The Army of Pyrrhus of Epirus

3rd Century BC

The Army of Pyrrhus of Epirus cover

Description

Fully illustrated story of the army of the Greek king who fought both Rome and Carthage in the 280s--270s BC, and gave the world the phrase "a Pyrrhic victory" for a success so costly that it counts as a defeat.

Fully illustrated with detailed color plates, this is the story of one of the most renowned warrior-kings of the post-Alexandrian age, whose costly encounters with Republican Rome have become a byword for victory won at unsustainable cost.

Pyrrhus was one of the most tireless and famous warriors of the Hellenistic Age that followed the dispersal of Alexander the Great's brief empire. After inheriting the throne as a boy, and a period of exile, he began a career of alliances and expansion, in particular against the region's rising power: Rome. Gathering both Greek and Italian allies into a very large army (which included war-elephants), he crossed to Italy in 280 BC, but lost most of his force in a series of costly victories at Heraclea and Asculum, as well as a storm at sea. After a campaign in Sicily against the Carthaginians, he was defeated by the Romans at Beneventum and was forced to withdraw. Undeterred, he fought wars in Macedonia and Greece, the last of which cost him his life.

Table of Contents

Introduction: the peoples of Epirus, and their confederation before the accession of Pyrrhus as King of the Molossians . * Chronology of the reign of Pyrrhus, 307-272 BC . * The appearance of Pyrrhus. * Pyrrhus as general: his books on the art of war; his coucillors. * The Army of Pyrrhus: Guard Cavalry, Line Cavalry, Macedonian Phalanx, Epirote Phalanx, Mercenary Phalanx, Elephants, and Slingers. * Pyrrhus's Allies: the Tarantines, Lucanians, Bruttians and Samnites. * Plate Commentaries

Product details

Published Sep 17 2019
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 48
ISBN 9781472833488
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Dimensions 248 x 184 mm
Series Men-at-Arms
Short code MAA 528
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Nicholas Sekunda

Nicholas Sekunda was born in 1953. After studying…

Illustrator

Peter Dennis

Peter Dennis was inspired by contemporary magazine…

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