Ancient Warfare: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #117

by Harry Sidebottom

Ancient Warfare: A Very Short Introduction examines all aspects of ancient warfare, from philosophy and strategy to the technical skills needed to fight. How did wars shape classical society? How was the individual's identity constructed by war? Can a war be just? Why was siege warfare particularly bloody? What role did divine intervention play in the outcome of a battle? Greek and Roman warfare differed from other cultures and was unlike any other forms of warfare. The key difference is often held to be that the Greeks and Romans practised a ‘Western Way of War’, where the aim is an open, decisive battle, won by courage instilled in part by discipline. What is this ‘Western Way of War’?

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, Ancient History, Military Fiction, Audiobook, Military History

165 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2005

About the author

Harry Sidebottom is Lecturer in Ancient History at Merton College, Oxford, and part-time lecturer in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Warwick. He has written for and contributed to many publications, including Classical Review, Journal of Roman Studies, and War and Society in the Roman World.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a bit of a fan of Victor Davis Hanson - I suspect that is helped because our political views overlap and I find him to be an engaging author. With that said, as I have endeavored to self educate on all aspects of the ancient world, I have come to frequently find dogmatic positions problematic (to use a buzzword I usually hate). Beyond the fundamentals of human nature, the expression of cultural norms and methods of addressing life's challenges are endlessly varied across the world. The idea of a monolithic anything is, I think, untenable in many ways. So that brings us to the "western way of war". This very short book does a wonderful job of addressing some of the matters brought up by VDH and others who proscribe to the Western model in a very thorough manner and would be an excellent book to read in conjunction with Hanson's.

[Illiterate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sidebottom makes warfare more interesting by looking at its cultural construction.

[Eloise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved how the author managed to be "yes, like in Gladiator" (First chapter is "At my signal unleash Hell") without seeming condescending. Just treats it as a cultural reference point and then introduces both history and historiography, there's a lot to cover so it can get dense.
As usual with this series the 'further reading' section is fantastic. A warning though, the 'ancient warfare' covered is that of 'classical' Greeks and Romans and their enemies, as noted in the introduction.

[Ingrid J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ett sällsynt lågt betyg av mig. Det grundar sig i att det tog mig ganska lång tid och en beskärd del själv-tvång att läsa klart denna bok… och då är den bara 128 sidor lång? Hade högre förhoppningar men början var så seg (dnf-varning) men de tre sista kapitlen var ändå bra och så som jag trodde hela boken skulle vara. All in all, en två.

[مؤرخ · Rating 3 out of 5]

يركز الكتاب على الحرب عند اليونان والرومان، ويرد منذ بدايته على ما يُرَوّج له في وسائل إعلام غربية على أنه تقليد حربي لهم منذ القدم، فيُفَصّل في تلك الردود عبر فصوله، وينفي كثير من التزوير والتلفيق الحاصل.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty dang good. really it's just the history of ancient western warfare. and at that, it's really about greco Roman warfare. and at that, it's half about the warfare itself and half about the ideological construction of that warfare. How war was justified, why it was done, how it was thought that it should be done, what they thought different war strategies said about different nations, etc. basically they had this idea that they should be brave warrior aristocrats and make the enemy know they are defeated by full frontal, disciplined melee attack. archery and light cavalry was for wimps and sneaky people, like easterners, while disorderly ferocity was for northerners. of course these tropes were modified and played with over time.

[Hank Hoeft · Rating 3 out of 5]

The structure of Ancient Warfare: A Very Short Introduction goes from wide-ranging to smaller and smaller aspects of ancient warfare, in the author's exploration of the idea of the "Western way of war" and why that idea is not as true as many writers of warfare think it is. Starting with classical philosophy's exploration of warfare, then going on to ancient societies' view of warfare, then to strategies, and finally to tactics, this slim volume presents a good introduction to the subject, as well as a well-developed thesis: that the "Western way of war" is an idea more honored in the breach that in fidelity to its precepts.

[Jay Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first chapters of this book were not very new to me and therefore not very exciting. The last chapter, however, tied all the information presented in the earlier chapter to make an extremely important point about the ideology of "the western way of war" that gives many people the idea that western civilization is invincible and that the purpose of a war is the annihilation of the enemy.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Focused on ancient Greece and Rome, this introduction touches aspects such as philosophy, politics, motivations, prejudices, strategy, the technical skills needed to fight, siege warfare, as well as the notions of the construction of identity by war, justice, and the role of divine intervention.

[Daniel Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapter 1: 'At my signal unleash hell': the Western Way of War?
Chapter 2: Thinking with war
Chapter 3: War and society
Chapter 4: Thinking about war
Chapter 5: Strategy
Chapter 6: Fighting
Chapter 7: 'People should know when they are conquered': the reinventions of the Western Way of War

[Kyra Boisseree · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting enough, but I’ve never really been all that interested in military history. I found myself getting distracted easily.

