The 1683 Siege of Vienna

Holy League vs Ottoman Turks

Islam's High-Water Mark

Prologue

After the fall of Acre in 1291 the Crusader states in the Holy Land were eliminated. With Israel back under Muslim domination, the armies of jihad began looking west again. The armies of the Ottoman Turks recommenced attacks on the dying Byzantine Empire and seized more of Turkey and Greece. However, the ancient fortress of Constantinople still managed to resist any attack.

That changed in 1453 when the city was attacked by 200,000 Turks. The 8,000 Byzantine defenders held out for weeks through cleverness and sheer guts, but the outcome was inevitable. Using large numbers of heavy cannon, the Turks finally broke through and sacked the city.

With the greatest fortress of the Medieval age taken, there seemed to be nothing to stop the Turkish advance. In the ensuing decades nearly the entire Balkan area was overrun. However, the Turks hit their first snag in 1529 when the armies of Sultan Suliman the Magnificent laid the first siege of Vienna. The 20,000 Austrian defenders managed to defeat several attacks and break the Turks' morale. Suliman retreated and Europe was saved, at least momentarily.

Suliman didn't quit, however. In 1565 he sent a great fleet and 30,000 men to capture the island of Malta, an excellent staging point for an attack on Rome. The badly outnumbered Knights Hospitaller based on Malta managed to hold out until winter forced a Turkish withdrawal. In 1571 a combined Catholic fleet defeated the Turkish navy decisively at Lepanto. With these twin Christian victories the Turks abandoned their plans to attack Rome by sea.

With the overland route now the only road to Rome, it was obvious Vienna would be attacked by the Turks again. However, after Suliman's death a series of weak and incompetent sultans reigned over the Ottoman empire, delaying the attack by over a century. The Austrians used this time well, transforming Vienna into the mightiest fortress of the late Reformation.

In 1681 the Turkish Grand Vizier, Kara Mustafa, was forced to make peace the the Cossacks after a failed expedition to the Russia steppe. Probably in an attempt to atone for his failure, Mustafa convinced Sultan Mohamed IV to let him command an attack on Austria. In early 1683 an army of 168,000 Turks was assembled and marched on Vienna. Hapsburg Emperor Leopold, his family, and some 60,000 Viennese abandoned the capital, leaving Count Ernst Rudiger von Starhemberg and 16,000 men to defend the city against the full might of the Turkish onslaught.

After cutting a bloody swathe through southeast Austria, Mustafa's army reached the gates of Vienna on July 14th. After the formalities of the Muslim offer of surrender and Christian rejection of said offer were over, the siege was on. Over the course of the next two months the battle would devolve into bloody, filthy, screaming hell.

The Siege

Vienna was truly a great fortress. The Danube and Wein rivers defended the north and eastern sides of the city, leaving only the south and western sides open to attack. The Viennese had cleared the ground on those sides, meaning the Turks would have to cross a wide stretch of open plain. That crossing would be made even more dangerous by the numerous cannons in Vienna's many bastions.

Rather than risk a long charge under heavy fire, the Turks began digging a series of trenches towards the walls. This was still very dangerous, as Vienna's cannons and snipers began to fill the trenches with corpses.

Despite Vienna's mighty defenses, however, the Turks continued to inch closer and closer to the city. Although Mustafa lacked the cannon-power necessary to demolish the city walls, his gunners were still able to cause a great deal of damage by firing into the city.

As critical as the war on the surface was, just as important was the war underground. Since the Turks lacked enough siege guns to destroy Vienna's walls, Mustafa brought along 5,000 Ottoman sappers, known to be the finest in the world. The sappers' job was to dig under the city walls and explode hundreds of pounds of gunpowder under critical points. The Turks exploded 40 mines under the walls of Vienna, each destroyed a vital spot in the walls and brought the trenches closer. The Austrians counter-dug. They managed to defuse one mine and also detonated their own mines under the Turkish trenches.

Above ground the fighting was fierce beyond imagination. As the trenches creeped closer and closer, Mustafa launched more and more assaults on the crumbling defenses of Vienna. Count Starhemberg and his men beat back fifty attacks over the course of the two months. As water and food ran low and garbage and the dead piled up, disease and sickness swept through the city. By September 11th, 75% of the defenders of Vienna were dead, wounded, or sick. Count Starhemberg was down to only 4,000 men and those left were exhausted. The walls were one mine away from being breached. At midnight, September 12th, the Viennese shot off their last signal rocket. It was a desperate plea to the relief force they had heard was on the way. If no help came, Vienna was down to it's last twenty-four hours.

Help WAS on the way. Emperor Leopold had called upon all his allies in the Holy League for aid, and aid came. An army of more than 60,000 men, composed of Austrians, Germans, and Poles was massing twenty miles northwest of Vienna at the city of Tulln. In command of this mighty Christian force was the devout king John III Sobieski of Poland.

Sobieski marched the Holy League army to Vienna through the Wienerwald, a rugged and mountainous region west of the city. The difficult terrain forced the League to abandon it's heaviest cannons, but it gained Sobieski the element of surprise. Mustafa had assumed that no force of any size could breach the Wienerwald mountains and thus did not defend the Khalenberg Heights just west of Vienna. It was on these heights that the Holy League army appeared at dawn, September 12th. It was just in the nick of time, Mustafa was already finishing the last mine needed to breach the walls of Vienna. If the Christians couldn't dislodge the Turks, Vienna would fall and all of central Europe would be open to Muslim invasion.

The Armies

The Holy League

The army of the Holy League was composed of roughly 30,000 Germans and Austrians along with 30,000 Poles. The infantry from all League nations fought in 'pike-and-shot' formation, with armored pikemen forming a protective box around the musketeers. When the musketeers ran out of ammunition the pikemen would fight it out like an ancient Greek phalanx.

The German/Austrian and Polish cavalry, however, were considerably different. German/Austrian cavalry fought using carousel tactics. Using these tactics horsemen fired pistols in the enemy lines and then fell back to reload. The 14,000 Polish Hussars who formed the core of the army fought more like Medieval knights. They typically charged headlong into enemy formations, although they also frequently used firearms. The Hussars wore plate armor and attached large wings to the back to intimidate their enemies. Years of fighting the Tartars, Russians, and Cossacks on the massive plains of eastern Europe had made the Hussars the the most effective cavalry in the western world.

