Table of Contents
Volume I: To 1550
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1: Prehistory and Origins of Patriarchy: Gathering, Agricultural, and Urban Societies, 20,000-3000 BCE
The agricultural revolution ten thousand years ago and the urban revolution five thousand years ago were probably the two most important events in human history. Did they "revolutionize" the power of women or begin the age of male domination? Thinking in "stages" can be more useful than thinking in years.
Historical Context
Thinking Historically: Thinking about History in Stages
1. Natalie Angier, Furs for Evening, But Cloth Was the Stone Age Standby
2. Marjorie Shostak, from Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman
3. Elise Boulding, Women and the Agricultural Revolution
4. Gerda Lerner, The Urban Revolution: Origins of Patriarchy
Reflections
Chapter 2: The Urban Revolution and "Civilization": Mesopotamia and Egypt, 3500-1000 BCE
The urban revolution created writing and interpretation, war and law, individual anonymity, money and taxes, paupers and kings. Did Mesopotamia and Egypt undergo the same development and changes? We have primary (written and visual) as well as secondary sources of find the answers.
Historical Context
Thinking Historically: Distinguishing Primary and Secondary Sources
5. Kevin Reilly, Cities and Civilization
6. From The Epic of Gilgamesh
7. From Hammurabi’s Code
*8. Advice to the Young Egyptian: "Be a Scribe"
*9. Images from Egypt
Reflections
Chapter 3: Identity in Caste andTerritorial Societies: Greece and India, 1000-300 BCE
Ancient Greece and India developed with different ideas of society. Does who we are depend on where we are or who we know? While finding out, we explore the relationship between facts and opinions, sources and interpretations.
Historical Context
Thinking Historically: Interpreting Primary Sources in Light of a Secondary Source
10. William H. McNeill, Greek and Indian Civilization
11. From the Rig Veda: Sacrifice as Creation
12. From the Upanishads: Karma and Reincarnation
*13. From the Upanishads: Brahman and Atman
14. From the Bhagavad Gita: Caste and Self
15. Aristotle, from The Athenian Constitution: Territorial Sovereignty
16. Thucydides, The Funeral Oration of Pericles
17. Plato, from The Republic
Reflections
Chapter 4: Classical Civilizations and Empires: China and Rome, 300 BCE – 300 CE
Two thousand years ago the Chinese Han dynasty and the Roman Empire spanned Eurasia. In comparing these ancient empires, we seek to understand more about ancient empires, empires in general, and the course of change in ancient societies. A good comparison can lead us to consider new questions and topics, and generate new comparisons as well.
Historical Context
Thinking Historically: Making Comparisons
*18. S.A.M. Adshead, China and Rome Compared from China in World History
19. Confucius, From The Analects
20. Plutarch, On Education
*21. G.E.R. Lloyd, Chinese and Greco-Roman Innovation
*22. The Salt and Iron Debates
23. Cicero, Against Verres
Reflections
Chapter 5: Women in Classical Societies, India, China, and the Mediterranean, 500 BCE – 500 CE
The experiences of women varied greatly over time both within and among the classical cultures of India, China, and the Greco-Roman world. The written and visual documents in this chapter allow us to explore the differences and similarities. At the same time we also examine both moments and processes in the history of women in classical antiquity to understand two different ways of thinking about the past.
Historical Context
Thinking Historically: Considering Historical Moment and Historical Process
*24. Sarah Shaver Hughes and Brady Hughes, Women in the Classical Era
25. R.K. Narayan, From The Ramayana
26. Ban Zhao, Lessons for Women
*27. Aristophanes, from Lysistrata
28. Livy, Women Demonstrate against the Oppian Law
*29. Fayum Portraits
Reflections
Chapter 6: From Tribal to Universal Religion: Hindu-Buddhist and Judeo-Christian Traditions, 1000 BCE-100 CE
Two religious traditions transformed themselves into universal religions at about the same time in two different parts of Asia as each became part of a more connected world. Their holy books reveal the changes as well as the desire to hold on to the tried and true.
