Forntidens historia

*A GUARDIAN, NEW STATESMAN, PROSPECT AND WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2025* 'The fascinating story of ancient words … new revelations await' The Guardian 'A magisterial feat' New Scientist ________________________________ One ancient language transformed our world. This is its story. Star. Stjarna. Stare. Thousands of miles apart, people look up at the night sky and use the same word to describe what they see.Listen to these English, Icelandic and Iranic words and you can hear echoes of one of the most extraordinary journeys in humanity’s past. All three of these languages – and hundreds more – share a single ancient ancestor.Five millennia ago, in a mysterious Big Bang of its own, this proto tongue exploded, forming new worlds as it spread east and west. Today, nearly half of humanity speaks an Indo-European language. How did this happen?In Proto, acclaimed journalist Laura Spinney sets off to find out. With her we travel the length of the steppe, navigating the Caucasus, the Silk Roads and the Hindu Kush. We follow in the footsteps of nomads and monks, Amazon warriors and lion kings – the ancient peoples who spread these tongues far and wide. In the present, Spinney meets the linguists, archaeologists and geneticists racing to recover this lost world. What they have discovered has vital lessons for our modern age, as people and their languages are on the move again.Proto is a revelatory portrait of world history in its own words.

'Enthralling and profoundly relevant' Salman Rushdie'Joyful, illuminating and engaging ' Madeline Miller'A masterclass in translation' Blake Morrison, GuardianHow do we give old words new voices? What must a translator lose - and what might she gain - when she moves between languages, bringing ancient stories to modern life?Emily Wilson has spent a lifetime wrestling with these questions: here, she invites us to consider the meaning and messages of translators from antiquity to today - and gives a wholly fresh insight into her own work on Homer. From shifting depictions of Helen of Troy to Cardi B and Athenian comedy, Han Kang's novels and Rome's love of Greek culture, Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea is a playful and fascinating voyage into the promise, possibility and constant renewal of classical literature.

'A thrilling story, wonderfully told by one of the great historians' KEN FOLLETT'Dazzling... This is biography of great brilliance and rare resonance' WILLIAM DALRYMPLE'A pulsating, vivid life of a true historical titan' DAN JONES'A splendid book, lively, erudite... where myth and heroism meet' RORY STEWARTA stunningly written new biography of Alexander the Great, based on a series of important new discoveries and the author’s own translations of source material from twelve ancient languages.In 336 BCE, at the age of twenty, Alexander, a wide-eyed boy from the hills of Macedon, inherited a tumbledown kingdom, a pile of debts and an army which answered to nobody. Desperate to hold on to power, he led the army east, into the heart of the vast Persian Empire, and inadvertently began the greatest military campaign in history. The young man became a king, the king became a hero, the hero became a living god, and the god died aged thirty-two, broken-hearted in Babylon.For centuries, historians have told his story, yet Alexander has remained a mystery. But now, the ruins of his cities have emerged from the bottom of the sea and the dust of Central Asian hillsides. The diaries of Babylonian astronomers who knew him have been deciphered. The tombs of his ancestors have been unearthed. For the first time, instead of the legend, we can meet Alexander the man.Based on more than a decade of cutting-edge research, Alexander allows readers to feel the desert wind and experience the full horror of battle. Richardson’s research has taken him from the catacombs of Egypt to the passes of Afghanistan. Alexander is a cinematic work of non-fiction: a revelatory retelling of one of the most famous and elusive stories in history.

