Preface
Versions and Supplements
Maps
Special Features
Working with Primary Sources
Prologue: From Cosmic History to Human History
The History of the Universe
The History of a Planet
The History of the Human Species… in a Single Paragraph
Why World History?
Comparison, Connection, and Change: The Three Cs of World History
Snapshot: A History of the Universe as a Cosmic Calendar
Part One: First Things First: Beginnings in History, to 500 b.c.e.
The Big Picture
Turning Points in Early World History
The Emergence of Humankind
The Globalization of Humankind
The Revolution of Farming and Herding
The Turning Point of Civilization
A Note on Dates
*Mapping Part One
1 Chapter One: First Peoples; First Farmers: Most of History in a Single Chapter, To 4000 b.c.e.
Out of Africa to the Ends of the Earth: First Migrations
Into Eurasia
Into Australia
Into the Americas
Into the Pacific
The Ways We Were
The First Human Societies
Economy and the Environment
The Realm of the Spirit
Settling Down: The Great Transition
Breakthroughs to Agriculture
Common Patterns
Variations
The Globalization of Agriculture
Triumph and Resistance
The Culture of Agriculture
Social Variation in the Age of Agriculture
Pastoral Societies
Agricultural Village Societies
Chiefdoms
Reflections: The Uses of the Paleolithic
Second Thoughts
Whats the Significance
Big Picture Questions
Next Steps: For Further Study
LearningCurve
Snapshot: Paleolithic Era in Perspective
*Portrait: Ishi, The Last of His People
Considering the Evidence
*Visual and Documentary Sources: History before Writing: How Do We Know?
Document: A Paleolithic Woman in the Twentieth Century: Nisa: The Life and Words of an !Kung Woman, 1969-1976
Visual Sources: Lascaux Rock Art
Women, Men, and Religion in Çatalhüyük
Otzi the Iceman
Stonehenge
Using the Evidence
2 First Civilizations: Cities, States, and Unequal Societies, 3500 b.c.e.-500 b.c.e.
Something New: The Emergence of Civilizations
Introducing the First Civilizations
The Question of Origins
An Urban Revolution
The Erosion of Equality
Hierarchies of Class
Hierarchies of Gender
Patriarchy in Practice
The Rise of the State
Coercion and Consent
Writing and Accounting
The Grandeur of Kings
Comparing Mesopotamia and Egypt
Environment and Culture
Cities and States
Interaction and Exchange
Reflections: "Civilization": Whats in a Word?
Second Thoughts
Whats the Significance?
Big Picture Questions
Next Steps: For Further Study
LearningCurve
Snapshot: Writing in Ancient Civilizations
*Portrait: Paneb of Egypt
Considering the Evidence
Documents: Life and Afterlife in Mesopotamia and Egypt
2.1—In Search of Eternal Life: The Epic of Gilgamesh, ca. 2700 B.C.E.-2500 b.c.e.
2.2--Law and Justice in Ancient Mesopotamia: The Law Code of Hammurabi, ca. 1800 b.c.e.
2.3—The Afterlife of a Pharaoh: A Pyramid Text, 2333 b.c. e.
2.4—A New Basis for Egyptian Immortality: Book of the Dead, ca. 1550-1064 b.c.e.
2.5—The Occupations of Old Egypt: Be a Scribe, ca. 2066-1650 b.c.e.
Using the Evidence
Visual Sources: Indus Valley Civilization
A Seal from the Indus Valley
Man from Mohenjo Daro
Dancing Girl
Using the Evidence
Part Two: Second Wave Civilizations in World History, 500 b.c.e.-500 c.e.
The Big Picture
After the First Civilizations: What Changed and What Didnt?
Continuities in Civilization
Changes in Civilization
Snapshot: World Population during the Age of Agricultural Civilization
*Mapping Part Two
3 State and Empire in Eurasia/North Africa, 500 b.c.e.-500 c.e.
Empires and Civilizations in Collision: The Persians and the Greeks
The Persian Empire
The Greeks
Collision: The Greco-Persian Wars
Collision: Alexander and the Hellenistic Era
Comparing Empires: Roman and Chinese
Rome: From City-State to Empire
China: From Warring States to Empire
Consolidating the Roman and Chinese Empires
The Collapse of Empires
Intermittent Empire: The Case of India
Reflections: Enduring Legacies of Second-Wave Empires
Second Thoughts
Whats the Significance?
