Famous Battles and How They Shaped the Modern World

This first of two books on pivotal battles in Western Civilisation and their legacy in politics, history & society focuses on ancient & medieval times.

Why are some battles remembered more than others? Surprisingly, it is not just size that matters, nor the number of dead, the ‘decisiveness’ of battles or their effects on communities and civilisations. It is their political afterlife—the multiple meanings and political uses attributed to them—that determines their fame. This ground-breaking series goes well beyond military history by exploring the transformation of battles into sites of memory and meaning. Cast into epic myths of the fight of Good against Evil, of punishment for decadence or reward for virtue, of the birth of a nation or the collective assertion against a tyrant, the defence of Civilisation against the Barbarians, Christendom against the Infidel, particular battles have acquired fame beyond their immediate contemporaneous relevance.

The epic battles of European history examined in this first volume range from the siege of Troy and the encounters of Marathon and Thermopylai, to the wars of the Israelites which inspired the way many later battles would be narrated; and from the triumphs and defeats of the Roman Empire, to Hastings, the massacre of Béziers and the battle of Courtrai. In each chapter, the historical events surrounding a battle form the backdrop for multi-layer interpretations, which, consciously or unconsciously, carry political agendas.

Praise for Famous Battles and How They Shaped the Modern World

“This ground-breaking series goes well beyond military history by exploring the transformation of battles into sites of memory and meaning . . . Beatrice and Athena’s superb book about classic epic battles is absolutely compelling and terrific in its scope and detail.” —Books Monthly

“Battles so often appear as exceptional events quite divorced from the wars which produce them, and even those wars are sometimes studied without the context of their times. This is why the excellent two volumes of Famous Battles and How They Shaped the Modern World is as valuable as it is unusual . . . If these books do something to advance solidarity and reconciliation they will have done sterling work.” —John Hussey, author of Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815