The Roman War of Antiochos the Great (Mnemosyne, Bibliotheca Classica Batava Supplementum) (Mnemosyne Supplements) [Hardcover]

John D. Grainger (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 9004128409 | ISBN-13: 978-9004128408 | Publication Date: November 1, 2002

This is the first detailed study of the collision of the two greatest powers of the Hellenistic world. The Roman Republic, victorious over Carthage and Macedon, met the Seleukid kingdom, which had crushed Ptolemaic Egypt. The preliminary diplomatic sparring was complicated by Rome's attempts to control Greece, and by the military activities of Antiocohos the Great, and ended in war. Despite well-meaning attempts on both sides to avoid and solve disputes, areas of disagreement could not be removed. Each great power was hounded by the ambitions of its subsidiary clients. When the Aitolian League deliberately challenged Rome, and Rome seemed not to respond, Antiochos moved into Greece to take Rome's place. The Roman reaction produced the war, and a complex campaign by land and sea resulted in another Roman victory.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 386 pages
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004128409
• ISBN-13: 978-9004128408
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,330,106 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rome's Third World War, May 10, 2011

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G. Simon (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Roman War of Antiochos the Great (Mnemosyne, Bibliotheca Classica Batava Supplementum) (Mnemosyne Supplements) (Hardcover)

The first two 'world wars' being against Carthage and Macedon & Hellenistic Greece. This is the fifth of Dr. Grainger's books I have read this year. This is one of his academic studies, so it has in-depth footnotes, and detailed discussions of the sources and their interpreters. Dr Grainger notes in his Introduction that the domination of history by Roman studies "tends to push its victims to one side. The study of Carthage, for example, is scarcely a central issue in ancient studies, and even Hellenistic Greece has often been relegated to an appendix of its supposedly glorious 'classical' period. Into this historical dustbin the Seleukid empire is also consigned. Its long existence - almost two and a half centuries in the central area of Syria - provides a link between the almost coterminous Achaimenid empire and the Roman empire, but to study it as a subject in itself is thought somewhat eccentric".

The chapters are-
1. Early Contacts - p5
2. Approaches - p30
3. Peace and the Hellespont - p52
4. Thrace and a Conference - p76
5. A Proposal for an Alliance - p98
6. Negotiations at Rome - p120
7. Negotiations in Asia - p141
8. Aitolian Decisions - p163
9. Antiochos in Greece: Landing - p192
10. Antiochos in Greece: Successes - p209
11. Antiochos in Greece: Defeat - p228
12. The Naval War: Kissos - p247
13. Winter Manoeuvres - p266
14. The Naval War: Side and Myonessos - p288
15. Magnesia - p307
16. Making Peace - p328
17. Results - p350
Appendices (2), Maps (5), Bibliography, Index - pp359-386

The writer Colin Wilson was once described as "being able to make even a telephone directory interesting". Hellenistic history can be a bit like a Greek telephone directory, due to the fragmentary nature of the sources. Dr. Grainger however is able to make it an interesting read. The book starts with Rome engaged in a war with Macedon, having just won the Second Punic War; the Seleukid empire is just finishing off a war with Ptolemaic Egypt, Sparta has a troublemaking new king at war with the Achaean League, and the odd ruler in Asia Minor taking advantage of the Ptolemaic defeat to help themselves to a bit of extra territory. The victorious Roman general Flamininus enacts a general settlement in Greece and the Romans go home. Antiochos after driving the Ptolemaics out of Syria and Palestine marches through Asia Minor, sorting out ownership of territory before invading Thrace, following up an old claim. The various Greek Leagues and cities, not happy with the Roman settlement, start stirring trouble between Rome and Antiochos. Throw in Hannibal in exile in the Seleukid empire, and Scipio Africanus and his family as a major faction in the senate, then despite the best efforts of Antiochos, the Romans decide on a campaign in Greece, where Antiochos is trying to help his allies against the Aitolian league, who have started a war. The various Greek factions are hoping to get their borders adjusted as a result of making themselves Rome's best friend. And so Antiochos is dragged into an unwanted conflict. The second half of the book covers the course of the Roman war, in which Rome and Antiochos attempt to avoid direct conflict, but circumstances dictate otherwise. Antiochos' aim was to establish a neutral zone between his empire and that of Rome; he eventually gets his wish, but at the expense of losing Asia Minor to the Roman ally Pergamon. It is a bit more complicated than that, obviously, but the author keeps the story moving along at a good pace, explaining who is who and why they are doing what they are doing. I read a library copy.

Further recommended reading by John D. Grainger:
The Cities of Seleukid Syria
The Cities of Pamphylia
The League of Aitolians (Mnemosyne, Supplements)
The Syrian Wars (Mnemosyne, Supplements)
Alexander the Great Failure: The Collapse of the Macedonian Empire (Hambledon Continuum)
Hellenistic and Roman Naval Warfare 336BC - 31BC
Hellenistic Phoenicia
Seleukos Nikator: Constructing a Hellenistic Kingdom