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Geschichte Der Welt
Making Civilizations: The World Before 600
Distinguished historians of the ancient world analyze the earliest developments in human history and the rise of the first major civilizations, from the Middle East to India and China.
In this volume of the six-part History of the World series, Hans-Joachim Gehrke, a noted scholar of ancient Greece, leads a distinguished group of historians in analyzing prehistory, the earliest human settlements, and the rise of the world's first advanced civilizations.
The Neolithic period--sometimes called the Agrarian Revolution--marked a turning point in human history. People were no longer dependent entirely on hunting animals and gathering plants but instead cultivated crops and reared livestock. This led to a more settled existence, notably along rivers such as the Nile, Tigris, Euphrates, Ganges, and Yangzi. Increased mastery of metals, together with innovations in tools and technologies, led to economic specialization, from intricate crafts to deadlier weapons, which contributed to the growth of village communities as well as trade networks. Family was the fundamental social unit, its relationships and hierarchies modeled on the evolving relationship between ruler and ruled. Religion, whether polytheist or monotheist, played a central role in shaping civilizations from the Persians to the Israelites. The world was construed in terms of a divinely ordained order: the Chinese imperial title Huangdi expressed divinity and heavenly splendor, while Indian emperor Ashoka was heralded as the embodiment of moral law.
From the latest findings about the Neanderthals to the founding of imperial China to the world of Western classical antiquity, Making Civilizations offers an authoritative overview of humanity's earliest eras.
In this volume of the six-part History of the World series, Hans-Joachim Gehrke, a noted scholar of ancient Greece, leads a distinguished group of historians in analyzing prehistory, the earliest human settlements, and the rise of the world's first advanced civilizations.
The Neolithic period--sometimes called the Agrarian Revolution--marked a turning point in human history. People were no longer dependent entirely on hunting animals and gathering plants but instead cultivated crops and reared livestock. This led to a more settled existence, notably along rivers such as the Nile, Tigris, Euphrates, Ganges, and Yangzi. Increased mastery of metals, together with innovations in tools and technologies, led to economic specialization, from intricate crafts to deadlier weapons, which contributed to the growth of village communities as well as trade networks. Family was the fundamental social unit, its relationships and hierarchies modeled on the evolving relationship between ruler and ruled. Religion, whether polytheist or monotheist, played a central role in shaping civilizations from the Persians to the Israelites. The world was construed in terms of a divinely ordained order: the Chinese imperial title Huangdi expressed divinity and heavenly splendor, while Indian emperor Ashoka was heralded as the embodiment of moral law.
From the latest findings about the Neanderthals to the founding of imperial China to the world of Western classical antiquity, Making Civilizations offers an authoritative overview of humanity's earliest eras.
- GenresHistory
1120 pages, Hardcover
Published June 9, 2020
13 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Akira Iriye
82 books14 followersAkira Iriye is an historian of American diplomatic history especially United States-East Asian relations, and international issues. A graduate of Haverford College and Harvard University, he taught at the University of California at Santa Cruz, the University of Rochester, and the University of Chicago before accepting an appointment as Professor of History at Harvard University in 1989, where he became Charles Warren Professor of American History in 1991. He was Director of the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies from 1991 through 1995. He served as President of the American Historical Association in 1988, and has also served as president for the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 12, 2022
Ein Wahnsinnsprojekt, welches die Herausgeber hier stemmen. Die Weltgeschichte, erklärt in mehreren dicken Bänden, von herausragenden Historikern in langen Aufsätzen gebündelt zu jeweils einer Epoche. Dabei liegt der Augenmerk auf das Verbindende, auf die Austauschprozesse im Zeitablauf.
Der erste Band behandelt die frühen Zivilsationen. Alles was Sie über das alte Ägypten, Mesopotamien, dass antike Griechenland, das Römische Reich, China, Indien wissen müssen: hier wird es ausführlichst dargelegt. Manchmal sehr sachlich, sehr wissenschaftlich - aber für mich war das sehr ok, ich erwarte hier keine Belletristik.
Großartiger Einstieg in die globale Geschichtswissenschaft - ich plane alle Bände zu lesen. Es sind schon ein paar erschienen, aber der chronologisch nächste Band ab 600 erschient erst im März 23. Da warte ich noch ab.
Der erste Band behandelt die frühen Zivilsationen. Alles was Sie über das alte Ägypten, Mesopotamien, dass antike Griechenland, das Römische Reich, China, Indien wissen müssen: hier wird es ausführlichst dargelegt. Manchmal sehr sachlich, sehr wissenschaftlich - aber für mich war das sehr ok, ich erwarte hier keine Belletristik.
Großartiger Einstieg in die globale Geschichtswissenschaft - ich plane alle Bände zu lesen. Es sind schon ein paar erschienen, aber der chronologisch nächste Band ab 600 erschient erst im März 23. Da warte ich noch ab.
Displaying 1 of 1 review