Brief Contents: PART 1 THE EARLY COMPLEX SOCIETIES, 3500 to 500 B.C.E: Before History, Early Societies in Southwest Asia and the Indo-Euroean migrations; Early African Societies and the Bantu Migrations; Aerly Societies in South Asia; Early Societies in the Americas and Oceania. PART 2 THE FORMATION OF CLASSICAL SOCIETIES, 500 B.C.E. to 500 C.E.: The Empires of Persia; The Unification of China; State, Society, and the Quest for Salvation in India; Mediterranean Society: The Greek Phase; Mediterranean Society: The Roman Phase; Cross-Cultural Exchanges on the Silk Roads. PART 3 THE POSTCLASSICAL ERA, 500 to 1000 C.E.: The Expansive Realm of Islam, The Resurgence of Empire in East Asia, India and the Indian Ocean Basin, The Two World of Christendom. //yn