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With Arrow, Sword, and Spear: A History of Warfare in the Ancient World
Most studies of ancient warfare focus only on the Greeks and the Romans, but this sweeping study covers the whole of the ancient world from Greece and Rome to the Near East, then eastward to Parthia, India, and China. Bradford transports the reader into the midst of ancient battles behind such great leaders as Thutmose III, Ashurbanipal, Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, and the First Emperor of China. He details the rise and fall of empires, the role of leadership, and the development of tactics and strategy. One sees the clash of nomads against agricultural societies, infantry against cavalry, as well as the greatest technological change in history―the combination of the composite bow and the chariot.
This readable account analyzes ancient armies in terms of modern military doctrine, allowing the reader to make comparisons between the combatants. Recruitment, for example, varied tremendously with Romans drawing from a limited pool of recruits for service terms of twenty to thirty years and Chinese planners preferring a large pool with short-term service. While various types of governments prepared for and waged war in significantly different ways, Bradford finds that better organization led to success on the battlefield and that, for the most part, societal innovation was more important than technological innovation. The ongoing discussion of the lessons of ancient warfare around the globe will provide valuable insights for interested general readers and military professionals alike.
This readable account analyzes ancient armies in terms of modern military doctrine, allowing the reader to make comparisons between the combatants. Recruitment, for example, varied tremendously with Romans drawing from a limited pool of recruits for service terms of twenty to thirty years and Chinese planners preferring a large pool with short-term service. While various types of governments prepared for and waged war in significantly different ways, Bradford finds that better organization led to success on the battlefield and that, for the most part, societal innovation was more important than technological innovation. The ongoing discussion of the lessons of ancient warfare around the globe will provide valuable insights for interested general readers and military professionals alike.
312 pages, Hardcover
First published November 30, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 16, 2025
I found this a very useful look at the history of ancient warfare, and it was reasonably fun to read.
It was a little weird how I got through it, though. I read about half straight through many years ago. (8? 9?) I guess I got busy; I forget. But I put it on the shelf with a bookmark and didn't come back to it until just a bit ago. Then I read the second half, pretty much straight through again. And it's good.
The first half is Egyptians, Assyrians et al, Persians, and Greeks. I guess that's the stuff I find most interesting, the part that's most distant, and the author does a good job not just with the outlines and broad brushstrokes but with the personalities and details. It's kinda surprising how much we know about some things 3000 years ago. In part, the book deals with evolving technology, like chariots and elephants and compound bows, but it's also about evolving systems--fighting systems, economic systems, government and army management systems. I found it all interesting and entertaining as presented.
The second half is India and China and then Rome, which gets the most time. That last bit remains less interesting to me. I'm not sure why. But he handles it well, and I learned a bunch.
One thing the author gets right for me is the level of information he uses, the scope and scale of his approach. I didn't want to read a textbook or The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire (it's not that deep), but I also don't want a wikipedia entry. The space between is still pretty big. Some books like this I've found to be aimed at a reader who is nearer an expert than a novice, and for most of us those are too dense to be interesting or comprehensible. When I'm first looking at a topic I don't know much about (say, desert fauna, or the physics of space flight), I've often found that books on the topic for young people is at the right level of comprehension--tuned toward entertainment, with clear descriptions, mostly everyday language, and lots of clarifying explanations. Now, this book isn't quite aimed at that demographic, and it presupposes a little knowledge of the world, but it has a similar scope, aimed at helping a non-scholar make sense of a pretty broad topic.
I wouldn't say this book is for casual readers. However, people interested in this topic and other motivated readers (authors, for example, who wanna get a battle scene right) would probably find this enjoyable and pretty readable.
It was a little weird how I got through it, though. I read about half straight through many years ago. (8? 9?) I guess I got busy; I forget. But I put it on the shelf with a bookmark and didn't come back to it until just a bit ago. Then I read the second half, pretty much straight through again. And it's good.
The first half is Egyptians, Assyrians et al, Persians, and Greeks. I guess that's the stuff I find most interesting, the part that's most distant, and the author does a good job not just with the outlines and broad brushstrokes but with the personalities and details. It's kinda surprising how much we know about some things 3000 years ago. In part, the book deals with evolving technology, like chariots and elephants and compound bows, but it's also about evolving systems--fighting systems, economic systems, government and army management systems. I found it all interesting and entertaining as presented.
