Tag Archives: ransom

How Rome Conquered the World (Part 2)

Posted on August 20, 2008 by 100swallows

So Polybius told the Romans how they had nearly lost their city because they refused to ransom their own soldiers. What was that story? Hannibal’s biggest victory was at Cannae. He annihilated the Roman army of 50,000 and took about … Continue reading →

Posted in books, history, Romans, warfare | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Pirates Capture Cervantes

Posted on March 11, 2008 by 100swallows

Cervantes had had enough of soldiering. He had seen some famous action in Lepanto but much more inaction on marches and in barracks. He was in the best years of his life and now he had made up his mind … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Cervantes, history, literature, Spain | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments