of ancient warfare, Antonio Santosuosso explores how the tactical and strategic concepts of warfare changed between the beginning of the fifth century B.C. and the middle of the second century B.C. and why the West-Greece, Macedonia, and Rome-triumphed over the East-understood geographically as Persia or ideologically

Warfare in the Ancient World explores how civilizations and cultures made war on the battlefields of the Near East and Europe between the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia in the late fourth millenium BC and the fall of Rome. Through a exploration of twenty-six selected battles, military historian Brian Todd Carey surveys the changing tactical relationships between the four weapon systems - heavy and light infantry and hevay and light cavalry - focusing on how shock and missile combat evolved from tentative beginnings in the Bronze Age to the highly developed military organization created by the Romans. The art of warfare reached a very sophisticated level of development during this three millenia span. Commanders fully realized the tactical capabilities of shock and missile combat in large battlefield situations. Modern principles of war, like the primacy of the offensive, mass, and economy of force, were understood by pre-modern generals and applied on battlefields throughout the period. Through the use of dozens of multiphase tactical maps, this fascinating introduction to the art of war during western civilizationÕs ancient and classical periods pulls together the primary and secondary sources and creates a powerful historical narrative. The result is a synthetic work that will be essential reading for students and armchair historians alike.

In the closing years of the second century B.C., the ancient world watched as the Roman armies maintained clear superiority over all they surveyed. But, social turmoil prevailed at the heart of her territories, led by an increasing number of dispossessed farmers, too little manpower for the army, and an inevitable conflict with the allies who had fought side by side with the Romans to establish Roman dominion. Storming the Heavens looks at this dramatic history from a variety of angles. What changed most radically, Santosuosso argues, was the behavior of soldiers in the Roman armies. The troops became the enemies within, their pillage and slaughter of fellow citizens indiscriminate, their loyalty not to the Republic but to their leaders, as long as they were ample providers of booty. By opening the military ranks to all, the new army abandoned its role as depository of the values of the upper classes and the propertied. Instead, it became an institution of the poor and drain on the power of the Empire. Santosuosso also investigates other topics, such as the monopoly of military power in the hands of a few, the connection between the armed forces and the cherished values of the state, the manipulation of the lower classes so that they would accept the view of life, control, and power dictated by the oligarchy, and the subjugation and dehumanization of subject peoples, whether they be Gauls, Britons, Germans, Africans, or even the Romans themselves.

At the close of the third century B. C., the ancient world was in awe of Rome's clear political, military, and cultural hegemony. But however secure Rome's power may have seemed from the outside, from within it faced a challenge which was to seriously to threaten its supremacy. Social turmoil prevailed at the heart of the Roman territories, and in Storming the Heavens, Santosuosso argues that the behaviour of the Roman armies played a central role in this unrest. The troops became the enemies within, pillaging and slaughtering fellow citizens indiscriminately, while remaining loyal to their leaders - for the livelihood and booty they provided - but not the Republic. The new army abandoned its role as depository for upper class values and became an institution of the poor. Santosuosso also investigates the monopoly of military power in the hands of a few, the connection between the armies and the state's cherished values, and the manipulation, subjugation, and dehumanisation of the subject peoples. In all, he provides a fascinating and dramatic portrait of the Roman army from the time of its greatest supremacy through to the melancholy collapse of Empire in the fifth century A. D.

A sweeping political and cultural history, Killing for the Republic closes with a compelling argument in favor of resurrecting the citizen-soldier ideal in modern America.