Ancient History Books

This is a great book for any ancient historian. The author does a thorough survey of the methodology of ancient history and the nature of history itself. He presents a point of view on why we study ancient near eastern history that is very thought provoking. You don't have to be an Assyriologist to appreciate this book.

This is a fantastic survey of the problems (and joys) of writing histories of the ancient Near East. This book rewards both novices and scholars in the field! The author is obviously familiar with the most up to date scholarship in Assyriology. The treatment of issues relating to intellectual history and the role of women in antiquity are expecially satisfying. Accessible and brief, the editors of the series are to be commended for inlcuding this treatment of the cuneiform world!

The Iranians regarded him as "The Father", Babylonian as "The Liberator", Hellenes as 'Law-Giver' and the Jews as 'The Anointed of the Lord'.
Cyrus The Great. The very emperor who proclaimed at the pinnacle of power 2500 years ago that "... he would not reign over the people if they did not wish it." And [he] promised not to force any person to change his religion and faith and guaranteed freedom for all. The Charter of Cyrus The Great is one of the most important documents that should be studied in the history of human rights
"We promise to preserve forever the traditions of humanism and goodwill, with which you founded the Persian Empire: traditions which made our people to be the carrier of message transmitted everywhere, professing fraternity and truth."
The book has 12 chapters ,first chapter is very interesting and the author writes about Xenophon and Herodotus and explains about their origins and reliability of information given by Herodotus, second and third chapters are about the birth of Cyrus the Great and his visit to Media as a young prince when his grandfather Astyages was king of Media(main source of information ,Herodotus).
Chapter 4-8 describes his accession to the throne and conquest of Lydia, Babylon and liberation of Jews. Chapter 10 is about Susian captive Panthea and she was treated with dignity and respect and was reunited with her Assyrian husband Arbadates(an Assyrian general), and finally chapter 12 is about the death of the legend (most information taken from Herodotus)
This is a very good book and very easy to read.

This is truly a magnificent account of the story of the life of Cyrus The Great, The founder of the Persian Empire, as narrated by two greek historians: Herodotus (philosopher & scholar) and Xenophenon (a great general) and brought to life again in Jacob Abbott's great masterpeice, with extensive commentary. A must read for all lovers of history.

This lavishly illustrated, large-format "coffee-table" book would make a good showing in anyone's living room--even if it is never read. On the other hand, it provides the most succinct and informative descriptions of the Desert Southwest's major prehistoric native cultures that I have ever read. With this single volume, anyone interested in the ancient cultures of North America can acquire a basic understanding of the Southwest's major five: Anasazi, Mogollon, Salado, Hohokam, and Sinagua. Cheek provides all the information a person needs to know in order to begin learning about these fascinating groups of people.

Descriptions of each culture, along with major archaeological sites representing each, as well as respectable interpretations of major archaeological findings blend to form an indispensible resource for any student of prehistoric North America. I wish I had found this book years ago.

I just thought I'd say a word about my liking this book very much. I am very interested in the indians from the thirteenth century, and this book did a wonderful job of presenting the information extremely well.

Marcus Rautman has performed splendidly in this comprehensive overview of daily life in the Byzantine realm. He treats a variety of subjects, including cities, the countryside, the military, religion, art, and intellectual pursuits. He examines topics as basic as money, food, and clothing but also gives considerable attention to such matters as pressing olives, setting up an army camp, and becoming a monk. While the book is largely a survey spanning the entire "Byzantine millennium", Rautman now and then points out specific changes that occurred within this period, such as the transition to a more meat-centered diet around the seventh century. The author is also to be commended for the eminent readability of his text. He manages masterfully to present his great abundance of facts in way that neither overwhelms nor bores the reader. Also, his sentence structure is sound, his transitions well executed, and his grammar refreshingly correct - which makes all the more puzzling the rare misspellings that do creep in. All in all, this is an exceptionally well researched and delightfully written guide to daily life in a relatively little-studied civilization.

In his book "Daily Life in the Byzantine Empire" Marcus Rautman has outdone himself. In this book, he has skillfully brought together insights about the Byzantine way of life from various fields in a well-organized and easy to read format.

Reading the book, you can help but feel as if you are actually visiting the Byzantine Empire. There are sections of the book that describe how Byzantines perceived life, their daily routines, the Byzantine family, and how life varied in Constantinople, larger towns and the countryside. As well, there are special sections devoted to the lives of soldiers, monks, artists and scholars. In these descriptions, Rautman explains how the situation changed at different points in the Empire's long history.

If you would like a solid background on Byzantine society, read this book. You will not be disappointed.

