Haven’t you heard of marathon, the cross- country race? Its story goes back to a great battle fought in Ancient Greece, in 490 BC. The Greeks won the battle of Marathon, and a young soldier named Pheidippides ran all the way to Athens, 40 km, to bring the happy news. He gave his report and then dropped dead. Marathon races commemorate this legendary race.
Leonidas was a 5th century BC Spartan military king, who bravely led a small force of Greeks against a much larger Persian army during the Persian Wars. A vast army of Persians was on the march to conquer Greece. A Small force of Greeks had been all that stood in their way. And yet, in a narrow pass at Thermopylae, the impossible almost happened. For three days, just over seventy-one hundred Greeks, spearheaded by an elite unit of three hundred Spartans, gave a savage beating to a Persian army that outnumbered them by perhaps 20-to-1.Leonidas, commander in chief of the Greek resistance to Persia at Thermopylae, died in a heroic last stand. Led by Leonidas, the three hundred Spartans stood and fell, and took the pride of the Persian Empire down with them. A king died in this battle, but a legend was born, the legend of Leonidas.
Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, there was a period in China known as the Age of Warring States. This was an age of great conflict and uncertainty, as seven states fought for survival and control of China. It was during this time that there arose a general from the state of Ch’i known as Sun Tzu. To hand down the wisdom he had gained from his years of battle, Sun Tzu wrote a book, The Art of War, which became a classic on military strategy in China. His book, which details a complete philosophy on how to decisively defeat one’s opponent, has given guidance to military theorists and generals throughout the ages.
Widely regarded as ‘the oldest military treatise in the world’, this compact little book, written more than 2,500 years ago, is still widely read today. American officers during World War II read it closely. The Japanese army studied the work for decades, and many twentieth-century Chinese officers are said to have known the book by heart.
When the Persians threatened Athens, Miltiades, an Athenian general, was chosen as one of the ten generals of the Athenian land forces. In the summer of 490 BC, the Persians landed at Marathon. Miltiades waited for a favourable moment to attack, and when the Persian army was off guard, he struck. Charging one and a half kilometres across the Marathon plain, Miltiades’ forces engaged the Persian infantry, killing some 6,400 men and capturing seven ships at a cost of only 192 Athenian dead. The rest of the Persian force quickly embarked, and put out to sea. Sadly, Miltiades was later accused of treason, and sentenced to death.
Darius the Great was a king of ancient Persia, whose reign lasted from BC 522 to 486. He took the throne by force, and continued the conquests of his predecessors, subduing Thrace, Macedonia, some Aegean Islands, and land stretching to the Indus valley. Darius put down several revolts, and he twice tried to conquer Greece, but a storm destroyed his fleet in 492 and the Athenians defeated him.Though Darius was an excellent soldier, and extended his empire East, North, and into Europe, he saw himself as an organizer and lawgiver, rather than as a mere conqueror. He divided the empire into 20 huge provinces called satrapies, each under a royally appointed governor called a satrap who had administrative, military, financial, and judicial control in his province. To check on such powerful subordinates, Darius also appointed the satrap’s second-in-command, having him report to the king separately.
Darius also developed commerce, and was responsible for a huge building programme including a new capital at Persepolis.
Cyrus the Great was the man who created what we call the Persian Empire by conquering many neighbouring lands, and consolidating them all into one, with himself as emperor.
Although Cyrus’s military accomplishments rank with those of Julius Caesar and Genghis Khan, he also was known as a master of diplomacy and tact. He welded together groups of people as widely different as Afghani tribesmen and Turkish farmers to create the first far-flung empire known in the Western world.
Cyrus is best remembered for his unprecedented tolerance towards those he defeated. When he conquered Babylon, he did so to cheers from the Jewish community, who welcomed him as a liberator he allowed the Jews to return to their own Promised Land. He also declared the first Charter of Human Rights known to mankind. He is reputed to have devised the first postal system.
Nebuchadnezzar was the mighty king of the Babylonian Empire between 604 and 562 BC. In 597, Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem. He also defeated the Cimmerians and Scythians. He then put down a rebellion in Jerusalem, and took the inhabitants of Jerusalem as prisoners. He brought them to Babylon, and this period in Biblical history is referred to as the Babylonian captivity.The evidence of Nebuchadnezzar’s military successes is seen in his building works in Babylonia. All the great old cities were extensively rebuilt. Most notable was the development of Babylon. He restored old religious monuments, and improved canals, as other Babylonian kings had done. Nebuchadnezzar’s building projects included surrounding his capital city with double wall 16 kilometres long, with an elaborate entry called the Ishtar Gate. He also built a port on the Persian Gulf.
Nebuchadnezzar will always be remembered for The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. According to accounts, the gardens were built to cheer up Nebuchadnezzar’s homesick wife. The gardens did not actually ‘hang’, but consisted of a series of terraces, resting on pillars. They were ingeniously irrigated so as to allow the magnificent plants to grow and flower in spite of the fact that Babylon receives very little rain. Without doubt, they were his most spectacular contribution to posterity.
Ashurbanipal was King of Assyria, and counted as the last great ruler of the country. When his father died, he left Ashurbanipal a kingdom that stretched from Northern Egypt to Persia, but he also made his brother king of Babylonia.Throughout his reign, Ashurbanipal had military problems, mainly at the borders of the empire. He attacked Egypt, and campaigns in 667 and 664 BC led to the defeat of the Egyptians. The Assyrian army invaded Elam and Babylonia. Babylon was captured in 648 BC, and the following year, the Elamite city of Susa was destroyed.
Ashurbanipal is remembered as one of the most cultured rulers of the time. He supported the establishment of the first systematically organized library, which contained tens of thousands of works, in the shape of tablets. He was personally involved in the appointments of governors and prefects, and he functioned as the real general contractor when building state houses and structures.
