D. Allen History

The paperback edition of my book is out now!

The Birth of the British Empire: A Basic History The British Empire is a complicated and controversial topic. This short book aims to break down the key points of the Empire’s origins. It covers a wide range of the details of the early Empire and the historical debates that surround them. This book is a little different as it includes a wide va....

I'm very pleased to announce that the Kindle edition of my first book is finally live for pre-order!

The paperback version should follow within the next couple of days.

The Birth of the British Empire: A Basic History The British Empire is a complicated and controversial topic. This short book aims to break down the key points of the Empire’s origins. It covers a wide range of the details of the early Empire and the historical debates that surround them. This book is a little different as it includes a ...

A short post with some thoughts on the Russian invasion of

The Russian invasion of Ukraine - D Allen History We should make no mistake about what is going on in Ukraine. It is an act of unprovoked imperial aggression by Russia against a peaceful and democratic.....

Want to learn more about the Barbary Corsairs? Then look no further.

Who were the Barbary Corsairs? - D Allen History The Barbary Corsairs were Islamic raiders based in North Africa who captured many European Christians to sell as slaves in Africa and the Middle East.....

Make sure to check out my latest post on the Arab Conquests to learn more about the of the Middle East.

What were the Arab conquests? - D Allen History In sixth-century Arabia, a man was born to a minor branch of a powerful family in Mecca; his name was Muhammad. This was a difficult time.....

Make sure to check out my next post on the Vikings, available now!

Who were the Vikings? The Vikings were raiders and traders from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. The name ‘Viking’ is a later name attributed to them; in their own time, they were.....

Make sure to check out my next post ‘Who were the Anglo-Saxons?’ if you want to learn more about the of Medieval England!

Who were the Anglo-Saxons? - D Allen History The Anglo-Saxons were a Germanic people from Denmark and Saxony who began to raid Roman Britain in the third century AD. Rome had ruled large parts of Britain since the Claudian invasion in 44 AD. However, over time, Rome began to loosen its control on the country and gradually withdraw troops. In t...

Although it is illegal, slavery still exists in many forms across the world. Read more about this in my latest post, ‘A brief history of world slavery part 2’ on dallenhistory.com.

Photo by istock.com/mmg1design

Islamic empires like the Ottoman Empire used slaves to fill important military roles. In Medieval Egypt, slave soldiers became so powerful that they became the leaders of the country. Read more about this in my latest post, ‘A brief history of world slavery part 2’ on dallenhistory.com.

Photo by istock.com/VvoeVale

The Anglo-Saxons used slavery to help their economy to function, and this continued after the Norman Conquest as many people remained legally unfree. Read more about this in my latest post, ‘A brief history of world slavery part 2’ on dallenhistory.com.

istock.com/lightphoto

Did you know that many merchants in Medieval Europe sold people as slaves to the Islamic Empires of Africa, Spain and the Middle East? Even as late as the 18th century Europeans were taken in raids and carried off to slave markets. Read more about this in my latest post, ‘A brief history of world slavery part 2’ on dallenhistory.com.

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The second part of my brief of world slavery is now available, make sure to check it out!

A Brief History of World Slavery Part 2 - D Allen History This week, I will be looking at slavery in medieval Europe, the Islamic Empires, and the modern world.....

Slavery has existed in most societies across the world. It was still found widely across the Mediterranean, Africa, and Asia until the 20th Century, and it can still be found in many places even today despite having been made illegal.

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Sources

Burnard, T., and Heuman, G., ‘Introduction’, in The Routledge history of slavery, ed. by G. Heuman and T. Burnard (Abingdon: Routledge, 2011).

Drescher, S., Abolition: A history of slavery and antislavery (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009).

Urbaincyk, T., Slave revolts in antiquity (New York: Routledge, 2008).

