The Ancient History category has 310 audiobooks on Listento.it, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 2,807 ratings. The most-rated is Magicians of the Gods.
Breve historia de Roma
Summary
Una síntesis magistral de la totalidad de la vida romana, desde su fundación hasta su ocaso a manos de los bárbaros. En esta obra, Miguel Ángel Novillo López, emprende la necesaria labor de resumir los quince siglos de la existencia de la cultura romana con fin de crear una obra altamente didáctica, amena y rigurosa. Una ventana limpia a la civilización que sentó las bases de nuestro modo de vida actual. El autor traza un amplio recorrido cronológico para explicar las bases para la fundación de Roma y el posterior devenir de este pueblo desde la monarquía a la república y, por último, al imperio que será consumido por la corrupción y la decadencia. Pero lo verdaderamente fundamental de la obra no es, pese a ser de gran relevancia, el amplio arco cronológico que recorre, su punto fuerte es que ofrece una mirada alternativa y sobradamente detallada de la historia romana. No se centra en el devenir político y militar de la Ciudad Eterna, sino que se sumerge en cuestiones que son también fundamentales para comprender su historia como: la evolución de la esclavitud, los conflictos entre patricios y plebeyos, las magistraturas y las asambleas, la religión, la numismática o la literatura romana. Una obra esencial y necesaria para la comprensión de esta porción fundamental de la historia universal. Grabada para ser disfrutada tanto por los investigadores especializados, como por los legos, ya que no demanda un vasto conocimiento previo. Breve Historia de Roma nos sumerge, a lo largo del tiempo y del espacio, en la vida cotidiana de la Ciudad Eterna. Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.
©2012 Ediciones Nowtilus S.L. (P)2014 Audible Inc.
Rome and Germania
Summary
Despite all the accomplishments and widespread victories and conquests throughout the long history of Republican and Imperial Rome, general perception still deems the Romans to have failed in one crucial conquest: the subjugation of Germany. Indeed, historians have singled out this one failure as central to the ultimate downfall of the entire empire, as the constant wars against the Germanic tribes and the need to defend the frontier on the Rhine at great expense against those tribes, helped bring the empire to its knees. There are elements of truth in such a conclusion, but the reality was far more fluid than is often realized. From the first century BCE until the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century CE, the relationships between the wider empire and those living in what is now modern Germany were extremely complicated, involving much more than simple warfare. In fact, archaeologist Are Kolberg suggested that there were four distinct aspects that must be considered: military, trade, gifts, and plunder. One could also add the political aspect to this, given the impact that German troops came to exert in the elevation of different emperors to the throne at different times. As a Roman territory, Germania, at one point, included significant areas of land east of the Rhine, all the way up to the Elbe. The Romans would maintain a significant force on this eastern side until the third century CE, but eventually a Frankish invasion ended that presence. The term Germania came to refer specifically to the territory west of the Rhine, which included the two provinces of Germania Superior and Germania Inferior, or Upper and Lower Germany. Those provinces were key to the defense of the empire, so much so that Triers provided the location of one of the four seats of government near the end of Rome’s reign. The people that came to be known as Germans originally came from Scandinavia and were mainly shepherds and hunters, but they comprised a number of distinct groups, the most important of which were the Goths, Vandals, Franks, and Saxons. Within each group, there were separate tribes, and as their populations grew, the land they occupied in Scandinavia was unable to support them, so they began migrating south, settling outside the borders of the Roman Empire. The Germans were fierce warriors who employed rather crude but effective tactics in battle. Their main approach was one of charging directly at an enemy and fighting hand-to-hand using their long swords and shields. Body armor was unknown, and they wore only animal-skins. Most warriors wore their hair long, dyed red, and greased into ponytails. Friction between Rome and the German tribes can be traced back as far as 113 BCE, and the next 500 years brought full-scale campaigns by the Romans against the various individual tribes, resulting in numerous battles and constant uprisings wherever any part of the land east of the Rhine was occupied for any length of time. The impact of this constant warfare on both sides cannot be underestimated, and all the while, the fighting and other interactions had massive cultural and political influences going in both directions. Rome and Germania: The History of the Roman Empire’s Conflicts and Interactions with Germanic Tribes examines the many battles and events that impacted how Rome co-existed with Germania over several centuries.