Even if you do not have much of an interest in Ancient Egypt this book is filled with information and explanations that will make you wonder why you haven't given much thought to the Ancient Egyptians before. The art, literature (first love poems!!), and architecture are enough to make you marvel. But the creation of a 365 day calander a by the ancient Egyptians a few thousand years ago is enough to give you pause; then you discover how really remarkable their skill and knowledge of medicine was and you sit back in awe, at least I did. Though there are illustrations, I wish there were more. And for some reason (though this may be unique to my eyes) the font that the Greenwood Press uses in this book, seems to require more focused reading. But these are very small concerns regarding a book that really gives you more than just information. It gives you a sense of the whole culture, and, if you're like me, you'll want to find out even more, which is a clear sign that the authors have done an excellent job.

dr. bob brier is great! this book is very informitive and fun. all of dr. bob's books are wonderful! egypt comes alive.

I am an Egyptologist, and I have read the manuscript of the English translation. This book is filled with a wealth of details missing from the other general books on Egyptian religion. It is my opinion that those wishing to read just one book on this subject will now have to read two: one of the other books, and this one

As both an Egyptologist and student of the Egyptian religion, I found this book a welcome addition to my library as well. By presenting the "gods" as a family and writing the book as if they were studying a group or tribe of everyday mortals, much information is gleaned about the structure and organization of Egyptian religion and its expression that can be missed in more lofty, philosophically or theologically-oriented texts. Where else can you read about the bodily functions of a divinity? Bravo to the Meeks' for adding a "foundation level" to our understanding of this most beautiful faith structure.

This is an invaluable source for anyone researching this time period. Whether studying Damascus, Syria as a whole, the Crusades or the major players in the Crusades, (especially from the Islamic side) Ibn al-Qalanisi is indispensable. Of particular interest to me in my studies were the writings about Zengi, one of the earliest leaders of the Muslim counter-Crusade, who was more preoccupied with capturing Damascus rather than attacking crusader lands. Qalanisi's writings on this character are far from the panegyrics associated with other chroniclers of Zengi (such as Ibn al-Athir).

If you have any interest in the crusades from the Muslim perspective, pick this book up. And just to clarify on the other review listed here, the call for the crusades from Pope Urban II did not occur until 1096, I think he meant that the Qalanisi covers the crusades until the 1160's?

Just as the title says, this book provides a view of the Crusades from the point of view of a Damascene. Consequently, most of the events are related to those where the rulers and/or armies of Damascus were involved. The book covers the early history of the Crusades up until the 1060's AD.

The book sheds much light on the dealings between Muslim rulers and does a pretty good job at telling events. However, it is at places superficial and leaves you wondering about the reasons for a change in a ruler's behavior or the motives for a certain action. Nevertheless, it is an invaluable reference to the events of the period it covers as seen by a contemporary.

I highly recommend this book, not just for the information it provides, but also for some of the beautiful descriptions that it carries. It is one of the few resources available to scholars to learn about the Crusades from the Arab point of view.

I bought the book for one of my gothic friends thinking it was about misery but when I opened it up I was entranced by the quotes. I don't view it as a negative book even though most of the quotes are not cheerful. It makes you think and it was very captivating to see how some of my favorite authors had hidden meanings in their writing which I did not see until it was taken from the context as a quote. I great book for those who are into quotes and looking into a different type of reading material.

If you are a nihilist or are just interested (or curious -I know I was) in nihilism then you should definately check out this book. I got mine at the library and ended up buying multiple copies. It helps me put forth evidence in essays and other things I write of how nihilism has been present through out the ages.

This is one of those rare history books that should never go out of print. It tells you so many of the details of Roman life. Did you ever wonder what Romans wore under those togas? They wore a tunic, which is a thing like a night shirt. Upper classes were allowed (encouraged, actually) to wear a purple stripe down their tunic (wide ones for Senators, narrow ones for Equites), and that's how people knew if you were or were not upper class (I mean besides all those slaves running after you). It's a very complete picture, describing houses, tenements, public eating houses, the public baths, schools,what a Roman banquet was like, the pots and pans in the kitchen, and even sandals. Did you know the proper number present at a Roman banquet was 9? Why? The couches held three people and there were three couches, ergo 9 people. That was tradition. Just about everything you'd want to know about day-to-day Roman life is in this one small book. It's great. You'll love it. I've got to have "A Day in Old Athens," now. By same author.

I first encountered this book while researching a term paper on the public games of the Roman Empire, and I liked it enough that eventually I acquired my own copy through Amazon. Davis herein did not formally cite his references or include a bibliography, so the book's value is more that of supplying a mental roadmap of and feel for the setting rather than as a formal scholarly work. (Davis covers himself on that score in his preface, however, by outlining generally the sources drawn upon, emphasizing the major Roman writers of the period.) Davis wrote at least 2 other books in this vein: A DAY IN OLD ATHENS and LIFE IN ELIZABETHAN DAYS. I can say definitely that while the latter has a similar structure, A DAY IN OLD ROME scores over its Elizabethan sibling in that herein Davis has confined himself to a real city and real historical characters rather than creating a composite setting to better illustrate his points.

As the author says in the preface, the book describes Imperial Rome on a spring day in 134 A.D./C.E., as seen if the reader were magically transported there and provided with a competent tour guide. That date was picked because the Empire was architecturally near completion, the Empire was prosperous but not yet decadent. Davis deliberately avoids unusual events; he's tried to construct a run-of-the-mill day; the emperor Hadrian isn't in the city until he formally arrives in the last (13th) chapter.

