Ghost on the Throne: The Death of Alexander the Great and the Bloody Fight for His Empire
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- Author：James Romm
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Summary
When Alexander the Great died at the age of thirty-two， his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea in the west all the way to modern-day India in the east。 In an unusual compromise， his two heirs—a mentally damaged half brother， Philip III， and an infant son， Alexander IV， born after his death—were jointly granted the kingship。 But six of Alexander’s Macedonian generals， spurred by their own thirst for power and the legend that Alexander bequeathed his rule “to the strongest，” fought to gain supremacy。 Perhaps their most fascinating and conniving adversary was Alexander’s former Greek secretary， Eumenes， now a general himself， who would be the determining factor in the precarious fortunes of the royal family。 James Romm， professor of classics at Bard College， brings to life the cutthroat competition and the struggle for control of the Greek world’s greatest empire。
Reviews
Grant Glas
，
What happened after Alexander the Great mysteriously died？ This book plays out like a pulp fiction bloodbath that keeps you glued to the pages。 With his top generals vying for power you find yourself cheering for certain individuals to win。 This was more a 4。5 stars for me and burns to a fiery end like a good Tarantino movie。Screw Game of Thrones - this history lesson is the OG source material
Brian
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The king died。 Clouds。
Alex
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Eumenes is one of the most fascinating historical figures I know。 The story of the wars of the successors seem like they could go on for thousands of pages but you gotta stop at some point i guess！ The subplot about Athens is some sad shit。 Not to be cliched but everything here really jumps off the page， pleasantly surprised by how much life is given to these historical events we have such scant records about—without embellishment
Broadwater
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Great book， but ended too soon。。。 Book finished before who got what part of the empire。
Paul
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One of the most engrossing， thrilling history books I’ve ever read。 James Romm is an incredible storyteller and he creates a Game of Thrones type narrative out of this chaotic and bloody period of ancient history。Read this to experience the complete and utter destruction of the entire Argead bloodline in just a few short years。 Horrifying how quickly a man can go from being the most powerful and feared person in existence to having every single person related to him dead within a decade。I love t One of the most engrossing， thrilling history books I’ve ever read。 James Romm is an incredible storyteller and he creates a Game of Thrones type narrative out of this chaotic and bloody period of ancient history。Read this to experience the complete and utter destruction of the entire Argead bloodline in just a few short years。 Horrifying how quickly a man can go from being the most powerful and feared person in existence to having every single person related to him dead within a decade。I love this period of history。 。。。more
Rob
，
Wow。 A great example of why I love reading good ancient history。 I was a little out of my depth taking this on but immensely enjoyed it。 James Romm has really written a very accessible and at the same time scholarly page turner with a large ensemble of characters which comes off with fascinating success。 I loved the duel between Eumenes and Antigonous-one-eye towards the end， the clever maneuvers of Ptolemy I and the absolute everyone for themselves game that dominated immediate post-Alexander G Wow。 A great example of why I love reading good ancient history。 I was a little out of my depth taking this on but immensely enjoyed it。 James Romm has really written a very accessible and at the same time scholarly page turner with a large ensemble of characters which comes off with fascinating success。 I loved the duel between Eumenes and Antigonous-one-eye towards the end， the clever maneuvers of Ptolemy I and the absolute everyone for themselves game that dominated immediate post-Alexander Greece & Asia Minor which would eventually decline under Roman rule and further along the following centuries。 Such a fun read and makes me wonder what the attraction is to ‘Game of Thrones’ vs。 real ancient history which always astounds and amazes the reader plus has the added benefit of having learned a bit of human history。 。。。more
Sud666
，
