Introduction: How to Use the Alexandria Plan vii Era 1 From First Fire to First Community: Humanity Evolves (ca. 200,000 bce to 3000 bce) 1 Text Study: Early Humans by DK Publishing Era 2 Civilizations Emerge: The Power of Words and of Bronze (ca. 3500 bce to ca. 1000 bce) 7 Text Study: Mesopotamia by Don Nardo Era 3 From Iron to Ideas: Religion and Freedom Take Shape (ca. 1700 bce to 400 bce) 15 Text Study: Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide by Marian Broida Era 4 The Classical Era: Hellenistic Greece and Rome Flourish (400 bce to 476 ce) 23 Text Study: Roman Diary: The Journal of Iliona of Mytilini, Who Was Captured and Sold as a Slave in Rome, ad 107 by Richard Platt and David Parkins Era 5 Religion and War: Driving Change in Asian Empires (1750 bce to ca. 1650 ce) 31 Text Study: Kubla Khan: The Emperor of Everything by Kathleen Krull Era 6 The Rise of Islam: Religion Travels on a Road of Silk (ca. 610 ce to 1500s) 39 Text Study: Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta, 1325 1354 by James Rumford Era 7 Europe after Rome Fell: The Middle Ages Descend (400s to 1350) 47 Text Study: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz Era 8 The Renaissance: Thought Reborn and Made Beautiful (ca. 1300 to 1648) 55 Text Study: Michelangelo by Diane Stanley Era 9 Americas North and South: The New World (ca. 20,000 bce to ca. 1500 ce) 65 Text Study: The Ancient Maya by Jennifer Fretland VanVoorst Era 10 Europe s Global Expansion (1492 to ca. 1700) 73 Text Study: Hernando Cortes: Spanish Invader of Mexico by John Zronik Era 11 The Revolutionary Roots: The Modern West (ca. 1600 to 1800) 81 Text Study: Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei by Peter Sis Era 12 The Industrial Revolution: Nationalism Unites (1790s to 1880s) 91 Text Study: Marie Antoinette: Madam Deficit by Liz Hockinson Era 13 Modern Imperialism: A Race of Conquest and Supremacy (ca. 1790s to 1900) 99 Text Study: The Slave Trade by Melody Herr Era 14 National Rivalries: The Eruption of Global Conflict (1880s to 1918) 107 Text Study: In Flanders Field by John McCrae Text Study: Where Poppies Grow: A World War I Companion by Linda Granfield Era 15 Depression after Versailles: The Rise of Totalitarian Powers (1919 to 1930s) 115 Text Study: Joseph Stalin (1879 1953) by BBC History Text Study: Breaking Stalin s Nose by Eugene Yelchin Era 16 Global Calamity: Appeasement Fails and Global Conflict Returns (mid-1930s to 1945) 123 Text Study: Remember World War II: Kids Who Survived Tell Their Stories by Dorinda Makanaonalani Nicholson Era 17 Post-War World: An Iron Curtain Divides the Globe (1945 to 1960s) 133 Text Study: Lesson on Discrimination Based on Race by United Nations Cyber School Bus Text Study: Apartheid Timeline by United Nations Cyber School Bus Text Study: Journey to Jo Burg: A South African Story by Beverley Naidoo Era 18 The Cold War Thaws: Uneasy Cooperation between Nations (1960s to Present) 141 Text Study: Hands around the Library: Protecting Egypt s Treasured Books by Karen Leggett Abouraya Era Summaries 149 Era 1 From First Fire to First Community: Humanity Evolves (ca. 200,000 bce to 3000 bce) 151 Human Origins and Migration Paleolithic Societies and the Emergence of Human Culture The Agricultural Revolution Technology, Trade, and the Rise of Settled Communities Era 2 Civilizations Emerge: The Power of Words and of Bronze (ca. 3500 bce to ca. 1000 bce) 154 The First Cities: Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China States of the Early Bronze Age The Invention and Impact of Writing The Later Bronze Age in West Asia and the Mediterranean Era 3 From Iron to Ideas: Religion and Freedom Take Shape (ca. 1700 bce to 400 bce) 158 Bronze Age Collapse and the New Peoples of the Iron Age Ancient Israel and the Roots of Eura Ancient Israel and the Roots of Eurasian Monotheism The Revival of Greek Culture and the Expansion of Greek