Best of
Ancient-History

2015

King of Kings


Dan Carlin - 2015
    Under a single king they created the greatest empire the world had ever seen.II - From Biblical-era coup conspiracies to the horrific aftermath of ancient combat this second installment of the series on the Kings of Achaemenid Persia goes where only Dan can take it. For better or worse…III - If this were a movie, the events and cameos would be too numerous and star-studded to mention. It includes Xerxes, Spartans, Immortals, Alexander the Great, scythed chariots, and several of the greatest battles in history.

Magicians of the Gods: The Forgotten Wisdom of Earth's Lost Civilization


Graham Hancock - 2015
    Twenty years on, Hancock returns with the sequel to his seminal work filled with completely new, scientific and archaeological evidence, which has only recently come to light...Near the end of the last Ice Age 12,800 years ago, a giant comet that had entered the solar system from deep space thousands of years earlier, broke into multiple fragments. Some of these struck the Earth causing a global cataclysm on a scale unseen since the extinction of the dinosaurs. At least eight of the fragments hit the North American ice cap, while further fragments hit the northern European ice cap. The impacts, from comet fragments a mile wide approaching at more than 60,000 miles an hour, generated huge amounts of heat which instantly liquidized millions of square kilometers of ice, destabilizing the Earth's crust and causing the global Deluge that is remembered in myths all around the world. A second series of impacts, equally devastating, causing further cataclysmic flooding, occurred 11,600 years ago, the exact date that Plato gives for the destruction and submergence of Atlantis.The evidence revealed in this book shows beyond reasonable doubt that an advanced civilization that flourished during the Ice Age was destroyed in the global cataclysms between 12,800 and 11,600 years ago. But there were survivors - known to later cultures by names such as 'the Sages', 'the Magicians', 'the Shining Ones', and 'the Mystery Teachers of Heaven'. They travelled the world in their great ships doing all in their power to keep the spark of civilization burning. They settled at key locations - Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, Baalbek in the Lebanon, Giza in Egypt, ancient Sumer, Mexico, Peru and across the Pacific where a huge pyramid has recently been discovered in Indonesia. Everywhere they went these 'Magicians of the Gods' brought with them the memory of a time when mankind had fallen out of harmony with the universe and paid a heavy price. A memory and a warning to the future...For the comet that wrought such destruction between 12,800 and 11,600 years may not be done with us yet. Astronomers believe that a 20-mile wide 'dark' fragment of the original giant comet remains hidden within its debris stream and threatens the Earth. An astronomical message encoded at Gobekli Tepe, and in the Sphinx and the pyramids of Egypt,warns that the 'Great Return' will occur in our time...

Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar


Tom Holland - 2015
    This is the period of the first and perhaps greatest Roman Emperors and it's a colorful story of rule and ruination, running from the rise of Augustus through to the death of Nero. Holland's expansive history also has distinct shades of I Claudius, with five wonderfully vivid (and in three cases, thoroughly depraved) Emperors—Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero—featured, along with numerous fascinating secondary characters. Intrigue, murder, naked ambition and treachery, greed, gluttony, lust, incest, pageantry, decadence—the tale of these five Caesars continues to cast a mesmerizing spell across the millennia.

By Steppe, Desert, and Ocean: The Birth of Eurasia


Barry Cunliffe - 2015
    Set on a huge continental stage, from Europe to China, it is a tale covering over 10,000 years, from the origins of farming around 9000 BC to the expansion of the Mongols in the thirteenth century AD. An unashamedly big history, it charts the development of European, Near Eastern, and Chinese civilizations and the growing links between them by way of the Indian Ocean, the silk Roads, and the great steppe corridor (which crucially allowed horse riders to travel from Mongolia to the Great Hungarian Plain within a year). Along the way, it is also the story of the rise and fall of empires, the development of maritime trade, and the shattering impact of predatory nomads on their urbanneighbours. Above all, as this immense historical panorama unfolds, we begin to see in clearer focus those basic underlying factors - the acquisitive nature of humanity, the differing environments in which people live, and the dislocating effect of even slight climatic variation - which have driven change throughout the ages, and which help us better understand our world today.

Maya to Aztec: Ancient Mesoamerica Revealed


Edwin Barnhart - 2015
    Sophisticated beyond the Spaniards' wildest imaginings, these people were the Aztecs, the Maya, and related cultures that shared common traditions of religion, government, the arts, engineering, and trade. In many ways more advanced than European nations, these societies equaled the world's greatest civilizations of their time.Immerse yourself in this epic story with 48 exhilarating half-hour lectures that cover the scope of Mesoamerican history and culture. You'll focus mainly on the Maya, who have been in Mesoamerica for thousands of years, and the Aztecs, who mysteriously appeared late and rose swiftly to power. The Aztecs fell from power just as precipitously; their empire controlled the region for less than a century, until the arrival of the Spanish in the early 1500s. Why were the Aztecs so quickly defeated by the conquistadors, while the Maya resisted the invaders for generations?Although the Spanish eventually conquered all of Mesoamerica, much remains of the original cultures. Beautiful artifacts fill museums. Impressive ruins dot the landscape. And millions of descendants of ancient Mesoamericans still live in their ancestral homes, speaking native languages and practicing time-honored traditions. The countries from Mexico to Costa Rica include more than a dozen UNESCO World Heritage Sites related to the pre-Columbian period, plus scores of other ancient sites that are equally worth a visit. This course is the ideal way to plan an itinerary, prepare for a tour, or simply sit back and enjoy a thrilling virtual voyage. You will be surprised at the number of sites to explore - many more than you could possibly see in months of travel. Your guide is Professor Barnhart, a noted archaeologist whose exploits include the discovery of a lost Maya city.©2015 The Great Courses (P)2015 The Teaching Company, LLC

The Anunnaki Chronicles


Zecharia Sitchin - 2015
    Drawing both widespread interest and criticism, his Earth Chronicles series of books, beginning with The 12th Planet, detailed how humanity arose after the arrival of the Anunnaki (“those who from Heaven to Earth came”), alien “gods” who created modern man in their own image and imparted gifts of civilizing knowledge. Providing an insider’s look into the decades of research behind Zecharia Sitchin’s complete works as well as an in-depth overview of his theories, this collection includes carefully selected chapters from the Earth Chronicles series as well as never-before-published letters, articles, and lectures. We learn about the genesis of The 12th Planet in “The Book as a Story,” the Sumerians and their Anunnaki influences in “The Sudden Civilization,” the orbit of Nibiru in “UFOs, Pyramids, and the 12th Planet,” the prehistory of the Americas in “Cities Lost and Found,” the extraterrestrial origins of modern man in “The Cosmic Connection--DNA,” and much more. We get to read never-before-published lectures, culled from Sitchin’s decades of presentations, as well as the article that spurred the writing of There Were Giants Upon the Earth. Each piece includes an introduction by Sitchin’s niece, offering context and insight into Sitchin’s passionate work. These introductions reveal the man behind the theories, a world traveler known for his scholarship, dry humor, and precisely chosen words. If his theories are true, as Sitchin wholeheartedly believed, then this collection presents some of the most important knowledge we have of our origins and future.

