Historical Fiction Ancient History

Hannibal, called by Nepos "the greatest of generals", is most remembered today for being the man who marched a contigent of battle elephants over the Alps. But this was only one of his many victories and strategems. Listen in wonder as Hannibal manages, again and again, to repel the army no other man could repel: the ancient Romans.

In ancient Finland, young Vierra begins her passage to adulthood. It's a time when Viking warriors prowl the land, and riches are in reach of the powerful. The medieval north of myth is a dangerous place, and powers both natural and supernatural are ready to take away everything she holds dear. Vierra sets to overcome the odds with iron will and sharp wit, but fate has more in store for the young woman.

As a consequence of his actions during the Ludus uprising, Fallon's love, Cai, has been stripped of his decurion rank and cast down to serve as one of Caesar's gladiators. Amid fighting for Cai's freedom, Fallon soon learns Caesar's enemies are plotting against him and planning to get revenge on his fearsome gladiatrices. When Caesar is murdered by these conspirators, Fallon and the girls lose any sort of protection they once had. Fallon also realizes the foreign Queen Cleopatra is now in grave danger.

Sixteen-year-old Kellan DuCuivre is the descendant of traitors. She never knew her family members or which one of them betrayed the isle of Nanseau. But like all Du orphaned after the war, Kellan is forbidden by law from practicing makecraft, the trade of carving magic into metal that was perfected by the Guild of Engineers and their maker apprentices. No one can know that Kellan has been using makecraft in secret and that, in the wake of a tragic miscarve, she’s been helping her adoptive father, Edgar, run his celebrated makeshop.

Writer, activist and journalist Joan Smith has worked for years to raise awareness of violence against women and girls, and has been instrumental in bringing the innate misogyny of the police to public attention. Unfortunately, She Was a Nymphomaniac reinterprets the bloody, violent story of twenty-three women closely associated with the Julio-Claudian emperors of Rome. Fewer than half a dozen of them can be said with any confidence to have died of natural causes.

Queen Sati rules her city with wisdom and grace. She has the respect of her people, knowledge of the gods, and faith that her plans to lead them into a brighter tomorrow are ready to take place. Ahm is a teen coming into her own. Living near the market square of the city with her mother, the girl’s insight, compassion, and beauty has everyone she comes in contact with seeing her as a jewel of Egypt. When a chance encounter between the two turns into a friendship, both will be tested beyond what they could have imagined, or wanted.

In this sixth book of the Orisha series, Tyrant King – Blood of the Forest,, secrets run deep, and loyalties are tested as power-hungry King Olufe grows ever more ruthless. Amid the political and personal machinations of the royal court, King Olufe is driven by dark desires, indifferent to the mourning for his late queen and fixated on finding a new bride—by any means necessary. High Priestess Tengdana, keeper of sacred rites and dangerous secrets, holds her own plans close, even as she orchestrates the protection of Efuna, the hidden firstborn daughter of King Gurara. As Olufe ...

Incomplete sections of the book of dead found in Ramesses’ tomb and the murder of a prominent tomb scribe sparks fears of the curse of Anubis in Deir el-Medina. While the lack of witnesses and a close-knit worker community hampers, Neti-Kerty and Shabaka’s investigation at a time when the whole of Thebes awaits the arrival of the pharaoh for the beautiful festival of the valley. When Neti starts to experience strange sensations and the pharaoh’s life is endangered it becomes evident that there is a larger, more sinister scheme to the events...

Jerusalem, 180 BCE. For 800 years the Zadokite priesthood has led the Jewish people. But the world is changing. Without, Rome is rising, crushing the other powers of the ancient world beneath it. Within, a power struggle inside the House of Zadok is a golden opportunity for interlopers, who seek to unseat them from the throne. On the background of these tumultuous times, Judah, scion of a minor priestly lineage, comes of age in Judea. While experiencing love, friendship, and conflict, he slowly transforms into the warrior and leader his people are waiting for.

From an acclaimed classicist comes a witty, unusual, and fascinating "biography" of Homer's fictional Bronze Age hero, Odysseus. In this entertaining book, Charles Beye fills out the story of this extraordinary figure while at the same time portraying Odysseus' evolution through the course of a strange and adventuresome life, at times so remote, at times so immediate in the contemporary perspective.