©2020 Charles River Editors (P)2020 Charles River Editors
The Greco-Persian Wars
Summary
If you want to discover the captivating history of the Greco-Persian Wars, then pay attention.... The Greco-Persian Wars are often portrayed as a battle between good and evil. This is simultaneously an exaggeration and an oversimplification, but there is no doubt that this war, or series of wars, fought between some of the most powerful civilizations of the ancient era helped to plot the course of human history that we have been following up until this very day. In The Greco-Persian Wars: A Captivating Guide to the Conflicts Between the Achaemenid Empire and the Greek City-States, Including the Battle of Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis, Plataea, and More, you will discover topics such as: On the Eve of War The Ionian Revolt Darius I Marches on Greece: The Battle of Marathon The Interwar Years: Greece and Persia Prepare to Meet Again The Invasion of Xerxes Part 1: The Battles of Thermopylae and Artemisium The Invasion of Xerxes Part 2: The Battles of Salamis and Plataea The Delian League Wars The Aftermath of the War The Greek Military The Persian Military And Much, Much More! So if you want to learn more about the Greco-Persian wars, scroll up and click the "Buy" button!
©2019 Captivating History (P)2019 Captivating History
Susa
Summary
Mankind has been on the planet for millions of years, but civilization and life in cities has only come about in the last five millennia. Through history civilizations rose and fell, dependent on nature, and they popped up independently in a handful of different places around the world. Each of those civilizations created a unique and distinctive vision of life which forms a vital counterpoint to the problems of modern society. The ancient land of Elam was in many ways the cradle of civilization, and its capital, Susa, is one of the oldest cities in the world. Susa is located in what is today southwestern Iran, about 150 miles north of the Persian Gulf. It served as the capital of the Kingdom of Elam, and later one of the numerous capitals used by the Persian Empire. When the third Achaemenid king, Darius the Great, established his rule over the Persian Empire, he set out to build the palace of Persepolis in his homeland. Later, he constructed an equally magnificent palace complex in his favorite city and winter capital, Susa. The most famous part of the palace was the Apadana, which was built on the ruins of an Elamite palace. Archaeological findings indicate that Susa was already an ancient city at the time of the prophet Daniel, whose tomb was in Susa, and it has become one of the holiest sites in Iran. And while the city gradually declined after the Persians were defeated by Alexander the Great, the story of its rediscovery and excavation by archaeologists from the 19th century onwards is just as exciting as the narrative of its Golden Age. The ancient city is in many ways a symbol that represents different chapters of Iran's long history, from the Elamite era to post-Islamic Iran.
©2017 Charles River Editors (P)2017 Charles River Editors
The Severan Dynasty: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Roman Empire's Rulers Before Rome's Imperial Crisis
Summary
“If a man were called upon to fix that period in the history of the world during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the deaths of Domitian to the accession of Commodus.” (Edward Gibbon) “The Five Good Emperors,” a reference to the five emperors who ruled the Roman Empire between 96 and 180 CE (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius), was a term first coined by Machiavelli and later adopted and popularized by historian Edward Gibbon, who said that under these men, the Roman Empire “was governed by absolute power under the guidance of wisdom and virtue.” The Severan dynasty came shortly after the Five Good Emperors, and it also consisted of five emperors who ruled the empire from 193-235, except for a brief interlude between 217 and 218 when Macrinus held the imperial throne. In chronological order, the five were Septimius Severus the Founder (193-211), Caracalla (198-217), Geta (209-211), Elagabalus (218-221), and Alexander Severus (222-235). Their reigns coincided with the period in Roman history characterized by academics as the "High Point" of the empire, but this specific dynastic period, following the troubled years after the rule of Marcus Aurelius’ son Commodus, did not see the empire return to the heights reached under the Five Good Emperors. It was a period in which the inherent weaknesses of the imperial system were exacerbated, and the policies of successive emperors paved the way for the era generally known as Rome’s Imperial Crisis or “The Time of Chaos” (235-284). The Severans' story encapsulates many highs and lows, including able and venal emperors, expansion and loss of territory, great artistic achievements, and intellectual advancements coupled with some of the worst cruelty ever perpetrated by Romans. The Severans have also fared well historically thanks to their successors, because the 50 years following the assassination of Severus Alexander on March 19, 235, has been generally regarded by academics as one of the lowest points in the history of the Roman Empire. Severus Alexander was the last of the Severan emperors, and the subsequent years of crisis (235-285) were characterized by a series of short reigns, usually ending in the violent death of the reigning emperor. At the same time, this period of time also saw the empire beset by threatening forces on all sides. The Romans faced a newly resurgent Persia in the east, as well as significant forces from German tribes on the Rhine and Goths along the Danube. The various conflicts would result in the unprecedented death of a sitting emperor in battle, which took place in 251 with Emperor Decius, and Emperor Valerian was also captured in 260.
