Product Description A fascinating look at the rich but under-appreciated Eastern sources behind the Narnia book C. S. Lewis was no great traveller but he was a prodigious bibliophile who absorbed the world's traditions of myth, religion, and cosmology. The Chronicles of Narnia are steeped in allusions to the Bible, Greek mythology, and medieval literature, all of which has been amply discussed by critics. But, until now, what has been overlooked are Lewis' significant borrowings from Eastern influences: Arabian Nights and the Persian poets, great travellers from Herodotus and Marco Polo to T. E. Lawrence and Robert Byron, and the famous fictional adventurers Baron Munchausen, Gulliver, and Sindbad.In East of the Wardrobe, Warwick Ball explores hitherto unrecognised and unexpected Eastern aspects in and influences on C. S. Lewis' Narnia books. These include storylines, themes, imagery, religious elements, and even the cities and landscapes of the East, as well as the 'Persian' style adopted by the illustrator of Narnia, Pauline Baynes. Themes borrowed from the great epics can also be found, from The Odyssey and Aeneid to the Kalevala and The Knight in the Panther's Skin. Delve deeper and Christianity is there along with paganism, but so too are Zoroastrian, Manichaean, and even Islamic and Sufi messages. Ultimately, these influences act as a reflection of the complex intellectual world that Lewis inhabited, of both his own unique philosophy and the wider social and intellectual climate of Oxford in the first half of the twentieth century. All readers of Lewis will find in East of the Wardrobe surprising new paths into the world of Narnia. About the Author Warwick Ball is an archaeologist who has carried out excavations, architectural studies, and monumental restoration in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, and Ethiopia. His previous books include Syria: An Architectural and Historical Guide, The Monuments of Afghanistan, Archaeological Gazetteer of Afghanistan, The Archaeology of Afghanistan, The Eurasian Steppe: People, Movement, Ideas, and Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire, winner of the James Henry Breasted History Prize.

East of the Wardrobe: The Unexpected Worlds of C. S. Lewis

Literature & Fiction

BALL, Warwick

History & Criticism

Oxford University Press

Since its publication in 1982, the Archaeological Gazetteer of Afghanistan has become the main reference work for the archaeology of Afghanistan, and the standard sites and monuments record for the region; archaeological sites are now referred to under their Gazetteer catalogue number as routine in academic literature, and the volume has become a key text for developing research in the area. This revised and updated edition has been significantly expanded to incorporate new field-work and discoveries, as well as older field-work more recently published, and presents new cases of synthesis and unpublished material from private archives. New discoveries include the Rabatak inscription detailing the genealogy of the Kushan kings, a huge archive of Bactrian documents, Aramaic documents from Balkh on the last days of the Persian empire, a new Greek inscription from Kandahar, two tons of coins from Mir Zakah, a Sasanian relief of Shapur at Rag-i Bibi, a Buddhist monastic 'city' at Kharwar, new discoveries of Buddhist art at Mes Aynak and Tepe Narenj, and a newly revealed city at the Minaret of Jam. With over 1500 catalogue entries, supplemented with concordance material, site plans, drawings, and detailed maps prepared from satellite imagery, the Archaeological Gazetteer of Afghanistan: Revised Edition is the most comprehensive reference work on the archaeology and monuments of the region ever undertaken. Cataloguing all recorded sites and monuments from the earliest times to the Timurid period, this volume will be an invaluable contribution to the renewed interest in Afghanistan's cultural heritage and an essential resource for students and researchers.

Archaeological Gazetteer of Afghanistan: Revised Edition

Politics & Social Sciences

Archaeology

Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire

In this lavishly illustrated and arresting study, Warwick Ball presents the story of Rome's overwhelming fascination with the East through a coverage of the historical, architectural and archaeological evidence unparalleled in both breadth and detail. This was a fascination of the new world for the old, and of the mundane for the exotic - a love affair that took literal form in the story of Antony and Cleopatra. From Rome's legendary foundation by Aeneas and the Trojan heroes as the New Troy, through the installation of Arabs as Roman emperors, to the eventual foundation of the new Rome by a latter-day Aeneas at Constantinople, the East took over Rome, - and Rome eventually ditched Europe to the barbarians. Rome in the East overturns the received wisdom about Rome as the bastion of European culture. Newly available in paperback, and illustrated with almost 300 photographs, plans and drawings, its accessible and comprehensive approach makes it an ideal resource for both the academic and general reader.

