TWILIGHT CITIES: Lost Capitals of the Mediterranean

Book number: 95295 Product format: Paperback Author: KATHERINE PANGONIS

In stock

Bibliophile price £5.00
Published price £10.99


Winner of the 2024 Somerset Maugham Award, in the words of The Times: 'An anecdote-stuffed tour of lost cities that ruled the ancient world, then collapsed.' Its name means 'centre of the world', and since the dawn of history the Mediterranean Sea has formed the shared horizon of innumerable cultures. Of the many cities that dot this ancient coastline, Tyre, Carthage, Syracuse, Ravenna and Antioch are among the oldest and most intriguing. All are beautifully situated, and for layers of history and cultural riches they are rivalled only by their sister cities of Rome, Istanbul and Jerusalem. Yet their fates have been remarkably different. Once major power centres, all five have declined into relative obscurity. Nevertheless, their entwined history takes in Alexander the Great, Nebuchadnezzar, Archimedes and the Roman, Byzantine, Arab and Norman conquests, and their greatness still lingers for those who seek it out. Combining on the ground research with spellbinding storytelling skills, here is a revelatory new story and a powerful reflection on the sometimes fleeting glory of empires. It takes in Hannibal to Lord Byron and Dante, and you will enjoy the story of the foundation of Antioch by Seleucus, one of Alexander's generals, who planned the city by positioning his war elephants around the edges and ordering a tower built where each elephant stood. 288 page paperback, photos and drawings and eight pages of colour plates.

Additional product information

ISBN 9781474614139

Customers who bought this product also bought

FROM HERE TO ENLIGHTENMENT
Book number: 94621 Product format: Paperback Author: THE DALAI LAMA
Bibliophile price £3.00
Published price £16.99
MIDNIGHT IN CAIRO: The Female Stars of Egypt's Roaring 20s
Book number: 95591 Product format: Paperback Author: RAPHAEL CORMACK
Bibliophile price £4.00
Published price £10.99
STUBBORN LIGHT OF THINGS: A Nature Diary
Book number: 95430 Product format: Hardback Author: Melissa Harrison
Bibliophile price £5.00
Published price £14.99
2025 CAT PORTRAITS SQUARE WALL CALENDAR
Book number: 94263 Product format: Unknown Author: THE GIFTED STATIONERY COMPANY
Bibliophile price £3.50
ROOMS OF ONE'S OWN: 50 Places That Made Literary History
Book number: 95285 Product format: Paperback Author: ADRIAN MOURBY
Bibliophile price £4.00
Published price £8.99
FAITHLESS
Book number: 95264 Product format: Paperback Author: SETH WALKER
Bibliophile price £3.75
Published price £8.99

Browse these categories as well: Travel & Places, History