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If you want to get ready for Imperator: Rome with some historical fiction, check out Colleen McCollough's "Masters of Rome" series. The first book is The First Man in Rome.
The series starts with the rise of Gauis Marius and it goes through the rise of Octavian (I think). The books are long and extremely detailed. You would be hard pressed to find another series that immerses you in the spirit of Rome.
I would suggest that you purchase the audiobooks, but you can only find the abridged versions through official channels.
Unfortunately, McCullough died a fews years ago. I believe her most popular book was "The Thorn Birds"
I haven't read Holland, but his books seem to be non-fiction, where McCullough's is fiction (though based on history). She does certainly skew things a little. She obviously adored Caesar and it shows in her portrayal of him. Marius's and Sulla's relationship also seems to be more friendly than what historians think it was. But, with all that said, you really do feel like you're "breathing the air of Rome", as one Amazon reviewer said.
I've read a lot of historical fiction: Renault/Pressfield (both Greek), the I, Claudius books, and a few other newer entries to Roman Historical fiction. Nothing seems as detailed and picturesque as McCullough's writing. Though, she does like to use full Roman names with cognomens and there are a lot of Romans in her books.
If you want to get ready for Imperator: Rome with some historical fiction, check out Colleen McCollough's "Masters of Rome" series. The first book is The First Man in Rome.
The series starts with the rise of Gauis Marius and it goes through the rise of Octavian (I think). The books are long and extremely detailed. You would be hard pressed to find another series that immerses you in the spirit of Rome.
I would suggest that you purchase the audiobooks, but you can only find the abridged versions through official channels.
If you are like me and lack time for reading books, I can recommend the podcast "History of Rome" by Mike Duncan. He narrates the history of Rome from the founding of the city up through the Principate and forward. Very good, with 20-30 minute episodes, making it a perfect podcast to listen to while commuting.
If you are like me and lack time for reading books, I can recommend the podcast "History of Rome" by Mike Duncan. He narrates the history of Rome from the founding of the city up through the Principate and forward. Very good, with 20-30 minute episodes, making it a perfect podcast to listen to while commuting.
To this I would also recommend "History of Ancient Greece" and "Ancient Greece Declassified" podcasts. They are very informative and takes two different approaches to teach us about ancient Greece.
The Kingdom of Armenia, M. Chahin. Made of two parts: part 1 is dedicated to kingdom of Urartu; part 2, kingdom of Armenia from Yervanduni (Orontid) dynasty to the fall of Cilician Armenia. Interesting read.
The Pre-History of the Armenians, 4 volumes. Gabriel Soultanian. A hypothesis on “the pre-history of the Hays, the Indo-European ancestors of the Armenians, tracing their migration from the Balkans into Anatolia and Urartu - which became Hayastan (Armenia).”
Tigranes the Great: A Biography, Herant K. Armen. The only biography of Tigranes (II) the Great to be ever originally published in English. Addressed to general public, its author for the first time tells the story from Armenian point of view. By scrutinizing and cross checking inconsistent and contradictory ancient sources, the author tries to draw a more accurate picture. Tigranes II and Rome: A New Interpretation Based on Primary Sources, Hakob H. Manandyan. Excellent work by one of the major Armenian historians of the twentieth century. As the title suggests, it is one of the first academic attempts to critically analyse the portrayal of Tigranes (and partially Mithridates VI Eupator) by the Greek and Roman authors, to look beyond their biases and reconcile inconsistencies. Highly recommended.
Lost World of the Golden King: In Search of Ancient Afghanistan, Frank L. Holt. Probably the most concise knowledge base about Baktria and the Indo-Greeks. It is also, by far, the most modern book about this topic. Introduces a lot of different theories and information, puts it into context etc. Very thorough and scientific approach. He does not claim to know what exactly happened, but he shows what is likely, what is maybe a bit less likely but still possible and so on. It is very much up to date.
Bactria - The History of a Forgotten Empire, H.G. Rowlinson. Pretty interesting book. I think along with Tarn's standard book one of the best sources about ancient Baktria. Less opionated than Tarn, I think, but Rowlinson's book also has some outdated stuff in it.
Carthage and her neighbours (Safot Softim biQarthadast, Mamla'ha biMassylim)
Hannibal's Last Battle: Zama and Fall of Carthage, B. T. Carey. Good narrative on Punic wars, but the beauty of this book is in detailed graphic reconstructions of all major engagements, both at sea and on land.
The World of the Phoenicians, Sabatino Moscati. A decent survey of Carthaginian history on the second half but really worth it for the chapters on culture, religion and language.
The Historical Atlas of the Celtic World, John Haywood, Barry Cunliffe. Stretches to modern times but half the book is pertinent to the EB time frame. Good maps.
Roman Ireland, Vittorio di Martino. Agricola invaded Ireland! Maybe.
Roman Britain, Plantagenet Somerset Fry. The standard work on Roman sites in Britain with plenty of history. Also a good book for IBFD.
Pyrrhus of Epirus, Jeff Champion. The most recent biography of Pyrrhus, it follows in the king's footsteps as he fought his way through Italy, Sicily and Greece.
It is well written, and while it says that it's intended for a non-academic audience, he does go into quite a few detailes critically citing different historians; why he believes them, why not etc which i think is really great for this kind of work. Also, imho to really understand the book you really need to have a pretty decent knowledge or the period, and look at the map a lot to really understand what's going on, so don't worry about the book being too basic.Will definetly buy more books from the author.
The Illyrians, John Wilkes. Fantastic book - very good on the differences between the Illyrians and the Greeks, really puts them in context.
The Cambridge Companion to the Hellenistic World, ed. Glenn Bugh. Great collection of articles, especially “Hellenistic Military Developments” by the editor and “Hellenistic Economies” by John Davies.
A History of the Greek Word 323-146 BC, M. Cary. Very Helleno-centric, nothing really new but later chapters on economics and governments in post Alexandrine Greece very interesting.
The Hellenistic World and the Coming of Rome, Erich Gruen. Only had a chance to skim through this but a very interesting work: not a chronological history but more an analysis of the impact on Greek thought and life of Roman dominance, i.e. how the previously world-conquering Hellenes adjusted to being conquered.
The Social and Economic History of the Greek World, M. Rostovtzeff. 3 volumes, covers the EB period in depth with great chapters on the 'minor monarchies' (Pergamon, Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia and the Black Sea City-states and the Bosporan Kingdom).
The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek, Barry Cunliffe. A Massaliot Greek's travels to Britain in 320 BC, and lots of stuff about the interaction between the Hellenic and Celtic worlds. Well written.
The City of Sharp Nosed Fish, Greeks Lives in Roman Egypt, Peter Parsons. The story of the late 19th century expedition of Grenfell and Hunt to the ruins of Oxyrhynchos, outside of Cairo, where they found a massive horde of papyri detailing the everyday lives of Greek colonist in Egypt from Alexander up to Roman times. Fascinating.
The Guardian Review
Rise of the Greeks, M. Grant. Pretty dry and reviews the entire Archaic Greek world region by region, so it's good for people who are already well-read on classical Greece.
Philip of Macedon, N. G. L. Hammond. Excellent piece that also draws light on the workings of contemporary city-states and political situation in Greece. Highly recommended.
