Egypt, Greece, and Rome : Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean

__Egypt, Greece, and Rome__ is regarded as one of the best general histories of the ancient world. It is written for the general reader and the student coming to the subject for the first time and provides a reliable and highly accessible point of entry to the period. Beignning with the early Middle Eastern civilizations of Sumer, and continuing right through to the Islmic invasions and the birth of modern Europe after the collapse of the Roman empire, the book ranges beyond political history to cover art and architecture, philosophy, literature, society, and economy. A wide range of maps, illustrations, and photographs complements the text.This third edition has been extensively revised to appeal to the general reader with several chapters completely rewritten and a great deal of new material added, including a new selection of images. Cover 1 Egypt, Greece, and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 9 CONTENTS 12 LIST OF PLATES 14 LIST OF MAPS 17 LIST OF FIGURES 18 1: Approaching the Ancient World 20 2: The Birth of Civilization: The Ancient Near East, 5000–1200 BC 35 Mesopotamia and the First Cities 40 The Akkadians 46 The Old Babylonian Period (2000–1600 BC) 49 The Invention of the Alphabet 51 The Assyrians and the Hittites 52 3: Pyramids and Power: The Creation of an Egyptian State, 3500–1500 BC 56 Beginnings 57 The Unification of Egypt 59 The First Dynasties 63 The Building of the Pyramids 65 The Collapse of the Old Kingdom 71 The First Intermediate Period 72 The Emergence of the Middle Kingdom 73 4: Stability and Expansion: Egypt in the Middle and New Kingdoms, 1985–1000 BC 75 The Years of Stability 75 The Hyksos and the Second Intermediate Period 79 The Emergence of the New Kingdom 81 The Administration of the New Kingdom 85 Kings and Temples 87 The Cult of Aten 88 The Nineteenth Dynasty: The Last of the Great Egyptian Dynasties 92 The Disintegration of the New Kingdom 94 Interlude1: The Amarna Letters 97 5: Living in New Kingdom Egypt 100 The Villagers of Deir el-Medina 101 Survival Skills 103 Home and Family 104 Egyptian Medicine 107 The Rituals of Death 108 6: The Ancient Near East, 1200–500 bc 112 The Neo-Assyrian Empire 112 The Neo-Babylonian Empire 116 The Land of Israel 116 The Phoenicians 120 Egypt in the First Millennium 121 The Rise of the Persian (Achaemenid) Empire 123 7: ‘The Sea between the Lands’: The Mediterranean as the Cradle of the Classical World 127 8: Civilizations of the Bronze Age Aegean, 2000–1100 BC 135 The Minoans 135 The Mycenaeans 139 Postscript: The Chronology of the Aegean Bronze Age 146 9: The Birth of a New Greece, 1100–700 BC 147 The Migrations 147 The Eighth-Century ‘Renaissance’ 149 Homer 152 Hesiod 158 The Appearance of the Polis? 160 10: ‘Travelling Heroes’: The Greeks in a Wider World, 800–600 BC 163 The Orientalizing Revolution 163 The Western Settlements 166 Settlements in the Northern Aegean, Black Sea, and Libya 173 The Lelantine War and the Emergence of Corinth 175 Archilochus and Life on the Frontier 177 Interlude2: Sappho and Lyric Poetry 179 11: Hoplites and Tyrants 182 The Hoplite Army 182 The Tyrants 184 Sparta 188 Athens in the Sixth Century 192 The Reforms of Solon 195 The Peisistratid Tyranny 198 The Reforms of Cleisthenes 200 12: Craftsmanship and Creativity in Archaic Greece 203 The Earliest Coinage 203 Temples and Sculpture: The Influence of Egypt 205 The Revival of Athenian Pottery 210 The Birth of Western Philosophy 211 13: The Persian Wars 221 14: The Greek Way of Life 238 Industries, Crafts, and Trade 240 Women in the Greek World 242 Slavery 246 Aristocratic Survivals 249 15: Experiencing the Supernatural 256 Interlude3: ‘After this all