Philip De Souza

A "special edition" of a Roman newspaper containing articles about Roman history, politics, religion, fashion, food, and daily life, spanning the years of the Roman Empire from 753 B.C. to 476 A.D.

"This book is an innovative historical study of piracy in the Graeco-Roman world from the Archaic period to Late Antiquity. It explores the conditions which allowed piracy to flourish in the ancient Mediterranean, especially the close relationship between warfare and piracy, and examines the impact which pirates had upon ancient society. Surprisingly, in view of the prominence of pirates in many works of Classical literature, this book is the first to offer detailed analysis of the portrayal of piracy by ancient writers, including Homer, Cicero and the ancient novels, taking account of the political, social and literary contexts which shaped their accounts."--Jacket.

"This is a major new study of the ideas and practices involved in the making and breaking of peace treaties and truces from Classical Greece to the time of the Crusades. Leading specialists on war and peace in ancient and medieval history examine the creation of peace agreements, and explore the extent to which their terms could be manipulated to serve the interests of one side at the other's expense. The chapters discuss a wide range of uses to which treaties and other peace agreements were put by rulers and military commanders in pursuit of both individual and collective political aims. The book also considers the wider implications of these issues for our understanding of the nature of war and peace in the ancient and medieval periods. This broad-ranging account includes chapters on ancient Persia, the Roman and Byzantine Empires, Anglo-Saxon England and the Vikings."--BOOK JACKET.

"This book covers one of the defining periods of European history. The series of wars between the Classical Greeks and the Persian Empire produced the famous battles of Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis, as well as an ill-fated attempt to overthrow the Persian king in 400 B.C., which helped to inspire the conquests of Alexander the Great. To tell the story of these momentous events, of the lives of great men and women of the societies and cultures that produced them, and to explain how and why they came into conflict was the aim of Herodotus, the 'Father of History' whose account of the wars is our principal source and the first book to be called a history."--Jacket.

"It is a testament to the fascination generated by the subject, that even today the events of the Peloponnesian War are studied for what they can teach about diplomacy, strategy and tactics. This book reveals the darker side of Classical Greek civilization. From the horrific effects of overcrowding and the plague on the population of Athens to the vicious civil strife that often erupted in cities allied with Athens or Sparta, this volume offers vivid and at times disturbing insights into the impact of warfare on the people who are celebrated as the founders of Western civilization."--BOOK JACKET.

"It is a testament to the fascination of the subject that even today the events of the Peloponnesian War are studied for what they can teach about diplomacy, strategy and tactics. This book reveals the darker side of Classical Greek civilization. From the horrific effects of overcrowding and the plague on the population of Athens, to the vicious civil strife that often erupted in cities allied with Athens or Sparta, this volume offers vivid and at times disturbing insights into the impact of warfare on the people who are celebrated as the founders of Western civilization."--Bloomsbury Publishing.