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ehays84's review against another edition
5.0
This is really Professor Harl's bread and butter subject. He knows the history of Asia Minor like he knows the back of his hand. To have such a longitudinal perspective done in such a masterful way was an excellent learning experience. I have never really understood much about how Asia Minor became Hellenized or Turkicized (if that is a term) and this work goes a long way towards explaining those, although resources on those are mostly archaeological, so it will always be hard for historians to give a lot of concrete detail.
A couple of interesting facts I learned which I had not known before just a sample of what I learned: 1. that many of the Hellenized Jews living in Asia Minor in New Testament times had originally been planted there by the Selucid rulers as military colonies to help sustain Selucid rule in Asia Minor in the centuries leading up to the birth of Christ. 2. That estimates are that roughly 500,000 Turkish people migrated to Asia Minor in the period from roughly 900 AD to 1400 AD.
All in all, the conclusion of this work is that many things have stayed the same over the years in Asia Minor and that most of the people living there are descended from ancestors who have lived in Asia Minor probably for thousands of years, despite the enormous differences in religion, language, military/political rule, etc. This was also the general conclusion about Britain in Vikings, Saxons, and Celts.
For now, I am taking a break from Harl, but I will be back for his Romans and Barbarians ones very soon.
A couple of interesting facts I learned which I had not known before just a sample of what I learned: 1. that many of the Hellenized Jews living in Asia Minor in New Testament times had originally been planted there by the Selucid rulers as military colonies to help sustain Selucid rule in Asia Minor in the centuries leading up to the birth of Christ. 2. That estimates are that roughly 500,000 Turkish people migrated to Asia Minor in the period from roughly 900 AD to 1400 AD.
All in all, the conclusion of this work is that many things have stayed the same over the years in Asia Minor and that most of the people living there are descended from ancestors who have lived in Asia Minor probably for thousands of years, despite the enormous differences in religion, language, military/political rule, etc. This was also the general conclusion about Britain in Vikings, Saxons, and Celts.
For now, I am taking a break from Harl, but I will be back for his Romans and Barbarians ones very soon.
talenyn's review against another edition
1.0
This is essentially an old school survey course on the ancient Greeks in the eastern Mediterranean, only with extra racism and misogyny. I cannot believe this type of trash was permitted to be published in 2013.
countingstarsbycandlelight's review against another edition
3.0
Kenneth Harl is my favorite. His course on the Vikings was really interesting. I think this is more his usual topic, but not so much mine. It was all right. A lot of information to cover and it goes fast. I think I would have gotten more out of it if I had read more extensively in the subject BEFORE listening.
spejamchr's review against another edition
4.0
I liked it.
I checked it out from my digital library during a road trip without really reading the description. I just wanted something nonfiction and thought some history would be good for me. I didn't realize that this is a series of lectures. I really enjoyed it! It took me a while to finish, after the road trip ended, so it's not particularly gripping, but I didn't expect it to be. The lecturer speaks well without annoying habits (at least not that I noticed), and the material is presented clearly. I would recommend looking at a map before starting, though, just to have an idea of where all the locations are. :)
I checked it out from my digital library during a road trip without really reading the description. I just wanted something nonfiction and thought some history would be good for me. I didn't realize that this is a series of lectures. I really enjoyed it! It took me a while to finish, after the road trip ended, so it's not particularly gripping, but I didn't expect it to be. The lecturer speaks well without annoying habits (at least not that I noticed), and the material is presented clearly. I would recommend looking at a map before starting, though, just to have an idea of where all the locations are. :)
sjgochenour's review against another edition
3.0
I really wish this lecture series had focused more on what makes Asia Minor unique and not spent so much time on Roman and Greek events happening elsewhere. I was very disappointed that he only spent two lectures discussing the Hittites, which is really what I got the audiobook to learn about.
Major warning for the very ending — I find it extremely weird/disturbing to finish a series like this by talking up Atatürk without discussing the ethnic cleansing of Turkey during World War I. I think it’s historically egregious to gloss over the atrocities of that period, and given that this is supposed to be a series about ancient Asia Minor, it wasn’t really necessary to bring it up if he wasn’t going to handle it well.
Major warning for the very ending — I find it extremely weird/disturbing to finish a series like this by talking up Atatürk without discussing the ethnic cleansing of Turkey during World War I. I think it’s historically egregious to gloss over the atrocities of that period, and given that this is supposed to be a series about ancient Asia Minor, it wasn’t really necessary to bring it up if he wasn’t going to handle it well.
bethb3's review
3.0
The subject matter was interesting, but I didn't like the professor's style/delivery.
jen1110's review
3.0
An interesting set of lectures. Most of my classics courses were slightly farther west - Greece and Rome - so I didn't come into this knowing a lot about the civilizations of Asia Minor.
Reinforced my opinions that the Crusades were a terrible thing on all sides, though.
Reinforced my opinions that the Crusades were a terrible thing on all sides, though.
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