Ancient Worlds: A Global History of Antiquity

by Michael Scott

Overview

"As panoramic as it is learned, this is ancient history for our globalized world."
Tom Holland, author of Dynasty and Rubicon

Twenty-five-hundred years ago, civilizations around the world entered a revolutionary new era that overturned old order and laid the foundation for our world today. In the face of massive social changes across three continents, radical new forms of government emerged; mighty wars were fought over trade, religion, and ideology; and new faiths were ruthlessly employed to unify vast empires. The histories of Rome and China, Greece and India-the stories of Constantine and Confucius, Qin Shi Huangdi and Hannibal-are here revealed to be interconnected incidents in the midst of a greater drama.

In Ancient Worlds, historian Michael Scott presents a gripping narrative of this unique age in human civilization, showing how diverse societies responded to similar pressures and how they influenced one another: through conquest and conversion, through trade in people, goods, and ideas.

An ambitious reinvention of our grandest histories, Ancient Worlds reveals new truths about our common human heritage.

"A bold and imaginative page-turner that challenges ideas about the world of antiquity."
Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780465094721
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	11/01/2016
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Michael Scott is an Associate Professor in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Warwick, UK. He is the author of Delphi, Delphi and Olympia, Space and Society in the Greek and Roman Worlds, and From Democrats to Kings. Scott has written and presented a range of television and radio programs for National Geographic, History Channel, Nova, and BBC.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Note on Transliteration xi

List of Maps xiii

List of Illustrations xv

Introduction 1

Part I Politics in an Axial Age

1 Athenian Democracy and the Desire for People-Power 25

2 Rome, the Republic and the Perfection of Government 50

3 China, Confucius and the Quest for the Just Ruler 75

Part II War and a World in Change

4 A New Generation Arises 121

5 Making Connections 144

6 Empires in East and West 177

Part III Religious Change in a Connected World

7 Religious Innovation from Inside and Out 233

8 Enforcing, Mixing and Moulding Religion 268

9 Religion and Rule 304

Conclusion 348

Notes 361

Select Bibliography for Further Reading 387

Index 393

Editorial Reviews

"[An] impeccably researched and authoritative study of the world 500BC to AD300.... Scott's scholarly but accessible style manages to make this sweeping saga enthralling throughout, as he traces the stories of everyone from Hannibal to Confucius, debunking myths and cliches along the way."
-The Guardian (UK)

"Offering the Mediterranean and the Far East as a giant chessboard-with individual moves impacting the whole-astute analysis is matched with acute prose."
-Prospect Magazine (UK)

"Impressive."
-The Times (UK)

"The presentation of events revealing unfamiliar connections and comparisons, as well as the inclusion of less-familiar topics such as the Seleucid Empire and Armenia, provides a fascinating perspective that many readers should find intriguing."
-Library Journal

"A welcome broadening of our understanding of antiquity.... Scott teaches us that the past is a work in progress influenced by political and religious ideas and powerful rulers and individuals, and he proves that we need to continue to study and learn."
-Kirkus Reviews


"This vivid and engaging book brings to life some of the most important moments in ancient history, moments that have shaped not only the politics and culture of bygone eras, but the institutions, thoughts and fantasies of our time."
-Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens

"This is a pathbreaking contribution to the going interest in seeing the ancient world as a whole, embracing China and India as much as Greece and Rome. And what's more, it's a joy to read!"
-Ian Morris, author of Why the West Rules-For Now

"As panoramic as it is learned, this is ancient history for our globalized world."
-Tom Holland, author of Dynasty and Rubicon

"A bold and imaginative page-turner that challenges ideas about the world of antiquity."
-Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads

"Michael Scott puts the western past in global perspective. He pursues patterns and entanglements that crossed ancient continents and continue to shape us today. His fascinating account brings together Confucius and the Battle of Marathon, Hannibal and Ashoka, Buddhism and Christianity-as well as Hollywood and the Chinese movie industry. As big-picture history it is dazzling and delightful."
-Barry Strauss, author of The Death of Caesar: The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination

From the Publisher

09/15/2016
Historical studies of the ancient world, posits Scott (Delphi: A History of the Center of the Ancient World), have the unfortunate habit of letting disciplinary and geographical boundaries limit their scope. The author seeks to provide a view of interconnected ancient worlds, exploring how civilizations responded to similar pressures, and how they influenced one another once the borders of their worlds began to meet. Scott divides his work into three major sections focusing on government, warfare, and religion: the emergence of the political theories behind the Athenian democracy, the Roman republic, and Confucian thought; the struggles of several nascent empires to retain their security through military might; and the rise of Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Rome and China remain the mainstay subjects of each segment, while others—Greece, Macedonia, India, and so on—cycle in and out for observation as their borders expand and their actions become intertwined. VERDICT Much of the historical material has been well-trod in other accounts, but the presentation of events revealing unfamiliar connections and comparisons, as well as the inclusion of less-familiar topics such as the Seleucid Empire and Armenia, provides a fascinating perspective that many readers should find intriguing.—Kathleen McCallister, Tulane Univ., New Orleans

Library Journal

Sept. 8, 2016
A welcome broadening of our understanding of antiquity.In the ancient world, there was a remarkably diverse environment of ideas, knowledge, and beliefs existing among the Mediterranean, the Middle East, India, and China. Scott (Classics and Ancient History/Univ. of Warwick; Delphi: A History of the Center of the Ancient World, 2014, etc.) focuses on developing relationships between and within communities from the 6th century B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E. That period was characterized by a significant rethinking of political ideas, societal governance, and interpersonal relationships. The author divides the book into three sections covering political systems, wars, and religion. Of course, the earlier in time a historian searches for sources, the fewer are available, but Scott boldly dives into any and all sources. What little is available was written long after events and was influenced by the chroniclers’ time and tendencies. Many readers of Western history are woefully ignorant of events in China, India, Bactria, and the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires. In this period, wars and political strife did not necessarily lead to collapse. Instead, within the chaos, societies evolved and mutated into fragile new ideologies, subject to both growth and revision. As Antiochus III drove Ptolemy IV out of the Levant, Hannibal almost took over the Roman Empire and Philip V of Greece pretty much got nowhere except to keep switching alliances. In China, the head of the Qin state rejected Confucianism for its opposite, legalism, until it was replaced by the Han dynasty. While violent wars tied ancient worlds together, only two great empires emerged with nothing but instability between. The nomadic peoples, by nature moving with all their goods, also brought religion, from China into India as Christianity moved east across the Silk Road. Scott teaches us that the past is a work in progress influenced by political and religious ideas and powerful rulers and individuals, and he proves that we need to continue to study and learn.

Kirkus Review