Twilight of the Hellenistic World analyses the complex series of conflicts between the Hellenistic Successor states (the fragments of Alexander the Great’s short-lived empire) in the generation before the Romans intervened in the region. Until now this period has rarely been treated in any depth, usually reduced to a summary as context for discussion of the Roman conquests. Bob Bennett and Mike Roberts demonstrate that this period of almost-constant conflict and rivalry makes a fascinating subject of study in its own right. For example, they describe Macedon’s war with Cleomenes III and the final crushing of Sparta’s last gasp as an independent power; and the campaigns in the east through which the Seleucid king Antiochus (later defeated by the Romans at Magnesia) became known as Antiochus the Great.

Twilight of the Hellenistic World shows how the Hellenistic monarchs, while aware of Rome’s epic clash with Carthage in the West, did not yet see her as a major threat and were preoccupied with more immediate concerns. As well as clearly narrating the complex events, the authors assess the various military systems of the Hellenistic states and developments in warfare on land and at sea. This is a very original book on an unduly neglected period of history.