[Farid Medleg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started as a fun book to read on the side. Exquisitely researched, fantastically referenced, and highlights further reading for anyone interested. This instalment, author, and series of publications are a treasure trove for almost any topic imaginable.

[Alexander Velasquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be better titled: "The Ancient Western Way of War" or "The Ancient Greek and Roman Way of War." "Ancient Warfare" may be misleading to those whom wish to learn warfare from other civilizations. Regardless, it is still a great introduction into the world of Ancient Greek and Roman warfare.

Chapter 1 discusses the origins of the western way of war - from the Greeks' fighting against the Persians during the Persian Wars. The western way of war, roughly put, is the fight for freedom in an open, hand-to-hand fighting style instilled by discipline and courage.

Chapter 2 discusses how the Greeks and Romans used war to structure their thoughts on culture, gender, and the individual. The Greeks and Romans, for example, thought that war was an occupation for men; although women did play a role in warfare, it was extremely minor and limited to minute aid during battles.

Chapter 3 is about the role war-making itself changed Greek and Roman society. Topics discussed are the Greek phalanx, the agrarian crisis in Rome and the effect on the Roman soldiers, and the 'barbarization' of the Roman army and the role it played in the fall of the empire.

Chapter 4 covers the way the Greeks and Romans thought about war. For example, the Greeks never really had an extensive theory on what made a war 'just', however the Romans did through fragmentary works of Cicero. Other topics covered include civil war, the Greeks under Rome, and the Christians under Rome.

Chapter 5 is extremely fascinating and discusses Greek, but mostly Roman, strategies of war. What was the Republic's strategy for war as opposed to the Empire, and why? And how did the Romans go about with the logistics of war? How did they go about transporting food and other goods to their troops?

Chapter 6 is what most people will probably read the book for - the fighting. What did hoplites fight with? What did the phalangite look like? What about the Roman legions? Calvary, siege warfare, naval warfare, techniques for generalship for warfare... All of that is discussed and makes for a fascinating read.

The book finishes with Chapter 7, and breaks down Roman warfare, contrasting the portrayal of the opening scene of the movie Gladiator, and the portrayal of war on the Ancient Roman columns built by Marcus Aurelius. The result showing a few similarities, and many more differences - mostly coming down to the realities of war being much more gruesome than as shown in the movie Gladiator.

A fascinating and impressive VSI, as well as a solid introduction for anyone wishing to learn about war as conducted by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book does an excellent job of introducing many of the major concepts about warfare in the ancient world. Lots of great illustrative pictures and excellent coverage of the various aspects of warfare in ancient life. I appreciated the frequent citation of primary sources, although a lay-reader might find these less useful. This book is a cultural history of warfare, and specifically combats the jingoistic approach to warfare espoused by V.D. Hanson ("the western way of war"). In that alone, it is a great book and one worthy of a careful read.

My biggest gripe is that the text seems to focus more on the role of warfare in life and less on the actual tactics of warfare. I would have loved to see one or two battles mapped out. Most of us want to be armchair generals, and I kept waiting for the book to provide a detailed description of a battle. Perhaps there are already many other books that do this, or perhaps there just wasn't space for it. The list of sources for further reader may produce what I am looking for, but this book was definitely a pleasant stop along the way.

[Jael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was exactly what I hoped it would be and a little more.My aim was to obtain a bit of general knowledge on ancient warfare and for that this book was not too long, and despite the title, also not too short.

Disclaimer: I have an interest in History, but I am in no way an expert, which makes me unable to assess the reliability of sources and the degree of accuracy.

I hoped to find out more about the warfare itself, but, in part due to Sidebottom's pleasant way of writing, I learned more about the thought on and of war in ancient civilisations in addition to content including links to society, examples of battles, strategy, equipment, leadership and philosophy. The only missing aspect I would have liked to see is, as Sidebottom clearly focuses on the concept of 'the Western way of war', is a link to developments in Eastern warfare, but considering the easily accessible length of this book that is understandable.

Highly recommended if you are interested in a general idea of (Western) warfare in the ancient era!

[Derek Frasure · Rating 4 out of 5]

This VSI gets deep into the weeds of ancient warfare. I learned a lot and found this enjoyable, although I imagine many would grow weary of some of the granular detail. Sidebottom seems knowledgeable about war in all periods, and he frequently takes you deeper into scholarly controversies than is probably ideal in a short introductory text.However, if you're inclined to appreciate academic distinctions, then he's delightful and fairly impartial to read on these disputes.

This slim volume comes packed with pictures, and it covers everything from the philosophy of war, its social and gendered impact, strategy, the nuts and bolts of arms, shields, ships, and more. All this is tied up in a succinct cultural lesson that the western way of war (honorable, open, courageous, logical, organized and disciplined) has never at any point been materially real in all the ways it is ideologically projected. Western war serves as a justification for brutality served to the barbarian hoardes of the east and south.

