A History of Western Society, Volume 1

A lively journey through the story of Western civilization, focusing on societies, cultures, and the lives of both ordinary and extraordinary men and women.

Table of Contents:
The Combined Volume includes all chapters. Volume 1 includes Chapters 1-16. Volume 2 includes Chapters 14-30. Since 1300 includes Chapters 11-30.   Preface Maps, Figures, and Tables Special Features   Chapter 1: Origins, to 1200 B.C.E. What do we mean by the West and Western civilization?       Describing the West       What Is Civilization? How did early human societies create new technologies and cultural forms?       From the First Hominids to the Paleolithic Era       Domestication       Implications of Agriculture       Trade and Cross-Cultural Connections What kind of civilization did the Sumerians build in Mesopotamia?       Environment and Mesopotamian Development       The Invention of Writing and the First Schools       Religion in Mesopotamia       Sumerian Politics and Society How did the Akkadian and Old Babylonian empires develop in Mesopotamia?       The Akkadians and the Babylonians       Life Under Hammurabi       Cultural Exchange in the Fertile Crescent How did the Egyptians establish a prosperous and long-lasting society?       The Nile and the God-King       Egyptian Religion       Egyptian Society and Work       Egyptian Family Life       The Hyksos and New Kingdom Revival       Conflict and Cooperation with the Hittites LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Thinking Like a Historian: Addressing the Gods Evaluating Written Evidence: Hammurabi’s Code on Marriage and Divorce Viewpoints: Faulty Merchandise in Babylon and Egypt Evaluating Visual Evidence: Egyptian Family Life Individuals in Society: Hatshepsut   Chapter 2: Small Kingdoms and Mighty Empires in the Near East, 1200–510 B.C.E. How did iron technology shape new states after 1200 B.C.E.?       Iron Technology       The Decline of Egypt and the Emergence of Kush       The Rise of Phoenicia How did the Hebrews create an enduring religious tradition?       The Hebrew State       The Jewish Religion       Hebrew Family and Society How did the Assyrians and Neo-Babylonians gain and lose power?       Assyria’s Long Road to Power       Assyrian Rule and Culture       The Neo-Babylonian Empire How did the Persians conquer and rule their extensive empire?       Consolidation of the Persian Empire       Persian Religion       Persian Art and Culture LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Individuals in Society: King Taharqa of Kush and Egypt Thinking Like a Historian: The Moral Life Viewpoints Rulers and Divine Favor: Views of Cyrus the Great Evaluating Written Evidence: Manumission of an Enslaved Woman and Her Daughter Evaluating Visual Evidence: Assyrians Besiege a City   Chapter 3: The Development of Greek Society and Culture, ca. 3000–338 B.C.E. How did the geography of Greece shape its earliest kingdoms?       Geography and Settlement       The Minoans       The Mycenaeans       Homer, Hesiod, and the Epic What was the role of the polis in Greek society?       Organization of the Polis       Governing Structures       Overseas Expansion       The Growth of Sparta       The Evolution of Athens How did the wars of the classical period shape Greek history?       The Persian Wars       Growth of the Athenian Empire       The Peloponnesian War       The Struggle for Dominance       Philip II and Macedonian Supremacy What ancient Greek ideas and ideals have had a lasting influence?       Athenian Arts in the Age of Pericles       Households and Work       Gender and Sexuality       Public and Personal Religion       The Flowering of Philosophy LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Evaluating Written Evidence: Thucydides on the Great Plague at Athens Evaluating Visual Evidence: The Acropolis of Athens Viewpoints: Greek Playwrights on Families, Fate, and Choice Individuals in Society: Aristophanes Thinking Like a Historian: Gender Roles in Classical Athens   Chapter 4: Life in the Hellenistic World, 338–30 B.C.E. How and why did Alexander the Great create an empire, and how did it evolve?       Military Campaigns       The Political Legacy How did Greek ideas and traditions spread to create a Hellenized society?       Urban Life       Greeks in Hellenistic Cities       Greeks and Non-Greeks What characterized the Hellenistic economy?       Rural Life       Production of Goods       Commerce How did religion, philosophy, and the arts reflect and shape Hellenistic life?       Religion and Magic       Hellenism and the Jews       Philosophy and the People       Art and Drama How did science and medicine serve the needs of Hellenistic society?       