Ancient Warfare Magazine Vol. IX.4 - Clash of the Colossi

Treat yourself to Ancient Warfare Magazine Vol. IX.4 - Clash of the Colossi

Ancient warfare magazine vol ix.4 - clash of the colossi: the first punic war



Theme: Cristian Violatti, the point of no return - historical introduction



The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the longest continuous war in antiquity and the beginning of a series of military conflicts between Carthage and Rome. During the conflict, these ancient powers fought for control of Sicily, a strategic point in the central Mediterranean. In the end, Rome emerged victorious and Carthage lost Sicily.



The source: Tilman Moritz, the fragments of Fabius Pictor - puzzling history



It all supposedly began with Polybius. In his effort to achieve a balanced view of the wars that had led to Roman supremacy, the Greek historian was, by his own account, the first to collect and assess the conflicting evidence. He drew on sources ranging from literary and documentary texts to monuments, oral tradition and, not least, personal experience as an eyewitness to recent events. Thus, it was Polybius who, following in the footsteps of Thucydides and Herodotus, raised Roman historiography to universal Hellenistic standards – or perhaps not?



Subject: christa steinby, escalating war at sea - shipbuilders wanted



The First Punic War (264–241 BC) is best known for the large fleets and naval battles, which first took place at Mylae in 260 and continued until the Battle of the Aegates Islands in 241. The conflict gradually escalated, requiring more men and ships and also the introduction of an entirely new line of ships into the Roman navy, the quinquereme. The purpose of this article is to shed light on the Roman operations in Sicily in 264–260, the gradual rise of their ambitions at sea, and the process that led to the construction of the first large fleet.



The reenactor: jean-luc féraud, a Carthaginian war elephant - charge!



War elephants became famous when Hannibal used them during his invasion of Italy in the Second Punic War. However, these magnificent animals were used in much larger numbers by the Carthaginians during the First Punic War.



Subject: Sean Hußmann, Elephants at War - Giants of the Battlefield



Throughout history, man has waged war on his fellow man. And throughout history, he made use of animals to achieve his military goals. Be it horses, oxen, dogs, mules, and even cats, there are few domesticated animals that have not been used in some way or another for warfare. Perhaps the most magnificent beast employed in a military role was the elephant. Furthermore, this mighty animal is the only one that was not only used in a logistical role, but as an active combatant.



Topic: Sydney E. Dean, Agrigentum, 262–261 BC - Besieged besiegers



The siege and subsequent battle of Agrigentum in Sicily was the first major land engagement of the First Punic War. For both sides, it was an educational experience, allowing them to learn about the military capabilities and tactics of the other side. Rome ultimately won the engagement at Agrigentum, but it was, in many ways, a Pyrrhic victory.



The Find: Michael Taylor, Archaeology of the Battle of the Aegates Islands - From the Bottom of the Sea



In 241 BC, the First Punic War reached a stalemate, with the Romans maintaining a desultory siege of Punic forces near Mount Erix. The Carthaginians, believing they enjoyed naval superiority after their crushing victory at Drepanna seven years earlier, did not maintain a significant naval presence, even as they supplied their forces in Sicily by sea. When the Romans surprised the Carthaginians by deploying a new fleet, the latter hastily sent a relief naval force. As the Punic fleet prepared to sail on its final leg toward the Sicilian coast, Roman warships, lurking behind the Aegates (now Egadi) Islands, swooped in. After a sharp naval engagement, the Romans won a decisive victory, effectively ending the war.



Topic: Robert Holmes, Battle Speeches of the First Punic War - Taciturn Romans, Loquacious Carthaginians



Although the concept of the battle speech as a distinct historical genre dates back to Homer and Herodotus, it was Thucydides who established the conventions that future historians would seek to emulate. According to these conventions, the battle speech had to stick to what was being said and what was likely to be said given the situation; they also drew heavily on themes such as the nobility of giving one's life for one's country, winning the favor of the gods, and the crossroads at which one must win or die. Polybius later employed the conventions of Thucydides' battle speech to good effect in his account of the First Punic War.



Theme: joseph hall, the battle of cape ecnomus - war on the waves



In 256 BC, Rome’s strategic plan for how the war would unfold involved a direct landing in Africa itself. To this end, dozens of legionaries embarked on ships prepared for the journey. When the massive fleet finally set sail, each ship was packed with men and material for the coming campaign – and included the consuls themselves. On the way to Africa, however, the fleet encountered Carthage’s vast armada near Cape Ecnomus, south of Sicily. With over a quarter of a million men reportedly aboard nearly seven hundred ships, the titanic engagement that followed has gone down in history as the largest naval battle ever fought.



Subject: arnold blumberg, the battle of tunis, 255 bc: rome's disastrous interlude in north africa



The war between rome and carthage for control of the western mediterranean had reached a turning point by 255 bc since 264 bc the land conflict between the two republics revolved around control of the island of sicily, the richest and most strategic location in the entire region due to its geographical position in the center of the mediterranean sea, and the fact that it serves as a bridge between africa and europe. a plan by the romans to shift the center of gravity of the land war from sicily to africa resulted in an unexpected roman defeat on the battlefield and added years of fighting to the first punic war.



The find: josho brouwers, a gilded bronze breastplate from a Punic tomb - the beautiful body



In early 2015, the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, the Netherlands, organised an exhibition on Carthage. A large number of beautiful objects were transported from Tunisia to be displayed at the museum, including a beautiful example of a breastplate that not only highlights the splendour of the Carthaginian war machine, but also its cosmopolitan nature.



Fiction: Marcus Pailing, We Leave Our Dead in Polytimetes



We watched the barbarians from the ramparts of Marakanda. They preened and postured, making their sturdy mounts prance and spin as if they were in a dance; it was even like a wild mating ritual. However, this was no mere entertainment. Rather, it was a challenge and we all knew it.



Special: wassilis stephan linidis, recreation of an extra-heavy archaic greek hoplite - like a bronze statue of ares



When we think of Greek hoplites, most think of the typical classical hoplite with a Corinthian helmet, cuirass, greaves and shield. During the hoplite-dominated Greek infantry warfare, this type of soldier underwent major equipment changes over time. However, most reenactors choose the Persian Wars period for their impressions, with only a few opting for a later classical kit and even fewer exploring earlier phases of hoplite warfare. But exploring these early stages in particular makes for a fascinating journey.



The debate: owen rees and jason crowley, was there mental trauma in ancient wars? - ptsd in ancient greece



For over fifteen years, it has been accepted historical practice to refer to episodes in ancient Greek history and to depictions of characters in Greek drama as exhibiting behaviors similar to those of modern veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd). Indeed, it is increasingly common for figures from ancient history to be retrospectively diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet to date, no comprehensive book exists to debate the validity of this implicit universalism: that post-traumatic stress disorder can be found and equated throughout history, regardless of the social and chronological boundaries that separate the present from the past.



Hollywood Romans: Graham Sumner, The Roman Army on Screen, Part 2 - Quo Vadis (1951)

Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) had been a vain attempt by the British film industry to take on Hollywood. In the following decade, however, Hollywood itself came under threat – not from Britain but from the rapid rise in popularity of television. Hollywood believed that big-budget blockbuster films set in ancient Rome, made with the latest film and sound technology and projected on extra-large screens, were an answer to winning back audiences. The 1950s consequently ushered in a golden age of epic films.


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