Top 10 Lesser-Known Battles/Conflicts that Took Place in Before Common Era (B.C.E.)
Ever since the so-called universe exploded into being, humans have seen lethal, dangerous," blood and bone" wars that affected whole world in some way or the other. Hundreds of thousands of people (and even more in some) were killed. Let's have a look at some of them . And if you are eager to know about early Rome, then this is the list one must to check.Athenians defeat the Persian army on the plain of Marathon, north of Athens. The cause of the Battle of Marathon can be traced back to 511B.C.E.,when Athens ejected Hippias,who had ruled the city as the tyrant for many years. However, when Darius of Persia sought Hippias's reinstatement, Athens became embroiled in a revolt of Greek lonian colonies on Asia Minor against the Persian Empire.
The armies met on the plain of Marathon, north of Athens. Fewer than 10,000 Athenians hoplites faced between 20,000-50,000 Persians,who had their backs to the sea. Realizing that the Persian cavalry was not on the field, the Athenian general Miltiades attacked at a run, surprising the Persian army. Overwhelmed,the Persians ran in confusion to their fleet. According to Herodotus, some 6,400 Persians lost their lives, at a cost of only 192 Athenians.
More than 2,000 years ago before the atom bomb, the Romans demonstrated how to destroy an entire city by military action. Their legions razed to the ground the city of Carthage, modern day Tunisia, and either killed or enslaved every single citizen. Not a single building was left standing.
In 149B.C.E., the Romans sent an expeditionary force to besiege the city, but Carthage had imposing fortifications and at first the Roman operation went badly. In 147B.C.E.,command passed to Scipio Aemilianus, grandson of Scipio Africanus, the victor of Zama. Scipio tightened the blockade of the city, which soon faced starvation.
In the spring of 146B.C.E., Roman troops penetrated the city walls. The Carthaginians put up desperate resistance, but surrender was inevitable. Some 50,000 survivors were marched off the captivity. A final hard core of 900 resisters burned themselves to death in a temple. After a few days of plunder, work began on the systematic destruction of the city, mostly bu ...more
The Romans just destroyed the Carthaginians in this battle the war was led by fantastic generals and was one of the best battles ever
Near Pydna, in northern Greece, at the foot of mount Olympus, the mythological home of the gods, two armies clashed in a contest that would decide the future of the Mediterranean civilization. On one side was the 40,000 strong army of King Perseus of Macedonia, on the other, 40,000 Roman soldiers led by a sixty year old Roman consul, Lucius Aemiliis Paullus. The foot soldiers, armed with Pikes up to 23 feet long, formed tight packed phalanxes― showing only shields and spear points. The Roman legionaries fought with throwing spears and short swords in small units capable of more flexible fighting.
At first, the Romans couldn't penetrate the wall of Macedonian spears, but when they fought gaps in the Macedonian phalanxes, they could fight at close quarters, and the Macedonians became easy meat for the sword wielding Romans. Some 25,000 were killed, for the loss of only 100 Roman lives.
Perseus was the last King of Macedonia, which became a Roman province in 146 B.C.E. The once ...more
After the Pyrrhic victory over the Spartan army at Thermopylae ( a well known battle),the way was clear for Xerxes to invade Attica and attack Athens. The Athenian commander Themistocles hurriedly build a large fleet, acting on the advice of an Oracle who had told him that the city would be saved by "wooden walls". Athens was evacuated, and when the Persianssacked the almost empty city and destroyed the Acropolis, Themistocles persuaded the other Greek states that it was necessary to fight rhe Persian fleet that accompanied ― and provisioned ― the invading army.
The fight began with the warships ramming one another before hand-to-hand fighting by the Marines. The large Persian fleet could not easily maneuver, and after the Persian commander was killed, his fleet attempted to retreat but was driven back by the strong winds. Hundreds of Persian boats were sunk and thousands of men drowned. The whole of the Persian royal garud was killed. Xerxes could no longer provision his huge ...more
Rome's worst defeat since it's foundation came at the hands of the Gauls of northern Italy's Po valley. In the summer of 390B.C.E., a band of Gauls led by a warrior chief named Brennus destroyed a roman army at the Battle of Allia and went on to attack rome itself. It was night, and the garrison had taken refuge in the Capitol, which was the highest point of the city as well as being its religious center.
