TELEVISION

History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective

Series: Great Courses
4.5
(113)
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Episodes
48
Rating
TVPG
Year
2011
Language
English
Publisher
The Great Courses

About

While most of us never stop to think about it, ancient civilizations are with us in almost everything we do. The ancient world has influenced our customs, religious beliefs, laws, governments, architecture, and art. Examine the ancient world's greatest civilizations and how they affect our world today.

Related Subjects

Episodes

1 to 3 of 48

1. Cities, Civilizations, and Sources

30m

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Learn about the different kind of approach the course will take in its explorations of the ancient world and hear a story that perfectly illustrates the risks inherent in letting one's own cultural biases and limited perspective overly influence the interpretation of archaeological discoveries.

2. From Out of the Mesopotamian Mud

30m

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The course's first civilization reveals a theme that will appear again and again. Grasp the critical role of geography and resources in shaping not only Mesopotamia's method of subsistence, but also its religion, structures, empire, and means of leaving its written record.

3. Cultures of the Ancient Near East

30m

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The lack of geographical barriers made it difficult for even the most powerful cities to retain their power. See how a succession of empires rose and fell, leaving behind legacies ranging from the use of intimidation in warfare to seafaring, astrology, mathematics, and a systematic legal code.

4. Ancient Egypt- The Gift of the Nile

30m

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Your introduction to Egypt reveals a civilization irrevocably shaped by geography. You learn how the Nile's predictable annual flooding of its banks, though creating a fertile strip amounting to only 3% of Egypt, permitted civilization to thrive in what was otherwise an uninhabitable desert.

5. Pharaohs, Tombs, and Gods

30m

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Discover how Egyptian views of death and tombs changed with the kingdom's occupation by: and eventual expulsion of: the Hyksos, including an examination of how the stark differences between the Egyptian and Mesopotamian environments may have influenced their visions of the afterlife.

6. The Lost Civilization of the Indus Valley

30m

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Your exploration of a once-lost civilization introduces a key theme of the course: the enormous problems faced by modern historians and archaeologists in interpreting an ancient civilization through physical evidence alone, with no written documents to bring that evidence to life.

Extended Details

  • Closed CaptionsEnglish