A bold reassessment of what caused the Late Bronze Age collapseIn 1177 B.C., marauding groups known only as the "Sea Peoples" invaded Egypt. The pharaoh's army and navy managed to defeat them, but the victory so weakened Egypt that it soon slid into decline, as did most of the surrounding civilizations. After centuries of brilliance, the civilized world of the Bronze Age came to an abrupt and cataclysmic end. Kingdoms fell like dominoes over the course of just a few decades. No more Minoans or Mycenaeans. No more Trojans, Hittites, or Babylonians. The thriving economy and cultures of the late second millennium B.C., which had stretched from Greece to Egypt and Mesopotamia, suddenly ceased to exist, along with writing systems, technology, and monumental architecture. But the Sea Peoples alone could not have caused such widespread breakdown. How did it happen?In this major new account of the causes of this "First Dark Ages," Eric Cline tells the gripping story of how the end was brought about by multiple interconnected failures, ranging from invasion and revolt to earthquakes, drought, and the cutting of international trade routes. Bringing to life the vibrant multicultural world of these great civilizations, he draws a sweeping panorama of the empires and globalized peoples of the Late Bronze Age and shows that it was their very interdependence that hastened their dramatic collapse and ushered in a dark age that lasted centuries.A compelling combination of narrative and the latest scholarship, 1177 B.C. sheds new light on the complex ties that gave rise to, and ultimately destroyed, the flourishing civilizations of the Late Bronze Age—and that set the stage for the emergence of classical Greece.

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'EastEnders for the 1st century AD... Beard's enthusiastic sense of wonder remains undimmed' THE TIMES 'The rock star scholar of Ancient Rome' FINANCIAL TIMES 'The reigning Queen of Classics' SPECTATORWhat's exciting about a piece of bread 4,000 years old? Or some pots of paint abandoned in the eruption at Pompeii? Why should we be bothered with the distant past anyway? What's the point?The life, art and literature of ancient Greece and Rome have something to offer everyone. They are not the property of wealthy white men only. They make us wonder how to make sense of people who lived long ago (from angry landlords to giggling senators) - and to think harder about our own world, to look at it differently.In Talking Classics, Mary Beard points to the surprising connections between antiquity and the present. From revolutionaries to dictators, Bob Dylan to Beyoncé, she joins forces with the varied modern characters who have been transfixed by the ancient world. It's not compulsory, she argues, to be excited by antiquity, but it's a shame not to be.After half a century teaching and studying classics, she fills the book with lively stories, curious facts and some good gossip. Talking Classics explains why the deep past does really affect us all.

Fornborgarnas tid handlar om en tidigare okänd tidsperiod i den nordiska fornhistorien. Det här är en tid då fundamentet läggs för mycket av det som vi idag tar för givet och uppfattar som vår samtid. I bokserien får läsaren följa med långt in i det som enbart har betraktats som förhistorisk tid, och den tydligaste resten från den här tiden är de mystiska fornborgarna som finns spridda i stort antal över Norden. Det här är den andra boken i en serie med tre delar. Den här delen söker svar på hur borgarna har använts. Borgarna har inte byggts så slumpmässigt som man tidigare tänkt sig, utan det verkar tvärt emot gå att följa en tidsmässig kontinuitet som kan förklara deras uppkomst. Genom att kombinera detta med arkeologiska och samtida historiska källor går svaret att finna. Det som tidigare har beskrivits som fornborgarnas gåta kan därmed ha fått en lösning. Spåren leder till en krigande överklass som funnits i Norden vid tiden för borgarna, och borgarna verkar ha varit centra platser för dessa krigare. Kring varje borg tycks det ha legat ett mindre kungarike som styrts från borgen av varsin kunglig släkt. Genom de kvarlämnade borgruinerna går det att detaljerat följa hur dessa har utvecklats över tid, samtidigt som de arkeologiska och historiska källorna ger ledtrådar till vad de gjort på borgarna. Borgarna leder fram till en beskrivning av den nordiska fornhistorien som du aldrig hört tidigare. Bokserien baserar sig på fältundersökningar av ca 280 fornborgar. Innehåll: Boken består av fem kapitel. Det första arbetar på djupet för att försöka förstå hur borgarna kan ha använts. Borgarna i undersökningsområde klassificeras efter hur kraftiga murarna varit, och placeras ut på en karta för att kunna jämföra de som kan antas ha varit samtida. Datakällan kommer från de egna undersökningarna. I andra kapitlet analyseras resultatet djupare, och borgar som verkar höra samman grupperas. Detta ger en första inblick i varför borgarna byggts på de platser som de har. Tredje kapitlet undersöker resultat från arkeologiska undersökningar, och försöker föra detta samman med borgarna. Redan nu börjar ett resultat framträda. Fjärde kapitlet försöker datera de tidigaste borgarnas tillkomst, bland annat som en grund för analyser av historiska källor. Femte kapitlet försöker sedan föra samman borgarna med det historiska källmaterial som finns från samma tid som borgarna. Allting sammanfattas i en avslutande analysdel där historiska och arkeologiska källor förs samma med borgarna, och nu är svaret tydligt. Beskrivningen kan göras mycket detaljerad när bitarna hamnar på rätt plats. Borgarna har använts av en krigande överklass som funnits långt tidigare än man räknat med att det ska ha funnits en sådan i Norden. Spåren leder ända tillbaka till järnålderns början. Mycket av dagens samhälle och värderingar i Norden kan spåras tillbaka till tiden för borgarna och denna överklass. Boken har 255 sidor varav ca 50% av dessa är tryckta med färgtryck. Författaren: Mattias Lennartsson kan beskrivas som amatörarkeolog, men kanske ännu bättre fornborgsforskare. Detta bland en allt för klen skara som förtjänar denna titel. Den senaste tiden har han spenderat stor tid med att undersöka fornborgarna ur ett brett perspektiv, vilket resulterat i denna bokserie. Mattias har studerat datateknik och arbetar annars med cybersäkerhet.

** THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ** Readers love The Greatest Story Ever Told'Outstanding. A page-turner with a life-changing message.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review'This book is incredible. It will speak to believers and non-believers alike.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review'Wow what a book. What a way to share the gospel!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader reviewTHE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE MAN WHO CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY FOREVER.Beautifully told through the eyewitness accounts of those who knew him best.This real-life story will never leave you.Jesus of Nazareth (Yeshua) lived and died over 2,000 years ago, fulfilling expectations that existed long before his birth. His birth had been mystically foretold by astrologers for hundreds of years, yet the rulers of his day dreaded his coming.A humble builder.A teacher.A magnet for the poor. He's a symbol of love and mercy who transformed the lives and restored the health and purpose in all who encountered him.Billions of people have dedicated their lives to this man and have testified to his divinity and truth. To others, he is little more than another rebel who was killed by one of the most brutal empires in human history.Did this humble man tell the truth? Could one man really be the focal point of the universe?Wherever this journey takes you, this is arguably:THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD.This inspirational book welcomes you into the life of Jesus. A vivid, immersive retelling that makes the Gospel feel immediate and real.A Christian historical narrative. A gospel retelling. An immersive biography of Jesus for believers and skeptics alike.

Why did Eurasians conquer, displace, or decimate Native Americans, Australians, and Africans, instead of the reverse? In this “artful, informative, and delightful” (William H. McNeill, New York Review of Books) book, a classic of our time, evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond dismantles racist theories of human history by revealing the environmental factors actually responsible for its broadest patterns.The story begins 13,000 years ago, when Stone Age hunter-gatherers constituted the entire human population. Around that time, the developmental paths of human societies on different continents began to diverge greatly. Early domestication of wild plants and animals in the Fertile Crescent, China, Mesoamerica, the Andes, and other areas gave peoples of those regions a head start at a new way of life. But the localized origins of farming and herding proved to be only part of the explanation for their differing fates. The unequal rates at which food production spread from those initial centers were influenced by other features of climate and geography, including the disparate sizes, locations, and even shapes of the continents. Only societies that moved away from the hunter-gatherer stage went on to develop writing, technology, government, and organized religions as well as deadly germs and potent weapons of war. It was those societies, adventuring on sea and land, that invaded others, decimating native inhabitants through slaughter and the spread of disease.A major landmark in our understanding of human societies, Guns, Germs, and Steel chronicles the way in which the modern world, and its inequalities, came to be.

