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World history

From the earliest civilizations to the modern world, geography, religion, trade, and politics have bound peoples and nations together—and torn them apart. Take a journey through time and space and discover the fascinating history behind the complex world we inhabit today

15 units376 videos60 hours

Learn it live with a class on Puzzicle · Teachers: use it with your class

Unit 1: Origins of History

History Stories | 1.1

History of Many Shapes and Sizes | 1.2

History Frames | 1.3

History and Memory | 1.4

Unit 2: Early Humans (250,000 BP to 3000 BCE)

The Earliest Humans | 2.1

Migration and Art | 2.2

Foraging Societies | 2.3

The Agricultural Revolution | 2.4

The Biggest Mistake Humans Ever Made? | 2.5

Unit 3: Early Agrarian Societies (6000 BCE to 100 CE)

Cities, Societies, and Empires | 3.1

Ancient Trade Networks | 3.4

Ancient Mesopotamia | 3.6

Shang Dynasty China | 3.7

Nubia and Ancient Egypt | 3.8

Ancient Americas | 3.10

Indus River Valley | 3.11

Unit 4: Empires and Belief Systems (600 BCE to 700 CE)

Empires and Belief Systems | 4.1

Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism | 4.3

Hinduism and Buddhism | 4.4

Judaism and Christianity | 4.5

Islam | 4.6

Ancient Empires: Persians and Greeks | 4.9

Ancient Empires: Mauryan and Gupta | 4.10

Ancient Empires: Zhou and Qin | 4.11

Ancient Empires: Rome and Han China | 4.13

The Rise and Fall of Empires | 4.14

Women in the Ancient World | 4.15

Unit 5: Regional Webs (200 to 1500 CE)

Collapse and Restructuring | 5.1

Why Do Empires Collapse? | 5.2

Systems Restructure in Europe | 5.4

Systems Restructure in China | 5.5

The Islamic World | 5.6

The Silk Roads | 5.7

Expanding the Silk Roads | 5.8

Unit 6: The First Global Age (1200 to 1750 CE)

The First Global Age | 6.1

The Mongol Empire | 6.2

Cultural Exchange in Afro-Eurasia | 6.4

Communities in the Americas | 6.5

Trade Routes in the Americas | 6.6

Empires Expand | 6.7

Age of Exploration | 6.8

The Columbian Exchange | 6.9

The Transatlantic Slave Trade | 6.10

Unit 7: The Long Nineteenth Century (1750 to 1914 CE)

The Long Nineteenth Century | 7.1

Enlightenment and Revolution | 7.2

Atlantic Revolutions | 7.3

Nationalism | 7.4

The Industrial Revolution | 7.5

Comparing Industrialization in Egypt and Japan | 7.6

The Working Class | 7.7

Industrial Imperialism | 7.9

Resisting Colonialism | 7.10

Unit 8: Global Conflict (1914 to 1991 CE)

Century of Conflict | 8.1

Causes of the First World War | 8.2

The First Total War | 8.3

A World Remade | 8.4

Interwar Ideologies | 8.5

The Second World War | 8.6

The Cold War | 8.8

Decolonization | 8.9

Unit 9: Globalization (1900 CE to the Present)

Our Interconnected World | 9.1

Is Globalization Good or Bad? | 9.2

The Great Acceleration | 9.4

Global Communities | 9.5

Experiencing Globalization | 9.7

The Anthropocene? | 9.8

Unit 10: Beginnings - 600 BCE

The origin of humans and early human societies

The Neolithic Revolution and the birth of agriculture

Ancient Mesopotamia

Ancient Egypt

Ancient art and artifacts

Ancient India

Shang China

Ancient Americas

Human innovation and the environment

Unit 11: 600 BCE - 600 CE Second-Wave Civilizations

Ancient Persia

Classical Greece

The rise and fall of empires

Empire of Alexander the Great

Rise of Rome

From Roman Republic to Roman Empire

The Roman Empire

Ancient and Imperial China

Early Judaism

Early Christianity

Early Americas

Empires in India

Early Hinduism

Early Buddhism

Syncretism

Women and families

Transregional Trade: the Silk Road

Survey of second-wave civilizations

Unit 12: 600 - 1450 Regional and interregional interactions

Byzantine Empire

European Middle Ages: feudalism and serfdom

Origins of Islam

Spread of Islam

Sunni and Shia Islam

Golden Age of Islam

The Great Schism

The Crusades

The Mongols

Song China

Medieval Japan

Maya, Aztec, and Inca

Environment and trade

Human migration

Development of financial institutions

Unit 13: 1450 - 1750 Renaissance and Reformation

Spanish and Portuguese Empires

Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment

Mughal rule in India

Sikhism

The Protestant Reformation

The Russian Empire

Unit 14: 1750 -1900 Enlightenment and Revolution

American Revolution

French Revolution

Napoleon Bonaparte

France's many revolutions and republics

Haitian Revolution

Latin American independence

Imperialism

Unit 15: The 20th century

Beginning of World War I

Other fronts of World War I

Western and Eastern fronts of World War I

Blockades and American entry

World War I shapes the Middle East

Aftermath of World War I

Rise of Hitler and the Nazis

Rise of Mussolini and Fascism

Overview of Chinese history 1911-1949

Overview of World War II

The Cold War

Human rights

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