The Ottoman Turks

The core of the Turkish army was composed of 12,000 Janisseries. These were the sons of Christians taken at an early age and hammered into a super-elite fighting force. The army was their life, as they were forbidden to leave to corp or marry. This formed a suicidally loyal force which would accomplish its mission or die trying. The Ottoman's chief military advantage was the vast numbers of soldiers the Sultan could amass. Aside from the Janisseries, cavalry, and sappers, however, the army was composed of conscripts who lacked significant training and discipline.

The Battle

Despite the appearance of the army of the Holy League at dawn, September 12th, the fate of Vienna was still very much in the balance. Mustafa's sappers were preparing the final mine needed to destroy the walls of the city. At the front lines Starhemberg and his men were fighting off yet another fierce assault. The Viennese moles were digging desperately to find and defuse the Turkish mine. The city was on the very verge of defeat.

The League needed an immediate attack. However, the Polish army had not arrived on the scene. The cavalry-centered Poles had suffered the worst delays in the Weinerwald and would not be able to reach Vienna before noon. Charles of Lorraine, the League's second-in-command, refused to wait and led the 30,000 Austrians and Germans on a dawn attack down the hill and into the Turkish lines. After brushing away the Turks' advance units, the sheer numbers of Turks stalled Charles' attack. As the battle on the northern portion of the plain intensified, the League's infantry lines were compacted to concentrate firepower and prevent the Christians from being overrun. Charles would need the Polish army to have any chance of saving Vienna.

Finally, the Polish forces arrived at around noon and charged the southern Turkish flank. However, disorganization and Turkish cannons forced Sobieski to fall back regroup. With the Poles forced back, the Germans stalled, and the last mine minutes away from detonating, Western Europe appeared doomed.

It was at this instant, by some Divine miracle, the Viennese diggers found and defused Mustafa's mine at last possible moment. When Mustafa discovered his sappers had failed and quick victory was impossible, he ordered a general attack on the relieving army.

However, the night before, Mustafa had kept many of his men in the trenches in the hope of exploiting the expected mine-breach. It would take time to redeploy them, and Sobieski was determined not to give him that time. A second charge of the Polish Hussars shattered the southern flank of the Ottoman army. The Turkish army collapsed and Mustafa had no choice but to retreat from the massacre and save what he could. King John III Sobieski sent this message to Pope Innocent XI, "We came, We saw, and God conquered."

Aftermath

The victory at Vienna was wildly celebrated across Europe. Sobieski and his men welcomed as conquering heroes by the citizens of Vienna. Propaganda and messages were spread across the entire continent praising the bravery and valour of Count Starhemberg and his soldiers. Mustafa was soon executed for his failure and news of that event was spread across Europe as well. Much of this material was sent to France, where short-sighted Louis XIV had stayed out of the fighting in the hope of the defeat of his Germanic rivals.

After Vienna, the Hapsburgs of Austria began taking the offensive in the Balkans. There they won another great victory at the city of Budapest, which had been under Turkish domination for more than 150 years. This battle was even more damaging to the Turkish psyche. Defeat before the walls of Christian city was bad enough, but to lose lands they considered Islamic was the ultimate humiliation.

The humiliation would not stop there. The newly Westernized and modernized nation of Russia was looking to expand and saw the Black Sea region as prime real estate. The armies of Peter the Great took the mighty port/fortress of Azov in 1696 and Russia became the great power on the Black Sea. Over the next 200 years Turkish power would wane until the Sultan controlled only the Holy Land, Syria, and Turkey.

The Austrians came to dominate Central and Southeastern Europe. Their preeminence lasted until the German victory at the Battle of Koniggratz in 1866. This defeat marked the end of Austria's days as THE Central European power, but the they still maintained a close second place until 1918.

In a grand stroke of irony both the Austrian and Turkish empires would collapse during the same war while fighting for the same side. After the victory of the Allies in 1918, the borders of Austria were reduced to their traditional boundaries. The Ottoman Caliphate was disbanded (yet another humiliation for the Islamic world) and a secular Turkish state was established.

The benefits of Islamic defeat have been discussed in earlier posts so they will not be covered in great detail here. It is enough to know that if Vienna had fallen, the Turks would have poured through Europe. This would have radically changed future events and perhaps have ended Western culture. Starhemberg's stubborn defense of Vienna, the skill of the Viennese moles, and Sobieski's superior leadership saved the Western world and marked the beginning of the end for the Turks.

Next Week-Valcour Island: America vs Great Britain.

The Battle of Arsuf

Crusaders vs. Saracens

The Great Battle of the Great Crusade

Prologue

After Tours the war between Muslims and Christians quieted down somewhat, but it never really ended. Spanish Christians began chipping away at Moorish domains in the Iberian peninsula. Sicily was taken by the Arabs in in the 9th century and was retaken by Norman Christians in 1060. The Byzantines and Turks fought each other on-again, off-again for decades, but neither side ever achieved a breakthrough.

All that changed in 1071 when the Seljuk Turks won a crushing victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert. The Turks swept through Asia Minor and the Holy Land, depriving the Byzantines of their prime sources of men, money, and grain. When Pope Urban II heard of the plight of Christians in the newly conquered lands and realized the danger now posed by the Turks, he called the First Crusade in 1096.

The army of the First Crusade reached the Holy Land in 1098. Despite being abandoned by their Byzantine allies and outnumbered by their Muslim enemies, the Crusaders took Jerusalem one year later. They established the Kingdom of Jerusalem and a number of other Crusader States to protect Christian pilgrims. The Sultans of Egypt and the Turks, however, did not respond to this counter-attack by lying down. War raged nearly continuously between the Crusader states and Muslims.

After the unsuccessful Second Crusade in 1145, (meant to recover outlying Crusader territories lost a few years earlier) a new leader rose among the Saracens. His name was Saladin. When rouge knights began attacking his caravans he reopened war with the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1187 the Army of Jerusalem made a critical mistake and pursued Saladin too deep into the desert. The exhausted and thirsty crusaders were decimated at the Battle of Hattin. With the bulk of the Christian armies in the Holy Land destroyed, Saladin quickly seized numerous critical cites in the region and pushed the Crusader states to the edge of extinction.

In response, a Third Crusade was called. The army raised was one for the ages: it was composed of the three kings of the three great powers of Christendom and their forces. Frederick I of Germany, Phillip II of France, and Richard the Lionhearted of England all lead forces to fight the Saracens.

However, things soon began to go wrong for the Crusaders. Frederick captured the city of Iconium, capital of the Turks, but he drowned soon afterwards and his leaderless army was picked apart by Turkish horse archers. The unsupported French army did little after landing at the port of Tyre. Richard was delayed, he stopped at Sicily to free his imprisoned sister and was delayed further by uncooperative officials in Cyprus. After the Cypriots reneged on an agreement with Richard, he conquered the island. The great Western counter-punch was disintegrating.

