Before Alexander

Author : Richard A. Billows
Publisher : Abrams
Page : 343 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2018-06-12
Category : History
ISBN : 9781468316414

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Before and After Alexander by Richard A. Billows Pdf

In the arc of western history, Ancient Greece is at the apex, owing to its grandeur, its culture, and an intellectual renaissance to rival that of Europe. So important is Greece to history that figures such as Plato and Socrates are still household names, and the works of Homer are regularly adapted into movies. The most acclaimed hero of all, though, is Alexander the Great.While historians have studied Alexander’s achievements at length, author and professor Richard A. Billows delves deeper into the obscure periods of Alexander’s life before and after his reign. In the definitive Before and After Alexander, Billows explores the years preceding Alexander, who, Billows argues, without the foundation laid by his father, Philip II of Macedon. would not have had the resources or influence to develop one of the greatest empires in history. Alexander was groomed from a young age to succeed his father, and by the time Philip was assassinated in 336 BC, his great empire was already well underway.The years following Alexander's death were even more momentous. In this ambitious new work, Richard Billows robustly challenges the notion that the political strife that followed was for lack of a leader as competent as Alexander, pointing out instead that there were too many extremely capable leaders who exploited the power vacuum created by Alexander's death to carve out kingdoms for themselves.Above all, in Before and After Alexander, Billows eloquently and convincingly posits a complex view of one of the greatest empires in history, framing it not as the achievement of one man, but the culmination of several generations of aggressive expansion toward a unified purpose.

Author : Eugene N. Borza
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 102 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : History
ISBN : UOM:39015042953102

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Before Alexander by Eugene N. Borza Pdf

Author : Joseph Stiles
Publisher : Pen and Sword History
Page : 234 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2022-09-15
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781399094443

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Alexander the Great & Persia by Joseph Stiles Pdf

Upon his return from India, Alexander the Great travelled to the Persian royal city of Pasargadae to pay homage at the tomb of King Cyrus, founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, whom he admired greatly. Disgusted to find Cyrus’ tomb desecrated and looted, the Macedonian king had the tomb guards tortured, the Persian provincial governor executed and the tomb refurbished. This episode involving Cyrus’ tomb serves as one of many case studies in Alexander’s relationship with Persia. At times Alexander would behave pragmatically, sparing his defeated enemies and adopting Persian customs. Sisygambis, the mother of Persian King Darius III, allegedly came to view Alexander as a son and starved herself at the news of his demise. On other occasions he did not shy away from destruction (famously torching the palace at Persepolis) and cruelty, earning himself the nickname ‘the accursed’. This conflicting nature gives Alexander a complex legacy in the Persian world. Joseph Stiles explores Alexander the Great’s fascinating relationship with his ‘spear-won’ empire, disentangling the motives and influences behind his policies and actions as ‘King of Asia’.

Author : Ernst Badian
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 691 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2012-03-12
Category : History
ISBN : 9781136449345

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Collected Papers on Alexander the Great by Ernst Badian Pdf

Professor Ernst Badian (1925-2011) was one of the most influential Alexander historians of the twentieth century. His first articles on the subject appeared in 1958, and he continued for a full fifty years to reshape scholarly perception of the reign of Alexander the Great. A steady output of articles was reinforced by lectures and reviews in his own formidable style. Badian's earliest work transformed understanding of aspects of the Roman Republic, and he continued to work on that area throughout his career; but his series of studies of Alexander the Great (which he deliberately never summed up in a synoptic work) demolished the hero of his predecessors such as Droysen and Tarn, whom he regarded as starry-eyed hero-worshippers, and created an Alexander on the model of a twentieth-century tyrant. The Alexander who was a ruthless killer of his rivals and those who disagreed with him, a mass-murderer in his conquests, and perhaps even an incompetent imperialist, has superseded the Alexander whose mission it was to bring Greek civilization to the ends of the earth. These essays and articles provide a new layer in the interpretation of a figure who has not ceased to fascinate since his death in 323 BC. Many of these articles were published in out-of-the-way journals and conference volumes, and are brought together here for the first time in a collection which will provide student and scholar with a view of the full range of Badian's work on Alexander. Certain ephemeral pieces and all reviews except one have been excluded, by the wish of the author. The twenty-seven articles included were all revised by the author before his death, but there has been no other editorial intervention. The volume also includes a portrait, and an introduction by Eugene Borza surveying Badian's career and contribution. No one who works on Alexander the Great can afford to be without this book.

