This book offers a coherent narrative of the politico-military history of ancient Greece. It commences with the necessarily approximate course of events in Bronze and early Iron Age, as estimated by the most reliable scholarship plus the legendary accounts of this period. From the Persian Wars onwards, a year-by-year chronology is constructed from the ancient historical sources. Where possible a day-by-day narrative is given.
The geographical scope expands as the horizons of the Greek world and colonization expanded with reference to developments in politico-military events in the Middle Eastern (and later Italian) states that came into contact with Greek culture. From the expansion of the Greek world across the region under Alexander, the development of all the relevant Greek/Macedonian states is covered. The text is divided into events per geographical area for each date, cross-referencing where needed. Detailed accounts are provided for battles and political crises where the sources allow this, and where not much is known for certain the different opinions of historians are referenced en route. The result is a coherent, accessible and accurate reference to what happened and when. AUTHOR: Dr Timothy Venning is a freelance researcher and author. Among his previous works are ‘If Rome Hadn’t Fallen’ (Pen & Sword, 2011), ‘A Chronology of the Roman Empire’ (2010) and ‘A Chronology of the Byzantine Empire’ (with Jonathan Harris, 2005). His fascination with the ‘what ifs’ of history was first kindled by a comic strip he read in Ranger while at primary school in the late ‘60s and has endured ever since. SELLING POINTS: . Offers a coherent chronology of what happened in the Greek world in strict chronological order. . Brief overview of Mycenaean, 'Dark Age’ and Archaic period before more detailed yearby- year coverage from the ancient historical sources. . Where ancient sources or modern scholarship disagree on dates or sequence of events, these problems are noted . Covers Greece itself from earliest times then geographical coverage expands as Greek world expands. . Forms a superb first-stop reference for research into ancient Greek history.