Science       Medicine LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Viewpoints: Greek Historians on Alexander the Great Evaluating Visual Evidence: Bactrian Disk with Religious Figures Evaluating Written Evidence: A Hellenistic Spell of Attraction Individuals in Society: Epicurus Thinking Like a Historian: Hellenistic Medicine   Chapter 5: The Rise of Rome, ca. 1000–27 B.C.E. How did the Romans become the dominant power in Italy?       The Geography of Italy       The Etruscans       The Founding of Rome       The Roman Conquest of Italy What were the key institutions of the Roman Republic?       The Roman State       Social Conflict in Rome How did the Romans build a Mediterranean empire?       The Punic Wars       Rome Turns East How did expansion affect Roman society and culture?       Roman Families       New Social Customs and Greek Influence       Opposing Views: Cato the Elder and Scipio Aemilianus What led to the fall of the Roman Republic?       The Countryside and Land Reforms       Political Violence       Civil War and the Rise of Julius Caesar LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Viewpoints: Praise of Good Women in the Eulogy for Murdia and the Turia Inscription Evaluating Visual Evidence: The Temple of Hercules Victor Thinking Like a Historian: Land Ownership and Social Conflict in the Late Republic Evaluating Written Evidence: Julius Caesar on the Gauls Individuals in Society: Queen Cleopatra   Chapter 6: The Roman Empire, 27 B.C.E.–284 C.E. How did Augustus and Roman elites create a foundation for the Roman Empire?       Augustus and His Allies       Roman Expansion       Latin Literature       Marriage and Morality How did the Roman state develop after Augustus?       The Julio-Claudians and the Flavians       The Nerva-Antonine Dynasty What was life like in the city of Rome and in the provinces?       Life in Imperial Rome       Approaches to Urban Problems       Popular Entertainment       Prosperity in the Roman Provinces       Trade and Commerce How did Christianity grow into a major religious movement?       Factors Behind the Rise of Christianity       The Life and Teachings of Jesus       The Spread of Christianity       The Growing Acceptance and Evolution of Christianity What political and economic problems did Rome face in the third century C.E.?       Civil Wars and Military Commanders       Turmoil in Economic Life LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Thinking Like a Historian: Army and Empire Evaluating Visual Evidence: Ara Pacis Augustae Viewpoints: The Pax Romana Evaluating Written Evidence: Ovid, The Art of Love Individuals in Society: Pliny the Elder   Chapter 7: Late Antiquity, 250–600 How did Diocletian and Constantine try to reform the empire?       Political Measures       Economic Issues       The Acceptance of Christianity How did the Christian Church become a major force in the Mediterranean and Europe?       The Church and Its Leaders       The Development of Christian Monasticism       Monastery Life       Christianity and Classical Culture       Christian Notions of Gender and Sexuality       Saint Augustine on Human Nature, Will, and Sin What were the key characteristics of barbarian society?       Village and Family Life       Tribes and Hierarchies       Customary and Written Law       Celtic and Germanic Religion How did the barbarian migrations shape Europe?       Celtic and Germanic People in Gaul and Britain       Visigoths and Huns       Germanic Kingdoms and the End of the Roman Empire How did the church convert barbarian peoples to Christianity?       Missionaries’ Actions       The Process of Conversion How did the Byzantine Empire preserve the legacy of Rome?       Sources of Byzantine Strength       The Law Code of Justinian       Byzantine Learning and Science       The Orthodox Church LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Individuals in Society: Macrina the Younger Viewpoints: Roman and Byzantine Views of Barbarians Thinking Like a Historian: Slavery in Roman and Germanic Society Evaluating Written Evidence: Gregory of Tours on the Veneration of Relics Evaluating Visual Evidence: Mosaic of Empress Theodora   Chapter 8: Europe in the Early Middle Ages, 600–1000 What were the origins of Islam, and what impact did it have on Europe as it spread?       The Culture of the Arabian Peninsula       The Prophet Muhammad       The Teachings and Expansion of Islam       Sunni and Shi’a Divisions       Life in Muslim Spain       Muslim-Christian Encounters       Cross-Cultural Influences in Science and Medicine How did the Franks build and govern a European empire?       The Merovingians       The Rise of the Carolingians       The Warrior-Ruler Charlemagne       Carolingian Government and Society       The Imperial Coronation of Charlemagne What were the significant intellectual and cultural developments in Charlemagne’s era?       