The Nature of Alexander, Mary Renault. The Grandmother of Classical Historical Fiction gives her non-fictionary opinion of Alexander. Well written and also provides a glimpse behind the scenes of her famous trilogy.
Philip V of Macedon, F. W. Walbank. A good biography of Philip V.
The Macedonian War Machine 359 - 281 BC, David Karunanithy. This book focuses on neglected aspects of the Macedonian army such as recruitment, training, marching, logistics, seige equipment and crossing geographic obstacles (more explored areas such as the sarissa and the phalanx are left for other authors). This is a fascinating book, well researched and referenced, describing a highly professional and organised army and military state. The author also offers some interesting speculations where evidence is lacking. Particularly intriguing are the changes in the army and armour (linen to metallic) that may have taken after Alexander took over and had access to all the riches and resources of the Achaemenid empire. The Macedonians in Athens, 322-229 B.C., eds. Olga Palagia, Stephen V. Tracy.
Ian Worthington (University of Missouri-Columbia) Review
Ancient Persia : from 550 BC to 650 AD, Josef Wiesehöfer (trans. Azizeh Azodi), Excellent modern study covering Achaemenid, Arsacid and Sasanian Period (Seleucids are largely omitted, sadly). It is a MUST!
Rome and Persia in late Antiquity: Neighbours and Rivals, Beate Dignas, Engelbert Winter. Very good overview of the development of mtual relations from Carrhae to the fall of Sasanian Empire, studying not only mutual wars, but also the development of the diplomatic protocol, trade and cultural interchange.
Arsacids and Sasanians, M. Rahim Shayegan. An amazing book that goes into ideology of the Arsakids and how the Sassanians both co-opted and diverged from this model. Really amazing book, and even employs the Bablyonian Astronomical Dairies. Recommended for any budding historian of the Near East.
Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran, Parvaneh Pourshariati. Absolutely amazing book that goes into great detail about the Arsakid social structure and very intricate detail about the Sassanian revolution. She argues an up-and-coming idea that the Sassanians were likely a Parthian clan themselves, and that the Sassanian empire should really be called the Sassanian-Parthian empire. Really good stuff, and would highly recommend it.
An Introduction to the Coinage of Parthia, David Sellwood. This book has been instrumental in Parthian historiography. Without this work, literally all the stuff that we have on the Parthians (especially the early Parthians) would not exist. This guy (David Sellwood) was THE guy in Parthian numismatics and wrote this amazing book.
King of the Seven Climes: A History of the Ancient Iranian World, T. Daryaee. A very new textbook on the Iranian history produced by well-known author Touraj Daryaee. It's probably a too general for the seasoned EBII Pahlava players, but for the new to the subject it may be just perfect.
Cleopatra, Ernle Bradford. Begins with a concise and informative overview of the Ptolemies, and includes the most interesting analysis of Caesar's character. Makes one think.
The Enemies of Rome, Philip Matyszak. Greatest leaders that fought Rome, from Hannibal to Attila. Addressed to general public somewhat lacks depth. It is obviously impossible to tell every character's story thoroughly in a single volume. Fine read nevertheless.
A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War, Gary Forsythe. As indicated by the title, the overall approach adopted throughout this volume is rather critical toward the general reliability of the surviving ancient sources of early Roman history. Agreeing with M. I. Finley's famous dictum that "the ancients' ability to invent and their capacity to believe are persistently underestimated," the author regards a critical approach as entirely justified and necessary. Read this a few months ago and loved it. When I first started reading Roman history most books I read were mostly about the post Punic war era when Rome was already a great power so this book was perfect for me in bridging the cap from the foundation of Rome to the First Punic war.
The Army of the Roman Republic: From the Regal Period to the Army of Julius Caesar, Michael M. Sage.
From Samarkhand to Sardis: A New Approach to the Seleucid Empire, S. Sherwin-White, A. Kuhrt. One of the best on Seleukids.
Available Online The Rise of the Seleukid Empire (323-223 BC): Seleukos I to Seleukos III, Volume 1, John D. Grainger. Very interesting read! this is the first volume in a trilogy the rest of which is still to be published.It is a great read but lacks detailed maps (would be really helpfull as he gets into a lot of specific details about places), and it gets anticlimactic from time to time; the major battles of the diadochi get resolved really quickly. Still overall a very good read. A lot to learn, especially for the period between Alexander's death and the start of EB.
Judas Maccabaues: The Jewish Struggle Against Seleucids, B. Bar-Kochva. The best information about Maccabean army. It also includes excellent chapters/Appendices about Seleucid military, best used with author´s book about Seleucid army.
Available Online
Seleucid and Arsacid Studies: A Progress Report on Developments in Source Research, Jozef Wolski. A very interesting study that has continued from his earlier works on the Seleukids and Arsasids using new research results based on the Graeco-Latin sources, primarily Strabo and Justin, and analysis of recently discovered Babylonian sources will prove to be a very interesting study for those involved in this field of research.
Bulgaria in Antiquity, R. F. Hoddinott. The above three contain sections on the Getai and their environs in the EB time frame, also tons of photos and cultural info, plus a lot about the Celtic kingdom of Komontorius from ca. 280 to 220 BC.
The Central Balkan Tribes In Pre Roman Times: Triballi, Autariatae, Dardanians, Scordisci And Moesians, Fanula Papazoglu. Basically what it says on the cover. I found it somewhat dry to read, but this one is probably a very good introduction to the region and time-frame. The Policy of Darius and Xerxes towards Thrace and Macedonia, Miroslav Ivanov Vasilev. Again, what it says on the cover. As can be expected this book focuses on a very specific time-frame and in my opinion it seems to require a basic familiarity with the subject matter as it doesn't really provide a chronological overview and mentions several historic events without further explanation.
Thrace & the Thracians, Alexander Fol, Ivan Marazov. Nice introduction to the subject and provides a very extensive overview of Thracian religion and the ideology of Thracian kingship. I sadly found the historical overview included at the end rather short and somewhat lacking in detail. At times I also got the feeling the authors were somewhat biased, but this may have been the result of my own bias, so to speak. I will leave this for potential readers to decide for themselves.
The Odrysian Kingdom of Thrace: Orpheus Unmasked, Z.H. Archibald. Oh boy, this is a tough one. Probably the most extensive and detailed of them all, but also the least suitable for anyone unfamiliar with the subject or historical works in general. Expect archaeological and historical terminology, numismatic discussions and in-depth theorizing about (e.g.) the relations between Odrysian princes and the Greek colonies both on the coastline and inland. For my research purposes it was unfortunate that the focus does not extend beyond the early Hellenistic period, but I don't blame the author for drawing a line at some point (the book is heavy enough as it is ).The Huns, Rome.
Links to lingustics and archeology of Thrace, from Genghis Skahn.
General Histories of the Period, Theoretical Works on Language, Economics, Demographics etc.
Hellenistic Age, P. Thonemann. a brief introduction to the period with the outline of main events and achievements. a good choice for a lazy weekend read. the downside - a considerable one if one tries to delve deeper into the topics - is a total lack of notes. there is recommended reading but the total lack of foot/end-notes is buffing, especially considering its published by OUP
I think it is important to remind people that some (many) of these works are not themselves primary sources, even though they are old. Livy's history of the early republic is a secondary work of scholarship in the same way that Tom Holland's Rubicon is. "Primary" vs. "Secondary" is not better vs. worse, but merely a distinction of kind.
