LeGenD
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TIMELINE: ~ 125 AD
01) The discovery of copper-refining methods around 4500 BCE led to manufacturing of the first metallic weapons, and may also have set off competition between city-states for access to the copper mines of Anatolia.
02) The first organized armies, those of the Sumerians, emerge circa 3000 BCE.
03) Egyptian soldiers were mainly peasant conscripts who fought almost exclusively on foot until around 1500 BCE. The archers were the most important component of the army, and they carried light bows with a range of about 165 feet. The other infantry, known as the nakhtu-aa ("strong-armed"), fought in close formation using battle-axes and spears. Both types of warrior also carried a dagger in a leather scabbard, which was often strapped to the lower arm. After the beginning of the New Kingdom in around 1550 BCE, the Egyptian army began to use Chariots, which were utilized by archers as a mobile platform from which to fire.
04) Earliest traces of weapons (made of Iron) circa 1200 BCE, utilized by then formidable Assyrians to devastating effect in various campaigns.
05) War elephants are first mentioned in the Mahabharata circa 1000 BCE. The legendary Mahabharata War between the Kauravas and Pandavas is the first conflict described in Indian history.
06) The Greeks were famed for their naval prowess, using light, fast galleys called triremes. A Greek trireme was a shallow-draft vessel about 115 feet in length and 20 feet in width. These vessels first emerge circa 700 BCE, and were able to achieve speeds up to 11 knots in favorable conditions.
07) Chinese invented crossbows circa 450 BCE.
08) Dionysius I of Syracuse (Greek) introduced the ballista to the battlefield circa 400 BCE.
09) Defeat of a massive Persian force led by Darius (100,000 strong) at the hands of Alexander the Great with a relatively modest force (40,000 strong) in 333 BCE exemplified the Macedonian use of infantry phalanxes flanked by heavy cavalry.
10) Roman legionaires were not only excellent in combat - they were also highly skilled military engineers, who were called upon to build forts, roads, and siege-works throughout the empire. Forts were built in various sizes, to accommodate either whole legions or smaller auxiliary cohorts (around 500 men). They sometimes formed part of complex linear defenses, or even walls (such as Hadrian's Wall in Britain). More than the surviving remains of their forts, the finest testament to the Roman's skills in military engineering is arguably the vast network of roads - some 120,000 KM long.
REFERENCES
01) The discovery of copper-refining methods around 4500 BCE led to manufacturing of the first metallic weapons, and may also have set off competition between city-states for access to the copper mines of Anatolia.
02) The first organized armies, those of the Sumerians, emerge circa 3000 BCE.
03) Egyptian soldiers were mainly peasant conscripts who fought almost exclusively on foot until around 1500 BCE. The archers were the most important component of the army, and they carried light bows with a range of about 165 feet. The other infantry, known as the nakhtu-aa ("strong-armed"), fought in close formation using battle-axes and spears. Both types of warrior also carried a dagger in a leather scabbard, which was often strapped to the lower arm. After the beginning of the New Kingdom in around 1550 BCE, the Egyptian army began to use Chariots, which were utilized by archers as a mobile platform from which to fire.
04) Earliest traces of weapons (made of Iron) circa 1200 BCE, utilized by then formidable Assyrians to devastating effect in various campaigns.
05) War elephants are first mentioned in the Mahabharata circa 1000 BCE. The legendary Mahabharata War between the Kauravas and Pandavas is the first conflict described in Indian history.
06) The Greeks were famed for their naval prowess, using light, fast galleys called triremes. A Greek trireme was a shallow-draft vessel about 115 feet in length and 20 feet in width. These vessels first emerge circa 700 BCE, and were able to achieve speeds up to 11 knots in favorable conditions.
07) Chinese invented crossbows circa 450 BCE.
08) Dionysius I of Syracuse (Greek) introduced the ballista to the battlefield circa 400 BCE.
09) Defeat of a massive Persian force led by Darius (100,000 strong) at the hands of Alexander the Great with a relatively modest force (40,000 strong) in 333 BCE exemplified the Macedonian use of infantry phalanxes flanked by heavy cavalry.
10) Roman legionaires were not only excellent in combat - they were also highly skilled military engineers, who were called upon to build forts, roads, and siege-works throughout the empire. Forts were built in various sizes, to accommodate either whole legions or smaller auxiliary cohorts (around 500 men). They sometimes formed part of complex linear defenses, or even walls (such as Hadrian's Wall in Britain). More than the surviving remains of their forts, the finest testament to the Roman's skills in military engineering is arguably the vast network of roads - some 120,000 KM long.
REFERENCES
- Ancient History Encyclopedia.
- Paipetis, S. A., & Ceccarelli, M. (2010). The Genius of Archimedes: 23 Centuries of Influence on Mathematics, Science and Engineering. Springer.
- Smithsonian (2015). Military History: The Definitive Visual Guide to the Objects of Warfare. Smithsonian. DK.
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