New knowledge versus consensus – a critical note on their relationship based on the debate concerning the use of barrel-vaults in Macedonian tombs

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Chilidis
Keyword(s):  
Alexander The Great ◽  
Philip Ii ◽  
Critical Note ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Shared Property ◽  
Structure Knowledge ◽  
Military Campaign ◽  
The Military ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Barrel Vaults

The association of Tomb II at Vergina, Greece, with Philip II initiated a debate concerning the use of barrel-vaults in Macedonian tombs. The accepted theory at the time held that, since no Macedonian tomb was dated prior to the last quarter of the 4th century BC, Macedonians copied the barrel-vault from the Persians after the military campaign of Alexander the Great in Asia, and therefore Tomb II should be dated to a later period. After an intense dispute, fresh archaeological evidence proved that this theory was false. This article examines the ways we structure knowledge in archaeology from hypothesis to theory that can develop to consensus, and how later consensus exercises a conservative influence on the production of new knowledge. New evidence that contradicts consensual theories is approached with stronger hostility and is confronted with higher demands of confirmation. I suggest that the same amount of scrutiny should be applied to the established theories, which are not unchangeable representations of reality, but conventionally shared property of archaeologists.

OVERCOME AND UNAVOIDABLE BARBARISM: DISCIPLINE OF THE MACEDONIAN INFANTRY IN THE AGE OF PHILIP II AND ALEXANDER THE GREAT

2021 ◽  
pp. 360-388
Author(s):  
А.А. КЛЕЙМЕНОВ
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
Corporate Identity ◽  
Alexander The Great ◽  
Philip Ii ◽  
Intensive Training ◽  
Disciplinary Problems ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Military

Цель исследования заключается в анализе дисциплинированности македонской пехоты эпохи великих завоеваний IV в. до н.э. Задачами являются рассмотрение мероприятий Филиппа II, направленных на повышение дисциплины в македонской армии, определение их эффективности, выявление сути дисциплинарных проблем, характерных для фалангитов времен Филиппа и Александра. Исследование опиралось на всесторонний анализ античных письменных источников, сравнительно-исторический метод, метод контент-анализа. Определено, что традиционно для пешего ополчения царства Аргеадов, как и для аналогичного компонента вооруженных сил соседних «варварских» народов, была свойственна низкая дисциплинированность. Посредством интенсивных тренировок, введения системы поощрений и взысканий Филиппу II удалось привить македонским пехотинцам дисциплину, высокий уровень которой был продемонстрирован в войнах за господство на Балканском полуострове, а затем подтвержден в период Восточного похода Александра. Базисом дисциплинарных мотивов фалангитов следует считать выгоды от принадлежности к царской армии и сформировавшуюся корпоративную идентичность. Тем не менее, большое военное значение корпуса македонских пехотинцев и его сплоченность сделали возможными и массовые выступления, в ходе которых воины открыто протестовали против военно-стратегических и политико-административных решений монарха, не соответствующих интересам войска. The main aim of this research is the analysis of the Macedonian infantry discipline in the period of the great conquests of 4th century BC. The research objectives are the review of Philip’s II actions to improve the Macedonian army discipline, the determining their effectiveness, the identifying the essence of disciplinary problems which are connected with the phalangites of Phillips and Alexander’s times. A multi-faceted approach to the ancient narrative sources, methods of comparative historical analysis and content analysis have been used. It defends that traditionally for infantry militia of the Argead Kingdomas well as for a similar component of the neighboring barbarian societies’ armed forces the law discipline was typical. Through intensive training, the introduction of a system of rewards and penalties, Philip II managed to instill for the Macedonian infantry discipline which high level was demonstrated in wars of domination in Balkan Peninsula and confirmed during the Alexander's Asian expedition. The phalangites’disciplinary motives were based on benefits of belonging to the royal army and an established corporate identity. However, the great military importance of the Macedonian infantry and their unity made possible mass demonstrations, during which the military protested against the military–strategic and political–administrative decisions of the monarch, which did not correspond to the interests of the army.

