Cover: Sources of World Societies, Volume 1, 12th Edition by Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks; Patricia Buckley Ebrey; Roger B. Beck; Jerry Davila; Clare Haru Crowston; John P. McKay

Sources of World Societies, Volume 1

Twelfth Edition  ©2021 Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks; Patricia Buckley Ebrey; Roger B. Beck; Jerry Davila; Clare Haru Crowston; John P. McKay Formats: Read & Practice, E-book, Print

Authors

  • Headshot of Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks

    Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks

    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.


  • Headshot of Patricia Buckley Ebrey

    Patricia Buckley Ebrey

    Patricia B. Ebrey​ (Ph.D., Columbia University) is professor of history at the University of Washington in Seattle. Editor of the Journal of Chinese History, she is the author or editor of some twenty books, including The Cambridge Illustrated History of China and Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, as well as more specialized books on Song dynasty China. In 2014 she was awarded the American Historical Association’s Award for Scholarly Distinction and in 2020 the Association for Asian Studies Award for Outstanding Contributions to Asian Studies.


  • Headshot of Roger B. Beck

    Roger B. Beck

    Roger B. Beck (Ph.D., Indiana University) is Distinguished Professor of African and twentieth-century world history at Eastern Illinois University. His publications include The History of South Africa; a translation of P. J. van der Merwe’s The Migrant Farmer in the History of the Cape Colony, 1657–1842; and more than a hundred articles, book chapters, and reviews. In 2018 he received the Pioneer in World History award from the World History Association, its highest honor.


  • Headshot of Jerry Davila

    Jerry Davila

    Jerry Dávila ​(Ph.D., Brown University) is Jorge Paulo Lemann Chair of Brazilian History and directs the Global Institute at the University of Illinois. He is the author of Dictatorship in South America; Hotel Trópico: Brazil and the Challenge of African Decolonization, winner of the Latin Studies Association Brazil Section Book Prize; and Diploma of  Whiteness: Race and Social Policy in Brazil, 1917–1945. He has served as president of the Conference on Latin American History.


  • Headshot of Clare Haru Crowston

    Clare Haru Crowston

    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.


  • Headshot of John P. McKay

    John P. McKay

    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.

Table of Contents

Preface


Chapter 1: The Earliest Human Societies, to 2500 B.C.E.

Viewpoints: Origin Stories

1-1 An Indian View of Creation

From the Rig Veda "The Creation Hymn" (ca. 600 B.C.E.)

1-2 The Yuchi People Explain Their Origins

YUCHI TRIBE OF NORTH AMERICA, In the Beginning (ca. 1929)

1-3 The Hebrew Account of Creation

The Book of Genesis

1-4 A Greek Description of Creation

HESIOD, From Theogony (ca. 700 B.C.E.)

1-5 Australian Concepts of Spiritual Power

Aboriginal Cave Painting of a Wandjina (ca. 2000 B.C.E.)

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Chapter 2: The Rise of the State in Southwest Asia and the Nile Valley 3200-500 B.C.E.

2-1 A Mesopotamian Quest for Immortality

From The Epic of Gilgamesh

2-2 Law and Order in Ancient Babylonia

HAMMURABI, Hammurabi’s Code: Laws on Society and Family Life (ca. 1800 B.C.E.)

2-3 Moses Leads the Hebrews from Egypt

Book of Exodus (ca. 950-450 B.C.E.)

Viewpoints: Faulty Merchandise in the Ancient World

2-4 A Babylonian Merchant Complains about Mistreatment

Letter from a Babylonian Copper Merchant (ca. 1750 B.C.E.)

2-5 An Egyptian Priest Complains about Honey

Letter from an Egyptian temple official (ca. 1200 B.C.E.)

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Chapter 3: The Foundation of Indian Society to 300 C.E.

3-1 Student-Teacher Dialogue in the Upanishads

From the Chandogya Upanishads

Viewpoints: The Buddhist Path to Enlightenment

3-2 Suffering and Enlightenment

THE BUDDAH, The Buddha Obtains Enlightenment (ca. 530-29 B.C.E.)

