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As Robin Waterfield writes in the introduction to this learned but engaging work, 'historians of imperialism simply skip from Alexander to Rome; I aim to set the record straight.' The period between Alexander's death in 323 BC, after conquering much of the known world, and the rise of Rome is indeed less prominent in the popular consciousness than it deserves to be. Alexander left a vast and diverse empire that was gradually carved up by his successors, the diadochoi , over the next forty years. As each leader tried to take on Alexander's mantle, new hegemonies formed that would shape the political map of the Mediterranean for centuries. Yet during this time of turmoil the cultural flowering that characterised Hellenistic Greece began. Waterfield's lively narrative is complemented by a timeline, genealogical tables and a list of prominent individuals, as essential reference tools.
