The article examines the development of the Roman Empire from 27 B.C. to 393 A.D.
This site includes an essay, 14 images with descriptions, and links to primary and secondary essays.
This site contains images and a description of frescoes from Boscoreale. Related primary and secondary essays are linked.
This article examines features of the Roman Republic. From its beginnings as a small cluster of huts in the tenth century B.C.E., Rome developed into a city-state, first ruled by kings, then, from 509 B.C.E. onward, by a new form of government: the Republic.
The site includes a slide show of 24 portraits from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. When one clicks on each slide, an explanatory essay also appears. There is a general essay on Roman portraiture with terms linked to either the portrait or other resources.
This essay contains general information and examples of four painting styles from the museum's collection.
This site contains images and a description of the frescoes from Boscotrecase. Related primary and secondary essays are linked.
This article traces the history of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties of China. The long period of the Bronze Age in China, which began around 2000 B.C., saw the growth and maturity of a civilization that would be sustained in its essential aspects for another 2,000 years.
This article examines the Tang Dynasty of China. Marked by strong and benevolent rule, successful diplomatic relationships, economic expansion, and a cultural efflorescence of cosmopolitan style, Tang China emerged as one of the greatest empires in the medieval world.
This article explains how African rulers and merchants established trade relations with the Mediterranean world, western Asia, and the Indian Ocean region.
This article explains how trade played a major role in the cultural, religious, and artistic exchanges that took place between the major centers of civilization in Europe and Asia during antiquity.
This article explains how Islam spread to Africca through trade and its impact on African societies.
This article explains how slaves became the focus of trade between Europe and Africa from the seventeenth century and explores the effects of the transatlantic slave trade.
This article examines how Venice's economic and diplomatic relationship with Egypt, Syria, and other areas along the eastern Mediterranean shore was tied to the Islamic world.
Interactive world history timeline from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 8000 B.C. - present day.