The ancient historians were not always objective or accurate, and their intentions for writing were very different from those of modern historians. This introductory guide helps to unravel some of the difficulties involved in dealing with ancient source material, placing the work of ancient historians in its political, social and historical context for the contemporary reader. The chapters survey all of the major historians whose works are encountered most often by students during their period of study, including Herodotus, Thucydides, Sallust and Livy, as well as more minor Greek and Roman historians. Further chapters assess works of biography and literature as historical source material. Alexander the Great, the subject of multiple works of history, biography and fiction, provides an enlightening case study in ancient historiography. Timelines of major historical events will place the writers within their historical context, and each chapter includes a full bibliography for ease of reference. Table of contents Introduction / 1. Greece Fifth to Third Centuries BCE / 2. Herodotus / 3. Thucydides / 4. Xenophon / 5. Diodorus Siculus / 6. Other Early Greek Historians / 7. The Rise of Rome / 8. Roman Historiography / 9. Quintus Ennius / 10. Cato the Elder / 11. Polybius / 12. From Republic to Empire / 13. Gaius Julius Caesar / 14. Sallust / 15. Livy / 16. Augustus / 17. Josephus / 18. Tacitus / 19. Dio Cassius / 20. Arrian / 21. Men of Letters: Cicero and Pliny the Younger / 22. The Biographers: Plutarch and Suetonius / 23. The Later Roman Empire / 24. Ammianus Marcellinus / 25. Tertullian / 26. Eusebius of Caesarea / 27. Other Roman and Early Christian Works / 28. A Case Study: Alexander the Great / 29. Conclusions / Bibliography / Index.