Ancient Empires Before Alexander 1

These lectures cover the early empires - primarily in Mesopotamia. These are the ones that are less well known, yet quite intriguing. Empires such as Ur 3 and early Babylonia had interesting histories. Some tried to create a very centralized economy, with everything planned out from the top. This eventually fell apart when unexpected events occurred. Others tried a confederated approach. This had its problems when the vassals started squabbling. The ancient history of these empires makes them even more fascinating. Bureaucracy and government systems similar to what we have today were developed 3000-4000 years ago. Could there have been things even older that we just don't know about?

This first set of lectures seem to be the most lively of the series. The opening discusses the actual definition of "empire." It comes down to "things that we call empires are empires". I guess we know it when we see it. The question of why is also posed. Often it comes down to a larger-than-life personality.

The lectures do a good job of presenting a narrative, even when one is hard to come by. After all, we are dependent for the most part on clay tablets and building inscriptions. Ancient "CD-Roms" would be totally inaccessible. How many ancient civilizations are we totally missing?