Catalog Search Results
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 19
Language
English
Description
Around 2000 B.C., Assyria was a backwater district ruled by its conquerors. So how did it evolve into one of antiquity's greatest empires - one that spanned more than 1,000 years and came into contact with other imperial powers in the ancient Near East? Discover the answer in this fascinating lecture.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 7
Language
English
Description
Hatti, the Hittite kingdom, was the first Near Eastern empire that expanded beyond the river valleys of the Nile and Mesopotamia. Explore the kingdom's origins in early 2nd millennium B.C. Anatolia and study the dynastic crises that threatened its stability.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 30
Language
English
Description
Learn how the rule of Darius I brought about the classical Persian system of imperial administration, with its system of satrapies (provinces) and royal treasuries. Also, travel along the Royal Road (the empire's central communications network) and explore the massive - but flawed - Persian army.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 31
Language
English
Description
In just four years, the greatest empire the ancient world had ever seen fell - and all at the hands of Alexander the Great. How did this happen? Chart the collapse of the Persian Empire in this piercing examination of the Macedonian leader's military campaign to conquer the ancient world.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 15
Language
English
Description
Legend and modern archaeological fact agree that the most important kingdom in Bronze Age Greece was Mycenae, which rose to power around 1600 B.C. Here, learn how the excavation of two key sites revealed insights into Mycenaean dynasties; then, explore the culture's decentralized government and its warlike nature.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 16
Language
English
Description
Mycenaean Greece flourished between the late 15th and early 14th centuries B.C., but by around 1180 B.C., it collapsed, probably from the inside. How did this happen? Was it the civilization's heroic culture, or the Trojan War? Either way, the empire's collapse signaled the end of Bronze Age Greece.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 18
Language
English
Description
Experience the short-lived imperial glory of ancient Israel under the reigns of King David and his son, Solomon. Under David, Israel expanded beyond the confines of Canaan through a series of decisive military campaigns. Unlike his father's reign, Solomon's rule centralized both royal power and control of religion under the king.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 21
Language
English
Description
Here, explore the details of Assyria's highly centralized government - the most comprehensive apparatus of imperial administration that the Near East had seen up to this point. In addition, examine the real reasons behind the Assyrians' infamous brutality toward their enemies and their policy of deporting conquered populations.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 27
Language
English
Description
Follow the second phase of Persia's war against Greece, this time under the reign of King Xerxes. Professor Dise guides you through the details of three key battles: the Spartans' last stand at Thermopylae, the chaotic sea battle at Artemisium, and the Greek victory at Salamis, which crippled Persian morale.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 6
Language
English
Description
Sort through the mysterious histories of two Mesopotamian empires that emerged after the First Dynasty of Babylon. The Mitanni of northern Mesopotamia lived in a decentralized state similar to a feudal society, while the Kassites in the south brought about a series of important social and economic changes.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 14
Language
English
Description
Meet the most obscure of all peoples in antiquity: the Minoans. Thriving on and around Crete for roughly 2,000 years, the Minoans are important for many reasons, including their influence on the emergence of Greek mainland civilization and their possible creation of the first sea-based empire, or thalassocracy.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 22
Language
English
Description
The massive military machine of the Neo-Assyrian Empire was essential to combating the many threats along its weak frontiers. Focus on the Assyrian army's organization, its weaponry, its battle tactics and strategies, and its rationale for waging war against the Aramaeans, Babylonians, and others.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 26
Language
English
Description
Plunge into the heat of battle between the Persian Empire and the city-states of Greece during the Greco-Persian Wars, which ranged from 499 to 449 B.C. Explore Persian efforts to neutralize Greek autonomy and discover the strategies that led to a Greek victory at the epic Battle of Marathon.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 33
Language
English
Description
Examine how Carthage administered its empire - through both a monarchy and a government composed of the magistrates, the council, and the people - and defended it with a mercenary army and a citizen navy. Both the Carthaginian government and military, you learn, reflected the commercial nature of the empire.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 13
Language
English
Description
How did the massive Egyptian Empire disintegrate and disappear? Professor Dise looks at the final two dynasties of New Kingdom Egypt, focusing on the series of clashes between Egypt and Hatti and attacks from the Libyans and the Sea Peoples.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 8
Language
English
Description
In this lecture, focus on the elements of Hittite government, paying particular attention to the central role played by the Great King (the "Labarna") - especially in judicial matters. Hatti, you learn, possessed an intricate imperial system that blended hierarchy, bureaucracy, and feudalism.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 32
Language
English
Description
After the end of the Persian Empire, the only Near Eastern state left was Carthage. Learn how this outpost in the western Mediterranean evolved into the greatest sea empire the world had ever seen - and would ever see - for the next 2,000 years.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 11
Language
English
Description
In the first of three lectures on ancient Egypt, chart the important role of geography in the empire's rise and delve into the historical resources that help scholars understand Dynasty 18 - the greatest dynasty in Egypt's history. Then, see how Thutmose III's reign ushered in the golden age of Egyptian imperial power.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 2
Language
English
Description
Tour the geography of the ancient Near East, which played a decisive role in the region's fascinating empires. Then, look at the kinds of archaeological and documentary evidence - such as the discoveries from excavations of ancient sites and from historical writings - that help us better understand this period.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 25
Language
English
Description
Turn now to a riveting examination of the greatest empire in the ancient Near East: the Persian Empire. Created during the reign of Cyrus the Great (559 - 530 B.C.), the empire was a multiethnic, multicultural, and multilingual realm that established a successful model for ruling diversity.
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