20 Best Books On Ancient Civilizations (2023 Update)

Explore the captivating history and mythology of three ancient civilizations three captivating manuscripts in one book: maya civilization: a captivating guide to maya history and maya mythology aztec: a captivating guide to aztec history and the triple alliance of tenochtitlan, tetzcoco, and tlacopan incas: a captivating guide to the history of the inca empire and civilization in the first part of this captivating guide, you will discover why maya have gained such worldwide admiration over the many other civilizations that existed in mesoamerica at the time. you will learn how the maya civilization developed, the major turning points in their 3,000-year-long history, the mysteries surrounding their demise, some of the unique places where maya exist to this day, and much more! some of the topics and questions covered in the first part of this book include: maya timeline glossary of important maya terms the origins of the mesoamerican civilizations the archaic period: 7000 – 2000 bc the olmecs: 1,200 – 300 bc the preclassic period and the magnificent zapotec early preclassic period: 2000 to 1000 bc cuello and early maya architecture middle preclassic period: 1000 to 300 bc the zapotec: 600 bc to ad 800 late preclassic period: 300 bc to ad 250 the classic period, doomsday calendar, and the mystery of the red queen early classic – ad 250 to 600 how maya measured the time late classic – ad 600 to 900 the mystery of the red queen terminal classic – ad 900 to 1000 food, rites, and gruesome tales how to make maya hot chocolate at home how did the maya grow their food? the maize god the maya beauty standards the sacred ball game the decline of the maya civilization and human sacrifice early postclassic – ad 1000 to 1250 inside chichen itza – features of maya cities the maya observatory (el caracol) human sacrifice and the methods the kukulkan pyramid late postclassic period and the spanish conquest maya today maya creation story the maya cosmology and a great deal more that you don't want to miss out on! some of the topics and questions covered in the second part of this book include: the origins of aztecs: a tribe destined for greatness the unwelcome arrival in mexico valley the rise of tenochtitlán and the triple alliance the greatest aztec kings and their heritage the splendor of tenochtitlán a guided tour around tenochtitlán rites, rituals, and delicious recipes the fall of tenochtitlán and a great deal more that you don't want to miss out on! some of the topics and questions covered in the third part of this book include: how the incas recorded their history the inca creation myth the founding of the great city of cuzco the first dynasty of inca rulers and their greatest deeds the second dynasty of inca rulers and their greatest deeds the rise of the inca empire: a cosmological event? social order in the inca society the different roles of women in the inca society inca religious order and ideology tour of the greatest inca sights from pachacuti to the arrival of the spanish the spanish conquest the aftermath and the inca legacy and a great deal more that you don't want to miss out on! get the book now and learn more about these three ancient civilizations!

The most trusted nonfiction series on the market, eyewitness books provide an in-depth, comprehensive look at their subjects with a unique integration of words and pictures.the newest entry in the eyewitness series, this comprehensive guide introduces young readers to some of the most fascinating ancient civilizations in the world's history.from the intriguing world of pharaohs in ancient egypt, to the arts of greece and rome, to the amazing culture of the mayans,eyewitness: ancient civilizations looks at the world's most intriguing societies and the legacies they left behind.

Roman and travel through time to visit the most interesting civilizations throughout history in the first four books of her new series. learn what kind of food you might eat in ancient greece, the type of clothing you might wear what your name could be, and what children in the olden days did for fun. if you were me and lived in…does for history what her other award-winning series did for culture. so get on-board this time-travel machine and discover the world through the eyes of a young person just like you.

Ancient rome was an imposing city even by modern standards, a sprawling imperial metropolis of more than a million inhabitants, a "mixture of luxury and filth, liberty and exploitation, civic pride and murderous civil war" that served as the seat of power for an empire that spanned from spain to syria. yet how did all this emerge from what was once an insignificant village in central italy? classicist mary beard narrates the unprecedented rise of a civilization that even two thousand years later still shapes many of our most fundamental assumptions about power, citizenship, responsibility, political violence, empire, luxury, and beauty. opening the book in 63 bce with the famous clash between the populist aristocrat catiline and cicero, the renowned politician and orator, beard animates this "terrorist conspiracy," which was aimed at the very heart of the republic, demonstrating how this singular event would presage the struggle between democracy and autocracy that would come to define much of rome's subsequent history. illustrating how a classical democracy yielded to a self-confident and self-critical empire, s.p.q.r. reintroduces us to famous and familiar characters — hannibal, julius caesar, cleopatra, augustus, and nero, among others — while expanding the historical aperture to include those overlooked in traditional histories: the women, the slaves and ex-slaves, conspirators, and those on the losing side of rome's glorious conquests.

