Warfare in Ancient Persia 550 BC–330 BC

Video Description

“The Persian Empire was a creature of war.” It rose from the ashes of the Assyrian Empire, rapidly absorbed the Near East through violent conquest, and dominated the region until Alexander the Great destroyed it in the second half of the 4th century BC. At first, the Persians were part of the Median Empire, but in 550 BC, Cyrus the Great of the House of Achaemenes forcefully seized the throne, paving the way for the Achaemenid Dynasty, which would rule Persia for more than 200 years. The success of the Achaemenid Empire was largely due to its vast, effective, and well-organized, military force. At the head of this force marched the infamous immortals—the Persian elite heavy infantry. The Achaemenids were the first to make the cavalry their central striking force, rely on large-scale naval warfare, and use size to guarantee success. But what exactly did their armies look like and how did they fight? Those questions puzzle historians to this day. In this video, we’ll explore what we actually know about the armies of the Achaemenid Empire, including how they fought and what was the key to their success. Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/sandrhomanhistory Paypal (thank you: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/SandRhomanhistory Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sandrhoman Some must read mlitary history books: Ambrose, S. E., Band of Brothers: E Company, 2001. https://amzn.to/438ltvZ Baime, A. J., The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman, 2017. https://amzn.to/3TcDGUj Beard, M., Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World, 2023. https://amzn.to/49L2olR Bevoor, A., Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943, 1999. https://amzn.to/4a4rqwe Beevor, A., The Second World War, 2013. https://amzn.to/3wNFITu Brennan, P+D., Gettysburg in Color, 2022. https://amzn.to/48LGldG Clausewitz, C., On War, 2010. https://amzn.to/3Vblf5 Kaushik, R., A Global History of Pre-Modern Warfare: 10,000 BCE–1500 CE, 2021. https://amzn.to/49Mtqt7 McPherson, J., Battle Cry of Freedom, The Civil War Era, 2021. https://amzn.to/3TseYAW Tsu, S., The Art of War, 2007, https://amzn.to/3TuknHA Sledge. E. B., With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, 2008. https://amzn.to/439olIK Pomerantsev, P., How to Win an Information War, 2024. https://amzn.to/3Ts0YqQ Bibliography Archer, Christon I./Ferris, John R./Herwig, Holger H./Travers, Timothy H. E., World History of Warfare, Lincoln 2002 Briant, Pierre, From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire, Winona Lake 2002. Ferril, Arther, The Origins of War. From the Stone Age to Alexander the Great, Boulder 1997. Hassan, Christopher, Structure of the Army and Logistics, in: in: Jacobs, Bruno / Rollinger, Robert (Eds), Blackwell Companion to the Achaemenid Empire, p. 1151-1160. Konijnendijk, Roel, Legitimization of War, in: Jacobs, Bruno / Rollinger, Robert (Eds), Blackwell Companion to the Achaemenid Empire, p. 1141-1150. Tuplin, Christopher / Jacobs, Bruno, Military Organization and Equipment, in: Jacobs, Bruno / Rollinger, Robert (Eds), Blackwell Companion to the Achaemenid Empire, p. 1161-1182. Tuplin, Christopher, Mercenaries, in: Blackwell Companion to the Achaemenid Empire, p. 1183-1198.