This bibliography is a result of years of contributions by the members of the EB community. It was originally compiled by oudysseos over on the Org's Europa Barbarorum I sub-forum. With the release of EBII, and the fact that TWC did not host a bibliography, I decided to create one on this board by updating the original list. I tried to make it more user-friendly by hyper-linking the titles to make looking them up as convenient as possible. Reviews and info on the authors were also included, when available. With the help of community members new titles were added.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Many books still lack comments, so please do share your thoughts if there is anything on that list that you can provide a constructive feedback on.
Hopefully, this bibliography will be of use to some of you.
Read history to comply with the conditions of use you agreed to upon installing the EB.
Voluntary non-binding guidelines for submitting books to the bibliography.
I will include all suggested books published in English. I think that it is more useful if there is some uniformity in the list. I therefore ask that if you submit a book, please use the following format: Name of Book Underlined, in bald, Name of Author or Editor, (Publishing data optional), A Brief squib of your opinion.
I will edit submissions to more-or-less conform to this format, so it just saves me time if you do it like that.
If I miss or forget to add your submission to the main post, please remind me and I will rectify. It will never be on purpose.
- Arabia (Malkűtâ Nabâta, Sb' w-gwm)
Monuments of South Arabia, Brian Doe.
Arabia Felix from the Time of the Queen of Sheba: Eighth Century B.C. to First Century A.D. 1999, Jean-Francois Breton.
Ancient South Arabia: from the Queen of Sheba to the Advent of Islam, Klaus Schippman.
Arabia and the Arabs: from the Bronze Age to the coming of Islam (Routledge, 2001), Robert G Hoyland.
- Armenia (Hayastan)
The Armenian Origin of the Etruscans, Robert B. D. Ellis.
Available Online
History of the Armenians, Movses Khorenatsi.
Father of Armenian historiography. A classic.
The Armenians, A. E. Redgate.
Good read.
Dennis R. Papazian (University of Michigan-Dearborn) Review
The Kingdom of Armenia, M. Chahin.
Made of two parts: part 1 is dedicated to kingdom of Urartu; part 2, kingdom of Armenia from Yervanduni (Orontid) dynasty to the fall of Cilician Armenia. Interesting read.
The Pre-History of the Armenians, 4 volumes. Gabriel Soultanian.
A hypothesis on “the pre-history of the Hays, the Indo-European ancestors of the Armenians, tracing their migration from the Balkans into Anatolia and Urartu - which became Hayastan (Armenia).”
Tigranes the Great: A Biography, Herant K. Armen.
The only biography of Tigranes (II) the Great to be ever originally published in English. Addressed to general public, its author for the first time tells the story from Armenian point of view. By scrutinizing and cross checking inconsistent and contradictory ancient sources, the author tries to draw a more accurate picture.
Tigranes II and Rome: A New Interpretation Based on Primary Sources, Hakob H. Manandyan.
Excellent work by one of the major Armenian historians of the twentieth century. As the title suggests, it is one of the first academic attempts to critically analyse the portrayal of Tigranes (and partially Mithridates VI Eupator) by the Greek and Roman authors, to look beyond their biases and reconcile inconsistencies. Highly recommended.
Trade and Cities of Armenia in Relation to Ancient World Trade, Hakob H. Manandyan.
A History of Armenia, Vahan M. Kurkjian.
Available Online
Armenia in the Period of Justinian, Nicolas Adontz.
A ground-breaking study on the socio-political organisation of Armenia from antiquity to early middle ages.
Studies in Christian Caucasian History, Cyril Toumanoff.
Another ground-breaking study by the major genealogist and historian of the region.
UCLA Armenian History & Culture Series, ed. Richard G. Hovannisian.
- Bactria (Baktria)
Thundering Zeus, Frank L. Holt.
Excellent work.
The Greek Kingdom of Bactria, H. Sidky.
A. T. Fear (University of Manchester) Review
The Greeks in Bactria and India, W.W. Tarn.
The Indo-Greeks, A.K. Narain.
The Greeks in India: A Survey in Philosophical Understanding, Demetrios Th. Vassilides.
The Hellenistic Far East: Archaeology, Language, and Identity in Greek Central Asia, Rachel Mairs.
Lost World of the Golden King: In Search of Ancient Afghanistan, Frank L. Holt.
Probably the most concise knowledge base about Baktria and the Indo-Greeks. It is also, by far, the most modern book about this topic. Introduces a lot of different theories and information, puts it into context etc. Very thorough and scientific approach. He does not claim to know what exactly happened, but he shows what is likely, what is maybe a bit less likely but still possible and so on. It is very much up to date.