Cuneiform


Irving Finkel - 2015
    This new book brings the world in which the cuneiform was written to life for the non- expert reader and covers the origins, development and eventual demise of the script. Richly illustrated with a wealth of fresh examples ranging from elementary school exercises to revealing private letters or beautifully calligraphic literature for the royal library, we meet people that aren't so very different from ourselves. For the first time cuneiform tablets and their messages are not remote and inaccessible, but wonderfully human documents that resonate today.Authors Irving Finkel and Jonathan Taylor are curators of the world's largest collection of cuneiform tablets at the British Museum. The treasures in their care number over 130,000 examples of cuneiform writing and cover more than 3,000 years of human experience.

When on Earth?


D.K. Publishing - 2015
    When on Earth? approaches history in a different way than most books, giving context that can put what children learn in school in a broader historical perspective. In more than 60 specially commissioned maps, this one-of-a-kind history book shows where, when, and how history happened. Find out how the first farmers lived and worked. Discover the Viking world. Learn about the Arab Spring. Beautiful illustrations, 3-D graphics, clear annotations, and fun facts bring history to life and show how it fits in to the world at large. Whether your child is a visual learner or a geography buff, When on Earth? is perfect for any student of history, giving a guide to our shared past and a birds-eye view of the history of life on Earth.

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome


Mary Beard - 2015
    Hailed by critics as animating "the grand sweep and the intimate details that bring the distant past vividly to life" (Economist) in a way that makes "your hair stand on end" (Christian Science Monitor) and spanning nearly a thousand years of history, this "highly informative, highly readable" (Dallas Morning News) work examines not just how we think of ancient Rome but challenges the comfortable historical perspectives that have existed for centuries. With its nuanced attention to class, democratic struggles, and the lives of entire groups of people omitted from the historical narrative for centuries, SPQR will to shape our view of Roman history for decades to come.

Species with Amnesia: Our Forgotten History


Robert Sepehr - 2015
    But for each race that has died out, another has taken its place, with a selected few holding on to the memories and sacred knowledge of the past race. In our vanity we think we have discovered some of the great truths of science and technology, but we are in fact only just beginning to rediscover the profound wisdom of past civilizations. In many ways, we are like an awakening Species with Amnesia, yearning to reclaim our forgotten past.

God in Flames, God in Fetters: Loki's Role in the Northern Religions


Stephan Grundy - 2015
    Contemporary Heathenry is divided over how to treat him. Is he a bringer of freedom and enlightenment, or an agent of destruction? Was he ever honored in the old days—and is it a valid Heathen practice to worship him now? Stephan Grundy brings all the resources of modern scholarship to bear on the controversy over Loki's place in modern Heathenry.

Searching for Jesus: New Discoveries in the Quest for Jesus of Nazareth—and How They Confirm the Gospel Accounts


Robert J. Hutchinson - 2015
    But what if the most recent Biblical scholarship actually affirmed the New Testament? What if Jesus was not a Zealot revolutionary, or a Greek Cynic philosopher, or a proto-feminist Gnostic, but precisely what he claimed to be: the divine Son of Man prophesied in the Book of Daniel who gave his life as a ransom for many? What if everything the Gospels say about Jesus of Nazareth—his words, his deeds, his plans—turned out to be true? Searching for Jesus changes “what if?” to “what is,” debunking the debunkers and showing how the latest scholarship supports orthodox Christian belief.

The Age of Agade: Inventing Empire in Ancient Mesopotamia


Benjamin R. Foster - 2015
    It draws together more than 40 years of research by one of the world's leading experts in Assyriology to offer an exhaustive survey of the Akkadian empire.Addressing all aspects of the empire, including its statecraft and military, territory and cities, arts, religion, economy, and production, The Age of Agade considers what can be said of Akkadian political and social history, material culture, and daily life. A final chapter also explores how the empire has been presented in modern historiography, from the decipherment of cuneiform to the present, including the extensive research of Soviet historians, summarized here in English for the first time. Drawing on contemporaneous written and artifactual sources, as well as relevant materials from succeeding generations, Foster introduces the reader to the wealth of evidence available. Accessibly written by a specialist in the field, this book is an engaging examination of a critical era in the history of early Mesopotamia.

Ancient Scandinavia: An Archaeological History from the First Humans to the Vikings


T. Douglas Price - 2015
    Not until the end of the last Ice Age when the melting of huge ice sheets left behind a fresh, barren land surface, about 13,000 BC, did the firsthumans arrive and settle in the region. The archaeological record of these prehistoric cultures, much of it remarkably preserved in Scandinavia's bogs, lakes, and fjords, has given us a detailed portrait of the evolution of human society at the edge of the inhabitable world.In this book, distinguished archaeologist T. Douglas Price provides a history of Scandinavia from the arrival of the first humans to the end of the Viking period, ca. AD 1050. The first book of its kind in English in many years, Ancient Scandinavia features overviews of each prehistoric epochfollowed by illustrative examples from the region's rich archaeology. An engrossing and comprehensive picture of change across the millennia emerges, showing how human society evolved from small bands of hunter-gatherers to large farming communities to the complex warrior cultures of the Bronze andIron Ages, cultures which culminated in the spectacular rise of the Vikings at the end of the prehistoric period. The material evidence of these past societies--arrowheads from reindeer hunts, megalithic tombs, rock art, beautifully wrought weaponry, Viking warships--give vivid testimony to theancient peoples of Scandinavia and to their extensive contacts with the remote cultures of the Arctic Circle, Western Europe, and the Mediterranean

The Indus


Andrew Robinson - 2015
    It remained invisible for almost four thousand years, until its ruins were discovered in the 1920s by British and Indian archaeologists. Today, after almost a century of excavation, it is regarded as the beginning of Indian civilization and possibly the origin of Hinduism. The Indus: Lost Civilizations is an accessible introduction to every significant aspect of an extraordinary and tantalizing “lost” civilization, which combined artistic excellence, technological sophistication, and economic vigor with social egalitarianism, political freedom, and religious moderation. The book also discusses the vital legacy of the Indus civilization in India and Pakistan today.

Giants on Record: America's Hidden History, Secrets in the Mounds and the Smithsonian Files


Jim Vieira - 2015
    Extremely tall skeletons ranging from 7 feet up to a staggering 18 feet tall have been uncovered in prehistoric mounds, burial chambers, caves, geometric earthworks, and ancient battlefields. Strange anatomic anomalies such as double rows of teeth, horned skulls, massive jaws that fit over a modern face, and elongated skulls have also been reported. Many of these discoveries were reported to have been sent to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., seemingly never to be heard about again. The Smithsonian's own records describe at least 17 giant skeletons in annual reports. This book examines a possible cover-up initiated by Smithsonian scientists starting in the late 1800s. The origins of “the tall ones” has been shrouded in mystery for centuries, but this book reveals where they came from, why they got so large, and the reason for their downfall, using the latest scientific research, genetic data, native myths, news reports, and ethnological research. This has become one of the most gripping stories of the last few centuries and for the first time the truth of the giants of North America has been revealed.This book will also show you:- How early explorers to America witnessed these giants first-hand, including Sir Francis Drake, John Smith and even some of the early presidents.- Legends and myths that talk of cannibalistic, red-haired giants.- Strange inscriptions, metal armor, mummified remains, and sophisticated technologies buried with the skeletons.- How secret societies such as the Rosicrucians, Freemasons and Theosophists all claim the existence of giant humans in the past as historical fact in their literature. - How the giants may be connected to the Denisovans from Siberia, the Nephilim of Bible tradition, and other ancient cultures.

