The treasures of Alexander the Great : how one man's wealth shaped the world /
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"War, the most profitable economic activity in the ancient world, transferred wealth from the vanquished to the victor. Invasions, sieges, massacres, annexations, and mass deportations all redistributed property with dramatic consequences for kings and commoners alike. No conqueror ever captured more people or property in so short a lifetime than Alexander the Great in the late fourth century BC. For all its savagery, the creation of Alexander's empire has generally been hailed as a positive economic event for all concerned. Even those harshly critical of Alexander today tend to praise his plundering of Persia as a means of liberating the moribund resources of the East. To test this popular interpretation, The Treasures of Alexander the Great investigates the kinds and quantities of treasure seized by the Macedonian king, from gold and silver to land and slaves. 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. Though Alexander owed his vast fortune to war, battle also distracted him from competently managing his spoils and much was wasted, embezzled, deliberately destroyed, or idled unprofitably. The Treasures of Alexander the Great provides a long-overdue and accessible account of Alexander's wealth and its enormous impact on the ancient world"--
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xcii, 295 pages ; 23 cm. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9780199950966
Eumenes of Cardia : a Greek among Macedonians /
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Eumenes of Cardia: A Greek Among Macedonians (2nd edition) updates the original work in light of a decade of scholarly activity and presents much new analysis influenced by this continuing scholarship. Eumenes of Cardia was a royal secretary who, in the years following the death of Alexander the Great became a major contender for power. Despite the fact that he had been chiefly an administrator rather than one of Alexander's elite military commanders, and that he was a Greek from the city of Cardia, as opposed to a native Macedonian, Eumenes came close to securing control of the Asian remnants of Alexander's empire. His history is important because our sources for the years immediately following the Conqueror's death are dominated by the Cardian's story. Moreover, his death marked in many respects the approaching end of the Macedonian dynasty of kings who had ruled Macedonia since the 8th c. BC, and his life illuminated both the nature of the Macedonian heritage and the possibilities of the new age ushered in by the conquests of the great Alexander.
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1 online resource (xvi, 296 pages) : maps. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004297173 :
2352-8656 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.