Review by Choice Review
This is a very nice coffee-table book with lots of pretty pictures. It also has a useful introduction, time lines, and maps. The "empires" covered are those of New Kingdom Egypt, the Hittites, Assyria and Babylonia, Achaemenid Persia, Classical Athens, Alexander and his successors, the Parthians and Sasanians, the Roman Empire, India from the Mauryan to the Gupta empires, and Qin and Han China. This is selective; not all ancient empires are covered, and those that are included are discussed only in part. With an average of 25-30 pages (with illustrations) devoted to each empire, the treatment is necessarily quite limited, consisting of mostly brief overviews. There are some errors of fact, but nothing that would do intellectual damage to the curious novice. The book will be of little interest to scholars; its chief advantage is to include such a broad scope within two covers and few pages. It is a great place for beginners to start, and there is a list of further readings at the end. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers/collections. J. J. Gabbert emerita, Wright State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
This monumental work studies aspects of ancient empires and their impact across a vast range of time and space: from New Kingdom Egypt and the Hittite Empire in the second millennium B.C.E. to the empires of South Asia through 500 C.E. Other empires covered include Assyria and Babylonia, the first Persian Empire, the Athenian Empire, the empire of Alexander the Great and his successors, the Parthian and early Sasanian Empires, the Roman Empire, and the early empires of South Asia and China. Ten scholars, primarily from the UK and Australia, each provide a chapter on one of the empires, with editor Harrison (Sch. of Archaeology, Classics, & Egyptology, Univ. of Liverpool; Divinity and History) providing the introduction. The oversize volume is illustrated throughout with superb photographs of artifacts, including the Begram Ivories and architectural views, as well as maps, time lines, king lists, and a section titled "Voices of Empire" within each chapter that translate ancient texts, letting history speak for itself. VERDICT Well documented, accessible, and superbly illustrated, this book will be treasured by history and art readers. In libraries, it should be made available both for reference and for browsing.-Joan W. Gartland, Macomb Community Coll. Lib., Warren, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
