Inspired by the “Battle of the Bastards” episode from Game of Thrones, we are looking at ancient accounts of bodies piling up during battle. Writing more than 300 years after the Battle of Leuctra, Greek historian Diodorus (c. 80-20 BC) tells us of the battle between a Spartan-led army against the Boeotian coalition led by Epaminondas…

Inspired by the “Battle of the Bastards” episode from Game of Thrones, we are looking at ancient accounts of bodies piling up during battle. Starting with the oldest account I found—Cremera—the common problem with many of these ancient accounts immediately appears, as almost all of these historians were writing well after the events. For example,…

With the airing of Game of Thrones’ “Battle of the Bastards” episode, many historians, myself included, offered commentary on how scenes resembled those found in medieval chronicles. One of the more unusual aspects, at least for Hollywood productions, was the piles of bodies on the battlefield. Numerous articles recounted how the episode’s creators were inspired…

I received some criticism on my Game of Thrones article–Battle of the Bastards is Straight from Medieval Chronicles. In particular, some folks are shocked by the lack of any mention of Cannae (216 BC), the ancient battle where Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca enveloped a numerically-superior Roman army and destroyed it. SPOILER WARNING Despite the notion…

A buddy of mine asked what I thought of History Channel’s latest depiction of Hannibal Barca in their docu-drama series Barbarians Rising. First, let’s cover the good stuff. Visually, the show is beautiful. The maps and computerized battles are striking. The depiction of Hannibal’s army slugging it over the Alps during winter is appropriately gruesome. The…