"as panoramic as it is learned, this is ancient history for our globalized world." tom holland, author of dynasty and rubicontwenty-five-hundred years ago, civilizations around the world entered a revolutionary new era that overturned old order and laid the foundation for our world today. in the face of massive social changes across three continents, radical new forms of government emerged; mighty wars were fought over trade, religion, and ideology; and new faiths were ruthlessly employed to unify vast empires. the histories of rome and china, greece and india-the stories of constantine and confucius, qin shi huangdi and hannibal-are here revealed to be interconnected incidents in the midst of a greater drama.in ancient worlds, historian michael scott presents a gripping narrative of this unique age in human civilization, showing how diverse societies responded to similar pressures and how they influenced one another: through conquest and conversion, through trade in people, goods, and ideas. an ambitious reinvention of our grandest histories, ancient worlds reveals new truths about our common human heritage." a bold and imaginative page-turner that challenges ideas about the world of antiquity." peter frankopan, author of the silk roads

You can make history come alive in your classroom with the evan-moor history pockets: ancient civilizations, grades 1-3. our book is organized using discovery pockets, each of which introduces a new civilization to your students, including the ancient worlds of mesopotamia, egypt, greece, rome, china and the aztecs. the discovery pockets include illustrations for students, puppets to demonstrate the clothing worn in the time period and crafts projects. students will love learning about ancient civilizations, including what they ate, what they wore and where they lived.

From the author of the best-selling ancient mediterranean civilizations: from prehistory to 640 ce, second edition (2015), sources in ancient mediterranean civilizations: documents, maps, and images is both a stand-alone sourcebook and a companion reader. features 133 lengthy primary sources in translation, 14 maps, and 133 illustrations give equal coverage to the near east, greece, roman republic and empire, and late antiquity rather than simply presenting undigested snippets of text, sources in ancient mediterranean civilizations provides fully annotated, longer text excerpts, edited for readability, sense, consistency, and flow every chapter opens with a full-page map that sets the sources in geographical context, and each document is accompanied by a related image and commentary that establish its authorship, historical context, and significance includes two chapters on topics not covered in any other sourcebook: "accounts of the creation of the universe, humans, and the flood" and "civilization beyond the near east, greece, and rome"

History will never be the same again! this spirited reading of the first in susan wise bauer's story of the world history series brings to life the stories and records of the peoples of ancient times. now more than ever, other countries and customs affect our everyday lives-and our children need to learn about the people who live all around the globe. susan wise bauer has provided a captivating guide to the history of the ancient world. written in an engaging, straightforward manner, the story of the world weaves world history into a storybook format. this volume covers the major historical events from the beginning of civilization to the fall of the roman empire. this story of the world audiobook is a collaboration between jim weiss, whose voice has been described as “liquid gold” (cnn-tv), and susan wise bauer, whose writing has been described as “timeless and intelligent” (publishers weekly). it may be used along with the print books (the story of the world volume 1 text book, activity book, and tests; each sold separately), as a supplement to a traditional history curriculum, or independently. approximately 8 hours on 7 audio cds.

A lively and engaging narrative history showing the common threads in the cultures that gave birth to our own.this is the first volume in a bold series that tells the stories of all peoples, connecting historical events from europe to the middle east to the far coast of china, while still giving weight to the characteristics of each country. susan wise bauer provides both sweeping scope and vivid attention to the individual lives that give flesh to abstract assertions about human history. dozens of maps provide a clear geography of great events, while timelines give the reader an ongoing sense of the passage of years and cultural interconnection. this old-fashioned narrative history employs the methods of “history from beneath”—literature, epic traditions, private letters and accounts—to connect kings and leaders with the lives of those they ruled.

A compelling history of the world’s greatest ancient powers. in this highly appealing collection, a distinguished team of internationally renowned scholars survey the great empires from 1600 bce to 500 ce. in ten comprehensive chapters, from the ancient mediterranean to china, these experts guide readers through the empires of new kingdom egypt, the hittites, assyria and babylonia, achaemenid persia, athens, alexander the great and his successors, parthian and early sasanian persia, rome, india, and qin and han china. each chapter conveys the main narrative of events, their impact on ancient societies, and the dominant rulers who shaped that history, from ramesses ii in egypt to chandragupta in india, from rome’s augustus to china’s shi-huangdi. exploring the nature of empire itself, the great empires of the ancient world shows how profoundly imperialism in the distant past influenced our contemporary ideas of power.

