The Ancient World

In ancient Rome, physical education was based on the notion of mind-body synergy as it was developed by the Greeks. Romans placed further emphasis on honing physical strength as a necessary element...

Athenian democracy was a direct democracy where citizens voted on laws and policies themselves, whereas modern democracy is typically representative, with elected officials making decisions on behalf...

Athenian democracy's strengths included direct public participation in decision-making, term limits for leaders, and accountability mechanisms. It allowed citizens to exercise political power and...

The Roman Republic was strong while its precedents were respected as a matter of religious observance. Once these precedents were broken, however, they could not be remedied and were replaced by the...

Greece's geography impacted social, political, and economic patterns in a variety of ways, such as that its mountains prevented complete unification, led to the establishment of the city states near...

Sparta's cultural achievements encompassed a well-structured society, women's empowerment, military excellence, and artistic contributions. The society was divided into Spartans, Perioeci, and...

The Nile, Indus, and Tigris-Euphrates Rivers all supported early civilizations by providing water for irrigation, fertile soil from annual floods, and opportunities for trade. The Nile had...

Both Mesopotamia and Harappan civilizations were agrarian cultures located along River Valleys. They were also both urbanized with strong city-building traditions, reflected both in the great city...

The Indus, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian civilizations differed mainly in religious practices, river dependence, and writing systems. Egyptians revered the Nile for its life-sustaining and protective...

Early river valley civilizations significantly influenced the development of later civilizations and classical empires through their innovations in agriculture, writing, and governance. These early...

The Persian and Roman empires both achieved vast territorial expansion and maintained sophisticated administrative systems. However, the Persian Empire, known for its tolerance and infrastructure...

The Neolithic transition, in which people move from hunting and gathering to domesticating plants and animals, typically results in a food surplus. This surplus permits two key developments:...

There are precious few similarities between the political systems of the two civilizations; in fact they were almost diametrically opposite each other. The Persian Empire was ruled by a King from a...

There were several problems which the people of ancient Mesopotamia and the Nile River Valley faced which helped lead to the establishment of civilizations.  One of the issues was food....

Alexander the Great conquered a vast amount of territory.  By the time he died, his kingdom stretched from Macedonia and Egypt in the west all the way to India and Afghanistan in the...

Both Akkad and Babylon were part of the ancient Akkadian empire, which lasted about 180 years in the historical region of Mesopotamia. Babylon was built on the Euphrates River whereas recent...

The historical significance of the latifundia lies in their role in transforming Roman agriculture and society. These large estates, worked by slaves, replaced small citizen-owned farms and...

There are at least two ways to answer this question. First, we can say that the Code of Justinian was significant for the Byzantine Empire.  The creation of the Code ensured that the...

The Harappan or Indus Valley civilization was a Bronze Age society that flourished from approximately 3300 to 1300 B.C. Compared to the twenty-first century, Harappan society was less...

Hello! Chanakya was the prime minister of Emperor Chandragupta, the first ruler of the Mauryan Empire. As a Brahmin statesman, he was well known for his role in Chandragupta's defeat of the Nanda...

Rome contributed to democracy by creating a government where the people ruled. While Rome was a republic and not a democracy, the Romans established the framework for future democratic governments....

I think by "Hellenic history", the questioner probably means Greek history before the so-called Hellenistic Period, the latter of which dates from 323 BCE (the death of Alexander the Greek) to 31...

That is a huge question. Here are some points to get you started. First, the Persians and Romans were world empires. They took over so many people groups that the needed a way to keep their empire...

Both Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations emerged around major river systems. These civilizaitons began in these areas because the flooding of the rivers created fertile soil and allowed people...

Some important contributions of the Sumerians to later societies include the wheel, their form of writing, developments in mathematics and astrology, and a number system still in use today.

Alexander the Great's primary personal quality that enabled him to live up to his namesake was his vision.  He never saw anything that he was to do in a small scale.  Rather, he...

The image of Sparta as a brutal, illiterate, unenlightened civilization is rooted more in Athenian propaganda then in truth.  While the Spartans are mostly remembered for their heroism on the...

The Athenian democracy was unusual in being a direct democracy in which the citizen assembly could vote on laws. Important magistrates were selected by lot rather than elected. As far as the...

The Athenians were residents of the ancient city-state of Greece, Athens, in around the 5th century BC.  In contrast. the Spartans of Sparta were a war-like peopls, the Athenians were...

The costs and benefits of living in a unified country depended to some degree on who you were in a society.  They also depended on the skill with which the rulers of the unified country...

The impact of the wheel on future civilizations cannot be overemphasized.  It is one of the most important discoveries in the history of the world.  Let us look at two reasons why this is...

The Babylonian economy was rooted in its agricultural production and extensive networks of trade. The Babylonian empire was situated in the Fertile Crescent, and as such, farmers were able to...

The economy of the New Kingdom period of Egypt can best be described as an agricultural command economy.  The economic system was very similar to the feudal system of the Middle Ages....

I assume that you are referring to the governments of Rome during its period as a republic and of Athens during its period as a democracy. The answer to your question really depends on what we...

There was a diverse religious culture that existed in the Arabian peninsula during the period before Muhammad’s revelation.  The most common practice was Arab polytheism.  The pantheon of...

As the fifth century B.C. opened, the Persian Empire was moving westward in a quest to consolidate control over the whole of the Near East. Then, in 499 B.C., reacting against the demand for taxes...

Here are four reasons why Mesopotamia was susceptible to invasions (Hurrians, Medians, Hittites, Elamites, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and Parthians). First, there were many nomadic tribes, which...

Four key elements of Athenian democracy included the right of monthly assembly, the right of direct vote and the freedom to speak to the assembly, the right to ostracize any individual amassing too...

The Achaemenid Empire (558–330 BC) of Persia, popularly referred to as the Persian empire, was a monarchy. It was ruled by a single hereditary leader, who considered himself divinely authorized to...

The Roman government was separated into three groups, centuries before the United States government was conceived of. The idea was that separate groups would be able to balance the power between...

Solon was a statesman in Athens elected after noblemen in the area had taken positions of power to support and benefit their individual areas. Wealthy landowners controlled large amounts of...

Because the Dravidian (or Harappan) language has not yet been deciphered; there is no way to determine their political structure, although the presence of two large cities with roads built on a...

"Pericles's Funeral Oration" and the "Melian Dialogue" were both written by Thucydides as part of his History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides prided himself on his accuracy as an historian,...

The influence of Mesopotamia on Hebrew Culture is striking; Egyptian influence is less clear. Hebrew culture recounts the story of a flood in which Noah was the survivor. This story bears striking...

Mesopotamia, whose civilization developed around 4,000-3500 BCE, was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, a fertile area (called the Fertile Crescent) that allowed for irrigation and...

Whether you consider the nature of gurukula or schools run as communities headed by gurus (also known as ashrams) as advantages or disadvantages for the pupils really depends on your point of view....

Kush was an ancient Nubian kingdom in what is now modern Sudan in Africa. The city of Meroe was located along the middle stretch of the Nile River where the Blue Nile, White Nile and River Atbara...

Since the world's earliest civilizations developed in the Fertile Crescent, it is not hard to imagine that there are many geographical advantages. The presence of two rivers and the sediment they...

The basic reason for this is that there were no longer enough Roman citizens who wanted to and were fit to be good soldiers.  The foreign mercenaries were plentiful and were highly motivated...

The Nile and Tigris River very both very important to the early civilizations of their geographical regions.  The Nile River supported farming and trade for the Ancient Egyptians while the...