The New Testament writings are the foundation documents of early Christianity, and to fully understand them readers need a broad historical awareness of the wider social, economic, political and religious context that produced them. Here, Telford paints a fascinating portrait of the Roman and Hellenistic Empires and the growth of the early church, elucidating the composition and content of the Synoptic Gospels -- those of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Furnishing the reader with an appreciation of the methods contemporary scholars apply to the Gospels, he also offers an assured, in-depth guide to...

No other political entity has shaped the modern world like the Roman Empire. Encompassing close to 60 million people and 3 million square kilometers of land, it represented an incredibly diverse and dynamic collection of nations, states, and tribes, all bound to Rome and the ideal of the Roman identity.
In the lively and engaging style that he's known for, Philip Matyszak traces the history of the Roman Empire from the fall of the Assyrians and the rise of the Roman republic through the ages of expansion, crisis, and eventual split. Breathing life into these extraordinary events, Matyszak...

Today, more than ever, we are buffeted by forces that originate from beyond our shores. Whether it's war, economics, politics, or law, we live in a global world influenced by a complex landscape of international transactions. Esteemed academic Charles Jones ably provides the building blocks to understand the history of these interactions, outlining all the key actors -- from the United States and China to the IMF and Google -- and the competing theories that attempt to explain them. Arguing that the strength of international relations lies in its contradictions -- it's not a single discipline...

The political upheaval of the mid-17th century has no parallel in English history. Other events have changed the occupancy and the powers of the throne, but the conflict of 1640 to 1660 was more dramatic: the monarchy and the House of Lords were abolished, to be replaced by a republic and military rule. In this wonderfully readable account, Patrick Little explores the events of this period and their origins -- the war between King and Parliament, the execution of Charles I, Cromwell's rule and the Restoration -- while aiming to reveal something more elusive: the motivations of contemporaries...

With over sixty million casualties World War II was the bloodiest conflict in history. In this incisive introduction, Christopher Catherwood covers all the key battles, while giving the wider story behind them. He also brings a fresh angle to the conflict, emphasising the huge impact of the preceding Sino-Japanese War on World War II and the relative unimportance of the British campaign in Africa. From the impact of the Hiroshima bombing to the horrors wreaked by the Red Army and the Nazis, Catherwood makes clear the legacy of the war today. Full of text-boxes revealing key details about...

Archaeology is more popular than ever. TV and film have made it seem accessible and exciting, and the number of budding amateurs is on the rise, as is government support for archaeological initiatives on a global scale. From coins and combs to battlefields and plantations, archaeologist Joe Flatman provides an incisive introduction to the practice of archaeology. Through comparative case studies he demonstrates how the archaeological mindset reveals unexpected truths about the most modern phenomena. Suddenly a landfill site can expose more about our drinking habits than we may like to admit,...

In a world burdened by chronic conditions and mutating viruses, with a health service strained to its limits, the history of medicine challenges our understanding of what it means to be healthy. By illuminating the ailments and methods of the past, our own dilemmas about medical practice and policy can be put into a new perspective. Esteemed historian Mark Jackson takes us from the dawn of medicine in the ancient world to the most recent developments pioneered in the 21st century's hospitals. On the way, Jackson explores Indian and Chinese traditions, as well as the origins of today's...

Munch's The Scream. Van Gogh's Starry Night. Rodin's The Thinker. Monet's Water Lilies. Constable's landscapes. The 19th century gave us a wealth of artistic riches so memorable in their genius that we can picture many of them in an instant. At the time, however, their avant-garde nature was the cause of much controversy. Professor Laurie Schneider Adams vividly brings to life the paintings, sculpture, photography and architecture, of the period with her infectious enthusiasm for art and detailed explorations of individual works. Offered fascinating biographical...

In 1095 Pope Urban II launched the First Crusade to recover Jerusalem from the Seljuq Turks. Tens of thousands of people joined his cause, making it the single largest event of the Middle Ages. The conflict would rage for over 200 years, poisoning Christian and Islamic relations forever. In this new introduction to the Crusades, Andrew Jotischky takes readers through the key events, focusing on the experience of crusading, from both sides, and asking crucial questions. What were the motivations of the crusaders? What was it like to be a crusader or live in a crusading society? How do these...

From Confucianism to Kant's categorical imperative, from the Ancient Greeks to Amnesty International, This essential volume presents ethics through a fascinating global historical lens and relates it to everyday life and 21st-century politics. Peter Cave traces the development of this key branch of philosophy up to the present day, introducing readers to all the main schools of thought. With his characteristic wit and clarity, Cave takes on good and evil, power and politics, and liberalism and relativism, and handily guides us around some of the most common potholes in ethical reasoning....