Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations

Challenging the stereotypes and myths that typically characterize students' understanding of antiquity, Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations: From Prehistory to 640 CE focuses on continuity and connections, along with cultural diffusion and cultural diversity, to show how history is a cumulative process and that numerous themes recur in different times and places. The text also explores sensitive issues and debates including attitudes toward race, ethnicity, and tolerance; gender issues and roles; slavery; social mobility; religion; political evolution; the nature of government; and imperialism.

FEATURES:

* "History Laboratory": Concise observations on how historians use different methodologies to interpret historical evidence--including mysterious objects like the "Ice Man" and the Antikythera device--and to debunk pseudoscience

* "Historical Controversy": Reflections that explore conflicting modern interpretations of such ancient phenomena as Noah's Flood, "Black Athena," Athenian democracy, and Alexander the Great's character

* "A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words": Illustrations of distinctive material artifacts--buildings, frescoes, pots, statues, and more--accompanied by brief essays explaining how nonliterary material can shed light on ancient cultures

* "Mysteries of History": Selections that address puzzling and intriguing aspects of the past (i.e., "Cleopatra, The Legend and the Reality")

* "In Their Own Words": Extended quotations (from literary or epigraphical texts) that exemplify each chapter's main themes and show how various types of written documents can help students learn about history

* Stunning Interior Design: More than 200 maps and illustrations--including an eight-page color portfolio--offer the richest and most pedagogical art program of any comparable text available

* Image Image Bank CD containing more than 100 PowerPoint-based slides and approximately forty maps, organized to accompany the text. Available to adopters of the text.

Ralph W. Mathisen has appointments in History, Classics, and Medieval Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests include ecclesiastical history, barbarian studies, late Latin literature, prosopography, numismatics, and the society, culture, and religion of Late Antiquity. He has authored, coauthored, or edited thirteen books and has published more than ninety scholarly articles. He is Editor of the Journal of Late Antiquity and Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity, Director of the Biographical Database for Late Antiquity Project, and a Fellow of the American Numismatic Society.