Chapter 2 Ancient Societies in Mesopotamia, India, and Central Asia, 5000 – 600 B.C.E.

Early Mesopotamian Urbanized Societies, to 2000 B.C.E. The Mesopotamian Environment Geography and Cultural Development The Mesopotamian Melting-Pot The Pioneering Sumerians Sumerian Infrastructure Myth and Urban Life Sumerian Economy and Culture Patriarchal Society The Sumerian Trade Network The First Written Records The Sumerian Innovation The Akkadian Empire and its Rivals Sargon and Akkad: The First Imperial State

Later Mesopotamian Societies and Their Legacies, 2000 – 600 B.C.E. The Babylonians and Hittites The Code of Hammurabi The Hittites The Rise and Fall of the Assyrian Empire Weapons and Warfare The Chaldean Empire and Nebuchadnezzar Mesopotamian Law, Religion, and Culture Social Justice Religion and Literature

The Earliest Indian and Central Asian Societies, 6000 – 1500 B.C.E South Asian Environments and the Rise of Farming Harappan Society and Its Beliefs Urban Planning Society and Governance Harappan Dynamism and Decline Innovation and Trade A Mysterious Decline Central Asian Environments and Oxus Cities The Nomads of the Steppes The Oxus Society

The Aryans and a New Indian Society, 1500 – 600 B.C.E. The Aryan Peoples and the Vedas Aryan Government, Society, and Religion The Aryan Family The Aryans at Play The Vedic Religion Aryan Expansion and State Building in North India Aryan Kingdoms Emerge

The Aryans and a New Indian Society, 1500 – 600 B.C.E. The Roots of the Caste System Indo-Aryan Society, Economy, and Technology Technology and Agriculture Hinduism: A New Religion of Diverse Roots From Vedism to Brahmanism to Hinduism