Ancient Rome: From the Early Republic to the Death of Augustus


Matthew Dillon - 2015
    In this second edition of "Ancient Rome," Lynda Garland and Matthew Dillon present an extensive range of material, from the early Republic to the death of Augustus, including two new chapters on the Second Triumvirate and Age of Augustus, plus more extensive late Republican and Augustan sources on social developments, as well as the Gold Age of Roman literature.Providing a comprehensive coverage of all important documents pertaining to the Roman Republic and the Augustan age, "Ancient Rome" includes:source material on political and military developments in the Roman Republic and Augustan age (509 BC AD 14)detailed chapters on social phenomena, such as Roman religion, slavery and freedmen, women and the family, and the public face of Romeclear, precise translations of documents taken not only from historical sources, but also from inscriptions, laws and decrees, epitaphs, graffiti, public speeches, poetry, private letters and dramaconcise up-to-date bibliographies and commentaries for each document and chaptera definitive collection of source material on the Roman Republic and early empire.Students of ancient Rome and classical studies will find this new edition of the sourcebook, and the companion textbook "The Ancient Romans," invaluable at all levels of study."

Smart Green Civilizations: Ancient Mesopotamia


Benita Sen - 2015
    Did you know that the Mesopotamians were the ones who came up with the idea of using wind energy to travel from one place to another? Or, that they were the first to build a network of canals to irrigate their fields? Journey across ancient Mesopotamia, as King Hammurabi guides little Teri through the paths of history, to learn many such interesting facts.

The Quest: Revealing The Temple Mount In Jerusalem


Leen Ritmeyer - 2015
    Ritmeyer's experience as architect of the Temple Mount Excavations following the Six-Day War, coupled with his exploration of parts of the mount now hardly accessible and his doctoral research into the problems of the Temple Mount make him singularly qualified for the task.The Quest has large, readable font and is profusely illustrated with hundreds of full-color maps, plans, drawings and photographs. Inside, there are vivid views of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem through the ages and superb reconstructions of Temple Mount architecture. The Quest includes amazing discoveries and verification of biblical accounts."

The Emperor Who Built The Great Wall


Jillian Lin - 2015
    In this book, read about his interesting life and how he became one of the most important men in Chinese history. Even though the First Emperor lived more than two thousand years ago, his memory still lives on. Each year, thousands of people visit the Great Wall, as well as the army of Terracotta Warriors hidden in the emperor’s secret tomb. And did you know that China was named after him? In "The Emperor Who Built The Great Wall", discover for yourself why he built the Wall, how he made China the biggest country on earth, and what he hid in his secret tomb. The simple language and beautiful illustrations make "The Emperor Who Built The Great Wall" a wonderful reader or bedtime story. It is suitable for all ages, but children aged 5-12 years will especially enjoy reading, listening to, or reading along with this book.

The Formless Empire: A Short History of Diplomacy and Warfare in Central Asia


Christopher Mott - 2015
    From the thundering hooves of Mongol or Cossack cavalry across the steppes to the clanking of tanks on parade in Moscow or Beijing, elements of this system still cast a shadow on the region at the heart of Earth’s largest continent. By tracing the evolution of Central Asian warfare and diplomacy through a series of historical examples, ranging from the ancient Xiongnu people and medieval Mongol Empire to the fall of the Soviet Union, historian Christopher Mott argues that the original system of informal relationships, indirect rule, and rapid military movement did not entirely fade from the region with the eclipse of the nomadic powers during the Middle Ages. In fact, many states like China, Iran, and Russia had already been influenced by nomadic people, and in so doing adapted their own diplomatic and military policies accordingly. The Formless Empire: A Short History of Diplomacy and Warfare in Central Asia is an engaging study of the nature of non-Western imperialism and great-power strategy. In addition, the book demonstrates that regional histories can show us the variety of political possibilities in the past and how they were adapted to changing circumstances—a point made even more important by the rapid changes facing global security and new forms of empire building. “Christopher Mott’s extremely erudite and wide-ranging examination of the history of Central Asia shows us that we have been far too narrow-minded and Eurocentric in thinking about power and how the global system changes historically. Given the current interest in ‘caliphates’ we need to reflect on the history of the areas of the world that dance to a different historical drum than we do in the West.” —Andrew John Williams, author of France, Britain, and the United States in the Twentieth Century

The Mummy Makers of Egypt


Tamara Bower - 2015
    Using the classic style of Egyptian art, the book is painstakingly accurate in facts and illustrative style. Artifacts, funerary customs, kid-loving gory details of the mummification process, hieroglyphs, and details of life in ancient Egypt are told through the eyes of Ipy, whose father is embalmer to the King. Yuya, father of the Queen, has died and Ipy must help his father in the mummification process. Yuya is an actual mummy and the discovery of his tomb is an entertaining story in itself, with the archaeologist Theodore Davis fainting at the sight of so much gold, and the portly Gaston Maspero getting stuck while trying to climb into the tomb. Yuya's tomb was a spectacular discovery in the Valley of the Kings that was later overshadowed only by the discovery of King Tut, Yuya's great-grandson. The book features sidebars of hieroglyphs and their meanings, a map, and an afterword telling more about the life of Yuya, of the burial process, and ancient Egypt in general. While there are a number of children's books on mummies, none are told from the point of view of the embalmers themselves, and none are illustrated with the meticulous eye of Tamara Bower.

Jesus and the Remains of His Day: Studies in Jesus and the Evidence of Material Culture


Craig A. Evans - 2015
    Nine of the book s thirteen essays were published previously, though several of these have been revised or augmented for inclusion in the present book; four of the book s essays are new. Several of the essays deal with the death of Jesus and the burial practices of his day. Articles in the book include: - A Fishing Boat, a House, and an Ossuary: What Can We Learn from the Artifacts - A Tale of Two Cities: What We Have Learned from Bethsaida and Magdala - Jewish Scripture and the Literacy of Jesus - Jesus, Healer and Exorcist - Hanging and Crucifixion in Second Temple Israel - Excavating Caiaphas, Pilate, and Simon of Cyrene: Assessing the Literary and Archaeological Evidence - The Family Buried Together Stays Together - Post-Mortem Beliefs in Jewish and Pagan Epitaphs The book s introduction explains the value of material culture (i.e., archaeological evidence) for interpreting Jesus and the Gospels and discusses the limits of such evidence. Also, the author is including several of his own photos in this book. "

Patricians and Emperors: The Last Rulers of the Western Roman Empire


Ian Hughes - 2015
    The book is divided into four parts. The first sets the background to the period, including brief histories of Stilicho (395-408) and Aetius (425-454), explaining the nature of the empire and the reasons for its decline. The second details the lives of Ricimer (455-472) and his great rival Marcellinus (455-468) by focusing on the stories of the numerous emperors that Ricimer raised and deposed. The third deals with the Patricians Gundobad (472-3) and Orestes (475-6), as well as explaining how the barbarian general Odoacer came to power in 476. The final part outlines and analyses the Fall of the West and the rise of barbarian kingdoms in France, Spain and Italy.This is a very welcome book to anyone seeking to make sense of this chaotic, but crucial period.

