Our Western World, Volume 1: From the Dawn of Civilization-The Early Modern Age

About the Authors/Contributors

Chapter 1 The Earliest Roots of the West: Mesopotamia and Egypt 
Civilizations and Worldviews 
Early Human History 
Mesopotamia 
Ancient Egypt
Chapter 1 In Focus Essay: Artistic Influences: Material Culture in Paleolithic Society 

Chapter 2 Near Eastern Peoples: Iron, Trade, God, and Empire 
Hittites 
Phoenicians 
Israelites 
Assyrians 
Babylonians 
Persian Empire 

Chapter 3 The Development and Influence of Ancient Greece 
The Forerunners of Greece: Minoans and Mycenaeans 
Dark Ages and Archaic Greece 
The Persian Wars 
Peloponnesian Wars 
The Golden Age of Greece 
Greek Philosophy (From Thales to Aristotle) 

Chapter 4 Hellenistic Greece and the Roman Republic 
The Rise of Hellenistic Greece 
Alexander the Great: Conqueror of Lands and Cultural Innovator 
Hellenistic Cultural Contributions 
The Rise of the Roman Republic 
The Challenges of War and Politics 
Chapter 4 In Focus Essay: Cultural Influences: The Iconography of Athena and Minerva 

Chapter 5 The Roman Empire 
The Pax Romana 
The Impact of Roman Architecture 
The Concepts of Romanization 
The Rise of Christianity 
Transitions, Reforms, and Tragedies 
Constantine and Church Growth 

Chapter 6 The Middle Ages: Act One 
The End of Rome 
The Birth and Rise of Islam 
The Grand Emperor Justinian 
The Frankish Kingdom and Charlemagne 
Life in the British Isles 
The Feudal System 
The Crusades 
Chapter 6 In Focus Essay: The Impact of a Building: Norman Architecture 

Chapter 7 The Middle Ages: Act Two 
Developments in the Church 
The Developments of a Modernizing Society 
Developments in England and France 
The Hundred Years War and Beyond 

Chapter 8 The Age of Cultural Rebirth: The Renaissance 
Renaissance Defined 
Italy and the Beginning 
Early Renaissance Writers and Scholars 
The Italian Masters 
Northern Renaissance 

Chapter 9 Age of Exploration: Europe Meets the New World 
Crusades, Contact, and Interchange 
Portugal 
Christopher Columbus 
The Conquistadors 
Native Americans, African Slavery, and the Cost of Empire 
European Rivals 

Chapter 10 Christendom Shattered: The Reformation 
Martin Luther and John Calvin 
The English Reformation 
The Catholic Reformation 
Consequences and Conclusions of the Reformation 

Index