In this gripping sequel to his bestselling 1177 B.C., Eric Cline tells the story of what happened after the Bronze Age collapsed—why some civilizations endured, why some gave way to new ones, and why some disappeared forever“A landmark book: lucid, deep, and insightful. . . . You cannot understand human civilization and self-organization without studying what happened on, before, and after 1177 B.C.”—Nassim Nicholas Taleb, bestselling author of The Black SwanAt the end of the acclaimed history 1177 B.C., many of the Late Bronze Age civilizations of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean lay in ruins, undone by invasion, revolt, natural disasters, famine, and the demise of international trade. An interconnected world that had boasted major empires and societies, relative peace, robust commerce, and monumental architecture was lost and the so-called First Dark Age had begun. Now, in After 1177 B.C., Eric Cline tells the compelling story of what happened next, over four centuries, across the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean world. It is a story of resilience, transformation, and success, as well as failures, in an age of chaos and reconfiguration.After 1177 B.C. tells how the collapse of powerful Late Bronze Age civilizations created new circumstances to which people and societies had to adapt. Those that failed to adjust disappeared from the world stage, while others transformed themselves, resulting in a new world order that included Phoenicians, Philistines, Israelites, Neo-Hittites, Neo-Assyrians, and Neo-Babylonians. Taking the story up to the resurgence of Greece marked by the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C., the book also describes how world-changing innovations such as the use of iron and the alphabet emerged amid the chaos.Filled with lessons for today's world about why some societies survive massive shocks while others do not, After 1177 B.C. reveals why this period, far from being the First Dark Age, was a new age with new inventions and new opportunities.

Fornborgarnas tid handlar om en tidigare okänd tidsperiod i den nordiska fornhistorien. Det här är en tid då fundamentet läggs för mycket av det som vi idag tar för givet och uppfattar som vår samtid. I bokserien får läsaren följa med långt in i det som enbart har betraktats som förhistorisk tid, och den tydligaste resten från den här tiden är de mystiska fornborgarna som finns spridda i stort antal över Norden. Det här är den första boken i en serie med tre delar. Den här delen söker svar på varför fornborgarna byggts. För att svara på frågan måste man först förstå vad de har gemensamt och varför de byggts på de platser där de har. Svaret på frågan är kanske inte vad man tidigare har tänkt sig. Bokserien baserar sig på fältundersökningar av ca 280 fornborgar. Innehåll: Det här är den första riktiga boken som skrivits om de nordiska fornborgarna, vilket i sig gör boken helt unik. Denna del har tre kapitel. Det första kapitlet beskriver hur fornborgarna kan ha varit konstruerade och hur de försvarats. Det andra beskriver hur borgarna ligger i förhållande till närliggande vattenvägar, vilket gör att man kan avfärda flera oprövade sanningar om dem. Det sista kapitlet beskriver ca 110 borgar med bilder och terrängkartor. Denna del ger en översikt av borgarna längs med Östkusten. En sådan översikt har tidigare saknats. Vart de större och mer intressanta borgruinerna funnits i detta område kan därmed påstås att tidigare har varit okänt. Boken innehåller också en inledande och avslutande analysdel som tolkar ursprunget till borgarna, samt en kortare inledning. Boken har 255 sidor varav ca 60% av dessa är tryckta med färgtryck. Författaren: Mattias Lennartsson kan beskrivas som amatörarkeolog, men kanske ännu bättre fornborgsforskare. Detta bland en allt för klen skara som förtjänar denna titel. Den senaste tiden har han spenderat stor tid med att undersöka fornborgarna ur ett brett perspektiv, vilket resulterat i denna bokserie. Mattias har studerat datateknik och arbetar annars med cybersäkerhet.

