Great Battles of the Ancient World

By: Garrett G. Fagan, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Garrett G. Fagan

Forget Hollywood's portrayal of violence and mayhem in ancient warfare and find out what the ancient battles were really like. What were the weapons, tactics, armor, training, and logistics? What were the crucial factors that could turn the tide of battle, giving one side victory and the other defeat?

In 24 exciting lectures, Professor Fagan introduces you to the many fateful battles that became crucibles of history: the fearsome clash between the Athenians and the invading Persian army at the Marathon, Alexander the Great's crushing hammer-and-anvil tactics against the Persians at Gaugemela, and the Roman mastery of siege warfare at the Jewish fortress of Masada.

Encompassing the region from Mesopotamia to western Europe-including Egypt and Northern Africa-this course charts the development of warfare from prehistoric times and examines battles and warfare from the city-states of early Sumer to the fearsome Assyrian war machine, the Greeks' distinctive form of combat, the Persian invasions, and the legions of Rome, which evolved brutally effective tactics that gained them dominion over the entire Mediterranean basin.

Although the battles you study were fought long ago, considerable controversy exists among contemporary historians. Professor Fagan presents contending theories without losing sight of the grim realities of war, and the many millions who have died on the battlefields.

"We owe it to them," he concludes, "and to the thousands who continue to perish in our planet's wars, to understand as fully as possible what it was that killed them. If this course has advanced its audience's comprehension of war even a little, then it has amply fulfilled its purpose."

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2005 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2005 The Great Courses

Entertaining, challenging, and educational

Prof Fagan delivers a well considered and researched look at key points in ancient history. Incorporating multiple points of view and considering all sides of history he provides intriguing insight into why events played out as they did and how they impact our world today.

Excellent lecturer and topic

I had put off listening to this one since I think Professor Fagan's lectures are outstanding and we won't be getting more of them. It was worth the wait!

I appreciate his delivery style and dry humor. This one felt a bit more "read" than his other lectures but it wasn't off-putting to me. I always enjoy how he summarizes the different schools of thought on these ancient events for which we sometimes have sparse data.

I thought I might find this less interesting since I'm less interested in battle styles, weapons, etc. but Fagan made it all come alive for me.

Bravo

As a student of war this course is a must. Many new points of view and clear mastery of the subject

One of my favorite professors to listen to.

Garrett G. Fagan gives great lectures. This is the 3rd one I've listened to from him. Highly recommend!

Great treatment of a collateral historical subject

Whatever subject Garrett Fagan covers, he does it with unparalleled depth and a philosophical twist here and there. Even to those not keen on the subject matter of battles and warfare, this course gives an interesting view of the evolution of war techniques in the ancient world within the historical context of the time and creates the curiosity of the reader or listener to learn further.

Interesting Study

This is an interesting study of ancient battles and warfare. The course is purely focused on Mediterranean cultures, so no ancient battles of China or other places. While I wish the course was broad enough to cover a larger geographic area, this is still an excellent course. The course strikes a nice balance between the pace of the presentation and the detail of the material. The professor is clearly knowledgeable and presents in a clear manner.

Love overall, some small mistakes

I love how this course covers a wide range of East Asian history. I also noticed some small mistakes:
1. Big flood in 1942 in China was on the Yellow River, not Yangzi River.
2. Cao Cao in Three Kingdoms era pronounced "Tsao Tsao", not "Kao Kao"
3. LI QingZhao the famous poet was from Song Dynasty not Tang Dynasty.

Worth the read

Would have given 5 stars if it had focused more on the weapons, tactics, and fighting methods.

great course!

Fantastic overview of ancient battle! he really discredits the work of Hansen. I loved it

Informative, but a little dry

At times the delivery is a bit dry, I felt like the details on little things kept going at times but thats just personal preference. I learned a lot and really enjoyed this lecture course overall.