Most of these are available online at either the Library of Ancient Texts Online or the Perseus Project, and they are in the Loeb Library. Herodotus, The Histories Xenophon, Anabasis, Hellenica, Cyropaedia, Constitution of Sparta, Ways and Means, The Cavalry General, On Horsemanship Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War Aristotle, Athenian Constitution, Politics, Nicomachean Ethics Polybius, The Histories (The Rise of the Roman Empire) Plutarch, The Parallel Lives, The Moralia Aeschines, Against Ctesiphon Demosthenes, Philippics, Orations Arrian, The Campaigns of Alexander, Array Against the Alans, Art of Tactics, Indica G. Julius Caesar, Gallic War, Civil War Appian, Roman History Titus Livius, Ad Urbe Condita M. Tullius Cicero, Too Many to List;try the Verrine Orations and the Caesarian Speeches to start G. Suetonius Tranquillus, Lives of the Twelve Caesars Josephus, The Jewish War, Jewish Antiquities, Against Apion Strabo, The Geograhy Tacitus, The Histories, The Annals of Imperial Rome, Germania, Agricola Cassius Dio, Roman History G. Sallustius Crispus, The Catiline Conspiracy, The Jugurthine War G. Plinius Caecilius Secundus, Epistulae Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities http://thelandmarkancienthistories.com/
Web Resourcesand Podcasts
A very selective and short list of some of the better online resources that might be of interest to the EB community. Not intended to be comprehensive. The History of Rome. Fantastic Podcast, to be found on iTunes. A must for all EB players. 12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of the Byzantine Empire. Another fantastic podcast, not in the EB time frame but still worth a listen. In Our Time. Well known BBC radio programme hosted by Melvyn Baron Bragg. A wide range of subjects, some quite germane to EB. Also on iTunes.
iTunes U offers podcasts of university lectures and courses for free. The sound quality is often mediocre as these are not recorded specifically for webcasting but just as a byproduct of a lecture or symposium. Still some good stuff. You find these by going to the iTunes Store and clicking on iTunesU. Stanford
Geography of World Cultures, Martin Lewis.
Hannibal, Patrick Hunt.
Alexander in Fact, Alexander in Fiction, Alexander's Predecessors, John L'Heureux.
Egypt's Hold on the Greek Imagination, Marsh McCall. Santa Clara University
History 110 Roman Republic, Isabelle Pafford. Loyola Marymount University
King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans, 2nd Annual Classics Archaeology Symposium.
University of Southern Florida
Online History Workshop of Dr Robert Bedrosian. "Knowledge freely given," an absolute gold mine for all those seriously interested in history of ancient and medieval Middle East and Transcaucasia. Features many unique and hard to find sources. Pergamon.secondpage.de- 3D reconstruction of Pergamon.
Pergamon.secondpage.de is a collection of visualization projects of ancient Pergamum created primarily for testing and learning visualisation and presentation techniques. Carthago Nova, an award winning Spanish animated film (available in both English and Spanish).
Christian Cameron's Tyrant series - this comprises 6 books running from 326BC down to the Battle of Ipsos in 301BC. While focused on the creation of the Bosporan Kingdom, it moves all around the Hellenistic Mediterranean, taking in the conflicts of the Second, Third and Fourth Wars of the Diadochi. There's also a companion novel to the series, Alexander: God of War, which is unsurprisingly about the man himself, told from the perspective of Ptolemy. Slightly earlier than our period, but not by much, and detailing events which lead into the start of EB. Also has a great deal of cavalry and naval combat, as well as phalanx-based stuff. It's unashamedly boys' own fiction, but with with a modern set of sensibilities (i.e. avoiding the usual sorts of casual racism and sexism you get with older works). On the author's website he has a "prequel" short story about the main character of the first two books, Kineas of Athens. They're about his first battle, against Alexander at Chaeronea, Part 1 and Part 2.
Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series - now comprising 7 very thick tomes, running from the rise of Gaius Marius to the accession of Augustus. The first book in particular is a very good primer on how the Roman political system of the time worked, how elections were run, the importance of the law and so on. They're not action-heavy at all, being focused on the clash of personalities and a broader sweep of events. Battles tend to be at the summary level, not detailed at all, and their impact on the story is more important than who did what.
Alfred Duggan has three works relevant to the period: Elephants and Castles, Winter Quarters and Three's Company. Elephants and Castles is a fictionalised biography of Demetrios Poliorketes ("the Besieger of Cities"), one of the most colourful characters from this period, father of Antigonos Gonatos. It's a whimsical and humorous look at the life of a great name, who appears more a victim of fate and chance than the great man directing events. Winter Quarters is about two Gallic cavalrymen who are part of Marcus Crassus' ill-fated expedition to fight the Parthians. Three's Company is about the second triumvirate, told from the perspective of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, another quite funny one showing a non-entity completely out of his depth in a compact with two sharks, Octavian and Marc Anthony.
Steven Pressfield, The Afghan Campaign. Probably the best novel about the diadochi time period that I ever held in my hands. Really gritty, tough, "realistic", but a fantastic read.
Memoirs of Hadrian (French: Mémoires d'Hadrien), Marguerite Yourcenar. The novel is basically an autobiographical memoir of the Emperor Hadrian, in which the aging emperor retells his life to his successor Marcus Aurelius. It's masterfully written and extremely well-informed, with a glimpse into the mind of the most powerful man in the Ancient world during his life, his life achievements, loves, failures, outlooks, and philosophy. Yourcenar won instant acclaim in the 1950s when it was published (after a decade of writing), and the book is still considered the golden standard for writing historical (biographical) fiction. It's basically what Flaubert's Salammbô was supposed to be. She was also the first woman to be admitted into the Académie française. All in all, I loved the book as a glimpse into Antiquity other works of scholarship and fiction can rarely achieve - I also quite fondly remember her essay about the writing process and trying to situate her story in the long-gone days.
The Kingdom of Armenia, M. Chahin. Made of two parts: part 1 is dedicated to kingdom of Urartu; part 2, kingdom of Armenia from Yervanduni (Orontid) dynasty to the fall of Cilician Armenia. Interesting read.
The Pre-History of the Armenians, 4 volumes. Gabriel Soultanian. A hypothesis on “the pre-history of the Hays, the Indo-European ancestors of the Armenians, tracing their migration from the Balkans into Anatolia and Urartu - which became Hayastan (Armenia).”
Tigranes the Great: A Biography, Herant K. Armen. The only biography of Tigranes (II) the Great to be ever originally published in English. Addressed to general public, its author for the first time tells the story from Armenian point of view. By scrutinizing and cross checking inconsistent and contradictory ancient sources, the author tries to draw a more accurate picture. Tigranes II and Rome: A New Interpretation Based on Primary Sources, Hakob H. Manandyan. Excellent work by one of the major Armenian historians of the twentieth century. As the title suggests, it is one of the first academic attempts to critically analyse the portrayal of Tigranes (and partially Mithridates VI Eupator) by the Greek and Roman authors, to look beyond their biases and reconcile inconsistencies. Highly recommended.
