A Force To Be Reckoned With – Fearsome War Elephants On Ancient Battlefields
Elephants are peaceful and majestic creatures, but throughout history, their size and power were used with devastating results on the battlefield. With the adoption of…
Thousands of Romans killed in the dense German woodland: What if the Teutoburg Disaster Didn’t Happen
“What if” history questions can be a divisive. Some view them as an exercise in futility, a place where no serious historians should go. Others…
Egyptian Warfare and the Largest Chariot Battle in History
The battle of Megiddo was the first reliably recorded battle, and not long after the battle of Kadesh would claim the title of the largest…
Romans in China: The Lost Legions of Carrhae
The Romans in the first century BCE were perhaps the most growing empires around. Though the civil wars of Caesar and Pompey, and Octavian and…
Great Sieges: Jerusalem (70 CE) – One Million Lives Lost In 8 Months Of Combat
The Romans generally tolerated other religions, allowing and even welcoming Egyptian gods into their pantheon. Though they viewed the monotheistic Jews as being odd, they…
The Fall of the Aztecs, The Bloody Path to Tenochtitlan
Tenochtitlan was an absolutely amazing city. The city was larger than any in Europe at the time and held approximately 200,000 people with some estimates…
The Greatest Underdog Victories in Pre-Gunpowder Battles
Ancient and Medieval generals were often smart enough to avoid battle against a much larger force but throughout history there are many cases where much…
How Cortes Captured the Mighty Tenochtitlan with 1,000 Spaniards… and smallpox, and 100,000 natives, and guns
In June of 1521 Hernan Cortes had a sizable force of Conquistadors outside of Tenochtitlan but was tasked with rescuing his garrison of a few…
The Fall of the Aztecs, The Bloody Path to Tenochtitlan
Tenochtitlan was an absolutely amazing city. The city was larger than any in Europe at the time and held approximately 200,000 people with some estimates…
9 Reasons Why Boudica Almost Beat the Romans
The early Roman Empire was an unstoppable juggernaut of military strength, bending the rest of Europe to its will. Rebellions were mercilessly crushed by one…
The Most Terrible, Deadliest Sieges Before the 19th Century
Sieges throughout history were awful affairs. Unlike Field Battles, Sieges involved civilians, as well as numerous ways to die over long periods of time. Starvation…
Rome’s Worst Defeat: The Battle of Cannae 216 B.C.E.
The battle of Cannae was an almost perfect tactical victory for Hannibal Barca. Facing a Roman army almost twice the size on a level field,…