Ancient Egypt
The scale of ancient Egyptian history is overwhelming. Americans (North and South) wrestle with the consequences of five hundred years of invasion, conquest, and settlement. Europeans argue over what delineates different phases of their history (modern, the rise of the nation-state, phases of the Renaissance, medieval, post-Roman, and so on). Well, that gets you back only 1500 years. Classicists pride their discipline on another thousand years. Egyptians look on, bemused. They go back 6000 years without breathing hard. Ancient Egypt (a deep and long category, obviously) represents a civilization that still fascinates us. Think pharaohs, pyramids, mummies, hieroglyphs, the Sphinx, the Nile, "King Tut." Children and adults love such stuff. I debated with myself whether to be a purist on Ancient Egypt and end my listings with Alexander the Great's conquest and the great era of the Ptolemaic dynasty, but you would miss so much in those 275 years leading up to the pragmatic and unimaginative Romans building their empire on Egyptian grain. I wanted to include the Pharos lighthouse, Alexandria and its library, Cleopatra. So I did, and I will. This page, these offerings, like the rest of Whistlestop, will be carefully curated and vetted and supplemented as I find and list interesting items.
Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra
Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra
ABOUT THIS PRODUCT
In 32 BC, the Roman Republic descended into civil war between the forces of the Octavian in the west and the famous lovers Cleopatra and Marc Antony in the East. Acting quickly, Octavian managed to trap his foes in the Gulf of Actium. In the ensuing battle, Anthony and Cleopatra manage to escape, but their military forces and their hopes for victory in the war were crushed. Soon afterward, the lovers committed suicide, and Octavian dissolved the republic and declared himself Emperor. Actium has remained one of the most famous battles of the ancient world thanks to Shakespeare and Hollywood. This new book tells the true story of the decisive and bloody battle that would once and for all seal the fate of the Roman Republic.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Si Sheppard is a doctoral graduate in American Government and International Relations from Johns Hopkins University. He is a professor of political science and geopolitics at Long Island University, Brooklyn. This is the third volume in a trilogy of titles for Osprey depicting the decline and fall of the Roman Republic.
CONTENTS
Origins of the campaign
Chronology
Opposing commanders
Opposing armies
Orders of battle
Opposing Plans
The campaign
The battles
Aftermath
The battlefields today
Further reading
Index