Slavery in Greece and Rome took on many forms, and enslaved people could have wildly differing lives. Those who worked in mines and quarries lived in despair with little hope for their future. The ancient historian Diodorus Siculus claimed that many believed death would be preferable to the constant work and beatings.

Photo by istock.com/walterbilotta

Sources

Diodorus of Sicily, Universal History, accessed in C. Champion (ed.) Roman imperialism: Readings and sources (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004), p. 154.

McKeown, N., ‘Greek and Roman slavery’, in The Routledge history of slavery, ed. by G. Heuman and T. Burnard (Abingdon: Routledge, 2011).

Gaining freedom was a realistic possibility for some enslaved people in ancient Rome, especially those who could form an emotional bond with their masters. For those that did achieve freedom, life could look very bright. Ex-slaves were technically citizens, and some became very wealthy and had great success in medicine, literature, or the imperial bureaucracy.

Photo by istock.com/Radiokukka

Sources

Hunt, P., Ancient Greek and Roman Slavery (Wiley Blackwell, 2017).

McKeown, N., ‘Greek and Roman slavery’, in The Routledge history of slavery, ed. by G. Heuman and

T. Burnard (Abingdon: Routledge, 2011).
Wiedemann, T., Greek and Roman slavery, new edition (London: Routledge, 2005).

In ancient Greece, more enslaved people worked as skilled labourers than in ‘unskilled gangs’. In Sparta, however, the most well-known form of slavery was that of the Helots. They were a whole people owned by the Spartan state, and they despised their Spartan overlords. Unlike many enslaved people in ancient Rome and Greece, they remained in family units and kept part of their crop (like Medieval serfs).

Photo by istock.com/PanosKarapanagiotis

Sources

McKeown, N., ‘Greek and Roman slavery’, in The Routledge history of slavery, ed. by G. Heuman and T. Burnard (Abingdon: Routledge, 2011).

Osborne, R., Greece in the Making, 1200-479BC, second edition (Abingdon: Routledge, 2009).

Thompson, F. H., The archaeology of Greek and Roman slavery, (London: Duckworth in association with the Society of Antiquaries of London, 2003).

For those enslaved people who had rebelled against Rome, the punishments were severe. Years later, the enslaved people of Sicily made another attempt to rise against Rome, again failing. On this occasion, the Roman commander Aquillius took the surviving enslaved people to Rome, where he planned to make them fight wild beasts in the arena. The historian Livy describes one revolt in Etruria and how many were killed or taken prisoner when it was defeated. The ringleaders were either returned to their masters or flogged and crucified.

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Sources

Diodorus of Sicily, Universal History, accessed in C. Champion (ed.) Roman imperialism: Readings and sources (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004), p. 154.

Livy, The Dawn of the Roman Empire (ab urbe condita books 31-40)), tr. J. C. Yardley, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).

The ancient Romans enslaved people in many ways. Sometimes, those in debt sold themselves into slavery, or tax farmers seized them. At other times, parents would sell their children into slavery. During the 1st Century BC, pirates took advantage of Civil War in Rome to rampage across the Mediterranean, and many of them trafficked in slaves. On a larger scale, Roman generals sold prisoners of war as slaves. Perhaps the most common way that Romans enslaved people was simply to sell the children of existing slaves.

Photo by istock.com/serpeblu

Sources

Diodorus of Sicily, Universal History, accessed in C. Champion (ed.) Roman imperialism: Readings and sources (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004), p. 154.

Plutarch, Life of Pompey, in Plutarch, Fall of the Roman Republic, tr. R. Warner and R. Seager, revised and expanded edition, (London, 2005), pp. 160-253.

Thompson, F. H., The archaeology of Greek and Roman slavery, (London: Duckworth in association with the Society of Antiquaries of London, 2003).

The first part of my brief history of world slavery post is now live, check it out here!

A brief history of world slavery: Part 1 Slavery has existed in most societies across the world. It was still found widely across the Mediterranean, Africa, and Asia until the 20th Century.....

