An Introduction to the Ancient World

Abstract

Introduction. The Ancient Near East 1. The origins of the civilisations of Egypt and Mesopotamia 2. The third millennium BC: Memphis, Sumer and Akkad, Egypt, the Old Kingdom (2600-2150), Mesopotamia: Sumer and Akkad, Epilogue 3. The second millennium: Thebes, Assur and Babylon (c. 2000-1600), Egypt, the Middle Kingdom (c. 2000-1800), Mesopotamia, The Old Assyrian empire (c.2000-1760), The Old Babylonian empire (c.1800-1600), The 'concert of powers' (c.1600-1200), Egypt, the New Kingdom (c.1550-1100), Babylonia and Assyria, Mitanni, The Hittite empire, Crete and Mycenae, International relations 4. The first millennium: Disruption and recovery (1200-750), Egypt, the Third Intermediate period (c. 100-715), Syria and the Phoenicians, Israel, The empires of the Levant (750 BC-AD 700), The Neo-Assyrian empire, The Neo-Babylonian empire, The Persian empire, The Hellenistic kingdoms, The Parthian empire, The Sasanian empire, The Roman empire, The Arabs 5. Religion, Polytheism, Henotheism and monotheism 6. Economy and Society, Agricultural economy, land tenure, 'Redistribution economy', Means of payment, Trade, Social organization 7. Government, Kingship, The administrative machinery, The army, GREECE 8. The Dark Ages, 1200-800 BC 9. The Archaic period, 800-500 BC, Introduction, Demographic and economic changes, The polis, Colonization, Social changes, Military changes, Cultural changes, The alphabet, Literature, The visual arts, Architecture, Religion, Philosophy, Political changes, Tyranny, Sparta, Athens 10. The Classical period, The Persian Wars, Sparta and Athens after 479 BC, The Delian League (477-404), Athenian leaders in the fifth century, Athens' state power income, The Great Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), The years between 404 and 336 BC, The Second Athenian League (377-355), Social and military changes, The rise of Macedonia, Philip II (359-336): the end of the Classical period in Greek history, The Athenian population in the fifth and fourth centuries BC, The metics, The slaves, Women in Athens and Sparta, Further development of the Athenian democracy, The Council of the Areopagus in 462/1, Pericles, The democracy and the fleet, Old and new politicans, The stability of the Athenian democracy, Criticism of the Athenian democracy, Athens as the centre of Greek culture in the Classical period, Attic drama, Philosophy: the sophists, Rhetorical education, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, Historical writing, Herodotus (c.485-425), Thucydides (c.460-400), Rhetorical historical writing, The Greeks in the Western Mediterranean 11. The Hellenistic era: Introduction, Alexander the Great, From Alexander to the Roman conquest, Greece, Athens and Sparta, Leagues of states in Greece, The Seleucid kingdom, The Ptolemaic kingdom, The government and the cities of the Hellenistic kingdoms, Economy and society, Greece, The Near East, Cultural aspects: general, Religion, Near Eastern religions, Philosophy and science, The impact of Hellenistic culture in