Bactria - The History of a Forgotten Empire, H.G. Rowlinson.
Pretty interesting book. I think along with Tarn's standard book one of the best sources about ancient Baktria. Less opionated than Tarn, I think, but Rowlinson's book also has some outdated stuff in it.
The Greek Experience of India: From Alexander to the Indo-Greeks, Richard Stoneman.
- Carthage and its neighbours (Safot Softim biQarthadast, Mamla'ha biMassylim)
Carthage: A History, Serge Lancel.
Hannibal, Serge Lancel.
Excellent biography by one of the leading scholars. Highly recommended.
Hannibal, Ernle Bradford.
Hannibal, Lt. Col. Theodore Ayrault Dodge.
Old but very good.
Hannibal's Last Battle: Zama and Fall of Carthage, B. T. Carey.
Good narrative on Punic wars, but the beauty of this book is in detailed graphic reconstructions of all major engagements, both at sea and on land.
Hannibal: A Hellenistic Life, Eve Macdonald.
The Fall of Carthage, Adrian Goldsworthy.
Motya, Unearthing a Lost Civilization, Gaia Servadio.
Laina Farhat-Holzman Review
The North African Stones Speak, Paul MacKendrick.
Tim Garrard (University of California) Review
Tripolitania, David J. Mattingly.
Very detailed account on this part of North Africa.
The Phoenicians and the West: Politics, Colonies and Trade, Maria Eugenia Aubert.
Not Carthage specific but a lot of cultural information.
The World of the Phoenicians, Sabatino Moscati.
A decent survey of Carthaginian history on the second half but really worth it for the chapters on culture, religion and language.
Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilisation, Richard Miles.
Not scrutinising military aspect, it is nonetheless excellent book by one of the leading British experts on Carthage. Relies considerably on archaeological evidence. Highly recommended.
Adrian Goldsworthy Review
Adrienne Mayor (London Review of Books) Review
The Economist Review
The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic, Robert L. O'Connell.
Excelent book about the Hannibal invasion of Italy with the most famous battle in the center but also how the strengths and weakness of the opponents societies and military strategies turn slowly the tide in favour of the romans despite the tremendous losses and the genius of the punic general.
The Phoenicians: The Purple Empire of the Ancient World, Gerhard Herm.
Very easy to read.
Carthage's Other Wars: Carthaginian Warfare Outside the 'Punic Wars' Against Rome, Dexter Hoyos.
- Celtic and Germanic peoples (Aedui, Arverni, Boii, Lugiones, Pritanoi, Swęboz)
The Prehistory of Germanic Europe, H. Schutz.
The Ancient Celts, Barry Cunliffe.
The Celtic Empire: The First Millennium of Celtic History 1000 BC – AD 51, Peter Berresford Ellis.
The Celts, eds. Sabatino Moscati, Otto Hermann Frey, Venceslas Kruta, Barry Raftery, Miklós Szabó.
Celts and the Classical World, David Rankin.
Gallia Narbonensis: Southern Gaul in Roman Times, A. L. F. Rivet.
The Historical Atlas of the Celtic World, John Haywood, Barry Cunliffe.
Stretches to modern times but half the book is pertinent to the EB time frame. Good maps.
Roman Ireland, Vittorio di Martino.
Agricola invaded Ireland! Maybe.
Roman Britain, Plantagenet Somerset Fry.
The standard work on Roman sites in Britain with plenty of history. Also a good book for IBFD.
Iron Age Communities in Britain, Barry Cunliffe.
The bible for this area. Absolutely indispensable.
Pagan Celtic Ireland, Barry Raftery.
The Britons, Christopher A. Snyder.The Iron Age in Northern Britain, D. W. Harding.
Coins and Power in Late Iron Age Britain, John Creighton.
Celtic from the West: Alternative Perspectives from Archaeology, Genetics, Language and Literature, eds. Barry Cunliffe, John T. Koch.
Jürgen Zeidler (University of Trier) Review.
Celtic from the West 2: Rethinking the Bronze Age and the Arrival of Indo-European in Atlantic Europe, eds. Barry Cunliffe, John T. Koch.
Delicate urbanism in context: Settlement nucleation in pre-Roman Germany (2017), S. Stoddart.
Etymology, ethnonyms and exonyms of ancient tribes: Germani as a Translation of Sciri and sources on the continental Celts (in French) by Genava and VINC.XXIII
- Epirus (Epiros)
Epirus. The Geography, the Ancient Remains, the History and the Topography of Epirus and Adjacent Areas, N. G. L. Hammond.