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful introductory read to ancient warfare. I'm doing an EPQ that focuses on governance and military tactics in ancient Rome, and this was a very useful starting point! Very readable considering I had very little/no prior knowledge of warfare in the ancient worlds.
A great starting point with many historians mentioned so it's very useful in trying to find where to go next in researching or understanding warfare in the ancient world.
The book evaluated and highlighted controversy/reliability of some sources which was super useful too, and was a spring board for some of my later research.

Readability for those with limited/no prior knowledge: 3-4/5
Use as a springboard for further research: 5/5
Use in gaining holistic understanding: 5/5
Reliability: 4.5/5 (due to multiplicity of sources, references and evaluations)
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[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent introduction to warfare in the ancient world. The author uses a fairly labored depiction of "the western way of war", and frankly I don't get what he's trying to add to the discussion with it. It gets in the way. That aside, the book is worth your time if you are interested in the topic, especially given its price ($5 for Kindle) and length.

Understand that it isn't a detailed discussion of tactics, formations and whatnot, but rather an overview of the way the ancient world approached warfare. If you're looking for the technical nitty-gritty you'll have to look elsewhere.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a very short introduction to ancient warfare, with specific focus on Greece, Rome and the so-called 'Western way of war'. Interesting bits about Greek and Roman battle strategy, logistical problems/solutions, as well as their the manner in which their view of others including the Persians, Caledonians, Germanic tribes and Carthaginians came through the manner in which they were perceived to have waged war.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sidebottom uses this book as an introduction to Ancient Warfare, scratching the surface of all aspects of it. The main reason to read this though is the thread that carries across all the chapters, his criticism of the idea of the Western Way of War. It is an engaging and thoughtful read, with an excellent further reading section even it feels like an extended essay rather than a book.

[Tyrannosaurus regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only was this packed with information (on a subject I did at least have a grounding in), but it was also a good primer on how we study history, who we study, and how successive generations have interpreted and reinterpreted the surviving evidence.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

It gets an extra star for shortness.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A better title would be: What People Have Thought About the "Western Way of War" Over the Years (With a Heavy Emphasis on the Movie Gladiator): A Very Short Introduction.

[Chris Esposo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book, if you accept what it is, and not what one may expect it to be. I initially thought this book was going to be a short-but-detailed introduction on ancient warfare, as practiced across the globe, maybe covering broad concepts of strategy at this time, but more importantly, the weapons used by various ancient societies, and the tactics that were informed by that technology. I was also expecting some discussion at length on the campaigns. This is not what the book is about. If you can get around that, and accept what the book is, which is a critique of the historical notion of the “Western way of war” as distinct from others ways of war, then you can appreciate this book. Though, if your utility of this text derives from something like the former desire/objective , then you should skip it.

That being said, like many of the Oxford Short Introduction series (and the similarly titled MIT Essential Knowledge Series), this book did not disappoint me in terms of content. For the longest time, a “short’ book was often synonymous with a shallow one, and I did not feel this to be the case here. The author asks in the first chapter, “what is the Western way of war?” and uses popular conceptions of it, like the opening scene from the film “Gladiator” (which was not very accurate from my understanding), visualizing a Roman legion and cavalry assault on “barbarian” Germanic tribes, to motivate the question and draw the reader in.

Here, the question very much is centered more generally, not only the “Western way” of war, but the conception of what is “Western” vs the rest. In the case of the film Gladiator, “Barbarians” were considered out, and their “style” of warfare was contrasted with the “Western style” which is viewed as one of a professional army, rationalized, and employing rational tactics/stratagems in the battlefield. As the author points out, this notion is fairly arbitrary as with the mother-of-all counterexamples/contradiction, the “Greeks” are viewed by many historians as practicing the “Western way” of war in antiquity, yet, are somehow distinct when they battle the emerging Roman Republic several centuries after. As the author points out, the modern notion of demarcating styles of warfare in traditional Western historiography are often a function of the “other-izing” drive found in other historical subfields, most pronounced in many older comparative studies of non-western cultures, sciences, technology, and economics, and can be seen as part of the general narrative designed to substantiate the “West vs. Rest” theme found in those texts and genres.

The standout chapter for me was on the notion of strategy, where the author questions whether such a notion was real in Western antiquity, that is, did the Emperors of Rome think of their positioning of the Empire and their assets/forces in some sense that was truly strategic (and by extension can such thought also be seen to have existed in other cultures in antiquity) in some modern conception of that word? The author does a good job illustrating examples of simple cause-effect analysis the Roman leadership may have had in terms of how the viewed the various interlocking relationships within and external to their empire (e.g. managing barbarian incursions prevents stocks of grain from being stolen, which allows us to use stock to feed our people, and continue to tax activity etc.). Yet, similar to some of the dynastic thinking in the entities in China, this could be viewed as less “strategic” thinking and more managerial. The author does not really resolve any of these questions definitively, but they are provided as points of continued thinking the reader can engage in for deeper analysis.

