Robert L. Dise

Complete your knowledge of the ancient world with this comprehensive look at the dozen empires that flourished in the 2,000 years before the conquests of Alexander the Great. Over the course of 36 insightful lectures, you'll follow the Egyptians, the Mycenaean Greeks, the Persians, the Carthaginians, and others as they rise to glory, create administrative and military structures, clash with one another, and eventually collapse. Professor Dise immerses...

Legend and modern archaeological fact agree that the most important kingdom in Bronze Age Greece was Mycenae, which rose to power around 1600 B.C. Here, learn how the excavation of two key sites revealed insights into Mycenaean dynasties; then, explore the culture's decentralized government and its warlike nature.

What makes a true "empire"? How do empires rise and flourish? How do they decline and fall? Discover pointed answers to these and other fundamental questions about the study of empires in this engaging course overview.

How did Persia's wars with Greece end? Discover the answer in this lecture, which explains how the Battle of Plataea forced the Persian Empire to go on the defensive, endure a series of defeats, and ultimately reach a cessation of hostilities in 449 B.C. with the Peace of Callias.

The history of Hatti, according to Professor Dise, is a history of war. Here, examine how this great empire conducted battles against threats from all around. Explore the details of chariot battle, listen to the Great King ask the gods for success in battle, and learn how defeated enemies were treated.

In the late 22nd century B.C., the imperial dynasty of Ur III briefly rose to power in Sumeria. Professor Dise takes you inside the dynasty's founding under Ur-Nammu, its tyrannical taxation and economic systems, its imperial government and administrative structure under King Shulgi, and its disintegration after barely a century.

Around 2000 B.C., Assyria was a backwater district ruled by its conquerors. So how did it evolve into one of antiquity's greatest empires - one that spanned more than 1,000 years and came into contact with other imperial powers in the ancient Near East? Discover the answer in this fascinating lecture.

Perhaps the most epic conflict of the ancient world was the Punic Wars waged between Carthage and Rome. Discover how the first phase of conflict was born in Carthage's struggle for control of Sicily - first with the Greek city of Syracuse and then with the emerging Roman Republic.

Plunge into the heat of battle between the Persian Empire and the city-states of Greece during the Greco-Persian Wars, which ranged from 499 to 449 B.C. Explore Persian efforts to neutralize Greek autonomy and discover the strategies that led to a Greek victory at the epic Battle of Marathon.

In this lecture, focus on the elements of Hittite government, paying particular attention to the central role played by the Great King (the "Labarna") - especially in judicial matters. Hatti, you learn, possessed an intricate imperial system that blended hierarchy, bureaucracy, and feudalism.