The Ancient World: Ideas in Profile


Jerry Toner - 2015
    Jerry Toner shows what can be learnt from new approaches to ancient history, from analysing the bones of the dead in Pompeii or assessing the impact of environmental change, and considers how we can discover what it was like to live back then. He looks at every period, not just classical Athens and Republican Rome, but the Hellenistic kingdoms that followed Alexander and the Christian-dominated later Roman Empire. Greece and Rome, he argues, must be fitted into the global history of their day: what did Persians think of Greeks and how does the Roman empire stack up to China's?With vivid examples and animation from award-winning Cognitive at every stage, this is the ideal introduction to the ancient world for general readers and students.

The Story of the Bible Audio Drama: Volume I - The Old Testament


Kevin Gallagher - 2015
     Sound effects, music and voice acting complement the reading of each story, with 15 hours of content.  Your children will be transported back in time by simply closing their eyes!

The True Story of Human Evolutionary Genesis


Elvis Newman - 2015
    The view that the Earth was the physical and the biological center of the Universe was one such failed theory, one that cost many famous scientists most of their lives, and held back societies everywhere for decades or hundreds of years behind what is now considered a given truth. In the current work under consideration, religion and evolution theories come under scrutiny in light of recent scientific facts that dispute their most important claims about the origins of the species. In The True Story of Human Evolutionary Genesis, Elvis Newman presents both astounding facts and findings about the human genome, as well as paradigm-shifting theories emanating from Zecharia Sitchin’s work around the Sumerian clay tablets. About the Author: A futurist researcher with an MBA, Elvis Newman has worked as a ghost writer and researcher for well-known new age and futurist gurus of our times. He professes to insatiable interests in humanity’s progress into the future and past lessons from history, because we all know that our most outrageous imaginations of the past will quickly become our most indispensable realities.

The Greatest Mysteries of the Ancient World: Stonehenge, the Sphinx, and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon


Charles River Editors - 2015
    Stonehenge is one of the most well-known ancient sites in the world, and an image of it raises numerous associations and emotional responses. Its impressiveness comes not only from its size and remarkable level of preservation, but more so because of the incredible precision with which it was constructed during an era of simple technology and social organization. Obviously, it is a place of great importance—then and now. Of course, Stonehenge has long fascinated the rest of the world too, as people continue to try to understand every aspect of the site and the underlying purpose of it. This involves an understanding of why Stonehenge is located where it is, what the materials consist of, and what archaeology has uncovered about the people who built it. On top of that, Stonehenge is a center of mythology and folklore that has evolved over time, establishing the foundation for a unique spiritual belief system that both celebrates Stonehenge as a “living temple” and challenges the official guardians of the place. One of the oldest and most famous statues of the world, the Great Sphinx at Giza has fascinated people for thousands of years. While the sphinx was a well known mythological creature among various ancient civilizations, the Egyptian statue that is now most famously associated with the creature is full of mysteries that have been endlessly debated throughout the centuries and continue to be hotly contested among scholars. The famous “Riddle of the Sphinx”, told by Sophocles in his play Oedipus Rex in the 5th century B.C., characterized the sphinx as a clever and powerful creature, and even today young kids learn about the story. But the mysteries of the Egyptian statue were discussed even among the ancient Romans; Pliny the Elder, the famous Roman author and philosopher killed in Pompeii during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., wrote in his Natural Histories that contemporary Egyptians considered the Sphinx a “divinity” and "that King Harmais was buried in it". In antiquity, the Hanging Gardens, like the Great Pyramid of Giza, were considered both a technological marvel and an aesthetic masterpiece. Ancient historians believed that the Hanging Gardens were constructed around the 7th century B.C. after the second rise of Babylon, which would make them the second-oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. However, in 1993, British Assyriologist, Stephanie Dalley, proposed a theory that they were ordered built by an Assyrian king at Nineveh.

Defining beauty: the body in Ancient Greek art


Ian Jenkins - 2015
    This book accompanies the British Museum exhibition Defining Beauty: the body in Ancient Greek art.

An Invincible Beast: Understanding the Hellenistic Pike Phalanx in Action


Christopher Matthew - 2015
    

The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism Wiley-Blackwell Companions to Religion


Michael Stausberg - 2015
    

Complete Works of Demosthenes (Delphi Classics) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 56)


Demosthenes - 2015
    Demosthenes’ speeches offer valuable information on the political, social and economic life of ancient Athens, providing a masterful demonstration of oratorical grace. The Ancient Classics series provides eReaders with the wisdom of the Classical world, with both English translations and the original Greek texts. This comprehensive eBook presents Demosthenes’ complete extant works, with beautiful illustrations, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)* Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Demosthenes’ life and works* Features the complete extant works of Demosthenes, in both English translation and the original Greek* Concise introductions to the famous orations* Includes translations previously appearing in Loeb Classical Library editions of Demosthenes’ works* Images of famous paintings that have been inspired by Demosthenes’ works* Excellent formatting of the texts* Provides a special dual English and Greek text, allowing readers to compare the sections paragraph by paragraph – ideal for students* Features three bonus biographies, including Plutarch’s Parallel Life – discover Demosthenes’ ancient world* Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genresPlease note: some Kindle software programs cannot display Greek characters correctly; however the characters do display correctly on Kindle devices.Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to explore our range of Ancient Classics titles or buy the entire series as a Super SetCONTENTS:The TranslationsON THE NAVY BOARDSFOR THE PEOPLE OF MEGALOPOLISFOR THE LIBERTY OF THE RHODIANSFIRST PHILIPPICTHE OLYNTHIACSFIRST OLYNTHIACSECOND OLYNTHIACTHIRD OLYNTHIACON THE PEACESECOND PHILIPPICON HALONNESUSON THE CHERSONESETHIRD PHILIPPICFOURTH PHILIPPICANSWER TO PHILIP’S LETTERPHILIP’S LETTERON ORGANIZATIONON THE TREATY WITH ALEXANDERON THE FALSE EMBASSYON THE CROWNAGAINST LEPTINESAGAINST MEIDIASAGAINST ANDROTIONAGAINST ARISTOCRATESAGAINST TIMOCRATESAGAINST ARISTOGEITON 1AGAINST ARISTOGEITON 2AGAINST APHOBUS 1AGAINST APHOBUS 2AGAINST APHOBUS 3AGAINST ONETOR 1AGAINST ONETOR 2AGAINST ZENOTHEMISAGAINST APATURIUSAGAINST PHORMIOAGAINST LACRITUSFOR PHORMIOAGAINST PANTAENETUSAGAINST NAUSIMACHUS AND XENOPEITHESAGAINST BOEOTUS 1AGAINST BOEOTUS 2AGAINST SPUDIASAGAINST PHAENIPPUSAGAINST MACARTATUSAGAINST LEOCHARESAPOLLODORUS AGAINST STEPHANUS 1APOLLODORUS AGAINST STEPHANUS 2AGAINST EVERGUS AND MNESIBULUSAGAINST OLYMPIODORUSAPOLLODORUS AGAINST TIMOTHEUSAPOLLODORUS AGAINST POLYCLESON THE TRIERARCHIC CROWNAPOLLODORUS AGAINST CALLIPUSAPOLLODORUS AGAINST NICOSTRATUSAGAINST CONONAGAINST CALLICLESAGAINST DIONYSODORUSAGAINST EUBULIDESAGAINST THEOCRINESAPOLLODORUS AGAINST NEAERATHE FUNERAL SPEECHTHE EROTIC ESSAYThe Greek TextsLIST OF GREEK TEXTSThe Dual TextsDUAL GREEK AND ENGLISH TEXTSThe BiographiesPARALLEL LIVES: DEMOSTHENES by PlutarchINTRODUCTION

The Book of Government or Rules for Kings: The Siyar al Muluk or Siyasat-nama of Nizam al-Mulk


Hubert Darke - 2015
    A translation of a classic 11th-century Persian text on behaviour and conduct in government, written between 1086 and 1091 by Nizam al-Mulk, who for over 30 years was Chief Minister of two successive rulers of the Seljuk, who had created an Empire which stretched from India to Egypt.