Big Picture Questions
Next Steps: For Further Study
LearningCurve
Snapshot: Distinctive Features of Second-Wave Eurasian Civilizations
*Portrait: Trung Trac, Resisting the Chinese Empire
Considering the Evidence
Documents: Political Authority in Second Wave Civilizations
3.1—In Praise of Athenian Democracy: Pericles, Funeral Oration, 431-430 b.c.e.
3.2—In Praise of the Roman Empire: Aelius Aristides, The Roman Oration, 155 c.e.
3.3—Governing a Chinese Empire: The Writings of Master Han Fei, third century b.c.e.
3.4—Governing an Indian Empire: Ashoka, The Rock Edicts, ca. 268-232 b.c.e.
Using the Evidence
*Visual Sources: Representing Political Authority
Bihustun Inscription
Harmodius and Aristogeiton
Qin Shihuangdi Funerary Complex
Augustus
Using the Evidence
4 Culture and Religion in Eurasia/North Africa, 500 b.c.e.-500 c.e.
China and the Search for Order
The Legalist Answer
The Confucian Answer
The Daoist Answer
Cultural Traditions of Classical India
South Asian Religion: From Ritual Sacrifice to Philosophical Speculation
The Buddhist Challenge
Hinduism as a Religion of Duty and Devotion
Moving toward Monotheism: The Search for God in the Middle East
Zoroastrianism
Judaism
The Cultural Tradition of Classical Greece: The Search for a Rational Order
The Greek Way of Knowing
The Greek Legacy
The Birth of Christianity…with Buddhist Comparisons
The Lives of the Founders
The Spread of New Religions
Institutions, Controversies, and Divisions
Reflections: Religion and Historians
Second Thoughts
Whats the Significance?
Big Picture Questions Next Steps: For Further Study
LearningCurve
Snapshot: Thinkers and Philosophies of the Second-Wave Era
*Portrait: Perpetua, Christian Martyr
Considering the Evidence
Documents: The Good Life in Eurasian Civilizations
4.1—Reflections from Confucius: Confucius, The Analects, ca. 479-221 b.c.e.
4.2—Reflections from the Hindu Scriptures: Bhagavad Gita, ca. fifth to second century b.c.e.
4.3—Reflections from Socrates: Plato, Apology, ca. 399 b.c.e.
4.4—Reflections from Jesus: The Gospel of Matthew, ca. 70-100 c.e.
Using the Evidence
Visual Sources: Representations of the Buddha
Footprints of the Buddha
A Gandhara Buddha
A Bodhisattva of Compassion: Kannon of 1,000 Arms
The Chinese Maitreya Buddha
Using the Evidence
5 Society and Inequality in Eurasia/North Africa, 500 b.c.e.-500 c.e.
Society and the State in China
An Elite of Officials
The Landlord Class
Peasants
Merchants
Class and Caste in India
Caste as Varna
Caste as Jati
The Functions of Caste
Slavery: The Case of the Roman Empire
Slavery and Civilization
The Making of Roman Slavery
Resistance and Rebellion
Comparing Patriarchies
A Changing Patriarchy: The Case of China
Contrasting Patriarchies in Athens and Sparta
Reflections: Arguing with Solomon and the Buddha
Second Thoughts
Whats the Significance?
Big Picture Questions Next Steps: For Further Study
LearningCurve
Snapshot: Social Life and Duty in India
*Portrait: Ge Hong, a Chinese Scholar in Troubled Times
Considering the Evidence
Documents: Patriarchy and Womens Voices
5.1—A Chinese Womans Instructions to Her Daughters: Ban Zhao, Lessons for Women, Late First century c.e.
5.2—An Alternative to Patriarchy in India: Psalms of the Sisters, First Ccentury b.c.e.
5.3—Roman Women in Protest: Livy, History of Rome, Late First Century b.c.e. to Early First Century c.e.
