The Battles of Antiochus the Great
Author | : Graham Wrightson |
Publisher | : Pen and Sword Military |
Total Pages | : 222 |
Release | : 2022-03-18 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781526793478 |
ISBN-13 | : 1526793474 |
Rating | : 4/5 (78 Downloads) |
Download or read book The Battles of Antiochus the Great written by Graham Wrightson and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2022-03-18 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A scholar of ancient warfare examines the great Seleucid ruler’s many victories and losses—revealing why his mighty empire was defeated by Rome. Antiochus III, the king of the Seleucid Empire for four decades, fought and won many battles from India to Egypt. And he lost almost as many. In The Battles of Antiochus the Great, Graham Wrightson examines the strategies and tactics employed in three of the Seleucid Empire’s most historically significant conflicts. Under Antiochus, the Seleucids had a greater variety of army units than most other Macedonian-founded kingdoms. This was because he had access to 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. His tactical failures were laid bare at the Battle of Magnesia-ad-Sipylum in 190 BC. At Magnesia, his huge, combined army was soundly thrashed by the smaller Roman force. Through an analysis of the Seleucid army, the standard tactics of Macedonian-style armies, and a detailed examination of the three main battles of Antiochus III, this book will show how his failure to utilize combined arms at their fullest potential led to such a world-changing defeat at Magnesia.