Ancient Religion History

This year Christians worldwide will celebrate the 1700th anniversary of Constantine's conversion and victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. No Roman emperor had a greater impact on the modern world than did Constantine. The reason is not simply that he converted to Christianity but that he did so in a way that brought his subjects along after him. Indeed, this major new biography argues that Constantine's conversion is but one feature of a unique administrative style that enabled him to take control of an empire beset by internal rebellions and external threats by Persians and Goths.

This comprehensive history sets yoga in its global cultural context for the first time. It leads us on a fascinating journey across the world, from arcane religious rituals and medieval body-magic, through muscular Christianity and the British Raj, to the Indian nationalist movement and the arrival of yoga in the 20th-century West. We discover how the practice reached its present-day ubiquity and how it became embedded in powerful social currents shaping the world's future.

Smooth Stones Taken from Ancient Brooks is a collection of sentences and quaint sayings from this renowned Puritan. Gathered by Spurgeon from the six-volume set of Brooks' Works, it remains an excellent introduction to both the man and his writing.

Examines the Oldawan, the Ancient Soul of Africa, and its correlation with what modern psychologists have defined as the collective unconscious Draws on archaeology, DNA research, history, and depth psychology to reveal how the biological and spiritual roots of religion and science came...

Two thousand years ago, 967 Jewish men, women, and children reportedly took their own lives rather than surrender to the Roman army. This dramatic event, which took place on top of Masada, a barren and windswept mountain overlooking the Dead Sea, spawned a powerful story of Jewish resistance that came to symbolize the embattled modern State of Israel. Jodi Magness, an archaeologist who has excavated at Masada, explains what happened there, how we know it, and how recent developments might change understandings of the story.

In 1925, James Henry Breasted sent a team of archaeologists to the Holy Land to excavate the ancient site of Megiddo - Armageddon in the New Testament. Their excavations made headlines around the world and shed light on one of the most legendary cities of biblical times. Digging Up Armageddon brings to life one of the most important archaeological expeditions ever undertaken, describing the site and what was found there, and providing an up-close look at the internal workings of a dig in the early years of biblical archaeology.

In our modern age the biblical Genesis flood account has been probed and analyzed for answers to scientific, apologetic, and historical questions. It is a text that has called forth flood geology, fueled searches for remnants of the ark on Mount Ararat, and inspired a full-size replica of Noah's ark in a biblical theme park. Some claim that the very veracity of Scripture hinges on a particular reading of the flood narrative. But do we understand what we are reading? Longman and Walton urge us to ask, what might the biblical author have been saying to his ancient audience?

Pagans explores the rise of Christianity from a surprising and unique viewpoint: that of the people who witnessed their ways of life destroyed by what seemed then a powerful religious cult. These "pagans" were actually pious Greeks, Romans, Syrians, and Gauls, who observed the traditions of their ancestors. To these devout polytheists, Christians who worshiped only one deity were immoral atheists who believed that a splash of water on the deathbed could erase a lifetime of sin.

How did human societies scale up from small, tight-knit groups of hunter-gatherers to the large, anonymous, cooperative societies of today - even though anonymity is the enemy of cooperation? How did organized religions with "Big Gods" - the great monotheistic and polytheistic faiths - spread to colonize most minds in the world? In Big Gods, Ara Norenzayan makes the surprising and provocative argument that these fundamental puzzles about the origins of civilization are one and the same, and answer each other.

Richard Carrier, Ph.D., philosopher, historian, blogger, has published a number of papers in the field of ancient history and biblical studies. He has also written several books and chapters on diverse subjects, and has been blogging and speaking since 2006. He is known the world over for all the above. But here, together for the first time, are all of Dr. Carrier's peer reviewed academic journal articles in history through the year 2013, collected with his best magazine articles, research papers, and blog posts on the same subjects.

The Confessions of St. Augustine is one of the most moving diaries ever recorded of a man's journey to the fountain of God's grace. Writing as a sinner, not a saint, Augustine shares his innermost thoughts and conversion experiences, and wrestles with the spiritual questions that have stirred the hearts of the thoughtful since time began.

A true-life thriller about the journey of one of the world's most precious manuscripts - the 10th-century annotated Hebrew Bible known as the Aleppo Codex - from its hiding place in an ancient Syrian synagogue to the newly founded Israel. Using his research, including documents that have been secret for 50 years and interviews with key players, AP correspondent Friedman tells a story of political upheaval, international intrigue, charged courtroom battles, obsession, and subterfuge.

Among the most powerful esoteric works in metaphysics ever recorded, The Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean (translated by M. Doreal) reveal a glimpse into the history of advanced Ancient Atlantis: its mechanical and scientific achievements; how it sank deep below the waves of the Atlantic; the founding of the colony that became Egypt...and the construction of its Great Pyramid.

Secrets of the Serpent: After years of research, the real religious history of the world can be told. In Secrets of the Serpent, Philip Gardiner for the first time reveals that the world’s most mysterious places were once sacred to the Serpent Cult. The Cross of Thoth: Deep within the great pyramid is a secret that has remained hidden for over 4000 years. An ancient instrument designed to unlock mysteries that have baffled mankind for generations. The Real BloodlineTim Wallace-Murphy talks about the real bloodline of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene....

*A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK, FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOKS OF 2025, SCOTSMAN BOOKS OF 2025, COUNTRY LIFE BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2025* 'Packed with anecdote and colour, it's a surprisingly touching portrait of the countries' - Financial Times, Best Books of 2025 'An insightful and engaging reflection on...

European Bloodlines unveils centuries of suppressed evidence gathered from monastery archives, court records, and family chronicles across medieval Europe. Stone combines rigorous historical research with genealogical detective work, tracing family trees through centuries of carefully hidden evidence. Each chapter presents authenticated testimonies, court documents, and family records that challenge our understanding of medieval European society.

Cette édition traduite en français révèle que les racines du christianisme, aussi bien historiques que spirituelles, se trouvent en Égypte ancienne. Ce livre fait la démonstration que les récits du « Jésus historique » sont basées entièrement sur la vie et la mort du pharaon égyptien Twt/Tout Ankh-Amen et que le « Jésus de la foi » et la doctrine chrétienne sont complètement d’origine égyptienne - comme l’essence des enseignements/du message de même que les jours fériés religieux.

According to Joseph Smith, in September of 1823, an angel appeared to him and directed him to a hill near his home. Buried there, Smith found a box containing a stack of thin metal sheets, gold in color and covered with what appeared to be ancient engravings. Exactly four years later, the angel instructed Smith to translate the plates into English. When the text was published, a new religion was born.

The Religions of Ancient Egypt and Babylonia (1903) consists of Egyptian religion in part one, including discussions of the sun god, the ennead, Osiris, and the journey of the soul. Part two deals with animism and the beliefs of Sumeria, Babylonia, and Assyria. The book comprises the Gifford Lectures on the Ancient Egyptian and Babylonian Conception of the Divine.

Mary is the flower of femininity to some, a woman of power to others. She has been seen as a paragon of obedience as well as an instrument of liberation. Some have piled her status so high that it rivals that of her Son. Other do their best to ignore her. Behind all of those images is a girl who grew up to be the mother of Christ.