Pyrrhos: King of Epirus, Petros Garoufalias.
[/SPOILER][SPOILER]
Pyrrhus of Epirus, Jeff Champion.
The most recent biography of Pyrrhus, it follows in the king's footsteps as he fought his way through Italy, Sicily and Greece.
It is well written, and while it says that it's intended for a non-academic audience, he does go into quite a few detailes critically citing different historians; why he believes them, why not etc which i think is really great for this kind of work. Also, imho to really understand the book you really need to have a pretty decent knowledge or the period, and look at the map a lot to really understand what's going on, so don't worry about the book being too basic. Will definetly buy more books from the author.
The Illyrians, John Wilkes.
Fantastic book - very good on the differences between the Illyrians and the Greeks, really puts them in context.
The Army of Pyrrhus of Epirus, Nicholas Sekunda.
- Eurasian steppe (Saka Rauka, Sauromatae)
Scythians and Greeks: Cultural Interactions in Scythia, Athens and the Early Empire, ed. David Braund.
Mostly translations of Russian academic works that have not been available in English.
Elias K. Petropoulos (Democritus University of Thrace) Review
The Sarmatians, T. Sulimiroki.
The World of the Scythians, Renate Rolle.
The above two books not specific to EB time frame per se but lots of pics and cultural info.
History of Civilizations of Central Asia, vol. II: The Development of Sedentary and Nomadic Civilizations: 700 BC to AD 250, eds. Janos Harmatta, B. N. Puri, G. F. Etemadi.
Chapters on Parthia, the Greek kingdoms of Central Asia, Nomads in east central Asia, the Yueh-chih, The Sakas and Indo-Parthians, the Kushans, languages and scripts in Graeco-Bactria and the Saka kingdoms, etc.
Available Online
The Tarim Mummies, J. P. Mallory, V. H. Mair.
Warriors of the Steppe: A Military History of Central Asia, 500 BC to 1700 AD, Erik Hildinger.
Christopher Berg (De Re Military) Review
The Huns, Rome and the Birth of Europe, Hyun Jin Kim.
Peter Gordon (Asian Review of Books) Review
Hugh Elton (Trent University) Review
Richard Payne (The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago) Review
The World of the Huns: Studies in Their History and Culture, Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen.
Available Online
Empires of the Silk Road (2009), Christopher I. Beckwith.
A Study of Saka History, Taishan Yu.
- Greece/Hellenistic (Koinon Hellenon, Bosporan Kingdom, Pergamon)
Rhodes in the Hellenistic Age, R.M. Berthold.
The Hellenistic World from Alexander to the Roman Conquest: A Selection of Ancient Sources in Translation (Cambridge University Press, 2006), M. M. Austin.
Jews in the Hellenistic World, Volume 1, Part II, Ronald Williamson.
Interstate Arbitrations in the Greek World, 337-90 B.C. (Hellenistic Culture and Society) (University of California Press, 1997), Sheila L. Ager.
The Greek State, '(Routledge Library Editions: Political Science Volume 23) [Kindle Edition], Victor Ehrenberg.
Statues and Cities: Honorific Portraits and Civic Identity in the Hellenistic World (Oxford Studies in Ancient Culture & Representation), John Ma.
Sparta and Lakonia, P. Cartledge.
Hellenistic and Roman Sparta, P. Cartledge.
Both above titles are excellent and cheap!
The two books available Online.
Spartan Twilight, Linda J. Piper.
Sparta's Last Stand, Alex Dimond.
Athens from Alexander to Antony, C. Habicht.
Wealthy Corinth, J. B. Salmon.
Greeks, Romans, and Barbarians: Spheres of Interaction, Barry Cunliffe.
A History of the Greek City States, 700-338 BC, Raphael Sealey.
The Greek World 479-323 BC, Simon Hornblower.
The Greek Tyrants, A. Andrews.
More about the Classical Period, but a great background book with some good bits on hoplites.
Ancient Greece, Eyewitness Guides.
A cheesey selection but has some nice pictures.
The Cambridge Companion to the Hellenistic World, ed. Glenn Bugh.
Great collection of articles, especially “Hellenistic Military Developments” by the editor and “Hellenistic Economies” by John Davies.
A History of the Greek Word 323-146 BC, M. Cary.
Very Helleno-centric, nothing really new but later chapters on economics and governments in post Alexandrine Greece very interesting.
The Hellenistic World and the Coming of Rome, Erich Gruen.
Only had a chance to skim through this but a very interesting work: not a chronological history but more an analysis of the impact on Greek thought and life of Roman dominance, i.e. how the previously world-conquering Hellenes adjusted to being conquered.
