Part I. The Ancient Near East-Pre-History:
Current scientfic theory tells us our beginnings commenced from nothing, out of nothing -- the ex-nilo theory. A point in space, of infinite mass, with no height, length or depth, exploded ("the big bang") scattering energy and matter across billions of miles of space. From this chaos, through random chance, the universe as we know it and this planet Earth, were created through random chance, without reason and without purpose. It just happened.
As this cosmic roulette wheel continued to spin, the suns, planets and, in some cases, satallites appeared. Thus, their was light and darkness on the earth. Next, water, land and air appeared, along with micro-organisms which mutated into vegitation, sea life, bird life and animal life. Next humankind appeared and the neolithic age began. 

Between 45000 BC and 10000 BC, Neandertal, the first of these began, to wane and were replaced by Cro-magan or modern man. Between 10,000 BC and 3000BC, the age of the hunter passed out with Neanderthal and the age of the hunter-farmer-gatherer arose which, in turn, developed first villages and, sometime before 3000 BC cities which had evolved into city-states by the year 3000.. Around 3000 BC, the Sumerians began writing on clay tablets, using crude and pictographic notations. Between 2500BC and 2000 BC, their system had been refined sufficiently to put their oral history into written form. By 1500 BC, they had amassed several thousand literary workds, ranging from 50 to 1000 lines each. This is the beginning of history, the written story of humankind; consequently, history does, a far as we know, begin at Sumer. [HBAS.001 and ANE02.001] 

I. The Beginnings:
By 8000 BC the Ur or first culture had developed. We do not know the name of the first city; however, there are several contenders: Jericho in the Jordon River Valley (circa 7000 BC), Catal Huyuk, Turkey  (circa 6900 BC), Jarmo, Iraq (circa 6800 BC) among others, most of which were abandoned before the urbanization of Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia's urbanization occurred between 5500 and 2400 BC. City living moved from North to South in a southeasterly direction down the Tigiris-Euphrates valley to the Persian Gulf. By 5000 BC, a temple had been built in Eridu. To the east, Elam, Persia had reached literacy by 3000BC; however, on the west, Canaan, whicle urbanized, was generally illiterate until sometime around 2400BC. By 2400 BC, literacy had spread from Harappan, India in the east to, possibly, as far west as Crete. Recent discoveries also suggest that writing may have begun in Egypt about the same time a Sumaria. It is also possible that writing commenced in India at about the same time or earlier. [ANE02.001] 

II. Sumer
Before the entry of the Sumarians into Mesopotamia, an earlier culture there had already developed some levels of civilization. Pottery making had existed since somewhere around 7000 to 6000BC and some metal working, primarily in copper, gold and silver. The Sumarians probably added the wheel, brick mold, pickax and sailing ship. The earlier settlements along the Tigeris and Euphrates rivers which were to be come cities had begun development by 5500BC. Before 5000BC, Eridu in Southern Mesopotamia, built its first temple. [ANE02.001] By around 4700BC, at Uruk (Erech in the Bible), permanent temples to An and Inanna (a/k/a Ishtar) had been established at Kullaba and Eanna respectively. By 3300BC writing had developed to a stage where it was a complete system of at least 700 different signs, though it was primarily limited to recording matters such as commodity transfers. It also appears that major developments in metallurgy occurred and the use of the plow began. Uruk's occupation began during the early Ubaid period and lasted untill around 300AD, developing into the most important city in Mesopotamia. [RFAS.001]

III. Akkad 
IV. Assyria 
V. Babylonia 
VI. Egypt 
VII. Greece 
VIII. Judah 

I. Theology
a. Torah
b. Bible
c. Koran
2. Science and Technology 
                a. Age of Reason 
                b. Age of Microsoft 
             3. Pre-history, Proto-history and History 
             4. Disciplines: Archeology, Biology & Technology 
       B. Approach 
             1. Belief Systems 
             2. Spirituality vs Religiosty 
             3. Bereshith to Alexander and the Hellenistic Age -- the merger of the     Near East and classical Europe. "Into it [the Helenistic Age] flowed the mainstreams of the past, Babylonian, Jewish, Iranian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, etc. Out of it flowed Late roman, Byzantime, Islamic and Medieval civilization. [B&ANE.001]

II.  The Beginning 
     A. The People of the Book 
     B. Parallel Belief Systems 
         1. Mesopotamia 
         2. Egyptian 
         3. Greco-Roman 
     C. Science 
     D. Inherent conflicts between scient the belief systems or theology 

III. Civilization and History to Sumer 
      A. Torah's Summary: Adam to Abraham [OR David OR Noah?]<br> 
      B. Paralle Systems (See IIB above) 
      C. The "scientific" explaination 

IV. Sumer -- The Historical Beginnings [See ANEast - Sumer] 

V.   The House of David (Judah) 
       A. Abraham to the Captivity 
       B. Exodus to Saul 
       C. The Davidic Dynasty 

VI.  Israel's Decline 
       A. Conflicts with Judah 
       B.  Alliances 
       C. Defeat and Babylonian Capativity 

VII. Babylon's Decline 

VIII Rise of Persia 

IX.   Decline of Judah 
        A. Alliances 
        B. Conflicts with Egypt 
        C. The Exile 
X.    Decline of Egypt 

XI.   Persian Empire 

XII.  Judah's Return to Jerusalem 

XIII. Decline of Persia