Battles of the Ancientsさんのイラストまとめ

Some argue Alexander the Great decided on crossing the Gedrosian Desert because of the man’s 'pothos', his desire to outdo all before him or out of revenge for his troops’ earlier mutiny in India. Yet others believe Alexander simply made a mistake in his logistical planning.

While he was marching the 10,000 out of Asia some 50 years before, Xenophon had decided to burn his wagons to lighten his army's load. This greatly increased the speed and mobility of his force and was vital to the success of his march to the sea

Artwork by © Johnny Shumate

As the Battle of Corupedium raged on, the elderly Lysimachus met his end, transfixed on a spear thrown by a Heracleian called Malacon according to one source.

Made of either iron or bronze, the sarissa's butt was designed to act as a counterweight, offering the wielder more balance when holding the sarissa 3/4s of the way down the shaft.

Artwork by © Johnny Shumate.

Scholars debate whether Philip’s Companions also had a small shield like the pelta of his Macedonian infantrymen. Whether this is the case or not, it appears they discarded it by the time of Alexander’s crossing into Asia in 334 BC.

Artwork by © Johnny Shumate

The satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia. This region was of vital, strategic importance as it controlled the Hellespont (Dardanelles) - the gateway between Europe and Asia.

Each Macedonian soldier of Philip II would have to carry arms and armour, rations, utensils, blankets, road-building tools, medical supplies, a thirty-day supply of flour and any personal possessions in a backpack. Altogether this weighed c.40kg.

Artwork by © Johnny Shumate.

On his deathbed Alexander the Great had handed his signet to Perdiccas - his highest-ranking subordinate. It provided Perdiccas a degree of authority among the generals and fuelled his ambitions in the post-Alexander world. But it also stoked the embers for bitter rivalry.

Despite making no attempt to seize power following King Philip II's demise, Amyntas, Alexander the Great's cousin, was swiftly executed by Alexander, perceiving him a threat

In 276 BC the Hellenistic king Pyrrhus famously remarked upon departing Sicily, 'Oh what a wrestling ground we are leaving for the Carthaginians and Romans to fight over.' He was proved right when, 12 years later, the First Punic War erupted.

Artwork by © Johnny Shumate