Hebrew Wars: A Military History of Ancient Israel from Abraham to Judges


Cam Rea - 2015
    However, there are a handful of books dedicated to the military topic from a secular view, including Chaim Herzog and Mordechai Gichon’s Battles of the Bible, T.R. Hobbs A Time for War: A Study of Warfare in the Old Testament, Martin Sicker’s The Rise and Fall of the Ancient Israelite States, and Richard A. Gabriel’s The Military History of Ancient Israel, just to name a few. What this book will attempt to demonstrate is that if we read between the lines of the Biblical text, we will find convincing answers to some of the harder questions versus what many believe or are skeptical of concerning the wars and battles documented in the Bible. By focusing on the leaders, such as Abraham, Moses, and Joshua, to name a few, and reviewing their politics, strategies, tactics, and weapons, starting with Abraham all the way to the end of the book of Judges, we will be able to separate myth from reality. In doing so, we will discover a rich, painful, and vast military history, of which most are unaware.

The Sea in the Greek Imagination


Marie-Claire Beaulieu - 2015
    Visible from nearly everywhere, the sea represents the life and livelihood of many who dwell on the islands and coastal areas of the Mediterranean, and it has been so since long ago--the sea loomed large in the Homeric epics and throughout Greek mythology. The Greeks of antiquity turned to the sea for food and for transport; for war, commerce, and scientific advancement; and for religious purification and other rites. Yet, the sea was simultaneously the center of Greek life and its limit. For, while the sea was a giver of much, it also embodied danger and uncertainty. It was in turns barren and fertile, and pictured as both a roadway and a terrifying void. The image of the sea in Greek myth is as conflicting as it is common, with sea crossings taking on seemingly incompatible meanings in different circumstances.In The Sea in the Greek Imagination, Marie-Claire Beaulieu unifies the multifarious representations of the sea and sea crossings in Greek myth and imagery by positing the sea as a cosmological boundary between the mortal world, the underworld, and the realms of the immortal. Through six in-depth case studies, she shows how, more than a simple physical boundary, the sea represented the buffer zone between the imaginary and the real, the transitional space between the worlds of the living, the dead, and the gods. From dolphin riders to Dionysus, maidens to mermen, Beaulieu investigates the role of the sea in Greek myth in a broad-ranging and innovative study.

The Battle of Arginusae: Victory at Sea and Its Tragic Aftermath in the Final Years of the Peloponnesian War


Debra Hamel - 2015
    It was a crucial win for the Athenians, since losing the battle would have led to their total defeat by Sparta and, perhaps, the slaughter and enslavement of their entire population. Paradoxically, the win at Arginusae resulted in one of the worst disasters to befall the Athenians during the brutal twenty-seven-year war.Due to a combination of factors—incompetent leadership, the weariness of the sailors, a sudden storm—the commanders on the scene failed to rescue the crews of twenty-five Athenian ships that had been disabled during the battle. Thousands of men, many of them injured, were left clinging to the wreckage of their ships awaiting help that never came. When the Athenians back home heard what had happened, they deposed the eight generals who had been in command during the battle. Two of these leaders went into exile; the six who returned to Athens were tried and eventually executed.The Battle of Arginusae describes the violent battle and its horrible aftermath. Debra Hamel introduces readers to Athens and Sparta, the two thriving superpowers of the fifth century B.C. She provides a summary of the events that caused the long war and discusses the tactical intricacies of Greek naval warfare. Recreating the claustrophobic, unhygienic conditions in which the ships’ crews operated, Hamel unfolds the process that turned this naval victory into one of the most infamous chapters in the city-state’s history. Aimed at classics students and general readers, the book also provides an in-depth examination of the fraught relationship between Athens’ military commanders and its vaunted sovereign democracy.

The Cambridge World History: Volume 1, Introducing World History, to 10,000 BCE


David Christian - 2015
    In Part I leading scholars outline the approaches, methods, and themes that have shaped and defined world history scholarship across the world and right up to the present day. Chapters examine the historiographical development of the field globally, periodization, divergence and convergence, belief and knowledge, technology and innovation, family, gender, anthropology, migration, and fire. Part II surveys the vast Paleolithic era, which laid the foundations for human history, concentrating on the most recent phases of hominin evolution, the rise of Homo sapiens and the very earliest human societies through to the end of the last ice age. Anthropologists, archaeologists, historical linguists and historians examine climate and tools, language, and culture, as well as offering regional perspectives from across the world.

Stoic Six Pack 2 - Consolations From A Stoic, On The Shortness of Life, Musonius Rufus, Hierocles, Meditations In Verse and The Stoics (Illustrated) (Stoic Six Packs)


Marcus Aurelius - 2015
    *Seneca the Stoic – a biographical essay. Each work has been newly revised, edited and curated for the digital age. There is a complete Musonius Rufus and the rarely published Stoic Hierocles. Consolations From A Stoic contains all three of Seneca’s consolations – To Marcia, To Helvia and To Polybius. On The Shortness of Life also by Seneca is presented in a brand new translation by author Damian Stevenson. The Stoics by Diogenes Laërtius is a fascinating 3rd century biography of the first Greek Stoics – Zeno of Citium, Dinoysius the Renegade, Chrysippus of Soli et al and there is also Meditations In Verse, an interesting Victorian poetic homage to Aurelius. Stoic Six Pack 2 is an amazing collection of masterworks and rarities, a must-read for fans of Meditations, Letters From A Stoic and Stoic philosophy in general.

You Wouldn't Want to Live Without Writing! (You Wouldn't Want to Live Without…)


Roger Canavan - 2015
    Each book features full-color cartoon-style illustrations and hilarious speech bubbles to heighten interest, making the series attractive even to reluctant readers.It is so integral to our everyday lives that you probably never stop to think. It's all around us, in the text we get from a friend, the homework we have to do after school, and our favorite book that we read at night. Like it or loathe it, writing is essential to how we communicate with each other on a daily basis. But what did people do before we developed the ability to read and write?

Cleopatra


Barbara Kramer - 2015
    Kids will learn about her life, achievements, legacy, and why she continues to fascinate generations of readers.From the Trade Paperback edition.

