Demetrius
Sacker of Cities
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Demetrius
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Narrated by:
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John Telfer
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By:
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James Romm
About this listen
A portrait of one of the ancient world’s first political celebrities, who veered from failure to success and back again
The life of Demetrius (337-283 BCE) serves as a through-line to the forty years following the death of Alexander (323-282 BCE), a time of unparalleled turbulence and instability in the ancient world. With no monarch able to take Alexander’s place, his empire fragmented into five pieces.
Capitalizing on good looks, youth, and sexual prowess, Demetrius sought to weld those pieces together and recover the dream of a single world-state, with a new Alexander—himself—at its head. He succeeded temporarily, but in crucial, colossal engagements—a massive invasion of Egypt, a siege of Rhodes that went on a full year, and the Battle of Ipsus—he came up just short. He ended his career in a rash invasion of Asia, and he became the target of a desperate manhunt only to be captured and destroyed by his own son-in-law.
©2022 James Romm (P)2022 Yale Press AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Cleopatra's Kidnappers
- How Caesar's Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 54
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
Julius Caesar was nothing if not bold. When, in the wake of his defeat of Pompey at Pharsalus his victorious legions refused to march another step under his command, he pursued his fleeing rival into Egypt with an impossibly small force of Gallic and German cavalry, raw Italian recruits, and nine hundred Spanish prisoners of war - tough veterans of Pompey's Sixth Legion. Cleopatra's Kidnappers tells the epic saga of Caesar's adventures in Egypt through the eyes of these captured, but never defeated, legionaries.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Should be titled: The 6th Legion: Cleopatra's...
- By jv on 01-03-13
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The Rise of Athens
- The Story of the World's Greatest Civilization
- By: Anthony Everitt
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 618
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 545
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 543
Filled with tales of adventure and astounding reversals of fortune, The Rise of Athens celebrates the city-state that transformed the world - from the democratic revolution that marked its beginning through the city's political and cultural golden age to its decline into the ancient equivalent of a modern-day university town. Anthony Everitt constructs his history with unforgettable portraits of the talented, tricky, ambitious, and unscrupulous Athenians who fueled the city's rise.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good but not great. With some disturbing opinions.
- By Anthony on 06-25-19
By: Anthony Everitt
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The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta
- The Persian Challenge
- By: Paul A. Rahe
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 217
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 203
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 199
More than 2,500 years ago, a confederation of small Greek city-states defeated the invading armies of Persia, the most powerful empire in the world. In this meticulously researched study, historian Paul Rahe argues that Sparta was responsible for the initial establishment of the Hellenic defensive coalition and was, in fact, the most essential player in its ultimate victory.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Investigation Undermined by Bad Editing
- By Richard on 02-12-16
By: Paul A. Rahe
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God's Wolf
- The Life of the Most Notorious of All Crusaders, Scourge of Saladin
- By: Jeffrey Lee
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
In a 2010 terrorist plot, Al-Qaeda hid a bomb in a FedEx shipment addressed to Reynald de Chatillon, a knight who had died centuries ago in the Crusades. A reviled figure in Islamic history, often portrayed as the very epitome of brutality, Reynald remains as controversial - and as vividly present in the minds of many in the Middle East - as the story of the Crusades themselves.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A great look into the life of a great crusader
- By Jon on 02-28-19
By: Jeffrey Lee
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The Rise of Rome
- The Making of the World's Greatest Empire
- By: Anthony Everitt
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 499
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 433
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 425
Emerging as a market town from a cluster of hill villages in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., Rome grew to become the ancient world's preeminent power. Everitt fashions the story of Rome's rise to glory into an erudite book filled with lasting lessons for our time. He chronicles the clash between patricians and plebeians that defined the politics of the Republic. He shows how Rome's shrewd strategy of offering citizenship to her defeated subjects was instrumental in expanding the reach of her burgeoning empire.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Rome from the fall of Troy through Julius Caesar
- By Mike From Mesa on 12-11-12
By: Anthony Everitt
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A Brief History of the Samurai
- Brief Histories
- By: Jonathan Clements
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 418
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 365
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 364
From a leading expert in Japanese history, this is one of the first full histories of the art and culture of the Samurai warrior. The Samurai emerged as a warrior caste in Medieval Japan and would have a powerful influence on the history and culture of the country from the next 500 years. Clements also looks at the Samurai wars that tore Japan apart in the 17th and 18th centuries and how the caste was finally demolished in the advent of the mechanized world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Excellent History of the Samurai
- By Michael on 08-08-14
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The Sea Wolves
- A History of the Vikings
- By: Lars Brownworth
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,054
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 941
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 939
In AD 793 Norse warriors struck the English isle of Lindisfarne and laid waste to it. Wave after wave of Norse "sea wolves" followed in search of plunder, land, or a glorious death in battle. Much of the British Isles fell before their swords, and the continental capitals of Paris and Aachen were sacked in turn. Turning east, they swept down the uncharted rivers of central Europe, captured Kiev, and clashed with mighty Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A little dry but very interesting
- By Angela on 08-30-15
By: Lars Brownworth
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Alexander the Great
- By: Philip Freeman
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,302
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,044
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Story5 out of 5 stars 2,040
Alexander was born into the royal family of Macedonia, the kingdom that would soon rule over Greece. Tutored as a boy by Aristotle, Alexander had an inquisitive mind that would serve him well when he faced formidable obstacles during his military campaigns. Shortly after taking command of the army, he launched an invasion of the Persian Empire, and continued his conquests as far south as the deserts of Egypt and as far east as the mountains of present-day Pakistan and the plains of India.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book!