The Carolingian Renaissance       Northumbrian Learning and Writing How did the ninth-century invasions and migrations shape Europe?       Vikings in Western Europe       Slavs and Vikings in Eastern Europe       Magyars and Muslims How and why did Europe become politically and economically decentralized in this period?       Decentralization and the Origins of Feudalism       Manorialism, Serfdom, and the Slave Trade LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Viewpoints: The Muslim Conquest of Spain Evaluating Visual Evidence: Charlemagne and His Second Wife Hildegard Individuals in Society: The Venerable Bede Evaluating Written Evidence: The Death of Beowulf Thinking Like a Historian: Vikings Tell Their Own Story   Chapter 9: State and Church in the High Middle Ages, 1000–1300 How did monarchs try to centralize political power?       England       France       Central Europe       Italy       The Iberian Peninsula How did the administration of law evolve in this period?       Local Laws and Royal Courts       The Magna Carta       Law in Everyday Life What were the political and social roles of nobles?       Origins and Status of the Nobility       Training, Marriage, and Inheritance       Power and Responsibility How did the papacy reform the church, and what were the reactions to these efforts?       The Gregorian Reforms       Emperor Versus Pope       Criticism and Heresy       The Popes and Church Law What roles did monks, nuns, and friars play in medieval society?       Monastic Revival       Life in Convents and Monasteries       The Friars What were the causes, course, and consequences of the Crusades and the broader expansion of Christianity?       Background and Motives of the Crusades       The Course of the Crusades       Consequences of the Crusades       The Expansion of Christianity       Christendom LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Viewpoints: Oaths of Fealty Evaluating Written Evidence: Pope Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam Evaluating Visual Evidence: Illustrations from the Life of St. Edmund Individuals in Society: Hildegard of Bingen Thinking Like a Historian: Christian and Muslim Views of the Crusades   Chapter 10: Life in Villages and Cities of the High Middle Ages, 1000–1300 What was village life like in medieval Europe?       Serfdom and Social Mobility       The Manor       Work       Home Life       Childbirth and Childhood How did religion shape everyday life in the High Middle Ages?       Christian Life in Medieval Villages       Saints and Sacraments       Muslims and Jews       Rituals of Marriage and Birth       Death and the Afterlife What led to Europe’s economic growth and reurbanization?       The Rise of Towns       Merchant and Craft Guilds       The Revival of Long-Distance Trade       Business Procedures       The Commercial Revolution What was life like in medieval cities?       City Life       Servants and the Poor       Popular Entertainment How did universities serve the needs of medieval society?       Origins       Legal and Medical Training       Theology and Philosophy       University Students How did literature and architecture express medieval values?       Vernacular Literature and Drama       Churches and Cathedrals LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Thinking Like a Historian: Social and Economic Relations in Medieval English Villages Individuals in Society: Cecilia Penifader Evaluating Written Evidence: Apprenticeship Contract for a Money-Changer Evaluating Visual Evidence: Healthy Living Viewpoints: Male and Female Troubadours   Chapter 11: The Later Middle Ages, 1300–1450 How did climate change shape the late Middle Ages?       Climate Change and Famine       Social Consequences How did the plague affect European society?       Pathology       Spread of the Disease       Care of the Sick       Economic, Religious, and Cultural Effects What were the causes, course, and consequences of the Hundred Years’ War?       Causes       English Successes       Joan of Arc and France’s Victory       Aftermath Why did the church come under increasing criticism?       The Babylonian Captivity and Great Schism       Critiques, Divisions, and Councils       Lay Piety and Mysticism What explains the social unrest of the late Middle Ages?       Peasant Revolts       Urban Conflicts       Sex in the City       Fur-Collar Crime       Ethnic Tensions and Restrictions       Literacy and Vernacular Literature LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Viewpoints: Italian and English Views of the Plague Evaluating Visual Evidence: Dance of Death Evaluating Written Evidence: The Trial of Joan of Arc Individuals in Society: Meister Eckhart Thinking Like a Historian: Popular Revolts in the Late Middle Ages   Chapter 12: European Society in the Age of the Renaissance, 1350–1550 How did political and economic developments in Italy shape the Renaissance?       