A New Edition of Toland's History of the Druids


John Toland - 2015
    This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Genesis 6 Giants Volume 2 Master Builders of Prehistoric and Ancient Civilizations


Stephen Quayle - 2015
    And by open, I mean that you will, for a time, suspend the notions (and — as I will prove to you in this book — propaganda) that you have been taught in school, by news magazines, and the majority of other outlets for the "facts" of science and history. In doing this, you will discover that you are like the sleepers in the movie Matrix. You have been living a life in a dream world, where things are not as they seem. You are living in a place that has the truth hidden, substituting a series of carefully crafted lies to keep you permanently blinded, with the truth only having a chance to briefly surface from time to time. This book will be your chance to see the truth, to learn what is going on behind the scenes, and observe the many telling facts that have been carefully hidden from your view. If you will read it with an open mind, you will be able to take the first step toward seeing what is really going on, distinguish the monsters behind the scenes who are attempting to keep the truth from being revealed about them, as well as gain an understanding of the ancient past and the ways it will affect the future. Why must you keep an open mind as you read this? Because like most of those reading this book, you have been hoodwinked by the established educational system, which by intent or by accident, has become the prime purveyor of the lies that make up the "party line" that keeps the truth hidden. This schooling has been so deeply ingrained in almost every educated human being that critical responses and objective views are difficult to come by. It is like wearing thick sunglasses that prevent seeing in a dimly lit room. Only by removing those glasses can one can see what's real, and in the process find the truth. Because of this conditioning and training through the educational system, as well as the entertainment and news media, those hiding the truth have a very powerful tool: Denial. And often they don't have to employ it directly; like rats trained by electrical shock, we those indoctrinated by the system jump to attention and deny the truth when it's presented to them. Years of conditioning with the electric shock of scorn and derision have taught them to do this. Quite often, not only do they unknowingly participate in the work of hiding the truth, but because of their conditioning, they may even humiliate those who speak the truth.This conditioning has filtered through the educational system for centuries, so that today's scientists, doctors, and historians are likewise victims of it. As I will document in this book, when confronted with the truth of history, artifacts, or fossils, they have learned to shut out the facts from their minds through their educational conditioning. If that truth is too strong to ignore, then they may hide it from sight and attempt to forget. If they do not, they will quickly become the object of scorn and derision from their peers, resulting in a quick trip to unemployment as one of the "kooks" or "nut cases". Such has been the fate of similar men who attempted to have an open mind and register their second thoughts or reservations about the dogma of lies which they had been taught. Thus, denial is the first tool trotted out. It is the typical "educated response" when a researcher, newsman, or scientist is presented with anomalous evidence and findings that don't fit neatly into the category of "containment." Likewise, today's academia is comprised of individuals living in intellectual boxes of dishonesty.

The Ransom of the Soul: Afterlife and Wealth in Early Western Christianity


Peter R.L. Brown - 2015
    Peter Brown describes how this shift transformed the Church s institutional relationship to money and set the stage for its domination of medieval society in the West.Early Christian doctrine held that the living and the dead, as equally sinful beings, needed each other in order to achieve redemption. The devotional intercessions of the living could tip the balance between heaven and hell for the deceased. In the third century, money began to play a decisive role in these practices, as wealthy Christians took ever more elaborate steps to protect their own souls and the souls of their loved ones in the afterlife. They secured privileged burial sites and made lavish donations to churches. By the seventh century, Europe was dotted with richly endowed monasteries and funerary chapels displaying in marble splendor the Christian devotion of the wealthy dead.In response to the growing influence of money, Church doctrine concerning the afterlife evolved from speculation to firm reality, and personal wealth in the pursuit of redemption led to extraordinary feats of architecture and acts of generosity. But it also prompted stormy debates about money s proper use debates that resonated through the centuries and kept alive the fundamental question of how heaven and earth could be joined by human agency."

Greek Mythic History


Spencer Clevenger - 2015
    Science unavailable to ancient sources helped guide author Spencer Clevenger to critical insights and intriguing results. In Greek Mythic History, he weaves myths concerning gods, kings, and heroes into their intended time and place and offers a concise retelling of Greek myths from a historic perspective. Capitalizing on modern discoveries, Clevenger tells the story in chronological order, starting with the creation of the cosmos and ending in the Dark Ages when poets began to write down their myths and stories. Neither history nor mythology, the stories depict what history might be if the myths were interpreted more literally.With maps and exhibits included, Greek Mythic History provides a comprehensive retelling of the various Hellenic myths in a logical historical sequence, and places nearly the entire canon into context.

Writing and Selling: 4 Books in 1: Writing Books, Self-Publishing Books, Marketing Books and Creating Book Covers in Photoshop


Charles Jensen - 2015
    It’s the complete set of what I do exactly to make money by marketing and selling books with little investment. I am a cheapskate. I don’t outsource much. I try to do everything myself and get as much as I can for free. Learn the techniques I use to create my own book covers, publish books effectively, ranking them higher on Amazon, write my own books within a day or two, and market and promote those books to get more sales and reviews, to create a 3-way passive income stream from E-books, print on demand, and audiobooks. Keywords: social media, social media marketing, promote your books, book promotion, book marketing, book marketing plan, book marketing skills, book marketing strategies, market books, promote books, social media tips, squeeze page, email lists, email list, backend, rank higher, Amazon ranking, E-book promotion, Amazon book promotion, Bookbub, email listing, create squeeze pages, Aweber, blogs, blogging, promote on blogs, blog promotion, blog marketing, forum marketing, marketing your books, book marketing online, book promotion online, online promotions, online book promotion, keyword engine ranking, keyword search, keyword ranking, Photoshop, Photoshop covers, Photoshop techniques, Photoshop book covers, Photoshop books, Photoshop guide, Photoshop guides, Photoshop tips, Photoshop tricks, Photoshop help, Photoshop steps, create book covers, create own book covers, design book covers, Photoshop design, Photoshop designs, Photoshop tools, Photoshop book cover creation, self-publishing, self-publish books, publishing, publishing books, publish books, publish books yourself, publish your book, self-publish your book, self publishing, self publish, publish yourself, uploading book files, converting book files, KDP, Createspace steps, Kindle publishing, ACX publishing, audiobooks, create audiobooks, finding narrators, how to publish on Audible, publishing on Audible, keyword research, choose book title, choosing a book title, picking a book title, nonfiction books, fiction books, publish fiction, publish fiction books, publish non-fiction, publishing non-fiction books, writing fast, write fast, writing quickly, fast typing, fast writing, quick writing, short books, long books, non-fiction, nonfiction, non fiction books, fiction writing, writing fiction, how to write fiction, how to write non-fiction, create quick books, write ebooks, writing ebooks, how to write short books, writing short books, write fiction books, write non fiction books, write a book in one day, write a book in 1 day, write a book in 24 hours, write a book in less than 24 hours, write in 24 hours, writing skills, writing techniques, fast writing skills, writing methods, writing tips, writing advice, techniques for authors, tips for authors, writing tips for authors, how to write a book, write a book now

Ceasar's Commentaries on the Gallic and Civil Wars: With Supplementary Books Attributed to Hirtius


Gaius Julius Caesar - 2015
    This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Democracy's Beginning: The Athenian Story


Thomas N. Mitchell - 2015
    to its downfall 200 years later The first democracy, established in ancient Greece more than 2,500 years ago, has served as the foundation for every democratic system of government instituted down the centuries. In this lively history, author Thomas N. Mitchell tells the full and remarkable story of how a radical new political order was born out of the revolutionary movements that swept through the Greek world in the seventh and sixth centuries B.C., how it took firm hold and evolved over the next two hundred years, and how it was eventually undone by the invading Macedonian conquerors, a superior military power.   Mitchell’s superb history addresses the most crucial issues surrounding this first paradigm of democratic governance, including what initially inspired the political beliefs underpinning it, the ways the system succeeded and failed, how it enabled both an empire and a cultural revolution that transformed the world of arts and philosophy, and the nature of the Achilles heel that hastened the demise of Athenian democracy.

