The Society of Ancients (SoA) is an international, non-profit organization[1] based in the UK that aims to promote interest in Ancient & Medieval history and wargaming, covering the periods from 3000BC to 1500AD.
The Society publishes a bi-monthly journal entitled Slingshot. Membership proceeds are used, among other things, to fund the publication of the magazine and to sponsor wargames competitions which fall within the society's remit. The Society commonly has a presence at large conventions across the UK and overseas.
Founded in 1965 by Tony Bath, the Society started with 20 members.[2] During the next decade it increased in membership by at least 50% every year.[3] Currently the worldwide membership is around 700. Early members included the actor Deryck Guyler (who served as president of the society[4]), the academic George Gush, Tony Bath and Phil Barker, co-creator of the many sets of rules published by WRG including the De Bellis Antiquitatis wargames rules.
The society concentrates on historical wargaming - a decision to exclude fantasy was made around ten years after it was founded.[5] Among other competitions and events the Society organises are an annual Convention and a Battle Day (more below).
Slingshot
Slingshot Issue 360 showing selection of old covers including Issue 1
The society publishes a bi-monthly journal, "Slingshot".[6] It has been described as the periodical of most interest to ancient Wargamers.[7] 2025 has seen the 60th Anniversary and 360th edition of Slingshot.[8] Articles are a mixture of those on historical topics - ancient military manoeuvres, ancient arms and armour and similar - and those specifically about wargaming, such as rules discussions and war game reports. There are also book reviews and reviews of new rules and wargaming figures.[3] It is occasionally referenced in academic publications.[9][10]
Contributing writers include noted historians such as Adrian Goldsworthy[11] and Boris Rankov.[12] Other professional historians who have written for Slingshot include Philip Sabin, Matthew Bennett, Guy Halsall, Paddy Griffith, Nigel Tallis and Steve Badsey. Other contributors have become published authors, either before, or subsequently to their contributions. The magazine has also carried material written by notable games designers (for example, Phil Barker, Richard Bodley Scott, Jervis Johnson, Rick Priestley and Neil Thomas).
Initially, Slingshot was edited by Tony Bath and indeed was produced by him with the help of his wife using a borrowed duplicator. When this fell through, Tony Bath was able to purchase cheaply a spirit duplicator with which it was produced from May 1965.[13] From March 1969 it has been commercially printed.[14]
The current editor of Slingshot is Richard Taylor
SoA Convention
In 2016 the Society held its first Annual Conference (since renamed to the Annual Convention). The Convention is an opportunity for members to listen to talks on ancient history and to play wargames. Many of these games are beautifully presented demonstration-standard games and others may link with the topic of the talks, or are intended to test new rules systems. Some of the latter have since been published by the Society for a wider audience, such as Simon MacDowall's Alala! or Adrian Nayler's Blood Red Roses.
Keynote speakers have included best selling authors and distinguished academics most of whom have also been long time members of the Society such as, David McDermott, Ben Kane, John Bassett and Harry Sidebottom.
SoA Battle Day
The Battle Day is usually a one-day events where a single historical battle is re-enacted using a number of different rulesets, often introduced by a short introductory talk by an expert on the time period. Battles are run on numerous different sets of rules and with figure scales across the whole range from 2mm to 54mm. Conflicts covered have included Gaugamela, the Sambre, Cynoscephalae,[15]Kadesh, Zama, Plataea, Mantinea, Illipa and Maldon.[1][16][17][18] The 2026 Battle Day will be based on the battle of Cunaxa.
