Ancient English History

More than 2,000 years after his death, Julius Caesar remains one of the great figures of history. He shaped Rome for generations, and his name became a synonym for "emperor" - not only in Rome but as far away as Germany and Russia. He is best known as the general who defeated the Gauls and doubled the size of Rome's territories. But, as Philip Freeman describes in this fascinating new biography, Caesar was also a brilliant orator, an accomplished writer, a skilled politician, and much more.

Around four thousand years ago, the mysterious Minoans sculpted statues of topless women with snakes slithering on their arms. Over one thousand years later, Sappho wrote great poems of longing and desire. For classicist Daisy Dunn, these women—whether they were simply sitting at their looms at home or participating in the highest echelons of power—were up to something much more interesting than other histories would lead us to believe. Together, these women helped to make antiquity as we know it.

Ancient Egypt is one of the most fascinating and sophisticated civilizations in the known history. The ancient Egyptians are remembered by their gods, pyramids, pharaohs, mummification, hieroglyphs, agriculture, and much more. This audiobook reveals the secrets of the captivating world of ancient Egypt and the intriguing stories of its celebrities, such as the Akhenaten, Ramses the Great, Queen Cleopatra, and the boy-king Tut. You’ll learn about mighty gods and the magical link between the sun and the people of Egypt.

Three of the world’s great religions originated in the Middle East: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Before that, religion in ancient Babylonia and Egypt had a history of thousands of years. In Egypt, religious practice centered on the pharaohs who acted as intermediaries between their people and the gods. They were obligated to sustain the deities through rituals and offerings so that they could maintain Ma'at, the order of the cosmos. The state dedicated enormous resources to maintaining religious rituals and to the construction of temples.

The Lost Superpowers of Humanity Forgotten Abilities and How to Reclaim Them By Zeamie Emanuel What if the abilities we now call "superpowers" were once real—and accessible to everyone? From telepathy and photographic memory to breath mastery, lucid dreaming, and energy healing, ancient civilizations believed that humans were capable of extraordinary things. Today, most of these abilities are dismissed as myths or miracles—but what if they're simply forgotten skills, waiting to be reclaimed? The Lost Superpowers of Humanity is a captivating journey into the world of ancient wisdom, ...

In Empires of Trust, Professor Thomas F. Madden explores surprising parallels between the Roman and American republics. By making friends of enemies and demonstrating a commitment to fairness, the two republics - both "reluctant" yet unquestioned super-powers - built empires based on trust. Madden also includes vital lessons from the Roman Republic's 100-year struggle with "terrorism."

Embark on a breathtaking adventure through the captivating world of optics with "Light through the Ages: A Global History of Optics." This enthralling and comprehensive guide will take you on an exhilarating ride, unveiling the mysteries of light and its applications that have shaped human history and transformed our understanding of the universe. From the ingenious discoveries of the ancient Egyptians to the cutting-edge advancements in quantum optics, this riveting book brings to life the inspiring stories of the remarkable pioneers, inventors, and visionaries who have revolutionized the ...

One of the most remarkable historical works of the 19th century came from the pen of French historian Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges, a native of Paris. This amazing analysis of family and religious life among the ancient Greeks and Romans is the key to understanding ancient Mediterranean civilizations. The story begins in the misty period of the Bronze Age as the Indo-Europeans began to filter down into the Italian and Greek peninsulas. They brought with them a patriarchy that was based on ancestor worship and the veneration of hearth gods.

The Lost History of Liberalism challenges our most basic assumptions about a political creed that has become a rallying cry - and a term of derision - in today's increasingly divided public square. Taking listeners from ancient Rome to today, Helena Rosenblatt traces the evolution of the words "liberal" and "liberalism", revealing the heated debates that have taken place over their meaning. In this timely and provocative book, Rosenblatt debunks the popular myth of liberalism as a uniquely Anglo-American tradition centered on individual rights.

Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar: Each was a master of war. Each had to look beyond the battlefield to decide whom to fight and why; to know what victory was and when to end the war; to determine how to bring stability to the lands he conquered. Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar had to be not only generals but statesmen. And yet each was a battlefield commander, a strategist, a leader of men - in short, a warrior.

In her international bestseller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome. Now she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, one after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius.

The library of Ashurbanipal, Assyria’s last great king, held an astonishing collection at the forefront of knowledge in its day, from ancient traditions in religion and literature to the latest developments in magic and medicine. When the Assyrian empire fell, the library burned to the ground, and its contents, clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform writing, lay buried for thousands of years until a team of Victorian archaeologists discovered the remnants in modern-day Iraq. The clay had baked and hardened; the very fire that consumed the library had helped its texts to survive for millennia.

The magnificent civilization created by the ancient Greeks and Romans is the greatest legacy of the classical world. However, narratives about the "civilized" Greek and Roman empires resisting the barbarians at the gate are far from accurate. Tony Spawforth, an esteemed scholar, author, and media contributor, follows the thread of civilization through more than six millennia of history. His story reveals that Greek and Roman civilization, to varying degrees, was supremely and surprisingly receptive to external influences, particularly from the East.

The Annals, the last and greatest achievement of Tacitus, records the history of the Julio-Claudian emperors from the death of Augustus (A.D. 14) to the reign of Nero (54–68). These are stories of mutiny and murder, of whole armies disappearing beyond the Rhine, of an unstable and gloomy frontier. Tacitus brings us Nero himself, whose reign saw the burning of Rome and the mass slaughter of Christians, and whose vices still captivate and startle us with their imagination and cruelty.

Sitchin shows that the end is anchored in the events of the beginning, and once you learn of this beginning, it is possible to foretell the future. In The End of Days, a masterwork that required 30 years of additional research, Sitchin presents compelling new evidence that the past is the future - that mankind and its planet Earth are subject to a predetermined cyclical celestial time.

At its height in 660 BCE, the kingdom of Assyria stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. It was the first empire the world had ever seen. Here, historian Eckart Frahm tells the epic story of Assyria and its formative role in global history. Assyria’s wide-ranging conquests have long been known from the Hebrew Bible and later Greek accounts. But nearly two centuries of research now permit a rich picture of the Assyrians and their empire beyond the battlefield.

Everyone's a cynic, yet few will admit it. Today's cynics excuse themselves half-heartedly - "I hate to be a cynic, but...." - before making their pronouncements. Narrowly opportunistic, always on the take, contemporary cynicism has nothing positive to contribute. The Cynicism of the ancient Greeks, however, was very different. Bold and shameless, it was committed to transforming the values on which civilization depends.

The land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers is called the “cradle of civilization”, and for good reason! Although Mesopotamia’s first civilization, Sumer, developed parallel with those of Egypt and nearby Elam, it was a place of many firsts for humanity. Some of them are well known, such as the wheel and the writing script. But it was the ancient Mesopotamians who first came up with the concept of time, the mathematical sexagesimal system, and a calendar with 12 months.

In 63 BC, frustrated by his failure to be elected leader of the Roman Republic, the aristocrat Catiline tried to topple its elected government. Backed by corrupt elites and poor, alienated Romans, he fled Rome while his associates plotted to burn the city and murder its leading politicians. The attempted coup culminated with the unmasking of the conspirators in the Senate. In How to Stop a Conspiracy, Josiah Osgood presents a brisk, modern new translation of the definitive account of these events, Sallust's The War with Catiline.

In the beginning, North America was Indian country. But only in the beginning. After the opening act of the great national drama, Native Americans yielded to the westward rush of European settlers. Or so the story usually goes. Yet, for three centuries after Columbus, Native people controlled most of eastern North America and profoundly shaped its destiny. In Facing East from Indian Country, Daniel K. Richter keeps Native people center-stage throughout the story of the origins of the United States.