Generalship in Ancient Greece, Rome and Byzantium - by Shaun Tougher & Richard Evans (Paperback)

About the Book

Considers the ideals and realities of generalship across the Greek, Roman and Byzantine worlds.

Book Synopsis

This volume is unique in addressing a key aspect of ancient warfare across a broad chronological and cultural span, focusing on generalship from Archaic Greece to the Byzantine Empire in the twelfth century AD. Across this broad span, it explores a range of ideas on how to be a successful general, showing how the art of generalship - a profession that has been occupied variously by the political elite, the mercenary soldier and the eunuch - evolved and adapted to shifting notions of how a good military leader should act.
Highlighting developments and continuities in this age-old profession across the Graeco-Roman world, this volume brings together the latest research on generalship from both established and new voices. The chapters examine both ideals of generalship and specific examples of generals, considering the principles underpinning the roles they played and the qualities desired in them. They discuss in particular the intersection between military and political roles, the addresses delivered by generals to their troops, the virtue of courage and the commemoration of victory as well as defeat. In addition, contributors consider cross-cultural comparisons of generalship, with specific chapters devoted to Persian, Arab and Chinese views.

Review Quotes

[Generalship in Ancient Greece, Rome and Byzantium] makes an important contribution towards rewriting the history of the development of archaic warfare: an exploration of the literary construct of the glorious defeat at Thermopylae, which turned a terrible defeat into an act of heroism; an examination of the absence of distinction between military and diplomatic skills among the early Seleucid court elite; and a fascinating exploration of how Middle Republican generals acquired the skills and knowledge to conduct their campaigns, despite their limited terms of office.--Kostas Vlassopoulos, University of Crete "Greece & Rome"

This stimulating and innovative collection of essays takes a traditional subject in ancient military history and reinvigorates it by shifting discussion away from a focus on 'great commanders' to analysis of ancient ideals and principles of military leadership, while also contextualising this discussion within a broader chronological and geographical framework.--Doug Lee, Emeritus Professor of Ancient History, University of Nottingham

About the Author

Shaun Tougher is Professor of Late Roman and Byzantine History at Cardiff University, where he has taught since 1997. His research interests lie in the political and social history of the later Roman and Byzantine empires, especially the Emperor Julian, eunuchs and the Macedonian Dynasty. His recent publications include The Roman Castrati: Eunuchs in the Roman Empire (Bloomsbury, 2021), The Sons of Constantine, AD 337-361: In the Shadows of Constantine and Julian (co-edited with Nicholas Baker-Brian, Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) and The Emperor in the Byzantine World (ed., Routledge, 2019).

Richard Evans taught at the University of South Africa and Cardiff University. In recent years he has been Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Biblical and Ancient Studies, University of South Africa. His research interests have encompassed much of the political and military history of Greece, the Roman Republic and especially Syracuse. He has also published on the histories of Sybaris, Asia Minor and Pergamum, and the works of Diodorus Siculus and Herodotus. Recent publications include: Ancient Syracuse: From Foundation to Fourth Century Collapse (Routledge, 2016) and A History of Pergamum: Beyond Hellenistic Kingship (Bloomsbury, 2012).