Ancient History Magazine

Ancient History looks at every aspect of the ancient world: you'll find articles covering politics, society, literature, language, religion, economics, and art - all in one magazine! Like its big brother, Ancient Warfare, Ancient History Magazine is a bi-monthly, 60-page magazine that relies on a thematic approach: each issue is centered around one specific subject. From ancient Egyptian trade and Roman family life to the lost city of Pompeii, there's sure to be something for everyone - all presented in a well-researched but accessible, fun manner.

Ancient History Magazine

EDITORIAL – SUBSISTENCE, SURVIVAL, AND CIVILIZATION

Egyptian embalming secrets revealed

PRELIMINARIES

‘Roma’ recovered from subway dig

Going underground in search of the Aqua Augusta

4500-year-old Sumerian palace rediscovered in Iraq

Over ice and ocean: crossing the Americas

CANINE CONCILIATION • Alexander was dead. The crucial question on the mind of every man in Babylon was who could possibly succeed him, since no legitimate heir had been sired. Division over the succession led to violent conflict over the possession of Alexander's corpse, and finally to a strategic standoff as the cavalry blockaded the infantry from the plain outside the city. Negotiations at last brought compromise, but the disharmony amongst the factions of the Macedonian army could only be purged by the enacting of a ritual of Hittite origin involving a dog.

Man's best friend

GRIN AND BEAR IT • A trip to the dentist is a source of dread for many modern people. The Romans had their own ways of maintaining dental hygiene, many of which make modern treatments look appealing.

CHRISTIANS TO THE LIONS? • Early Christians in the Roman Empire are often imagined as martyrs and paragons of faith, holding to their beliefs even as they were persecuted for them. However, while Christians were certainly brought to trial, the sources suggest that this was not as widespread as once assumed.

THE LATE BRONZE AGE COLLAPSE • Around 1200 BC, the Late Bronze Age ended in collapse. Among the many possible causes, climate change, with its ensuing drought and famine, is a notable one. How much of an impact drought and famine had, however, is up for debate. How much of an impact did agricultural failure have on the Late Bronze Age collapse?

PUTTING OSIRIS TO BED • Ancient Egypt is famed for the Nile and its fertility. Yearly floods ensured that the banks of the great river were ever fertile. To ensure the continued fertility of their land, Egyptians made small icons of Osiris and planted them, hoping that, just as the god was resurrected, so too would the land bring forth new life.

The Famine Stele

A STARVING MOB HAS NO RESPECT • Largely determined by unpredictable weather conditions, harvests in the Roman world varied between years of plenty and years of dearth. Households, cities, and states developed coping strategies and institutions that alleviated the impact of occasional harvest failure, but consecutive years of failure or an unfortunate combination of circumstances could lead to food shortage or even outright famine, threatening the social fabric in town and countryside.

AGRICULTURE IN CRISIS • While later sources tell us that, in the late second century BC, wealthy magnates began to seize public land and establish vast, slave-worked estates called latifundia, the archaeology does not quite support this idea. In fact, the literary record doesn't line up exactly either.

AGRICULTURE IN ANCIENT SPARTA • Agriculture was central to the Spartan social system. To remain a citizen, one had to have enough land to afford compulsory mess contributions. Over the course of the fifth century, the number of Spartiates fully enfranchised Spartan citizens – dramatically fell.

SECTARIAN...