BP,

I agree with Rosacrux on this. Just because you (or me or anyone else) are from a region or ethnic group, does not mean you have a lock on that group/region's ancient history. (And I am not saying you don't already know a lot about it.) I can't think of any area of the Med. back then that did not have periodic warfare with their neighboors. They might be best buddies for 100 years, then spend 10 years trying to kill each other off. The ancient world was one where cities were regularly sacked, the inhabitants massacred or sold as slaves. Greek cities even did this to their *own* citizens when one group gained control over another through some sort of coup. It is hard to imagine such a world compared to the relatively docile one of today. If one starts talking about compassion and the like, the post starts to lose an air of credibility. I'm not saying it is necessarily inaccurate, it is that others will see it as a subjective account rather than an historical one.

It has always been common for nobility to use their armies to install their own allies/claimants on neighboring thrones. That and a suitable marriage and you rapidly establish your own claim to the territory. That''s why securing power often involved hunting down and killing every single possible claimant from the former regime--even one's own blood relatives.