Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean World; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity (Bronze Age ca. 1000 BC – Dark Ages ca. AD 500). Initially, study of the Classics (the period’s literature) was the principal study in the humanities. Traditionally, the Classics studied the Mediterranean civilisations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, yet, Ancient Egypt was beyond the discipline. Contemporary classicists study a broader Classics field that comprises the Oriental ancient Mediterranean World, thus, Orientalist scholars concentrate upon the near and far Eastern Mediterranean civilisations — the Persian Empire, the kingdoms of Ancient India, et al.