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reserve tickets at Frick.org. So I'm going to tell you another story.

Unlike most of my... So I'm going to tell you another story.

Unlike most of my series, this one doesn't have much in the way of admirable characters.

There aren't many great statesmen or innovators or builders or even great warriors with a few notable exceptions.

It's not really a clash of civilizations, though rival powers will certainly exploit the slightest

hint of weakness.

What the story does have is ambition, violence, intrigue, and betrayal,

interesting times and interesting figures.

And happily for you and me, there's also a ton of fun nicknames.

In order to get to the meat of the story, I have to lay some groundwork.

And to do that, I have to pick a starting point.

The one I've decided on, unsurprisingly,

is a figure writing and breakneck speed out into the Syrian desert. Now I said this series lacks legendary warriors and

while that's pretty true for the bulk of the story here at the beginning we're

still in the age of heroes. Because our horseman is a

46 year old Macedonian general who'd already fought in famous battles from Anatolia to India and back again.

His name was Salucus, later known as Nikator or the Victor,

...