From one of the world's leading historians?a comprehensive narrative of the 3,000 years that have formed Asia's people, culture, and global destiny

Tracing its origins in Mesopotamia to its modern role on the global geopolitical stage, historian Arthur Cotterell offers a compelling, lively, and readable account of one of the most culturally diverse, and often misunderstood, parts of the world. Beginning with the emergence of the world's earliest civilization in 3000 BC, Asia: A Concise History provides a fascinating look at the global convulsions?like the rise and fall of Assyria...

"I am Nature, the universal Mother, mistress of all the elements, sovereign of all things spiritual....I am worshipped in many aspects, known by countless names, and propitiated with all manner of different rites, yet the whole round earth venerates me." With these words, Isis--the mother goddess of Egypt--reveals herself to her devotee, Lucius Apuleius, in his novel The Golden Ass. Just as this great goddess claimed to be universal, mythology itself exists in all cultures around the globe and extends back to the beginnings of human civilization. Plato first coined the term mythologia to mean...

A visual dictionary that comes with 1000 entries and more than 600 fine-art images. It brings together the three outstanding traditions of Europe: the Classical legends of ancient Greece and Rome; the fairytale myths of the Celtic world; and from Northern Europe, tales of Germanic gods, Nordic warriors and giants.

Divided into two sections, Western mythology and Eastern mythology, this easy-to-use text details characters, locations, sites of interest, significant events, stories and symbols. It contains over 1000 images, with cross references throughout.