Warrior Ancient and Medieval Rules

[Rob Turnball]

Gentlemen
I have been trying to improve my understanding of the Punic wars and in
particular of the Carthaginian army, how it fought (on a unit or individual
troop level) rather than grand strategy which I think ZI have a grasp of. So
far the Osprey book on armies of the punic wars is my major source ather than
the great battles and ancient warfare books. Can anyone suggest other good
references on the Carthaginians, with special reference to the Spanish and
other allied contingents.
I appreciate your input
Robert

[scott holder]

Hmmmmm, start with Ian Heath's (or is it Duncan Head?) WRG Book Armies and Ene
mies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars. This will give you the usual Heath and
/or Head wargamer's view of the period.

Of course read Livy. Modern scholars since the 1950s tend to discount Livy as
a hack but some revisionism on his reputation has occurred since I gradjuated
kolej.

Two more books are by J.F. Lazenby, Hannibal's War and The First Punic War. T
hese focus more on the military history. I've only skimmed both of them so do
n't know how much agonizing details on troop types they'll contain. But, if
you combine these with the WRG book first mentioned, you're moving in the righ
t direction.

And, for something completely different, get Hannibal's Children by John Rober
t Maddox. It's perfect for ancient tournament gamers in that it's a "what if"
tale about "what if the Romans *had* surrendered to Hannibal?"

scott

>>> lilroblis@... 11/25/02 09:45PM >>>
Gentlemen
I have been trying to improve my understanding of the Punic wars and in
particular of the Carthaginian army, how it fought (on a unit or individual
troop level) rather than grand strategy which I think ZI have a grasp of. So
far the Osprey book on armies of the punic wars is my major source ather than

the great battles and ancient warfare books. Can anyone suggest other good
references on the Carthaginians, with special reference to the Spanish and
other allied contingents.
I appreciate your input
Robert


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[Bill Low]

On Cathage and the Punic Wars, try:

"The First Punic War," J. F. Lazenby, Stanford U. Press (1996) -
outstanding, but like most of the works on the First War spends a lot of
time on the naval aspect (which, if you like that sort of thing, is dealt
with in "Greek and Roman Naval Warfare," W. L. Rodgers, U.S. Naval
Institute Press - there is a better one out there, but I forget the details
... Naval Warfare Under Oars?).

"Hannibal's War," J.F. Lazenby, U. of Oklahoma Press (1978) - good, even
very good, but dauntingly academic in its presentation.

"The Punic Wars," Adrian Goldworthy, Cassell & Co. (2000) - new and
popular, I have not yet read it, looks okay. Also, "The Punic Wars," Brian
Caven, Barnes & Noble (1980), somewhat breezy, a quick and easy read.

If you want more of a Roman point of view (which I don't), you could try:

Scipio Africanus: Soldier and Politician, H.H. Scullard, Cornell U. Press
(1970).

For Those Interested in Antigonos and Eumenes, try:

"Antigonos the One-Eyed," R. A. Billows, U. of California (1990) -
outstanding work.

(For Demetrios, the historical fiction to which someone else referred is
probably "Besieger of Cities" by Alfred Duggan; I read it years ago and
liked it ... but then I was very young.)

If you like the Antigonid line, try the oldie-but-goodie: "Antigonos
Gonatas," W. W. Tarn, Oxford U. Press (1913, 1969), a great book in the
English narrative tradition. Also by the same author, also great, is "The
Greeks in Bactria and India.")

But if you like the period, the best overview (albeit sadly short) may
still be "A History of the Greek World (323-146 B.C.)," M. Cary, Methuen
(1932, 1968). Also try E.R. Bevan's books "The House of Seleucus" and "The
House of Ptolemy" (which I have only in reprints), and Esther Hanson's "The
Attalids of Pergamon," Cornell U. Press (1971), which is very good.

For those interested in the Roman Wars in the East in the Later Hellenistic
Period, there is:

"Roman Foreign Policy in the East (168 B.C. to 1 A.D.)," A. N.
Sherwin-White, U. of Oklahoma Press (1983) - truly an excellent book on an
otherwise obscure period.

"War and Imperialism in Republican Rome, 327-70 BC," W. V. Harris,
Clarendon/Oxford U. Press (1979), which is particularly good on the
internal dynamics that powered Rome's expansionism.

(Another Alfred Duggan book, "He Died Old" (from an A.E. Housman poem), is
a fun historical fiction read on Mithradates VI Eupator.)

If you like historical fiction, don't overlook:

Any of Cecilia Holland's books ... such as "Jerusalem" (on the Templars in
Outremer at the time of Hattin), "Great Maria" (the Norman conquest of
Southern Italy), "Until the Sun Falls" (the Mongol conquest of Russia, et
al) ... plus a number of others ... she's the greatest.

And then of course there is always Mary Renault's books on Theseus
(bringing the myth to life) and Alexander III of Macedon (esp. "The Persian
Boy").


At 10:49 PM 11/25/2002 -0500, you wrote:
> Gentlemen
> I have been trying to improve my understanding of the Punic wars and in
> particular of the Carthaginian army, how it fought (on a unit or individual
> troop level) rather than grand strategy which I think ZI have a grasp of.
So
> far the Osprey book on armies of the punic wars is my major source ather
than
> the great battles and ancient warfare books. Can anyone suggest other good
> references on the Carthaginians, with special reference to the Spanish and
> other allied contingents.
> I appreciate your input
> Robert
>
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>
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From Harold William Low

[scott holder]

"Antigonos the One-Eyed," R. A. Billows, U. of California (1990) -
outstanding work.

>I purchased this in 2001 figuring the topic had been plumbed. Boy was I wron
g. Anybody interested in the Successor period (which I define as the first "g
eneration" after Alex's demise) should get this book. I'll be referring to it
often when I get around to that particular list.

(For Demetrios, the historical fiction to which someone else referred is
probably "Besieger of Cities" by Alfred Duggan; I read it years ago and
liked it ... but then I was very young.)

>Hot damn! That's the book. I read it then followed up with the section in P
lutarch's Lives that gives Demetrius' bio. In a way, as a literary character,
he's not unlike Mark Antony (or as we like to say Mark Anty).

If you like the Antigonid line, try the oldie-but-goodie: "Antigonos
Gonatas," W. W. Tarn, Oxford U. Press (1913, 1969), a great book in the
English narrative tradition. Also by the same author, also great, is "The
Greeks in Bactria and India.")

>I might add that everybody interested in the Alexandrian/early Hellenistic pe
riod should glom onto all of Tarn's books. In some ways they are dated but we
re the foundation for which an entire generation of scholars built upon.

>And thanks for all the other books. I need to quit my day job and start read
ing full time!

scott