History

The Leadership Of Captain Thrupp

Quintus Curtius History , , , ,

Tales of superlative leadership abound in naval history. Through the study of historical examples, we are instructed in the qualities and characteristics of proper command. In early 1871 the British Admiralty sent a detachment of soldiers and marines to Australia aboard the iron screw frigate Megaera.  The ship carried 42 officers, 44 marines, 180 seamen, and 67 boys, for a total of 333.  After stopping briefly at the Cape of Good Hope, the Megaera embarked on the long journey across the Indian Ocean to Sydney.  It was anticipated that the vessel would reach its destination by July 5. 

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Ancient Contacts Between The Roman Empire And China

Quintus Curtius History, Travel & Exploration , ,

The curious mind may be puzzled by the apparent paucity of commercial and cultural contacts between the Roman and Chinese empires.  That these two mighty states seem to have had such meager intercourse with each other, for so many centuries, is one of the oddities of antique history. 

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Hooke’s Law And The Problem Of Longitude

Quintus Curtius History, Thought , , ,

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word elasticity in the following way:  “Of material substances, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous:  that spontaneously resumes (after a longer or shorter interval) its normal bulk or shape after having been contracted, dilated, or distorted by external force.”

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The Betrayal And Fall Of Acrocorinthus

Quintus Curtius History , , ,

Aratus of Sicyon was a Greek politician and military commander who lived from 271 to 213 B.C.  He was forced to flee his native city of Sicyon at seven years of age when his father, a prominent politician, was murdered by a rival.  Raised in Argos, he distinguished himself as an athlete and a leader; and his determination to liberate Sicyon led him to train intensively in the arts of war and command.

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Synesius’s Wise Advice On Kingship

Quintus Curtius History, Thought , , ,

By 400 A.D. the Roman state was struggling with severe problems both internal and external.  In 395, the Goths, a foreign nation Rome had unwisely permitted to settle within the empire’s borders, initiated an armed revolt, and laid waste to the provinces south of the Danube.  “[They] boldly avowed the hostile designs,” says Gibbon, “which they had long cherished in their ferocious minds.” (Ch. XXX). 

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Italica

Quintus Curtius History , , ,

The Battle of Ilipa was fought in Spain in 206 B.C. between a Roman army commanded by P. Cornelius Scipio (Scipio Africanus) and Carthaginian forces under Hasdrubal Gisco and Mago, the brother of the renowned Hannibal. 

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Vegetius Discusses The Importance Of The Martial Virtues

Quintus Curtius History, Thought , , ,

We know almost nothing of the life and career of the Roman military writer Vegetius.  Historical references in his books suggest that he flourished in the late fourth century A.D.  His work on Roman military affairs, De Re Militari (On Military Science) is a revealing window on the state of the empire’s military preparedness in its author’s era.

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The Leadership Principles Of Iphicrates

Quintus Curtius History, Thought , , ,

History distinguishes the Athenian general Iphicrates for the superlative quality of his leadership, the extent of his martial innovations, and his understanding of the psychological dimension of war.  He lived from about 418 B.C. to 353 B.C.  We will discuss some of the leadership principles that may be distilled from the writings of two ancient historians, Cornelius Nepos and Polyaenus.

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Better Exile Than Submission: The Passion Of Dante Alighieri

Quintus Curtius History, Literature

Dante Alighieri was born in 1265 to Bella and Alighiero Alighieri.  His mother died in Dante’s infancy, and his father passed away when the poet had barely reached fifteen.  It was not a wealthy family by any measure; although Dante’s Florentine lineage was distinguished, his family was unable to convert pedigree to lucre.

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Alexander And Porus Speak On Fortune And Glory

Quintus Curtius History, Thought , , , ,

Alexander the Great’s incursions into the Indian subcontinent brought him into conflict with local rulers unwilling to submit to Macedonian rule.  One of these rulers is known to history by the name Porus.  The sources are vague and contradictory, but he apparently controlled the Punjabi region bordered by the Jhelum and Chenab rivers. 

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