The Internet Ancient History Sourcebook has expanded greatly
since its creation in 1998, and now contains hundred of local files as well as links to source
texts throughout the net.
- See Introduction for an explanation of the Sourcebook's goals.
- See the Help! page for all the help on research
I can offer
The Ancient History Sourcebook works as follows:
- This Main Index page shows all
sections and sub sections. These have also been regularized in a consistent hierarchy.
This should allow rapid review of where texts are.
- To access the sub-section pages, simply browse the sections
below and select the highlighted section title.
- The navigation bars on the left also offers links to each sub-section
Additional Study/Research Aids
In addition to the above structure, there are a series of pages to help teacher and
students.
Bad Links
1. This project is both very large and fairly old in Internet terms.At the time it was begun (1996), it was not clear that web sites [and the documents made available there] would often turn out to be transient. As a result there is a process called "link rot" - which means that a "broken link" is a result of someone having taken down a web page. In some cases some websites have simply reorganized sub-directories without creating forwarding links. Efforts have been made to cull all bad links, but some are likely to occur in the future.
2. All links to documents at Fordham/Internet History Sourcebooks Project should be working. For off-site texts/resources a back-up link had been given to an impression of the text/document at the The Internet Archive/Way Back Machine.
3. Users may attempt to locate texts not currently available, or where the links have changed via The Internet Archive/Way Back Machine. Alternately, a search via Google may locate another site where the document is available.
Studying Ancient History
Studying History
- Introduction: Using Primary Sources
- Nature of Historiography
- Other Sources of Information on Ancient History
- General E-text Projects [sites with texts online.]
- Egypt/ANE
- Greece
- Rome
- Religion
- Philosophy
Human Origins
Human Origins
- Human Origins
- Archaeology
- Hunter-Gathering Societies
- The Beginnings of Agricultural Societies
- Modern Perspectives on the Agricultural Revolution
- Origins of Patriarchy?
The Ancient Near East
Mesopotamia and Syria
- Ancient Near East
- Sumeria (c. 3100-c. 2000 BCE)
- The Epic of Gilgamesh
- Sumerian Language
- Art
- Connections with India
- Akkadia (c.2350-2200 BCE)
- Babylonia (c.2000-1600 BCE)
- Code of Hammarabi
- Cities
- Creation Myths
- Religion
- Kassites and Hittites (c.1600-717 BCE)
- Kassites
- Hittites
- Hittite Texts
- Material Culture
- Assyria (c.1350- 612 BCE)
- Chaldea/Neo-Babylonia (612-539 BCE)
- Syrian Cities: Ebla, Ugarit, Emar
- Phoenicia 950 BCE on
- Carthage: The Punic Empire
- ANE Arts and Architecture
- ANE Mathematics and Astronomy
- Gender and Sexuality
- Modern Perspectives on Mesopotamia
- Common Issues: Mesopotamian/Egyptian/Hebrew/Greek History
Egypt
- General
- Maps
- Chronologies
- Modern Egyptology
- The Old Kingdom (2705-2213 BCE) [Dynasties 3-8]
- The Middle Kingdom (1991-1668 BCE) [Dynasties 12-13]
- The New Kingdom (1570-1070 BCE) [Dynasties 18-20]
- Akhnaten [Amenhotep IV](r. 1363-1347 BCE)
- Post Imperial Egypt (1070-332 BCE) [Dynasties 21-31]
- Religion
- Origin Myths
- The Memphite Theology
- Gods and Goddesses
- Isis and Osiris
- Death and Resurrection
- Art and Architecture
- Literature
- Music
- Everyday Life
- Mathematics
- Gender and Sexuality
- Nubia
- Libya and Western North Africa
- Modern Perspectives on Egypt
Persia
- General
- The Persian State: Acheamenids (560-330 BCE)
- The Persian State: Parthia and Arcsacids (247 BCE-226 CE)
- The Persian State: Sassanids (224-636 CE)
- Persian Religions
- Art and Architecture
- Modern Perspectives on Ancient Iran
Israel
- People of Israel
- Pre-Israelite Canaan/Palestine/Syria
- The Bible as a Source
- The Documentary Hypothesis
- Ethnogenesis
- Moses and Monotheism
- Conquest of the Land (1250-1000 BCE?)
