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atgtop10 Ancient Writings on Alexander the Great INTRO DIODORUS CURTIUS PLUTARCH ARRIAN JUSTIN ROMANCE
BATTLES Arrian (89 - 170 CE) was a powerful man in the ancient world.  He lived in the second century CE, when the Roman Empire was at its height.  He was a friend of the great Roman Emperor Hadrian; he was the first Greek to hold a consulship in the Empire; in 134 he led an army against the Alani barbarians, who had invaded the empire, and successfully drove them out; in 145, he became head (Archon) of the famous city of Athens; the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius held Arrian in such high esteem that he always had by his side The Discourses of Epictetus, which was written by Arrian (Epictetus having been Arrian's teacher).  According to Arrian himself, one of the most important things in his life was to hand down to posterity a decent history of Alexander the Great, which would clear up some of the confusion surrounding the great conqueror.  He succeeded.  Arrian's is the most excellent history of Alexander we possess.
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Alexander the Great Selections from Arrian Translated by J. G. Lloyd
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This little book is a good introduction to Arrian.  J. G. Lloyd takes you through a brief overview of the history of Alexander's life, sampling about 30 short "selections" from Arrian's history.  Here is part of one concerning Alexander's horse Bucephalus:  "This horse had once been lost in Uxia, and Alexander had made an announcement that he would kill every Uxian in the country, if they did not bring back his horse.  On the announcement it was at once returned.  Such was Alexander's concern for his horse, and such was the fear he could inspire in the natives."
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Arrian The Campaigns of Alexander Translated by Aubrey de Selincourt
RELIGIOUS
This paperback contains a translation of Arrian by Aubrey de Selincourt.  The translation was done in 1958, and is, overall, probably the most readable out there.  Here is an exerpt from his translation of Arrian's preface:  "Wherever Ptolemy and Aristobolus in their histories of Alexander, the son of Philip, have given the same account, I have followed it on the assumption of its accuracy; where their facts differ I have chosen what I feel to be the most probable and interesting.  There are other accounts of Alexander's life... it seems to me, however, that Ptolemy and Aristobolus are the most trustworthy writers on this subject..."
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Arrian Anabasis of Alexander Books I - IV Translated by P. A. Brunt
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This Loeb Classical Library book is a must-have for anyone serious about Alexander the Great.  This Volume 1 contains the first four books of Arrian's Anabasis of Alexander. It provides Arrian's original Greek on the left page, and an English translation by P. A. Brunt on the right.  The book has 80 pages of introduction, 100 pages of appendixes, copious scholarly notes, and a helpful fold-out map of the CONQUESTS of ALEXANDER.  Each section of Arrian's work is marked by "chapter and verse" like the Bible, so that any particular words of Arrian can be referred to.
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Arrian Anabasis of Alexander Books V - VII  Indica Translated by P. A. Brunt
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This volume 2 is the companion to volume 1 above, containing books 5 - 7 of Arrian's Anabasis of Alexander, and Arrian's Indica, which tells of the voyage of Alexander's army down the Indus river, into the Indian Ocean, then through the Persian Gulf up into the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.  In the Indica, Arrian uses as his main source the now lost history of Alexander's Admiral Nearchus.  The book is full of adventure and peril.  At one point, Alexander was sure the fleet of Nearchus was totally lost.  When Nearchus himself arrived before Alexander and proved that it was not so, he broke down in tears of disbelief and joy.
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