Chapter 1, "The General Aspect of the City", gradually shifts from speaking *about* the city and the surrounding countryside to a viewpoint from a height near the Campus Martius, to obtain an overview before descending into the city. (Nice touch: English translations of place names are provided parenthetically when the names are introduced, providing a flavor of how a contemporary would have heard them, e.g. Ostia, "River Mouth".) Davis' details are interesting; readers may not have realized how advanced Roman architecture really was, wherein impressive buildings were mostly concrete with marble facades, and cheaper buildings were of brick or building stone - not wood, with its increased risk of fire.

As our tour guide, Davis doesn't jump straight to the famous "sights" that would crown a tourist's visit, but works his way inward and upward to the heart and heights of the city, beginning with chapter 2, "Streets and Street Life", a good example of the kind of detail provided. Davis not only mentions that most streets were too narrow for two vehicles at once, and that traffic laws banned most wheeled vehicles between dawn and 'the tenth hour'. (Note the time given in Roman style, only parenthetically translated to 4 pm.) From a pedestrian's point of view, most streets were worn slick, only main roads being kept clean, with special stepping-stones inset against the rainy season. We even get samples of Roman flyers posted on walls (actual text, noted as found in Pompeii, from 'to rent' notices to announcements of upcoming gladiatorial combats) and graffiti, as well as descriptions of typical street processions and crowds' behaviour in public.

Chapters 3 through 6 come in off the street, dealing with "Roman homes", "Roman women and marriages", "Costume and personal adornment", and "Food and drink". Housing covers the gamut from insulae (tenements that ought to be "islands" with space around them to prevent the spread of fire) to great houses of the wealthy, including on the low end the expected rental price in sesterces (with a parenthetic conversion into U.S. dollars where each money amount is mentioned, a convention followed throughout the text). Example of nice touches of detail: the Calends (July first) was the regular moving day, when deadbeat tenants were evicted. Furnishings being skimpy in the slums of Rome, details about higher-class housing treat Roman furniture in more depth, although expected furnishings are covered for the low-end insulae as well.

"Roman women and marriages" focuses on betrothal customs, marriage ceremonies (when there were any), and divorce, which was easier in Empire days than it would be for many centuries after the Empire's fall. A couple of stereotypes are drawn: that of a frivolous woman who might collect gladiators and suchlike, contrasted with the tomb enscription of an archetypal 'good woman' by her mourning husband.

A bit of trivia about costume: the word 'candidate' comes from 'candidati', "extra-white" - office-seekers used to specially bleach their togas so as to stand out in a crowd. Basic things in life never really change.

Chapters 7 and 8 cover the social orders (slaves receiving an entire chapter). Davis then moves on to professions, education, and commerce before finally arriving at the fora, the Palatine and the centers of government, and the imperial war machine. The courts, baths, and public games are covered before Roman religion is addressed. A separate chapter on "pagan cults" ends with the most disreputable cult of all, from a Roman point of view: Christianity, including Roman popular beliefs about how debased Christian practices were. (For a more detailed view, set a couple of decades earlier, see Barbara Hambly's well-researched mystery novel SEARCH THE SEVEN HILLS.) After digressing to "the Roman villa" and the grand finale of the Emperor's return to Rome, a final note on where people are in the Roman night ends in the catacombs, with a brief flash of the Christians through their own eyes, holding services while keeping a lookout for watchmen.

NOTE: The paperback edition before me reproduced the colour plates in black-and-white, unfortunately, but otherwise the book is unchanged. The old hardcover edition illustrations consisted of 1) black-and-white line drawings, 2) occasional photographs, and 3) colour plates of illustrations painted by Von Folke, reconstructing various landmarks in their heyday and showing (for example) a scene from a chariot race. (Incidentally, Davis in a footnote commends Lew Wallace's novel BEN-HUR on its accuracy, adding the caveat that Messala, being of high rank, would have considered driving his own team beneath his dignity.)

j dont have credit card.J want to read this book. My adress is 22 decembar bb/16 17500 Vranje SRBIA,YUGOSLAVIA

I find ancient history absolutely enthralling and this book does not fall short of my expectations. I first became acquainted with this book while writing a term paper for a religion course in college. The paper focused on comparisons of funerary rituals throughout the ancient world. It is an excellent text which offers different perspectives on ancient Roman funerary practices and belief systems.

Toynbee does a wonderful job at creating a comprehensive and accessible read on the Roman beliefs on death and the afterlife. Some of the topics discussed include Roman beliefs about the afterlife and cremation, funerary rites and the cult of the dead, construction and layout of cemetaries and tombs, and funerary architecture. It is absolutely fascinating. The book also contains an extensive amount of illustrations and chapter notes, as well as many, many, many footnotes.

More work is needed by anthropologists, sociologists and archaeologists in order to shed more light on these vast topics, but this book is a step in the right direction. I highly recommend it.