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An exploration of the origins of human civilization, recreating extraordinary cities from their awe-inspiring ruins, ranging from the Euphrates to the Roman Empire. It was the subject of a major BBC2 series, and is now available in paperback.
Synopsis
The path of human progress is one of enlightenment and cruelty, achievement and bloodshed, creation and destruction. This title tells the epic story of civilization, and the cities that made us who we are. It reaches back into our distant past to bring alive its glorious and terrible people and places.
Book Details
Publisher:
PENGUIN GROUP
Publication Date:
01-Sep-2011
ISBN:
9780241951361
Guardian review
Ancient Worlds: The Search for the Origins of Western Civilization by Richard Miles review
the guardian Tue 20 September 2011
Civilisation began 6,000 years ago in Mesopotamia today's southern Iraq when "a cluster of clans" joined to found the first city. They left behind the familiar security of kin and tribe and chose to live with strangers. It was a momentous decision, the first step on the road towards today's urban age, when more people live in cities than the countryside. Classicist Miles points out that by the time Stonehenge was being built, 80% of Mesopotamia's population was living in cities of up to 30,000 people. It happened there first, says Miles, because the harsh territory and climate compelled people to work together to survive. Miles's ambitious study, which accompanies his BBC TV series, charts the evolution of civilisation in the Mediterranean region, through the Phoenician trading cities, the Greek city states and ending with the Eternal City Rome. The opening assertion that "cultures are born, civilisations are made man made" never really develops into an argument, but this is an entertaining and even epic history of the urban origins of our modern world.
