Ancient Empires

In the popular imagination, Attila the Hun is among the most barbaric leaders ever. His warriors have the reputation of being ruthless, cruel, and bloodthirsty, as the Huns are believed to have been savages lacking any semblance of civilized culture. The reputation of Attila and his people, the Huns, is at odds with reality. But examining the few historical records of his character and deeds reveal quite a different story.

Byzantine Empire traces the dramatic transformation of the Roman Empire’s eastern half into a distinct Byzantine civilization, charting its arc from the founding of Constantinople in 330 to the empire’s high-water mark under the Macedonian dynasty around 1025.

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.

When scholars study the history of the ancient Near East, several wars that had extremely brutal consequences (at least by modern standards) often stand out. Forced removal of entire populations, sieges that decimated entire cities, and wanton destruction of property were all tactics used by the various peoples of the ancient Near East against each other, but the Assyrians were the first people to make war a science.

Pompeii was destroyed by the horrific eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, which buried at least 2,000 unlucky people. Pompeii became a mysterious tomb, hiding secrets of Rome and other civilizations that influenced the life and culture of the city and its people. Who were the Pompeiians, and how did they live before that dreadful day? What did the last days of Pompeii look like, and did the Pompeiians know that the fate of their city would be sealed that day, not to be uncovered for centuries to come?

The Maurya empire, which existed more than 2,000 years ago, was the mightiest civilization that India has ever known. It was more than one and a half times the size of modern-day India in geographical extent. The Maurya empire was established just after the death of Alexander the Great. Fear had prevented his troops from marching farther to invade the subcontinent, which became the fuel for India to reinvent itself as an indomitable mega-culture.

In this audiobook, you will travel back to Ancient Rome, where gladiators fought in the famous Colleseum, emperors were murdered to make way for new emperors, calendars were created, and Greek mythology was re-made into Roman mythology! Have fun listening to what’s left of this amazing society as you explore ancient ruins! Test your knowledge with end-of-section activities, and watch history come alive as you learn of the fascinating Roman Empire! We owe a lot to Ancient Rome, and you’ll learn what we abolished - and what we kept from this exciting time in history.

'Impressive to an astounding extent' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review 'Impossible to put down' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review 'A fascinating story: authentic, action-packed and full of humour' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review 'The bone crunching, blood letting and all our fury of ancient warfare is...

The Roman Empire lasted a solid 500 years—an impressive number by any standard. The decline and final collapse of the Roman Empire took longer than most other empires even existed. Any historian trying to unearth the grand strategy of the Roman Empire must, therefore, always remain cognizant of the time scale. Over the centuries, the Empire's underlying economy, political arrangements, military affairs, and the myriad of external threats it faced were in constant flux, making adaptability to changing circumstances as important to Roman strategists as it is to strategists of the modern era.

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.

"The Five Good Emperors", a reference to the five emperors who ruled the Roman Empire between 96 and 180 CE (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius), was a term first coined by Machiavelli and later adopted and popularized by historian Edward Gibbon. This period of 84 years is generally regarded as the high point of the Roman Empire, at least after Augustus. According to some academics, the success these rulers had in centralizing the empire's administration, while undoubtedly bringing huge benefits, also sowed the seeds for later problems.

Learn the history and legends of ancient Rome!

How does the Byzantine Empire, which fell in 1453, still apply to us today? Many of us do not know much about the Byzantine Empire; it lived on in the East after the Roman Empire fell, but its one-thousand-year history is full of innovations that have changed how we create art, write laws, and think about our lives today. The Byzantine Empire was a key factor that started the Italian Renaissance and moved Western Europe out of the Middle Ages. Far from being ancient history, the Byzantine Empire still impacts our lives today.

ARENA is a Sunday Times bestselling novel from Simon Scarrow, author of INVICTUS, CENTURION and THE GLADIATOR, and T.J. Andrews. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell. Praise for Simon Scarrow's gripping novels: 'Ferocious and compelling' Daily Express It is AD 41. The city of Rome is a dangerous...

New York Times bestselling author Juliette Cross returns with a new scorching dark romantasy in her The Fire That Binds trilogy. The fate of a powerful witch who can control men with one taste of their blood and a fierce dragon collide. A spellbinding gift... A plea answered by the gods... An...

As Hun hordes and Germanic tribes maraud through Imperial lands, two legendary men – Attila the Hun and the “Last of the Romans” General Flavius Aetius find their fortunes entangled with the chaos. Flavius Aetius, a noble Roman son, is an outsider in a savage land. He has been banished...

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.

From the “deliriously clever” (Boston Globe) Simon Garfield, New York Times bestselling author of Just My Type, comes the wild and fascinating story of the encyclopedia, from Ancient Greece to the present day. New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice ""A brilliant book about knowledge...

In 323 BCE, Alexander the Great was on top of the world; on June 11, 323 B.C., Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, Hegemon of the League of Corinth, King of Kings, died. The Diadochi: The History of Alexander the Great’s Successors and the Wars That Divided His Empire chronicles how Alexander’s legendary conquests shaped the next several centuries, and how the successor generals carved out various empires. You will learn about the Diadochi like never before.

Of all the famous civilizations to emerge from Mesopotamia, a list that includes the Akkadians, the Sumerians, and the Babylonians, it’s the Assyrians who deserve the fame and glory. The empire they constructed over the course of some 1,200 years survived constant attacks, a few defeats, and the famed Dark Age, known as the Bronze Age collapse, to become one of the largest and most expansive empires the world has ever seen.