Ancient

A New York Times-bestselling historian charts how and why societies from ancient Greece to the modern era chose to utterly destroy their foes, and warns that similar wars of obliteration are possible in our time....

A stunning portrait of Rome’s glory days, this is the definitive history of the Pax Romana—an ultimate superpower at the pinnacle of its greatness....

In this, the first prose history in European civilization, Herodotus describes the growth of the Persian Empire with force, authority, and style....

The Achaemenid Persian kings ruled over the largest empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the steppes of Asia and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. In Persians, historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the epic story of this dynasty and the world it ruled....

Epic in scope, tracing seven centuries of conflict between two great powers, historian Adrian Goldsworthy completely reshapes our understanding of one of the greatest rivalries of world history....

By 330 B.C.E., Alexander the Great had reached the pinnacle of success. Or so it seemed. He had defeated the Persian ruler Darius III and seized the capital city of Persepolis. His exhausted and traumatized soldiers were ready to return home to Macedonia.

In the year 493, the leader of a vast confederation of Gothic warriors, their wives, and children personally cut down Odoacer, the man famous for deposing the last Roman emperor in 476. That leader became Theoderic the Great (454-526)....

Telling the story of a man who stood against the overwhelming power of the mighty Roman empire, Hannibal is the biography of a man who, against all odds, dared to change the course of history....

In the pantheon of ancient men of letters, none hold a more venerated position than the Roman historian, Tacitus....

Until the publication of this captivating biography, no such volume on Trajan's life has been tailored to the general listener. The unique book illuminates a neglected period of ancient Roman history....

A riveting account of ancient Rome's imperial bodyguard, the select band of soldiers who wielded the power to make - or destroy - the emperors they served....

The Spartans of ancient Greece were a powerful and unique people, radically different from any civilization before or since....

Discover the secrets of history’s most formidable fighters in “Preparing for WAR: The Training of History’s Top Warriors” by James Pieratt.

Shortly before his death in 1645, the undefeated swordsman Miyamoto Musashi retreated to a cave to live as a hermit. There he wrote five scrolls describing the "true principles" required for victory in the martial arts and on the battlefield....

The Gallic War is Julius Caesar's autobiographical diary of the wars in what is now France, Belgium, and parts of Britain, Germany, and Switzerland, in which he describes the battles that took place from 58 to 51 BCE when he fought the Germanic and Celtic peoples....

Paul Cartledge, one of the world's foremost scholars of ancient Greece, illuminates the brief but iconic life of Alexander (356-323 B.C.), king of Macedon, conqueror of the Persian Empire....

James Lacey provides a comprehensive, persuasive, and engaging account of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire....

Hold the glory—and infamy—of ancient Rome in the palm of your hand in this extraordinary and accessible story of history’s greatest superpower, as told through humanity’s most universal object: the coin.

"Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon" throws down a historical gauntlet. Author B.H. Liddell Hart argues that Roman general Scipio, famed for defeating Hannibal, outshines even the mighty Napoleon. Published in 1927, the book dives deep into their strategies, campaigns, and leadership styles.

In this gripping retelling of one of the most momentous chapters in history, Nick Holmes presents a new interpretation of an old story. The fate of Rome was decided not just by emperors, soldiers, and barbarians but also by an environmental disaster.

Covering Sparta's full classical history, The Bronze Lie examines the myth of Spartan warrior supremacy against the historical record, delving into the minutiae of Spartan warfare from arms and armor to tactics and strategy....

Julius Caesar is one of the most famous figures of the ancient Roman world. A skillful general and leading politician of the late Roman Republic, he secured a 10-year proconsular command in the province of Gaul, during which he accumulated both wealth and power....

In 480 B.C., a huge Persian army, led by the inimitable King Xerxes, entered the mountain pass of Thermopylae to march on Greece, intending to conquer the land with little difficulty....

David A. Guenther examines Macedonian warrior king Alexander's 332 BC siege of the island city of Tyre, an impregnable fortress and key to unlocking Phoenician and Persian power in the Near East.

By the Spear offers an exhilarating military narrative of the reigns of these two larger-than-life figures in one volume....