The Social and Economic History of the Greek World, M. Rostovtzeff.
3 volumes, covers the EB period in depth with great chapters on the 'minor monarchies' (Pergamon, Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia and the Black Sea City-states and the Bosporan Kingdom).
The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek, Barry Cunliffe.
A Massaliot Greek's travels to Britain in 320 BC, and lots of stuff about the interaction between the Hellenic and Celtic worlds. Well written.
An Introduction to Greek Epigraphy of the Hellenistic and Roman Periods from Alexander the Great down to the Reign of Constantine (323 B.C. - A.D. 337), B. H. McLean.
Babylon, Memphis, Persepolis: Eastern Contexts of Greek Culture, Walter Burkett.
The City of Sharp Nosed Fish, Greeks Lives in Roman Egypt, Peter Parsons.
The story of the late 19th century expedition of Grenfell and Hunt to the ruins of Oxyrhynchos, outside of Cairo, where they found a massive horde of papyri detailing the everyday lives of Greek colonist in Egypt from Alexander up to Roman times. Fascinating.
The Guardian Review
The Role of Metals in Ancient Greek History, Michail Yu Treister.
Expedition to Disaster: The Athenian Mission to Sicily 415 BC, Philip Matyszak.
Daily Life in Greece at the Time of Pericles, Robert Flaceliere.
Hellenistic History and Culture, ed. Peter Green.
Available Online
Dividing the Spoils, Robin Waterfield.
Ancient Cyprus, Veronica Tatton-Brown.
A publication of the British Museum.
War, Food, and Politics in Early Hellenistic Athens, G. J. Oliver.
Michael D. Dixon, (University of Southern Indiana) Review
The Age of Titans, the Rise and Fall of the Great Hellenistic Navies, W. M. Murray.
Michael Kulikowski (London Review of Books) Review
Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age, Peter Green.
Fantastic, though he seemed to make a lot of subjective arguments at time.
Attalid Asia Minor: Money, International Relations, and the State, Peter Thonemann.
The Attalid Kingdom: A Constitutional History (Oxford University Press, 1983), R. E. Allen.
Hellenism in the East, eds. Amelie Kuhrt, Susan Sherwin-White.
A compilation, I read the article The Arab-Persian Gulf under the Seleucids by Jean-Francois Salles. A lot more was going on there than you might think.
Chapter 6 available Online
The Sanctuary of Demeter at Pergamon: Architecture and Dynasty in the Early Attalid Capital (2009), Piok Zanon.
Eumenes of Cardia: A Greek among Macedonians, Edward M. Anson.
Rise of the Greeks, M. Grant.
Pretty dry and reviews the entire Archaic Greek world region by region, so it's good for people who are already well-read on classical Greece.[
- Iberia (Areuakoi, Lusotannan)
Roman Spain: Conquest and Assimilation, Leonard A. Curchin.
Rome's Enemies (4): Spanish Armies, Rafael Trevino Martinez, Angus McBride.
Hispaniae: Spain and the Development of Roman Imperialism, 218-82 BC, J. S. Richardson.
Los Celtiberos, Alberto J Lorrio. (in Spanish)
Basically the bible for this area.
Available Online
e-Keltoi, volume 6: The Celts in the Iberian Peninsula, eds. Manuel Alberro, Bettina Arnold.
20 pdf articles.
Available Online
Sertorius and the Struggle for Spain, Philip Matyszac.
Viriathus and the Lusitanian Resistance to Rome, Luis Silva.
Armas de la Antigua Iberia de Tartesos a Numancia, Fernanda Quesada Sanz. (in Spanish)
He also has Armas de Grecia y Roma and contributes to Gladius, on online journal.
Colonial Encounters in Ancient Iberia: Phoenician, Greek and Indigenous Rekations, Dietler, Lopez-Ruiz.
Expensive and hard to come by but worth it.
Weapons, Warriors and Battles of Ancient Iberia, Fernando Quesada Sanz.
- India (Taksashila)
Intercourse between India and the Western World, H.G. Rawlinson.
Available Online
Indika, Megasthenes.
- Macedon (Makedonia)
Lysimachus: A Study in Early Hellenistic Kingship, Helen S. Lund.
A History of Macedonia, R. M. Errington.
The Macedonian Empire: The Era of Warfare Under Philip II and Alexander the Great 359-323 BC, James R. Ashley.
Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army, Donald W. Engels.
Russell T. Scott (Bryn Mawr College) Review
The Genius of Alexander the Great, N. G. L. Hammond.
