Alexander the Great and Hernán Cortés

Alexander the Great and Hernán Cortés PDF Author: Justin D. Lyons
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1498505287
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
This is a biographical pairing of two of the greatest conquerors in human history, drawing its inspiration from Plutarch’s Parallel Lives. Like Plutarch, the purpose of the pairing is not primarily historical. While Plutarch covers the history of each of the lives he chronicles, he also emphasizes questions of character and the larger lessons of politics to be derived from the deeds he recounts. The book provides a narrative account both of Alexander’s conquest of the Persian Empire and Cortés’s conquest of the Aztec Empire while reflecting on the larger questions that emerge from each. The campaign narratives are followed by essays devoted to leadership and command that seek to recover the treasures of the Plutarchian approach shaped by moral and political philosophy. Analysis of leadership style and abilities is joined with assessment of character. Special emphasis is given to the speeches provided in historical sources and meditation on rhetorical successes and failures in maintaining the morale and willing service of their men.

Alexander the Great in Fact and Fiction

Alexander the Great in Fact and Fiction PDF Author: A. B. Bosworth
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780199252756
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
Ten essays from a symposium held at Newcastle University in 1997, which examine the general themes of kingship and imperialism by focusing on the romances that surround Alexander.

Cortés and the Downfall of the Aztec Empire

Cortés and the Downfall of the Aztec Empire PDF Author: Jon Manchip White
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mexico
Languages : en
Pages : 378

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Book Description
Parallels the historical backgrounds and human motivations of the Spaniards and Aztecs, as they grapple in the life-and-death battle for the Aztec Empire.

The Native Conquistador

The Native Conquistador PDF Author: Amber Brian
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271072040
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 127

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Book Description
For many years, scholars of the conquest worked to shift focus away from the Spanish perspective and bring attention to the often-ignored voices and viewpoints of the Indians. But recent work that highlights the “Indian conquistadors” has forced scholars to reexamine the simple categories of conqueror and subject and to acknowledge the seemingly contradictory roles assumed by native peoples who chose to fight alongside the Spaniards against other native groups. The Native Conquistador—a translation of the “Thirteenth Relation,” written by don Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl in the early seventeenth century—narrates the conquest of Mexico from Hernando Cortés’s arrival in 1519 through his expedition into Central America in 1524. The protagonist of the story, however, is not the Spanish conquistador but Alva Ixtlilxochitl’s great-great-grandfather, the native prince Ixtlilxochitl of Tetzcoco. This account reveals the complex political dynamics that motivated Ixtlilxochitl’s decisive alliance with Cortés. Moreover, the dynamic plotline, propelled by the feats of Prince Ixtlilxochitl, has made this a compelling story for centuries—and one that will captivate students and scholars today.

Alexander's Veterans and the Early Wars of the Successors

Alexander's Veterans and the Early Wars of the Successors PDF Author: Joseph Roisman
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292742886
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
From antiquity until now, most writers who have chronicled the events following the death of Alexander the Great have viewed this history through the careers, ambitions, and perspectives of Alexander’s elite successors. Few historians have probed the experiences and attitudes of the ordinary soldiers who followed Alexander on his campaigns and who were divided among his successors as they fought for control of his empire after his death. Yet the veterans played an important role in helping to shape the character and contours of the Hellenistic world. This pathfinding book offers the first in-depth investigation of the Macedonian veterans’ experience during a crucial turning point in Greek history (323–316 BCE). Joseph Roisman discusses the military, social, and political circumstances that shaped the history of Alexander’s veterans, giving special attention to issues such as the soldiers’ conduct on and off the battlefield, the army assemblies, the volatile relationship between the troops and their generals, and other related themes, all from the perspective of the rank-and-file. Roisman also reexamines the biases of the ancient sources and how they affected ancient and modern depictions of Alexander’s veterans, as well as Alexander’s conflicts with his army, the veterans’ motives and goals, and their political contributions to Hellenistic history. He pays special attention to the Silver Shields, a group of Macedonian veterans famous for their invincibility and martial prowess, and assesses whether or not they deserved their formidable reputation.

From Lo-Debar to the King's Table: A journey from an orphan spirit to Sonship

From Lo-Debar to the King's Table: A journey from an orphan spirit to Sonship PDF Author: Daniel Joseph Petrucci
Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 54

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Book Description
From Lo-Debar to the King's Table is a truly inspiring and uplifting account of Daniel's life and journey from having an orphan heart to Sonship. The book takes you through Daniel's heart-wrenching childhood experiences of feeling unloved, abandoned, lonely, alienated, and isolated. However, his resilience and determination to overcome the obstacles that life has dealt him show his unwavering faith and trust in God. Daniel's story teaches us that even in the face of adversity, we can find strength and hope through our faith in Father God and ultimately that our true identity is only found in Him. Do you know who you are? Where does your identity lie? This book will show you how to find your identity in Christ by seeking His face, ending up in His embrace, as you become an eternal son or daughter of King Jesus! --Lisa Clayton, founder of Get Them to Jesus Ministries and author of A Map from the Womb to Eternity Do you know who you are? Where does your identity lie? This book will show you how to find your identity in Christ by seeking His face, ending up in His embrace, as you become an eternal son or daughter of King Jesus! --Lisa Clayton, founder of Get Them to Jesus Ministries and author of A Map from the Womb to Eternity

