ABSTRACT
War was a central aspect of antiquity. The close ideological connection between war, society, politics, and wealth meant that military service was intertwined with status and power. The period from 1000 BCE–500 CE presents a cohesive image of war and society in Greek and Roman contexts. War was conducted primarily by infantrymen, often heavily armored and drawn from a class of society that held land and had the resources to furnish their own equipment and to spend time in campaigning away from their property. The historiography of military developments, primarily in Greece and Rome from the so-called Dark Age (1000 BCE) to the end of the Roman Empire in the fifth century of our era, is rich. The Mediterranean Basin and the western parts of Asia (from the Indus Valley westward) were highly interconnected through trade, intellectual exchange, and of course military encounters. Several major empires (notably those of the Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians, and Romans) also did much to unite these regions. Interconnection through technology, such as iron weapons, dominated the age as the principal metal of edged weapons.
