In Search Of The Lost Testament Of Alexander The Great

Author : David Grant
Publisher : Troubador Publishing Ltd
Page : 896 pages
File Size : 40,9 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 : David Grant
Publisher : Pen and Sword Military
Page : 525 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2021-09-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9781526771278

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The Last Will and Testament of Alexander the Great by David Grant Pdf

A re-assessment of Alexander the Great's death, exposing a conspiracy by Alexander's generals after his death to undermine his empire. Alexander the Great conquered the largest empire the world had ever seen while still in his twenties but fell fatally ill in Babylon before reaching 33 years old. His wife Roxanne was still pregnant with what would be his only legitimate son, so there was no clear-cut heir. The surviving accounts of his dying days differ on crucial detail, with the most popular version claiming Alexander uttered ‘to the strongest’ when asked to nominate a successor on his deathbed. Decades of ‘civil war’ ensued as Alexander’s hard-won empire was torn asunder by generals in the bloody ‘funeral games’ his alleged final words heralded in. The fighting for supremacy inevitably led to the extermination of his bloodline. But was Alexander really so short-sighted and irresponsible? Finally, after 2,340 years, the mystery is unravelled. In a forensic first, David Grant presents a compelling case for what he terms the ‘greatest succession cover up of all time’. Alexander’s lost Last Will and Testament is given new credibility and Grant deciphers events that led to its erasure from history by the generals who wanted to carve up the empire for themselves.

Author : David Grant
Publisher : Pen and Sword Military
Page : 454 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2022-06-02
Category : History
ISBN : 9781399094726

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Alexander the Great, a Battle for Truth & Fiction by David Grant Pdf

Most of what we ‘know’ about Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) comes from the pages of much later historians, writing 300 years or more after these events. But these Roman-era writers drew on the accounts of earlier authors who were contemporary with Alexander, some of whom took part in the momentous events they described. David Grant examines the fragments of these earlier eyewitness testimonies which are preserved as undercurrents in the later works. He traces their influence and monopoly of the ‘truth’ and spotlights their manipulation of events to reveal how the Wars of the Successors shaped the agendas of these writers. It becomes clear that Alexander’s courtiers were no-less ambitious than than their king and wanted to showcase their role in the epic conquest of the Persian Empire to enhance their credibility and legitimacy in their own quests for power. In particular, Grant reveals why reports of the dying king’s last wishes conflict, and he explains why testimony relegated to ‘romance’ may house credible grains of truth. The author also skillfully explains how manuscripts became further corrupted in their journey from the ancient world to the modern day. In summary, this work by a recognized expert on the period highlights why legacy of Alexander is built on very shaky foundations.

Author : David Grant
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 504 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2019-06-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9781526763440

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Unearthing the Family of Alexander the Great by David Grant Pdf

“Reading with all the innate and iconoclastic dramatic flair of a well scripted novel . . .an extraordinary story of modern archaeology.” —Midwest Book Review In October 336 BC, statues of the twelve Olympian Gods were paraded through the ancient capital of Macedon. Following them was a thirteenth, a statue of King Philip II who was deifying himself in front of the Greek world. Moments later Philip was stabbed to death; it was a world-shaking event that heralded in the reign of his son, Alexander the Great. Equally driven by a heroic lineage stretching back to gods and heroes, Alexander conquered the Persian Empire in eleven years but died mysteriously in Babylon. Some 2,300 years later, a cluster of subterranean tombs were unearthed in northern Greece containing the remains of the Macedonian royal line. This is the remarkable story of the quest to identify the family of Alexander the Great and the dynasty that changed the Graeco-Persian world forever. Written in close cooperation with the investigating archaeologists, anthropologists, and scientists, this book presents the revelations, mysteries and controversies in a charming, accessible style. Is this really the tomb of Philip II, Alexander’s father? And who was the warrior woman buried with weapons and armor beside him? “Impressively researched, Grant weaves an adventurous tale set in what reads like a travelogue of Greek history and folklore that makes Unearthing the Family of Alexander the Great an important work for academics and anthropologists, but also for a wider audience, both for its important subject matter and excellent presentation. Highly recommended.” —Richard A. Gabriel, author of Great Generals of the Ancient World “Faultless ancient Greek history.” —Books Monthly

Author : Waldemar Heckel
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 336 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2020-01-29
Category : History
ISBN : 9780190076696

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In the Path of Conquest by Waldemar Heckel Pdf

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.

