Foreword The seven-volume Encyclopedia of World History is a comprehensive reference to the most important events, themes, and personalities in world history The encyclopedia covers the entire range of human history in chronological order—from the prehistoric eras and early civilizations to our contemporary age—using six time periods that will be familiar to students and teachers of world history This reference work provides a resource for students—and the general public—with content that is closely aligned to the National Standards for World History and the College Board’s Advanced Placement World History course, both of which have been widely adopted by states and school districts This encyclopedia is one of the first to offer a balanced presentation of human history for a truly global perspective of the past Each of the six chronological volumes begins with an in-depth essay that covers five themes common to all periods of world history They discuss such important issues as technological progress, agriculture and food production, warfare, trade and cultural interactions, and social and class relationships These major themes allow the reader to follow the development of the world’s major regions and civilizations and make comparisons across time and place The encyclopedia was edited by a team of five accomplished historians chosen because they are specialists in different areas and eras of world history, as well as having taught world history in the classroom They and many other experts are responsible for writing the approximately 2,000 signed entries based on the latest scholarship Additionally each article is cross-referenced with relevant other ones in that volume A chronology is included to provide students with a chronological reference to major events in the given era In each volume an array of full-color maps provides geographic context, while numerous illustrations provide visual contexts to the material Each article also concludes with a bibliography of several readily available pertinent reference works in English Historical documents included in the seventh volume provide the reader with primary sources, a feature that is especially important for students Each volume also includes its own index, while the seventh volume contains a master index for the set Marsha E Ackermann Michael J Schroeder Janice J Terry Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur Mark F Whitters Eastern Michigan University vii