Chlup, James T. and Conor Whately (eds.): Greek and Roman Military Manuals. Genre and History (Routledge Monographs in Classical Studies). London and New York: Routledge 2020.

James T. Chlup is an associate professor of Ancient history at the University of Manitoba in Canada. He focuses on the history of the Roman Middle and Late Republic. Conor Whately is an associate professor of classics at the University of Winnipeg in Canada. Whately has authored several books on Roman and Late Antique military history. The edited volume Greek and Roman Military Manuals. Genre and History is published under the series Routledge Monographs in Classical Studies, and surveys the tradition of Greek and Roman military manuals as a literary genre from antiquity. This volume originated from a joint conference on ancient military manuals held by the universities of Manitoba and Winnipeg in October 2016. The volume comprises 14 chapters, which are partly revised versions of the papers held at the conference, and partly contributions by invitation.

This volume examines the origins and evolution of Greek and Roman military treatises from their Homeric beginnings to the Byzantine military manuals written in the eleventh century. In addition to the 14 chapters, the volume contains a detailed introduction and epilogue. The introduction by the two editors gives the theoretical background of the volume, focusing on the literature on the military treatises and the question of genre. The first chapter, written by Whately, develops the discussion that starts in the introduction, regarding the origins, genre, authorship, and audience of the military treatises, as well as the related scholarship. The second chapter, written by Schellenberg, questions the reliability of ancient military literature as source material for historical research, using examples from the works of Aeneas Tacticus and Onasander. Schellenberg examines how these authors used earlier sources, and how later sources referred to them. Without suggesting that military literature is entirely unreliable as a historical source, Schellenberg demonstrates the need to question the practical knowledge presented in the treatises, since the ancient military authors often speak of ideal situations rather than the reality on the ground. Thus, Schellenberg warns the modern scholar to be careful before taking the information found in the military treatises as historical facts.

In the next chapter, Williams delves further into the topic of authorship and audience, focusing particularly on authors from non-military backgrounds and their civilian readership. Williams’s examination of the audiences of Asclepiodotus, Onasander, and Vegetius, and his analysis on how these audiences evaluated the military manuals, presents an overlooked aspect of premodern writings: their fluctuating perception over time. This perception comprised, on the one hand, contemporary audiences who had no military experience, nor any future plans to take part in military operations. They would read the manuals mainly in relation to the epic poetry they knew. On the other hand, among the early modern and later audiences we find notable military and political figures who regarded the treatises as canonical works on military tactics.

Chapters 4–8 delve into specific topics in Ancient Greek military treatises, while Chapter 6 deals with mercenaries in ancient military literature in general. Sekunda in Chapter 4 discusses late Hellenic military commentaries on Homeric verses, Wrightson’s Chapter 5 focuses on Ancient Greek poliorcetic works and book sections in Aeneas, Philon, and Onasander. Felmingham-Cockburn (Chapter 7) and Rop (Chapter 8) turn to Xenophon, examining On Horsemanship and Cyropaedia respectively.

Chapters 9–12 address Roman military manuals. While Dahm’s Chapter 9 deciphers the composition process of the lost treatise of Lucius Papirius Paetus, Chlum (Chapter 10) looks at Frontinus’ account of Cannae, examining in particular how the author uses this Roman defeat in order to produce new military stratagems.

The final two chapters address Byzantine military manuals. Two articles by Warner (Chapter 11) and Caldwell (Chapter 12), respectively, scrutinize Vegetius’s thirty-three military maxims, and his final section on naval warfare in the Epitome Rei Militaris. Koehn’s article (Chapter 13) discusses Justinianic warfare and its influence on later Byzantine military literature. Through his thorough examination of Justinianic bow-wielding cavalry and the historical evolution of this type of soldier, as seen in later Byzantine military literature, he is able to make overarching statements about the development of Byzantine military strategy in subsequent centuries. Notably, he points out the connection and continuity between the Byzantine and Greco-Roman traditions in military strategy. He then demonstrates that the tendency to avoid direct military confrontation, in situations when issues can be resolved otherwise, is not specific to the Byzantine period, but rather a legacy of Greco-Roman strategic thinking. This contribution aligns with the overall theme of the edited volume, which helps readers understand Greek, Roman, and Byzantine military literature as part of a long, connected tradition. Riedel’s final chapter (14) turns to Leo VI’s Taktika, demonstrating the ideological differences that were introduced in this work, in comparison to earlier works in the genre. An example is the introduction of religious (Christian) elements, which are also seen in the 10^th century Byzantine military treatises, such as De Velitatione, Praecepta Militaria, and Nikephoros Ouranos’s Taktika. Eramo’s epilogue ties together the themes presented in the volume with an overview of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine military literature and the scholarship on the subject.

This volume is an adequate introduction for readers seeking a general overview of Greco-Roman and Byzantine military literature. However, the Byzantine component could have been expanded upon, considering the importance of the Byzantine tradition in preserving and developing Greco-Roman military literature, a point that Eramo also emphasizes in the epilogue. Similarly, expanding on the perception of military literature, military authors, and audiences in the early modern period and beyond would be valuable; Riedel highlights the large number of manuscript copies of Leo VI’s Taktika, but one should also note that, as with most military treatises, the majority of this production comes from the early modern period. Nevertheless, this coherent and comprehensive volume delivers readers a firm basis for further exploration of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine military literature.