Military Leadership from Ancient Greece to Byzantium : : The Art of Generalship / / ed. by Shaun Tougher.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter EBOOK PACKAGE COMPLETE 2022 English
• MitwirkendeR: Crosby, Daniel,; Evans, Richard,; Graff, David A,; Krallis, Dimitris,; Kucewicz, Cezary,; MacDonald, Eve,; Marre, Martine de,; McAuley, Alex,; Nolan, David,; Potter, David,; Rance, Philip,; Rockwell, Nicholas,; Stewart, Michael,; Taylor, Michael,; Tougher, Shaun,; Whately, Conor,
• HerausgeberIn: Tougher, Shaun,
• Place / Publishing House: Edinburgh : : Edinburgh University Press, , [2022]; ©2022
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (376 p.)

Considers the ideals and realities of generalship across the Greek, Roman and Byzantine worldsAddresses a neglected aspect in the study of ancient warfareAnalyses views generated in different ancient cultures about the theory and practice of generalshipBrings together the latest research on generalship from a wide spectrum of academic expertsContains discussion of the theory and practice of generalship in other contemporary cultures including Persia, Arabia and ChinaThis volume is unique in addressing a key aspect of ancient warfare across a broad chronological and cultural span, focusing on generalship from Archaic Greece to the Byzantine Empire in the twelfth century AD. Across this broad span, it explores a range of ideas on how to be a successful general, showing how the art of generalship – a profession that has been occupied variously by the political elite, the mercenary soldier and the eunuch – evolved and adapted to shifting notions of how a good military leader should act.Highlighting developments and continuities in this age-old profession across the Graeco-Roman world, this volume brings together the latest research on generalship from both established and new voices. The chapters examine both ideals of generalship and specific examples of generals, considering the principles underpinning the roles they played and the qualities desired in them. They discuss in particular the intersection between military and political roles, the addresses delivered by generals to their troops, the virtue of courage and the commemoration of victory as well as defeat. In addition, contributors consider cross-cultural comparisons of generalship, with specific chapters devoted to Persian, Arab and Chinese views.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- List of Contributors -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1 Kings, Tyrants and Bandy-Legged Men: Generalship in Archaic Greece -- 2 Commemorating Thermopylae: The andreia of Glorious Defeat as a Literary Construct -- 3 Plato on Military and Political Leadership -- 4 Reconstructing Early Seleucid Generalship, 301–222 bc -- 5 Generalship and Knowledge in the Middle Roman Republic -- 6 Command Assessment in the Bellum Gallicum: Caesar and Fortuna -- 7 Remembering P. Quinctilius Varus: Opposing Perspectives on the Memory and Memorialisation of the Failed General in the Annales of Tacitus -- 8 Decius and the Battle near Abritus -- 9 Ammianus and the Heroic Mode of Generalship in the Fourth Century ad -- 10 The Fine Line between Courage and Fear in the Vandal War -- 11 The Generalship of John Troglita: Art in Artifice -- 12 The Best of Men: Cross-Cultural Command in the 630s ad -- 13 Tian Yue Marshals His Tropes: Public Persuasion and the Character of Military Leadership in Late Tang China -- 14 The Ideal of the Roman General in Byzantium: The Reception of Onasander’s Strategikos in Byzantine Military Literature -- 15 Generalship and Gender in Byzantium: Non‑Campaigning Emperors and Eunuch Generals in the Age of the Macedonian Dynasty -- 16 The Politics of War: Virtue, Tyche, Persuasion and the Byzantine General -- Epilogue -- Bibliography -- Index