Ancient Warfare Magazine Vol VIII-2 - War, Trade and Adventure

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Ancient warfare magazine vol viii-2 - war, trade and adventure - struggles of the ionian greeks

Written by Christy Beall



Theme: War, Trade and Adventure - Struggles of the Ionian Greeks



Introduction: josho brouwers, 'historical introduction: struggles of the ionian greeks'.

Illustrated by Maxime Plasse.



The ancient greeks were originally divided into four main tribes: the dorians, the aeolians, the achaeans, and the ionians. each of these tribes also spoke a distinct dialect (dorian, aeolian, ionian), with the achaeans using a form of doric. the athenians believed themselves to be the original ionians and spoke a variant of the dialect called attic. the focus of this issue is the ionian greeks. outside of attica, the ionians lived on the island of euboea, in the cyclades, and in colonies on the central part of the west coast of asia minor, as well as on islands off their coast, such as chios and samos.



Source: Cezary Kucewicz, 'The Ionian Greeks in the Archaic Period: Pirates, Raiders and Soldiers of Fortune'.



Early Ionia was at the very centre of the early Greek world. The Ionian Greeks were pioneers in trade and colonisation, exploring every corner of the Mediterranean. However, reconstructing the early Ionian ventures overseas is no easy task, as surviving historical sources are sparse. A careful weaving together of fragments of literary evidence (including poetry, inscriptions and accounts by later historians) with the surviving archaeological record reveals an epic tale of Ionian pirates, raiders and soldiers of fortune, who fought for almost every kingdom in the Near East.



Subject: Patrick Lowinger, 'Conflicts between Ionians and Lydians: the hunger of the lions'.

Illustrated by David McAllister



Nearly seventy years before the Battle of Thermopylae, Ephesus, the last jewel of Greek independence in Ionia, was added to the crown of the Lydian Empire. When most people think of Lydia in antiquity, they think of its legendary wealth or the birthplace of gold coins adorned with symbolic lions. The lion was not just an artistic device depicted on coins: it characterised the ambition, power and cruelty of the Lydian rulers.



Theme: Vassilis Pergalias, 'Adventures of the Phocaeans - Ionians in the West'.



Braving the treacherous waves of the aegean in their sturdy fifty-oared vessels, travelling beyond the strait of messina towards the western end of the mediterranean, ionian traders and settlers set sail from the city of phocaea during the 7th and 6th centuries bc to establish trading posts and colonies along the coasts of corsica, gaulus and iberia. Of all the ionians of asia minor, the phocaeans became renowned for their skilled naval skills that enabled them to gradually explore the coastlines that stretched beyond the pillars of hercules. their presence and success in this part of the world eventually provoked an aggressive response by other major players in the region – the carthaginians and the etruscans (known as tyrrhenians to the greeks) – making conflict inevitable.



The re-enactor: spyros bakas, 'the toxarchos of the monument to the Nereids - commander of the archers'.



The toxarchos or toxarchis was the commander or officer of a group of archers (toxotai). The toxarchoi are mentioned both by Thucydides, in the conflict between the Athenians and the Aetolians, and by Arrian, in his description of the war between the Macedonians and the Thebans. On the monument to the Nereids of Lycia, dated 390 bc, we see a unique representation of a heavily armed archer, who is probably the leader of the other archers depicted in the scene. He is fighting alongside a hoplite, similar to entaxis or parentaxis, in which men with projectile weapons accompany hoplites into battle.



Subject: Sidney E. Dean, 'Battle of Lade, 494 BC - Triremes and Treachery'.

Illustrated by Radu Oltean.



By 494 BC, the Ionian Revolt was going badly for the Greeks. The Persian Emperor Darius I had sent a large expeditionary army, augmented by a strong fleet, which had retaken numerous seceded cities and islands. On the mainland, Miletus remained the strongest of the free Greek cities. As the starting point and political centre of the rebellion that began in 499 BC, it was important both strategically and symbolically. The Persians decided to take the city, expecting the revolt to collapse with the fall of Miletus. The Ionian Greeks agreed that the fight for Miletus would be the decisive battle of the Ionian Revolt.



Topic: Michael Park, 'Athens, Sparta, Persia, and the Greeks of Asia: Among Great Powers'.



In the aftermath of the Battle of Mycale in the late summer of 479 BC, and with the neutralisation of the pontoon bridges of the Hellespont confirmed, the Spartan king and commander of the allied fleet, Leotychides, sailed for home together with the Peloponnesian allies. While the Spartans thought the campaign season's work was done, the Greeks of Ionia, the Hellespont and Aeolia thought otherwise. These "Greeks of Asia" had been subject to Persian rule since the time of Cyrus and, as a result of the Persian defeat, had revolted. Rejecting Leotychides's view that they should move to Greece, together with the Athenians and islanders under the Athenian general Xanthippus, they spent the winter successfully defeating Sestus (hdt. 9.104; thuc. 1.89. 2).



Subject: Mark McCaffery, 'Alexander, Miletus and the Branchidae: A Master Strategist'.

Illustrated by Jason Juta.



As a leader, Alexander ranks among the greatest of the ancient world, in the opinion of both modern and ancient minds. Of course, this is not to say that he did not make tactical mistakes during his career. However, in general, the decisions made and the policies practiced were calculated with both short- and long-term repercussions in mind. Two scenarios that reflect this are the capture of Miletus in 334 BC and the massacre of the Branchidae in the summer of 329 BC.



Characteristics



Special: murray dahm, 'what were the right wing legionnaires carrying? - literal dexiolaboi'.

Illustrated by Angel Garcia Pinto.



Sometimes nuggets of military history can be unearthed in the most unlikely places. In the New Testament, Acts 23:23 records that the tribune (chilarchus), Claudius Lysias, called together two centurions to form a personal guard for the apostle Paul that would consist of 200 soldiers, 70 cavalry, and 200 dexiolaboi. This force was to escort Paul at the third hour of the night to Antipatris on his way to the procurator Felix at Caesarea. From Antipatris the infantry returned to Jerusalem and only the cavalry accompanied Paul to Caesarea.



The debate: duncan b. campbell, 'did the romans invade ireland? - roman soldiers in ireland'.



The idea of ​​a Roman invasion of Ireland has periodically intrigued scholars since it was first suggested in the late 19th century. However, more than a century of research has failed to turn up the kind of clues that elsewhere reveal the presence of the Roman army. Yet in some quarters the idea of ​​a Roman incursion is still held to be, if not a certainty, then a high probability. So what are the grounds for suggesting that the Romans invaded Ireland?
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