The Battles of Antiochus the Great: The failure of combined arms at Magnesia that handed the world to Rome
Antiochus III, the king of the Seleucid Empire for four decades, ruled a powerful state for a long time. He fought and won many battles from India to Egypt, and he lost almost as many. Compared with most of the other Hellenistic monarchs of Macedonian-founded kingdoms, Antiochus had a greater variety of units that he could field in his army. He was in a unique position among the other kings because he had access to the traditional infantry-based Greek cultures in Asia Minor as well as the cavalry-dominant cultures of Mesopotamia and Western Asia. Yet, despite these advantages, Antiochus repeatedly came up short on the battlefield and his tactical shortcomings were no more obviously laid bare than at the Battle of Magnesia-ad-Sipylum in 190 BC. There his huge combined army, one of the largest ever fielded by Hellenistic rulers, was soundly thrashed by the smaller Roman force.

Through an analysis of the Seleucid army, the inherited standard tactics of Macedonian-style armies reliant on the sarissa phalanx, and a detailed examination of the three main battles of Antiochus III, this book will show how it was his failure to utilize combined arms at its fullest realization that led to such a world-changing defeat at Magnesia.
1140132891
The Battles of Antiochus the Great: The failure of combined arms at Magnesia that handed the world to Rome
Antiochus III, the king of the Seleucid Empire for four decades, ruled a powerful state for a long time. He fought and won many battles from India to Egypt, and he lost almost as many. Compared with most of the other Hellenistic monarchs of Macedonian-founded kingdoms, Antiochus had a greater variety of units that he could field in his army. He was in a unique position among the other kings because he had access to the traditional infantry-based Greek cultures in Asia Minor as well as the cavalry-dominant cultures of Mesopotamia and Western Asia. Yet, despite these advantages, Antiochus repeatedly came up short on the battlefield and his tactical shortcomings were no more obviously laid bare than at the Battle of Magnesia-ad-Sipylum in 190 BC. There his huge combined army, one of the largest ever fielded by Hellenistic rulers, was soundly thrashed by the smaller Roman force.

Through an analysis of the Seleucid army, the inherited standard tactics of Macedonian-style armies reliant on the sarissa phalanx, and a detailed examination of the three main battles of Antiochus III, this book will show how it was his failure to utilize combined arms at its fullest realization that led to such a world-changing defeat at Magnesia.
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The Battles of Antiochus the Great: The failure of combined arms at Magnesia that handed the world to Rome

The Battles of Antiochus the Great: The failure of combined arms at Magnesia that handed the world to Rome

by Graham Wrightson
The Battles of Antiochus the Great: The failure of combined arms at Magnesia that handed the world to Rome

The Battles of Antiochus the Great: The failure of combined arms at Magnesia that handed the world to Rome

by Graham Wrightson

Hardcover

$34.95 
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Overview

Antiochus III, the king of the Seleucid Empire for four decades, ruled a powerful state for a long time. He fought and won many battles from India to Egypt, and he lost almost as many. Compared with most of the other Hellenistic monarchs of Macedonian-founded kingdoms, Antiochus had a greater variety of units that he could field in his army. He was in a unique position among the other kings because he had access to the traditional infantry-based Greek cultures in Asia Minor as well as the cavalry-dominant cultures of Mesopotamia and Western Asia. Yet, despite these advantages, Antiochus repeatedly came up short on the battlefield and his tactical shortcomings were no more obviously laid bare than at the Battle of Magnesia-ad-Sipylum in 190 BC. There his huge combined army, one of the largest ever fielded by Hellenistic rulers, was soundly thrashed by the smaller Roman force.

Through an analysis of the Seleucid army, the inherited standard tactics of Macedonian-style armies reliant on the sarissa phalanx, and a detailed examination of the three main battles of Antiochus III, this book will show how it was his failure to utilize combined arms at its fullest realization that led to such a world-changing defeat at Magnesia.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781526793461
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Publication date: 03/25/2022
Pages: 184
Sales rank: 737,890
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x (d)

About the Author

Graham Wrightson is Assistant Professor of Ancient Greek Military History at South Dakota State University (USA). His research interests focus on ancient warfare and military, in particular ancient Greek military history (Alexander and his successors) and the Crusades, as well as medieval history and medieval England.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations viii

Acknowledgements x

Introduction xi

Chapter 1 The Seleucid Army of Antiochus the Great 1

Chapter 2 The Battle of Raphia 12

Chapter 3 The Battles of Arius and Panion 32

Chapter 4 The Coming of Rome and the Battle of Thermopylae 51

Chapter 5 The Legion versus the Phalanx: Roman and Macedonian Styles of Warfare 74

Chapter 6 The Naval War with Rome 101

Chapter 7 The Battle of Magnesia ad Sipylum 115

Chapter 8 Antiochus' Failure of Combined Arms 132

Conclusion 136

Notes 139

Bibliography 146

Index 149

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