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Alexander the Great was one of the most brilliant generals the world has ever known. His campaigns included the conquest of the ancient Persian Empire, which lifted his Macedonian kingdom from the level of city-state and onto the world stage. This book provides a fascinating insight into his military achievements.
This substantially revised and updated second edition of The
Marshals of Alexander's Empire (1992) examines Alexander's most
important officers, who commanded army units and were involved in
military and political deliberations. Chapters on these men have
been expanded, giving greater attention to personalities, bias in
the sources, and the social as well as military setting, including
more on familial connections and regional origins in an attempt to
create a better understanding of factions. The major
confrontations, military and political, are treated in greater
detail within the biographies, and a discussion of the organization
and command structure of the Makedonian army has been added.
This substantially revised and updated second edition of The
Marshals of Alexander's Empire (1992) examines Alexander's most
important officers, who commanded army units and were involved in
military and political deliberations. Chapters on these men have
been expanded, giving greater attention to personalities, bias in
the sources, and the social as well as military setting, including
more on familial connections and regional origins in an attempt to
create a better understanding of factions. The major
confrontations, military and political, are treated in greater
detail within the biographies, and a discussion of the organization
and command structure of the Makedonian army has been added.
A unique compilation of more than one thousand concise biographies
of those involved in the campaigns of Alexander the Great, and the
struggle for power after his death. From leading commanders in
Alexander's army to the nobles of the Persian Empire, and the many
other individuals he encountered throughout his life and reign,
these complete and balanced biographies are drawn from the literary
and epigraphic sources of the age. First published in 2006, this
version has been expanded and substantially revised to widen the
human and political landscape in which Alexander moved. The only
work of its kind, this is an essential guide to a fascinating and
pivotal historical era, and to one of history's most successful
military commanders.
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The History of Alexander (Paperback)
Quintus Curtius Rufus; Introduction by Waldemar Heckel; Notes by Waldemar Heckel; Translated by John Yardley
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R402
R326
Discovery Miles 3 260
Save R76 (19%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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Although no other human being has attracted so much speculation, Alexander has remained an enigma. This history of his life provides by far the most plausible and haunting portrait of Alexander: a brilliantly realized image of a man ruined by constant good fortune in his youth.
This book offers a fresh insight into the conquests of Alexander
the Great by attempting to view the events of 336-323 BCE from the
vantage point of the defeated. The extent and form of the
resistance of the populations he confronted varied according to
their previous relationships with either the Macedonian invaders or
their own Achaemenid rulers. The internal political situations of
many states-particularly the Greek cities of Asia Minor-were also a
factor. In the vast Persian Empire that stretched from the Aegean
to the Indus, some states surrendered voluntarily and others
offered fierce resistance. Not all regions were subdued through
military actions. Indeed, as the author argues, the excessive use
of force on Alexander's part was often ineffective and
counterproductive. In the Path of Conquest examines the reasons for
these varied responses, giving more emphasis to the defeated and
less to the conqueror and his Macedonian army. In the process, it
debunks many long-held views concerning Alexander's motives,
including the idea that his aim was to march to the eastern limits
of the world. It also provides a fresh reevaluation of Darius III's
successes and failures as a commander. Such a study involves
rigorous analysis of the ancient sources, and their testimony is
presented throughout the book in the form of newly translated
passages. A unique portrait of a well-known age, In the Path of
Conquest will significantly alter our understanding of Alexander's
career.
This book offers a fresh insight into the conquests of Alexander
the Great by attempting to view the events of 336-323 BCE from the
vantage point of the defeated. The extent and form of the
resistance of the populations he confronted varied according to
their previous relationships with either the Macedonian invaders or
their own Achaemenid rulers. The internal political situations of
many states-particularly the Greek cities of Asia Minor-were also a
factor. In the vast Persian Empire that stretched from the Aegean
to the Indus, some states surrendered voluntarily and others
offered fierce resistance. Not all regions were subdued through
military actions. Indeed, as the author argues, the excessive use
of force on Alexander's part was often ineffective and
counterproductive. In the Path of Conquest examines the reasons for
these varied responses, giving more emphasis to the defeated and
less to the conqueror and his Macedonian army. In the process, it
debunks many long-held views concerning Alexander's motives,
including the idea that his aim was to march to the eastern limits
of the world. It also provides a fresh reevaluation of Darius III's
successes and failures as a commander. Such a study involves
rigorous analysis of the ancient sources, and their testimony is
presented throughout the book in the form of newly translated
passages. A unique portrait of a well-known age, In the Path of
Conquest will significantly alter our understanding of Alexander's
career.
