28 Best Ancient History Books of All Time

Our goal: Find the best Ancient History books according to the internet (not just one random person's opinion).

Here's what we did:

Type "best ancient history books" into our search engine and study the top 5+ pages.
Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
Rank the results neatly for you here! 😊
(It was a lot of work. But hey! That's why we're here, right?)

(Updated 2024)

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Last Updated: Monday 1 Jan, 2024

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1
SPQR
A History of Ancient Rome
Mary Beard
Appears in 3 articles
2
Babylon
Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization
Paul Kriwaczek
Appears in 3 articles
MOST RECOMMENDED!
3
Sapiens
A Brief History of Humankind
Yuval Noah Harari
Appears in 2 articles
32recommenders
4
i
The Iliad
Homer
Appears in 2 articles
4recommenders
5
I, Claudius
From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius
Robert Graves
Appears in 2 articles
1recommender
6
Rubicon
The Last Years of the Roman Republic
Tom Holland
Appears in 2 articles
1recommender
7
The Landmark Herodotus
The Histories
Herodotus
Appears in 2 articles
1recommender
8
Black Athena
The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization
Martin Bernal
Appears in 2 articles
1recommender
9
The Storm Before the Storm
The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic
Mike Duncan
Appears in 2 articles
10
The Twelve Caesars
Suetonius
Appears in 2 articles
11
The History of the Ancient World
From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome
Susan Wise Bauer
Appears in 2 articles
12
Myths from Mesopotamia
Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others
Stephanie Dalley
Appears in 2 articles
13
Saxons, Vikings, and Celts
The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland
Bryan Sykes
Appears in 2 articles
14
Fire from Heaven
Alexander the Great, Book 1
Mary Renault
Appears in 2 articles
15
The Symposium
Plato
Appears in 2 articles
16
The Fall of the Roman Empire
A New History of Rome and the Barbarians
Peter Heather
Appears in 2 articles
17
The Amazons
Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World
Adrienne Mayor
Appears in 2 articles
18
The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Civilizations
John Haywood
Appears in 2 articles
19
Mexico
From the Olmecs to the Aztecs
Michael D. Coe
Appears in 2 articles
20
The Celts
A Very Short Introduction
Barry Cunliffe
Appears in 2 articles
21
The Eternal Army
The Terracotta Soldiers of the First Emperor
Roberto Ciarla
Appears in 2 articles
22
African Dominion
A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa
Michael Gomez
Appears in 2 articles
23
Women in Ancient Greece
Susan Blundell
Appears in 2 articles
24
The Greeks and Greek Love
James Davidson
Appears in 2 articles
25
The Mind of Egypt
History and Meaning in the Time of the Pharaohs
Jan Assmann
Appears in 2 articles
26
Death in Ancient Rome
Catharine Edwards
Appears in 2 articles
27
The Age of the Parthians
Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis
Appears in 2 articles
28
Portraits of Livia
Imaging the Imperial Woman in Augustan Rome
Elizabeth Bartman
Appears in 2 articles

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