The Macedonian State: Origins, Institutions, and History: The Origins, Institutions and History, N. G. L. Hammond.
Philip of Macedon, N. G. L. Hammond.
Excellent piece that also draws light on the workings of contemporary city-states and political situation in Greece. Highly recommended.
Alexander the Great, Robin Lane Fox.
Alexander of Macedon, 356-323 B.C.: A Historical Biography, Peter Green.
Alexander, Lt. Col. Theodore Ayrault Dodge.
The Nature of Alexander, Mary Renault.
The Grandmother of Classical Historical Fiction gives her non-fictionary opinion of Alexander. Well written and also provides a glimpse behind the scenes of her famous trilogy.
Philip V of Macedon, F. W. Walbank.
A good biography of Philip V.
The Macedonian War Machine 359 - 281 BC, David Karunanithy.
This book focuses on neglected aspects of the Macedonian army such as recruitment, training, marching, logistics, seige equipment and crossing geographic obstacles (more explored areas such as the sarissa and the phalanx are left for other authors). This is a fascinating book, well researched and referenced, describing a highly professional and organised army and military state. The author also offers some interesting speculations where evidence is lacking. Particularly intriguing are the changes in the army and armour (linen to metallic) that may have taken after Alexander took over and had access to all the riches and resources of the Achaemenid empire.
The Macedonians in Athens, 322-229 B.C., eds. Olga Palagia, Stephen V. Tracy.
Ian Worthington (University of Missouri-Columbia) Review
Macedonian Institutions under the Kings (1996), Miltiades V. Hatzopoulos.
A Companion to Ancient Macedonia (Ancient Warfare and Civilization), Joseph Roisman, Ian Worthington (eds.)
By the Spear: Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire (Oxford University Press, 2014), Ian Worthington.
The Antigonid Army, Nicholas Sekunda.
Antipater's Dynasty: Alexander the Great's Regent and his Successors, J. D. Grainger.
- Persia/Parthia (Pavlava)
The Persians, Maria Brosius.
From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire, Pierre Briant.
The Idea of Iran, Volumes I-IV (Achaemenids to Sassanian Dynasties), Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, Sarah Stewart.
Cambridge History of Iran, II-III.
Persian Responses: Political and Cultural Interaction within the Achaemenid Empire (Classical Press of Wales, 2007), Christopher Tuplin.
The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period, Vol.1 (Routledge, 2007), Amelie Kuhrt.
The World of Achaemenid Persia: The Diversity of Ancient Iran (I. B. Tauris, 2010), John Curtis, St. John Simpson.
Elam and Persia (2011), Javier Álvarez-Mon, Mark B. Garrison.
The Parthians, Malcolm A. R. Colledge.
Older book that traces the Parni throughout til the Sassanids.
Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War, Kaveh Farrokh.
Well illustrated but poorly researched work oblivious to the recent advances in Achaemenid studies. Contains many inaccuracies and errors.
History of Persia, Sir Percy M. Sykes.
Old but good. Go for the first volume since it deals with the EB timeframe and beyond.
Available Online
A History of Parthia, George Rawlinson.
Old but excellent.
Available Online
Ancient Persia : from 550 BC to 650 AD, Josef Wiesehöfer (trans. Azizeh Azodi),
Excellent modern study covering Achaemenid, Arsacid and Sasanian Period (Seleucids are largely omitted, sadly). It is a MUST!
Rome and Persia in late Antiquity: Neighbours and Rivals, Beate Dignas, Engelbert Winter.
Very good overview of the development of mtual relations from Carrhae to the fall of Sasanian Empire, studying not only mutual wars, but also the development of the diplomatic protocol, trade and cultural interchange.
Arsacids and Sasanians, M. Rahim Shayegan.
An amazing book that goes into ideology of the Arsakids and how the Sassanians both co-opted and diverged from this model. Really amazing book, and even employs the Bablyonian Astronomical Dairies. Recommended for any budding historian of the Near East.
Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran, Parvaneh Pourshariati.
Absolutely amazing book that goes into great detail about the Arsakid social structure and very intricate detail about the Sassanian revolution. She argues an up-and-coming idea that the Sassanians were likely a Parthian clan themselves, and that the Sassanian empire should really be called the Sassanian-Parthian empire. Really good stuff, and would highly recommend it.
An Introduction to the Coinage of Parthia, David Sellwood.
This book has been instrumental in Parthian historiography. Without this work, literally all the stuff that we have on the Parthians (especially the early Parthians) would not exist. This guy (David Sellwood) was THE guy in Parthian numismatics and wrote this amazing book.