Using the Evidence
Visual Sources: Pompeii as a Window on the Roman World
Terentius Neo and His Wife
A Pompeii Banquet
Scenes in a Pompeii Tavern
A Domestic Shrine
Mystery Religions: The Cult of Dionysus
Using the Evidence
6 Commonalities and Variations: Africa and the Americas, 500 b.c.e.-1200 c.e.
Continental Comparisons
African Civilizations
Meroë: Continuing a Nile Valley Civilization
Axum: The Making of a Christian Kingdom
Along the Niger River: Cities without States
Civilizations of Mesoamerica
The Maya: Writing and Warfare
Teotihuacán: The Americas Greatest City
Civilizations of the Andes
Chavín: A Pan-Andean Religious Movement
Moche: A Civilization of the Coast
Wari and Tiwanaku: Empires of the Interior
Alternatives to Civilization: Bantu Africa
Cultural Encounters
Society and Religion
Alternatives to Civilization: North America
The Ancestral Pueblo: Pit Houses and Great Houses
Peoples of the Eastern Woodlands: The Mound Builders
Reflections: Deciding Whats Important: Balance in World History
Second Thoughts
Whats the Significance?
Big Picture Questions
Next Steps: For Further Study
LearningCurve
Snapshot: Continental Population in the Second-Wave Era
*Portrait: Piye, Kushite Conqueror of Egypt
Considering the Evidence
Documents: Axum and the World
6.1—A Guidebook to the World of Indian Ocean Commerce: The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, First Century c.e.
6.2—The Making of an Axumite Empire: Inscription on a Stone Throne, Second or Third century c.e.
6.3—The Coming of Christianity to Axum: Rufinus, On the Evangelization of Abyssinia, Late Fourth Century c.e.
6.4—Axum and the Gold Trade: Cosmas, The Christian Topography, Sixth Century c.e.
Using the Evidence
Visual Sources: Art and the Maya Elite
Shield Jaguar and Lady Xok: A Royal Couple of Yaxchilan
The Presentation of Captives
A Bloodletting Ritual
The Ball Game
Using the Evidence
Part Three: An Age of Accelerating Connections, 500-1500
The Big Picture
Defining a Millennium
Third-Wave Civilizations: Something New, Something Old, Something Blended
The Ties That Bind: Transregional Interaction in the Third Wave Era
*Mapping Part Three
7 Commerce and Culture, 500-1500
Silk Roads: Exchange across Eurasia
The Growth of the Silk Roads
Goods in Transit
Cultures in Transit
Disease in Transit
Sea Roads: Exchange across the Indian Ocean
Weaving the Web of an Indian Ocean World
Sea Roads as a Catalyst for Change: Southeast Asia
Sea Roads as a Catalyst for Change: East Africa
Sand Roads: Exchange across the Sahara
Commercial Beginnings in West Africa
Gold, Salt, and Slaves: Trade and Empire in West Africa
An American Network: Commerce and Connection in the Western Hemisphere
Reflections: Economic Globalization—Ancient and Modern
Second Thoughts
Whats the Significance?
Big Picture Questions
Next Steps: For Further Study
LearningCurve
Snapshot: Economic Exchange along the Silk Roads
Snapshot: Economic Exchange in the Indian Ocean Basin
*Portrait: Thorfinn Karlsefni, Viking Voyager
Considering the Evidence
Documents: Travelers Tales and Observations
7.1—A Chinese Buddhist in India: Huili, A Biography of the Tripitaka Master and Xuanzang, Record of the Western Region, Seventh Century c.e.
7.2—A European Christian in China: Marco Polo, The Travels of Marco Polo, 1299
7.3—A Arab Muslim in West Africa: Ibn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa, 1354
Using the Evidence
*Visual Sources: Traveling the Silk Road
Silk Road Merchants Encounter Bandits
A Stop at a Caravanserai
A Buddhist Monk on the Silk Road
Greek Culture, Buddhism, and the Kushans
Islam, Shamanism, and the Turks
Using the Evidence
8 China and the World: East Asian Connections, 500-1300
Together Again: The Reemergence of a Unified China
A "Golden Age" of Chinese Achievement
Women in the Song Dynasty
China and the Northern Nomads: A Chinese World Order in the Making
The Tribute System in Theory
The Tribute System in Practice
Cultural Influence across an Ecological Frontier
Coping with China: Comparing Korea, Vietnam, and Japan
Korea and China • Vietnam and China • Japan and China
China and the Eurasian World Economy
Spillovers: Chinas Impact on Eurasia
On the Receiving End: China as Economic Beneficiary
China and Buddhism
Making Buddhism Chinese
Losing State Support: The Crisis of Chinese Buddhism
Reflections: Why Do Things Change?