This first book in the four-volume narrative history series for elementary students will transform your study of history. the story of the world has won awards from numerous homeschooling magazines and readers' polls—over 150,000 copies of the series in print! what terrible secret was buried in shi huangdi's tomb? did nomads like lizard stew? what happened to anansi the spider in the village of the plantains? and how did a six-year-old become the last emperor of rome? told in a straightforward, engaging style that has become susan wise bauer's trademark, the story of the world series covers the sweep of human history from ancient times until the present. africa, china, europe, the americas—find out what happened all around the world in long-ago times. this first revised volume begins with the earliest nomads and ends with the last roman emperor. newly revised and updated, the story of the world, volume 1 includes maps, a new timeline, more illustrations, and additional parental aids. this read-aloud series is designed for parents to share with elementary-school children. enjoy it together and introduce your child to the marvelous story of the world's civilizations. each story of the world volume provides a full year of history study when combined with the activity book, audiobook, and tests—each available separately to accompany each volume of the story of the world text book. volume 1 grade recommendation: grades 1-5.

First civilizations is the second edition of a popular student text first published in 1996 in montreal by les editions champ fleury. this much updated and expanded edition provides an introductory overview of the civilizations of ancient mesopotamia and ancient egypt. it was conceived primarily for students who have little or no knowledge of ancient history or archaeology.the book begins with the role of history and archaeology in understanding the past, and continues with the origins of agriculture and the formation of the sumerian city-states in mesopotamia. three subsequent chapters concentrate on assyrian and babylonian history and culture. the second half of the book focuses on egypt, begining with the physical environment of the nile, the formation of the egyptian state and the old kingdom. subsequent chapters discuss the middle kingdom, the hyksos period, and the 18th dynasty, with space devoted to hatshepsut, akhenaten, the ramesside period. the text ends with the persian conquest of mesopotamia and egypt.first civilizations also contains sections on astronomy, medicine, architecture, eschatology, religion, burial practices and mummification, and discusses the myths of gilgamesh, isis and osiris. each chapter has a basic bibliography which emphasizes english language encyclopedias, books and journals specializing in the ancient near east.

If you want to discover the remarkable history of mesopotamia, then keep reading… seven captivating manuscripts in one book: sumerians: a captivating guide to ancient sumerian history, sumerian mythology and the mesopotamian empire of the sumer civilization gilgamesh: a captivating guide to gilgamesh the king and the epic of gilgamesh ur: a captivating guide to one of the most important sumerian city-states in ancient mesopotamia assyrian history: a captivating guide to the assyrians and their powerful empire in ancient mesopotamia babylon: a captivating guide to the kingdom in ancient mesopotamia, starting from the akkadian empire to the battle of opis against persia, including babylonian mythology and the legacy of babylonia hammurabi: a captivating guide to the sixth king of the first babylonian dynasty, including the code of hammurabi the persian empire: a captivating guide to the history of persia, starting from the ancient achaemenid, parthian, and sassanian empires to the safavid, afsharid, and qajar dynasties some of the topics covered in part 1 of this book include: the ancient sumerians in a nutshell the social structure of ancient sumerians the religion and mythology of ancient sumerians the sumerian kingdoms chronology the everyday life of ancient sumerians and much, much more some of the topics covered in part 2 of this book include: the history of the epic all eleven tablets sumerian poems about gilgamesh and much, much more in part 3 of this book, you will: get a sense of how ur came to existence, how it grew, reached its zenith, fell, re-rose, and ultimately perished until it reemerged a little over a century and a half ago learn of its history, laden with wars, trade, divine worship, political corruption, and entertainment and much, much more some of the topics covered in part 4 of this book include: the assyrians arrive in mesopotamia: the early assyrian period the birth of a civilization: the old assyrian empire to the middle assyrian empire the beginning of the neo-assyrian empire imperial expansion and the golden age of the neo-assyrian empire the fall of the empire assyrian government and much, much more some of the topics covered in part 5 of this book include: the land of the babylonians life, culture, and gender roles throughout the years where superstition met science babylonia before the babylonians the amorite dynasty or the first babylonians the first fall of babylon and the rise of the kassites assyrian domination and rule, 911-619 bce and much, much more some of the topics covered in part 6 of this book include: babylon before hammurabi: position of the city in mesopotamia, early rulers rise of hammurabi: wars and achievements chronology of hammurabi hammurabi's character: physical appearance, relations with other rulers, glimpses of his personality the code of hammurabi and early mesopotamian law and much, much more so if you want to learn more about mesopotamia, scroll up and click the "add to cart" button

