Winner of the 2024 Somerset Maugham Award, in the words of The Times: 'An anecdote-stuffed tour of lost cities that ruled the ancient world, then collapsed.' Its name means 'centre of the world', and since the dawn of history the Mediterranean Sea has formed the shared horizon of innumerable cultures. Of the many cities that dot this ancient coastline, Tyre, Carthage, Syracuse, Ravenna and Antioch are among the oldest and most intriguing. All are beautifully situated, and for layers of history and cultural riches they are rivalled only by their sister cities of Rome, Istanbul and Jerusalem. Yet their fates have been remarkably different. Once major power centres, all five have declined into relative obscurity. Nevertheless, their entwined history takes in Alexander the Great, Nebuchadnezzar, Archimedes and the Roman, Byzantine, Arab and Norman conquests, and their greatness still lingers for those who seek it out.
Combining on the ground research with spellbinding storytelling skills, here is a revelatory new story and a powerful reflection on the sometimes fleeting glory of empires. It takes in Hannibal to Lord Byron and Dante, and you will enjoy the story of the foundation of Antioch by Seleucus, one of Alexander's generals, who planned the city by positioning his war elephants around the edges and ordering a tower built where each elephant stood. 288 page paperback, photos and drawings and eight pages of colour plates.
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