Ancient Warfare Podcast
Discussions from Ancient Warfare Magazine. Why did early civilisations fight? Who were their Generals? What was life like for the earliest soldiers? Ancient Warfare Magazine will try and answer these questions. Warfare minus two thousand years.
Episodes
In this episode, Murray tackles a thoughtful listener question: were heavy, armoured troops consistently more effective than missile-armed light troops? Our listener reflects that European armies rarely seem to have been decimated by light forces—Carrhae being a rare exception—and wonders whether this is an accurate memory. Why did Persians, for instance, favour missile troops, and why didn’t this overwhelm Macedonian forces despit...
In this episode, Murray takes on a question that's been asked before — but this time, he's invited to share his personal opinion:
"OK... so it's been asked before in a general sense and the official answer is... we don't know! But Murray... in your own opinion, what's your best guess as to why slingers go away? Please speculate!"
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In this episode, Murray addresses a fascinating and complex listener question concerning the famous scythed chariots used at the Battle of Gaugamela:
"Dear Murray,
I have a question on the scythed chariots at Gaugamela. I developed and played a wargame scenario on it, and these things have become a true enigma. The problem is the number of chariots, the frontage they could cover in relation to the phalanx, and how agile the phalanx...
"From the simple cap to the most intricately-wrought and elaborately-decorated royal example, the humble helmet could do much more than just protect its bearer’s head."
For this episode of the Ancient Warfare Magazine podcast, the team discusses helmets in the Ancient World, issue 102 of the magazine.
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In this episode, Murray tackles a listener question sent in by postcard from Damien in Tasmania:
"Hi Murray, I love the magazine and the podcasts. My question is: Is there any evidence for a standard padded garment, worn under armour, in non-Roman armies (the equivalent of a subarmalis)? Or may it be assumed to be an individual choice? Cheers, Damien."
Murray explores the evidence—or lack of it—for padded under-armour garments acro...
In this episode, Murray Dahm tackles a listener question about the best translators for classical texts like Herodotus’s Histories. Are modern versions better? What’s the deal with Penguin’s Aubrey de Sélincourt vs. Tom Holland’s more recent take?
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Matt from North Carolina writes 'Can you explain and describe what an oblique phalanx is and how it was used in war by Alexander the Great?'
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Ralph Kirby challenges Murray with an intriguing question: could the Polybolas be considered the least influential weapon on the ancient battlefield? Used by both the Successor Macedonian states and Rome, Kirby argues that the Polybolas might have even replaced the Scorpio as a legionary siege weapon.
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In this episode of the Ancient Warfare Magazine Podcast, the team explores groundbreaking archaeological discoveries from 2025 that are reshaping our understanding of ancient conflicts. From mass graves to reinterpreted royal tombs, these finds illuminate the strategies, societies, and struggles of the past.
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In more modern battles, small farm compounds like La Haye Sainte and Hougoumont played pivotal roles in the fighting. But in ancient warfare, we rarely see small villas or farmsteads having a similar impact on battles. Why is that? Were these features less significant in ancient combat, or are there examples where small built-up areas shaped the course of battle? Join Murray Dahm as he tackles this intriguing question on Ancient Wa...
Long-time listener Uygar sent this in. "why did ancient armies, especially Greek phalanx-heavy ones, have relatively few ranged units like archers and slingers compared to line infantry? How did an ancient army determine the right number of ranged units for their army? And did the ranged units fight in a scattered manner in between the formations of the heavier line infantry rather than in rigid formations?'
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'I was curious as to how exactly the scouting process worked in ancient armies, although I'm sure it varied widely throughout different cultures and time periods. Additionally, was there every a commonly accepted type of soldier selected for scouting, or did ancient commanders simply send whoever was available? Thanks to Demetri for this question.
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In this episode of the Ancient Warfare Podcast, Marc De Santis talks to historian and author Lindsay Powell about his latest book, Tiberius: From Masterly Commander to Masterful Emperor of Rome, published by Pen and Sword. Often overshadowed by his predecessor Augustus and his notorious successor Caligula, Tiberius is one of Rome’s most enigmatic emper...
What would be your ideal ancient military? Would it be a semi-nomadic people with skilled cavalry and infantry, and how would you structure this military? Murray gives us his ideas and explains what his historical inspirations for this thought experiment are.
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Dylan Thomas, watching on YouTube, asked, 'I'm curious about the early life of Marcus Furius Camillus. He seems to pop up during the siege of Veii in Livy's work, with few mentions beforehand, and is then an important figure going forward. Are there any primary sources that recount his early life and career?
The man's a legend, easily one of the top ten Romans of all time, but there seem to be scant records of him.'
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"The Peloponnesian War had ripped up the existing alliances in Greece — over the next decades, the main city-states looked for ways to regain money, power, and win battles."
The team discuss the latest issue of the magazine City-States in an Arms Race: Greek innovation in the fourth century BC, issue 101.
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In the last episode, Murray expanded upon an article in the magazine in response to Chris's question. After recording that episode, Murray realised he had not answered the whole question.
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Don Antonius sent this question: 'Was there an inspiring role of Elite Units in ancient armies? Do we have accounts of battles where elite units (not necessarily “veterans”) like the Roman cataphracts, Carthage’s sacred band etc. supposedly lifted the spirits to fight on or evidently change the odds?'
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Chris sent this question for Murray, asking him to expand on one of his articles in the magazine.
'I recently read your article on the siege of Masada in Ancient Warfare magazine. I had a couple of questions regarding the assumptions made about the shortened timeline of the siege. Specifically, you mentioned two assumptions supporting the idea of a shorter siege. Could you provide more information or sources to support this hypothe...
Christopher asks, 'why didn't adversaries to Rome (especially on the Italian peninsula) see the methods by which Rome consistently recovered from defeat and tried to emulate them?'
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