Sun, 19 February 2023
The battle of Montgisard (fought near Ramla in central Israel) saw the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem unexpectedly defeat the forces of Saladin. The Latins were vastly outnumbered and fought thinking that they faced certain defeat. Their victory put an end to the inexorable advances that the Muslim conqueror Saladin had won up to that point. Dur: 19mins File: .mp3 |
Sun, 5 February 2023
Epaminondas' victory at Leuctra created the Theban Hegemony, a brief period where Thebes dominated Greek politics. There has always been criticism that when Thebes defeated Sparta at the battle of Leuctra they had no real plan to replace the Spartan domination of Greece with one of their own. Hence the Theban hegemony of Greece was short-lived. One consideration to keep in mine is that Thebes only sought to end Spartan domination, not replace it. By achieving that feat at Leuctra, they actually created a power vacuum (which would eventually be filled by Macedon under Philip II, achieving domination of Greece in 338). Dur: 19mins File: .mp3 |