Biography From Ancient Civilizations
The Life and Times of Alexander the GreatISBN 1-58415-283-4 • 9781584152835List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockAlexander the Great led soldiers from his perch atop his horse, Bucephalus. He commanded the largest army the world had ever known. He ruled a kingdom that stretched across two continents. Before he was 30, he was the richest man on the planet. Alexander would know love, he'd know loss, but he'd never know an end to his ambitions. Only his death ended his conquest. Today, over 2,000 years later, generals still study Alexander's battle plans. Manuscripts preserved at libraries he founded were used by historians to give us a record of his life. Alexander was more than just a king. He embraced the culture of the countries he invaded. He spread democracy. In many ways, Alexander was more of a liberator than a conqueror. In this new book for young adults, middle grade readers can experience the life and times of Alexander the Great. |
The Life and Times of ArchimedesISBN 1-58415-242-7 • 9781584152422List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockArchimedes was one of the greatest mathematicians and inventors of the ancient world. His native city was Syracuse on the island of Sicily. When he was a young man, Archimedes was sent to study in Alexandria, which was the great intellectual center of the Mediterranean area during the Third Century B.C. There he met other brilliant mathematicians who became his friends. Even after they parted, when Archimedes returned to Syracuse, they wrote to each other sending the problems and theorems they were working on. Thanks to these letters we have many of Archimedes' theoretical writings. Back in Syracuse, King Hiero II, a friend and kinsman, asked Archimedes to use his mathematical genius to create practical solutions and inventions. The wonderful tools and weapons that Archimedes invented made him famous throughout the ancient world, and some such as levers and pulleys are still used today. |
The Life and Times of AristotleISBN 1-58415-508-6 • 9781584155089List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockAristotle has been hailed as the greatest scientist of all time. He examined everything from astronomy to zoology. He was among the first people to try to understand events by looking for natural causes. Before that, people believed that what happened was a direct consequence of the will of the gods. For nearly 2,000 years, his conclusions about the world were rarely challenged. While modern scientific inquiries have proved that he was not always right, his methods of close observation are still in common use today. Science wasn't the only area that Aristotle examined. He founded one of the most important schools of the ancient world. He offered ideas on the best way to live. He developed a theory of drama that many modern screenwriters follow. He studied scores of different systems of government. Some of the conclusions from this study are reflected in the U.S. Constitution. This "all-around genius" had a huge impact on history. |
The Life and Times of Augustus CaesarISBN 1-58415-336-9 • 9781584153368List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockWhen a teenager named Octavian learned that he was the heir of Julius Caesar, the most powerful man in Rome, it seemed like a recipe for disaster. Caesar had just been assassinated, and in the chaotic world of Roman politics the inexperienced young man would seem to have no chance against men two and three times his age. But Octavian had a genius for politics. Within a year he emerged as one of three leaders of Rome. Just over a decade later he took total control. Soon afterward, the Roman people gave him a new name: Augustus Caesar. It was the name which would make him immortal. He ushered in a period of peace and prosperity, ending decades of civil conflict that had cost uncounted thousands of lives. His reign was also characterized by a flourishing of art and architecture. He was the first emperor of the Roman Empire. He was almost certainly the best. |
The Life and Times of BuddhaISBN 1-58415-342-3 • 9781584153429List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockSiddhartha Gautama lived 2,500 years ago, but the effects of his life are still shaping the world today. The son of a king, he left a world of wealth and privilege to seek a better life—and he found it in the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. After he had found what he was seeking, he did not retire to a quiet place where he could spend all of his time in meditation. Instead, he devoted himself to sharing what he had discovered with others. His followers grew over the years, and during the centuries that have followed his death, his teachings have spread around the globe. Today, Siddhartha Gautama is known by countless millions—as the Buddha. His wisdom and compassion are legendary, and many have followed the path that he identified, hoping to reach enlightenment as he did. He deliberately chose a humble life rather than the life of a king, but his fame is greater than any he would have earned as a ruler. The Buddha gave himself to poverty and service, but he left a rich and enduring legacy. |