Overall, I’m happy with what the book is, I probably would still have bought it had I known what it was when I first got it (these are only 7.99 on Kindle, which I consider reasonably priced). Some outstanding questions that could have been discussed, like the nature of giving battle in the ancient world, and how it was much rarer than our modern popular histories may suggest were not covered (many campaigns amount to a cat-mouse pursuit of two armies, that did not actually end in conflict). I again, would have also liked a more detailed account of at least a few campaigns, but again, this is at best a “strategic” level meta-critique on our history of wars in antiquity, so that would likely fall outside of scope. Conditional recommend.

[Ryan Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of the best in the 'Very Short Introduction' series, but certainly not the worst. I think this fell a little short in part because the title is a bit misleading: Ancient Warfare suggests something quite broad in terms of chronology and geography, but once into the book we learn that it is only going to deal with Greek and Roman warfare. That's fine by me, but not what I expected from the title.
It also starts out in Chapter 1 taking on VD Hanson's concept of a 'Western Way of War', which seems a little narrow for a book of this sort, and then it loses sight of that setup until the final conclusion where it reappears. I am interested in this theory (I have taught Hanson's book in my classes before), but the author here doesn't have the space to really critique it--maybe he could have just saved it for the end as a way of going back over everything he covered in the book from that one perspective instead of setting us up for a book-long theme that actually kind of disappears.
Sidebottom also writes the book in chunks dealing with a few specific circumstances rather than a full and detailed developmental narrative; I think this is reasonable, but a little more of a transition from chunk to chunk would have been nice.

[Declan Waters · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review of Ancient Warfare by Harry Sidebottom is clearly based on some very indepth knowledge of his subject area, the conflicts of Greece and Rome, and their impact on the modern world.

However he is let down by the series editor. This is not a book on Ancient Warfare as the title suggests but an explanation and investigation into the 'Western Way of War' and it's basis in the ancient world of Greece and Rome. As such the book concentrates on these areas and conflicts taking no account of the other world cultures at the time except in-so-far as they interract with the chosen area.

As such, the original tite hides the purpose of the author's hypothesis and discussion and makes for a strange book. The author is at pains to say that 'western way of war' is what the book is about, and he guides the reader through his various ideas, proposals and conclusions, but I was left feeling the book would have been much better if it had included Egypt (Africa), the Middle East, India and China within the pages.

[Jedi-Timelord · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is OK, but nothing more.
Flaw #1: If you have some idea of the ancient world you'll be better off, but if not I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point. There are people, events, concepts, etc., that the author discusses with little context, and you therefore need to know some things.
Flaw #2: Unfortunately, the author gets hung up on the debatable concept of a "Western Way of War" and uses it as a frame for the book. As a result, there are many, many missed opportunities to describe what is known/not known, written and archaeological findings, technology, tactics, representations, accounts and so forth. The chosen frame gets in the way, frankly, and doesn't add to the discussion in any concrete way. This makes for a lackluster account.
Will you learn anything? Yes, there are some interesting bits along the way, but unfortunately this is one VSI that didn't live up to expectations.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short volume problematizes the notion of a "Western way of war," showing that western cultures didn't follow the pattern of open, decisive battles for many centuries. Still, the ways ancient cultures "thought with war" is highlighted, in which warfare both shaped a culture and became a lens through which other cultures were viewed. Ancient art is discussed in an illuminative way, as well as adding nuance to how phalanx warfare with hoplites was conducted. He tries to have a chapter akin to "The Face of Battle" by John Keegan but doesn't quite get into the average soldier's viewpoint. Still, he gives some good insights into naval, siege, etc. warfare in this chapter.

[Aakif · Rating 2 out of 5]

Should be titled Greco-Roman warfare rather than ancient warfare.

First of all, I thought this book was about Ancient warfare (how it was fought), but it turned out to be mainly about the ideology of war or what it calls the 'Western Way of War' and its societal impact. Only Chapter 6 deals with actual combat details. Also, it was really disappointing that even though the book is titled Ancient warfare, it only discusses Greek and Roman (plus Christians) warfare and ignores the rest of the world.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some parts of the book were excellent, especially where the author looks at particular examples, eg comparing the art on two vases. However a lot of it was unclear. This is probably because I didn’t have the required knowledge of the Classical world. The book is more about the philosophy of Ancient Warfare than about how it was actually fought. While it is a short introduction it is not a basic one and is not really aimed at the interested amateur.