Ancient military historian rates 9 more battle scenes

Historian Roel Konijnendijk reviews ancient warfare scenes and battle tactics in movies and TV shows.

He looks at the naval battle and gladiator fights depicted in “Gladiator II,” starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, and Denzel Washington. He talks about how armies would signal attacks in season two of “House of the Dragon,” starring Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, and Olivia Cooke. He breaks down the many siege warfare methods in “Prince of Persia,” starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kingsley, and Gemma Arterton; and season two of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” He discusses the purposes behind cavalry charges in “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, and Viggo Mortensen; and “Kingdom of Heaven,” starring Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, and Edward Norton. He explains the ancient Greek shock tactics in “300: Rise of an Empire,” starring Eva Green and Lena Headey. He points out how line formations operate in “Rome,” starring Tobias Menzies and Kerry Condon. Finally, he examines the strengths and weaknesses of Kublai Khan’s army in “Marco Polo,” starring Benedict Wong.

Roel Konijnendijk is a historian of ancient warfare at Lincoln College, University of Oxford. He specializes in classical Greek warfare.

You can find Roel on social media here on Bluesky or X (formerly Twitter).