Editing Psychological warfare (section)

===Early===
[[File:Napoli BW 2013-05-16 16-24-01 DxO.jpg|thumb|left|Mosaic of [[Alexander the Great]] on his campaign against the [[Persian Empire]].]]

Currying favor with supporters was the other side of psychological warfare, and an early practitioner of this was [[Alexander the Great]], who [[Wars of Alexander the Great|successfully conquered]] large parts of [[Europe]] and the [[Middle East]] and held on to his territorial gains by co-opting local elites into the Greek administration and culture. Alexander left some of his men behind in each conquered city to introduce Greek culture and oppress dissident views. His soldiers were paid dowries to marry locals<ref>Lance B. Curke Ph.D., ''The Wisdom of Alexander the Great: Enduring Leadership Lessons From the Man Who Created an Empire'' (2004) p. 66</ref> in an effort to encourage [[Cultural assimilation|assimilation]].

[[Genghis Khan]], leader of the [[Mongol Empire]] in the 13th century AD employed less-subtle techniques. Defeating the will of the enemy before having to attack and reaching a consented settlement was preferable to facing his wrath. The Mongol generals demanded submission to the Khan and threatened the initially captured villages with complete destruction if they refused to surrender. If they had to fight to take the settlement, the Mongol generals fulfilled their threats and massacred the survivors. Tales of the encroaching horde spread to the next villages and created an aura of insecurity that undermined the possibility of future resistance.<ref>David Nicolle, ''The Mongol Warlords: Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, Hulegu, Tamerlane'' (2004) p. 21</ref>

Genghis Khan also employed tactics that made his numbers seem greater than they actually were. During night operations he ordered each soldier to light three torches at dusk to give the illusion of an overwhelming army and deceive and intimidate enemy scouts. He also sometimes had objects tied to the tails of his horses, so that riding on open and dry fields raised a cloud of dust that gave the enemy the impression of great numbers. His soldiers used arrows specially notched to whistle as they flew through the air, creating a terrifying noise.<ref>{{cite book|author=George H. Quester|title=Offense and Defense in the International System|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GVyuYeBGKHcC&pg=PA43|year=2003|publisher=Transaction Publishers|page=43|access-date=19 March 2016|isbn=9781412829939}}</ref>

In the 6th century BCE Greek [[Bias of Priene]] successfully resisted the [[Lydia]]n king [[Alyattes of Lydia|Alyattes]] by fattening up a pair of mules and driving them out of the besieged city.<ref>{{cite book|last=Diogenes Laertius|title=Lives and Opinions of the Eminent Philosophers|url=http://www.classicpersuasion.org/pw/diogenes/dlbias.htm|access-date=16 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626194826/http://classicpersuasion.org/pw/diogenes/dlbias.htm|archive-date=26 June 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> When Alyattes' envoy was then sent to Priene, Bias had piles of sand covered with wheat to give the impression of plentiful resources.

During the [[Granada War]], Spanish captain Hernán Pérez del Pulgar routinely employed psychological tactics as part of his guerrilla actions against the [[Emirate of Granada]]. In 1490, infiltrating the city by night with a small retinue of soldiers, he nailed a letter of challenge on the main [[mosque]] and set fire to the [[Alcaicería of Granada|alcaicería]] before withdrawing.<ref>Bruno Barragán Fernández, ''Cincuenta personajes de Ciudad Real para la historia'', 2016</ref>

In 1574, having been informed about the pirate attacks previous to the [[Battle of Manila (1574)|Battle of Manila]], Spanish captain [[Juan de Salcedo]] had his relief force return to the city by night while playing marching music and carrying torches in loose formations, so they would appear to be a much larger army to any nearby enemy. They reached the city unopposed.<ref>Isabelo de los Reyes y Florentino, ''Artículos varios sobre etnografía: Historia y costumbres de Filipinas'', p. 52</ref>