©2019 Charles River Editors (P)2019 Charles River Editors
The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire
Summary
On the horizons of many warring tribes, Roman warriors, knights from chivalric orders, and the devoted penniless appeared on a divine mission ready to conquer with an appetite for destruction, salvation, and a higher purpose. Pax Romana. Had the world ever seen the magnitude of empires as it did in the Roman Empires that would unhinge themselves from their very foundation in their attempt to dominate over kings, lords, and tribes? What caused the Romans to proclaim themselves worthy of answering a seemingly providential call to spread the Roman way? This is the story of their shifting identity over the course of a mind-boggling history in their steep ascents and defiant schisms transfixed with glory and virtue that lasted for thousands of years. It is the story of Rome's lingering origin and Rome's spirit of conquest as their enemies encircled them. The perilous protection they would offer to a papacy, besieged by perpetual land grabs of powerful nobles and distant tribes, was often compromised by their own faults, negligence and the nature of where their empire stopped and their Romanness began. They fought their own with just as much fervor as those who appeared at their fronts. Did their very spirit and ascent imperil that which united them, dividing them, as the world around them embraced or rejected their very foundation?
©2016 Michael Klein (P)2016 Michael Klein
![Cover art for Roma victoriosa [Rome Victorious]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61jzI49zizL._SL500_.jpg)
Roma victoriosa [Rome Victorious]
Summary
Javier Negrete vuelve a adentrarse en la divulgación del mundo clásico para narrar, con su maestría habitual, cómo Roma pasó de ser una más entre las pequeñas ciudades de una comarca del centro de Italia a dominar todo el Mediterráneo y convertirse en un imperio cuyo recuerdo todavía sigue marcando nuestra cultura, nuestra política y nuestros ideales. En Roma victoriosa no dará a conocer el origen de la ciudad, de los siete reyes, de la caída de la monarquía y de los primeros siglos de la República. Asistiremos a las vicisitudes de los primeros tiempos, cuando no sólo no estaba claro si Roma llegaría a ser grande, sino incluso si sobreviviría como ciudad. Después veremos a los romanos enfrentarse con el gran general Pirro, empezar su larga historia de conflictos con los galos y mantener dos guerras largas y terriblemente cruentas con Cartago. En el ínterin, comprobaremos cómo las legiones se fueron convirtiendo en la máquina militar que admiró y aterrorizó al mundo, apoyadas por los ingenieros que construían calzadas, túneles, acueductos y máquinas de guerra. Para terminar, la conquista de Grecia no supondrá un final sino un nuevo comienzo. Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.
©2011 Javier Negrete Medina (P)2020 Audible, Inc.
Slavery in Ancient Greece
Summary
Slavery was a universal and totally accepted feature of ancient Greek society, so much so that while the conditions under which slaves lived and worked varied considerably, many ordinary citizens kept at least one slave, often working alongside their owners, while larger commercial enterprises involved huge numbers, many of whom could rise to positions of authority and wealth. It was possible for some slaves to buy their freedom, while others lived and died in conditions of appalling brutality, notably in the silver mines at Laurium. The revenues from these mines paid for the fleet with which Athens defeated Xerxes and were the basis of the Attic owls, the four drachma coins that revolutionized the Athenian economy. The mines were often leased to contractors and worked by slaves and condemned criminals. The galleries averaged approximately three and a half feet in height, so most miners had to work on their hands and knees. Another specific group of slaves that suffered particularly brutal treatment was the pornai, slaves used in the brothels as prostitutes. While those sound like the conditions of slavery people are accustomed to hearing about in more modern times, other forms of slavery in Greece were quite unique, and perhaps fittingly, Sparta might have had the most unusual system of all. Sparta will forever be known for its military prowess, but the importance the Spartans placed upon being a warrior society meant their way of life was entirely dependent on a class of indentured servants known as the helots. The Spartans needed the helots to maintain the domestic front, but they also frequently brought helots to the battlefield with them, and they repeatedly had to turn their own hoplites on unruly helots to suppress potential rebellions. As this makes clear, however unpalatable it may be to modern historians who expound on the virtues of the Greek legacy to western civilization, it is indisputably the case that slavery constituted a central part of that legacy. Indeed, slavery underpinned to a large extent the very foundations of the classical Greek way of life.
