phalanx

Left A figurine depicting a hoplite poised for assault, formerly part of a bronze vessel from c.510 500 BC, found in north western Greece. Hoplites were traditionally only deployed in the expectation of imminent hand to hand fighting.

Military History
133

The Peloponnesian War: the Battle of Mantineia

In the second part of our special feature, Paul Rahe reveals how Sparta won the largest land battle fought within Greece during the Peloponnesian War.

The Past

This week: Alexander the Great

He inherited the kingdom of Macedonia (in modern-day Greece) at the age of 20. By the time of his death, just 13 years later, he had created an empire that covered two million square miles – stretching across three continents, from the Danube and the Nile to the Himalayas – and all without losing a battle.

Military History
123

War of Words: ‘PAWN’

Pawn emerges etymologically from the Anglo-Norman poun, which itself comes from the medieval Latin pedo (‘footsoldier’), derived from the Latin pes (‘foot’).