Assassinations That Shaped the Ancient World by Phil Carradice

Assassinations That Shaped the Ancient World by Phil Carradice

Assassination! Just mentioning the word is enough to send a shiver up the spine. And yet, for many years, the deliberate act of 'taking out' notable public figures has been the mainstay of political factions and individuals when faced with problems and dilemmas that discussion and debate cannot solve. Most monarchs, statesmen and military commanders of the ancient world, whether they were successful or failures, had to deal with threats. At one stage or another in their careers, they would all have been vulnerable to unexpected attacks. They would all have been potential targets for assassin's blades or poison. And they knew it. So common was the assassination of notable individuals that it became almost an occupational hazard in the ancient world. From Pharaoh Teti, the first recorded victim of assassination, to Julius Caesar, despatched on the Ides of March, from Pompey the Great to Commodus, the Gladiator Emperor of Rome, so many rulers perished before their allotted period of time. In this new book, Phil Carradice takes a broad sweep at assassinations in the ancient world. Beginning with the Egyptian Empire, it traces the assassin's art through Greek, Roman, Biblical, Chinese, Byzantine and other periods or empires, up to and including the Kings and Emperors of the Dark Ages. The book does not stop there. It examines individual assassinations, motivation and practice and looks at assassination groups such as the thugee of India and the Sacred Band of Thebes.

Phil Carradice is a novelist, historian, poet and broadcaster from Wales. Born and brought up in Pembrokeshire, he now lives outside Cardiff, where he regularly broadcasts for the BBC. Formerly a teacher and headteacher, he was educated at Cardiff University and Cardiff College of Education but now concentrates on life as a full-time writer. He lectures and runs creative writing courses for children and adults. He has a passion for history as an interest and a learning device. 'History books,' he says, 'are meant to be enjoyed. They are not the preserve of the privileged few.' He has published well over 80 books, ranging from poetry and novels to biography and works of history. He firmly believes in making history accessible to everyone, not just academics. His most recent books are Assassinations that Shaped the Ancient World, The Greatest Spy Writers of the 20th Century and Women of the Jacobite Rebellions , all for Pen and Sword.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781399053990
ISBN 10	139905399X
Title	Assassinations That Shaped the Ancient World
Author	Phil Carradice
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Pen & Sword Books Ltd
Year published	2025-03-04
Number of pages	224
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable