Introduction Longevity In terms of longevity, the only rival it has is India’s, the other civilization that dates back to ancient times which is still flourishing today. And indeed, the Indus civilization pre-dated the rise of literate, urban civilization in China by about a thousand years. However, it later vanished, and cultures in the Indian […]
Society and Economy
Ancient China: Civilization
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Overview of the history and civilization of Ancient China
Ancient Mesopotamia: Civilization and Society
Ancient Mesopotamia saw the rise of the first civilization in world history. All later Western civilizations were built on the foundations laid down here
Ancient Egypt: Civilization and Society
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Ancient Egypt was one of the earliest, longest-lasting and most influential civilizations in world history
The Kingdom of Kush
Introduction Egypt’s geographical position, lying in the northern portion of the long valley of the River Nile, meant that it was cut off from the rest of Africa by almost impassable desert to east and west, and by only somewhat less-impassable cataracts to the south. It therefore fell to Kush to mediate the arts of […]
Ancient India: Civilization and Society
The history and civilization of Ancient India, including timeline and overview
Ancient Greek Civilization
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The civilization of Ancient Greece was one of the most brilliant in world history
Africa: societies and cultures of sub-Saharan Africa
1. Geographical background The geography of Sub-Saharan Africa poses severe challenges to the rise and spread of pre-modern civilization. A hard environment The ancientness of the continent’s rocks, whose minerals have leeched out over the aeons, mean that the soil is generally of a poor quality, posing challenges for farmers. In many regions low or […]
The Steppe Peoples of Central Asia
Introduction Take a step back and look at the history of Eurasia as a whole, however, and a different picture emerges. One sees that the steppes play a central part. Moreover, one can see that their influence is not merely destructive, but contains much that is constructive as well. So what, actually, was going on […]
Early Modern Europe
Overview From the early 15th century, Medieval Europe began to morph into early modern Europe. In the later Middle Ages trade had expanded, towns had grown in number and size, and a new, more sophisticated society had emerged. In large parts of western Europe feudalism, with its fragmented power-structures, had begun to give way to […]
The Mughal Empire
A Historical overview of the Mughal Empire Babur In 1525, a minor Afghan chieftain called Babur, invaded northwest India. The ruler of the Delhi sultanate, the large state which covered much of northern India at that time, moved up to meet him. The two sides met at the Battle of Panipat, in April 1526. There, […]
The Late Babylonian Empire
Overview Babylonia was the name by which southern Mesopotamia had become known after the time of Hammurabi, the great king who had reigned in the eighteenth century BCE. It was he who had made ancient Babylon one of the greatest cities of Antiquity. The late Babylonian period, the subject of this article, falls in the […]