Warfare and Knowledge in Mountain Territories

This chapter highlights mountains as places of warfare in the ancient world, noting their great strategic significance in controlling key mountain passes that had military and economic advantages. It talks about the posed distinctive challenges of leadership as mountain battle sites were often unpredictable and hard to conquer and control. It points out how the distinctive topography of particular mountain regions led to a situation where the same patterns of warfare repeated themselves over and over again in successive campaigns. The sites of mountain warfare shaped military history through their very real and enduring physical form and were places of real suffering and bravery. The chapter considers mountains as territories of the imagination, noting that some ancient authors make an attempt at topographical precision, but often those efforts are overwhelmed by their interest in portraying mountains in battle as places of confusion and fear.

Archaeology · Battle · Confusion · Environmental ethics · Geography · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Philosophy · Psychology