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24 books with the same feel
Include books by the same authorThe Histories
Tacitus · 415 pages
Edward Gibbon called The Histories an 'immortal work, every sentence of which is pregnant with the deepest observations and the most lively images.' Its author, Cornelius Tacitus, widely acknowledged as the greatest of all Roman historians, describes with cynical power the murderous 'Year of the Four Emperors' - AD 69 - when in just a few months the whole of the Roman Empire was torn apart by civi
The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire from the First Century AD to the Third
Edward N. Luttwak · 272 pages
Makers of Rome: Nine Lives
Plutarch · 366 pages
Nine selections from the Greek historian's famous Lives, spotlighting key Roman figures from the earliest years of the Republic to the beginning of the Empire.
Cleopatra: A Life
Stacy Schiff · 441 pages
From back cover: Famous long before she was notorious, Cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons; her supple personality and the drama of her circumstances have been lost. In a masterly return to the classical sources, Stacy Schiff boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order.
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Edward Gibbon · 924 pages
The author makes the point that in this abridgement he has adhered to Gibbon's style, format, planning, and footnotes, and has made only selective exclusions. The history covers the centuries from Marcus Aurelius to the capture of Constantinople, and concludes with an epilogue dealing with medieval Rome and the dawn of the Renaissance.
Caesar: Life of a Colossus
Adrian Goldsworthy · 608 pages
The Persian Expedition
Xenophon · 375 pages
The Anabasis by Xenophon (c. 430-c. 354 BCE) is an eyewitness account of Greek mercenaries' challenging "March Up-Country" from Babylon back to the coast of Asia Minor under Xenophon's guidance in 401 BCE, after their leader Cyrus the Younger fell in a failed campaign against his brother.
Carthage Must be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization
Richard Miles · 520 pages
"The devastating struggle to the death between the Carthaginians and the Romans was one of the defining dramas of the Ancient World. In an epic series of land and sea battles both sides came close to victory before the Carthaginians finally buckled and their capital city, history and culture were almost utterly erased. The last great threat to Roman supremacy across the entire Mediterranean had go
SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome
Mary Beard · 606 pages
A prominent classicist explores ancient Rome and how its citizens adapted the notion of imperial rule, invented the concepts of citizenship and nation, and made laws about those traditionally overlooked in history, including women, slaves, and criminals.
Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome
Stephen Dando-Collins · 328 pages
"A unique and splendidly researched story, following the trials and triumphs of Julius Caesar's Legio X-arguably the most famous legion of its day-from its activation to the slogging battle of Munda and from Thapsus, Caesar's tactical masterpiece, to the grim siege of the Jewish fortress of Masada. More than a mere unit account, it incorporates the history of Rome and the Roman army at the height
Alexander the Great
Robin Lane Fox · 568 pages
Tough, resolute, fearless, Alexander was a born warrior and ruler of passionate ambition who understood the intense adventure of conquest and of the unknown. When he died in 323 BC aged thirty-two, his vast empire comprised more than two million square miles, spanning from Greece to India. His achievements were unparalleled - he had excelled as leader to his men, founded eighteen new cities and st
The Twelve Caesars
Suetonius · 352 pages
De vita Caesarum, known as The Twelve Caesars, is a set of twelve biographies, each about one of the Roman emperors, including one on Julius Caesar. It was written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly referred to as Suetonius, in 121. Considered highly significant in antiquity, The Twelve Caesars has remained a major source of Roman history.
Legionary: The Roman Soldier's (Unofficial) Manual
Philip Matyszak · 208 pages
Selected Political Speeches
Marcus Tullius Cicero, Michael Grant
The Rise of the Roman Empire
Polybius · 574 pages
Political and social history, chronicle of military affairs.
The Histories
Herodotus · 833 pages
Recounts the causes and history of the wars between the Greek city-states and Persia.
History of the Peloponnesian War
Thucydides · 500 pages
Written four hundred years before the birth of Christ, this detailed contemporary account of the long life-and-death struggle between Athens and Sparta stands an excellent chance of fulfilling its author's ambitious claim. Thucydides himself (c.460-400 BC) was an Athenian and achieved the rank of general in the earlier stages of the war. He applied thereafter a passion for accuracy and a contempt
A History of Warfare
John Keegan · 432 pages
In *A History of Warfare*, Keegan outlines the development and limitations of warfare from prehistory to the modern era. It looks at various topics, including the use of horses, logistics, and "fire". One key concept put forward is that war is inherently cultural. In the introduction, he rigorously denounces the idiom "war is a continuation of policy by other means", rejecting on its face "Clausew