The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars by Timothy Cornell (1994; 9781136754951) Entry-Level Overview/General: This is absolutely the best introduction to the early history of Rome, carefully synthesising the incredibly difficult archaeological and literary evidence for the period. Cornell illuminates the origins of the city of Rome…

PlutarchPrimary Source: Plutarch’s Parallel Lives compare famous Romans of the republican period with Greek counterparts. He includes well known figures such as Romulus, Caesar, Pompey, Sulla and Cicero, as well as those who are more obscure, at least to most modern readers. As biographies they focus on the personality and moral character of their subjects…

Notes:

History of Rome Podcast by Mike Duncan. Covered everything from the founding of Rome through the fall of the Western Empire (476 AD):http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/ Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History: http://www.dancarlin.com/disp.php/hh Larry Gonick’s Cartoon History of the Universe, Volume 2: http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/0385420935 Cary and Scullard’s A History of Rome: Down to the Reign of Constantine: http://www.amazon.com/History-Rome-Down-Reign-Constantine/dp/0312383959

The mention of “disobedient and bellicose tribes” appears to refer to the vari ous swarms of nomadic groups, such as Hephtalites, Huns, Turks, Avars, and Khazars, overrunning the land of Iran (Ērānšahr) in the last two centuries of Sasanian rule. In the present case, it is possible that this references hinted at Turkic peoples vanquished…

Article Alexander’s unusual reverence or admiration (literally: “love”) for the founder of the Achaemenid empire – Cyrus the Great (559–5303 ) (cf. Kuhrt 2003: 648; 2007: 46–103; Liverani 2014: 568–570; Knauth, Nadjmabadi 1975). It was so striking for Alexander’s contemporaries and posterity that the young warrior was remembered, so the geographer Strabo tells us, as…

Article (Second Link) TransliterationA (1) [ì-nu (. . .) damar-utu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ú-ša]k-ni-šu B1 (obv. 1)…

Article Definition A piece of propaganda cannot exist in a vacuum; it is a communication between two parties. Propaganda consists of three elements: the message, be it text, speech, image, or performance; the sender, who is responsible for the creation and distribution of the message; and the recipient, at whom the message is aimed. In…

Article Buzandaran Patmut‘iwnk‘ (The Epic Histories)