Author : Andrew Erskine,Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones,Shane Wallace
Publisher : Classical Press of Wales
Page : 473 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2017-12-14
Category : History
ISBN : 9781910589670

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The Hellenistic Court by Andrew Erskine,Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones,Shane Wallace Pdf

Hellenistic courts were centres of monarchic power, social prestige and high culture in the kingdoms that emerged after the death of Alexander. They were places of refinement, learning and luxury, and also of corruption, rivalry and murder. Surrounded by courtiers of varying loyalty, Hellenistic royal families played roles in a theatre of spectacle and ceremony. Architecture, art, ritual and scholarship were deployed to defend the existence of their dynasties. The present volume, from a team of international experts, examines royal methods and ideologies. It treats the courts of the Ptolemies, Seleucids, Attalids, Antigonids and of lesser dynasties. It also explores the influence, on Greek-speaking courts, of non- Greek culture, of Achaemenid and other Near Eastern royal institutions. It studies the careers of courtesans, concubines and 'friends' of royalty, and the intellectual, ceremonial, and artistic world of the Greek monarchies. The work demonstrates the complexity and motivations of Hellenistic royal civilisation, of courts which governed the transmission of Greek culture to the wider Mediterranean world - and to later ages.

Author : Miltiades B. Hatzopoulos
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 302 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2020-11-23
Category : History
ISBN : 9783110718768

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Ancient Macedonia by Miltiades B. Hatzopoulos Pdf

Nearly two centuries have passed since K. O. Müller published the first "scientific" study "on the habitat, the origin and the early history of the Macedonian people". An ever growing number of publications appearing each year has rendered urgent a critical appraisal of this exuberant production, the more so that many aspects of ancient Macedonia remain controversial, if not problematic. Yet after seventy years of large-scale systematic excavations the activity of Greek archaeologists, as well as the labour of scholars from all over the world, have revealed a heretofore terra incognita and given a consistency to the people that Alexander led to the end of the known world. Now more than ever before we can tackle the "main problems" that have been contested without conclusion: Where exactly was Macedonia? Which were its limits? Where did the Macedonians come from? What language did they speak? What cults did they practice? Did they believe in an afterlife? What political and social institutions did they have? What was Alexander's role in his father's death? What were his aims? To what extent can we trust ancient historians? Alexander failed to provide a stable successor to the Achaemenid multiethnic empire, and the sands of Egypt have effaced even the traces of his last abode, yet if he returned to life, he could still boast in the words of Cavafy, a modern Alexandrian in every sense, “a new Hellenic world, a great one, came to be ... with the extended dominions, with the various attempts at judicious adaptations. And the Greek koine language all the way to outer Bactria we carried it, to the peoples of India”.

Author : Andrew Young
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2022-01-27
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1594163782

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The Lost Book of Alexander the Great by Andrew Young Pdf

A Reconstruction of Ptolemy I's History of Alexander's Conquests, a Primary Source Cited in Later Books That Disappeared More Than One Thousand Years Ago Alexander the Great is well known as one of the first great empire builders of the ancient world. Among those fellow Macedonian officers who accompanied Alexander in his epic conquests from Greece to India was Ptolemy Lagides. Ptolemy served alongside Alexander from the Persian defeat at the Battle of Issus in modern-day Turkey and the journey to find the oracle that proclaimed Alexander to be Zeus incarnate, to the Battle of the Hydaspes River in 326 BC that opened India to the West. Following Alexander's death, Ptolemy gained control of Egypt where he founded the dynasty in his name, created the great library of Alexandria, and was patron of the mathematician Euclid. Sometime during his rule in Egypt, Ptolemy wrote a history of Alexander's conquests. Although it is probable that Ptolemy enhanced his own importance, sources indicate that it was regarded as an accurate and even-handed account of the campaigns of Alexander. However, Ptolemy's book was lost--perhaps with the destruction of the library he founded--and not even an original fragment has survived. His book, however, was acknowledged as a primary source of information for later Roman historians. In The Lost Book of Alexander the Great, Andrew Young explores the world of ancient writings about the Macedonian leader in order to determine whether any of Ptolemy's writings can be recovered. Inspired by Stephen Greenblatt's distinguished biography of Shakespeare, Will in the World, and written for the general reader, the author uses literary forensics to suggest which parts of later books about Alexander the Great, most notably the account by Arrian of Nicomedia, might be the words of Ptolemy. In addition to separating later Roman sensibilities from the original Greek of Ptolemy, the author re-creates the famous library of Alexandria, and takes the reader along on Alexander's conquests as closely as we can to how Ptolemy may have recounted them.

