Literary Sources (War and Warfare)

Understanding Literary Sources

Historical texts provide primary source evidence of ancient war and warfare, giving insight into tactical strategies, events, weaponry, and figures of authority.
Texts should be critically analysed for bias, as many were written from the perspective of victors or those in power, potentially favouring certain narratives.
Examples of key Roman source texts include Julius Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello Gallico (Commentaries on the Gallic War) and Tacitus’s Annals, while key Greek texts are Homer’s Iliad and Thucydides’s History of the Peloponnesian War.

Julius Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello Gallico

Julius Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello Gallico recounts Julius Caesar’s nine-year campaign against the Gallic tribes from 58 BC to 50 BC.
Caesar’s account provides detailed insight into his tactics, such as the Battle of Alesia, and the organisation of his troops.
However, since Caesar wrote these accounts, they might over-emphasise his success and downplay his failures to portray him in a better light.

Tacitus’s Annals

Tacitus’s Annals provide a chronological order of events in the Roman Empire, covering the period from the death of Augustus in 14 AD up to the death of Nero in 68 AD.
The text gives an account of various military campaigns and has information about the Roman army, important battles, and political developments.
Tacitus is considered relatively objective, favouring accuracy over elaboration, however, his disdain for the autocracy can sometimes colour his accounts.

Homer’s Iliad

Homer’s Iliad describes the events during the last year of the Trojan War, one of the most famous wars in Greek mythology.
Although the Iliad includes supernatural elements, it offers valuable insight into warfare techniques, battle strategies and the heroic ethos of the time.
It should be understood that the Iliad takes many liberties with historical fact for the sake of a compelling narrative, and its portrayals of warfare have a strong mythical element.

Thucydides’s History of the Peloponnesian War

This work details the 5th century BC war between the Delian League, led by Athens, and the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta.
It provides valuable information about the advances in military strategy during this period, such as the use of the phalanx and naval battles.
Thucydides aimed for accuracy and purported to rely on eyewitness accounts and documents, but his own biases may still have influenced the record.

Studying these texts can offer a valuable perspective on the nature of warfare in classical civilisation. Although we must account for potential bias and the embellishments of narrative, they remain an essential source for understanding the complex practices of war during these periods.