An Introduction to the Ancient World

by Blois, Lukas De; Spek, R. J. Van Der

• ISBN13: 9780415127745
• ISBN10: 0415127742
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-11-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This lavishly illustrated introductory history covers 3,000 years of the ancient Near East, Greece and Rome within the framework of a short narrative history of events. Focusing mainly on the social, political and cultural processes which have influenced later western civilizations,An Introduction to the Ancient Worldconsiders subjects such as the religions of the ancient Near East, Athenian democracy, the interaction of cultures in the Hellenistic world, the political and administrative system of the Roman republic and empire, gender problems and ancient demography. This book shows how the Near East, Greece and Rome witnessed the emergence of city and state government, the development of decision processes, expansion and the effects of social structures, interaction of different cultures, and the emergence of Judaism and Christianity. Anyone interested in ancient history, classics and archaeology, will need this accessible and comprehensive book.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	xii
Introduction	xvii
PART I: THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST
The Origins of the civilisations of Egypt and Mesopotamia	3	(6)
The third millennium BC	9	(7)
Memphis, Sumer and Akkad	10	(1)
Egypt, the Old Kingdom (2600-2150)	10	(2)
Mesopotamia: Sumer and Akkad	12	(2)
Epilogue	14	(2)
The Second millennium BC	16	(15)
Thebes, Assur and Babylon (c. 2000-1600)	17	(1)
Egypt, the Middle Kingdom (c. 2000-1800)	17	(2)
The Old Assyrian empire (c. 2000-1760)	19	(1)
The Old Babylonian empire (c. 1800-1600)	19	(1)
The 'Concert of Powers' (c. 1600-1200)	19	(3)
Egypt, the New Kingdom (c. 1550-1100)	22	(2)
Babylonia and Assyria	24	(1)
Mitanni	24	(1)
The Hittite empire	25	(1)
Crete and Mycenae	25	(2)
International Relations	27	(4)
The first Millennium BC	31	(16)
Disruption and recovery (1200-750)	32	(1)
Egypt, the Third Intermediate period (c. 100-715)	32	(1)
Syria and the Phoenicians	33	(1)
Israel	34	(3)
The empires of the Levant (750 BC-AD 700)	37	(1)
The neo-Assyrian empire	37	(3)
The neo-Babylonian empire	40	(2)
The Persian empire	42	(3)
The Hellenistic Kingdoms	45	(1)
The Parthian empire	45	(1)
The Sasanian empire	45	(1)
The Roman empire	45	(1)
The Arabs	46	(1)
Religion	47	(7)
Polytheism	48	(4)
Henotheism and monotheism	52	(2)
Economy and society	54	(7)
Agricultural economy, land tenure	55	(1)
'Redistribution economy'	55	(2)
Means of payment	57	(1)
Trade	57	(1)
Social organisation	58	(3)
Government	61	(8)
Kingship	62	(1)
The administrative machinery	62	(3)
The army	65	(4)
PART II: GREECE
The Dark Ages, 1200-800 BC	69	(2)
The Archaic period, 800-500 BC	71	(24)
Introduction	72	(1)
Demographic and economic changes	72	(1)
The polis	72	(2)
Colonisation	74	(2)
Social changes	76	(1)
Military changes	76	(1)
Cultural changes	77	(1)
The alphabet	77	(1)
Literature	77	(1)
The visual arts	78	(1)
Architecture	78	(3)
Religion	81	(4)
Philosophy	85	(1)
Political changes	86	(1)
Tyranny	86	(1)
Sparta	87	(2)
Athens	89	(6)
The Classical period	95	(34)
The Persian Wars	96	(3)
Sparta and Athens after 479 BC	99	(1)
The Delian League (477-404 BC)	99	(2)
Athenian leaders in the fifth century	101	(1)
Athens' state income	101	(2)
The Great Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC)	103	(3)
The years between 404 and 336 BC	106	(2)
The Second Athenian League (377-355)	108	(1)
Social and military changes	109	(1)
The rise of Macedonia	109	(1)
Philip II (359-336): the end of the Classical period in Greek history	109	(2)
The Athenian population in the fifth and fourth centuries BC	111	(1)
The metics	111	(1)
The Slaves	111	(3)
Women in Athens and Sparta	114	(1)
Further development of the Athenian democracy	115	(1)
The Council of the Areopagus in 462/1	116	(1)
Pericles	116	(1)
The democracy and the fleet	116	(1)
Old and new politicians	117	(1)
The stability of the Athenian democracy	117	(1)
Criticism of the Athenian democracy	118	(2)
Athens as the centre of Greek culture in the Classical period	120	(1)
Attic drama	120	(1)
Philosophy	121	(4)
Historical Writing	125	(1)
The Greeks in the Western Mediterranean	126	(3)
The Hellenistic era	129	(22)
Introduction	130	(1)
Alexander the Great	130	(2)
From Alexander to the Roman conquest	132	(1)
Greece	132	(1)
Athens and Sparta	132	(2)
Leagues of states in Greece	134	(1)
The Seleucid kingdom	135	(1)
The Ptolemaic kingdom	135	(1)
The government and the cities of the Hellenistic kingdoms	135	(3)
Economy and society	138	(1)
Greece	138	(1)
The Near East	138	(2)
Cultural aspects	140	(1)
General	140	(1)
Religion	141	(1)
Near Eastern religions	142	(1)
Philosophy and science	143	(1)
Science	144	(1)
The Jews in the Hellenistic era	144	(1)
