The Many Faces of War in the Ancient World

The Many Faces of War in the Ancient World
Author: Graham Wrightson
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2015-09-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 1443882402

This volume on different aspects of warfare and its political implications in the ancient world brings together the works of both established and younger scholars working on a historical period that stretches from the archaic period of Greece to the late Roman Empire. With its focus on cultural and social history, it presents an overview of several current issues concerning the “new” military history. The book contains papers that can be conveniently divided into three parts. Part I is composed of three papers primarily concerned with archaic and classical Greece, though the third covers a wide range and relates the experience of the ancient Greeks to that of soldiers in the modern world – one might even argue that the comparison works in reverse. Part II comprises five papers on warfare in the age of Alexander the Great and on its reception early in the Hellenistic period. These demonstrate that the study of Alexander as a military figure is hardly a well-worn theme, but rather in its relative infancy, whether the approach is the tried and true (and wrongly disparaged) method of Quellenforschung or that of “experiencing war,” something that has recently come into fashion. Part III offers three papers on war in the time of Imperial Rome, particularly on the fringes of the Empire. Covering a wide chronological span, Greek, Macedonian and Roman cultures and various topics, this volume shows the importance and actuality of research on the history of war and the diversity of the approaches to this task, as well as the different angles from which it can be analysed.

Soldiers, Wages, and the Hellenistic Economies

Soldiers, Wages, and the Hellenistic Economies
Author: Charlotte Van Regenmortel
Publisher:
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2024-05-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1009409018

This book explains the military and economic developments that engulfed the ancient Mediterranean in the late Classical and early Hellenistic periods from the perspective of labour history. It examines the changing nature of military service in the vast armies of Philip and Alexander, the Successors, and the early Hellenistic kingdoms and argues that the paid soldiers who staffed them were not just 'mercenaries', but rather the Greek world's first large-scale instance of wage labour. Using a wide range of sources, Charlotte Van Regenmortel not only offers a detailed social history of military service in these armies but also provides a novel explanation for the economic transformation of the Hellenistic age, positioning military wage-labourers as the driving force behind the period's nascent market economies. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.

Political Religions in the Greco-Roman World

Political Religions in the Greco-Roman World
Author: Charlotte Dunn
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2019-06-04
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1527535401

Until the 1980s, historical treatments of ancient religion focused mainly on myth, cult and ritual as a way to interpret the mental structures or primary emotions of ancient peoples, but, in the last few decades, a “political turn” in the study of religion has taken hold. This volume serves to diversify our understanding of the political conceptualizations and implementations of religious practice in the ancient Mediterranean region from the 7th Century BCE to the 4th Century CE, in both Greek and Roman contexts. The underlying question taken up here is: in what situations was Greco-Roman religious practice articulated, communicated, and perceived in political contexts, both real and imagined? Written by experts in the fields of archaeology, linguistics, art history, historiography, political science and religion, the chapters of this volume engage the plurality and the diversity of the Greco-Roman religious experience as it receives and negotiates power relations.

Celebrity, Fame, and Infamy in the Hellenistic World

Celebrity, Fame, and Infamy in the Hellenistic World
Author: Riemer A. Faber
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2020-04-02
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1487505221

This book traces the roots of modern notions of celebrity, fame, and infamy back to the Hellenistic period of classical antiquity, when sensational personages like Cleopatra of Egypt and Alexander the Great became famous world-wide.

Alexander's Marshals

Alexander's Marshals
Author: Waldemar Heckel
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2016-08-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317389220

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.

Alexander the Great and Propaganda

Alexander the Great and Propaganda
Author: John Walsh
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2021-03-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1351627597

Alexander the Great and Propaganda explores the use of propaganda - whether literature, coinage, or iconography – in the court of Alexander the Great, as well as those of his Successors, demonstrating that it was as integral to Hellenistic courts as it was to Imperial Rome. This volume brings together ten essays from leading international scholars in Alexander studies. There is currently no equivalent collection which has a specialist focus of themes or issues relating to the use of propaganda in the courts of Alexander or his Successors. This book will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of Alexander studies, as well as those studying the use of propaganda across the ancient world, and to the more general reader with an interest in Alexander the Great and his reign.

