1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910807763003321

Autore

Heckel Waldemar <1949->

Titolo

The conquests of Alexander the Great / / Waldemar Heckel

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 2007

ISBN

1-316-33466-X

1-107-17518-6

1-283-33089-X

9786613330895

0-511-36683-3

0-511-61140-4

1-139-13093-5

0-511-36742-2

0-511-36555-1

0-511-36618-3

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xxi, 218 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Collana

Key conflicts of classical antiquity

Disciplina

938/.07

Soggetti

Greece History Macedonian Expansion, 359-323 B.C

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 191-204) and index.

Nota di contenuto

COVER; HALF-TITLE; TITLE; COPYRIGHT; DEDICATION; CONTENTS; PREFACE; CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE; CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION; CHAPTER TWO HOW DO WE KNOW? SOURCES FOR ALEXANDER THE GREAT; CHAPTER THREE THE MACEDONIAN BACKGROUND; CHAPTER FOUR THE PERSIAN ENEMY; CHAPTER FIVE CONQUEST OF THE ACHAEMENIDS; CHAPTER SIX RESISTANCE ON TWO FRONTS; CHAPTER SEVEN CONQUEST OF THE PUNJAB; CHAPTER EIGHT THE OCEAN AND THE WEST; CHAPTER NINE THE LONG ROAD FROM SUSA TO BABYLON; APPENDIX ONE ALEXANDER'S OFFICERS; APPENDIX TWO NUMBERS OF TROOPS; APPENDIX THREE THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE EMPIRE; GLOSSARY; ABBREVIATIONS; NOTES; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX

Sommario/riassunto

Waldemar Heckel provides a revisionist overview of the conquests of Alexander the Great. Emphasising the aims and impact of his military expeditions, the political consequences of military action, and the use



of propaganda, both for motivation and justification, his underlying premise is that the basic goals of conquest and the keys to military superiority have not changed dramatically over the millennia. Indeed, as Heckel makes clear, many aristocratic and conquest societies are remarkably similar to that of Alexander in their basic aims and organisation. Heckel rejects the view of Alexander as a reincarnation of Achilles - as an irrational youth on a heroic quest for fame and immortality. In an engaging and balanced account of key military events, Heckel shows how Alexander imposed his will on the willing and how the defeated were no longer capable of resisting his military might.