
In the Shadow of the Sword
The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire
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Narrated by:
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Steven Crossley
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By:
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Tom Holland
About this listen
The evolution of the Arab empire is one of the supreme narratives of ancient history, a story dazzlingly rich in drama, character, and achievement. In this exciting and sweeping history - the third in his trilogy of books on the ancient world - Tom Holland describes how the Arabs emerged to carve out a stupefyingly vast dominion in a matter of decades, overcoming seemingly insuperable odds to create an imperial civilization.
With profound bearing on the most consequential events of our time, Holland ties the exciting story of Islam's ascent to the crises and controversies of the present.
©2012 Tom Holland (P)2015 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Pax
- War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Tom Holland
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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The Pax Romana has long been shorthand for the empire’s golden age. Stretching from Caledonia to Arabia, Rome ruled over a quarter of the world’s population. It was the wealthiest and most formidable state in the history of humankind. Pax is a captivating narrative history of Rome at the height of its power. From the gilded capital to realms beyond the frontier, historian Tom Holland shows ancient Rome in all its glory
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Great book!
- By Mic on 09-27-23
By: Tom Holland
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Greece Against Rome
- The Fall of the Hellenistic Kingdoms 250-31 BC
- By: Philip Matyszak
- Narrated by: Gareth Richards
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Towards the middle of the third century BC, the Hellenistic kingdoms were near their peak. In terms of population, economy, and military power, each was vastly superior to Rome, not to mention in fields such as medicine, architecture, science, philosophy, and literature. But over the next two and a half centuries, Rome would eventually conquer these kingdoms while adopting so much of Hellenistic culture that the resultant hybrid is known as "Graeco-Roman." In Greece Against Rome, Philip Matyszak relates this epic tale from the Hellenistic perspective.
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Really enjoyed the book and snark
- By Chris Smith on 05-27-23
By: Philip Matyszak
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The Rest Is History
- From Ancient Rome to Ronald Reagan—History's Most Curious Questions, Answered
- By: Goalhanger Podcasts Ltd
- Narrated by: Tom Holland, Dominic Sandbrook
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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This entertaining companion to the massively popular history podcast tackles everything from Alexander the Great to Agatha Christie, the Wars of the Roses to Watergate—with a unique blend of wit, wisdom, and good old-fashioned banter. Featuring an introduction from podcast hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, this book cleverly demonstrates that the past—from modern to ancient and every time in between—is both closer to us than we might realize and bafflingly strange, all at once.
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History is fun!
- By Brent Orrell on 03-10-24
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Sparta
- Rise of a Warrior Nation
- By: Philip Matyszak
- Narrated by: Mike Cooper
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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The Spartans of ancient Greece are typically portrayed as macho heroes: noble, laconic, totally fearless, and impervious to pain. And indeed, they often lived up to this image. But life was not as simple as this image suggests. In truth, ancient Sparta was a city of contrasts.
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Balanced viewpoint.”
- By Anonymous User on 06-15-25
By: Philip Matyszak
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Empire of the Black Sea
- The Rise and Fall of the Mithridatic World
- By: Duane W. Roller
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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What is commonly called the kingdom of Pontos flourished for over 200 years in the coastal regions of the Black Sea. At its peak in the early first century BC, it included much of the southern, eastern, and northern littoral, becoming one of the most important Hellenistic dynasties not founded by a successor of Alexander the Great. Previous histories of Pontos have focused almost exclusively on the career of its last ruler. Setting that famous reign in its wide historical context, Empire of the Black Sea is an engaging account of a powerful yet little-known ancient dynasty.
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More of an academic journal than a book.
- By Amazon Customer on 07-05-23
By: Duane W. Roller
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The Ancient Celts, Second Edition
- By: Barry Cunliffe
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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For 2,500 years, the Celts have continued to fascinate those who have come into contact with them, yet their origins have remained a mystery and even today are the subject of heated debate among historians and archaeologists. Barry Cunliffe's classic study of the ancient Celtic world was first published in 1997. Since then, huge advances have taken place in our knowledge: new finds, new ways of using DNA records to understand Celtic origins, new ideas about the proto-urban nature of early chieftains' strongholds. All these developments are part of this fully updated edition.
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Missing the foundation and migration from the steppe and the Tuatha Dé Dannan
- By cpdb on 03-15-20
By: Barry Cunliffe
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Antony & Cleopatra
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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In this remarkable dual biography of the two great lovers of the ancient world, Adrian Goldsworthy goes beyond myth and romance to create a nuanced and historically acute portrayal of his subjects, set against the political backdrop of their time. A history of lives lived intensely at a time when the world was changing profoundly, this audiobook takes listeners on a journey that crosses cultures and boundaries, from ancient Greece and ancient Egypt to the Roman Empire.
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Very good
- By Kdmd on 02-23-16
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Lost Islamic History
- Reclaiming Muslim Civilisation from the Past
- By: Firas Alkhateeb
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Islam has been one of the most powerful religious, social, and political forces in history. Over the last 1,400 years, from origins in Arabia, a succession of Muslim polities, and later empires expanded to control territories and peoples that ultimately stretched from southern France to East Africa and South East Asia. Yet many of the contributions of Muslim thinkers, scientists, and theologians, not to mention rulers, statesmen, and soldiers, have been occluded. This book rescues from oblivion and neglect some of these personalities and institutions.
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Excellent narration
- By Jamal on 06-19-22
By: Firas Alkhateeb
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The Scythians
- Nomad Warriors of the Steppe
- By: Barry Cunliffe
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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The Scythians were nomadic horsemen who ranged wide across the grasslands of the Asian steppe from the Altai mountains in the east to the Great Hungarian Plain in the first millennium BC. Their steppe homeland bordered on a number of sedentary states to the south and there were, inevitably, numerous interactions between the nomads and their neighbours. The Scythians fought the Persians on a number of occasions, in one battle killing their king and on another occasion driving the invading army of Darius the Great from the steppe.
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Well researched but narrator is terrible
- By John M. on 01-17-21
By: Barry Cunliffe
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By Steppe, Desert, and Ocean
- The Birth of Eurasia
- By: Barry Cunliffe
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 18 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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By Steppe, Desert, and Ocean is nothing less than the story of how humans first started building the globalized world we know today. Set on a huge continental stage, from Europe to China, it is a tale covering more than 10,000 years, from the origins of farming around 9000 BC to the expansion of the Mongols in the 13th century AD.
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Remarkable research!
- By B. Dillon on 07-21-22
By: Barry Cunliffe
not what I expected
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Very engaging
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Engrossing narrative, well told with a disconnected ending
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Tackles A Difficult Subject Masterfully
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Fascinating
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From the Epic to the Profound to the Cheeky
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GREAT BOOK ON ISLAM ORIGIN
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long but interesting
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A vivid, illuminating trip through late antiquity
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Just finished a very dense history of Islam
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