The Pioneer Kingdoms of Macedon and Qin
A Triumph of the Periphery

Compares the cultures of Ancient Greece and Early China through the histories of two peripheral cases: Argead Macedon and Qin.

Jordan Thomas Christopher (Author)

9781009534895, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 5 June 2025

304 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.605 kg

The Pioneer Kingdoms of Macedon and Qin critically compares the cultures of Ancient Greece and Early China in the first millennium BC through following the histories of two of its peripheral cases: Argead Macedon and Qin. Emerging from being fringe states to producing Alexander the Great and the First Emperor of China, then rapidly collapsing, these polities had a unique parallel historical experience, though vastly separated by the political developments brought on by the unique features of Greek and Zhou culture within which they operated. Jordan Thomas Christopher undertakes a holistic comparison of these states from their earliest origins through to the reigns of Alexander the Great and the First Emperor, which receive an extended and multi-layered analysis. He thereby highlights the particularities of Greek and Zhou cultures that often go underappreciated as causal factors in history.

Introduction
1. Pioneer kingdoms: the histories of Macedon and Qin
2. Basileus and Wang: (in)disputable mastery
3. Court and country: elites and the military
4. Man and machine: Philip, Alexander and Ying Zheng
Epilogue: 'Great Men,' contextualized and compared.

Subject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]