Wednesday, February 21, 2007

New Ancient Warfare Magazine to publish in March

I was so excited to hear that a new magazine with articles exclusively about the ancient world is slated for publication in March. I immediately went to the website and requested their free brochure.

Until now I have had to be satisfied with the one or two ancient-themed articles in Military History or Military Heritage magazines. I couldn't understand why the Ancient World didn't rate it's own periodical since there is such a wealth of material to draw upon. I can hardly wait to receive the brochure and
subscribe!

Now if I could just get The History Channel to start an Ancient
History Channel. I wrote to them several years ago and suggested that
they consider a channel devoted to the ancient world. Not only is
there a lot of documentaries to draw upon but they could always
broadcast all those old sword and sandal films that don't get much air
time anymore!

"Ancient Warfare is the new full color magazine about the soldiers, generals and wars of the Ancient World (ca. 3000 BC - AD 650). Ancient Warfare is published 6 times per year and features articles written by expert authors and illustrations by renowned artists. Photos from our extensive collections complete the picture.

Half of every issue is dedicated to a single theme from Ancient History. This may be a famous or not so well-know campaign, a leader or a more general theme such as siege warfare or artillery.

-
the Warrior: highlights one particular soldier, detailing his arms, armor and equipment for a particular campaign, battle or era. Always illustrated especially for Ancient Warfare magazine and placed squarely in the heart of every issue.
- the Battle: discusses a particular battle (or siege) in detail using all available sources, both literary, epigraphic, papyrological and archaeological. Maps, photos of locations and artifacts and illustrations elucidate what happened.
- the Find: illustrates a particular find, be it helmet, sword or belt buckle. Photos detail this find and - if available - a reconstruction to show the find in its former glory.
- the Battlefield: many ancient battlefields can no longer be located, but there are exceptions. Ancient Warfare takes you to the places where it actually happened, showing and reconstructing the landscape and its influence on the outcome of battles that took place all those years ago.
- the Campaign: battle does not exist in a vacuum. Campaign will explain the events leading up to a battle and its aftermath. Necessarily the emphasis will lie more on strategy and logistics than the tactics of Battle articles.
- Daily life: the battles that made it into the history books are only a small part of the lives of only a few soldiers. Many generations spent their lives as citizens of their poleis, eating in the syssitia or standing guard at some outpost of the empire. Using primary sources, here one will read the story of the soldier purchasing a slave, a mercenary hunting for a new job and an officer's wife on Hadrian's wall.
- Be a general: the Ancients had very well developed ideas about what a general ought to know and do. He should have read his Homer, of course, but there was also specific literature to train his capabilities and teach him by example. When presented with a problem, do you know what you are supposed to do?
- Special feature: catch-all or box of surprises: this department contains those interesting articles that didn't fit anywhere else. Have an idea? Let us know!
- the Event: Ancient Warfare reports in word and image from reenactment events all over the world. See history come alive!"