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1.
Survival and
Idea in the Stone Age: Hunter-gatherers.
Stone Age farming and greater insecurity. The origins of
religion. Human and animal sacrifices. |
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2.
The
Sumerians:
The rise of civilization in Syria and Mesopotamia. Sumerians
believe in sin, war, male supremacy and slavery, and they
create a tradition in writing sacred stories. |
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3. Africa and
Egypt, to 1750 BCE:
Early agriculture and herding across Africa. Civilization
along the Nile, to 1750 BCE. Egyptian religion,
autocracy and rebellion. |
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4.
New
Societies in the Ancient Middle East:
Migrations. Empires. Stories of creation and a flood. Genetic
diffusions.
Sanitation and disease,
the misunderstood evil. |
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5. The Hebrews
between Assyria and Egypt:
The Hebrews into Canaan. Genesis. A divided Israel. The
Prophets. Assyria overruns Israel and conquers Egypt. |
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6.
India,
Hinduism and Religious Rebellion, to 483 BCE: The
lost civilization of Mohenjo-Daro
and Harappa. Aryans into paradise.
Hinduism and the origins of Jainism and Buddhism. |
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7. The Rise of
Ancient China: The
Shang and Zhou dynasties. Confucius, Mo-zi, and Daoism. Wars
among principalities. Imperial conquest and creation of
a unity called China. |
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8.
Europe,
Greece, and Philosophy, to 500 BCE:
Agricultural Europe. The Mycenaean Greeks and Minoans. Homer.
Athens and Sparta. Early Greek philosophers, from Thales
to Heraclitus. |
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9. Babylon,
Persia and Judaism:
Assyria's demise. King Josiah and the Moses legend.
Babylon and the captive Jews. Persia,
Zoroastrianism and Judaism. |
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10.
The Greeks
to the 4th Century BCE: Democracy in Athens.
The writer Herodotus. The Persian and Peloponnesian wars.
The demise of victorious Sparta. |
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11.
Ideas from
Anaxagoras to Aristotle: Anaxagoras,
Protagoras
and other Sophists,
Thucydides, Hippocrates, Democritus, Socrates, Plato and
Aristotle. |
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12.
Alexander
Changes the World: Philip
unites Macedonia and dominates Greece. His son Alexander
conquers Egypt and eastward through Persia to India. |
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13.
Hellenistic Civilization -- an Almost Modern World:
Alexander's successors. Cosmopolitanism, religion, prosperity,
hard times and philosophy. |
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14.
Empire,
Fragmentation and Salvation in Ancient India:
The Mauryan Empire. Invasions and a not-so-dark age. Mahayana
Buddhism, Hindu scripture and loving gods. |
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15. The Rise
and Fall of Han China:
Confucianism and prosperity.
Decline, Daoist resurgence.
Wang Mang. Restored Han Dynasty. Paradise and New Daoism.
Decline and fall of the Han Dynasty. |
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16.
The Rise of
Ancient Rome:
Rome's origins, religion and laws. Strength through
compromise. Rome dominates Italy. The Punic wars
and aftermath to 200 BCE. |
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17. Rome,
Greeks, and Sulla's Dictatorship:
Intervention against the Greeks. The historian Polybius. Cato.
Cultural diffusions. Slave revolts. The Gracchi, politics and
murder. Marius and Sulla. |
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18.
Judea and
Civil War:
Revolt of the Maccabees and Hanukkah. Religious and class
divisions. War among the Hasmonaeans and loss of independence. |
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19. Fall of
the Roman Republic:
Spartacus and a decline in Roman slavery. Julius Caesar.
Octavian, Antony and Cleopatra. Rule by Octavian
(Augustus Caesar). |
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20.
Jews and
Christians in Rome's Golden Age:
The Essenes. The Dead Sea Scrolls. Jesus and the early
Christians. Jews against Rome to the year 250. |
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21.
Caligula,
Nero and Family -- the Julio-Claudians:
The unpopular but able Tiberius. Caligula
and assassination. Claudius the family
man. Nero, Christians and the Great Fire. |
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22.
Rome, from
Golden Age to Political Chaos: Good
and bad emperors, prosperity, Plutarch and Cynics. Power to
the military. Rome swallowed by its empire. |
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23. Persia and
Its Religious Mix, to 300 CE:
Rise of the Sassanid dynasty. Zoroastrian priests and
Manichaeism. Jews and Christians under the Sassanids. |
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24.
Rome's
Decline and Christianity's Ascent:
Plunder, taxation and escape to estates. Christian martyrdoms.
Neo-Platonism. The emperor Diocletian. |
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25. Christian
Emperors, Persia, and the Fall of Rome: Constantine.
Bishop Eusebius. Persecutions of Jews and pagans. John
Chrysostom. Germanic invasions. |
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26.
Augustine
Influences Christianity:
Augustine's theory about the fall of Rome and original sin..
Augustine against the pantheists, the Pelagians and Donatists. |
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27.
Remnants of
the Roman Empire:
Vandals in North Africa. Ostrogoths in Italy. Attila the Hun.
Clovis. Rivalry between bishops.
Roman rule ends in the West. Roman rule in the East. |
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28.
Ancient
Persia, India and a Common Enemy:
Intolerance, hard times and a communist uprising in Persia. A
golden age and decline in India. |
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29. China,
Korea and Japan, to 500 CE:
Buddhism and turmoil in China. Daoism changes and Confucianism
declines. Buddhism migrates to Korea. Civilization in Japan. |
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30.
The
Americas, Africa, Southeast Asia and Oceania, to 500 CE:
Agriculture and civilizations in the Americas and Africa.
Escape to uninhabited islands. |