When Richard finally landed in the Holy Land the situation began to improve for the Crusaders. The armies were united under Richard's banner and laid siege to the port of Acre. The port fell in mid-July 1191, giving the Christians a base in the Levant. However, Richard, Phillip, and Duke Leopold of Austria (Frederick's successor) fell victim to political in-fighting. Leopold took his entire army back to Germany. Phillip claimed sickness and returned to France, although he did leave his men and some money to pay them with. Richard would now have to fight Saladin alone.

In September 1191, the Anglo/French Crusader army began marching south along the coast of Israel. Richard aimed to capture to port of Jaffa and use it as a staging area for his drive on Jerusalem. Saladin and his army shadowed the Crusaders, looking for any opportunity to destroy Richard. Richard kept his army in tight defensive formations to deny Saladin any opening. The two armies kept marching, watching and waiting.

Finally, as Richard neared Jaffa, Saladin made his move at Arsuf. He had to destroy the Crusaders before they could build a power base in Israel. Richard had looked to avoid a pitched battle, which was considered to be too risky by Medieval tacticians, but now he had no choice. The fate of the Holy Land now hung in the balance

The Armies

Crusaders- The army of the Crusaders was composed of English and French knights, along with supporting spearmen and archers. Richard had also recruited the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar, elite warrior-monks who had been fighting the Saracens for decades. The medieval knight dominated the battlefield in the 12th Century, and for good reason. They sons of nobles, trained from birth to fight and equipped with the best weapons and armor in the western world. A full charge of mounted knights could defeat even the toughest infantry.

In addition to his western knights, Richard had recruited the Turkoples. These were local Christians who were excellent horse archers and gave Richard a balance of heavy and light cavalry.

Infantry was of secondary importance to the cavalry. Most foot soldiers were peasants and lacked the training and equipment of knights. Historians have estimated the size of Richard's force to be between 12,000 and 20,000 men. Richard would need every last one of them if he had any hope of retaking Jerusalem.

Saracens- Saladin's army was the antithesis of Richard's. The Saracen army was composed of light infantry and light cavalry. The Muslims were faster and more maneuverable, but lacked the durability to survive a head-on confrontation with heavily armed Crusaders. Saracen tactics were to exhaust and demoralize their enemies with hit-and-run cavalry attacks, then swarm in and massacre anyone left.

Saladin's army was probably composed of between 20,000 and 30,000 men. It was an army that destroyed the Kingdom of Jerusalem at Hattin and wreaked havoc across the Holy Land. Saladin and his Arabs were determined to drive the Crusaders into the sea or die trying.

The Battle

On September 7th, Saladin began harassing the Knights Hospitaller at the rear of Richard's column. He hoped to pick the Crusaders apart with archers, then finish them with a cavalry attack. The heavily armored Hospitallers lost few men to the arrows, but they lost many horses. The Hospitallers sent numerous requests to Richard for a charge before they lost too many horses. Richard repeatedly denied them their request, as he realized the last thing he needed was for Saladin to isolate and destroy a part of his army. The arrows continued to rain down.

Finally, the Hospitallers could hold themselves back no longer. They charged and drove back the Saracen archers. They also became separated from the main army. Richard had hoped to avoid this scenario, but when he saw the Saracens moving to surround the errant knights he had no choice but to launch a general cavalry attack. The English and French knights and infantry flanked the flankers and routed the Saracen army. Richard chased the Saladin's army for short distance, but soon stopped the pursuit and reorganized his forces. He was afraid Saladin would be able to ambush and destroy his troops if he let them become too scattered. The Battle of Arsuf was over. The final casualty figures were 700 Crusaders to 6,700 Saracens.

Aftermath- Richard took Jaffa soon afterwards. However, Saladin switched to a strategy of scorched earth and hit-and-run, which kept Richard from ever being able to retake Jerusalem. Richard's army was too small to protect it's supply lines inland and attack Jerusalem simultaneously. After a year of stalemate, Richard and Saladin signed a truce that left Saladin in charge of Jerusalem but allowed Christian pilgrims access to the city. Richard also retained control of Cyprus, Acre, Jaffa, and the other cities his Crusaders had taken. He gave these territories to a revitalized Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The results of the Third Crusade were not what the Christian powers had hoped for, but they were still very good. Although the revitalized Crusader states would still be destroyed a century later,(Acre was the last city to fall, in 1291) the extra decades the Muslims had to spend fighting in Israel were of incalculable value to the west. By A.D.1300 Western civilization began showing the first signs of a great Renaissance. The Byzantine Empire also used the time to recover, although this only delayed it's fall until 1453.In short, Arsuf ensured that the Third Crusaders would not leave Israel without achieving good results. Those results were centuries of extra time to regroup for Western Civilization. The Christians would need every last one of those years to prepare for the next battle covered in this blog: The Siege of Vienna- Coming next week.

Battle of Tours

Franks vs. Moors, A.D.732

Prologue



After Zama Rome's empire spread across the entire Mediterranean world. In 200 years Rome stretched his borders from the Nile to the Thames. Roman power and glory climaxed just before and during the life of Christ under the first emperor Augustus Caesar and his son Tiberius. However, the Caesar dynasty collapsed thirty years later. Tiberius' vengeful, self-absorbed, and ineffective descendant Nero incited a military revolt in A.D. 68.



After the death of Nero, Rome began a slow decline. Occasionally, strong emperors like Hadrian and Constantine would manage to stop, or even reverse the decline. However, centuries of barbarian attacks, corruption, and ineffective emperors finally culminated in A.D. 410, when an army of Goths sacked the city of Rome, the first invaders to do so in 700 years. Although Rome managed to hold onto some shadows of its former power and territory until A.D. 476, the intervening 66 years were little more than the death rattle of the mightiest empire in history.



After A.D.476 the fates of Eastern and Western Europe made a major split. The eastern half of the old Roman empire, ruled from the massive city of Constantinople on the Hellespont, remained fairly peaceful and stable for more than a century. Western Europe, however, fell into what is now called the Dark Age. The tribes that had defeated Rome began fighting each other for control the region, with none ever truly gaining supremacy. This pattern continued in western Europe for more than 200 years.



