What is the central problem with the evidence for Alexander's reign?

No contemporary account survives complete, and the narratives we have were written between three and five centuries later from earlier books that are now lost.

Who was Arrian, and when did he write?

He was a Greek from Bithynia who rose to be a Roman consul and provincial governor, and he wrote his history of the campaign in the second century AD.

Which two writers did Arrian choose as his main authorities, and on what grounds?

Ptolemy and Aristobulus, because both had served on the campaign, and because he believed a man who had become a king would be ashamed to lie.

Why is Arrian's confidence in Ptolemy questionable?

Ptolemy wrote as a reigning king with every reason to enlarge his own part in the campaign and to diminish rivals whose descendants were his enemies.

How does Arrian signal that he is reporting something he cannot verify?

He gives variant versions side by side and marks stories he doubts as things that are said, which lets a reader see where his authorities disagreed.

State two limitations of Arrian's account.

He admires his subject and rarely presses a moral objection, and his interest is overwhelmingly military, so administration, finance and the lives of subjects get little attention.

OCR A-Level Ancient History H407

Relations Between Greek States and Non-Greek States, 492–404 BC

Topic overview Mardonius' expedition and the Persian demand for submission, 492–491 BC The Battle of Marathon, 490 BC Persian aims and the preparations of both sides in the 480s BC The Hellenic League and the divided response of the Greek states Thermopylae, Artemisium and the debate before Salamis Plataea, Mycale and the Greek alliance of 479 BC Explaining the Greek victory over Persia The consequences of victory and the founding of the Delian League, 479–477 BC The growth of Athenian power in the Delian League The earthquake, the helot revolt and the break with Sparta, 465–461 BC The First Peloponnesian War, 461–446 BC The Egyptian expedition and the end of the Persian war, 460–449 BC The Thirty Years' Peace and the revolt of Samos, 446–439 BC Corcyra, Potidaea and the outbreak of war in 431 BC The causes of the Peloponnesian War Strategy, the invasions of Attica and the plague at Athens Pylos, Sphacteria and Brasidas in Thrace Divisions over peace and the Peace of Nicias, 422–421 BC The alliance with Argos and the Battle of Mantinea, 418 BC The Sicilian Expedition and the occupation of Decelea, 415–413 BC Persia and the defeat of Athens, 412–404 BC Explaining Athenian defeat in the Peloponnesian War

The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC

Topic overview The agoge and the upbringing of Spartan boys and men The education of Spartan girls The values the agoge was intended to instil Spartiates, perioikoi and helots Helot revolts, the krypteia and the fear of the helots The status and role of Spartan women The Spartan kings and the gerousia The ephors and the Spartan assembly Great debates and influential individuals in Spartan politics The organisation of the Spartan army and who fought in it Spartan successes and failures on land, 465–418 BC The Spartan navy and the commanders of the later war Corinthian and Athenian views of Sparta The Peloponnesian League and the limits of Spartan action Oliganthropia, the decline of values and the Spartan mirage

The Culture and Politics of Athens, c.460–c.399 BC

Topic overview Democracy and oligarchy, and the critics of the Athenian system The ecclesia, the boule and the officials of the democracy Ostracism and the popular lawcourts Athens as leader of an empire and her treatment of the allies Leadership in fifth-century Athens: Pericles, Cleon, Nicias and Alcibiades Citizens, metics, slaves and women in Athenian society The Sophists and the teaching of rhetoric The Sophists' view of Athenian society and its values Socrates: his method, his critique of democracy and his trial The Persian Wars, Delian League funds and the origins of the building programme The buildings of the Acropolis and the Agora Acropolis sculpture and the sanctuaries of Attica The City Dionysia, the Lenaea and the organisation of dramatic festivals Tragedy and comedy as genres Aristophanes, Old Comedy and contemporary Athens Athenian attitudes to religion and the changing relationship with the gods The festivals of the Athenian religious year The Panathenaea, Athena and Poseidon on the Acropolis

