Hellenistic Land Battles 300-167 BCE

A History and Analysis of 130 Engagements

Fred Eugene Ray author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:McFarland & Co Inc

Published:29th Sep '20

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Hellenistic Land Battles 300-167 BCE cover

The Hellenistic Period (323-31 BCE) saw the Grecian phalanx--long dominant in Mediterranean warfare--challenged by legionary formations from the rising city-state of Rome. The Roman way of war would come to eclipse phalanx-based combat by the 160s yet this was not evident at the time. Rome suffered numerous defeats against the phalanxes of Pyrrhus and Hannibal, its overseas campaign against the brilliant Spartan mercenary Xanthippus met disaster, and several Roman victories over Hellenistic foes were not decisive. The story of combat in this pivotal era is not well documented. This book for the first time provides detailed tactical analyses for all 130 significant land engagements of Hellenistic armies 300-167 BCE.

“Hellenistic Land Battles is a workhorse of a book. It does double duty, serving as an easily thumbable reference for the period’s major land battles (though not all of them—the book omits some critical fights from the first 23 years of the period) and a primer on troop classes, kit, and combat roles. Even better, it advances some truly new and refreshing theories on how people organized to fight in this undeserved period… Ray is to be commended… A fresh and fascinating take on battle that fills a gap… A worthy contribution to the field for scholars and amateurs alike.”—Ancient Warfare

ISBN: 9781476682563

Dimensions: 254mm x 178mm x 12mm

Weight: 426g

234 pages