Lost World of the Golden King: In Search of Ancient Afghanistan, Frank L. Holt. Probably the most concise knowledge base about Baktria and the Indo-Greeks. It is also, by far, the most modern book about this topic. Introduces a lot of different theories and information, puts it into context etc. Very thorough and scientific approach. He does not claim to know what exactly happened, but he shows what is likely, what is maybe a bit less likely but still possible and so on. It is very much up to date.
Bactria - The History of a Forgotten Empire, H.G. Rowlinson. Pretty interesting book. I think along with Tarn's standard book one of the best sources about ancient Baktria. Less opionated than Tarn, I think, but Rowlinson's book also has some outdated stuff in it.
Carthage and her neighbours (Safot Softim biQarthadast, Mamla'ha biMassylim)
Hannibal's Last Battle: Zama and Fall of Carthage, B. T. Carey. Good narrative on Punic wars, but the beauty of this book is in detailed graphic reconstructions of all major engagements, both at sea and on land.
The World of the Phoenicians, Sabatino Moscati. A decent survey of Carthaginian history on the second half but really worth it for the chapters on culture, religion and language.
The Historical Atlas of the Celtic World, John Haywood, Barry Cunliffe. Stretches to modern times but half the book is pertinent to the EB time frame. Good maps.
Roman Ireland, Vittorio di Martino. Agricola invaded Ireland! Maybe.
Roman Britain, Plantagenet Somerset Fry. The standard work on Roman sites in Britain with plenty of history. Also a good book for IBFD.
Pyrrhus of Epirus, Jeff Champion. The most recent biography of Pyrrhus, it follows in the king's footsteps as he fought his way through Italy, Sicily and Greece.
It is well written, and while it says that it's intended for a non-academic audience, he does go into quite a few detailes critically citing different historians; why he believes them, why not etc which i think is really great for this kind of work. Also, imho to really understand the book you really need to have a pretty decent knowledge or the period, and look at the map a lot to really understand what's going on, so don't worry about the book being too basic.Will definetly buy more books from the author.
The Illyrians, John Wilkes. Fantastic book - very good on the differences between the Illyrians and the Greeks, really puts them in context.
The Cambridge Companion to the Hellenistic World, ed. Glenn Bugh. Great collection of articles, especially “Hellenistic Military Developments” by the editor and “Hellenistic Economies” by John Davies.
A History of the Greek Word 323-146 BC, M. Cary. Very Helleno-centric, nothing really new but later chapters on economics and governments in post Alexandrine Greece very interesting.
The Hellenistic World and the Coming of Rome, Erich Gruen. Only had a chance to skim through this but a very interesting work: not a chronological history but more an analysis of the impact on Greek thought and life of Roman dominance, i.e. how the previously world-conquering Hellenes adjusted to being conquered.
The Social and Economic History of the Greek World, M. Rostovtzeff. 3 volumes, covers the EB period in depth with great chapters on the 'minor monarchies' (Pergamon, Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia and the Black Sea City-states and the Bosporan Kingdom).
The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek, Barry Cunliffe. A Massaliot Greek's travels to Britain in 320 BC, and lots of stuff about the interaction between the Hellenic and Celtic worlds. Well written.
The City of Sharp Nosed Fish, Greeks Lives in Roman Egypt, Peter Parsons. The story of the late 19th century expedition of Grenfell and Hunt to the ruins of Oxyrhynchos, outside of Cairo, where they found a massive horde of papyri detailing the everyday lives of Greek colonist in Egypt from Alexander up to Roman times. Fascinating.
The Guardian Review
Rise of the Greeks, M. Grant. Pretty dry and reviews the entire Archaic Greek world region by region, so it's good for people who are already well-read on classical Greece.
Philip of Macedon, N. G. L. Hammond. Excellent piece that also draws light on the workings of contemporary city-states and political situation in Greece. Highly recommended.
The Nature of Alexander, Mary Renault. The Grandmother of Classical Historical Fiction gives her non-fictionary opinion of Alexander. Well written and also provides a glimpse behind the scenes of her famous trilogy.
Philip V of Macedon, F. W. Walbank. A good biography of Philip V.
The Macedonian War Machine 359 - 281 BC, David Karunanithy. This book focuses on neglected aspects of the Macedonian army such as recruitment, training, marching, logistics, seige equipment and crossing geographic obstacles (more explored areas such as the sarissa and the phalanx are left for other authors). This is a fascinating book, well researched and referenced, describing a highly professional and organised army and military state. The author also offers some interesting speculations where evidence is lacking. Particularly intriguing are the changes in the army and armour (linen to metallic) that may have taken after Alexander took over and had access to all the riches and resources of the Achaemenid empire. The Macedonians in Athens, 322-229 B.C., eds. Olga Palagia, Stephen V. Tracy.
Ian Worthington (University of Missouri-Columbia) Review
Ancient Persia : from 550 BC to 650 AD, Josef Wiesehöfer (trans. Azizeh Azodi), Excellent modern study covering Achaemenid, Arsacid and Sasanian Period (Seleucids are largely omitted, sadly). It is a MUST!
Rome and Persia in late Antiquity: Neighbours and Rivals, Beate Dignas, Engelbert Winter. Very good overview of the development of mtual relations from Carrhae to the fall of Sasanian Empire, studying not only mutual wars, but also the development of the diplomatic protocol, trade and cultural interchange.
Arsacids and Sasanians, M. Rahim Shayegan. An amazing book that goes into ideology of the Arsakids and how the Sassanians both co-opted and diverged from this model. Really amazing book, and even employs the Bablyonian Astronomical Dairies. Recommended for any budding historian of the Near East.
Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran, Parvaneh Pourshariati. Absolutely amazing book that goes into great detail about the Arsakid social structure and very intricate detail about the Sassanian revolution. She argues an up-and-coming idea that the Sassanians were likely a Parthian clan themselves, and that the Sassanian empire should really be called the Sassanian-Parthian empire. Really good stuff, and would highly recommend it.
An Introduction to the Coinage of Parthia, David Sellwood. This book has been instrumental in Parthian historiography. Without this work, literally all the stuff that we have on the Parthians (especially the early Parthians) would not exist. This guy (David Sellwood) was THE guy in Parthian numismatics and wrote this amazing book.
King of the Seven Climes: A History of the Ancient Iranian World, T. Daryaee. A very new textbook on the Iranian history produced by well-known author Touraj Daryaee. It's probably a too general for the seasoned EBII Pahlava players, but for the new to the subject it may be just perfect.
Cleopatra, Ernle Bradford. Begins with a concise and informative overview of the Ptolemies, and includes the most interesting analysis of Caesar's character. Makes one think.
The Enemies of Rome, Philip Matyszak. Greatest leaders that fought Rome, from Hannibal to Attila. Addressed to general public somewhat lacks depth. It is obviously impossible to tell every character's story thoroughly in a single volume. Fine read nevertheless.
A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War, Gary Forsythe. As indicated by the title, the overall approach adopted throughout this volume is rather critical toward the general reliability of the surviving ancient sources of early Roman history. Agreeing with M. I. Finley's famous dictum that "the ancients' ability to invent and their capacity to believe are persistently underestimated," the author regards a critical approach as entirely justified and necessary. Read this a few months ago and loved it. When I first started reading Roman history most books I read were mostly about the post Punic war era when Rome was already a great power so this book was perfect for me in bridging the cap from the foundation of Rome to the First Punic war.
