Free University Project
Western Civilization I
Ancient Near East to 1648
Unit 1: Ancient Near East
Updated October, 2006

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Ancient Near East (8-11%)
Political evolution
Religion, culture, and technical developments in Egypt,
Mesopotamia, Palestine

Video

From The Western Tradition
The Dawn of History
The origins of the human race are traced from anthropoid ancestors to the agricultural revolution. (Broadband Video on Demand) 

Mesopotamia
Settlements in the Fertile Crescent gave rise to the great river civilizations of the Middle East. (Broadband Video on Demand) 

The Ancient Egyptians
Egyptian irrigation created one of the first great civilizations. (Broadband Video on Demand) 

From Bronze to Iron
Metals revolutionized tools, as well as societies, in the empires of Assyria, Persia, and Neo-Babylonia. (Broadband Video on Demand) 

Text

The Ancient Near East from Exploring Ancient World Cultures

See especially Chronology and Essays

Ancient Egypt from Exploring Ancient World Cultures

PBS History Click on Echos from the Ancients Click on History and, from the Glossary, click on Judaism.

PBS Empires Series Click on Egypt's Golden Empire and then on The Kingdom of David

Secrets of the Pharaohs from PBS.

Lectures

Lecture Outline Review