Books in Inside the ancient world series

Beginning with the founding of Rome, each chapter features important figures- including Julius Caesar, Augustus, and Hadrian to discuss the evolution of the republic, Greek influences, and rise of Christianity. Chapters on gladiatorial games, business, and class conflict balance out sections covering emperors, wars, and conquests. Numerous illustrations and full-color photographs of site, artifacts, and period artwork bring the time period to life for readers. The engaging and accessible writing, combined with sourced quotations make it a useful resource for research and discovery.

Jennifer Roberts and Tracy Barrett bring together their respective mastery of scholarship and storytelling to tell the history of a place, a people, and a culture that has left some of the most beautiful art, the greatest stories, and the most magnificent cities and buildings that the world has ever known. The Ancient Greek World uses primary sources such as Homer's Odyssey, Herodotus' Histories, a Minoan drinking cup, and a child's grave epitaph to present a balanced and lively narrative history of ancient Greece. A chronology, cast of characters, maps, pronunciation table, further reading, and index supplement the main text.

This text sets out to bring to life the Greek and Roman plays and their staging, evoking the visual and emotional character of performances and dramatic festivals and offering a clear account of the plays and their writers. It attempts to re-create the excitement of the competitions and analyses the practical challenges faced by the playwrights and actors in staging the plays, whether tragedies or comedies. It also aims to bring to life the costumes, masks, stage and scenery, as well as the audience's reactions to the experience. The book gives clear summaries of well-known Greek and Roman plays and their authors, and explores in depth some of the best-known, particularly "Antigone" and "The Clouds". There are many suggestions for further study, including additional reading for both the teachers and pupils, topics for discussion, subjects to write about, and activities for individuals and groups.

Thousands of years ago, a variety of civilizations developed throughout the land we now know as China. Over time, they grew and changed, eventually forming a single empire. This title details the details the birth and development of ancient China, from its earliest days to its transition into more modern times. Readers will learn about ancient Chinese religion and culture and discover how the work of ancient Chinese scholars and inventors continues to affect our world today.

Throughout history, many civilizations have sprung up and later disappeared in the land we now call India.This book charts the rise and fall of these civilizations, exploring their governments, culture, and geography. Readers (Grades 6-9) will also discover how archaeologists have uncovered artifacts to learn about these ancient peoples and how the discoveries and innovations of Ancient India continue to influence the world today.

Discover Mesopotamia, the world's first civilization.Over ten thousand years ago, humans began settling in the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what is now southwestern Asia. Over time, these early settlements grew into Mesopotamia, the world's first civilization. Readers (Grades -9) will discover the long history of this incredible civilization and the incredible impact it had on the development of the world as we know it today.

Taking readers back 4,000 years, to the fertile land around the Nile River, The Ancient Egyptian World tells the stories of the kings, queens, pharaohs, gods, tomb builders, and ordinary citizens who lived there. Using papyri, scarabs, tomb inscriptions, mummies, and a rich variety of other primary sources, Eric H. Cline and Jill Rubalcaba uncover the fascinating history of ancient Egypt. Scarabs, which scholars call "imperial news bulletins," record important moments in a pharaoh's reign. The Edwin Smith Papyrus details the injuries sustained by the builders of the great pyramids, and the remedies used to treat them. For a worker who has had a stone fall on his head, it suggests: "bind it with fresh meat . . . and treat afterward with grease, honey and lint." A complex recipe for a top-of-the-line mummy describes a process that could take 70 days and involved drawing the brain out through the nose with a crooked piece of iron. These primary sources also tell the stories of the people of ancient Egypt: Pepi II, the six-year-old boy king who commanded armies; Ramesses II, whose mortuary temple boasts of his expertise in battle against the Hittites; Queen Hatshepsut, the only woman to rule Egypt as pharaoh; and Cleopatra, who courted Roman statesman Mark Antony as part of her quest to extend the Egyptian empire. The Ancient Egyptian World honors the history of a civilization whose monuments and tombs still capture the imagination of the world thousands of years later.

