The first classics in human history-the early works of literature, philosophy, and theology to which we have returned throughout the ages-appeared in the middle centuries of the first millennium bce. The canonical texts of the Hebrew scriptures, the…
When did the Indo-Europeans enter the lands that they occupied during historical times? And, more specifically, when did the Greeks come to Greece? Robert Drews brings together the evidence--historical, linguistic, and archaeological--to tackle thes…
From the pyramids in the north to the temples in the south, ancient artisans left their marks all over Egypt, unique marks that reveal craftsmanship we would be hard pressed to duplicate today. Drawing together the results of more than 30 years of r…
Archaeology: An Introduction looks behind the popular aspects of archaeology such as the discovery and excavation of sites, the study of human remains and animal bones, radiocarbon dating, museums and 'heritage' displays, and reveals the methods use…
Archaeology is perceived to study the people of long ago and far away. How could archaeology matter in the modern world? Well-known archaeologist Jeremy Sabloff points to ways in which archaeology might be important to the understanding and ameliora…
Thucydides' military and diplomatic acumen, his understanding of human psychology, and his narrative skill have shaped the writing of history for over two thousand years. "Backgrounds and Contexts" provides supplementary selections from Xenophon, He…
Kevin Greene shows how archaeology can help provide a more balanced view of the Roman economy by informing the classical historian about geographical areas and classes of society that received little attention from the largely aristocratic classical…
Modern scholarship tends to focus on the social, political and economic information that can be gleaned from Pindar's treatment of the subject of his victory odes - the athlete who brings immortality to his family and polis. In this book, Asya C. Si…
The Stone Age is the common denominator of mankind, and through experimental archeology-the relearning and replication of ancient skills-we take a step of discovery and understanding into this rich past. In this collection, drawn from the pages of t…
Epigraphic Evidence is an accessible guide to the responsible use of Greek and Latin inscriptions as sources for ancient history. It introduces the types of historical information supplied by inscriptional texts and the methods with which they can b…
Grounded in the latest archeological developments, Victor Matthews's A Brief History of Ancient Israel presents a concise history of Israel covering the ancestral period, conquest and settlement, the monarchy, and both the exilic and postexilic peri…
In AD 132, Shim'on Ben Koseba, a rebel leader who assumed the messianic name Shim'on Bar Kokhba ('Son of a Star'), led the people of Judaea in open rebellion, aiming to establish their own independent Jewish state and to liberate Jerusalem from the…
The Instant New York Times Bestseller Was an advanced civilization lost to history in the global cataclysm that ended the last Ice Age? Graham Hancock, the internationally bestselling author, has made it his life's work to find out--and in America B…
Textile production and the introduction of wool and woolen textiles represented a great revolution in Bronze Age Europe at the dawn of the second millennium BC. The available contemporary written sources from the Mediterranean and Near East suggest…
Using computer simulations of the ancient skies to crack the millennial code that the monuments transcribe, the authors set out a new theory concerning the Pyramid Texts and other archaic Egyptian scriptures.
In the ancient world the magicians of Egypt were considered the best. But was magic harmless fun, heartfelt hope, or something darker? Whether you needed a love charm, a chat with your dead wife, or the ability to fly like a bird, an Egyptian magici…
Edward Gibbon's six-volume History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-88) is among the most magnificent and ambitious narratives in European literature. Its subject is the fate of one of the world's greatest civilizations over thirtee…
Dionysus after Nietzsche examines the way that The Birth of Tragedy (1872) by Friedrich Nietzsche irrevocably influenced twentieth-century literature and thought. Adam Lecznar argues that Nietzsche's Dionysus became a symbol of the irrational forces…
The infamous emperor Caligula ruled Rome from A.D. 37 to 41 as a tyrant who ultimately became a monster. An exceptionally smart and cruelly witty man, Caligula made his contemporaries worship him as a god. He drank pearls dissolved in vinegar and at…
In Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit Jodi Magness unearths -footprints- buried in both archaeological and literary evidence to shed new light on Jewish daily life in Palestine from the mid-first century b.c.e. to 70 c.e. -- the time and place of Jesus' l…
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - "Magisterial . . . A] rich portrait of ancient Egypt's complex evolution over the course of three millenniums."--Los Angeles Times NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post - Publishers Weekly In th…
The gripping story of how the end of the Roman Empire was the beginning of the modern world The fall of the Roman Empire has long been considered one of the greatest disasters in history. But in this groundbreaking book, Walter Scheidel argues that…
In the nineteenth century, teams of men began digging the earth like never before. Sometimes this digging-often for sewage, transport, or minerals-revealed human remains. Other times, archaeological excavation of ancient cities unearthed prehistoric…
A detailed history with fascinating insights and a gorgeous visual reference, this book tours the sacred Egyptian sites, from theimpressive mortuary temples of the pharaohs to those dedicated to the many gods and goddesses.It includes an in-depth ex…
