Soldiers' Lives through History - The Ancient World - Hardcover

Richard A. Gabriel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0313333483 ISBN 13: 9780313333484

Publisher: Greenwood, 2006

Synopsis

Once warfare became established in ancient civilizations, it's hard to find any other social institution that developed as quickly. In less than a thousand years, humans brought forth the sword, sling, dagger, mace, bronze and copper weapons, and fortified towns. The next thousand years saw the emergence of iron weapons, the chariot, the standing professional army, military academies, general staffs, military training, permanent arms industries, written texts on tactics, military procurement, logistics systems, conscription, and military pay. By 2,000 B.C.E., war was an important institution in almost all major cultures of the world. This book shows readers how soldiers were recruited, outfitted, how they fought, and how they were cared for when injured or when they died. It covers soldiers in major civilizations from about 4000 B.C.E. to about 450 C.E. Topics are discussed cross-culturally, drawing examples from several of the cultures, armies, and time periods within each chapter in order to provide the reader with as comprehensive an understanding as possible and to avoid the usual Western-centric perspective too common in analyses of ancient warfare.

About this title

Review:

"Aimed at the general reader or college-level researcher, this is an excellent introduction to the topic....This work is recommended for academic and public libraries with military history collections." - American Reference Books Annual

"American military historian Gabriel covers a period from the beginning of the Bronze Age, about 4,000 BCE through the end of the Roman and Byzantine Empires. First he addresses such aspects of military life as the physical conditions of soldiers, equipment, discipline and punishment, tactics, death and wounding, and military medical care. Then he profiles 18 major armies of antiquity, including those of Sumer and Akkad, China, Persia, Imperial Greece, Carthage, and Imperial Rome." - Reference & Research Book News

Synopsis:

What was it like to march with Julius Caesar in Gaul or fight the Goths in the Balkans? This series shows what life was and is like for soldiers. The weapons and technology change, culture changes, but human physical and psychological needs and fears do not. This lively and comprehensive series reveals what kinds of societies produced these soldiers and the ways in which the soldiers, in turn, shaped their societies. This volume provides glimpses into the day-to-day lives of soldiers of the period from the age of the Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia to the fall of Rome, and addresses the significant political and historic issues of the times. Chapters examine the basics of military life, including recruitment, training, desertion, relations between officers and soldiers, attitudes of the civilian population to the soldiers, food, clothing, health and well-being, injuries and death, strategies and tactics in conflicts, equipment and weapons, discipline and punishment, life after the army, and other issues.

The volume also includes the following resources for readers: illustrations and maps; timelines; recommended books, articles, primary documents, correspondence, and Web sites; and comprehensive indexes.

About this edition

• Publisher: Greenwood
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0313333483
• ISBN 13: 9780313333484
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 328