An instant New York Times bestseller, this profound book (Wall Street Journal) charts how and why some societies chose to utterly destroy their foes, and warns that similar wars of obliteration are possible in our time

War can settle disputes, topple tyrants, and bend the trajectory of civilization--sometimes to the breaking point. From Troy to Hiroshima, moments when war has ended in utter annihilation have reverberated through the centuries, signaling the end of political systems, cultures, and epochs. Though much has changed over the millennia, human nature remains the same. Modern societies are not immune from the horror of a war of extinction.

In The End of Everything, military historian Victor Davis Hanson narrates a series of sieges and sackings that span the age of antiquity to the conquest of the New World to show how societies descend into barbarism and obliteration. In the stories of Thebes, Carthage, Constantinople, and Tenochtitlan, he depicts war's drama, violence, and folly. Highlighting the naivete that plagued the vanquished and the wrath that justified mass slaughter, Hanson delivers a sobering call to contemporary readers to heed the lessons of obliteration lest we blunder into catastrophe once again.

Ancient Greek history is full of fascinating events and adventures, with the refined culture and many Gods of olden Greece a highlight - this history, aimed at younger readers, summarizes the great civilization.

Experienced historian and author Helene Guerber tells her history as a series of short and poignant stories. We hear of the founding of early cities such as Athens and Thebes, and the famous myths that would gradually grow to form the pantheon of Greek Gods and legends. The artistic and cultural styles introduced by ancient Greek artisans and craftsmen, the pioneering philosophies of Plato and Socrates, and the settlers who colonized southern Italy are all mentioned.

We also hear about the wars and conflicts which were frequent in ancient Greece, becoming part of its literature and mythos. The siege and conquest of Troy, the Peloponnesian War, and the battles between the rival Athenian city states and the Spartans are described. Greece was innovative in war, being among the first civilizations to have organized units such as the hoplites and companion cavalry, and bringing the earliest artillery to the battlefield.

The island city of Tyre along the coast of Lebanon was for centuries an impregnable fortress and key to unlocking Phoenician and Persian power in the Near East. Its fall was first prophesied in the Book of Ezekiel; but it would not be Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who would take the city as the Bible foretold, but a Macedonian warrior king, Alexander. Alexander's siege of 332 BC was one of the most remarkable events in the classical world. It was the capture of Tyre that did the most to enhance Alexander's reputation for invincibility, wrote historian Waldemar Heckel, while classicist Paul Cartledge observed, If Alexander deserves permanent commemoration as a general, then it is above all in his capacity as a besieger, and of all his sieges Tyre was his masterpiece. Yet books about Alexander and his conquests often simply retell the story as recorded by ancient authors--even though these accounts often disagree--and ignore competing theories among modern scholars about what may have happened given scientific and textual discoveries.
The Siege of Tyre: Alexander the Great and the Gateway to Empire by David A. Guenther is the first book-length treatment of this critical and fascinating campaign, featuring catapults, triremes, religious invocations, close combat, and marvels of engineering, including a massive manmade causeway from the mainland to the island. The siege is thoroughly analyzed from the standpoint of what is plausible given the nature of the technology of the time and what we now know of the geology and physical fortifications of ancient Tyre. The book begins with the background leading up to the siege: Alexander's army, his invasion of Asia Minor, the sieges of Miletus and Halicarnassus, and the battles of the Granicus and Issus. It also describes the culture, people, cities, and economy of ancient Phoenicia to place the story of the siege in a broader context. Critical to the siege were the evolving technologies in the ancient Mediterranean world, including innovations in catapult design, military engineering, and naval architecture. Guenther also takes into account recent scientific discoveries about the geology of the ancient seabed around Tyre and its effect on the siege. Finally, the book points out possible gender-biased views on topics such as sacred temple prostitution among the ancient Phoenicians and the fate of women in besieged cities of the ancient world. An engrossing blend of ancient wonder and historical and technological analysis, The Siege of Tyre is the remarkable story of Alexander the Great's masterpiece.

