Generalship in ancient Greece, Rome and Byzantium / edited by Richard Evans and Shaun Tougher.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Evans, Richard J., 1954- editor.

Tougher, Shaun, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Command of troops.

Military art and science--Greece--History--To 500.

Military art and science.

Military art and science--Rome--History--To 500.

Military art and science--Byzantine Empire--History.

Military art and science--Byzantine Empire--History--To 500.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 362 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press Ltd, 2022.

Summary:

Considers the ideals and realities of generalship across the Greek, Roman and Byzantine worlds. Addresses a neglected aspect in the study of ancient warfare. Analyses views generated in different ancient cultures about the theory and practice of generalship Brings together the latest research on generalship from a wide spectrum of academic experts. Contains discussion of the theory and practice of generalship in other contemporary cultures including Persia, Arabia and China. This volume is unique in addressing a key aspect of ancient warfare across a broad chronological and cultural span, focusing on generalship from Archaic Greece to the Byzantine Empire in the twelfth century AD. Across this broad span, it explores a range of ideas on how to be a successful general, showing how the art of generalship - a profession that has been occupied variously by the political elite, the mercenary soldier and the eunuch - evolved and adapted to shifting notions of how a good military leader should act. Highlighting developments and continuities in this age-old profession across the Graeco-Roman world, this volume brings together the latest research on generalship from both established and new voices. The chapters examine both ideals of generalship and specific examples of generals, considering the principles underpinning the roles they played and the qualities desired in them. They discuss in particular the intersection between military and political roles, the addresses delivered by generals to their troops, the virtue of courage and the commemoration of victory as well as defeat. In addition, contributors consider cross-cultural comparisons of generalship, with specific chapters devoted to Persian, Arab and Chinese views.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgements

List of Contributors

Abbreviations

Introduction

1 Kings, Tyrants and Bandy-Legged Men: Generalship in Archaic Greece

2 Commemorating Thermopylae: The andreia of Glorious Defeat as a Literary Construct

3 Plato on Military and Political Leadership

4 Reconstructing Early Seleucid Generalship, 301–222 bc

5 Generalship and Knowledge in the Middle Roman Republic

6 Command Assessment in the Bellum Gallicum: Caesar and Fortuna

7 Remembering P. Quinctilius Varus: Opposing Perspectives on the Memory and Memorialisation of the Failed General in the Annales of Tacitus

8 Decius and the Battle near Abritus

9 Ammianus and the Heroic Mode of Generalship in the Fourth Century ad

10 The Fine Line between Courage and Fear in the Vandal War

11 The Generalship of John Troglita: Art in Artifice

12 The Best of Men: Cross-Cultural Command in the 630s ad

13 Tian Yue Marshals His Tropes: Public Persuasion and the Character of Military Leadership in Late Tang China

14 The Ideal of the Roman General in Byzantium: The Reception of Onasander’s Strategikos in Byzantine Military Literature

15 Generalship and Gender in Byzantium: Non‑Campaigning Emperors and Eunuch Generals in the Age of the Macedonian Dynasty

16 The Politics of War: Virtue, Tyche, Persuasion and the Byzantine General

Epilogue

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 13 Dec 2024).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-4744-5997-8

1-3995-1851-8

1-4744-5996-X

OCLC:

1322124019