My Articles

Aside from this blog, I also write books, articles, and web posts in other places. You can see my newest magazine article here and my newest academic publication here (last update: November 2023).  My Resources page has links to webpages and other informal / dynamic publications.  My Talks page has links to videos, transcripts, and slideshows from presentations.

Books ←

1. Armed Force in the Teispid-Achaemenid Empire: Past Approaches, Future Prospects. Oriens et Occidens 32 (Franz Steiner Verlag: Stuttgart, 2021) 437 p., 8 b/w ill, 4 b/w tables. ISBN 978-3-515-12775-2 EUR 74,– (softcover) http://www.steiner-verlag.de/titel/9783515127752.html {an extensively revised version of my PhD thesis with maps, illustrations, and translations} (WorldCat / Goodreads / LibraryThing Reviews: h-soz-kult (S. Müller) / AW XIV.6 (W. Shepherd) / The Classical Review (M. Weiskopf) / Ancient History Bulletin (J. Rop) / Acta Fakulty filozofické Západočeské univerzity v Plzni (P. Vaverka) / Karanos 4, 2021 pp. 111-113 (M. Ferrario) / Res Militares (Society of Ancient Military Historians) Vol. 21 Nr. 1 pp. 10, 11 (J. Hyland) / Abstracta Iranica ( Sébastien Gondet) / Мнемон “Memnon” (St. Petersburg) 21 (2021) pp. 212-215 (A. Nefedkin) / Greece and Rome vol. 70 issue 1 (Kostas Vlassopoulos, 2023) / Electrum vol. 30 (Edward Dąbrowa, 2023) ←

Theses and Dissertations (2) ←

1. Service and Supply in the Achaemenid Army (MA thesis, University of Calgary, 2013) http://hdl.handle.net/11023/648 ←
2. Armed Force in the Teispid-Achaemenid Empire (PhD Dissertation, LFU Innsbruck, 2018) http://diglib.uibk.ac.at/urn:nbn:at:at-ubi:1-30064 (Note that this is a warts-and-all version, with problems in the footnotes and bibliography- in Austria, you correct the dissertation when you publish it rather than in the weeks after the defense) ←