When the great war pitting the Athenians against the Peloponnesians first erupted, Pericles told his compatriots that, if they kept up their navy, focused on the conflict at hand, and refrained from wasting their resources on ulterior objects, they would win through - and Thucydides believed him. After Pericles' death, however, to the historian's dismay, the Athenians pursued risky adventures tangential to their struggle with the Spartans and their allies; and, in Sicily, thanks in large part to domestic strife, they squandered not one, but two great armadas. Then, in the aftermath of that catastrophe, they found themselves bereft of triremes and short of manpower - as a coalition formed against them including their Lacedaemonians rivals, their longtime allies in the Aegean, and the Great King of Achaemenid Persia.

In Sparta's Third Attic War, Paul Rahe examines the armed conflict that followed, attending to the impact on its outcome of the internal struggles that took place at Athens, at Sparta, and at the court of the Great King; describing the maneuvers of the wily, flexible, seductive Athenian turncoat Alcibiades, who dominated in turn the counsels of the Spartans, the Persians, and his fellow Athenians; and charting the eventual emergence at Lacedaemon of a commanding figure of helot ancestry named Lysander, who formed a close relationship with the younger son of the Great King and, in battle, outwitted the Athenians at every turn. This is a story of grit, determination, and brilliance on both sides. It examines the ambivalence of the Spartans, it relates the folly that brought the Athenians down, and it traces their ultimate defeat to defects in the policy and vision of Pericles.

Machiavelli on War offers a comprehensive interpretation of the philosopher-historian's treatment of war throughout his writings, from poems and memoranda drafted while he was Florence's top official for military matters to his posthumous works, The Prince and Discourses on Livy. Christopher Lynch argues that the issue of war permeates the form and content of each of Machiavelli's works, the substance of his thoughts, and his own activity as a writer, concluding that he was the first great modern philosopher because he was the first modern philosopher of war.

Lynch details Machiavelli's understanding of warfare in terms of both actual armed conflict and at the intellectual level of thinkers competing on the field of knowledge and belief. Throughout Machiavelli's works, he focuses on how military commanders' knowledge of human necessities, beginning with their own, enables and requires them to mold soldiers, organizationally and politically, to best deploy them in operations attuned to political context and changing circumstances. Intellectually, leaders must shape minds, their own and others', to reject beliefs that would weaken their purpose; for Machiavelli, this meant overcoming the classical and Christian traditions in favor of a new teaching of human freedom and excellence.

As Machiavelli on War makes clear, prevailing both on the battlefield and in the war of ideas demands a single-minded engagement in reasoning about everything, beginning with oneself. For Machiavelli, Lynch shows, the successful military commander is not just an excellent leader but also an excellent human being in constant pursuit of the truth about themselves and the world.

From an award-winning historian of ancient Rome, the definitive history of Rome's most devastating defeatAugust 2, 216 BC was one of history's bloodiest single days of fighting. On a narrow plain near the Southern Italian town of Cannae, despite outnumbering their opponents almost two to one, a massive Roman army was crushed by the heterogeneous forces of Hannibal, the Carthaginian general who had spectacularly crossed the Alps into Italy two years earlier. The scale of the losses at Cannae -- 50,000 Roman men killed -- was unrivaled until the industrialized slaughter of the First World War. Although the Romans eventually recovered and Carthage lost the war, the Battle of Cannae became Romans' point of reference for all later military catastrophes. Ever since, military commanders confronting a superior force have attempted, and usually failed, to reproduce Hannibal's tactics and their overwhelming success.In Cannae, the celebrated historian Adrian Goldsworthy offers a concise and enthralling history of one of the most famous battles ever waged, setting Cannae within the larger contexts of the Second Punic War and the nature of warfare in the third century BC. It is a gripping read for historians, strategists, and anyone curious about warfare in antiquity and Rome's rise to power.

...an accessible and carefully researched book that presents the reader with an up-to-date account of the conditions of life, service, and combat in Rome's legions during this period of rapid Roman expansion. - The Journal of Military History

Inside the Roman Legions aims to tell the story of the Roman soldier through a holistic, empathetic examination of what the experience of military service in the Middle Republic was really like. It traces real examples of soldiers described in the ancient sources to reveal how they travelled, how they were organized and what campaign objectives they faced. Specifically, the author follows the ordinary soldier Spurius Ligustinus, whose life is related by the historian Livy, as an example, detailing the experiences of his career. The book begins by discussing the young future soldier's background and what military values were conveyed to him through the prevailing culture of the time. It then follows him through a range of potential experiences, examining camp conditions and training with various types of weapons and armour, and proceeds to take the reader through the experience of fighting in a pitched battle step by step. It also addresses experiences that only some soldiers would have had, such as escaping a total defeat, deserting, or being subject to unusual punishments. Throughout, the focus of the book is on how the individual might be shaped by the experiences as they are described.

