conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me a description for a book titled The Macedonian War Machine 359-281 BC about Slingshot, Oxford, English with the genre: History, Military.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: the author has had a lifelong interest in ancient warfare and has written numerous well-recieved articles for specialist magazines, such as Slingshot. He is a researcher for the Oxford English Dictionary by trade, but has written one previous book on the use of dogs in ancient and medieval warfare.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me the first four paragraphs for this book.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: The Macedonian War Machine 359-281 BC
  On being discharged at Ecbatana (330 BC) but before embarking for the coast, Thessalian cavalrymen first sold their horses–presumably to troopers from standing units, most likely the Companions. However, given that Ecbatana was a major horse collections depot under the Achaemenids and, indeed, later during the Seleucid Empire, it is equally valid that the Thessalians sold their mounts to the administration that Alexander had simply taken over. In any case, having more horses was a welcome development. The situation also affirms that Thessalian mounts were not originally government supplied.
  When all other means for obtaining fresh mounts had been exhausted, the army resorted to redistribution of horses within ranks and units under the jurisdiction of Antiphanes, described as the scriba equitum (secretary of horses), doubtless supported by a team of undersecretaries. It was considered usual to have mounts sequestered from men with larger than average establishments and redistributed to troopers who expected a replacement (or reimbursement in cash) when their own mounts had died or been otherwise rendered unfit.
  The long standing Macedonian tradition of expertise in horsemanship (which predated the reign of Philip II) was combined with the central importance that cavalry played as an offensive arm in Philip's revolutionary battle system. This, added to the continual efforts the King took to secure better horses to build up an impressive state breeding programme, and the later various means of acquiring suitable chargers in Asia, meant that horses were managed with care and efficiency for the army. Unfortunately, only a cursory amount of evidence has survived to show how this was pursued.
  Epigraphic material pertaining to cavalry horses in Antigonid Macedon has been discovered, although poorly preserved. No such comparable evidence exists for Alexander's time, but literary texts do point to records being maintained for horses that had died or were incapacitated. These texts include statistics on incoming horses, showing how and to whom they were assigned, and the numbers of surplus mounts available. A further insight into how thorough and methodical the management process was is offered by fascinating epigraphic material uncovered for late Classical and Hellenistic Athens–historically far less of a horse rearing state than Macedon ever was.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me two more paragraphs.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Plutarch, Demetrius, 41.4–5; 44.6; Plutarch, Pyrrhus, 8.1; Athenaeus, 12.536.f; Diodorus, 20.92.3–4; Dionysius, 19.12. 4–6; Wace, 1950, 115; 116–117.
  Eddy, 1961, 12. For ancient literary testimonia on Alexander's dress, see Stewart, 1993, 352–357: T32–48, comprising Diodorus, 17.77.5; Curtius, 6.6.4–5; Justin, 12.3.8; Athenaeus, 12.535f; Plutarch, Alexander, 45.2; Plutarch, Moralia, 329f–330a; Arrian, 4.7.4; 4.9.9; 7.6.2; 7.22.2–5. See also Plutarch, Pyrrhus, 8.1; Lucian, Dialogues of the Dead, 13; Herodian, 4.8.1–2.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Delete the first sentence.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: 4–5; 44.6; Plutarch, Pyrrhus, 8.1; Athenaeus, 12.536.f; Diodorus, 20.92.3–4; Dionysius, 19.12. 4–6; Wace, 1950, 115; 116–117.
  Eddy, 1961, 12. For ancient literary testimonia on Alexander's dress, see Stewart, 1993, 352–357: T32–48, comprising Diodorus, 17.77.5; Curtius, 6.6.4–5; Justin, 12.3.8; Athenaeus, 12.535f; Plutarch, Alexander, 45.2; Plutarch, Moralia, 329f–330a; Arrian, 4.7.4; 4.9.9; 7.6.2; 7.22.2–5. See also Plutarch, Pyrrhus, 8.1; Lucian, Dialogues of the Dead, 13; Herodian, 4.8.1–2.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me the last five paragraphs.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Winkes, R., 'The Pyrrhus Portrait' in T. Hackens, et al. (eds), The Age of Pyrrhus: Archaeology, History and Culture in Early Hellenistic Greece and Italy, 1992, 175–188.
  Wooton, W., 'Another Alexander Mosaic: reconstructing the Hunt Mosaic from Palermo', Journal of Roman Archaeology 15, 2002, 264–274.
  Wright, N.L., 'Who's Killing whom on the Coinage of Patraos of Paionia', Journal of the Numismatic Association of Australia 22, 2012, 19–49.
  Wrightson, G., 'The Nature of Command in the Macedonian Sarissa Phalanx', The Ancient History Bulletin 24, 2010, 73–94.
  Zuckerman, C., 'The Military Compendium of Syrianus Magister', Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik 40, 1990, 209–224.