Origins of Great Ancient Civilizations

De: Kenneth W. Harl, The Great Courses

Narrado por: Kenneth W. Harl

Locales like Mesopotamia or the Indus Valley, peoples like the Hittites or Assyrians, or rulers like Sargon, Hammurabi, and Darius are part of a long-dead antiquity, so shrouded with dust that we might be tempted to skip over them entirely, preferring to race forward along history's timeline in search of the riches we know will be found in our studies of Greece and Rome.

But, according to Professor Harl, these civilizations, "act as the cultural basis for many of the civilizations that will emerge on the Eurasian landmass and will dictate the destinies of many of the people living today on the globe." These remote, ancient civilizations stand behind the traditions of Greece, so it is critical to understand these great societies in order to better understand those that would come later - including our own.

These 12 fast-paced lectures cover many civilizations that may only receive a few lines of cursory discussion in the average Western civilization textbook. Beginning in the Bronze Age and the emergence of urban-based literate civilizations, the story continues through the demise of Persia's great empire at the hands of the Greeks.

Along the way, you'll examine advances such as the invention and evolution of writing, the development of vast empires dependent not only on military might but on laws and administration, the growth of trade, and the contributions of the Hebrews to the religious and ethical future of Western civilization.

History lovers will appreciate this course for its deep insights and its rock-solid foundation for deeper exploration.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2005 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2005 The Great Courses

Kennett, always the best

he goes into story like knife in a butter, smooth, easy, and very very interesting

fantastic overview of earliest ME Ancient Civ

While it took me a bit to get into this, I soon was enthralled with this whirlwind survey of the earliest records of the ancient middle east and Mediterranean. It is a must-listen for any history or Great Courses fan. I'm now a convert to Prof. Harl and can see why he is such a fan favorite.

I do agree with the reviewers who say this is very much of an overview - it has to be, given the time and geographic scope and the length of the lectures. But this overview was very helpful to me and I can now listen/read to more in depth studies with this background.

I also thought Harl is one of the better lecturers in the Great Courses series.

Great summary

Although it is a distant and not very attractive subject, professor Harl does a great exhibition of the very important issues of the very first “minutes” if human history.

Great introduction

This is a great introduction to the cradles of civilization. It is an informative and easy listen.

Fantastic, but too short.

I highly recommend this course as a broad introduction to the subject matter.

Focusing exclusively on the ancient civilizations of the Near East, professor Harl manages to cover a lot of ground in just a small number lectures.

The course begins with Sumer and the early city states of Mesopotamia. continues with Egypt, the Hittites, Minoan & Mycenaean Greeks, the Phoenicians, Hebrews, Assyrians, and concludes with the Persian Empire of the Achaemenids.

One drawback of moving so quickly is there isn't enough time to go into greater detail.

This is just a quick survey, but it is delivered by a wonderfully entertaining and informative lecturer.

Professor Harl is enjoyable to listen to, and this is the 3rd course of his I've purchased (from the Great Courses Series).

His lectures are organized, and his familiarity with the subject matter is especially impressive considering his background is classical Roman history.