The Rise of Macedon, c.359–323 BC

Topic overview Philip's accession and the securing of Macedon, 359–357 BC The reform of the Macedonian army and its siege technology Philip's court, his patronage and his marriages The expansion of Macedon and the organisation of the new territories Thessaly, the Third Sacred War and Philip's place in Greek institutions The Peace of Philocrates and the prospect of a common peace Thrace, Perinthus and Byzantium Chaeronea, the League of Corinth and the hegemony Alexander's accession and the reassertion of control over Greece The crossing to Asia: Troy, the Granicus and Halicarnassus Gordium, Issus and the conquest of the Levant and Egypt Gaugamela and the occupations of Babylon and Persepolis The pursuit of Darius, the fall of Bessus and the war in Bactria and Sogdiana Conspiracy and opposition: Philotas, Cleitus and Callisthenes Alexander's foundation cities and their role The Indus valley campaign and the rulers of the Punjab The mutiny at the Hyphasis, the Mallians and the crossing of the Gedrosian Desert The return from the east: the purges, the marriages at Susa and the mutiny at Opis The Exiles' Decree, the death of Hephaestion and the last months at Babylon The aims of Philip and Alexander: continuity and change Philip's character: diplomacy, warfare and the treatment of the defeated Alexander's character, the gods and his own divinity Philip, Alexander and the Greek states Alexander, his army and his Companions Alexander and the Persians: Darius' family, the satraps and the Epigonoi The ancient sources for Philip and Alexander and their reliability

The Julio-Claudian Emperors, 31 BC–AD 68

Topic overview Actium and the presentation of Augustus' victory The constitutional settlements of 27 BC and 23 BC The Res Gestae and the debate over the restored Republic Augustus' military achievements and the frontiers of the empire The administration of Rome and the provinces under Augustus Religion, moral revival and the Imperial Cult under Augustus The image of Augustus in poetry, coinage and the building programme The imperial family, conspiracies and the succession Tiberius and the views of the classical authors Tiberius, Germanicus and Sejanus Mutinies, revolts and the treason trials under Tiberius Tiberius, religion and the government of Rome The presentation of Gaius' character by the ancient sources Gaius, religion and the Imperial Cult Gaius' rule in Rome and the assassination of AD 41 The accession of Claudius in AD 41 The invasion of Britain in AD 43 Claudius' wives, freedmen and the government of Rome Nero, Britannicus and the death of Claudius The presentation of Nero's character by the ancient sources Nero's early reign and the changing role of Agrippina Nero's wives and the imperial household The Great Fire of AD 64 and the Pisonian conspiracy Nero, religion and the government of Rome Corbulo, the revolt of Vindex and the fall of Nero

The Breakdown of the Late Republic, 88–31 BC

Topic overview The Senate, its membership and the force of senatus consulta The popular assemblies and the making of law The magistracies, the cursus honorum and the electoral process The tribunes of the plebs and their power in the state The courts, the quaestiones perpetuae and the politics of prosecution The Gracchi, Marius and the origins of the crisis of 88 BC Sulla's dictatorship and the Sullan reforms The undoing of Sulla's settlement in the 70s BC Spartacus, Crassus and the consulship of 70 BC The Catilinarian Conspiracy of 63 BC The First Triumvirate and Caesar's consulship of 59 BC Political breakdown and disorder in the 50s BC The causes of the Civil War of 49 BC Caesar's dictatorship and social change The assassination of Caesar and the Ides of March Antony against the Senate and the Second Triumvirate Octavian's victories in Italy, at Actium and in Egypt Patronage, clientela and the politics of faction Oratory, political marriage and scandal in public life Land bills, largesse and the buying of popular support Bribery, corruption, intimidation and violence in Roman politics Military commands, veteran loyalty and the threat of force The senatorial and equestrian orders and the publicani The rural poor, migration to Rome and the changing urban plebs The roles of Sulla, Lepidus, Crassus and Pompey The roles of Cicero, Cato, Catiline and Clodius The roles of Caesar, Brutus and Cassius, Antony and Octavian The ancient sources for the Late Republic and their reliability

