The Foundations of Western Civilization

From the late stages of the Agricultural Revolution to the doorstep of the Scientific Revolution, this course covers western history from roughly 3000 B.C. to A.D. 1600, when the "foundations" of the modern West come into view. Beginning in the ancient Near East, moving to Greece and Rome, the course explores the shape and impact of large ancient empires, including those of Persia and Alexander the Great. It then considers Western Europe as it expands physically and culturally, and initiates the globalization of Western civilization with the Portuguese and Spanish voyages of exploration and discovery.