In the late 3rd century BC, while Rome struggled for her very survival against the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War, Philip V of Macedon allied with Hannibal in pursuit of his dream for a new Macedonian empire. Once Carthage was defeated, however, the Roman army for the first time turned its full attention to the Greek world. The stage was set for the clash of two of the most successful military systems of the ancient world, the Roman legions versus the Macedonian phalanx. Though sorely tested, the legions emerged victorious from the epic battles of Cynoscephalae and Pydna. The home of Alexander the Great fell under the power of Rome, along with the rest of Greece, the cradle of Western Civilization, which had a profound effect on Roman culture and society. Philip Matyszak gives a clear narrative of the course of these wars, explaining how the Roman war machine coped with formidable new foes and the challenges of unfamiliar terrain. Specially-commissioned colour plates bring the main troop types vividly to life in meticulously-researched detail. Read more

Macedonia has had a troubled and remarkable history. From ancient Macedonia, the country of Alexander the Great, through Roman dependency, Bulgarian rule and Ottoman principality, the modern nation state is a complex mixture of ethnicities,historical allegiances and religious beliefs. United with Yugoslavia under Tito, and with a modern history of Albanian resistance and disputes with modern Greece, it is also absolutely central to the stability of the Balkan region. This is the first anthropological survey of the Republic of Macedonia, which seeks to untangle the many complexities of the country; addressing Sufism, Islamic influence, the role of ethnic Serbs, Albanians, Greeks and Bulgarians, the cultural heritage of Macedonia and its modern political relevance. This is essential reading for students and scholars of Balkan studies, international relations and anthropology. Read more

Philip was a genius of extraordinary versatility. Inheriting a kingdom near to collapse, he made Macedonia the greatest military power in the Western world and left to his son Alexander the strongest state in Eastern Europe. This book gives full attention to the Macedonian state and the Macedonian people who made Philip's success possible, and to the high level of culture and of artistic skills revealed by recent archaeological discoveries. Read more

A BBC Radio 4 Book of the WeekNamed as one of 2020's best books in the Times, the Financial Times, the Herald and the TabletLake Ohrid and Lake Prespa. Two vast lakes joined by underground rivers. Two lakes that have played a central role in Kapka Kassabova's maternal family.As she journeys to her grandmother's place of origin, Kassabova encounters a civilizational crossroads. The Lakes are set within the mountainous borderlands of North Macedonia, Albania and Greece, and crowned by the old Roman road, the via Egnatia. Once a trading and spiritual nexus of the southern Balkans, it remains one of Eurasia's oldest surviving religious melting pots. With their remote rock churches, changeable currents, and large population of migratory birds, the Lakes live in their own time.By exploring the stories of dwellers past and present, Kassabova uncovers the human history shaped by the Lakes. Soon, her journey unfolds to a deeper enquiry into how geography and politics imprint themselves upon families and nations, and confronts her with questions about human suffering and the capacity for change.'[A] delight, exquisitely written and brimming with compassion... [a] wonderful book'-the Sunday Times Read more

'A great achievement' Timothy Garton AshBloodshed. Invasions. Nationalist fervor. In this classic and celebrated history of the Balkans, Misha Glenny shows how the countries on the South-Eastern edge of Europe are seen by the rest of the world, and how the real story of the last 200 years is much more surprising. There are groups we think of as implacable enemies, who have, over the centuries, formed unlikely alliances, disrupting the idea that conflict in the Balkans is the inevitable product of ancient grudges. And there is the often-catastrophic relationship between the Balkans and the rest of Europe, a dark history that raises profound questions about Western intervention. From the region's turbulent nineteenth century to the recent brutal conflicts in Kosovo and Macedonia, the surge of organised crime, the rise of Turkey and the rocky road to EU membership, The Balkans remains the essential and peerless study of Europe's most complex and least understood region. 'An endeavour which deserves extraordinary admiration and as yet has no rival' Guardian'Glenny is the wisest and most reflective of all the Western journalists who have covered this part of Europe in the past two decades... This was an enormously ambitious book to undertake, but it is the book which Europe and America need' Observer Read more