Hannibal: A Hellenistic Life


Eve MacDonald - 2015
    "—Antony Spawforth, author of The Story of Greece and Rome and co-author ofThe Oxford Classical Dictionary Hannibal lived a life of incredible feats of daring and survival, massive military engagements, and ultimate defeat. A citizen of Carthage and military commander in Punic Spain, he famously marched his war elephants and huge army over the Alps into Rome’s own heartland to fight the Second Punic War. Yet the Romans were the ultimate victors. They eventually captured and destroyed Carthage, and thus it was they who wrote the legend of Hannibal: a brilliant and worthy enemy whose defeat represented military glory for Rome.   In this groundbreaking biography Eve MacDonald expands the memory of Hannibal beyond his military feats and tactics. She considers him in the wider context of the society and vibrant culture of Carthage which shaped him and his family, employing archaeological findings and documentary sources not only from Rome but also the wider Mediterranean world of the third century B.C. MacDonald also analyzes Hannibal’s legend over the millennia, exploring how statuary, Jacobean tragedy, opera, nineteenth-century fiction, and other depictions illuminate the character of one of the most fascinating military personalities in all of history.

The Final Pagan Generation: Rome's Unexpected Path to Christianity


Edward J. Watts - 2015
    Edward J. Watts traces their experiences of living through the fourth century’s dramatic religious and political changes, when heated confrontations saw the Christian establishment legislate against pagan practices as mobs attacked pagan holy sites and temples. The emperors who issued these laws, the imperial officials charged with implementing them, and the Christian perpetrators of religious violence were almost exclusively young men whose attitudes and actions contrasted markedly with those of the earlier generation, who shared neither their juniors’ interest in creating sharply defined religious identities nor their propensity for violent conflict. Watts examines why the "final pagan generation"—born to the old ways and the old world in which it seemed to everyone that religious practices would continue as they had for the past two thousand years—proved both unable to anticipate the changes that imperially sponsored Christianity produced and unwilling to resist them. A compelling and provocative read, suitable for the general reader as well as students and scholars of the ancient world.

Historical Encyclopaedia, Vol. 1: Entitled Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems; Translated from the Arabic (Classic Reprint)


Aloys Sprenger - 2015
    1: Entitled Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems; Translated From the ArabicThen came el-bekri, who followed the example of el-mas'udi, but only in geogra phy, and not with respect to other subjects (ethnography and history); for the changes which had taken place in his time, since el-mas'udi, in the relative position and state of nations, and in the Spirit of times (literally, the generations) were not material.' But, at present, at the end of the eighth cen tury, a complete revolution has taken place with the Maghrib, where we live.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Ancient Israel


Susan Niditch - 2015
    Distinguished scholars provide original contributions that explore the tradition in all its complexity, multiplicity and diversity. A methodologically sophisticated overview of ancient Israelite culture that provides insights into  political and social history, culture, and methodology Explores what we can say about the cultures and history of the people of Israel and Judah, but also investigates how we know what we know Presents fresh insights, richly informed by a variety of approaches and fields Delves into ‘religion as lived,’ an approach that asks about the everyday lives of ordinary people and the material cultures that they construct and experience Each essay is an original contribution to the subject

Letters, Volume 1


Barsanuphius and John - 2015
    John Chryssavgis's faithful and deft translation brings vividness and freshness to the wisdom of a distant world, ensuring its accessibility to contemporary readers. Addressed to local monastics, lay Christians, and ecclesiastical leaders, these remarkable questions and responses (850 of them) offer a unique glimpse into the sixth-century religious, political, and secular world of Gaza and Palestine during a period torn by doctrinal controversy and in a context shaped by the tradition of the early desert fathers.

Ancient Wisdom in the Age of the New Science


Dmitri Levitin - 2015
    Yet what contemporaries might have understood by 'old' philosophy has been little appreciated. In this book Dmitri Levitin examines English attitudes to ancient philosophy in unprecedented depth, demonstrating the centrality of engagement with the history of philosophy to almost all educated persons, whether scholars, clerics, or philosophers themselves, and aligning English intellectual culture closely to that of continental Europe. Drawing on a vast array of sources, Levitin challenges the assumption that interest in ancient ideas was limited to out-of-date 'ancients' or was in some sense 'pre-enlightened'; indeed, much of the intellectual justification for the new philosophy came from re-writing its history. At the same time, the deep investment of English scholars in pioneering forms of late humanist erudition led them to develop some of the most innovative narratives of ancient philosophy in early modern Europe.

Arabs and Empires Before Islam


Greg Fisher - 2015
    

How to Live Like a Stone-Age Hunter


Anita Ganeri - 2015
    What would it be like to live in prehistoric times? A cave-dwelling boy introduces readers to daily life in the Stone Age, with tips on everything from mammoth-hunting to making cave art.

The Flame Before Us


Richard Abbott - 2015
    This time the attackers are coming to stay, and defensive walls will not hold them back. Nowhere is safe. One by one, the great kings and their vassal cities collapse as the newcomers advance.The land is already a patchwork of many different peoples, bound together in a fragile web of traditional alliances and rivalries. How will political and personal promises change with the arrival of the new clans? Is war inevitable, or can a different answer be found?

Book of Enoch: All About the Three Books of Enoch


A. Nyland - 2015
    Nyland's translation is called, "Complete Books of Enoch."The mysterious figure of Enoch was the great grandfather of Noah, and an extract from the First Book of Enoch appears in the book of Jude in the New Testament. The First Book of Enoch has been a most controversial book for centuries.The Book of Enoch is of importance to those interested in theology, and controversial knowledge as well as angelology and demonology.Book of Enoch: All About the Three Books of Enoch is by Number 1 Best-selling author and translator Dr. A. Nyland, translator of the Complete Books of Enoch.

Smart Green Civilizations: Indus Valley


Benita Sen - 2015
    Familiarize yourself with the fascinating ways of this ancient civilization as Teri, our time-travelling explorer, goes back in time, to the Indus Valley.

Ancient China and the Yue: Perceptions and Identities on the Southern Frontier, C.400 Bce-50 Ce


Erica Fox Brindley - 2015
    Brindley provides an overview of current theories in archaeology and linguistics concerning the peoples of the ancient southern frontier of China, the closest relations on the mainland to certain later Southeast Asian and Polynesian peoples. Through analysis of warring states and early Han textual sources, she shows how representations of Chinese and Yue identity invariably fed upon, and often grew out of, a two-way process of centering the self while de-centering the other. Examining rebellions, pivotal ruling figures from various Yue states, and key moments of Yue agency, Brindley demonstrates the complexities involved in identity formation and cultural hybridization in the ancient world, and highlights the ancestry of cultures now associated with southern China and Vietnam.

