By the early second century BC, Israel had long been under the rule of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. But the policy of deliberate Hellenization and suppression of Jewish religious practices by Antiochus IV, sparked a revolt in 167 BC which was le…
John D Grainger analyses the Roman imperial succession, demonstrating that the empire organized by Augustus was fundamentally flawed in the method it used to find emperors. Augustus' system was a mixture of heredity, senatorial and military influenc…
The Seleukid kingdom was the largest state in the world for a century and more between Alexander's death and the rise of Rome. It was ruled for all that time by a succession of able kings but broke down twice before eventually succumbing to dynastic…
Between 152 and 138 BC a series of wars from Africa to India produced a radically new geopolitical situation. In 150 Rome was confined to the western Mediterranean, and the largest state was the Seleukid empire. By 140 Rome had spread to the borders…
Pamphylia, in modern Turkey, was a Greek country from the early Iron Age until the Middle Ages. In that land there were nine cities which can be described more or less as Greek, and this book is an investigation of their history. This was a land at…
The Seleukid kingdom was the largest state in the world for a century and more between Alexander's death and the rise of Rome. It was ruled for all that time by a succession of able kings, but broke down twice, before eventually succumbing to dynast…
After the surrender of the French government in May 1940, the British were concerned that the resources of the French Empire, and particularly the powerful French fleet, would be put at the disposal of the Germans. The British, dependent upon their…
The `Crimean War' was much more than a series of battles in the Crimea. One of the most neglected aspects has been the naval campaign in the Pacific Ocean - as highlighted in this full-scale survey, which brings out the involvement of China and Japa…
This book presents a collection of contemporary documents throwing light on the campaigns by the Royal Navy, in association with the army, on cities of the Spanish Empire in South America, beginning with the (unauthorised) assault on Buenos Aires in…
This very substantial, comprehensive dictionary contains entries on all the battles fought at sea by British fleets and ships since Anglo-Saxon times. Major battles, such as Trafalgar or Jutland, minor actions, often convoy and frigate actions, troo…
This book charts the continuing war between Britain and France on the one side and the Turkish Empire on the other following the British capture of Jerusalem in 1917. It outlines how the British prepared for their advance, bringing in Indian and Aus…
Yorktown [1781], where a British Army, commanded by Lord Cornwallis, surrendered to the American forces under George Washington and their French allies, has generally been considered one of the decisive battles of the American War of Independence. T…
Syria (which in its historical wider sense includes modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine and Jordan) has always been at the centre of events of world importance. It was in this region that pastoral-stock rearing, settled agriculture and alphabeti…
Following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, one of his commanders, Seleukos Nikator, rose over a period of forty years from being a landless refugee to the most successful of the Successor kings. This biography, first published in 1990, ma…
The Tenth Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet had the task of patrolling the seas between Scotland and Greenland to intercept enemy ships trying to escape into the ocean and merchant ships who could be carrying goods destined for Germany. This was a…
An important but neglected aspect of classical warfare that covers technological, strategic and tactical developments from Alexander to the battle of Actium. The period covered in this book is well known for its epic battles and grand campaigns of t…
Diplomacy is a neglected aspect of Hellenistic history, despite the fact that war and peace were the major preoccupations of the rulers of the kingdoms of the time. It becomes clear that it is possible to discern a set of accepted practices which we…
The period covered in this book, is well known for its epic battles and grand campaigns of territorial conquest, but Hellenistic monarchies, Carthaginians and the rapacious Roman Republic were scarcely less active at sea. Huge resources were poured…
John Grainger narrates the aftermath of Marc Antony's defeat, with Octavian's forces swiftly moving in to take control of Egypt but requiring several oft-forgotten campaigns before the country was fully subjugated. Egypt was the last of the Macedoni…
Egypt was the last of the Macedonian Successor states to be swallowed up by Roman expansion. The Ptolemaic rulers had allied themselves to Rome while their rivals went down fighting. However, Cleopatra's famous love affair with Marc Antony ensured s…
