Hollywood has gone to elaborate lengths to recreate the violence and mayhem of ancient warfare in movies such as Gladiator and Troy. But what were ancient battles really like? What weapons, tactics, armor, training, and logistics were used? In this course, Professor Garrett G. Fagan takes you into the thick of combat in some of the most notable battles fought in the Mediterranean region from prehistoric times to the 4th century CE.
Great Battles of the Ancient World
Join estemed Professor of Ancient History Garrett Fagan, and together travel into the thick of combat in some of the most notable battles fought in the Mediterranean region from prehistoric times to the 4th century CE.
Rated 3 out of
5
by
kalb from
just ok
a mix of some interesting details & some just ok, & some simply boring. First couple of lectures were weak; it then picked up. While my prior knowledge was novice, i dis have 1 dispute. In lecture 20, Prof Fagan addresses the Roman siege of Masada. He made it sound as if the Romans showed up, made a decision, & quickly, with little effort, brought the Jews down. The reality (as i understand it) is the siege lasted months (longer ?) & it was a very difficult experience for the Romans.
Date published: 2024-10-14
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Cousindrew from
Outstanding course!
The late Prof. Fagan has presented an outstanding, in-depth analysis of many of the great battles of the ancient world in this 24-lecture course. His discussion of battle strategy, the action on the ground, and the ramifications from the encounter are first rate. The professor treats his audience with respect, with the pace of each lecture rapid and the volume of material covered extensive. He speaks with a pronounced Irish accent, but he is not hard to follow. My only somewhat negative observation is his seeming obsession with trying to debunk various theories of Victor Davis Hanson, a classicist at the Hoover Institution at Stanford; it almost feels personal. Nonetheless, this is an excellent course, particularly for those with some grounding in the subject matter. Highly recommended!
Date published: 2024-08-27
Rated 5 out of
5
by
MadWho from
Excellent short foundational course
Like nearly all superior older courses, PhD Fagall follows the critical 'disinterested' instruction discipline. I believe how little we actually 'know' of the ancient great battles is crucial to an informed understanding. Dr. Fagal excels at explaining the available sources, the limitations, and with this information, how the informed academic consensus settled.
The delivery was silky smooth. This made the verbal fumbles inordinately discordant. Like one sour note in a masterful chamber quartet. Which should have been addressed in production.
I often disagreed with Dr. Fagan's informed disputes with Victor Davis Hanson. However, the case against the general superiority of republican citizen military formations was cogently made. Also, the shift from disinterested to well-informed expert opinion was clearly stated.
The grinding force and fear attrition strategy employed by Stalin would not have been possible without the support of American war material. Only our more de-centralized Republican form could produce and deliver the overwhelming material advantage.
Date published: 2024-08-24
Rated 5 out of
5
by
CuriousityDrive from
I learned a lot. Excellent professor!
I just wanted to give this course a quick 5-star review since it is well deserved. I have watched +200 GreatCourses and this one would seem to at least be in the top 25%.
First, I learned a lot and thus, IMHO, it is worth the time invested. Thus, I highly recommend it and, respectfully, do not agree with some of the negative reviews I have read about this course/the professor's presentation.
Second, I GREATLY appreciated the professor's approach to scholarship and teaching, as well the way he thinks more generally. He does his 'homework' (i.e.., seems to know what he talking about), presents various theories, and then explains why he believes one of those is correct (or at least likely correct) in a VERY LOGICAL manner.
Accordingly, this style reflects beautifully what many, including myself, always appreciated about the GreatCourses in the PAST.
Unfortunately, SOME of the NEWER courses on this site have teachers with little or no background (i.e., academic credentials) in the subject they are teaching and they inject various opinions that are often reflect bias and/or are simply unsupported by facts.
Hopefully, as part of the name change from Wondrium back to GreatCourses (in 2024), the company will also go back to its 'roots' in this regard--e.g., ALWAYS hire professors that actually have degrees in the subject they are teaching (which, respectfully, is not asking a lot of a company that is called 'TheGreatCourses') and NOT PERMIT biased/unsupported remarks (e.g., by those who have some axe to grind and/or grievance to push WITHOUT facts to back such remarks up).
Finally, the professor's passing at such a young age is a terrible loss.
Date published: 2024-06-03
Rated 5 out of
5
by
MStoehr from
Exceptionally well organized and thoughtful
This is a real, serious course. Professor Fagan covers the strategy and tactics of these battles clearly and effectively. He also examines how we know what we know and to what extent we should trust scholarly efforts to fill in blanks in the historical record. I would have loved a real live course from Professor Fagan.
