Panorama, A World History

Ross Dunn is Professor Emeritus of History at San Diego State University, USA, where he taught African, Islamic, and world history. He was the first elected president of the World History Association, and he is a recipient of its Pioneers of World History award.Urmi Engineer Willoughby is an Associate Professor of History at Pitzer College, USA. Her research focuses on histories of disease and medicine from a global and ecological perspective. Her first book, Yellow Fever, Race, and Ecology in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans (2017) was awarded the 2017 Williams Prize for the best book in Louisiana history.

• Introduction: The Earth, World History’s TheaterThe Big Land Masses: The Main Stage of HistoryMoving Land MassesSeven Continents, or Only Five?AfroeurasiaThe Tropical BeltThe Northern Latitudes of Temperate ClimateAfroeurasia’s Mountain SpineThe Eleven SeasRiversAustraliaNorth and South AmericaConnecting the AmericasThe America’s Long CordilleraRivers and SeasThe OceansConclusionChapter 1: The Peopling of the World, 7,000,000-10,000 B.C.E.Human Ancestors in Africa and BeyondEarly Hominin EvolutionWell-Traveled HomininsOther Traveling HomininsModern Humans in Africa: The First 100,000 YearsThe Debut of Homo SapiensThe Power of LanguageColonizing the WorldThe Routes Eastward to Asia and AustraliaNorth to EuropeThe American FrontierWhy Did Homo Sapiens People the Earth?Homo Sapiens: The Last HomininWhy People Look Different from Each Other, but Not MuchGlobal Culture of the Upper paleolithicDawn of a Multicultural WorldSocial and Economic LifeTechnical WondersPaleolithic ArtistsConclusionChapter 2: Farms, Cities, and the New Agrarian Age, 10,000-2000 B.C.E.The Coming of Farmers: A Peculiar EventEarly Farming and the Big ThawThe Drift toward DomesticationThe Spread of Agrarian SocietiesSunrise over the VillageSuper VillagesEarly Complex SocietiesIrrigation and Complex Society in MesopotamiaComplex Society on the NileHarappan Society in the Indus ValleyInterregional Communication and CommerceComplex Societies and the EnvironmentConclusionChapter 3: Afroeurasia’s Moving Frontiers: Farmers, Herders, and Charioteers,3000-1000 B.C.E.Across Afroeurasia: More Farmers, More Cities The Cavalcade of InventionsComplex Society and Commerce in the Mediterranean BasinDevelopments in Western EuropeThe Oxus complex society in Central AsiaComplex Society in East AsiaPastoral Nomads Ride into HistoryHorses, Riders, and WagonsPastoral Nomadic SocietyEncounters between Agrarian Societies and Migrating PeoplesIndo-European Speakers in Southwest Asia: The Hittite EmpireStates of Mesopotamia and SyriaFrom Middle Kingdom to New Kingdom in the Nile ValleyRivalry and Diplomacy among Militarized KingdomsEarly GreeksIndo-European-Speaking Migrants in Iran and IndiaMigrations from the Steppes into EuropeChariot Riders in East AsiaDevelopments in the Afroeurasian Tropical BeltHerders and Farmers South of the Sahara DesertAustronesian farmers in Southeast AsiaConclusionChapter 4: Early Odysseys in the Americas, Australia, and Oceania, 8000-500 B.C.E.Farmers and Platform Builders in the AmericasAmerican Farmer PowerNorte Chico: The World’s First CitiesAndean SocietiesMaize, Sculpture, and Ball Games in MesoamericaThe OlmecNorth of MexicoChange in AustraliaChange over the Long TermWere Australians Becoming FarmersPioneers on the Pacific FrontierColonizers of Near OceaniaAustronesians and Their Lapita CultureRemotest OceaniaConclusionChapter 5: Afroeurasia: Centers of Power, Trade, and New Ideas, 1200–600 B.C.E.The Clang of IronThe Spread of Iron: The Southwest Asian EpicenterThe Spread of Iron: The Tropical African EpicenterIron’s Benefits and CostsWarfare, Empire Building, and Trade in Southwest Asia and the Mediterranean LandsTwelfth-Century TroublesThe Neo-Assyrian EmpireThe Hebrews and the Origins of JudaismPhoenicians and Greeks: Trade and MigrationUp the Nile to NubiaWoodland Europe and the Mediterranean WorldIndia: A New Era of City BuildingThe Shape of Indian SocietyNew Kingdoms and CitiesThe Early Hindu TraditionThe East Asian SphereThe Era of the Western and Eastern ZhouDestruction and Innovation during the Later Zhou PeriodChina’s Near NeighborsConclusionChapter 6: Empire Building and Cultural Exchange from India to the Mediterranean, 600–200 B.C.E.Persia AscendingEmpire Building on a New ScaleThe Achaemenids as Universal RulersThe Persian Empire as Communications HubThe Achaemenids and the Teachings of ZoroasterAchaemenid MulticulturalismInventive GreeksGovernment and Society in Greek City-StatesThe Flowering of AthensAlexander the Great and the Hellenistic EraAlexander’s Short, Brilliant CareerFoundations of the Hellenistic WorldCultural TrendsBuddhism and the Maurya Empire in IndiaFoundations of BuddhismThe Reign of Ashoka MauryaCavalry and Caravans in Inner EurasiaNomad PowerEarly Times on the Silk RoadsConclusionChapter 7: An Age of Giant Empires, 300 B.C.E.