The Mediterranean Context of Early Greek History p>“Drawing extensively on the latest archaeological data from the entire Mediterranean basin, Nancy Demand offers a compelling argument for situating the origins of the Greek city-state within a pan-Mediterranean network of maritime interactions that stretches back millennia.” Jonathan Hall, University of Chicago “Nancy Demand’s book is a remarkable achievement. Her Heraklian labors have produced stunning documentation of the consequences of the vast spectrum of interaction between the peoples surrounding the Mediterranean Sea from the Mesolithic into the Iron Age.” Carol Thomas, University of Washington Were the origins of the Greek city-state – the polis – a unique creation of Greek genius? Or did their roots extend much deeper? Noted historian Nancy H. Demand joins the growing group of scholars and historians who have abandoned traditional isolationist models of the development of the Greek polis and cast their scholarly gaze seaward, to the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean Context of Early Greek History reveals the role the complex interaction of Mediterranean cultures and maritime connections had in shaping and developing urbanization, including the ancient Greek city-states. Utilizing, and enhancing upon, the model of the “fantastic cauldron” first put forth by Jean-Paul Morel in 1983, Demand reveals how Greek city-states did not simply emerge in isolation in remote country villages, but rather, sprang up along the shores of the Mediterranean in an intricate maritime network of Greeks and non-Greeks alike. We learn how early seafaring trade, such as the development of obsidian trade in the Aegean, stimulated innovations in the provision of food (the Neolithic Revolution), settlement organization (“political form”), materials for tool production, and concepts of divinity. With deep scholarly precision, The Mediterranean Context of Early Greek History offers fascinating insights into the wider context of the Greek city-state in the ancient world.

This comprehensive yet streamlined narrative history of the Western world brings the stories of ordinary people as well as famous leaders and events to life.This book offers exceptionally broad social and geographical coverage highlighting the global setting of Western history and emphasizing the effects of the West's repeated encounters with the non-Western world.

Ancient Civilizations offers a comparative analysis of the field, including both old world and new civilizations, and explores the connections between all civilizations around the earth. The volume provides a jargon-free introduction to ancient civilizations from the first civilizations, and the great powers in the Near East, to the first Aegean civilizations, the Mediterranean world in the first millennium, Imperial Rome, northeast Africa, divine kings in southeast Asia, and empires in East Asia, as well as early states in the Americas and Andean civilization. For those interested in ancient civilizations.

The devastating struggle to the death between the Carthaginians and Romans was one of the defining dramas of the Ancient World. In an epic series of land and sea battles both sides came close to victory before the Carthaginians finally buckled and their capital city, history and culture were almost utterly erased. The last great threat to Roman supremacy across the entire Mediterranean had gone, fulfilling Cato the Elder's insistent demand 'Carthage must be destroyed'. 'Carthage Must Be Destroyed' brilliantly brings to life this lost empire - from its origins among the Phoenician settlements of Lebanon to its apotheosis as the greatest sea-power in the Mediterranean, with interests stretching from the Middle East to southern Spain. Roman ferocity tried to remove Carthage from history, but it is possible nonetheless to create an extraordinary narrative of a civilization which left an indelible, if often hidden legacy for those that followed. At the heart of all attempts to understand Carthage must lie the extraordinary figure of Hannibal - the scourge of Rome and one of the greatest, most charismatic and innovative of all military leaders, but a man also who ultimately led his people to catastrophe. Drawing on a wealth of new archaeological research, Richard Miles makes Carthage vivid as it has never been before.

This textbook provides a one-of-a-kind view of the history of the Western world. It weaves together all strands of history into easily grasped, chronologically organized chapters.-Back cover.