Alexander III of Macedon， better known as Alexander the Great， was a great King， a brilliant tactical General， and a figure of awe and reverence to his men。 Building on the fine Macedonian military hoplites formations used by his father， Phillip II， he added cavalry to the formation to create an unstoppable military force that conquered most the the known world。But， Alexander was a once in a lifetime leader。 The military force he created was generalled by powerful personalities who， in their own Alexander III of Macedon， better known as Alexander the Great， was a great King， a brilliant tactical General， and a figure of awe and reverence to his men。 Building on the fine Macedonian military hoplites formations used by his father， Phillip II， he added cavalry to the formation to create an unstoppable military force that conquered most the the known world。But， Alexander was a once in a lifetime leader。 The military force he created was generalled by powerful personalities who， in their own right， were also gifted generals。 Once Alexander died， the remaining Generals fought for control over Alexander's Empire。This book could have been called "The Wars of the Diadochi" （plural of Latin Diadochus， from Greek: Diádokhoi or "successors"） 。 It follows the intense Game of Thrones that takes place between the generals of Alexander's army。 Very well written and quite interesting， this is a great book to read after reading about Alexander's life。 While the Diadochi Wars were destructive to Alexander's empire， these wars helped to create the Hellenistic influence throughout the world。 In fact， the best explanation is provided by the author:"。。。。In the years following the king's （Alexander） death， half a dozen generals would box with one another in wars fought across three continents， while half a dozen members of the royal family would wrestle for the throne。 Generals and monarchs would team up for mutual expediency， then switch sides and combat each other when that was more advantageous。 The contest would be a generational relay race， with military leaders handing off their standards to sons， queens passing scepters to daughters。 It would be nearly a decade before winners began to emerge， and these would be a wholly different set of contestants from those who stood at the starting line， in Babylon， at the side of the dying king。。。"There is an apocryphal story that Alexander， just before death， was asked to whom the empire should be passed to， answered: "To the strongest"。 This turned out to be true。 While none would ever become a King of Kings， such as Alexander， in fact， the wars destroyed the Macedonian monarchy and their nascent empire。 Instead， the "strongest" （those who had the military muscle and bravado to make themselves kings） ended up founding dynasties named after them-such as Antigonus， Ptolemy， Lysimachus， Seleucus， and Cassander。An excellent book covering vital historical events。 If you've been curious to see the whole story of the dissolution of Alexander's empire， this book is for you。 。。。more
Victor Sonkin
，
I was recommended the book as a way to make sense of the extremely complex and convoluted situation that followed the death of Alexander the Great and the struggle between his diadochoi。 It didn't help that much; rather， it confirmed the idea that the situation was extremely complex。 It does give you an idea of the time and forces that participated in the struggle; the variety of sources， which sometimes say nothing at all about important things， and sometimes offer contradictory accounts， is al I was recommended the book as a way to make sense of the extremely complex and convoluted situation that followed the death of Alexander the Great and the struggle between his diadochoi。 It didn't help that much; rather， it confirmed the idea that the situation was extremely complex。 It does give you an idea of the time and forces that participated in the struggle; the variety of sources， which sometimes say nothing at all about important things， and sometimes offer contradictory accounts， is also staggering; it is explained， to a degree， in the notes。 。。。more
Carlos Wang
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簡中版應該快出了。。。。。
saïd
，
Refreshingly academic but surprisingly short—over a third of the book is occupied with the bibliography and references。
Jason
，
It was a really interesting read and easy to absorb。 With all the same names for people or events that happen across great geographical space， the author had good reminders and references to help you keep track of everyone and everything in the book。 The book did seem much shorter than I anticipated。 40% of the book was references and bibliography。 I do wish， then， that the author went more into detail of certain events or about the sources he drew his information from rather than just surmising It was a really interesting read and easy to absorb。 With all the same names for people or events that happen across great geographical space， the author had good reminders and references to help you keep track of everyone and everything in the book。 The book did seem much shorter than I anticipated。 40% of the book was references and bibliography。 I do wish， then， that the author went more into detail of certain events or about the sources he drew his information from rather than just surmising them into a small sentence or paragraph and stuffing the details into the reference section at the end。 。。。more
Zac Curtis
，
