Rome enters the eastern Mediterranean balance

Gareth C. Sampson's Rome's Great Eastern War begins with the political geography of the eastern Mediterranean before turning to individual battles. A chronology and an account of the war's origins introduce the campaigns of Lucullus and Pompey. Pontus, Armenia, Parthia, Ptolemaic Egypt, and numerous smaller states formed a shifting balance as Roman power moved steadily into Asia Minor. Maps of the campaigns from 73 to 62 BC make the territorial change visible and show formerly independent states becoming dependent on Rome. The weakening of Ptolemaic Egypt also provides context for Cleopatra's later choices during the struggles involving Caesar and Pompey. Roman expansion appears here as the transformation of an international system through war, alliance, and dependence.