Magazine Articles (28) ←

1. “Persian Standards in the Fifth and Fourth Century BCE,” Ancient Warfare Magazine III.6 (2009): What kind of battle standards did Achaemenid armies use?  And is it a coincidence that the first Greek or Macedonian general known to have used one is Alexander’s favourite Hephaistion? (for sale from Karawansaray BV)
2. “Some Thoughts on Finance and Supply in the Cyropaedia,” Cyrus’ Paradise Online Conference (2012): Why doesn’t Xenophon say more about the sinews of war in the Cyropaedia? (migrated to bookandsword.com in 2024)
3. “The Cyropaedia and Later Prose Fictions,” Cyrus’ Paradise Online Conference (2012): Is the use of a narrative to sweeten teaching so unusual? (migrated to bookandsword.com in 2024)
4. “Raising Cyrus’ Army,” Ancient Warfare Magazine VII.5 (2013): A shorter version of my MA thesis (for sale from Karawansaray BV)
5. “On Flaming Sparrows and Incendiary Cats,” Medieval Warfare Magazine IV.5 (2014): What should we make about stories that famous generals used flaming animals to destroy their enemies? (for sale from Karawansaray BV)
6. “A War at Sea? The Victoria Navalis,” Ancient Warfare Magazine VIII.5 (2014): Do Roman coins with the legend VICTORIA NAVALIS commemorate the first Jewish revolt? (for sale from Karawansaray BV)
7. “The Source: The Hittite Guards’ Rule,” Ancient Warfare Magazine IX.3 (2015): What was life like in the bodyguard of the Hittite kings? (for sale from Karawansaray BV).
8. “The Achaemenid storehouse at Arad: Reading potsherds,” Ancient Warfare Magazine X.4 (2016) What was life like for guards at the storehouse at Arad in Idumaea? (for sale from Karawansaray BV)
9. “Counting the words that remain: Survival of the fittest,” Ancient History 7 (2016): How many words do the ancient texts in different languages add up to? And just how many ancient languages can we read today? (for sale from Karawansaray BV)
10. “The battle between order and chaos: Marduk and Tiamat.” Ancient History 9 (2017): How did Marduk and Tiamat come to battle for rule of the cosmos? (for sale from Karawansaray BV)
11. “Reviving an ancient fighting style: So you want to be a hoplite’,” Ancient Warfare XI.2 (2017) pp. 44-47 If you want to learn to fight with aspis and spear, what is the best way to go about it? (for sale from Karwansaray BV)
12. “The merchant of Prato’s little secret: Hidden protections,” Medieval Warfare VIII.1 (2018) pp. 18, 19 What kinds of armour were made to be concealed in fourteenth century Italy? How much did they cost and weigh? (for sale from Karwansaray BV) ←
13. “Metal Madness: Does Iron Trump Bronze?” Ancient Warfare XI.6 (2018) pp. 52-53 Where do our images of iron shattering bronze come from? https://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/ancient-warfare-xi-6.html ←
14. “The King’s Men: Achaemenid Conscription in Babylonia,” Forschungsschwerpunkt „Kulturelle Begegnungen – Kulturelle Konflikte“ Junge Forschung #07 https://www.uibk.ac.at/fsp-kultur/junge-forschung/texte/manning-altorientalistik-wehrpflicht.html (2 April 2019)
15. “Passes of the Antitaurus: Kaneš to Kayserei in 4,000 Years,” Ancient Warfare XIII.2 (2019) pp. 22-25 Why have merchants and mercenaries tramped through the same small town for 4,000 years? (for sale from Karwansaray BV) ←
16. “The Achaemenid Empire’s Jewish soldiers: Serving the Great King,” Ancient Warfare XIII.5 (2020) pp. 34-37 (for sale from Karwansaray BV) ←
17. “The Amathus Bowl, ca. 700 BC: World of mercenaries,” Ancient Warfare XIII.5 (2020) pp. 24-25 (for sale from Karwansaray BV) ←
18. “Turning Your Back: The Late Reinvention of Backplates.” Medieval Warfare X.4 (2020) pp. 38-41 (for sale from Karwansaray BV) {backplates which span the whole back reappear in Europe in the 1410s after a thousand years of absence, and were not universal for a century more … why does this important area remain lightly protected?} ←
19. “Assyrian Battering Rams: A City-Breaching Buddy System,” Ancient Warfare XIV.3 (2021) pp. 14-19 ←
20. “Equipping the King’s Men: Documents, Art, and Stories,” Ancient Warfare XIV.4 (2021) pp. 34-39 https://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/ancient-warfare-xiv-4.html {if we combine all types of sources, a distinctive new picture of the armies of Darius and Xerxes emerges} ←
21. “The Way of the Future: Studying the Assyrian Army,” Ancient Warfare XIV.6 (2021) pp. 14-17 ←
22. “Los guerreros del gran rey,” Desperta Ferro Antigua y Medieval no. 67 (2021) pp. 20-24 https://www.despertaferro-ediciones.com/revistas/numero/67-esparta-batalla-paso-de-las-termopilas/ ←
23. “Body-armour of glued linen? The origin of the idea of glued linen armour,” Ancient World Magazine, 15 September 2021 https://www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/glued-linen-armour/ {a summary of my article in Mouseion 17.3} ←
24. “The Legacy of Akhenaten: Destruction and Rediscovery.” Ancient History 41 (2022) pp. 40-45 https://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/pages/the-magazine-ancient-history ←
25. “The Cutting Edge: The Development of Greek Swords in the Archaic Age,” Ancient Warfare XVI.2 (2023) pp. 22-25 ←
26. “Phalangites with javelins – A preponderance of points,” Ancient Warfare XVI.6 (2023) pp. 36-39 (typo alert: the Greek duellist was Dioxippus not Deixippus) https://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/en-ca/products/ancient-warfare-xvi-6 ←
27. “The Hjortspring Finds: A Hidden Treasure from Denmark,” Ancient Warfare XVII.1 (2024) pp. 8-11
28. “Give point! Swords & Armour at Benevento,” Medieval World 11 (2024) pp. 44-47

“All the Reds, Blues, and Greens: Painting and Pigments in Ancient Egypt,” Ancient History 49, pp. 50-53 will appear in early 2024.

