This volume presents the first authoritative English translation and scholarly commentary on a little known but important ancient historical source: the 2nd/3rd century Roman historian Justin's epitome or abridged version of the Philippic History by Pompeius Trogus (27 BC-AD 14). This book covers books 11-12 and represents one of the five major sources for historians on the life and times of Alexander the Great.

Around 200AD, Marcus Junianus Justinus produced an abridged or 'epitomized' version of the Philippic Histories of the Augustan historian Pompeius Trogus. In doing so, he omitted all he did not find either intrinsically interesting or of use for historical examples. Over the centuries that followed, the abridgement eclipsed the original work in popularity, to the extent that Trogus' original work vanished and only Justin's version survived. In this investigation of the language of the Epitome, the first in almost a century, J.C. Yardley examines the work to establish how much of the text belongs to Trogus, and how much to Justin. His study compares words and expressions used in the Epitome with the usage of other Roman authors, and establishes areas where diction is similar to Augustan-era Latin and less in use in Justin's time. Yardley's extensive analysis reveals that there is more of Justin in the work than is often supposed, which may have implications for the historical credibility of the document. Yardley also demonstrates how much Trogus was influenced by his contemporary Livy as well as other Roman authors such as Sallust and Caesar, and how the Epitome reveals the influence of Roman poetry, especially the work of Virgil.

Our knowledge of Alexander the Great is derived from the widely varying accounts of five authors who wrote three and more centuries after his death. The value of each account can be determined in detail only by discovering the source from which it drew, section by section, whether from a contemporary document, a memoir by a companion of Alexander, a hostile critique or a romanticizing narrative. In this book the three earliest accounts are studied in depth, and it becomes apparent that each author used more than one source, and that only occasionally did any two of them or all three use the same source for an incident or a series of incidents. This book will be of value to ancient historians and of interest also to those studying Alexander the Great.

Pompeius Trogus, a Romanized Gaul living in the age of Augustus, wrote a forty-four book universal history (The Philippic History) of the non-Roman Mediterranean world. This work was later abbreviated by M. Junianus Justinus. Alexander the Great's life has been examined in minute detail by scholars for many decades, but the period of chaos that ensued after his death in 323 BC has received much less attention. Few historical sources recount the history of this period consecutively. Justin's abbreviated epitome of the lost Philippic history of Pompeius Trogus is the only relatively continuous account we have left of the events that transpired in the 40 years from 323 BC. This volume supplies a historical analysis of this unique source for the difficult period of Alexander's Successors up to 297 BC, a full translation, and running commentary on Books 13-15.

In Early Arsakid Parthia (ca. 250-165 B.C.): At the Crossroads of Iranian, Hellenistic, and Central Asian History, Marek Jan Olbrycht depicts the early Arsakid Parthian state in northeastern Iran and Turkmenistan within the broader historical context of Western and Central Asia in the post-Achaemenid/Hellenistic period.

This volume presents the first authoritative English translation and scholarly commentary on a little known but important ancient historical source: the second/third century Roman historian Justin's ""epitome"" or abridged version of the Philippic History by Pompeius Trogus (27 BC-AD 14). Thisbook covers books 11-12 and represents one of the five major sources for historians on the life and times of Alexander the Great. A second volume, forthcoming, will cover books 13-15.