Gift Ancient Warfare Magazine Vol VIII-1 - Deserters, Deserters, Traitors

Ancient warfare magazine vol viii-1

Written by Christy Beall



Theme: deserters, deserters, traitors: betrayal in the ancient world



Introduction: Josho Brouwers, 'historical introduction - betrayal in the ancient world'.



The ancient world had its fair share of brave and courageous men, who stayed the course despite deep adversity or who seemed to laugh in the face of death. however, our sources also include accounts of people who, out of fear, personal gain, or some combination of these and other factors, decided to betray their friends, their country, or their principles.



The source: Mark McCaffery, 'how cicero was announced pater patriae - the catilinarian conspiracy'.



On december 31, 63 b.c., marcus tullius cicero declared from the rostra of the roman forum that the state had achieved its salvation thanks to his efforts and his alone. tribune quintus metellus nepos prevented him from uttering anything more than this customary oath. another of the tribunes, marcus porcius cato uticensis, later gave his approval to the actions taken by cicero during the previous year. in the process of praising him, cato referred to cicero as pater patriae, "father of the fatherland".



Theme: Sidney E. Dean, 'david's insurgency against saul - the man who would be king'.



The biblical figure david is popularly known as a young shepherd who became king saul's military champion and, subsequently, as a king who defeated the philistines and captured jerusalem. but this is only a partial picture. the main source of information about david, the old testament's book of samuel, also describes how david fled saul's service, formed a private army, and waged an insurgent war against his king. subsequently, david entered the service of the philistine king of gath, one of the greatest enemies of the jewish people. while samuel attempts to portray these actions as favorably as possible, modern bible scholars, historians, and archaeologists have been examining david more closely. an alternative image is increasingly emerging: that of an ambitious, power-hungry officer who turned against his own people to further his personal ambitions.



Theme: Barry Webb, 'jeremiah and josephus: brothers in betrayal'.

Illustrated by Jason Juta.



One man has been denigrated throughout history as an example of the classic traitor to his country. the other man has been recognized throughout history as a patriot and a great prophet. however, the similarities in the positions of jeremiah and josephus regarding the revolts of their compatriots against their respective imperial masters are too striking to ignore. both men were against these respective rebellions and, although later history has exonerated one of them, both were called traitors and collaborators by their compatriots of the time for their positions of appearing to favor the enemy over their own country. but were they really traitors? or did they have a broader purpose in mind?



Theme: Gareth Williams, 'the disappointed deserter - demaratus'.



The double kingship of sparta created certain tensions, none more infamous than the bitter enmity between demaratus and cleomenes i (herodotus 6.64). because demaratus gained glory among the lacedaemonians time and again for his actions and his intelligence (hdt. 6.70), some apologists have tried to excuse demaratus' eventual flight to persia. but is there evidence of a pro-persian stance on the part of this spartan king?



Theme: Sean Hussmann, 'lover of outrage and scandal - alcibiades'.

Illustrated by Milek Jakubiek.



Throughout history, some people became disloyal not for any material gain, but simply because they perceived betrayal as their best (and often only) bet for survival. one of the most extravagant examples of a politician embracing the outrage and scandal that antiquity has to offer is the athenian alcibiades, son of cleinias.



Theme: Arnold Blumberg, 'alexander the great's most formidable opponent: memnon of rhodes'.

Illustrated by Radu Oltean.



Soldier, sailor, and statesman, according to diodorus siculus' library of history, he was famous for his military competence (17.18.2). a contemporary of aristotle, philip ii of macedonia, and demosthenes, memnon of rhodes rose from humble origins to command all of western asia in the service of the king of kings, darius iii of persia, in a time of great danger and conflict. his extraordinary courage and military knowledge gave him the only hope of saving the achaemenid state from destruction at the hands of the expansionist kingdom of macedonia.



Theme: Michael J. Taylor, 'rebellion in the seleucid empire: antiochus and achaeus'.



In 223 b.c., king seleucus iii was murdered in asia minor while on campaign. in the chaos that followed the murder, a high-ranking lieutenant named achaeus took charge of the situation. he executed the assassins, sent a loyal officer who was marching with mutinous elements of the army back to syria, and carried out operations. meanwhile, in babylon, the cadet prince was elevated and went on to become antiochus iii. the teenage king was crowned in the midst of a series of crises.



Features



Special: Steven Weingartner, 'suppiluliuma i and his age: great king and conqueror'.

Illustrated by Angel Garcia Pinto.



Every spring, with the arrival of good weather in the highlands of the hittite kingdom, there also came violence and terror in the form of kaska warriors marauding from the pontic mountains, to the north. they were a tribal people of uncertain origins, primitive by the standards of hittite civilization, who spread across the countryside in forces of varying sizes, from small war bands to major armies. generally, at the end of the campaign season, they retreated to their mountains with their ill-gotten gains. however, one fateful year during the reign of tudhaliya iii (ca. 1380-1350 b.c.), they arrived in multitudes and they came to conquer.



The debate: Duncan B. Campbell, 'where was the battle of mons graupius? searching for a lost battlefield'.

Illustrated by Maxime Plasse.



We are unusually well informed about the first 40 years of roman occupation in britain, thanks to the writings of the roman historian tacitus - in particular, the biography of his father-in-law, agricola, whose seven-year governorship saw roman arms reach caledonia, in present-day scotland. agricola's greatest achievement was his victory over the caledonian chieftain calgacus at the battle of mons graupius, which forms the centerpiece of tacitus' account. however, although tacitus paints a poignant picture of the ebb and flow of the battle, its precise geographical location remains elusive. even with the growing contribution of archaeology, scholars still cannot agree exactly where the battle of mons graupius was fought.
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