Trade and Prosperity       Communes and Republics of Northern Italy       City-States and the Balance of Power What new ideas were associated with the Renaissance?       Humanism       Education       Political Thought       Christian Humanism       The Printed Word How did art reflect new Renaissance ideals?       Patronage and Power       Changing Artistic Styles       The Renaissance Artist What were the key social hierarchies in Renaissance Europe?       Race and Slavery       Wealth and the Nobility       Gender Roles How did nation-states develop in this period?       France       England       Spain LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Viewpoints: Venice Versus Florence Individuals in Society: Leonardo da Vinci Thinking Like a Historian: Humanist Learning Evaluating Written Evidence: Christine de Pizan, The Treasure of the City of Ladies Evaluating Visual Evidence: Andrea Mantegna, Adoration of the Magi (c. 1495-1505)   Chapter 13: Reformations and Religious Wars, 1500–1600 What were the central ideas of the reformers, and why were they appealing to different social groups?       The Christian Church in the Early Sixteenth Century       Martin Luther       Protestant Thought       The Appeal of Protestant Ideas       The Radical Reformation and the German Peasants’ War       Marriage, Sexuality, and the Role of Women How did the political situation in Germany shape the course of the Reformation?       The Rise of the Habsburg Dynasty       Religious Wars in Switzerland and Germany How did Protestant ideas and institutions spread beyond German-speaking lands?       Scandinavia       Henry VIII and the Reformation in England       Upholding Protestantism in England       Calvinism       The Reformation in Eastern Europe What reforms did the Catholic Church make, and how did it respond to Protestant reform movements?       Papal Reform and the Council of Trent       New and Reformed Religious Orders What were the causes and consequences of religious violence, including riots, wars, and witch-hunts?       French Religious Wars       The Netherlands Under Charles V       The Great European Witch-Hunt LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Evaluating Written Evidence: Martin Luther, On Christian Liberty Individuals in Society: Anna Jansz of Rotterdam Evaluating Visual Evidence: Lucas de Heere, Allegory of the Tudor Succession, 1572 Thinking Like a Historian: Social Discipline in the Reformation Viewpoints: Catholic and Calvinist Churches   Chapter 14: European Exploration and Conquest, 1450–1650 What was the Afro-Eurasian trading world before Columbus?       The Trade World of the Indian Ocean       The Trading States of Africa       The Middle East       Genoese and Venetian Middlemen How and why did Europeans undertake ambitious voyages of expansion?       Causes of European Expansion       Technology and the Rise of Exploration       The Portuguese Overseas Empire       Spain’s Voyages to the Americas       Spain Discovers the Pacific       Early Exploration by Northern European Powers What was the impact of European conquest on the New World?       Conquest of the Aztec Empire       The Fall of the Incas       Portuguese Brazil       Colonial Empires of England and France       Colonial Administration How did Europe and the world change after Columbus?       Economic Exploitation of the Indigenous Population       Society in the Colonies       Population Loss and the Ecological Impacts of Contact       Sugar and Slavery       Spanish Silver and Its Economic Effects       The Birth of the Global Economy How did expansion change European attitudes and beliefs?       Religious Conversion       European Debates About Indigenous Peoples       New Ideas About Race       Michel de Montaigne and Cultural Curiosity       William Shakespeare and His Influence LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Evaluating Written Evidence: Columbus Describes His First Voyage Thinking Like a Historian: Who Was Doña Marina? Individuals in Society: Catarina de San Juan Viewpoints: Aztec and Spanish Views on Christian Conversion in New Spain Evaluating Visual Evidence: Andrés Sánchez Gallque, The Mulatto Gentlemen of Esmeraldas, 1599   Chapter 15: Absolutism and Constitutionalism, ca. 1589–1725 What were the crises and achievements of seventeenth-century European states?       The Social Order and Peasant Life       Environmental, Economic, and Social Crisis       The Thirty Years’ War       State-Building and the Growth of Armies       Baroque Art and Music What was absolutism, and how did it evolve in western and central Europe?       