Ancient Empires

The pope wanted it, Montesquieu used it, and the Nazis pilfered an Italian noble's villa to get it: the Germania, by the Roman historian Tacitus, took on a life of its own as both an object and an ideology. When Tacitus wrote a not-very-flattering little book about the ancient Germans in 98 CE, at the height of the Roman Empire, he could not have foreseen that the Nazis would extol it as "a bible", nor that Heinrich Himmler, the engineer of the Holocaust, would vow to resurrect Germany on its grounds. But the Germania inspired - and polarized - people long before the rise of the Third Reich.

On Christmas morning in the year 800, Pope Leo III placed the crown of imperial Rome on the brow of a Germanic king named Karl - a gesture that enabled the man later hailed as Charlemagne to claim his empire and forever shape the destiny of Europe. Becoming Charlemagne tells the story of the international power struggle that led to this world-changing event, illuminating an era that has long been overshadowed by myth.

During the first half of the first millennium CE, an empire arose in Persia that extended its power and influence to Mesopotamia in the east, Arabia in the south, the Caucasus Mountains in the north, and as far east as India. This empire, known alternatively as the Sasanian Empire or Sassanid Empire, was the last of three great dynasties in Persia before the rise of Islam. In fact, many scholars consider the Sasanian Empire to be the last great empire of the ancient Near East.

With unimaginable wealth, palace intrigues, birthday parties featuring fine wine and endless desserts, lavish architecture and gardens, an underground water system, and a 1,500-mile Royal Road, the ancient Persian Empire captures the imagination.

The sixth-century AD witnessed a remarkable turn-around in the Roman Empire's fortunes. Justinian's general, Belisarius, recovered North Africa and Italy from the barbarians. An impressive new law code was inaugurated that would endure to this day. Astonishing building projects rivalled the great monuments of Old Rome.

Listen to this audiobook to learn more about Hellenistic World and Alexander the Great!

Journey through the mists of time with Echoes of Empires: Chronicles of the Forgotten Ages, a mesmerizing tapestry of history and intrigue. This captivating narrative unravels the untold stories of ancient civilizations, from the majestic splendor of lost empires to the whispered legends of forgotten heroes. Each chapter transports you to a world where ambition, power, and destiny collide, revealing the profound impact of these bygone eras on our modern age.

The land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers is called the “cradle of civilization”, and for good reason! Although Mesopotamia’s first civilization, Sumer, developed parallel with those of Egypt and nearby Elam, it was a place of many firsts for humanity. Some of them are well known, such as the wheel and the writing script. But it was the ancient Mesopotamians who first came up with the concept of time, the mathematical sexagesimal system, and a calendar with 12 months.

Gibbon's masterpiece on Rome is a monument of literature and a model of modern historical research. There has never been anything quite like it since its publication between 1776 and 1788. Although some of Gibbon's views are considered controversial today, there is no doubt that his research and patient devotion to scholarship produced one of the most valuable and renowned histories of all time.

L'Empire romain est à l'honneur depuis des siècles. Il a été étudié, recherché et enseigné dans les écoles du monde entier. Les inventions, les mots, le vocabulaire et la philosophie ont été dérivés de ces transitions importantes dans l'histoire humaine. Les Romains étaient impitoyables à certains égards et civilisés à d'autres. C'était un peuple particulier qui faisait les choses différemment de ceux qu'ils appelaient des barbares. Leur guerre, leurs habitudes, leur vision de l'avenir...tous ont fait de leur empire ce qu'il est devenu.

Alexander the Great’s story often reads like fiction: son to a snake-loving mother and a battle-scarred father, tutored by Aristotle, a youth from the periphery of the Greek world who took part in his first campaign aged 16, becoming king of Macedon at 20 and king of Asia by 25, leading his armies into battle like a Homeric figure. Each generation has peered through the glass of history and come to their own conclusion about Alexander, be it enlightened ruler, military genius, megalomaniac, drunkard or despot. Yet the first two decades of his life have until now been a mystery.

Discover the remarkable history of the Inca Empire...In the space of less than one hundred years, the Inca people expanded from being a small kingdom in the highlands of Peru to becoming one of the largest and most powerful empires in the Americas. At the height of its power, the Inca Empire stretched for more than one thousand miles down the Andes Mountains and the west coast of South America. It incorporated more than two hundred distinct ethnic groups and somewhere around fourteen million people were ruled by a much smaller number of Incas.

One of the most shocking things about the Persians is how quickly they went from an obscure, powerless, and nomadic tribe to an immense empire that spanned across western Asia, Africa, and parts of Europe. The rise of Cyrus the great, considered the father of Persia, in the seventh century BCE, filled the power vacuum caused by the fall of the Assyrians, and it led to the formation of one of the most powerful empires of the ancient world.

The Roman Empire is the most famous in history, and the center of the far-reaching empire's activities were located in the Forum, a low area between the Capitoline and Palatine hills in Rome. The topography held a great deal of significance for Romans, and consequently so many layers of myth were laid on top of the landscape and buildings that it is difficult to separate legend from actual historical fact.

Lying in the middle of a plain in modern day Iran is a forgotten ancient city: Persepolis. Built 2,500 years ago, it was known in its day as the richest city under the sun. Persepolis was the capital of Achaemenid Persian Empire, the largest empire the world had ever seen, but after its destruction, it was largely forgotten for nearly 2,000 years, and the lives and achievements of those who built it were almost entirely erased from history.

The exemplary life of a noble soldier/statesman, a description of ancient Germany, and a discussion of oratory are the subjects of three short masterpieces by the brilliant Roman historian, Tacitus.

Learn the history and legends of ancient Rome!

The story of Evan Sinclair that began in Wages of Empire continues in Crossroads of Empire. Having survived German artillery, poison gas, and friendly fire in helping to turn the tide of the war in its first months, Evan barely survives his hospital ship's sinking by a German U-boat. Left with amnesia, he no longer remembers who he is.

The Mongols were also known to be both merciful as well as tolerant. Moreover, their conquests weren’t aimed against civilized life; in fact, they helped connect numerous cultures and facilitated the spread of ideas and knowledge across the continent. Of course, the Mongols themselves were not uncultured brutes, as they had their own civilization, society, and traditions. With all that being said, this does not mean they were innocent for all the destruction they caused. Instead, it is implied that the Mongols weren’t like fire, causing annihilation wherever they passed.

After more than a decade of tumult, Roman warrior Rex and his beloved wife, Flavia, are thankful to the God they serve for the peaceful life they are living in the city of Alexandria. But with the empire in flux, such tranquility cannot last. When Rex is called away to serve Constantine in his fight against Licinius, Flavia’s loneliness and longing for a baby lead her down the road of temptation. Perhaps one of Egypt’s gods will grant her conception?