Title: Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire and the Birth of Europe

Author: William Rosen

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Price: £12.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: The Ancient World

Category: Ancient World

In the middle of the sixth century, the world's smallest organism collided with the world's mightiest empire. With the death of twenty-five million people, the Roman Empire, under her last great emperor, Justinian, was decimated. Before Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that carries bubonic plague, was finished, both the Roman and Persian empires were easy pickings for the armies of Muhammad on their conquering march out of Arabia. In its wake, the plague - history's first pandemic - marked the transition from the age of Mediterranean empires to the age of European nation-states - from antiquity to the medieval world. "Justinian's Flea" is the story of that collision, a narrative history that weaves together evolutionary microbiology, architecture, military history, geography, rat and flea ecology, jurisprudence, theology, epidemiology, and the economics of the silk trade.The climax of "Justinian's Flea" - the summer of 542, when Constantinople witnessed the death of 5,000 of its citizens every day - is revealed through the experiences of the remarkable individuals whose lives are a window onto a remarkable age: Justinian himself, of course, but also his general Belisarius, the greatest soldier between Caesar and Saladin, whose conquests marked the end of imperial rule in Italy and Africa; his architect, Anthemius, the mathematician-engineer who built Constantinople's Hagia Sophia (and whose brother, Alexander, was the great physician of the plague years); Tribonian, the jurist who created the Justinianic Code, the source of Europe's tradition of Civil Law; and, finally, his empress Theodora, the one-time prostitute who became co-ruler of the empire, the most politically powerful woman in European history until Elizabeth I.

Title: Palestine in Late Antiquity

Author: Hagith Sivan

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Price: £65.00

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: The Ancient World

Category: Ancient World

Hagith Sivan offers an unconventional study of one corner of the Roman Empire in late antiquity, weaving around the theme of conflict strands of distinct histories, and of peoples and places, highlighting Palestine's polyethnicity, and cultural, topographical, architectural, and religious diversity. During the period 300-650 CE the fortunes of the 'east' and the 'west' were intimately linked. Thousands of westerners in the guise of pilgrims, pious monks, soldiers, and civilians flocked to what became a Christian holy land. This is the era that witnessed the transformation of Jerusalem from a sleepy Roman town built on the ruins of spectacular Herodian Jerusalem into an international centre of Christianity and ultimately into a centre of Islamic worship. It was also a period of unparalleled prosperity for the frontier zones, and a time when religious experts were actively engaged in guiding their communities while contesting each other's rights to the Bible and its interpretation.

Title: Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt

Author: Joyce Tyldesley

Publisher: Profile

Price: £20.00

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: The Ancient World

Category: Ancient World

The Romans regarded her as "fatale monstrum", a female Saddam Hussein. Pascal said the shape of her nose changed the history of the world. Shakespeare and Tiepolo (and Elizabeth Taylor) portrayed her as an icon of tragic beauty. But who was Cleopatra, really? She was the last ruler of the Macedonian dynasty of Ptolemies who had ruled Egypt for three centuries. Highly educated (she was the only one of the Ptolemies to read and speak ancient Egyptian as well as the court Greek) and very clever (her famous liaisons with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony were as much to do with politics as the heart), she steered her kingdom through impossibly taxing internal problems and against greedy Roman imperialism. Stripping away our preconceptions, many of them as old as her Roman enemies, Joyce Tyldesley uses all her skills as an Egyptologist to give us a rich picture of a country and its Egyptian queen in this magnificent biography.

Title: Hannibal's Last Battle

Author: Brian Todd Carey

Publisher: Pen & Sword

Price: £19.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: The Ancient World

Category: Ancient World

At Zama, in what is now Tunisia in 202 BC, the armies of two empires clashed. The Romans under Scipio Africanus won a bloody, decisive victory over Hannibal's Carthaginians. Scipio's victory signalled a shift in the balance of power in the ancient world. Brian Todd Carey's compelling reconstruction of the battle, and of the gruelling war that led up to it, gives a fascinating insight into the Carthaginian and Roman methods of waging war. And it offers a critical assessment of the contrasting qualities and leadership styles of Hannibal and Scipio, the two most celebrated commanders of their age.

Title: Hittite Fortifications

Author: Konstantin Nossov

Publisher: Osprey

Price: £11.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: The Ancient World

Category: Ancient World

In the second half of the third millennium BC the Indo-European tribe known as the Hittites migrated and settled in Central Anatolia, at that time a land of small city-states whose rulers lived in fortresses. These fortifications enabled the Hittites to transform themselves into a Bronze Age super-power, defeating the Egyptians at Kadesh in c.1274 BC. Konstantin Nossov examines the fortifications constructed by the Hittites in their efforts to sustain and then halt the decline of their once flourishing empire. Providing an in-depth anatomy of the fortresses, focusing on the major sites of the principal city Hattusha as well as sites at Alacahöyük and Karatepe with full-colour reconstructions, this is an intriguing glimpse into the history of an empire which at its height rivalled the Egyptians and Assyrians. It concludes with an examination of these sites as they survive today, information that will appeal both to history enthusiasts and tourists visiting the area.