Wellington's First Command: The Political and Military Campaign Against Dhoondiah Vagh, February–September 1800

2010 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 1081-1113 ◽  
Author(s):  
HUW J. DAVIES
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
The Political ◽  
Intelligence Gathering ◽  
Military Career ◽  
Imperial Expansion ◽  
Small Force ◽  
Military Campaign ◽  
The Military ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Political Negotiation

AbstractWellington's first independent command has been seen as a short, but intense, ‘baptism of fire’ in which the young Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Wellesley commanded a small force against the insurgent, or ‘freebooter’, Dhoondiah Vagh. New evidence presented here, however, demonstrates that the three-month military campaign was preceded by several months of political negotiation and intelligence gathering designed to isolate Dhoondiah and starve him of sanctuary, support and sustenance. As a result, the campaign was much more complex than previously thought, and demonstrates important lessons about British imperial expansion in the region at the beginning of the nineteenth century, on the nature of British authority in India, and on the opening stages of the military career of the future Duke of Wellington.

Was There a Military Revolution at the End of Antiquity?

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Conor Whately
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Large Degree ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Sixth Century ◽  
Alexander The Great ◽  
Philip Ii ◽  
Gradual Evolution ◽  
Military Revolution ◽  
Principal Parts ◽  
The Military

Abstract In a book on Justinian’s wars of conquest, Peter Heather has argued that Rome’s ability to wage war in the sixth century CE was helped, to a large degree, by the military revolution that took place in Late Antiquity, which consisted of two principal parts: an increased deployment of Roman soldiers to the eastern frontier, and a shift towards Hunnic tactics. In this essay, however, I argue that these claims are misguided, and using five criteria set out by Lee Brice in an article on military revolution during the reigns of Philip II and Alexander the Great of Macedon, I show that the changes which Heather argues in favour of had begun long before Late Antiquity. Instead, what we see is the continued gradual evolution of Rome’s military, with the Roman state shifting troops to the east from the beginning of the imperial era, and the first documented implementation of steppe-inspired changes dating to the second century.

scholarly journals The influence of Xenophon’s didactic writings on the military leadership practice of Alexander the Great

Hypothekai ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 113-140
Author(s):  
Alexander Kleymeonov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Alexander The Great ◽  
Military Leader ◽  
Leadership Practice ◽  
Philip Ii ◽  
Art Of War ◽  
Local Elite ◽  
Combined Use ◽  
The Military

The article examines the influence of Xenophon’s didactic works on the military activities of Alexander the Great. It is re-vealed that messages from ancient sources containing direct in-dications of the fact that Alexander was familiar with Xeno-phon’s works are either fundamentally unreliable or subject to different interpretations. Nevertheless, a comparison of the rec-ommendations proposed in “Kyropedia” and other Athenian au-thor’s writings the with Alexander’s practical activities reveals obvious similarities in their views on training military personnel, organizing competitions in military skill, providing soldiers with richly decorated weapons, and caring for the sick and wounded. A set of coincidences is associated with the political and admin-istrative activities of Alexander, who, like Cyrus the Elder in Xenophon’s writings, demonstratively showed mercy towards the vanquished, attracted representatives of the local elite to the ser-vice, wore clothes traditional for a conquered country. A large number of similarities, good education of Alexander and the popularity of Xenophon’s writings in the second half of the 4th century BCE allow us to conclude that the Macedonian king was familiar with the works of the Athenian author. However, the components of Xenophon's didactic legacy associated with the methods of warfare do not correlate well with Alexander's mili-tary leadership practice. The fundamental differences are re-vealed in the armament of the cavalry and their tactics, the depth of the infantry formation, the role of army branches on the battle-field. They were caused by a significant breakthrough in the art of war that took place in Macedonia during the time of Philip II. This breakthrough also led to the emergence of new tactics that provided for crushing the enemy not with a frontal attack of heavy infantry, but through the combined use of various types of troops. Alexander as a military leader was raised under the con-ditions of a new, more developed military art. Thus, the over-whelming majority of Xenophon's recommendations, which de-scribed the cavalry as a purely auxiliary branch of the army and considered the classical hoplite phalanx a decisive force in battle, were clearly irrelevant for him and therefore ignored.