Pangu, a god asleep inside a giant black egg for 18,000 years, wakes up to create the world. Liu Bang, the founder of a Chinese dynasty, begins his life as a peasant. Sun Tzu, a fearless war strategist, writes one of the most popular books of all time. These are just a few of the captivating figures you'll meet in The Ancient Chinese World. Terry Kleeman and Tracy Barrett use a rich variety of intriguing primary sources-turtle shells, clay pots, an ancient wall, folk songs, poetry, and more-to construct a lively history of the politicians, farmers, warriors, and philosophers who created and shaped the ancient Chinese world. They also show us the fascinating process of constructing the historical jigsaw puzzle. Archaeologists discover a 400,000-year-old skull near modern-day Beijing and determine that it is one of our earliest human ancestors. A scholar who is prescribed "dragon bones" to cure an illness realizes that the bones-which are actually turtle shells-contain ancient Chinese writing used to send messages to the gods. The fantastic discovery of Lady Hao's tomb reveals that in ancient China a powerful woman led soldiers into battle. The letters exchanged by two military leaders show not only how the Chinese invented the sword, but also how they used the kite as a military weapon. Using these ancient artifacts and writings, Kleeman and Barrett weave the dramatic story of rulers, writers, soldiers, and citizens who made up the fascinating and unique world of ancient China.

The World in Ancient Times is a unique series of books that tells the story of the ancient world using a broad range of primary sources, from Homer's Odyssey to a Mesopotamian marriage contract, from the Buddha's Four Noble Truths to a Maya altar with hieroglyphs. These documents help students take an active role in understanding history.The World in Ancient Times Primary Sources and Reference Volume brings together 76 additional documents from all the regions covered in the series. From the ancient Near Eastern epic Gilgamesh to an Aztec poem, from Chinese oracle bones to a comic tale from the Pancha-tantra, a South Asian story collection, this volume paints the colorful history of the ancient world in vivid detail. Students will also find letters, diary entries, laws, fables, plays, poems, sermons, schoolbooks, proverbs, and even graffiti in this fascinating volume. Each excerpt is set in context by an introduction, and helpful marginal notes define unfamiliar words and identify the proper names within the text. For each source, there is a handy guide to further reading on the topic. This sourcebook also contains a world map, a cast of characters, and a timeline that help students understand how the histories of the various regions of the ancient world fit together as a whole. A thematic index helps students compare documents on topics of interest across the ancient world. A comprehensive index to the entire World in Ancient Times series completes this engaging volume.

A young archaeologist finds a primitive hand axe that is thought to be more than 400,000 years old. Engineers building a railroad discover that the gravel they're using is actually 5,000-year-old crumbling brick from the ancient Indus Valley civilization. An Englishman living in India is fascinated by the mysterious script on the ancient coins he collects and works feverishly to decode the long-lost language. These are a few of the clues to a fascinating history that you'll read about in The Ancient South Asian World. Jonathan Mark Kenoyer and Kimberley Heuston use ancient beads, terracotta pots, trash found in a sewer, and many other primary sources to trace the history of this diverse region. In these pages is the story of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, who used the power of knowledge rather than physical force to rule his people-an unusual idea at the time. Ancient texts and an epic poem called the Ramayana explain the practices and beliefs of Brahmanism and how they evolved into Hinduism. Columns inscribed by Emperor Ashoka illustrate the spread of Buddhism throughout the South Asian world. The sacred epic called the Mahabharata helps explain the development of the caste system. From geography and weather to Hindu gods and intellectual traditions, the characters and stories in The Ancient South Asian World weave the history of this vibrant region.

The Student Study Guides are important and unique components that are available for each of the books in The World in Ancient Times series. Each of the Student Study Guides is designed to be used with the main text at school or sent home for homework assignments. The activities in the Student Study guide will help students get the most out of their history books. Each student study guide includes a chapter-by-chapter two-page lesson that uses a variety of interesting activities to help a student master history and develop important reading and study skills.