'The greatest historian that ever lived'Such was Macaulay's verdict on Thucydides (c. 460-400 BC) and his history of the Peloponnesian War, the momentous struggle between Athens and Sparta as rival powers and political systems that lasted for twenty-seven years from 431 to 404 BC, involved virtually the whole of the Greek world, and ended in the fall of Athens. Thucydides himself was a participant in the war; to his history he brings an awesome intellect, brilliant narrative, and penetrating analysis of the nature of power, as it affects both states and individuals.Of his own work Thucydides wrote: 'I shall be content if [my history] is judged useful by those who will want to have a clear understanding of what happened - and, such is the human condition, will happen again ... It was composed as a permanent legacy, not a showpiece for a single hearing.' So it has proved. Of the prose writers of Greece and Rome Thucydides has had more lasting influence on western thought than all but Plato and Aristotle. This new edition combines a masterly translation with comprehensive supporting material. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Ancient Rome matters.Its history of empire, conquest, cruelty and excess is something against which we still judge ourselves. Its myths and stories - from Romulus and Remus to the Rape of Lucretia - still strike a chord with us. And its debates about citizenship, security and the rights of the individual still influence our own debates on civil liberty today.SPQR is a new look at Roman history from one of the world's foremost classicists. It explores not only how Rome grew from an insignificant village in central Italy to a power that controlled territory from Spain to Syria, but also how the Romans thought about themselves and their achievements, and why they are still important to us. Covering 1,000 years of history, and casting fresh light on the basics of Roman culture from slavery to running water, as well as exploring democracy, migration, religious controversy, social mobility and exploitation in the larger context of the empire, this is a definitive history of ancient Rome.SPQR is the Romans' own abbreviation for their state: Senatus Populusque Romanus, 'the Senate and People of Rome'.

*Ten-year anniversary edition with new introduction from the author*Star Reader Reviews -" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Captivating, necessary and enlightening." "⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Essential. Wonderfully researched.""⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This book is as good, if not better, than "Fingerprints of the Gods.""⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Read this book. Change your perspective." Graham Hancock - star of Netflix's ANCIENT APOCOLYPSE - is author of the global bestseller Fingerprints of the Gods. A book which remains an astonishing, deeply controversial, wide-ranging investigation of the mysteries of our past and the evidence for Earth's lost civilization.Magicians of the Gods, the sequel to his seminal work, explores how, at the end of the last ice age, fragments from a giant comet caused a global cataclysm, on a scale unseen since the extinction of the dinosaurs, wiping out an advanced civilization from the earth. Making us a species with amnesia, forced to begin again like children with no memory of what went before. This book is filled with completely new evidence, new travels to the world's most mysterious archaeological sites, new insights based on the latest scientific evidence.The impacts, from the 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.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, settling at key locations: Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, Baalbek in the Lebanon, Giza in Egypt, ancient Sumer, Mexico, Peru and across the Pacific. 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 may not be done with us yet. Astronomers believe that a 20-mile '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...

'The bloodstained drama of the last decades of the Roman republic... is told afresh with tremendous wit, narrative verve and insight''I owe a debt of gratitude to Tom Holland not just for reminding me of the great figures who bestrode the Roman world - Pompey and Crassus, Cato, Cicero and Caesar - but for explaining what it was that made Rome the greatest superpower the world has known, why it lasted so long and what caused its eventual fall' Daily Mail'Gripping and hugely entertaining. It is a story crammed with drama and spectacle... but the real attraction of Holland's book is the wit and contemporary sensibility that he brings to his often bloody tale' Books of the Year, Sunday Times'This is narrative history at its best... it really held me, in fact, obsessed me' Ian McEwan, Books of the Year, GuardianTHE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

