Notes

31 pages

colour illustrations, maps.

Summary: Take a tour through history's most influential civilizations between 3000 BCE and 750 CE, capturing moments that reveal the culture and technology that made them great. From Sumer, the world's earliest civilization, to the heyday of the Maya, the tour crosses every continent, taking in developments in urban planning, art and architecture, religion, warfare, trade, and cultural exchange. Discover how knowledge of the sun, sea, and stars enabled ancient seafarers to navigate the Pacific Ocean; witness the highs and lows of a chariot race in the Roman Empire's hippodrome; and marvel at the military might of the Mauryan Empire and its war elephants. Full of detail, each scene is a window on the lives of the most powerful and innovative peoples in times past.