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English
Description
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...
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 16
Language
English
Description
Mycenaean Greece flourished between the late 15th and early 14th centuries B.C., but by around 1180 B.C., it collapsed, probably from the inside. How did this happen? Was it the civilization's heroic culture, or the Trojan War? Either way, the empire's collapse signaled the end of Bronze Age Greece.
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Series
Great Courses volume 5
Language
English
Description
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.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 4
Language
English
Description
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.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 7
Language
English
Description
Hatti, the Hittite kingdom, was the first Near Eastern empire that expanded beyond the river valleys of the Nile and Mesopotamia. Explore the kingdom's origins in early 2nd millennium B.C. Anatolia and study the dynastic crises that threatened its stability.
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Series
Great Courses volume 24
Language
English
Description
After a lengthy period of subjugation under the Assyrians, in the late 7th and early 6th centuries Mesopotamia rose again in the form of the Chaldean, or Neo-Babylonian, Empire. Piece together the empire's story - as well as its vibrant cultural and economic life - using insightful archival and archaeological evidence.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 15
Language
English
Description
Legend and modern archaeological fact agree that the most important kingdom in Bronze Age Greece was Mycenae, which rose to power around 1600 B.C. Here, learn how the excavation of two key sites revealed insights into Mycenaean dynasties; then, explore the culture's decentralized government and its warlike nature.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 8
Language
English
Description
In this lecture, focus on the elements of Hittite government, paying particular attention to the central role played by the Great King (the "Labarna") - especially in judicial matters. Hatti, you learn, possessed an intricate imperial system that blended hierarchy, bureaucracy, and feudalism.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 35
Language
English
Description
Even though he was a masterful leader, Hannibal's military strategies during the Second Punic War were not enough to stave off Carthage's eventual defeat by Roman forces. Explore the final two phases of the Punic Wars, which ended with the total destruction of Carthage and the triumph of the Rome.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 25
Language
English
Description
Turn now to a riveting examination of the greatest empire in the ancient Near East: the Persian Empire. Created during the reign of Cyrus the Great (559 - 530 B.C.), the empire was a multiethnic, multicultural, and multilingual realm that established a successful model for ruling diversity.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 11
Language
English
Description
In the first of three lectures on ancient Egypt, chart the important role of geography in the empire's rise and delve into the historical resources that help scholars understand Dynasty 18 - the greatest dynasty in Egypt's history. Then, see how Thutmose III's reign ushered in the golden age of Egyptian imperial power.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 2
Language
English
Description
Tour the geography of the ancient Near East, which played a decisive role in the region's fascinating empires. Then, look at the kinds of archaeological and documentary evidence - such as the discoveries from excavations of ancient sites and from historical writings - that help us better understand this period.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 32
Language
English
Description
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.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 12
Language
English
Description
Unpack the intricacies of New Kingdom Egypt's administrative and military systems. Egypt's government under the New Kingdom was more tightly centralized than at any other point in the country's history, while its army played a critical role in both imperial expansion and defense.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 27
Language
English
Description
Follow the second phase of Persia's war against Greece, this time under the reign of King Xerxes. Professor Dise guides you through the details of three key battles: the Spartans' last stand at Thermopylae, the chaotic sea battle at Artemisium, and the Greek victory at Salamis, which crippled Persian morale.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 21
Language
English
Description
Here, explore the details of Assyria's highly centralized government - the most comprehensive apparatus of imperial administration that the Near East had seen up to this point. In addition, examine the real reasons behind the Assyrians' infamous brutality toward their enemies and their policy of deporting conquered populations.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 13
Language
English
Description
How did the massive Egyptian Empire disintegrate and disappear? Professor Dise looks at the final two dynasties of New Kingdom Egypt, focusing on the series of clashes between Egypt and Hatti and attacks from the Libyans and the Sea Peoples.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 33
Language
English
Description
Examine how Carthage administered its empire - through both a monarchy and a government composed of the magistrates, the council, and the people - and defended it with a mercenary army and a citizen navy. Both the Carthaginian government and military, you learn, reflected the commercial nature of the empire.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 14
Language
English
Description
Meet the most obscure of all peoples in antiquity: the Minoans. Thriving on and around Crete for roughly 2,000 years, the Minoans are important for many reasons, including their influence on the emergence of Greek mainland civilization and their possible creation of the first sea-based empire, or thalassocracy.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 6
Language
English
Description
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.
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