Author : Sir Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 690 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 1896
Category : Electronic
ISBN : UOM:39015030569415

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The Life and Exploits of Alexander the Great by Sir Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge Pdf

Author : John S. McHugh
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 503 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2017-06-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9781473845824

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Emperor Alexander Severus by John S. McHugh Pdf

Alexander Severus' is full of controversy and contradictions. He came to the throne through the brutal murder of his cousin, Elagabalus, and was ultimately assassinated himself. The years between were filled with regular uprisings and rebellions, court intrigue (the Praetorian Guard slew their commander at the Emperor's feet) and foreign invasion. Yet the ancient sources generally present his reign as a golden age of just government, prosperity and religious tolerance Not yet fourteen when he became emperor, Alexander was dominated by his mother, Julia Mammaea and advisors like the historian, Cassius Dio. In the military field, he successfully checked the aggressive Sassanid Persians but some sources see his Persian campaign as a costly failure marked by mutiny and reverses that weakened the army. When Germanic and Sarmatian tribes crossed the Rhine and Danube frontiers in 234, Alexander took the field against them but when he attempted to negotiate to buy time, his soldiers perceived him as weak, assassinated him and replaced him with the soldier Maximinus Thrax. John McHugh reassesses this fascinating emperor in detail.

Author : Samuel Willard Crompton
Publisher : Infobase Publishing
Page : 111 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : Generals
ISBN : 9780791072196

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Alexander the Great by Samuel Willard Crompton Pdf

Describes the life and accomplishments of Alexander the Great of Macedonia.

Author : Edward M. Anson
Publisher : A&C Black
Page : 241 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2013-04-11
Category : History
ISBN : 9780826445216

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Alexander the Great by Edward M. Anson Pdf

Alexander the Great's life and career are here examined through the major issues surrounding his reign. What were Alexander's ultimate ambitions? Why did he pursue his own deification while alive? Did he actually set the world in 'a new groove' as has been claimed by some scholars? And was his death natural or the result of a murderous conspiracy? Each of the key themes, arranged as chapters, will be presented in approximately chronological order so that readers unfamiliar with the life of Alexander will be able to follow the narrative. The themes are tied to the major controversies and questions surrounding Alexander's career and legacy. Each chapter includes a discussion of the major academic positions on each issue, and includes a full and up-to-date bibliography and an evaluation of the historical evidence. All source material is in translation. Designed to bring new clarity to the contentious history of Alexander the Great, this is an ideal introduction to one of history's most controversial figures.

Author : Philip Freeman
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 418 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2011-10-18
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781416592815

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Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman Pdf

In the first authoritative biography of Alexander the Great written for a general audience in a generation, classicist and historian Philip Freeman tells the remarkable life of the great conqueror. The celebrated Macedonian king has been one of the most enduring figures in history. He was a general of such skill and renown that for two thousand years other great leaders studied his strategy and tactics, from Hannibal to Napoleon, with countless more in between. He flashed across the sky of history like a comet, glowing brightly and burning out quickly: crowned at age nineteen, dead by thirty-two. He established the greatest empire of the ancient world; Greek coins and statues are found as far east as Afghanistan. Our interest in him has never faded. Alexander was born into the royal family of Macedonia, the kingdom that would soon rule over Greece. Tutored as a boy by Aristotle, Alexander had an inquisitive mind that would serve him well when he faced formidable obstacles during his military campaigns. Shortly after taking command of the army, he launched an invasion of the Persian empire, and continued his conquests as far south as the deserts of Egypt and as far east as the mountains of present-day Pakistan and the plains of India. Alexander spent nearly all his adult life away from his homeland, and he and his men helped spread the Greek language throughout western Asia, where it would become the lingua franca of the ancient world. Within a short time after Alexander’s death in Baghdad, his empire began to fracture. Best known among his successors are the Ptolemies of Egypt, whose empire lasted until Cleopatra. In his lively and authoritative biography of Alexander, classical scholar and historian Philip Freeman describes Alexander’s astonishing achievements and provides insight into the mercurial character of the great conqueror. Alexander could be petty and magnanimous, cruel and merciful, impulsive and farsighted. Above all, he was ferociously, intensely competitive and could not tolerate losing—which he rarely did. As Freeman explains, without Alexander, the influence of Greece on the ancient world would surely not have been as great as it was, even if his motivation was not to spread Greek culture for beneficial purposes but instead to unify his empire. Only a handful of people have influenced history as Alexander did, which is why he continues to fascinate us.

Author : Ian Worthington
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 285 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2014-07-10
Category : History
ISBN : 9781317866442

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Alexander the Great by Ian Worthington Pdf

Alexander the Great conquered territories on a superhuman scale and established an empire that stretched from Greece to India. He spread Greek culture and education throughout his empire, and was worshipped as a living god by many of his subjects. But how great is a leader responsible for the deaths on tens of thousands of people? A ruler who prefers constant warring to administering the peace? A man who believed he was a god, who murdered his friends, and recklessly put his soldiers lives at risk? Ian Worthington delves into Alexander's successes and failures, his paranoia, the murders he engineered, his megalomania, and his constant drinking. It presents a king corrupted by power and who, for his own personal ends, sacrificed the empire his father had fought to establish.

