Western civilization traces its roots back to Europe and the
Mediterranean. It is linked to the
Roman Empire and with Medieval
Western Christendom which emerged from the
Middle Ages to experience such transformative episodes as
the Renaissance,
the Reformation,
the Enlightenment,
the Industrial Revolution,
scientific revolution, and the development of
liberal democracy. The civilizations of
Classical Greece and
Ancient Rome, as well as early
Christendom, are considered seminal periods in Western history; cultural contributions also emerged from the pagan peoples of pre-Christian Europe, and from the civilizations in the
Ancient Near East. Western civilization has spread to produce the dominant cultures of modern
North America,
South America, and
Oceania, and has had immense global influence in recent centuries in many ways.