In this uniquely comprehensive historical study, Adam Watson draws on a lifetime of research and diplomatic experience to explain how international societies function. He examines the systems of ancient states, from Sumer through India, China, Greece, Rome, and Islam, and conducts an in-depth analysis of the worldwide contemporary society which developed from them. The Evolution of International Society describes and compares the changing rules and practices of ancient systems, showing their development within a spectrum ranging ...
The Early History of Greed, The Sin of Avarice in Early Medieval Thought and Literature
In this full-length study of the early history of greed Richard Newhauser challenges the traditional view that avarice only became a dominant sin with the rise of a money economy.
How does the history of any given event come to be written in a certain way? A story can be told from many points of view. The significance that the event is deemed to hold may vary. Subsequent events will throw new light and alter its significance for some. Thus radically different versions of an event compete for attention. Often one particular version holds the field drowning out its rivals. This intellectual hegemony need have no relation to the accuracy of that version of history and alternative, equally valid versions can sink without trace.
Beginning as a movement based on the recovery of ancient texts, and archaeological study, humanism turned into a dynamic cultural program, influencing almost every facet of the intellectual life of the Renaissance.
From the 17th to the 12th centuries BCE, the five Great Kings of Egypt, Babylon, Hatti (the kingdom of the Hittites), Mitanni and Assyria ruled over vast, complex territories. One of the secrets to their control was frequent communication by letter. Many of these letters survive to the present day, offering fascinating insights into the people and politics of the ancient near Eastern kingdoms. Trevor Bryce uses the letters as the focus of a fresh look at this turbulent and volatile region in the late Bronze Age.