The second half is India and China and then Rome, which gets the most time. That last bit remains less interesting to me. I'm not sure why. But he handles it well, and I learned a bunch.
One thing the author gets right for me is the level of information he uses, the scope and scale of his approach. I didn't want to read a textbook or The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire (it's not that deep), but I also don't want a wikipedia entry. The space between is still pretty big. Some books like this I've found to be aimed at a reader who is nearer an expert than a novice, and for most of us those are too dense to be interesting or comprehensible. When I'm first looking at a topic I don't know much about (say, desert fauna, or the physics of space flight), I've often found that books on the topic for young people is at the right level of comprehension--tuned toward entertainment, with clear descriptions, mostly everyday language, and lots of clarifying explanations. Now, this book isn't quite aimed at that demographic, and it presupposes a little knowledge of the world, but it has a similar scope, aimed at helping a non-scholar make sense of a pretty broad topic.
I wouldn't say this book is for casual readers. However, people interested in this topic and other motivated readers (authors, for example, who wanna get a battle scene right) would probably find this enjoyable and pretty readable.
February 23, 2012
This book, according to the subtitle, is "a history of warfare in the ancient world." The book basically lives up to that claim, though it does have some negative marks to it. First, though, let's discuss the organization of the book.
The book is organized (mostly) chronologically. It start with the Sumerians, Akkadians, and others who populated the fertile crescent at the start of recorded history. It then proceeds on through time, mostly focusing on the current Middle-East and Europe (Sumer, Egypt, Hebrews, Assyrians, et al), though there are a couple detours, one to India and the other to China. Many chapters are accompanied by maps and/or images taken from period carvings or pottery, etc. While this is a nice touch, too many of the maps look like they were drawn in MS Paint circa Windows 95. I can't tell if that is because the graphic reproduction was that bad by the publisher, or if that is how the maps were really drawn. The maps on the back cover are a great example of this problem, so I can't say the publisher didn't try to warn me.
There is nothing here that you can't find elsewhere, but I found this book to be a perfectly serviceable summary of ~4,000 years of warfare in under 300 pages. Sometimes I felt like the author didn't focus well enough on a core purpose, as especially in the Chinese chapters things devolve to just stories of various Chinese generals that didn't appear to explain anything specific about the way the ancient Chinese fought their wars, or even in every case why anybody involved felt those wars were necessary. Sometimes the author discusses specifics of tactics and strategy, sometimes he focuses on the political situation surrounding the wars, and sometimes he focuses on specific personalities. Maybe the focus keep shifting because what he focuses on is the only information the historical record has left, but that isn't made clear. The book just feels somewhat unfocused.
Interestingly enough, I felt the best part of the book was the Afterword, in which the author sums up his feelings about the preceding 270 pages with some very keen insights. For example, why was Alexander the Great so, well, great? Why has nobody else who attempted to copy his exploits succeeded? Was it his Macedonian upbringing? Partly, but not because said upbringing was necessarily Macedonian. Was the Macedonian army just that good? Not really. Alexander was a great military leader, but he didn't spring bodily from the ground; his father taught him well in the ways of the military, but he was tutored in philosophy and ethics Aristotle. He had an extremely well-rounded education, and he made the most of it, according to the author. Hard to argue with that. The author has other good insights, as well, which help redeem some of the faults of the book.
Bottom line, this is a perfectly serviceable survey of warfare in the Ancient World, but it does not provide a lot of detail on any particular battle or leader or country. So, if a survey of this topic is what you are looking for, then this book does the job, but if you want detail look elsewhere.
The book is organized (mostly) chronologically. It start with the Sumerians, Akkadians, and others who populated the fertile crescent at the start of recorded history. It then proceeds on through time, mostly focusing on the current Middle-East and Europe (Sumer, Egypt, Hebrews, Assyrians, et al), though there are a couple detours, one to India and the other to China. Many chapters are accompanied by maps and/or images taken from period carvings or pottery, etc. While this is a nice touch, too many of the maps look like they were drawn in MS Paint circa Windows 95. I can't tell if that is because the graphic reproduction was that bad by the publisher, or if that is how the maps were really drawn. The maps on the back cover are a great example of this problem, so I can't say the publisher didn't try to warn me.
