(12 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture)The ancient civilizations of the Near East can seem remote. For many of us, places such as Mesopotamia or the Indus valley ... or the Hittite or Assyrian peoples ... or rulers such as Sargon, Hammurabi, and Darius ... are part of a long-dead antiquity, so shrouded with dust that we might be tempted to skip over them entirely, preferring to race forward along history's timeline in search of the riches we know will be found in our studies of Greece and Rome.

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A History of the Middle Ages is the amazing story of European man in transition. It is a dramatic chronicle of 1,000 years of political, social, and economic transformation beginning with the dissolution of the classical Mediterranean civilization and ending with the first flowering of the Renaissance. It is also the story of two new religions, Christianity and Islam, both of which were destined to dominate the mind of every person in those new civilizations arising in their wake. This was the great Age of Faith, a time of darkness and a time of enlightenment...a time of lords and vassals, popes and kings, and commerce and cathedrals.

There are few people in the Western world who know nothing of the Great Pyramids of Giza & the treasures of Tutankhamon's tomb, but, for most, that is the full scope of their knowledge of Egyptian art. It is extraordinary how little general awareness there is of the fantastic wealth of this best-preserved art of all the ancient civilizations, so overshadowed has it been by the later and--for the West--more influential achievements of Greece and Rome.

Long sources of mystery, imagination, and inspiration, the myths and history of the ancient Mediterranean have given rise to artistic, religious, cultural, and intellectual traditions that span the centuries. In this unique and comprehensive introduction to the region's three major civilizations, Egypt, Greece, and Rome draws a fascinating picture of the deep links between the cultures across the Mediterranean and explores the ways in which these civilizations continue to be influential to this day.

Holt World History Ancient Civilizations: California Social Studies. Provides Students with: A Review of each specific grade level standard. Opportunities to apply what they have learned. Sample test questions using the California Test format.