Transcript CHAPTER 1 Early Civilizations

CHAPTER 1
Early Civilizations
 The Emergence of Civilization
-A civilization is a complex culture, or way of life,
in which large numbers of people share a
number of common elements.
-1st ones emerged in the river valleys of
Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China
-Why and how?
(1) increased food production led to significant
growth in the human population and the rise of
cities.
(2) The need to protect these large numbers
of people and to maintain the food supply
led to the growth of governments.
(3) The abundant food supply also enabled
some people to work in occupations other
than farming.
(4) As artisans, craftspeople, and merchants
began to create and trade new products, a
new social structure based on economic
power arose.
-Rulers and an upper class of priests, government
officials, and warriors came to dominate society.
►The new civilizations all developed religions to
explain the workings of nature and their own
existence.
-Temples and pyramids were built for worship,
sacrifice, and for the burial of kings
►Writing was developed and used by rulers,
priests, and merchants to keep accurate records.
-The emergence of civilizations was a dramatic new
stage in world history.
THE EARLY GREEK CIVILIZATION
 The ancient Greeks called the valley
between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Mesopotamia, the land “between the rivers.”
-the Fertile Crescent, an arc of land with rich
soil stretching from the Mediterranean Sea
to the Persian Gulf.
 By 3000 B.C., the Sumerians had
established a number of city-states in
southern Mesopotamia.
 City-states are cities with political and
economic control over the surrounding
countryside.
 In these cities, the Sumerians built
-temples to the gods or goddesses they
believed owned the cities, who were very
powerful
-but it was the kings who led armies and
created the irrigation projects that allowed
productive farming.
 Around 2340 B.C., the Sumerian city-states were
overrun by the Akkadians, led by Sargon.
-this created the first empire in world history.
 In 1792 B.C., Hammurabi of Babylon formed
another empire in Mesopotamia by gaining control
of both Sumer and Akkad.
 One of Hammurabi’s most important
achievements was The Code of Hammurabi
-collection of 282 laws that governed almost every
aspect of life and set severe penalties for
violations.
- the principle of retribution (“an eye for an eye,
tooth for a tooth”) famous part of the code
 The Sumerians invented many common items:
(1) world’s first writing system.
-In about 3000 B.C., created cuneiform, a “wedgeshaped” system of writing.
-creative writing – famous Mesopotamian poem The
Epic of Gilgamesh,
(2) wagon wheel made getting people and goods
from place to place easier.
(3) The potter’s wheel
(4) the sundial
(5) Made bronze out of copper and tin.
(6) also made outstanding achievements in math
and astronomy.
EGYTIAN HISTORY
 Historians divided Egyptian history into three
major periods
—the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and
the New Kingdom.
 The Old Kingdom lasted from about 2700 to
2200 B.C.
-It was during this time that the Egyptians built
the pyramids
-The largest of the pyramids, the Great
Pyramid, was built by King Khufu at Giza
around 2540 B.C.
 Next came the Middle Kingdom, which lasted
from about 2050 to 1652 B.C.
-was a golden age marked by stability and
environmental achievements
-during this time, draining of swampland to
make new farmland
-the digging of a canal between the Nile and
the Red Sea to aid trade and transportation
 the New Kingdom, which lasted from
approximately 1567 to 1085 B.C,
established Egypt an the most powerful
empire in Southwest Asia
-For the next thousand years, Egypt was ruled
by various foreign powers.
-In the first century B.C., the pharaoh
Cleopatra VII tried to reestablish Egypt’s
independence.
-She was defeated, however, and Egypt
became a province in the Roman Empire.
Egyptian Cultures
 The Greeks called the early Egyptian writing that
emerged in Egypt around 3000 B.C. hieroglyphics,
-meaning “priest-carvings” or “sacred writing.”
-this complex system of pictures and more abstract
forms was used in temples and tombs.
-the pyramids, temples, and other monuments are
fine examples of the architectural and artistic
achievements of the Egyptians.
-they used their advances in mathematics and
geometry to help build these structures.
-the Egyptians also developed an accurate 365-day
calendar.
 By 1200 B.C., a power vacuum had
emerged that allowed a number of small
 states to emerge and flourish for a short
time.
-the Israelites were one of these peoples.
-they became known as the Jews and gave
their name to Judaism
Early Civilizations in India
 Around 1500 B.C., the Aryans, a group of IndoEuropean nomadic peoples of central Asia,
eventually dominated most of India.
-established a caste system based on social classes
emerged in ancient India.
-the caste system determined a person’s status,
occupation, and economic potential.
1. Brahmans, or priests
2. Kshatriyas, or warriors
3. Vaisyas, or commoners and merchants
4. Sudras, or peasants and artisans
5. Untouchables - people who were not even
considered human.
