The Far Edges of the Known World

‘A tour of those far-flung places where Romans rarely dared to venture’ The Times ‘A strikingly original take . . . uncovering forgotten stories of life on the periphery’ Spectator 'This is the book for expanding your ancient history horizon' Tristan Hughes, host of 'The Ancients' podcast What was it like to live on the edges of ancient empires, at the boundaries of the known world? In this bold revisionist history, Owen Rees shifts our focus from the centres of Greece and Rome to the long-ignored societies on the borders. Thanks to archaeological excavations, we now know that these border societies were thriving cultures – just not ones we might expect. Taking us along the caravan routes of Morocco to the freezing winters of the northern Black Sea, from Co Loa in the Red River valley of Vietnam to the rain-lashed forts south of Hadrian’s Wall, Rees offers us a new, brilliantly rich lens through which to understand the ancient world.

‘A tour of those far-flung places where Romans rarely dared to venture’ The Times ‘A strikingly original take . . . uncovering forgotten stories of life on the periphery’ Spectator 'This is the book for expanding your ancient history horizon' Tristan Hughes, host of 'The Ancients' podcast What was it like to live on the edges of ancient empires, at the boundaries of the known world? In this bold revisionist history, Owen Rees shifts our focus from the centres of Greece and Rome to the long-ignored societies on the borders. Thanks to archaeological excavations, we now know that these border societies were thriving cultures – just not ones we might expect. Taking us along the caravan routes of Morocco to the freezing winters of the northern Black Sea, from Co Loa in the Red River valley of Vietnam to the rain-lashed forts south of Hadrian’s Wall, Rees offers us a new, brilliantly rich lens through which to understand the ancient world.