©2016 Charles River Editors (P)2016 Charles River Editors
Greek Gods
Summary
The ancient Greeks believed there were a great number of gods and goddesses. These gods had control over many different aspects of life on earth. In many ways they were very human. They could be kind or mean, angry or pleasant, cruel or loving. They fell in love with each other, argued with each other and even stole from each other. The ancient Greeks built great temples and sanctuaries to their gods. They held festivals in their honor, with processions, sports, sacrifices and competitions. Stories of the gods' exploits were told to children by their mothers and to large audiences by professional bards and storytellers. People today still enjoy hearing stories about the Greek gods. This book tells the tales of gods and goddesses such as Zeus, Aphrodite, Apollo, and Athena and heroes and monsters such as Helen of Troy, Perseus, and Medusa will fascinate and engage your imagination. Here is a selection of what you will learn: The creation and the gods The Olympian gods (and a few others) Prometheus, Epimetheus and Pandora Psyche and Eros Oedipus and his children The Trojan War
©2016 Brendan Gallagher (P)2016 Brendan Gallagher
Roma arcaica
Summary
Roma arcaica prende avvio ab urbe condita, con il racconto intriso di storia e mito della fondazione di Roma, collocata nel 753 a.C. ma iniziata secoli prima, nell'Età del bronzo, con i primi insediamenti lungo il Tevere, ai piedi del colle Palatino. Proprio sul colle Palatino la leggenda vuole che Romolo abbia deciso di fondare la città, divenendo il primo dei Sette Re che per due secoli la governeranno, concentrando nella propria figura i poteri militare, giuridico e religioso; poteri che passando di mano in mano determineranno l'alternarsi di periodi di crescita e di rallentamento, fino a giungere al rovesciamento della monarchia e all'instaurarsi di una nuova forma di governo della res publica, la Repubblica. Nuovi uomini, i consoli, e nuove istituzioni, come le assemblee popolari e il Senato, sono necessari per regolare la vita di una città che cresce con ritmo esponenziale e che mira a un'autonomia totale dall'influenza etrusca, alla liberazione dalle invasioni celtiche e all'espansione verso il sud della penisola italica. L'audiolibro, che attraversa la storia di Roma dalla mitica fondazione all'avvio della grandiosa espansione, è realizzato a cura della redazione de il Narratore audiolibri, con riferimento alle opere degli storici e archeologi: Gianfranco Zelasco, Theodor Mommsen, Diana Bowder, Howard H. Scullard.
©2012 il Narratore Srl (P)2012 il Narratore Srl
Thrace
Summary
By the seventh century BCE, Thrace was experiencing the migration of Cimmerians and Scythians. The result was that the northern Black Sea Scythians developed first on the territory of Byzantium, and trade and industrial colonization stretched from the Golden Horn to the Sea of Azov and the lower Don region. In addition, the Sarmatians and Getae on the lower Don were also involved in a profitable trade with this area. The continuing economic and political ties with the Don region and the Getae, with trade contacts reaching the Middle Don and the Southwestern Urals, even linked Byzantium with Russia prior to Constantine. From 580 to 300 BCE, Ionian colonization of the Bosporus gave rise to a number of systems that created powerful regimes to protect their strategic assets. Spartan colonists against the Scythian state from the Dniper to the Dardanelles also created a violent combination that almost constantly placed the region in chaos. At the same time, the region helped transmit Greek culture to Central Asia and southern Russia. During the last three centuries BCE, the region focused on trade with the new masters of the steppes, the Sarmatians, living in Asiatic Scythia on its border with the European Don area. The trade network near the Don region in the beginning of the third century BCE was marked by the city of Tanais. It was not until the first century BCE that the region was firmly part of the Roman Empire, and the Romans' influence also ultimately led to the spread of Judaism and Christianity.