'With a single announcement from a herald, all the cities of Greece
and Asia had been set free; only an intrepid soul could formulate
such an ambitious project, only phenomenal valour and fortune bring
it to fruition. (Livy, 33. 33) Thus Livy describes the reaction to
the Roman commander T.Q. Flamininus' proclamation of the freedom of
Greece at the Isthmian games near Corinth in 196 BC. Half a century
later Greece was annexed as a province of the Romans who burned the
ancient city of Corinth to the ground. Books 31 to 40 of Livy's
history chart Rome's emergence as an imperial nation and the Romans
tempestuous involvement with Greece, Macedonia and the near East in
the opening decades of the second century BC; they are our most
important source for Graeco-Roman relations in that century. Livy's
dramatic narrative includes the Roman campaigns in Spain and
against the Gallic tribes of Northern Italy; the flight of Hannibal
from Carthage and his death in the East; the debate on the Oppian
law; and the Bacchanalian Episode. This is the only unabridged
English translation of Books 31 to 40. The complete Livy in
English, available in five volumes from Oxford World's Classics.
ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has
made available the widest range of literature from around the
globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to
scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of
other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading
authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date
bibliographies for further study, and much more.
In this book, Waldemar Heckel traces the rise and eventual fall of
one of the most successful military commanders in history. In 325
BCE, Alexander and his conquering army prepared to return home,
after overcoming everything in their path: armies, terrain,
climate, all invariably hostile. Little did they know that within
two years their beloved king would be dead and their labours
seemingly wasted. Tracing the rise and eventual fall of one of the
most successful military commanders in history, Heckel engagingly
and with great detail shows us how Alexander earned his
appellation, The Great.
Pompeius Trogus, a Romanized Gaul living in the age of Augustus,
wrote a forty-four book universal history (The Philippic History)
of the non-Roman Mediterranean world. This work was later
abbreviated by M. Junianus Justinus. Alexander the Great's life has
been examined in minute detail by scholars for many decades, but
the period of chaos that ensued after his death in 323 BC has
received much less attention. Few historical sources recount the
history of this period consecutively. Justin's abbreviated epitome
of the lost Philippic history of Pompeius Trogus is the only
relatively continuous account we have left of the events that
transpired in the 40 years from 323 BC. This volume supplies a
historical analysis of this unique source for the difficult period
of Alexander's Successors up to 297 BC, a full translation, and
running commentary on Books 13-15.
Pompeius Trogus, a Romanized Gaul living in the age of Augustus,
wrote a forty four-book universal history (The Philippic History)
of the non-Roman, Mediterranean world. This work was later
abbreviated by a certain M. Junianus Justinus, better know as
Justin. This volume presents the first modern English translation
and scholarly commentary on Books 11-12 of Justin's so-called
"Epitome" of the history. These books constitute one of the five
major sources for the history of Alexander the Great and belong to
the so-called "Vulgate" tradition, which in the opinion of many
scholars derives ultimately from the lost historian Clearchus of
Alexandria. The original work of Pompeius Trogus appears to have
had stylistic and historical influences on the better know History
of Alexander by Quintus Curtius Rufus. In this volume the authors
tease out and differentiate as far as possible the relative
contributions of the historian Trogus and the "epitomator", Justin.
The commentary examines the relationship of Justin-Trogus to both
the extant sources and the works of the lost Alexander historians,
and a serous attempt is made to explain errors or deviations from
well-known sources in terms of the methods of historian and
"epitomator" before resorting to the expedient of textual
emendation. A second volume, covering books 13-15, is forthcoming.
Waldemar Heckel provides a revisionist overview of the conquests of
Alexander the Great. Emphasising the aims and impact of his
military expeditions, the political consequences of military
action, and the use of propaganda, both for motivation and
justification, his underlying premise is that the basic goals of
conquest and the keys to military superiority have not changed
dramatically over the millennia. Indeed, as Heckel makes clear,
many aristocratic and conquest societies are remarkably similar to
that of Alexander in their basic aims and organisation. Heckel
rejects the view of Alexander as a reincarnation of Achilles - as
an irrational youth on a heroic quest for fame and immortality. In
an engaging and balanced account of key military events, Heckel
shows how Alexander imposed his will on the willing and how the
defeated were no longer capable of resisting his military might.
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