Barbarians!

The history the ancient world is dominated by the great civilizations of Greece, Rome, China, India and others. Yet not far beyond the borders of these famed states lived other peoples: the barbarians. They were first given this name by the ancient Greeks, and it imitated the sounds of languages that the Greeks found incomprehensible. Soon though, barbarians came to be thought of not just as peoples unfamiliar with the languages and customs of Greece and Rome, but as wild, uncivilized,...
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The history the ancient world is dominated by the great civilizations of Greece, Rome, China, India and others. Yet not far beyond the borders of these famed states lived other peoples: the barbarians. They were first given this name by the ancient Greeks, and it imitated the sounds of languages that the Greeks found incomprehensible. Soon though, barbarians came to be thought of not just as peoples unfamiliar with the languages and customs of Greece and Rome, but as wild, uncivilized, uncultured peoples--and this stereotype has largely endured to the present day.The barbarians, however, had rich cultures of their own, as even some ancient writers realized. The civilized peoples both feared the barbarians and were fascinated by them. Great historians such as Herodotus and Tacitus investigated and described their customs, sometimes even holding them up as examples for the people of their own sophisticated cultures. Moreover, the relationships between the barbarians and "civilization" were varied and complex. Barbarians are most famous for raiding and invading, but in fact they were often peaceable neighbors and close allies, trading with the great ancient empires and even serving them as soldiers. It is impossible to have a full understanding of the life of the ancient world without some knowledge of the people known as barbarians. This set offers young people the opportunity to look bound the borders of the familiar cultures of Greece and Rome and meet the peoples who played a compelling but often overlooked role in the history of Europe, Asia, and even Africa.