Rome, Parthia and India: The Violent Emergence of a New World Order, 150-140 BC

Between 152 and 138 BC a series of wars from Africa to India produced a radically new geopolitical situation. In 150 Rome was confined to the western Mediterranean, and the largest state was the Seleukid Empire. By 140 Rome had spread to the borders of Asia Minor and the Seleukid Empire was confined to Syria. The new great power in the Middle East was Parthia, stretching from Babylonia to Baktria. These two divided the western world between them until the Arab conquests in the seventh century AD. These wars have generally been treated separately, but they were connected. The crisis began in Syria with the arrival of the pretender Alexander Balas; his example was copied by Andriskos in Macedon, formerly in Seleukid service; the reaction of Rome to defiance in Macedon, Greece and Africa produced conquest and destruction. The preoccupation of Seleukid kings with holding on to their thrones allowed Mithradates I of Parthia to conquer Iran and Babylonia and in Judaea an insurrection was partly successful. Mithradates was able conquer in part because his other enemy, Baktria, was preoccupied with the nomad invasions which led to the destruction of Ai Khanum. One of the reasons for the nomad success in Baktria was the siphoning off of Greek strength into India, where a major expedition in these very years breifly conquered and sacked the old Indian imperial capital of Pataliputra. In the process, the great cities of Carthage, Corinth, Ai Khanum, and Pataliputra were destroyed, while Antioch and Seleukeia-on-the-Tigris were extensively damaged. John Grainger's lucid narrative shows how these seismic events, stretching from India to the Western Meditteranean, interconnected to recast the ancient world. Between 152 and 138 BC a series of wars from Africa to India produced a radically new geopolitical situation. In 150 Rome was confined to the western Mediterranean, and the largest state was the Seleukid empire. By 140 Rome had spread to the borders of Asia Minor and the Seleukid empire was confined to Syria. The new great power in the Middle East was Parthia, stretching from Babylonia to Baktria. These two divided the western world between them until the Arab conquests in the seventh century AD.#8232;#8232;These wars have generally been treated separately, but they were connected. The crisis began in Syria with the arrival of the pretender Alexander Balas; his example was copied by Andriskos in Macedon, formerly in Seleukid service; the reaction of Rome to defiance in Macedon, Greece and Africa produced conquest and destruction. The preoccupation of Seleukid kings with holding on to their thrones allowed Mithradates I of Parthia to conquer Iran and Babylonia, and in Judaea an insurrection was partly successful. Mithradates was able conquer in part because his other enemy, Baktria, was preoccupied with the nomad invasions which led to the destruction of Ai Khanum. One of the reasons for the nomad success in Baktria was the siphoning off of Greek strength into India, where a major expedition in these very years breifly conquered and sacked the old Indian imperial capital of Pataliputra.#8232;#8232;In the process the great cities of Carthage, Corinth, Ai Khanum, and Pataliputra were destroyed, while Antioch and Seleukeia-on-the-Tigris were extensively damaged. John Grainger's lucid narrative shows how these seismic events, stretching from India to the Western Meditteranean, interconnected to recast the ancient world. [Elib] Chapter 1 The World In 150bc 1 -- Chapter 2 The Syrian Crisis 13 -- Chapter 3 Andriskos In Macedon 25 -- Chapter 4 Rome's Problems 37 -- Chapter 5 Baktrian Problems 51 -- Chapter 6 The Sack Of Pataliputra 64 -- Chapter 7 The Dynastic War In Syria, 148-145 77 -- Chapter 8 The Destruction Of Carthage 88 -- Chapter 9 The Sack Of Corinth 99 -- Chapter 10 Roman Decisions 114 -- Chapter 11 Parthia 128 -- Chapter 12 The Burning Of Antioch 141 -- Chapter 13 Fragmentation 157 -- Chapter 14 The Kingdom's Last Chance 170. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 199-201) And Index. Narrates the seismic events of this dramatic decade of warfare that recast the map of the ancient world. Shows how wars raging from India to North Africa were interconnected. Puts Roman expansion in wider context About The Author: John D Grainger, a former teacher, is a well-established historian with around 20 previous works across various periods. HISTORY / Ancient / General