Orient

Profile of a Victorious Army

“They have trained their horses so well that they wheel this way or that as quickly as a dog would do. When they are pursued and take to flight, they fight as well and as effectively as when they are face to face with the enemy.” […]

Orient

Rostam Suffers No Fools

“You know what I call a mother who bears a son like you? A sewer of shrouds, or a mourner at a wake. Bringing your cronies here against me is as pointless as throwing walnuts at a dome in the hope that they’ll stick there.” […]

Britons and Celts

Arthur’s Wrath

“He made worthy widows wail with sorrow,
Weeping and howling they wrung their hands.
And everywhere in his wake he wasted through war
Their wealth and their houses, and awoke their woe.” […]

History

Power of a Portly King

“The king mounted someone else’s horse and returned to combat in a spirited fashion. He shouted and called his men back, urging the boldest by name not to flee. With sword unsheathed the king rushed amid the enemy ranks to help those whom he could and chose those who were fleeing.” […]

Greek and Roman

The Power of a Song

“They bore harps and were clad in snowy robes, and chanted in suppliant strains to the gods of their fathers that they might be propitious and repel the Macedonians.” […]