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Karwansaray | Ancient History Magazine - History
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New Study Demonstrates Increased Lead Pollution in the Roman Empire
By Owain Williams The human impact upon the natural world is increasingly apparent. It rare that a day goes by and I do not see news about human-induced climate change or its effects on the world we live in, whether wildfires, extreme storms, or flooding. Now, a study recently published in Nature has demonstrated how h
Ancient History Podcast - Soldiers, Wages, and the Hellenistic Economies
In this episode of the podcast, we talk to Charlotte van Regenmortel about the changes to the systems of recruitment in the late Classical and early Hellenistic periods, the importance of wage labourers in early Hellenistic armies, and how the military labour market impacted the wider Hellenistic economies. You can al
The Voyage Home - Review
By Owain Williams In recent years, there has been a seemingly-unending barrage of fiction book retelling different Greek myths from different perspectives. I have even covered one on the blog previously. None, however, have come close to matching the honest – and often brutal – evocation of the variety of human experie
Exciting Archaeology in Ireland
By Owain Williams Some very interesting archaeological news! Excavations on the headland of Drumanagh, roughly fifteen miles north of Dublin, has uncovered the 2000-year-old remains of a fig. This may not seem like a major discovery, but it is an important piece of the puzzle that is Hiberno-Roman relations. According
Ancient History Podcast - The Trouble with Ancient DNA
In this episode of the podcast, we speak with Anna Källén about ancient DNA, the limitations of and issues with current studies of ancient DNA, and what can be done to make the study more transparent. You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon.
Tolkien and the Classical World - Review
By Owain Williams Most people who know of Tolkien – who doesn’t? – will likely know of him as, aside from being the highest regarded fantasy author of all time, a medievalist. Most famously, he was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Oxford, responsible for changing academic attitudes to the epic poem Beowu
My top books of 2024
By Owain Williams There are, simply, too many books to read. As editor of Ancient History, I get to read a lot of books, whether for book reviews in the magazine or blog or for the podcast. As we near the end of 2024, I thought I would share my top three reads of the year, with a few honourable mentions, as it was very
Musing on Mesopotamia in the Magazine
By Owain Williams Instead of the usual book review, reading recommendations, or interesting tidbits, today’s blog is a little look behind the scenes (or pages?) of the magazine. Specifically, as it is one of the most requested regions to be discussed in the magazine, after Greece and Rome, I am going to write about anc
Ancient History Podcast - In Blood and Ashes: A Review
In this episode of the podcast, I take a look at the book In Blood and Ashes: Curse Tablets and Binding Spells in Ancient Greece by Jessica L. Lamont, exploring the content of book, the subject of Greek curse tablets, and my overall thoughts about the book. You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple, and Ama
Those About to Die - First Impressions
By Owain Williams I have finally gotten around to watching Those About to Die – only a few months late! So far, I have only watched the first episode, but I thought I would share my initial thoughts – my thoughts on it as a TV series, what I enjoyed about the show, and some questions that the first episode raised. Firs
Creating the Ancient World - An Interview with a Videogame modder
By Owain Williams Nowadays, videogames are quickly becoming one of the main mediums through which people are exposed to the ancient world and perhaps inspired to study it in greater detail. While there are games like Total War: Rome 2 and Imperator: Rome, many people turn to modding – the creation of additional assets
Phoenicians and the Making of the Mediterranean - Review
By Owain Williams Last year, we featured several book reviews for books that explore regions and cultures beyond the typical ancient triad of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. We explored ancient India, Persia, Africa more generally, and the Mayans. This time, we are going back to the Mediterranean to discuss the Phoenicians. T
Ancient History Podcast - Palmyra with Rubina Raja
In this episode we talk to Rubina Raja about the caravan city of Palmyra, the city's place between the powers of Rome and Parthia, and how archaeology is being used to supplement the limited literary evidence. You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon.
Ancient Trans-Saharan Trade
Work is well underway on the next issue of Ancient History, number 52: Roman Africa. We have a good range of articles, from Roman-African relations to the Donatist controversy. So, for this week’s blog, in the spirit of the upcoming issue, I thought I would explore an important part of ancient Africa, trans-Saharan tra
Breads ancient and modern
By Owain Williams I do not think it is a controversial statement that humans love bread. Not much beats the smell of bread fresh from the oven or eating a warm slice of bread with butter. The sheer variety of bread types in the world today – the Deutsches Brotinstitut (German Institute of Bread) recognizes over 3200 di
Ancient History Podcast - Atheism in ancient Greece with James Ford
In this episode we talk to James Ford about atheism in ancient Greece, how it differed from modern concepts of Atheism, and how concepts of atheism in ancient Greece evolved over time. You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon.
The Poor Man from Nippur
By Owain Williams The Poor Man of Nippur is a story from ancient Mesopotamia, dated to 700 BC, recorded upon a number of tablets. Several fragmentary tablets were from the Library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh, but the main text comes from two tablets from Huzirina (modern Sultantepe). It tells of how a poor man, Gimil-Ni
What did Roman wine taste like?