In this last story of the Orisha series, The Queen’s Ascension, Queen Palina must navigate a web of secrets, betrayals, and shifting power dynamics to secure her rightful place as ruler of the Oyonan Empire. With her mother, High Priestess Tengdana by her side, Palina uncovers long-buried truths about her lineage, the empire's past, and her own role in its future. As rebellion brews and alliances are tested, Palina faces the ultimate challenge: to unify the empire under a new order or see it fall into chaos. Love, loyalty, and legacy collide in a gripping tale of ambition and redemption, ...

Dangers lurk for the first woman Pharaoh. The Dagger of Isis traces the life of Meryt-Neith, the first female ruler of a united Egypt. From her marriage to King Wadjet to her eventual coronation after his death, this tale of intrigue and betrayal follows her ascension, the wars she fought and the loves that gave meaning to her life. This saga takes us on a journey throughout ancient Egypt and into nearby lands, as Meryt-Neith struggles to bring honor to her family's dynasty.

Neti-Kerty's reputation as Egypt's first female mummifier has apparently reached all the way to the Pharaoh. Neti-Kerty and Shabaka, Special Investigator and Prefect of Thebes, are astonished to be summoned to the palace of Ramses II to investigate the sudden death of the Vizier Khay. Thanks to her powers of deduction and knowledge of the dead, Neti soon determines that something is amiss. As more people disappear during the investigation, the situation increasingly gets out of hands and before long Neti and Shabaka find themselves peering into the deepest recesses of the human soul.

In a city where belief means everything, putting your faith in the wrong person can get you killed. Two Arkana agents are sent to Jerusalem on a standard artifact retrieval mission. What could possibly go wrong? Absolutely everything.

Rome, AD 67. Vespasian is tasked with the impossible: should he quell the revolt in Judaea, as the emperor Nero has instructed? If his conquest succeeds, he risks becoming the sole object of the emperor's jealousy. If he fails, then his punishment will be severe. But Nero has committed suicide. Sabinus, Vespasian's brother, is caught between the warring factions of Aulus Vitellius, a cruel opportunist, and the noble Marcus Salvius Otho, who finds himself severely outnumbered.

Ehli-nikkalu, eldest daughter of the Hittite emperor, is married to a mere vassal of her father's. But despite her status, her foreignness and inability to produce an heir drive a wedge between her and the court that surrounds her. When her secretary is mysteriously murdered while carrying the emperor a message that would indict the loyalty of his vassal, Ehli-nikkalu adopts the dead man's orphaned children out of a guilty sense of responsibility.

The pharaoh Tutankhamun has died suddenly, and the rush is on to prepare his tomb. Vlad the flea and Miu the cat supervise the artists as they paint wall murals. Will they finish in time, and will the friends escape before the tomb is sealed forever? Through Vlad's tale, find out about what is was like to be one of the craftspeople who ensured that the tombs were fit for a pharaoh.

What made Masada qualitatively different from most of the battles Rome fought was not just the difficulty the Legions had in retaking control of it with incredibly disproportionate military equipment and numbers, but also the actions of the Judean defenders. In the final hours of the battle, just as the Romans were about to breach the walls of the city, the defenders gathered together and committed mass suicide, rather than being killed or taken captive by the Romans.

The saga of the Orisha people continues as they are forced to flee westward from the savage might of their Saracen persecutors, whose soul aim is for their annihilation. It is a tale of brute survival and spiritual fortitude, where strategy and deception are weapons as vital as a blade. Makeri, the ingenuous blacksmith, and the enchanting Priestess Mariami, with her magical powers, navigate the trials that come with leading a people towards their destiny. The Nine-Sided Talisman and its great magical powers, is used by the Great Spirit Hogan to bring Priestess Mariami under his spell, ...

It was 672 BC, and the Central Kingdom had been divided into more than a hundred of warring fiefdoms. The army of my country, Lirong, perched high on top of the secluded Mount Blackmare had been miserably defeated by the invading army from the State of Jin, one of the biggest states of all, with a duke that was ready to crown himself king. The duke demanded not only compensation in foodstuff and livestock from my father, the Baron of Lirong, he also wanted beauties from Lirong to decorate his court.