Ancient warfare featured many types of soldiers, from heavily armored warriors with giant weapons to fighters preferring bows or slingshots. Light infantrymen were often quite competitive on the battlefield, using swift movement and long-distance combat to gain a crucial advantage over their slower opponents – though there were always risks involved.

Theme: Light infantry and auxiliaries

• Jasper Oorthuys, Introduction to the theme
• Nick Barley, Thucydides on light infantry
• Sidney Dean, Warrior portrait: Peltasts
• Ross Cowan, Lanciarii of the Roman army
• Stephen English, Macedonian 'heavy' infantry
• Paul Elliott, The Power of the sling

Features

• Chris Martin, Belisarius' best battle
• Christian Koepfer, A history of European shields, part 2
• Murray Dahm, Read your Homer