Truly remarkable book。 Romm created a masterpiece modern historical retelling， using numerous sources along with recent archeological finds to tell the story of the immediate aftermath of Alexander the Greats death。 This was great to read after Phillip and Alexander by Adrian Goldsworthy。 Alexander's story is written about extensively， but the aftermath is largely ignored which is right where Romm picks up。Although a tired trope， the book was "game of thrones"esque。 Romm told the history and all Truly remarkable book。 Romm created a masterpiece modern historical retelling， using numerous sources along with recent archeological finds to tell the story of the immediate aftermath of Alexander the Greats death。 This was great to read after Phillip and Alexander by Adrian Goldsworthy。 Alexander's story is written about extensively， but the aftermath is largely ignored which is right where Romm picks up。Although a tired trope， the book was "game of thrones"esque。 Romm told the history and allowed the tension and suspense to build。 Although some events and outcomes might be known by the reader， I love when the author doesn't spoil the outcome before describing the events。 Romm analyzes the decisions and explains why they made sense at the time， slicing through the hindsight bias。 His style of beginning a topic， running through the events and connecting them to events elsewhere in the empire， then switching back to an equally riveting topic kept me engaged throughout the book。 I couldn't help myself from cheering for people like Eumenes the Greek or Adea。 The betrayals， battles， and political scheming makes the neglect of this era feel underserved。 Even when he doesn't have all the information， Romm fills it in succinctly and logically while still making it entertaining。This is certainly one of my favorite books of the year and is well worth the purchase。 It combines riveting history with excellent writing， what more is there to want from a book？ 。。。more
Joseph Calev
，
This is clearly the best book I've read about the period after Alexander the Great。 Told in a riveting style rare to history books， it was impossible to put down。 As an ancient coin collector， this is what convinced me to specialize on the period of Alexander the Great and the Wars of the Diadochi。 Were I given the choice between being a major player during this period， and a major character in "Game of Thrones"， I'd choose GOT due to the higher survival probability。 It was an absolute bloodbath This is clearly the best book I've read about the period after Alexander the Great。 Told in a riveting style rare to history books， it was impossible to put down。 As an ancient coin collector， this is what convinced me to specialize on the period of Alexander the Great and the Wars of the Diadochi。 Were I given the choice between being a major player during this period， and a major character in "Game of Thrones"， I'd choose GOT due to the higher survival probability。 It was an absolute bloodbath。The one kind of funny thing I found with this book， though， is it can make a great drinking game。 Just drink every time you hear "Eumenes。" 。。。more
Ryan Patrick
，
Usually， when historians cover the advent of the Hellenistic World， it goes something like this: "When Alexander the Great died， he left his kingdom 'to the strongest'。 His generals then fought over the empire until three main kingdoms were established。。。" This book fills in that gap between 'death' and 'three kingdoms'， although it doesn't take the story quite that far - we are sort of left with five generals （some of whom would soon be eliminated by their rivals）。The story is well told -- I fo Usually， when historians cover the advent of the Hellenistic World， it goes something like this: "When Alexander the Great died， he left his kingdom 'to the strongest'。 His generals then fought over the empire until three main kingdoms were established。。。" This book fills in that gap between 'death' and 'three kingdoms'， although it doesn't take the story quite that far - we are sort of left with five generals （some of whom would soon be eliminated by their rivals）。The story is well told -- I found it engaging throughout。 Interestingly， Romm really seems to tell it like the story of Eumenes， a Greek former secretary of Alexander's who had been raised up to be a general and who proved himself quite capable， except that he was never quite able to overcome the stigma of being Greek， instead of Macedonian。 Eumenes is certainly the most sympathetically portrayed of the generals， and the book ends essentially at his death by treachery。 I didn't mind; it was just an interesting choice， and perhaps even a little unconscious on the author's part。I certainly learned some new details of history and filled in a gap in my knowledge。 I received this as a Christmas gift a few years back and it proved to be a good gift！ Thanks！ 。。。more
Victor
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"He died just when men most longed for him" -Arrian "He died just when men most longed for him" -Arrian 。。。more
Mr John Fahy