A BBC Radio 4 Book of the WeekLake Ohrid and Lake Prespa. Two vast lakes joined by underground rivers. Two lakes that seem to hold both the turbulent memories of the region's past, and the secret of its enduring allure. Two lakes that have played a central role in Kapka Kassabova's maternal family.As she journeys to her grandmother's place of origin, Kassabova encounters a civilisational crossroads. The Lakes are set within the mountainous borderlands of North Macedonia, Albania and Greece, and crowned by the old Roman road, the via Egnatia. Once a trading and spiritual nexus of the southern Balkans, this lake region remains one of Eurasia's most culturally diverse areas. Meanwhile, with their remote rock churches, changeable currents, and large population of migratory birds, the Lakes live in their own time.By exploring on water and land the stories of poets, fishermen, and caretakers, misfits, rulers, and inheritors of war and exile, Kassabova uncovers the human history shaped by the Lakes. Setting out to resolve her own ancestral legacy of the Lakes, Kassabova's journey unfolds to a deeper enquiry into how geography and politics imprint themselves upon families and nations, and confronts her with questions about human suffering and the capacity for change. Read more

Until recently, popular biographers and most scholars viewed Alexander the Great as a genius with a plan, a romantic figure pursuing his vision of a united world. His dream was at times characterized as a benevolent interest in the brotherhood of man, sometimes as a brute interest in the exercise of power. Green, a Cambridge-trained classicist who is also a novelist, portrays Alexander as both a complex personality and a single-minded general, a man capable of such diverse expediencies as patricide or the massacre of civilians. Green describes his Alexander as "not only the most brilliant (and ambitious) field commander in history, but also supremely indifferent to all those administrative excellences and idealistic yearnings foisted upon him by later generations, especially those who found the conqueror, tout court, a little hard upon their liberal sensibilities."This biography begins not with one of the universally known incidents of Alexander's life, but with an account of his father, Philip of Macedonia, whose many-territoried empire was the first on the continent of Europe to have an effectively centralized government and military. What Philip and Macedonia had to offer, Alexander made his own, but Philip and Macedonia also made Alexander form an important context for understanding Alexander himself. Yet his origins and training do not fully explain the man. After he was named hegemon of the Hellenic League, many philosophers came to congratulate Alexander, but one was conspicuous by his absence: Diogenes the Cynic, an ascetic who lived in a clay tub.Piqued and curious, Alexander himself visited the philosopher, who, when asked if there was anything Alexander could do for him, made the famous reply, "Don't stand between me and the sun." Alexander's courtiers jeered, but Alexander silenced them: "If I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes." This remark was as unexpected in Alexander as it would be in a modern leader. For the general reader, the book, redolent with gritty details and fully aware of Alexander's darker side, offers a gripping tale of Alexander's career. Full backnotes, fourteen maps, and chronological and genealogical tables serve readers with more specialized interests. Read more

The authors have researched the Salonika Campaign in every detail, from the arrival of the first British troops in 1915 to final victory. During this period large numbers of British and allied troops were tied up in the strategically vital Balkans. Salonika was converted into a vast military base and over 70 miles of defensive works were created. We learn of the disappointments of the British XII Corps offensive in April/May 1917 (The First Battle of Doiran) and the more successful aggressive raiding in the Struma Valley. Using first hand accounts a vivid picture of life for the British Army is painted, with the roles of the Royal Flying Corps/RAF and RNAS well covered. The campaign drew to a victorious conclusion with the defeat of the Bulgarians in 1918 but the British Salonika Army remained in place until 1921. The effect of this slow demobilisation are also covered. Read more

Though it traces its alleged origin to the ancient Macedonian state of Alexander the Great, the modern Republic of Macedonia only achieved statehood in 1991 by a historical accident. It was immediately embroiled with Greece over the question of its identity and of its very existence. To throw light on this piece of unfinished political business, this history, divided into two volumes, takes a wide view of Macedonia as a geographical entity that extends outwards from the Macedonian Republic into all its neighbours, including northern Greece and southwest Bulgaria. The books cover the entire period of Macedonia’s written history, from the Temenid kingdom of the Fifth Century B.C. through the periods of Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Bulgarian, Ottoman and Yugoslav rule, with a final chapter devoted to the travails of the insecure new Macedonian Republic. Religions―Orthodoxy, Sunni and Shia Islam, and even Judaism―all left their mark on Macedonian civilization: a chapter is devoted to Orthodox mysticism and its role in the creation of the secret churches beside the lakes of Ohrid and Prespa. Two chapters are dedicated to the strange and less than admirable history of Athos, the holy mountain peninsula in Greek Macedonia, while other chapters trace a detailed record of Macedonia’s experience under the Ottoman and post-Ottoman regimes. Modern and contemporary topics explored here include the violent but incompetent Macedonian struggle against Ottoman rule between 1878 and 1909, and Macedonian involvement in the Balkan Wars and both World Wars. Marshal Tito’s Communist insurgency in Greece of 1944-49 left a lingering legacy of fear and distrust that seems even today to colour the attitudes of the Greeks towards their Macedonian neighbours, a phenomenon also discussed in this volume. Read more

