Warfare in the Ancient World

Warfare in the Ancient World explores how civilizations and cultures made war on the battlefields of the Near East and Europe between the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia in the late fourth millenium BC and the fall of Rome. Through a exploration of twenty-six selected battles, military historian Brian Todd Carey surveys the changing tactical relationships between the four weapon systems - heavy and light infantry and hevay and light cavalry - focusing on how shock and missile combat evolved from tentative beginnings in the Bronze Age to the highly developed military organization created by the Romans. The art of warfare reached a very sophisticated level of development during this three millenia span. Commanders fully realized the tactical capabilities of shock and missile combat in large battlefield situations. Modern principles of war, like the primacy of the offensive, mass, and economy of force, were understood by pre-modern generals and applied on battlefields throughout the period. Through the use of dozens of multiphase tactical maps, this fascinating introduction to the art of war during western civilization's ancient and classical periods pulls together the primary and secondary sources and creates a powerful historical narrative. The result is a synthetic work that will be essential reading for students and armchair historians alike. AUTHOR: Brian Todd Carey is an Assistant Professor of History and Military History at the American Public University System, where he teaches ancient, classical, medieval and early modern military history. He is the author of dozens of history articles in numerous magazines and journals, including Aviation History, Command Magazine, History Magazine, Marine Corps Gazette, Medieval History Magazine, Military Heritage, Military History, Strategy and Tactics, World History Bulletin, World at War, World War II, and WWII Quarterly: The Journal of the Second World War and seventeen articles on ancient, classical and medieval Eurasian warfare for the twenty-one volume ABC-CLIO-World History Encyclopedia. In 2007 he was the recipient of the American Public University System's Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award for the School of Arts and Humanities. He is the author of Warfare in the Ancient World, Warfare in the Medieval World, Hannibal's last Battle: Zama and the Fall of Carthage, and Road to Manzikert: Byzantine and Islamic Warfare, 527-1071.

About the Author :
Brian Todd Carey is professor of military history and international relations in the American Public University System. Joshua B. Allfree is a US Army veteran and he holds the bachelor of arts degree in world military history from the American Military University. John Cairns has specialized in computer cartography since 1993.

Review :
"This first work of a two-volume set serves as a solid introduction to ancient warfare. Carey analyzes the main tactical systems in light of Archer Jones's tactical matrix (heavy infantry, heavy cavalry, light infantry, light cavalry). Nice selection of key battles. Excellent diagrams and maps. Glossary and select bibliography."--Steven D. Fratt "Oxford Bibliographies" "This is an interesting work with a lot of clearly presented information and will be useful to history students in military schools and to amateur historians."-- "Journal of Military History" (7/1/2006 12:00:00 AM)