Une très brève introduction à la vie et à la carrière d’Alexandre le Grand, roi de Macédoine à 20 ans, mort à 32 ans après douze années de conquêtes.
Un récit clair de la conquête de l’empire achéménide et de la création d’un territoire immense, de la Grèce au Pakistan, du désert libyen aux steppes d’Asie centrale.
Un accent particulier sur les sources contemporaines d’Alexandre – lettres, journaux babyloniens, documents de temples égyptiens – pour comprendre comment il était vu par celles et ceux qui l’ont croisé.
Pour qui c’est adapté
Lecteur·rice·s qui souhaitent découvrir rapidement qui était Alexandre le Grand et pourquoi il a autant marqué l’histoire mondiale.
Étudiant·e·s, enseignant·e·s et passionné·e·s d’histoire à la recherche d’un petit ouvrage en anglais sur l’époque hellénistique.
Personnes intéressées par les empires, la politique de puissance et la diffusion de la langue et de la culture grecques autour de la Méditerranée et du Proche-Orient.
Thèmes
Montée en puissance d’Alexandre : roi de Macédoine, chef d’alliance grecque, pharaon d’Égypte et roi de Perse.
Conquêtes militaires, administration d’un empire immense, partition du territoire après sa mort et naissance des royaumes hellénistiques.
Diffusion de la langue et de la culture grecques, sources antiques sur Alexandre, légendes et débats qu’il suscite encore aujourd’hui.
Livre en anglais.
Alexander the Great became king of Macedon in 336 BC, when he was only 20 years old, and died at the age of 32, twelve years later. During his reign he conquered the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the largest empire that had ever existed, leading his army from Greece to Pakistan, and from the Libyan desert to the steppes of Central Asia. His meteoric career, as leader of an alliance of Greek cities, Pharaoh of Egypt, and King of Persia, had a profound effect on the world he moved through. Even in his lifetime his achievements became legendary and in the centuries that following his story was told and retold throughout Europe and the East. Greek became the language of power in the Eastern Mediterranean and much of the Near East, as powerful Macedonian dynasts carved up Alexander's empire into kingdoms of their own, underlaying the flourishing Hellenistic civilization that emerged after his death. But what do we really know about Alexander? In this Very Short Introduction, Hugh Bowden goes behind the usual historical accounts of Alexander's life and career. Instead, he focuses on the evidence from Alexander's own time - letters from officials in Afghanistan, Babylonian diaries, records from Egyptian temples - to try and understand how Alexander appeared to those who encountered him. In doing so he also demonstrates the profound influence the legends of his life have had on our historical understanding and the controversy they continue to generate worldwide.
About the series The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