- The Judges (c.1200-1050 BCE)
- The National Monarchy (c.1020-586 BCE)
- David (1000-961 BCE)
- Saul (c.1020-1000 BCE), 1 Samuel 8
- Solomon (961-922 BCE)
- Israel and Judah (922-586 BCE)
- The Exile (587-538 BCE)
- The Prophets (750-550 BCE)
- Mythological Foundations
- Creation
- The Origin of Language
- The Problem of Evil
- The Problem of Life
- Sex
- Hellenistic Judaisms: Diasporas
- The Macabbees and After
- Jews in the Diaspora
- Conflict with Rome
- Hellenistic Judaism: Religious Development
- The Emergence of Judaism
- The Invention of the Synagogue
- Samaritans
- Editing of the Bible
- The Septuagint (?made under Ptolemy II r. 283-246 BCE)
- Philo Judaeus (c.30 BCE-45 CE):
- Pharisees
- Sadducees
- Zealots
- Essenes
- The Qumran Sect
- Proselytism
- Rabbinic Judaism
- Gender and Judaism
- Modern Perspectives on Ancient Israel
Greek Civilizations
Greece
- General
- Greece: Major Historians: Complete Texts
- Herodotus (c.490-c.425 BCE)
- Thucydides (c.460/455-c.399 BCE)
- Xenophon (c.428-c.354 BCE)
- Aristotle (384-323 BCE)
- Plutarch (c.46-c.120 CE)
- Pausanias (fl.c.160 CE)
- Crete
- Mycenae
- Archaic Greece
- Homer (c.8th Cent. BCE)
- Hesiod (c.700 BCE)
- Later Historians
- Greek Colonization
- The Persian Wars (449-479 BCE)
- The Rise of the Polis
- The Age of Tyranny
- Athenian Democracy
- Sparta
- The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) and After
- The Fourth Century: Competing Hegemonies
- Philip II of Macedon (r. 339-336 BCE)
- Religion and Myth
- The Olympian Religion
- Chthonic and Mystery Cults
- Greek Conceptions of Death and Immortality
- Philosophy
- Pre-Socratics
- Materialists
- Pythagoreans
- Eleatic School
- Sophists
- Atomists
- Socrates (469-399 BCE)
- Plato (427-347 BCE)
- Aristotle (384-323 BCE)
- Literature
- Literature: Theatre
- Theatre Practice
- Drama Theory
- Aeschylus (525-456 BCE)
- Sophocles (496-405/6 BCE)
- Euripides (c.485-406 BCE)
- Aristophanes (c.445-c.385 BCE)
- Menander (342/1-293/89 BCE)
- Art
- Music
- Education
- Economic Life
- Slavery
- Greek Law
- Everyday Life
- Gender and Sexuality
- Modern Perspectives on Ancient Greece
- Homer and War
- Greece and Anthropology
- Slavery
The Hellenistic World
- General
- Alexander (356-323 BCE)
- The Hellenistic States
- Ptolemaic Egypt (323-30 BCE)
- Seleucid Empire (323-63 BCE)
- Advent of Rome
- Art and Architecture
- Literature
- Philosophy
- Cynics
- Epicureans
- Stoics
- Skeptics
- Religion
- Science and Medicine
- Critical Thought
- Theoretical Science
- Mathematics
- Medicine
- Engineering
- Travel: Geography
- Modern Perspectives on Hellenistic Greece
Rome: Republic, Empire and Later
Rome
- General
- Rome: Major Historians: Complete Texts
- Etruscans
- Roman Foundations
- The Growth of Republican Institutions
- The War with Carthage
- Imperial Expansion under the Republic
- Civil Wars and Revolution
- The Principate to 192 CE
- Augustus
- The Julio-Claudian Dynasty 14-68 CE
- 69 CE: Year of Three Emperors
- The Flavian Emperors 69-96 CE
- The Adoptive Emperors 96-192 CE
- Roman Law
- The Army
- The Empire and Provinces
- Rome: As Imperial Capital
- The Empire as a Unity
- Africa
- Egypt
- Syria/Judea
- Asia
- Asia Minor
- Europe
- Britain
- Later Empire (after 192 CE)
- Elagabulus (r.218-222 CE)
- Literature
- Art and Architecture
- Education
- Economic Life
- Life of the Upper Classes
- Trade
- Counting
- Slavery
- Everyday Life
- Food
- Sport and Games
- Names
- Language
- Technology
- Pompeii
- Religion
- Gender and Sexuality
- Modern Perspectives on Ancient Rome
Late Antiquity
- Military Revolution and Government
- The End of the Roman Empire in the West
- Late Ancient Philosophy
- Roman Stoicism
- Neoplatonism
- Roman Mystery Religions
- Demeter and Eleusis
- Cybele
- Isis
- Mithras
- End of Paganism
- Modern Perspectives on the End of Antiquity
Christian Origins
- Source Problems
- The New Testament
- The Dead Sea Scrolls
- Gnostic Texts
- The Nag Hammadi Library
- Jesus of Nazareth (c.4 BCE-c.30 CE)
- Context
- Teaching
- Death
- Historical Evidence
- Early Church: First Century
- The Earliest Christians
- Paul of Tarsus (d.c.65 CE) and the Pauline Churches
- Missionary Activity
- Theology