By Owain Williams One thing that the Romans are closely associated with is wine (and viticulture more generally). In the sources, wine appears as a core element of life across the social spectrum. In archaeology, many surviving artefacts are drinking equipment, such as cups, vases, and bottles. In modern films, emperor
Swords and sandals - some recommended reading
By Owain Williams 2024 seems to be a good year for the ancient history lovers. There are, at least, two big productions – one a television series and the other a blockbuster film – set to release. The first, Those About to Die, has already released (on Peacock and Amazon Prime, I believe). The other, Gladiator II, is s
Anatolian Descendants of Aeneas
By Owain Williams Aeneas is likely most well-known for his status as the ancestor of the Romans, an attribution solidified by Virgil’s Aeneid. First appearing in the Iliad as a related ally of the Trojans, fighting bravely against the Achaeans (and needing to be saved by his mother, Aphrodite), Virgil describes his sub
AH 50 Non-theme Further Reading
By Owain Williams Ancient History 50, in addition to the excellent theme articles, had some great non-theme articles. For readers who want to know more, here are some further reading recommendations. Culley (Kurtaš in Achaemenid Persia) Briant, P. From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire. Winona Lake, I
A Walk Through Ancient Rome - Review
By Owain Williams While the many archaeological sites of Rome are a marvel to visit, it can be difficult to imagine Rome in its heyday when you’re there. Besides a few more well-preserved buildings, such as the Colosseum or the various triumphal arches, most of the remains – a pillar here, an inscription there, a low w
Roman Villas in Limburg - Exhibition Review
By Lauren van Zoonen When thinking of the Roman Empire, the little country by the North Sea known as the Netherlands may not come to mind, let alone its southernmost province known as Limburg. In the Roman period, however, Limburg was a thriving part of the empire, grown wealthy through its grain production that was in
Greek Colonies and Cabbages in Croatia
By Owain Williams For lovers of ancient history, holidays can often revolve around travelling to places with a wealth of history and a plethora of archaeological sites to explore (I know I tend to). The obvious candidates for holiday locations are Greece and Italy. Both countries have no shortage of places to explore.
Ancient History Podcast - After 1177 B.C. with Eric Cline
In this episode we talk to Eric Cline about his new book After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations, the archaeology of the Early Iron Age, and how civilizations cope with collapse. You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon.
Ancient History Podcast - Thoughts and Feelings?
By Owain Williams Earlier this month, we released the fifth episode of the Ancient History Podcast! This has been something that I have been thinking about since I first joined Karwansaray Publishers back in 2022, so this is quite a milestone for me. So far we have had: Phoenicians Among Others with Denise Demetriou A
Paestum – City of Goddesses (Exhibit Review)
By Lauren van Zoonen Around 600 BC, some inhabitants of the Greek colony of Sybaris (on Greek colonization, see AH 38), located on the Gulf of Taranto in modern Calabria, left their city and settled in Campania where they founded the city of Poseidonia. Some 200 years later, the city switched hands and was controlled b
The New Roman Empire with Anthony Kaldellis
In this episode we talk to Anthony Kaldellis about his new book The New Roman Empire: A History of Byzantium, Byzantium's continuity with the Roman world, and the ins and outs of writing narrative history. You can also listen to the first episode on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon.
The Connected Iron Age - Review
By Owain Williams The ‘typical’ areas of ancient history that readers are most familiar with, based on general trends in popular history publishing and on our own reader survey, are likely to be the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean (ca. 1600–1150 BC), Classical and Hellenistic Greece (ca. 500–30 BC), and the Roman
Ancient Greek Cheese Graters
By Owain Williams One thing that I really love about reading history – not just ancient history – is delving into the intimate details about daily life, whether that be the jobs of the non-elites, such as sausage sellers and wood collectors, or clothing, and food. One such object that has taken my interest recently is
Ancient History Podcast - A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women
In this episode we talk to Dr Emma Southon about her new book A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women, the position of women in ancient Rome, and the struggles of working in academia. You can also listen to the first episode on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon.
How Women Became Poets - A Review
By Owain Williams As it is Women's History Month in some parts of the world, I thought I would review a recent book that examines the place of women in ancient Greek literature: Emily Hauser's How Women Became Poets: A Gender History of Greek Literature. Sappho, “the most famous woman poet of ancient Greece… had no wor
AH 48 Non-theme Reading List
Here are some options for further reading for the non-theme articles in Ancient History 48: Kelder (Bronze Age Cult Statues) Collins, B.J. “A Statue for the Deity: Cult Images in Hittite Anatolia.” In Cult Image and Divine Representation in the Ancient Near East, N. Walls (ed.): 13–42. Boston: American School of Orient
Ancient History Podcast - Pax Augusta
In this episode episode we talk to Roger Gassman, the solo developer behind the game Pax Augusta, a city-building game set in ancient Rome, about what it takes to make a game set in the ancient world. You can also listen to the first episode on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon.
A Guide to Writing for Ancient History Magazine
By Owain Williams In the last few months, we have had plenty of people submitting proposals for Ancient History. I think it is fantastic that so many of our readers have turned their hands to writing history. Unfortunately, however, many of the submissions are not what we are looking for. So, I thought I would put toge
The Importance of Translating Place Names
By Owain Williams I was reading Thucydides one weekend (as everybody does, of course...), when I came upon this passage: “They established a garrison at Pylos, manned by the Messenians from Naupactus who sent their best men for this purpose to what they regarded as their fatherland (Pylos lies in what was once Messeni