Enjoy Ancient Warfare Magazine Vol X.2 - Wars in Hellenistic Egypt

Ancient Warfare Magazine Vol. X.2 - Wars in Hellenistic Egypt

Topic: joshua j. mark, kingdom of the ptolemies - historical introduction

Egypt had been dominated by a foreign power since it fell to the Persians in 525 BC when Alexander the Great conquered
In 331 BC, the Persian Empire founded the city of Alexandria as the new capital of Egypt. After his death, one of his generals, Ptolemy Lagides—later known as Ptolemy I Soter ('the savior')—took control of Egypt and founded the Hellenistic dynasty that would bear his name. This Ptolemaic dynasty lasted until Egypt was taken under Roman rule in 30 BC.

Source: Michael J. Taylor, Ptolemy the Pharaoh - The Decree of Raphia

The Battle of Raphia was one of the largest battles of the Hellenistic world (see Ancient Warfare IV.6). Ptolemy IV, also known as a lazy alcoholic, played an unexpectedly important role, personally rallying his phalanx to crush the Seleucid center. To celebrate the triumph, a group of high-ranking Egyptian priests, no doubt with the open encouragement and warm approval of the palace, erected a series of commemorative stelae, written in Greek, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Demotic.

Subject: Matthew Beazley, Thorakitai - Armed in the Roman Style

All successor kingdoms carried out military reforms in response to external threats. By the late 3rd century BC, a new type of soldier appeared in written accounts. Ancient writers such as Polybius referred to these soldiers as thorakitai ('armoured men'). They were heavy infantry employed in situations that would have been disadvantageous to a phalangite force.

Subject: Arnold Blumberg, Stratiotes Hos Euergetai - Army and Temple Building in Ptolemaic Egypt

During the approximately 300 years that the Ptolemies ruled Egypt, the nation's army played a pivotal role in shaping the kingdom's economic development and creating a more ethnically integrated society. During the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, this relationship was marked, among other things, by the financing, construction, and dedication of religious temples by officers and privates of the Egyptian army.

Subject: Marc G. Desantis, Egyptian Leviathans - The Battle Fleet of Ptolemy II Philadephus

The fleet of Ptolemy II Philadephus of Egypt (r. 283–246 BC) was an extraordinary array of vessels. As Athenaeus of Naucratis reported in his Deipnosophistae, this remarkable fleet contained some 224 ships in the categories of quadriremes, triremes, and lighter vessels, but what is most striking about the Egyptian navy is the large number of large, even gigantic, warships that Ptolemy II possessed.

Subject: Sidney E. Dean, Road to Antioch - The Beginning of the End of Hellenistic Rule in the East

The six Syrian Wars between the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt and the Seleucids of Asia Minor seriously weakened the Hellenistic kingdoms. This benefited Rome, whose intervention to end the Last Syrian War in 168 BC left Egypt dependent on the protection of the Senate. The continuation of inter-Hellenistic conflict in the decades following the Sixth Syrian War ultimately led to the loss of the Seleucid Empire's eastern satrapies and paved the way for Roman rule over Egypt and Asia Minor. A pivotal moment was the Battle of Antioch in 145 BC.

Subject: Alex Zakrzewski, To the Barricades! Urban Warfare in Ancient Alexandria

In late 48 BC, Julius Caesar arrived in Alexandria in search of his great rival Pompey the Great. Although he was horrified to learn that the Egyptians had murdered Pompey, he was simultaneously intrigued to discover the ruling Ptolemies in the midst of a dynastic civil war. The Alexandrians had no great love for their royal family, but they absolutely hated Roman interference in their affairs. When Caesar announced he would take sides, the entire city revolted. The conqueror of Gaul suddenly found himself fighting a costly battle for survival in the streets of one of the great cities of the ancient world.

Topic: Sean Hussmann, War of Words: Rome and Egypt in the Age of Marcus Antonius < br>
We tend to think of political propaganda as a modern invention, a devious method devised by the Stalins and Goebbelses of the industrialized world to influence the masses, incite them against a common enemy, and legitimize their own worldview. Propaganda, however, has existed since humans began organizing into political communities.

Special: Paolo Morisi, In the Name of the Roman Empire - Roman Military Gravestones in Britain

Although the Roman army often prevailed, many of its soldiers died by the sword, and their butchered bodies littered the battlefield. Whether Roman soldiers died in battle or of old age, they were often buried beneath colorful gravestones, which, along with the remains of forts and artifacts, represent a vital source of information about their war machine. These monuments not only give us a glimpse into what Roman soldiers were like, but also help us understand the importance of combat and warfare in ancient society.

Special: Jeroen Wijnendaele, Enemy Within - Barbarian Recruitment in the Late Roman Empire

Generations of historians have often treated the large-scale recruitment of barbarians into the late Roman army as one of the root causes of the decline of the Western Roman Empire. But the evidence from literary and material sources regarding this so-called "barbarization" of field armies during the fourth century AD has been exaggerated and misinterpreted. On the contrary, the increasing presence of barbarians in the Roman war machine did not diminish the empire's status as a Mediterranean superpower.

Hollywood Novels: Graham Sumner, The Roman Army on Screen, Part 4 - The Tunic (1953) and Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)

Hoping to capitalize on the success of Quo Vadis, rival studio Twentieth Century Fox's entry into the epic genre was The Robe, an adaptation of a best-selling novel by Lloyd C. Douglas. The Robe was also the first film to be released in the new widescreen CinemaScope process, marketed as the miracle of glasses-free entertainment—a sly comment on the then-current craze for 3D movies.

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