
Great Ancient Civilizations of Asia Minor
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Narrated by:
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Kenneth W. Harl
About this listen
With Professor Harl as your guide, you'll plunge into the history of Asia Minor's great ancient civilizations and come face to face with eye-opening historical milestones. Among these: the rise of the Hittites, the legendary Trojan War, the birth of Western philosophy, the fiery Greek and Persian Wars, the victories of Alexander the Great, the dawn of the Hellenistic Age, the spread of early Christianity, the golden age of Byzantium, the birth of the Ottoman Empire, and much more.
Cultural change and continuity are the main themes of these lectures. You'll come to see how each successive civilization inherited and modified the political, social, religious, and economic institutions of its predecessor. In fact, the scope of Anatolian history can be best understood as a series of major cultural and religious rewrites: first by the Hittite emperors; then by the elites of Hellenic cities; next by their Hellenized descendants in the Roman age; then by Christian emperors and bishops in the Byzantine age; and, finally, by Turkish rulers and Muslim mystics.
To give you a stronger sense of that continuity (and the various changes that are a part of it), these lectures are organized into five cultural components: Early Anatolia (from 6000 to 500 B.C.), Hellenized Anatolia (from 750 to 31 B.C.), Roman Asia Minor (from 200 B.C. to 395 A.D.), Byzantium (from 395 to 1453), and Islamic Turkey (since 1071).
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
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- By MikeB on 12-08-18
By: Don Lincoln, and others
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The Viking Age: New Perspectives on History and Culture
- By: Jennifer Paxton, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Jennifer Paxton
- Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
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The Vikings evoke striking images of horned helmets, battle axes, and merciless coastal raids. Remembered for their shocking brutality and impressive naval prowess, these marauding pirates from the North have inspired poetry, fantasy novels, plays, symphonies, and even comic book heroes over the last 12 centuries. But do any of these enduring tropes reflect reality? Who were the Vikings really? What do we know about the period that bears their name? Explore these questions and more in The Viking Age, a 12-lecture course that corrects the record on a transformative period in world history.
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Up to date with new info
- By Amy Cassidy on 01-05-25
By: Jennifer Paxton, and others
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The Celtic World
- By: The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor Jennifer Paxton PhD
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
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Following the surge of interest and pride in Celtic identity since the 19th century, much of what we thought we knew about the Celts has been radically transformed. In The Celtic World, discover the incredible story of the Celtic-speaking peoples, whose art, language, and culture once spread from Ireland to Austria. This series of 24 enlightening lectures explains the traditional historical view of who the Celts were, then contrasts it with brand-new evidence from DNA analysis and archeology that totally changes our perspective on where the Celts came from.
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I wish this had a different title
- By Kindle Customer on 06-20-18
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The Middle Ages Around the World
- By: Joyce E. Salisbury, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Joyce E. Salisbury
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
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The Middle Ages was a time of major historical shifts and transformations. This amazing era reverberates with discoveries, innovations, events, and historical processes that are integral to the world we know now. In these 24 enthralling lectures, Professor Salisbury leads you on a sumptuous tour of this incredible historical epoch, making clear that the remarkable historical currents and advances of the Middle Ages unfolded not only in the West, but across the globe, from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East to Asia, the Americas, and beyond.
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A Rare Disappointment from The Great Courses
- By Curtis on 08-21-22
By: Joyce E. Salisbury, and others
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England: From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest
- By: Jennifer Paxton, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor Jennifer Paxton
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
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England: From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest takes you through the mists of time to the rugged landscape of the British Isles. Over the course of 24 sweeping lectures, Professor Jennifer Paxton of The Catholic University of America surveys the forging of a great nation from a series of warring kingdoms and migrating peoples. From Germanic tribes to Viking invasions to Irish missionaries, she brings to life an underexamined time and place.
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Wonderful
- By Anonymous User on 12-10-22
By: Jennifer Paxton, and others
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Rome and Persia
- The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Mark Elstob
- Length: 20 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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The Roman empire was like no other. Stretching from the north of Britain to the Sahara, and from the Atlantic coast to the Euphrates, it imposed peace and prosperity on an unprecedented scale. Its only true rival lay in the east, where the Parthian and then Persian empires ruled over great cities and the trade routes to mysterious lands beyond. Tracing seven centuries of conflict between Rome and Persia, historian Adrian Goldsworthy shows how these two great powers evolved together
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MAPS NEEDED
- By David on 12-29-23
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Creation Stories of the Ancient World
- By: Joseph Lam, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Joseph Lam
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
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Creation stories, found within many ancient cultures, are traditional accounts of the origins of the universe, the earth, and humanity. Often embodied as epic poetry, and told through the acts of divine beings, creation stories illuminate the values, beliefs, and creeds of the earliest civilizations. As such, these stories show us how early cultures made sense of the human condition, in theological, philosophical, and political terms. These 12 dynamic and thought-provoking lectures offer you a penetrating look at the origin stories of the great civilizations of the Mediterranean.
