Sparta

Defending the Pass at the Battle of Thermopylae

What nation of Asia, did not Xerxes lead against Hellas? —Herodotus

On the Doricus, the vast Thracian plain and beach on the Aegean coast, rose a stronghold. Read more

Sparta

King Gustavus Adolphus, Breitenfeld, and the Birthplace of Modern War

On a hot, dusty September morning in 1631, the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Emperor rested easily on the plains outside the village of Breitenfield, six miles north of Leipzig, Saxony. Read more

Sparta

Famous Military Generals: Chabrias the Athenian

On a warm summer day in the year 378 BC, a large Spartan army stood baffled on the plain of Boeotia in central Greece. Read more

Sparta

Misplaced Aggression: The Athenian Defeat at Syracuse

By the spring of 415 bc, a peace treaty between the warring city-states of Athens and Sparta had held firm for six years. Read more

Sparta

The Athenian Soldier Versus the Spartan Hoplite

The wars fought by Sparta and Athens in the fifth century bc pitted one city-state with ancient Greece’s greatest army against one boasting her most powerful fleet. Read more

Sparta

General Iphracates: Innovative Commander of Ancient Greece

The 3rd century BC in Greece was an age of military innovation. The lessons learned in the Peloponnesian War (431-404) led to the increased use of lightly armed troops and cavalry. Read more

Sparta

Greek Triumph at Plataea

Persian King Xerxes I “The Great” was a man who liked to solicit different opinions before he made a decision on any important matter. Read more

Sparta

Types of Weapons Used by Ancient Greece

When we think “catapult,” we imagine the types of weapons used for hurling rocks, dead plague victims, or unlucky cows against a castle. Read more

Sparta

The Army of the Ottoman Empire in 1683

The kapu kulu, made up of the regularly paid troops, provided the backbone of the Ottoman Empire army. Read more

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The Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Salamis

In the summer of BC 481, a delegation from Athens arrived at Delphi in central Greece to consult with the oracle of Apollo. Read more

Sparta

Battle of Allia: the Gauls Sack Rome

The Celts, like all other Indo-European peoples, originated on the steppes of Eurasia, from whence they drifted into central Europe. Read more