Warfare is an integral part of society, affecting trade, the economy and the very makeup of it regarding class, religion and race. However, it also is a reflection of that society and era. Civilizations like the Ancient Greeks, Romans, medieval Europeans, South American natives, and Mongols shaped their individual styles of warfare by drawing upon societal elements like social classes, economics and lifestyles. At the same time, eras of nationalism coupled with technological, economic and political revolutions completely overhauled existed methods of war. One of the primary examples where societal values and changes to them affect warfare was Ancient Greek society. By the eighth century B.C., advancing practices in agriculture resulted in a Greek city polis, whose democratic political process awarded political, social and economic privileges to a growing farmer class. These …show more content…
Under the Roman Empire and into the early decades of medieval Europe, the size of an army depended upon the size of the aristocratic class and the cost of cavalry units. Cavalry units were expensive in their need for supplies, armour, riding equipment in addition to weapons and weaponry training. The introduction of simpler and cheaper weapons like the pick axe and the bow and arrow in the middle to late medieval European era, armies could depend on these weapons to fight and therefore the growing “middle class” that could afford these weapons. Hundreds of socially inferior soldiers easily fell noble officers without the years of training cavalry previously required. Without a financial restraint on warfare that cavalry instigated, the number of possible employed soldiers was unrestricted. Victory now depended on the quantity of soldiers rather than the quality. Mercenaries were replaced as local populations were cheaper, easier and often more loyal to employ in armies. The size of the army was dramatically
Therefore, they first asked the emperor to set aside the breastplates… and then the helmets.” Because of this, the Roman army fell easy prey to enemy archers. Additionally, not only were the Roman soldiers dying at a much higher rate, thus increasing the demand for soldiers, but the number of individuals affected by mandatory conscription was also decreasing.
The military abandoned drills so they were less experienced in the field. The military declined in men, and their strength decreased significantly. Another issue was that the Roman government failed to draft soldiers, which made the military count go plummeting down (Document 4). Many higher class people, such as senators, bureaucrats, and clergymen ovided the draft, and the military was weakened. With the military defenseless and small in size, it was easy for enemies to attack
World History Paper BY:SABASTION FOSTER Rome, Greece, and England all had a big part in helping the development of democracy. Rome and Greece had the biggest influence on U.S democracy, But Greece had the biggest influence in democracy by just having the idea of demokratia “rule by the people.” Greece was the biggest influence on democracy by staring the idea of demokratia “rule of people” in 507 B.C. and had the first manarchy that was almost the president back then. They splitted up into three institutions which was Ekklesia, who wrought laws, Boule were representative and dikasteria court.
The army started to fall apart and show signs of weakness and there began to be fewer and
When talking about war, there are many books with few answers to what war truly is. Barbara Ehrenreich brings forth not only the possibilities towards understanding war but also the passion people from history have had towards it. One key issue she brings to light is humanities love for war, so much so that people would use excuses like holy wars to justify their need to fight in a war. She declares that war is as muddled as the issue of diseases and where diseases came from around 200 years ago. More so than that she even goes further on to state that these rituals that date back to prehistoric times are the cause of human nature during times of war rather than human instinct.
Literature is an amazing tool; through literature, we are able to uncover various ideologies and beliefs that societies held, as time goes on we can look back at these literary works and see how some of these ancient societies compare to our own. In Erich Maria Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front" and Homer's "The Iliad" both discuss on contrast various elements of war. " The Iliad" romanticizes war, telling the story of god-like heroes clashing against one another in hopes of receiving honor and glory. While "All Quiet on the Western Front" tells more of what we today would consider a realistic depiction of war, telling the story of a young adult experiencing the trauma of war. While The Iliad is wildly entertaining it is evidently clear
The Ancient Greeks have influenced American culture through their language, their architecture, and in the theater. Many words in the English language were derived from those of the Ancient Greeks. You can find many examples of Greek architecture in America today, especially in our nations capital. The Ancient Greeks were the first people to start theater and that is still very popular today through stage theater, and through movies. To begin, countless words and phrases found in the English language were obtained from the Ancient Greeks.
This led to Romans losing countless battles because without breastplates and helmets, they were easily exploited by enemy soldiers. Another military mistake was the enforcement of drafts. Many people were excused from these drafts such as senators and clergyman, as well as cooks and slaves. This lowered the population of an army that was already at a disadvantage due to the citizens lost in floods and
The Polis and Ancient Greek Life To the Ancient Greeks, the Polis was the center of their way of life. From socializing to conducting business to even deciding whether to go to war, the Polis was a very important aspect of the Greek’s lives. In the essay, the functions of the Polis will be discussed along with how the Polis managed to bring about the formation of Democracy, with the Polis of the city of Athens being the main example. The importance of the Polis will be explored through this essay because without the Polis, Democracy as we know it may not have ever formed. In ancient Greece, the Polis was the center of everything, consisting of the main town, but also farms and villages surrounding the polis.
Military organisation encouraged the rise of the state. According to Roberts, there was a ‘new standard in the training and discipline of the ordinary soldier.’ An army consisted of a cavalry, pikemen and footsoldiers. Cavalrymen rode on horses wearing armour while carrying a lance and a sword. Pikemen had pikes that were ‘ten-to fifteen-foot long.’
Coming into this course, I really did not know anything about ancient warfare or the societies of Greeks and Persians. Prior to this class, the only ideas I had relating to the societies and their warfare originated from movies, like 300, Greek mythology, and from reading the epic poem, “The Odyssey,” during my freshman year of high school. My ideas have changed and expanded, without doubt, after reading the materials and participating in the discussion topics throughout this course. In order to explain what I have learned, I need to explain what I previously thought about Greek and Persian societies, despite it being very limited knowledge.
Significant amounts of poor peasants would join armies in hopes for payment, food, and honor despite the grave risk of death. Nobles joined armies for their families honor as tradition and for their large compensation as important individuals. During
Social and political considerations is what determined religious activities. Technology, led to changes in armor, which led to changes in military tactics and strategies. This led to the inclusion of a fighting force comprised of non-aristocrats resulting in the rise of tyrants within many Greek states. Hoplite phalanx war fare began with changes to the burial process involving armor. Armor was now handed down from father to son, appropriated from fallen enemies, or won in competitions.
Because of this many men joined, so they had strageage and numbers so many people didn't want conflict with them. The maintenance of the military was esanchale, from the end of the napoleonic wars to the mid 1850 the Duke of Wellington and his successors attempted to keep the same tactics and strategies. They thought if it had worked in the pasted why change it.(Victorian ERA Military) In the industrial revolution many Military weapons, transportation, equipment and social modifications were made to make a soldiers life better.
Even before their violent encounter with the Persians, the Greeks had a haphazard sense of common culture. For example, language was a significant cultural similarity between the different Greek states. Although there were several different dialects used in the Greek states during the Classical Period, for example the Doric and Attic dialects, the ‘Greek language’ essentially all originated from the Linear B script used during the Mycenaean times. Due to this common origin, there were several ‘essential features’ that the different dialects shared. For example, greater emphasis was placed on the root of a word as opposed to the accent of the word.