 Of the great civilizations discussed so far,
China was the last to develop.
-Why?
-China was isolationed from the rest of the world
**the first major Chinese dynasty was the Shang
Dynasty, 1750 B.C to 1122 B.C
-It featured an organized government, a system
of writing, and advanced skills in the creation of
bronze vessels.
 The Zhou dynasty began in 1045 B.C. and lasted
until 256 B.C.
-One important development during this dynasty was
the Mandate of Heaven.
-this allowed the Zhou kings to rule over all humanity
by a mandate, or authority to command.
-The king was also responsible for following
the “Way,” or Dao.
-It was the ruler’s duty to keep the gods pleased in
order to
-protect the people from natural disaster or a bad
harvest.
-A king could be overthrown and replaced by a new
ruler if he failed to uphold the “Way.”
 the Qin dynasty emerged after this period.
-Concerned by raids by nomadic people from
the north, they built a system of walls to
repel the invaders.
-This construction project became known as
the Great Wall of China
 In the sixth century B.C., philosopher Confucius
traveled throughout China
-Confucius believed that if humans acted in harmony
with the purposes of the universe, they would
prosper.
-Proper behavior requires living in accordance with
the Dao (“Way”),
- People should think of others before themselves,
as outlined in the Five Constant Relationships.
-also believed in a “work ethic” whereby hard work
by individuals would help society as a whole to
prosper.
-Confucian element of humanity asked all individuals
to show compassion and empathy for others.
People and Ideas on the Move
Hinduism
Buddhism
Judaism
Number
of gods
Many gods, all
faces of Brahman
No gods
One God
Holy
Books
Vedas;
Upanishads,
Mahabharata,
and others
Books on the
teachings and the
life of the
Buddha
The Torah and
other books of
the Hebrew
Bible
Moral Law
Karma
Eightfold Path
Ten
Commandments
Leaders
Brahmins
Monks
Priests, judges,
kings, prophets
Final Goal
Moksha
Enlightenment,
Nirvana
A moral life
through obedience
to God’s law
CLASSICAL GREEK CIVILIZATION
 Geography played an important role in the
development of Greek civilization.
-Greece is small.
-The mountains isolated Greeks from one another,
causing Greek communities to develop their own
ways of life.
-the Greeks became seafarers due to the many
islands and a long seacoast
 Mycenaean civilization flourished in Greece
between 1600 and 1100 B.C.
 Mycenaean civilization reached its high point
between 1400 and 1200 B.C.
 When Mycenaean civilization collapsed around
1100 B.C., Greece entered a period of population
decline and lower food production.
-called the Dark Ages
-approximately 1100 to 750 B.C.
-few records exist of what happened during this time.
-at end of Dark Ages, poet Homer wrote Iliad and
Odyssey (epic poems)
 By 750 B.C., the city-state—or what the Greeks
called a polis—became the central focus of Greek
life.
-The main gathering place in the polis was usually a
hill,
-top of it was a fortified area called an acropolis.
**Forms of government differed among the citystates.
-Some had democracy, or rule of the many.
-Others were committed to oligarchy, or rule by the
few.
-These differences seen in the two most famous and
powerful Greek city-states, Sparta and Athens.
 Sparta
-the lives of Spartans were rigidly organized
and tightly controlled.
-Males were prepared from childhood for life in
the army, where they were expected to serve
until age 60.
-Since men were away from home for long
periods, women in Sparta enjoyed greater
freedom and power in the household than
was common elsewhere in Greece.
 Classical Greece is the name given to the period of
Greek history from around 500 B.C. to the fall of
Greece in 338 B.C.
-Athens took over leadership of the Greek world.
-Under Pericles, Athens expanded its empire abroad
while allowing democracy to
flourish at home.
-During this Age of Pericles, Athens was governed by
a direct democracy
-a system in which the people participate directly in
government decision making through mass
meetings.
-Every male citizen of Athens participated
in the governing assembly and voted on
all major issues.
 The growth of the Athenian Empire
frightened the other Greek empire of
Sparta,
-Athens and Sparta had built two very different
societies, and neither could tolerate the other’s
system.
-A series of disputes finally led to the outbreak of the
Great Peloponnesian War between the two
powers in 431 B.C.
-The disastrous war lasted until 405 B.C. and ended
in the destruction of the Athenian Empire.
