Annual Editions: Western Civilization, Volume 1
, by Lembright, Robert L.Note: Supplemental materials are not guaranteed with Rental or Used book purchases.
- ISBN: 9780072548259 | 0072548258
- Cover: Paperback
- Copyright: 6/1/2002
This FOURTEENTH EDITION of ANNUAL EDITIONS: WESTERN CIVILIZATION, VOLUME 1 provides convenient, inexpensive access to current articles selected from the best of the public press. Organizational features include: an annotated listing of selected World Wide Web sites; an annotated table of contents; a topic guide; a general introduction; brief overviews for each section; a topical index; and an instructor's resource guide with testing materials. USING ANNUAL EDITIONS IN THE CLASSROOM is offered as a practical guide for instructors. ANNUAL EDITIONS titles are supported by our student website, www.mhcls.com/online.
UNIT 1. The Earliest Civilizations
1. Stonehenge: How Did the Stones Get There?, Aubrey Burl, History Today, March 2001
Many myths have been created about the famous stone circles in Britain. Aubrey Burl maintains that the stones were not dragged for hundreds of miles, but, rather, they were there as a result of glaciation.
2. Hatshepsut: The Female Pharaoh, John Ray, History Today, May 1994
Greece, ancient|Ancient Egypt, like most societies, was patriarchal. But Egyptian women enjoyed more freedoms and legal rights than did their counterparts in the classical world of Greece and Rome. Under some circumstances, albeit rare ones, a woman could rule the land of the Nile. This article details how a female pharaoh came to power.
3. The Cradle of Cash, Heather Pringle, Discover, October 1998
Ancient Mesopotamia, now Iraq, first invented signs for barter on their cuneiform texts and then used tokens and coils of silver in exchange for items in trade. The idea of money greased the wheels of commerce, spurred the development of mathematics, and helped officials and kings bring in taxes.
4. The Coming of the Sea Peoples, Neil Asher Silberman, Military History Quarterly, Winter 1998
Around 1200b.c. a new military force swept southward across the Aegean Sea and into Asia Minor, Cyprus, and Canaan—and even reached the borders of Egypt. Who were these “sea peoples,” and how did their weapons and tactics launch a military revolution in the ancient world?
5. Grisly Assyrian Record of Torture and Death, Erika Bleibtreu, Biblical Archaeology Review, January/February 1991
Can an empire be maintained by violence? The Assyrians relied on destruction and devastation to conquer and control their subjects. Erika Bleibtreu chronicles the bloody policies of the Assyrian kings.
6. Scythian Gold, Doug Stewart, Smithsonian, March 2000
The Scythians were a group of nomadic tribes who lived in the area between the Don and Danube rivers. They were known for using poisons on their arrows and gilding the skulls of their enemies. They may have contributed to the Greek myths of the centaurs. Yet they became known for their expertise in art.
UNIT 2. Greece and Rome: The Classical Tradition
7. Olympic Self-Sacrifice, Paul Cartledge, History Today, October 2000
The modern Olympic games began in 1896 with the belief that they were a direct imitation of the ancient games. Paul Cartledge examines how the games were part of the Greek religion, and how their nakedness, prizes, and armistices were all intertwined in their religious ideas.
8. Was Socrates a Democrat?, Melissa Lane, History Today, January 2002
Melissa Lane looks at the charges against Socrates as related in Plato’s Apologia of Socrates. Socrates was convicted by the Athenians of impiety—introducing new gods and corrupting the youth of the city. The author finds defenders and critics of Socrates were swayed by their own ideological suppositions.
9. Alexander: The Great Mystery, T. Peter Limber, Aramco World, May/June 2001
When Alexander the Great died in 323, his body was embalmed with the intent to return it to Macedonia. His corpse, however, was taken by one of his generals, Ptolemy, who seized Egypt and placed Alexander’s body in a great tomb. T. Peter Limber traces the tomb’s history and the famous persons who visited it until it disappeared. The search for the tomb has fascinated people for years and the hunt is still going on.
10. Love and Death in Ancient Greece, Kenneth Cavander, Horizon, Spring 1974
This discussion of an ancient murder case involving an Athenian who murdered his wife’s lover sheds light on ancient Greek society. Specifically, it considers justice and the place of women in Hellenic society.
11. Cleopatra: What Kind of a Woman Was She, Anyway?, Barbara Holland, Smithsonian, February 1997
Was Cleopatra a sex kitten, a scheming adventuress who came to a bad end, or was she a beautiful, intelligent queen who could have ruled the eastern Mediterranean if only she had not become entwined in Roman politics? Barbara Holland investigates differing views of Cleopatra’s reputation.
12. Ancient Rome and the Pirates, Philip de Souza, History Today, July 2001
Pirates roamed the Mediterranean Sea attacking shipping, coastal peoples, and holding captives for ransom. Although the Romans did give Pompey Magnus one of the greatest military commands in order to suppress piracy, it was not until the creation of the empire under Octavian Caesar that a permanent, professional navy could bring maritime security.
