Lost Battles: Reconstructing the Great Clashes of the Ancient World
Language: English
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2009
- Softcover
- Used
Seller: World of Books Inc, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.World of Books Inc
AbeBooks seller since March 23, 2026
Condition: Used - Good
£ 12.93
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Add to basketItem description from seller
Philip Sabin's book offers a unique and dynamic insight into ancient warfare, combining academic rigour with the accessibility of simulation gaming. Taking a new and innovative approach to the battles of antiquity, Phil Sabin draws together ancient evidence and modern scholarship to create a whole new means of examining the great clashes of the ancient world. Having developed a model to capture the movement and combat of the opposing armies we are able to actually interrogate the lessons of history. The book develops detailed 'scenarios' for individual battles such as Marathon and Cannae, to cast light on which particular interpretations of the ancient conflict are realistic. Readers can use the model to experiment for themselves by refighting engagements of their choice, tweaking the scenarios to accord with their own judgements of the evidence, trying out different tactics from those used historically and seeing how the battle then plays out.The book thus offers a unique dynamic insight into ancient warfare, combining academic rigour with the interest and accessibility of simulation gaming.…
Seller Inventory # CIN0826430155G
- Title
- Lost Battles: Reconstructing the Great Clashes of the Ancient World
- Author
- Philip Sabin
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Publication year
- 2009
- Condition
- Good
- Binding
- Paperback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0826430155
- ISBN 13
- 9780826430151
<p align=left>From the author's introduction: </font><font face=Dax-LightItalic color=#818385 size=2>
<p align=left>Ancient battles seize the modern imagination. Far from being forgotten, they have become a significant aspect of popular culture, prompting a continuing stream of books, feature films, television programs and board and computer games... there is a certain escapist satisfaction in looking back to an era when conflicts between entire states turned on clear-cut pitched battles between formed armies, lasting just a few hours and spanning just a few miles of ground. These battles were still unspeakably traumatic and grisly affairs for those involved - at Cannae, Hannibal's men butchered around two and a half times as many Romans (out of a much smaller overall population) as there were British soldiers killed on the notorious first day of the Somme.
<p align=left>However, as with the great clashes of the Napoleonic era, time has dulled our preoccupation with such awful human consequences, and we tend to focus instead on the inspired generalship of commanders like Alexander and Caesar and on the intriguing tactical interactions of units such as massed pikemen and war elephants within the very different military context of pre-gunpowder warfare. </font><font face=Dax-MediumItalic>
<p align=left></font><font face=Dax-LightItalic size=2>Lost Battles </font><font face=Dax-Light size=2>takes a new and innovative approach to the battles of antiquity. Using his experience with conflict simulation, Philip Sabin draws together ancient evidence and modern scholarship to construct a generic, grand tactical model of the battles as a whole. This model unites a mathematical framework, to capture the movement and combat of the opposing armies, with human decisions to shape the tactics of the antagonists. Sabin then develops detailed scenarios for 36 individual battles such as Marathon and Cannae, and uses the comparative structure offered by the generic model to help cast light on which particular interpretations of the ancient sources on issues such as army size fit in best with the general patterns observed elsewhere. Readers can use the model to experiment for themselves by re-fighting engagements of their choice, tweaking the scenarios to accord with their own judgment of the evidence, trying out different tactics from those used historically, and seeing how the battle then plays out. </font><font face=Dax-LightItalic size=2>Lost Battles </font><font face=Dax-Light size=2>thus offers a unique dynamic insight into ancient warfare, combining academic rigor with the interest and accessibility of simulation gaming. This book includes access to a downloadable computer simulation where the reader can view the author's simulations as well create their own. </font></div>
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Philip Sabin is Professor of Strategic Studies in the Department of War Studies at King's College, <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>. He has worked closely with the armed services and appears regularly on TV and radio. He has also co-edited the two volume <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:city></st1:place> History of Greek and Roman Warfare.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
World of Books Inc
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AbeBooks seller since March 23, 2026
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