Frank Carlson Library

Complete your knowledge of the ancient world with this comprehensive look at the dozen empires that flourished in the 2,000 years before the conquests of Alexander the Great. Over the course of 36 insightful lectures, you'll follow the Egyptians, the Mycenaean Greeks, the Persians, the Carthaginians, and others as they rise to glory, create administrative and military structures, clash with one another, and eventually collapse. Professor Dise immerses...

After Ur III, the subsequent power vacuum in Mesopotamia was filled by the famous king Hammurabi. See how he established the First Dynasty of Babylon and administered rule through a detailed code of law. Hammurabi was so entwined with the First Dynasty that, after his death, the empire swiftly collapsed.

Conclude your exploration of Hatti by studying its pinnacle of power from 1430 to 1200 B.C., the period known as the New Kingdom. In addition to investigating the key role played by the warrior-king Suppiluliumas, probe some possible reasons the empire suddenly collapsed, never to rise again.

How did Persia's wars with Greece end? Discover the answer in this lecture, which explains how the Battle of Plataea forced the Persian Empire to go on the defensive, endure a series of defeats, and ultimately reach a cessation of hostilities in 449 B.C. with the Peace of Callias.

What makes a true "empire"? How do empires rise and flourish? How do they decline and fall? Discover pointed answers to these and other fundamental questions about the study of empires in this engaging course overview.

In the late 22nd century B.C., the imperial dynasty of Ur III briefly rose to power in Sumeria. Professor Dise takes you inside the dynasty's founding under Ur-Nammu, its tyrannical taxation and economic systems, its imperial government and administrative structure under King Shulgi, and its disintegration after barely a century.

Perhaps the most epic conflict of the ancient world was the Punic Wars waged between Carthage and Rome. Discover how the first phase of conflict was born in Carthage's struggle for control of Sicily - first with the Greek city of Syracuse and then with the emerging Roman Republic.

The Neo-Assyrian Empire, which emerged at the end of the 10th century B.C., was characterized by a more aggressive spirit than before, something you discover in a close analysis of its rulers, their frequent military campaigns, and the subsequent Great Rebellion that brought about nearly 80 years of chaos.

Sort through the mysterious histories of two Mesopotamian empires that emerged after the First Dynasty of Babylon. The Mitanni of northern Mesopotamia lived in a decentralized state similar to a feudal society, while the Kassites in the south brought about a series of important social and economic changes.

After the end of the Persian Empire, the only Near Eastern state left was Carthage. Learn how this outpost in the western Mediterranean evolved into the greatest sea empire the world had ever seen - and would ever see - for the next 2,000 years.