Greece and Rome are considered the founders of Western civilization. But the ancient world was much more interconnected than we imagine - a place of constant exchange, trade and theft, sex, war and enslavement. On a journey from the Levant of 2500 BC to the beginning of the Age of Discovery, we learn where the roots of the West can be found. With profound insights and compelling storytelling, Josephine Quinn offers a new global perspective on our shared past.
Our view of history says that the West is built on the achievements and values of ancient Greece and Rome, which disappeared from Europe during the Middle Ages and were then rediscovered during the Renaissance. But what if this is not true? From the Bronze Age to the Age of Discovery, the author unveils a new narrative: one that traces the millennia of global encounters and exchanges that shaped what is now called the West, as societies met, entangled and grew apart. From the creation of the alphabet by Levantine laborers in Egypt to the arrival of Indian numbers in Europe via the Arab world, Quinn shows that the understanding of societies in isolation is wrong. It is contacts and connections that drive historical change. People, not peoples, make history. (Publisher)