What is Carthage?

Carthage is a North African city founded by Phoenician colonists (a people from the Eastern Mediterranean) around 813 BC. According to legend, the fleet of colonists was led by Dido. She was a noble from the city of Tyre fleeing from the control of her brother. Trade was crucial to the Carthaginians as their Phoenician ancestors had been sea goers, but they also developed advanced metalworking techniques. Carthage would become one of the most powerful cities of its time.

Over time, they conquered their African neighbours and expanded across Sicily, Spain, and Sardinia. It was their interests in Sicily that first brought them into conflict with the Romans. The Romans feared that if Carthage became dominant in Sicily, then it would threaten Italy and Rome. This tension began the three Punic Wars, which ran from 264 BC to Carthage’s final destruction in 146 BC.

The First Punic War was primarily fought in Sicily. Eventually, the Romans crippled the Carthaginian fleet and were able to take control of the island. The Second Punic War (think Hannibal and his elephants) was fought on a much broader scale across Europe and Africa. The Roman historian Livy believed that this war was ‘the Greatest War ever fought’. During this war, Hannibal did tremendous damage to Italy, and there was a time when Rome itself seemed under threat. Eventually, however, Rome was victorious.

In 146 BC, after a brief and one-sided third war, the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus (grandson of Scipio Africanus who secured Rome’s victory over Hannibal at the Battle of Zama) defeated Carthage destroyed the city. The ancient historian Polybius, a contemporary of the younger Scipio, believed that the defeat of Carthage was the biggest obstacle on Rome’s path to dominance. Years later, Rome re-founded the city of Carthage, and the modern city stands to this day.

Photo by istock.com/CJ_Romas

Bibliography

Primary sources

Livy, Hannibal’s war (ab urbe condita books 21-30), tr. J. C. Yardley (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006).

Polybius, Histories, tr. R. Waterfield, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010).

Secondary

Beard, M., SPQR: A history of Ancient Rome (London: Profile Books, 2014).

Hoyos, D. Carthage: A biography (Abingdon: Routledge, 2021).

Rollin, C., A short history of Carthage, new edition (modern reprinting of an historic text) (Perennial Press, 2018).

Steinby, C., Rome versus Carthage: The war at sea (Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2014).

The River Nile was at the heart of the ancient Egyptian civilisation and went on to play a major role in the Roman Empire. Check out this stunning photo of it by Ruben Hanssen on Unsplash.

What is Mesopotamia?

Mesopotamia is the ancient Greek word for the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and it includes modern Iraq and parts of Syria, Iran, and Turkey. The civilisations of Mesopotamia are among the oldest in the world, and it was one of the birthplaces of western civilisation.

A lot of Mesopotamia is desert, and so, like in ancient Egypt, the rivers were crucial to agriculture. Mesopotamian civilisation was based around many separate city-states, although they all shared key features such as the central placement of a Ziggurat (a pyramid-shaped temple). Over time, powerful Empires would rise and unite the city-states. In 1776 BC, for instance, the city of Babylon ruled an empire including much of Mesopotamia. The Akkadian Empire had united numerous cities even before this.

The Sumerians from southern Mesopotamia were the first people in the world to invent writing. Mesopotamians also developed a 12-month calendar and were among the first in the world to develop agriculture. Despite its many advantages, Mesopotamia was not rich in stone and metal. This meant that the Mesopotamians had far-reaching trade links, for instance, to the Indus Valley in India. Mesopotamian ideas thus spread far and wide.

Photo by istock.com/HomoCosmicos

Bibliography

Harari, Y. N., Sapiens: A brief history of humankind (London: Vintage, 2011).
Hart-Davis, A., et al., History: The definitive visual guide, from the dawn of civilisation to the present day (London: DK, 2007).
Kuiper, K. Mesopotamia: The world’s earliest civilization (New York: Britannica Edicational Publishing, 2011).
Postgate, N., Early Mesopotamia: Society and economy at the dawn of history, new edition (New York: Routledge, 2015).
Wood, M., The story of India, Kindle edition (London: BBC Books, 2008).