The Flavians, AD 68–96

Topic overview The fall of Nero and the failure of Galba Otho, Vitellius and the civil wars of AD 69 Vespasian's bid for power and the men who backed him Legitimising the accession: army, Senate, people and the gods Vespasian's settlement on his accession and the powers of the princeps The treasury, taxation and the recovery of the state The Flavian family, its supporters and the dynastic succession Domitian and the transformation of the princeps' power Vespasian's reign, his character and his dealings with the Senate The principate of Titus, AD 79–81 Domitian in Rome: government, opposition and the terror The Flavians and the empire: Britain, Germany, the Danube and the East Propaganda and the legitimation of the dynasty The Flavian building programme in Rome Triumphs, games and festivals as imperial spectacle Literature, art and the image of the princeps Traditional Roman religion and the emperors' place in it Foreign cults and the alternatives to traditional religion The imperial cult and the deification of the Flavians

Ruling Roman Britain, AD 43–c.128

Topic overview Britain and Rome before the invasion of AD 43 Claudius' reasons for the conquest of Britain The invasion of AD 43 and the conquest of southern Britain Roman military policy under the governors from Ostorius to Frontinus Agricola's campaigns in Britain, AD 77–83 Frontier policy after Agricola and Domitian's retrenchment Trajan's retrenchment and the Stanegate frontier Hadrian's decision to build the Wall The features and functions of Hadrian's Wall The reasons for British resistance and the forms it took Caratacus and the war against Plautius and Ostorius The Boudiccan Revolt: causes, course and consequences Venutius, Cartimandua and unrest in Brigantia Calgacus and the Roman image of the British leader The governor and the procurator in the Roman province British collaboration with Roman rule Client rulers: Prasutagus, Cartimandua and Cogidubnus The deployment and role of the Roman army in Britain Economic exploitation and changes in agriculture Roads, trade and the army's impact on the British economy Urbanisation and the different types of Roman town Town life: public buildings, leisure and economic growth Romanisation, the Romanised elite and Fishbourne Palace

The Rise of Macedon, c.359–323 BC

The ancient sources for Philip and Alexander and their reliability

2 things to know
Component Group 1

Overview

Recall questions on the lost contemporary accounts, Arrian and his use of Ptolemy and Aristobulus, Plutarch, Diodorus, Curtius, Justin and Pompeius Trogus, the vulgate tradition, Demosthenes and Aeschines, stereotypes of Greeks, Macedonians and Persians, the coins of Philip II, Lysimachus and Ptolemy I, the Porus Medallion, and the Alexander Sarcophagus.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

Explain the relationship between Justin and Pompeius Trogus.

Key term

How are Greeks, Macedonians and Persians typically portrayed in the surviving accounts, and why does that matter?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is the central problem with the evidence for Alexander's reign?
Model answer
No contemporary account survives complete, and the narratives we have were written between three and five centuries later from earlier books that are now lost.
2
Who was Arrian, and when did he write?
Model answer
He was a Greek from Bithynia who rose to be a Roman consul and provincial governor, and he wrote his history of the campaign in the second century AD.
3
Which two writers did Arrian choose as his main authorities, and on what grounds?
Model answer
Ptolemy and Aristobulus, because both had served on the campaign, and because he believed a man who had become a king would be ashamed to lie.
4
Why is Arrian's confidence in Ptolemy questionable?
Model answer
Ptolemy wrote as a reigning king with every reason to enlarge his own part in the campaign and to diminish rivals whose descendants were his enemies.
5
How does Arrian signal that he is reporting something he cannot verify?
Model answer
He gives variant versions side by side and marks stories he doubts as things that are said, which lets a reader see where his authorities disagreed.
6
State two limitations of Arrian's account.
Model answer
He admires his subject and rarely presses a moral objection, and his interest is overwhelmingly military, so administration, finance and the lives of subjects get little attention.

See the rest and revise

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book

2Open book

3Closed book

See a huge jump in your memorisation

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Relations Between Greek States and Non-Greek States, 492–404 BC

The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC

The Culture and Politics of Athens, c.460–c.399 BC

The Rise of Macedon, c.359–323 BC

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Athens allied with Argos, and Elis.

MantineaCorinthThebes

Blank Blitz consolidates the facts

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AThe tradition speaks of about seventy.

BOnly around twenty can be identified with any confidence.

CThe number is a measure of his reputation rather than a count.

Build It trains answer structure

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Themistocles was ostracised in the 470s BC and Cimon in 461 BC.

TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in The Rise of Macedon, c.359–323 BC, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Start revising, £5 a month See how the method works

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.