The Life and Times of Catherine the GreatISBN 1-58415-347-4 • 9781584153474List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockConsidered one of the greatest female rulers, Catherine the Great was a German princess who ruled Russia for 34 years. She introduced reforms in government that led to widespread education, advances in medical care, and improvements in the legal system. Catherine was a voracious reader, and she took many ideas from her reading. She was particularly influenced by writers of the Enlightenment that focused on natural law and science. As one of Russia's longest rulers, she introduced arts and culture to Russia. Today's Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg is one of the greatest art museums in the world. Catherine the Great's influence led to the development of Russia as a world power in the 19th and 20th centuries. |
The Life and Times of CharlemagneISBN 1-58415-346-6 • 9781584153467List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockCharles the Great, or Charlemagne, was one of the world's greatest military leaders. He became the leader of the Franks (who lived in modern-day France) in 768. Under his command, Frankish armies conquered most of Western Europe in the following decades. In 800, he was crowned emperor by Pope Leo XII. His greatness rested on more than military prowess. He was always interested in education, both for himself and for his subjects. He assembled many of the most noted scholars in Europe at his capital in Aachen, Germany and began the Carolingian Renaissance. This was a period of heightened learning, innovations in architecture, and the preservation of many priceless books from earlier centuries. |
The Life and Times of Cicero
ISBN 1-58415-510-8 • 9781584155102List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockBrilliant, arrogant, passionate, ambitious, and, ultimately, enduring, Cicero is considered the greatest of all Roman orators. Determined to be famous from a young age, Cicero first made a name for himself in his twenties as a fiery attorney, who won many cases solely on the power of his speeches. He entered politics and quickly worked his way up the Roman political hierarchy until he fulfilled his dream of joining the all-powerful Roman Senate. It was there that Cicero delivered some of his most famous orations in an effort to prevent political corruption, civic unrest, and general incompetence from diminishing the republic he loved. In his later years, Cicero wrote philosophical essays on the law and the duties of public servants that are still studied in university law schools. In the end, it was Cicero's political outspokenness that cost him his life. But dying for his beliefs insured that his dream of being remembered through the ages came true. |
The Life and Times of CleopatraISBN 1-58415-335-0 • 9781584153351List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockThe brilliant queen Cleopatra used her charm and cunning wit to mesmerize some of the most powerful men in the ancient world. From Julius Caesar to Mark Antony, men adored her and women wanted to be her. She was born into royalty, but she had to fight for her throne every single day. A teen queen at 18, she learned quickly that being a female pharaoh wasn't an easy task. In this book, you'll discover how beauty and brains made Cleopatra a woman to be reckoned with, as well as an important part of history. |
The Life and Times of ConfuciusISBN 1-58415-246-X • 9781584152460List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In Stock"To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order; we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right."—Confucius Considered one of the world's greatest philosophers, Confucius developed a moral code that would influence Chinese culture and would serve as the foundation for official and political policy during the Han Dynasty. The teachings of Confucius emphasized self-enlightenment and personal responsibility and attracted students and disciples from all walks of life. The collection of the teachings called the Analects, have become known the world over. Ironically, during his lifetime, Confucius was often viewed with suspicion by political rivals who feared his influence and his contribution to society was only fully appreciated and recognized years after his death. |
The Life and Times of ConstantineISBN 1-58415-343-1 • 9781584153436List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockConstantine is considered one of the most influential leaders of the Roman Empire. He spent his childhood in humble surroundings raised by a single mother before reuniting with his father Constantius, a powerful military leader who eventually co-governed the Empire. Known as a brave soldier, Constantine followed in his father's military footsteps and earned a reputation as a natural leader. His victory at Milvian Bridge against Emperor Licinius in 312 A.D. changed the course of not just Roman history but the world. Constantine united Rome under one rule, moved the capital of the Empire to Byzantium, and legalized Christianity, proclaiming it the official religion of Rome. His other legacies include introducing a new currency that would be used for several centuries and instituting a system of having workers pay rent to landowners in exchange for growing crops, which set the foundation for the serf system in medieval European society. |