After Ashurbanipal died in 631 BC, the Assyrian kingdom started to fall apart, but this is not considered to be his fault. It was not weakness inside Assyria, but continuous attacks from hostile neighbours, that brought it down.
Tiglath Pileser Ill was a capable king of Assyria, military leader, and the founder of the second Assyrian Empire. He is considered one of the most successful generals in military history, as well as an energetic and efficient ruler and reformer. Tiglath Pileser Ill conquered Syria and Palestine, and merged Babylonia with Assyria. He introduced the policy of transplanting subject populations- that is, the defeated people were moved away from their homeland and forced to settle in a new place.
In the early days of their history, the Israelite tribes had lived in small, scattered, settlements. The first of the kings of Israel was Saul. He consolidated the tribes, and managed to defeat the enemy of the Israelite tribes, the Philistines, in battle. The Philistines came back, and suggested that the battle should be resolved by a person to person combat. Saul appointed David, a young shepherd boy, while the Philistines were represented by a huge giant of a man called Goliath. Although they appeared unevenly matched, David killed Goliath with a well aimed stone from his slingshot, and the Philistines were once again defeated.
Sadly, Saul became jealous of David’s popularity after this encounter, and tried to kill him. David escaped, and later joined the Philistines to meet the Israelites in battle. This time, the Philistines defeated the Israelites, and Saul was badly wounded by the archers as he tried to flee. He asked his armour bearer to kill him, but he refused, so Saul committed suicide by falling on his sword and the armour bearer followed him.
Ramses II was an extraordinary ruler of Ancient Egypt. He ruled for 67 years, and lived to be over 90 years old. He was around 30 years of age when he became pharaoh, and in his fourth year as ruler, Ramses was fighting in Syria in a series of campaigns against the Hittites and their allies. The Hittites, however, were very strong foes, and the war lasted for twenty years. In the end, neither side was victorious. Finally, after many years of war, Ramses was obliged to make a treaty with the prince of the Hittites. It was agreed that Egypt would not invade Hittites territory, and likewise, the Hittites wouldn’t invade Egyptian territory.The military genius of Ramses II helped to secure Egypt’s borders from foreign invaders, and pirates along the Mediterranean Coast and Libya. He also managed to fend off invasions from the Nubians. By forming peace treaties with these empires after warring with them, Ramses II helped to solidify Egypt’s borders on all sides, allowing for increased internal stability.
Ramses II spent the rest of his life bolstering his image with huge building projects. His name is found everywhere on monuments and buildings in Egypt. His greatest works were the rock hewn temples of Abu Simbel. He also added to the temple of Amenhotep III at Luxor, and completed the hall of columns at Karnak – still the largest columned room of any building in the world.
These monuments are a constant reminder of his great strength and wealth.
Amenhotep Ill was an Egyptian pharaoh who was a prolific builder and a benevolent ruler. His reign lasted almost 40 years, and was both stable and prosperous. He was a brilliant commander who led many campaigns. However, he is best known for the many splendid temples, including the magnificent Luxor Temple, and the large life like statues of himself that he built. When he died in 1353 BC, Egypt was at the zenith of its power.
Thutmose Ill was an Egyptian pharaoh who lived between 1479 and 1425 BC. He possessed all the qualities of a great ruler. A brilliant general who never lost a battle, he also excelled as an administrator and statesman. He was an accomplished horseman, archer, athlete, and discriminating patron of the arts.Thutmose III found himself faced with many enemies when he came to the throne. Undaunted, Thutmose immediately set out with his army, crossed the Sinai desert, and marched to the city of Gaza, which had remained loyal to Egypt. He quickly proved himself to be a military genius of his time. He understood the value of logistics, supply lines, the necessity of rapid movement, and sudden surprise attack. He lead by example, and was also probably the first person in history to really utilize sea-power to support his campaigns.
Thutmose III emerged victorious in his battles, and conducted sixteen campaigns in Palestine, Syria, and Nubia. His treatment of the conquered was always humane. He is compared with Napoleon, but unlike Napoleon, he never lost a battle.
Hammurabi was an ancient Babylonian king. He was the sixth king of Babylon, but expanded it by uniting cities. He therefore became the first king of the empire. He first conquered cities towards the south, and then his conquest expanded. He respected all the religions in his empire, and did many things in order to make Babylon a better place.Hammurabi is best remembered because he did something that no one had ever done before. Using a form of written language known as cuneiform, Hammurabi created the first written set of laws called the Code of Hammurabi. In Hammurabi’s court, it did not matter if you were rich or poor. If you broke the law, and were found guilty, you would be punished. Since the laws were clearly written down, everyone was expected to obey them.
Under Hammurabi, the Babylonian Empire was very strong, but under his children and grandchildren, the empire got weaker, until eventually it collapsed like other West Asian empires.
Sargon the Great was the ruler of the Akkadians, who conquered the land between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers around 2300 BC. According to legend, Sargon’s mother was a princess, and his father a poor gardener. His mother abandoned him, and put him in a reed basket which she then set float on the river. However, he was rescued by a gardener named Akki, and he became a favourite of the Goddess Ishtar.With the goddess’s blessings, he came to the court of the king. In time, he built himself a new city at Akkad, and made himself its king. He gradually conquered all the land around him. In this way, he built the first empire that we know of the Akkadian Empire. His empire was great indeed, extending throughout Mesopotamia. He sent expeditions into Asia Minor and Southeast Arabia, with varying degrees of success. In the process, he spread not only the military wisdom of his army but also the cultural wisdom of Sumeria, the civilization that he conquered. Sargon ruled for 35 more years, until his death in 2305. But the fact is that he lived so long ago that most of what we know about him is based on legend.