There is nothing here that you can't find elsewhere, but I found this book to be a perfectly serviceable summary of ~4,000 years of warfare in under 300 pages. Sometimes I felt like the author didn't focus well enough on a core purpose, as especially in the Chinese chapters things devolve to just stories of various Chinese generals that didn't appear to explain anything specific about the way the ancient Chinese fought their wars, or even in every case why anybody involved felt those wars were necessary. Sometimes the author discusses specifics of tactics and strategy, sometimes he focuses on the political situation surrounding the wars, and sometimes he focuses on specific personalities. Maybe the focus keep shifting because what he focuses on is the only information the historical record has left, but that isn't made clear. The book just feels somewhat unfocused.
Interestingly enough, I felt the best part of the book was the Afterword, in which the author sums up his feelings about the preceding 270 pages with some very keen insights. For example, why was Alexander the Great so, well, great? Why has nobody else who attempted to copy his exploits succeeded? Was it his Macedonian upbringing? Partly, but not because said upbringing was necessarily Macedonian. Was the Macedonian army just that good? Not really. Alexander was a great military leader, but he didn't spring bodily from the ground; his father taught him well in the ways of the military, but he was tutored in philosophy and ethics Aristotle. He had an extremely well-rounded education, and he made the most of it, according to the author. Hard to argue with that. The author has other good insights, as well, which help redeem some of the faults of the book.
Bottom line, this is a perfectly serviceable survey of warfare in the Ancient World, but it does not provide a lot of detail on any particular battle or leader or country. So, if a survey of this topic is what you are looking for, then this book does the job, but if you want detail look elsewhere.
February 7, 2017
This was a good primer for someone unfamiliar with warfare in the ancient world and something useful to have on your shelf for a historian or someone who is likely to reference old books from time to time. It begins with the earliest recorded military history in the world and ends with the fall of the Western Roman Empire so needless to say it moves pretty fast.
What I liked in particular about this book as opposed to some other similar ones that I have read is that this one dealt with both eastern and western military history. A great deal of time was devoted to China and others in that region which is only fair if one is going to make the claim to be comprehensive.
What I liked in particular about this book as opposed to some other similar ones that I have read is that this one dealt with both eastern and western military history. A great deal of time was devoted to China and others in that region which is only fair if one is going to make the claim to be comprehensive.
January 21, 2016
Dry as a bone... Reads like a long encyclopedia article without much passion. The afterward demonstrates that the author does have some insight into what we could learn from ancient warfare, but he spends most of the book itself detailing events in an exhaustive fashion where I think the better approach would be to strip out some of the names and focus on fewer events with a level of detail that evokes more drama. One particularly frustrating thing is that terms are often thrown in without much definition, leading to some confusion among readers that are not well initiated into the study of ancient history.
July 25, 2011
The book is good as an overview, but at less than 300 pages of information there is not much the author can do in detail. It is supposed to cover a myriad of areas but still seems to concentrate mostly on Greece and Rome. I was interested in what was to be said regarding ancient Egyptian warfare, but only a chapter was given to this subject. So I was disappointed.
The maps are not very good and there are not enough of them anyway. The illustrations were not well done either - I would have preferred photographs of the various artifacts mentioned (even black and white).
Oh well.
The maps are not very good and there are not enough of them anyway. The illustrations were not well done either - I would have preferred photographs of the various artifacts mentioned (even black and white).
Oh well.
January 29, 2012
I really liked some aspects of this book. It is a great survey of the ancient art of warfare and the leaders,weapons, and their tactics involved when waging warfare. Well worth a look for a really great overview of the subject matter. It also has a great deal of source material info that will be invaluable for readers doing further research. But, as a caveat, it had me wanting a little bit more meat on its bones to chew on when it came to the overall discussion of its subject matter. Still I do highly recommend that you read this book.
September 20, 2012
Too much like listening to an unimaginative professor give a lecture on the subject. There is a lot of information here and it is presented thematically and chronologically, but the author seems to assume quite a bit and drop bits and pieces of historical information without explanation or citation. The sources are listed in the back of the book, so there is that. The Afterword is quite eloquent and supports the entire previous work. Overall, worth the read.
Want to read
November 11, 2007On my list of research subjects for upcoming books that I am to write
January 7, 2013
Excellent book with wonderful insights to warfare, entertaining to any level historian
December 14, 2014
An informative book, yet seems disjointed and might have an over-reliance on the Bible as a factual document.
Found the details for creating chariots and fighting in phalanxes informative.
Found the details for creating chariots and fighting in phalanxes informative.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews