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World History Volume 1, to 1500

Introduction

World History Volume 1, to 1500Introduction
Table of contents
  1. Preface
  2. Early Human Societies
    1. 1 Understanding the Past
      1. Introduction
      2. 1.1 Developing a Global Perspective
      3. 1.2 Primary Sources
      4. 1.3 Causation and Interpretation in History
      5. Key Terms
      6. Section Summary
      7. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
    2. 2 Early Humans
      1. Introduction
      2. 2.1 Early Human Evolution and Migration
      3. 2.2 People in the Paleolithic Age
      4. 2.3 The Neolithic Revolution
      5. Key Terms
      6. Section Summary
      7. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
    3. 3 Early Civilizations and Urban Societies
      1. Introduction
      2. 3.1 Early Civilizations
      3. 3.2 Ancient Mesopotamia
      4. 3.3 Ancient Egypt
      5. 3.4 The Indus Valley Civilization
      6. Key Terms
      7. Section Summary
      8. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
    4. 4 The Near East
      1. Introduction
      2. 4.1 From Old Babylon to the Medes
      3. 4.2 Egypt’s New Kingdom
      4. 4.3 The Persian Empire
      5. 4.4 The Hebrews
      6. Key Terms
      7. Section Summary
      8. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
    5. 5 Asia in Ancient Times
      1. Introduction
      2. 5.1 Ancient China
      3. 5.2 The Steppes
      4. 5.3 Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia
      5. 5.4 Vedic India to the Fall of the Maurya Empire
      6. Key Terms
      7. Section Summary
      8. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
  3. States and Empires, 1000 BCE–500 CE
    1. 6 Mediterranean Peoples
      1. Introduction
      2. 6.1 Early Mediterranean Peoples
      3. 6.2 Ancient Greece
      4. 6.3 The Hellenistic Era
      5. 6.4 The Roman Republic
      6. 6.5 The Age of Augustus
      7. Key Terms
      8. Section Summary
      9. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
    2. 7 Experiencing the Roman Empire
      1. Introduction
      2. 7.1 The Daily Life of a Roman Family
      3. 7.2 Slavery in the Roman Empire
      4. 7.3 The Roman Economy: Trade, Taxes, and Conquest
      5. 7.4 Religion in the Roman Empire
      6. 7.5 The Regions of Rome
      7. Key Terms
      8. Section Summary
      9. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
    3. 8 The Americas in Ancient Times
      1. Introduction
      2. 8.1 Populating and Settling the Americas
      3. 8.2 Early Cultures and Civilizations in the Americas
      4. 8.3 The Age of Empires in the Americas
      5. Key Terms
      6. Section Summary
      7. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
    4. 9 Africa in Ancient Times
      1. Introduction
      2. 9.1 Africa’s Geography and Climate
      3. 9.2 The Emergence of Farming and the Bantu Migrations
      4. 9.3 The Kingdom of Kush
      5. 9.4 North Africa’s Mediterranean and Trans-Saharan Connections
      6. Key Terms
      7. Section Summary
      8. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
  4. An Age of Religion, 500–1200 CE
    1. 10 Empires of Faith
      1. Introduction
      2. 10.1 The Eastward Shift
      3. 10.2 The Byzantine Empire and Persia
      4. 10.3 The Kingdoms of Aksum and Himyar
      5. 10.4 The Margins of Empire
      6. Key Terms
      7. Section Summary
      8. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
    2. 11 The Rise of Islam and the Caliphates
      1. Introduction
      2. 11.1 The Rise and Message of Islam
      3. 11.2 The Arab-Islamic Conquests and the First Islamic States
      4. 11.3 Islamization and Religious Rule under Islam
      5. Key Terms
      6. Section Summary
      7. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
    3. 12 India, the Indian Ocean Basin, and East Asia
      1. Introduction
      2. 12.1 The Indian Ocean World in the Early Middle Ages
      3. 12.2 East-West Interactions in the Early Middle Ages
      4. 12.3 Border States: Sogdiana, Korea, and Japan
      5. Key Terms
      6. Section Summary
      7. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
    4. 13 The Post-Roman West and the Crusading Movement
      1. Introduction
      2. 13.1 The Post-Roman West in the Early Middle Ages
      3. 13.2 The Seljuk Migration and the Call from the East
      4. 13.3 Patriarch and Papacy: The Church and the Call to Crusade
      5. 13.4 The Crusading Movement
      6. Key Terms
      7. Section Summary
      8. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
  5. A Global Middle Ages, 1200–1500 CE
    1. 14 Pax Mongolica: The Steppe Empire of the Mongols
      1. Introduction
      2. 14.1 Song China and the Steppe Peoples
      3. 14.2 Chinggis Khan and the Early Mongol Empire
      4. 14.3 The Mongol Empire Fragments
      5. 14.4 Christianity and Islam outside Central Asia
      6. Key Terms
      7. Section Summary
      8. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
    2. 15 States and Societies in Sub-Saharan Africa
      1. Introduction
      2. 15.1 Culture and Society in Medieval Africa
      3. 15.2 Medieval Sub-Saharan Africa
      4. 15.3 The People of the Sahel
      5. Key Terms
      6. Section Summary
      7. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
    3. 16 Climate Change and Plague in the Fourteenth Century
      1. Introduction
      2. 16.1 Asia, North Africa, and Europe in the Early Fourteenth Century
      3. 16.2 Famine, Climate Change, and Migration
      4. 16.3 The Black Death from East to West
      5. 16.4 The Long-Term Effects of Global Transformation
      6. Key Terms
      7. Section Summary
      8. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
    4. 17 The Ottomans, the Mamluks, and the Ming
      1. Introduction
      2. 17.1 The Ottomans and the Mongols
      3. 17.2 From the Mamluks to Ming China
      4. 17.3 Gunpowder and Nomads in a Transitional Age
      5. Key Terms
      6. Section Summary
      7. Assessments
        1. Review Questions
        2. Check Your Understanding Questions
        3. Application and Reflection Questions
  6. A | Glossary
  7. B | World History, Volume 1, to 1500: Maps and Timelines
  8. C | World Maps
  9. D | Recommended Resources for the Study of World History
  10. Index
An image of a painting is shown, partially obscured at the left side and at the bottom with green colors. In the image, a man is shown riding on a brown horse with brown, black, and red reins. The man wears a silver suit of armor with red trim, has brown chin length hair, a large nose, and long sideburns. An image of a face shows in the armor on his chest. He holds a long brown spear. Behind the man a black horse head is seen and a man’s eye under a silver helmet with brown feathers. Black trees are seen in the background and a grayish sky.
Figure 6.1 Alexander the Great. This first-century CE portrayal of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great is part of a large mosaic depicting the Battle of Issus (333 BCE) that was discovered in a home excavated in Pompeii, Italy. (credit: modification of work “Alexander and Bucephalus - Battle of Issus mosaic” by Museo Archeologico Nazionale – Naples/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

Chapter Outline

6.1 Early Mediterranean Peoples
6.2 Ancient Greece
6.3 The Hellenistic Era
6.4 The Roman Republic
6.5 The Age of Augustus

In the first century CE, a wealthy Roman in the southern Italian town of Pompeii decorated his home with an elaborate mosaic portraying the decisive victory of the Macedonians, led by Alexander the Great, over the Persian Empire at the Battle of Issus (in modern Turkey) in 333 BCE (Figure 6.1). Why would a Roman invest in such expensive decoration to commemorate the three hundred–year-old victory of a foreign king in a distant land?

Beginning approximately 3,500 years before our time, the lands that border the Mediterranean Sea became increasingly linked by commerce and cultural interaction. These links culminated in the emergence of the Roman Empire, which had united all these regions by the first century CE. Greek colonists had settled the region of Pompeii some seven hundred years before this mosaic was produced, and Alexander, the hero of the battle, was a champion in Greek culture. With his iconic victory over the Persian “barbarians,” he represented the shared cultural legacy of Greeks and Romans. The history of the ancient Mediterranean world shows how this common culture developed over time.

A timeline of events from this chapter is shown. 2000 BCE: Rise of Minoan Crete; an image of a brown statue with arms raised wearing a tall hat is shown. 1100 BCE: Phoenician alphabet developed. 776 BCE: Olympic Games begin; a gray statue of a naked man with a round disc in his right hand is shown. 753 BCE: Rome founded. 490 BCE, 480-479 BCE: Persian Wars with Greece; a round black and orange image is shown of two warriors fighting with swords with a shield shown in between with a winged horse displayed. 431 BCE – 404 BCE: Peloponnesian War. 334 BCE: Alexander invades Persia: a partial image of a soldier in armor on a horse is shown. 264 BCE: First Punic War begins; a pastel image is shown of people in long robes and warrior helmets trekking across high mountains on horses and elephants. 44 BCE: Julius Caesar assassinated. 31 BCE: Egypt becomes a Roman province.
Figure 6.2 Timeline: Mediterranean Peoples. (credit “2000 BCE”: modification of work “Figurine of the Snake Goddess. Archaeological Museum of Herakleion” by O.Mustafin/Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0; credit “776 BCE: modification of work “Discobolus side 2” by Ricky Bennison/Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0; credit “490 BCE, 480–479 BCE”: modification of work “Persian Warrior (Left) and Greek Warrior (Right) in a Duel” by National Museums Scotland/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain; credit “334 BCE”: modification of work “Alexander and Bucephalus - Battle of Issus mosaic” by Museo Archeologico Nazionale – Naples/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain; credit “264 BCE”: modification of work “Heinrich Leutemann - Hannibals Übergang über die Alpen (cropped)” by Musée Dauphinois Grenoble/Wikimeida Commons, Public Domain)
A map of the world is shown, land highlighted in white and water in blue. A white line runs through the middle of the map. The northern section of Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt) and the countries of Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Italy, France, England, Spain, and Portugal are highlighted orange.
Figure 6.3 Locator Map: Mediterranean Peoples. (credit: modification of work “World map blank shorelines” by Maciej Jaros/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
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