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Queens ranges from the ancient world to the present day, telling the stories of women who ruled, from murderous former courtesan Wu Zetian in seventh-century China to Elizabeth I, England's "Virgin Queen". In a world historically dominated by male rulers, the women who sat on thrones of their own shine brightly. Some queens and empresses were born to greatness, while others fought their way to power. Carefully researched, superbly entertaining, and illustrated throughout, Queens highlights the true personalities and real lives of the women who became monarchs and empresses.
Arranged by dynastic period, Pharaohs offers a compact history of the reign of god-kings, from Menes, who united the north and south kingdoms, to the Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra, who was defeated along with her lover Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium (31 BCE) by imperial Rome. Along the way the reader will learn about the Great Pyramid constructed by Khufu, the last of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world; Queen Hatshepsut, a rare female pharaoh whose name means "foremost of noblewomen"; and much more.
This work celebrates the links among Ireland's religious traditions over the ages. Despite contemporary tensions between Catholics and Protestants, the main characterstic of Irish religion has always been accommodation. Over the ages, the Irish have adapted, revived, and reinterpreted their religious past, not rejected it.
From the Highlands of Scotland to the plains of northern India, Castles of the World is a beautiful examination of past worlds viewed through strongholds that continue to enrich the modern landscape. Presented in a handy, pocket-sized format, arranged chronologically, and illustrated with more than 200 color photographs, Castles of the World examines more than 150 fortifications from across the world, from Cathar castles and Alpine schlösser to Norman keeps and Samurai strongholds. Discover how the thirteenth-century Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland was destroyed during the Jacobite rebellion of 1719; learn about Turkey's Marmaris Castle, built in 1522 by Suleiman the Magnificent to support his attack on neighboring Rhodes; and explore the Mughal-constructed Red Fort in Delhi, home of Muslim rulers from 1648 until 1803, and today a symbol of Indian nationalism.
This volume provides a basic introduction to warfare as it was practiced in ancient Persia.
In tenth-century Europe and particularly in Germany, imperial women were able to wield power in ways that were scarcely imaginable in earlier centuries. Theophanu and Adelheid were two of the most influential figures in the Ottonian reich along with their husbands, who relied heavily on their support. Phyllis G. Jestice examines an array of factors that produced their power and prestige, including societal attitudes toward women, their wealth, their unction as queens, and their carefully constructed image of piety. Due to their influential positions, Theophanu and Adelheid reclaimed control of the young Otto III despite fierce opposition from Henry the Quarrelsome during the throne struggle of 984. In examining how they successfully secured the regency, this book confronts the outmoded notion of exceptionalism and illuminates the lives of powerful Ottonian women.
"At the heart of Otto's short career lay three expeditions to Italy and his efforts to solidify a German Reich that controlled the territory on both sides of the Alps. Most writers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries understood Otto, for good or ill, as an idealist and an individualist. Althoff's great contribution it to make sense of Otto III against the backdrop of his own time, depicting Otto as a ruler challenged and limited both by his ancestry and by the political customs of his time."--BOOK JACKET.
This German-to-English translation of a highly successful book is a clear, approachable, student-friendly introduction to the history of the Crusades. With a long chronological span, from the eleventh to the late fifteenth century, and with a wide geographical coverage of the whole of Europe and some of the Middle East, The Crusades is clear, concise and more wide-ranging than most single-volume works. Taking recent scholarship into account, and using boxes, case studies, marginal directions and chronologies, the book is well laid out and easy to follow, providing a comprehensive overview of the crusade movement for students at all university levels.
Introduces 20 key battles from this period of religiously-inspired conflict in Europe and the Middle East. This work describes each battle with a contextual introduction, a concise description of the action and an analysis of the aftermath. It also includes more than 200 colour maps, artworks and photographs.