INTRODUCTION On History 1
Ⅰ The Earliest Known Civilizations 5
Ⅱ The Near East in the Second and First Millennium B．C 15
Ⅲ Greece Before 500 B．C 30
Ⅳ Greece in the Fifth Century 45
Ⅴ The End of Greek Liberty(404-336 B．C．) 59
Ⅵ The Hellenistic Age 67
Ⅶ The Rise of Rome 76
Ⅷ The Flourishing of the Roman Republic 89
Ⅸ The Establishment of the Empire 103
Ⅹ Imperial Rome 117
Ⅺ The End of the Ancient World 134
Ⅻ Barbarians，Christians，and Moslems(375-741) 142
ⅩⅢ The Early Feudal Age(741-1000) 156
ⅩⅣ Beginning of a New Millennium(Eleventh Century) 174
ⅩⅤ Flourishing of the Middle Ages(Twelfth Century) 189
ⅩⅥ The＂Greatest of Centuries＂(Thirteenth Century) 206
ⅩⅦ The Eve of the Renaissance(1275-1350) 229
ⅩⅧ The Early Renaissance(1350-1453) 246
ⅩⅨ On the Threshold of the Modern Age(1453-1492) 266
EXAMINATIONS 275
SOME MEMORABLE RULERS，STATESMEN，SCHOLARS AND ARTISTS 282
SOME MEMORABLE CHURCHMEN，SCHOLARS AND ARTISTS 284
SOME MEMORABLE RULERS 286
CHRONOLOGY 289
BIBLIOGRAPHY 305
INDEX 313