- Early Church: 2nd-3rd Centuries
- Persecution and Survival
- Challenge to Social and Political Norms of Antiquity
- Church Organization
- The Emergence of Theologies
- Early Varieties
- Gnosticism
- "Orthodoxy"
- Early Christian Art
- The "Triumph" of the Church
- Modern Perspectives on Early Christianity
Introduction
The Internet Ancient History Sourcebook is a companion to the Internet Medieval Sourcebook and the Internet Modern
History Sourcebook. The Medieval Sourcebook is
both a classroom resource and the largest collection of online medieval texts. The Ancient
and Modern Sourcebooks have a different role: since there are
already ample online repositories of texts for these periods, the goal here is to provide
and organize texts for use in classroom situations. Links to the larger online collections
are provided for those who want to explore further. The distinctive feature of the Sourcebooks'
layout remains here - the avoidance of images and multiple "clicking" to find
texts. Unlike the Medieval and Modern History Sourcebooks, this
section of the project did not involve much scanning of new material to begin with. At
this stage, however, an increasing number of new etexts are available at this site. The Ancient
History Sourcebook also includes links to visual and aural material, since
art and archeology are far more important for the periods in question than for later
history. The emphasis remains on access to primary source texts for educational purposes.
This site focuses on online texts, which, for the most part, means public domain texts
translated more than 75 years ago. In many cases it is these older translations which are
used in commercially available sourcebooks. But note that, for classroom
use, in some cases the more modern translations are superior from a pedagogic
viewpoint: this is less the case with historiography than with literature. In
other words, use online resources well, but don't get carried away!
Note: Although I am more than happy to receive notes if you have
comments on this web site, I cannot answer specific research enquiries [and - for students
- I cannot, or rather will not, do your homework!] If you have have relevant
e-texts or
translations to contribute, please do contact me.
Paul
Halsall
Compiler and Editor
© Paul Halsall, 1999.
This text is copyright. The specific electronic form, and any notes and questions are
copyright. Permission is granted to copy the text, and to print out copies for personal
and educational use. No permission is granted for commercial use.
If any copyright has been infringed, this was unintentional. The possibility of a site
such as this, as with other collections of electronic texts, depends on the large
availability of public domain material from texts translated before 1927. [In the US, all
texts issued before 1923 are now in the public domain. Texts published before 1964 may be
in the public domain if copyright was not renewed after 28 years. This site seeks to abide
by US copyright law: the copyright status of texts here outside the US may be different.]
Efforts have been made to ascertain the copyright status of all texts here, although,
occasionally, this has not been possible where older or non-US publishers seem to have
ceased existence. Some of the recently translated texts here are copyright to the
translators indicated in each document. These translators have in every case given
permission for non-commercial reproduction. No representation is made about the copyright
status of offsite links: note that for the Ancient History Sourcebook,
unlike the Medieval Sourcebook and Modern History Sourcebook, many texts
are offsite. This site is intended for educational use. Notification of copyright
infringement will result in the immediate removal of a text until its status is resolved.
NOTES:
The Internet Ancient History Sourcebook is part of the Internet History Sourcebooks Project. The date of inception was
4/8/1998. Links to files at other site are indicated by [At some indication of the site
name or location]. WEB indicates a link to one of small
number of high quality web sites which provide either more texts or an especially valuable
overview.
