PhD Thesis Chapters by Annelies Koolen
Xenophon analysed cavalry practises of several city states when he saw that the Athenians lost th... more Xenophon analysed cavalry practises of several city states when he saw that the Athenians lost their battles against specifically the Boeotians who grew stronger with their hamippoi formations, cavalry intermingled with infantry. He therefore put recommendations forward to the city of Athens to improve their cavalry. He wanted them to adopt the Boeotian tactics which required them to improve their horsemanship on the level that they would be able to 'collect' their horses on the battlefield so they would be able to control them in even very slow paces but also be able to accelerate really fast. He describes several exercises and formations to practise this. He hoped that by doing so the Athenians would be able to gain back their hegemony as a counter weight to the rise of Thebes. This thesis offers an overview of cavalry tactics, cavalry training and a history of military horsemanship, which is the technology of cavalry warfare.
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Papers by Annelies Koolen
Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies, 2021
During the Second Punic War the Roman army lost many of its battles against the Carthaginian army... more During the Second Punic War the Roman army lost many of its battles against the Carthaginian army of Hannibal Barca. Not only the infantry suffered enormous casualties, the cavalry suffered as well. The Carthaginian army deployed Spanish and Carthaginian horsemen but also the feared Numidian horsemen. This paper sets out to research the differences between specifically the Roman and the Numidian cavalry. It will study the equitation and the tactics which caused the defeat of the Roman cavalry. It will also try to offer an explanation for the defeats of the Roman cavalry by applying modern military theory on cavalry warfare. It will argue that the Numidian cavalry fought effrenatus, meaning they did not ride their horses without a bridle, but without a bit. It will also argue that the word effrenatus was a reference to the Numidian cavalry tactics. Taking into account an interesting passage in Livy in which he describes how the Roman cavalry was victorious against Spanish cavalry in 180 BC, it will also endeavour to explain why the Second Punic War can be seen as a turning point for Roman cavalry tactics.
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Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology, 2022
Cavalry tactics require a well-thought-out horse and rider training
on a regular basis as well a... more Cavalry tactics require a well-thought-out horse and rider training
on a regular basis as well as a cavalry led by a commander who has tactical skill,
sufficient horsemanship and knowledge of horses. As a cavalry commander and
horseman Xenophon studied the developments on the battlefield during the
5th and 4th century BC. He carefully analysed cavalry tactics of various enemies
of Athens and he put forward recommendations on how the Athenians should
train their cavalry. His works On Horsemanship and On the Cavalry Commander
therefore show the most modern cavalry requirements of that time. They are
important documents showing how the different styles of cavalry deployment
came to influence each other. This paper wants to explain which foreign tactics
he studied and
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Technical Training of the Athenian Cavalry (375 -350 BC) JAHA, 2022
Cavalry tactics require a well-thought-out horse and rider training on a regular basis as well as... more Cavalry tactics require a well-thought-out horse and rider training on a regular basis as well as a cavalry led by a commander who has tactical skill, sufficient horsemanship and knowledge of horses. As a cavalry commander and horseman Xenophon studied the developments on the battlefield during the 5th and 4th century BC. He carefully analysed cavalry tactics of various enemies of Athens and he put forward recommendations on how the Athenians should train their cavalry. His works On Horsemanship and On the Cavalry Commander therefore show the most modern cavalry requirements of that time. They are important documents showing how the different styles of cavalry deployment came to influence each other. This paper wants to explain which foreign tactics he studied and why Xenophon advised specific horse training exercises to the Athenians.
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Quadrupes: de edele viervoeter in de antieke Grieks-Romeinse wereld (Hermeneus), 2017
horses in the ancient world, horse training and horse breeding in Vergil and Xenophon
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Talanta LII Proceedings of the Dutch historical and archaelogical society, 2020
The city of Athens performed cavalry inspections as an assessment of not only
the condition of th... more The city of Athens performed cavalry inspections as an assessment of not only
the condition of the horses, but also of the acquired training level. Horse values
on lead tablets show that cavalry horses were evaluated each year, but these
values do not equal the amount of katastasis or loan granted by the state to each
cavalryman to purchase his warhorse. In this article, it will be proposed that
these values were insurance values attributed during state monetary evalutations of cavalry horses. On the horse market, these values may also have been
used as a guideline to establish selling prices for the horses. In such case, the
values attributed by the state could well have functioned as incentives for the
cavalrymen by means of which the Council tried to ensure that the horses received optimal training
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Talanta Proceedings of the Dutch historical and archaeological society 43, 2015
Xenophon analysed cavalry practises of several city states when he saw that the Athenians lost th... more Xenophon analysed cavalry practises of several city states when he saw that the Athenians lost their battles against specifically the Boeotians who grew stronger with their hamippoi formations, cavalry intermingled with infantry. He therefore put recommendations forward to the city of Athens to improve their cavalry. He wanted them to adopt the Boeotian tactics which required them to improve their horsemanship on the level that they would be able to 'collect' their horses on the battlefield so they would be able to control them in even very slow paces but also be able to accelerate really fast. He describes several exercises and formations to practise this. He hoped that by doing so the Athenians would be able to gain back their hegemony as a counter weight to the rise of Thebes.
