What aspects of life in the Neolithic period continued with little change in the states of Mesopotamia and Egypt? What were the most important differences?
How were the empires that developed in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Persia similar to one another? Which of the characteristics you have identified as a similarity do you predict will also be found in later empires, and why?
Most peoples in the ancient world gained influence over others and became significant in history through military conquest and the establishment of empires. By contrast, how did the Phoenicians and the Hebrews shape the development of world history?