The Legacy of Classical Greece
Government
• Direct democracy; citizens
rule by majority vote
• Written code of laws
• Citizens bring charges of
wrong doing; trial by jury
• Expansion of citizenship to
all free adult males, except
foreigners
Culture
• Greek language
• Mythology about gods and
goddesses
• Olympic Games
• Philosophers search for truth
-Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
Arts
• Drama and poetry
• Sculpture portraying ideals
of beauty
GREEK
CIVILIZATION
• Painted pottery showing
scenes of Greek life
• Classical architecture
Science & Technology
• Disagreement whether sun or
earth at center of universe
• Accurate estimate of
circumference of earth
• Euclid’s geometry textbook
• Development of lever, pulley,
pump
 In 359 B.C., Philip II became king of
Macedonia, Greece’s northern neighbor.
-In 338 B.C., the Macedonian army crushed the
Greeks at the Battle of Chaeronea
 His son Alexander the Great took over
and invaded the Persian Empire.
-over the next three years, he moved east and
northeast, as far as modern-day Pakistan.
 In June 323 B.C., however, he died at the age
of 32.
 Alexander created a new age, the Hellenistic
Era.
-Hellenistic is derived from a Greek word
meaning “to imitate Greeks.”
-During this age, the Greek language and
Greek ideas spread to Southwest Asia and
beyond.
-Hellenistic rulers encouraged the massive
spread of Greek colonists to fill
administrative and army positions
-The city of Alexandria stood out as a home to
poets, writers, philosophers, and scientists.
THE EMERGENCE OF ROME
 Between 1500 and 1000 B.C., Indo-European
peoples moved into Italy.
-The Latins, who settled around Rome, spoke Latin.
-They est a republic,
a type of government in which the leader
is not a monarch and certain citizens have the right to
vote.
-By 264 B.C., the Romans had conquered areas
outside the city of Rome
-created the Roman Confederation to rule Italy.
 -Under this system, some people would
have full Roman citizenship and others
would be Roman allies who could get
citizenship
 In the early Roman Republic, there were 2 social
classes:
(1) The patricians were wealthy landowners who could
vote and serve in office and became the ruling class.
(2) The plebeians were the less wealthy and common
people who could vote but not serve in office.
-two consuls ran the government and led the
Roman army into battle.
-The praetor was in charge of civil law as it applied to
Roman citizens.
-As the Roman Republic gained more territory, another
praetor was added to address issues of non-citizens.
-the council of the plebs, an assembly just for
plebeians, was
created in 471 B.C.
-Plebeians were eventually permitted to
become consuls.
-The council of plebs could pass laws for all
Romans.
-Despite these gains, the Roman Republic
was ruled by a few wealthy patrician and
plebeian families and was not a true
democracy.
 The Roman Senate had acquired the real
control of the government.
 Augustus became the first Roman emperor
after the Senate named him imperator, or
commander in chief.
-The word emperor comes from imperator.
 The Early Empire in Rome lasted from A.D. 14 to
180.
-From 96 to 180, five so-called good emperors ruled
during a period of peace and prosperity called
 the Pax Romana or “Roman Peace.”
-They created domestic programs - offering funds to
poor parents and building public works projects
such as aqueducts, bridges, roads, and ports.
-With over three and a half million square miles of
territory and around fifty million people, it was one
of the greatest states the world had ever seen.
-Trade networks covered the vast empire in
which silk from China and grains from
Egypt came to the people of Rome.
-Although trade was significant to the
economy, the majority of Romans were
farmers.
First Age of Empires
Persia 550–350 B.C.
Egypt 1570– 1075 B.C.
• Pharaohs set up a professional
army.
• Pharaohs invaded surrounding
territories in Africa and
Southwest Asia.
• Egypt drew vast wealth from
the lands it controlled around
the Nile and far beyond.
Nubia 751 B.C.– A.D. 350
• Nubia and Egypt interacted and
spread their culture to their
trading partners.
• The kings of Nubia conquered
Egypt, ousted Libyan rulers,and
restored Egyptian way of life.
• Nubia made use of abundant
natural resources to establish
trade between Africa, Arabia, and
India.
EMPIRE
BUILDING
Assyria 850-612 B.C.
• Assyria developed a
sophisticated military
organization and state-of-theart weaponry to conquer an
empire.
• The empire engaged in brutal
treatment of its conquered
peoples.
• Kings used harsh taxes as well
as military power to control
conquered peoples.
• Persian kings were tolerant in
their treatment of peoples and
cultures that made up their
empire.
• Kings permitted a high degree of
local self-government, so that
conquered peoples enjoyed
remarkable freedom.
• The empire was divided into 20
provinces, each ruled by a satrap
(or governor).
China 221–202 B.C.
• Confucian and Legalist ideas laid the
groundwork for a strong central
government and a bureaucracy.
• Chinese emperors of the Qin Dynasty
defeated invaders and crushed
internal resistance.
• China crushed political opposition at
home in a sweeping program of
centralization.