Aelianus Tacticus THE TACTIKS OF AELIAN 1616 Antique Leatherbound Engraved Plates Woodcuts Fold-Out Military Greek Greece Soldiers Formations Weapons Phalanx Technical Details History Aegius Gelius Woudrichem Laurence Lisle

Title: The Tactiks of Aelian or Art of Embattailing an Army After Ye Grecian Manner. Englished and Illustrated with Figures Throughout: and Notes upon Ye Chapters of Ye Ordinary Motions of Ye Phalange by J[ohn]. B[ingham].
Author: Aelianus Tacticus - Aelianus Tacticus, also known as Aelian, was a Greek military writer who lived in Rome.
Publisher: For Laurence Lisle
City: London
Year: 1616
Binding Style: Hardcover
Pagination: 159, [6] pages, plus 49 plates
Width: 7.75" Height: 11.5"
Book Details: This fascinating antique small folio is bound in full leather with an engraved architectural title by Aegius Gelius of Woudrichem in Holland. The text is enhanced with 49 detailed, mostly folding engraved plates of various sizes; woodcut headpieces and decorative initials are found throughout the text.

The Tactiks of Aelian is a handbook of Greek, i.e. Macedonian, drill and tactics as practised by the Hellenistic successors of Alexander the Great. The author claims to have consulted all the best authorities, the chief of which was a lost treatise on the subject by Polybius. Perhaps the chief value of Aelian's work lies in his critical account of preceding works on the art of war, and in the fulness of his technical details in matters of drill. It was of the highest value to the army organizers of the sixteenth century, who were engaged in fashioning a regular military system out of the semi-feudal systems of previous generations.

The first significant reference to the influence of Aelian in the 16th century is a letter to Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange from his cousin William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg on December 8, 1594. The letter is influential in supporting the thesis of the early-modern Military Revolution. In the letter William Louis discusses the use of ranks by soldiers of Imperial Rome as discussed in Aelian's Tactica. Aelian was discussing the use of the counter march in the context of the Roman sword gladius and spear pilum. William Louis in a 'crucial leap' realized that the same technique could work for men with firearms.
Condition / Notes: This amazing antique volume displays some indications of age and wear appropriate to its age. The book is mostly disbound, lacking a spine, with detached boards and loose pages. There are 49 individual engraved plates. The front pastedown endpaper was taken from another Latin text. The elaborately engraved title page shows chipping and small tears, with loss to the bottom of the page. Text and illustrations are clear and crisp through mild/moderate age toning/foxing, with some soiling/fire/moisture markings to the margins as well as to the boards.

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