The Life and Times of Erik the RedISBN 9781584157014List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockFew people recall the name of Eirik Thorvaldsson, who began life in Jaederen, Norway, around 950. When he was nine years old, his father killed a man—or maybe two—and was forced to flee with his family to Iceland. Young Eirik grew up in the harsh environs of that wind-swept isle in the North Atlantic. Harsh lands breed harsh men, and Eirik fit the mold. Like his father before him, he battled with neighbors and killed several men in blood feuds. Banished from Iceland for three years, he sailed west to seek refuge in an unexplored land. After three years in exile, Eirik returned to Iceland with tales of his discoveries in that new land to the west. He called it “Greenland” to entice others to join him there. Around 985, he sailed west again from Iceland with twenty-five ships of colonists. History records him as the founder of the first European settlement in Greenland and the father of Leif Eriksson. People remember him best as Erik the Red. |
The Life and Times of Genghis KhanISBN 1-58415-348-2 • 9781584153481List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockTo some people, Genghis Khan was a very evil man. He reportedly killed millions of people, most of them in cold blood. To others, he was the man who established an era of peace and prosperity. This achievement allowed the free exchange of ideas and new inventions between Asia and Europe. One thing is certain. According to the results of a newspaper poll, he was the Man of the Millennium. That means he was the most important human being to live between the years 1000 and 2000. What is especially remarkable about Genghis Khan is that he even lived to manhood. His family was abandoned on the harsh steppes of Central Asia. Somehow they managed to survive. Genghis began an upward climb that several times nearly resulted in his death. He overcame those obstacles. Leading one of history's most remarkable armies, he established one of the largest empires in world history. |
The Life and Times of HammurabiISBN 1-58415-338-5 • 9781584153382List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockHammurabi was an important leader in ancient Mesopotamia. Following the model of the warrior-king Sargon, Hammurabi built the tiny city-state of Babylon into a vast empire. He was recognized as a hands-on ruler. Not content to delegate duties to governors and advisors, Hammurabi was personally involved with all the goings-on in his empire. From the digging of canals to the construction of huge temples, Hammurabi was very interested in justice and fairness. He thought of himself as a shepherd and protector of all his people. He wanted everyone, the poor and the wealthy, to be treated fairly. In the second half of his reign, Hammurabi compiled a lengthy collection of laws into a single code. It is one of the oldest known law codes. You can find reminders of this ancient code in law books around the world. |
The Life and Times of HerodotusISBN 1-58415-509-4 • 9781584155096List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockThe ancient Greek writer Herodotus is known as the father of history. He provides most of what is known about one of the most important periods in world history. It began in 490 BCE. An invading Persian army was defeated at the Battle of Marathon. It concluded just over ten years later with Greek victories at Salamis and Plataea. The triumph allowed the Greeks to develop ideas and institutions in politics, economics, science, and even sports. These are the bases for how the Western world thinks and acts today. Herodotus is also known as the father of lies. For many years, people believed that many of the things he wrote about simply didn't happen. Today, research is showing that many of his "tall tales" were actually true. He is increasingly respected as a reliable historian. |
The Life and Times of HippocratesISBN 1-58415-512-4 • 9781584155126List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockFor many centuries in ancient history, people believed illnesses were handed down by the gods. In the fifth century BCE, a Greek physician named Hippocrates changed that attitude. He began looking for natural causes of illnesses. Many of his treatment methods seem primitive. For example, he performed brain surgery by drilling into a patient's skull with a sharp piece of wood. There were no anesthetics. It was a very painful procedure. In other ways his methods have held up surprisingly well. Like modern doctors, Hippocrates emphasized the value of a good diet and plenty of exercise. He also used maggots, leeches, and bees to treat his patients. All three of these creatures are still being used by doctors even in the United States. Because of his efforts, today Hippocrates is known as the Father of Medicine. |