The Parthian and Early Sasanian Empires: Adaptation and Expansion (Oxbow, 2014)
First several chapters are devoted to the Parthians in 3-1 centuries, including considerations on the use of the elephants on the battlefield.
King of the Seven Climes: A History of the Ancient Iranian World, T. Daryaee.
A very new textbook on the Iranian history produced by well-known author Touraj Daryaee. It's probably a too general for the seasoned EBII Pahlava players, but for the new to the subject it may be just perfect.
History of the Persian Empire, A.T. Olmstead.
Available Online
- Pontus (Pontos)
The Foreign policy of Mithridates VI Eupator King of Pontus, B.C McGing.
Colloquia Pontica Series.
Cambridge Ancient History V. 9, "Pontus and its Neighbors," M. Rostovtzeff, H.A. Ormerod.
Mithridates the Great, Rome's Indomitable Enemy, Philip Matyszak.
Quite good. Although the author tends to draw on Roman sources too heavily and somewhat uncritically at times (i.e. citing the battle casualties).
The Poison King, Adrienne Mayor.
It's basically a historical novel. Everything is non fiction but the author makes it into a story.
Mithridates VI and the Pontic Kingdom,ed. Jakob Munk Hřjte.
Excellent, expert-written collection of essays. Highly recommended!
Available Online
- Ptolemies (Ptolemaioi)
The House of Ptolemy, Edwyn R. Bevan.
Available Online
A History of the Ptolemaic Empire, G. Holbl.
A very good account.
Ptolemy of Egypt, Walter M. Ellis (1993).
Ptolemy II Philadelphus and His World (History and Archaeology of Classical Antiquity, 2008), Paul McKechnie, Phillipe Guillame.
The Epistrategos in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, Part 1, J. David Thomas.
Cleopatra, Ernle Bradford.
Begins with a concise and informative overview of the Ptolemies, and includes the most interesting analysis of Caesar's character. Makes one think.
Cleopatra, Michael Grant.
Rome and the Ptolemies of Egypt: the Development of Their Political Relations 273-80 B.C., Anssi Lampela.
Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt, Ch. Fischer-Bovet.
Imagination of a Monarchy: Studies in Ptolemaic Propaganda, R.A. Hazzard.
Land and Power in Ptolemaic Egypt: The Structure of Land Tenure, J. G. Manning (2003).
Seeing Double: Intercultural Poetics in Ptolemaic Alexandria, Susan A. Stephens (2003).
Taxes, Taxpayers, and Tax Receipts in Early Ptolemaic Thebes (The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Volume 126, 2005), Brian Muhs.
Ptolemy I: King and Pharaoh of Egypt, Ian Worthington.
- Rome (Senatus Populusque Romanus)
Rubicon, Tom Holland.
Arguably, Hollands best work. Highly recommended.
The Guardian Review
Richard Miles (formerly Trinity Hall, Cambridge) Review
The Fall of the Roman Empire, Peter Heather.
The Guardian Review
N. S. Gill Review
The Fall of the Roman Empire, Michael Grant.
The Ancient Roman City, John E. Stambaugh.
History of Rome, Theodor Mommsen.
Available Online
History of Rome, Indro Montanelli.
Claudius, Barbara Levick.
War and Imperialism in Republican Rome, W.V. Harris.
Available Online
Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, Lesley, Roy Adkins.
As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History, Jo-Ann Shelton.
Imperial Ideology and Provincial Loyalty in the Roman Empire, Clifford Ando.
The Logistics of the Roman Army at War (264 BC-AD 235), Johnathan P. Roth.
A. A. Nofi (Strategy Page) Review
Available Online
The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic, ed. Harriet I. Flower.
Greek and Roman Medicine, Ian Dawson.
The Roman World: the Oxford History of the Classical World, eds. Boardman, Griffin, Murray.
The Battle That Stopped Rome: Emperor Augustus, Arminius, and the Slaughter of the Legions in the Teutoburg Forest, Peter S. Wells.
Good book about the Battle of Teutoburg Forest that is backed up with archaeological evidence. The author, Wells, goes into cultural aspects of Germania during that time. He also talks about how that battle haunted Rome and inspired the Germanic people for years to come.
Available Online
Roman Religion, Valerie M. Warrior.
Celia E. Schultz (Yale University) Review
Roman Art: Romulus to Constantine, Nancy H. Ramage, Andrew Ramage.
The Jews in the Roman World, Michael Grant.
Pretty much anything he ever wrote is worth looking at.
The Enemies of Rome, Philip Matyszak.
