The Western Tradition

Egyptian irrigation created one of the first great civilizations.

Settlements in the Fertile Crescent gave rise to the great river civilizations of the Middle East.

Metals revolutionized tools, as well as societies, in the empires of Assyria, Persia, and Neo-Babylonia.

Democracy and philosophy arose from Greek cities at the edge of the civilized world.

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle laid the foundation of Western intellectual thought.

Alexander's conquests quadrupled the size of the world known to the Greeks.

Hellenistic kingdoms extended Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean.

Through its army, Rome built an empire that shaped the West.

Rome's civil engineering contributed as much to the empire as did its weapons.

Christianity spread despite contempt and persecution from Rome.