What is a city, and what forms did urbanization take in different times and places? How do peoples and nations define themselves and perceive foreigners? Questions like these serve as the framework for The Ancient Mediterranean World: From the Stone Age to A.D. 600. This book provides a concise overview of the history of the Mediterranean world, from Paleolithic times through the rise of Islam in the seventh century A.D. It traces the origins of the civilizations around the Mediterranean--including ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel, Greece, and Rome--and their interactions over time. The Ancient Mediterranean World goes beyond political history to explore the lives of ordinary men and women and investigate topics such as the relationships between social classes, the dynamics of the family, the military and society, and aristocratic values. It introduces students not only to the ancient texts on which historians rely, but also to the art and architecture that reveal how people lived and how they understood ideas like love, death, and the body. Numerous illustrations, chronological charts, excerpts from ancient texts, and in-depth discussions of specific art objects and historical methods are included. Text boxes containing primary source materials examine such diverse subjects as warfare in early Mesopotamia, sculpting the body in classical Greece, the young women of Sappho's chorus, and early descriptions of the Huns. Combining excellent chronological coverage with a clear, concise narrative, The Ancient Mediterranean World is an ideal text for undergraduate courses in ancient history and ancient civilization.

List of Maps List of Chronological Tables List of Boxes Preface: The Value of History Acknowledgements CHAPTER ONE: The First Civilizations What Is History? The Origins of Civilization The Archaeological Record--The First Modern Humans--The Beginnings of Agriculture--A New Complexity: Some Neolithic Sites The First Civilizations: The Eastern Mediterranean in the Bronze Age The Bronze Age--Mesopotamian Civilization--Egypt in the Bronze Age--The Canaanites--The Hittites--The Agean--The Collapse of Bronze Age Civilization Israel and Judah Myth and History--The Hebrew Bible--Early Israel--The Monarchy and the Babylonian Exile--Society and Family--Religion and Law Summary CHAPTER TWO: Greek Civilization: Hellas and Hellenism The Dark Age Population Decline and Dark Age Culture--Lefkandi--Homer and Oral Poetry The Archaic Age: Hellas and the City Hellas--War and the City: The Rise of the Polis--Literature and Culture in Archaic Hellas The Classical Age: The Empire and Culture of Athens The Persian Empire--The Persian Wars--Herodotus: The First History--Greeks and Barbarians--Democracy and Empire: Athens at Its Height--Culture in Imperial Athens--The Peloponnesian War--Athens after the War--Society in Classical Athens The Hellenistic World The Macedonian Conquerors--Greeks and Natives--Judaism in the Second Temple Period--Greek Culture in the Hellenistic Period Summary CHAPTER THREE: The Romans and Their Empire Roman Origins Who Were the Romans?--From Village to City--The Etruscans Government and Society in the Early Republic The Ruling Class--Plebeians and Patricians--Society in the Twelve Tables--Warfare and the Conquest of Italy--Conquests Overseas--Imperialism and Culture The Late Republic: Society in Crisis The Aristocracy--Peasants: Gracchus' Land Reform--Slaves--The Knights: Provincial Government and Corruption--Soldiers: Marius' Military Reforms and Sulla's Dictatorship--Cicero and Roman Society--Pompey and Ceasar--The First Emperor The Empire The Emperors--The Emperor and the City of Rome--The Army--Taxes--Roads and Cities--Law--Greek Culture in the Roman Empire Life in the Provinces Imperial Rule: The Example of Judaea--The Army in Roman Britain--Society in Roman Egypt Crisis and Reform in the Third Century Wars and Emperors--Economic Crisis--Diocletian and the Later Roman Empire Summary CHAPTER FOUR: Christianity and the Late Antique World Paganism The Rise of Christianity The New Testament and the Gospels--Paul--Persecution and Martyrs--Bishops and Theologians Christianity in the Later Roman Empire The Conversion of Constantine--Heresy and Schism--Monks and Ascetics--Christianity and Social Change--Literature: St. Augustine and the Classics The Decline of the Western Empire Franks--Visigoths--Ostrogoths--Vandals--Barbarian Legal Codes--Justinian Muhammad and the Rise of Islam Summary Suggested Readings Index

Robin W. WinksRandolph W. Townsend Professor of History, Yale University, Susan P. Mattern-ParkesAsistant Professor of History, University of Georgia