The Far Edges of the Known World: A New History of the Ancient Past

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'A journey of discovery that never fails to be engaging . . . A natural storyteller' Helen King, author of Immaculate Forms

'A blast of fresh air, presenting a perspective on cultural history that is breath-taking in its scope' Jane Draycott, author of Cleopatra's Daughter

What was it like to live on the edges of ancient empires, at the boundaries of the known world

When Ovid was exiled from Rome to a border town on the Black Sea, he despaired at his new bleak and barbarous surroundings. Like many Greeks and Romans, Ovid thought the outer reaches of his world was where civilisation ceased to exist. Our fascination with the Greek and Roman world, and the abundance of writing that we have from it, means that we usually explore the ancient world from this perspective too. Was Ovids exile really as bad as he claimed What was it truly like to live on the edges of these empires, on the boundaries of the known world

Thanks to archaeological excavations, we now know that the borders of the empires we consider the heart of civilisation were in fact thriving, vibrant cultures just not ones we might expect. This is where the boundaries of civilised and barbarians began to dissipate; where the rules didn't always apply; where normally juxtaposed cultures intermarried; and where nomadic tribes built their own cities.

Taking us along the sandy caravan routes of Morocco to the freezing winters of the northern Black Sea, from Co-Loa in the Red River valley of Vietnam to the rain-lashed forts south of Hadrians Wall, Owen Rees explores the powerful empires and diverse peoples in Europe, Asia and Africa beyond the reaches of Greece and Rome. In doing so, he offers us a new, brilliantly rich lens with which to understand the ancient world.

Reviews

This is the book for expanding your ancient history horizon. Owen Rees skilfully brings little known places filled with amazing ancient history away from the periphery and into the spotlight * Tristan Hughes, host of The Ancients podcast *
A true tour of horizons, the ancients and our own. Exploring ancient worlds beyond Greece and Rome, Owen Rees illuminates the dimmer corners of the Mediterranean as well as societies on other sands and seas, from Kenya to Ukraine. Fascinating questions arise: When is a border a boundary When is a site a city And when are people classics * Josephine Quinn, author of How the World Made the West *
In this path-breaking and vital book, Owen Rees opens new perspectives on ancient history, exploring nomadic and settled cultures that flourished beyond the 'civilized' epicenters of Greece and Rome, to reveal surprising connections, from Hadrians Wall and the Scythian steppes to Africas Rift Valley, the Khyber Pass, and Southeast Asia * Adrienne Mayor, author of The Amazons *
This is a powerful and wide-ranging account of life at the edges of the known world ... From Hadrians Wall to Co Loa in Vietnam and the Christian town of Aksum in Ethiopia, Rees takes us on a journey of discovery that never fails to be engaging ... A natural storyteller * Helen King, author of Immaculate Forms *
A blast of fresh air, presenting a perspective on cultural history that is breathtaking in its scope ... an indispensable guide to our shared past * Jane Draycott, author of Cleopatra's Daughter *
Fascinating. An interesting, and unique, exploration of aspects and areas at the periphery or edge of the traditional ancient world which are often omitted or overlooked by the standard histories. From Lake Turkana and Megiddo to Aksum and Taxila, this is a volume well worth your time and attention! * Eric Cline, author of 1177 B.C. *
A transformative portrayal of the ancient world, seen not from its centre but its margins ... Owen Rees remarkable narrative invites the so-called barbarians to gaze back at the Greeks and Romans, and to place the truth of their own civilizations in opposition to the well-known stereotypes ... Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how the city-states and empires of the ancient Mediterranean fit into a global history * Catherine Fletcher, author of The Roads to Rome *

Author Bio

Owen Rees is an ancient historian. He held a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at the University of Nottingham before becoming a Lecturer in Applied Humanities for Birmingham Newman University. He is the founder and lead editor of the website BadAncient.com, which brings together a growing network of specialists to fact-check common claims made about the ancient world. He lives in Manchester.