I believe in Saturday's SMH (Spectrum cover story) it mentioned that this book would be Peter Jackson's next film after Lord of the Rings and King Kong.....I do think it is a great book, but also ever so unsettling.
Persian Empire from Cyrus II to Alexander
Persian Society in the time of Darius and Xerxes
4th Century Greece (hegemonies, philip, alexander)
Alexander the Great as Personality
Why if it isn't my fellow classmate Nicho. The book he was probably refering to is called, rather unimaginatively, Napoleon and Wellington by Andrew Roberts. Not sure how new it is.
Vikings tend to be medieval, and from Scandinavia.
Why did I pick the Near East? People who study the Near East are a far smaller candidature than those who study Greece/Rome/Egypt. At the Sydney Uni open day my friend and I were the only two in the room who had studied Ancient Persia...
The Battle of Lepanto in relation to its outcome and perceived impact on 16th Century society, and similarities to modern 'religious warfare'. Also covered the idea of Eastern cultures versus Western cultures and their interaction with each other.
N.B. - that Saladin topic would have been...
Ancient Trial
I got 100% on what I believe was the Catholic trial which placed me equal first for the trial and equal second in ancient history overall in my class.