Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Classicist Rees debuts with an illuminating history of the marginalized cultures of the ancient world. Arguing that historians have typically viewed other ancient cultures as the Greeks and Romans saw them--as "monstrous" others on "the edge of the world"--Rees surveys new research in which this paradigm is rapidly shifting. "We are now seeing an explosion in studies exploring the links... between ancient Rome and China," he writes, and of "Greco-Indian exchange," as well as of "ancient Africa beyond Egypt." These studies reveal exciting new human stories while also blurring the boundaries between cultures, making classical Greece and Rome seem far less "homogenous." The subjects Rees covers include nomadic groups in modern Kenya that built massive sandstone monuments more than 5,000 years ago; the complex cultural exchanges between Nubia, Kush, and Egypt; Greek colonists in Ukraine; and the Scythian fashion pioneers who made trousers popular. Most fascinating is a segment on Vietnam, the location of "one of history's biggest 'what might have beens,' " where "Rome and the powerful empire of Han China almost made direct contact"--a connection dashed only by the fact that Han China considered the Vietnamese, a prosperous maritime community, just as "savage" as Rome considered its own neighbors, Rees astutely hypothesizes. Lively and propulsive, this brings obscure corners of the ancient world to life. (Sept.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Rees (ancient history, Univ. of Nottingham; Military Departures, Homecomings and Death in Classical Athens) explores the concept of the frontier in the ancient world by considering sites where the power and culture of civilizations such as Greece, Egypt, and Rome met other, less well-documented societies. Using archaeological evidence unearthed in ancient settlements as widespread as Morocco, France, Ukraine, and Pakistan, Rees shows how traditional historical narratives--relying on the writings of cultural elites--have perpetuated an inaccurate dichotomy between civilization and barbarism, one starkly contradicted by the material remains of ordinary people in these once-vibrant towns. Citing archaeological evidence of intermarriage between Egyptian soldiers and Nubian women in forts along the Nile, the presence of family units in the culturally diverse Roman legions guarding Hadrian's Wall in England, and trade in exotic foods in ancient Israel, Rees reveals how the sites served as melting pots for different ethnic groups, religions, and crafts, often incubating unique hybrid styles of art, architecture, and worship. In other places, Rees demonstrates how Egyptians rejected the vaunted culture of the Greeks, while Greeks in Massalia (modern-day Marseille) adopted the dress and practices of their supposedly barbarian Celtic neighbors. VERDICT A new and highly valuable perspective on ancient history.--Sara Shreve
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Exploring vibrant cultures beyond the borders of classical Rome, Greece, Egypt, and the Middle East. Historian Rees, a fellow at the University of Nottingham, writes that ancient Egyptians, Athenians, and Romans took for granted that the more distant you were, the further you were from civilization, but this was not entirely accurate. For example, ancient Egyptian armies spent thousands of years conquering or retreating from substantial Kush and Nubian kingdoms to the south. Contempt did not prevent traders and settlers from establishing thriving communities in barbarian lands. Massalia (Marseilles today) was settled by Greeks before 700 B.C.E., enjoyed good relations with the Gauls, and was even responsible for introducing wine to France. Readers aware of the havoc wreaked when Scythian horsemen descended from the steppes will learn of Olbia on the north Black Seacoast near Crimea, a thriving Greek city-state that not only absorbed Scythian culture but contributed to it. Not uncivilized at all, Aksum (today's Ethiopia) was a substantial kingdom with its own brand of Christianity and a thriving trading center, Adulis, along the Red Sea. Wandering from his theme, Rees devotes many chapters to civilizations within other civilizations. Egypt depended heavily on Greek merchants. One consequence was Naucratis, the only port where Greeks were allowed to trade, a center of the "Egyptomania" that spread across the Hellenic world and is the subject of a long chapter. Another describes Taxila (in modern Pakistan), a kingdom at the farthest reach of Alexander the Great's conquest. It managed to fend off Greek influence and become a center for expansion of the new Buddhist religion. Vietnam is arguably the furthest land of which the Romans had a vague knowledge. Rees calls it "the location for one of history's biggest 'what might have beens,' where Rome and the powerful empire of Han China almost made direct contact with each other." Good ancient history off the beaten path. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