Stealing Helen: The Myth of the Abducted Wife in Comparative Perspective


Lowell Edmunds - 2015
    This story's best-known incarnation is also a central Greek myth--the abduction of Helen that led to the Trojan War. Stealing Helen surveys a vast range of folktales and texts exhibiting the story pattern of the abducted beautiful wife and makes a detailed comparison with the Helen of Troy myth. Lowell Edmunds shows that certain Sanskrit, Welsh, and Old Irish texts suggest there was an Indo-European story of the abducted wife before the Helen myth of the Iliad became known.Investigating Helen's status in ancient Greek sources, Edmunds argues that if Helen was just one trope of the abducted wife, the quest for Helen's origin in Spartan cult can be abandoned, as can the quest for an Indo-European goddess who grew into the Helen myth. He explains that Helen was not a divine essence but a narrative figure that could replicate itself as needed, at various times or places in ancient Greece. Edmunds recovers some of these narrative Helens, such as those of the Pythagoreans and of Simon Magus, which then inspired the Helens of the Faust legend and Goethe.Stealing Helen offers a detailed critique of prevailing views behind the real Helen and presents an eye-opening exploration of the many sources for this international mythical and literary icon.

The Cambridge Companion to Roman Law


David Johnston - 2015
    The essays, newly-commissioned for this volume, cover the sources of evidence for classical Roman law; the elements of private law, as well as criminal and public law; and the second life of Roman law in Byzantium, in civil and canon law, and in political discourse from AD 1100 to the present. Roman law nowadays is studied in many different ways, which is reflected in the diversity of approaches in the essays. Some focus on how the law evolved in ancient Rome, others on its place in the daily life of the Roman citizen, still others on how Roman legal concepts and doctrines have been deployed through the ages. All of them are responses to one and the same thing: the sheer intellectual vitality of Roman law, which has secured its place as a central element in the intellectual tradition and history of the West.

The Cambridge Companion to Seneca


Shadi Bartsch - 2015
    His works have had an unparalleled impact on the development of ethical theory, shaping a code of behavior for dealing with tyranny in his own age that endures today. This Companion thoroughly examines the complete Senecan corpus, with special emphasis on the aspects of his writings that have challenged interpretation. The authors place Seneca in the context of the ancient world and trace his impressive legacy in literature, art, religion, and politics from Neronian Rome to the early modern period. Through critical discussion of the recent proliferation of Senecan studies, this volume compellingly illustrates how the perception of Seneca and his particular type of Stoicism has evolved over time. It provides a comprehensive overview that will benefit students and scholars in classics, comparative literature, history, philosophy and political theory, as well as general readers.

A Traveling Homeland: The Babylonian Talmud as Diaspora


Daniel Boyarin - 2015
    But as Daniel Boyarin writes, diaspora may be more constructively construed as a form of cultural hybridity or a mode of analysis. In A Traveling Homeland, he makes the case that a shared homeland or past and traumatic dissociation are not necessary conditions for diaspora and that Jews carry their homeland with them in diaspora, in the form of textual, interpretive communities built around talmudic study.For Boyarin, the Babylonian Talmud is a diasporist manifesto, a text that produces and defines the practices that constitute Jewish diasporic identity. Boyarin examines the ways the Babylonian Talmud imagines its own community and sense of homeland, and he shows how talmudic commentaries from the medieval and early modern periods also produce a doubled cultural identity. He links the ongoing productivity of this bifocal cultural vision to the nature of the book: as the physical text moved between different times and places, the methods of its study developed through contact with surrounding cultures. Ultimately, A Traveling Homeland envisions talmudic study as the center of a shared Jewish identity and a distinctive feature of the Jewish diaspora that defines it as a thing apart from other cultural migrations.

Language and Society in the Greek and Roman Worlds


James Clackson - 2015
    Language played a key role in state-formation and the spread of Christianity, the construction of ethnicity, and negotiating positions of social status and group membership. Language could reinforce social norms and shed light on taboos. This book presents an accessible account of ways in which linguistic evidence can illuminate topics such as imperialism, ethnicity, social mobility, religion, gender and sexuality in the ancient world, without assuming the reader has any knowledge of Greek or Latin, or of linguistic jargon. It describes the rise of Greek and Latin at the expense of other languages spoken around the Mediterranean and details the social meanings of different styles, and the attitudes of ancient speakers towards linguistic differences.

Ancient Geography: The Discovery of the World in Classical Greece and Rome (Library of Classical Studies)


Duane W. Roller - 2015
    Since then new texts have appeared (such as the Artemidoros palimpsest), and new editions of existing texts (by geographical authorities who include Agatharchides, Eratosthenes, Pseudo-Skylax and Strabo) have been produced. There has been much archaeological research, especially at the perimeters of the Greek world, and a more accurate understanding of ancient geography and geographers has emerged. The topic is therefore overdue a fresh and sustained treatment. In offering precisely that, Duane Roller explores important topics like knowledge of the world in the Bronze Age and Archaic periods; Greek expansion into the Black Sea and the West; the Pythagorean concept of the earth as a globe; the invention of geography as a discipline by Eratosthenes; Polybios the explorer; Strabo’s famous Geographica; the travels of Alexander the Great; Roman geography; Ptolemy and late antiquity; and the cultural reawakening of antique geographical knowledge in the Renaissance, including Columbus’ use of ancient sources.

The Punic Wars: The History of the Conflict that Destroyed Carthage and Made Rome a Global Power


Charles River Editors - 2015
    In fact, at several points in history it had a very real chance of replacing the fledgling Roman empire or the failing Greek poleis (city-states) altogether as master of the Mediterranean. Although Carthage by far preferred to exert economic pressure and influence before resorting to direct military power (and even went so far as to rely primarily on mercenary armies paid with its vast wealth for much of its history, it nonetheless produced a number of outstanding generals, from the likes of Hanno Magnus to, of course, the great bogeyman of Roman nightmares himself: Hannibal. However, the Carthaginians’ foreign policy had one fatal flaw; they had a knack over the centuries of picking the worst enemies they could possibly enter into conflict with. The first serious clash of civilizations which Carthage was involved with was Greece, which rapidly became hostile when the Carthaginians began pushing to spread their influence towards the colonies known as Magna Graecia (“Great Greece”), which had been established in southern Italy and Sicily by several Greek poleis. These territories would become a casus belli of the First Punic War. Certain foreign policy decisions led to continuing enmity between Carthage and the burgeoning power of Rome, and what followed was a series of wars which turned from a battle for Mediterranean hegemony into an all-out struggle for survival. Although the Romans gained the upper hand in the wake of the First Punic War, Hannibal brought the Romans to their knees for over a decade during the Second Punic War. While military historians are still amazed that he was able to maintain his army in Italy near Rome for nearly 15 years, scholars are still puzzled over some of his decisions, including why he never attempted to march on Rome in the first place. After the serious threat Hannibal posed during the Second Punic War, the Romans didn’t wait much longer to take the fight to the Carthaginians in the Third Punic War, which ended with Roman legions smashing Carthage to rubble. As legend has it, the Romans literally salted the ground upon which Carthage stood to ensure its destruction once and for all. Despite having a major influence on the Mediterranean for nearly five centuries, little evidence of Carthage’s past might survives. The city itself was reduced to nothing by the Romans, who sought to erase all physical evidence of its existence, and though its ruins have been excavated, they have not provided anywhere near the wealth of archaeological items or evidence as ancient locations like Rome, Athens, Syracuse, or even Troy. Today, Carthage is a largely unremarkable suburb of the city of Tunis, and though there are some impressive ancient monuments there for tourists to explore, the large majority of these are the result of later Roman settlement. The Punic Wars: The History of the Conflict that Destroyed Carthage and Made Rome a Global Power chronicles the three wars and the decisive impact they had on the history of Western Europe. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Punic Wars like never before, in no time at all.