Date published: 2024-03-20
Rated 4 out of
5
by
EngineerinVA from
Battlefield, Not Warfare
This is a compendium of battlefield accounts in the ancient Mediterranean from the origins of state warfare in the Mesopotamia to the Gothic defeat of the Romans in 378 CE. Note that this course looks only at what happened on the battlefield. It minimizes or overlooks such essential issues as the strategic situation, the political context, and the logistics supporting the battle. In other words, it looks at the battle but it ignores the war.
As I mentioned, the course examines battles only in the ancient Mediterranean. Mostly, it focuses on Greece. The lectures break down this way:
• 2 lectures – Introductory material.
• 3 lectures – Mesopotamia and Egypt
• 11 lectures – Greece and Macedonia
• 7 lectures – Rome
• 1 lecture – Concluding material
Dr. Fagen is a good, although not elite, instructor. His Irish accent is pronounced but he is still easy to follow.
The course guide is written in paragraph form, as opposed to bullet-format or outline-format as used in some other course guides. It contains many battle maps and graphics of weapons to illustrate the discussion. It also contains a timeline, a glossary, and biographical notes, in each case much more extensive and useful than in most course guides.
I used the audio version. I wish now that I had gotten the video version. I believe that maps, pictures of weapons, etc. would enhance the learning experience. One can follow the audio version, for example while commuting or jogging, but I think that watching the course would be better.
The course was published in 2005.
Date published: 2022-11-01
Rated 5 out of
5
by
TP Jordan from
Learned a Great Deal
I enjoyed the course. I believe I have read something individually about almost every battle described in this lecture series; but Professor Fagan did a super job of synthesizing all of the individual lessons learned into a coherent system that led to a deeper understanding.
Not sure I understand his apparent antipathy toward Victor Davis Hansen, whom I also admire; but he did convince me to buy a copy of Carnage and Culture in any event.
Date published: 2022-06-27
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Vance T from
Great Battles Coverage
I watched the first lecture (of 24) of Great Battles of the Ancient World. The lecturer for all 24 topics is Garret Fagan. Topic is very engaging for the study I am interested in. I like his style. Walks around the front of "the class" without cameras jumping from angle to angle. No monotone. Makes you feel more like you are sitting in his classroom. No quizzes or test, just enjoyable lecture that i can do on my own time.
Date published: 2022-05-20
Overview
About
Garrett G. Fagan (1963–2017) was a Professor of Ancient History at Pennsylvania State University. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and was educated at Trinity College. He earned his PhD from McMaster University and held teaching positions at McMaster University, York University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also gave many public lectures to audiences of all ages. Professor Fagan had an extensive research record in Roman history and held a prestigious Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship at the University of Cologne. He published numerous articles in international journals, and he wrote Bathing in Public in the Roman World. He also edited a volume on the phenomenon of pseudoarcheology.
01: Why Study Battles? What Is War?
Professor Garrett G. Fagan addresses the importance of studying battles and surveys the changing scholarly approach to the subject since the 19th century. He concludes by looking at different definitions of warfare, particularly the "operational" and "social-constructivist" models.
32 min
02: The Problem of Warfare’s Origins
Three types of evidence shed light on origins of warfare: human remains bearing evidence of trauma, artifacts that function primarily as weapons, and monuments such as fortifications or depictions of warriors painted on cave walls. Their interpretations are far from straightforward.
31 min
03: Sumer, Akkad, and Early Mesopotamian Warfare
You enter the historical era when written records first become available. Such evidence allows us to reconstruct the conventions and conditions of warfare among the first cities in Sumer in c. 3000 BCE and to explore the nature of Sumerian armies, weapons, and battle tactics.
31 min
04: Egyptian Warfare from the Old to New Kingdoms
Evidence of warfare in Old Kingdom Egypt is ambiguous, but it is much more plentiful in later periods, when the pharaoh's role was increasingly that of a war leader. Egyptian warfare was transformed by the introduction of the chariot.
31 min
05: The Battles of Megiddo and Kadesh
With New Kingdom Egypt you get the first fully recorded battle in history: the Battle of Megiddo. You also cover the later Battle of Kadesh, which is attested in both Egyptian and Hittite accounts.
30 min
06: The Trojan War and Homeric Warfare
The reality of the Trojan War has been debated since ancient times. In this lecture you survey the archaeological evidence for Troy and for warfare among the mainland Greeks, called Mycenaeans.
31 min
07: The Assyrian War Machine
The Assyrian military model of multiethnic, highly mobile armies relying on missile weaponry and chariots was to characterize major Near Eastern powers for centuries. You study the nature of the Assyrian army, the unique features of the empire it created, and the place of warfare in Assyrian imperial ideology.