3-3 Ashoka Makes His Will Known

ASHOKA, From Thirteenth Rock Edict (256 B.C.E.)

3-4 Artistic Depictions of the Buddha

Miracle of the Buddha Walking on the River Nairanjana

3-5 Social Mores in Ancient India

From The Laws of Manu (ca. 100 B.C.E.-200 C.E.)

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Chapter 4: China’s Classical Age, to 221 B.C.E.

4-1 Art and Culture in Shang China

Detail of Ritual Vase known as the Tigress (ca. 1200 B.C.E.)

4-2 Heaven’s Mandate

From Book of Documents (ca. 900-100 B.C.E.)

Viewpoints: Philosophical Responses to Social and Political Disorder

4-3 Confucian Maxims and Sayings

CONFUCIUS, From Analects (ca. 500 B.C.E. – 50 C.E.)

4-4 Laozi Offers Advice on Following the Way

LAOZI, From Dao De Jing: Administering the Empire (ca. 500-400 B.C.E.)

4-5 Han Fei Lays Out the Legalist View of Good Government

HAN FEI, The Five Vermin (ca. 250-25 B.C.E.)

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Chapter 5: The Greek Experience, 3500-30 B.C.E.

Viewpoints: Greek Playwrights on Families, Fate, and Choice

5-1 A Father Sacrifices His Daughter

AESCHYLUS, Agamemnon

5-2 A Sister Buries Her Brother

SOPHICLES, Antigone

5-3 Socrates Defends Himself Against Criminal Charges

PLATO, From Apologia (ca. 399 B.C.E.)

Viewpoints: Depicting the Human Form

5-4 A Hellenic Depiction of Physical Perfection

Artemision Bronze (ca. 460 B.C.E.)

5-5 A Hellenistic Depiction of Powerful Emotions

Laocoön and His Sons (ca. 20 B.C.E.-70 C.E.)

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Chapter 6: The World of Rome ca. 750 B.C.E. – 400 C.E.

6-1 The Romans Set Their Basic Laws in Stone

The Twelve Tables (ca. 450 B.C.E.)

6-2 Plutarch Describes a Man Who Would Be King

PLUTARCH, On Julius Caesar, A Man of Unlimited Ambition (ca. 100 C.E.)

6-3 The Senate Gives Augustus an Altar

Ara Pacis Augustae (13 B.C.E.)

Viewpoints: Christianity and the Roman State

6-4 An Official Asks for Advice on Dealing with Christians

PLINY THE YOUNGER, Letters to and from the Emperor Trajan on Christians (111-113 C.E.)

6-5 A Christian Defends His Religion Against Roman Persecution

TERTULLIAN, From Apologia (ca. 197 C.E.)

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Chapter 7: East Asia and the Spread of Buddhism, 221 B.C.E.-800 C.E.

7-1 A Chinese Historian Describes a Nomadic People

SIMA QIAN, From The Records of the Historian: On the Xiongnu (ca. 109-86 B.C.E.)

7-2 What Makes a Good Woman?

BAN ZHAO, From Lessons for Women (ca. 80 C.E.)

Viewpoints: Buddhism in China

7-3 Reconciling Buddhism with Traditional Chinese Values

HAN YU, From Lives of the Eminent Monks: Zhu Seng Du (ca. 550 C.E.)

7-4 Emperor Wuzong Cracks Down on Buddhism

EMPEROR WUZONG, Edict on the Suppression of Buddhism (845 C.E.)

7-5 Cultural Fusion in Medieval Japan

Hachiman, Shinto God of War, in the Guise of a Buddhist Monk (ca. 1100-1300 C.E.)