-300 C.E.Rome and Mediterranean UnificationRome the RepublicRome the EmpireThe Era of the Han Empire in East AsiaThe Qin Dynasty and the First EmperorThe Han state and the Ascendance of ConfucianismStates between Rome and ChinaThe Xiongnu and Their Relations with Han ChinaThe Parthian and Kushan EmpiresThe African Kingdoms of Kush and AxumBridges across AfroeurasiaAfroeurasian Roads, Trails, and Sea LanesThe First Missionary ReligionsConclusionChapter 8:American Complexities, 900 B.C.E. – 900 C.E.The Spread of Complex Societies in North AmericaEmpire Builders of TeotihuacánZapotec Society in the Oaxaca ValleyThe Innovative MayaDevelopments in Upper North AmericaSouth America: Complex Societies along the Andean SpineAndes Urbanization: The Example of Chavín de HuántarBack to the Coast: The Moche SocietyThe NazcaTroubles in the Sixth CenturyConclusionChapter 9: Turbulent Centuries, 200-600 C.E.The Shifting Map of EmpiresTurbulence in Inner EurasiaChina after the Han Empire: Growth without UnityThe Sasanids: A New Power in PersiaCrisis and Recovery in the Roman EmpireThe Huns and the Collapse of the Western EmpireThe Mediterranean FracturedA New Empire in South AsiaReligions for Troubled TimesThe Buddhist WebThe Christian WebThe Manichean WayTropical Africa: Farmers, Towns, and IronThe Nok CultureThe African East and SouthSoutheast Asian Contributions to African SocietyConclusionChapter 10: Afroeurasia in the Era of the Arab Empire, 500-800 C.E.New Empires of Steppe and DesertEmpires along the Silk RoadsThe Arab State and the Emergence of IslamThe Arab Muslim EmpireChristian Societies in Europe and AfricaThe Byzantine Empire Holds Its OwnChristian Society in Central and Western EuropeDwindling Christian Society in North AfricaEast Asia: Return to Unity in ChinaThe Tang StateCultural IntegrationConclusionChapter 11: State Power and Expanding Networks of Exchange, 750-1000 C.E.Muslim Power and ProsperityFrom Damascus to Baghdad: The Abbasid EmpireRival Centers of Muslim PowerThe Byzantine RecoveryIslam on New FrontiersA “Green Revolution” in Muslim LandsMuslim Urban SocietyThe Stream of IdeasCities, Merchants, and Kingdoms along the Chain of SeasTrade of the Arabian SeaThe Maritime Empire of SrivijayaChina: Rising Economy, Falling DynastyJapan and Korea at the Eastern End of the Chain of SeasThe Sahara Rim: A New Zone of IntercommunicationGold and Slaves, Horses and SaltThe Empire of GhanaIslam in West AfricaEurope’s Struggle for StabilityMuslims and MagyarsThe Viking AdventureThe Changing Shape of Western EuropeConclusionChapter 12: Dynamic Centuries across Afroeurasia, 1000-1250The East Asian Powerhouse in the Song EraThe Elements of China’s ProsperityGoverning China in an Era of ChangeChina and Its Near NeighborsJapan within and without the Chinese SphereChina in the HemisphereConquerors and Migrants in the Muslim LandsTurkic Horse PowerMuslim Ships on the MediterraneanNew Empires in the Western MediterraneanCultural Trends in the Muslim LandsFoundations of Urban Society in EuropeWarm Weather, Better PlowsNew Order in Political LifeThe Expansion of Western ChristendomEuropean Commercial Power in the MediterraneanWestern Europe’s Cultural StyleConclusionChapter 13: Afroeurasia in the Era of Mongol Power, 1200-1350The Ascendance of the Mongol EmpiresChingis Khan’s Path of ConquestExplaining Mongol PowerMongol Expansion after ChingisMongol Murderers: A Deserved Reputation?The Ambiguous Mongol PeaceSilk Road TrafficSlaves, Diplomats, and Career SeekersCross-Fertilization in Science and TechnologyThe Changing Religious MapProfit and Power in the Southern SeasTrade and State Building in Southeast AsiaThe South Asian Pivot East and Southern Africa in the Indian Ocean WorldUrban Society in EuropeMany Governments and LanguagesPrivate Groups and ChartersThe Flow of IdeasTrans-Saharan ConnectionsNorth Africa between the Mediterranean and the SaharaThe Mali EmpireOther West African KingdomsConclusionChapter 14: Cities and Empires in the Americas, 900-1500American Societies in an Age of Environmental ChangeThe Mound Builders of CahokiaAncestral Puebloans on the Colorado PlateauMaya, Mixtec, and ToltecThe Coming of the NahuasThe Caribbean and AmazoniaStates of the AndesAmerican Empires in the Fifteenth CenturyThe Aztec EmpireThe IncasConclusionChapter 15: Calamities and Recoveries across Afroeurasia, 1300-1500Environmental Crises of the Fourteenth CenturyDownpour and DroughtThe Great PestilenceCrises in the Political and Social RealmsChina: The Collapse of Mongol RulePolitical and Economic Troubles in the Central Muslim LandsEurope in the Aftermath of the Black DeathFifteenth-Century RecuperationTechnologies for the FutureMing China: New Prosperity and a Maritime ThrustSouth Asia: A Steadier Course of ChangeAstronomy and Empire Building in the Central Muslim LandsThe Meaning of Recovery in EuropeConclusion

Praise for first edition:“Finally, a world history text that puts human history on world time! Focused on humankind as a whole and its interactions over time, Panorama provides a conceptually organized and integrative approach to the human past”