The Gauls were climbing up along a rocky path approaching the Capitol when a furious crackling and flapping of wings broke out. The flock of sacred geese kept in the sanctuary of Juno― which had been spared despite the lack of food― made such a noise that the defending soldiers were warned of the Gauls approach and the Capitol was saved. The Gauls laid Siege to the Capitol for seven months until brennus finally agreed his troops will withdraw, in return for a large payment of gold.
Almost every battle on this list deserves a vote, but I feel like this battle stands out the most. This is the battle where Caesar puts himself on the map. This list is amazing thank you to whoever made this.
In September, Caesar trapped Vercingetorix, besieging his army in the fortified hill town of Alesia. The romans build a double lime of Siege fortifications around the town �" the inner line to keep Vercingetorix in, the outer line to defend against a counterattack by his Gallic allies. When the Gallic relief force arrived, coordinating it's attacks with the Alesia garrison, the roman lines narrowly held out.
For the Gauls, surrender was the only option. The romans showed no mercy �" every legionary was given a Gaul to sell as a slave. Vercingetorix was taken to Rome, and six years later he was displayed in Caesar's triumph and then put to death.
" Vercingetorix, who was the chief spring of all the war, putting his best armor on, and adorning his horse, rode out of gates of Alesia, and made a turn about Caesaras he was sitting, then quitting his horse, threw his armor and remained quietlysitting at Caesar's feet until he was led away." Greek biographer Plutarch described the ...more
Despite being fought with only swords and spears, the bloody battle of Cannae in 216B.C.E. saw the highest death toll in a single day's fighting in the entire history of europe. The roman republic sent eight legions of citizen soldiers, and allies, to confront the Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca, who had invaded Italy two years previously. Led by the consuls paullus and Varro, the roman force of 70,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry faced Hannibal in the plain between the river aufidus( now ofanto) and the hilltop of Cannae.
The romans were systematically massacred, their bodies lying in heaps upon the battlefield. More than 48,000 men from the Roman army were killed. Yet rome refused peace and Hannibal failed to follow up his crushing victory. The war continued.
Spartacus, leader of the largest internal revolt against the Roman republic, was finally defeated by the romans in 70 B.C.E. Spartacus was a slave who trained in a gladiators' school near Capua in southern Italy. In 73 B.C.E., seizing knives from the kitchen, he and around seventy others escaped and set up a group of outlaws ― some gladiators, others robbers, and yet more runaway slaves ― on the slope of mount Vesuvius. Again and again Spartacus Defeated forces sent to destroy him and took their weapons. His forces soon swelled to more than 100,000, including women, children and old man.
In early 70 B.C.E., a legion commanded by crassus threw up defenses that trapped the slave army at Calabria. Although Spartacus managed to break out of the encirclement, his army was finally destroyed near the river Silarus. Spartacus himself was killed, though hua body was never found.
The Roman general public Cornelius Scipio was a survivor of the butchery of Rome's army by rhe Carthaginian Hannibal at Cannae in 216B.C.E. By 202B.C.E. Scipio had turned the tables. Leading a roman invasion of north africa, he was threatening the city of Carthage, forcing Hannibal to return from his prolonged campaign to defend his home territory. The forces of Scipio and Hannibal met west of Carthage for the mighty battle of Zama where Hannibal's army was doomed and the contest was over. Hannibal gambled on the use of war elephants, and eighty of the intimidating beasts charged at the Roman legion. Amid the noise of battle, many of the elephants took fright and ran amok, charging charging Hannibal's cavalry as they fled. Hannibal's army was doomed, his cavalry driven from the field, and his infantry succumbed to the inexorable advance of Scipio's legionaries. The contest was over.
The victory at Zama forced Carthage to accept defeat and established Rome as a dominant power in the ...more
One of the best battles ever. It will be remembered in history as the day Hannibal luck ran out
Marcus licinius crassus was the richest man in Rome and controlled the republic with Julius Caesar and Pompey. However, crassus sought to match the military glory awarded his two colleagues, and so in 53 B.C.E. he led some 50,000 legionaries to invade Mesopotamia, part of the parthian Empire. The parthian king, Orodes ll, sent an army to meet them, commanded by an aristocrat known as surena. When the two forces clashed in the desert near the town of carrhae on June 6, it was soon obvious that crassus had severely misjudged the military situation.
During the roman retreat at nightfall, more were killed, including crassus, whose head was sent to king Orodes. Some 20,000 romans were killed and 10,000 captured.the death of crassus opened the way for a powerful struggle between Pompey and Caesar, and the end of the Republic.