- By BadGuidance on 06-18-17
By: Philip Freeman
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The History of the Ancient World
- From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome
- By: Susan Wise Bauer
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,616
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,909
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,882
This is the first volume in a bold new series that tells the stories of all peoples, connecting historical events from Europe to the Middle East to the far coast of China, while still giving weight to the characteristics of each country. Susan Wise Bauer provides both sweeping scope and vivid attention to the individual lives that give flesh to abstract assertions about human history. This narrative history employs the methods of "history from beneath" - literature, epic traditions, private letters, and accounts - to connect kings and leaders with the lives of those they ruled.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Historic Achievement
- By Ellen S. Wilds on 04-25-14
By: Susan Wise Bauer
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Genghis Khan
- His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy
- By: Frank McLynn
- Narrated by: Tim Andres Pabon
- Length: 24 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 173
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 163
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 160
Mongol leader Genghis Khan was by far the greatest conqueror the world has ever known. His empire stretched from the Pacific Ocean to Central Europe, including all of China, the Middle East, and Russia. So how did an illiterate nomad rise to such colossal power and subdue most of the known world, eclipsing Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon?
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3 out of 5 stars
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Well Researched but Poorly Written
- By Sean V. Werner on 08-10-16
By: Frank McLynn
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Lords of the Sea
- The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy
- By: John R. Hale
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 190
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 128
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 128
The navy created by the people of Athens in ancient Greece was one of the finest fighting forces in the history of the world and the model for all other national navies to come. The Athenian navy built a civilization, empowered the world's first democracy, and led a band of ordinary citizens on a voyage of discovery that altered the course of history.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Sound narrative history
- By Matthew on 06-16-09
By: John R. Hale
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Augustus
- First Emperor of Rome
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,640
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,432
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,419
Caesar Augustus's story, one of the most riveting in western history, is filled with drama and contradiction, risky gambles and unexpected success. He began as a teenage warlord, whose only claim to power was as the heir of the murdered Julius Caesar. Mark Antony dubbed him "a boy who owes everything to a name," but in the years to come the youth outmaneuvered all the older and more experienced politicians and was the last man standing in 30 BC.
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5 out of 5 stars
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You know my name...say it.
- By Steven on 12-10-14
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Masters of Command
- Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, and the Genius of Leadership
- By: Barry Strauss
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 139
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 124
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 124
Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar: Each was a master of war. Each had to look beyond the battlefield to decide whom to fight and why; to know what victory was and when to end the war; to determine how to bring stability to the lands he conquered. Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar had to be not only generals but statesmen. And yet each was a battlefield commander, a strategist, a leader of men - in short, a warrior.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Too much jumping around
- By Nick on 03-12-17
By: Barry Strauss
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The Templars
- The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,883
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,507
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,490
In 1307, as they struggled to secure their last strongholds in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Templars fell afoul of the vindictive and impulsive king of France. On Friday, October 13, hundreds of brothers were arrested en masse, imprisoned, tortured, and disbanded amid accusations of lurid sexual misconduct and heresy. They were tried by the Vatican in secret proceedings. But were they heretics or victims of a ruthlessly repressive state?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Unexpected
- By Protogere on 10-30-17
By: Dan Jones
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Rise of an Empire
- How One Man United Greece to Defeat Xerxes's Persians
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
The action-filled movie 300 focused on Ancient Greece's epic battle of Thermopylae, in which King Leonidas led 300 Spartans into battle against Xerxes and his million-strong Persian forces. In the sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire, the action moves to the sea, covering 10 years starting with the Battle of Marathon and ending with naval engagement the Battle of Artemisium, which occurred the same day as Thermopylae. Rise of an Empire tells the story of the real men and events depicted in the movie.
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3 out of 5 stars
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bad editing and...
- By j.holmes on 08-04-16
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The Ghosts of Cannae
- Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic
- By: Robert L. O'Connell
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 376
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 267
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 265
For fans of Victor Davis Hanson, Donald Kagan, and Barry Strauss comes a rich, sweeping account of the most imitated---and vicious---battle in history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Hannibal's Legacy
- By Douglas on 11-10-10