Ancient History

History is like a tree—the ancient parts are roots, and as the story progresses the trunk rises and branches expand to encompass every person and event since Adam and Eve. Because history is unified, every element of the story is interconnected, even if that connection is distant. Furthermore, the current parts are all directly the product of the parts that have come before, and to understand the current situation you'll need to understand the past.

Understanding the ancient history roots at the bottom of the tree is essential for a proper perspective of everything that comes after. Some people take this too far and assume that ancient history is all that matters, but those who disregard it or understand it on no more than a cursory level are just as mistaken. Just as a building must have a strong foundation, so a study of history must begin in the right place.

The ancient world was different from ours, and the same. It was different in primarily physical ways: technology was less advanced, there were fewer people, and the general standard of living was far below what we enjoy (at least in the industrialized world). However, human nature never changes, and the same universal conflict that exists today—between God's children and His enemies—raged then.

It's interesting to what extent the dominant theories and philosophies of the modern world reflect those of the ancients. There is truly nothing new under the sun, and the Enlightenment rationalism, faith in human progress, belief in man's innate goodness, evolutionary idealism, and even postmodernism against which Christians fight all have their roots in the ideas of the Babylonians, Greeks, Egyptians, and every other early civilization.

That doesn't mean there isn't a clear trajectory from the ancient world to the present. Ideas all run a distinct course, and some reach prominence at different times; while the seeds of every successive philosophy were sown in the ancient world, it took time to grow them into what we recognize how as humanism, modernism, postmodernism, and the ever-illusory post-postmodernism.

The same is true of events. The history of any period is simply the chronicle of man's attempts to thwart God's will and Yahweh's use of even the most outrageous rebellion to achieve His own ends. In some ways, this is more obvious in ancient history, as the nation of Israel fought the surrounding nations, and too often embraced their paganism.

That story, of God's work among His people and in the world, and of man's continual rebellion, is also our story. The Church fights the same battles our Israelite forefathers did, though on a more ideological rather than physical scale. When we realize how much the story of the ancients is our own story, the significance of studying their world becomes much clearer, and the urgency of such study is made plain.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Americans Before Columbus
by Elizabeth Baity, illustrated by C.B. Falls
from Viking Press
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1952 Newbery Honor Book
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Ancient Egypt
by Karen Sullivan
First Edition from Brockhampton Press
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Ancient Egypt: Life, Myth, and Art
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Ancient Rome
Discoveries Series
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Ancient World: The Chinese
The Ancient World
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Archaeology Book
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Authoress of the Odyssey
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Battles of the Ancient World: 1285 BC ~ AD 451
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Before Columbus
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Before Columbus
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Beggar's King
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Book of the Ancient World
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Captive
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Cities Then and Now
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Classical Rome
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Colosseum
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Constantine the Great
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Cultural Atlas for Young People: Africa
by Jocelyn Murray
3rd edition from Facts On File
African History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
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$35.00
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient America
by Marion Wood
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Ancient History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
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Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Egypt
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Ancient History for 4th-8th grade
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Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Greece
by Anton Powell
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Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Maya & Aztec Civilizations
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Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Mesopotamia
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Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Rome
by Mike Corbishley
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Cultural Atlas for Young People: The Bible
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Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt
by Geraldine Harris
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Ancient History for 4th-8th grade
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Cultural Atlas of Ancient Greece
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Dateline: Troy
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DK Eyewitness: Ancient China
DK Eyewitness Series
by Arthur Cotterell
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Chinese History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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DK Eyewitness: Ancient Egypt
DK Eyewitness Series
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DK Eyewitness: Ancient Rome
DK Eyewitness Series
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Roman History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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Don't Know Much About Mummies
by Kenneth C. Davis, illustrated by S. D. Schindler
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Eagle of the Ninth
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Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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Everyday Life in Ancient Egypt
by Neil Morris
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Exploits of Xenophon
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Fall of the Roman Empire
Opposing Viewpoints Digests
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First Houses: Native American Homes and Sacred Structures
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Flood of Noah
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Greek World
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In the Days of the Pharaohs
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Lost Continent of Atlantis
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Lost Queen of Egypt
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Mythology
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Navigating History: Egypt - Timeline
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Navigating the Worldviews of Egypt
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Pages of History Volume 1
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Pages of History Volume 1
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Percy Jackson's Greek Gods
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Pyramid
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Roman News
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Signs, Letters, Words
by W. John Hackwell
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Step Into Ancient Egypt
by Philip Steele
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Tales Mummies Tell
by Patricia Lauber
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The Robe
by Lloyd C. Douglas, illustrated by Dean Cornwell
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Throw Stone
by E.B. Sayles and Mary Ellen Stevens, illustrated by Barton Wright
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Treasures of Ancient Greece
by John S. Bowman
1995 edition from Crescent Books
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Treasury of Classical Mythology
by A. R. H. Moncrieff
from Barnes & Noble
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Unveiling the Kings of Israel
by David Down
from Master Books
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Usborne Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece
by Jane Chisholm, Lisa Miles, & Struan Reid
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Usborne Encyclopedia of the Roman World
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Usborne Time Traveler
by Tony Allen
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Ancient/Middle Ages History Reference for 3rd-8th grade
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Visual Dictionary of Ancient Civilizations
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Way to Eternity
from Time-Life Books
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Well of Sacrifice
by Chris Eboch
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World in the Time of Alexander the Great
by Fiona MacDonald
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World of the Pharaohs
by Christine Hobson
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Worlds of the Past: Romans
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Wrapped for Eternity
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