history: Antiquity

This was the great age of ancient Greece and Rome. These two extraordinary civilizations were responsible for shaping much of the world we live in today. By around 100 BC, the ancient world was dominated by four empires. The Roman Empire was the most powerful, stretching from Europe to North Africa. In the Far East, the Han dynasty controlled most of all of what is now China, and the Middle East was ruled by the Sassanids. In India, the Gupta Family held power.

The civilizations of the Classical Age set many trends and patterns for later times. This was a time of amazing leaps in the knowledge of biology, mathematics, physics, literature, philosophy, and politics.