History

Ancient Civilizations

Routledge

This new edition of Rome in the East expands on the seminal work of the first edition, and examines the lasting impact of the near Eastern influence on Rome on our understanding of the development of European culture. Warwick Ball explores modern issues as well as ancient, and overturns conventional ideas about the spread of European culture to the East. This volume includes analysis of Roman archaeological and architectural remains in the East, as well as links to the Roman Empire as far afield as Iran, Central Asia, India, and China. The Near Eastern client kingdoms under Roman rule are examined in turn and each are shown to have affected Roman, and ultimately European, history in different but very fundamental ways. The highly visible presence of Rome in the East – mainly the architectural remains, some among the greatest monumental buildings in the Roman world – are examined from a Near Eastern perspective and demonstrated to be as much, if not more, a product of the Near East than of Rome. Warwick Ball presents the story of Rome in the light of Rome’s fascination with the Near East, generating new insights into the nature and character of Roman civilisation, and European identity from Rome to the present. Near Eastern influence can be seen to have transformed Roman Europe, with perhaps the most significant change being the spread of Christianity. This new edition is updated with the latest research and findings from a range of sources including field work in the region and new studies and views that have emerged since the first edition. Over 200 images, most of them taken by the author, demonstrate the grandeur of Rome in the East. This volume is an invaluable resource to students of the history of Rome and Europe, as well as those studying the Ancient Near East.

Rome in the East

This new edition of Rome in the East expands on the seminal work of the first edition, and examines the lasting impact of the near Eastern influence on Rome on our understanding of the development of European culture. Warwick Ball explores modern issues as well as ancient, and overturns conventional ideas about the spread of European culture to the East. This volume includes analysis of Roman archaeological and architectural remains in the East, as well as links to the Roman Empire as far afield as Iran, Central Asia, India, and China. The Near Eastern client kingdoms under Roman rule are examined in turn and each are shown to have affected Roman, and ultimately European, history in different but very fundamental ways. The highly visible presence of Rome in the East – mainly the architectural remains, some among the greatest monumental buildings in the Roman world – are examined from a Near Eastern perspective and demonstrated to be as much, if not more, a product of the Near East than of Rome.  Warwick Ball presents the story of Rome in the light of Rome’s fascination with the Near East, generating new insights into the nature and character of Roman civilisation, and European identity from Rome to the present. Near Eastern influence can be seen to have transformed Roman Europe, with perhaps the most significant change being the spread of Christianity. This new edition is updated with the latest research and findings from a range of sources including field work in the region and new studies and views that have emerged since the first edition. Over 200 images, most of them taken by the author, demonstrate the grandeur of Rome in the East. This volume is an invaluable resource to students of the history of Rome and Europe, as well as those studying the Ancient Near East.

A geographical area, not a political entity, the steppe connects the western and eastern parts of the Eurasian land mass. As such, it is always open, subject to constant movement between Asia and Europe. Warwick Ball tells the story of that movement from prehistory to the present. From nomadic peoples to conquering empires, from tales of Amazon women to art nouveau, and from golden grave goods to the formation of countries that still exist today, Ball shows how the steppe has continually shaped Europe’s destiny. Ultimately, he shows that the steppe and the movement of peoples across it are so crucial that they question the very idea of ‘Europe’ as a separate cultural and historical construct.\nFrom the Back Cover\nFrom legends of Amazons and Gog and Magog to the emergence of modern Europe’s superpower, the open steppe has continually shaped Europe’s destiny. A geographical entity, not a political one, it connects the western and eastern parts of the Eurasian land mass. As such, it is always open, subject to constant movement between Asia and Europe. The peculiar nature of the steppe has resulted in peoples originating in parts of Asia now forming a permanent part of the European community, and that movement has affected European history and identity since earliest times. Warwick Ball tells the story of that movement from prehistory to the present. Taking a panoramic view, he challenges our ideas of what we think of as ‘Europe’ and ‘European’ identity. Warwick Ball is a Near Eastern archaeologist and author who spent over 20 years carrying out excavations, architectural studies and monumental restoration throughout the Middle East and adjacent regions.

