The aim of this course is to enable students to understand the emergence and development of human civilization through its historical, social, and cultural dimensions. Within the scope of the course, the transition from hunter-gatherer communities to settled life, agricultural societies, the emergence of cities and states will be examined, while the political institutions, social structures, intellectual traditions, and cultural productions of the civilizations of the Ancient Near East, the Aegean world, and Rome will be evaluated from a comparative perspective. Furthermore, the course aims to develop students’ ability to analyze interactions among civilizations, the historical formation of the Mediterranean world, and the historical foundations of concepts such as law, governance, citizenship, urbanization, and cultural heritage.

This course examines the historical development of humanity from hunter-gatherer societies to the emergence of settled communities, the agricultural revolution, the formation of the first states and cities, the civilizations of the Ancient Near East, the Aegean world of Antiquity, and the Roman civilization. Within the scope of the course, the emergence of the concept of civilization will be analyzed through economic systems of production, social organization, political structures, law, religion, mythology, art, architecture, the invention of writing, and cultural interactions. After examining the lifestyles of early human communities, the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, the Neolithic Revolution, and the development of sedentary life, the political and cultural structures of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Anatolian, and Eastern Mediterranean civilizations will be discussed. Subsequently, through the Minoan, Mycenaean, and Archaic–Hellenic worlds, the urban culture, citizenship, democracy, philosophy, and artistic traditions of the ancient Aegean civilizations will be explored. The course will also address the political institutions, legal system, urbanization model, social structure, and the role of Roman civilization in shaping the Mediterranean world. In this way, students are expected to develop the ability to evaluate the emergence of early civilizations, their interactions with one another, and the historical foundations of the Western and Mediterranean civilization traditions from a comparative perspective.