Chapter One The Ancient Near East：The Cradle of Civilisation(c.4000 B.C.-70 A.D.) 1
Section One Mesopotamian Civilisation(c.4000-539 B.C.) 2
Section Two Egyptian Civilisation(c.3100-c.332 B.C.) 7
Section Three Other Early Civilisations(c.3000-c.147 B.C.) 17
Section Four The Hebrew Civilization(c.2000 B.C.-c.70 A.D.) 20
Section Five The Assyrian Empire(c.1000-612 B.C.) 23
Section Six The Persian Empire(550-330 B.C.) 25
Chapter Review 27
Exercise 28
Voices on Key Points 29
Suggested Reading 30
Chapter Two Greek Civilisation(c.2000-30 B.C.) 31
Section One The Emergence of Greece(c.2000-1100 B.C.) 32
Section Two Dark Age and Homer's World(1100-750 B.C.) 36
Section Three Sparta and Athens：Greek City-States(750-500 B.C.) 40
Section Four Greece in Classical Period(c.500-330 B.C.) 44
Section Five The Hellenistic Era(330-30 B.C.) 52
Chapter Review 56
Exercise 57
Voices on Key Points 58
Suggested reading 58
Chapter Three Roman Civilisation(753 B.C.-476 A.D.) 60
Section One The Rise of Rome(753-509 B.C.) 61
Section Two The Roman Republic(509-30 B.C.) 64
Section Three The Eclipse of the Roman Republic(133-30 B.C.) 68
Section Four The Roman Empire(30 B.C.-476 A.D.) 73
Section Five Christianity in Rome(c.50 B.C.-313 A.D.) 78
Section Six The Roman Culture(753 B.C.-476 A.D.) 80
Chapter Review 85
Exercise 85
Voices on Key Points 87
Suggested Reading 87
Chapter Four Medieval Civilisation(476-c.1500) 88
Section One The Emergence of the Medieval Civilisation(476-c.750) 89
Section Two The Development of the Early Middle Ages(c.750-c.1000) 102
Section Three Significant Changes of the High Middle Ages(c.1001-c.1300) 109
Section Four The Decline of the Middle Ages(c.1300-c.1500) 117
Chapter Review 122
Exercise 123
Voices on Key Points 124
Suggested Reading 124
Chapter Five The Age of the Renaissance(14th-17th Century) 125
Section One The Rise of the Renaissance(14th-15th Century) 126
Section Two Arts and Literature in the Italian Renaissance(Mid-1400s-Late 1500s) 130
Section Three The Pattern of Politics in the Renaissance(1494-Early 1600s) 135
Section Four The Natural Science in the Renaissance(15th-17th Century) 138
Chapter Review 140
Exercise 141
Voices on Key Points 142
Suggested Reading 143
Chapter Six Protestant Reformation(1517-Late 16th Century) 144
Section One The Launch of the Reformation(Second Half of the 15th Century-1516) 145
Section Two German Protestant Reformation(1517-Early 16th Century) 147
Section Three Reformation outside Germany(1520s-Late 16th Century) 149
Section Four The Counter-Reformation(Mid-16th Century) 156
Chapter Review 158
Exercise 159
Voices on Kev Points 160
Suggested Reading 161
Chapter Seven Early Modern Times(c.1419-1800) 162
Section One Expansion of European Powers(c.1419-1800) 163
Section Two Social Disturbance(Early 17th-Early 18th Century)and the Age of Absolutism(c.1550-1800) 171
Section Three The Scientific Revolution(1543-1700)and the Enlightenment(c.1650-1800) 180
Section Four The Last Phase of the Old Order(1715-1789) 188
Chapter Review 194
Exercise 195
Voices on Key Points 196
Suggested Reading 197
Chapter Eight The Age of the Revolution and Industrialisation(1775-1860) 198
Section One The Revolutionary Era(1775-1815) 199
Section Two The Era of the First Industrial Revolution(1750-1860) 207
Chapter Review 215
Exercise 215
Voices on Kev Points 217
Suggested Reading 217
Chapter Nine Modernity in Europe(1815-1914) 218
Section One Suppression,Revolution，and Romanticism(1815-1850) 219
Section Two Nationalism and Realism(1850-1871) 227
Section Three The Age of Progress (1871-1894) 235
Section Four Anxiety and Tension(1894-1914) 242
Chapter Review 251
Exercise 252
Voices on Key Points 253
Suggested Reading 254
Chapter Ten World Wars and Post-war Era(1914-2000) 255
Section One Wars and Revolutions(1914-1945) 256
Section Two The Cold War and the New Era of the Western World(1945-2000) 264
Chapter Review 277
Exercise 277
Voices on Key Points 279
Suggested Reading 279
Culture Link 280
Proper Names 293
Key to Exercise 319
Bibliography 358