Who were the Publicani?

The Publicani were Roman public contractors. They performed a variety of functions, including collecting taxes and harbour duties, and revenue from mines. They also funded many public construction projects. They needed to be quite wealthy to win their contracts, but they didn’t usually come from the highest class. Usually, they were Equestrians (the Roman middle class) and made huge profits.

Publicani tended to be quite unpopular, and they caused many problems. One particular scandal involved a contractor faking shipwrecks and overstating the value of the cargo to be reimbursed by the state. Their exploitative measures (such as enslaving debtors) caused chaos in the province of Asia. Governor Lucullus attempted to rein them in, but the Publicani had powerful friends and were not easily stopped. Eventually, they managed to have Lucullus removed from his post. This was not the only time that the Publicani clashed with the Senate, nor was it the only province in which they caused problems. They also contributed to significant hardship for the Greeks after the Roman conquest.

Photo by istock.com/Meilun

Bibliography

Primary

Diodorus of Sicily, Universal History, accessed in C. Champion (ed.) Roman imperialism: Readings and sources (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004), p. 154.
Livy, Hannibal’s war (ab urbe condita books 21-30), tr. J. C. Yardley (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006).

Plutarch, Life of Lucullus, accessed in C. Champion (ed.) Roman imperialism: Readings and sources (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004), p.149.

Secondary

Beard, M. and Crawford, M., Rome in the Late Republic: Problems and interpretations, second edition (London: Bloomsbury, 1999).

Bremer, J. M. ‘Plutarch and the “liberation of Greece”, in The statesman in Plutarch’s works volume 2: the statesman in Plutarch’s Greek and Roman lives, ed. by L. de Blois et al, (Leiden: Brill, 2004), pp.257- 267.

Gruen, E. S., ‘Material rewards and the drive for empire’, in Roman imperialism: Readings and sources (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004), pp. 30-46.

Rosenstein, N., and Morstein-Marx, R., (eds.) A companion to the Roman Republic (Chichester: Wiley Blackwell, 2010).

As well as changing the political situation in Britain, the Glorious Revolution helped to strengthen Royal control in the American colonies.

Photo by Foto Phanatic on Unsplash

Sources:

Dunn, R. S., ‘The Glorious Revolution and America’, in The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume 1, the origins of the empire, British overseas enterprise to the close of the Seventeenth Century, ed. by N. Canny, 5 vols (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 445-465.

Lovejoy, D. S., The Glorious Revolution in America’, Wesleyan edition, (Hanover: Wesleyan University Press, 1987).

Who was Spartacus?

Spartacus was a Thracian enslaved by Rome and made to fight for their amusement at a gladiator school in Capua. The historian Appian claims that before this, Spartacus had served in the Roman army. Spartacus would go on to lead a widespread uprising against Rome, which remains famous today and has inspired movies, books, and television shows.

The biographer Plutarch said that Spartacus’ owner Batiatus was particularly cruel, and because of this, he kept Spartacus and the other enslaved people in close confinement. They then began to plan to escape. Spartacus and around 70 others stole kitchen equipment and used this to break free. When on the road, they then managed to steal better weapons.

Initially, the Romans laughed at their attempt to gain freedom, but soon they became afraid. Spartacus and his band of followers defeated force after the force that the Romans sent against them. This allowed them to capture better weapons and armour. Their success also meant that many other enslaved people flocked to join them. Historians believe that even poor Roman and Italian citizens supported Spartacus and fought with him.