In the history of ancient Macedonia, the last three Antigonid kings--Philip V (r. 221-179), his son Perseus (r. 179-168), and the pretender Andriscus or Philip VI (r. 149-148)--are commonly overlooked in favor of their predecessors Philip II (r. 359-336) and his son Alexander the Great (r. 336-323), who established a Macedonian empire. By the time Philip V became king, Macedonia was no longer an imperial power and Rome was fast spreading its dominance over the Mediterranean. Viewed as postscripts to the kingdom's heyday, the last Macedonian kings are often denounced for self-serving ambitions, flawed policies, and questionable personal qualities by hostile ancient writers. They are condemned for defeats by Rome that saw both the end of the monarchy and the fall of the formidable Macedonian phalanx before the Roman legion.In The Last Kings of Macedonia and the Triumph of Rome, Ian Worthington reassesses these three kings and demonstrates how such denunciations are inaccurate. Producing the first full-scale treatment of Philip V in eighty years and the first in English of Perseus and Andriscus in more than fifty, Worthington argues that this period was far from a postscript to Macedonia's Classical greatness and disagrees that the last Antigonid kings were merely collateral damage in Rome's ascendancy in the east. Despite superior Roman manpower and resources, Philip and Perseus often had the upper hand in their wars against Rome. As Worthington asserts, these kings deserve to be remembered for striving to preserve their kingdom's independence against staggering odds. Read more

Alexander the Great never ceases to fascinate. He was aged only 20 when he became king of Macedon, but had already begun to show the military genius that would win him victories against the mighty Persian Empire. In a campaign lasting 11 years he travelled thousands of miles through deserts, plains and forests, fought huge battles, and besieged many cities to become the master of a massive empire. He died prematurely at the age of just 33, and no man could hold together the empire he had created. A god in his lifetime, his name is still world-famous millennia after his death. This book examines Alexander's campaigns in detail and his victories with the help of maps, illustrations and reconstructions to bring the epic career of one of the world's greatest generals to life. Read more

The army that emerged from the reforms of Philip II of Macedon proved to be without equal in the period covered and one of the most successful in the whole of the ancient period. Much has been written on aspects of Macedonian warfare, particularly the generalship of it's most famous proponent, Alexander the Great, yet many studies retread the same paths and draw conclusion on the same narrow evidential base, while leaving important aspects and sources of information untouched. David Karunanithy concentrates on filling the gaps in existing studies, presenting and studying evidence frequently overlooked or ignored. The book is divided into four sections, each presenting a wealth of detail on various aspects: Preparation (including chapters on training techniques, various aspects of arms and armour production and supply and the provision and management of cavalry mounts); Support (eg non-combatant specialists, bridge building, field engineering, construction of field camps and little-known combat units in Asia); Dress and Battle Equipment (drawing on much neglected evidence and including such details as officers' plumes, wreaths and finger rings); Alexander's Veterans and Life on Campaign (the Silver Shields; baggage trains and personal kit, servants and families, camp life and recreation..). In addition there are useful appendices summarising evidence for the appearance of troops. Karunanithy analyses this wealth of detail with real insight, for example suggesting that in some areas, such as the use of marching camps, the Macedonian influence on Roman armies has been underestimated. His meticulous research allows a much fuller portrait to be painted of this awesome war machine. This is an absolute must-have for anyone with an interest in the armies of Alexander and his Successors Read more

With the transfer of German units to the western front in the spring of 1918, the position of the Central Powers on the Macedonian front worsened. Materiel became scarce and morale among the Bulgarian forces deteriorated. The Entente Command perceived in Macedonia an excellent opportunity to apply additional pressure to the Germans, who were already retreating on the western front. In September, Entente forces undertook an offensive directed primarily at Bulgarian defenses at Dobro Pole. Balkan Breakthrough tells the story of that battle and its consequences. Dobro Pole was the catalyst for the collapse of the Central Powers and the Entente victory in southeastern Europe―a defeat that helped persuade the German military leadership that the war was lost. While decisive in ending World War I in the region, the battle did not resolve the underlying national issues there. Read more