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Chapter 8: Continuity and Change in Europe and Western Asia, 200-850

8-1 Plague Strikes the Eastern Roman Empire, 542

PROCOPIUS, History of the Wars

8-2 Rules for a Religious Community

SAINT BENEDICT OF NURSIA, From The Rule of Saint Benedict: Work and Pray (529)

8-3 A Germanic People Create a Code of Law

The Law of the Salian Franks (ca. 500-600)

Viewpoints: Charlemagne and His Family

8-4 Einhard Describes Charlemagne’s Private Life

EINHARD, From The Life of Charlemagne (ca. 817-836)

8-5 A Painter Portrays the Royal Couple

Charlemagne and his Second Wife Hildegard

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Chapter 9: The Islamic World, 600-1400

9-1 God and Believers in the Quran

Quran (ca. 650)

9-2 Geometry and Islamic Design

Great Mosque of Córdoba, Spain, and Gate of Al Hakam II, Detail (987)

9-3 A Muslim Philosopher on Reason, Knowledge, and Devotion to God

IBN RUSHID, or AVERROËS, On the Harmony of Religions and Philosophy, ca. 1190

Viewpoints: Abbasid Baghdad

9-4 A Jewish Traveler Visits Baghdad

BENJAMIN OF TUDELA, From Book of Travels (ca. 1159-1172)

9-5 An Islamic Geographer Describes Baghdad

YAQUT AL- HAMAWI, Dictionary of Countries (1224-1228)

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Chapter 10: African Societies and Kingdoms, 1000 B.C.E.-1500 C.E.

Viewpoints: Outsiders Views of Sub-Saharan Africa

10-1 A Muslim Traveler Describes Ghana and Mali

ABU UBAYDALLAH AL-BAKRI, From The Book of Routes and Realms (ca. 1067-1068)

10-2 Fact and Fiction in an Account of Sub-Saharan Africa

ABU HAMID MUHAMMAD AL-ANDALUSI AL-GHARNATI, From Gift of the Spirit (ca. 1120-1170)

10-3 Leo Africanus Describes Timbuktu to a European Audience

LEO AFRICANUS (AL-HASAN IBN MUHAMMAD AL-WAZZAN AL-FASI), From The History and Description of Africa (1526)

10-4 A History of West Africa by West Africans

From Epic of Sundiata (ca. 1250)

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Chapter 11: The Americas, to 1500 C.E.

11-1 Obligations Under Inca Rule

The First Chronicle of Good Government on the History of the World and the Incas up to 1615 (1616)

11-2 The Founding of Tenochtitlán and the Origins of the Aztec Empire

The Codex Mendoza (ca. 1541)

11-3 Diego Durán Describes Mexica Customs

DIEGO DURAN, From Book of the Gods and Rites (ca. 1576-1579)

Viewpoints: The Importance of the Ball Game in Maya Society

11-4 The Rules and Objectives of a Maya Ball Game

ANTONIO DE HERRERA Y TORDESILLAS, On the Maya Ball Game Tlachtli (ca. 1598)

11-5 The Gods Challenge Two Maya Heroes to a Game of Tlachtli

FATHER FRANCISCO XIMENEZ, From Popol Vuh (ca. 1701-1703)

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Chapter 12: States and Cultures in East Asia, 800-1400

Viewpoints: Elite Values in Feudal Japan

12-1 Marriage and Female Virtue

MURASAKI SHIKIBU, From The Tale of Genji (ca. 1021)

12-2 Depiction of an Aristocratic Woman

The Poet Koōgimi, from the Fujifusa version of the Thirty-six Poetic Immortals handscroll

12-3 The Experience of War in Feudal Japan

From The Tale of the Heike (ca. 1250)

12-4 The Islamic World as Seen from a Chinese Perspective

CHAU JU-KUA, On the Arab People of Quanzhou (ca. 1250)

12-5 Wang Eight and His Wife

HONG MAI, From Yijian zhi

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Chapter 13: Cultural Exchange in Central and Southern Asia, to 1400

Viewpoints: The Mongols and Their Conquests

13-1 Observations on Mongol Rule in China

Epitaph for the Honorable Menggu (ca. 1272)

