The entertainment industry has painted a certain picture in the minds of many when it comes to ancient battles. And as you’ll learn in this article, m

The entertainment industry has painted a certain picture in the minds of many when it comes to ancient battles. And as you’ll learn in this article, most ancient warfare tactics are nothing like what we’ve seen on the big screen. Were men the only ones who could fight? And did the Greeks have a huge disdain for archers? These questions and more, will be highlighted in this list of misconceptions about ancient battle tactics. 1. Longswords are Ideal Picture an ancient soldier rushing into battle. Are they using a longsword to strike down their enemies? Sorry to burst your bubble but that was hardly the case back then. If anything, they would be at a huge disadvantage, considering that long swords required way too much elbow room. That’s why the Romans preferred to equip themselves with short swords known as gladiuses, as it allowed them to close the space between the enemy. Otherwise if they wanted to widen the distance, then javelins or spears would be the preferred weapon to achieve this goal. 2. Ancient China Was Extremely Militaristic Ancient China has a notable reputation for having some of the largest armies of their time. Or so we’ve been led to believe. The truth is that most Chinese held an anti-militarism view, such as Confucius who argued that a ruler’s legitimacy was severely undermined by military conquests. This is even reflected by the old Chinese adage which states that “Good men do not become soldiers.” And if you’re still not convinced, then you should perhaps take a look at Sun Tzu’s Art of War which placed emphasis on preventing the loss of valuable resources and infrastructure to war by appealing to the cunning over honorable warfare. 3. Roman Uniforms That Were… Uniform Hollywood has sold us on the idea of Imperial Roman soldiers wearing matching uniforms which consisted of a red tunic that was adorned with leather armor and knee-length boots. But standardized uniforms weren’t a thing in the Roman army. In reality, soldiers had to pay for their uniform if they wanted one, so that left the poorer soldiers to wear whatever they had available. Moreover, red was a very expensive dye that was usually reserved for the wealthy. The modern equivalent of this would be modern soldiers rushing into battle wearing name brands and high fashion. 4. Greeks Thought Archers Were Cowardly There is a popular misconception that the Greeks despised archers, a belief that was further fed by The Iliad, where the character Diomedes labels archery as being fit only for cowards after he is hit by one. However, evidence supports the opposite view, that the Greeks frequently made use of archers as a suppression technique during maneuvers. Though there aren’t any accounts of Spartan archers laying waste to their enemies like the Mongols and Welsh bowmen, they did acknowledge their contributions as evidenced by the numerous tributes, poems and statues in dedication of their brave archers. 5. Soldiers Were All Men It’s only natural to assume that women were banned from fighting in ancient wars. Truth is, many female combatants made a name for themselves in the world of warfare. Take for instance Queen Boudica and Queen Tomyris who led full armies into battle. Or the female archers from Western Sudan and Ghana who squared off against European armies during the Medieval era. And let’s not forget about Trung Trac and Trung Nhi of Vietnam who not only trained a general staff of 36 women, but also sent the Chinese running back home. &nbsp;

Misconceptions About Ancient Battle Tactics

Recent Posts

Categories

Get Triviabright in your inbox.