A historian of the ancient world examines the epic rise and fall of the Celtic tribes who invaded the Mediterranean and lands further east.The eastern Celtic tribes, known to the Greeks as Galatians, exploited the waning of Macedonian power after Alexander the Great's death to launch increasingly ambitious raids and expeditions into the Balkans. In 279 BC they launched a major invasion, defeating and beheading the Macedonian king, Ptolemy Keraunos, before sacking th...

Brings to life "a major figure in the Hellenistic World . . . in his own right, rather than as just another stepping stone during Rome's rise" (HistoryOfWar.org).The second volume in John Grainger's history of the Seleukid Empire is devoted to the reign of Antiochus III. Too often remembered only as the man who lost to the Romans at Magnesia, Antiochus is here revealed as one of the most powerful and capable rulers of the age. Having emerged from civil war in 223 as...

Third in the trilogy of the ancient Greek dynasty. "In Grainger's account, the fall of the Seleukid is as enlightening as the rise."—Minerva MagazineThe concluding part of John D Grainger's history of the Seleukids traces the tumultuous last century of their empire. In this period, it was riven by dynastic disputes, secessions and rebellions, the religiously inspired insurrection of the Jewish Maccabees, civil war and external invasion from Egypt in the West and th...

"Thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation . . . an ideal introduction to the creation and rise of the Ptolemaic era of Egypt." — Midwest Book ReviewIn this first volume of his trilogy on the Ptolemies, John Grainger explains how Ptolemy I established the dynasty's power in Egypt in the wake of Alexander the Great's death. Egypt had been independent for most of the fourth century BC, but was reconquered by the Persian Empire in the 340s...

Explores the turbulent reign of Ptolemy VIII, his successors, and Egypt's decline under Roman influence. The death of Ptolemy VI brought his younger brother Ptolemy VIII to the kingship. This was the start of a prolonged, if intermittent, turbulent period of family strife, punctuated by rebellions, plots and wars. One king, Ptolemy VII, was murdered, Ptolemy VIII's two simultaneous wives plotted and rebelled, and when he died one of these, Kleopatra III, was his effective successor. Ptolem...

The Second part of this ground-breaking trilogy covers the reigns of Ptolemy III, Ptolemy IV, Ptolemy V and Ptolemy VI. The second volume of this ground-breaking trilogy covers the reigns of Ptolemy II, III, IV, V and VI, who between them reigned for a century. Ptolemy III's rule brought the acquisition of Cyrenaica (through marriage) and territorial gains in Syria, the Aegean, Asia Minor and Thrace due to unexpected military successes in the Third Syrian War. These victories over the Sele...

A guide to the over 150 families that ruled the Classical world, from the 10th century BC to the 8th century AD, from western Europe to central Asia.Ancient Dynasties is a unique study of the ruling families of the ancient world known to the Greeks and Romans. The book is in two parts. The first offers analysis and discussion of various features of the ruling dynasties (including the leading families of republican Rome). It examines patterns, similarities ...

The first of three books on the ancient Greek dynasty "reads with the pull of a novel and shows how the new Empire rose and fell."—FiretrenchThe Seleukid kingdom was the largest state in the world for a century and more between Alexander's death and the rise of Rome. The first king, Seleukos I, established a pattern of rule which was unusually friendly towards his subjects, and his policies promoted the steady growth of wealth and population in many areas which had...

An investigation of how a man could become a Roman emperor, and the failure to create an enduring, consistent system for selecting the next emperor.John D. Grainger analyses the Roman imperial succession, demonstrating that the empire organized by Augustus was fundamentally flawed in the method it used to find emperors. Augustus's system was a mixture of heredity, senatorial, and military influences, and these were generally antagonistic. Consequently, the Empire we...

An "extraordinary" account of the wars conducted by and against the Maccabean family of rulers in Palestine in the second and first centuries BC ( Midwest Book Review ).By the early second century BC, Israel had long been under the rule of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. But the policy of deliberate Hellenization and suppression of Jewish religious practices by Antiochus IV, sparked a revolt in 167 BC which was led initia...

A chronicle of the region's rich history, from the Ice Age to the dramatic political divisions of the current era.Syria—which in its historical wider sense includes modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, and Jordan—has always been at the center of events of world importance. It was in this region that pastoral-stock rearing, settled agriculture, and alphabetic writing were invented (and the dog was domesticated). From Syria, Phoenician explorers set out to explor...

An account of a decade of upheaval across ancient India and the Mediterranean that would sway the political world order for the next seven-plus centuries.Between 152 and 138 BC a series of wars from Africa to India produced a radically new geopolitical situation. In 150 Rome was confined to the western Mediterranean, and the largest state was the Seleukid empire. By 140 Rome had spread to the borders of Asia Minor and the Seleukid empire was confined to Syria. The ...