The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization

Carthage Must Be Destroyed

Richard Miles's Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Civilization charts one of the bloodiest dramas of the Ancient World: the devastating struggle to the death between Carthage and Rome. 
 
 In an epic series of battles, the mighty empires of Carthage and Rome vied for supremacy of the Mediterranean - before the Carthaginians finally buckled and their great capital city was razed to the ground, burning for six days and nights, its inhabitants slaughtered or enslaved. 
 
 Carthage Must Be Destroyed tells the story of this lost empire - from its origins in Lebanon to its apotheosis as the greatest sea-power of its age - and brings to life legendary figures such as the military genius Hannibal, who led his troops across the Alps and almost toppled Roman power, but would ultimately lead his people to disaster. 
 
 'Splendid ... epic and fascinating' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Tom Holland 
 
 'An enthralling narrative' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Economist 
 
 'The Carthaginians finally get their due ... well-paced and compelling ... In bringing the real Carthage to the fore, Carthage Must Be Destroyed makes a substantial contribution to the field' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Financial Times 
 
 'Lively and compelling' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Literary Review 
 
 'Thoughtful and meticulous ... fascinating' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Guardian 
 
 'A superb achievement' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Sunday Telegraph 
 
 Richard Miles is Professor of Classics at the University of Sydney and a Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge University. He has written widely on Punic, Roman and Vandal North Africa and has directed archaeological excavations in Carthage and Rome. He is also the author of Ancient Worlds and the presenter and writer of the series Ancient Worlds for BBC2.

Mr. Miles has skilfully fused the works of ancient historians such as Polybius and Livy, a wide range of modern studies and recent archaeological research to create a convincing and enthralling narrative

Richard Miles's Carthage Must be Destroyed is a refreshing addition to the debate

This is a lively and compelling, chronological account of Carthage from its Phoenician foundation to its reception in Emperor Augustus's Rome

Richard Miles tells this story with tremendous élan, combining the best of modern scholarship with narrative pace and energy. It is a superb achievement, a model for all such endeavours. He is even better on the little-known background to this tale

The dramatic story of these events is set out in gripping detail

A fine, sweeping survey of the rise and fall of an empire and a glimpse into the diversity of the ancient world ... Richard Miles is ... concerned with the wider context ... and his book is all the more valuable for that

Richard Miles is Professor of Classics at the University of Sydney and a Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge University. He has written widely on Punic, Roman and Vandal North Africa and has directed archaeological excavations in Carthage and Rome. He is also the author of Ancient Worlds (Allen Lane, October 2010) and the presenter and writer of the series Ancient Worlds for BBC2.

The story of Carthage is one of the great epics of the Ancient World. And yet, thanks to the ruthlessness and brutality of the Roman destruction of the city under Scipio in 146 BC, we know relatively little about the city: its foundation, its expansion, its way of life, its literature and gods. Carthage has to all intents and purposes been driven to the margins of history. A tale of battles and empire-building, of bitter rivalry and destruction - and a great civilisation whose role in shaping European culture and history has, until now, been largely ignored.

Richard Miles

Engaging ... full of interesting things about the radical social experiment of the city-state, and the new ways of living it permitted

An epic, spanning five millennia and half the globe

Ancient Worlds really does put flesh on the bones of history and Richard Miles brings long lost cities to life

The Search for the Origins of Western Civilization

Across the Middle East, the Mediterranean and the Nile Delta, awe-inspiring, monstrous ruins are scattered across the landscape - vast palaces, temples, fortresses, shattered statues of ancient gods, carvings praising the eternal power of long-forgotten dynasties. These ruins - the remainder of thousands of years of human civilization - are both inspirational in their grandeur, and terrible in that their once teeming centres of population were all ultimately destroyed and abandoned. 
 
In this major book, Richard Miles recreates these extraordinary cities, ranging from the Euphrates to the Roman Empire, to understand the roots of human civilization. His challenge is to make us understand that the cities which define culture, religion and economic success and which are humanity's greatest invention, have always had a cruel edge to them, building systems that have provided both amazing opportunities and back-breaking hardship. 
 
This exhilarating book is both a pleasure to read and a challenge to us all to think about our past - and about the present.

Richard Miles

Praise for Ancient Worlds

Epic and compelling

Engaging ... full of interesting things about the radical social experiment of the city-state, and the new ways of living it permitted

An epic, spanning five millennia and half the globe

Epic and compelling

Engaging ... full of interesting things about the radical social experiment of the city-state, and the new ways of living it permitted

An epic, spanning five millennia and half the globe

Epic and compelling

Engaging ... full of interesting things about the radical social experiment of the city-state, and the new ways of living it permitted

An epic, spanning five millennia and half the globe

Books by Richard Miles

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