13-3 The Role of a Mongol Leader in Battle

RASHID-AL-DIN, Chinggis Khan Fighting the Tartars (ca. 1300)

13-3 A European Merchant Travels the Silk Road

MARCO POLO, From Travels: Description of the World (ca. 1298)

13-4 Hindu Description of the Ideal Wife

VATSYAYANA, From the Kamasutra: About a Wife (ca. 150-1200)

13-5 A Muslim Scholar Offers Guidance to His Fellow Believers

MAULANA BURHAN UD-DIN MARGHINANI, From Guidance: Alms, Marriage, and Testimony (ca. 1197)

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Chapter 14: Europe and Western Asia in the Middle Ages, 850-1450

14-1 Royal Power and the Rule of Law

KING JOHN OF ENGLAND, From Magna Carta: The Great Charter of Liberties (1215)

14-2 The Pope Declares His Own Power

POPE BONIFACE VIII, Unam Sanctam (1302)

14-3 A Scholastic Places Logic in the Service of Theology

THOMAS AQUINAS, From Summa Theologica: Can It Be Demonstrated That God Exists? (1268)

Viewpoints: Men and Women’s Work in Medieval Cities

14-4 A Lawyer Apprentices His Son

Apprenticeship Contract for a Money-Changer (1248)

14-5 A Writer Provides Advice to Women

CHRISTINE DE PIZAN, Advice to the Wives of Artisans, from The Treasure of the City of Ladies (1405)

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Chapter 15: Europe in the Renaissance and Reformation, 1350-1600

Viewpoints: The Intellectual Foundations of the Renaissance

15-1 Petrarch Expresses His Admiration for Classical and Christian Works

PETRARCH, Letters (ca. 1354, 1360)

15-2 Pico della Mirandola Argues for the Importance of Philosophical Debate

PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA, From On the Dignity of Man (1486)

15-3 A Renaissance Painter Portrays Powerful Women

ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI, Judith and her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes (1625)

15-4 Luther Calls for a Break with the Catholic Church

MARTIN LUTHER, From Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation (1520)

15-5 John Calvin Explains His Views on Faith and the Clergy

JOHN CALVIN, From Instruction in Faith (1537)

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Chapter 16: The Acceleration of Global Contact, 1450–1600

16-1 The World as Europeans Knew it in 1502

World Map (1502)

Viewpoints: The Motives of Columbus and His Patrons

16-2 Columbus Defends His Accomplishments

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, Letter from the Third Voyage (1493)

16-3 Spanish Ambitions in the New World

THEODORE DE BRY, Columbus at Hispaniola (ca. 1590)

16-4 Spanish Conquest of the Aztecs

BERNARDINO DE SAHAGÚN, From General History of the Things of New Spain (ca. 1545-1578)

16-5 Blending Indigenous and European Style

ANDRÉS SÁNCHEZ GALLQUE, The Mulatto Gentlemen of Esmeraldas (1599)

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Product Updates

Focus on environmental concerns New documents reflect environmental topics and climate change concerns that parallel the new environmental theme in A History of World Societies.

Emphasis on the voices of women New sources place greater emphasis on the voices of women across class, time, and region.

Updated visual sources New visual sources and updated Reading and Discussion Questions lend themselves more effectively to analysis and discussion, giving students a window into the past.

Primary sources that explore diverse perspectives from around the world.

Designed to accompany A History of World Societies, Twelfth Edition, each chapter of Sources of World Societies contains approximately five primary sources, both textual and visual, that present history from the perspectives of well-known figures and ordinary individuals alike. Chapter introductions briefly review the events of the time and set the following documents in the context of the corresponding textbook chapter. Headnotes and questions support each document, while a Viewpoints feature presents two or three sources that address a single topic from different perspectives. Comparative questions ask students to make connections between sources and across time.

Sources of World Societies is available in a package with A History of World Societies or is sold separately at a discounted price.  It is also included for FREE in the Achieve courseware product for A History of World Societies.

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