Explores the evolution of the Roman army during the Third Century Crisis, detailing reforms, tactics, and key military campaigns.

During the Middle Empire period (AD 180-284) the Roman army had to face the terrible 'Third Century Crisis', wherein a combination of socio-economic problems and new external threats threatened the Empire with complete collapse. Several provinces became temporarily independent from the central government of Rome, while others were frequently raided by foreign invaders. The Roman army had to fight with all its resources in order to reconquer a good portion of the Empire and preserve its unity. The Romans were forced to modernize and reform their forces to face the new challenges posed by a multitude of warlike enemies, such as the Persians in the Middle East or the Germanic Peoples in Central Europe. The previous military system based on the power of the legions' heavy infantry was completely revised, with the introduction of new organizational patterns. Cavalry became much more important than before, together with light troops specialized in skirmishing. The personal equipment of the Roman soldiers changed in a very significant way, with the introduction of new weapons that permitted the development of innovative tactics.

Gabriele Esposito follows this evolution of Roman forces from the death of Marcus Aurelius to the rise of Diocletian, reconstructing the major military campaigns and explaining how the Roman military forces were transformed. All the major troop types are covered, with details on the organization and equipment of each contingent. The book is lavishly illustrated throughout with excellent colour photos of reconstructed costume and equipment in use.

From an award-winning historian of ancient Rome, a concise and comprehensive history of the fighting forces that created the Roman Empire
Roman warfare was relentless in its pursuit of victory. A ruthless approach to combat played a major part in Rome's history, creating an empire that eventually included much of Europe, the Near East and North Africa. What distinguished the Roman army from its opponents was the uncompromising and total destruction of its enemies. Yet this ferocity was combined with a genius for absorbing conquered peoples, creating one of the most enduring empires ever known.
In Roman Warfare, celebrated historian Adrian Goldsworthy traces the history of Roman warfare from 753 BC, the traditional date of the founding of Rome by Romulus, to the eventual decline and fall of Roman Empire and attempts to recover Rome and Italy from the barbarians in the sixth century AD. It is the indispensable history of the most professional fighting force in ancient history, an army that created an Empire and changed the world.

In August of AD 70 the city of Jerusalem was destroyed by Roman forces after a six-month siege. This was the disastrous outcome of a Jewish revolt against Roman domination which began in AD 66 with some early success, but soon became mired in factional conflict. The war ended in the destruction of the famous Jewish Temple (rebuilt by Herod the Great a century before).

The remarkable story of the war is narrated by an eye-witness and participant, Josephus. He was at first a rebel commander, then after his capture, supported Titus in the final assault on Jerusalem. Josephus spares no detail of a horrific conflict - atrocities on both sides, the reign of terror in Jerusalem, the appalling conditions of the siege, and the final mass suicide at Masada. His vivid narrative is our prime source for this period of history. It is a dramatic story, which resonates to the present day.

The first dedicated, illustrated study of the events of the Second Punic War in Iberia, which served as a launch pad for the Carthaginian invasion of Rome.

Iberia was one of three crucial theatres of the Second Punic War between Carthage and Rome. Hannibal of Carthage's siege of Saguntum in 219 BC triggered a conflict that led to immense human and material losses on both sides, pitting his brother Hasdrubal against the Republican Roman armies seeking to gain control of the peninsula. Then, in 208 BC, the famous Roman general Scipio Africanus defeated Hasdrubal at Baecula, forcing Hasdrubal's army out of Iberia and on to its eventual annihilation at the Metaurus.

In this work, military historian Mir Bahmanyar brings to life the key personalities and events of this important theatre of the war, and explains why the Roman victory at Baecula led to a strategic shift and Carthage's eventual defeat. It covers Scipio Africanus' brilliant victory at Ilipa in 206 BC, where he crushed the army of Mago Barca and Hasdrubal Gisco. Illustrated with maps, tactical diagrams, battlescene artworks and photographs, this work provides a gripping narrative of the large-scale battles fought in Iberia.

