The Landmark Arrian is an important new edition of The Campaigns of Alexander , the most authoritative ancient account of one of the world’s most brilliant military leaders. During twelve years of continuous campaigns, Alexander conquered an empire that stretched from the shores of the Adriatic to the edge of modern India. Arrian’s history of those conquests, the most reliable and detailed account to emerge from the ancient world, is a work that will fascinate readers interested in classical studies, the history of warfare, and the origins of East-West tensions that still simmer today in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. Drawing on Ptolemy’s memoirs and other sources that have not survived antiquity, Arrian’s portrait of Alexander is unmatched for its accuracy and immediacy. Having served as a high Roman official with command of an army, Arrian had a unique perspective on Alexander, imbued with a level of understanding that only firsthand military experience can provide. In the richly illustrated and annotated style of the Landmark series, The Campaigns of Alexander , which features an engaging and eloquent new translation by Pamela Mensch, brings together some of the preeminent classics scholars at work today to create what is certain to be the definitive edition of this essential work of history.
Robert B. Strassler Book order (chronological)
From the editor of The Landmark Thucydides and The Landmark Herodotus comes a new edition of Xenophon's Hellenika, detailing the final seven years and aftermath of the Peloponnesian War. Covering 411 to 362 B.C.E., this work highlights the shifting alliances among Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Persia during a tumultuous period. Alongside Herodotus and Thucydides, it completes the ancient narrative of classical Greece's military and political history. Xenophon, an Athenian who participated in Cyrus the Younger's expedition and later joined the Spartan army, provides a unique perspective on these events. This edition features a new, authoritative translation by John Marincola, a comprehensive introduction by David Thomas, and sixteen appendices by leading classics scholars. It also includes an extensive timeline to clarify this complex period. Uniquely, it incorporates relevant texts from Diodorus Siculus and the Oxyrhynchus Historian, with explanatory footnotes and a correlation table, enhancing the assessment of Xenophon's reliability as a historian. Like its predecessors, this edition is the most readable and comprehensive available, making it an essential resource for understanding this pivotal history.
Thucydides referred to his account of the war between Athens and Sparta as “a possession for all time,” establishing it as a foundational work in Western historical tradition. For over 2,000 years, it has been essential reading for generals, statesmen, and educated citizens, offering profound military, moral, political, and philosophical insights. However, the text has posed challenges for modern readers due to its non-linear narrative and lack of contemporary aids such as character biographies, maps, and cultural context. Robert Strassler's new edition addresses these issues, enhancing the narrative's coherence and reconstructing the cultural backdrop familiar to Thucydides' original audience. Based on Richard Crawley's translation, this edition is updated for today's readers and features meticulously designed maps, informative appendices by classical scholars, explanatory marginal notes, and a comprehensive index. These enhancements allow readers to easily navigate the text, gaining immediate orientation regarding geography, dates, and stages of the conflict. In any list of the Great Books of Western Civilization, this work ranks highly, and this elegant new edition will ensure its significance is recognized by future generations.