Although also known as the Third English Civil War, the author makes it clear that this was the last war between the Scots and English as separate states. He narrates in detail the the events following the exiled King Charles II's landing in Scotlan…
This book charts the involvement of the British navy in the Caribbean from the earliest times to the present. It recounts the voyages of sixteenth century English adventurers such as John Hawkins and Francis Drake and their attacks on Spanish territ…
The eastern Celtic tribes, known to the Greeks as Galatians, exploited the waning of Macedonian power after Alexander the Great's death to launch increasingly ambitious raids and expeditions into the Balkans. In 279 BC they launched a major invasion…
The Phoenicians have long been known for their trading, colonizing, and seafaring skills, but their history has too often seemed to stop short at the time of Alexander the Great. Alexander's destruction of the city of Tyre, however, only marked a ne…
Grainger's latest edition demonstrates that the Seleukid kingdom was still one of the great powers of the ancient world after Magnesia. The second volume in John Grainger's history of the Seleukid Empire is devoted to the reign of Antiochus III. Too…
In 1801 Britain and Bonaparte made an armistice, which became the Treaty of Amiens in March 1802. In the brief period of peace which followed, British attitudes underwent a major change, so that when war began again in May 1803 there was little or n…
The imperial succession at Rome was notoriously uncertain, and where possible hereditary succession was preferred. John Grainger's detailed study looks at aperiod of intrigue and conspiracy. He explores how, why and by whom Domitian was killed, the…
This book is the first detailed study of the foundation, history, government, growth and decline of the cities founded in Syria by Seleukos I in 301BC shortly after the time of Alexander the Great. It throws new light on an important period in ancie…
The concluding part of John D Grainger's history of the Seleukids traces the tumultuous last century of their empire. In this period it was riven by dynastic disputes, secessions and rebellions, the religiously-inspired insurrection of the Jewish Ma…
Global warming is among the most urgent problems facing the world today. Yet many commentators, and even some scientists, discuss it with reference only to the changing climate of the last century or so. John Grainger takes a longer view and draws o…
In this authoritative book John Grainger explores the foundations of Alexander's empire and why it did not survive after his untimely death in 323 BC. Alexander the Great's empire stretched across three continents and his achievements changed the na…
Alexander the Great's empire stretched across three continents and his achievements changed the nature of the ancient world. But for all his military prowess and success as a conqueror, John Grainger argues that he was one of history's great failure…
The second volume in John Grainger's history of the Seleukid Empire is devoted to the reign of Antiochus III. Too often remembered only as the man who lost to the Romans at Magnesia, Antiochus is here revealed as one of the most powerful and capable…
Three battles for the control of the key fortress-city of Gaza took place in 1917 between the `British' force [with units from across the Empire, most notably the ANZACs] and the Turks. The Allies were repulsed twice but on their third attempt, unde…
The study of Syria as a Roman province has been neglected by comparison with equivalent geographical regions such as Italy, Egypt, Greece and even Gaul. It was, however, one of the economic powerhouses of the empire from its annexation until after t…
Between 1805 and 1807 the British mounted several expeditions into the South Atlantic aimed at weakening Napoleon's Spanish and Dutch allies. The targets were the Dutch colony on South Africa's Cape of Good Hope, which potentially threatened British…
This book presents a comprehensive overview of the activities of the British navy in the Baltic Sea from the earliest times until the twentieth century. It traces developments from Anglo-Saxon times, through the medieval period when there were frequ…
This book presents a comprehensive overview of the activities of the British navy in the Mediterranean Sea from the earliest times until the twentieth century. It traces developments from Anglo-Saxon times, through the Crusades, and to the seventeen…
Ancient Dynasties is a unique study of the ruling families of the ancient world known to the Greeks and Romans. The book is in two parts. The first offers analysis and discussion of various features of the ruling dynasties (including the leading fam…
Antipater was a key figure in the rise of Macedon under Philip II and instrumental in the succession of Alexander III (the Great). Alexander entrusted Antipater with ruling Macedon in his long absence and he defeated the Spartans in 331 BC. After Al…
