The History of Alexander's Battles PDF Download

Author: Leo (Archipresbyter)
Publisher: PIMS
ISBN: 9780888442840
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Author: Hugh Bowden
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191016365
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 131

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Book Description
Alexander the Great became king of Macedon in 336 BC, when he was only 20 years old, and died at the age of 32, twelve years later. During his reign he conquered the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the largest empire that had ever existed, leading his army from Greece to Pakistan, and from the Libyan desert to the steppes of Central Asia. His meteoric career, as leader of an alliance of Greek cities, Pharaoh of Egypt, and King of Persia, had a profound effect on the world he moved through. Even in his lifetime his achievements became legendary and in the centuries that following his story was told and retold throughout Europe and the East. Greek became the language of power in the Eastern Mediterranean and much of the Near East, as powerful Macedonian dynasts carved up Alexander's empire into kingdoms of their own, underlaying the flourishing Hellenistic civilization that emerged after his death. But what do we really know about Alexander? In this Very Short Introduction, Hugh Bowden goes behind the usual historical accounts of Alexander's life and career. Instead, he focuses on the evidence from Alexander's own time -- letters from officials in Afghanistan, Babylonian diaries, records from Egyptian temples -- to try and understand how Alexander appeared to those who encountered him. In doing so he also demonstrates the profound influence the legends of his life have had on our historical understanding and the controversy they continue to generate worldwide. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author: Andrew Young
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781594161971
Category : Greece
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Recounts the "History of Alexander's Conquests" of Ptolemy Lagides, a Macedonian officer who accompanied Alexander the Great during his conquests and who was later to lead the city of Alexandria in its triumph after Alexander's death.

Author: Ruth Sheppard
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781849084802
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Perhaps the most famous commander of the ancient world, Alexander the Great, and his battles and victories, never cease to fascinate those with any interest in Ancient Greece. He was aged only 20 when he became king of Macedon, but he had already begun to show the military genius that would win him future victories against the mighty Persian Empire. In an epic campaign lasting 11 years, Alexander traveled thousands of miles through deserts, plains and forests, fought huge battles, and besieged many cities to become the master of a massive empire stretching from Greece to India. He died prematurely at the age of just 33, and no man could hold together the empire he had created. A god in his lifetime, his name is still world-famous millennia after his death. This book examines Alexander's campaigns in detail, and his victories - and the tactics that ensured them - are explained and described with the help of maps, illustrations and reconstructions to bring the epic career of one of the ancient civilization's greatest generals to life.

Author: Philip Freeman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1416592814
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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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: Robin Waterfield
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199931526
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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A gripping account of one of the great forgotten wars of history, revealing how Alexander the Great's vast empire was torn asunder in the years after his death

Author: Frank Lee Holt
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199950962
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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This book investigates the kinds and quantities of treasure seized by Alexander the Great, from gold and silver to land and slaves, and reassesses the widespread belief that the Macedonian king used the profits of war to improve the ancient economies he conquered. It reveals what became of the king's wealth and what Alexander's redistribution of these vast resources can tell us about his much-disputed policies and personality.

Author: Adrian Goldsworthy
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 046509550X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 587

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Book Description
This definitive biography of one of history's most influential father-son duos tells the story of two rulers who gripped the world -- and their rise and fall from power. Alexander the Great's conquests staggered the world. He led his army across thousands of miles, overthrowing the greatest empires of his time and building a new one in their place. He claimed to be the son of a god, but he was actually the son of Philip II of Macedon. Philip inherited a minor kingdom that was on the verge of dismemberment, but despite his youth and inexperience, he made Macedonia dominant throughout Greece. It was Philip who created the armies that Alexander led into war against Persia. In Philip and Alexander, classical historian Adrian Goldsworthy shows that without the work and influence of his father, Alexander could not have achieved so much. This is the groundbreaking biography of two men who together conquered the world.

Author: Arrian
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 1400079675
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 562

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Arrian’s Campaigns of Alexander, widely considered the most authoritative history of the brilliant leader’s great conquests, is the latest addition to the acclaimed Landmark series. After twelve years of hard-fought campaigns, Alexander the Great controlled a vast empire that was bordered by the Adriatic sea to the west and modern-day India to the east. Arrian, himself a military commander, combines his firsthand experience of battle with material from Ptolemy’s memoirs and other ancient sources to compose a singular portrait of Alexander. This vivid and engaging new translation of Arrian will fascinate readers who are interested in classical studies, the history of warfare, and the origins of East­–West tensions still swirling in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan today. Enriched by the series’ trademark comprehensive maps, illustrations, and annotations, and with contributions from the preeminent classical scholars of today, The Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander is the definitive edition of this essential work of ancient history.

Author: Donald W. Engels
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520034334
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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"The most important work on Alexander the Great to appear in a long time. Neither scholarship nor semi-fictional biography will ever be the same again. . . .Engels at last uses all the archaeological work done in Asia in the past generation and makes it accessible. ... Careful analyses of terrain, climate, and supply requirements are throughout combined in a masterly fashion to help account for Alexander's strategic decision in the light of the options open to him ... The chief merit of this splendid book is perhaps the way in which it brings an ancient army to life, as it really was and moved: the hours it took for simple operations of washing and cooking and feeding animals; the train of noncombatants moving with the army. ... this is a book that will set the reader thinking. There are not many books on Alexander the Great that do."--New York Review of Books.