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[[World History Lecture One|1]]-[[World History Lecture Two|2]]-[[World History Lecture Three|3]]-[[World History Lecture Four|4]]-[[World History Lecture Five|5]]-[[World History Lecture Six|6]]-[[World History Lecture Seven|7]]-[[World History Lecture Eight|8]]-[[World History Lecture Nine|9]]-[[World History Lecture Ten|10]]-[[World History Lecture Eleven|11]]-[[World History Lecture Twelve|12]]-[[World History Lecture Thirteen|13]]-[[World History Lecture Fourteen|14]]

[[World History Lecture One|1]]-[[World History Lecture Two|2]]-[[World History Lecture Three|3]]-[[World History Lecture Four|4]]-[[World History Lecture Five|5]]-[[World History Lecture Six|6]]-[[World History Lecture Seven|7]]-[[World History Lecture Eight|8]]-[[World History Lecture Nine|9]]-[[World History Lecture Ten|10]]-[[World History Lecture Eleven|11]]-[[World History Lecture Twelve|12]]-[[World History Lecture Thirteen|13]]-[[World History Lecture Fourteen|14]]

"World history" is the history of thought, ideas, culture, language, wars, governments, and economic systems throughout ''all'' of mankind.  That includes billions of people and thousands of years.  Every source is available to us, from the Bible to ancient and modern historians.  Everything mankind has ever written, invented, observed, conquered and destroyed is part of "World history."  For example, we will study how Carthage was built into a power, and how it was then forever destroyed by its enemies from Rome.

"World history" is the true story of thought, ideas, culture, language, wars, governments, and economic systems throughout ''all'' of mankind.  This includes billions of people over thousands of years.  Every source is available to us, from the Bible to ancient and modern historians.  Everything mankind has ever written, invented, observed, conquered and destroyed is part of "World history."  For example, we will study how Carthage was built into a power, and how it was then forever destroyed by its enemies from Rome.

Our course will place a special emphasis on aspects of World history that continue to be influential today, such as world religions and cultural conflicts.  We are the product of our past.  You can think about whether that is a good thing, or a bad thing.  Perhaps the answer depends on what we make of it.

Our course will place a special emphasis on aspects of World history that continue to be influential today, such as world religions and cultural conflicts; we will link what happened in ancient times to what is happening today.  We are the product of our past.  You can think about whether that is a good thing, or a bad thing.  Perhaps the answer depends on what we make of it.  We will make use of the Bible, which is greatest history book ever written.

American history concerns only about 400 years; World history concerns over 5000 years, going back to the first evidence of recorded events.  Our class covers much of the material in a course on Western Civilization or European history, but we cover more too.  We will learn about Islam and Hinduism and all the forces that continue to shape our world to this day.  One cannot fully understand 9/11, violence in the Middle East, or hostility between India and Pakistan without learning World history.  We will.

American history concerns only about 400 years; World history concerns over 5000 years, going back to the first evidence of recorded events.  Our class covers much of the material in a course on Western Civilization or European history, but we cover more too.  We will learn about Islam and Hinduism and all the forces that continue to shape our world to this day.  One cannot fully understand 9/11, violence in the Middle East, or hostility between India and Pakistan without learning World history.  We will.

I like to learn how mankind progressed in understanding the unseen, such as truth and gravity and God.  In mathematics, mankind progressed from the discovery of geometry ([[Greeks]]) to the concept of "zero" (Indians) to calculus (English).  In economics, mankind progressed from wage and price controls (Romans) to the "invisible hand" of the free market (English), which then unleashed tremendous prosperity.  Government progressed from rulers who claimed to be gods (Egyptians), to monarchs (Middle Ages), to constitutional republics (United States).  World history spans from pre-Christian to Christian.  What are we progressing towards now?  Use history to predict the future.

We will consider how mankind progressed in understanding the unseen, such as truth and gravity and God.  In mathematics, mankind progressed from the discovery of geometry ([[Greeks]]) to the concept of "zero" (Indians) to calculus (English).  In economics, mankind progressed from wage and price controls (Romans) to the "invisible hand" of the free market (English), which then unleashed tremendous prosperity.  Government progressed from rulers who claimed to be gods (Egyptians), to monarchs (Middle Ages), to constitutional republics (United States).  World history spans from pre-Christian to Christian.  What are we progressing towards now?  Use history to predict the future.

Do not be misled by thinking ancient peoples were dumb or boring because they lacked the technology of modern society.  The Egyptians, for example, cleverly built the massive pyramids using techniques that no one to this day can figure out or duplicate.  In 2600 B.C., they constructed the pyramid of Khufu containing 6 million tons of stone extending to a height of 481 feet.  The workmanship was superior to what we do today: the rock base was virtually perfectly flat, not varying in elevation by more than a half-inch; its orientation is precisely aligned with the points of a compass; its stones were perfect fits.  Inside was a chapel, a causeway, and a temple.  It amazes architects to this day.  We would not be able to duplicate it even now, and no one knows how they were able to do it 4600 years ago.  Many other cultures, from Mesopotamia to Greece to Rome to India to China, invented things and discovered knowledge that no one today is smart enough to duplicate.  Could you built a wheel, or bake bread from scratch?