becomes possible’ 264 16: Democracy and Empire 268 The Delian League 268 The Resurgence of Aristocratic Influence 269 The Democratic Revolution 270 Democracy in Practice 272 The Glorification of the City in Marble 276 The Athenian Empire 279 The Changing World of Athenian Democracy 284 17: Rethinking the World: From Aeschylus to Aristotle 289 The Drama Festivals 291 Aeschylus 293 Sophocles 295 Euripides 296 Aristophanes and Comedy 298 Socrates 299 Plato 302 Aristotle 306 Interlude4: Rhetoric 312 18: The Struggle for Power, 431–338 BC 315 Thucydides 316 The Course of the War 317 Lysander 321 The Corinthian War 322 The Fall of Sparta and Victory of Thebes 323 The Vulnerability of the City-State in the Fourth Century 325 Dionysius, Tyrant of Syracuse, and Jason of Thessaly 326 The Kingdom of Macedon 328 Philip of Macedon 329 19: Alexander the Great and the Transformation of the Greek World 332 The Young Alexander 333 The Persian Adventure 334 The Conquest of the Western Persian Empire 337 The Humiliation of Darius 341 The Campaigns of the East 342 The March Home 345 Administering the Empire 345 The New Graeco-Macedonian World 347 The Legacy 349 20: Tensions and Creativity 351 The Hellenistic Monarchies 351 Cities in the Hellenistic World 354 The Hellenistic Cults 358 Greeks and Others 359 Cultural Developments 361 Arts in the Hellenistic Age 363 Science and Mathematics 367 The Philosophers 370 The Jews in the Hellenistic Period 372 Conclusion 373 Interlude5: Celts and Parthians 374 The Parthians 377 21: The Etruscans and Early Rome 379 The Geography of Italy 379 The Etruscans 380 The Foundation of Rome 387 Rome: The Age of Kings 389 The Foundation of the Roman Republic 390 The Expansion of Rome 393 The Glorification of Victory 397 22: Rome Becomes a Mediterranean Power 400 The First Punic War 400 The Beginnings of Provincial Administration 402 The Second Punic War 403 The Pacification of Spain and Northern Italy 406 Rome Becomes Involved in Greece 408 Polybius and The Universal History 410 Motives for War and Imperialism 411 The Impact of the East 413 The Older Cato 415 The Great Period of Senatorial Government 416 Intimations of Popular Unrest 416 Note: The introduction of Roman coinage 418 23: Rome: A Republic under Stress,133:–55: BC 419 The Gracchi and the Challenge to Senatorial Government 419 Marius and the Defence of the Empire 423 The Revolt of the Allies 424 Sulla 427 The Rise of Pompey 429 Cicero and the Catiline Conspiracy 432 The Political System in the 60s: An Overview 434 The Young Caesar 436 The Republic and Provincial Administration 436 Consulship and Command: Caesar Consolidates his Position 438 Interlude6: Voices from the Republic 442 24: The Failure of Republican Politics, 55–31 BC 447 Caesar and Pompey: The Showdown 447 The Civil War 451 Caesar and the Search for a Political Solution 454 The Aftermath of Caesar 457 Antony versus Octavian: The Final Struggle of the Republic 459 Why did the Republic Collapse? 461 Interlude7: Women in the Roman Republic 463 25: Augustus and the Founding of Empire 468 Octavian’s Character 469 The ‘Restoration’ of the Republic 469 Augustus and the Empire 475 The Poets of the Augustan Age 477 The Res Gestae Divi Augusti 482 The Problem of the Succession 482 26. Consolidating the Roman Empire, ad 14–161 484 Suetonius and Tacitus 484 Tiberius 485 The Prosperity of Italy 487 Caligula 492 The Emperor Claudius 493 Nero 496 AD 69: A Long Year of Revolt 499 The Flavian Emperors 501 Trajan: The Model Emperor 504 Hadrian 507 The ‘Good’ Emperor 510 Interlude8: The Sebasteion at Aphrodisias 512 27: Running and Defending an Empire 515 Maintaining Control 515 The Administration of the Provinces 517 The Frontiers 523 The Army 525 The Integration of Local Elites 528 Cities of the Empire 529 28: Social and Economic Life in the Empire 533 Wealth and Identity 533 Slavery in the Roman World 536 Manumission and Freedmen 539 Land and Survival in the Roman Empire 540 The Villa 542 Cities and the Economy 543 Trade Routes 547 An Imperial Economy? 