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This is an excellent account of the aftermath of the death of Alexander the Great and the subsequent conflicts between his generals for control of his empire。 It reads like a thriller， a real page turner， helped by the fact that I knew very little about what happened when Alexander died， other than the fact that one of his generals， Ptolemy， had survived and his dynasty would continue until the death of Cleopatra after the battle of Actium in 30BC。 The other protagonists I knew very little of， s This is an excellent account of the aftermath of the death of Alexander the Great and the subsequent conflicts between his generals for control of his empire。 It reads like a thriller， a real page turner， helped by the fact that I knew very little about what happened when Alexander died， other than the fact that one of his generals， Ptolemy， had survived and his dynasty would continue until the death of Cleopatra after the battle of Actium in 30BC。 The other protagonists I knew very little of， so this book was not only very entertaining but also very informative 。。。more
Alex Mccartney
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One of the finest non-fiction history books I’ve ever had the pleasure to read。 This is a gripping， page-turning account of one of the greatest struggles in ancient history- as twisted as any ASOIAF novel。 The characters leap off the page， and the author does a phenomenal job of keeping you oriented among the spears and elephants dancing around Europe and the Near East。 What a read， if you’re interested， I would highly recommend this book。
Austin
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Fascinating period of history。
Nick
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4。5
Dez Van Der Voort
，
Writing: 5/5Knowledge Gained: 5/5Enjoyment: 5/5Clearly， from the outset， the author Romm did not intend this to be a masterpiece， however， as peripeteia， surrendipitiously this absolutely surpassed his own former work， on "Alexander the Great"。As a brief respite from "Napolean， a life"， I clearly didn't give this book much thought， until， written in the style of "game of thrones"， along a chronological timeframe， with each character as the protagonist of their own small chapters/sections， brings Writing: 5/5Knowledge Gained: 5/5Enjoyment: 5/5Clearly， from the outset， the author Romm did not intend this to be a masterpiece， however， as peripeteia， surrendipitiously this absolutely surpassed his own former work， on "Alexander the Great"。As a brief respite from "Napolean， a life"， I clearly didn't give this book much thought， until， written in the style of "game of thrones"， along a chronological timeframe， with each character as the protagonist of their own small chapters/sections， brings more than 3+ princesses， 11+ generals， multiple cities and citizens into play on a coherent historical timeline， this true non-fiction became a suspense thrilled， exciting， lively book， with the major disappointment being that it ended a few hundred pages too short。Alexander III （also known as the great） died suddenly， leaving his vast empire in the hands of 6 of his 7 bodyguards/close friends/generals， as well as his mother and sister， an old general Antipater in Macedonia， an old general Craterus on the march home to Macedonia to retire， general left in Asia Minor and probably forgotten Antigonus one-eye， Alexander's non-greek wife and infant son， Alexander's brother who was an invalid， and Alexander's half-niece Adea （who ended up marrying his brother）。 In the background， we have Athens， as well as Aristotle playing a role in a few chapters。The end， as history does not contain spoilers， one can check on wikipedia for summary， is that pretty much most in that era had untimely deaths， some pretty terrible。I'm not sure if there's a TV drama version of this story， but clearly this is a spectacular plot， even better than "game of thrones"， and Romm crafted it well。 Alexander III's book （also by Romm） pales in comparison。If there is a "take-away"， I would venture to say， that the Macedonians are a proud uni-cultural race， unaccepting outsiders or foreigners， such xenophobia， and their reverence to the Argead Dynasty， led to all this wars of who is flying the "true" banner。 There seems to be much devious-ness in the greek world， as people don't adhere to oaths， and ghastly deaths await prisoners and enemies， very unlike 18th or 19th century Europe。 The depravity was seen here， and the "golden age of Athens" has clearly passed by， by more than a century。 It seems though， that this barbarism is good riddance by the incoming Romans around one century later。 。。。more
Joe Langdale
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Not really specifically memorable。
Jared Higgs
，
Very detailed account of the first 15ish years of the wars of the Diadochi， after Alexander's death。 Heavy focus of Athens， Peridikas， and the feud between Antigonus and Eumenes。 Very detailed account of the first 15ish years of the wars of the Diadochi， after Alexander's death。 Heavy focus of Athens， Peridikas， and the feud between Antigonus and Eumenes。 。。。more
Lenny Isf
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Not bad， but overall disappointing considering the level that Roman pieces have been able to achieve over the last ~decade。
Max
