Ancient Empires

The very idea of empire was created in ancient Rome, and even today, traces of its monuments, literature, and institutions can be found across Europe, the Near East, and North Africa - and sometimes even further afield. Historian Greg Woolf expertly recounts how this mammoth empire was created, how it was sustained in crisis, and how it shaped the world of its rulers and subjects - a story spanning a millennium and a half of history.

Every great nation or empire has had at least one horrific military loss or disaster in their history, and the Roman Empire, perhaps the greatest empire that ever existed in the Western world, was no exception to this rule. While Rome certainly suffered defeats and outright massacres over the course of its long and storied history, none of them were as disturbing for the Empire as the battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE.

Glory Favors the Bold. Martius dreams of one day joining the legendary legions of the Belgadan Empire. He seeks to enlist as only a simple foot soldier, but the twists of war have another path for him. As he's thrown into the army's air cavalry and becomes a member of the famous gryphon riders, the empire's fearsome enemies mass on its borders. Martius's one chance at glory is here. With the help of veteran generals and his bond with a war gryphon, can Martius find his place in the legion and claim greatness? Or will the barbarians charging towards the gates of the empire overrun and ...

The exemplary life of a noble soldier/statesman, a description of ancient Germany, and a discussion of oratory are the subjects of three short masterpieces by the brilliant Roman historian, Tacitus.

Duty bound to save the Empire from falling further under a tyrannical usurper, Cursor resolves to unravel the conspiracy and bring the perpetrators to justice. Aiding him is an old friend; a retired Master Centurion named Gaius Calvinus. Regrettably, they know that if successful, Tiberius' retribution will be swift and brutal, sparing neither the innocent nor the guilty. This leaves only two dark paths for Cursor and Calvinus; either allow the pending reign of terror under a ruthless usurper, or unleash the unholy vengeance of an emperor betrayed.

In 77 AD, the eighth year of the reign of Caesar Vespasianus Augustus, an expediton to map out the Mare Sarmaticum sets out on a Roman war galley from a port on the northern coast of Gaul. Pulled by a mysterious pendant carried by the expedition's cartographer, it meets a dark fate on a distant island far beyond the Empire's borders. The expedition's demise sets of a chain of events that lead others to follow in its steps over the next two thousand years. And all of them end up on that same island attracted by the invisible pull of the long dead cartographer's pendant.

In 323 BCE, Alexander the Great was on top of the world; on June 11, 323 B.C., Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, Hegemon of the League of Corinth, King of Kings, died. The Diadochi: The History of Alexander the Great’s Successors and the Wars That Divided His Empire chronicles how Alexander’s legendary conquests shaped the next several centuries, and how the successor generals carved out various empires. You will learn about the Diadochi like never before.

In this two in one audiobook, you'll learn about the history of Persia.

Step into the captivating world of ancient Rome with 'Julius Caesar: The Julio-Claudian Dynasty Emperors of Rome.' In this compelling narrative, renowned author Dan Wilson unravels the dramatic rise and fall of one of history's most influential figures and the far-reaching implications of the dynasty he seeded. Wilson guides you through the expansive landscape of Caesar's world, from the battle-ridden fields of Gaul to the intrigue-infused corridors of power in Rome itself. This epic tale charts Caesar's ascendancy to the zenith of power, his radical reforms, and the transformation of the ...

Peter Frankopan, number one best-selling author and historian, explores the connections made by people, trade, disease, war, religion, adventure, science and technology in this extraordinary book about how the East married the West with a remarkable voyage at its heart - the journey along the Silk Roads.

In 323 BCE, Alexander the Great was on top of the world. Never a man to sit on his hands or rest upon his laurels, Alexander began planning his future campaigns, which may have included attempts to subdue the Arabian Peninsula or make another incursion into India. But fate had other plans for the young Macedonian king. One night, while feasting with his admiral Nearchus, he drank too much and took to bed with a fever.

The Hittites are an ancient people who remain somewhat enigmatic, but their influence on the ancient Near East is undeniable. From high in their capital of Hattusa in central Anatolia, the Hittites were able to conquer and control a kingdom that roughly comprised the area of modern Turkey, Syria, and parts of Iraq and Lebanon through a combination of brute military force and shrewd diplomatic machinations.

El trágico y conmovedor episodio del delicado amor que unió al anciano Miguel Ángel con la poetisa Vittoria Colonna. Una misteriosa espada de oro protagonista de un relato de intriga a medio camino entre la arqueología y la política internacional. Un alfarero de la antigua Atenas, involuntario artífice de la condena del gran Alcibíades...Valerio Massimo Manfredi, autor de célebres novelas históricas, se aventura en el género del cuento, regalándonos estas trece joyas de la narrativa breve.

"Jesus never existed." "The Bible is a book of fairy tales." "Accounts of Christian persecution are fables." Christians of today face accusations of this type on a regular basis. These charges gain traction in the modern world because the average person has practically no knowledge of the Church's ancient past. I Am A Christian: Authentic Accounts of Christian Martyrdom and Persecution from the Ancient Sources aims to remedy this deficiency by providing a collection of the earliest and most trustworthy eye-witness accounts from Roman antiquity. The works collected in this little book are ...

Serpent goddesses, a hummingbird god, and flying sorcerers—Aztec mythology had it all! Introduce a teen to the fascinating world of Aztec mythology, where gods battled for power, sorcerers flew through the skies, and ancient myths shaped the way people saw the universe. From interesting creation stories to the mysteries of the afterlife, this easy-to-read book unpacks the Aztecs’ extraordinary culture in a way that teens will love. Perfect for curious minds, this book combines thrilling tales with accessible language, making it ideal for teens who are passionate about mythology and ...

In "The Roman Empire the Empire of the Edomite," William Beeston throws a curveball at history, proposing a bold connection between the mighty Romans and the ancient Edomites of Jordan.

The barbarian nomads of the Eurasian steppes have played a decisive role in world history, but their achievements have gone largely unnoticed. These nomadic tribes have produced some of the world’s greatest conquerors: Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan and Tamerlane, among others. And, as Kenneth Harl illustrates in this glorious work of narrative history, their deeds still resonate today. Professor Kenneth Harl draws on a lifetime of scholarship to vividly recreate the lives and world of these often-forgotten peoples from their beginnings to the early modern age.

The Assyrian Empire was the largest, most powerful, and longest-lasting in the ancient world. It included lands that comprise modern-day Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, and Cyprus, as well as large parts of modern Saudi Arabia, Libya, Turkey, and Iran. The Assyrian army was the most effective, most highly trained, and best equipped in the ancient world, and few nations dared to stand against it. This force was used with ruthless brutality by Assyrian kings to ensure that potential foes were terrified of losing a battle with the Assyrians.

The life of Augustus is historically important because his leadership marked out a new era in the story of the Roman world - an era that would see the expansion of the Roman Empire across the Mediterranean and beyond. However, the influence of the Roman Empire extended much farther than its territory and had a profound effect on the development of Western culture.

The pope wanted it, Montesquieu used it, and the Nazis pilfered an Italian noble's villa to get it: the Germania, by the Roman historian Tacitus, took on a life of its own as both an object and an ideology. When Tacitus wrote a not-very-flattering little book about the ancient Germans in 98 CE, at the height of the Roman Empire, he could not have foreseen that the Nazis would extol it as "a bible", nor that Heinrich Himmler, the engineer of the Holocaust, would vow to resurrect Germany on its grounds. But the Germania inspired - and polarized - people long before the rise of the Third Reich.