The Wars of Alexander the Great - 336–323 BC

The age of Alexander and his conquest of the Persian or 'Achaemenid' Empire, which had existed for over two centuries, represents a watershed in the history of the world. This book offers a fascinating insight into the achievements of one of the greatest generals ever known. Alexander's conquests are of profound significance. By perfecting the new weapons and tactics developed by his father, Philip II, and combining them with the use of specialist units and advancements in siege warfare, Alexander enabled the Macedonian kingdom to move beyond the restrictions of city-state armies and on to the stage of world conquest.

List of contents

Introduction
Chronology
Background to war
Warring sides
The fighting
Portrait of a soldier
The world around war
Portrait of a civilian
How the war ended
Conclusion and consequences
Further reading

About the author

Waldemar Heckel is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Calgary. His publications include numerous articles on the history of Alexander the Great., 'The Last Days and Testament of Alexander the Great' (Stuttgart 1988) and 'The Marshals of Alexander's Empire' (London 1992). Together with John Yardley he has produced the Penguin edition of 'Quintus Curtius Rufus: The History of Alexander' (1984), a commentary on Justin's books on Alexander (OUP 1997) and 'Livy: The Dawn of the Roman Empire' for Oxford World's Classics (2000).

Summary

The age of Alexander and his conquest of the Persian or 'Achaemenid' Empire, which had existed for over two centuries, represents a watershed in the history of the world. This book offers a fascinating insight into the achievements of one of the greatest generals ever known. Alexander's conquests are of profound significance. By perfecting the new weapons and tactics developed by his father, Philip II, and combining them with the use of specialist units and advancements in siege warfare, Alexander enabled the Macedonian kingdom to move beyond the restrictions of city-state armies and on to the stage of world conquest.

Product details

• Authors: Waldemar Heckel
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 25.07.2002
• EAN: 9781841764733
• ISBN: 978-1-84176-473-3
• No. of pages: 96
• Dimensions: 170 mm x 248 mm x 7 mm
• Weight: 326 g
• Illustrations: 18 b/w; 30 col
• Series: Essential Histories; Essential Histories; Essential Histories (Osprey Pu
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political administration; HISTORY / Military / General, HISTORY / Europe / General, Ancient Greece, HISTORY / Ancient / Greece, Warfare & defence, Ancient History, Ancient history: to c 500 CE, War and defence operations, War & defence operations, Land forces & warfare, BCE to c 500 CE, BCE period – Protohistory, Land forces and warfare, HISTORY / Military / Land Forces