# ForgeMesh Library – Ancient History Shelf

> ForgeMesh Library – Ancient History Shelf is a paid API for AI agents from library.forgemesh.io, paid per call via x402, $0.003/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-13).

Returns a ranked list of up to 50 public-domain ancient history books (e.g. The Iliad, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Antiquities of the Jews) with drill-down routes for full-text retrieval.

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://library.forgemesh.io/history-ancient
- Price: $0.003/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-13
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/forgemesh-library-ancient-history-shelf-6aecf7ba
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_DkAIEPsR9nVBWPT3nTPWM

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability forgemesh-library-ancient-history-shelf-6aecf7ba -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Can you pull up the curated ancient history shelf from ForgeMesh Library and show me the top 10 books?

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need a pre-curated, ranked index of public-domain ancient history titles with ready-made drill-down routes for full-text access. Prefer it over general web search when you want structured, machine-readable book metadata without scraping or licensing concerns, and when the ancient history genre specifically matches your research or reading goal.

## Known failure modes

- limit parameter exceeds 50 — likely clamped or returns an error
- limit set to 0 or negative integer — may return empty list or validation error
- service unavailable — returns HTTP 5xx with no book data
- payment not processed (x402) — returns 402 Payment Required before data is delivered

## How this service works

Curated shelf: History - Ancient — 1063 public-domain books including The City of God, Volume I, The Anabasis of Alexander : $b or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great, The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete. Returns a ranked list with drill-down routes for full-text retrieval. No license, no API key required.

## Output

A ranked list of public-domain ancient history books (up to the requested limit, default 20, max 50), each entry including title, author, and a drill-down route for full-text retrieval. No license or API key is required.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "limit": {
   "type": "integer",
   "description": "Max books to return (default 20, max 50)"
  }
 }
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "books": [
   {
    "year": null,
    "title": "The City of God, Volume I",
    "author": "Augustine, of Hippo, Saint",
    "book_id": 45304,
    "subjects": [],
    "download_count": 53828
   }
  ],
  "count": 5,
  "shelf": "History - Ancient",
  "coverage": {
   "target": 61015,
   "indexed": 61015
  },
  "drill_down": [
   "/book-metadata",
   "/book-chapter",
   "/book-quotes",
   "/literature-search"
  ]
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/forgemesh-library-ancient-history-shelf-6aecf7ba/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from library.forgemesh.io](https://www.zero.xyz/host/library.forgemesh.io/llms.txt)