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This book is a general introduction to early social formations. It traces the historical evolution of societies from the origins of humankind to the decline of the Roman empire, the making of medieval Europe, and the advent of Islam. The main focus of the work is on Europe, West Asia and Egypt.The themes discussed in it include beginnings of food production, emergence of bronze age societies, ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations, Greco-Romanantiquity, slave mode of production, European feudalism, and the Islamic world down to the Mongol invasions. Although there is a vast literature on the subject, the need has long been felt for a concise single-volume survey of the kind which is presented here.The book has been designed specially to meet there quirements of university students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. However, it incorporates a wide range of fascinating information, including recent debates, which will appeal to the general reader as well. The first edition of the book has been revised and expanded for this new edition.Dr. Amar Farooqui is Professor in the Department of History, University of Delhi. He is the author of Colonial Forest Policy in Uttarakhand and Smuggling as Subversion and has edited a collection of Dr. Gangadhar Adhikari's Writings. He has published in several scholarly journals.