Ancient battles ● Kadesh ○ Ramses II (Egypt) vs. Hittites under Mutawali II ○ on Orontes River ○ earliest battle on record involving tactics, formation, & strategy ○ possibly the largest chariot battle ever ○ Hittites were busy rading the tents of the dead, allowed Egyptians to retreat ○ ended in a draw ○ Records of this battle were found around Hatussa at Bogazkoy in 1906 ○ On leader sent out false reports from two shashu that he was in Aleppo in the north ● Marathon ○ ­ Leaders ○ Greek­ Militades, Callimachus ○ Persian­ Datis, Artaphernes ○ Cynergius has his arm chopped off trying to not let a Persian ship sail away ○ Callimachus decided to attack the persians despite the fact Sparta couldn't help because of their celebrating a religious festival ○ Happened after the fall of Eretria ○ Athens had 1000 troops from Plataea ○ Famous event of Phedippes running 26 miles to tell of the victory and then collapsing dead ○ Crushed Darius I's last attempt to conquer Greece ● Thermopylae ○ Literally, just watch 300... ○ Leonitas (Sparta) ○ Xerxes I (Persian Empire) ○ fighting was at the "Hot Gates" ○ aso fought at Middle Gate ○ Ten Thousand Immortals ○ Location is now unrecognizable due to silting from the Sphercheosis River ○ Molon labe or come take them was one response in this battle ○ Occured along the Gulf of Malis ○ Books four and seven of the Guide to Greece by Pausanius said that no soldiers from Peloponnesus took part in it ○ Tide turned when Acichorios marched into Aetolia to sack the city of Callium ○ Opening salvos saw Greeks burn bridges over the Sperchios River ○ Callipus ○ Brenus ○ Mt. Oeta ○ Immortals commanded by Hardynes ● Philippi ○ final battle of Octavian and Mark Anthony against Brutus and Cassius ○ avenged the death of Caesar ○ Brutus faces Octavian, Cassius against Mark Anthony ○ Cassius committed suicide after hearing a false report that Brutus had been defeated ○ the first engagement would be a draw (but Cassius committed suicide) ○ the second time, Brutus would be defeated and commit suicide ○ triumvirate takes control of Rome entirely ● Actium ○ Large malaria outbreak right before the battle ○ Named after city in between Abracian Gulf and Ionian Sea ○ Antyllius was sent to retire in Athens ○ Initial attack commanded by Gaius Sosius ○ decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic ○ Cleopatra and Mark Anthony vs. Marcus Agrippa ○ Egyptian side(Cleopatra, Anthony) against the a Roman fleet(Agrippa) ○ Octavian's Roman forces won this battle ○ Nicopolis was founded by the winning side ○ Quintus Dellius betrayed the Egyptian battle plan ○ Egyptians used a horseshoe formation led by Gaius Sosius ● Cannae ○ Major battle in Second Punic War ○ Took place in Apulia in Southeast Italy ○ Hannibal, Marhabal, and Mago were commanders of the Carthaginian Republic ○ Gaius Varro and Lucius Pallus led Roman Republic ○ Winning General forced the action by ordering his light cavalry to harass troops carrying drinking water from the Aufidus River ○ Maharbal's Numidian cavalry played a big part in the victory ○ Hannibal used the double­envelopment tactic ○ Romans used heavy infantry ○ Carthaginian Republic won, with only 14,000 Roman soldiers surviving ○ Romans escape to Canusium ● Issus ○ Occurred in Southern Anatolia ○ Invading Macedonia troops led by Alexander the Great ○ Achaemenid Empire is made up of many Greek mercenaries ■ Darius 3, Arsames, Reomithres, and Atizyes are commanders ○ Craterus and Parmenion were Macedon commanders ○ The kardakes infantry was placed in foothills ■ Ambushed by a group of hypaspists ○ Cicilian Gates and Beilan Pass taken by Macedonians ○ Mosaic of this battle found in Pompeii ○ Jan Breugel depicted it in his painting, now in the Louvre ● Guagamela ○ Alexander the Great vs. Darius III (Persia) ○ called battle of Arbela ○ decsivie Macedonian victory, decline & fall of Persia ○ Bessus would murder Darius III upon the defeat at this battle, as Darius was hoping to gather another army in the east ○ Alexander gives Darius a full burial ceremony in Persepolis, and exceutes Bessus later ○ Alexander would gain Babylon, half of the Persian empire, and the rest of Mesopotamia ○ Parmenion wanted to rest another day and wanted a night time attack ○ Phalanx armed with sarissas ○ Losing commander had the plain on which it took place smoothed to maximize effectiveness of his chariots ○ Two years after a clash at Issus ● Salamis ○ Leaders: ○ Greek­ Aristides, Eurybiades, Themistocles, ○ Persian­ Xerxes I, Artemisia, Ariabignes ○ Ameinias (brother of Aeschylus) ○ Artemisia ( a woman) was the only good Persian commander which caused Xerxes to say"My Women are men and my men are women" ○ Three men were sacrificed before it ○ Persians held a war council at Phaeleron before it ○ Fighting occurred around Pysttaleia ○ Battle made Xerxes leave greece and leave Mardonius to finish conquest of Greece ○ Preceded by the trickery of the slave Sicinnus ○ Began after war council at Phaleron ○ One commander viewed it from Mount Egaleo ○ Took place between the island of Saint George and the Kynosoura Peninsula ○ Psyttaleia was captured by Aristides ○ Force stationed at Piraeus under Ariamenes and Artemisia lost to that of Eurybiades ○ Victory of fleets of Themistocles over those of Xerxes in the Persian Wars ○ Attack of Aminias ○ Prophecy of Euphrantides led to the death of three men related to the opposing commander ○ Damasithymis attacked by an ally ○ Defense led by Leonidas at Thermopylae ○ Ephialtes’ betrayal ○ Saw death of Ariabignes ○ Losers included Queen Artemisia (general at this battle) and Mardonius ○ Fought in Mycale and Artemisium ○ “my men have become women and my women have become men” ○ Ruler of Caria advised the losing ruler to attack ○ Island off the Greek coast south of the Isthmus of Corinth ○ Victory for the Athenians ● Alesia ○ reinforcements (late) arrive under Sedullos and Vercassivellaunos ○ focus on Mandubii ○ Ambiorix led a revolt of the Eburones prior to it ○ new leader elected at Averni ○ Commius unsuccessfully attacked teh Romans ○ after battle of Gergovia ○ Julius Caesar defeats Vercengitorix, Romans get Gaul ○ Caesar wins with FAR less troops fortified in a small compound ○ on Mont Auxois ○ PLutarch estimated that 300,000 soldiers fought for the Gallic side.