Posted the youtube version of my interview with David Blome
Category: Ancient warfare
Ancient Warfare – “Ancient Rome: Facts and Fictions” (ABC-CLIO, 2020) – Monica Bontty interview
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Dr. Monica Bontty is a professor of archaeological studies and ancient history. She teaches at the University of Louisiana-Monroe and she wrote a book on misconceptions about Ancient Rome. We spoke about the ancient Roman military from the Republic to the Empire and the research she did for the book. (The audio player is at the bottom of the post.)
1:11 – Monica talks about why she wrote a book on misconceptions about Ancient Rome.
2:26 – Monica talks about how the Roman Army changed over time.
5:15 – Monica talks about phalanx style fighting.
6:26 – Monica talks about the maniple system.
7:45 – Monica talks about the reforms of Marius.
10:45 – Monica talks about Julius Caesar and the establishment of the empire.
12:04 – Monica talks about Octavian, Anthony, and Lepidus.
17:00 – Monica talks about military life and benefits.
28:00 – Monica talks about military pride but also the trouble that soldiers got into and abuse of power.
30:22 – Monica talks about military courts.
32:34 – Monica talks about soldier complaints about centurions.
33:10 – Monica talks about where the money came from Rome to hire so many more soldiers during the time of Marius.
34:34 – Monica talks about the abruptness of the reforms of Marius.
35:10 – Monica talks about Hannibal and the Punic Wars.
38:43 – Monica talks about the Praetorian Guard auctioning off the imperial office.
40:56 – Monica talks about where the term barbarian came from.
41:52 – Monica talks about how she researched the book. Livius.org and Penelope are useful resources.
45:21 – Monica talks about the myth of the vomitoria.
48:38 – Monica talks about learning surprising things about Augustus.
50:09 – Monica talks about Nero’s popularity.
51:02 – Monica talks about Roman hygiene.
54:06 – Monica talks about the hygiene standards of the Roman Army and “bad air”.
57:25 – Monica can be found on ulm.edu.
Links of interest
https://products.abc-clio.com/abc-cliocorporate/product.aspx?pc=A5404C
https://webservices.ulm.edu/facultyactivities/profile/bontty
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/home.html
For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify
Guests: Monica Bontty
Host: Cris Alvarez
Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, Nero, Caligula, Rome, Italy, Roman Army, legio, cavalry, phalanx, maniple, Marius, Julius Caesar, Augustus, military camp, barbarian, Hannibal, Pax Romana, Gauls, Egypt, auxiliary troops, Arminius, proscription, Golden Ass, centurions, Punic Wars, Praetorian Guard, Vomitoria, Nero, Hollywood
Ancient Greek warfare military history book – “Greek Warfare beyond the Polis” – (Cornell University Press, 2020) – David Blome interview
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Check out this book here https://amzn.to/2RPMPDo
David Blome became interested in Ancient Greek warfare while in the Marine Corps. He later earned his doctorate degree while also doing archaeological research in Greece. His first book is on Ancient Greek warfare and we discussed his work.
1:01 – David talks about how his interest in Ancient Greek warfare started when he was in the Marine Corps and he read the Iliad.
3:16 – David talks about the focus of the book on the classical period.
4:16 – David talks about upland Greeks versus lowland Greek.
5:58 – David talks about how he incorporated military history into Greece’s mountainous regions.
7:52 – David talks about what was usual and unusual in Greek warfare.
10:40 – David talks about military activities at night.
13:50 – David talks about the two types of heroes in Greek literature. He discusses how different groups lived their lives.
16:19 – David talks about other differences in military approaches in Greek culture.
18:04 – David talks about hierarchy in the Greek military.
19:49 – David touches on naval warfare and Homer’s catalogue of Greek ships.
22:12 – David talks about differences in weapons, armor, and food.
24:45 – David talks about the differences in crop availability in different parts of Greece and where people can maneuver in the mountains.
27:09 – David talks about the lack of fortifications during the classical period.
30:19 – David talks about how territorial lines were established in classical Greece.
32:10 – David talks about the resources and archaeological evidence he used for his research.
35:02 – David talks about the ancient historians he used.
37:11 – David talks about his own archaeological research and work in Greece.
46:13 – David talks about wanting to know more the governments of these Greek groups.
50:23 – David talks about the importance of the word “league.”
51:56 – David talks about originally being very critical of the Spartans.
58:15 – David can be found on academia.edu.
Links of interest
https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501747526/greek-warfare-beyond-the-polis/#bookTabs=1
http://independentscholar.academia.edu/DaveBlome
For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify
Guests: David Blome
Host: Cris Alvarez
Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, ancient war, ancient greece, Illiad, Iraq, Troy, marine corps, military, deployment, Persia, Athens, Sparta, Thebes, polis, city-states, phalanx, Phoecians, Odysseus, Diomedes, Xenophon, Arcadia, Homer, hoplite, Atolia, Thessalians, plutarch, Thucydides, Macedonia, Bronze Age, iron Age, Atolian league, Founding Fathers
Check out this book here https://amzn.to/2RPMPDo
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