This fully illustrated study explores the formidable Athenian army, rivalled only by the Spartan army in terms of battlefield prowess and influence.

In 508 BC, the reforms of Kleisthenes established the ten tribes of Athens, inaugurating a system of military organization that remained in place for nearly 200 years until Athens' eclipse by the growing power of Macedon in the early 3rd century BC. Fully illustrated, this lively study investigates the development and effectiveness of the armies fielded by Athens during its many wars with its Greek neighbours, notably Sparta, and other opponents such as the Persian Empire. A variety of different troop types made up these armies, ranging from formidably armed and armoured hoplite heavy infantry to lightly armed archers, peltasts and cavalry.

In this book, Athens' major wars and battles of the period are summarized, and important aspects contributing to the Athenian army's battlefield prowess, influence and legacy, ranging from mobilization and training to the evolution of arms and armour, are examined in the light of the latest scholarship and archaeological finds. The eight colour plates reconstruct the appearance of components of the Athenian army at various stages of its development. The authoritative text is complemented by carefully chosen photographs, many in colour, depicting a variety of surviving artefacts, supported by informative captions.

A fully illustrated account of the large-scale reformation of the Roman Army from the reign of Diocletian to the fall of the Western Empire in AD 476.

After the 50-year chaos of the mid-3rd century AD, Emperor Diocletian (r. AD 284-305) and his successor, Constantine I (r. AD 306-37), the first Christian emperor, undertook major administrative reforms to reflect new realities and improve defensive strategy. These changes saw the Roman Army completely reorganized, with its old structure of legions and auxiliary units giving way to central mobile field armies and various classes of garrison troops. In addition, the Army also began recruiting 'allied barbarians' in ever-increasing numbers and even promoted some to the level of senior command.

Roman military expert Raffaele D'Amato draws on the latest archaeological and written evidence to explore this turbulent final period of the Western Empire. Illustrated with photographs and drawings of surviving artefacts and imagery, this latest entry in a series charting the Roman Army's evolution also features eight newly commissioned colour plates depicting the uniforms and weaponry of Rome's reformed military.

A detailed, fully illustrated overview of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars, one of the most important conflicts of the ancient world.

Julius Caesar was one of the most ambitious and successful politicians of the late Roman Republic and his short but bloody conquest of the Celtic tribes led to the establishment of the Roman province of Gaul (modern France). Caesar's commentaries on his Gallic Wars provide us with the most detailed surviving eye-witness account of a campaign from antiquity. In this book, respected Roman military historian Kate Gilliver makes use of this account and other surviving evidence to consider the importance of the Gallic Wars in the context of the collapse of the Roman Republic and its slide toward civil war.

Updated and revised for the new edition, with full-colour maps and new images throughout, this accessible introduction provides an important reference resource for the academic or student reader as well as those with a general interest in the ancient world.

Explore the climactic ancient clash between Rome and Persia, a pivotal battle shaping civilizations for centuries.

For 700 years, Rome and Persia clashed as the superpowers of the Ancient World. The final phase of their great war is one of the most dramatic, surprising, and critical events in world history. The victor would endure for another eight centuries, the vanquished would fall into oblivion - its religion close to extinguished, its people all but forgotten. By 626, Persia had seized most of the Roman Empire and was on the brink of destroying Constantinople, the city that sheltered the knowledge of Greece and Rome, and the vulnerable western world that would one day inherit it. Then came the most astonishing comeback in military history.

Led by the Emperor Heraclius in person, the Romans entrusted their exposed capital to God and marched deep into Persia with almost insane audacity. Hunted by three separate armies, they would somehow have to survive, defeat the great King of Kings, and save Constantinople. The knife-edge contest determined which civilization would survive into the Middle Ages, and thus carved the contours of the modern world. Yet for all its drama and significance, the war and its heroes are little known. Rome, Persia and the War that Shaped the World is an engaging and accessible history that narrates the climactic stages of the war.

An illustrated study of Rome's key enemies from the Late Principate and Dominate: the western Visigoths and the eastern Ostrogoths.

