As one of the most versatile historians of his time, Jacob Burckhardt not only engaged deeply with the culture of ancient Greece but also with the history of the Ancient Near East, Egypt, Persia, and India, as well as the Roman Republic. His texts on these subjects are published in full for the first time in this volume.

They reveal the connections that Burckhardt drew from the early high cultures to European cultural history, while also highlighting the significant contrasts he perceived between the East and the West. His study of the Roman Republic was not limited to the external and internal political developments up to the end of Caesar, but also encompassed the ethnography and culture of ancient Rome. Burckhardt was able to derive original judgments from a rich knowledge of sources, setting himself apart from contemporaries such as Theodor Mommsen. The critically edited texts of Burckhardt are accompanied by a detailed commentary, as well as a register of persons, works, and subjects.