Early medieval militarisation

Early medieval militarisation
Author: Ellora Bennett
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2021-04-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 1526138646

The societies of ancient Europe underwent a continual process of militarisation, and this would come to be a defining characteristic of the early Middle Ages. The process was neither linear nor mono-causal, but it affected society as a whole, encompassing features like the lack of demarcation between the military and civil spheres of the population, the significance attributed to weapons beyond their military function and the wide recognition of martial values. Early medieval militarisation assembles twenty studies that use both written and archaeological evidence to explore the phenomenon of militarisation and its impact on the development of the societies of early medieval Europe. The interdisciplinary investigations break new ground and will be essential reading for scholars and students of related fields, as well as non-specialists with an interest in early medieval history.

In the Path of Conquest

In the Path of Conquest
Author: Waldemar Heckel
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2020
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0190076682

In the Face of Panhellenic War: Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean, 340-334 -- The Long Road to Asia Minor: Resistance in Macedonia and Greece -- First Clash in Asia Minor -- From the Aegean to Cappadocia -- Persian Counter Measures: The War in the Aegean -- The Great King and his Armies -- The Campaign in Cilicia -- The Levant and Egypt: Collaboration and Resistance -- Darius' Last Stand and the Collapse of Persian Resistance -- The End of Darius III -- War in Central Asia -- Persianizing and the Internal Enemy -- From the Hindu Kush to the Indus -- From the Panjāb to Pattala -- Return to the West: Problems of Consolidation and the Revival of Old Grievancesv--Appendix: Sources for the History of Alexander.

Behind Kṛṣṇa’s Smile

Behind Kṛṣṇa’s Smile
Author: Antonio Rigopoulos
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2024-10-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1438499698

Behind Kṛṣṇa's Smile offers a wholly original perspective on the celebrated Bhagavadgītā, or "Song of God." The book investigates Kṛṣṇa's hint of laughter (prahasann iva) in Bhagavadgītā 2.10, which is generally understood to be the turning point of the famous poem, signaling the outpouring of his grace and teaching to Arjuna. Remarkably, it is from this verse that Śaṅkara and other leading theologians begin to write their commentaries. In addition to exploring the momentousness of Kṛṣṇa's hint of laughter and its impact on the poem's central teachings, Behind Kṛṣṇa's Smile provides a crucial interpretation of Kṛṣṇa's prahasann iva in the Vedānta commentarial tradition, from Śaṅkara up to modern times. The book also considers the meanings of the stock phrase prahasann iva in the larger epic framework of the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa. Moreover, the book offers the first comprehensive review of the significance of Kṛṣṇa's smile in Kṛṣṇaite iconography and literature, demonstrating that there is a unified canon bringing together the literary and performative dimensions of Kṛṣṇa’s hint of laughter.

With Alexander in India and Central Asia

With Alexander in India and Central Asia
Author: Claudia Antonetti
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Total Pages: 474
Release: 2017-06-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1785705857

Alexander conquered most parts of the Western World, but there is a great deal of controversy over his invasion of India, the least known of his campaigns. In BC 327 Alexander came to India, and tried to cross the Jhelum river for the invasion, but was then confronted by King Porus who ruled an area in what is now the Punjab. According to Indian history he was stopped by Porus at his entry into the country, but most of the world still believes that Alexander won the battle. Fearing the prospect of facing other large armies and exhausted by years of campaigning, Alexander's army mutinied at the Hyphasis River, refusing to march farther east. This river thus marks the easternmost extent of Alexander's conquests. Twelve papers in this volume examine aspects of Alexander’s Indian campaign, the relationship between him and his generals, the potential to use Indian sources, and evidence for the influence of policies of Alexander in neighboring areas such as Iran and Russia.