The peopling of the world -- Early river valley civilizations -- People and ideas on the move -- First age of empires -- Classical Greece -- Ancient Rome and early Christianity -- India and China establish empires -- African civilizations -- The Americas: a separate world -- The Muslim world -- Byzantines, Russians, and Turks interact -- Empires in east Asia -- European middle ages -- The formation of western Europe -- Societies and empires of Africa -- People and empires in the Americas -- European renaissance and reformation -- The Muslim world expands -- An age of explorations and isolation -- The Atlantic world.