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Calling all history buffs...

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Wed, 04/13/2005 - 18:54
jwarrend
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...and you know who you are.

I'm looking a good website or book with some information about ancient civilizations. I'm trying to create a deck of setup cards for Sands of Time, each of which will give a bundle of several upgrades. I'd like to loosely base these on actual civilizations, and so I don't need a whole lot of information about any one civilization. Rather, I'm looking for a site or book that contains survey information about many Civilizations (preferably 20 or so) all in one place.

Lacking that, someone who could provide a decent list of ancient Civs other than well-known ones like the Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, etc, would also be helpful.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

-Jeff

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Thu, 04/14/2005 - 02:57
#1
Ken
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Calling all history buffs...

Hey Jeff,

A quick search came up with this page:

http://www.asor.org/outreach/links/aneciv.html#ANEgen

It looks like it would be a good jumping off point for what you're looking for.

These are all technically Near Eastern Civilizations, (in or near today's Middle East) but you may also want to consider China, India, the Celts, the Norse, the Mongols. What about something like the Aztecs or Mayans? Information on any of these is only a Google away.

Ken

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Thu, 04/14/2005 - 06:20
#2
jwarrend
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Calling all history buffs...

Ken wrote:

A quick search came up with this page:

http://www.asor.org/outreach/links/aneciv.html#ANEgen

Thanks, Ken!

Quote:

These are all technically Near Eastern Civilizations, (in or near today's Middle East) but you may also want to consider China, India, the Celts, the Norse, the Mongols. What about something like the Aztecs or Mayans?

I should have been more specific, I'm mostly concerned with Ancient Near East civilizations, since that's the part of the world that is depicted in my game board. So China, and Meso-American Civs, wouldn't factor into this game.

Quote:

Information on any of these is only a Google away.

I'm well aware of the power of google! But also, the information overload. I was hoping someone might already have some knowledge of a good resource that has the info I need all in one place. The site you found is a good start. Thanks!

-Jeff

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Thu, 04/14/2005 - 09:15
#3
phpbbadmin
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Calling all history buffs...

Wow. Doesn't anyone use the library anymore? I bet a quick visit to your local library would yield at least a half dozen books on this subject. And hey, you can even visit your libraries website to search for them online. I think the Internet spoils us sometimes. =)

-Darke

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Thu, 04/14/2005 - 09:38
#4
Zzzzz
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Calling all history buffs...

Darkehorse wrote:
Wow. Doesn't anyone use the library anymore? I bet a quick visit to your local library would yield at least a half dozen books on this subject.............

What and waste valuable design time, to drive, look and drive back home with the info!!!!

Hehe, I agree with you Darke, I just had to poke fun!

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Thu, 04/14/2005 - 12:23
#5
jwarrend
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Calling all history buffs...

Yes, I know how to use Google, and yes, I know how to use the library. However, I'm not looking to invest a massive amount of effort in this search, as it's really only a pretty simplistic level of information I'm looking for, so if someone here happens to already have that information at their fingertips, I thought perhaps they'd be willing to point me in the right direction. I fully accept the jazzing I'm getting for being lazy, however, perhaps the fact that I help others out from time to time with similar requests entitles me to ask for some help myself?

-Jeff

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Thu, 04/14/2005 - 15:40
#6
Ken
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Calling all history buffs...

Sorry if I got this thread off on a sour note. I didn't mean any disrespect in my post. (the danger of printed words without tonal inflections and facial expressions)

I don't see any problem asking for help with such things as there certainly are others who know more than I do and can point me to the answers a whole lot faster than I could dig out by myslef.

If you are mainly focussing on Near-Eastern Civilizations then here is a list for you Jeff.

Big Ones: Akkadia, Sumeria, Babylonia, Assyria, Media, Persia,

Lesser Ones: Philistia, Phoenicia, Minoa, Moab, Edom, Ammon, Aram, Israel, and the "loose" tribal regions of Arabia.

You could also differential between the two classical Egyptian Kingdoms but that might be stretching it for your purposes.

Ken

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Thu, 04/14/2005 - 16:13
#7
Zzzzz
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Calling all history buffs...

jwarrend wrote:
Yes, I know how to use Google, and yes, I know how to use the library. However, I'm not looking to invest a massive amount of effort in this search, as it's really only a pretty simplistic level of information I'm looking for, so if someone here happens to already have that information at their fingertips, I thought perhaps they'd be willing to point me in the right direction. I fully accept the jazzing I'm getting for being lazy, however, perhaps the fact that I help others out from time to time with similar requests entitles me to ask for some help myself?

-Jeff

Jeff, by far you desire any help members can give you!! I just had to join in on Darke's fun. I wish I had somemore useful info, but the only link I have about Near-Eastern Civs would be List of Countries which you might be able to dig down into for more information. I think if you select each country you get to a link such as Bahrain which contains more information about the civs...

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Thu, 04/14/2005 - 16:32
#8
sedjtroll
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Calling all history buffs...

jwarrend wrote:
perhaps the fact that I help others out from time to time with similar requests entitles me to ask for some help myself?

Nope. This is the internet. No free rides without ridicule.

- Seth

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Thu, 04/14/2005 - 16:57
#9
phpbbadmin
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Calling all history buffs...

jwarrend wrote:
I fully accept the jazzing I'm getting for being lazy, however, perhaps the fact that I help others out from time to time with similar requests entitles me to ask for some help myself?

-Jeff

I wasn't trying to offend. I just think sometimes that the local library often times get overlooked for the wealth of information it possesses, especially in this day and age. And it *is* suprisingly convenient, especially if you're able to search the catalog and reserve books online. Plus I'd take a 'real' book over a website anyday. I don't know what kind of connection those books have, but there is ZERO lag time when browsing to a new page. =)

-Darke

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Thu, 04/14/2005 - 18:45
#10
jwarrend
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Calling all history buffs...

I'm sorry if I came across as offended, I didn't mean to; imperfect communication through the internet. I mainly meant to say, "yeah, yeah, I know I'm being lazy, but...can someone help me out anyway?"

I totally agree, a good book would be just as welcome a resource as a good website. I'd welcome such a reference, if anyone knows of a good book to look for.

Finally, I'll sort of answer my own question. A decent resource I found is en.wikipedia.org, the "free encyclopedia". It's an amazing resource, with lots of cross-referencing, so it's easy to jump from one thing to the other. I did a search for "ancient near east" and was able from following link trails to find many of the civs Ken recommends checking out. I suspect this resource could be useful for anyone trying to do background research on an unfamiliar topic. It might also be good food for thought for our own wiki.

Thanks again to all who have responded!

-Jeff

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