Classical Civilizations

China

India

The Mediterranean

Classical China

Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties

Zhou Dynasty Confucianism– Family, filial piety, harmony, 5 relationships

Qin Dynasty Shi Huangdi– Centralized power, standardized writing,

Great Wall

Han Dynasty Wu Ti (Wudi)– Created government based on Confucianism

China: Political Institutions

China had the longest running continuous government in the world

Political institutions (Confucian) were made up of the emperor, and educated professional bureaucracy

China: Religion and Culture

Emphasis on education

Three major philosophies– Confucianism: ethical system based on

relationships and personal virtue– Legalism: favored an authoritarian state and

harsh rule– Taoism: harmony with nature and simple living

Art was mostly decorative, included calligraphy

China: Economy and Society

Classical economy focused on agriculture

Sharp class division (merchants at bottom)

Extensive internal trade

Technological advances like ox-drawn plows, water powered mills, and paper

Patriarchal with strong emphasis placed on family

Limited outside contact

Classical Indian Civilization

Maurya

Gupta

Framework for Indian History and Geography

Geography- protects and fosters growth

Aryan culture dominated India after the fall of the Indus Valley, introducing the basics of the caste system

Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Upanishads formed basis of Aryan literary tradition

Patterns in Classical India

Two major periods– Maurya (Chadragupta Maurya/ Hinduism)– Gupta (Ashoka/ Buddhism)

Greek conquest (Alexander the Great cultural diffusion

Gupta = Golden Age of the Hindu

Political Institutions in India

Central authority weak due to regionalism and political diversity

Increasingly complex caste system promoted public

Religion and Culture in India

Hinduism: Both religious and social role in society

Stress on reincarnation, dharma, karma, and shallowness of material world

Buddhism founded by Siddhartha Gautama– Important in Gupta Empire– Has greater impact in East Asia than in India

Indian Economy and Society

By 100 BCE India had– Written language– Large cities– Art and literature– Two great world religions– Significant advances in Math and Science

Society dominated by the caste system

Society both patriarchal and patrilocal

Indian Influences

India played an important role in cultural diffusion, linking Asia to the Mediterranean world

China and India

Different political, social, and philosophical traditions

Both have stable structure over long period of time

Classical Civilizations in the Mediterranean World

Greece

Rome

Patterns of Greek and Roman History

Based on tradition of tolerance to local customs, organized military, and advanced artistry found in the Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great

Greek History: – Rise of dynamic city-states– Golden Age of Athens and Pericles– Peloponnesian Wars decline of Athens and

Sparta– Conquest and expansion under Alexander the

Great – Rise of Hellenistic Civilization

Blends Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and INdian

Rome emerges as a new power as the Hellenistic world declines– Defeats Carthage in Punic Wars– Republican government– Expands into an empire under Julius Caesar– 250 years of slow decline after the Pax

Romana

Greek and Roman Institutions

The greatest legacy of Greece and Rome are in the areas of Law and Government

Both emphasized rule by an aristocracy with significant democratic elements– Athens: direct democracy– Rome: Senate– Rome adds the Twelve Tables, basis for most

modern law systems

Greek and Roman Religion and Culture

Limited lasting religious impact

Christianity emerged in territory under Roman control

Philosophy: rationalism, humanism

Greek and Roman Economy and Society

Mirrored many social features found in traditional agricultural society – Large peasantry– Land-owning aristocracy

Patriarchal

Slavery

Effects of the Fall of Rome

Trade declines

East= Byzantium

West= collapse, dark ages that lead to Medieval times

Expansion and Integration

Common theme= territorial expansion and efforts to integrate new territory into existing empires

China unites through political centralization

India unites through religion

Mediterranean World united through cultural achievements

Beyond Classical Civilizations

The Americas and Africa also develop classical civilization, though due to global interactions they have less of an impact on later regional developments

Nomadic societies continued to challenge the borders of classical civs and often led to periods of trouble or collapse

The World Around 500 BC

Development of three major themes for world history– Societies across Eurasia had figure out how

to revive and rework themselves following nomadic invasions

– Establishment of almost all major world religions

– Trade and war lead to the rise of new civilization