Explore the entire history of the ancient egyptian state from 3000 b.c. to 400 a.d. with this authoritative volume the newly revised second edition of a history of ancient egypt delivers an up-to-date survey of ancient egypt's history from its origins to the roman empire's banning of hieroglyphics in the fourth century a.d. the book covers developments in all aspects of egypt's history and their historical sources, considering the social and economic life and the rich culture of ancient egypt. freshly updated to take into account recent discoveries, the book makes the latest scholarship accessible to a wide audience, including introductory undergraduate students. a history of ancient egypt outlines major political and cultural events and places egypt's history within its regional context and detailing interactions with western asia and africa. each period of history receives equal attention and a discussion of the problems scholars face in its study. the book offers a foundation for all students interested in egyptian culture by providing coverage of topics like: a thorough introduction to the formation of the egyptian state between the years of 3400 b.c. and 2686 b.c. an exploration of the end of the old kingdom and first intermediate period, from 2345 b.c. to 2055 b.c. an analysis of the second intermediate period and the hyksos between 1700 b.c. and 1550 b.c. a discussion of greek and roman egypt between 332 b.c. and a.d. 395. perfect for students of introductory courses in ancient egyptian history and as background material for students of courses in egyptian art, archaeology, and culture, a history of ancient egypt will also earn a place in the libraries of students taking surveys of the ancient world and those seeking a companion volume to a history of the ancient near east.

Ancient roman civilization integrates in a single volume both a historical narrative and translated primary sources to make roman history more accessible than ever before. the book's unifying theme of cultural confrontation – how the romans interacted or engaged with a multitude of othermediterranean, asiatic, and african cultures – is interwoven throughout.

In this superbly illustrated volume, distinguished egyptologist zahi hawass guides you through the architectural landscape of ancient egypt. from houses and palaces, to the temples of the gods, to the tombs, hundreds of photographs and a compelling text unveil the mysteries of ancient egypt as unearthed through major excavations. as it leads you on a tour of important sites–the pyramids at giza, abu simbel, the valley of the kings–the great book of ancient egypt offers fresh insight into how people lived, prepared for death, and perceived their place within the universe. it recounts the history of the most famous kings and queens and shares details of people's everyday lives. zahi hawass makes his story all the more compelling by including his own archaeological adventures, sharing details of his illustrious career and revealing his own sense of awe of the magic and mystery of the pharaohs.

Never before in such detail has there been a history of this great and influential civilization that continues to mark the landscape (the colosseum, the roman roads, the aqueduct at nimes), our language, our calendar ("july" for julius caesar), our laws, our traditions (carrying a bride across the threshold), and our very thoughts. with all the gossip of i, claudius and the excitement of gladiator (but none of the historical inaccuracy), the mammoth book of eyewitness ancient rome is a unique tour into the most important civilization in the west.

Never before in such detail has there been a history of this great and influential civilization that continues to mark the landscape (the colosseum, the roman roads, the aqueduct at nimes), our language, our calendar ("july" for julius caesar), our laws, our traditions (carrying a bride across the threshold), and our very thoughts. with all the gossip of i, claudius and the excitement of gladiator (but none of the historical inaccuracy), the mammoth book of eyewitness ancient rome is a unique tour into the most important civilization in the west.

From the first cities of sumeria and babylon around 3500 bce to the fall of the rome and the bloody demise of the aztecs, here–in 200 mini essays–are the critical leaders and wars; ideas and inventions; myths and religions, and art and architecture of the first 5000 years of recorded history. discover the spiritual, cultural, technological and artistic innovations of the ancient civilizations that still amaze and influence us today–from the pyramids to the parthenon to macchu picchu and the great wall of china; and from the first hieroglyphic writings and great epics of world literature to democracy and the olympic games. the great civilizations are brought to life in vivid illustrations with 200 maps, iconic artworks and ancient artifacts. contents include: mesopotamia, ancient egypt, ancient india, ancient china, the persian empire, classic greece, the roman republic, the maya, the inca and many more.

Many ideas abound as to why certain complex societies collapsed in the past- environmental change, subsistence failure, fluctuating social structure, lack of adaptability. this engaging volume offers a new theory of collapse, that of social hubris. hubris blinds people to evidence that would allow them to adapt. comprehensive and well-written, this volume serves as an ideal text for undergraduate courses on ancient complex societies, as well as appealing to the scholar interested in societal collapse. this book -evaluates current theories on the collapse of ancient societies and discusses why they are incomplete in their ability to explain the failure of past civilizations; -concludes that the population and leadership must have been aware impending collapse at some point, but acted too late to reorganize and sustain their way of life; -demonstrates the theory through examination of mesopotamian, egyptian, roman, maya, inca, and aztec societies, with implications for contemporary societies.