History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome

A sweeping, historical overview of the ancient world links historical events from Europe and the Middle East to the coast of China, offering an in-depth geography of how the events occurred, detailed timelines, an analysis of cultural interconnections, profiles of key figures, and a study of literary, artistic, cultural, political, economic, and social institutions.
The first volume in a new series that tells the stories of all peoples, connecting historical events from Europe to the Middle East to the far coast of China, while still giving weight to the characteristics of each country. Historian Bauer provides both sweeping scope and attention to the individual lives that give flesh to abstract assertions about human history. Dozens of maps provide a geography of great events, while timelines give the reader an ongoing sense of the passage of years and cultural interconnection. This narrative history employs the methods of "history from beneath"--literature, epic traditions, private letters and accounts--to connect kings and leaders with the lives of those they ruled. The result is a tapestry of human behavior fromwhich we may draw conclusions about the direction of world events and the causes behind them.--From publisher description.An overview of the ancient world offers detailed timelines, an analysis of cultural interconnections, profiles of key figures, and a study of literary, artistic, cultural, political, economic, and social institutions.

A lively and engaging narrative history showing the common threads in the cultures that gave birth to our own.