Hellenistic Military and Naval Developments

by W.W. Tarn

The three lectures here published are the Lee-Knowles Lectures in Military History for 1929-30, delivered at Trinity College, Cambridge, in the spring of this year; they were somewhat shortened in actual delivery. The two matters which may perhaps claim some novelty, the evolution of the great war-horse and of the Hellenistic great ships, are now rather more fully treated, chiefly by means of notes and appendices; indeed, the principal justification for the appearance of these lectures in book form must be the section on the ships, about which comparatively little has hitherto been written to much purpose. Professor F. E. Adcock very kindly read through my typescript before it went to the publishers and made several suggestions, more particularly in the early part of the first lecture, which have much improved the book.

Genres: History

170 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1930

About the author

William Woodthorpe Tarn

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

After being laid off from Loyola University I was able to work, mostly part time, for Ares Press, publishers of the journal, Ancient World, and this particular title. When the company moved to Golden Colorado I was allowed to acquire many of its older publications and a number of bookshelves. This volume, however, somehow evaded my grasp and was only obtained through the good graces of a friend.

Tarn, a scholar's scholar, primarily covers developments in tactics and technology as pertains to infantry, cavalry and naval branches of Greek and Persian forces from the advent of Alexander until the reign of Octavian Augustus. Although based on lectures, some of the material, particularly as regards naval matters, is rather technical. Also, it is assumed that the reader is at least generally familiar with the major battles of the Hellenistic period. In other words, this is not an introductory text.

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good book, divided into three parts: general overview and infantry operations; cavalry and elephants; siege warfare and naval warfare. The sectiopn on cavalry made the case that following the break up of Alexander's empire, cavalry became the dominant fighting arm in the east. The section on siege warfare didn't have much that was new; simply a review of the state of siege warfare up until the fall of the Carthaginian empire. The same is true of the section on elephants; it was interesting. The section on infantry was very thought provoking and in it, Tarn discusses groundbreaking warfighting techniques pioneered by Alexander, which fell into disuse upon his death. Alexander was one of the first, if not the first, general to use a reserve to turn the tide of a battle. Tarn also describes how Alexander sought to make the phalanx a more flexible body, responsive to the commander's needs as dictated by the flow of battle. Overall, a very worthwhile book which points toward the Roman way of war and why they eventually dominated the Med basin.