Author : Plutarch
Publisher : Modern Library
Page : 98 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2004-04-13
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780812971330

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The Life of Alexander the Great by Plutarch Pdf

In 336 b.c. Philip of Macedonia was assassinated and his twenty-year-old son, Alexander, inherited his kingdom. Immediately quelling rebellion, Alexander extended his father’s empire through-out the Middle East and into parts of Asia, fulfilling the soothsayer Aristander’s prediction that the new king “should perform acts so important and glorious as would make the poets and musicians of future ages labour and sweat to describe and celebrate him.” The Life of Alexander the Great is one of the first surviving attempts to memorialize the achievements of this legendary king, remembered today as the greatest military genius of all time. This exclusive Modern Library edition, excerpted from Plutarch’s Lives, is a riveting tale of honor, power, scandal, and bravery written by the most eminent biographer of the ancient world.

Author : Samuel Willard Crompton
Publisher : Infobase Publishing
Page : 111 pages
File Size : 46,5 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 : Steve Stylianos
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 397 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2004-11
Category : History
ISBN : 9780974993324

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The Lost Chronicles of Alexander the Great by Steve Stylianos Pdf

From the wreckage of the Alexandria library comes an ancient scroll scribed by Ptolemy, one of Alexander's famed generals. This text is an adaptation of that scroll--a modern day account of the history and marvel that surrounded Alexander's life, mixed with a spice of fiction.

Author : Sir W. W. Tarn
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
Page : 123 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2017-01-12
Category : History
ISBN : 9781787208438

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Alexander the Great by Sir W. W. Tarn Pdf

‘Tarn’s Alexander the Great, first published in 1948, has become a classic and its importance for subsequent Alexander studies can hardly be exaggerated. Based on a lifetime’s work and elegantly and persuasively written, both volumes evoked immediate admiration—and very soon sharp reaction. Little has in fact appeared on Alexander over the last thirty years that has not been directly related to Tarn’s book. Especially Volume II, with its detailed analysis of the sources and discussion of the main historical cruces—such as Cleitarchus’ date, the status of the Greek cities, Alexander’s deification, his supposed plans for a world-kingdom and the famous thesis that he sought to realise the ‘brotherhood of mankind’-has itself inspired scores of books and articles. For the scholar both volumes are indispensable and their reappearance is to be warmly welcomed.’—FRANK W. WALBANK ‘The appearance of Tarn’s Alexander...is an epoch-making event, in the strictest sense of the words. Every serious student of Alexander, probably for generations, will have to start from Tarn’s analysis of the sources and discussion of the chief problems of the narrative; and any writer on Alexander who did not enjoy the advantage of being able to consult this work will regret it. These volumes contain the distilled and matured results of a great scholar’s lifelong devotion to his great subject.’—Journal of Hellenic Studies 1948

Author : Lewis Vance Cummings
Publisher : Grove Press
Page : 484 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0802141498

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Alexander the Great by Lewis Vance Cummings Pdf

Reissued to coincide with the release of Oliver Stone's epic movie on Alexander the Great (slated for fall 2004) and the Summer Olympics in Greece, Lewis Cummings's comprehensive and readable biography of Alexander the Great gives us the full portrait of this brilliant and tyrannical leader. A sagacious ruler and a volatile, often violent commander, a sensuous youth and a paradigm of chastity, Alexander the Great of Macedonia remains one of the most fascinating and contradictory figures in world history. Son of King Philip and the tempestuous Queen Olympia, educated by Aristotle himself, a swift succession of military victories gave him an empire that extended from Greece to India. From his first conquest in northern Greece at the age of sixteen, to a swift succession of victories over Macedonia, Egypt, Persia, and Asia, Alexander possessed almost inhuman energy and hubris that defied Zeus himself, until his death at the age of thirty-two. Alexander the Great is an epic history of a man who became one of the most heralded rulers and despised geniuses of all time.

Author : Thomas R. Martin,Christopher W. Blackwell
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 209 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2012-09-28
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780521767484

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Alexander the Great by Thomas R. Martin,Christopher W. Blackwell Pdf

This book explains what made Alexander 'Great' according to the people and expectations of his time and place.

Author : Lionel Pearson
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 300 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 1960
Category : Greek literature, Hellenistic
ISBN : STANFORD:36105005394874

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The Lost Histories of Alexander the Great by Lionel Pearson Pdf