©2016 Charles River Editors (P)2017 Charles River Editors
Ancient Greece: A Concise Overview of the Greek History and Mythology Including Classical Greece, Hellenistic Greece, Roman Greece and the Byzantine Empire
Summary
Explore the history and mythology of the Ancient Greeks! There are few things as fascinating and exciting as the world of Ancient Greece, and in the following book, you are going to learn everything you’ll ever need to know about the history and sociopolitical makeup of the world of Ancient Greece. Where did Greek culture come from? When did it begin to taste shape? Where there any precursors to the Ancient Greeks? How did Ancient Greece fit in with the rest of the known world during the Ancient era? What conflicts would arise out of the power struggles of the major political powers of the time? What great historical figures stepped up to lead and command their people to greatness? What innovations were advanced and implemented during this time? How did the Greek world change and develop over the course of the several centuries that compose the Ancient era of history? How did their neighbors pressure them and push them to change and adapt? What lessons can the history of Ancient Greece teach us about the Ancient world and about our world today? Find the answers to all of these questions and more: Start your amazing journey into the world of Ancient Greece with a look at the rise of Greece in the Archaic era Follow Ancient Greece on its path to great power and prosperity and we move into the hugely important Classical era Find out how the world changed in massive ways, and Ancient Greece shifts along with the changing times of the Hellenistic era Learn all about the changing role of Ancient Greece as it takes its place in history under the rule of the Roman Empire And more Don’t wait another moment to enjoy from this information. Get your copy of Ancient Greece right away!
©2018 Eric Brown (P)2018 Eric Brown
The Roman Republic
Summary
The rise and fall of the Roman Republic occupies a special place in the history of Western civilization. From humble beginnings on the seven hills beside the Tiber, the city of Rome grew to dominate the ancient Mediterranean. Led by her senatorial aristocracy, Republican armies defeated Carthage and the successor kingdoms of Alexander the Great, and brought the surrounding peoples to east and west into the Roman sphere. Yet the triumph of the Republic was also its tragedy. In this Very Short Introduction, David M. Gwynn provides a fascinating introduction to the history of the Roman Republic and its literary and material sources, bringing to life the culture and society of Republican Rome and its ongoing significance within our modern world.
©2012 David M. Gwynn (P)2018 Tantor
Breve historia de los celtas
Summary
"Una obra que introduce en una larga y desconocida historia de siglos a través de personajes tan conocidos en el imaginario popular como Viriato, Vercingetórix o Boudicca y hechos que han provocado la admiración de la historia como la heroica resistencia de la ciudad de Numancia o el saqueo de Roma". Breve Historia de los Celtas, rubricado por Manuel Velasco es un trabajo que le ayudará a conocer la asombrosa variedad de una nación que se extendió por toda Europa, desde Grecia hasta España, e hizo del mestizaje su bandera. Conocer a los celtas es conocer una parte de aquello que nos hace europeos.El libro nos introduce a la cultura, los héroes, los ritos, la mitología y la vida cotidiana, de un pueblo que se extendió por Austria, Suiza, Francia, Bélgica, España, Reino Unido y, por supuesto, Irlanda. Dividido en tres partes, Manuel Velasco nos narra en la primera la historia de su legendaria resistencia a la conquista romana, a través de tres figuras fundamentales: el hispano-luso Viriato, el galo Vercingetórix, y la británica Boudicca, reina guerrera que arrasó la ciudad de Londinum (Londres); completa este apartado una completa descripción de la vida cotidiana de los celtas en Irlanda. La segunda se ocupa de la religión y la mitología, el paso fundamental de una mitología arcana y politeísta, a un cristianismo impulsado por San Patricio. En la tercera se incluye una valiosísima información complementaria sobre el idioma y la escritura, los nombres celtas y los lugares emblemáticos de esta cultura (finisterres). Fundamental para todos aquellos interesados en misterios como Stonehenge, Carnac o las tradiciones mágicas de los druidas, pero también para aquellos que quieran recrear la vida cotidiana y los ritos de un pueblo que está en la base de autores tan dispares y populares como Goscinny y Uderzo, y J.R.R. Tolkien. Please Note: This audiobook is in Spanish.