Journal Articles (8 printed + 3 in press) ←

1. “A Prosopography of the Followers of Cyrus the Younger,” Ancient History Bulletin 32.1-2 (2018) pp. 1-24 hosted here What do we know about the men left out of “The Mercenaries of Cyrus”? (I will be allowed to post a free copy here in June 2020) ←
2. Jack W.G. Schropp and Sean Manning, “‘Too Many for an Embassy, Too Few for an Army’: On The Origin and Scope of a Tigranic Dictum.” Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 212 (2019) pp. 83–88 {how does a quote in Plutarch’s Life of Lucullus echo an Aramaic story about the Assyrian Brothers’ War between Šamaš-šum-ukin and Assurbanipal? Free to download (here) since October 2020} ←
3. “The History of the Idea of Glued Linen Armour,” Mouseion 17.3 (2020) pp. 492-514 https://doi.org/10.3138/mous.17.3.003 ←
4. “War and Soldiers in the Achaemenid Empire: Some Historiographical and Methodological Considerations.” In Kai Ruffing, Kerstin Droß-Krüpe, Sebastian Fink, and Robert Rollinger (eds.), Societies at War: Proceedings of the 10th Symposium of the Melammu Project held in Kassel September 26-28 2016 and Proceedings of the 8th Symposium of the Melammu Project held in Kiel November 11-15 2014 (Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften: Vienna, 2020) pp. 495-515 (PDF copy available to anyone who asks) {in the 1980s, two movements set the direction for Achaemenid studies and early Greek military history into the 2010s. Why did these fields of research take such divergent courses, and how can we approach the topic from the perspective of today rather than the late Cold War?} ←
5. (with Julian Degen) “Chapter 106: History of Research in Western Europe.” In Bruno Jacobs and Robert Rollinger (eds.), A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire, 2 vols., Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World (Wiley-Blackwell: Oxford, 2021) pp. 1563-1608 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781119071860 ←
6. “The Armies of the Teispids and Achaemenids: The Armies of an Ancient World Empire,” Journal of Ancient Civilizations Vol. 27 Nr. 2 (2022) pp. 147-192 JAC article hosted here (free to download since December 2023) {a shorter version of my first book focused on the differences between the Achaemenid Empire and the Roman or British empires, and on providing a summary of what is actually known versus where ideas come from and the arguments against them} ←
7. (with Sebastian Fink) “Caltrops at the Battle of Gaugamela,” in Krzysztof Ulanowski and Bogdan Burliga, eds., Καθηγητής: Studies in Ancient History, Warfare and Art … (Harrasowitz Verlag, 2023) pp. 117-126 Publisher’s Website ←
8. “Quilted Armour in the Frankish Countries, Part 1: The Twelfth Century,” in Cordelia Warr ed., Medieval Clothing and Textiles 18 (The Boydell Press: Woodbridge, 2024) pp. 1-40 ←

In the age of the Internet, the distinction between published and in press is mostly for academic hiring and promotion (and deciding how to assess research outside your areas of expertise). In September 2023 I decided to split this section up.

1. “What the Works of Fiore dei Liberi Tell Us About Mnemonics in Popular Culture,” pre-print of an as yet untitled conference proceedings from 2013. What can reading about medieval memory teach us about reading fencing manuals, and what can reading fencing manuals teach us about medieval memory? (available for free download)
2. “Get to the Point: What Questions Should We Ask About a Spear?” in Graham Wrightson (ed.), Proceedings of the 2022 International Ancient Warfare Conference (Cambridge Scholars Publishing) in press as of April 2023 ←
3. “Plywood shields in European history,” Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies 23/24 (2022/23) in press as of March 2024 ←

An article on roads and an article on plywood shields are submitted but not yet in press or in print as of November 2023.