Second Thoughts
Whats the Significance?
Big Picture Questions
Next Steps: For Further Study
LearningCurve
*Snapshot: Chinese Technological Achievements
*Portrait: Izumi Shikibu, Japanese Poet and Lover
Considering the Evidence
Documents: The Making of Japanese Civilization
8.1—Japanese Political Ideals: Shotoku, The Seventeen Article Constitution, 604
8.2—The Uniqueness of Japan: Kitabatake Chikafusa, The Chronicle of the Direct Descent of Gods and Sovereigns, 1339
8.3—Social Life at Court: Sei Shonagon, Pillow Book, ca. 1000
8.4—The Way of the Warrior: Shiba Yosimasa, Advice to Young Samurai, ca. 1400 and Imagawa Ryoshun, The Imagawa Letter, 1412
Using the Evidence
Visual Sources: The Leisure Life of Chinas Elites
A Banquet with the Emperor
At Table with the Empress
A Literary Gathering
An Elite Night Party
Using the Evidence
9 The Worlds of Islam: Afro-Eurasian Connections, 600-1500
The Birth of a New Religion
The Homeland of Islam
The Messenger and the Message
The Transformation of Arabia
The Making of an Arab Empire
War, Conquest, and Tolerance
Conversion
Divisions and Controversies
Women and Men in Early Islam
Islam and Cultural Encounter: A Four-Way Comparison
The Case of India
The Case of Anatolia
The Case of West Africa
The Case of Spain
The World of Islam as a New Civilization
Networks of Faith
Networks of Exchange
Reflections: Past and Present: Choosing Our History
Second Thoughts
Whats the Significance?
Big Picture Questions
Next Steps: For Further Study
LearningCurve
Snapshot: Key Achievements in Islamic Science and Scholarship
*Portrait: Mansa Musa, West African Monarch and Muslim Pilgrim
Considering the Evidence
Documents: Voices of Islam
9.1—The Voice of Allah: The Quran, Seventh Century c.e.
9.2—The Voice of the Prophet Muhammad: The Hadith, Eighth and Ninth centuries
9.3—The Voice of the Law: The Sharia, ninth century
9.4—The Voice of the Sufis: Inscription on Rumis Tomb, Thirteenth Century, Rumi, Poem, Thirteenth Century, and Rumi, Mathnawi, Thirteenth Century
Using the Evidence
*Visual Sources: The Life of the Prophet
Muhammad and the Archangel Gabriel
The Night Journey of Muhammad
The Battle at Badr
The Destruction of the Idols
Using the Evidence
10 The Worlds of Christendom: Contraction, Expansion, and Division, 500-1300
Christian Contraction in Asia and Africa
Asian Christianity
African Christianity
Byzantine Christendom: Building on the Roman Past
The Byzantine State
The Byzantine Church and Christian Divergence
Byzantium and the World
The Conversion of Russia
Western Christendom: Rebuilding in the Wake of Roman Collapse
Political Life in Western Europe, 500-1000
Society and the Church, 500-1000
Accelerating Change in the West, 1000-1300
Europe Outward Bound: The Crusading Tradition
The West in Comparative Perspective
Catching Up
Pluralism in Politics
Reason and Faith
Reflections: Remembering and Forgetting: Continuity and Surprise in the Worlds of Christendom
Second Thoughts
Whats the Significance?
