A Turning Point In The Life Of Musashi, The Undefeated Samurai
Miyamoto Musashi was three hours late. This was his way. On the beach the tension in the air was palpable. Sasaki Kojiro paced up and…
Sons of Mars: Early Formative Events that Shaped the Roman Empire
How exactly were the Romans able to rise from a small trading settlement near a ford in the Tiber to establishing an empire that stretched…
Sparta: Growth Of An Empire – It Is Widely Known That The Spartans Produced Some Of The Most Brutally Efficient Warriors Of All Time
It is widely known that the Spartans produced some of the most brutally efficient warriors of all time, but how did they gain that reputation?…
Alexander’s Masterpiece: Gaugamela – Defeating The Persians, 331 BC
In the countless theoretical lists of best generals of all time, Alexander the Great is often at or very near the top, in fact, such…
How Scipio Defeated Hannibal And His Elephants and Earned the Name Africanus
Scipio Africanus was only of the most talented generals in the ancient world. He was barely an adult when Hannibal invaded Italy. He fought in…
1453: The Fall of Constantinople and the end of the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire didn’t end with the 476 depositions of the Western Emperor Romulus or the Fall of Rome. It continued with solid momentum in…
Great Sieges of the Ancient World: Tarentum
The siege and battles of Tarentum were an underappreciated and often forgotten aspect of the second Punic War.The second Punic war between Carthage and Rome…
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,…
The Viking Mercenaries of the Byzantine Empire – The Varangian Guard
The Byzantines Hired Viking Mercenaries as Guards The relationship between the Byzantine Emperors and their Varangian Guard was a complex affair. The Byzantines were first…
Blood and Discipline: What it Was Like to Fight in a Roman Battle
It’s the first century AD and the Roman army is at the height of its power and professionalism. You’re part of that army – a…
4 Civilian Jobs Done by Roman Legionaries
Though it originally began purely as a war machine, the Roman army evolved to fill other roles. This was an inevitable outcome of the growth…
Things We Didn’t Know About Hadrian’s Wall
Though long since reduced to ruins, the line of Hadrian’s Wall is still visible through the countryside of northern England, from Bowness on the west…