The Life and Times of HomerISBN 1-58415-260-5 • 9781584152606List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockFor almost three thousand years, The Iliad and the Odyssey have thrilled people with tales of adventure in ancient Greece. The stories of Helen and Paris, the Greek gods, the Trojan War, Achilles and of Odysseus' ten year quest to return home after the war are known all over the world among all cultures. But so much about the life of the man responsible for those epic poems remains a mystery that for a while some scholars doubted he even really existed. Despite the controversies surrounding him, Homer is still honored as one of civilization's greatest poets. He overcame childhood poverty and adult blindness to achieve fame as a legendary storyteller whose epics kept his audience spellbound. His poems were so vivid that 19th century archeologists used descriptions in The Iliad to locate the city of Troy. Though many facts about his life remain unknown, his genius as a storyteller remains undisputed. |
The Life and Times of Joan of ArcISBN 1-58415-345-8 • 9781584153450List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockUntil she was thirteen, Joan of Arc led a normal life. Then she began hearing voices. She believed these voices spoke for God. At first, they told her to be a good girl. A few years later, they told her that her destiny was to save France from its English invaders. Joan's inspirational leadership helped the French to defeat the English at the city of Orleans. Soon afterward, she persuaded the crown prince Charles to become King of France. A few months later, Joan was captured by her enemies. Charles refused to help her in spite of all she had done. After a one-sided trial, she was burned at the stake. She was not forgotten. Today she is honored with a national holiday in France. |
The Life and Times of Julius CaesarISBN 1-58415-337-7 • 9781584153375List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockJulius Caesar is one of the most famous figures in ancient Rome. He was born into a turbulent era, when different factions were trying to control the government. He survived and began a steady rise in importance. He became a very successful military commander who added more than 200,000 square miles to the territories under Rome's control. But his triumphs created powerful enemies in Rome. They wanted to strip him of his power. He defeated those enemies in a civil war that made him even more powerful. He had a famous love relationship with Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt. When it seemed that nothing could hold him back, he was assassinated in the Roman Senate. One of his most notable accomplishments still affects people today. He reformed the calendar and established the length of a year at its present 365 days, with a leap year every four years. The month of July is named after him. |
The Life and Times of King Arthur: The Evolution of a LegendISBN 1-58415-513-2 • 9781584155133List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockCenturies ago, when the earth was still young and sorcerers and fairies were believed to roam the misty forest, a mortal man changed history. Arthur, born into a dark world of savage violence, united the Britons against their enemies at the battle of Mount Badon. For centuries, Britons shared Arthur's story around their campfires. Eventually, the story passed out of the Dark Ages and into modern literature. Follow Arthur, his wife Guinevere, and the knights of the Round Table as the story evolves from a world of warlords and bloodshed into a kingdom of mythical medieval knights, sorcerers, love, and ultimately, betrayal. |
The Life and Times of Leif ErikssonISBN 9781584157021List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockLeif Eriksson is arguably the best known of all those fierce, seafaring adventurers known as Vikings. His renown eclipses even that of his father, Erik the Red, the founder of Greenland. In 1000 CE, Leif seized fame and an enduring place in history as the first European to land in North America—almost 500 years before Columbus discovered the New World. On his historic voyage, Erik’s son backtracked on a course followed by another Viking fifteen years earlier. In a frail, all-purpose merchant vessel known as a knörr, Leif sailed northward along Greenland’s west coast, crossed the frigid waters of present-day Baffin Bay, and turned southward to what is generally believed to be Newfoundland. There, Leif established the first European colony on the North American continent. Find out about his family’s murderous history, and what it took to brave the icy waters and stormy lands of the North Atlantic during the Viking Age. |
The Life and Times of Marco PoloISBN 1-58415-264-8 • 9781584152644List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockMarco Polo, the first European to travel to China and return to write about his adventures, was born in Venice in 1254. Marco's father had left on a journey to Asia before the boy was born. Marco did not see his father and uncle Niccolo and Maffeo Polo, until fifteen years later. In 1271 the three Polos left Venice and headed for the court of Kublai Khan in eastern China. The journey took them more than three years - they arrived in 1275. Marco Polo became a favorite of the Great Khan, and was sent on important missions all over the Mongol Empire. Marco and his father and uncle served Kublai Khan for 17 years. When they returned to Venice in 1295, Marco became the captain of a merchant ship and was captured and imprisoned in Genoa. While in prison he and another prisoner who was a writer of romances wrote the story of Marco Polo's adventures. |