The story of the ancient world’s most spectacular library, and the civilization that created it'A thrilling trip back to Mesopotamia, birthplace of horoscopes and algorithms … via the abundant records they left behind, written on clay tablets… absorbing… hums with life' - Mathew Lyons, Daily Telegraph 'Fascinating and rich in detail… provides an excellent survey of Mesopotamian literary classics.. and offers snippets of daily life' - Literary Review When a team of Victorian archaeologists dug into a grassy hill in Iraq, they chanced upon one of the oldest and greatest stores of knowledge ever seen: the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, seventh century BCE ruler of a huge swathe of the ancient Middle East known as Mesopotamia. After his death, vengeful rivals burned Ashurbanipal’s library to the ground - yet the texts, carved on clay tablets, were baked and preserved by the heat. Buried for millennia, the tablets were written in cuneiform: the first written language in the world.More than half of human history is written in cuneiform, but only a few hundred people on earth can read it. In this captivating new book, Assyriologist Selena Wisnom takes us on an immersive tour of this extraordinary library, bringing ancient Mesopotamia and its people to life. Through it, we encounter a world of astonishing richness, complexity and sophistication. Mesopotamia, she shows, was home to advanced mathematics, astronomy and banking, law and literature. This was a culture absorbed and developed by the ancient Greeks, and whose myths were precursors to Bible stories - in short, a culture without which our lives today would be unrecognizable.The Library of Ancient Wisdom unearths a civilization at once strange and strangely familiar: a land of capricious gods, exorcisms and professional lamenters, whose citizens wrote of jealous rivalries, profound friendships and petty grievances. Through these pages we come face to face with humanity’s first civilization: their startling achievements, their daily life, and their struggle to understand our place in the universe.

In the Eastern Aegean lies an island of forested hills and olive groves, with streams, marshes and a lagoon that nearly cuts the land in two. It was here, over two thousand years ago, that Aristotle came to work.Aristotle was the greatest philosopher of all time. Author of the Poetics, Politics and Metaphysics, his work looms over the history of Western thought. But he was also a biologist – the first. Aristotle explored the mysteries of the natural world. With the help of fishermen, hunters and farmers, he catalogued the animals in his world, dissected them, observed their behaviours and recorded how they lived, fed, and bred. In his great zoological treatise, Historia animalium, he described the mating habits of herons, the sexual incontinence of girls, the stomachs of snails, the sensitivity of sponges, the flippers of seals, the sounds of cicadas, the destructiveness of starfish, the dumbness of the deaf, the flatulence of elephants and the structure of the human heart. And then, in another dozen books, he explained it all. In The Lagoon, acclaimed biologist Armand Marie Leroi recovers Aristotle’s science. He goes to Lesbos to see the creatures that Aristotle saw, where he saw them, and explores the Philosopher’s deep ideas and inspired guesses – as well as the things that he got wildly wrong. Leroi shows how Aristotle’s science is deeply intertwined with his philosophical system and how modern science even now bears the imprint of its inventor.

'Delightful … Venner builds an excellent narrative of a city that was thriving and bustling with life at the very point it was snuffed out.' The Times We all know how the people of Pompeii died. But what about how they lived? __________ In 24 hours, Pompeii will vanish. The morning of the eruption was a day like any other. Julia Felix opens her tavern for another day of business, defying every convention that says a woman can't succeed alone. Petrinus, newly freed from slavery, wrestles with an impossible decision about his future. Politician Gaius Cuspius Pansa prepares to host the Plebian Games, a spectacle that will cement his power forever. In 24 hours, seven lives will change forever. Drawing on the latest archaeological discoveries, Dr Jess Venner brings the ancient streets to life through the eyes of those who lived, worked, loved and ultimately met their fate in Pompeii. Here is a community more complex, diverse and human than we ever imagined.Pompeii is remembered for its destruction, but here we discover the vibrant lives that came before. Richly evocative and immersive, The Lost Voices of Pompeii vividly recreates the final twenty-four hours before the eruption, reminding us exactly what – and who – was lost in 79 AD. This is the story of everything, and everyone, that was lost. __________ For anyone who has ever walked the ruins of Pompeii and wondered what lives beneath the ash, this is the book that answers that question.

