Traditions and Encounters

List of Maps Preface A Brief Note on Usage Acknowledgements Part I The Early Complex Societies, 3500 to 500 B.C.E. Chapter 1: BEFORE HISTORY The Evolution of Homo Sapiens The Hominids/Homo Sapiens Paleolithic Society Economy and Society of Hunting and Gathering Peoples/Paleolithic Culture The Neolithic Era and the Transition to Agriculture The Origins of Agriculture/Early Agriculture Society/Neolithic Culture/The Origins of Urban Life Chapter 2: EARLY SOCIETIES IN SOUTHWEST ASIA AND THE INDO-EUROPEAN MIGRATIONS The Quest for Order Mesopotamia: "The Land Between the Rivers"/The Course of Empire/The Later Mesopotamian Empires The Formation of a Complex Society and Sophisticated Cultural Traditions Economic Specialization and Trade/The Emergence of a Stratified Patriarchal Society/The Development of Written Cultural Traditions The Broader Influence of Mesopotamian Society Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews/The Phoenicians The Indo-European Migrations Indo-European Origins/Indo-European Expansion and Its Effects Chapter 3: EARLY AFRICAN SOCIETIES AND THE BANTU MIGRATIONS Early Agricultural Society in Africa Climatic Change and the Development of Agriculture in Africa/Egypt and Nubia: "Gifts of the Nile"/The Unification of Egypt/Turmoil and Empire The Formation of Complex Societies and Sophisticated Cultural Traditions The Emergence of Cities and Stratified Societies/Economic Specialization and Trade/Early Writing in the Nile Valley/The Development of Organized Religious Traditions Bantu Migrations and Early Agricultural Societies of Sub-Saharan Africa The Dynamics of Bantu Expansion/Early Agricultural Societies of Sub-Saharan Africa Chapter 4: EARLY SOCIETIES IN SOUTH ASIA Harrapan Society Foundations of Harappan Society/Harappan Society and Culture The Indo-European Migrations and Early Aryan India The Aryans and India/Origins of the Caste System/The Development of Patriarchal Society Religion in the Vedic Age Aryan Religion/The Blending of Aryan and Dravidian Values Chapter 5: EARLY SOCIETY IN EAST ASIA Political Organization in Early China Early Agricultural Society and the Xia Dynasty/The Shang Dynasty/The Zhou Dynasty Society and Family in Ancient China The Social Order/Family and Patriarchy Early Chinese Writing and Cultural Development Oracle Bones and Early Chinese Writing/Thought and Literature in Ancient China Ancient China and the Larger World Chinese Cultivators and Nomadic Peoples of Central Asia/The Southern Expansion of Chinese Society Chapter 6: EARLY SOCIETIES IN THE AMERICAS AND OCEANIA Early Societies in Mesoamerica The Olmecs/Heirs of the Olmecs: The Maya/Maya Society and Religion/Heirs of the Olmecs: Teoihuacan Early Societies of South America Early Andean Society and the Chavin Cult/Early Andean States: Mochica Early Societies of Oceania Early Societies in Australia and New Guinea/The Peopling of the Pacific Islands PART II: THE FORMATION OF CLASSICAL SOCIETIES, 500 B.C.E. TO 500 C.E. Chapter 7: THE EMPIRES OF PERSIA The Rise and Fall of the Persian Empires The Achaemenid Empire/Decline and Fall of the Achaemenid Empire/The Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanid Empires Imperial Society and Economy Social Development in Classical Persia/Economic Foundations of Classical Persia Religions of Salvation in Classical Persian Society Zarathustra and His Faith/Religions of Salvation in a Cosmopolitan Society Chapter 8: THE UNIFICATION OF CHINA In Search of Political and Social Order Confucius and His School/Daoism/Legalism The Unification of China The Qin Dynasty/The Early Han Dynasty From Economic Prosperity to Social Disorder Productivity and Prosperity during the Former Han/Economic and Social Difficulties/The Later Han Dynasty Chapter 9: STATE, SOCIETY, AND THE QUEST FOR SALVATION IN INDIA The Fortunes of Empire in Classical India The Mauryan Dynasty and the Temporary Unification of India/The Emergence of Regional Kingdoms and the Revival of Empire Economic Development and Social Distinctions Towns and Trade/Family Life and the Caste System Religions of Salvation in Classical India Jainism and the Challenge to the Established Cultural Order/Early Buddhism/Mahayana Buddhism/The Emergence of Popular Hinduism Chapter 10: MEDITERRANEAN SOCIETY: THE GREEK PHASE Early Development of Greek Society Minoan and Mycenaean Societies/The World of the Polis Greece and the Larger World Greek Colonization/Conflict with Persia and Its Results/The Macedonians and the Coming of Empire/The Hellenistic Empires The Fruits of Trade: Greek Economy and Society Trade and the Integration of the Mediterranean Basin/Family and Society The Cultural Life of Classical Greece Rational Thought and Philosophy/Popular Religion and Greek Drama/Hellenistic Philosophy and Religion Chapter 11: MEDITERRANEAN SOCIETY: THE ROMAN PHASE From Kingdom to Republic The Etruscans and Rome/The Roman Republic and Its Constitution/The Expansion of the Republic From Republic to Empire Imperial Expansion and Domestic Problems/The Foundation of Empire/Continuing Expansion and Integration of the Empire Economy and Society in the Roman Mediterranean Trade and Urbanization/Family and Society in Roman Times The Cosmopolitan Mediterranean Greek Philosophy and Religions of Salvation/Judaism and Early Christianity Chapter 12: CROSS-CULTURAL EXCHANGE ON THE SILK ROADS Long Distance Trade and the Silk Roads Network Trade Networks of the Hellenistic Era/The Silk Roads Cultural and Biological Exchanges Along the Silk Roads The Spread of Buddhism and Hinduism/The Spread of Christianity/The Spread of Manichaeism/The Spread of Epidemic Disease China After the Han Dynasty Internal Decay of the Han State/Cultural Change in Post-Han China The Fall of the Roman Empire Internal Decay in the Roman Empire/Germanic Invasions and the Fall of the Western Roman Empire/Cultural Change in the Late Roman Empire PART III: THE POST-CLASSICAL ERA, 500 TO 1000 C.E. Chapter 13: THE COMMONWEALTH OF BYZANTIUM The Early Byzantine Empire The Later Roman Empire and Byzantium/Justinian and His Legacy/Islamic Conquests and Byzantine Revival/Byzantium and Western Europe Byzantine Economy and Society Rural Economy and Society/Industry and Trade/Urban Life Classical Heritage and Orthodox Christianity The Legacy of Classical Greece/The Byzantine Church/Monasticism and Popular Piety/Tensions between Eastern and Western Christianity The Influence of Byzantium in Eastern Europe Domestic Problems and Foreign Pressures/Early Relations between Byzantium and Slavic Peoples/Byzantium and Russia Chapter 14: THE EXPANSIVE REALM OF ISLAM A Prophet and His World Muhammad and His Message/Muhammad's Migration to Medina/The Establishment of Islam in Arabia The Expansion of Islam The Early Caliphs and the Umayyad Dynasty/The Abbasid Dynasty Economy and Society of the Early Islamic World New Crops, Agricultural Experimentation, and Urban Growth/The Formation of a Hemispheric Trading Zone/The Changing Status of Women Islamic Values and Cultural Exchanges The Formation of an Islamic Cultural Tradition/Islam and the Cultural Traditions of Persia, India, and Greece Chapter 15: THE RESURGENCE OF EMPIRE IN EAST ASIA The Restoration of Centralized Imperial Rule in China The Sui Dynasty/The Tang Dynasty/The Song Dynasty The Economic Development of Tang and Song China Agricultural Development/Technological and Industrial Development/The Emergence of a Market Economy/The Establishment of Buddhism/Neo-Confucianism Chinese Influence in East Asia Korea and Vietnam/Early Japan/Medieval Japan Chapter 16: INDIA AND THE INDIAN OCEAN BASIN IslBentley, Jerry is the author of 'Traditions and Encounters', published 2002 under ISBN 9780072565010 and ISBN 0072565012.