Influence The Brief Glories of Classical Athens Era 4 The Classical Era: Hellenistic Greece and Rome Flourish (400 bce to 476 ce) 163 Alexander s Empire and the Hellenistic Legacy Rome Rises Imperial Rome and Its Breaking Point Christianity, Constantine, and the Decline of the Western Empire Era 5 Religion and War: Driving Change in Asian Empires (1750 bce to ca. 1650 ce) 168 India: From the Vedas to the Guptas Buddhism, Hinduism, and the Wider World Imperial China Emerges China from Tang to Qing Lands beyond China: Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia Era 6 The Rise of Islam: Religion Travels on a Road of Silk (ca. 610 ce to 1500s) 174 Islam s Origins and Rapid Conquests Political Division and Cultural Achievement Amid Chaos, Continued Expansion Later Islamic Empires Era 7 Europe after Rome Fell: The Middle Ages Descend (400s to 1350) 179 Europe Rebuilds in the Wake of Rome s Fall The Carolingian Empire and Its Successors The Feudal States of Western Europe European Commerce and Culture: The Medieval Revival Era 8 The Renaissance: Thought Reborn and Made Beautiful (ca. 1300 to 1648) 185 The Changing World of Late Medieval Europe Classical Revival, the Expansion of Learning, and the Rise of the Renaissance Exploration and the Roots of European Expansion The Reformation and Its Consequences Era 9 Americas North and South: The New World (ca. 20,000 bce to ca. 1500 ce) 192 Early Human Settlement of the Americas The Native Peoples of North America The Native Peoples of Mesoamerica The Native Peoples of South America Era 10 Europe s Global Expansion (1492 to ca. 1700) 196 Spain Takes On the New World Other European Powers Enter the Americas The African Slave Trade Intensifies Europe Expands into Asia and Eastern Colonialism Begins Era 11 The Revolutionary Roots: The Modern West (ca. 1600 to 1800) 201 Uneven Growth and Economic Modernization Freedom versus Power: England and France in the Seventeenth Century New Ideas Emerge in a Rapidly Modernizing Europe America and France Enter the Age of Revolution Era 12 The Industrial Revolution: Nationalism Unites (1790s to 1880s) 209 Napoleon s Europe Industrialization, Technology, Science and Turmoil Napoleon s Wake: Rising Threats to Europe s Old Regimes Nationalists, Conservatives, and the Unification of Italy and Germany Era 13 Modern Imperialism: A Race of Conquest and Supremacy (ca. 1790s to 1900) 217 European Empires Face Decline in the Americas Britain Takes Over India as Europe Edges into Africa The West s Heavy Hand in the Pacific Late-Century Climax: The Disintegration of China and the Scramble for Africa Era 14 National Rivalries: The Eruption of Global Conflict (1880s to 1918) 224 Empires in Collision Europe s Tinderbox Europe s Tensions Erupt into World War A New World of Science, Technology, War, and Culture Era 15 Depression after Versailles: The Rise of Totalitarian Powers (1919 to 1930s) 232 The Versailles Settlement and Its Discontents Totalitarians Rising The Global Depression and the Entrenchment of the Nazis Science Advances in a World of Growing Danger Era 16 Global Calamity: Appeasement Fails and Global Conflict Returns (mid-1930s to 1945) 240 Fascist Aggression Intensifies As Appeasement Fails, Europe Slides toward War Hitler Sweeps across Europe Global Conflict and the Devastation of Total War Era 17 Post-War World: An Iron Curtain Divides the Globe (1945 to 1960s) 248 The Emerging Cold War Deterrence and the Uneasy Balance of the Superpowers The End of the Colonial Empires and the Rise of New Nations: South Asia and the Pacific Africa and the Middle East Era 18 The Cold War Thaws: Uneasy Cooperation between Nations (1960s to Present) 254 Global Conflict and Diplomacy: Detente, China, and the Middle East The Cold War Ends and European Communism Falls The Changing Post Cold War World Recent Trends: Global Ties and Conflicts Who Is Common Core 263 Acknowledgments 265 Index 267