Outside of Europe, however, time marched on. In A.D.632 Mohammad died. His followers soon began a bloody military campaign to bring Islam to all corners of the earth. They met with unprecedented success early on. In less than a century the Arabs took Egypt, Israel, Syria, Persia, North Africa, and Spain. This was not enough, however, and the Omayyad Caliphs soon began considering further conquests. The Byzantine Empire and India were too strong to overthrow, but the 'barbarian' kingdoms of western Europe appeared ripe for invasion.


In A.D.721 a first attempt to invade the lands north of Spain was quickly defeated by Duke Odo of Aquitaine. The Muslims returned, however, in A.D.732, with an army of 80,000 men. Odo was crushed and the Muslim invasion swept through France, burning, looting, and raping. While the Arabs cut a bloody swathe through southern France, Odo fled to Paris, which was the capital of the Frankish tribes. There he made a protection deal with the Palace-Mayor of the Franks, a man named Charles Martel.


Charles was no stranger to war. Born the illegitimate son of the earlier Palace-Mayor Pippin in A.D. 686, Charles had to fight to secure his position. He had been imprisoned in 714, escaped to exile in late 715, and began a civil war that culminated three years later. After his victory at over his rivals at the battle of Soissons Charles seized the rank of Palace-Mayor. This title was important because, while the Franks had a king, the Palace-Mayor was the person with the real political power.


Charles spent the next several years expanding Frankish power and keeping an eye of developments in Muslim Spain. He realized he would need well trained and heavily armed men to repel any Muslim invasion. This would be very expensive, however, and the Franks didn't have the funds to spare. To get the money Charles took an extremely controversial step. He seized Church lands and used the money to fund the training of a 30,000 man army. This action left him with a force more powerful than any seen in western Europe since the days of the Caesars. It also nearly got him excommunicated. However, Charles managed to -barely- avoid that disastrous outcome.

As A.D.732 dragged on, the Muslims began acquiring a vast amount of stolen treasure from the cities and monasteries they had devastated. Looking to increase this hoard, they then turned towards the monastery at Tours, reputed to be the richest in France. Charles anticipated this, however, and marched his army to Tours. He took back roads to avoid detection.The move paid-off handsomely when the Arabs were taken by surprise to find the Frankish army waiting for them on a wooded hill near Tours in early October.

For seven days neither side moved. The Muslims hoped the Christians would come to attack them on the plain below the hill. Charles knew such a move would be suicide and stayed in his strong defensive position. Finally, winter broke the deadlock. Charles and his northmen were prepared for the oncoming cold, but the Muslim commander Abd er Rahman knew his men were not. The only way to winter quarters was through the Frankish army, so on the seventh day Rahman ordered a full-scale attack. The spiritual and political future of Europe was about to be decided.


The Armies


Franks- The Frankish army was composed almost entirely of infantry. These men were farmers Charles had whipped into fighting shape over the previous months and years. They were better armored and armed than their Muslim counterparts. The signature Frankish weapon was a short throwing axe called the Francisca. The Francisca had only a short range, but it could go through any armor in the world. Their training had hardened them and their do-or-die situation would undoubtedly drive to fight even harder. However, they were outnumbered nearly 3-to-1 and facing a fierce and undefeated enemy with far superior cavalry. The future of Christianity looked grim.



Moors- The Moorish army was composed of Muslims from North Africa and Spain. They were mostly unarmored and carried spears and scimitars. Cavalry victories at Adrianople (A.D.378) and Ad Decimum (A.D.533) had left horsemen the dominant unit of the day, and the Moors had thousands of cavalry. They used this fact to devastating effect, outmaneuvering and destroying their infantry-based enemies in Spain and southern France. The Frank's excellent choice of battlefield had reduced some Moorish advantages, but Abd er Rahman still held a 50,000 man numerical superiority and his men were inflamed with Islamic fervor. Despite not properly scouting the enemy or the terrain, it still looked as though the Moors would break through and take the Koran to all corners of Europe at the point of a sword.


The Battle- The exact details of the battle of Tours are still unknown. The two main sources of information from the Dark Ages, Christian monks and Muslim scribes, either hyped the battle beyond all reasonable proportions or severely downplayed it. For example, some Christian sources have Arab casualty figures in the hundreds of thousands over the course of a seven day struggle. On the other hand, what little Muslim material exists mostly concentrates on excusing the outcome of the battle.


Regardless of the shortage of hard evidence, some basic facts about the battle are generally agreed on by historians:

1. The Franks were considerably outnumbered by the Moors.


2. The Franks fromed a square at the top of a wooded hill.


3. The Muslims attacked that square.


4. The Franks didn't break.


5. The Muslims didn't stop attacking.


6. Scouts from Charles infiltrated the Muslim camp and began freeing prisoners and treasure.


7. Moors began sneaking back to their camp to protect their loot, and the trickle quickly became a flood.


8. Abd er Rahman attempted to stop the mass desertion/retreat, but was surrounded and killed.


9. The Moorish army never reorganized and fled back to Spain, abandoning all their stolen treasure and slaves.

Aftermath

Charles was hailed as the savior of Christendom for his stunning victory at Tours. The Church VERY quickly forgot his earlier offenses. His men named him 'The Hammer'. The Frankish Palace-Mayor became an 8th-century rock star.

Charles would continue to attack Muslim holdings in southern France for the remainder of his life. Under his rule the Franks would continuously rise in power in France. Under his son Pippin, the Franks continued that tradition. Charles' grandson eventually conquered and ruled France, Germany, and northern Italy. The grandson became so powerful he abandoned the title of Palace-Mayor and had the Pope crown him Emperor of Rome. The grandson's name was Charlemagne. He would become known as the greatest ruler of the Dark Ages.

The effects of the battle of Tours were not confined to the rise of one family's political fortunes, however. The expulsion of Islam from northern Europe allowed for nearly everything good in modern Western culture to grow and thrive. Without Islam, science, based on the idea of a logical and orderly universe, was reborn in western monasteries. Without Islam, chivalry, the idea that is the bedrock of western social thought and based on gender equality, grew and thrived. Principles of the Rule of Law, music, and art were all preserved to flourish later. Charlemagne's empire, the Holy Roman Empire, gave the west a level of stability not seen for centuries. That stability allowed the peoples of Europe to begin rebuilding their civilization. In short, Tours saved the Western World.

Next Week- The Battle of Arsuf.

Battle of Zama

Zama

Rome vs. Carthage

Prologue

As the empire of Alexander the Great collapsed, the balance of power in the Mediterranean began shifting westward. Three separate factions emerged as the great powers in the western portion of the Great Sea: the Greek Colonies, Carthage, and Rome. Starting around 300 B.C. these three factions began truly competing for preeminence in the region. The result was 150 years of war and the ultimate supremacy of one city.

