A huge, mountainous, landlocked Central Asian state, Afghanistan has defied invaders for 2,500 years. Jules Stewart takes a look at the country’s military longue durée. Taken in historical context, the 13-year presence of NATO combat troops in Afghanistan amounted to scarcely a footnote to centuries of foreign military intervention in the country. From the […]
Ancient warfare
Britannia: the real story
The TV series Britannia (2017) is a historical fantasy along the lines of Game of Thrones. Though set at the time of the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43, it makes no great claim to historical authenticity. It reflects enduring interest in the Celts, the druids, and, above all, Queen Boudicca of the Iceni. But what was warfare really like during the Roman conquest of Britain between AD 43 and 84?
MHM 92 – May 2018
The May issue of Military History Monthly, the British military history magazine, is now on sale. In this issue: SPECIAL: BRITANNIA – THE REAL STORY This month, our special delves into the true history behind the fictional new TV series Britannia. The Roman invasion of Britain pitted two very different military entities against each other: the Romans and […]
TIMELINE: The Sassanian Empire
The Sassanian Empire: Rome’s unbeaten rival in the East. With all its success and brilliance in Europe, the Mediterranean, and North Africa, Rome never conquered the Spah (‘military’) of the Sassanian Empire. Roman emperors such as Alexander Severus, Valerian, and Julian the Apostate tried and failed to subjugate Persia. Thanks to European and Iranian military […]
10 Principles of Sassanian Warfare
The Spah (‘military’) of the Sassanian Empire were Rome’s unbeaten rivals in the East. Here we look at 10 principles of Sassanian warfare.