CHAPTER 1CHAPTER 1Early CivilizationsEarly 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 “wedge-shaped” 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 HISTORYEGYTIAN 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 IndiaEarly Civilizations in India Around 1500 B.C., the Aryans, a group of Indo-

European 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 priests2. Kshatriyas, or warriors 3. Vaisyas, or commoners and merchants 4. Sudras, or peasants and artisans5. 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 followingthe “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

Many gods, all faces of Brahman

Hinduism

Number of gods

Holy Books

Moral Law

Leaders

Vedas; Upanishads, Mahabharata, and others

Karma

Brahmins

Final Goal Moksha

Buddhism JudaismNo gods

Books on the teachings and the life of the Buddha

Eightfold Path

Monks

Enlightenment, Nirvana

One God

The Torah and other books of the Hebrew Bible

Ten Commandments

Priests, judges, kings, prophets

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 city-

states.-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.

SpartaSparta

-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 toflourish 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.

• Drama and poetry

• Sculpture portraying ideals of beauty

• Painted pottery showing scenes of Greek life

• Classical architecture

• 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

The Legacy of Classical Greece

Culture Science & Technology

Arts Government

• Disagreement whether sun or earth at center of universe

• Accurate estimate of circumference of earth

• Euclid’s geometry textbook• Development of lever, pulley,

pump

• Greek language

• Mythology about gods and goddesses

• Olympic Games

• Philosophers search for truth

-Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

GREEKCIVILIZATION

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 leaderis 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 theRoman 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, wascreated 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

Nubia 751 B.C.– A.D. 350

Persia 550–350 B.C.

China 221–202 B.C.Assyria 850-612 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Assyria developed a sophisticated military organization and state-of-the- art 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.

EMPIREBUILDING

• 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).