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Quadripes: de edele viervoeter in de antieke Grieks-Romeinse wereld, Dec 1, 2017
Horses, horse riding and cavalry training in the ancient Greek-Roman world
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The difficult art of throwing a javelin from a moving horse explained: a rider needs to be in ful... more The difficult art of throwing a javelin from a moving horse explained: a rider needs to be in full control of not only the movements of his horse but of his own body, especially when throwing in a difference direction than the horse is moving to. It all starts with good rider training or 'horsemanship'.
In: Ancient Warfare Magazine Most ancient cavalrymen were either lightly or heavily armed, using shields, cuirasses, a cavalry sabre or sword called machaira or kopis, spears and javelins. Javelins were largely used in ancient warfare by almost every warring tribe or people, such as the Persians, the Numidians, the Scythians, Celtiberians and Celts. According to the Roman writer Vegetius, javelins could easily pierce cuirasses of both foot and horse, when thrown forcefully and skillfully. 2 Vegetius is not the only writer to remark on the skill required for adequate hurling of javelins, especially from horseback. In fact, it was such a difficult feat that Pliny wrote a book about it, called De Iaculatione Equestri. Unfortunately this is not extant. To find out why handling such weapons on horseback was not an effortless feat, I will primarily use the works of horseman experts like Xenophon (4 th century BC) writing on Greek cavalry and Arrian of Nicomedia (2 nd century AD) writing on Roman cavalry to discover the ins and outs of throwing a javelin from horseback.
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Athenian cavalry in Sicily suffered many defeats. To the Athenians this could have been a wake up... more Athenian cavalry in Sicily suffered many defeats. To the Athenians this could have been a wake up call that other city states had a better trained cavalry. The Sicilian cavalry apparently was able to fight against closed hoplite lines.
Cavalry had become increasingly important on the battlefield in Greece and the surrounding areas. It was a prelude to the Thebans and their hamippoi formations which would eventually lead to the genius stratagems of Philip of Macedon.
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Books by Annelies Koolen
Antologija Aforizama L. Periškin, 2022
Antologija Aforizama L. Periškin Sabrali, uredili i preveli od Hrvatski na Engleski od Stipe Perk... more Antologija Aforizama L. Periškin Sabrali, uredili i preveli od Hrvatski na Engleski od Stipe Perković i Annelies Koolen
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Saznanje je bolest , 2023
philosophical and literary passages from Russian and other writers
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Of Horses And Men - Developments in Greek Cavalry Training and Warfare (550 - 350 BC) with a Focus on Athens and Xenophon, 2012
Xenophon analysed cavalry practises of several city states when he saw that the Athenians lost th... more Xenophon analysed cavalry practises of several city states when he saw that the Athenians lost their battles against specifically the Boeotians who grew stronger with their hamippoi formations, cavalry intermingled with infantry. He therefore put recommendations forward to the city of Athens to improve their cavalry. He wanted them to adopt the Boeotian tactics which required them to improve their horsemanship on the level that they would be able to 'collect' their horses on the battlefield so they would be able to control them in even very slow paces but also be able to accelerate really fast. He describes several exercises and formations to practise this. He hoped that by doing so the Athenians would be able to gain back their hegemony as a counter weight to the rise of Thebes. This thesis offers an overview of cavalry tactics, cavalry training and a history of military horsemanship, which is the technology of cavalry warfare.
