The History Network
The military history podcast specialists, looking at all aspects of war through the ages.

In August 334 BC, Alexander the Great invaded the Persian Empire and systematically set about its conquest. At the core of Alexander's army were 10,000 members of the phalanx, the phalangites. Armed with a long pike and fighting in formations up to 16 ranks deep, these grizzled veterans were the mainstay of the Macedonian army.

Facing them were the myriad armies of the peoples that made up the Persian Empire. At the centre of these forces was the formation known as the Immortals: 10,000 elite infantry, armed with spears and bows.

In this episode we're going to be discussing the "Macedonian Phalangite vs Persian Warrior" with Ancient Warfare Podcast regular Murray Dahm, who has literally written the book on the topic.

Direct download: 2708_Macedonian_Phalangite_vs_Persian_Warrior.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am UTC

The treatise How to Survive Under Siege by Aineias Tacticus, is among the earliest treatises to survive from the genre of didactic military literature. Its author was regarded as the pre-eminent authority on military science in subsequent centuries because he wrote many other works. None of these survive. This single surviving treatise (although incomplete) covers nearly everything that a city need do in order to survive a siege by an enemy. Dur: 24mins File: .mp3

Direct download: 2707_Surviving_a_Siege.mp3
Category:military -- posted at: 12:00pm UTC