This book offers a range of documents to illustrate characteristic features of key civilizations during major stages of world history - from the beginnings of written records to the start of the modern age around 1500 C.E. - including contrasts and comparisons among major societies. Revised and updated with fourteen new documents and four new visual sources, the fifth edition ofDocuments in World Historyretains its global emphasis while improving its standard selections and political coverage, as well as expanding its coverage of Africa and the Middle East, including Persia.