Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung von Anabasis Alexanders
Für wen es gedacht ist
For readers who love military history and the ancient world, and anyone who wants to meet Alexander through marches, battles, sieges and the choices of a commander.
Worum es in diesem Buch geht
Arrian tells Alexander's story in The Anabasis of Alexander, the fullest surviving ancient account of how a Macedonian king overthrew Persia. Arrian was a Roman senator and soldier who wrote in Greek in the second century after Christ. Many writers had told Alexander's tale and many disagreed. So Arrian went back to two men who served in the campaign, Ptolemy and Aristobulus, and followed them where they agreed. Where they differ, he says so and picks the likelier version. The result is a clear campaign history through a soldier's admiring but open eyes.
In dieser Zusammenfassung
- 1A soldier and statesman writes the campaignFree
- 2A young king secures Macedon and Greece
- 3Crossing to Asia and winning at the Granicus
- 4Issus, Tyre, and the road into Egypt
- 5Gaugamela and the fall of the Persian heartland
- 6Bactria, Sogdiana, and the strain inside the army
- 7India, the Hydaspes, and an army that will not go on
- 8Down the Indus and across Gedrosia
- 9Ruling Asia, the last year, and Arrian's verdict
Punkt 1 von 9
A soldier and statesman writes the campaign
Arrian was a Greek from Bithynia who rose high in the Roman world. He studied under the Stoic teacher Epictetus, became a consul and then governor of Cappadocia, where he commanded troops. He knew armies from the inside, and that shows on every page.
His method is plain. He tells us that Ptolemy, later a king, and Aristobulus, an engineer, were both on the campaign. He trusts them because they wrote after Alexander's death, when there was no reason to flatter or fear him.
When the sources differ, Arrian says so, gives his own view and moves on. The result is a narrative driven by action, like a well ordered campaign report.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Alexander
- The young Macedonian king inherits his father Philip II's army and leads its campaign against Persia.
- Darius III
- The Persian king commands the empire's forces and faces Alexander as his principal royal opponent.
- Philip II
- Alexander's father is the Macedonian king whose army and planned Persian campaign his son inherits.
- Ptolemy
- A participant in Alexander's campaigns, he supplies one of the accounts Arrian chiefly follows.
- Aristobulus
- A participant in Alexander's expedition, he provides another principal account that Arrian compares with Ptolemy's.
- Porus
- An Indian king, he commands the forces confronting Alexander at the river Hydaspes.
- Bessus
- A Persian claimant to royal power, he becomes Alexander's opponent in the campaign toward Bactria.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 152,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 10 h 5 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
Questions about Anabasis Alexanders
What is The Anabasis of Alexander about?
It tells of Alexander the Great's campaigns from his accession to his death at Babylon. It covers his wars against Persia, his march into Central Asia and India, and the struggles within his army.
What does Anabasis mean?
Anabasis is Greek for a march up from the coast into the interior. Xenophon used it for his story of Greek soldiers in Persia, and Arrian took the title to link his work to that earlier book.
Is the Anabasis hard to read?
The narrative runs in order and is driven by marches and battles. The story stays clear.