Archaeological Theory in Dialogue presents an innovative conversation between five scholars from different backgrounds on a range of central issues facing archaeology today.Interspersing detailed investigations of critical theoretical issues with di…
One of Western history's greatest books springs to life in Tom Holland's vibrant new translation Herodotus of Halicarnassus--who was hailed by Cicero as "the father of history"--wrote his histories around 440 BC. It is the earliest surviving work of…
Recounts the causes and history of the wars between the Greek city-states and Persia
The journal of a young woman who went missing on a trip up the Nile to search for the tomb of the god Osiris in 1926 provides readers with detailed observations of the many incredible things seen and explored during her previous travels via photos,…
This book is at once a thorough study of the educational system for the Greeks of Hellenistic and Roman Egypt, and a window to the vast panorama of educational practices in the Greco-Roman world. It describes how people learned, taught, and practice…
`All over Italy men were conscripted, and weapons requisitioned; money was exacted from towns, and taken from shrines; and all the laws of god and man were overturned.' The Civil War is Caesar's masterly account of the celebrated war between himself…
A military leader of legendary genius, Caesar was also a great writer, recording the events of his life with incomparable immediacy and power. The Civil War is a tense and gripping depiction of his struggle with Pompey over the leadership of Republi…
Brilliant horsemen and great fighters, the Scythians were nomadic horsemen who ranged wide across the grasslands of the Asian steppe from the Altai mountains in the east to the Great Hungarian Plain in the first millennium BC. Their steppe homeland…
The decaying remnants of obselete industries and defunct commerce - whether coal mines, shipyards, factories, shopping centres, power plants, warehouses or mills - lie scattered in desolate locations throughout the world. These left-over structures…
This is the first book-length study of the Yayoi and Kofun periods of Japan (c.600 BC-AD 700), in which the introduction of rice paddy-field farming from the Korean peninsula ignited the rapid development of social complexity and hierarchy that culm…
The Babylonian flood story of Atra-hasis is of vital importance to ancient Near Eastern and biblical scholars, as well as students of history, anthropology, and comparative religion. Professors Lambert and Millard provide the reader with a detailed…
A richly illustrated book featuring recent revelations about China's first emperor, Ying Zheng, and his famous burial site containing an army of life-size terracotta soldiers and other artifacts First discovered by a farmer in 1974, the burial site…
The Roman military was one of the most powerful forces of the ancient world. But what did its soldiers wear? This book presents an accurate and illuminating study of a popular yet understudied subject. Spanning 1000 years from the Late Republic to t…
Birds is the first book to examine bird remains in archaeology and anthropology. Providing a thorough review of the literature on this topic, it also serves as a guide to the methods of study of bird remains from the past and covers a wide range of…
This is a detailed study of the armies of Rome and their enemies, including the Etruscans, Samnites, Carthaginians, Celts, Macedonians, Gauls, Huns, Sassanids, Persians and Turks. It is an incredible visual reference of the fighting men of Rome and…
The correspondence of Fronto--a much admired orator and rhetorician who was befriended by the emperor Antoninus Pius and teacher of his adopted sons Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus--offers an invaluable picture of aristocratic life and literary cul…
Unlocking the secrets of the pyramids. For thousands of years the pyramids have stood, imposing and enigmatic, refusing to give up their secrets.
In this volume are three works concerning the campaigns engaged in by the great Roman statesman Julius Caesar (100?44 BCE), but not written by him. The Alexandrian War, which deals with troubles elsewhere also, may have been written by Aulus Hirtius…
In AD 66 a local disturbance in Caesarea caused by Greeks sacrificing birds in front of a local synagogue exploded into a pan-Jewish revolt against their Roman overlords. Gaining momentum, the rebels successfully occupied Jerusalem and drove off an…
The rise of the modern absolutist monarchies in Europe constitutes in many ways the birth of the modern historical epoch. Passages from Antiquity to Feudalism, the companion volume to Perry Anderson's Lineages of the Absolutist State, is a sustained…
Filled with unforgettable stories of emperors, generals, and religious patriarchs, as well as fascinating glimpses into the life of the ordinary citizen, Lost to the West reveals how much we owe to the Byzantine Empire that was the equal of any in i…
What is commonly called the kingdom of Pontos flourished for over two hundred years in the coastal regions of the Black Sea. At its peak in the early first century BC, it included much of the southern, eastern, and northern littoral, becoming one of…
The circulation of books was the motor of classical civilization. However, books were both expensive and rare, and so libraries - private and public, royal and civic - played key roles in articulating intellectual life. This collection, written by a…
The objects unearthed in 1939 from an Anglo-Saxon ship-burial at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, rank among the most splendid treasures in the collection of the British Museum. Bringing together fine craftsmanship from England, Germany, Scandinavia, Alexandria…