Big Picture Questions
Next Steps: For Further Study
LearningCurve
*Snapshot: European Borrowing
*Portrait: Cecilia Penifader, An English Peasant and Unmarried Woman
Considering the Evidence
Documents: The Making of Christian Europe
10.1—The Conversion of Clovis: Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, Late Sixth Century
10.2—Advice on Dealing with "Pagans": Pope Gregory, Advice to the English Church, 603
10.3—Charlemagne and the Saxons: Charlemagne, Capitulary on Saxony, 785
10.4— The Persistence of Tradition: Willibald, Life of Boniface, ca. 760 and 10.5— The Leechbook, Tenth Century
Using the Evidence
Visual Sources: Reading Byzantine Icons
Christ Pantokrator
The Nativity
Ladder of Divine Ascent
Using the Evidence
11: Pastoral Peoples on the Global Stage: The Mongol Moment, 1200-1500
Looking Back and Looking Around: The Long History of Pastoral Nomads
The World of Pastoral Societies
Before the Mongols: Pastoralists in History
Breakout: The Mongol Empire
From Temujin to Chinggis Khan: The Rise of the Mongol Empire
Explaining the Mongol Moment
Encountering the Mongols: Comparing Three Cases
China and the Mongols
Persia and the Mongols
Russia and the Mongols
The Mongol Empire as a Eurasian Network
Toward a World Economy
Diplomacy on a Eurasian Scale
Cultural Exchange in the Mongol Realm
The Plague: An Afro-Eurasian Pandemic
Reflections: Changing Images of Nomadic Peoples
Second Thoughts
Whats the Significance?
Big Picture Questions
Next Steps: For Further Study
LearningCurve
Snapshot: Varieties of Pastoral Societies
*Portrait, Khutulun, A Mongol Wrestler Princess
Considering the Evidence
Documents: Perspectives on the Mongols
11.1—Mongol History from a Mongol Source: The Secret History of the Mongols, ca. 1240
11.2—A Letter from Chinggis Khan: Chinggis Khan, Letter to Changchun, 1219
11.3—A Russian View of the Mongols: The Chronicle of Novgorod, 1238
11.4—Chinese Perceptions of the Mongols: Epitaph for the Honorable Menggu, 1274
Using the Evidence
Visual Sources: The Black Death and Religion in Western Europe
The Flagellants
Burying the Dead
A Culture of Death
In the Face of Catastrophe—Questioning or Affirming the Faith • Using the Evidence
12 The Worlds of the Fifteenth Century
The Shapes of Human Communities
Paleolithic Persistence: Australia and North America
Agricultural Village Societies: The Igbo and the Iroquois
Herding Peoples: Central Asia and West Africa
Civilizations of the Fifteenth Century: Comparing China and Europe
Ming Dynasty China
European Comparisons: State Building and Cultural Renewal
European Comparisons: Maritime Voyaging
Civilizations of the Fifteenth Century: The Islamic World
In the Islamic Heartland: The Ottoman and Safavid Empires
On the Frontiers of Islam: The Songhay and Mughal Empires
Civilizations of the Fifteenth Century: The Americas
The Aztec Empire
The Inca Empire
Webs of Connection
A Preview of Coming Attractions: Looking Ahead to the Modern Era, 1500-2012
Reflections: What If? Chance and Contingency in World History
Second Thoughts
Whats the Significance?
Big Picture Questions
Next Steps: For Further Study
LearningCurve
Snapshot: Major Developments around the World in the Fifteenth Century
Snapshot: World Population Growth, 1000-2000
*Portrait: Zheng He, China's Non-Chinese Admiral
Considering the Evidence
Documents: The Aztecs and the Incas through Spanish Eyes
12.1—Diego Duran on the Aztecs: King Moctezuma I, Laws, Ordinances and Regulations, ca. 1450 and Diego Duran, Book of the Gods and Rites, 1574-1576
12.2— Pedro de Cieza de Léon on the Incas: Pedro de Cieza de Léon, Chronicles of the Incas, ca. 1550
Using the Evidence
*Visual Sources: Islam and Renaissance Europe
Gentile Bellini, Portrait of Mehmed II
The Venetian Ambassador Visits Damascus
Aristotle and Averroes
St. George Baptizes the Pagans of Jerusalem
Giovanni da Modena, Muhammad in Hell
Using the Evidence
Notes
Index
Acknowledgments
About the Author
*new to this edition