Download Foundations of Western Civilization

Foundations of Western Civilization
To 1000 B.C.E.
Prehistoric Human Societies

The Paleolithic (“Old
Stone”) Age, c. 40,000-c.
10,000 B.C.E.
– Hunter-gatherers
– Trade (e.g. seashells)
– Technology
» firemaking
» bone and stone weapons
and jewelry
– Art and religion: Cave
paintings and female
figurines

The Neolithic (“New
Stone”) Revolution, c.
10,000-c. 4000 B.C.E.
– Transition from a
nomadic existence as
hunter-gatherers to
more settled lifestyle
» Invention of agriculture
» Domestication of
animals
– Increasingly gender-based
division of labor
– Specialized crafts
(metallurgy and weaving)
– Emergence of social
hierarchy: patriarchal
organization of state and
society would become the
norm in the West
– Invention of irrigation (c.
6500 B.C.E.) facilitated
establishment of settled
agricultural communities in
the Fertile Crescent
Mesopotamia, c. 4000-1000 B.C.E.
(Bronze Age)

The Tigris and Euphrates
– Flood control and irrigation
– Trade, migration,
movement of armies
– The West’s first large-scale
civilization
» Cities containing large
public buildings
» Crop diversification and
diverse crafts
» Organized central
governments
» Writing

Religion and Mythology
– Polytheistic religious belief
reflected harshness of war
and struggle with
unpredictable environment
» War-like gods who
possessed total control
over human lives
» Sacrifices, rituals, temples
(ziggurats)
» Power of priests and
priestesses
– Epic of Gilgamesh
» Search for immortality
by semihistorical King
Gilgamesh of Uruk
after death of his friend
Enkidu
» Realizes that only gods
enjoy immortality;
humans must content
themselves with fame
derived from
performing mighty
deeds
» Story of a devastating
flood in later version

Sumer
– Earliest cities in southern
Mesopotamia
– Agriculture and trade (as far
away as India)
– Sumerians
» Developed the wheel
» Created first writing
system (cuneiform)
» Devised a mathematical
system and astronomy

The Akkadian Empire, c.
2350-2200 B.C.E.
– World’s first empire
– Sargon the Great conquered
Sumerian cities and
territories westward to the
Mediterranean, in part to
ensure metal supplies
– Destroyed by invading
Gutians during reign of
Sargon’s grandson

The Kingdom of
Assyria, c. 1900
B.C.E.
– Became dominant citystate due to control of
trade between Anatolia
and Mesopotamia
– Encouragement of
private enterprise
rather than state
monopoly

The Kingdom of Babylon
and King Hammurabi’s
Code (18th century B.C.E.)
– Earliest known written laws
– King’s responsibility to
maintain order and justice
– Basis of international
commercial law: regulated
contracts, interest,
mortgages, etc.
– Criminal penalties harsh
and reflective of social
hierarchy
Egypt and the Levant, c. 3050-1000 B.C.E.

Egyptian Civilization
– Geography as Destiny
» The Nile


Protected by deserts
on the east and west
Predictable annual
flooding
» Stability and Unity

Developed in relative
isolation into a
prosperous and stable
kingdom

Old Kingdom, c.
2687-2190 B.C.E.
– Unification of Upper
and Lower Egypt by
King Menes, c. 31003000 B.C.E.
– Controlling the river
» Astronomical charts
» Writing system:
hieroglyphs
– Religion and
Government
» About 2,000 gods in the
Egyptian pantheon
» All powerful kings were
believed to be human
incarnations of gods
» Only the king could
express the ultimate
truth and justice, or
ma’at
– The Afterlife
» Belief in an immortal
soul and reward for
those who lived a just
life
» Mummification
» Provisions for the
afterlife in burial
chambers of those who
could afford it,
including the Book of
the Dead
– The Pyramids
» Royal burial tombs
reflected the kings’
power in political and
religious life


King Djoser’s Step
Pyramid at Saqqara
(c. 2650 B.C.E.)
King Cheop’s Great
Pyramid at Giza (c.
2575 B.C.E.)