The Army of the Roman Republic: From the Regal Period to the Army of Julius Caesar, Michael M. Sage.
From Samarkhand to Sardis: A New Approach to the Seleucid Empire, S. Sherwin-White, A. Kuhrt. One of the best on Seleukids.
Available Online The Rise of the Seleukid Empire (323-223 BC): Seleukos I to Seleukos III, Volume 1, John D. Grainger. Very interesting read! this is the first volume in a trilogy the rest of which is still to be published.It is a great read but lacks detailed maps (would be really helpfull as he gets into a lot of specific details about places), and it gets anticlimactic from time to time; the major battles of the diadochi get resolved really quickly. Still overall a very good read. A lot to learn, especially for the period between Alexander's death and the start of EB.
Judas Maccabaues: The Jewish Struggle Against Seleucids, B. Bar-Kochva. The best information about Maccabean army. It also includes excellent chapters/Appendices about Seleucid military, best used with author´s book about Seleucid army.
Available Online
Seleucid and Arsacid Studies: A Progress Report on Developments in Source Research, Jozef Wolski. A very interesting study that has continued from his earlier works on the Seleukids and Arsasids using new research results based on the Graeco-Latin sources, primarily Strabo and Justin, and analysis of recently discovered Babylonian sources will prove to be a very interesting study for those involved in this field of research.
Bulgaria in Antiquity, R. F. Hoddinott. The above three contain sections on the Getai and their environs in the EB time frame, also tons of photos and cultural info, plus a lot about the Celtic kingdom of Komontorius from ca. 280 to 220 BC.
The Central Balkan Tribes In Pre Roman Times: Triballi, Autariatae, Dardanians, Scordisci And Moesians, Fanula Papazoglu. Basically what it says on the cover. I found it somewhat dry to read, but this one is probably a very good introduction to the region and time-frame. The Policy of Darius and Xerxes towards Thrace and Macedonia, Miroslav Ivanov Vasilev. Again, what it says on the cover. As can be expected this book focuses on a very specific time-frame and in my opinion it seems to require a basic familiarity with the subject matter as it doesn't really provide a chronological overview and mentions several historic events without further explanation.
Thrace & the Thracians, Alexander Fol, Ivan Marazov. Nice introduction to the subject and provides a very extensive overview of Thracian religion and the ideology of Thracian kingship. I sadly found the historical overview included at the end rather short and somewhat lacking in detail. At times I also got the feeling the authors were somewhat biased, but this may have been the result of my own bias, so to speak. I will leave this for potential readers to decide for themselves.
The Odrysian Kingdom of Thrace: Orpheus Unmasked, Z.H. Archibald. Oh boy, this is a tough one. Probably the most extensive and detailed of them all, but also the least suitable for anyone unfamiliar with the subject or historical works in general. Expect archaeological and historical terminology, numismatic discussions and in-depth theorizing about (e.g.) the relations between Odrysian princes and the Greek colonies both on the coastline and inland. For my research purposes it was unfortunate that the focus does not extend beyond the early Hellenistic period, but I don't blame the author for drawing a line at some point (the book is heavy enough as it is ).The Huns, Rome.
Links to lingustics and archeology of Thrace, from Genghis Skahn.
General Histories of the Period, Theoretical Works on Language, Economics, Demographics etc.
Hellenistic Age, P. Thonemann. a brief introduction to the period with the outline of main events and achievements. a good choice for a lazy weekend read. the downside - a considerable one if one tries to delve deeper into the topics - is a total lack of notes. there is recommended reading but the total lack of foot/end-notes is buffing, especially considering its published by OUP
I think it is important to remind people that some (many) of these works are not themselves primary sources, even though they are old. Livy's history of the early republic is a secondary work of scholarship in the same way that Tom Holland's Rubicon is. "Primary" vs. "Secondary" is not better vs. worse, but merely a distinction of kind.
Most of these are available online at either the Library of Ancient Texts Online or the Perseus Project, and they are in the Loeb Library. Herodotus, The Histories Xenophon, Anabasis, Hellenica, Cyropaedia, Constitution of Sparta, Ways and Means, The Cavalry General, On Horsemanship Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War Aristotle, Athenian Constitution, Politics, Nicomachean Ethics Polybius, The Histories (The Rise of the Roman Empire) Plutarch, The Parallel Lives, The Moralia Aeschines, Against Ctesiphon Demosthenes, Philippics, Orations Arrian, The Campaigns of Alexander, Array Against the Alans, Art of Tactics, Indica G. Julius Caesar, Gallic War, Civil War Appian, Roman History Titus Livius, Ad Urbe Condita M. Tullius Cicero, Too Many to List;try the Verrine Orations and the Caesarian Speeches to start G. Suetonius Tranquillus, Lives of the Twelve Caesars Josephus, The Jewish War, Jewish Antiquities, Against Apion Strabo, The Geograhy Tacitus, The Histories, The Annals of Imperial Rome, Germania, Agricola Cassius Dio, Roman History G. Sallustius Crispus, The Catiline Conspiracy, The Jugurthine War G. Plinius Caecilius Secundus, Epistulae Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities http://thelandmarkancienthistories.com/
Web Resourcesand Podcasts
A very selective and short list of some of the better online resources that might be of interest to the EB community. Not intended to be comprehensive. The History of Rome. Fantastic Podcast, to be found on iTunes. A must for all EB players. 12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of the Byzantine Empire. Another fantastic podcast, not in the EB time frame but still worth a listen. In Our Time. Well known BBC radio programme hosted by Melvyn Baron Bragg. A wide range of subjects, some quite germane to EB. Also on iTunes.
iTunes U offers podcasts of university lectures and courses for free. The sound quality is often mediocre as these are not recorded specifically for webcasting but just as a byproduct of a lecture or symposium. Still some good stuff. You find these by going to the iTunes Store and clicking on iTunesU. Stanford
Geography of World Cultures, Martin Lewis.
Hannibal, Patrick Hunt.
Alexander in Fact, Alexander in Fiction, Alexander's Predecessors, John L'Heureux.
Egypt's Hold on the Greek Imagination, Marsh McCall. Santa Clara University
History 110 Roman Republic, Isabelle Pafford. Loyola Marymount University
King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans, 2nd Annual Classics Archaeology Symposium.
University of Southern Florida
Online History Workshop of Dr Robert Bedrosian. "Knowledge freely given," an absolute gold mine for all those seriously interested in history of ancient and medieval Middle East and Transcaucasia. Features many unique and hard to find sources. Pergamon.secondpage.de- 3D reconstruction of Pergamon.
Pergamon.secondpage.de is a collection of visualization projects of ancient Pergamum created primarily for testing and learning visualisation and presentation techniques. Carthago Nova, an award winning Spanish animated film (available in both English and Spanish).