Greatest leaders that fought Rome, from Hannibal to Attila. Addressed to general public somewhat lacks depth. It is obviously impossible to tell every character's story thoroughly in a single volume. Fine read nevertheless.
Scipio Africanus: Greater than Napoleon, B. H. Liddell Hart.
The Roman Army at War 100 BC - AD 200, Adrian Goldsworthy.
The Complete Roman Army, Adrian Goldsworthy.
Roman Warfare, Adrian Goldsworthy.
In the Name of Rome: The Men Who Won the Roman Empire, Adrian Goldsworthy.
Caesar, Adrian Goldsworthy.
Weapons of the Romans, Michel Feugere.
Rome and Her Enemies: An Empire Created and Destroyed By War, ed. Jane Penrose.
There is only so much that could be made to fit into one volume, it is therefore somewhat shallow. Good read nevertheless.
Ancient Rome: A Military and Political History, Christopher S. Mackay.
Darryl A. Phillips (College of Charleston, South Carolina) Review
Caesar, Lt. Col. Theodore Ayrault Dodge.
Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome, Stephen Dando-Collins.
The Decline of the Roman Republic, George Long.
Available Online
Feeding the Roman Army: The Archeology of Production and Supply in NW Europe, eds. Sue Stallibrass, Richard Thomas (Oxbow Books).
The Republican Roman Army: A Sourcebook, Michael M. Sage (Routledge).
War, Women and Children in Ancient Rome, John K. Evans.
Caesar´s Heirs: Wolves in the Forum, John Bassett.
The Emperor Domitian, Brian W. Jones.
The Frontiers of Imperial Rome, David J Brezze.
Hadrian's Wall and the End of Empire: The Roman Frontier in the 4th and 5th Centuries (Routledge Studies in Archaeology), Rob Collins.
The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to the Rulers of Imperial Rome, 31 B.C. - A.D. 476, Michael Grant.
The Severans: The Roman Empire Transformed, Michael Grant.
Auxillae Vol. 1 and 2, Michael DuBois.
Rome Spreads Her Wings: Territorial Expansion Between the Punic Wars, Gareth Sampson.
A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War, Gary Forsythe.
As indicated by the title, the overall approach adopted throughout this volume is rather critical toward the general reliability of the surviving ancient sources of early Roman history. Agreeing with M. I. Finley's famous dictum that "the ancients' ability to invent and their capacity to believe are persistently underestimated," the author regards a critical approach as entirely justified and necessary. Read this a few months ago and loved it. When I first started reading Roman history most books I read were mostly about the post Punic war era when Rome was already a great power so this book was perfect for me in bridging the cap from the foundation of Rome to the First Punic war.
The Army of the Roman Republic: From the Regal Period to the Army of Julius Caesar, Michael M. Sage.
The Romans in Spain, 217 BC – AD 117, C. H. V. Sutherland.
Early Roman Warfare: From the Regal Period to the First Punic War, Jeremy Armstrong.
Rome at War: Farms, Families, and Death in the Middle Republic, Nathan Rosenstein.
The Roman Army: A History 753 BC-AD 476, Patricia Southern.
Rome and the Third Macedonian War, Paul J. Burton.
Roman Conquests series (Pen & Sword Books)
- Seleukids (Arche Seleukeia)
The House of Seleucus, Edwyn R. Bevan.
Available Online
Late Achaemenid and Hellenistic Babylon, T. Boiy.
The Seleucid Army: Organisation and Tactics in the Great Campaigns, B. Bar-Kochva.
The Roman War of Antiochos the Great, John D. Grainger.
Antiochus the Great, Michael Taylor.
The most recent biography of Antiochus. Describes military campaigns, includes an extensive bibliography.
Antiochos III and the Cities of Western Asia Minor, John Ma.
From Samarkhand to Sardis: A New Approach to the Seleucid Empire, S. Sherwin-White, A. Kuhrt.
One of the best on Seleukids.
Available Online
The Rise of the Seleukid Empire (323-223 BC): Seleukos I to Seleukos III, Volume 1, John D. Grainger.
Very interesting read! this is the first volume in a trilogy the rest of which is still to be published. It is a great read but lacks detailed maps (would be really helpfull as he gets into a lot of specific details about places), and it gets anticlimactic from time to time; the major battles of the diadochi get resolved really quickly. Still overall a very good read. A lot to learn, especially for the period between Alexander's death and the start of EB.
The Seleukid Empire of Antiochus III (223-187 BC), Volume 2, John D. Grainger.
The Fall of the Seleukid Empire (187-75 BC), Volume 3, John D. Grainger.
