Cleitarchus reconstruction
Project for the Reconstruction of the History of Alexander by Cleitarchus
New book: Alexander the Great in India
Introduction
Alexander the Great in India: A Reconstruction of Cleitarchus
The most influential account of the career of Alexander the Great was penned by Cleitarchus the son of Deinon, a Greek writing in Alexandria in the decades after Alexander’s death. Most of the surviving ancient texts on Alexander were more or less based upon his work, but every single copy of the original was discarded or destroyed in antiquity. To what extent might it be possible to reconstruct it from the secondary writings? This book argues that a considerable degree of reconstruction is feasible and demonstrates the point by presenting a full reconstruction of Cleitarchus’ version of Alexander’s campaigns in India, the first time that this has been done. Title: | Alexander the Great in India: A Reconstruction of Cleitarchus | Author: | Andrew Michael Chugg | Pages: | 200 | Illustrations: | 13 Figures & Images | ISBN: | 978-0-9556790-1-8 |
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Contents
| 1 | Introduction | 1 |
| 2 | A Basis For The Reconstruction of Cleitarchus | 3 |
| 3 | Book 10: June 327BC – June 326BC | 64 |
| The Invasion Of India, Nysa, Mazaga, Aornus And The Battle Against Porus |
| 4 | Book 11: July 326BC – May 325BC | 93 |
| Eastwards Through India, The Mutiny On The Hyphasis And The River Voyage To The Siege Of The Oxydracae |
| 5 | Book 12: June 325BC – June 324BC | 121 |
| Southern India And Its Ocean, The Kedrosian Desert And The Return to Persia (click here to view PDF) |
| 6 | Alexander’s Route Through India | 142 |
| 7 | Organisation And Sources | 144 |
| 8 | Bibliography | 176 |
| 9 | Acknowledgements | 181 |
| | Index | 182 |
Images
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Figure 10.2. The assault on Aornus across the ravine (Antonio Tempesta, 1608) | Figure 10.3. The phalanx attacks at the Hydaspes (André Castaigne, 1899) | Figure 11.3. Alexander’s lone defence within the Indian citadel (anonymous, 1696) |
Sample Chapter
AlexIndia_Chapter5_Book12.pdf
How to Buy
Reviews
The following review of Alexander the Great in India has been posted by Fiona on Friday 22nd May 2009 on the Alexander the Great Discussion Forum at Pothos:
http://www.pothos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3425&start=15#p32554
I have finished reading Alexander the Great in India today, and I enjoyed it so much, I thought I'd write a review. Here it is: “This book is by no means only for the expert or the professional historian. Anyone who is interested in Alexander and familiar with the basic story will find much to enjoy. The introductory chapters are full of fascinating information about how the reconstruction was attempted, and I for one learned a great deal about many lost sources and also about the work of scholars of previous generations. There are tables of evidence, and a very useful timeline chart, showing how the lost sources and the extant ones interconnect, but most interesting to me was the way Cleitarchus himself came through, with his background, his own aims, and his style. The reconstruction itself was a totally absorbing read. The clever use of different font styles to indicate the level of certainty is very useful and is not at all off-putting when reading. The sheer coherence of the reconstructed chapters was very striking. It read like the work of one writer, it never seemed like it was patched together. Best of all was the way it shed new light and new perspectives on familiar scenes. Alexander at Mazaga, the battle against Porus, Alexander leaping down alone into the city of the Oxydracae, Ptolemy’s near-fatal encounter with a poisoned arrow, the passage of Kedrosia, and the celebrations in Carmania: these were just some among many scenes where the words I was reading brought new and interesting pictures into my mind. It was like reading a freshly-discovered source, and I warmly recommend it.”
Press Release
Press Release via PRWeb 06-April-2009
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