The classical period in ap world history

The Classical Period in World History

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Periodiza5on: Classical

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• The classical period runs from about 1000 or 800 BCE to 500 or 600 CE.

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• Some of the key forma5ve elements of major civiliza5on-‐what historians call the great tradi5ons-‐were forged in the classical period and would be ingredients in world history from this point onward.

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• Some of the key forma5ve elements of major civiliza5on-‐what historians call the great tradi5ons-‐were forged in the classical period and would be ingredients in world history from this point onward.

• The classical civiliza5ons were situated in areas where river valley civiliza5ons had flourished earlier, although they usually relocated somewhat and always expanded.

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The Classical Age

• Areas: China expanded from the north to the southern por5on of the Yellow River, forming the Middle Kingdom.

Indian civiliza5on spread through the whole subcon5nent, with its focus now in the Ganges River basin rather than the northwest.

Classical Mediterranean civiliza5on was located in Greece and along the shoreline of the eastern Mediterranean and ul5mately spread westward, both in North Africa and southern Europe.

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The Classical Age

The classical civiliza5on that stayed closest to it river valley roots was Persia, which had its center in the Tigris-‐Euphrates valley but also spread more widely in the Middle East.

So the core areas of China, India, Persia and the Mediterranean are the centers of the Classical Age.

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The Classical Age

Thursday, May 9, 13

The Classical Age

• The period saw great ac5vity and many changes. These major civiliza5ons included major popula5on centers.

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The Classical Age


• At its height, China included 54 million people; Rome had 52 million. *Urbaniza5on chart

Thursday, May 9, 13

The Classical Age


• At its height, China included 54 million people; Rome had 52 million. *Urbaniza5on chart

• It must be noted that the features that came from the classical civiliza5ons did not define the whole world—key parts of northern Europe, many parts of sub-‐Saharan Africa, places in Asia (such as Japan) and the Americas are le` out.

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The Classical Age

Thursday, May 9, 13

The Classical Age

• Also of note: The Classical socie5es did build on the river valley kingdom’s achievements, but classical civiliza5on differed in many ways:– Classical civiliza5ons are much larger.– All of these civiliza5ons had iron technologies. Iron had been introduced around 1500 BCE. (Thus the Assyrian Empire was one of the first to use Iron and building an Empire in the Middle East.) **Metallurgy

– Leaders saw advantages in terms of popula5on expansion for economic and military reasons.

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The Classical Age



– Places were used to civiliza5on.

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The Classical Age



– Places were used to civiliza5on.• Classical civiliza5ons did have numerous contacts. *Trade-‐the Phoenicians

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General Comparisons: Overview

• China: From the fairly decentralized, o`en landlord-‐dominated Zhou dynasty, China made a move to centraliza5on under the Qin dynasty and even more centralized poli5cal and ideological opera5on under the Han dynasty at the end

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• Mediterranean: This area emphasized the Greek tradi5on un5l the 4th century. This was followed by the period of Alexander the Great’s conquests and the Hellenis5c period, in which Greek cultural and poli5cal influences interacted with the tradi5ons of Egypt and the Middle East. In its final phase, the civiliza5on’s emphasis shi`ed to Rome, the republican period and expression of the classical Mediterranean.

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• Persia: In the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, Persia was more important than Greece and had established a strong, effec5ve government. The Persian tradi5on would be par5ally overshadowed, however, first by the conquests of Alexander, then by the conquests of Arab Islam.

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• India: Classical India involves the story of the in-‐migra5on of Arian or Indo-‐European peoples, whose culture was gradually codified into major works of literature and religious philosophy. Indian, in this second civiliza5on period, seiled down into more recognizably coherent development, with a major empire in the 4th century BCE-‐the Mauryan Empire-‐and, at the end of the classical period, another major imperial statement-‐the Gupta Empire.

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Cultural comparisons (differences)

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Belief systems:• China: Confucianism and Daoism; on the whole China was mostly secular

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• India: the most spiritual genera5ng Hinduism and Buddhism.

Science:• China: Emphasized empirical science because of its u5lity to society and the economy.

• The Greco-‐Roman tradi5on was more theore5cal.

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• India: the most spiritual genera5ng Hinduism and Buddhism.

Science:• China: Emphasized empirical science because of its u5lity to society and the economy.

• The Greco-‐Roman tradi5on was more theore5cal.• India had a strong tradi5on emphasizing mathema5cs.

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Cultural Comparisons (differences)

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Poli5cal:• China: Created a strong central government and a large bureaucracy. Emphasis on key poli5cal concepts that supported the central government, specific training systems and even exams for government officials.

• India: Stresses a smaller, decentralized states and placed less emphasis on poli5cal ideology.

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Poli5cal:• China: Created a strong central government and a large bureaucracy. Emphasis on key poli5cal concepts that supported the central government, specific training systems and even exams for government officials.

• India: Stresses a smaller, decentralized states and placed less emphasis on poli5cal ideology.

• Mediterranean: A strong poli5cal emphasis, although its overall poli5cal tradi5on was more decentralized than China. The Roman state was more interested in the development of a legal system as a unifier, than massive bureaucracies.

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Thursday, May 9, 13


Social:

• India: The Caste System

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Social:


• Med: Strong reliance on slavery; slavery did exist in India and China

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Social:


• Med: Strong reliance on slavery; slavery did exist in India and China

• China: Under Confucianism, developed a social hierarchy based on the no5on of rule by wise people of an upper class, with the lower classes offering deference in return.

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Thursday, May 9, 13


Economics

• China: Depended on trade, but Confucianism prompted a cultural bias against merchants, who were viewed with suspicion because of their devo5on to moneymaking and the possibility that they would pull away from the central poli5cal and social values of Chinese society.

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Economics

• China: Depended on trade, but Confucianism prompted a cultural bias against merchants, who were viewed with suspicion because of their devo5on to moneymaking and the possibility that they would pull away from the central poli5cal and social values of Chinese society.

• India: Merchants were encouraged to use the Indian Ocean as an artery for foreign trade.

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Thursday, May 9, 13


Technologies• China: Would be the most important source of technological innova5on in the world. Most technologies would go westward.

• India: Also success in stressing inven5on—especially steelmaking.

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Technologies• China: Would be the most important source of technological innova5on in the world. Most technologies would go westward.

• India: Also success in stressing inven5on—especially steelmaking.

• Med: Probably the least developed emphasis on technology, possibly because it tended to expand the slave system rather than increase produc5on through tech development.

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Why the differences?

• China may have focused on poli5cal order because of its geography. The possibility of invasion from Central Asia may have encouraged an emphasis on order to ward off disrup5on, but the threat was not so great that establishing poli5cal order became impossible.

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Why the differences?• India was also affected by invasions and influences from the outside world that came through the passes that lead through the Himalayas and northwestern India. Indian’s emphasis on ar5s5c sensuality and religious fervor could have stemmed from its climate.

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How did these empires maintain?

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• Economic integra5on: e.g. China created canals to connect loca5ons; Med leaders connected with grain growing regions of Africa.

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• Economic integra5on: e.g. China created canals to connect loca5ons; Med leaders connected with grain growing regions of Africa.

• Culture integra5on: In the 6th and 5th centuries BCE all of these groups introduced belief systems. E.g. China and Confucianism and Daoism; Hinduism and Buddhism in India; Zoroastrianism in Persia, philosophy and art in the Greco-‐Roman world.

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• Poli5cal integra5on: The building of imperial structures that would foster and reinforce economic and cultural coherence.

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The classical period in ap world history