The Campaigns of Alexander the Great by Arrian (ISBN-10: 0140442537). Simply the best! A must for every fan, admirer, and fanatic of Alexander the Great.
Like it or not, this is the Bible for whoever wants to read firsthand about Alexander the Great. Accounts from contemporary historians like Callisthenes, Onesicritus, Nearchus, and Aristobulus did exist but came to us only in bits and pieces. Arrian was lucky enough to have access to the biography of Alexander written by Ptolemy, one of Alexander’s generals and maybe his half-brother, who later became Pharaoh of Egypt. What we know today has been recorded by a handful of ancient writers (Diodorus, Curtius Rufus, and Plutarch mainly) who still had access to those old records, and Arrian is one of those writers.
Like it or not, this is the Bible for whoever wants to read firsthand about Alexander the Great. Accounts from contemporary historians like Callisthenes, Onesicritus, Nearchus, and Aristobulus did exist but came to us only in bits and pieces. Arrian was lucky enough to have access to the biography of Alexander written by Ptolemy, one of Alexander’s generals and maybe his half-brother, who later became Pharaoh of Egypt. What we know today has been recorded by a handful of ancient writers (Diodorus, Curtius Rufus, and Plutarch mainly) who still had access to those old records, and Arrian is one of those writers.
Lucius Flavius Arrianus, better known as Arrian, was a Greek historian from the 2nd century AD who served as a military commander in the Roman Empire. He had widespread interests in philosophy, topographic-ethnography, history, and military matters, culminating in his books on Alexander. He writes in a matter-of-fact tone without being dull or dry.
I possess the pocket version of The Campaigns of Alexander, which I always carry with me when traveling. Arrian knows how to keep his reader’s mind alive, which may or may not have been influenced by the translator, Aubrey de Sélincourt. In any case, it turns out to be very pleasant and fascinating reading material.
Over the years since antiquity up till today, whoever wants to write about Alexander the Great will always refer to Arrian in the first place. All that the history or science fiction authors tell us is based on Arrian’s accounts. He clearly states the dates and the events, describes the battlefields and positions of the armies involved with nearly analytical precision, and puts the cities and landscapes in proper perspective. Whatever information you need, you can always rely on Arrian to find it without fringes or inessential details.
I possess the pocket version of The Campaigns of Alexander, which I always carry with me when traveling. Arrian knows how to keep his reader’s mind alive, which may or may not have been influenced by the translator, Aubrey de Sélincourt. In any case, it turns out to be very pleasant and fascinating reading material.
Over the years since antiquity up till today, whoever wants to write about Alexander the Great will always refer to Arrian in the first place. All that the history or science fiction authors tell us is based on Arrian’s accounts. He clearly states the dates and the events, describes the battlefields and positions of the armies involved with nearly analytical precision, and puts the cities and landscapes in proper perspective. Whatever information you need, you can always rely on Arrian to find it without fringes or inessential details.
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