The audiobook contains the course lectures; the PDF is the course guide / summary.

The ancient world has cast a long shadow, influencing our customs and religious beliefs, our laws, and the form of our governments. It has taught us when and how we make war or pursue peace. It has shaped the buildings we live and work in and the art we hang on our walls. It has given us the calendar that organizes our year and has left its mark on the games we play.

Grasping the full scope of your bequest from the ancient world can't help but give you a more nuanced base from which to make decisions and choose pathways in your own life. These 48 lectures take you on a multidisciplinary journey that ranges across not only the traditional domains of politics and war that are normally the province of history courses, but also those of religion, philosophy, architecture and the visual arts, literature, and science, and more.

You'll examine the ancient world's greatest civilizations from the Mediterranean, Asia, and the Americas - including those of Rome, Greece, China, Persia, India, and the Maya - not in isolation but in the full context of where they came from, the cultures that flourished around them at the same time, and the civilizations that were to come from them. Taking a comparative approach, Professor Aldrete's course includes in-depth analyses of not only key individuals and historical moments, but also history's most important themes, from the nature of rulership and the evolution of religion and philosophy to the practice of warfare and the expression of power through art and architecture.

With its mix of nuanced interpretation, vivid description, and constant attention to exploring history as a coherent whole, this is sure to be one of the most informative and thought-provoking history courses you have ever taken.

Contents:

1. Cities, Civilizations, and Sources
2. From Out of the Mesopotamian Mud
3. Cultures of the Ancient Near East
4. Ancient Egypt—The Gift of the Nile
5. Pharaohs, Tombs, and Gods
6. The Lost Civilization of the Indus Valley
7. The Vedic Age of Ancient India
8. Mystery Cultures of Ancient Greece
9. Homer and Indian Poetry
10. Athens and Experiments in Democracy
11. Hoplite Warfare and Sparta
12. Civilization Dawns in China—Shang and Zhou
13. Confucius and the Greek Philosophers
14. Mystics, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians
15. Persians and Greeks
16. Greek Art and Architecture
17. Greek Tragedy and the Sophists
18. The Peloponnesian War and the Trial of Socrates
19. Philip of Macedon—Architect of Empire
20. Alexander the Great Goes East
21. Unifiers of India—Chandragupta and Asoka
22. Shi Huangdi—First Emperor of China
23. Earliest Historians of Greece and China
24. The Hellenistic World
25. The Great Empire of the Han Dynasty
26. People of the Toga—Etruscans, Early Rome
27. The Crucible—Punic Wars, Roman Imperialism
28. The Death of the Roman Republic
29. Augustus—Creator of the Roman Empire
30. Roman Emperors—Good, Bad, and Crazy
31. Han and Roman Empires Compared—Geography
32. Han and Roman Empires Compared—Government
33. Han and Roman Empires Compared—Problems
34. Early Americas—Resources and Olmecs
35. Pots and Pyramids—Moche and Teotihuacán
36. Blood and Corn—Mayan Civilization
37. Hunter-Gatherers and Polynesians
38. The Art and Architecture of Power
39. Comparative Armies—Rome, China, Maya
40. Later Roman Empire—Crisis and Christianity
41. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire?
42. The Byzantine Empire and the Legacy of Rome
43. China from Chaos to Order under the Tang
44. The Golden Age of Tang Culture
45. The Rise and Flourishing of Islam
46. Holy Men and Women—Monasticism and Saints
47. Charlemagne—Father of Europe
48. Endings, Beginnings, What Does It All Mean?