Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State (Hellenistic Culture & Society).

Aus der Bibliothek von Prof. Wolfgang Haase, langj�igem Herausgeber der ANRW und des International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT) / From the library of Prof. Wolfgang Haase, long-time editor of ANRW and the International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT). - sehr guter Zustand / very good condition - The period of the Diadochoi (the Successors to Alexander the Great)�roughly from 323-281 B.c.� was a key phase in the development of the ancient world, as vast territories conquered by Alexander were turned into Greco-Macedonian empires in Asia and Egypt. Blending Greco-Macedonian and Persian/Egyptian systems of administration with absolutist and "divine" monarchies, these empires developed a culture based on that of classical Greece with oriental influences. Called by Plutarch "the oldest and greatest of Alexander's successors,� Antigonos the One-Eyed was the dominant figure during the first half of the Diadoch period, ruling most of the Asian territory conquered by the Macedonians during the last twenty years of his long life (382-301 b.c ). In this book, Richard Billows provides the first detailed examination of the achievements and career of Antigonos, correcting erroneous understandings of his aims and policies that have been perpetuated largely on the basis of his defeat in battle at the end of his life. -- Beginning with a discussion of Antigonos�s political and military career and of the Diadoch period in general, Billows demonstrates how after a successful though rather obscure career under kings Philip and Alexander, Antigonos rose to power over the Asian portion of Alexander�s conquests. With a goal of establishing power over western Asia, especially Asia Minor and Syria/ Palestine, by 320 Antigonos emerged victorious in a series of difficult wars against his rivals, crowning himself and his son as kings in 306. Embittered by the persistent hostility of those who controlled the European and Egyptian parts of Alexander's empire, he tried to eliminate these opponents, an ambition which led to his final defeat in 301. In the second part of his book, Billows focusses on Antigonos�s administrative work and policies: his establishment of respect for Greek local autonomy as the guiding principle for relations between the great monarchies and the Greek city-states; his implementation of a system of administration in western Asia later taken over by the Seleukid empire; his introduction of Greek and Macedonian settlers in Asia, a process continued and completed by the Seleukids. -- Calling into question the received view of Antigonos as a failed emulator of Alexander, Billows demonstrates that Antigonos was scarcely influenced by that emperor, seeking to rule west Asia and the Aegean, rather than the whole of Alexander�s empire. The importance of Antigonos�s Greek policy, already widely acknowledged, is treated at length by Billows through a detailed analysis of epigraphical source material. For the first time, Antigonos�s administrative work is described and analyzed in depth, allowing him to emerge as proto-founder of the Seleukid empire, whose work must be taken into account by all scholars of its institutions and administration. This book will establish Antigonos beside Alexander, Ptolemy, and Seleukos as a key contributor to the Hellenistic monarchy and state. ISBN 9780520063785