Overview

Examining the period of political consolidation after Alexander the Great’s death, John Holton reconstructs how the successors used new frameworks of royal ideology to create long-term kingships. There is a particular focus on the deeper manoeuvres within the inter-generational impact raging from the influence of religion and family relations, to succession-planning and royal funerals. In this innovative book, Holton expertly reveals how powerful elites either succeeded or failed in creating lasting dynastic power. From the chaos of a collapsing empire to the solidification of a new model for autocratic power, the consolidation of the institution of Hellenistic kingship across the generation of Alexander’s successors (323-276 BC) is comprehensively investigated. With a comparative perspective and detailed studies of diverse evidence, this is the first dedicated study of the consolidation of Hellenistic kingship and the first to put these beginnings in an international context.

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9781350399129

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Reviews

John Holton’s study powerfully and elegantly sheds light on the first 40 years of Hellenistic monarchy, and these new kings’ attempts to legitimise their rule, and to consolidate their new kingdoms. -- Boris Chrubasik, Associate Professor of Ancient History and Classics, University of Toronto, Canada

Author Information

John Holton is Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at Newcastle University, UK. His primary research expertise and publication record is in Hellenistic history and intellectual history, including the study of Alexander the Great and his successors (the diadochoi), ancient monarchies, and universal historiography.

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