Annotation World History: Cultures, States, and Societies to 1500 offers a comprehensive introduction to the history of humankind from prehistory to 1500. Authored by six USG faculty members with advance degrees in History, this textbook offers up-to-date original scholarship. It covers such cultures, states, and societies as Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Israel, Dynastic Egypt, India's Classical Age, the Dynasties of China, Archaic Greece, the Roman Empire, Islam, Medieval Africa, the Americas, and the Khanates of Central Asia. It includes 350 high-quality images and maps, chronologies, and learning questions to help guide student learning. Its digital nature allows students to follow links to applicable sources and videos, expanding their educational experience beyond the textbook. It provides a new and free alternative to traditional textbooks, making World History an invaluable resource in our modern age of technology and advancement.

The Romans: An Introduction, 3rd edition engages students in the study of ancient Rome by exploring specific historical events and examining the evidence. This focus enables students not only to learn history and culture but also to understand how we recreate this picture of Roman life. The thematic threads of individuals and events (political, social, legal, military conflicts) are considered and reconsidered in each chapter, providing continuity and illustrating how political, social, and legal norms change over time. This new edition contains extensive updated and revised material designed to evoke the themes and debates which resonate in both the ancient and modern worlds: class struggles, imperialism, constitutional power (checks & balances), the role of the family, slavery, urbanisation, and religious tolerance. Robust case studies with modern parallels push students to interpret and analyze historical events and serve as jumping off points for multifaceted discussion. New features include: Increased emphasis on developing skills in interpretation and analysis which can be used across all disciplines. Expanded historical coverage of Republican history and the Legacy of Rome. An expanded introduction to the ancient source materials, as well as a more focused and analytical approach to the evidence, which are designed to engage the reader further in his/her interaction and interpretation of the material. A dedicated focus on specific events in history that are revisited throughout the book that fosters a richer, more in-depth understanding of key events. New maps and a greater variety of illustrations have been added, as well as updated reading lists. A further appendix on Roman nomenclature and brief descriptions of Roman authors has also been provided. The book’s successful website has been updated with additional resources and images, including on-site videos from ancient sites and case studies which provide closer "tutorial" style treatment of specific topics and types of evidence. Those with an interest in classical language and literature, ancient history, Roman art, political and economic systems, or the concept of civilization as a whole, will gain a greater understanding of both the Romans and the model of a civilization that has shaped so many cultures.

The essays in The Sites of Rome offer glimpses, sideways glances, and unexpected angles that open up this city-of-texts in its widest possible sense. A play upon the homonyms 'site' and 'sight' in the title points to a shared concern, namely how any of the visible components of Rome-the hills, the Tiber, the temples, the Fora, the Colosseum, the statues and monuments-operates as, or becomes, one of the sites sights of Rome.

Describes the people, places, and events of Ancient Rome, describing travel, trade, language, religion, economy, industry and more, from the days of the Republic through the High Empire period and beyond.

By the third century BC, the once-modest settlement of Rome had conquered most of Italy and was poised to build an empire throughout the Mediterranean basin. What transformed a humble city into the preeminent power of the region? In The Rise of Rome, the historian and archaeologist Kathryn Lomas reconstructs the diplomatic ploys, political stratagems, and cultural exchanges whereby Rome established itself as a dominant player in a region already brimming with competitors. The Latin world, she argues, was not so much subjugated by Rome as unified by it. This new type of society that emerged from Rome’s conquest and unification of Italy would serve as a political model for centuries to come. Archaic Italy was home to a vast range of ethnic communities, each with its own language and customs. Some such as the Etruscans, and later the Samnites, were major rivals of Rome. From the late Iron Age onward, these groups interacted in increasingly dynamic ways within Italy and beyond, expanding trade and influencing religion, dress, architecture, weaponry, and government throughout the region. Rome manipulated preexisting social and political structures in the conquered territories with great care, extending strategic invitations to citizenship and thereby allowing a degree of local independence while also fostering a sense of imperial belonging. In the story of Rome’s rise, Lomas identifies nascent political structures that unified the empire’s diverse populations, and finds the beginnings of Italian peoplehood.

What went wrong in imperial Rome, and how we can avoid it: “If you want to understand where America stands in the world today, read this.” —Thomas E. Ricks The rise and fall of ancient Rome has been on American minds since the beginning of our republic. Depending on who’s doing the talking, the history of Rome serves as either a triumphal call to action—or a dire warning of imminent collapse. In this “provocative and lively” book, Cullen Murphy points out that today we focus less on the Roman Republic than on the empire that took its place, and reveals a wide array of similarities between the two societies (The New York Times). Looking at the blinkered, insular culture of our capitals; the debilitating effect of bribery in public life; the paradoxical issue of borders; and the weakening of the body politic through various forms of privatization, Murphy persuasively argues that we most resemble Rome in the burgeoning corruption of our government and in our arrogant ignorance of the world outside—two things that must be changed if we are to avoid Rome’s fate. “Are We Rome? is just about a perfect book. . . . I wish every politician would spend an evening with this book.” —James Fallows