History: The leading civilizations of the world - over time

This list was developed by Van Sloan in consultation with James Sheehan, chairman of Stanford's history department.

Click for descriptions of these Civilizations: Ancient. Middle Ages. or Modern

Appendix A

World Leadership Civilizations

approximate dates

years in leadership

Civilization (location)

Leading City

Ancient ( BC)

4000

2700

1300

Sumerian (Iraq)

**Uruk

2700

1075

1625

Egyptian

**Memphis (Cairo) & Thebes (Luxor)

1075

745

330

Phoenician (Lebanon)

Tyre

745

612

133

Assyrian (Iraq)

**Nineveh

612

539

73

Babylonian (Iraq)

**Babylon

539

478

61

Persian (Iran)

Susa

478

323

155

Greek

Athens

323

197

126

Hellenistic (Mediterranean, Egypt)

**Alexandria

197BC

378AD

575

Roman

**Rome

Middle Ages (AD)

378

467

85

Hindu - Gupta (India)

**Pataliputra (Patna)

467

589

122

Byzantine (Turkey)*

**Constantinople (Istanbul)

589

756

167

Chinese-T'ang

**Ch'ang-an

756

929

189

Islamic (Mediterranean)

**Baghdad

929

976

47

Islamic (Spain)

**Cordoba

976

1071

126

Byzantine (Turkey)*

**Constantinople (Istanbul)

1071

1294

223

Sung & Mongol (China)

Hangzhou & **Beijing

Modern (AD)

1294

1400

106

Italian Renaissance

1. Venice

1400

1453

53

2. Florence

1453

1545

92

Ottoman Turk *

Istanbul

1545

1588

43

Spanish

Madrid

1588

1609

21

English

London

1609

1672

63

Dutch

Amsterdam

1672

1814

142

French

Paris

1814

1830

16

Austrian

Vienna

1830

1918

88

British

**London

1918

present

100+

American

**New York

* Constantinople/ Istanbul was the world's leading city 3 times! For Sloan's photos of it and other top cities, see the index at http://vansloan.shutterfly.com

**Cities that were the largest in the world at that time

For a list of historical novels/ movies that coordinate the the above list, see http://social-quotient.info/sq.4mg.com/novels.htm

Go to: Influential persons and contributions of above civilizations

Go to>: Events marking start & end dates above

Go to: outline of this World Civilizations section of the website

Go to: Social Progress Index An interesting blending of the History of top civilizations (currently the USA) and of Economics (Gross Domestic Product per capita of countries).

For a good analysis of most of the top civilizations above, see the 2010 book “The West Rules - For Now” by Ian Morris, Willard professor in Classics and History at Stanford.



Economics: How free markets and wise government bring prosperity

"Very entertaining and informative" high school text by A. V. Sloan, Stanford MBA. Parts are useful for colleges, grades 4-8, even grades K-3; see free Read links below

Inexpensive - ideal for home schooling or as a supplementary, easy read text

Part 1 outline - The Invisible Hand. Insights into how markets work and how you can get at least your fair share. (Do you know what is a person's fair share?)

Preface including comments on this text by Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman (conservative) and prominent Harvard author John Kenneth Galbraith (liberal)

Read the popular "Oreo" chapter (on the cost of dinner at home)

Page on the role of politics in economics and personal success.

Part 2 outline - Fostering Prosperity. How effective government is key to the success of free markets. Chapters tie to US history periods, making the book a useful resource in government and history courses.

Read the chapter on New York beginnings

If you would like to read more Economics chapters, send an email to to: VanSloan@yahoo.com

Matchup of the economic concepts of the National Council on Economic Education with this text's chapters. Use this one-semester book to cover all required topics much more easily than the typical text designed for a full year course.

Preview book's cover showing cartoon characters thinking "What's in it for me?" -- the driving force of Economics. (May take extra time to load).

Comments on this textbook:

Teachers review text, including "Very entertaining and informative"

Student comments on book's readability and relevance to their lives

Also check out the Current Economic Issues book. Click to see its outline or to Read a sample chapter on the Drugs issue, from an economics perspective.

Information on author of the Economics text at http://social-quotient.info/sq.4mg.com/vansloan.htm