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The Sieges of Alexander The Great

by Stephen English

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231976,373 (3.25)1
During his spectacular career of conquest Alexander the Great attacked many cities and fortresses, never failing to take them. Such operations occupied more of his time than his famous pitched battles and were at least as vital in securing his vast empire. Sieges provided some of the sternest tests for the Macedonian army, and it is perhaps telling that Alexander received most of his many wounds in the shadow of enemy walls. Yet this is the first full-length study concentrating purely on his many dramatic sieges and his mastery of siege craft.Dr. Stephen English describes each of Alexander's sieges, analyzing the strategy, tactics, and technical aspects, such as the innovative and astoundingly ambitious siege engines used. From the shocking destruction of Thebes, through the epic siege of Tyre, which Alexander found an island and left permanently joined to the mainland, to his final (and nearly fatal) combat at the town of the Malli, where he was first to storm the enemy battlements, we see how Alexander's sieges helped make him great.Dr. Stephen English gained a BA in Ancient History and an MA in Classics from Durham University while simultaneously studying for a BSc through the Open University. He went on to gain an MSc from Sunderland University while already working towards his PhD at Durham, under the supervision of renowned classicist PJ Rhodes. His research at Durham focused on the military career of Alexander the Great and forms the basis of this book, as it did of his first, The Army of Alexander the Great. He has also written on the subject for the magazine Ancient Warfare. Dr. English lives in Durham with his partner, Elizabeth, also a writer.… (more)
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There is much publish or perish hamburger ground out about Alexander the Great, of the many books I have, some I fail to finish. So I looked forward to someone taking the opportunity to examine his sieges, adding new perspective, as there is so much to add and he was such a master, accomplishing the impossible.

I am still waiting. Anyone who reads about Alexander knows the fragility of the historical sources we have, and that none are first hand and all easily questionable, especially on specific “facts”. That doesn't mean we know nothing of Alexander and that an insightful author can step back from the “sources” and see much of his character and accomplishments. There are also many other sources that can be directed from siege itself, which Dr. English does draw on to some degree. This is what I hoped for, not so much dependence on two of the potentially faultiest histories, fables of Curtius and the faulty research of Diodorus who is rarely even published.

By the time you reach the end you see little new, constant repetition in the authors notes he wrote from and a replication of the same mistakes criticized so often by other authors. Maybe I had my hopes to high. ( )
  Newmans2001 | Jun 1, 2015 |
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During his spectacular career of conquest Alexander the Great attacked many cities and fortresses, never failing to take them. Such operations occupied more of his time than his famous pitched battles and were at least as vital in securing his vast empire. Sieges provided some of the sternest tests for the Macedonian army, and it is perhaps telling that Alexander received most of his many wounds in the shadow of enemy walls. Yet this is the first full-length study concentrating purely on his many dramatic sieges and his mastery of siege craft.Dr. Stephen English describes each of Alexander's sieges, analyzing the strategy, tactics, and technical aspects, such as the innovative and astoundingly ambitious siege engines used. From the shocking destruction of Thebes, through the epic siege of Tyre, which Alexander found an island and left permanently joined to the mainland, to his final (and nearly fatal) combat at the town of the Malli, where he was first to storm the enemy battlements, we see how Alexander's sieges helped make him great.Dr. Stephen English gained a BA in Ancient History and an MA in Classics from Durham University while simultaneously studying for a BSc through the Open University. He went on to gain an MSc from Sunderland University while already working towards his PhD at Durham, under the supervision of renowned classicist PJ Rhodes. His research at Durham focused on the military career of Alexander the Great and forms the basis of this book, as it did of his first, The Army of Alexander the Great. He has also written on the subject for the magazine Ancient Warfare. Dr. English lives in Durham with his partner, Elizabeth, also a writer.

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