This ancient military history examines how the Macedonian empire descended into a maelstrom of violent rivalry after the death of Alexander. When Alexander the Great died in Babylon in 323 BC, he left behind one of the largest empires the world had seen, stretching from Greece to the Punjab. Surrounding the king’s deathbed were his highest subordinates: some of the greatest military minds of antiquity, each with their own insatiable ambitions for power. Since Alexander died leaving no clear successor, these former brothers-in-arms quickly became fierce foes as they vied for dominance. What followed was an extraordinary time for military campaigns. Powerful warlords and warrior queens attempted to assert their authority throughout the length and breadth of Alexander the Great’s former empire; from Afghanistan to Athens, from Africa to Asia, powerful armies decided matters by the spear. In this volume, historian Tristan Hughes looks at the initial years of the conflict and several major campaigns that immediately seized the kingdom.
At around 4:00pm 11 June 323 BC in Babylon, Alexander the Great breathed his last. He left one of the largest empires the world had seen, stretching from Greece to the Punjab.Surrounding the king's deathbed were his highest subordinates: young, experienced and charismatic commanders - some of the greatest military minds of antiquity - each with their own insatiable ambitions for power, glory and legacy. Only recently these men had fought side-by-side on the battlefield, kept in line by Alexander's overarching aura. But now, with Alexander dead and leaving no clear successor, many of these former brothers-in-arms quickly became fierce foes as they vied for dominance.What followed was an extraordinary time for military campaigns. Powerful warlords and warrior queens attempted to assert their authority throughout the length and breadth of Alexander the Great's former empire; from Afghanistan to Athens, from Africa to Asia powerful armies decided matters by the spear. This first book covers the initial years of the conflict and several major campaigns that immediately seized the kingdom.
After Alexander: The Hellenistic and Early Roman Periods at Pella in Jordan details the excavation of Hellenistic and Early Roman period horizons carried out at Pella in Jordan by the University of Sydney since 1979. It deals with both the stratigraphy of the Hellenistic and Early Roman levels at Pella, and catalogues the pottery recovered from them. Short summaries of relevant work by the College of Wooster are also included. After a brief introduction to the site and history of excavations, a detailed description of the Hellenistic and Early Roman levels on the main mound of Khirbet Fahl, on nearby Tell Husn, and in select hinterland locations, then follows. The heart of the study centres on a detailed catalogue of the corpus of some 900 individual Hellenistic-Early Roman pottery fragments, accompanied by outline drawings for each fragment, and a smaller number of images of the more important pieces. Discussion of the relevance and importance of the material remains to the history and archaeology of the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods at Pella and more broadly to Jordan and the southern Levant concludes the study.
**A brilliant new history of Georgian Britain through the eyes of the artists who immortalised it, by one of the UK's most exciting young historians** 'Alice Loxton is the star of her generation ... the next big thing in history' Dan Snow London, 1772: a young artist called Thomas Rowlandson is making his way through the grimy backstreets of the capital, on his way to begin his studies at the Royal Academy Schools. Within a few years, James Gillray and Isaac Cruikshank would join him in Piccadilly, turning satire into an artform, taking on the British establishment, and forever changing the way we view power. Set against a backdrop of royal madness, political intrigue, the birth of modern celebrity, French revolution, American independence and the Napoleonic Wars, UPROAR! follows the satirists as they lampoon those in power, from the Prince Regent to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. Their prints and illustrations deconstruct the political and social landscape with surreal and razor-sharp wit, as the three men vie with each other to create the most iconic images of the day. UPROAR! fizzes with energy on every page. Alice Loxton writes with verve and energy, never failing to convince in her thesis that Gillray and his gang profoundly altered British humour, setting the stage for everything from Gilbert and Sullivan to Private Eye and Spitting Image today. This is a book that will cause readers to reappraise everything they think they know about genteel Georgian London, and see it for what it was - a time of UPROAR!