The Greek Colonies were practically clones of their mother cities: independent and disunited. The colonies stretched from Spain and Gaul ( modern France ) to North Africa, Sicily, and southern Italy. The most powerful cities were concentrated in Italy and Sicily. Although the Greeks had little interest in expansion, their cities had become prime strategic real estate, eliminating any possibility of staying out of the upcoming wars.

When Rome began expanding into southern Italy the colonies hired an army of 20,000 homeland Greeks and a general by the name of Phyrrus to defend them. In 280 and 279 B.C. Phyrrus defeated the Romans in two great battles. However, his casualties were so high he remarked that 'another such victory and we are ruined.' With prospects for further successes in Italy becoming dim, Phyrrus went to fight the Carthaginians for the Greek cities in Sicily. After some victories there, however, he tried to become king of all Sicily. The Sicilian Greeks turned on him and had him exiled. Phyrrus returned to Italy to attempt to resurrect his fortunes, but he was now badly outnumbered and outgunned by fresh Roman armies. After the battle of Bavantium, Phyrrus had had enough and returned to Greece. As he left he told his friends, " What a battlefield we leave to Carthage and Rome."

Phyrrus' words would prove prophetic. With the Greek colonies now mostly conquered by or allied to the two imperial cities of Carthage and Rome, the door was opened for three of the bloodiest wars in ancient history. For a century two vast and vastly different empires would fight to control the entire western Mediterranean world. At the end only one would be left standing.

Carthage was an ancient and cultured city on the northern coast of Africa. It was founded by the Phoenicians, the most renown sailors and merchants of antiquity. The Carthaginians had taken after their forefathers and come to dominate the trade lanes in the region with a fleet of 500 warships. Although Carthage had little in the way of manpower reserves, her incredible wealth allowed the hiring of thousands of mercenaries to bolster her armies' ranks.

Rome was in many ways the exact opposite of Carthage. Rome was a young city that had only recently been a frontier town. The Romans also possessed little in the way of culture and refinement. They were known for practicality, with the study of engineering and military arts taking precedence over philosophy and music. At the beginning of the wars, Rome had no navy, but the fertile plains of Italy produced tens of thousands of fresh recruits every year. This gave the Romans a manpower reserve that Carthage simply couldn't match.

For decades an uneasy peace had existed between the two cities; with occasional treaties leaving both sides just satisfied enough to keep from going to war. The breaking point finally came in 265 B.C. when the critical port of Messana became involved in international politics. Messana was under attack from the powerful Greek colony of Syracuse and near defeat. The Messanans sent envoys to both Rome and Carthage to beg for aid. The Carthaginians arrived first and occupied the city. However, the Roman force which came later was much stronger. Upon seeing the more powerful Roman army, the people of Messana switched sides and helped the Romans expel the army of Carthage. This episode began the First Punic War.

The First Punic War( 'Punic' being the Latin word for 'Carthaginian' ) lasted for twenty-three years. Both sides scored great victories, but in the end, Rome managed to hold on just a little longer than Carthage and win. As spoils of war, Rome took the whole of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. Carthage also had to pay Rome a substantial sum of money every year. A great Carthaginian commander by the name of Hamilcar Barca was enraged by these terms and made his son swear to be an enemy of Rome forever. The boy's name was Hannibal.

Hannibal would soon get his chance to make good on his oath. In an effort to rebuild their shattered empire, the Carthaginians sent Hamilcar and his army to conquer Spain. Hamilcar brought Hannibal along and over the next several years managed to win a great deal of territory for Carthage. During these wars in Spain Hannibal fought alongside his father and learned much of the art of battle.

Rome watched the developments in Spain anxiously, fearing a return to power for Carthage. In 219 B.C. Hannibal, now commanding the army in Spain after his father's death, laid siege to the town of Saguntum. This siege was made significant by a recent protection agreement Rome had made with Saguntum, giving Rome a valid reason to declare war on Carthage in 218 B.C.

However, Hannibal was fully aware his actions would likely begin another war with Rome and already had his next move well-planned. He marched his army along the Mediterranean coast, hiring thousands of Celts and Gauls to add to his veteran soldiers from Carthage and Spain. He also brought some 40(-ish, historians still hotly debate the exact number) African war elephants and thousands of Numidian cavalry, reputed to be the finest in the world.

In a daring and risky move, Hannibal crossed the Alps towards the end of 218 B.C. By some miracle he managed to get 26,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry, and even a few elephants over the mountains and into Italy. However, he had lost thousands of men in the frozen passes of the Alps, and those that remained were hungry, tired, and demoralized.

Hannibal quickly gave his men reason to hope again. Soon after crossing into Italy he was faced by a strong Roman army at the river Trebia. He destroyed that army with his elephants and a heavy cavalry ambush. In 217 B.C. he ambushed and destroyed another Roman army at Lake Trasimene.

Hannibal's finest moment came in 216 B.C. at the battle of Cannae. There he annihilated an army twice his size in this way: He formed-up his troops in a crescent formation bent towards the Romans. In the center he put his new barbarian soldiers, while he placed his hardened Carthaginian veterans on the ends. When the Romans attacked, the barbarians were forced back, but the troops on the ends held their ground. Once the line had bent back into a crescent facing the opposite way, with the Romans inside the curve, Hannibal had his cavalry attack the Roman rear. The Romans suddenly found themselves surrounded and trapped in a kill zone. The doomed Romans suffered some 70,000 casualties during that single, bloody day.

Despite this utterly crushing defeat, however, Rome did not surrender. Hannibal was urged to attack immediately after Cannae, but he could not. His army was too small, too exhausted, and lacked the siege equipment necessary to defeat Rome's mighty fortifications. And so a stalemate ensued for more than ten years. Hannibal was too brilliant to be defeated, but too weak to take Rome and end the war.

The tide began to slowly turn a few years after Cannae. Rome sent his new generation of armies out against Hannibal's new allies in Italy and his power base in Spain, instead of directly at Hannibal. During these battles one officer rose to the highest levels of Roman command: Publius Scipio. Scipio had been one of the few survivors of Cannae and used his dearly-bought knowledge of tactics to take the whole of Spain for Rome by 208 B.C.

After victory in Spain, Scipio sailed for Sicily to gather fresh troops for an attack on Africa. He managed to assemble some 30,000 Roman soldiers. Many of his new men had lost fathers at Cannae and were yearning for revenge. After a year of training his men, Scipio sailed for Africa in 204 B.C.

