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Hi all,
I'm currently planning a topic for my senior honors thesis for my fall semester, and I figured the members of RAT would be of great help. I've narrowed my topic down to something concerning siege warfare. The professor who is sponsoring me on this assignment is very proficient in ancient and medieval sieges, with a lot of his work directed toward the sieges of Jerusalem and Masada. I've already written one paper for him on the siege of Masada, and I'd prefer to choose a different site. I was wondering what the members of RAT believe to be the greatest Roman siege? Any details you'd like to include as far as why it is significant and primary sources are most welcome. Obviously great examples such as Alesia are already on my list, but I wouldn't mind exploring options, or even looking at examples that aren't in mainstream discussion.
Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you all!
Gaius Tertius Severus "Terti" / Trey Starnes
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Numantia 134-3 BC - it secured Rome's conquest of Spain.
Alesia 52 BC- it secured Rome's conquest of Gaul.
Jerusalem 70 AD - the end of a long, dirty war.
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Carthage in 146. The story is told by Appian of Alexandria and archaeologist are now finding the remains: sling stones, mostly.
Jona Lendering
Relevance is the enemy of history
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For sieges, you should probably read this.
** Vincula/Lucy **
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How about something later? The siege of Amida is covered in great detail by Ammianus; then there is Dura Europos, for which there is considerable archeological evidence.
Felix Wang
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Thanks for all of your comments!
Given the nature of the professor that I am studying under, and his preference of middle eastern themes, I think I'm going to to do the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70 under Titus. However, I was wondering if anyone knows of any great sieges in the wars with Parthia (any of them)? I can't recollect the name, but I had heard something about one fortress being impenetrable, and I was wondering if anybody knew the name or had any details?
Thanks!
Gaius Tertius Severus "Terti" / Trey Starnes
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Hatra!
Have a look at Cassius Dio 68.31.1-4 (Trajan) and 76.10.1-3 (supplemented by Herodian 3.9.1-7; Septimius Severus).
I wrote about the Severan siege, a loooong time ago, in the proceedings of a colloquium which might be in your library:
P. Freeman & D. Kennedy, The Defence of the Roman and Byzantine East: Proceedings of a colloquium held at the University of Sheffield in April 1986 (Oxford: BAR, 1986), pp. 51-58.
Dave Kennedy wrote about it in the same volume. (We were both replying to an earlier paper by Michael Speidel, in Mavors 1.)
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Lilybaeum (in spite of failure), the First Punic War.
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Caesar's siege at Avaricum (Bourges) is also pretty interesting due to the extensive pioneer works.
Aka
Christoph
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Hey, Trader.
Did you pick a seige yet?
** Vincula/Lucy **
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Vincula,
Yes, I finally decided to analyze the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70 by Titus. The Professor who is guiding me on this project has written extensively on the subject and I felt that with his supervision I should at least do something that he is knowledgeable on, and interested in. I just purchased Josephus' The Jewish War and I am looking forward to getting started on it very soon. The project itself isn't due until December, but I wanted to make sure I get my sources in order and have enough references.
Thanks for asking, I'll be sure to let the members of RAT know how it goes, and what sort of grade I get!
Gaius Tertius Severus "Terti" / Trey Starnes
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You have a famous professor? 
** Vincula/Lucy **
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Haha, yeah I think I do. Dr. Eric Cline is the Chair of the Classics Department and Head of the Archaeology Program at George Washington University in Washington DC. He's been the History Channel and Discovery Channel more times than I can count and has published two books, Jerusalem Besieged and The Battles of Armageddon.
His home page is here: [url  zih078s]http://home.gwu.edu/%7Eehcline/[/url]
Probably the best professor I've ever had, he is very committed, knowledgeable, and loves conveying his knowledge to others. I happened upon his course by accident and it ended up becoming my major. Strange how that happens.
Enjoy!
Gaius Tertius Severus "Terti" / Trey Starnes
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But hasnt it all been said before?
Wouldnt you be better of witha diffrent seige, Trey?
** Vincula/Lucy **
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Lucy,
Yeah I suppose it might be better for me to pick another siege. There are definitely others out there that are interesting and less work has been performed on. I'm still debating whether or not I want to stick with this one. I almost feel compelled to work on this one because my last paper for Dr. Cline was an analysis of the siege of Masada, and I felt I should complete the Jewish War for him.
I'm still open to suggestions, and I wouldn't mind tackling something that maybe isn't that well known or that hasn't been analyzed in detail...I'm still looking and I'll be sure to keep the members of RAT informed as to my selection, and I'm sure I'll be here to ask for help with sources. Thanks!
Gaius Tertius Severus "Terti" / Trey Starnes
"ESSE QUAM VIDERE"
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