Spartacus’ army first attempted to drive north towards the Alps. They later switched course, paying some pirates to transport them to Sicily, where there had recently been two slave revolts. However, the pirates betrayed them, and the army was left stranded. The Romans were by this time very concerned and gave the wealthy Senator Marcus Licinius Crassus the authority to lead an army against them. Crassus managed to trap Spartacus and his men. Although Spartacus managed to break free in a desperate attack when he heard that other Roman armies were returning from Asia and Spain, this success did not last long.

Crassus managed to force Spartacus to fight a decisive battle where the Romans destroyed the rebel army. Those who fled the battle were destroyed by another famous Roman general, Pompey, who was returning from Spain. The survivors were taken prisoner before being crucified along the road from Capua to Rome.

Photo by istock.com/ratpack223

Bibliography

Primary

Appian, The Civil Wars, tr. J. Carter (London: Penguin, 1996).

Plutarch, Life of Crassus, in Plutarch, Fall of the Roman Republic, tr. R. Warner and R. Seager, revised and expanded edition, (London, 2005), pp. 1Plutarch, Life of Crassus, in Plutarch, Fall of the Roman Republic, tr. R. Warner and R. Seager, revised and expanded edition, (London, 2005), pp. 1 -154.

Plutarch, Life of Pompey, in Plutarch, Fall of the Roman Republic, tr. R. Warner and R. Seager, revised and expanded edition, (London, 2005), pp. 160-253.

Secondary

Beard, M., SPQR: A history of Ancient Rome (London: Profile Books, 2014).

Konrad, C. F., ‘From the Gracchi to the First Civil War (133-70)’, in A companion to the Roman Republic, ed. by N. Rosenstein and R. Morstein-Marx (Oxford: Blackwell, 2006), pp. 167-189.
Shaw, B. D., ‘The great transformation: Slavery and the Free Republic’, in The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic, ed. by H. I. Flower (Cambridge: Cambridge University Prress, 2004), pp. 187-212.

Urbaincyk, T., Slave revolts in antiquity (New York: Routledge, 2008).

What was the Qin dynasty?

The Qin dynasty was the first Chinese Empire. It rose out of the warring states period to unify the other regions of the ‘Middle Kingdom’ (the Chinese name for China) by 221 BC. The house of Qin could trace its routes back to 770 BC. Even before they became the dominant power in China, the Qin rulers used a very legalistic and centralising form of government. They thus preferred to send out officials from the central government rather than relying on local nobles.

They implemented many reforms, such as standardising weights, measures, and writing. The Qin dynasty was also famous for many constructions projects, including building the first version of the famous Great Wall and the Terracotta Army guarding the massive tomb of the first emperor.

However, these developments and grand projects came at a cost. The Qin dynasty was incredibly repressive. It conscripted many people to work on their building projects. Likewise, it used extremely harsh punishments for petty crimes. Officials accused of being too lenient could even face severe punishment themselves. Later scholars have therefore been very hostile towards the Qin dynasty, although their methods of rule have influenced later dynasties. Despite its many achievements, the Qin did not last long, collapsing after only 15 years in 206 BC.

Photo by istock.com/dndavis

Bibliography

Kerr. H., A short history of China: From ancient dynasties to economic powerhouse (Harpenden: Pocket Essentials, 2013).

Pletcher, K. The History of China (New York: Britannica Educational Publishing, 2011).

Jing, A., Wang, G., and Wang, A. Y., A history of the Great Wall of China, (Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Company, 2015).

Sanft, C. Communication and cooperation in early imperial China: Publicizing the Qin dynasty (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2014).

Wood, M., The story of China: A Portrait of a civilisation and its people (London: Simon and Schuster, 2020).

There is a fierce debate over whether the Romans consciously planned to acquire an Empire or not? What do you think?

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Did you know that Roman religion was very different from many modern religions? For example, it was very diverse and less concerned about morality than Christianity, Islam, or Buddhism.
You can read more about Roman religion in Rome in the Late Republic, by Mary Beard and Michael Crawford., make sure to check out my review on dallenhistory.com

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Did you know that there is some debate over who we should view as the first Roman Emperor? Who do you think it should be?