Do not be misled by thinking ancient peoples were dumb or boring because they lacked the technology of modern society.  The Egyptians, for example, cleverly built the massive pyramids using techniques that no one to this day can figure out or duplicate.  In 2600 B.C., they constructed the pyramid of Khufu containing 6 million tons of stone extending to a height of 481 feet.  The workmanship was superior to what we do today: the rock base was virtually perfectly flat, not varying in elevation by more than a half-inch; its orientation is precisely aligned with the points of a compass; its stones were perfect fits.  Inside was a chapel, a causeway, and a temple.  It amazes architects to this day.  We would not be able to duplicate it even now, and no one knows how they were able to do it 4600 years ago.  Many other cultures, from Mesopotamia to Greece to Rome to India to China, invented things and discovered knowledge that no one today is smart enough to duplicate.  Could you built a wheel, or bake bread from scratch?

    

    

Finally, let me add a few words about terminology.  "B.C" means "Before (the birth of) Christ" and "A.D." means Anno Domini (Latin for "in the year of our Lord") or simply "After (the birth of) Christ."  The "1st century B.C." means the 1st century before Christ, counting backwards, which are the years 100-1 B.C.  The "6th century B.C." is thus 600-501 B.C.  The 20th century (A.D.) included the years A.D. 1901-2000.  Because A.D. means "in the year of our Lord," the truly proper form is to put the date after the A.D., as in A.D. 2006.  Dates are based on the birth of Christ.  That is a fact and it is wrong to erase Christ from the annotation, as school textbooks do with "BCE" for "Before the Common Era" and "CE" for "Common Era."  To convert, remember that BCE = B.C. and CE = A.D.

A word about terminology: "B.C" means "Before (the birth of) Christ" and "A.D." means Anno Domini (Latin for "in the year of our Lord") or simply "After (the birth of) Christ."  The "1st century B.C." means the 1st century before Christ, counting backwards, which are the years 100-1 B.C.  The "6th century B.C." is thus 600-501 B.C.  The 20th century (A.D.) included the years A.D. 1901-2000.  Because A.D. means "in the year of our Lord," the truly proper form is to put the date after the A.D., as in A.D. 2006.  Dates are based on the birth of Christ.  That is a fact and it is wrong to erase Christ from the annotation, as school textbooks do with "BCE" for "Before the Common Era" and "CE" for "Common Era."  To convert from a public school textbook, remember that BCE = B.C. and CE = A.D.

 

World history divides into four sections:  Ancient History (Creation-A.D. 500), the Middle Ages (A.D. 500-1500), the Pre-Modern Era (A.D. 1500-1900), and the Modern Era (A.D. 1900-Current).  The Renaissance (A.D. 1300-1600), including the Reformation, overlap with the Middle Ages and Pre-Modern Era.  Let us begin.

==Introduction to Ancient History==

==Introduction to Ancient History==

Ancient history, which is everything before about A.D. 600, created or discovered all the major religions today except Islam.  Ancient history created civilization and achieved many of the greatest intellectual breakthroughs of all time.  Literature, drama, mathematics, philosophy, language, etc., were all created in ancient history.

Ancient history is everything before about A.D. 500 or 600, and it established every major religions today except Islam, which was founded soon afterward.  Ancient history created civilization and achieved many of the greatest intellectual breakthroughs of all time.  Literature, drama, mathematics, philosophy, language, etc., were all created and developed during ancient history, which is why it is emphasized so much in education.

When did mankind first begin?  There is no reliable evidence of man existing before 3500 B.C.  The oldest writing is a pictographic tablet called a “cuneiform” dated to about 3400 B.C. from Sumer (SOO-mur) in Southern Mesopotamia (where Iraq is today).  These cuneiforms look like chicken-scratches featuring wedge-like or arrow-shaped characters.  The oldest western-style script is from the Indo-Aryan language, and one dated to 1550 B.C. was found in the Sinai.  The oldest verified civilization dates to about 3000 B.C.  We can also extrapolate backwards from modern populations to estimate that only about 300 million people existed in the world at the time of Christ, and extrapolating backwards further yields only one family in the year 3300 B.C.  Languages can be traced backwards to about 3000 B.C., and some experts reconstruct a point of origin in southeastern Europe near the Black Sea, not far from the Ararat mountain range cited in the Bible in connection with Noah.  Old trees never predate this time either; the oldest sequoias, which never die of old age, are only 4000 years old.

When did mankind first begin?  There is no reliable evidence of man existing before 3500 B.C.  The oldest writing is a pictographic tablet called a “cuneiform” dated to about 3400 B.C. from Sumer (SOO-mur) in Southern Mesopotamia (where Iraq is today).  These cuneiforms look like chicken-scratches featuring wedge-like or arrow-shaped characters.  The oldest western-style script is from the Indo-Aryan language, and one dated to 1550 B.C. was found in the Sinai.  The oldest verified civilization dates to about 3000 B.C.  We can also extrapolate backwards from modern populations to estimate that only about 300 million people existed in the world at the time of Christ, and extrapolating backwards further yields only one family in the year 3300 B.C.  Languages can be traced backwards to about 3000 B.C., and some experts reconstruct a point of origin in southeastern Europe near the Black Sea, not far from the Ararat mountain range cited in the Bible in connection with Noah.  Old trees never predate this time either; the oldest sequoias, which never die of old age, are only 4000 years old.