Historical Context: Detecting Change in Primary Sources
Thinking Historically:
30. Svetasvatara Upanishad
31. Buddhism: Gotama’s Discovery
32. The Buddha’s First Sermon
33. Buddhism and Caste
34. The Bible: History, Laws, and Psalms
35. The Bible: Prophets and Apocalypse
36. Christianity: Jesus According to Matthew
Reflections
Chapter 7: Encounters and Conversions: Monks, Merchants, and Monarchs, Expansion of Salvation Religions, 400 BCE to 1400 CE
Christianity, Buddhism, and later, Islam, spread far across Eurasia often along the same routes in the first thousand years of the Common Era. To understand their success, we explore the evolution of religions in a larger context.
Historical Context
Thinking Historically: Studying Religion in Historic Context
37. Jerry H. Bentley, The Spread of World Religions
38. Pliny Consults the Emperor Trajan
39. Eusebius, From Life of Constantine
40. Buddhism in China: From The Disposition of Error
41. The Lotus Sutra
*42. Selections from the Koran
*43. Islamic Expansion, Peace Terms with Jerusalem (636)
*44. The Glorious Victories of ‘Amda Seyon, King of Ethiopia
Reflections
Chapter 8: Medieval Civilizations: European, Islamic, and Chinese Societies, 600-1400 CE
Three Great civilizations spanned Eurasia between 500 and 1500. Of the three, China and Islam were the strongest, Europe the weakest. But their differences can be best understood by looking separately at the social structure, economy, politics, and culture of each.
Historical Context
Thinking Historically: Distinguishing Social, Economic, Political, and Cultural Aspects
45. Feudalism: An Oath of Homage and Fealty
46. Manorialism: Duties of a Villein
47. From the Magna Carta
48. Islam: Sayings Ascribed to the Prophet
*49. Al-Tanukhi, A Government Job
50. Egyptian Invitation
51. Ichisada Miyazaki, The Chinese Civil Service Exam System
52. Liu Tsung-Yuan, Camel Kuo the Gardener
53. Rules for the Fan Lineage’s Charitable Estate
Reflections
Chapter 9: Love and Marriage: Medieval Europe and Asia, 400-1200 CE
Love and marriage make the world go’round today, but not a thousand years ago. Love meant different things to different people in Europe, India, and Japan, and we use cultural comparisons to find out more.
Historical Context
Thinking Historically: Analyzing Cultural Differences
54. Kevin Reilly, Love in Medieval Europe, India, and Japan
*55. Ulrich von Lichtenstein, The Service of Ladies
56. Andreas Capellanus, From The Art of Courtly Love
*57. Kalidasa, Shakuntala
*58. Mirabai, Bhakti poems
59. Murasaki Shikibu, From The Tale of Genji
Reflections
Chapter 10: The First Crusade: Muslims, Christians, and Jews during the First Crusade, 1095-1102 CE
The First Crusade initiated a centuries-long struggle and dialogue between Christians and Muslims that would have a lasting impact on both. Wars are windows on cultures, but they also make moving narratives. Using the selections here put together your own version of the story.
Historical Context
Thinking Historically: Analyzing and Writing Narrative
60. Fulcher of Chartres, Pope Urban at Clermont
61. Chronicle of Solomon bar Simson
62. Anna Comnena, From The Alexiad
63. Fulcher of Chartres, The Siege of Antioch
*64. Ibn Al-Qalanisi, from The Damascus Chronicle
65. Raymond of St. Giles, Count of Toulouse, The Capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders
*66. Ibn al-Anthir, The Conquest of Jerusalem
67. Letter from a Jewish Pilgrim in Egypt
Reflections
Chapter 11: Raiders of Steppe and Sea: Vikings and Mongols, Eurasia and the Atlantic, 900-1350 CE
From the late 9th through the 10th century, waves of Viking ships attacked across Europe; a few centuries later beginning in 1200, the Mongols swept across Eurasia, conquering all in their path and creating the largest empire the world had ever seen. What was the impact of these raiding peoples on settled societies and vice versa? In considering this question and the violent and destructive nature of these "barbarian" raids, we will consider the relationship of morality to history.
