32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent biography, March 2, 2009
This review is from: MITHRIDATES THE GREAT: Rome's Indomitable Enemy (Hardcover)
"Chronicling the life of Mithridates has been a fascinating experience, and I strongly suspect that, even after two millenia, the defiant Pontic battle king will still attract new followers," opines doctor Philip "Maty" Matyszak. If this prediction is borne out, it will be due to nothing less than the author's meticulous scholarship and enchanting prose, both of which vividly animate an unforgettable yet heretofore largely unknown persona in Roman history. With the grand politics of the late Republic, enthralling military clashes, and larger than life personalities sketched by an eloquent pen, this could very well be the book of the year for Romanophiles.
What prompted this grand endeavor, I suspect, is a certain resonance between Roman history that is always, for better or for worse, played against American domestic and foreign policy. Rome was an upstart military and economic giant, though cultural pygmy, whose perceived arrogance, corruption and bungling of foreign policy were resented by older, more culturally advanced nations that had lost center stage in the international arena. Many people griped, but Mithridates was one of the few Hellenistic dynasts to actually translate widespread anti-Roman sentiment into a plan for action. The wily and powerful king fought Rome in three devastating wars, and had some things gone differently Roman expansion into the Greek East might have come to an abrupt halt.
But Matyszak does not in any way redeem Mithridates into a heroic savior of those allegedly exploited by a malignant imperial power. He carefully documents Mithridates ruthlessness: the murder of relatives, the massacre of Roman civilians, the cruel tax exploitation of subjects (which ironically was his subjects' chief grievance against the Romans). Matyszak goes so far to say Mithridates was simply doing what his Roman opponents were doing - conquest for the sake of empire and personal glory.
The author points out that what is to be admired in the man is his audacious personality, his bold ambition, and his implacable will to triumph. That Mithridates made himself immune to poison by incrementally ingesting toxins is something fairly well known, and the author relays those episodes in great detail. But did you know that even on the brink of final defeat, Mithridates was building siege engines for a daring plan to invade Italy itself? Whether genius or lunacy, such details give us a sense of this remarkable man.
At this point I would like to compare the author to two other popular Roman historians. I am not usually one to enjoy the minutiae of military exploits, but Matyszak has enumerated the many military clashes in this epic with a clarity and vividness friendly to the general reader. On this level his writings are up there with Adrian Goldsworthy, that modern giant of Roman military history (except Matyszak is less verbose). In the author's acknowledgment he mentions Goldsworthy as having commented on some of the battles, and I think it shows.
Second, while I have always enjoyed Matyszak's wit and prose from his numerous previous books, I believe in this work he takes it to a new level. I had praised Tom Holland, author of "Rubicon," as the best historian around who can write for the general reader. I believe Matyszak begins to equal or exceed Holland in that regard with "Mithridates". While obviously grounded in scholarship, it felt much more like reading a good dramatic novel. I had it finished the same day it was delivered to me.
The book has plenty of first class maps of the Pontic area, as well as tactical maps used to recreate some of the more significant battles. There are four back-to-back pages of stunning photographs and illustrations, some done personally by the author. In the back is a convenient section of notes and sources, and a bibliography. Pen and Sword has made a sturdy book with a great dust cover.
In the sum of things, this will be a seminal book in bringing the Mithridatic Wars to the general reader. It should appeal to a wide variety of people: Romanophiles, military buffs, and general history enthusiasts.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mithridates the Great: Rome's Indomitable Enemy, October 5, 2010
This review is from: MITHRIDATES THE GREAT: Rome's Indomitable Enemy (Hardcover)
This is an excellent book and a great introduction to people interested in this towering figure of history, and the Mithridatic Wars.
Philip Matyszak's writing is written for the general reader, and even made me laugh out loud a couple of times while reading. He is humorous, and has a great way with words. Definately a book that I think everyone should read. He describes each of his battles and sieges in detail, has maps drawn up for the more significant battles, like that of Chaeronea and Orchomenus, and really gives you a full, rounded out picture of Mithridates and his enemies. He also gives an introduction to fill you in on the politics of the Hellenistic Era before Mithridates was born. Be warned however, he does make a few mistakes during his writing, and even the first sentence has an inaccuracy in it. He claims Mithridates was born in 120 BC, but this was the year Mithridates' reign began, and he also claims the Rhodians made the Colossus of Rhodes after a Seleucid Failure to take the city, but it was actually Demetrius Poliorcetes of the Antigonid Macedonian Dynasty that failed to take the city. The Seleucids, as far as I know, never besieged the city of Rhodes. Anyway, great book, I recommend it to anyone interested in Ancient History.
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16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
good for young readers, September 9, 2009
This review is from: MITHRIDATES THE GREAT: Rome's Indomitable Enemy (Hardcover)
This book is a good introduction to the Mithridatic Wars for young readers. Matyszak's writing style, as always, is engaging and humourous, but there are some errors and inconsistencies. The very first sentence of the book is incorrect--giving Mithridates' birth date as 120 BC. That is the actually the year that his reign began
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