Photo by istock.com/ViewApart

Enslaved people suffer from many forms of violence, which can be physical, psychological, or even sexual. Their masters usually control their right to marry, and many men have even been castrated.

For full references see 'What is slavery?' on my website, dallenhistory.com

Photo by istock.com/Sergei-Q

This is a fantastic book if you want to start studying

Mary Beard and Michael Crawford, Rome in the Late Republic This book is an accessible and enjoyable way of getting into studying ancient Rome. Focussing on the Late Republic, it is helpful for those interested in.....

Many academics have highlighted that freedom is a relative term. Where do you think we should draw the line between slavery and other forms of exploitative labour?

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The descendants of many enslaved people are still heavily reliant on (and subordinated to) the families of former slave owners. To some extent, do you think that these descendants are still enslaved?

For full references see 'What is slavery?' on my website, dallenhistory.com

Photo by Koshu Kunii on Unsplash

Enslaved people are usually the lowest in the social hierarchy; sometimes, slavery was used as a substitute for ex*****on. As such, enslaved people often have no control over their working environments and are made to do the most unpleasant and dangerous jobs.

For full references see 'What is slavery?' on my website, dallenhistory.com

Photo by Javad Esmaeili on Unsplash

Enslaved people have been used to acquire both wealth and prestige. In pre-colonial Africa, tribal leaders often planned raids against neighbours for the primary purpose of taking captives to be enslaved. This form of slavery has been present in most societies across time.

For full references, see 'What is slavery?' on my website, dallenhistory.com

Photo by Denny Müller on Unsplash

My next post questions the nature of slavery. I hope you find it useful.

What is slavery? You will almost certainly have heard of or studied some form of slavery before. But have you ever actually stopped to consider what slavery is?

Here’s a statue of the famous Chinese admiral Zhenge He. He is well known for leading a massive fleet of ships on a mission of trade and exploration.

Photographed by O.Mustafin, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cyrus I was the founder of the mighty Persian Empire and conquered many people, including the famous city of Babylon. Eventually, he stretched too far and was defeated. Here’s an excellent picture of his tomb, accessed via istock.com/traveler1116.

The Forum Romanum was central to ancient Roman life for centuries. Although it has degraded over the years some of it is still standing! Check out this photo of what still survives by Fabio Fistarol on Unsplash.

Who was William Shakespeare?

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright living in the 16th and 17th centuries. He was one of the greatest playwrights of his day, whose work appealed to a broad spectrum of society. His plays, such as Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Romeo and Juliet, remain popular today, so Shakespeare’s legacy endures.

Despite his popularity and the reasonable level of wealth he gained in his life, we know surprisingly little about Shakespeare as a person. He came from a humble family (his father was a struggling shopkeeper) in Stratford-Upon-Avon and received a basic education from the local grammar school.

His rural upbringing had an enormous impact on his work. His distance from London allowed him a greater degree of creative freedom in his formative years.

Similarly, traditional countryside knowledge and stories provided excellent inspiration for his work. He never forgot his hometown, buying a large house there later in life.

Photo by istock.com/TonyBaggett

Bibliography
Bryson, B. Shakespeare, new edition(London: HarperCollins 2008).

Guy, J., The Tudors: A very short introduction, second edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013).

Gillespie, S. and Rhodes, N., ‘Shakespeare and Elizabethan popular culture’, in Shakespeare and Elizabethan popular culture, ed. by S. Gillespie and N. Rhodes (London: Bloomsbury, 2006), pp. 1-17.

Duncan-Jones, K., Shakespeare: An ungentle life, (London: Bloomsbury, 2010).

Matus, I. L., Shakespeare, in fact, Dover edition (New York: Dover, 2012).

Pritchard, R., Shakespeare’s England: Life in Elizabethan and Jacobean times, new edition, (Stroud: The History Press, 2003).