The impact of Hellenistic culture in the Parthian kingdom and the Roman empire	145	(3)
Conclusion	148	(3)
PART III: ROME
Early Roman History, 754-265 BC	151	(26)
The western Mediterranean	152	(1)
The Etruscans	152	(2)
Carthage	154	(1)
The origins of Rome	154	(1)
State and society in early Rome	155	(2)
A note on Roman names	157	(1)
The army and the Comitia Centuriata	158	(1)
The early republic (509-265 BC)	158	(1)
State and society	158	(2)
Roman expansion in Italy (509-265 BC)	160	(2)
Colonisation	162	(1)
Municipia	163	(2)
The military character of Roman society	165	(1)
The struggle of the orders (c. 500-287 BC)	165	(2)
History of the struggle of the orders	167	(1)
The institutions of the Roman republic at the end of the struggle of the orders	168	(1)
The magistrates	168	(2)
The Senate	170	(1)
Nobiles, senators and equites	170	(2)
Increasing differentiation within the Roman elite	172	(1)
The popular assemblies	172	(2)
An oligarchic government	174	(2)
A new type of client	176	(1)
Some demographic data	176	(1)
Further expansion and new social tensions, 264-133 BC	177	(18)
Roman expansion between 264 and 121 BC	178	(1)
The Punic Wars	178	(4)
Wars in Spain, the Po valley and the Hellenistic East	182	(1)
Two forms of Roman expansion	182	(2)
The administration of a province	184	(1)
Disadvantages of Roman control	185	(1)
New social tensions	186	(1)
The consequences of Rome's expansion	186	(3)
Slavery in Italy and Sicily	189	(1)
Slave revolts	189	(2)
Piracy	191	(1)
Some demographic data	191	(1)
The city of Rome	191	(1)
Inadequate organisation	192	(1)
A change in mentality	192	(1)
Greek influences	193	(1)
The birth of a Roman literature	193	(2)
The century of the civil wars, 133-30 BC	195	(22)
Serious problems and discontent	196	(1)
The Gracchi	196	(1)
Tiberius Gracchus	196	(1)
Gaius Gracchus	197	(1)
Political consequences of the Gracchan reforms	198	(1)
Marius' military reforms	198	(4)
The Social War (91-88 BC) and the First Civil War	202	(1)
Citizenship for the Italian allies	202	(1)
decline of the popular assemblies	203	(1)
The First Civil War (88-82 BC)	203	(2)
The Years 79-49 BC	205	(1)
Spartacus' slave revolt (73-71 BC)	206	(1)
Pompey, Crassus and Caesar	207	(2)
The first Triumvirate	209	(2)
Chaos in Rome	211	(1)
The Second Civil War (49-45 BC) and its aftermath (44-30 BC)	212	(4)
The flourishing of cultural life during the civil wars	216	(1)
The early imperial age, 27 BC-AD 193	217	(53)
Augustus	218	(1)
Augustus' constitutional position and the real basis of his power	218	(1)
The settlement of 27 BC	218	(2)
The settlements of 23 and 19 BC	220	(1)
Changes in the administration	221	(1)
The Senate and the popular assemblies	222	(1)
The higher orders: senators, knights	223	(1)
The decuriones	224	(1)
The army	225	(1)
Ideal and religious aspects of emperorship	226	(1)
Latin literature in the Augustan era	226	(3)
Augustus' conquests	229	(1)
The early imperial age after Augustus (AD 14-193)	230	(1)
Wars and rebellions	230	(1)
Emperorship and the problem of the emperor's succession	231	(5)
Developments in administration after Augustus	236	(1)
The spread of Roman citizenship	236	(2)
Changes in the higher orders	238	(2)
Roman law	240	(2)
The western and eastern provinces	242	(1)
The western provinces	242	(5)
The eastern half of the empire	247	(3)
Agriculture, trade and crafts	250	(1)
The lower classes	250	(6)
Trade	256	(1)
Work and status	257	(1)
The position of women	258	(3)
Religion	261	(1)
Roman gods and religious practices	262	(2)
The introduction of foreign gods	264	(3)
The Christians	267	(3)
The crisis of the third century AD and late antiquity	270	(36)
Growing pressures on the northern and eastern frontiers	271	(1)
The Germans	271	(3)
The Sasanian empire	274	(1)
Internal instability in the Roman empire	274	(1)
Military problems	274	(1)
Structural defects	275	(1)
The Severi (193-235)	276	(1)
Septimius Severus (193-211)	276	(1)
Roman citizenship for all free inhabitants of the empire	277	(1)
The soldier emperors (235-284)	278	(1)
Diocletian (ruled 284-305)	279	(1)
Further expansion of bureaucracy	280	(1)
The Senate and the equestrian order	281	(1)
Emperorship and the emperor's succession	281	(2)
The persecutions of the Christians	283	(1)
Constantine the Great (ruled 306-337)	284	(1)
Constantine's conversion to Christianity	285	(1)
Constantinople	285	(1)
The army	285	(2)
Increased fiscal burdens and the monetary system	287	(1)
The Roman empire after Constantine	288	(1)
East and West	288	(3)
The Christian empire	291	(2)
The end of the west Roman empire	293	(6)
PART IV: APPENDICES
1. Greek and Roman names	299	(2)
2. Greek and Roman money	301	(1)
3. The Roman emperors	302	(4)
Select bibliography	306	(1)
Works of general coverage	306	(1)
The Ancient Near East	307	(1)
The Greeks	308	(1)
Archaic and Classical Greece	309	(1)
The Hellenistic world	310	(1)
Rome	310	(1)
Early Rome and the Roman republic	311	(1)
Imperial Rome	312	(3)
Index	315