Title: Thermopylae 480 BC

Author: Nic Fields

Publisher: Osprey

Price: £13.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: The Ancient World

Category: Ancient World

An authoritative re-telling of one of the greatest tales of heroism of all time and a decisive moment for the history of the world, Leonidas and the 300 Spartans' fight to the death against overwhelming Persian forces preserved the future of Greece and the golden age of classical civilization. Nic Fields vividly describes the battle for the pass of Thermopylae as the combined Greek forces held off the army of Xerxes, buying time for a retreat which would save Greece. Lavishly illustrated and with full-colour artwork, detailed maps and dramatic battle scenes, this is an in-depth analysis of one of the most famous acts of resolute defence in the face of overwhelming odds.

Title: AD 381: Heretics, Pagans and the Christian State

Author: Charles Freeman

Publisher: Pimlico

Price: £20.00

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: The Romans

Category: Ancient World

'We authorise followers of this law to assume the title of orthodox Christians; but as for the others since, in our judgement, they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious names of heretics.' - Emperor Theodosius.In AD 381, Theodosius, emperor of the eastern Roman empire, issued a decree in which all his subjects were required to subscribe to a belief in the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This edict defined Christian orthodoxy and brought to an end a lively and wide-ranging debate about the nature of the Godhead; all other interpretations were now declared heretical. Moreover, for the first time in a thousand years of Greco-Roman civilization free thought was unambiguously suppressed. Not since the attempt of the pharaoh Akhenaten to impose his god Aten on his Egyptian subjects in the fourteenth century BC had there been such a widesweeping programme of religious coercion.Yet surprisingly this political revolution, intended to bring inner cohesion to an empire under threat from the outside, has been airbrushed from the historical record.

Title: The Complete Pompeii

Author: Joanne Berry

Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Price: £24.95

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Pompeii

Category: Ancient World

Pompeii is the best known and probably the most important archaeological site in the world. The drama of its destruction has been handed down to us by Roman writers, its paintings and mosaics have astonished visitors since their discovery in the 18th century, and its houses and public buildings to this day present a vivid picture of life, disaster and death in a Roman town. Yet, until now, there has been no up-to-date, authoritatative and comprehensive account for the general reader of its rise, fall and splendour. "The Complete Pompeii" fills that gap. With its lavish illustrations, numerous box features and reams of information, this book is the ultimate resource and inspirational guide to this magnificent ancient site, visited by millions each year.

Title: Discovery: Unearthing the New Treasures of Archaeology

Author: Brian M. Fagan

Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Price: £24.95

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Pompeii

Category: Ancient World

An unprecedented look inside archaeology today, "Discovery!" reveals the exciting, significant and astonishing finds from around the world in the last fifteen years that have changed the way we see our past. Spanning a timescale of two million years of history, this book covers everything from the latest fossil discoveries to wrecks of early submarines and ironclads from the American Civil War. Truly international in scope and totally authoritative, "Discovery!" is illustrated throughout with amazing photographs, sometimes taken at the very moment of discovery.

Title: Boudica: Iron Age Warrior Queen

Author: Richard Hingley & Christina Unwin

Publisher: Continuum

Price: £12.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Boudica

Category: Ancient World

Boudica, or Boadicea, queen of the Iceni, led a famous revolt against Roman rule in Britain in AD 60, sacking London, Colchester and St Albans and throwing the province into chaos. Although then defeated by the governor, Suetonius Paulinus, her rebellion sent a shock wave across the empire. Who was this woman who defied Rome? Boudica: Iron Age Warrior Queen is an account of what we know about the real woman, from classical literature, written for the consumption of readers in Rome, and from the archaeological evidence. It also traces her extraordinary posthumous career as the earliest famous woman in British history. Since the Renaissance she has been seen as harridan, patriot, freedom fighter and feminist, written about in plays and novels, painted and sculpted, and recruited to many causes. She remains a tragic, yet inspirational, figure of unending interest.

Title: Boudica's Last Stand

Author: John Waite

Publisher: Tempus

Price: £17.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Boudica

Category: Ancient World

It is Britain, AD 60. Three Roman towns are in ashes and thousands lie dead. With her new allies, the Trinovantes and the Catuvellauni, Boudica and the Iceni march defiantly towards their enemy. They seek one last pivotal victory to drive the Romans from their land forever. Not far away the Roman governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus awaits them. His ground chosen, his strategy decided, his small force awaits the great native army. If his strategy is sound they will prevail, if not they will be massacred, losing the province forever. Is it really revenge Boudica wants for the vile humiliations the Romans heaped on her? Or is she playing for much higher stakes? And Paulinus, can he defeat the odds to win the day? To answer these questions, this book will re examine events from a fresh, tactical perspective and produce a clearer picture of a revolt crushed on a newly suggested battle site, offering a new interpretation of a battle that decided 2000 years of Britain's cultural heritage.

Title: Secrets of Egypt's Lost Queen

Author: Brando Quilici

Publisher: Discovery Channel

Price: £5.30

Bookshop: Amazon

Category: Ancient World

Deep beneath the sands of Egypt's fabled Valley of the Kings lie the unidentified remains of one of ancient history's greatest - and least known - rulers, Queen Hatshepsut. More powerful than Cleopatra or Nefertiti, Queen Hatshepsut not only died mysteriously, but every sign of her existence was systematically erased. Now for the first time ever, top archaeologists use cuttingedge forensic techniques to unravel the mystery of Hatshepsut's life and death, unearthing her fascinating story that has remained buried for 3,000 years.

Educational Websites

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