Christian Cameron's Tyrant series - this comprises 6 books running from 326BC down to the Battle of Ipsos in 301BC. While focused on the creation of the Bosporan Kingdom, it moves all around the Hellenistic Mediterranean, taking in the conflicts of the Second, Third and Fourth Wars of the Diadochi. There's also a companion novel to the series, Alexander: God of War, which is unsurprisingly about the man himself, told from the perspective of Ptolemy. Slightly earlier than our period, but not by much, and detailing events which lead into the start of EB. Also has a great deal of cavalry and naval combat, as well as phalanx-based stuff. It's unashamedly boys' own fiction, but with with a modern set of sensibilities (i.e. avoiding the usual sorts of casual racism and sexism you get with older works). On the author's website he has a "prequel" short story about the main character of the first two books, Kineas of Athens. They're about his first battle, against Alexander at Chaeronea, Part 1 and Part 2.
Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series - now comprising 7 very thick tomes, running from the rise of Gaius Marius to the accession of Augustus. The first book in particular is a very good primer on how the Roman political system of the time worked, how elections were run, the importance of the law and so on. They're not action-heavy at all, being focused on the clash of personalities and a broader sweep of events. Battles tend to be at the summary level, not detailed at all, and their impact on the story is more important than who did what.
Alfred Duggan has three works relevant to the period: Elephants and Castles, Winter Quarters and Three's Company. Elephants and Castles is a fictionalised biography of Demetrios Poliorketes ("the Besieger of Cities"), one of the most colourful characters from this period, father of Antigonos Gonatos. It's a whimsical and humorous look at the life of a great name, who appears more a victim of fate and chance than the great man directing events. Winter Quarters is about two Gallic cavalrymen who are part of Marcus Crassus' ill-fated expedition to fight the Parthians. Three's Company is about the second triumvirate, told from the perspective of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, another quite funny one showing a non-entity completely out of his depth in a compact with two sharks, Octavian and Marc Anthony.
Steven Pressfield, The Afghan Campaign. Probably the best novel about the diadochi time period that I ever held in my hands. Really gritty, tough, "realistic", but a fantastic read.
Memoirs of Hadrian (French: Mémoires d'Hadrien), Marguerite Yourcenar. The novel is basically an autobiographical memoir of the Emperor Hadrian, in which the aging emperor retells his life to his successor Marcus Aurelius. It's masterfully written and extremely well-informed, with a glimpse into the mind of the most powerful man in the Ancient world during his life, his life achievements, loves, failures, outlooks, and philosophy. Yourcenar won instant acclaim in the 1950s when it was published (after a decade of writing), and the book is still considered the golden standard for writing historical (biographical) fiction. It's basically what Flaubert's Salammbô was supposed to be. She was also the first woman to be admitted into the Académie française. All in all, I loved the book as a glimpse into Antiquity other works of scholarship and fiction can rarely achieve - I also quite fondly remember her essay about the writing process and trying to situate her story in the long-gone days.
Like I said in another post, Memoirs of Hadrian is an absolute classic in my opinion. In addition, I'd like to thank you for this compendium of books. Insightful to say the least.
The Kingdom of Armenia, M. Chahin. Made of two parts: part 1 is dedicated to kingdom of Urartu; part 2, kingdom of Armenia from Yervanduni (Orontid) dynasty to the fall of Cilician Armenia. Interesting read.
The Pre-History of the Armenians, 4 volumes. Gabriel Soultanian. A hypothesis on “the pre-history of the Hays, the Indo-European ancestors of the Armenians, tracing their migration from the Balkans into Anatolia and Urartu - which became Hayastan (Armenia).”
Tigranes the Great: A Biography, Herant K. Armen. The only biography of Tigranes (II) the Great to be ever originally published in English. Addressed to general public, its author for the first time tells the story from Armenian point of view. By scrutinizing and cross checking inconsistent and contradictory ancient sources, the author tries to draw a more accurate picture. Tigranes II and Rome: A New Interpretation Based on Primary Sources, Hakob H. Manandyan. Excellent work by one of the major Armenian historians of the twentieth century. As the title suggests, it is one of the first academic attempts to critically analyse the portrayal of Tigranes (and partially Mithridates VI Eupator) by the Greek and Roman authors, to look beyond their biases and reconcile inconsistencies. Highly recommended.
Lost World of the Golden King: In Search of Ancient Afghanistan, Frank L. Holt. Probably the most concise knowledge base about Baktria and the Indo-Greeks. It is also, by far, the most modern book about this topic. Introduces a lot of different theories and information, puts it into context etc. Very thorough and scientific approach. He does not claim to know what exactly happened, but he shows what is likely, what is maybe a bit less likely but still possible and so on. It is very much up to date.
Bactria - The History of a Forgotten Empire, H.G. Rowlinson. Pretty interesting book. I think along with Tarn's standard book one of the best sources about ancient Baktria. Less opionated than Tarn, I think, but Rowlinson's book also has some outdated stuff in it.
Carthage and her neighbours (Safot Softim biQarthadast, Mamla'ha biMassylim)
Hannibal's Last Battle: Zama and Fall of Carthage, B. T. Carey. Good narrative on Punic wars, but the beauty of this book is in detailed graphic reconstructions of all major engagements, both at sea and on land.
The World of the Phoenicians, Sabatino Moscati. A decent survey of Carthaginian history on the second half but really worth it for the chapters on culture, religion and language.
The Historical Atlas of the Celtic World, John Haywood, Barry Cunliffe. Stretches to modern times but half the book is pertinent to the EB time frame. Good maps.
Roman Ireland, Vittorio di Martino. Agricola invaded Ireland! Maybe.
Roman Britain, Plantagenet Somerset Fry. The standard work on Roman sites in Britain with plenty of history. Also a good book for IBFD.
Pyrrhus of Epirus, Jeff Champion. The most recent biography of Pyrrhus, it follows in the king's footsteps as he fought his way through Italy, Sicily and Greece.
It is well written, and while it says that it's intended for a non-academic audience, he does go into quite a few detailes critically citing different historians; why he believes them, why not etc which i think is really great for this kind of work. Also, imho to really understand the book you really need to have a pretty decent knowledge or the period, and look at the map a lot to really understand what's going on, so don't worry about the book being too basic.Will definetly buy more books from the author.
The Illyrians, John Wilkes. Fantastic book - very good on the differences between the Illyrians and the Greeks, really puts them in context.
The Cambridge Companion to the Hellenistic World, ed. Glenn Bugh. Great collection of articles, especially “Hellenistic Military Developments” by the editor and “Hellenistic Economies” by John Davies.
A History of the Greek Word 323-146 BC, M. Cary. Very Helleno-centric, nothing really new but later chapters on economics and governments in post Alexandrine Greece very interesting.
The Hellenistic World and the Coming of Rome, Erich Gruen. Only had a chance to skim through this but a very interesting work: not a chronological history but more an analysis of the impact on Greek thought and life of Roman dominance, i.e. how the previously world-conquering Hellenes adjusted to being conquered.
The Social and Economic History of the Greek World, M. Rostovtzeff. 3 volumes, covers the EB period in depth with great chapters on the 'minor monarchies' (Pergamon, Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia and the Black Sea City-states and the Bosporan Kingdom).
The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek, Barry Cunliffe. A Massaliot Greek's travels to Britain in 320 BC, and lots of stuff about the interaction between the Hellenic and Celtic worlds. Well written.
The City of Sharp Nosed Fish, Greeks Lives in Roman Egypt, Peter Parsons. The story of the late 19th century expedition of Grenfell and Hunt to the ruins of Oxyrhynchos, outside of Cairo, where they found a massive horde of papyri detailing the everyday lives of Greek colonist in Egypt from Alexander up to Roman times. Fascinating.
