Forgotten Peoples of the Ancient World Hardcover – August 18, 2020

Kudos to Dr. Matyszak for a concise, user-friendly, well-researched and well-written account of so many "lost" peoples of the ancient world...or maybe not really lost or forgotten, just subsumed into the cultures which overtook them or scattered to the geographic winds.The book is laid out in chronological chapters for each of 40 Forgotten Peoples, from the Third Millennium B.C. to the Sixth Century A.D. Each chapter is 3-6 pages long and populated with many interesting, relevant photos. The beginning of each chapter includes a date range of the main period of activity for each people as an independent, dominating or impactful people, and a very much appreciated selection of maps of their origins and travels. The result is an eminently readable and easy-to-understand account of many peoples of whom many may have heard, and who impacted world events, yet about whom many may know only little (e.g. The Hyksos, The Sea Peoples). I knew of most of these peoples and enjoyed learning more about them, and was equally as pleased to be introduced to others about whom I knew nothing.All of the accounts are well-sourced and if specific source material was unavailable, limited or incomplete, it was so stated. Very refreshing to see such truth in reporting with so many facts packed into relatively short, easy-to-follow histories. Also, surprising to discover that so much information was available on some peoples, even after up to over four thousand years.Logical conclusions and suppositions were drawn from existing data to explain what occurred, why it happened and the final result. A bonus is the "Future Echoes" section at the end of each chapter...an epilogue of sorts which contains pertinent asides associated with each people, some even bringing the reader up to the modern day (e.g. the fusion of Greek-Indian art styles stemming from Alexander the Great's conquests leading to the later creation of monumental Buddhas in that style, ultimately destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 A.D.).This is a superior historical endeavor in my opinion and one I recommend highly. If I had any disappointment in this publication it would be that there was no separate chapter on The Etruscans. Perhaps they did not meet the criteria necessary to be considered a forgotten people. Regardless, it was a most enjoyable read for me and a journey back through time I plan to make again soon.

This book provides an interesting overview summary about various lesser known civilizations of the ancient period. If you want more detail on any of them you will have to look elsewhere but I found it to be an interesting introduction to some of these civilizations.

Forty years on our evolutionary scale amounts to a microsecond on our twenty-four biological clock. The millennium years, even Before Christ, feel so alienly anachronistic from our modern sensibility. The sense of time builds upon a fundamental element of consciousness as molded into a collective emotional experience as contemporary citizens of the world, just as the peoples of the misty pasts we tend to overlook felt the same for the civilizations before them. They were the titans of the pre-ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman cultures. They, like the evening sun in its full declination, vanished in the hazy horizons of the time, still dazzling with its scarlet hues of radiating halo lingering on the remnants of human civilization to this date.Forgotten peoples of the Ancient World is an anthology of the peoples whose feeling of permanence and importance in their time of the world betrayed their fates buried in the tires of cities beneath the earth and returned to the dust in the winds. To illustrate, Akkadians were the first builders of the empire who elevated the Akkadian language to the cultural and political lingua franca of the late Bronze Age. The Hyksos were outstanding charioteers, and their military prowess benefitted their Egyptian subjects. The Bactrian culture was a delightful mixture of Greek and Indian heritages, while the Vandals gave a final, fatal blow to the already destabilized Roman Empire. These peoples affected the celebrity civilizations we are automatically associated with the ancient civilizations. As to why the forgotten peoples became peripheral in our realm of ancient history, it is a question of the immanence of the supreme being in the universe. However, what is certain is that they were the torch-bearers of the first civilizations passing the torch of society they had ignited and encouraged to the next in a relay run of collective humanity.The book is an excellent anthology of these ancient peoples in chronological order from east to west, showing how civilizations expanded from the cradle across the plains, mountains, deserts, and seas to the Isles of Britons. Divided into the eras marking the epochal changes of history, Matyszak succinctly elucidates the peoples of the misty past with his trademark witty ways of describing historical contexts. Moreover, the exciting historical trivia resurrects the eras in a phantasmagorical display of faces and places.To conclude, the stories about the forgotten peoples attest to the objectivity of truth applicable to any time of history that that which is here was there, has been, and will be. All things must pass, and there is nothing new under the sun. Our sense of time and culture is a likeness of truth, a matrix-like reality, because our facility is rather instinctive than reasoning, rather physical than metaphysical. Who would have known that people 100 years later now would think our time and us in this time anachronistic and antediluvian? Herodotus felt the same when he arrived in Egypt and saw the wondrous pyramids in awe that the people before his generations had built. So did the Babylonian king, who dug and discovered artifacts from centuries ago. We have seen the hungry ocean gain advantage of the kingdom of the shore, and the firm soil win of the watery main, increase with loss and loss with increase. The forgotten peoples and we are time's subjects, and time bids are gone.

No way can I untangle the strands of this history. My appreciation for the author‘s doing just that is immense. The cracks may be tiny ones in the wall of our understanding of ancient history but when they are filled the wall stands firmer. I rejoiced to read each of the “future echoes” even when they were somewhat bleak.

This gives you a taste of history for so many different groups and is beautifully published and a pleasure to read.

An intriguing and easy read. As someone who has some exposure to ancient history I had often heard the names of these people but knew little about them. So the book really filled in some blank spaces for me. The illustrations were excellent.

We all know something of the Greeks, Egyptians and Romans, but there are so many other empires and peoples who have played key roles in shaping history. I have read and enjoyed several of Philip Matyszak's numerous, knowledgeable and readable histories. This book contains short summaries of scores of peoples such as the first empire builders, the Akkadians, that have faded from lofty heights to faded memory. Very entertaining.

I haven't read it yet, but the book arrived in excellent condition and of very good quality. I will enjoy reading it as it looks really interesting!

Another solid and beautifully produced coffee-table delight from the author. Opting for breadth rather than depth is a good choice when trying to make the readers aware of their own ignorance. Many of these forgotten peoples I'd heard mentioned at some point or other but knew practically nothing about any of them. To be honest I still don't know all that much, but at least now I'm a bit aware of the extent of how much I don't know (and for that matter how little is known even to professional historians). A lively text full of unexpected facts showing that these forgotten peoples nevertheless had an impact on history, with a cautionary message that one day someone will say the same about us. It's also a great physical showpiece with many fine illustrations and photographs.

Um livro ao mesmo tempo conciso e abrangente sobre os povos que precederam as civilizações antigas. Costumamos retroagir até os egípcios, em nossas buscas pelo passado. Este trabalho, entretanto, nos leva tão longe quanto os acadianos ou hebreus. Histórias que se cruzam e se desenvolvem no Levante do Oriente Médio. Muito interessante e bem escrito (em inglês).

interesting summary of what is known of some people in the vicinity of the ancient civilisations

Excellent book! Matyszak is a fantastic author!