Taught by Peter N. Stearns
George Mason University
Ph.D., Harvard University

Think of the construction of the great pyramids of Egypt, or the development
of democratic rule in ancient Greece. Recall the innovations of the European
Renaissance and Enlightenment?the remarkable flowering of drama and the arts,
and revolutionary breakthroughs in science and philosophy.

These are intriguing and important episodes, familiar to students of history.
But haven't you also wondered: What else was going on in the world?

Consider the enthralling tales of Venetian trader Marco Polo. He introduced
the Western world to mysterious and exotic Asian cultures never before
imagined. Those alien civilizations he visited had existed for centuries,
even millennia. What do we know about that part of the story?

We know of the glories of ancient Rome, the commanding empire that ruled the
known world?but what about the lands that were not "known"? What, for example,
of the Han dynasty in China? It existed alongside the Roman Empire but
developed a more enduring legacy than that of the emperors of the Eternal City.
How does that imperial saga relate to the more familiar story of Roman domination?

And in the Dark Ages that came after the fall of the Roman Empire, we know that
the era following Rome's glory days brought great political and social turmoil
to the peoples of Europe. But at that time the Muslims of the Middle East and
North Africa were experiencing remarkable cultural flourishing that produced
innovations in art, medicine, philosophy, and technology?a true golden age for
the civilization.

If you have wondered about these other histories?of China and Japan, of Russia,
India, and the remote territories of Sub-Saharan Africa and South America?you
can now discover how these stories fit in with commonly known accounts of
Western traditions.

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