Historical Context
Thinking Historically: Distinguishing historical understanding from moral judgments
68. Gregory Guzman, Were the Barbarians a Negative or Positive Factor in Ancient and Medieval History?
*69. Ibn Fadlan, The Viking Rus
*70. Barry Cunliffe, The Western Vikings
*71. Eirik’s Saga
*72. The Poetic Edda, Selections from the Havamol
73. From The Secret History of the Mongols
74. John of Plano Carpini, History of the Mongols
Chapter 12: The Black Death: Afro-Eurasia, 1346-1350
The pandemic plague ravaged the population of Afro-Eurasia, killing about one third of the population of Europe and Egypt. In this chapter, we examine the impact of the plague in various locales while also contemplating its causes and the relation between cause and effect.
Historical Context
Thinking Historically: Considering Cause and Effect
*75. Mark Wheelis, Biological Warfare at the 1346 Siege of Caffa
76. Gabriel de’ Mussis, Origins of the Black Death
77. Giovanni Boccacio, The Plague in Florence, from the Decameron
*77. Images of the Black Death
*78. Ahmad al-Magrizi, the Plague in Cairo
79. William H. McNeill, Consequences of the Black Death in Europe
Chapter 13: On Cities: European, Chinese, Islamic, and Mexican Cities, 1000-1550 CE
What did increasing urbanization from the medieval period on mean for those who lived in cities and those who did not? Wandering through some of the great cities of medieval Europe, China, and the Islamic world, we attempt to answer this question while also considering the validity and merits of one historian’s famous comparative thesis about urbanization.
Historical Context
Thinking Historically: Evaluating a Comparative Thesis
80. Fernand Braudel, Towns and Cities
*81. European Guilds and Urban Autonomy
Charter of Henry I for London, 1130-1133
Gregorio Dati, Corporation and Community in Florence
82. Marco Polo, From The Travels of Marco Polo
83. S.D. Goitein, Cairo: An Islamic City in Light of the Geniza
*84. Bernal Diaz, Cities of Mexico
Reflections
Chapter 14: Ecology, Technology, and Science: Europe, Asia, Oceania, and Africa, 500-1550 CE
Since the Middle Ages, the most significant changes have occurred in the fields of ecology, technology, and science. In this chapter we read and assess three grand theories about the origins of our technological transformation and of our environmental problems, drawing on written and visual primary source evidence to develop our conclusions.
Historical Context
Thinking Historically: Evaluating Grand Theories
85. Lynn White, Jr., The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis
*86. Life of Boniface: Converting the Hessians
*87. Humans and the Environment
Image from a Cistercian Manuscript, 12th Century
Image from a French Calendar, 15th Century
Image of a Chinese Feng-Shui Master
88. Lynda Norene Shaffer, Southernization
*89. Jared Diamond, Easter Island’s End
Reflections
List of Maps
Map 2.1 Early Civilizations: Egypt and Mesopotamia
Map 3.1 Indus River Valley, c. 500 BCE
Map 3.2 Archaic Greece, c. 750-500 BCE
Map 4.1 Imperial China at 210 BCE and 120 CE
Map 4.2 The Roman Empire, at 264 BCE and 117 CE
Map 6.1 The Ancient Near East, 4000-3000 BCE
Map 7.1 The Silk Road
Map 7.2 The Spread of Christianity, 300-600 CE
Map 7.3 The Expansion of Islam to 750
Map 10.1 The First Crusade, 1096-1099
Map 11.1 Viking Invasions and Voyages of the Ninth and Tenth Centuries
Map 11.2 Mongol Invasions of the Thirteenth Century
Map 12.1 Tentative Chronology of the Initial Spread of Plague in the Mid-Fourteenth Century
* new to this edition
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