Between Miltiades and Moltke: Early German Studies in Greek Military History /
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The authors of the first serious scholarly works on Greek warfare were not free to write their surveys as they wished. In the nineteenth-century German-speaking world, the supreme authority on all military history rested with the Great General Staff, the intellectual nerve centre of the Prussian army. Officers rejected the ability of historians to understand warfare and imposed their pragmatic perspective on any attempt to study past wars. How did classicists and historians respond to this challenge? This book explores how the scope and method of the first handbooks on Greek warfare were shaped by their environment; it questions the ancient wisdom that practical expertise is the best guide to writing military history.
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1 online resource :
9789004540026
9789004514300
Ammianus Marcellinus From Soldier to Author /
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Ammianus Marcellinus was a soldier and an author. This book explores how his experience of 4th-century military life affected his writing of history and conversely how his knowledge of literature influenced his writing about the Roman army.
Ammianus Marcellinus composed a history of the Roman empire from 96 AD to 378 AD, focusing on the mid-fourth century during which he served in the army. His experience as a soldier during this period provides crucial realia of warfare, while his knowledge of literature, especially the genre of historiography, enabled him to imbue his narrative with literary flair. This book explores the tension between Ammianus' roles as soldier and author, examining how his military experience affected his history, and conversely how his knowledge of literature affected his descriptions of the Roman army.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004525351
9789004525290