HIST 302 History of West European

HIST 302  History of West European, Med & Islam Civilizations                
A survey course designed to introduce students to ancient and medieval history of the Mediterranean basin. Cultures in contact and conflict around the Mediterranean Sea will be the main theme of the course. In exploring the history of the Mediterranean region from the Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC) to late Middle Ages, (14th/15th centuries AD) students will develop an understanding of the basic features of the Mediterranean societies in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, as they trace the historical processes that accompanied the transition from ancient to medieval society, and the subsequent transition into the European dominance. Introduction, Classical Greek civilization in context (1000 BC -300 BC), Hellenistic world, a commonwealth? (c. 300 BC- c. 100 BC); cultural interaction, The Roman peace  (c. 100 BC- c. 300 AD); Cities, roads, and boats, Late antiquity: State’s peace and God’s peace (c. 300 AD – c. 600 AD); “There is no god but God”, Polytheism and Christianities, Rulers and masses, a lecture on divine kingship, The emergence of sibling cultures, The emergence of sibling cultures: Formation of European culture (600-1050), The emergence of sibling cultures, The Byzantine survival and the Islamic commonwealth (1050-1250), European expansion, The Byzantine decline, and the Mongol and Turkic hegemony in the Islamic Near East (1250-1500), European catastrophes and successes.