History Ancient Empire

It is probably the greatest story in all history: how the people in a tiny village on the Tiber River took over the entire known world of its day and developed brilliant literature, buildings, armies, roads, and laws that we still talk about thousands of years later. Discover the glorious history of Rome.

Many ancient civilizations have influenced and inspired people in the 21st century. The Greeks and Romans continue to fascinate the West today. But of all the world’s civilizations, none have intrigued people more than the Mayans, whose culture, astronomy, language, and mysterious disappearance all continue to captivate people. In 2012 especially, there has been a renewed focus on the Mayans, whose calendar has led many to speculate the world will end on the same date the Mayan calendar ends. The focus on the “doomsday” scenario, however, has overshadowed the Mayans’ true contribution.

The Civil War is Julius Caesar's account of the years of turmoil during which he battled Pompey the Great for control of Rome. The third member of their ruling First Triumvirate - Crassus - had been killed waging war in Syria while Caesar was in Gaul extending the empire to the shores of the English Channel. The jealous joint-ruler Pompey intimidated the Senate into ordering Caesar to disband his army, but Caesar refused and crossed the Rubicon into Roman territory, effectively declaring war on Pompey, the Senate, and Rome itself.

Empire of Ancient Greece is an informative introduction to this cornerstone of Western civilization. The Greeks invented and developed everything from logic and democracy to rhetoric, drama, and philosophy. Empire of Ancient Greece chronicles the remarkable legacy of the Greeks, as well as the diversity of their societies - from the thriving democracy of Athens to the militarism of Sparta to the oligarchy of Thrace.

To this day, we feel the influence of imperial Rome. After all, imperial Rome was one of the first successful “melting pots” of cultures. The Romans took what worked and discarded what didn’t work, showing that it was possible to have a stable, centralized government over an extremely large area.

If you’ve ever been curious about ancient Rome and the time of Caesar, but felt overwhelmed by the information available, this handy biography of Julius Caesar’s life might just be what you’ve been looking for.

Beginning with the reign of Diocletian in A.D. 284 and ending at the death of Justinian in 565, the Roman Empire completes a transition from paganism to Christianity which is one of the most remarkable events in history. How was it possible to alter an ancient civilization which had existed for millennia, and yet to maintain social and political order? As events unfolded, one part of the empire managed the process successfully, while the other part spiraled out of control.

The Ottoman Empire was one of the longest standing empires in the world. Started in 1299, the Ottomans would conquer much of the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeastern Europe. This classic by William Deans covers 600 years of Ottoman rule.

Africa may have given rise to the first human beings, and Egypt probably gave rise to the first great civilizations, which continue to fascinate modern societies across the globe nearly 5000 years later.

Starting from the two iconic dates of 753 BC (according to legend, the founding of Rome) and 476 AD (the deposition of the last Western Roman emperor Romulus Augustulus), the history of the Roman Empire spans more than 1200 years. This was not only a long period of time, but also an eventful one - after all, the inhabitants of the city on the Tiber River conquered an empire that, at its greatest expansion in 116 AD, encompassed most of Europe as well as parts of North Africa and Asia Minor.

In the aftermath of Alexander the Great's conquests, a state enamored with Greek culture rose to power. Born out of the divided Macedonian Empire and founded by Seluceus, the new Empire grew to eventually contain Anatolia, Persia, Levant, Mesopotamia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Kuwait. Alexander's empire splitting led to the Babylonian War and Seleucid rise to power, and the late struggles between the Empire and Rome in the 60s BCE. Explore this imperialist center of the arts and sciences that constantly struggled balancing rebellions throughout its lands.

Este libro recorre todo el camino desde los inicios prehistóricos de la India en Mohenjo-daro hasta el desarrollo del budismo y el Imperio Maurya, los imperios hindúes de la Edad Media, los mogoles que trajeron el islam a la mezcla (y crearon el Taj Mahal), el raj británico y, finalmente, la lucha por la independencia y la India actual, moderna y sin edad.

King Xerxes I: The Life and Legacy of the Achaemenid Persian Empire’s Most Notorious Ruler looks at the life of the Persian leader and the major conflicts he led. You will learn about Xerxes like never before.

For the people of the ancient Mediterranean and beyond, the city of Rome had been a symbol of power for centuries, and entering the early 5th century AD, the Eternal City hadn't been taken by an enemy force since the Gauls had done it about 800 years ago, an unheard of period of tranquility in a world wracked with almost constant warfare. Thus when the Visigoths, who the Romans considered uncultured and inferior, took the city of Rome and sacked it in 410, the world was stunned.

El Imperio bizantino fue fundado durante el caótico siglo III. Era el momento en que las revueltas y las guerras civiles eran comunes, y los emperadores romanos tan solo duraban un año. A pesar de ser uno de los períodos históricos más impresionantes de todos los tiempos, el Imperio bizantino es uno menos conocido y es raro encontrar información sobre el tema.

La vida de Augusto es históricamente importante porque su liderazgo marcó una nueva era en la historia del mundo romano, una era que vería la expansión del Imperio romano a lo largo del Mediterráneo y más allá. Aún más, la influencia del Imperio romano se extendió mucho más allá de su territorio y tuvo un profundo efecto en el desarrollo de la cultura occidental. Además, las historias y leyendas que emanan del mundo romano se han convertido en parte de la conciencia cultural del mundo occidental de hoy.

The Han Dynasty: The History and Legacy of Ancient China’s Most Influential Empire examines how the Han dynasty took control of China and the impact of their reign over several centuries.

Rome's complex relationship with animals goes right back to its foundation myth, and even today, the wolf remains a symbol of the Eternal City, forming part of the logo for the capital's football team, A.S. Roma. According to tradition, the city of Rome was founded by Romulus, who, with his brother Remus, was nursed and sheltered by a she-wolf. A detailed analysis of Roman attitudes toward animals reveals a great deal of information about Roman society in general, particularly its sense of morality and ethics.

In a book that Doris Kearns Goodwin has called "brilliantly crafted to draw leadership lessons from history", Philip Barlag uses dramatic and colorful incidents from Caesar's career to illustrate what modern leaders can learn from him. Central to Barlag's argument is the distinction between power and force. When leading his own organization, Caesar never used brute force to motivate his followers.

The Hittites are an ancient people who remain somewhat enigmatic, but their influence on the ancient Near East is undeniable. From high in their capital of Hattusa in central Anatolia, the Hittites were able to conquer and control a kingdom that roughly comprised the area of modern Turkey, Syria, and parts of Iraq and Lebanon through a combination of brute military force and shrewd diplomatic machinations.