Aegean prehistory was born out of the search for the Trojan War. Since the time of Heinrich Schliemann, new forms of evidence have come to light and innovative questions have arisen, including examinations of warfare as a concept. This volume interrogates the nature of warfare in the Bronze Age Aegean for scholars and teachers with knowledge of the ancient Mediterranean, who wish to access the state of the field when it comes to the ways that specialists approach warfare in the prehistoric Aegean. Authors review evidence, consider the social and cultural place of war, and revisit longstanding questions.

Brill’s Companion to Greek Land Warfare Beyond the Phalanx brings together emerging and established scholars to build on the new consensus of multiform Greek warfare, on and off the battlefield, beyond the usual chronological, geographical, and operational boundaries.

The adage that an army “marches on its stomach” finds renewed emphasis in this collection of essays. Focusing on military diet and supply from Homer through the Roman Empire, Diet and Logistics in Greek and Roman Warfare explains regional dietary options and reassesses traditional notions of “provisioning” while exploring topics ranging from strategy and subterfuge to trade and terror. Through fresh insights drawn from current research and excavation spanning the Greco-Roman world, contributors confirm how providing food and drink for soldiers was critical to every army’s success and survival. This volume stimulates reevaluation of ancient militaries and encourages new research.

Brill’s Companion to Sieges in the Ancient Mediterranean is a wide-ranging exploration of sieges and siege warfare as practiced and experienced by the cultures which lived around the ancient Mediterranean basin. From Pharaonic Egypt to Renaissance Italy, and from the Neo-Assyrian Empire to Hellenistic Greece and Roman Gaul, case studies by leading experts probe areas of both synergy and divergence within this distinctive form of warfare amongst the cultures in this broadly shared environment. Winner of the 2020 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award

In Naval Warfare and Maritime Conflict in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Mediterranean, Jeffrey P. Emanuel examines the evidence for maritime violence in the Mediterranean region during both the Late Bronze Age and the tumultuous transition to the Early Iron Age in the years surrounding the turn of the 12th century BCE. There has traditionally been little differentiation between the methods of armed conflict engaged in during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages, on both the coasts and the open seas, while polities have been alternately characterized as legitimate martial actors and as state sponsors of piracy. By utilizing material, documentary, and iconographic evidence and delineating between the many forms of armed conflict, Emanuel provides an up-to-date assessment not only of the nature and frequency of warfare, raiding, piracy, and other forms of maritime conflict in the Late Bronze Age and Late Bronze-Early Iron Age transition, but also of the extent to which modern views about this activity remain the product of inference and speculation.

This companion provides an indispensable overview of contemporary and classical issues in social and cultural anthropology. Although anthropology has expanded greatly over time in terms of the diversity of topics in which its practitioners engage, many of the broad themes and topics at the heart of anthropological thought remain perennially vital, such as understanding order and change, diversity and continuity, and conflict and co-operation in the reproduction of social life. Bringing together leading scholars in the field, the contributors to this volume provide us with thoughtful and fruitful ways of thinking about a number of contemporary and long-standing arenas of work where both established and more recent researchers are engaged. The companion begins by exploring classic topics such as Religion; Rituals; Language and Culture; Violence; and Gender. This is followed by a focus on current developments within the discipline including Human Rights; Globalization; and Diasporas and Cosmopolitanism. It provides an interesting and challenging look at the state of current thinking in anthropology, serving as a rich resource for scholars and students alike.

Rooted in agriculture, sedentism and population growth, ancient states were fragile and prone to collapse. There is an ongoing debate about the importance, nature and even existence of state-wide collapse. This book investigates why ancient states collapsed and examines to what extent inequality contributed to their downfall.