Includes section "Comptes rendus".

In ancient times, the series of waterways now known as the Turkish Straits, comprising the Dardanelles (or Hellespont), Sea of Marmara and the Bosporus, formed both a divide and a bridge between Europe and Asia. Its western and eastern entrances were guarded, at different times, by two of the most fabled cities of all time: respectively Troy (in Asia) and Byzantion (or Byzantium, on the European coast). The narrow crossing points at the Hellespont and Bosporus were strategically important invasion routes while the waters themselves were vital routes of travel and commerce, particularly the supply of grain from the hinterland of the Black Sea to the Greek cities. This made them sought after prizes and sources of friction between successive empires, Persians, Macedonians and Romans among them, and ensured they were associated with some of the great names of history, from Odysseus to Xerxes, Alexander to Constantine the Great. John D Grainger relates the fascinating history of this pivotal region from the Trojan War to Byzantion’s refounding as the new capital of the Roman Empire. Renamed Constantinople it dominated the straits for a thousand years.

Introduces major topics in ancient Greek civilization through the development of eleven characteristic city states, ranging from prehistoric Cnossos through Byzantion, and including the future Marseilles as well as Athens and Sparta.

The collected essays explore late antique and Byzantine Constantinople in matters sacred, political, cultural, and commercial.

One of Time’s 12 Books for the History Buffs on Your Holiday Gift List The first single-volume history of Istanbul in decades: a biography of the city at the center of civilizations past and present. For more than two millennia Istanbul has stood at the crossroads of the world, perched at the very tip of Europe, gazing across the shores of Asia. The history of this city--known as Byzantium, then Constantinople, now Istanbul--is at once glorious, outsized, and astounding. Founded by the Greeks, its location blessed it as a center for trade but also made it a target of every empire in history, from Alexander the Great and his Macedonian Empire to the Romans and later the Ottomans. At its most spectacular Emperor Constantine I re-founded the city as New Rome, the capital of the eastern Roman empire, and dramatically expanded the city, filling it with artistic treasures, and adorning the streets with opulent palaces. Around it all Constantine built new walls, truly impregnable, that preserved power, wealth, and withstood any aggressor--walls that still stand for tourists to visit. From its ancient past to the present, we meet the city through its ordinary citizens--the Jews, Muslims, Italians, Greeks, and Russians who used the famous baths and walked the bazaars--and the rulers who built it up and then destroyed it, including Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the man who christened the city "Istanbul" in 1930. Thomas F. Madden's entertaining narrative brings to life the city we see today, including the rich splendor of the churches and monasteries that spread throughout the city. Istanbul draws on a lifetime of study and the latest scholarship, transporting readers to a city of unparalleled importance and majesty that holds the key to understanding modern civilization. In the words of Napoleon Bonaparte, "If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital."

This is the third volume of Getzel Cohen’s important work on the Hellenistic settlements in the ancient world. Through the conquests of Alexander the Great, his successors and others, Greek and Macedonian culture spread deep into Asia, with colonists settling as far away as Bactria and India. In this book, Cohen provides historical narratives, detailed references, citations, and commentaries on all the Graeco-Macedonian settlements founded (or refounded) in the East. Organized geographically, Cohen pulls together discoveries and debates from dozens of widely scattered archaeological and epigraphic projects, making a distinct contribution to ongoing questions and opening new avenues of inquiry.