Ancient Europe

Istanbul has always been a place where stories and histories collide and crackle, where the idea is as potent as the historical fact. From the Qu'ran to Shakespeare, this city with three names - Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul - resonates as an idea and a place and overspills its boundaries - real and imagined. Standing as the gateway between the East and West, it has served as the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman Empires.

The idea of a powerful woman in the Middle Ages seems like an oxymoron. Females in this time are imagined to be damsels in distress, trapped in a high tower, and waiting for knights to rescue them, all while wearing traffic-cones for a hat. After rescue, their lives improved little. Their career choices were to be either docile queens, housewives, or be burned at the stake for witchcraft. But what if this image of medieval women is a complete fiction? It turns out that it is. Powerful female rulers fill the Middle Ages.

In this classic of social history, the author describes the lives of six obscure men and women of the Middle Ages. She draws on account books, records, letters, diaries, and wills to make the life of those times as concrete and comprehensible as our own.

See the Secrets of Caesar's Invasion of Brittania! Explore the Strategies, Battles, and Legacy of Rome's First Foray into Celtic Lands. Dive deep into the gripping narrative of Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain with this meticulously researched guide. More than just a recounting of battles, this book unveils the complex political machinations, cultural clashes, and long-lasting consequences of Rome's first foray into Celtic territory. Why Choose This Book? Unbiased Analysis: Explore multiple perspectives on Caesar's motives, tactics, and ultimate goals, separating historical fact from ...

The Peloponnesian War broke out in 431 B.C. and continued intermittently for 27 years. It pitted the all-powerful land force of Sparta and its allies against the supremely powerful naval force of Athens. Thucydides actually participated in this conflict, a war that he realized would have a greater influence on the history of Greece than any other. He vividly narrates exciting episodes and carefully describes tactical aspects of the war, and also provides illuminating character profiles.

The Migration Age is still envisioned as an onrush of expansionary "Germans" pouring unwanted into the Roman Empire and subjecting it to pressures so great that its western parts collapsed under the weight. Further developing the themes set forth in his classic Barbarians and Romans, Walter Goffart dismantles this grand narrative, shaking the barbarians of late antiquity out of this "Germanic" setting and reimagining the role of foreigners in the later Roman Empire.

Three captivating manuscripts in one audiobook: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome.

It has been three years since the wars against Arminius and the Cherusci. Gaius Silius, legate of the 20th Legion, is concerned that the barbarians - though shattered by the war - may be stirring once again. He also seeks to confirm the rumors regarding Arminius' death. What Silius does not realize is that there is a new threat to the empire, but it does not come from beyond the frontier; it is coming from within, where a disenchanted nobleman looks to sow the seeds of rebellion in Gaul.

From about the ninth to fifth centuries BCE, the population of Greece grew unprecedentedly large, expanding from about 800,000 people to as many as 13 million. About a quarter million of these lived in Athens. The average size of urban households during this period grew considerably, a fact that suggests that food was suddenly available in excesses sufficient to keep larger families healthy and alive much more effectively than just a millennium earlier. Bigger families meant bigger armies and larger communities that would eventually grow into the metropolises of Classical Greece.

We celebrate the Ancient Romans for contributions they made to modern engineering and architecture, but their impact is felt in even the smallest details of everyday life. Discover how inventions like socks, fast food restaurants, and movie theaters got their start in Ancient Rome and evolved into things we enjoy today.

Discover what life was like for the first-ever Europeans during the Stone Age. Then, fast forward to the Bronze and Iron Ages when the first advanced civilizations emerged in Europe. You’ll discover more about the ancient civilizations of Greece, Rome, and the Northern European barbarians.

What do you know about the emperors of Rome? Rome had good and bad emperors, selfish and selfless ones. Some were wise, others were foolish. And each left their legacy and their imprint on historical concepts of the Roman empire itself. In this book, we will explore the details of a number of these emperors, especially some of the best-known ones that have been hand-picked by the editors of this book.

With subtlety and exceptional sensitivity, historian Zoë Oldenbourg analyzes the complicated tangle of currents and ideas that motivated the Crusades. As Oldenbourg describes them, the Crusades were not simply a religious phenomenon, nor were they motivated by pure aggression. They were the result of a religious climate that led people of all walks of life to leave their homes and follow the unattainable ideal of heaven on earth.

The stepping stone between Europe and Africa, the gateway between the East and the West, at once a stronghold, clearinghouse and observation post, Sicily has been invaded and fought over by Phoenicians and Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans, Goths and Byzantines, Arabs and Normans, Germans, Spaniards and the French for thousands of years. It has belonged to them all - and yet has properly been part of none.

Walk a day in a Roman's sandals. What was it like to live in one of the ancient world's most powerful and bustling cities - one that was eight times more densely populated than modern-day New York? In this entertaining and enlightening guide, best-selling historian Philip Matyszak introduces us to the people who lived and worked there. In each hour of the day, we meet a new character - from emperor to slave girl, gladiator to astrologer, medicine woman to water-clock maker - and discover the fascinating details of their daily lives.

King Arthur is probably the most famous and certainly the most legendary medieval king. From the early ninth century through the middle ages, to the Arthurian romances of Victorian times, the tales of this legendary figure have blossomed and multiplied. And in more recent times, there has been a continuous stream of books claiming to have discovered the "facts" about, or to unlock the secret or truth behind, the "once and future king". Broadly speaking, there are two Arthurs.

Did you know the Olympic Games, modern medicine, and democracy all started in ancient Greece? This audiobook, designed for teens, takes you on an exciting journey through Greece’s history, from its early days to its most powerful moments. It’s filled with fascinating facts and stories about the people, battles, and ideas that still impact us today.

Over 1,100 years before William the Conqueror became the King of England after the Battle of Hastings, Julius Caesar came, saw, and conquered part of “Britannia”, setting up a Roman province with a puppet king in 54 BCE. In the new province, the Romans eventually constructed a military outpost overlooking a bridge across the River Thames. The new outpost was named Londinium, and it covered just over two dozen acres.

In 700 AD, a tribe of warriors left their homeland and struck out for glory and conquest. They came to take no prisoners. Their eerie horns made a distinctive sound, and their fearsome longboats struck from out of nowhere. The Vikings, their history and mythology fascinates many because it speaks to something within us: The fight to succeed and to grow stronger. Make no mistake, these were not nice people, but much of their legacy was not just about pillaging and destruction. Join us on a rampage through their history, culture, myths, and more!

The focus of the book is on Shakespeare's London, how it influenced his drama, and how he represents it on stage. Taking listeners on an imaginative journey through the city, the book moves both chronologically, from beginning to end of Shakespeare's dramatic career, and geographically, traversing London from west to east.