War, the most profitable economic activity in the ancient world, transferred wealth violently from the vanquished to the victor. Invasions, massacres, confiscations, deportations, the sacking of cities, and the selling of survivors into slavery all redistributed property with epic consequences for kings and commoners alike. The most notable example occurred in the late fourth century BC, when Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire. For all of its savagery, this invasion has generally been heralded as a positive economic event for all concerned. Even those harshly critical of the king today tend to praise his plundering of Persia as a means of liberating the moribund resources of the East. To test that popular interpretation, this book investigates the kinds and quantities of treasure seized by the Macedonian king, from gold and silver to land and slaves. It reveals what became of the king's wealth, and what Alexander's redistribution of these vast resources can tell us about his much-disputed policies and personality. Although war made Alexander unbelievably wealthy, it distracted him from managing his spoils competently. Much was wasted, embezzled, deliberately destroyed, or idled again unprofitably. These facts force us to reassess the notion, prevalent since the nineteenth century, that Alexander the Great used the profits of war to improve the ancient economies in the lands that he conquered.

About the Author
Frank L. Holt is Professor of History at the University of Houston. He has published eight books and nearly 100 papers in the fields of Alexander Studies, numismatics, archaeology, Hellenistic culture, and Egyptology. He has received numerous awards for teaching and research.

Reviews
Written in clear and simple language, based on a thorough analysis of ancient historians and for this reason dispelling many myths about Alexander's conquest, this book will find many readers among the specialists of ancient history but it will also captivate all those who want to discover another side of Alexander the Great. * Alain Bresson, University of Chicago *
It's not easy to find something new to say at book length about Alexander the Great and his conquests, but in this fascinating and exciting study Frank Holt does just that. By building up a picture of the conqueror's income and expenses, he assesses the strengths and weaknesses of his fiscal policies, sheds light on the economic impact of the conquest, lays some old canards to rest, and even teases out conclusions about Alexander's character. This book will change the way we look at Alexander. * Robin Waterfield, author of Dividing the Spoils and Taken at the Flood *
written in a robustly readable style and, with its scholarly notes and detailed bibliography, aimed at professional ancient historians, as well as being accessible to undergraduates and the interested general reader * Clare Gruzelier, Classics for All *
What Holt does extremely well is to gather together between two covers much of the available extant data -- literary and material -- and subject it to the proper historiographical critiques in terms of method. * Paul Cartledge, History Today *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199950966
Author Frank L. Holt
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 499g
Dimensions(mm) 218mm * 145mm * 33mm