Alexander the Great: The Dissolution of the Persian Naval Supremacy 334-331 B.C.

ISBN-13: 9781500122973 / Grecki / Miękka / 2014 / 270 str.

MR Andreas Parpas

Opis

The book deals with the naval battles between the Persian fleet and Alexander the Great and his Macedonians in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean between 334-331 BC. It covers the siege of Tyre and in addition the failed efforts by the Persians and King Agis III of Sparta to create turmoil at the rear of Alexander's army. This very important aspect of Alexander's campaign to the East did not receive as yet the coverage it deserves mainly because of the limited personal involvement of Alexander himself. Nevertheless should the Persians being successful and cut Alexander's resupply routes from Greece possibly the outcome of his successful campaign could have been different. The Persian fleet comprised of the naval power of the Cypriot and Phoenicia Kingdoms thus in the book a detailed account is given on the state of the Phoenician but especially of the Cypriot political and naval power which was under the Persians for two hundred years. Alexander and his Macedonians did not have a comparable navy neither they trusted the Greeks especially the Athenians to face the superior Cypriot and Phoenician fleet. He therefore followed a brilliant strategy to blockade the enemy's navy from the land by depriving them safe access to the shores and port cities of Asia Minor. This was a risky strategy which succeeded only after Alexander defeated the Persians twice at Granicus and Issos. The Cypriots and Phoenicians realizing that the young King was getting the better of Darius and his army was winning the battle on land they decided to abandon the Persians and joined Alexander in the siege of Tyre on the shores of Phoenicia . The siege of Tyre took eight months until the city was put under the control of the Macedonians and its fighters killed or sold as slaves. Alexander the Great had an active participation in the siege and the ancient sources gave a considerable and detailed coverage of the battle. The last blow to the Persian naval supremacy in the Mediterranean was the defeat of Agis III in his effort to turn Crete into a Persian naval base. This way the Persian threat in the rear of the Macedonian army had vanished and Greece's security was secured. The book is written to highlight the Cypriot involvement in Alexander's campaign and its epilogue is an attempt to define their position in his empire from scant historical sources. The book is based on extended bibliography and numerous academic papers written on the subject. The main historical sources used are Alexander's historians mainly Arrian, Diodorous, Plutarch and Quintus Curtius Rufus. The book contains a useful appendix on the history and the art of war at sea in ancient times.