550 Interlude9: The Romans as Builders 552 29: The Flourishing of Greek Culture 561 The Second Sophistic 562 The Cities of Pisidia and the Greek East 566 Ptolemy and Galen 569 30: An Empire in Crisis, ad 161–313 572 Threats to the Empire 572 Marcus Aurelius 577 Septimius Severus 578 Caracalla and the Later Severan Emperors 581 The Crisis of the Mid-Third Century 582 The Effects of the Crisis 586 The Romans Regain the Initiative 587 Diocletian 589 The Emergence of Constantine 595 31: The Early Christian Communities, ad 33–313 598 The Contemporary Evidence 598 The Life of Jesus 600 The Early Christian Community and the Missions of Paul 604 The Early Christian Communities 607 Christianity and the Greek Philosophical Tradition 610 The Persecutions 614 Postscript: Plotinus 617 32: Constantine and his Successors 620 Constantine and Christianity 620 The Arian Controversy 622 The Founding of Constantinople 624 Constantine’s Successors and the Problems of Defence 625 Ammianus Marcellinus 627 The Imperial Administration 628 Pressures on the Borders 629 33: The Christian Emperor 631 The Search for Theological Consensus 631 The Consolidation of Christian Imperialism 635 The Last Pagans? 637 The Growth of Asceticism 639 The Christian Intellectuals: John Chrysostom, Jerome, and Augustine 640 Conclusion: A Transformed Society? 646 34: The Collapse of the Classical West, ad395:–600 648 The ‘Fall’ of the Western Empire 648 The ‘Goths’ in the Western Empire 649 A Disintegrating Empire 651 Aetius, ‘The Last of the Romans’ 653 The Final Years of the Western Empire, ad 455–476 654 Coming to Terms with a New World: The Survival of Roman Culture in the Late Fifth Century 655 Theodoric and the Ostrogoths in Italy 658 Boethius and Cassiodorus 659 The Frankish Kingdom 662 The Visigoths in Spain and Vandals in Africa 663 Italy in the Late Sixth Century 664 35: The Emergence of the Byzantine Empire 669 Cultural Complexity in the East 669 Constantinople and the Christian Emperors 670 The Defence of the Empire 672 Christianity in the Eastern Empire 674 Justinian 677 Justinian’s Law Codes 677 The Nika Riots 678 The Campaigns in Africa and Italy 679 Procopius of Caesarea 680 The Church of St Sophia 682 The Last Years of Justinian 684 The Emergence of the Byzantine Empire 685 36: Legacies 689 WHAT TO READ NEXT 701 SELECTED FURTHER READING 702 General (i.e. books that transcend a single civilization) 702 Ancient near east 702 Egypt 703 The aegean bronze age 703 Greece 703 Etruscans 704 Rome 704 Christianity 705 Late antiquity/byzantium 705 Legacy 706 DATE CHART 707 LIST OF EVENTS 708 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OF SOURCES 734 INDEX 740 Egypt, Greece, And Rome Is Regarded As One Of The Best General Histories Of The Ancient World, Having Sold More Than 80,000 Copies In Its First Two Editions. It Is Written For The General Reader And The Student Coming To The Subject For The First Time And Provides A Reliable And Highly Accessible Point Of Entry To The Period. Beginning With The Early Middle Eastern Civilizations Of Sumer, And Continuing Right Through To The Islamic Invasions And The Birth Of Modern Europe After The Collapse Of The Roman Empire, The Book Ranges Beyond Political History To Cover Art And Architecture, Philosophy, Literature, Society, And Economy. A Wide Range Of Maps, Illustrations, And Photographs Complements The Text. This Third Edition Has Been Extensively Revised To Appeal To The General Reader With Several Chapters