Cassell's Chronology of World History Dates, Events and Ideas That Made History

by Williams, Hywel

• ISBN13: 9780304357307
• ISBN10: 0304357308
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-04-01
• Publisher: Cassell

Summary

This extraordinary reference provides a comprehensive summary of world history from the earliest recorded evens to the start of the third millennium. Arranged in an accessible year by year form that invites browsing, it answers research questions, and illuminates similarities and contrasts between different nations and different ages. With narrative essays preceding every section, spotlight essays on key historical themes, and detailed profiles of 101 of history's most influential thinkers, it offers a depth of insight that goes far beyond a mere listing of important dates. Here is the whole vast panorama of history in every region of the globe-wars, migrations, disasters, discoveries, inventions, the birth of new religions, the rise and fall of nations-complete with authoritative commentary that pulls it all together in a broad and informative perspective.

Author Biography

Hywel Williams taught at the University of Cambridge and at Rugby School.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Introduction: The Idea of Progress	xi
The Ancient and Medieval Worlds 135,000BP--1449	1	(178)
The Roots of Civilization: River-valley Civilizations of Mesopotamia, the Indus and the Nile	7	(11)
India and Hinduism: The Invention of a Country	18	(8)
The Classical World: Polis and Republic in Greece and Rome	26	(6)
Bureaucracy and Intelligence: The Rise of China	32	(43)
The Rise of Islam: An Arab Revolution	75	(9)
Castle and Cathedral: Europe's Middle Ages and the Idea of a Christian Civilization	84	(95)
The Early Modern World 1450--1799	179	(170)
Europe's Drama: Renaissance and Reformation	202	(3)
Turkic Power: The Ottoman Challenge to the West	205	(29)
Colonial Collisions: The European Push into Asia, the Americas and Africa	234	(104)
The Sense of the New: The Enlightenment and the French Revolution	338	(11)
The Nineteenth-century World 1800--1899	349	(106)
Nationalism and Capitalism: The Dynamic Order of the 19th Century	367	(30)
Hierarchies in Collision: China and Japan in the 19th Century	397	(13)
An American Civilization: Unity, Power and Race in the New World	410	(45)
The Modern World 1900--2004	455	(206)
A Continent Divided: Europe from Armageddon to Reconstruction, 1914--89	484	(68)
Old Empires and New Beginnings: Decolonization and the Fall of Europe	552	(76)
American Hegemony: The Victories, Dilemmas and Fears of a 21st-century Colossus	628	(33)
Conclusion: Towards One World	661	(2)
Index	663