The contribution of the Ancient Greeks to modern western culture is incalculable. In the worlds of art, architecture, myth, literature, and philosophy, the world we live in would be unrecognizably different without the formative influence of Ancient Greek models. Ancient Greek civilization was defined by the city - in Greek, the polis, from which we derive 'politics'. It is above all this feature of Greek civilization that has formed its most enduring legacy, spawning such key terms as aristocracy, oligarchy, tyranny and - last but by no means least - democracy. This stimulating Very Short Introduction to Ancient Greece takes the polis as its starting point. Paul Cartledge uses the history of eleven major Greek cities to illuminate the most important and informative themes in Ancient Greek history, from the first documented use of the Greek language around 1400 BCE, through the glories of the Classical and Hellenistic periods, to the foundation of the Byzantine empire in around CE 330. Covering everything from politics, trade, and travel to slavery, gender, religion, and philosophy, it provides the ideal concise introduction to the history and culture of this remarkable civilization that helped give birth to the world as we know it.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN & NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERBLACKWELL'S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARSHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023'Extraordinary ... a deliciously varied tapestry of detail drawn from across nearly three centuries' TelegraphWhat was it really like to rule and be ruled in the Ancient Roman world?In her international best-seller 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. Beard asks bigger questions: What power did emperors actually have? Was the Roman palace really so bloodstained?Emperor of Rome goes directly to the heart of Roman (and our own) fantasies about what it was to be Roman, offering an account of Roman history as it has never been presented before.

'With icy remorselessness, it puts paid to any notion that the horrors of modern history might be an aberration - for it tells of universal war, of terrorism, revolution and genocide' Tom HollandThe long life-and-death struggle between Athens and Sparta plunged the ancient Greek world into decades of war. Thucydides was an Athenian and achieved the rank of general in the earlier stages of the war, and in this detailed, first-hand contemporary account he writes as both a soldier and a historian. He applies a passion for accuracy and a contempt for myth and romance in compiling a factual record of a ruinous conflict that would eventually destroy the Athenian empire.Translated by Rex Warner with an introduction and notes by M. I. Finley

Two great cities. One fierce rivalry. Countless untold stories.Athens and Sparta were the two big players in Ancient Greece. United, they helped lead the Greeks in defeating the great Persian invasion. Divided, they spread conflict and destruction throughout the eastern Mediterranean. They were not simply rivals for power, but polar opposites in culture and ideology: Athens was the outward looking, radical democracy with a maritime empire whilst Sparta was militaristic, rigidly disciplined and brutal. Both were experiments in how to run a state, epitomising the extremes of the Greek longing to excel.This is a story of politics and war, but also of culture. In Athens, philosophers dissected the physical and moral world, writers spun forth comedy and drama, and new ideas filled the city. Athens could be vulgar and cruel, but no other state has ever allowed thousands of citizens to debate its laws freely. Sparta was innovative in other ways, with a society divided into strict class groups and an astonishing focus on military training. Both cities were paradoxes – they were at once remarkably ordered and surprisingly prone to savagery.Athens and Sparta tells a remarkable story of the drama and extremity of human behaviour. It draws on ancient sources and modern discoveries and boasts a wide-ranging cast of characters ­– statesmen, lawgivers, rabble-rousers, philosophers, artists, courtesans, wives and heroes. The history of these cities truly is a microcosm of the human experience, in all its wonder and horror.

