Created by the machinations of Ahlat, the Southern God of War, Harborhead is a nation in turmoil. A state built on conquest and blood sacrifice, it has had its warlike, expansionist tendencies and intertribal violence curtailed by the Realm's force of arms. Its armies conquered, its people enslaved and its resources stolen to enrich the Empress' coffers, Harborhead has suffered under the Realm's yoke for hundreds of years. Houses of the Bull God details the nation of Harborhead, a long-time satrapy of the Realm. Though subjugated by the Scarlet Empire, its Five Peoples yet harbor dreams of freedom - and of conquest. Now, with the Empress gone and the Great Houses busy preparing for civil war on the Blessed Isle, the opportunity to realize those dreams seems to be at hand. But the Realm isn't likely to give up such a rich territory without a fight. Inside are presented the important players on both sides of this coming conflict and the War God Ahlat and his retinue, the only ones who will profit from the impending struggle regardless of its outcome. Book jacket.

A historical novel set in 3500 B.C. in the Middle East. How a Bedouin Arab's mission to avenge the sacrifice of his beloved, young daughter might have led to the beginning of Judaism. Devastated by his daughter's death, Tiras grows determined to find a kinder god and save his two sons and his tribe from their vicious priest and terrifying bull-god. Accompanied only by his donkey, he leaves Saudi Arabia and crosses the dangerous Nefud Desert to sophisticated Sumer in southern Iraq. The Sumerian gods, he'd learned during his tribe's migrations, are sympathetic. In Sumer, he meets Mah Ummia, a scholar who teaches Tiras about the country's gods. After numerous adventures and a forbidden love affair, Tiras returns to his tribe with the roots of a new religion. But he struggles to persuade his suspicious tribe to replace their priest and ferocious bull-god with a new, unseen but loving god, and to stop their threats to his family. Should he continue risking his family's life to help the tribe? "...a captivating, nuanced account...the plot is by turns as gripping as it is moving...a historically impressive work,..." – Kirkus Reviews

Giorgio Vasari was one of the few artists in the history of art who built, designed, and decorated his homes. This book is the first to focus on Vasari's decorative cycles for his homes in Arezzo and Florence, revealing the significance of the artistic, cultural, and historical milieu of the sixteenth century. This study breaks new ground in two ways: First, in a personal and original manner, the imagery is related to Vasari's artistic ideas on history painting and the role of the artist. And second, Vasari's imagery portrays visual galleries applauding his teachers, antiquity and the creation of art.

Veteran science writer Michael Balter skillfully weaves together many threads in this fascinating book about one of archaeology’s most legendary sites— Çatalhöyük. First excavated forty years ago, the site is justly revered by prehistorians, art historians, and New Age goddess worshippers alike for its spectacular finds dating almost 10,000 years ago. Archaeological maverick Ian Hodder, leader of the recent re-excavation at this Turkish mound, designated Balter as the project’s biographer. The result is a skillful telling of many stories about both past and present: of the inhabitants of Neolithic Çatalhöyük and the development of human creativity and ingenuity, as revealed in the recent excavation; of James Mellaart, the original excavator, whose troubles off the mound eventually overshadowed his incisive work at the site; of Hodder and his intense, brilliant crew who marveled and squabbled over the meaning of finds in dusty trenches while attempting to reintepret Mellaart’s work; and of the recent history of the theory and methods of archaeology itself. Part story of the human past, part soap opera of modern scholarly life, part textbook on the practice of modern archaeology, this book should appeal to general readers and archaeological students alike.

Focuses on the developmental process of religion and spirituality across the human life span.This encyclopedia joins a recent trend in research and scholarship aimed at better understanding the similarities and differences between world religions and spiritualities, between expressions of the divine and between experiences of the transcendent.

This book examines different forms of ritual activities performed in houses of Graeco- Roman Egypt. It draws on the rich archaeological record of rural housing and evidence from literature or papyrological references to both urban and rural housing.

THE MILLENNIAL REIGN OF THE MESSIAH may be the most comprehensive book ever written on the 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth, delivering the world from the edge of annihilation. Given the comprehensive nature of this work, it is unavoidable that there might be details of the Millennium the reader might not be aware of and even shocked about - it will not be a period that is a bed of roses and yet it will be immeasurably better that man’s world under the influence of Satan and his minions. It is now up to the reader to find out more about God’s future Kingdom on earth – beginning by reading this book and looking up the many Scriptures quoted to support explanations throughout and to continue exploring this essential subject. A MUST read for all ages and interest groups.