Jednostka na polu bitwy w źródłach późnoantycznych – wybrane przykłady

Abstract

An individual on the battlfield in late-antique sources – selected examplesSince the very beginning of human civilization, warfare has always been associated with the history of mankind. As a consequence of wars, some empires were created and others disappeared. The decisions of great generals, the grand strategies of the armies and the spectacular battles have been of interest to historians ever since the beginning of historiography. The longer the time-interval from the described situations the more wars tended to be regarded exclusively as phenomena in macro-scale, where the individual human being seemed to be completely insignificant and deprived of any meaning in comparison with the mass of soldiers. In the course of the last few decades one can observe a change in that tendency. Scholars are more and more often interested in individuals and this trend is visible even in such a distant epoch as antiquity. Some detailed analyses have revealed that although so many years have passed, individuals on the battlefield aren’t completely anonymous, and our sources let us formulate some opinions about the behavior of individuals during battle. Focusing on the individual soldier may allow us to take a closer look at an ancient battle, see the reality through his eyes and ultimately perceive things we have never been aware of