Discourses on Livy (1531) is as essential to an understanding of Machiavelli as his famous treatise, The Prince. Equally controversial, it reveals his fundamental preference for a republican state. Comparing the practice of the ancient Romans with that of his contemporaries provided Machiavelli with a consistent point of view in all his works. Machiavelli's close analysis of Livy's history of Rome led him to advance his most original and outspoken view of politics - the belief that a healthy body politic was characterized by social friction and conflict rather than by rigid stability. His discussion of conspiracies in Discourses on Livy is one of the most sophisticated treatments of archetypal political upheaval every written. In an age of increasing political absolutism, Machiavelli's theories became a dangerous ideology.This new translation is richly annotated, providing the contemporary reader with sufficient historical, linguistic, and political information to understand and interpret the revolutionary affirmations Machiavelli made, based on the historical evidence he found in Livy.The complete Livy in English, available in five volumes from Oxford World's Classics. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring The tradition of ancient philosophy is a long, rich and varied one. Julia Annas gives a succinct account of ancient Greco-Roman philosophy, emphasizing its freshness and variety of themes, and its approach of lively discussion and argument. Getting away from the presentation of ancient philosophy as a succession of Great Thinkers, the book gives readers a sense of the freshness and liveliness of ancient philosophy, and of its wide variety of themes and styles.This new edition has been fully updated to reflect updates in the field, with new illustrations and up to date further reading to allow further exploration of the field. The text has been expanded and modernized to be more comprehensive and accessible to the general reader, as well as exploring the relation of the tradition of ancient Greco-Roman philosophy to other traditions and to us.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt is the only up-to-date, single-volume history of ancient Egypt available in English. The accessible essays and attractive illustrations portray the emergence and development of the distinctive civilization of the ancient Egyptians, from their prehistoric origins to their incorporation into the Roman Empire, covering the period from c. 700,000 BC to AD 311. The authors - all experts working at the cutting edge of their particular fields - outline the principal sequence of political events, including detailed examinations of the three so-called 'intermediate periods' which were previously regarded as 'dark ages' and are only now beginning to be better understood. Against the backdrop of the rise and fall of ruling dynasties, this Oxford History also examines cultural and social patterns, including stylistic developments in art and literature. The pace of change in such aspects of Egyptian culture as monumental architecture, funerary beliefs, and ethnicity was not necessarily tied to the rate of political change. Each of the authors of this history has therefore set out to elucidate, in both words and pictures, the underlying patterns of social and political change and to describe the changing face of ancient Egypt, from the biographical details of individuals to the social and economic factors that shaped the lives of the population as a whole.

'One of the most fascinating and important works of global history to appear for many years' William Dalrymple'Quinn has done a lot more than reinvent the wheel. What we have here is a truly encyclopaedic and monumental account of the ancient world' The TimesAncient Greece and Rome are considered the parents of Western civilisation. But the ancient world was much more interconnected than we realise - a place of constant exchange, commerce and theft, sex, war and enslavement.Journeying from the Levant of 2500 BC to the dawn of the Age of Exploration, Josephine Quinn argues that the roots of the West can be found in everything from Indian mathematics to the chariots of the Steppe, from Arabic poetry to the Phoenician art of sailing. The result is an epic and revelatory history of our shared past.'Superb, refreshing and full of delights, this is world history at its best' Simon Sebag-Montefiore‘Full of little gem-like shifts of perspective’ Guardian‘Scintillates with its focus on the unexpected’ Economist‘A work of great confidence, empathy, learning and imagination’ Rory Stewart‘This is, in every way, a big book’ Times Literary SupplementLONGLISTED FOR THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE 2025A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR: The Times/Sunday Times, Observer, Economist, Guardian, BBC History Magazine, i-paper and History Today

A brilliantly readable, beautifully illustrated general history of ancient Egypt, from the builders of the first pyramids to Cleopatra.‘A sophisticated and complete account’ The Times: Books of the Year‘Wilkinson’s stirring and clear-sighted account of the ancient world's most enduring civilisation comes as a welcome treat’ Sunday Times: Books of the YearThis is a story studded with extraordinary achievements and historic moments, from the building of the pyramids and the conquest of Nubia, through Akhenaten's religious revolution, the power and beauty of Nefertiti, the glory of Tutankhamun's burial chamber, and the ruthlessness of Ramesses, to Alexander the Great's invasion and Cleopatra's fatal entanglement with Rome.As the world's first nation-state, the history of Ancient Egypt is above all the story of the attempt to unite a disparate realm and defend it against hostile forces from within and without. Combining grand narrative sweep with detailed knowledge of hieroglyphs and the iconography of power, Toby Wilkinson reveals Ancient Egypt in all its complexity.