The Chronographia is a historical account of the rule of fourteen Byzantine emperors (11 emperors and three empresses), chronologically, from 976 to 1077. Michael Psellos, who served the Byzantine emperors for over thirty years as a senior minister, described in these fourteen biographies the emperors as humans, with all their faults and merits. Psellos lived in a society which underwent dramatic changes: he lamented the citizen's growing greediness, the loss of values and order, the Nouveau Riches of his days and warned against the inflation of honorary titles and benefactions which were offered to the citizenry by weak emperors who sought the population's political support. The eleventh century was a watershed in the history of the Byzantine empire. At the beginning of the century, Byzantium stood at the height of its political and cultural strength. Prosperity began to decline when the Seljuq Turks started raiding eastern Anatolia in the 1030's. The rule of the central government in the eastern parts of the empire declined until these areas were finally lost in the wake of the Manzikert battle of 1071. Although Psellos did not focus on the description of battles but rather on the imperial court and the capital's politics, the Chronographia is one of the important sources of 11th century Byzantium . A literary, no less than a historical work, the Chronographia brings to life emperors and empresses, lovers, mistresses, rebels and even the ordinary people of Constantinople , in an unwavering effort to reveal the human traits of its heroes. Translated from the Greek with introduction and Notes by Shay Eshel

A collection of war stratagems selected from ancient historians, arranged according to their content in four books, with an introduction and a commentary, and an appendix of selected passages from the books of Julius Caesar and Livius. Frontinus, an outstandingly talented man, made his name and career under five Roman emperors (1st and 2nd century AD), he fought with distinction in Britania, was a senator, managed provision of water for Rome, was a writer and intellectual. He wrote several books, but only two of them survived entirely, The Aqueducts of Rome and The Stratagems , a sequel to his technical book on warfare that was lost. In the preface to Stratagems he writes: 'I feel obliged, in order to complete the task, to summarize excelent operations of generals, examples of wisdom and foresight, to serve and foster the generals' power to conceive and execute stratagems of their own, and not to fear their result , if they could be compared with achievements already successful. Introduced, translated from Latin and annonated by Prof. Dwora Gilula.

The biographies in this volume comprise the concluding part of the Scriptores Historiae Augustae. Their main subjects are the events of the Roman Empire during the years 235-284. These were the days of the so called Illyrian Caesars on the throne of Rome. The Empire was compelled in those days to face too often and too dangerous incursions of barbarians, as well as tireless efforts of various provincials trying to free themselves from Roman mastery. Rome was forced to recruit more and more barbarians to fill up the ranks of her soldiery and officers. Rome even experienced a strong shortage of silver and gold metals to coin her Denarii and Aurei. These deficiencies revealed Rome's weakness abroad and caused disquiet and instability within the borders of the Empire. However in spite of inflation, overtaxing and blackmailing bureaucracy the people of Israel in their country managed to continue their recovery due to the failed uprising in the century passed. The author-editor of these biographies remains anonymous. Although one may presume he had been a fifth century Roman of the senatorial circles. The author-editor did not pretend to be a professional biography writer. Nevertheless, it is clear that he had been a man of letters who made great efforts to provide a vivid and reliable account of those stormy days, the last generations of pagan Rome.

Homer's Odyssey is a grand epic poem of voyage and adventure. It recounts Odysseus' return to his native island of Ithaca after twenty years of war and wandering. We also encounter his son Telemachus, who has just come of age, as well as his wife, Penelope, sorrowful for her absent husband yet cunningly avoiding her boisterous and arrogant suitors. Having overcome the man-eating Cyclops Polyphemos, the bewitching Circe and the harrowing phantoms of the Underworld, as well as other perils, Odysseus finally arrives in Ithaca to reclaim his kingdom. Yet the Odyssey is not merely a tale of high adventure and a hero's triumphant return, it is also a story of man's inner confrontations and his encounter with the vicissitudes of fate. As with Arouetty's previous translation of the Iliad , the new prose translation of the Odyssey aims at precision and clarity. It strictly adheres to the Greek original, attempting to retain its nobility of language and style.

The Iliad of Homer is a powerful poem of force and heroism. It is the earliest of epics in Western Civilization and, since its appearance in the 8th century BCE, has inspired subsequent literary works. It tells of the final year of the Trojan War, one of the central stories in Greek mythology, and of the wrath of Achilles and its horrendous consequences. This is the first Hebrew prose translation of this great work. It has been done with meticulous care both to accuracy and style, aiming to preserve as far as possible the literary richness and charm of the original. As the Iliad belongs originally to the oral tradition, it is meant rather to be listened to than read; hence the translation aims at a greater musicality of Hebrew and simplicity of expression – both important characteristics of the Greek original. The translator has added a concise introduction and comprehensive notes to enhance readers’ understanding of this timeless poem. An index was added in the second edition.

The Roman Republic in the Perspective of Political Thought deals with the Roman Republic and the ways in which it was perceived as a political system. It appeals to a wide audience of historians, writers, political science researchers and educated readers interested in the political thought of the west in antiquity, the Middle Ages and modern times. The book is based on the lectures given by Professor Miller in 1997 as a guest of the Menachem Stern Jerusalem Forum for History, on behalf of the Israel Historical Society.

Translated from the Greek with Introduction and Commentary by DWORA GILULA

The Biographies of the Severi emperors are part of a Roman Emperor biography collection known as SCRIPTORES HISTORIAE AUGUSTAE, and in short - 'History Augusta'. Introduced, translated and annotated by David Golan