The Guardian Review
Rise of the Greeks, M. Grant. Pretty dry and reviews the entire Archaic Greek world region by region, so it's good for people who are already well-read on classical Greece.
Philip of Macedon, N. G. L. Hammond. Excellent piece that also draws light on the workings of contemporary city-states and political situation in Greece. Highly recommended.
The Nature of Alexander, Mary Renault. The Grandmother of Classical Historical Fiction gives her non-fictionary opinion of Alexander. Well written and also provides a glimpse behind the scenes of her famous trilogy.
Philip V of Macedon, F. W. Walbank. A good biography of Philip V.
The Macedonian War Machine 359 - 281 BC, David Karunanithy. This book focuses on neglected aspects of the Macedonian army such as recruitment, training, marching, logistics, seige equipment and crossing geographic obstacles (more explored areas such as the sarissa and the phalanx are left for other authors). This is a fascinating book, well researched and referenced, describing a highly professional and organised army and military state. The author also offers some interesting speculations where evidence is lacking. Particularly intriguing are the changes in the army and armour (linen to metallic) that may have taken after Alexander took over and had access to all the riches and resources of the Achaemenid empire. The Macedonians in Athens, 322-229 B.C., eds. Olga Palagia, Stephen V. Tracy.
Ian Worthington (University of Missouri-Columbia) Review
Ancient Persia : from 550 BC to 650 AD, Josef Wiesehöfer (trans. Azizeh Azodi), Excellent modern study covering Achaemenid, Arsacid and Sasanian Period (Seleucids are largely omitted, sadly). It is a MUST!
Rome and Persia in late Antiquity: Neighbours and Rivals, Beate Dignas, Engelbert Winter. Very good overview of the development of mtual relations from Carrhae to the fall of Sasanian Empire, studying not only mutual wars, but also the development of the diplomatic protocol, trade and cultural interchange.
Arsacids and Sasanians, M. Rahim Shayegan. An amazing book that goes into ideology of the Arsakids and how the Sassanians both co-opted and diverged from this model. Really amazing book, and even employs the Bablyonian Astronomical Dairies. Recommended for any budding historian of the Near East.
Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran, Parvaneh Pourshariati. Absolutely amazing book that goes into great detail about the Arsakid social structure and very intricate detail about the Sassanian revolution. She argues an up-and-coming idea that the Sassanians were likely a Parthian clan themselves, and that the Sassanian empire should really be called the Sassanian-Parthian empire. Really good stuff, and would highly recommend it.
An Introduction to the Coinage of Parthia, David Sellwood. This book has been instrumental in Parthian historiography. Without this work, literally all the stuff that we have on the Parthians (especially the early Parthians) would not exist. This guy (David Sellwood) was THE guy in Parthian numismatics and wrote this amazing book.
King of the Seven Climes: A History of the Ancient Iranian World, T. Daryaee. A very new textbook on the Iranian history produced by well-known author Touraj Daryaee. It's probably a too general for the seasoned EBII Pahlava players, but for the new to the subject it may be just perfect.
Cleopatra, Ernle Bradford. Begins with a concise and informative overview of the Ptolemies, and includes the most interesting analysis of Caesar's character. Makes one think.
The Enemies of Rome, Philip Matyszak. Greatest leaders that fought Rome, from Hannibal to Attila. Addressed to general public somewhat lacks depth. It is obviously impossible to tell every character's story thoroughly in a single volume. Fine read nevertheless.
A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War, Gary Forsythe. As indicated by the title, the overall approach adopted throughout this volume is rather critical toward the general reliability of the surviving ancient sources of early Roman history. Agreeing with M. I. Finley's famous dictum that "the ancients' ability to invent and their capacity to believe are persistently underestimated," the author regards a critical approach as entirely justified and necessary. Read this a few months ago and loved it. When I first started reading Roman history most books I read were mostly about the post Punic war era when Rome was already a great power so this book was perfect for me in bridging the cap from the foundation of Rome to the First Punic war.
The Army of the Roman Republic: From the Regal Period to the Army of Julius Caesar, Michael M. Sage.
From Samarkhand to Sardis: A New Approach to the Seleucid Empire, S. Sherwin-White, A. Kuhrt. One of the best on Seleukids.
Available Online The Rise of the Seleukid Empire (323-223 BC): Seleukos I to Seleukos III, Volume 1, John D. Grainger. Very interesting read! this is the first volume in a trilogy the rest of which is still to be published.It is a great read but lacks detailed maps (would be really helpfull as he gets into a lot of specific details about places), and it gets anticlimactic from time to time; the major battles of the diadochi get resolved really quickly. Still overall a very good read. A lot to learn, especially for the period between Alexander's death and the start of EB.
Judas Maccabaues: The Jewish Struggle Against Seleucids, B. Bar-Kochva. The best information about Maccabean army. It also includes excellent chapters/Appendices about Seleucid military, best used with author´s book about Seleucid army.
Available Online
Seleucid and Arsacid Studies: A Progress Report on Developments in Source Research, Jozef Wolski. A very interesting study that has continued from his earlier works on the Seleukids and Arsasids using new research results based on the Graeco-Latin sources, primarily Strabo and Justin, and analysis of recently discovered Babylonian sources will prove to be a very interesting study for those involved in this field of research.
Bulgaria in Antiquity, R. F. Hoddinott. The above three contain sections on the Getai and their environs in the EB time frame, also tons of photos and cultural info, plus a lot about the Celtic kingdom of Komontorius from ca. 280 to 220 BC.
The Central Balkan Tribes In Pre Roman Times: Triballi, Autariatae, Dardanians, Scordisci And Moesians, Fanula Papazoglu. Basically what it says on the cover. I found it somewhat dry to read, but this one is probably a very good introduction to the region and time-frame. The Policy of Darius and Xerxes towards Thrace and Macedonia, Miroslav Ivanov Vasilev. Again, what it says on the cover. As can be expected this book focuses on a very specific time-frame and in my opinion it seems to require a basic familiarity with the subject matter as it doesn't really provide a chronological overview and mentions several historic events without further explanation.
Thrace & the Thracians, Alexander Fol, Ivan Marazov. Nice introduction to the subject and provides a very extensive overview of Thracian religion and the ideology of Thracian kingship. I sadly found the historical overview included at the end rather short and somewhat lacking in detail. At times I also got the feeling the authors were somewhat biased, but this may have been the result of my own bias, so to speak. I will leave this for potential readers to decide for themselves.
The Odrysian Kingdom of Thrace: Orpheus Unmasked, Z.H. Archibald. Oh boy, this is a tough one. Probably the most extensive and detailed of them all, but also the least suitable for anyone unfamiliar with the subject or historical works in general. Expect archaeological and historical terminology, numismatic discussions and in-depth theorizing about (e.g.) the relations between Odrysian princes and the Greek colonies both on the coastline and inland. For my research purposes it was unfortunate that the focus does not extend beyond the early Hellenistic period, but I don't blame the author for drawing a line at some point (the book is heavy enough as it is ).The Huns, Rome.
Links to lingustics and archeology of Thrace, from Genghis Skahn.
General Histories of the Period, Theoretical Works on Language, Economics, Demographics etc.