The Goths were a Germanic people who, under pressure from the Huns, migrated during the 2nd century AD to the Balkans, where they split into the Visigoths to the west, and the Ostrogoths to the east. After first raiding and looting Roman territory, some eventually came to serve as allies to the Empire, but this allegiance would collapse following a Hun advancement that saw the Goths forced south against the Danube. Failure to negotiate settlement in this new, Roman-held territory led to wars, during which the Ostrogoths won a decisive victory over a Roman army at Adrianople (AD 378), and the Visigoths finally sacked Rome itself (AD 410).

In this fascinating study, Roman military historians Raffaele D'Amato and Andrea Salimbetiand Andrea Salimbeti examine Rome's fierce clashes with the Gothic peoples, exploring their role in the fall of the Western Empire and eventual transition from Roman to early medieval Europe. Newly commissioned artwork, artefact photos and expert research combine to bring to life key events in the Goths' history, including the Ostrogoths' defeat by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century, the establishment of Gothic kingdoms in Italy and the Iberian Peninsula, and their service as subjects and soldiers in Byzantine Crimea.

In 1499, the Swiss and German Landsknechts clashed in the Swabian War, each showcasing advanced tactical infantry, resulting in intense and costly battles.

In 1499 a ferocious war was waged between the Swiss States and the Holy Roman Empire. It was a costly conflict with an estimated two hundred villages destroyed and over twenty thousand troops killed, as well as uncounted thousands of non-combatants. The Swiss had developed one of the first truly tactical infantries, capable of complex manoeuvres in both offensive and defensive roles. But in the Swabian War, they faced another kind of infantry, the German Landsknechts, who based their military system on the Swiss model. In a number of campaigns and battles, the two forces met in closely fought contests, leaving the impression that Swiss infantry's dominance as a military force had met its match.​

The dramatic 16-month siege of Münster by Franz von Waldeck's forces is vividly retold, revealing the determination of Anabaptist defenders amid religious and political upheaval.

In February 1534, Franz von Waldeck, the Catholic Bishop of Münster, alarmed by the rise of an Anabaptist enclave in the city, initiated a siege that would last for sixteen brutal months. This stronghold, led by fervent believers who viewed Münster as the 'New Jerusalem', resisted the bishop's forces with unwavering resolve. Amidst religious turmoil and shifting political allegiances, the Anabaptists fortified the city, repelling numerous assaults and withstanding starvation, disease, and internal strife.

In A Mighty Fortress of God, the siege comes to life through the vivid accounts of contemporary witnesses and detailed historical research. Readers are taken step by step through the critical phases of the siege: the construction of earthworks, the organization of defenses, and the increasingly desperate attempts by both sides to break the deadlock. From the failed attacks of 1534 to the dramatic betrayal that finally led to the collapse of the Anabaptist defense in June 1535, this account illuminates a key moment in Reformation-era history. The book also explores the motivations, leadership, and ideologies of both the besiegers and the besieged, offering an unparalleled insight into the complexities of the Anabaptist movement and its tragic end in Münster.

The text is supplemented by specially-commissioned artwork of clothing and flags, as well as detailed appendices providing, amongst other things, the Bishop's Articles of War, and details of the costs of the siege.

An in-depth exploration of Rome's third-century crisis, examining its internal turmoil, external pressures, and transformative reforms.

For its first two centuries the Roman Empire enjoyed a relatively peaceful existence. There were short periods of trouble and instability, but they had no lasting effect. At the end of the second century AD, the situation began to change and by the third century the Empire was beset by serious internal and external threats.

Rome in the Third Century examines this time of troubles. Michael Sage begins by analysing the available sources, which are difficult to use and provide mostly fragmentary glimpses of the period and looks at the surprising disappearance of historical writing in the western half of the empire. He then discusses in detail the increasing pressures on Rome's northern and eastern frontiers, along with the growing internal threats that the empire faced as the state weakened and experienced increasing internal disintegration. He then narrates the period between the death of the emperor Septimius Severus in 211 and the accession of the emperor Diocletian at the end of the century, when a reformed empire emerged, in many respects very different from its predecessor. The crucial changes in government and the military of this period are explained and assessed and there is a new analysis of contemporary views, both Christian and pagan, of the crisis.