Lending to the Borrower from Hell

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauricio Drelichman ◽  
Hans-Joachim Voth
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Sovereign Debt ◽  
Risk Sharing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Philip Ii ◽  
Loan Contracts ◽  
The Right ◽  
Intelligent Model ◽  
New Evidence

Why do lenders time and again loan money to sovereign borrowers who promptly go bankrupt? When can this type of lending work? As the United States and many European nations struggle with mountains of debt, historical precedents can offer valuable insights. This book looks at one famous case—the debts and defaults of Philip II of Spain. Ruling over one of the largest and most powerful empires in history, King Philip defaulted four times. Yet he never lost access to capital markets and could borrow again within a year or two of each default. Exploring the shrewd reasoning of the lenders who continued to offer money, the book analyzes the lessons from this historical example. Using detailed new evidence collected from sixteenth-century archives, the book examines the incentives and returns of lenders. It provides powerful evidence that in the right situations, lenders not only survive despite defaults—they thrive. It also demonstrates that debt markets cope well, despite massive fluctuations in expenditure and revenue, when lending functions like insurance. The book unearths unique sixteenth-century loan contracts that offered highly effective risk sharing between the king and his lenders, with payment obligations reduced in bad times. A fascinating story of finance and empire, this book offers an intelligent model for keeping economies safe in times of sovereign debt crises and defaults.

Post-Heroic Warfare Revisited: Meaning and Legitimation of Military Losses

Sociology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 898-914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristian Frisk
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Moral Worth ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
The Social ◽  
Military Engagement ◽  
Military Campaign ◽  
The Military ◽  
Second World

The article challenges the thesis that western societies have moved towards a post-heroic mood in which military casualties are interpreted as nothing but a waste of life. Using content analysis and qualitative textual analysis of obituaries produced by the Royal Danish Army in memory of soldiers killed during the Second World War (1940–1945) and the military campaign in Afghanistan (2002–2014), the article shows that a ‘good’ military death is no longer conceived of as a patriotic sacrifice, but is instead legitimised by an appeal to the unique moral worth, humanitarian goals and high professionalism of the fallen. The article concludes that fatalities in international military engagement have invoked a sense of post-patriotic heroism instead of a post-heroic crisis, and argues that the social order of modern society has underpinned, rather than undermined, ideals of military self-sacrifice and heroism, contrary to the predominant assumption of the literature on post-heroic warfare.

Patterns of Politics in Ancient Greek Athletics

2021 ◽  
pp. 108-123
Author(s):  
Panos Valavanis
Keyword(s):  
State Formation ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Political Capital ◽  
Alexander The Great ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Philip Ii ◽  
Elite Status ◽  
The Status ◽  
Group A ◽  
Chariot Racing

Greek athletics were of high political significance in view of their place in religion and communal festivals. This is reviewed in terms of votive offerings; the status of a group, a ruler, or an individual within a community; interstate rivalries, colonization and state formation; elite status, kudos, and political capital, especially in chariot-racing. The examples of Cleisthenes of Sikyon and the Alcmaeonids of Athens, among others, are discussed. The rivalry of Athens and Sparta in athletics and chariot events is also examined, e.g. the cases of the Spartans Lichas, Cynisca, and Agesilaus, and the Athenian Alcibiades. The participation of ‘peripheral’ Greek cities (Italy, Sicily, Cyrene) in Panhellenic games bolstered their Greek identity and served their rulers too. Macedonian rulers, e.g. Alexander I, Philip II and Alexander the Great, notably took part in Greek games for the fifth century on, and so asserted their Greek identity and their domain. The Panathenaic Games served political aims not only for Athenian elite, but also for Ptolemies and Macedonians.

The Papacy, the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Second Council of Lyon (1274)

Epohi ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Momchil Mladenov ◽  
◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
13Th Century ◽  
Present Information ◽  
History Of ◽  
Military Campaign ◽  
The Military ◽  
Significant Opportunity

The current publications present information about the history of church union negotiations in the second half of the 13th century. The mane goal of emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus is to stop the military campaign against Byzantium. At the Second Council of Lyons (6 July 1274) was declared a union between Catholics and Orthodox. This is the most significant opportunity for the unity of Christendom. But the union also became an occasion for final division. Then any attempt at rapprochement is doomed to failure.

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