Scipio quickly proved he could win on Carthage's home turf. In 203 B.C. he defeated an army of both Carthage and Numidia at the battle of Utica. During the battle the pro-Carthage king of Numidia was killed, allowing a pro-Rome and puppet king of Scipio's choosing to become king. The change in rulers gave Scipio the allegiance of the famed Numidian cavalry, once a critcal asset of Hannibal's.

After Utica Hannibal was recalled to Carthage to oversee the city's defense. He brought back some 24,000 veterans of the Italian campaign, and soon doubled the size of his army with 12,000 barbarian mercenaries and 12,000 Carthaginian draftees. He was also given a fresh supply of war elephants. However, the defection of the Numidians left him short of cavalry, having only a couple thousand.

While Hannibal was training his new recruits, Scipio was ravaging the fertile farmlands of North Africa. Political pressure from these raids forced Hannibal to move out before he believed his new men were completely ready. The two armies would meet in 202 B.C. at the town of Zama, 100 miles southwest of Carthage. This would be a battle for the ages. Two undefeated generals from two arch-enemies were about to fight for control of the entire western Mediterranean.

The Armies

Carthage- The army of Carthage was a multinational force, composed of men from all corners of the western Mediterranean. Over the decades Hannibal had assembled a force composed of Carthaginians, Africans, Numidians, Spaniards, Gauls, and Celts. He fought alongside them and transformed them into hardened veterans that had taken war to the very gates of Rome. The army was truly a professional force, able to preform complex maneuvers and retain its cohesion. This was an ability the brute-force, head-on centered armies of Rome traditionally lacked. Hannibal arranged his men in three lines with the 12,000 barbarians in the first line, the 12,000 draftees in the second line, and his 24,000 veterans in the third line.

Hannibal also had 80 new war elephants. These beasts were used to intimidate enemies and break-up formations, and could be quite effective. With 20,000 more men and the ancient equivalent of Abrams tanks, it looked like Hannibal would destroy this Roman invasion easily and keep the Second Punic War raging.

Rome-The army of Rome was centered on heavy infantry arranged in three battle lines. In the first line were the Hastati, the young rookies looking to prove themselves. In the second line were the Principes, these were the men who had survived several years in the first line and had an excellent balance of youthful vigor and combat experience. In the third line were the elite Triarii, the hardiest veterans who had experienced well over a decade of war. These men were the emergency reserves, meant to shore-up a critical breach or give the final push for victory.

Rome had traditionally been lacking in both cavalry numbers and quality, as the terrain of Italy was much more suited for producing infantry armies. However, as previously mentioned, Scipio's political maneuvering and victory at Utica has caused the rise of a pro-Rome king of the Numidian horsemen. These horsemen rode bareback, wore leopard skins, and carried iron javelins and short swords. Scipio's puppet had supplied him with thousands of these fierce horsemen.

The Battle

Hannibal began the Battle of Zama by ordering his elephants to charge the Roman lines. The beasts lumbered towards the enemy, intent on scattering the Romans. However, the Romans responded by shouting, blowing trumpets, and opening gaps in their lines for the the elephants to charge through. The elephants were either scared away or charged down spear-lined corridors of death. Some elephants even charged back into their own men, creating confusion and casualties.

Upon seeing this, Scipio had his superior cavalry forces charge the cavalry of Carthage. Hannibal's outnumbered cavalry quickly abandoned the field, although they did this SO quickly some historians have speculated that Hannibal had ordered his cavalry to retreat to draw the Roman horsemen away from his infantry. Regardless, the fight was now down to Hannibal's 50,000 foot soldiers against Scipio's 30,000.

The two first lines hit each other head-on, barbarian against Hastati. The barbarians began to crack first. Hannibal ordered his draftees to reinforce the barbarians, but they moved-up so slowly the barbarians thought they were being abandoned and fled. The draftees then attacked the Hastati and managed to hold on considerably longer, but when Scipio sent in his Principes the second Carthaginian line broke.

Now Hannibal was down to his 24,000 elite veterans against Scipio's less than 30,000 men. He went for broke, attacking with every last man he had. When the two armies collided Scipio began stretching his lines, leaving his weakest units in the center, while hammering Hannibal's flanks with his veteran units. It was a formation eerily similar to Hannibal's at Cannae.

The Roman coup de grace was delivered by the Numidian horsemen. They swept down on Hannibal's rear and began chopping down the army of Carthage. It was a mirror image of Cannae, but this time Hannibal was the one trapped. Hannibal managed to escape, but his army did not. The Second Punic War was over.

Aftermath

With her army defeated, Carthage was forced to accept Rome's harsh surrender terms. Hannibal began working to rebuild his city, but was soon forced to flee east to escape being handed over to the Romans. He worked as a mercenary, selling his skills to whichever kingdom could pay the most. However, Rome sent assassins to hunt him down. Rather than be killed by his arch-enemies, Hannibal committed suicide in 182 B.C.

Scipio died soon afterwards. After Zama he had entered Roman politics, with his war hero status winning him some early successes.However, his enemies united and had him driven out of Rome. Both the master and the apprentice would die in exile.

Carthage would never regain her former power and influence. The Romans kept a very close eye on Carthage for the next forty years, alert for any sign of trouble from the city that had produced their worst nightmare. In 167 B.C. Rome laid siege to Carthage and three years later burned the city. The Carthaginian survivors were sold into slavery and the ground of Carthage was sown with salt to make it infertile. Rome had never before used measures this extreme after taking a city, but Hannibal had scared them too much. Hannibal had gone beyond a mere enemy, he had become a dark specter on the Roman psyche.

The effects of Zama are almost immeasurable. Scipio's victory humbled Rome's greatest rival and cleared the way for Rome to dominate the entire Mediterranean world. The resultant Pax Romana (peace of Rome ) brought a level of stability to the world never before seen. This allowed people and ideas to travel great distances quickly and safely. Nowhere would this be more evident than when a certain teacher from the remote providence of Judea began proclaiming that His message of love and reconciliation with God in about A.D.25. In a matter of years His disciples carrired this message from Spain to India. The teacher was Jesus and the message was Christianity, which has been the single greatest factor on world history for the last 2,000 years.