The Life and Times of MosesISBN 1-58415-340-7 • 9781584153405List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockMoses is probably the most important figure in the Old Testament of the Bible. Born into a Hebrew family, he was rescued from a cruel death and raised in the court of the Pharaoh. But after killing an Egyptian, he fled into the desert. Many years later, God appeared to him in the form of a burning bush. He ordered Moses to go back to Egypt and lead the Hebrews out of bondage and into the Promised Land. It wasn't easy. The Hebrews spent many years wandering in the desert, during which time Moses received the Ten Commandments twice. He smashed the stone tablets on which they were inscribed the first time because the Hebrews had begun worshiping a golden calf during his absence. Despite all the difficulties and the dangers, Moses' determined leadership finally brought his people to the Promised Land. But he died before he could accompany his fellow Hebrews into their new home. |
The Life and Times of NeroISBN 1-58415-349-0 • 9781584153498List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockThe Roman emperor Nero is one of the most notorious figures in history. He is most famous for "fiddling while Rome burned," then blaming Christians for setting the fire and beginning a series of horrible persecutions against them. With the help of his scheming mother Agrippina, he became emperor at the age of sixteen. It didn't take him long to become tired of being under his mother's thumb. Like most teenagers, he wanted to become independent. Because he had so much power, he ordered her to be murdered. He often misused his power. Many people lived in fear. He even changed the time that the Olympic Games were held and added some events so that he could participate and win. Finally the Romans were fed up with him. He was declared a "public enemy." He tried to run away, but he was too late. With soldiers closing in, he killed himself. |
The Life and Times of NostradamusISBN 9781584155447List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockFew people in history have incited such debate and further examination as the French prophet known as Nostradamus. What manner of man was he? Was he really able to part the mists of time and see into the future? Was it possible that he could predict events and identify people separated hundreds of years from his own time? Or are his predictions just vague and ambiguous enough that they can be made to fit almost any occasion? Perhaps one way to find answers to these questions is to examine the entire life of this remarkable man—not just the small portion that his predictions constitute. Read about the influences of his youth, his training as a physician, and the reasons he began making his predictions. You may then have the power to better understand who and what he actually was and the times in which he lived. |
The Life and Times of PericlesISBN 1-58415-339-3 • 9781584153399List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockGreek soldiers defeated numerically superior Persian armies in several battles near the beginning of the fifth century b.c. That set the stage for what is known as the Golden Age of Greece, several decades of almost unparalleled accomplishments in art, politics, and civil affairs. The leader during this inspired era was a citizen of Athens named Pericles. He led many important political changes in the city. He was also largely responsible for the development of the Acropolis. Buildings such as the Parthenon still inspire awe and admiration among countless numbers of visitors to the site every year. Pericles was a controversial figure during his life. He often needed all his powers of persuasion to convince his fellow citizens to retain his position as an Athenian leader. His fellow citizens felt that he showed too much affection in public to the woman he loved. And he led Athens into a disastrous war. |
The Life and Times of PlatoISBN 1-58415-507-8 • 9781584155072List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockMany scholars regard Plato as the greatest philosopher of all time. Yet he was much more than a man who spent his entire life with his head in the clouds. Plato grew up in a turbulent era. A violent civil war divided the Greeks. The turbulence carried over into his personal life. His beloved teacher, Socrates, was executed by the city of Athens. From the teachings of Socrates and his own experiences, Plato developed important theories about government, ethics, love, beauty even reality. He founded what is probably the first university in the Western world. Plato risked imprisonment and death when he tried to put his political ideas into action. At one point he was almost sold into slavery. He left much for the world to contemplate. |
The Life and Times of PythagorasISBN 9781584155454List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockPythagoras was a man of his time — and for all time. So important to mankind was his birth that the gods sent his birth announcement via the Pythian oracle. Tradition holds that he studied with the greatest minds the ancients had to offer. Pherecydes taught him that the soul is immortal. Thales and Anaximander taught him to trust only what he experienced. He studied with the first recorded scientist. Egyptian priests taught him radical ideas about the human soul. From the Babylonians’ magi, he learned higher mathematics and about the cosmos. He probably had the most well rounded higher education of any other living person of his time, but when most men were done with life, Pythagoras was just making his mark. Around the age of fifty, he founded a school of higher mathematics, philosophy, music, and religion. His lessons still impact our scientific and moral communities today. |