Hellenistic Age, P. Thonemann. a brief introduction to the period with the outline of main events and achievements. a good choice for a lazy weekend read. the downside - a considerable one if one tries to delve deeper into the topics - is a total lack of notes. there is recommended reading but the total lack of foot/end-notes is buffing, especially considering its published by OUP
I think it is important to remind people that some (many) of these works are not themselves primary sources, even though they are old. Livy's history of the early republic is a secondary work of scholarship in the same way that Tom Holland's Rubicon is. "Primary" vs. "Secondary" is not better vs. worse, but merely a distinction of kind.
Most of these are available online at either the Library of Ancient Texts Online or the Perseus Project, and they are in the Loeb Library. Herodotus, The Histories Xenophon, Anabasis, Hellenica, Cyropaedia, Constitution of Sparta, Ways and Means, The Cavalry General, On Horsemanship Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War Aristotle, Athenian Constitution, Politics, Nicomachean Ethics Polybius, The Histories (The Rise of the Roman Empire) Plutarch, The Parallel Lives, The Moralia Aeschines, Against Ctesiphon Demosthenes, Philippics, Orations Arrian, The Campaigns of Alexander, Array Against the Alans, Art of Tactics, Indica G. Julius Caesar, Gallic War, Civil War Appian, Roman History Titus Livius, Ad Urbe Condita M. Tullius Cicero, Too Many to List;try the Verrine Orations and the Caesarian Speeches to start G. Suetonius Tranquillus, Lives of the Twelve Caesars Josephus, The Jewish War, Jewish Antiquities, Against Apion Strabo, The Geograhy Tacitus, The Histories, The Annals of Imperial Rome, Germania, Agricola Cassius Dio, Roman History G. Sallustius Crispus, The Catiline Conspiracy, The Jugurthine War G. Plinius Caecilius Secundus, Epistulae Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities http://thelandmarkancienthistories.com/
Web Resourcesand Podcasts
A very selective and short list of some of the better online resources that might be of interest to the EB community. Not intended to be comprehensive. The History of Rome. Fantastic Podcast, to be found on iTunes. A must for all EB players. 12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of the Byzantine Empire. Another fantastic podcast, not in the EB time frame but still worth a listen. In Our Time. Well known BBC radio programme hosted by Melvyn Baron Bragg. A wide range of subjects, some quite germane to EB. Also on iTunes.
iTunes U offers podcasts of university lectures and courses for free. The sound quality is often mediocre as these are not recorded specifically for webcasting but just as a byproduct of a lecture or symposium. Still some good stuff. You find these by going to the iTunes Store and clicking on iTunesU. Stanford
Geography of World Cultures, Martin Lewis.
Hannibal, Patrick Hunt.
Alexander in Fact, Alexander in Fiction, Alexander's Predecessors, John L'Heureux.
Egypt's Hold on the Greek Imagination, Marsh McCall. Santa Clara University
History 110 Roman Republic, Isabelle Pafford. Loyola Marymount University
King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans, 2nd Annual Classics Archaeology Symposium.
University of Southern Florida
Online History Workshop of Dr Robert Bedrosian. "Knowledge freely given," an absolute gold mine for all those seriously interested in history of ancient and medieval Middle East and Transcaucasia. Features many unique and hard to find sources. Pergamon.secondpage.de- 3D reconstruction of Pergamon.
Pergamon.secondpage.de is a collection of visualization projects of ancient Pergamum created primarily for testing and learning visualisation and presentation techniques. Carthago Nova, an award winning Spanish animated film (available in both English and Spanish).
Christian Cameron's Tyrant series - this comprises 6 books running from 326BC down to the Battle of Ipsos in 301BC. While focused on the creation of the Bosporan Kingdom, it moves all around the Hellenistic Mediterranean, taking in the conflicts of the Second, Third and Fourth Wars of the Diadochi. There's also a companion novel to the series, Alexander: God of War, which is unsurprisingly about the man himself, told from the perspective of Ptolemy. Slightly earlier than our period, but not by much, and detailing events which lead into the start of EB. Also has a great deal of cavalry and naval combat, as well as phalanx-based stuff. It's unashamedly boys' own fiction, but with with a modern set of sensibilities (i.e. avoiding the usual sorts of casual racism and sexism you get with older works). On the author's website he has a "prequel" short story about the main character of the first two books, Kineas of Athens. They're about his first battle, against Alexander at Chaeronea, Part 1 and Part 2.
Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series - now comprising 7 very thick tomes, running from the rise of Gaius Marius to the accession of Augustus. The first book in particular is a very good primer on how the Roman political system of the time worked, how elections were run, the importance of the law and so on. They're not action-heavy at all, being focused on the clash of personalities and a broader sweep of events. Battles tend to be at the summary level, not detailed at all, and their impact on the story is more important than who did what.
Alfred Duggan has three works relevant to the period: Elephants and Castles, Winter Quarters and Three's Company. Elephants and Castles is a fictionalised biography of Demetrios Poliorketes ("the Besieger of Cities"), one of the most colourful characters from this period, father of Antigonos Gonatos. It's a whimsical and humorous look at the life of a great name, who appears more a victim of fate and chance than the great man directing events. Winter Quarters is about two Gallic cavalrymen who are part of Marcus Crassus' ill-fated expedition to fight the Parthians. Three's Company is about the second triumvirate, told from the perspective of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, another quite funny one showing a non-entity completely out of his depth in a compact with two sharks, Octavian and Marc Anthony.
Steven Pressfield, The Afghan Campaign. Probably the best novel about the diadochi time period that I ever held in my hands. Really gritty, tough, "realistic", but a fantastic read.
Memoirs of Hadrian (French: Mémoires d'Hadrien), Marguerite Yourcenar. The novel is basically an autobiographical memoir of the Emperor Hadrian, in which the aging emperor retells his life to his successor Marcus Aurelius. It's masterfully written and extremely well-informed, with a glimpse into the mind of the most powerful man in the Ancient world during his life, his life achievements, loves, failures, outlooks, and philosophy. Yourcenar won instant acclaim in the 1950s when it was published (after a decade of writing), and the book is still considered the golden standard for writing historical (biographical) fiction. It's basically what Flaubert's Salammbô was supposed to be. She was also the first woman to be admitted into the Académie française. All in all, I loved the book as a glimpse into Antiquity other works of scholarship and fiction can rarely achieve - I also quite fondly remember her essay about the writing process and trying to situate her story in the long-gone days.
You've got some good books there already. From my own library, I will mention these:
Caesar, by Adrian Goldsworthy. A biography on this fascinating man.
And if you want to go a little academic,
The Roman Triumph, by Mary Beard. A book not on the triumph of Roman arms and civilization, but of the Roman ceremony triumph. It's about, as we can read on the back, "the profound impoerance of the triumph in Roman culture - and for monarchs, dynasts, and generals ever since. But how can we piece together its elusive traces in art and litterature? Beard addresses these questions, opening a window on the intriguing process of sifting through and making sense of what constitutes "history"".
If you're less inclined towards books, or you just like the relaxation of letting someone else talk while you listen, I can recommend a few youtube channels:
Neither is exclusively about Rome and the Roman era, but both are mostly about that era. Lots of interesting information, although it is often a bit condensed into 20-30 minute chunks.