Completely Rewritten And A Great Deal Of New Material Added, Including A New Selection Of Images. -- Provided By Publisher. Dedication --foreword To The Third Edition -- Author's Preface --acknowledgements --list Of Plates --list Of Maps --list Of Figures --1. Approaching The Ancient World --2. The Birth Of Civilization: The Ancient Near East, 5000- 1200 Bc -- 3. Pyramids And Power, The Creation Of An Egyptian State, 3500-1985 Bc -- 4. Stability And Expansion, Egypt In The Middle And New Kingdoms, 1985- 1000 Bc Interlude 1: The Amarna Letters -- 5. Living In New Kingdom Egypt --6. The Ancient Near East, 1200- 500 Bc --7. 'the Sea Between The Lands', The Mediterranean As The Cradle Of The Classical World --8. Civilizations Of The Bronze Age Aegean, 2000 -1100 Bc -- 9. The Birth Of A New Greece 1100 - 700 Bc -- 10. 'travelling Heroes', The Greeks In A Wider World, 800-600 Bc -- Interlude 2: Sappho And Lyric Poetry -- 11. Hoplites And Tyrants: The Emergence Of The City State --12. Craftsmanship And Creativity In Archaic Greece -- 13. The Persian Wars -- 14. The Greek Way Of Life -- 15. Experiencing The Supernatural: The Spiritual World Of The Greeks -- Interlude 3: 'after This All Becomes Possible.' Creating Classical Art, 500 - 460 Bc -- 16. Democracy And Empire, Athens In The Fifth Century -- 17. Rethinking The World: From Aeschylus To Aristotle -- Interlude 4: Rhetoric -- 18. The Struggle For Power, 431- 338 Bc -- 19. Alexander The Great And The Transformation Of The Greek World -- 20. Tensions And Creativity: The Hellenistic World, 323 -30 Bc -- Interlude 5: Celts And Parthians -- 21. The Etruscans And Early Rome -- 22. Rome Becomes A Mediterranean Power -- 23. Rome, A Republic Under Stress -- Interlude 6: Voices From The Republic -- 24. The Failure Of Republican Politics -- Interlude 7: Women In The Roman Republic -- 25. Augustus And The Founding Of Empire -- 26. Consolidating The Roman Empire, Ad 14-161 --interlude 8: The Sebasteion At Aphrodisias --27. Running And Defending An Empire -- 28. Social And Economic Life In The Empire -- Interlude 9: The Romans As Builders -- 29. The Flourishing Of Greek Culture -- 30. An Empire In Crisis, Ad 161-313 -- 31. The Early Christian Communities, Ad 33-313 -- 32. Constantine And His Successors -- 33. The Christian Emperor -- 34. The Collapse Of The Classical West, 395-600 -- 35. The Emergence Of The Byzantine Empire -- 36. Legacies -- What To Read Next -- Date Chart --list Of Events --index Charles Freeman. Previous Edition: 2004. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Egypt, Greece, and Rome is regarded as one of the best general histories of the ancient world. It is written for the general reader and the student coming to the subject for the first time and provides a reliable and highly accessible point of entry to the period. Beignning with the early Middle Eastern civilizations of Sumer, and continuing right through to the Islmic invasions and the birth of modern Europe after the collapse of the Roman empire, the book ranges beyond political history to cover art and architecture, philosophy, literature, society, and economy. A wide range of maps, illustrations, and photographs complements the text. This third edition has been extensively revised to appeal to the general reader with several chapters completely rewritten and a great deal of new material added, including a new selection of images. Regarded as one of the best general histories of the ancient world, it is written for the general reader and the student coming to the subject for the first time and provides a reliable and highly accessible point of entry to the period. The 3rd edition has been extensively revised with several chapters rewritten and a wealth of new material added.