Series: Lost Civilizations

From ancient Rome to the present day, ancient Egypt has been a source of fascination and inspiration in many other cultures. But why? Egypt by Christina Riggs introduces the history, art, and religion of Egypt from its earliest dynasties to its final fall to Rome and explores the influence ancient Egypt has had through the centuries. Looking for a vanished...

Nubia, the often overlooked southern neighbour of Egypt, has been home to groups of vibrant and adaptive peoples for millennia. This book explores the Nubians' religious, social, economic, and cultural histories, from their nomadic origins during the Stone Ages to their rise to power during the Napatan and Meroitic periods. It concludes with the recent struggles for diplomacy in North...

Beginning in the Stone Age and continuing through the collapse of the Roman empire, a fascinating exploration of the increasing complexity, technological accomplishments, and distinctive practices of the non-literate peoples known as Barbarians. We often think of the civilisations of ancient Greece and Rome as discrete incubators of Western culture, places where ideas about everything from government to art to...

At the height of its power around 660 BC, the Assyrian empire, centred in northern Iraq, wielded dominance from Egypt to Iran. This vast region was ruled by a series of kings who showcased their power by constructing magnificent palaces adorned with superlative sculptures depicting royal rituals, battles and hunts. Established by military might, the empire thrived under administrators who...

Now in paperback, a brief introduction to the mysteries of the enigmatic, ancient civilisation in the area of modern Italy. The Etruscans were a powerful people, marked by an influential civilisation in ancient Italy. Despite their prominence, the Etruscans are often portrayed as mysterious—a strange and unknowable people whose language and culture have largely vanished. Lucy Shipley's The Etruscans presents...

This is ancient Greece - but not as we know it. Few people today appreciate that Greek civilisation was spread across the Middle East, and that there were Greek cities in the foothills of the Himalayas. This book tells the story of the Greeks outside Greece, such as Sappho, the poet from Lesbos; Archimedes, a native of Syracuse; and Herodotus,...

Ethiopia has captured the imagination of observers since ancient times. The Ethiopians provides a fresh perspective on Ethiopian history up to 1500, beginning with the Aksumite civilisation at the start of the Common Era. It revisits famous stories like the legend of the Queen of Sheba, examines the rise and fall of Aksum, explores the role of Muslims and Islam...

Bronze Age Crete is one of the most thoroughly explored archaeological regions, yet the island retains an air of mystery. This book offers an authoritative introduction to the world of the Minoans, the first 'modern' civilisation on European soil. With its grand palaces, a sophisticated bureaucracy complete with writing (including undeciphered scripts), exquisite artworks, powerful depictions of women, and advanced...

An accessible introduction to the Bronze Age culture in Asia Minor. Famed for their skill in battle, the Hittites flourished in central Anatolia from the seventeenth to the thirteenth century BC. They were much more than a military power, however — their religion held particular reverence for the sun and storms that provided fertility to their land, and their eclectic...

From their mythical origins to astonishing feats of engineering, an expertly informed reassessment of one of the great empires of the Americas: the Inca. In their heyday, the Inca ruled over the largest land empire in the Americas, reaching the pinnacle of South American civilisation. Known as the "Romans of the Americas," these fabulous engineers converted the vertiginous, challenging landscapes...

Now available in paperback, The Persians tells the story of this cultured ancient civilisation, tracing the unique features of Persian life as well as their influence down the centuries. During the first and second millennia BCE, a swathe of nomadic peoples migrated outward from Central Asia into the Eurasian periphery. One group of these people found themselves encamped in an...

In this rich and surprising book, Frances F. Berdan casts fresh light on the enigmatic ancient Aztecs. She casts her net wide, covering topics as diverse as ethnicity, empire-building, palace life, etiquette, origin myths and human sacrifice. While often described as 'stone age', the Aztecs' achievements were remarkable. They constructed lofty temples and produced fine arts in precious stones, gold...

The Goths are truly a 'lost civilization'. Sweeping down from the north, ancient Gothic tribes sacked the imperial city of Rome and set in motion the decline and fall of the western Roman Empire. Ostrogothic and Visigothic kings ruled over Italy and Spain, dominating early medieval Europe. Yet the last Gothic kingdom fell more than a thousand years ago, and...

The Sumerians are widely believed to have created the world's earliest civilisation on the fertile floodplains of southern Iraq from about 3500 to 2000 BC. They have been credited with the invention of nothing less than cities, writing, and the wheel, and therefore hold an ancient mirror to our own urban, literate world. But is this picture correct? Paul Collins...