Other publications
The Society has also published a number of wargames with ancient or medieval themes, including:
Gladiolus (1992), a card-based game of gladiatorial single combat.[19]
Legion (1997), a board game that simulates ancient battle on a hex grid.[20]
Lytel GuÞan (1999), a skirmish game for Dark Ages Britain.[21]
The Saxon Shore is Burning (2002, revised edition 2018), a strategic game set during the Great Conspiracy against Roman Britain of AD 367.[22]
Alala! (Wargames Rules for Greek Hoplite Battles) (2024), by Simon MacDowall [23]
Blood Red Roses (A game of Battles in the Wars of the Roses) (2024) by Adrian Nayler [24]
Other Publications include:
Simple Campaigning (2015) by John Graham-Leigh[25]
The Goths - 1: From Berig to the Battle of Adrianople (2021), by Michael Fredholm von Essen
The Goths - 2: From Alaric to Theoderic the Great and Beyond (2022), by Michael Fredholm von Essen
External References to the Society
As articles in Slingshot are sometimes by well known and respected authorities articles are sometime referenced in other works such as:
Army of Alexander the Great: 1 (From Alexander to Adrianople 3000 BCE-400 CE), by Richard Taylor[28]
Almost since the Society's inception, it has been a commonplace for books about ancient and medieval wargaming, and relevant rule sets, to mention the society. Examples of wargaming books include:
↑ Taylor, Richard (15 October 2020). The Macedonian Phalanx, Equipment, organization and tactics from Philip and Alexander to the Roman conquest. Great Britain: Pen and Sword Military. pp.413, 415, 417, 420, 424, 445. ISBN9781526748157.
↑ Taylor, Richard (26 November 2021). The Greek Hoplite Phalanx. Great Britain: Pen & Sword Military. p.521. ISBN9781526788566.
↑ Taylor, Richard (26 April 2025). Army of Alexander the Great: 1 (From Alexander to Adrianople 3000 BCE-400 CE). Great Britain: Helion & Company (published 2025). p.57. ISBN1804517704.
↑ The Ancient War Game, by Charles Grant (published by Adam and Charles Black, 1974), devotes an entire Appendix to the SoA, starting on page 151: “No book concerning itself with ancient wargaming could be complete without a reference to the Society of Ancients, the organisation which concerns itself with the study of military history in the ancient and medieval periods and with wargaming in the same epochs”.
↑ Ancient Wargaming, by Phil Barker, page 64 (published by Patrick Stephens Ltd./Airfix, 1975) - “All ancient wargamers benefit by belonging to the Society of Ancients, who publish the bi-monthly journal Slingshot, which is essential reading”.
↑ Introduction to Battle Gaming, by Terence Wise, page 157 (published by Model and Allied Publications Ltd., 1969).
↑ Wargames Through the Ages, 3000BC to 1500AD, by Donald Featherstone, page 17 (Stanley Paul, 1972): “the Society of Ancients … are the most enthusiastic and well-informed body of international wargamers specialising in the Ancient and Medieval periods. Membership of this Society should be a top priority for any wargamer interested in the period”.
↑ MacDowall, Simon (31 December 1991). Goths, Huns and Romans. Great Britain: Argus Books. p.94. ISBN9781854860118.
↑ Mersey, Daniel (2017). A Wargamer's Guide to the Early Roman Empire. Great Britain: Pen & Sword. p.121. ISBN1473849551.
↑ De Bellis Antiquitatis by Phil Barker, page 52 (version 2.2, published by Wargames Research Group, 2004)
↑ De Bellis Multitudinis, by Phil Barker, page 27 (version 3.0, published by Wargames Research Group, 2000) - “a long established world-wide society for all interested in ancient and medieval warfare”.
↑ Warhammer Ancient Battles, by Jervis Johnson, Rick Priestley, Alan and Michael Perry, page 144 (latest edition published by Games Workshop 2005, from which this reference is taken; original version published 1998). The SoA is mentioned alongside the Lance and Longbow Society: “If you’re seriously into ancient and medieval wargaming then you really should be a member of these two societies. Their respective bi-monthly publications, Slingshot and Hobilar are gold mines of ideas and inspiration!”. Other WAB supplements which use similar references, all published by Games Workshop, include: Alexander the Great, by Jeff Jonas (p. 127, 2003); Siege and Conquest, by Guy Bowers (p. 144, 2007); The Age of Arthur, by Steve Jones and James Morris (p 144, 2007); The Art of War, by John Kersey (p. 144, 2007); Hannibal and the Punic Wars, by Allen E. Curtis (p. 112, 2005); Spartacus, by Simon Brown (p. 47, 2004); Fall of the West, by John Lambshead and Leslie Newsom (p. 80, 2002); Byzantium: Beyond the Golden Gate, by Heine Baekkelund (p. 128, 2005); El Cid, by James Morris (p. 64, 2003).
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