13. Sudden Death, Frank Lidz, Sports Illustrated, February 12, 2001
While gladiatorial games may have originated with the Etruscans as funeral celebrations, the Romans made them more lurid and frequent, as each city had its own arena. During the Republic convicts, prisoners of war, and a few free citizens were used, but under the Empire nobles, emperors, and even a few women fought. Such was the prestige of a gladiator that some were crowned with laurel wreaths, given their freedom, and their sweat was used in facial creams for Roman women.
UNIT 3. The Judeo-Christian Heritage
14. Jews and Christians in a Roman World, Eric M. Meyers and L. Michael White, Archaeology, March/April 1989
Recent archaeological finds have shed new light on Judaism and Christianity in the Roman province of Palestine and elsewhere. The evidence summarized here suggests that Jews, Christians, and pagans lived together in greater harmony than previously supposed.
15. The Other Jesus, Kenneth L. Woodward, Newsweek, March 27, 2000
Kenneth Woodward describes how the major world religions each view Jesus as different from the traditional Christian interpretation as the son of God. Jews see Jesus as an admirable Jew; Buddhists see him as an enlightened being who helped others; Hindus are drawn to his compassion, not his singularity; and Muslims see Jesus as a human prophet, the precursor of Muhammad.
16. Ecstasy in Late Imperial Rome, Dirk Bennett, History Today, October 1998
What happened to the world of ancient paganism, to its rituals, symbols, holy days, and holy places? Dirk Bennett examines the struggle of Christianity against the official Roman religion and the various cults. He points out that the Christian Church incorporated many pagan elements, and transformed and reinterpreted them.
17. Who the Devil Is the Devil?, Robert Wernick, Smithsonian, October 1999
The first development of evil in personal form was Ahriman, who fought for control of the world with Ahura Mazda, the Principle of Light, as described by the sixth-centuryb.c.e. Persian prophet Zoroaster. Later the Jews incorporated him as Satan, Christians as the Devil, and Muslims as Iblis. The question of why God created the Devil and his role in the medieval and present world are investigated by Robert Wernick.
UNIT 4. Muslims and Byzantines
18. The Emperor’s State of Grace, Charles Freeman, History Today, January 2001
Constantine the Great defeated his rival Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge to rule the Western Roman Empire and later, in 324, he became the sole Roman emperor. He presided over the First Christian Council, constructed several Christian churches, and founded Constantinople. Charles Freeman wonders if Constantine used Christianity to dominate it and the empire.
19. The Survival of the Eastern Roman Empire, Stephen Williams and Gerard Friell, History Today, November 1998
The Eastern Roman Empire had long-term advantages over the West: a strategically located capital, shorter frontiers, and a wealthier economic base. The fifth-century emperors evolved rules of imperial succession, control of top army commands, opposition to federated settlements, and a centralized pool of administrative, fiscal, and diplomatic experience, which enabled the East to avoid the destruction that happened to the Western Roman Empire.
20. In the Beginning, There Were the Holy Books, Kenneth L. Woodward, Newsweek, February 11, 2002
In this essay Kenneth Woodward traces the history of Islam from the first revelations to Muhammad to the present and asks how the Qur’an is to be seen in light of the tragic events of September 2001. Woodward sees the major problem as the lack of a major Islamic authority.
UNIT 5. The Medieval Period
21. Charlemagne’s Elephant, Richard Hodges, History Today, December 2000
Richard Hodges speculates that some gifts sent by the great Abbasid Caliph Harun al Rashid to Charlemagne might indicate a trade link heretofore undiscovered between Viking emporia (trade stations) in the West. This Dark Age trade may be the basis of the economic revival of Europe.
22. The Most Perfect Man in History?, Barbara Yorke, History Today, October 1999
King Alfred of Wessex (871–899) is credited with protecting his lands from the Danes, promoting education, and creating a law code. His reputation remained so great that English monarchs as well as men such as Thomas Jefferson associated themselves with Alfred’s Anglo-Saxon heritage.
23. The Amazing Vikings, Michael D. Lemonick and Andrea Dorfman, Time, May 8, 2000
Were the Vikings only ravagers, despoilers, pagans, and heathens? This selection examines archaeological finds that indicate that the Norsemen were raiders and explorers, as well as traders, metalworkers, farmers, and democrats. Their military impact was felt from the North Sea to North America, and it forced the Europeans to unite and defend themselves.
24. An Iberian Chemistry, Fouad Ajami, U.S. News & World Report, August 16–23, 1999
Andalusia was a polyglot society in which Jews did particularly well. Fouad Ajami says that the tenth century was a golden age for Spain.
25. The Capture of Jerusalem, John France, History Today, April 1997
In 1095 Pope Urban II called on Western Europeans to march in the First Crusade in order to free Jerusalem from the infidels. John France relates the 1099 fierce attack and savage capture of the holiest place in Christendom.