©2009 Ediciones Nowtilus S.L. (P)2014 Audible Inc.
Homer
Summary
Homer's mythological tales of war and homecoming, The Iliad and The Odyssey, are widely considered to be two of the most influential works in the history of western literature. Yet their author, "the greatest poet that ever lived," is something of a mystery. By the sixth century BCE, Homer had already become a mythical figure, and today debate continues as to whether he ever existed. In Homer, Barbara Graziosi considers Homer's famous works and their impact on readers throughout the centuries. She shows how The Iliad and The Odyssey benefit from a tradition of reading that spans well over two millennia, stemming from ancient scholars at the library of Alexandria, in the third and second centuries BCE, who wrote some of the first commentaries on the Homeric epics. Summaries of these scholars' notes made their way into the margins of Byzantine manuscripts; from Byzantium the annotated manuscripts traveled to Italy; and the ancient notes finally appeared in the first printed editions of Homer. Along the way, Homer's works have inspired artists, writers, philosophers, musicians, playwrights, and film-makers. Exploring the main literary, historical, cultural, and archaeological issues at the heart of Homer's narratives, Graziosi analyzes the enduring appeal of Homer and his iconic works.
©2019 Barbara Graziosi (P)2019 Tantor
![Cover art for Imperadores de Roma [Emperors of Rome]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51XFOYQsxEL._SL500_.jpg)
Imperadores de Roma [Emperors of Rome]
Summary
O que você sabe sobre os imperadores de Roma? Roma tinha bons e maus imperadores, egoístas e altruístas. Alguns eram sábios, outros eram tolos. E cada um deixou seu legado e sua marca nos conceitos históricos do próprio império romano. Neste livro, exploraremos os detalhes de vários desses imperadores, especialmente alguns dos mais conhecidos que foram escolhidos a dedo pelos editores deste livro. Esta publicação esclarecerá mais os seguintes imperadores: Nero Cláudio Marco Aurélio Calígula Adriano Trajano Caracala Vespaniana Commodus Júlio César Constantino, o Grande Também nos aprofundaremos na difusão do cristianismo, na perseguição dos cristãos, nas guerras com o povo germânico, na Liturgia e em muitos outros tópicos nos quais você também possa se interessar. Este livro é uma jóia entre rochas triviais. Obtê-lo agora. Please note: This audiobook is in Portuguese.
©2020 Yanabo Navajo (P)2020 Yanabo Navajo
Blood of the Caesars
Summary
Could the killing of Germanicus Julius Caesar - the grandson of Mark Antony, adopted son of the emperor Tiberius, father of Caligula, and grandfather of Nero - while the Roman Empire was still in its infancy have been the root cause of the empire's collapse more than four centuries later? This brilliant investigation of Germanicus Caesar’s death and its aftermath is both a compelling history and first-class murder mystery with a plot twist Agatha Christie would envy.
©2008 Stephen Dando-Collins (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Empire Betrayed
Summary
In A.D. 29, Emperor Tiberius Caesar, living in self-imposed exile on the Isle of Capri, entrusts his Praetorian Prefect, Lucius Aelius Sejanus, with the administration of the vast Roman Empire. Under Sejanus' iron fist, and unbeknownst to Tiberius, the ranks of the Senate and equites are subsequently purged of the Praetorian's enemies. Treason trials, once prohibited in Rome, have become commonplace as Sejanus relentlessly punishes any who would defy him in his quest for power. After many years of commanding the cavalry of the Army of the Rhine, Tribune Aulus Nautius Cursor at last returns to Rome, amidst the turmoil. Two years later he is elected as a Tribune of the Plebs; the representatives of the people who hold the power of veto over the Senate. It is Cursor who discovers Sejanus' sinister plans; that he seeks to overthrow Tiberius and name himself Emperor. Duty bound to save the Empire from falling further under a tyrannical usurper, Cursor resolves to unravel the conspiracy and bring the perpetrators to justice. Aiding him is an old friend; a retired Master Centurion named Gaius Calvinus. Regrettably, they know that if successful, Tiberius' retribution will be swift and brutal, sparing neither the innocent nor the guilty. This leaves only two dark paths for Cursor and Calvinus; either allow the pending reign of terror under a ruthless usurper, or unleash the unholy vengeance of an emperor betrayed.