Next Week- The Battle of Tours. The Franks vs. The Moors

Battle of Guagamela

Guagamela

Macedonia vs Persia

Prologue

Ten years after the Greek victory at Marathon, Darius' son Xerxes pulled-out all the stops in his quest for vengeance. A Persian force of 250,000 men crossed the Hellespont along with 700 warships to provide naval support. The initial Persian advance was unstoppable. Xerxes overran indefensible northern Greece, defeated a small Spartan army at Thermopylae, and sacked Athens. The Athenian admiral Themistocles, however, managed to lure Persian fleet into the narrow straits of Salamis. There the Greek fleet ambushed the Persians and inflicted heavy losses. With his lines of communication, supply, and retreat now endangered due to a lack of warships, Xerxes abandoned the war.

After this glorious victory Greece entered a golden age. Trade, art, and science all reached new heights through mental giants like Plato and Sophocles. However, the brutal 27-year Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta brought the golden age to an end. Although Sparta 'won' the war by taking Athens in 404 B.C., all the Greek cities were devastated. None ever really recovered and became easy pickings for the Greek kingdom of Macedonia 50 years later.

In 336 B.C. the Macedonian king Phillip II was assassinated. Although it was never proven, most suspected that one of the Phillip's queens, Olympius, had arranged the murder so that her son Alexander would become king. Although the Macedonians were considered 'rednecks' or 'hillbillies' by the southern Greeks, Alexander was no country hick. His childhood tutor was Aristotle himself, and Alexander had proven he had a clear head under fire while fighting the Greeks alongside his father.

After spending three years suppressing revolts in Greece and the Balkans, Alexander did the unimaginable: he crossed the Hellespont with some 50,000 men and invaded the empire of Persia. On paper it was suicide to attack Persia, whose territory stretched from the Black Sea to the Indus River, but Alexander was not dissuaded. Curious, ambitious, and brilliant in equal measure the 23-year-old king quickly proved he was up to the challenge. Soon after crossing into Persian territory Alexander defeated a 40,000-man army of Persians and their Greek mercenaries at the River Granicus. A year later in the mountains of northwest Syria, Alexander defeated the Persian king Darius and his 250,000-man army at the battle of Issus.

After Issus the Persians fell back into the heart of their empire to regroup. Alexander, meanwhile, marched south along the Mediterranean coast, conquering Syria, Israel, and Egypt. In 331 B.C. he marched his army back north and into the Persian heartland. Darius gathered another 250,000-man army and marched to the wide plain of Guagamela to meet the Macedonian invaders.

For both armies this battle would be do-or-die. Darius had his back to wall; his two crushing defeats had cost him half his empire, and now the Greeks were almost to Babylon's gates. Alexander, on the other hand, had committed his entire army and was deep in enemy territory. If he lost he would have no chance to regroup or retreat. The fate of the entire known world would hinge on the outcome of a single day.

The Armies

Macedonia-As in all previous Greek armies, the Macedonian infantry fought in phalanx formation. However, the Macedonians had taken the phalanx to the next level by using 18-foot instead of 8-foot spears and training for greater speed and maneuverability. What really set the army of Macedon apart from other Greek armies, though, was its excellent heavy cavalry and Alexander's ability to coordinate both types of units for maximum flexibility and power.

The standard Macedonian battle tactics were 'hammer-and-anvil' tactics. The infantry would function as the 'anvil' to hold the enemy in place while the cavalry functioned as the 'hammer', smashing at the critical point. Macedonian coordination and tactics made their army the most advanced in the world. However, even with these advantages, Alexander would be hard-pressed to defeat the Persians' 5-to-1 numerical superiority on the open desert.

Persia- The Persian army was a massive juggernaut of 250,000 men drawn from all corners of the world. Darius commanded numerous types of units including: Syrian spearmen, fierce Afghan tribesmen, swift Asiatic cavalry, and Persian chariots, just to name a few.

After losing the battle of Issus due to the narrow mountain battlefield, Darius intentionally chose the wide plain of Guagamela to give his thousands of cavalry and colossal infantry formations room to maneuver. He even went so far as to have the ground leveled to make it perfect for his chariots. Although no longer on the cutting edge in weaponry (e.g. chariots had been in use on battlefields for 1,000 years ) the Persians would still be fighting on a field perfectly suited to their way of war. It looked like Alexander had gotten too cocky and bitten of more than he could chew.

The Battle

The Persian army deployed with large numbers of cavalry on both flanks, with chariots and baggage elephants in the center and the infantry behind them. On the other side of field Alexander put smaller cavalry forces on his left and right, with he and his elite cavalry in the center. Behind his horsemen he lined-up archers and javelin men. Behind his ranged troops were his veteran Macedonian soldiers. Lastly was a reserve phalanx composed of mercenaries and meant to counter any Persian flanking maneuver.

As the two armies closed with each other, Alexander took the initiative to avoid being flanked. He took most of his cavalry, including his super-elite Companion Cavalry, to the far right of the battlefield. This drew the Persian cavalry away from the prepared field. Alexander then charged the Persian cavalry to avoid being surrounded.

Darius saw that with Alexander and his cavalry engaged, the plain was open for his chariots. 100 chariots were ordered to charge the Macedonians. Each chariot had razor-sharp blades attached to the wheel hub, designed to mow down infantry like grass. The Macedonians held their nerve, however, and the crack Macedonian archers shot down the Persian chariot horses.

His chariots having failed, Darius ordered a mass attack of cavalry and infantry against the weaker Macedonian left wing. He also ordered his center cavalry to reinforce his attack against Alexander and the Companion Cavalry on the Persian left. However, these movements left Darius without any forces between him and the Macedonians. Alexander saw the opening and lead his Companions on an all-out charge for Darius.

When Darius saw some 1,600 super-elite heavy cavalry bearing down on him, he lost his nerve; and as a result, his empire. The Persian king abandoned his massive army and some $3,000,000,000 dollars in treasure in a mad dash for survival. Alexander couldn't afford to chase Darius, however, as his left wing was buckling under the massive Persian attack that had left the way to Darius open. A few Persian cavalry units had even broken into the Macedonian camp. Alexander charged back and, along with the mercenary reserves, managed to defeat the Persian attacks and save the Macedonain army.

When the main body of the Persian army discovered their king had fled, they too broke ranks and ran. The Macedonians pursued and slaughtered them by the thousands until nightfall. The battle of Guagamela was over, and with it, Persian control of Asia.

The Aftermath

Alexander would hunt Darius for nine months, but the two kings would never meet again. In 330 B.C. Darius was killed by some of his few remaining supporters. When Alexander found Darius' body, he wrapped him in his own robe and had Darius buried with full royal honors.

After Guagamela, Alexander was unstoppable. Over the next several years he would conquer everything from Babylon to the borders of India. However, after he won his fourth incredible victory in 326 B.C. at the Hydaspes River the rest of the Macedonians had had enough.

