Ancient historian (Greece, Persia, war, history-writing). Darby Fellow in Ancient History at Lincoln College, Oxford. Moderator at r/AskHistorians. Ditch guy on YouTube.https://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3mlshf5jakc24A fun chat about many things to do with ancient warfare and its modern reception. Reconstructing ancient history requires imagination as well as research, and I tried to articulate the difference between "it is possible, but..." and "it is possible, therefore..." approaches to that fact [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 May 2026 09:01 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlshf5jakc24https://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3ml6bkvcd6k2pSee how he tries to coax the garbage engine to be a better researcher while also commanding it to be a prick. They are desperate for a way to learn things without becoming a better person [contains quote post or other embedded content]06 May 2026 08:23 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml6bkvcd6k2phttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3ml2i5ui5m22wPro tip for when you want to type this surname but all you have is a TV remote: "ditch guy" works [contains quote post or other embedded content]04 May 2026 20:11 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml2i5ui5m22whttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3mkgp5mjirc2yI was invited to speak at the Open House event of the new Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities @ox.ac.uk this weekend. A full house to watch me wave my hands a lot and talk about silly ideas in the study of Greek warfare26 Apr 2026 23:22 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkgp5mjirc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3mj3lij76rs2gHad a lot of fun talking in detail about the brutal oligachy of the Thirty that briefly ruled Athens (404-3 BCE) and its spectacular downfall. Sometimes democracy wins [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Apr 2026 19:52 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj3lij76rs2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3migklkzgcs2iIt's that time again [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Apr 2026 11:10 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3migklkzgcs2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3mf7gumaqgk2lAssassin's Creed: Odyssey used the battle of Thermopylai as its tutorial level and did its best to make "300" playable. I had some thoughts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRTlD_5A7qk19 Feb 2026 11:00 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3mf7gumaqgk2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3mexsggp2yc2oContemplating the situation at Cardiff Castle16 Feb 2026 10:05 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3mexsggp2yc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3mcxn3bi2oc26Jawel het is weer tijd voor de Oudheid [contains quote post or other embedded content]21 Jan 2026 21:39 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcxn3bi2oc26https://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3mcke4ltpq22wIncredible shot of the Hellenic Navy's new frigate Kimon being welcomed yesterday by the trireme Olympias and the armoured cruiser Averof (photo by Nick Dendris)16 Jan 2026 14:54 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcke4ltpq22whttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3mbwhg656422eA new episode of the Ancients podcast: @badancient.bsky.social and myself on the decline and fall of the Spartan Empire https://shows.acast.com/the-ancients/episodes/fall-of-sparta08 Jan 2026 17:00 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbwhg656422ehttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3mbby65lpok2eHit skeet courtesy of Silvannen Gerrard's excellent article in CQ 73.1 (2023), which you must read [contains quote post or other embedded content]31 Dec 2025 13:34 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbby65lpok2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3mavfqv2lcs27We looked at The Eagle (2011), which is the good one [contains quote post or other embedded content]26 Dec 2025 13:32 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3mavfqv2lcs27https://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3maiuuwpq6s2xSokrates vs prejudice is timeless. Fill in the blank with any group you like. (Plato, "Meno" 92b-c)21 Dec 2025 13:58 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3maiuuwpq6s2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3m62hu3qfnc2vTODAY: my talk on the Athenian democratic uprising of 403 BC at the ICS Ancient History Seminar. Was it really a democratic uprising from the start? Sign up to tune in: https://ics.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events/men-phyle-patterns-greek-civil-war20 Nov 2025 09:38 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3m62hu3qfnc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3m4obvg2krs23View of the ha-ha (also known as a blind fence or deer wall) at Langley Park. This is not a defensive ditch but a barrier that keeps sight lines open. Still, with just a couple stakes, you could easily--02 Nov 2025 19:54 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4obvg2krs23https://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3m4bhury4z22iA kind and informative review of my latest volume, The Economics of War in Ancient Greece, by Matthew Sears https://www.hsozkult.de/publicationreview/id/reb-155070?title=r-konijnendijk-u-a-hrsg-the-economics-of-war-in-ancient-greece28 Oct 2025 17:36 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4bhury4z22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3m3z7yaciac2eFantastic article in which actual experts on AI and higher education cut through the nonsense surrounding the infinite garbage engines and expose a system captured by the techbro sales pitch. "A general ban is necessary, but nobody dares to say so." [contains quote post or other embedded content]25 Oct 2025 10:54 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3z7yaciac2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3m3xh26lmi224Next week I will be a guest at the University of Mainz 🇩🇪 giving a lecture on military developments of the fourth century BCE as well as a workshop on approaches to public engagement in ancient history [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Oct 2025 17:55 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3xh26lmi224https://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3m2xef55t5c24Visited Saffron Walden today and admired its Great Ditch or Battle Ditch. The medieval town was unwalled; this earthwork (ditch + ramp) was its full defensive perimeter11 Oct 2025 23:42 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2xef55t5c24https://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3lyzgshrslk2gWriting a piece on Greek masculinity and I have now written the word 'man' so often it has become ridiculous. Men: ridiculous https://media.tenor.com/BlC6tJMrLS4AAAAC/normal-men-innocent-men.gif?hh=225&ww=30017 Sep 2025 08:40 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyzgshrslk2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3lwhlrgrczk2zLove to find myself and my ditch opinions mentioned as a favourite of amateur military historians in this podcast by @andreloez.bsky.social & friends [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Aug 2025 19:31 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwhlrgrczk2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/roelkonijn.bsky.social/post/3lwessneqkk2kA fun moment on the ol' hellsite14 Aug 2025 16:59 +0000at://did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwessneqkk2k