A Companion to Ancient Macedonia

A Companion to Ancient Macedonia PDF Author: Joseph Roisman
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 144435163X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 680

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Book Description
The most comprehensive and up-to-date work available on ancient Macedonian history and material culture, A Companion to Ancient Macedonia is an invaluable reference for students and scholars alike. Features new, specially commissioned essays by leading and up-and-coming scholars in the field Examines the political, military, social, economic, and cultural history of ancient Macedonia from the Archaic period to the end of Roman period and beyond Discusses the importance of art, archaeology and architecture All ancient sources are translated in English Each chapter includes bibliographical essays for further reading

From Al-Andalus to the Americas (13th-17th Centuries)

From Al-Andalus to the Americas (13th-17th Centuries) PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 900436577X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 485

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Book Description
From Al-Andalus to the Americas (13th-17th Centuries). Destruction and Construcion of Societies offers a multi-perspective view of the filiation of different colonial and settler colonial experiences, from the Medieval Iberian Peninsula to the early Modern Americas. All the articles in the volume refer the reader to colonial orders that extended over time, that substantially reduced indigenous populations, that imposed new productive strategies and created new social hierarchies. The ideological background and how conquests were organised; the treatment given to the conquered lands and people; the political organisations, and the old and new agricultural systems are issues discussed in this volume. Contributors are David Abulafia, Manuel Ardit, Antonio Espino, Adela Fábregas, Josep M. Fradera, Enric Guinot, Helena Kirchner, Antonio Malpica, Virgilio Martínez-Enamorado, Carmen Mena, António Mendes, Félix Retamero, Inge Schjellerup, Josep Torró, and Antoni Virgili.

The End of Everything

The End of Everything PDF Author: Victor Davis Hanson
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 1541673506
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 347

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Book Description
In this “gripping account of catastrophic defeat” (Barry Strauss), a New York Times–bestselling historian charts how and why some societies chose to utterly destroy their foes, and warns that similar wars of obliteration are possible in our time “In The End of Everything, Hanson tells compelling and harrowing stories of how civilizations perished. He helps us consider contemporary affairs in light of that history, think about the unthinkable, and recognize the urgency of trying to prevent our own demise.” — H. R. McMaster, author of Battlegrounds War can settle disputes, topple tyrants, and bend the trajectory of civilization—sometimes to the breaking point. From Troy to Hiroshima, moments when war has ended in utter annihilation have reverberated through the centuries, signaling the end of political systems, cultures, and epochs. Though much has changed over the millennia, human nature remains the same. Modern societies are not immune from the horror of a war of extinction. In The End of Everything, military historian Victor Davis Hanson narrates a series of sieges and sackings that span the age of antiquity to the conquest of the New World to show how societies descend into barbarism and obliteration. In the stories of Thebes, Carthage, Constantinople, and Tenochtitlan, he depicts war’s drama, violence, and folly. Highlighting the naivete that plagued the vanquished and the wrath that justified mass slaughter, Hanson delivers a sobering call to contemporary readers to heed the lessons of obliteration lest we blunder into catastrophe once again.

Napoleon

Napoleon PDF Author: Steven Englund
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439131074
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 602

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Book Description
This sophisticated and masterful biography, written by a respected French history scholar who has taught courses on Napoleon at the University of Paris, brings new and remarkable analysis to the study of modern history's most famous general and statesman. Since boyhood, Steven Englund has been fascinated by the unique force, personality, and political significance of Napoleon Bonaparte, who, in only a decade and a half, changed the face of Europe forever. In Napoleon: A Political Life, Englund harnesses his early passion and intellectual expertise to create a rich and full interpretation of a brilliant but flawed leader. Napoleon believed that war was a means to an end, not the end itself. With this in mind, Steven Englund focuses on the political, rather than the military or personal, aspects of Napoleon's notorious and celebrated life. Doing so permits him to arrive at some original conclusions. For example, where most biographers see this subject as a Corsican patriot who at first detested France, Englund sees a young officer deeply committed to a political event, idea, and opportunity (the French Revolution) -- not to any specific nationality. Indeed, Englund dissects carefully the political use Napoleon made, both as First Consul and as Emperor of the French, of patriotism, or "nation-talk." As Englund charts Napoleon's dramatic rise and fall -- from his Corsican boyhood, his French education, his astonishing military victories and no less astonishing acts of reform as First Consul (1799-1804) to his controversial record as Emperor and, finally, to his exile and death -- he is at particular pains to explore the unprecedented power Napoleon maintained over the popular imagination. Alone among recent biographers, Englund includes a chapter that analyzes the Napoleonic legend over the course of the past two centuries, down to the present-day French Republic, which has its own profound ambivalences toward this man whom it is afraid to recognize yet cannot avoid. Napoleon: A Political Life presents new consideration of Napoleon's adolescent and adult writings, as well as a convincing argument against the recent theory that the Emperor was poisoned at St. Helena. The book also offers an explanation of Napoleon's role as father of the "modern" in politics. What finally emerges from these pages is a vivid and sympathetic portrait that combines youthful enthusiasm and mature scholarly reflection. The result is already regarded by experts as the Napoleonic bicentennial's first major interpretation of this perennial subject.