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.
"Skillfully edited by James Romm... and supplemented with a panoply of maps, illustrations and background essays by leading Alexander scholars...the most thrilling volume in this fine series." -Steve Coates, The New York Times Book Review
"The battle maps are the best in the entire series... Pamela Mensch's new translation is both literal and fast-paced... An ideal introductory text to the career of Alexander." -Victor Davis Hanson, New Criterion
""There are hundreds of maps telling stories all their own ... Alexander's conquests stretched across the known world - this is the first edition of Arrian to show that world in all its vastness." -Steve Donoghue, The National
"If, like me, you have never read more than an excerpt or two from Arrian's 'The Campaigns of Alexander,' you really should read this book." -N.S. Gill, About.com
"Sumptuously annotated and lavishly illustrated...Arrian is by far our best and most reliable source for the events he describes." -Tom Holland, The Wall Street Journal