31 min
08: The Sieges of Lachish and Jerusalem
You examine the art of ancient siege warfare by considering the two great sieges at Lachish and Jerusalem during the third campaign of Sennacherib (701 BCE). The sources for these events include Assyrian written and iconographic records, accounts in the Bible, and archaeology.
31 min
09: A Peculiar Institution? Hoplite Warfare
The Greek hoplite was a heavily armed and armored infantryman who fought in a formation called the phalanx, dominating battlefields of the ancient world for almost four centuries (c. 700 to 338 BCE).
32 min
10: The Battle of Marathon
The Battle of Marathon saw the forces of the Persian superpower defeated in the first major confrontation between Greeks and Persians on the Hellenic mainland. The battle itself was strategically indecisive and set the stage for the serious clash of Greek and Persian armies a decade later.
30 min
11: The Battle of Thermopylae
In the second Persian invasion of Greece, 300 Spartans with allied troops were charged with stopping an enormous Persian force at the narrow pass of Thermopylae, while Greek armies mustered in the rear. Astonishingly, the fight lasted three days before the defenders were betrayed and then massacred.
31 min
12: Naval Warfare and the Battle of Salamis
You survey the naval developments that led to the trireme in the late 6th century BCE and then focus on the Battle of Salamis, which saw the Persian fleet defeated by Athens. The lecture ends with the Battle of Plataea (479 BCE).
31 min
13: The Athenian Expedition to Sicily
The Athenian assault on the heavily fortified city of Syracuse in Sicily represents one of the greatest military follies in history. The ensuing disaster was a turning point in the wider Peloponnesian War with Sparta (431 to 404 BCE).
31 min
14: The March of the Ten Thousand
You follow the exploits of the "Ten Thousand," a contingent of Greek mercenaries caught deep in hostile Persian territory around 400 BCE Their fighting retreat, conducted over 1,500 miles, demonstrated the superiority of Greek hoplites and later inspired Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia.
31 min
15: Macedonian Military Innovations
Warfare among Greek city-states in the 4th century BCE led to a new style of hoplite combat using a refined version of phalanx. Adopted by King Philip II of Macedon, these tactics helped create a fearsome military machine that was to dominate the eastern Mediterranean and Asia for more than two centuries.
31 min
16: Alexander’s Conquest of Persia
Using the Macedonian phalanx, Alexander the Great invaded the Persian Empire in 334 BCE, winning major battles against overwhelming odds at Granicus (334 BCE), Issus (333 BCE), and Gaugamela (331 BCE), making him ruler over all of Persia.
31 min
17: The Legions of Rome
Abandoning the Greek-style phalanx, the Romans created an army that would conquer the known world within two centuries. The essential elements of Roman legionary equipment and tactical formations are examined.
31 min
18: The Battles of Cannae and Zama
An examination of Roman battles begins with the worst defeat in Roman history, the disaster at Cannae, inflicted by Carthaginian military genius Hannibal. The routed Romans waited 14 years for their revenge against Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in 202 BCE.
31 min
19: Legion versus Phalanx—Six Pitched Battles
The two greatest tactical systems of the ancient Mediterranean were the Macedonian phalanx and the Roman legion. They met in battle at several engagements, allowing us to weigh their relative advantages. You consider the results of six battles.
32 min
20: The Sieges of Alesia and Masada
You look at developments in siege warfare during the Hellenistic and Roman eras, examining in detail two great Roman sieges: Alesia (52 BCE) and Masada (72-73 CE). Both required enormous networks of camps, towers, moats, and palisades to seal off the besieged.
31 min
21: Caesar’s World War
Between 49 and 45 BCE, Caesar fought a civil war across the empire against his Roman rivals. You examine the battles of Pharsalus, Zela, Thapsus, and Munda, paying particular attention to what allowed Caesar to win in each case, especially since he was often outnumbered.
31 min
22: The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
In 9 CE, three Roman legions were ambushed and massacred in the Teutoburg Forest by Germans under Arminius, a former auxiliary in the Roman ranks. You explore accounts of the battle and the remarkable archaeological discoveries that have shed new light on German tactics.
30 min
23: Catastrophe at Adrianople
The Roman defeat at Adrianople in 378 CE was only the second time in Roman history that an emperor was killed in action against a foreign foe. Assessing the battle, you survey the Goths and the threat they posed in the 4th century, and you examine the military organization and equipment of the Later Roman Empire.
31 min
24: Reflections on Warfare in the Ancient World
You address two final questions: (1) Why did warfare play a central role in the societies of the ancient Mediterranean? (2) Was the so-called "Western way of war" invented in Archaic Greece and has it been continuously practiced up to the present?
31 min