The Decline of Absolutist Spain in the Seventeenth Century       The Foundations of French Absolutism       Louis XIV and Absolutism       Life at Versailles       Louis XIV’s Wars       The French Economic Policy of Mercantilism What explains the rise of absolutism in Prussia and Austria?       The Return of Serfdom       The Austrian Habsburgs       Prussia in the Seventeenth Century       The Consolidation of Prussian Absolutism What were the distinctive features of Russian and Ottoman absolutism?       Mongol Rule in Russia and the Rise of Moscow       Building the Russian Empire       The Reforms of Peter the Great       The Ottoman Empire What were alternatives to absolutism in early modern Europe?       The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth       The Failure of Absolutism in England       The Puritan Protectorate       The Restoration of the English Monarchy       Constitutional Monarchy       The Dutch Republic in the Seventeenth Century LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Thinking Like a Historian: What Was Absolutism? Evaluating Written Evidence: Peter the Great and Foreign Experts Individuals in Society: Hürrem Viewpoints: Stuart Claims to Absolutism and the Parliamentary Response Evaluating Visual Evidence: Gonzales Coques, The Young Scholar and His Wife, 1640   Chapter 16: Toward a New Worldview, 1540–1789 What revolutionary discoveries were made in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?       Contributions from the Muslim World       Scientific Thought to 1500       The Copernican Hypothesis       Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo: Proving Copernicus Right       Newton’s Synthesis       Natural History and Empire       Magic and Alchemy What intellectual and social changes occurred as a result of the Scientific Revolution?       The Methods of Science: Bacon and Descartes       Medicine, the Body, and Chemistry       Science and Religion       Science and Society How did the Enlightenment emerge, and what were major currents of Enlightenment thought?       The Early Enlightenment       The Influence of the Philosophes       Enlightenment Movements Across Europe How did the Enlightenment change social ideas and practices?       Global Contacts       Enlightenment Debates About Race       Women and the Enlightenment       Urban Culture and Life in the Public Sphere What impact did new ways of thinking have on politics?       Frederick the Great of Prussia       Catherine the Great of Russia       The Austrian Habsburgs       Jewish Life and the Limits of Enlightened Absolutism LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD REVIEW & EXPLORE Evaluating Written Evidence: Galileo Galilei, The Sidereal Messenger Thinking Like a Historian: The Enlightenment Debate on Religious Tolerance Viewpoints: Rousseau and Wollstonecraft Debate Women’s Equality Evaluating Visual Evidence: Léonard Defrance and the Public Sphere Individuals in Society: Moses Mendelssohn and the Jewish Enlightenment   Glossary Index Timeline: A History of Western Society: A Brief Overview About the Authors

About the Author :
Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin–Madison) is Distinguished Professor of History, emerita, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She is the long-time Senior Editor of the Sixteenth Century Journal and the author or editor of more than thirty books, including A Concise History of the World. From 2017 to 2019 she served as the president of the World History Association. Clare Haru Crowston (Ph.D., Cornell University) is Professor of history at the University of Illinois. She is the author of Credit, Fashion, Sex: Economies of Regard in Old Regime France and Fabricating Women: The Seamstresses of Old Regime France, 1675–1791, which won the Berkshire and Hagley Prizes. She edited two special issues of the Journal of Women’s History, has published numerous journal articles and reviews, and is a past president of the Society for French Historical Studies. Joe Perry (Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is Associate Professor of modern German and European history at Georgia State University. He has published numerous articles and is author of the recently published book Christmas in Germany: A Cultural History (2010). His current research interests include issues of consumption, gender, and television in East and West Germany after World War II. John P. McKay (Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley) is professor emeritus at the University of Illinois. He has written or edited numerous works, including the Herbert Baxter Adams Prize-winning book Pioneers for Profit: Foreign Entrepreneurship and Russian Industrialization, 1885-1913.