Despite his pleas and exhortations, Alexander couldn't convince his war-wearied men to take one more step east. Against his will Alexander returned to Babylon to solidify his gains and plan future conquests. In 323 B.C. Alexander became sick during a massive drinking party. He died a few days later, after saying he would leave his empire to the strongest.

Not one of his generals was strong enough. The empire split into three separate kingdoms, each ruled by a different lieutenent of Alexander the Great.

Although his empire died with him, Alexander's true impact was felt through the massive infussion of Greek ideas across the eastern world and vice-versa. Also, a city he founded on the Egyptian coast and named after himself, Alexandria, would become the capital of knowledge and philosophy. In short, Alexander took what had been developed during the Greek Golden Age and spread it across the world.

Next Week- The Battle of Zama. Rome vs. Carthage.

The Battle of Marathon

The Battle of Marathon

Athens vs. Persia

Prologue


In 510 B.C. the Greek city of Athens drove out it's cruel king Hippias and established the first democratic state. The Athenians quickly rose to prominence among the Greeks and began flexing their new-found muscles.

The natural target for Athenian aggression was the vast Persian empire, who had earned Athens' animosity by conquering the Greek colonies in Ionia ( the western coast of modern-day Turkey ). In 500 B.C. Athens sent warships and soldiers to aid those colonies in a revolt against the Persians. Although Persia eventually suppressed the revolt, the Persian king Darius now realized the Greek cities could not be safely ignored.

In 491 B.C. Darius sent envoys to Athens and demanded complete surrender. The fiercely independent Athenians rejected the demand and threw the Persians over a cliff. Enraged, Darius gathered an army of 30,000 men and a fleet of 600 warships and in 490 B.C. sent them to Greece. Darius also sent along the exiled Hippias, who had fled to Persia and would serve as governor of the conquered territory.

Recognizing the danger their city was now threatened with, the Athenians mustered 10,000 soldiers, 1,000 from each Athenian clan, along with 1,000 men from a nearby allied town. Command of this 11,000 man army was given to a general named Miltiades.

In early September 490 B.C. the Persian army landed at the Bay of Marathon, 26 miles east of Athens. Miltiades moved his army to the mountains overlooking the plain of Marathon, blocking the road inland. For four days there was a stalemate as the Athenian position was too strong to be forced and the Persians were too numerous to be attacked on the open plain. Looking to break the deadlock, the Persian commander decided to load 18,000 of his men, including all of his feared Persian cavalry, back onto the ships and sail to attack undefended Athens. While that was going on the remaining 12,000 infantry would hold the Greek army in place.

The Athenians discovered the ruse, however, and Miltiades quickly organized his troops to attack the Persian holding force. The Persian maneuver had given Miltiades a great opportunity, as well as a great danger. On one hand, the Persian force on the beach was open to attack, however, if he couldn't defeat the beach force quickly, he wouldn't be able to march his army back to Athens in time. The war for Athens was now a race against time.

The Armies


Athens- The Athenian army, like all Greek armies of the time, was composed of hoplites. The hoplite was a spearman, covered in bronze armor and carrying a yard-wide shield and 8-foot spear. They fought in phalanx formation, where they would form a wall of shields and spears. The first three ranks would level their spears at the enemy, while the rear ranks held their spears up to deflect incoming arrows and javelins. The rear ranks would also push the men in front of them forwards with their shields, helping the formation push its way through enemy lines. Taken from the front, the only thing that could defeat a phalanx was a bigger and better phalanx.

Persia- The Persian way of war was to use their numbers, archers, and cavalry to overwhelm their enemies on an open battlefield. Although these tactics proved very successful in the wide deserts of the Middle East, the mountainous terrain of Greece would limit their effectiveness. The Persian army was composed of conscripts from all corners of Darius' empire, their different languages and customs limiting their unity and coordination. However, the Persian archers were known for the deadly effectiveness, and the infantry were savage and fierce.

The Battle

Miltiades divided his army into three units: the center with 3,000 men, and the wings with 4,000 men each. He planned to use his center to hold the Persians in place while his powerful wings smashed the enemy flanks. However, Miltiades was afraid that the Persians would outflank his compact phalanx, so to avoid this he took a great risk and stretched his center thin. Making the center phalanx longer and thinner violated every standard Greek battle plan, but now was not the time to be bound by conventional thought.

Stretching his center would not be the only rule of phalanx warfare that Miltiades broke that day. To keep his army from being slaughtered by the thousands of Persian archers, Miltiades ordered his men to all-out charge the last 300 yards between the armies. A phalanx usually went into battle at a steady pace to keep the formation together.

Miltiades' second risk paid-off handsomely, as Greek armor and speed kept missile casualties to a minimum. The Athenians hit the Persian lines like a freight train and the battle was on. However, Miltiades' first gamble of stretching his center, while it succeeded keeping his army from being flanked, also nearly resulted in his defeat. The Persians managed to break through the weakened Greek center through sheer weight of numbers. The full-strength Greek wings, however, broke the Persian flanks and began crushing the Persian center between them. When the Athenian center rallied and rejoined the battle, the Persian army was trapped between the sea and wall of spears. The tide of battle swung towards the Greeks an never turned back.

Aftermath

After three hours of battle the surviving Persians broke for their ships, leaving behind some 6,500 dead or dying comrades. The Greeks, by comparison, had suffered a paltry 192 casualties. Miltiades had won a great victory, but it would be in vain if Athens fell to the other Persian force sailing towards the city.

After sending a runner ahead to tell Athens of the victory at Marathon, Miltiades reformed his men and began marching back to defend the city. The runner delivered his message of victory to the Athenians, then he died of exhaustion. The rest of the Greek army didn't have it much easier, they had to make a forced march of more than 20 miles, after a long battle, in the late summer heat, and all without rest.

The Greek army reached the city and formed-up on the beach just before the Persians sailed into the bay. Upon seeing the Greeks waiting for him, the Persian commander realized his rear-guard had been defeated and lost his nerve. Rather than attempt to force a landing, the Persians sailed for home.

The battle of Marathon saved Greek culture and Western civilization from being killed in the cradle. If the Persians had taken Athens, they would have had a base for further campaigns in Greece and beyond. Without the victory at Marathon, there would never have been a battle of Salamis or Platea, no Greek golden age, none of the great scientific and social developments of the Greeks. In short, we would be living in a radically different world today.

Next Week- The Battle of Guagamela. Macedonia vs. Persia.