The Eurasian Steppe: People, Movement, Ideas

Asia

Edinburgh University Press

Syria is the Middle East's best kept secret. With its many site plans and maps, readable text and 96 color photos, this book makes available for the first time the immensely wealthy history, archaeology and architecture of Syria to the general reader and interested traveler.

Syria a Historical and Architectural Guide

Middle East

Interlink Pub Group Inc

revised &amp; updated edition 
With a wealth of historical splendors matched by few other countries, Syria has remained almost undiscovered by mass tourism. As a result, little has been spoiled, much is unknown, and there is much to discover. 
It is a land of immense antiquity, boasting cities and archaeological remains that are among the oldest in the world. Hittites, Hurrians and Hebrews, Aramaeans, Assyrians and Arabs, Egyptians, Canaanites, Persians, Nabateans, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders, Turks and French have all come, leaving behind some of the most spectacular monuments that can be seen anywhere. Today, entire deserted cities such as Palmyra or Resafeh, immense castles like Crac des Chevaliers and a bewildering array of palaces, mosques, temples, theatres, churches and other ruins strewn across the country provides Syria with one of the richest and most diverse heritages in the world. 
Syria's timeless monuments overawe the visitor. But they can enchant as well: to lose oneself in the back-streets and bazaars of old Damascus and Aleppo - still perhaps the most wholly satisfying traditional cities of the Arab world today - or to experience the sheer enchantment of the utterly haunting Dead Cities - probably the greatest concentration of ruins in the entire Mediterranean - is to experience travel at its very best. Most of all, the visitor to Syria meets with the characteristic courtesy and hospitality to outsiders that makes travel in the Arab world such a pleasure. Syria is still 'the best kept secret'. 
The new completely revised and updated edition of this book is to keep pace both with the rapid increase in travel to Syria and the new material which has appeared on Syria itself. 
With lucid and informative text, this book reconsiders the history and heritage of Syria and surveys the major sites, making a strong case for reassessing its importance in our perception of the growth of civilization out of the Middle East. With its many site plans and maps, readable text and 96 color plates, it makes available the immensely wealthy history, archaeology and architecture of Syria to the general reader and the interested traveler.

Syria: A Historical and Architectural Guide (2nd edition)

INTERLINK+BOOKS

Arab history is often viewed as beginning with Islam. But the Arabs have a long history stretching back millenia-and it is one intimately bound up with European history and identity. The Arabs' forbears, the Phoenicians, were exploring the coasts of England and West Africa and colonizing much of Spain, Sicily and North Africa in the early first millennium BC. The Arabs were to continue this tradition of world penetration long before the European "Age of Expansion." Islam, therefore, was as much a culmination as a beginning. The arrival of the Arabs in Spain in 711 and the subsequent continuation of Islam's first Caliphate in Cordoba after a second one had been established in Baghdad-not to mention Emirates in the Balearics, Sicily and southern Italy, and further penetration throughout much of Italy, France and Switzerland-can only be understood as part of a process that had already been underway for several thousands of years. Phoenicians and Arabs form a part of European history that is both European and Asiatic, a part that defines and makes Europe what it is-cultures that can no more be excluded from Europe than the Viking, Roman or Greek. Europe has been engaged in a complex relationship with the Arabs and their immediate forbears throughout its history. This richly illustrated book is an account of that relationship.

Out of Arabia: Phoenicians, Arabs, and the Discovery of Europe (Asia in Europe and the Making of the West)

Olive Branch Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by BALL, Warwick. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by BALL, Warwick

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by BALL, Warwick. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

East of the Wardrobe: The Unexpected Worlds of C. S. Lewis

Archaeological Gazetteer of Afghanistan: Revised Edition

Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire

Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire

Rome in the East

Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire

The Eurasian Steppe: People, Movement, Ideas

Syria a Historical and Architectural Guide

Syria: A Historical and Architectural Guide (2nd edition)

Out of Arabia: Phoenicians, Arabs, and the Discovery of Europe (Asia in Europe and the Making of the West)