Ancient Worlds

September 15, 2016
A welcome broadening of our understanding of antiquity.In the ancient world, there was a remarkably diverse environment of ideas, knowledge, and beliefs existing among the Mediterranean, the Middle East, India, and China. Scott (Classics and Ancient History/Univ. of Warwick; Delphi: A History of the Center of the Ancient World, 2014, etc.) focuses on developing relationships between and within communities from the 6th century B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E. That period was characterized by a significant rethinking of political ideas, societal governance, and interpersonal relationships. The author divides the book into three sections covering political systems, wars, and religion. Of course, the earlier in time a historian searches for sources, the fewer are available, but Scott boldly dives into any and all sources. What little is available was written long after events and was influenced by the chroniclers' time and tendencies. Many readers of Western history are woefully ignorant of events in China, India, Bactria, and the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires. In this period, wars and political strife did not necessarily lead to collapse. Instead, within the chaos, societies evolved and mutated into fragile new ideologies, subject to both growth and revision. As Antiochus III drove Ptolemy IV out of the Levant, Hannibal almost took over the Roman Empire and Philip V of Greece pretty much got nowhere except to keep switching alliances. In China, the head of the Qin state rejected Confucianism for its opposite, legalism, until it was replaced by the Han dynasty. While violent wars tied ancient worlds together, only two great empires emerged with nothing but instability between. The nomadic peoples, by nature moving with all their goods, also brought religion, from China into India as Christianity moved east across the Silk Road. Scott teaches us that the past is a work in progress influenced by political and religious ideas and powerful rulers and individuals, and he proves that we need to continue to study and learn.

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September 15, 2016

Historical studies of the ancient world, posits Scott (Delphi: A History of the Center of the Ancient World), have the unfortunate habit of letting disciplinary and geographical boundaries limit their scope. The author seeks to provide a view of interconnected ancient worlds, exploring how civilizations responded to similar pressures, and how they influenced one another once the borders of their worlds began to meet. Scott divides his work into three major sections focusing on government, warfare, and religion: the emergence of the political theories behind the Athenian democracy, the Roman republic, and Confucian thought; the struggles of several nascent empires to retain their security through military might; and the rise of Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Rome and China remain the mainstay subjects of each segment, while others--Greece, Macedonia, India, and so on--cycle in and out for observation as their borders expand and their actions become intertwined. VERDICT Much of the historical material has been well-trod in other accounts, but the presentation of events revealing unfamiliar connections and comparisons, as well as the inclusion of less-familiar topics such as the Seleucid Empire and Armenia, provides a fascinating perspective that many readers should find intriguing.--Kathleen McCallister, Tulane Univ., New Orleans

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