©2013 James Mace (P)2017 James Mace
The Gutians
Summary
Includes excerpts of ancient accounts Includes a bibliography for further listening Includes a table of contents “Naram-Sin destroyed the people of Babylon, so twice Marduk summoned the forces of Gutium against him. Marduk gave his kingship to the Gutian force. The Gutians were unhappy people unaware how to revere the gods, ignorant of the right cultic practices. Utu-hengal, the fisherman, caught a fish at the edge of the sea for an offering. That fish should not be offered to another god until it had been offered to Marduk, but the Gutians took the boiled fish from his hand before it was offered, so by his august command, Marduk removed the Gutian force from the rule of his land and gave it to Utu-hengal.” (The Weidner Chronicle, 6th century BCE) World history is replete with many examples of nomadic barbarian hordes that swept into the kingdoms and countries of sedentary peoples, often leaving just as quickly as they had come. Sometimes, the hordes stayed in the territories they conquered and adopted the cultural attributes of the more sophisticated sedentary groups. It is important to know that barbarian invasions throughout history were usually not led by individuals or groups that hated or wanted to see the larger, often more powerful sedentary kingdoms or empires destroyed. Instead, they want a “taste” of it, and in many examples, they wanted to rule with the same style and ideology as the kingdom they had replaced. Many Sea Peoples bands of the eastern Mediterranean in the 13th century BCE entered the region as invaders and pirates, but many stayed and either assimilated into the sedentary kingdoms after their raids or even formed their own kingdoms, such as the Philistines, who were heavily influenced by the older kingdoms. The Turkic nomads, Mongols, and other nomads of the steppe in the Middle Ages are another example of this phenomenon. These groups entered Europe and the Near East as classic hordes in every sense of the word, but after hundreds of years, they became part of the Christian and Islamic states in the region. Perhaps the best examples of this process is are the Germanic tribes who entered Europe, helping to bring down the Roman Empire while adopting countless aspects of Roman culture in the process, including elements of language, government, and religion. The ancient Gutians are probably not one of the groups that come to most people’s minds when they think of barbarian hordes, but they were among the most important in the Bronze Age Near East. Little is known about the Gutians before they entered the historical record around 2200 BCE. in Mesopotamia, and even after that point, the contemporary records are open to interpretation because they are obviously biased against the outsiders. Since the Gutians had no written language, most of what modern scholars know about them has come from the works written by various groups in Mesopotamia, but they viewed the Gutians as uncivilized invaders, and with a healthy amount of fear and revulsion. Given their foreign status and the fact that they forcibly conquered parts of Mesopotamia when they entered the historical record, the memory of the Gutians survived in Mesopotamia long after their short-lived dynasty had been overthrown. They continued to live on as a literary trope of what could happen if societies ignored their ancient cultural practices, particularly the worship of the gods and the proper maintenance of their cults. With this in mind, it is important to approach any proper study of the Gutians with the realization that nearly everything historians know about them comes from people who viewed them with absolute contempt, but along with that and available archaeological evidence, it is possible to get an idea of what the Gutians’ history was truly like.
©2020 Charles River Editors (P)2020 Charles River Editors
Giulio Cesare
Summary
Giulio Cesare è uno de personaggi più affascinanti della storia romana. La sua ambizione lo portò, sin da giovane, ad essere sempre partecipe della scena politica; ogni mossa e ogni singola scelta, furono compiute da Cesare con estrema cautela e lungimiranza. Impiegò ogni sforzo per raggiungere il potere, non esitando davanti a nulla. Fu in grado di compiere atti di grande coraggio, ma anche di estrema crudeltà quando le circostanze lo richiedevano. Divenne dittatore di Roma e, se la congiura mise fine alla sua vita e al suo desiderio di potere, la sua politica aveva ormai dato avvio a quel processo irreversibile che sarebbe stato la nascita del principato. Questo audioBook che fa parte della collana "Biografie Storiche", ripercorre la sua vita, ed è arricchito da testimonianze dello scrittore, biografo e filosofo greco Plutarco, e dello scrittore romano Svetonio.
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