Ancient Asia

The Persian Wars is part history, part geography, part anthropology...and completely entertaining. It possesses a charm that is legendary. However, over and above this, Herodotus has succeeded for all time in brilliantly expressing the conflict between the ideal of the free man defending his liberty within a state based on the rule of law, and that of the despot who bases his rule on brute force and whose subjects are considered slaves.

The Kushans began as nomadic steppe warriors who eventually grew tired of constantly migrating and subsequently put their skills and experience to use by conquering Bactria and creating a kingdom that was stronger economically than it was militarily. Taking advantage of their location on the Silk Road trade routes, the Kushan kings charged fees and tolls for goods passing through. But silk, textiles, gold, silver, and other commodities were not the only things that entered the Kushan Empire from the East and West; it was a focal point for the spread of ideas, diplomats, and diseases.

Take a journey of the history of the Indian subcontinent from prehistory to the colonial period and the modern era through more than 80 brilliant timelines. Timelines from Indian History navigates the history of India, through the formation of kingdoms, the establishment of empires, the struggle for independence, and the emergence of a vibrant democracy and republic. Through this journey, the listener will meet the personalities who shaped India's history, culture, and society.

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.

“The Ancient Wisdom of Dao De Jing” is concise, simple, yet profound. Each chapter contains timeless wisdom. If you interpret the words according to the text, you can only understand the surface, and you cannot unravel the profound wisdom and charm behind the words. This book is interpreted in simple modern language with the intent to unlock the codes and profound wisdom behind the text of the Tao Te Ching.

As you begin to listen to this book, you will become familiar with all the gods and goddesses of Chinese culture. The historical context will become clear, as well as the institutions, the law, the rules about sexuality, marriage, and children, and so much more. Understanding these aspects of their society before fully becoming engaged in the folklore that was the popular belief at the time is essential to your comprehension of the cultural anecdotes in those tales.

Where once new ideas and beliefs were accepted, now the country's military dictator, the Shogun, is shutting his country down to any outside influences. Father Joaquim Martinez, who left Portugal to make Hizen Province, Japan, his home, has been quietly tending to the lives of his villagers, but everything is about to be thrown into turmoil, as the Shogun has outlawed Martinez's beliefs. Those who won't recant or accept banishment, face a death sentence.

Desde aproximadamente el siglo IX hasta el siglo V antes de Cristo, la población de Grecia creció sin precedentes, expandiéndose de aproximadamente 800.000 a 13 millones. Cerca de un cuarto de millón de estos vivían en Atenas. El tamaño promedio de los hogares urbanos durante este período creció considerablemente, un hecho que sugiere que los alimentos estuvieron repentinamente disponibles en excesos suficientes para mantener a las familias más grandes sanas y vivas mucho más eficazmente que solo un milenio antes.

This three-part audio guide to the world of ancient Japan includes a brief fact-based intro to ninjas, a treatise on the rituals and cultural importance of the famous samurai warriors of ancient Japan, and an exploration of the some of the principles and gods and goddesses of the mysterious Shinto faith.

All in all, Japan seems to be a country of paradoxes and oppositions, of yin and yang. Yet it doesn’t seem to suffer from it; instead, it is thriving, growing, and developing, and it has been doing so for a long time. From those contradictions, a sense of unity and pride arose, guiding Japanese history and civilizational development through the ages, leaving an unquestionable mark on the world heritage and mankind. But this is only the surface of an astonishing culture that deserves a deeper look.

In this audiobook, you will be led on a journey through almost 2,000 years of Chinese history, showing you all the ups and downs of those ancient times, the sufferings and joys of the Chinese people, along with their greatest achievements and failures. Dynasties will change, people will be killed and born, art made and destroyed, but the Chinese civilization will prevail, rising from humble beginnings to an empire that at some points outshined any other in the world at that time.

The Battle of Red Cliffs changed Chinese history. It marked the end of the Han Dynasty, one of the greatest in China’s history, and pushed China into the era of the Three Kingdoms, an era of perpetual warfare and chaos. Furthermore, the battle also had a dramatic effect on Chinese culture, media, and literature, and the battle and its major participants remain legendary in China.

When one thinks of the world’s first cities, Sumer, Memphis, and Babylon are some of the first to come to mind, but if the focus then shifts to India, then Harappa and Mohenjo Daro will likely come up. These cities owe their existence to India’s oldest civilization, known as the Indus Valley Civilization or the Harappan Civilization, which was contemporary with ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, and had extensive contacts with the former, making it one of the most important early civilizations in the world.

Pergamon reached the height of its power during the Hellenistic period, becoming the capital of the Attalid kings, which ruled during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE. During the Roman period, the city was the first capital of the Asian province, but it ultimately lost this status to its local rival, Ephesus. Thanks to its royalty-decreed monopoly on parchment fabrication (“pergamon” in the Ancient Greek language) and tissues and its transnational commercial activity, the city became an important multicultural center for the entire empire.

Are you curious about how the world has evolved to where it is today? Do you wish you made a better understanding of how all of the world is connected to each other? The history of the world can fascinate even the least interested party. For thousands of years, every culture and civilization has looked to the past to learn from history. History can inspire, teach, and provide an explanation for how things and institutions have come to be.

Sita, the beloved princess of Mithila, is one of the most revered women in Indian history; so well known, yet probably the least understood. At every crossroad of her life, she chose acceptance and grace over self-pity. Her life was filled with sacrifice yet wherever she was, there was abundance. It was as if she was carved out of an intense longing for Rama, yet she had infinite patience.

Do you want to learn more about ancient China? Look no further than 500 Interesting Facts About Ancient China. This audiobook is packed full of exciting facts and historical information that will captivate listeners.

The Chinese created an amazing society that grew from along the banks of the Yellow River to oceans and lands beyond. But first, these people had to fight off jealous tribes from all sides and move their entire towns due to terrible floods. Yet they worked hard and built a culture that still survives - and thrives - today. Let’s take a close look at some of the most notorious leaders, their culture, and what drove them to persevere through the thousands of years it took to build the China we know today.

Much of the material in this book comes from The Bamboo Annals, The Records of the Grand Historian, and later historians who studied those sacred texts. The bamboo annals were discovered in AD 281, inside the tomb of King Xian. The Records of the Grand Historian were reportedly written by Sima Tian and continued by his son, Sima Qian. Only fragments remain today, but the original may have been written just prior to 86 BC.

En China, una de las grandes fuentes de la civilización humana, fueron creados numerosos y brillantes inventos científicos y tecnológicos, por los cuales el país asiático mantenía en un puesto de liderazgo en todo el mundo durante un largo período a lo largo de la historia milenaria. A través de las observaciones y estudios sobre la astronomía, la geografía y la vida cotidiana los antiguos chinos formaron el concepto filosófico de “integración entre la naturaleza y los seres humanos”, y basándose en esta teoría se generaron maravillosos inventos científicos y tecnológicos.