Reviews (5) ←

1. “Review: The Theory and Practice of Historical Martial Arts (Guy Windsor, 2018) https://www.bookandsword.com/2019/04/06/oh-the-scholar-and-the-swordsman-should-be-friends/
2. “Review: Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West (Guy Halsall, 2003)” Ancient World Magazine, 12 June 2020 https://www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/warfare-society-barbarian-west-2003/
3. Review: “The Macedonian Phalanx (Richard Taylor, 2020)” https://www.bookandsword.com/2021/06/12/review-richard-taylor-the-macedonian-phalanx/
4. “Review: King of the World (Matthew Waters, 2022)” Argo: A Hellenic Review, Issue 17 (Spring/Summer 2023) pp. 47-48
5. “Review: The Greek Hoplite Phalanx: The Iconic Heavy Infantry of Classical Greece (Richard Taylor, 2021)” https://www.bookandsword.com/2023/07/08/review-the-greek-hoplite-phalanx-by-richard-taylor/

I count any review of a book on ancient world studies for which I received a complimentary copy. If the publisher considers the place I published it worth a review copy, that is good enough for me.

Contributions to Web Projects ←

Contributor to Pleiades (since December 2023

Media Appearances (5) ←

1. “The Hittites and their Successors,” Ancient Warfare Podcast, 20 December 2015 https://ancientwarfare.libsyn.com/the-hittites-and-their-successors
2. “The Empires of Persia at War,” Ancient Warfare Podcast, 16 January 2017 https://ancientwarfare.libsyn.com/the-empires-of-persia-at-war
3. Consultant for Jason Winter, “Battling Bishops and Crushing Clerics: Why Can’t Your RPG Healer Use A Sword?” MmoBomb, 10 September 2018 https://www.mmobomb.com/battling-bishops-crushing-clerics-cant-rpg-healer-use-sword
4. “How the ancient Persians managed to create and hold a vast empire,” War Scholar podcast 9 March 2021 https://warscholar.org/how-the-ancient-persians-managed-to-create-and-hold-a-vast-empire-with-sean-manning/
5. “Interview: Sean Manning,” The History of Persia Podcast with Trevor Culley, 10 May 2021 https://historyofpersiapodcast.com/2021/05/10/interview-sean-manning/

Working Papers (4) ←

1. “What Woods Were Used for Shields in Iron Age Europe?” (May 2022) On bookandsword.com ~ ←
2. “Call for Sources: Spears in the Roman World” (January 2022) On bookandsword.com ←
3. “Call for Sources: The Organic Components of Scale Armour in Antiquity” version 1.5 (November 2023) {Ancient scale and lamellar armour with traces of the textile and leather components is known from Tutankhamun’s tomb, Nimrud in Iraq, a number of Scythian graves from the North Black Sea such as the Nymphaeum in Crimea, Gordion in Turkey, Golyamata Mogila in Bulgaria, Dervini in Greek Macedonia, Vize/Bizye in Turkey, Carnuntum in Austria, Carpow in Scotland, Baumgarten an der March in Austria, Straubing in Germany, Dura-Europos in Syria, and Keranis in Egypt … what finds west of the Takalamakan with traces of the lacing, backing, or edge bindings am I missing?} On bookandsword.com ←
4. “Discussion Paper: Provincializing Europe and Deprovincializing the Achaemenid Empire” Forschungsschwerpunkt „Kulturelle Begegnungen – Kulturelle Konflikte, University of Innsbruck Discussion Papers 1 (2015)
   https://www.uibk.ac.at/fsp-kultur/fp-prk/cluster/politische-aesthetik/diskussionspapiere-1-2015.pdf {An Achaemenid Studies scholar and a postcolonial theorist walk into a bar …}