Middle Kingdom, c. 2061-1665
B.C.E.
– Diminished flooding of the
Nile and famines around 2350
B.C. E. led to civic disruption
and the loss of royal authority
– Regional governors withdrew
support of the king, spawning
political breakdown and the
First Intermediate Period (c.
2190-2061 B.C.E.)
– King Mentuhotep II’s
reunification of Egypt initiated
the Middle Kingdom
– Territorial expansion and
increased trade contacts

New Kingdom, c. 15691081 B.C.E.
– Second Intermediate Period
(c. 1664-1570 B.C.E.)
» Famines
» Invasion by the Hyksos
– Thebans from Upper Egypt
reunited Egypt as New
Kingdom
» Warrior pharaohs further
extended Egypt’s borders
and trade contacts
– New Kingdom
aberrations
» Queen Hatshepsut (r.
1502-1482 B.C.E):
Only woman to rule as
pharaoh (and female
king)
» Akhenaten (Amenhotep
IV, r. 1372-1355
B.C.E.) and Nefertiti


Introduced cult of one
central god, Aten, and
moved capital to
Amarna
Wife tried to restrain
his zeal, but his
devotion to Aten
undermined his
effectiveness as ruler
» Tutankhamen (r. 13551346 B.C.E.): restored
worship of traditional
gods
Other Bronze Age Civilizations

The Peoples of the Levant
– The Canaanites
» Dominated trade between
the Mediterranean and
Near East
» Developed first alphabet,
c. 1600 B.C.E.
– The Hebrews
» Origins, according to the
Book of Genesis in the
Old Testament



Abraham and migration
from Ur to Palestine (c.
1900 B.C.E.)
Loosely organized into
twelve tribes
Abraham’s covenant
with the Hebrew god
Yahweh
» Exodus


Hebrews moved into
Egypt under
Abraham’s
descendant Joseph.
By 13th century
B.C.E., they were
enslaved to work on
the pharaoh’s
building projects.
Moses led Hebrews
out of Egyptian
bondage, and on
Mount Sinai he
reestablished their
covenant with
Yahweh (c. 1250
B.C.E.)
– The Hebrew Covenant
» The Ten Commandments
» The Torah (Pentateuch):
first five books of the
Bible
» Hebrew Monotheism
 Idea of Yahweh as the
one God developed in
the centuries after the
period of Exodus
 Fundamental
influence of Biblical
texts and monotheism
on Christianity and
Islam, and of Hebrew
law on Western
ethical tradition
Bronze-Age Greece and
Anatolia, c. 2200-1000 B.C.E.

The Hittite Kingdom, c.
1750-1200 B.C.E.
– Maintained dominance by
controlling trade routes and
raw materials, especially
metals
– Military prowess
» Sack of Babylon, 1595
B.C.E.
» Prevented Egyptian
domination of the region
by stopping Ramesses II at
the Battle of Kadesh (c.
1274 B.C.E.)

Minoan Crete, c. 2200-1400
B.C.E.
– Palace society: centered on
independent palace complexes
that controlled the religious,
economic, and political life of
their communities
– Mediterranean polyculture
» Integrated the cultivation of
grapes, olives, and grain
– Other cultural features
» Highly specialized crafts
» Redistributive economy
regulated from palace
complexes
» Sophisticated artwork
depicting scenes of leisure
and sports

Mycenaean Greece, c.
1800-1000 B.C.E.
– Earliest mainland Greek
culture characterized by
independent hilltop
fortifications that competed
with each other for
resources and territory
– Redistributive economy
similar to that on Crete
– Warfare a central
preoccupation, perhaps
even eclipsing religion
The Sea Peoples and Calamities of c. 1200-1000 B.C.E
Exact reasons remain unknown, but region’s political equilibrium was upset and
most centers were dramatically wiped out. In the resulting Dark Ages, most traces of
Civilization disappeared for several centuries.