Author : Philip Freeman
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 502 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2011-01-04
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781439193280

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Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman Pdf

An accessible yet authoritative biography of the Macedonian king and legendary conqueror—“as racy and pacey as any novel . . . a rollicking read” (Wall Street Journal). Alexander the Great is one of the most enduring figures in history. His military mastery was of such renown that future leaders from Hannibal to Napoleon studied his strategy and tactics. In the brief spa of his life—crowned at age nineteen and dead by thirty-two—he established the greatest empire of the ancient world. Born into the royal family of Macedonia, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle as a boy. Shortly after taking command, he launched an invasion of the Persian empire, and continued his conquests as far south as the deserts of Egypt and as far east as the mountains of present-day Pakistan and the plains of India. Within a short time after Alexander’s death in Baghdad, his empire began to fracture. In his lively and authoritative biography of Alexander, classical scholar and historian Philip Freeman describes Alexander’s astonishing achievements and provides insight into the mercurial character of the great conqueror. As Freeman explains, without Alexander, the influence of Greece on the ancient world would not have been nearly as great as it was.

Author : David Grant
Publisher : Troubador Publishing Ltd
Page : 896 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2017-01-28
Category : History
ISBN : 9781785899539

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In Search Of The Lost Testament of Alexander the Great by David Grant Pdf

A unique ‘backstory’ of Alexander and his successors: the biased historians, deceits, wars, generals, and the tale of the literature that preserved them. ‘Babylon, mid-June 323 BCE, the gateway of the gods; prostrated in the Summer Palace of Nebuchadrezzar II on the east bank of the Euphrates, wracked by fever and having barely survived another night, King Alexander III, the rule of Macedonia for 12 years and 7 months, had his senior officers congregate at his bedside. Abandoned by Fortune and the healing god Asclepius, he finally acknowledged he was dying. Some 2,340 years on, five barely intact accounts survive to tell a hardly coherent story. At times in close accord, though more often contradictory, they conclude with a melee of death-scene rehashes, all of them suspicious: the first portrayed Alexander dying silent and intestate; he was Homeric and vocal in the second; the third detailed his Last Will and Testament though it is attached to the stuff of romance. Which account do we trust?’ In Search Of The Lost Testament Of Alexander The Great is the result of a ‘decade of contemplations on Alexander’ presented as a rich thematic narrative Grant describes as the ‘backstory behind the history’ of the great Macedonian and his generals. Taking an uncompromising investigative perspective, Grant delves into the challenges faced by Alexander’s unique tale: the forgeries and biased historians, the influences of rhetoric, romance, philosophy and religion on what was written and how. Alexander’s own mercurial personality is vividly dissected and the careers and the wars of his successors are presented with a unique eye. But the book never loses sight of central aim: to unravel the mystery behind Alexander’s ‘unconvincingly reported’ intestate death. And out of Grant’s research emerges one unavoidable verdict: after 2,340 years, the Last Will and Testament of Alexander III of Macedonia needs to be extracted from ‘romance’ and reinstated to its rightful place in mainstream history: Babylon in June 323 BCE. Although the result a decade of academic research, In Search Of The Lost Testament Of Alexander The Great is written in an entertaining and engaging style that opens the subject to both scholars and the casual reader of history looking to learn more about the Macedonian king and the men who ‘made’ his story. It concludes with a wholly new interpretation of the death of Alexander the Great and the mechanism behind the wars of succession that followed.

Author : Arrian
Publisher : Ozymandias Press
Page : 199 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2018-04-10
Category : History
ISBN : 9781531284442

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The Anabasis of Alexander by Arrian Pdf

The Anabasis is by far the fullest surviving account of Alexander's conquest of the Persian empire. It is primarily a military history, reflecting the content of Arrian's model, Xenophon's Anabasis; the work begins with Alexander's accession to the Macedonian throne in 336 BC, and has nothing to say about Alexander's early life (in contrast, say, to Plutarch's Life of Alexander). Nor does Arrian aim to provide a complete history of the Greek-speaking world during Alexander's reign. Arrian's chief sources in writing the Anabasis were the lost contemporary histories of the campaign by Ptolemy and Aristobulus and, for his later books, Nearchus. One of Arrian's main aims in writing his history seems to have been to correct the standard "Vulgate" narrative of Alexander's reign that was current in his own day, primarily associated with the lost writings of the historian Cleitarchus.

Author : Waldemar Heckel
Publisher : Greenhill Books
Page : 938 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2021-06-30
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781784386498

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Who's Who in the Age of Alexander and his Successors by Waldemar Heckel Pdf

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.

Author : Willa Sibert Cather
Publisher : Library of Alexandria
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2013-10-03
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9781613103401

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Alexander's Bridge by Willa Sibert Cather Pdf