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great survey of Ancient Creation stories
- By Anthony Alemany on 07-13-23
By: Joseph Lam, and others
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The New Testament
- By: Bart D. Ehrman, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Bart D. Ehrman
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
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Whether taken as a book of faith or a cultural artifact, the New Testament is among the most significant writings the world has ever known, its web of meaning relied upon by virtually every major writer in the last 2,000 years. Yet the New Testament is not only one of Western civilization’s most believed books, but also one of its most widely disputed, often maligned, and least clearly understood, with a vast number of people unaware of how it was written and transmitted.
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If you want a balanced overview this is not it
- By Amazon Customer on 02-27-16
By: Bart D. Ehrman, and others
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The Pagan World
- Ancient Religions Before Christianity
- By: Hans-Friedrich Mueller, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Hans-Friedrich Mueller
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
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In The Pagan World: Ancient Religions Before Christianity, you will meet the fascinating, ancient polytheistic peoples of the Mediterranean and beyond, their many gods and goddesses, and their public and private worship practices, as you come to appreciate the foundational role religion played in their lives. Professor Hans-Friedrich Mueller, of Union College in Schenectady, New York, makes this ancient world come alive in 24 lectures with captivating stories of intrigue, artifacts, illustrations, and detailed descriptions from primary sources of intriguing personalities.
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The Pagan World
- By arnold e andersen md Dr Andersen on 03-28-20
By: Hans-Friedrich Mueller, and others
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The American Civil War
- By: Gary W. Gallagher, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Gary W. Gallagher
- Length: 24 hrs and 37 mins
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Between 1861 and 1865, the clash of the greatest armies the Western hemisphere had ever seen turned small towns, little-known streams, and obscure meadows in the American countryside into names we will always remember. In those great battles, those streams ran red with blood-and the United States was truly born.
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Excellent Series
- By Rodney on 07-09-13
By: Gary W. Gallagher, and others
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Persians
- The Age of the Great Kings
- By: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
- Narrated by: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
- Length: 18 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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The Achaemenid Persian kings ruled over the largest empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the steppes of Asia and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. In Persians, historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the epic story of this dynasty and the world it ruled. Drawing on Iranian inscriptions, cuneiform tablets, art, and archaeology, he shows how the Achaemenid Persian Empire was the world’s first superpower—one built, despite its imperial ambition, on cooperation and tolerance. This is the definitive history of the Achaemenid dynasty and its legacies in modern-day Iran.
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Good History and Historiography
- By David A on 04-19-22
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History's Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach
- By: The Great Courses, Gregory S. Aldrete
- Narrated by: Gregory S. Aldrete
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
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Military history often highlights successes and suggests a sense of inevitability about victory, but there is so much that can be gleaned from considering failures. Study these crucibles of history to gain a better understanding of why a civilization took - or didn't take - a particular path.
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Martial Chaos
- By Cynthia on 08-16-16
By: The Great Courses, and others
Another fantastic Course
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Fantastic and so easy to keep reading
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Very well taught A++
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Kenneth Harl is the best
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Breathtaking in scope and depth
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Serious, sweeping history
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Who knew this region was so important in history?
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Any additional comments?
This was a great overview of a history of Asia Minor (or Anatolia), what today would essentially be the area of the modern Republic of Turkey. Far from being an obscure topic about an obscure region, this little area is packed with history and was a major player throughout it.You will go from prehistory and the earliest Hittite Civilizations through the continual cycles of change the region experienced. As the natural crossroads of East and West, this region continually felt the pulls of the great cultural traditions of both East and West, a dynamic which continues right up to the present. This area was constantly "remade" as it went through phases of Greek, Roman, Celtic, Byzantine, and eventually Barbarian Steppe culture. The series ends with an look at how those Turkic speaking barbarians entered and remade this peninsula one last time into what would eventually be the heartland of the Ottoman Empire and the foundation of what we know as the modern Republic of Turkey.
The Professor is amazing. I have listened to many of his works and he offers his listeners traditional history at its very best. If you enjoy a good history book or class, you will learn from and enjoy this series.
There Ain't Nothin Minor about this Asia!!! : )
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Ancient* Civilizations of Asia Minor
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Professor Harl does his usual enthusiastic job. I have noted in some of his other courses that he often gives examples from this region (when talking about Ancient Greece, Rome, etc.) and this series gave me a deeper knowledge in this area of interest for him.
This would couple well with his lecture series on the Ottoman Empire if you are heading to the region.
History of Asia Minor/Turkey
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