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Osprey Men at Arms #148
The Army of Alexander the Great
When Philip II ascended the throne in 359 BC, Macedonia was in danger of being engulfed by wild barbarian tribes to the north and wily Greek cities to the south. Philip had to expand the power of the throne or be swallowed up: the creation of a powerful army was imperative. When his son, Alexander, inherited his kingdom at the age of 20, he also inherited an army which was truly unrivalled. The Macedonians were veterans of battle, well equipped and eager for conquest. Add to this Alexander's supreme gifts as military commander and it is little wonder they achieved so much.
48 pages, Paperback
First published March 26, 1992
About the author
Nicholas Sekunda
58 books6 followersDr. Nicholas Victor Sekunda was born in 1953. After studying Ancient History and Archaeology at Manchester University, he went on to take his Ph.D. in 1981. He has taken part in archaeological excavations in Poland, Iran and Greece, participated in a research project on ancient Persian warfare for the British institute of Persian Studies. He has published numerous books and academic articles, and is currently he is Head of the Department of Mediterranean Archaeology at Gdansk University, Poland, and is co-director of excavations at Negotino, Republic of Macedonia.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 24, 2023
THE ARMY OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT was only some 40 pages but it is worth checking out. There are a couple of maps, diagrams of military formations in the field, illustrations, photographs and some outstanding art work of Alexander and his troops.
Students of history know that the Companions were his elite cavalry arm which was his main striking force, rather than the phalanx formations of infantry armed with pikes. Alexander led from the front with his Companions fighting hard to keep up. But there were other Companions too, who handled positions of responsibility in court. This 'court,' that traveled with him on campaign, saw to the running of the army and state. Royal Pages were the sons of nobles who served as Alexander's personal slaves in a sense while they were trained for military positions. Only Alexander could beat them. They were also insurance against disloyalty of the nobles.
If you look at pictures of his hoplite infantry in battle, you see them wearing bronze helmets, cuirasses, greaves, and carrying large round shields,as well as holding their 15 foot pikes. If you look at pictures of them hunting or participating in sports they are often in the nude. I imagine there were a lot of women sports fans back then. Sometimes the only items of clothing they wore consisted of a large sunhat and a cloak draped over the shoulders and attached with a clasp.
The various military formations and ranks are explained along with the Greek names and titles.
Some interesting facts found within are as follows. Alexander could be ruthless at times yet he understood people. Looting and pillaging were often the rewards of successful combat. When one noblewoman's house was ransacked and she was violated by one of the commanders of an allied unit, she told the man the family jewels and gold was hidden at the bottom of the well. When he descended down to get them she threw boulders down and killed him. Upon hearing of this Alexander spared her and her family because of her bravery.
Horses were sometimes supplied as remounts for his army by conquered people. They didn't have horse shoes back then and the poor horses were worn out on campaigns. To prolong the usefulness of their horses they would walk beside their horses unless in battle or on a hunt.
Fire for cooking was carried with the army in pots as Zippo lighters hadn't been invented yet.
There are fine color prints in the center of the book and even though mine is printed in English there are translations of the print descriptions in what may be French and German on the last page.
One last thing, the cover of my copy, which was reprinted for the sixth time in 1989, shows an example of a print. You see two of Alexander's infantry about to finish off a Greek mercenary who fought for the Persians.
Students of history know that the Companions were his elite cavalry arm which was his main striking force, rather than the phalanx formations of infantry armed with pikes. Alexander led from the front with his Companions fighting hard to keep up. But there were other Companions too, who handled positions of responsibility in court. This 'court,' that traveled with him on campaign, saw to the running of the army and state. Royal Pages were the sons of nobles who served as Alexander's personal slaves in a sense while they were trained for military positions. Only Alexander could beat them. They were also insurance against disloyalty of the nobles.
If you look at pictures of his hoplite infantry in battle, you see them wearing bronze helmets, cuirasses, greaves, and carrying large round shields,as well as holding their 15 foot pikes. If you look at pictures of them hunting or participating in sports they are often in the nude. I imagine there were a lot of women sports fans back then. Sometimes the only items of clothing they wore consisted of a large sunhat and a cloak draped over the shoulders and attached with a clasp.
The various military formations and ranks are explained along with the Greek names and titles.
Some interesting facts found within are as follows. Alexander could be ruthless at times yet he understood people. Looting and pillaging were often the rewards of successful combat. When one noblewoman's house was ransacked and she was violated by one of the commanders of an allied unit, she told the man the family jewels and gold was hidden at the bottom of the well. When he descended down to get them she threw boulders down and killed him. Upon hearing of this Alexander spared her and her family because of her bravery.
Horses were sometimes supplied as remounts for his army by conquered people. They didn't have horse shoes back then and the poor horses were worn out on campaigns. To prolong the usefulness of their horses they would walk beside their horses unless in battle or on a hunt.
Fire for cooking was carried with the army in pots as Zippo lighters hadn't been invented yet.
There are fine color prints in the center of the book and even though mine is printed in English there are translations of the print descriptions in what may be French and German on the last page.
One last thing, the cover of my copy, which was reprinted for the sixth time in 1989, shows an example of a print. You see two of Alexander's infantry about to finish off a Greek mercenary who fought for the Persians.
April 4, 2016
While an excellent sourcebook for those researching minute details in Macedonian panoply and order of battle, Sekunda lacks the narrative flair of other Osprey authors. By deep diving into source material, he gives short shrift to the over-arching historical narrative that surrounds this, one of the greatest military machines the world has ever seen. You should certainly still read it, because you'll come away knowing intimately how the Macedonian army armed and deployed, just don't expect to be captivated by it. Which is a shame, because the story surrounding these warriors is about as captivating as they come.
July 30, 2017
Love it.
March 27, 2025
Having just finished reading Anthony Everitt's biography of Alexander, I thought it fine time to finally crack, "Dividing the Spoils" by Robin Wakefield - but wanted to take this quick refresher of a book I hadn't read in more than 30 years. There might (?) be more recent books regarding the uniforms and equipment of the Macedonian Army (I indeed hope so - there's sadly a fair amount of, "We don't know for sure" here, the regular bane of ancient history), but the text is an easy read and the illustrated plates are a treat. I should have looked at it before the Alexander bio read to have the better idea in my head of what Hypaspists carried versus those in the heavy phalanx, or how the Companion cavalry might have been equipped, or what the peltasts looked like. To me, the visualizations bring home a greater sense of vulnerability than invincibility - you trekked all the way to Afghanistan beating everything thrown at you militarily and climatically with nothing more than a sun hat, sword, and cloak? Even the 'heavily armored' phalanx infantry seems a bit vulnerable to me in their bronze greaves and cuirasses if you could get past the forest of sarissas. Alexander's soldiers must have been some incredibly tough sonsabitches. Its also sobering to remember that the stirrup wasn't invented yet and horseshoes were unknown - this army went through a lot of horses.
It'd be an obvious must for historical miniature wargamers, and is useful for the interested reader of the period as noted above.
It'd be an obvious must for historical miniature wargamers, and is useful for the interested reader of the period as noted above.
September 5, 2016
The text by Nick Sekunda is more than competent, but what really makes this book enjoyable are the illustrations by the excellent Angus McBride.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews