World History For Dummies

Now updated! Your personal tour guide to the history of the world Want to know more about global history? This concise guide explains in clear detail all the major players and events that have made the world what it is today. Covering the entirety of human history, this comprehensive resource highlights important developments in everything from religion and science to art and war — giving you an understanding of how the 21st-century world came to be. Begin to connect with the past — label the eras as you meet the Neanderthals, home in on Homer, raise Atlantis, and preserve Pharaohs Find strength in numbers — trace the growth from ancient civilizations to today's global community and discover what makes societies succeed or fail Discover the impact of thought — explore the rise of religion, the roots of philosophy, and the advance of science — and how our feelings and beliefs continually redefined us Know the global consequences of war — ride with the Greeks and the Romans, arm yourself with the cavalry, dig the trenches, and follow the paths humans took to wage modern war Meet the movers and shakers — from great leaders and courageous revolutionaries to ruthless tyrants and unsung heroes Examine significant events of the 21st century — from 9/11 and the Afghanistan and Iraq wars to climate change, Hurricane Katrina, and the economic rise of China, India, and Brazil Open the book and find: A detailed overview of history The development of the world's religions Reviews of essential historical documents, from the Bible to the Bill of Rights The invention of writing and art Scientific developments that revolutionized the world Capsule biographies of people who changed history — and a few who were changed by it Ten unforgettable dates in world history

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book 2 What do I mean by “history”? 2 Positively post-historic 2 Making sense of AD, BC, CE, and BCE 3 Pardon my French, I mean Latin 4 Perceiving and avoiding biases 4 What You’re Not to Read 5 Foolish Assumptions 5 How This Book is Organized 6 Part I: Getting into History 6 Part II: Finding Strength in Numbers 6 Part III: Seeking Answers 7 Part IV: Fighting, Fighting, Fighting 7 Part V: Meeting the Movers and Shakers 7 Part VI: The Part of Tens 7 Icons Used in this Book 7 Where to Go from Here 8 Part I: Getting into History 9 Chapter 1: Tracing a Path to the Present 11 Firing Up the WABAC Machine 12 From Footpath to Freeway: Humanity Built on Humble Beginnings 13 War! What is It Good For? Material for History Books, That’s What 15 Appreciating History’s Tapestry 16 Threading backward 17 Crossing threads 18 Weaving home 18 Making the Connections 19 Tracking the Centuries 21 Chapter 2: Digging Up Reality 23 Homing In on Homer 23 The Troy story 24 Inspired archaeological finds 24 Raising Atlantis 25 Reading the Body Language of the Dead 26 Frozen in the Alps 26 Salted away in Asia 27 Bogged down in northern Europe 28 Dried and well preserved in the Andes 28 Preserved pharaohs in Egypt 28 Tracking the Centuries 29 Chapter 3: Putting History into Perspective 31 Being Human Beings 32 Nearing the Neanderthal 33 Talking point 33 Dividing Time into Eras and Giving Them Names 34 Sorting ancient from modern 35 Classical schmassical 35 Bowing to the queens 36 The Noteworthy and the Notorious Are Often the Same 37 A study in contradictions 37 It depends on the way you look at them 38 Verifying virtue 39 Tracking the Centuries 39 Part II: Finding Strength in Numbers 41 Chapter 4: Getting Civilized 43 Building Jericho’s Walls for Mutual Defense 44 Planting Cities along Rivers 44 Settling between the Tigris and Euphrates 45 Getting agricultural in Africa 45 Assembling Egypt 46 Going up the river into Kush 47 Giving way as new civilizations rise 47 Heading east to the Indus and Yellow Rivers 49 Coming of Age in the Americas 51 Keeping Records on the Way to Writing and Reading 51 Planning pyramids 51 Laying down laws and love songs 52 Shaping the World Ever After 53 Building the Persian Empire 53 Growing toward Greekness 53 Making Alexander great 55 Rounding Out the World 58 Tracking the Centuries 58 Chapter 5: The Rise and Fall of Many Empires 61 Rome’s Rise and Demise 61 Forming the Roman Republic 62 Earning citizenship 62 Expanding the empire 63 Crossing the Rubicon 64 Empowering the emperor 66 Roaming eastward 66 Western empire fades into history 68 Rome and the Roman Catholic Church 68 Building Empires around the World 70 Ruling Persia and Parthia 70 India’s empires 71 Uniting China: Seven into Qin 72 Flourishing civilizations in the Americas 74 Rounding Out the Rest of the World 75 Tracking the Centuries 76 Chapter 6: History’s Mid-Life Crisis: The Middle Ages 77 Building (And Maintaining) the Byzantine Empire 78 Sharing and Imposing Culture 79 Bearing with barbarians 79 Traversing Africa with the Bantu 81 Sailing and settling with the Vikings 81 Traveling the Silk Road 84 Planting the Seeds of European Nations 84 Repelling the raiders 84 Uniting Western Europe: Charlemagne pulls it together 85 Keeping fledgling nations together 86 Emerging Islamic Fervor 87 Rebounding Guptas in India 88 Rounding Out the World 89 Tracking the Centuries 90 Chapter 7: The Struggle for World Domination 93 Extending the Arab Empire and Spreading Islam 94 Taking education and literacy to new heights 94 Making advances in science and technology 94 Mastering the Indian Ocean 95 Assembling and disassembling an empire 96 Excelling in East Asia 97 Innovating the Chinese way 97 Traveling the Silk Road for trade and cultural exchange 98 Sailing away for a spell 99 Europe Develops a Taste for Eastern Goods 100 Orienting Venice 101 Ottomans control trade routes between Europe and the East 102 Mounting the Crusades 103 Meeting the main players 103 Looking at the misguided zeal of specifi c Crusades 104 Setting a precedent for conquest 105 Growing Trade between East and West 106 Surviving the Black Death 107 Killing relentlessly 108 Doing the math: Fewer folks, more wealth 108 Seeking a Way East and Finding Things to the West 109 Meeting the Americans who met Columbus 109 Some celebrate discovery, others rue it 110 Training and experience shaped Columbus 110 Stumbling upon the West Indies 111 Tracking the Centuries 112 Chapter 8: Grabbing the Globe 113 Sailing South to Get East 114 Getting a foothold in Indian trade 114 Demanding respect 115 “Discovering” America 116 How the Aztecs rose and fell 117 Incas grasp greatness and then fall to the Spanish 118 Circling the Planet 120 Ottomans ascend among Eastern empires 120 Founding East India companies 122 Closing the door to Japan 123 Playing by British East India Company rules 124 China goes from Ming to Qing 124 Using force and opium to open Chinese ports 125 Spreading the Slave Trade 126 Perpetuating an evil 126 Developing a new market 127 Succeeding in the slave trade 127 Starting Revolutions 128 Bringing in the new 128 Playing with dangerous ideas 129 Rebelling Americans 130 Erupting France 131 Writing L’Ouverture to freedom 132 Tracking the Centuries 132 Chapter 9: Clashing All Around the World 135 Managing Unprecedented Empires 136 Britain battles on multiple fronts 136 Reinventing post-revolutionary France 137 Dividing up Africa 138 Challenges Test European Dominance 141 Turning against Spanish rule in Latin America 141 Reclaiming Africa for Africans 143 Rising Asians 144 Japan unleashes pent-up power 144 Ricocheting unrest comes home to Europe 144 Revolting in Russia 145 Standing apart up north 145 Rushin’ toward rebellion 146 Taking power: The Soviet Union 147 Accelerating toward the Present: Transportation and Communication 148 Getting somewhere in a hurry 148 Sending word 150 Fighting World Wars 152 Redefining war: World War I 153 Returning to conflict: World War II 155 Hot and Cold Running Conflicts 158 Daring each other to blink in the Cold War 158 Seeing no end to violent conflicts 159 Let’s Get Together: The United Nations 160 Tracking the Centuries 161 Part II: Finding Strength in Numbers 41 Chapter 10: Religion through the Ages 165 Defining Religion 166 Divining the role of god(s) 166 Projecting will on the physical world 168 Analyzing the religious impulse 169 Distinguishing philosophy from religion 170 Judaism 170 Awaiting a Messiah 170 Maintaining Jewish nationalism 171 Hinduism 172 Buddhism 173 Christianity 174 The Roman Catholic Church 174 The Eastern Orthodox Church 178 The Protestant churches 179 Islam 180 The Five Pillars 181 Going beyond Mecca and Medina 181 Clashing cultures 182 Sikhism 183 Tracking the Centuries 184 Chapter 11: Loving Wisdom: The Rise and Reach of Philosophy 187 Asking the Big Questions 187 Founding science in philosophy 188 Mixing philosophy and religion 189 Tracing Philosophy’s Roots 190 Living on the edges of Greek society 190 Drawing inspiration from other cultures 191 Traveling broadens the mind 191 Examining Eastern Philosophies 191 Leading to (and from) Socrates 192 Building a tradition of seeking answers 192 Thinking for himself: Socrates’ legacy 195 Building on Socrates: Plato and Aristotle 196 Tracing Plato’s influence 196 Philosophy in the Age of Alexander and After 197 Spreading Hellenistic philosophies 197 Putting philosophy to practical use 199 Tracking the Centuries 200 Chapter 12: Being Christian, Thinking Greek 201 The Great Chain of Being 202 Interpreting Christian Theology 202 Stacking scripture upon scripture 203 Replacing Homer with the Bible 203 Establishing Jesus’s Divinity 204 Augustine’s Influence on Early Christian Thought 205 Divining the mind of God 205 Condoning righteous killing 205 Tracing two paths to salvation 205 The Philosophy of Aquinas 207 Keeping scholarship alive 207 Coming back to Aristotle 208 Supporting faith with logic 208 Embracing Humanism and More 209 Nothing secular about it 209 Tracing humanism’s impact 210 Tracking the Centuries 210 Chapter 13: Awakening to the Renaissance 211 Realizing the Reach of the Renaissance 211 Redefining the Human Role 212 Florence in flower 212 Spreading the word 213 Promoting human potential 213 Reclaiming the ancients 214 Presenting the printing press 214 Uniting Flesh and Soul 215 Inspiring Michelangelo 216 Living in the material world 217 Returning to Science 218 Shifting the center of the universe 218 Studying human anatomy 219 Being All That You Could Be 220 Striving for perfection 220 Stocking up on self-help books 221 Writing for the Masses 222 Creating new classics 223 Staging dramas with Classical roots 223 Packing something to read onboard a ship 223 Fighting for Power in Europe 224 Battling for control of Italian city-states 224 Spilling outside of Italy’s borders 226 Tracking the Centuries 227 Chapter 14: Making a Break: The Reformation 229 Cracks in the Catholic Monopoly 229 Losing authority 230 Satirizing the Church 230 Luther Challenges the System 231 Selling salvation 232 Peddling to pay the pope 232 Insisting on faith 233 A Precarious Holy Roman Empire 234 Searching for sources of cash 234 Fighting crime and inflation 235 Setting the stage for dissent 235 Standing Up to the Emperor 236 Luther Gains a Following 236 Losing control of the Lutheran movement 237 Choosing sides 238 The Empire Strikes Back 238 Savoring a bitter victory 238 Achieving compromise 239 Spreading Reform to England 239 Creating the Church of England 239 Realizing Henry’s legacy 243 Along Comes Calvin 243 Reforming the Swiss church 244 Establishing Puritanism 244 Causing turmoil in France 245 Sparking rebellion in Holland 245 Weakening the Holy Roman Empire 246 Puritanism in England and Scotland 246 Emigrating to America 247 Tracking the Centuries 247 Chapter 15: Opening Up to Science and Enlightenment 249 Mingling Science and Philosophy 249 Starting a Scientific Revolution 250 Gazing at the heavens: Astronomy 251 Advancing scientific method 253 Waking Up to the Enlightenment 254 Experiencing empiricism 254 Living a “nasty, brutish, short” life 254 Reasoning to rationalism 255 Expanding to the Encyclopedists 255 Engineering the Industrial Revolution 256 Dealing with the social fallout 257 Raging against the machines: Luddite uprising 258 Marketing Economics 259 Playing the money game with Adam Smith 259 Developing capitalism and Marxism 259 Tracking the Centuries 261 Part IV: Fighting, Fighting, Fighting 263 Chapter 16: Sticks and Stones: Waging War the Old-Fashioned Way 265 Fighting as an Ancient Way of Life 265 Raising Armies 266 Keeping out attackers 267 Escalating weapons technology: Using metal 267 Riding into battle: Hooves and wheels 267 Awesome Assyrian Arsenals 268 Assembling the units 268 Wreaking havoc 269 Farming and Fighting Together in Greece 269 Soldiering shoulder to shoulder 270 Standing up to the Persians 270 Facing Macedonian ferocity 271 Making War the Roman Way 272 Marching in three ranks 273 Recruiting a standing force 274 Diversifying the legion 275 Returning to riders 275 Tracking the Centuries 276 Chapter 17: The War Machine Gets Some Upgrades 277 Reinventing the Cavalry 278 Standing tall and staying astride with stirrups 278 Raiding as a way of life on horseback 279 Guarding Byzantine borders 279 Moors challenge 280 Chivalry 280 Putting on the Full Metal Jacket 281 Interlocking metal rings: Chain mail 281 Putting more power into the archer’s bow 282 Charging behind the lance 282 The longbow marries precision to power 282 Adding Firepower with Gunpowder 283 Lighting the fi re of discovery 284 Spreading explosive news 284 Bringing in the big guns 284 Battering down Constantinople’s walls 285 Refining the new weaponry 285 Adapting old strategies for new weapons 287 Floating fortresses on the sea 288 Fortifications adapt to the artillery era 288 Tracking the Centuries 289 Chapter 18: Modernized Mayhem 291 Following Three Paths to Modern War 291 Promoting devastation in Prussia 292 Putting technology to deadly uses: The Crimean War 293 Redefining armed conflict: The U.S Civil War 296 Tying Tactics to Technology in the Twentieth Century 299 Trapping valor in a trench: World War I 299 Retooling the World War II arsenal 300 Warring On Despite the Nuclear Threat 301 Drawing strength from stealth: Guerilla tactics 301 Wielding the weapon of fear: Terrorism 303 Tracking the Centuries 304 Part V: Meeting the Movers and Shakers 305 Chapter 19: Starting Something Legendary 307 Spinning Legends 307 Uniting for Strength 309 Playing for Power 311 Building Bridges 313 Writing Laws 315 Tracking the Centuries 317 Chapter 20: Battling Toward Immortality 319 Towering Over Their Times 319 Building Empires 322 Launching Attacks 323 Mounting a Defense 325 Devising Tactics 326 Instigating Inspiration 327 Tracking the Centuries 328 Chapter 21: Explorers and Discoverers: Places to Go, People to See 331 Famous Pioneers: Arriving before Their Time 331 Notable Travelers: Carrying Messages 334 Trailblazing Explorers: Seeking New Routes 335 Notorious Conquerors: Bad Company 337 Famous Firsts 338 Renowned Guides 340 Famous Mavericks: Taking Advantage of Opportunity 341 Tracking the Centuries 342 Chapter 22: Turning Tables: Rebels and Revolutionaries 343 Revolutionaries Who Became Rulers 343 Charismatic Rebels 348 Two Idea Guys 349 Standing against Authority 350 Rule Changers 351 Living and Dying by the Sword 352 Fallen Rebels 354 Tracking the Centuries 356 Part VI: The Part of Tens 357 Chapter 23: Ten Unforgettable Dates in History 359 Chapter 24: Ten Essential Historical Documents 365 Index 373

About the Author :
Peter Haugen is a prolific history writer. In addition to authoring and contributing to several books, his work has appeared in publications including History Magazine, mental_floss, and Psychology Today. Haugen has served on the staffs of such newspapers as the St. Petersburg Times and the Sacramento Bee.