The classical scholar J. P. Mahaffy (1839–1919) is known equally for his work on Greek texts and Egyptian papyri (his edition of The Flinders Petrie Papyri is reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection). He graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, and spent the rest of his working life there, ultimately as provost from 1914 until his death. In this illustrated 1887 work, Mahaffy describes Alexander's extraordinary conquest of territories in Europe, Africa and Asia, the collapse of his empire after his death, and the later subjugation of the successor kingdoms to the power of Rome. With his American collaborator Arthur Gilman (1837–1909), Mahaffy discusses Alexander's place in history before giving a close account of his career and death. The successor dynasties, and dominant rulers such as Demetrius II and Pyrrhus, their feuds and their attempted resistance to the rise of Rome, are depicted in an engaging and dramatic narrative.