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MA Thesis by Annelies Koolen
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PhD Thesis Chapters by Annelies Koolen
Papers by Annelies Koolen
on a regular basis as well as a cavalry led by a commander who has tactical skill,
sufficient horsemanship and knowledge of horses. As a cavalry commander and
horseman Xenophon studied the developments on the battlefield during the
5th and 4th century BC. He carefully analysed cavalry tactics of various enemies
of Athens and he put forward recommendations on how the Athenians should
train their cavalry. His works On Horsemanship and On the Cavalry Commander
therefore show the most modern cavalry requirements of that time. They are
important documents showing how the different styles of cavalry deployment
came to influence each other. This paper wants to explain which foreign tactics
he studied and
the condition of the horses, but also of the acquired training level. Horse values
on lead tablets show that cavalry horses were evaluated each year, but these
values do not equal the amount of katastasis or loan granted by the state to each
cavalryman to purchase his warhorse. In this article, it will be proposed that
these values were insurance values attributed during state monetary evalutations of cavalry horses. On the horse market, these values may also have been
used as a guideline to establish selling prices for the horses. In such case, the
values attributed by the state could well have functioned as incentives for the
cavalrymen by means of which the Council tried to ensure that the horses received optimal training
In: Ancient Warfare Magazine Most ancient cavalrymen were either lightly or heavily armed, using shields, cuirasses, a cavalry sabre or sword called machaira or kopis, spears and javelins. Javelins were largely used in ancient warfare by almost every warring tribe or people, such as the Persians, the Numidians, the Scythians, Celtiberians and Celts. According to the Roman writer Vegetius, javelins could easily pierce cuirasses of both foot and horse, when thrown forcefully and skillfully. 2 Vegetius is not the only writer to remark on the skill required for adequate hurling of javelins, especially from horseback. In fact, it was such a difficult feat that Pliny wrote a book about it, called De Iaculatione Equestri. Unfortunately this is not extant. To find out why handling such weapons on horseback was not an effortless feat, I will primarily use the works of horseman experts like Xenophon (4 th century BC) writing on Greek cavalry and Arrian of Nicomedia (2 nd century AD) writing on Roman cavalry to discover the ins and outs of throwing a javelin from horseback.
Cavalry had become increasingly important on the battlefield in Greece and the surrounding areas. It was a prelude to the Thebans and their hamippoi formations which would eventually lead to the genius stratagems of Philip of Macedon.
Books by Annelies Koolen
MA Thesis by Annelies Koolen
on a regular basis as well as a cavalry led by a commander who has tactical skill,
sufficient horsemanship and knowledge of horses. As a cavalry commander and
horseman Xenophon studied the developments on the battlefield during the
5th and 4th century BC. He carefully analysed cavalry tactics of various enemies
of Athens and he put forward recommendations on how the Athenians should
train their cavalry. His works On Horsemanship and On the Cavalry Commander
therefore show the most modern cavalry requirements of that time. They are
important documents showing how the different styles of cavalry deployment
came to influence each other. This paper wants to explain which foreign tactics
he studied and
the condition of the horses, but also of the acquired training level. Horse values
on lead tablets show that cavalry horses were evaluated each year, but these
values do not equal the amount of katastasis or loan granted by the state to each
cavalryman to purchase his warhorse. In this article, it will be proposed that
these values were insurance values attributed during state monetary evalutations of cavalry horses. On the horse market, these values may also have been
used as a guideline to establish selling prices for the horses. In such case, the
values attributed by the state could well have functioned as incentives for the
cavalrymen by means of which the Council tried to ensure that the horses received optimal training
In: Ancient Warfare Magazine Most ancient cavalrymen were either lightly or heavily armed, using shields, cuirasses, a cavalry sabre or sword called machaira or kopis, spears and javelins. Javelins were largely used in ancient warfare by almost every warring tribe or people, such as the Persians, the Numidians, the Scythians, Celtiberians and Celts. According to the Roman writer Vegetius, javelins could easily pierce cuirasses of both foot and horse, when thrown forcefully and skillfully. 2 Vegetius is not the only writer to remark on the skill required for adequate hurling of javelins, especially from horseback. In fact, it was such a difficult feat that Pliny wrote a book about it, called De Iaculatione Equestri. Unfortunately this is not extant. To find out why handling such weapons on horseback was not an effortless feat, I will primarily use the works of horseman experts like Xenophon (4 th century BC) writing on Greek cavalry and Arrian of Nicomedia (2 nd century AD) writing on Roman cavalry to discover the ins and outs of throwing a javelin from horseback.
Cavalry had become increasingly important on the battlefield in Greece and the surrounding areas. It was a prelude to the Thebans and their hamippoi formations which would eventually lead to the genius stratagems of Philip of Macedon.