26. The Emergence of the Christian Witch, P. G. Maxwell-Stuart, History Today, November 2000
As Christianity rose it faced two problems—heresies and magic. The author traces the history whereby daimones—those who had fallen from grace—coupled with humans and produced the female witches of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
27. Women Pilgrims of the Middle Ages, Diana Webb, History Today, July 1998
No matter how meritorious pilgrimages were viewed in medieval Europe, they were not regarded as indispensable to salvation. Although the Church tried to forbid nuns from leaving the cloisters, they and their lay sisters overcame the physical as well as the authoritarian issues involved in visiting shrines throughout Europe.
28. Britain 1300, Bruce Campbell, History Today, June 2000
Bruce Campbell surveys environmental disturbances, burgeoning population growth, and the effects of war in England during the fourteenth century.
29. Ready, Aim, Fire!, Evan Hadingham, Smithsonian, June 2000
Modern reconstructions of the medieval Trebuchet detail how this war machine was used to knock down walls or besiege cities before the advent of gunpowder.
30. War-Games of Central Italy, Raymond E. Role, History Today, June 1999
Within the tightly packed neighborhoods of medieval Italian cities, tempers often invited vendettas. In response to this violence, communal governments developed intramural games, or giocca, which pitted rival neighborhoods against each other and provided a nonlethal contest. Raymond Role describes the games in Florence, Pisa, and Siena.
31. How a Mysterious Disease Laid Low Europe’s Masses, Charles L. Mee Jr., Smithsonian, February 1990
The great plague of the fourteenth century destroyed a third of Europe’s population and had profound psychological, social, religious, economic, and even artistic consequences. Charles Mee spells out the causes, symptoms, and effects of the epidemic that altered medieval life.
32. Saints or Sinners? The Knights Templar in Medieval Europe, Helen Nicholson, History Today, December 1994
The Order of the Temple (Knights Templar) was created to protect pilgrims traveling in the Holy Land. Over the years, the Order grew wealthy and powerful. Then, early in the fourteenth century, the king of France and the pope turned against the Knights Templar, alleging that they engaged in all manner of fradulent financial schemes and religious malpractices. Helen Nicholson weighs the charges against the order.
UNIT 6. Renaissance and Reformation
33. How Jacques Coeur Made His Fortune, Marshall B. Davidson, Horizon, Winter 1976
It was a commercial revival that thawed the frozen society of medieval Europe and cleared the way for modern society. Marshall Davidson chronicles the adventures and misadventures of an early capitalist during this time of transition.
34. Marsilio Ficino, Renaissance Man, Valery Rees, History Today, July 1999
Under the patronage of the Florentine House of Medici, Marsilio Ficino, leader of the Platonic Academy, made translations of Plato and Aristotle accessible to writers and artists of his own age and ours. Valery Rees says that Ficino and the Platonic Academy worked to achieve a concordance between classical sources and Christianity.
35. Machiavelli, Vincent Cronin, Horizon, Autumn 1972
Despite his acknowledged brilliance, Machiavelli, political theorist and historian, is often associated with the worst traits of Renaissance statecraft—manipulation, murder, mendacity, and massacre. Biographer Vincent Cronin questions that view and portrays the famous Florentine as a patriot and defender of civilization.
36. Women of the Renaissance, J. H. Plumb, from The Italian Renaissance, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1985
The new prosperity of Europe during the Renaissance had a profound impact upon the lives of women. Many benefited materially, along with their successful husbands. Yet women themselves increasingly were “a marketable commodity,” as J. H. Plumb explains in this selection.
37. Child’s Play in Medieval England, Nicholas Orme, History Today, October 2001
Nicholas Orme details the similarities of medieval children’s toys and play to the present. Children were first given rattles, then as they grew older, boys had metal soliders, bows and arrows, and armor; girls had dolls and tea sets.
38. Luther: Giant of His Time and Ours, Time, October 31, 1983
After five centuries, scholars are still having difficulty coming to terms with the contradictions of the tempestuous Martin Luther. Was he a revolutionary or counterrevolutionary, anti-Semite or saint, scholar or propagandist? Luther’s impact on politics, religion, and thought are reviewed here.
39. Explaining John Calvin, William J. Bouwsma, The Wilson Quarterly, New Year’s 1989 Edition
John Calvin’s image in history is well established. The religious reformer has been credited with—or blamed for—promoting the capitalist work ethic, individualism, and Puritanism. But his biographer William Bouwsma says our image of Calvin as a cold, inflexible moralist is mistaken. According to the author, Calvin’s life and work were full of “the ambiguities, contradictions, and agonies” of a troubled time.
40. Holbein: Court Painter of the Reformation, Andrew Pettegree, History Today, February 1998
Hans Holbein achieved his greatest fame as the royal court painter to King Henry VIII. But, as Andrew Pettegree points out, Holbein seems to have been neither touched nor interested in the religious ideas of the period.
41. Who Was Shakespeare?, William Rubinstein, History Today, August 2001
William Rubinstein examines the true identity of England’s greatest dramatist and the controversy surrounding the authorship of his plays.
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