The Syrian Wars, John D. Grainger.
Stanley M. Burstein (California State University) Review
The Land of the Elephant Kings: Space, Territory and Ideology in the Seleucid Empire, Paul J. Kosmin.
An important study.
Judas Maccabaues: The Jewish Struggle Against Seleucids, B. Bar-Kochva.
The best information about Maccabean army. It also includes excellent chapters/Appendices about Seleucid military, best used with author´s book about Seleucid army.
Available Online
Tales of High Priests and Taxes: The Books of the Maccabees and the Judean Rebellion against Antiochos IV, Sylvie Honigman.
Review by Linda Zollschan
The Wars of the Maccabees, John D. Grianger.
Written mainly from the Seleucid point of view.
Seleucid and Arsacid Studies: A Progress Report on Developments in Source Research, Jozef Wolski.
A very interesting study that has continued from his earlier works on the Seleukids and Arsasids using new research results based on the Graeco-Latin sources, primarily Strabo and Justin, and analysis of recently discovered Babylonian sources will prove to be a very interesting study for those involved in this field of research.
The Impact of Seleucid Decline on the Eastern Iranian Plateau: The Foundations of Arsacid Parthia and Graeco-Bactria, Jeffrey D. Lerner.
Religion and Religious Practice in the Seleucid Kingdom, Per Bilde.
The Seleucid Mint of Antioch, Edward Theodore Newell.
Seleucid Archival Texts in the Harvard Semitic Museum (Cuneiform Monographs) (Brill Academic Publishers, 1998), Ronald Wallenfels.
The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire (Cambridge University Press, 2004), G. G. Aperghis.
Seleucid Dissolution: The Sinking of the Anchor, eds. Kyle Erickson, Gillian Ramsey.
Seleukid Royal Women: Creation, Representation and Distortion of Hellenistic Queenship in the Seleukid Empire, eds. Altay Coskun, Alex Mcauley.
The Men who Would be Kings: Kings and Usurpers in the Seleukid Empire, Boris Chrubasik.
In the Garden of the Gods: Models of Kingship from the Sumerians to the Seleucids, Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides.
Benefactors, Kings, Rulers: Studies on the Seleukid Empire between East and West, D. Engels.
Time and Its Adversaries in the Seleucid Empire, Paul J. Kosmin.
The Early Seleukids, their Gods and their Coins, Kyle Erickson.
The Seleukid Empire, 281-222 Bc: War Within the Family, ed. Kyle Erickson.
- Thrace (Getai)
The Thracians: 700 BC – AD 46, Christopher Webber, Angus McBride.
The Ancient Civilization of Romania, E.Condurachi, C. Daicoviciu.
The Thracians, R. F. Hoddinott.
Bulgaria in Antiquity, R. F. Hoddinott.
The above three contain sections on the Getai and their environs in the EB time frame, also tons of photos and cultural info, plus a lot about the Celtic kingdom of Komontorius from ca. 280 to 220 BC.
The Central Balkan Tribes In Pre Roman Times: Triballi, Autariatae, Dardanians, Scordisci And Moesians, Fanula Papazoglu.
Basically what it says on the cover. I found it somewhat dry to read, but this one is probably a very good introduction to the region and time-frame.
The Policy of Darius and Xerxes towards Thrace and Macedonia, Miroslav Ivanov Vasilev.
Again, what it says on the cover. As can be expected this book focuses on a very specific time-frame and in my opinion it seems to require a basic familiarity with the subject matter as it doesn't really provide a chronological overview and mentions several historic events without further explanation.
Thrace & the Thracians, Alexander Fol, Ivan Marazov.
Nice introduction to the subject and provides a very extensive overview of Thracian religion and the ideology of Thracian kingship. I sadly found the historical overview included at the end rather short and somewhat lacking in detail. At times I also got the feeling the authors were somewhat biased, but this may have been the result of my own bias, so to speak. I will leave this for potential readers to decide for themselves.
The Odrysian Kingdom of Thrace: Orpheus Unmasked, Z.H. Archibald.
Oh boy, this is a tough one. Probably the most extensive and detailed of them all, but also the least suitable for anyone unfamiliar with the subject or historical works in general. Expect archaeological and historical terminology, numismatic discussions and in-depth theorizing about (e.g.) the relations between Odrysian princes and the Greek colonies both on the coastline and inland. For my research purposes it was unfortunate that the focus does not extend beyond the early Hellenistic period, but I don't blame the author for drawing a line at some point (the book is heavy enough as it is ).The Huns, Rome.
Links to lingustics and archeology of Thrace, from Genghis Skahn.