Author: Caleb
History has been important for the growth of human society and the documentation of the achievements and failures of our species. By chronicling the rise and fall of individuals and civilizations, we can attempt to avoid repeating the mistakes of our past. The ancient Mediterranean was home to many of these great societies and individuals who left a lasting impact that is still felt today.
Greek History
The Histories by Homer
Plato, Homer, and Aristotle. Many stories, concepts, and theories come to us today from the ancient Greek city states. The Histories is just one example of works from this civilization.
A “classic” by every meaning of the word, The Histories is considered by many to be the world’s first great historical work and was written in the 5th century BC. This landmark account of the Persian and Greek War incorporates personal accounts of peoples of the time and observations by Herodotus, the Father of History, himself.
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Carthaginian History
The Punic Wars by Adrian Goldsworthy
Carthage was a major commercial city of the classical period. They stretched the influence of their North African city through Libya, into the Iberian Peninsula and across the Mediterranean into the Sicilian Island to create a sprawling Mediterranean Empire. The Punic Wars describes the hard fought wars that led to the fall of this Mediterranean civilization.
Arguably one of the most famous series of wars in the ancient era, The Punic Wars narrates the struggles between the Carthaginian Empire and the Roman Republic. In this story readers discover Carthage’s great general Hannibal Barca and his ambitious plan that famously brought African war elephants through the Alps in his land invasion of Italy. Reader’s also see how the city lost influence to Rome in this series of war, leading eventually to the fall of the North African empire.
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Roman History
The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic by Mike Duncan
Rome, the eternal city. One of the most famous cities of the modern world is also the capital of the largest western civilization in the classical world. The Roman Republic and eventual empire spanned the entire Mediterranean at its peak and produced historical authors and leaders such as Livy and Julius Caesar. As the Romans clashed with other societies of this era, they would also clash amongst themselves for power.
The Storm before the Storm captures the events of one of these struggles. This book takes the reader to the ancient Roman Republic, where generals vie for political power and military achievements. The famous podcast host Mike Duncan examines the often overlooked Roman civil war that would allow for the rise of Caesar and the fall of the republic through a detailed exploration of the events leading up to and the actions during the Roman civil war between Sulla and Marius.
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