Richard Gabriel has been studying and writing about ancient warfare for nearly half a century. He has written fifty-five books on the subject (before this one) and over three hundred published articles. These decades of scholarship are complemented by direct military experience as a US army officer (now retired).

This book presents his thoughts and perspectives on a selection of aspects of ancient warfare that he has found of particular interest over the years. It does not aim to be a comprehensive overview nor a coherent narrative of ancient military history but adds up to an illuminating, fascinating and wide-ranging discussion of various topics. With topics ranging from the origins of war, through logistics, military medicine and psychiatry or the origins of jihad, to specifics such as the generalship of Alexander the Great (Gabriel’s not a fan), Scipio and Hannibal, there is plenty here for the either the general reader or academic scholar.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Timeline
• Chapter 1 The Invention of War
• Chapter 2 Armies of the Ancient World
• Chapter 3 Life of the Common Soldier
• Chapter 4 Killing Technology: Weapons and Armour in Antiquity
• Chapter 5 Death, Wounds, Infection, Disease and Injury in Ancient Armies
• Chapter 6 Logistics: The Invisible Art in Ancient Warfare
• Chapter 7 Siegecraft and Artillery
• Chapter 8 Iron Rations: The Soldier’s Diet
• Chapter 9 Medical Care in Ancient Armies
• Chapter 10 War and Madness
• Chapter 11 Writing Military History from Ancient Texts
• Chapter 12 Thutmose III of Egypt and the First Battle in Military History
• Chapter 13 Egyptian Shipbuilding and the Invention of Amphibious Warfare
• Chapter 14 The Exodus as Military History
• Chapter 15 Joshua At Jericho: A Study in Special Ops
• Chapter 16 The Catastrophe: The Violent End of the Bronze Age
• Chapter 17 The Dawn of the Iron Age: The Iron Army of Assyria
• Chapter 18 Animals In War
• Chapter 19 Buddha’s Military Experience and PTSD
• Chapter 20 Philip II of Macedon: Greater Than Alexander
• Chapter 21 Stolen Valour: An Analysis of Alexander the Great’s Wounds
• Chapter 22 Rome against Carthage: Why Hannibal Lost
• Chapter 23 Marcus Agrippa: The Forgotten Genius behind the Roman Empire
• Chapter 24 The Roman Navy: Rome’s Other Military Arm
• Chapter 25 Rome: The Death of a Superpower
• Chapter 26 Muhammad: Islam’s First Great General
• Chapter 27 Riddah: The Great Muslim Civil War
• Chapter 28 Constantinople: The Most Fought Over City in History
• Endnotes