SPQR
The Punic Wars by Adrian Goldsworthy
Great combination of analysis of tactical detail of
Roman and Carthaginian land and naval tactics combined with an impressive
command of the strategic landscape across the 3 Punic Wars covering over 200
years. This was the time Rome expanded from its status as a a powerful city
state to begin its empire. The individual battles are finely detailed, yet
the overall picture isn't lost. This is especially important since these
events took place on land and sea with dozens of armies contending in some
of the largest battles in the ancient world.
Fergus Millar - Roman Near East
Chronicle of the Roman Emperors
Masters of Ancient Strategy - David Victor Hanson
History of Byzantium - John Julius Norwich Of that Byzantine empire the universal verdict of history is that it constitutes, without a single exception, the most thoroughly base and despicable form that civilization has yet assumed…The history of the Empire is a monotonous story of the intrigues of priests, eunuchs and women, of poisonings, of conspiracies, of uniform ingratitude of perpetual fratricides.
Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire - Edward Luttwak - The Byzantine empire so greatly outlasted its western counterpart because its rulers were able to adapt strategically to diminished circumstances, by devising new ways of coping with successive enemies. It relied less on military strength and more on persuasion―to recruit allies, dissuade threatening neighbors, and manipulate potential enemies into attacking one another instead. Even when the Byzantines fought―which they often did with great skill―they were less inclined to destroy their enemies than to contain them, for they were aware that today’s enemies could be tomorrow’s allies.
Julius Caesar - biographies, fiction & nonfiction
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The Historical Jesus : The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant - Dominic Crossan
The Birth of Christianity - Dominic Crossan
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