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A compelling biography of the legendary king, rebel, and poisoner who defied the Roman Empire Machiavelli praised his military genius. European royalty sought out his secret elixir against poison. His life inspired Mozart's first opera, while for centuries poets and playwrights recited bloody, romantic tales of his victories, defeats, intrigues, concubines, and mysterious death. But until now no modern historian has recounted the full story of Mithradates, the ruthless king and visionary rebel who challenged the power of Rome in the first century BC. In this richly illustrated book—the first biography of Mithradates in fifty years—Adrienne Mayor combines a storyteller's gifts with the most recent archaeological and scientific discoveries to tell the tale of Mithradates as it has never been told before. The Poison King describes a life brimming with spectacle and excitement. Claiming Alexander the Great and Darius of Persia as ancestors, Mithradates inherited a wealthy Black Sea kingdom at age fourteen after his mother poisoned his father. He fled into exile and returned in triumph to become a ruler of superb intelligence and fierce ambition. Hailed as a savior by his followers and feared as a second Hannibal by his enemies, he envisioned a grand Eastern empire to rival Rome. After massacring eighty thousand Roman citizens in 88 BC, he seized Greece and modern-day Turkey. Fighting some of the most spectacular battles in ancient history, he dragged Rome into a long round of wars and threatened to invade Italy itself. His uncanny ability to elude capture and surge back after devastating losses unnerved the Romans, while his mastery of poisons allowed him to foil assassination attempts and eliminate rivals. The Poison King is a gripping account of one of Rome's most relentless but least understood foes. Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.
A compelling biography of the legendary king, rebel, and poisoner who defied the Roman Empire Machiavelli praised his military genius. European royalty sought out his secret elixir against poison. His life inspired Mozart's first opera, while for centuries poets and playwrights recited bloody, romantic tales of his victories, defeats, intrigues, concubines, and mysterious death. But until now no modern historian has recounted the full story of Mithradates, the ruthless king and visionary rebel who challenged the power of Rome in the first century BC. In this richly illustrated book—the first biography of Mithradates in fifty years—Adrienne Mayor combines a storyteller's gifts with the most recent archaeological and scientific discoveries to tell the tale of Mithradates as it has never been told before. The Poison King describes a life brimming with spectacle and excitement. Claiming Alexander the Great and Darius of Persia as ancestors, Mithradates inherited a wealthy Black Sea kingdom at age fourteen after his mother poisoned his father. He fled into exile and returned in triumph to become a ruler of superb intelligence and fierce ambition. Hailed as a savior by his followers and feared as a second Hannibal by his enemies, he envisioned a grand Eastern empire to rival Rome. After massacring eighty thousand Roman citizens in 88 BC, he seized Greece and modern-day Turkey. Fighting some of the most spectacular battles in ancient history, he dragged Rome into a long round of wars and threatened to invade Italy itself. His uncanny ability to elude capture and surge back after devastating losses unnerved the Romans, while his mastery of poisons allowed him to foil assassination attempts and eliminate rivals. The Poison King is a gripping account of one of Rome's most relentless but least understood foes. Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Adrienne Mayor is the author of Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs: Biological and Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World (Overlook) and The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times (Princeton). She is a research scholar in classics and history of science at Stanford University.
Table of Contents-
List of Illustrations xi Dramatis Personae xv Time Line xix Acknowledgments xxi Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Kill Them All, and Let the Gods Sort Them Out 13 Chapter 2: A Savior Is Born in a Castle by the Sea 27 Chapter 3: Education of a Young Hero 43 Chapter 4: The Lost Boys 73 Chapter 5: Return of the King 96 Chapter 6: Storm Clouds 123 Chapter 7: Victory 147 Chapter 8: Terror 169 Chapter 9: Battle for Greece 188 Chapter 10: Killers' Kiss 214 Chapter 11: Living Like a King 236 Chapter 12: Falling Star 262 Chapter 13: Renegade Kings 288 Chapter 14: End Game 315 Chapter 15: In the Tower 347 Appendix One 371 Appendix Two 377 Notes 381 Bibliography 421 Index 435
Reviews-
September 1, 2009 Little known in the West, Mithradates has not been the subject of a full-scale biography in over 100 years, even though he remains a national hero in Armenia and Kurdistan. The publication of this biography is timely, as events of Mithradates's life parallel recent history. Mayor (visiting scholar, classics & history of science, Stanford Univ.: "The First Fossil Hunters"), a specialist in ancient science, fills this gap with a reappraisal of Mithradates's character and a detailed account of his scientific pursuits, notably his in-depth studies of poison. Prior depictions, particularly in popular culture, have shown a one-sided view of him as a cruel tyrant. Mayor gives us a more nuanced view of the so-called Poison King, placing him in his proper context as a Greco-Persian ruler following in the footsteps of his purported ancestor Alexander the Great. The most compelling aspect of this book is Mayor's engaging style. A true storyteller, she makes Mithradates's world come alive. VERDICT This distinctive and compelling book is sure to fascinate all readers interested in the ancient world or in understanding the historical politics of the Caucasus region.Margaret Heller, Dominician Univ. Lib., River Forest, IL
Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Library Journal"Finalist for the 2009 National Book Award, Nonfiction"
ForeWord Reviews"Winner of the 2010 Gold Medal in Biography, Independent Publisher Book Awards"
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Bahrain, Egypt, Hong Kong, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen
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