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An Empire shattered at the peak of it's power。 Ghost on the Throne skims over the glory years of conquest preceding Alexander's death and jumps straight into the inevitable politics， intrigue and horror that comes when such an outsized personality commanding vast military strength unexpectedly dies with no planned successor ready to take power。 There are a number of characters to follow and parallel threads of activity spread over hundreds of miles of territory but James Romm does an excellent j An Empire shattered at the peak of it's power。 Ghost on the Throne skims over the glory years of conquest preceding Alexander's death and jumps straight into the inevitable politics， intrigue and horror that comes when such an outsized personality commanding vast military strength unexpectedly dies with no planned successor ready to take power。 There are a number of characters to follow and parallel threads of activity spread over hundreds of miles of territory but James Romm does an excellent job of keeping the narrative relatively easy to follow。 Overall it was a really enjoyable read。 。。。more
Richard Pomeroy
，
Outstanding book of history。 Brilliant-brilliant-brilliant！ The amazing and amazingly complex story of the Successors expertly woven together and presented in as approachable a manner as the subject matter permits。 James Romm is an excellent historian and writer - this is the first of his books I have read， but it won't be the last！。 Outstanding book of history。 Brilliant-brilliant-brilliant！ The amazing and amazingly complex story of the Successors expertly woven together and presented in as approachable a manner as the subject matter permits。 James Romm is an excellent historian and writer - this is the first of his books I have read， but it won't be the last！。 。。。more
Joseph Meyer
，
Perhaps no period in western history is as dramatic & less well-known than the post Alexander the Great struggle for his empire。 It is a tale that has it all， civil war， assassination， conspiracy， counter-conspiracy， counter-counter conspiracy， body snatching， martial politics， women leading armies， and much more。 It is a story as dramatic as any in the Ancient World， but in its complicated story it is little known outside scholars。 James Romm's book "Ghost on the Throne" seeks to provide finall Perhaps no period in western history is as dramatic & less well-known than the post Alexander the Great struggle for his empire。 It is a tale that has it all， civil war， assassination， conspiracy， counter-conspiracy， counter-counter conspiracy， body snatching， martial politics， women leading armies， and much more。 It is a story as dramatic as any in the Ancient World， but in its complicated story it is little known outside scholars。 James Romm's book "Ghost on the Throne" seeks to provide finally a written treatment of the post-Alexander struggle。 He focuses on the immediate 6 years of Alexander the Great's death， when the successors fought for the royal family。 After the family's elimination in 308 B。C。E。， the successors would then carve up his empire into their own Empires， but this is something Romm does not touch on。 Romm does a wonderful job in weaving through the complicated details AND telling a masterful story at the same time。 Romm divides his chapters into small narratives told from the various characters perspectives whether it's members of the royal family such as Olympias， one of the successors such as Eumenes， or the treacherous world of Athenian politics such as Phocion。 This helps to tell the story in a way that the narrative cuts are easy to digest & the information is not overwhelming。 Romm paints the characters in larger than life proses。 From Perdiccas， the early contender for the entire empire。 To Eumenes， the authors clear favorite， the Greek who almost had it all。 To the powerful royal women such as Alexander the Great's mother， Olympias; Alexander the Great's half-sister Cyanne， and her daughter Adea。 One aspect that I found fascinating was the role that ethnicity played in the struggle。 From the mixed reaction to Alexander the Great's mixing of Macedonian-Persian blood。 To the mistrust of Eumene's Greek background。 It sounded almost modern with the ethnic。 Bottom line， Romm's book is a sure companion in the post-Alexander the Great Succession struggle。 One of a few English books that try to tackle the subject。 If anyone is interested in this period， absolutely recommend picking this up！ 。。。more
Reza Amiri Praramadhan
，
The tales of Alexander the Great’s godlike feats， on how he obliterated the Persian Empire， how his phalanx pikemen， coupled with his strategic and tactical brilliance became military innovations during the ancient era， and most of all， on his relentless empire-building， all achieved during such an early age， had been much covered in other literatures。 But what happened after his sudden， unexpected death？While a superior military commander himself， Alexander was less clearly defined on his abili The tales of Alexander the Great’s godlike feats， on how he obliterated the Persian Empire， how his phalanx pikemen， coupled with his strategic and tactical brilliance became military innovations during the ancient era， and most of all， on his relentless empire-building， all achieved during such an early age， had been much covered in other literatures。 But what happened after his sudden， unexpected death？While a superior military commander himself， Alexander was less clearly defined on his ability as a statesman。 A man with huge charisma and personal magnetism， he managed to bend the will of bunch of rowdy， unruly， yet one of the most effective fighting force in history， to follow him from hilly region of Macedonia down to Indus River。 During the time of his death， he left no clear line of succession， resolving to bequeath his empire to “the strongest”， while the nearest to his bloodline， were his imbecile half-brother， and a minor who was half-macedon， half-bactrian， a result of his vision of an empire which was much maligned by his generals。Thus the race for Alexander’s great empire began even while his corpse had not gone cold。 All highly ambitious individuals， driven both by lust for glory and/or gold， Alexander’s generals quarrelled， schemed， cajoled and pitted against each other。 Figures as illustrious as Ptolemy the shrewd， or the mighty Antipater， who was left behind during Alexander’s eastern conquest， and one of my favorites， the Greek Eumenes， who rose through his sheer talent from a lowly secretary to a general with streaks of glory to his name， who met a rather tragic end， and not left to mention， Perdiccas the hapless regent， who came the closest to claim Alexander’s mantle as master of two continents， yet that fate continued to elude him， featured heavily on this story of intrigues and betrayals。Although a history book， it is so well-written， that it feels like reading a historical novel， with its characters so well described。 I found the chapters on Athenians struggles against the Macedonians the most interesting part， while I unconciously shed my tears when Eumenes met his end of the road。 While the topic is certainly niche and not everybody will enjoy it， I recommend it to everyone for its sheer value of entertainment， and for its moving story， if not for the new knowledge and information。 。。。more
Yousef Shaaban
，
Dear James， Why have you stopped at year 310 BC while you still had another 300 years of Hellenistic history which you could have continued narrating in such unbounded passion which was overflowing in this masterpiece of you？！A sequel please！
Neelie Neirbo
，
I’ll probably read this book two or three times。 Concise， precise prose。 （A lesser author would’ve consumed 600 pages to tell the same stories。） Thoroughly enjoyed the pace and poignancy with which he revealed the demise of the lost kingdom of Alexander。 Had he lived， could he have held it together？ Found a balance between Argead monarchy， Greek oligarchy， and the desire of the masses for democracy？ Hmm。。。 probably not。 But at least one form of his dynastic megalomania was attempted through mixi I’ll probably read this book two or three times。 Concise， precise prose。 （A lesser author would’ve consumed 600 pages to tell the same stories。） Thoroughly enjoyed the pace and poignancy with which he revealed the demise of the lost kingdom of Alexander。 Had he lived， could he have held it together？ Found a balance between Argead monarchy， Greek oligarchy， and the desire of the masses for democracy？ Hmm。。。 probably not。 But at least one form of his dynastic megalomania was attempted through mixing the DNA of west and east， of northern and southern Europe—marrying generals and bodyguards off to women as the spoils of war。This work speaks to the folly of building an empire you cannot outlive， placing that power in birthrights， speaking for ghosts， and plying soldiers hungry for battle and fortune with ill-gotten second-hand wealth。 And perhaps most relevant to these times， be wary of resting one’s fate on the outcome of battles between old men who just won’t g was t out of the way of progress。The appearance and character of women as portrayed in this book speaks to laziness and stimulates， in my mind， hilarity。 Always pawns， prizes， or bitches。 Rarely shrewd， always conniving， causes of wars。 Hrumph。- Alexander’s top generals were about to tangle with one of history’s top teenage girls。p 167- The blow that destroyed （two great blocks of Alexander’s empire） seemed almost banal， a piece of gossip about a man’s interest in another man’s wife。 Women represented legitimacy， and marital alliance security。。。 p 169- One brought him pleasure， the other power。 p 195- （That house）。。。was being torn apart 。。。 by meddlesome， ungovernable women。 p 210- With his dying breaths， Antipater had reportedly spoken one last， stern injunction to his followers: “Don’t let Macedonia be ruled by a woman！ - p 237The last is my favorite excerpt before I turn to a book by Elizabeth Carney suggested by Romm that I hope will do more justice to the women in this book。 It seems true to this day that one book can do justice either to the kings or to the queens but never both。 LOLSigned，A “meddlesome ungovernable woman”- 。。。more
Jeremy
，