2nd Part in groundbreaking three-part history of Seleukid Empire. Narrates the heyday of the Seleukid empire, then the largest state in the world, and beginning of their decline. Antiochus the Great was one of the most powerful rulers in the ancient world and this title Covers all Antiochus' many campaigns and battles.
Concluding part of John Grainger's unique trilogy narrating the rise and fall of the Seleukid Empire.
An important but neglected aspect of classical warfare that covers technological, strategic and tactical developments from Alexander to the battle of Actium.The period covered in this book is well known for its epic battles and grand campaigns of territorial conquest, but Hellenistic monarchies, Carthaginians, and the rapacious Roman Republic were scarcely less active at sea. Huge resources were poured into maintaining fleets not only as symbols of prestige but as means of projecting real military power across the Mediterranean arena.Taking the period between Alexander the Great's conquests and the Battle of Actium, John Grainger analyzes the developments in naval technology and tactics, the uses and limitations of sea power and the differing strategies of the various powers. He shows, for example, how the Rhodians and the Romans eschewed the ever-larger monster galleys favored by most Hellenistic monarchs in favor of smaller vessels. This is a fascinating study of a neglected aspect of ancient warfare.