the Far Edges of Known World: A New History Ancient Past

Bol Partner

What was it like to live on the edges of ancient empires, at the boundaries of the known world? In this bold revisionist history of the ancient world, Owen Rees shifts our focus from the centres of Greece and Rome to the lively, long-ignored societies on the borders. ‘A tour of those far-flung places where Romans rarely dared to venture’ The Times‘A strikingly original take . . . uncovering forgotten stories of life on the periphery’ Spectator'This is the book for expanding your ancient history horizon' Tristan Hughes, host of 'The Ancients' podcastWhat was it like to live on the edges of ancient empires, at the boundaries of the known world? When Ovid was exiled from Rome to a border town on the Black Sea, he despaired at his new bleak and barbarous surroundings. Like many Greeks and Romans, Ovid thought the outer reaches of his world was where civilisation ceased to exist. Our fascination with the Greek and Roman world, and the abundance of writing that we have from it, means that we usually explore the ancient world from this perspective too. Was Ovid’s exile really as bad as he claimed? What was it truly like to live on the edges of these empires, on the boundaries of the known world?Thanks to archaeological excavations, we now know that the borders of the empires we consider the ‘heart’ of civilisation were in fact thriving, vibrant cultures – just not ones we might expect. This is where the boundaries of ‘civilised’ and ‘barbarians’ began to dissipate; where the rules didn't always apply; where normally juxtaposed cultures intermarried; and where nomadic tribes built their own cities.Taking us along the sandy caravan routes of Morocco to the freezing winters of the northern Black Sea, from Co-Loa in the Red River valley of Vietnam to the rain-lashed forts south of Hadrian’s Wall, Owen Rees explores the powerful empires and diverse peoples in Europe, Asia and Africa beyond the reaches of Greece and Rome. In doing so, he offers us a new, brilliantly rich lens with which to understand the ancient world.

Bol

‘A tour of those far-flung places where Romans rarely dared to venture’ The Times ‘A strikingly original take . . . uncovering forgotten stories of life on the periphery’ Spectator 'This is the book for expanding your ancient history horizon' Tristan Hughes, host of 'The Ancients' podcast What was it like to live on the edges of ancient empires, at the boundaries of the known world? When Ovid was exiled from Rome to a border town on the Black Sea, he despaired at his new bleak and barbarous surroundings. Like many Greeks and Romans, Ovid thought the outer reaches of his world was where civilisation ceased to exist. Our fascination with the Greek and Roman world, and the abundance of writing that we have from it, means that we usually explore the ancient world from this perspective too. Was Ovid’s exile really as bad as he claimed? What was it truly like to live on the edges of these empires, on the boundaries of the known world? Thanks to archaeological excavations, we now know that the borders of the empires we consider the ‘heart’ of civilisation were in fact thriving, vibrant cultures – just not ones we might expect. This is where the boundaries of ‘civilised’ and ‘barbarians’ began to dissipate; where the rules didn't always apply; where normally juxtaposed cultures intermarried; and where nomadic tribes built their own cities. Taking us along the sandy caravan routes of Morocco to the freezing winters of the northern Black Sea, from Co-Loa in the Red River valley of Vietnam to the rain-lashed forts south of Hadrian’s Wall, Owen Rees explores the powerful empires and diverse peoples in Europe, Asia and Africa beyond the reaches of Greece and Rome. In doing so, he offers us a new, brilliantly rich lens with which to understand the ancient world.

Stumpel

When we picture the ancient world, we tend to envision the soaring pyramids of Giza, the Coliseum conquests in Rome and the bustling agora of Athens. Indeed, the classical authors who shape our understanding of the world considered the edges of these ancient civilisations the domain of monstrous humanity. For these writers, from Ovid to Herodotus, the outer reaches of the world was where civilisation, or their conception of civilisation, ceased to exist. But at the borders of the empires we now consider the ?heart' of civilisation were thriving, vibrant cultures - just ones we might not expect.In The Far Edges of the Known World, Owen Rees brings us into the world of these ancient borderlands where the impossible became the norm, where the boundaries of ?civilised' and ?barbarian' began to run together and where normally juxtaposed cultures intermixed, showing us that the story of the ancient world isn't nearly as straightforward as we've been taught. Taking us along the sandy caravan routes of Morocco to the freezing winters of the northern Black Sea, from Co-Loa in the Red River valley of Vietnam to the southern reaches of Kenya, Rees explores the powerful empires and diverse peoples in Europe, Asia and Africa beyond the reaches of Greece and Rome. In doing so, he offers us a new, brilliantly rich lens with which to understand the ancient world.

Amazon

Pagina's: 384, Paperback, Bloomsbury Publishing