A History of Western Society, Volume 1
Fourteenth Edition ©2023
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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
Authors
Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks
Clare Haru Crowston
Joe Perry
John P. McKay
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