Author: David Gibbins

Cites

• King Tudhaliyas IV of the Hittites (1)
  • IN: The Mask of Troy (None) Fiction, NULL
    EPIGRAPH: I give you a tablet of war; I give you a tablet of peace.
    FROM: After a letter from King Tudhaliyas IV of the Hittites to the Assyrian king, late thirteenth century BC, (-1225), NULL, Turkey
• Homer (1)
  • IN: The Mask of Troy (None) Fiction, NULL
    EPIGRAPH: His sharpen’d spear let every Grecian wield, And every Grecian fix his brazen shield; Let all excite the fiery steeds of war, And all for combat fit the rattling car. This day, this dreadful day, let each contend; No rest, no respite, till the shades descend; Till darkness, or till death, shall cover all: Let the war bleed, and let the mighty fall.
    FROM: Homer, The Iliad, Book II, lines 382-94, eighth century BC or earlier, translated by Alexander Pope, 1715-20, (-8), Poem, Greece
• Pliny the Younger (1)
  • IN: The Last Gospel (None) Fiction, NULL
    EPIGRAPH: … he perished in a catastrophe which destroyed the loveliest regions of the earth, a fate shared by whole cities and their people, and one so memorable that it is likely to make his name live for ever; and he himself wrote a number of books of lasting value: but you write for all time and can still do much to perpetuate his memory. The fortunate man, in my opinion, is he to whom the gods have granted the power either to do something which is worth recording or to write what is worth reading, and most fortunate of all is the man who can do both …
    FROM: Letter to the historian Tacitus. c. AD 106, (106), Letter, Italy
• From the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea Egyptian Greek, c. First Century AD (1)
  • IN: The Tiger warrior (None) Fiction, NULL
    EPIGRAPH: … after this, toward the east and with the ocean on the right, sailing offshore past the remaining lands on the left, you come upon the land of the Ganges; in this region is a river, itself called the Ganges, that is the greatest of all the rivers in India, and which rises and falls like the Nile. Close by this river is an island in the ocean, the very farthest part of the inhabited world toward the east, beneath the rising sun itself it is called Chryse, the land of gold. Beyond this land, by now at the most northerly point-where the sea ends at some place in the outer limits-there lies a vast inland place called Thina. From there, wool, yarn and silk are transported overland by way of Bactria to Barygaza, and by way of the river Ganges back to Limyrike. As for this place, Thina, it is not at all easy to get to; for people only rarely come from it, and then only in small numbers. The place lies directly beneath Ursa Minor, and is said to be anchored together, as it were, with parts of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, where they turn away… What lies beyond this region, because of extreme storms, immense cold and impenetrable terrain, and because of some divine power of the gods, has not been explored…
    FROM: NULL, (50), NULL, Greece
• Sima Qian (1)
  • IN: The Tiger warrior (None) Fiction, NULL
    EPIGRAPH: In the ninth month the First Emperor was interred at Mount Li. When the emperor first came to the throne he began digging and shaping Mount Li. Later, when he unified the empire, he had over seven hundred thousand men from all over the empire transported to the spot. They dug down to the third layer of underground springs and poured in bronze to make the outer coffin. Replicas of palaces, scenic towers and the hundred officials, as well as rare utensils and wonderful objects, were brought to fill up the tomb. Craftsmen were ordered to set up crossbows and arrows, rigged so they would immediately shoot down anyone attempting to break in. Mercury was used to fashion imitations of the hundred rivers, the Yellow River and the Yangtse, and the seas, constructed in such a way that they seemed to flow. Above were representations of all the heavenly bodies, below, the features of the earth… After the interment had been completed, someone pointed out that the artisans and craftsmen who had built the tomb knew what was buried there, and if they should leak word of the treasures, it would be a serious affair. Therefore, after the articles had been placed in the tomb, the inner gate was closed off and the outer gate lowered, so that all the artisans and craftsmen were shut in the tomb and were unable to get out. Trees and bushes were planted to give the appearance of a mountain…
    FROM: Records of the Grand Historian Second Century BC, (-150), NULL, China
• NULL (2)
  • IN: Atlantis (None) Fiction, NULL
    EPIGRAPH: A mighty empire once ruled the larger part of the world. Its rulers lived in a vast citadel, up against the sea, a great maze of corridors like nothing seen since. They were ingenious workers in gold and ivory and fearless bullfighters. But then, for defying Poseidon the Sea God, in one mighty deluge the citadel was swallowed beneath the waves, its people never to be seen again.
    FROM: NULL, (None), NULL, NULL
  • IN: Pyramid (None) Fiction, NULL
    EPIGRAPH: Omens of fire in the chariots’ wind, Pillars of fire in thunder and storm
    FROM: Yannai, possibly c. seventh century AD (a Hebrew poem in the Cairo Geniza, about the Book of Exodus), (650), Poem, NULL
• Bible (3)
  • IN: Pharaoh (None) Fiction, NULL
    EPIGRAPH: Behold now Behemoth, which I made with thee. He moveth his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. He is chief of the ways of God. Who can open the doors of his face? Round about his teeth is terror. His strong scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal. His neesings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning; Out of his mouth go burning torches, and sparks of fire leap forth. In his neck abideth strength, and terror danceth before him. When he raiseth himself up, the mighty are afraid; He maketh the deep to boil like a pot.
    FROM: Job 41, (-165), Bible, NULL
  • IN: Pyramid (None) Fiction, NULL
    EPIGRAPH: Pharaoh…made ready his chariot, and took his people with him; and he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh King of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel…and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Piha-hirth, before Ball-zephon…And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back…And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and were in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horsemen, his chariots and his horsemen…and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea…And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them…
    FROM: Exodus 14:6–28, (-165), Bible, NULL
• Major General Charles Gordon (1)
  • IN: Pharaoh (None) Fiction, NULL
    EPIGRAPH: Now MARK THIS, if the Expeditionary Force, and I ask for no more than two hundred men, does not come in ten days, the town may fall; and I have done my best for the honour of our country. Good bye.
    FROM: Final journal entry of Major General Charles Gordon at Khartoum, 14 December 1884, (1884), Book, UK
• Koran (1)
  • IN: Pyramid (None) Fiction, NULL
    EPIGRAPH: Moses threw down his staff and thereupon it changed to a veritable serpent…Pharaoh sent forth heralds to all the cities. “These,” they said, “are but a puny band, who have provoked us much. But we are a numerous army, well-prepared.”…At sunrise the Egyptians followed them. And when the two multitudes came within sight of each other, Moses’ companions said: “We are surely undone!” “No,” Moses replied, “my Lord is with me, and He will guide me.” We bade Moses strike the sea with his staff, and the sea was cleft asunder, each part as high as a massive mountain. In between We made the others follow. We delivered Moses and all who were with him, and drowned the rest…
    FROM: Qur’ān, Al-Shu’Arā’ (The Poets), 26: 32–66 (trans. N. J. Dawood), (632), Religious Text, NULL