It is the paradox at the heart of the Dutch Republic: how could a state emerge from resistance to political slavery and subjugation by a foreign power, only to become a colonial empire that promoted slavery all over the world? Slavery and the Dutch State shows how the modern Dutch state and its predecessors were complicit in colonial slavery. It describes the roles of various actors, such as enslaved people, administrators and merchants in the Netherlands and the colonized societies. More tha...

Ancient civilizations often developed near major rivers, like in Egypt and Mesopotamia. In Central Asia, the Murghab alluvial fan in southern Turkmenistan was central to the emergence of the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC), also known as the Oxus Civilization, during the third and second millennia BCE. The local alluvial fan was central for the productive agriculture at the basis of the region's urban centers and the wealth that accumulated in these societies.

This volume expl...

This volume collects papers on the pre-Corded Ware horizon in central Europe and adjacent areas (i.e. from c. 3500 – 2800 BC). This phase is very patchily researched, partly also because certain kinds of evidence, notably domestic architecture and burials, are rare or absent in many regions. This has occasionally been interpreted as signs of a major crisis and population bottleneck, which in turn facilitated the migration of new populations from the steppe, bringing with them amongst others...

Thrones of Gold: The Mightiest and Richest People in History

Take a journey through the lives of history’s most extraordinary figures—those who wielded unmatched power and amassed fortunes that changed the course of humanity. Thrones of Gold delves into the stories of ten legendary individuals who dominated their eras with their influence, leadership, and unimaginable wealth.

From Mansa Musa, the wealthiest ruler the world has ever seen, to Napoleon Bonaparte, whose military genius reshap...

Hosts of the hit podcast Reading Glasses bring you the only reading journal you’ll ever need, designed to help booklovers read, rant, and reflect with undeniable ease. No-stress. No-pressure.

The brilliantly compelling new biography of the treacherous and tyrannical King John, published to coincide with the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. King John is familiar to everyone as the villain from the tales of Robin Hood — greedy, cowardly, despicable and cruel.