HI 282

The Near East—the ancient counterpart to today’s Middle East—has at times been hailed as ‘the cradle of Western Civilization’: it is home to the earliest known writing and literature, the advent of cities and monumental architecture, and the evolution of simple states into great empires; even the first formal reflections on ‘history’ are found here. This course will explore the evolution of the cultures in this region from hunter gatherers to the city states of Sumer, from the kingdoms of Larsa and Babylon to the vast imperial domains of the Hittites, Assyrians, and Persians with an emphasis on spirituality, innovations in art, architecture, and technology, and the development of social institutions.{G}{P} <br> <br><font color="crimson">