Leon Sciaky, whose family were prosperous Jewish grain merchants and descendents of the Sephardic Jewish exodus from Spain in 1492, grew up in the vibrant city of Salonica (now Thessaloniki) in Macedonia in a remarkably polyglot world where Turkish, Arabic, Greek, Bulgarian, French, Spanish and Hebrew were all spoken regularly in the city's busy streets and quays. In the early part of the book, Sciaky's recollections are achingly nostalgic and lyrical and describe an intimate and affectionate family existence where every day the young Sciaky would eat with his parents and his adored grandfather Nono on the oriental divan, exchanging stories and jokes. But in retrospect, the city was doomed to destruction and as early as 1902 when Leon Sciaky experienced an earthquake, he remarked: 'One's very conception of solidity, one's feeling of security was suddenly destroyed'. Soon after, the young Sciaky witnessed the earliest examples of terrorism and a downward spiral of violent attacks. His account of the end of a world is powerful and intense; when, as a young boy, he saw the look of terror in the face of a refugee peasant, he likened it to 'the animal dread of cattle in the slaughterhouse'. "Farewell to Salonica" was first published in America in 1946. It is a beautiful and touching memoir, which also offers a unique political and historical insight into the complex history of the breakdown of the Turkish Empire. The Sciakys left for America in 1915 and like them many non-Greeks left Salonica following the Balkan Wars and World War I. All but sixteen hundred of the city's fifty thousand Jewish inhabitants perished in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Read more

In this groundbreaking work, Elizabeth Donnelly Carney examines the role of royal women in the Macedonian Argead dynasty from the sixth century B.C. to 168 B.C. Women were excluded from the exercise of power in most of the Hellenic world. However, Carney shows that the wives, mothers, and daughters of kings played important roles in Macedonian public life and occasionally determined the course of national events. Carney assembles an exhaustive array of evidence on the political role of Argead royal women. She also presents a series of biographical sketches describing the public careers of all the royal women - including Olympias, mother of Alexander the Great, and the warrior Cynnane, his half-sister - whose names are preserved in ancient sources. Read more

The Ottoman Empire went through rapid economic and social development in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as it approached its end. Profound changes took place in its European territories, particularly and prominently in Macedonia. In the decades before the First World War, industrial capitalism began to emerge in Ottoman Macedonia and its impact was felt across society. The port city of Salonica was at the epicentre of this transformation, led by its Jewish community. But the most remarkable site of development was found deep in provincial Macedonia, where industrial capitalism sprang from domestic sources in spite of unfavourable conditions. Ottoman Greek traders and industrialists from the region of Mount Vermion helped shape the economic trajectory of ‘Turkey in Europe’, and competed successfully against Jewish capitalists from Salonica. The story of Ottoman Macedonian capitalism was nearly forgotten in the century that followed the demise of the Empire. This book pieces it together by unearthing Ottoman archival materials combined with Greek sources and field research. It offers a fresh perspective on late Ottoman economic history and will be an invaluable resource for scholars of Ottoman, Greek and Turkish history. Published in Association with the British Institute at Ankara Read more

Possibly the most famous commander in history, Alexander the Great never ceases to fascinate. When he led his combined Macedonian and Greek army into Asia he began the greatest military conquest in world history. In 11 years he overcame the Persian Empire, and campaigned across deserts, plains and forests to become the master of most of the known world. Fully illustrated, this book covers his campaigns, the development of his army, and the forces he defeated. His incredible campaigns are examined in detail and his victories and the tactics that ensured them are explained and described with the help of maps, illustrations and reconstructions that bring the epic career of one of the world's greatest generals to life. This book contains material previously published in Warrior; 27 & 103, Elite 7; 42, 66, 121, Men-at-Arms; 69, 137, 148, 360, 373, Essential Histories; 26, 36, Fortress 40 Campaigns; 7 & 182, and New Vanguard; 78, 89, 132 Read more

A compelling account of the diplomatic and military actions that led to Kosovo’s independence and their implications for future U.S. and UN interventions. Read more