Ancient

A stunning portrait of the magnificent splendor and enduring legacy of ancient Persia The Achaemenid Persian kings ruled over the largest empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the steppes of Asia and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. From the palace-city of Persepolis, Cyrus the...

Experience the sights, sounds and smells of the Roman world, and meet its most intriguing and influential characters, as this immersive account brings 1000 years of history to life. Combining impeccable research with riveting and action-packed storytelling, we follow the inception, expansion and...

A New York Times–bestselling historian charts how and why societies from ancient Greece to the modern era chose to utterly destroy their foes, and warns that similar wars of obliteration are possible in our time War can settle disputes, topple tyrants, and bend the trajectory of...

From the creator of the award-winning podcast series The History of Rome and Revolutions comes the "remarkably engaging" (Washington Post) history of the bloody battles, political machinations, and human drama that set the stage for the fall of the Roman Republic. The Roman Republic was one of...

In this, the first prose history in European civilization, Herodotus describes the growth of the Persian Empire with force, authority, and style....

In this definitive biography of father and son, an eminent historian "brings to life the full drama of ancient history" (Wall Street Journal) Alexander the Great's conquests staggered the world. He led his army across thousands of miles, overthrowing the greatest empires of his time and building...

The story of how their citizens took on the Great King of Persia, and thereby saved not only themselves, but Western civilization as well, is as heart-stopping and fateful as any episode in history....

The epic rivalry between the ancient world’s two great superpowers The Roman empire was like no other. Stretching from the north of Britain to the Sahara, and from the Atlantic coast to the Euphrates, it imposed peace and prosperity on an unprecedented scale. Its only true rival lay in the...

From one of the most brilliant military historians of our time, this is the classic biography of Rome's greatest general and the victor over Rome's greatest enemy, Hannibal....

Genghis Khan built a formidable land empire, but he never crossed the sea. Yet by the time his grandson Kublai Khan had defeated the last vestiges of the Song empire and established the Yuan dynasty in 1279, the Mongols controlled the most powerful navy in the world.

One of the greatest commanders of the ancient world brought vividly to life: Hannibal, the brilliant general who successfully crossed the Alps with his war elephants and brought Rome to its knees. Hannibal Barca of Carthage, born 247 BC, was one of the great generals of the ancient world....

“Superb....Augustus is a first-rate popular biography by a skilled and knowing hand.” (Washington Post) Caesar Augustus created the Roman Empire and forever associated the name Caesar with power. Heir to Julius Caesar, he thrust himself into the middle of Roman politics at its most violent...

In the year 493, the leader of a vast confederation of Gothic warriors, their wives, and children personally cut down Odoacer, the man famous for deposing the last Roman emperor in 476. That leader became Theoderic the Great (454-526)....

A Brief History of China tells of the development of a rich, complex civilization where the use of paper, writing, money, and gunpowder were widespread in ancient times and where silk, ceramics, tea, metal implements, and other products were produced and exported around the globe....

Shortly before his death in 1645, the undefeated swordsman Miyamoto Musashi retreated to a cave to live as a hermit. There he wrote five scrolls describing the "true principles" required for victory in the martial arts and on the battlefield....

Tacitus is most famous for his amazing descriptions of the reign of Nero, one of the most ruthless and sadistic monarchs of all time....

The acclaimed ancient world historian examines the centuries-long decline of Greek powers in the face of the growing Roman threat....

From Don Hollway, author of The Last Viking, comes a dramatic retelling of the story of the final years of the Western Roman Empire and the downfall of Rome itself from the perspective of the Roman general Stilicho and Alaric, king of the Visigoths....

We see Attila as both a master warrior and an astute strategist whose rule was threatening but whose sudden loss of power was even more so. The End of Empire is an original exploration of the clash between empire and barbarity in the ancient world, full of contemporary resonance....

The year is 115 A.D. After two years of conquest, Emperor Caesar Traianus has annexed both Armenia and vassal kingdoms of northern Mesopotamia. His gaze turns south, his armies poised to march down the Tigris and Euphrates.

The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China presents us with an Eastern tradition of strategic thought....

Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great were two of the greatest generals Rome had ever produced....

THE ROMAN ARMY HAS VANQUISHED THE REBEL TRIBES' ALLIANCE IN NORTH BRITANNIA. THE SURVIVORS LIE IN WAIT, PLOTTING REVENGE . . . But the new Roman leader will not let them rest. He forms an audacious plan to capture the Selgovaes' fortress of spears, and return it to the hands of a trusted ally.

Four years after their departure for the east, the armies of Rome are bloodied and exhausted. Their victories against the Parthian Empire came at great cost.

During the five decades since the Treaty of Rhandeia ended the War of Armenian Succession, an uneasy peace has existed between the Roman and Parthian Empires.