This is a
book of
maps of the classical world -- the
ancient Greek and Roman world (including Biblical and Persian maps), from approximately the early 18th century B.C. to the Byzantine empire of Justinian I in the sixth century A.D. While many other atlases of ancient
history concentrate on only the POLITICAL aspects of the ancients'' historical geography, this book of maps also emphasizes economic, cultural, literary and religious aspects of ancient civilizations and their geographic extents at various times.
There are maps of wars and of kingdoms, of battles and boundaries, of travels and conquests, of cities and of states. They are nearly all of the circum-Mediterranean areas -- from the Indus river to England, at their greatest extent. Egypt, the Holy
land, Greece and Italy (under the Etruscans, the Romans and the tyrants of Syracuse) are particularly emphasized (there is even a map of the Roman forum).
In the front of the book, after an introduction explaining the how and why of this particular historican
atlas and the author''s approach to it, there is a list of the maps (with page numbers). Following this is the chronological (more or less) sequence of maps within various areas. There are little boxes with different types of information or quotations on the maps, as well, with explanations of those locations where they are placed. At the end is an extensive and extremely helpful index; modern names which differ from the ancient ones are given in parentheses.
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