An exercise in cultural sociology, Moral Codes and Social Structure in Ancient Greece seeks to explicate the dynamic currents of classical Hellenic ethics and social philosophy by situating those idea-complexes in their socio-historical and intellectual contexts. Central to this enterprise is a comprehensive historical-sociological analysis of the Polis form of social organization, which charts the evolution of its basic institutions, roles, statuses, and class relations. From the Dark Age period of "genesis" on to the Hellenistic era of "eclipse" by the emergent forces of imperial patrimonialism, Polis society promoted and sustained corresponding normative codes which mobilized and channeled the requisite emotive commitments and cognitive judgments for functional proficiency under existing conditions of life. The aristocratic warrior-ethos canonized in the Homeric epics; the civic ideology of equality and justice espoused by reformist lawgivers and poets; the democratization of status honor and martial virtue that attended the shift to hoplite warfare; the philosophical exaltation of the Polis-citizen bond as found in the architectonic visions of Plato and Aristotle; and the subsequent retreat from civic virtues and the interiorization of value articulated by the Skeptics, Epicureans, and Stoics, new age philosophies in a world remade by Alexander's conquests--these are the key phases in the evolving currents of Hellenic moral discourse, as structurally framed by transformations within the institutional matrix of Polis society.
The most famous Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt was arguably one of the last kings of km.t Egypt. He bears a name known to every child. Under Pharaoh Alexander, Egypt reached its widest extension and was afforded more protection than ever before. His Golden Horus name characterises Alexander as the ruler of all the sun encircles and the strong bull who protects Egypt. Alexander the Great gave birth to a new Dynasty, the 32nd of Ancient Egypt. Alexandria, the leading city of the known world in the 3rd and 2nd century BC, was founded. But what remains of Pharaoh Alexander? Where is his tomb? Where is his sarcophagus? Where is his mummy? The key to the answers is reusing. We recycle paper. We reuse iron. In the 17th century Spaniards recycled Inca-gold. In the late 4th century, Christians repurposed Pagan temples. Why should Phoenicians, Macedonians, and Egyptians not have reused the outstanding artefacts of Alexander the Great? Historical, archaeological, and artistic evidence is presented for two of the most intriguing artefacts of Alexander the Great. Both are still readily accessible and can be admired by any traveller. Both artefacts were reused in the late 4th respectively in the mid-3rd century BC. This reuse fogged their identification and led to misinterpretations. One artefact of the greatest conqueror of the Ancient World was discovered more than 130 years ago, the other has been known of for more than 50 years. In both cases, layers of accretions obscured the identity of their owner. Even worse, renowned scholars attribute these artefacts to the person who reused them. These artefacts are: Alexander's monumental Tomb and his unparalleled Sarcophagus. It will be further revealed that Alexander was subsequently entombed at three Egyptian localities and that his body rested in two further sarcophagi. Some scholars suggest that also the third, and most personal artefact of Alexander the Great, was reused in the 4th century AD, namely his mummified Body. Does archaeological or historical evidence support the veneration of Alexanders mummy as Saint Mark in Venice or near Alexander's Temple in the Bahariya Oasis in Egypt? Or, is Alexander's body still in existence under the Alabaster Tomb or in the Soma of Alexandria? A testimony to this last question is available in written form for more than 1600 years but was overlooked. Thereby, the identity of the builder of "Alexander's" Temple at Bahariya Oasis and the identity of "Saint Mark" at Venice will be revealed.
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.
This history of Ancient Greek warfare vividly chronicles the struggle for control of the Macedonian Empire, a fateful time of change in the Ancient World. As the story goes, Alexander the Great decreed from his deathbed that his vast Macedonian Empire should go “to the strongest". What followed was an epic struggle between generals and governors for control of the territories. Most of these successors—known as the Diadochi—were consummate tacticians who learned the art of war from Alexander himself, or from his father, Philip. Few died a peaceful death and the last survivors were still leading their armies against each other well into their seventies. These conflicts reshaped the ancient world from the Balkans to India. In two volumes, The Wars of Alexander’s Successors presents this critical period of ancient warfare with all its colorful characters, epic battles, treachery and subterfuge. This first volume introduces the key personalities, including Antigonos ”Monopthalmus" (the One-Eyed) and his son 'Demetrius 'Poliorcetes' (the Besieger), Seleucus 'Nicator' ('the Victorious') and Ptolemy ”Soter" ("the Saviour"). It also gives a narrative of the causes and course of these wars from the death of Alexander to the Battle of Corupedium in 281 BC, when the last two original Diadochi faced each other one final time.
Vol. 4 covers the late Roman period to the rise of Islam. Focuses especially on the growth and development of rabbinic Judaism and of the major classical rabbinic sources such as the Mishnah, Jerusalem Talmud, Babylonian Talmud and various Midrashic collections.