The Life and Times of Rameses the GreatISBN 1-58415-341-5 • 9781584153412List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockThe Egyptian pharaoh Rameses II is often referred to as Rameses the Great. He fully lived up to the Great part. His reign lasted for 67 years, the second longest in Egypt's 3,000-year history. He had dozens of wives and more than 100 children, outliving many of them. He was a military leader who expanded the borders of his country.That resulted in decades of peace and prosperity for his people. He ordered huge statues of himself to be erected all over Egypt. Many historians believe that he was the pharaoh of the Exodus, the epic journey that the Jewish people made out of Egypt under the inspired leadership of Moses. Even after death, he remained important. After his mummy was discovered late in the nineteenth century, it became one of Egypt's main tourist attractions. A military honor guard and important government officials witnessed the mummy when it was flown to Paris in 1976. |
The Life and Times of Richard the LionheartISBN 9781584156994List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockRichard I, king of England from 1189 to 1199, was a brilliant soldier and military strategist. His fierceness in battle during the Third Crusade won him the title of Coeur de Lion, or Lionheart. Even his most formidable enemy, Saladin, respected Richard and feared his army. Saladin’s own emirs were terrified of the warrior they called Malek Rik. For decades following Richard’s crusade, Muslim mothers called upon his name to frighten their children into behaving. Despite his legendary heart of a lion in battle, he was honorable and generous as a king—at least for a king of his time. Richard the Lionheart was a king, a warrior, a hero, and a legend in his own time. |
The Life and Times of SocratesISBN 1-58415-282-6 • 9781584152828List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockSocrates, the great Athenian philosopher, was born during the Golden Age of Greece, one of the most glorious periods in human history. He grew up during the exciting days of Pericles in Athens, in the midst of the flowering of drama and poetry, the creation of magnificent architecture and sculpture, the writing of literature that has inspired mankind for 2,500 years. The glory of Athens, inspired by the Athenians' victory over the Persians against great odds, lasted less than 50 years. Socrates lived to see his city conquered by the Spartans and by a terrible plague. He tried to convince his fellow citizens to examine their own beliefs and behavior. The Athenians, looking for someone to blame for their troubles, arrested Socrates. They accused him of corrupting the young men who were his students. He refused to run away to save his life and was tried and executed. |
The Life and Times of ThucydidesISBN 9781584156987List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockNearly 2,500 years ago, the Greek world was ripped apart. A savage conflict known as the Peloponnesian War pitted many of the Greek city-states against each other. It dragged on for nearly 30 years and cost tens of thousands of lives. We know a great deal about what went on because a man named Thucydides wrote a book about the war. Called History of the Peloponnesian War, it was the first book of “scientific history.” Thucydides’ description of the war was based entirely on observation of events and an analysis of human nature. Unlike accounts by earlier writers, the gods didn’t play any role. Early in his book, Thucydides wrote that he believed it would be “a possession for all time.” His prediction proved to be correct. Historians, military officers, and many other people still read History of the Peloponnesian War for its insights into politics and human nature. |
The Life and Times of William the ConquerorISBN 9781584157007List Price $29.95School/Library Price $20.95In StockWilliam, the son of a duke and a peasant, spent his childhood in hiding, raised among the Norman peasantry. Lords owing fealty to him would have murdered him—if they had found him. He spent his early adult years fighting rebel lords for his birthright. As Duke of Normandy, he claimed the throne of England after the death of Edward the Confessor, King of England, who William said had promised to name him heir. When England refused him, he built a huge fleet, sailed across the channel, and killed Harold, the newly crowned English king, at the Battle of Hastings. One by one, English towns fell to William and his Norman army as they marched toward London. Cowering in fear, Londoners had no choice—they opened the gates and made William the Conqueror their first Norman king. |
Biography From Ancient Civilizations: Complete Set (33 titles)ISBN 9781584157038List Price $988.35School/Library Price $691.35In Stock |
