Ancient Warfare Podcast

Following his last question from Murray a few weeks ago, Andy asks, 'the question I've always wondered is why it seems to fall out of use between the two periods even though protecting infantry from cavalry remains a consistent problem across ancient and medieval warfare'?   Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

"Alexander's Companion cavalry seemed to be the premier cavalry of its age, and was instrumental in the battles against the Persian empire. Why is it then, under the Successor Kingdoms' Generals, that they faired so poorly when confronting the inferior Roman cavalry? Was it due to the lack of Alexander himself, poor training, or just the professionalism of the Roman Legion?" Murray gives us his th...

Imperium Romanum is a YouTube channel dedicated to bringing history to life, with documentaries looking at everything Ancient Rome; from the army and military equipment to politics, religion, culture, lifestyle and much more.  In this episode, Jasper, Murray and Marc are joined by Marc from Imperium Romanum to talk about what they do. If you want to enter the competition for a copy of Myke Cole's...

An interesting 'what if' quest from Jeff, who asks Murray for his thoughts on 'what if the Roman Empire had never fallen and was still around today, what would the world look like? And what do you think a modern Roman Empire would be like?"   Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

Brendon asks why the Macedonian phalanx at the Battles of Issues and Gaugamela suffered such a low casualty rate from arrows fired by archers? Murray gives us his opinion.   Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

Tony sent this in for Murray to think about, 'can you tell us anything about the difference in style of combat when comparing late medieval pike vs ancient Sarissa?'  Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

One man's pirate is another's daring raider, and the boundary between warrior and pirate can be equally nebulous. Piracy is an age-old problem without a simple solution. The team discuss issue XVI.1 of the Ancient Warfare magazine Piracy and Raids: Robbers on the Mediterranean . Find us on Patreon: patrion.com/ancientwarfarepodcast Subscribe to Ancient Warfare Magazine: ancient-warfare.com

Mason sent in a question a few weeks ago, and here he is again with another for Murray.'If Romans were fighting and happened to get surrounded, did they have a formation for that? Did the back line and sides turn around and form a square?' Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

'How did the Romans keep track of who actually completed their years of service? What's to stop you from deserting and showing up to claim your pension unfairly? Presumably, this could be tricky in an empire of mostly illiterate people from all over the known world without government driver's licenses or passports'. Murray gives us his thoughts... Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcas...

Murray answers a question from a 12-year-old fan from Italy, Greg - How many casualties were there really at Magnesia? The Roman sources say 53,000 for the Seleucids and only 350 Romans died. Is This true? Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast  

Mason sent this question in for Murray to muse over, 'how did the language differences of auxiliary units affect armies on campaign or during battle? Were there any particular Roman generals who were multilingual'. Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

In response to an email from David in New York, Murray explains siege mining in the ancient world. Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

Murray answers this question from Pascal, 'could you serve as a soldier, officer or even a consul despite some form of physical handicap during the roman republic?' Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

With the holiday season almost upon us, the Ancient Warfare Magazine team discuss new books released in 2022, old and new documentaries that are now available on streaming services and throw in a couple of audiobook suggestions for good measure!   Links (not quite a comprehensive list of all the media mentioned in the show) Books Adrienne Mayor, Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs: Uncon...

Murray got this question from Jonathan via email 'I read about Caesar bridging of the Rhine, is that how armies bridged rivers after him, following his example, what about before him?' Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

Bill sent Murray this question, 'how long was the Macedonian Sarissa? I've read a lot about 20' and sometimes longer'.  Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

Jonathan sent this question directly to Murray 'What was the standard depth of a hoplite line? I see eight mentioned all the time – were there any others?'  Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

Jasper and Murray are joined by Julien Blurel, the brains behind the Invicta YouTube channel. In the latest episode, Invicta demonstrates the true size of a Roman legion. This is the first of their new 'true size' series, which aims to bring history to life in 3D using the Unreal Engine. True Size of the Roman Legion really puts into context the Roman army camp, the Legion on the march and the Rom...

Patron of the podcast Seanbob sent in this question for Murray to mull over, 'what is up with foreskin collection? I know Ramses wrote on walls about the stacks of foreskins he collected from the sea peoples, and David bought his wife with foreskins (1 Samuel 18:27). So what is the deal? Was circumcisions popular in some cultures and not others? Why not the whole penis? What did they do with them...

What happened to all the gear and supplies after a big battle? What did people tend to salvage? Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

'Philip II of Macedonia inherited a fragile kingdom under pressure. He absorbed the lessons from his childhood and turned it into a military powerhouse.' The team discuss the latest issue of the magazine XV.6 Macedonia Rising: The volatile life of King Phillip II.   Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast  

How did armies get or store potable water while on campaign? Murray has the answer... Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

Murray, once more on his own, discusses what, in his opinion, is a useful analogy for talking about ancient warfare. Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast

Bryan sent us in this question,'what are some documented cases where the victorious/conquering forces held a deep respect for their defeated foe or for the manner in which their foe fought even though they were ultimately defeated?'  Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast  

Bruce emailed us this question, what do the columns (Trajan, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius) tell us about the wars depicted? Are they reliable narratives? Narratives at all?  Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast