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For the next few posts, I want to take a look at how some ‘tribal’ peoples raised armies, in contrast to the way that ancient (or later) states raised armies. As moderns, we are so familiar with the way that states function that the far older systems of non-state organization and mobilization end up feeling … Continue reading Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part I: Aristocrats, Retainers and Clients →
12 months ago

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More from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry

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This week we’re going to do something a bit silly, in part because I have to prepare for and travel to an invited workshop/talk event later this week and so don’t have quite the time for a more normal ‘full’ post and in part because it is fun to be silly sometimes (and we might … Continue reading Collections: Alexander Goes West (A Silly Counterfactual) →

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Collections: Why Archers Didn’t Volley Fire

This week we’re looking at a specific visual motif common in TV and film: the arrow volley. You know the scene: the general readies his archers, he orders them to ‘draw!’ and then holds up his hand with that ‘wait for it’ gesture and then shouts ‘loose!’ (or worse yet, ‘fire!’) and all of the … Continue reading Collections: Why Archers Didn’t Volley Fire →

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“Photographs are born of the positives and negatives accumulated in a lifetime.” – Al Jaffee   Brooklyn-born Jay Jaffee (1921 – 1999) takes us to a New York City of energy, isolation, emotion and ambition. His sublime black-and-white photographs evoke stories in their textured and balanced blend of of lights and shadow. Having served as … Continue reading "New York City Streets by Al Jaffee" The post New York City Streets by Al Jaffee appeared first on Flashbak.

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