INTRODUCTION . 9 THE PREHISTORIC WORLD: 7,000,000-10,000bc Human Origins 7,000,000-2,000,000bc. 11 Peopling the Earth 2,000,000-40,000bc. 13 Human Development 40,000-8000bc. 16 THE ANCIENT WORLD: 10,000-500bc From Hunting to Farming 8000-3000bc. 19 Early Farming Communities 8000-2000bc. 22 The Dawn of Civilization 4500-2000bc. 24 Early Cultures of the Middle East 9000-4300bc.
27 Sumer 4300-2334bc. 30 The First Empires of Mesopotamia 2334-1595bc. 32 Kingdoms and Empires of Mesopotamia 1595-1000bc. 35 The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires 1000-539bc. 37 The Hebrews 1200-539bc. 41 The Achaemenid Empire 559-480bc. 43 Early Egyptian Civilization 6000-2040bc. 46 Middle Kingdom Egypt 2040-1532bc.
50 New Kingdom and Late Period Egypt 1532-332bc. 52 The Indus Valley Civilization 3300-1700bc. 55 Vedic Period India 1700-500bc. 57 The First Civilizations in East Asia 6000-221bc. 60 Peoples of Central Asia 6000-400bc. 62 Neolithic and Bronze Age Europe 6500-500bc. 66 The Rise of Aegean Civilization 3000-1100bc. 68 The Rise of Greece 1100-480bc.
71 Phoenicians and Carthaginians 900-480bc. 73 Peoples of the Americas 4000-200bc. 76 Peoples of Africa 7000-500bc. 79 THE CLASSICAL WORLD: 500bc-ad500 Classical Greece 500-435bc. 83 Greece and Macedon 435-336bc. 86 Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World 336-30bc. 89 Parthian and Sasanian Persia 238bc-AD636. 92 The Etruscans and the Rise of Rome 800-290bc.
95 The Later Roman Republic 290-27bc. 98 The Roman Empire 27bc-ad300. 101 The Fall of the Western Roman Empire ad300-476. 104 The Celts 500bc-ad500. 107 Germans and Steppe Peoples 400bc-ad500. 110 The Early Byzantine Empire ad480-629. 113 Mauryan India 500bc-ad50. 116 Kushan and Gupta India ad50-550.
118 The Han Empire 221bc-ad220. 121 China and Japan ad220-589. 124 South-east Asia and the Pacific 300bc-ad500. 127 The Maya 200bc-ad900. 131 Mexico and South America 200bc-ad700. 133 Africa 500bc-ad500. 136 Advances in Technology 500bc-ad600. 138 Religions of the East 600bc-ad500.
141 Religions of the West 500bc-ad500. 144 THE MEDIEVAL WORLD: 500-1500 The Carolingian Empire 600-814. 147 Europe in the Age of the Vikings 793-1100. 150 The Holy Roman Empire 962-1806. 153 Christendom 500-1300. 156 Feudal Europe 1000-1300. 159 War and Plague in Medieval Europe 1000-1400. 161 The Rise of Europe''s Towns and Cities 1000-1500.
165 The Birth and Spread of Islam 622-750. 167 The Abbasid Empire 750-1037. 170 The Byzantine Empire 629-1453. 173 Turkish Empires 1037-1453. 175 The Crusades 1095-1291. 179 Renaissance Europe 1400-1500. 182 Africa 500-1500. 185 India 550-1500.
188 Sui and Tang China 589-907. 192 Song China 907-1279. 194 The Mongol Empire 1204-1405. 197 Japan and Korea 600-1500. 201 South-east Asia 500-1500. 203 North America and the Pacific 500-1500. 206 Toltecs and Aztecs 800-1520. 208 South America and the Incas 1000-1533.
210 World Religions 500-1500. 215 THE EARLY MODERN WORLD: 1500-1783 Dawn of a New Era 1494-1559. 218 The Age of European Exploration 1415-1600. 221 The Reformation in Europe 1517-1618. 224 Europe in the Time of the Thirty Years'' War 1618-1648 . 227