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History
Evolution of China
Prehistory
Paleolithic
What is now China was inhabited by Homo erectus more than a million years ago.[5] Recent
study shows that the stone tools found at Xiaochangliang site are magnetostratigraphically
dated to 1.36 million years ago.[6] The archaeological site of Xihoudu in Shanxi Province is
the earliest recorded use of fire by Homo erectus, which is dated 1.27 million years ago.[5]
The excavations at Yuanmou and later Lantian show early habitation. Perhaps the most
famous specimen of Homo erectus found in China is the so-called Peking Man discovered in
1923-27.
Neolithic
The Neolithic age in China can be traced back to between 12,000 and 10,000 BC.[7] Early
evidence for proto-Chinese millet agriculture is radiocarbon-dated to about 7000 BC.[8] The
Peiligang culture of Xinzheng county, Henan was excavated in 1977.[9] With agriculture
came increased population, the ability to store and redistribute crops, and the potential to
support specialist craftsmen and administrators.[10] In late Neolithic times, the Yellow River
valley began to establish itself as a cultural center, where the first villages were founded;
the most archaeologically significant of those was found at Banpo, Xi'an.[11] The Yellow River
was so named because of loess forming its banks gave a yellowish tint to the water.[12]
By 7000 BC, the Chinese were farming millet, giving rise to the Jiahu culture. At Damaidi
in Ningxia, 3,172 cliff carvings dating to 6000-5000 BC have been discovered "featuring
8,453 individual characters such as the sun, moon, stars, gods and scenes of hunting or
grazing." These pictographs are reputed to be similar to the earliest characters confirmed to
be written Chinese.[13][14] Later Yangshao culture was superseded by the Longshan culture
around 2500 BC.
Ancient era
Shang Dynasty (c. 1700-1046 BC)
Archaeological findings providing evidence for the existence
of the Shang Dynasty, c. 1600–1046 BC, are divided into two
sets. The first set, from the earlier Shang period comes from
sources at Erligang, Zhengzhou and Shangcheng. The second
set, from the later Shang or Yin ( ) period at Anyang, in
modern-day Henan, which has been confirmed as the last of
the Shang's nine capitals (c. 1300–1046 BC). The findings at
Anyang include the earliest written record of Chinese past so
far discovered, inscriptions of divination records on the bones
or shells of animals – the so-called "oracle bones", dating from around 1200 BC.
殷
The Shang Dynasty featured 31 kings, from Tang of Shang to King Zhou of Shang. In this
period, the Chinese worshipped many different gods - weather gods and sky gods - and also
a supreme god, named Shangdi, who ruled over the other gods. Those who lived during the
Shang Dynasty also believed that their ancestors - their parents and grandparents - became
like gods when they died, and that their ancestors wanted to be worshipped too, like gods.
Each family worshipped its own ancestors.
The Records of the Grand Historian states that the Shang Dynasty moved its capital six
times. The final (and most important) move to Yin in 1350 BC led to the dynasty's golden
age. The term Yin Dynasty has been synonymous with the Shang dynasty in history,
although it has lately been used to specifically refer to the latter half of the Shang Dynasty.
Chinese historians living in later periods were accustomed to the notion of one dynasty
succeeding another, but the actual political situation in early China is known to have been
much more complicated. Hence, as some scholars of China suggest, the Xia and the Shang
can possibly refer to political entities that existed concurrently, just as the early Zhou is
known to have existed at the same time as the Shang.
Although written records found at Anyang confirm the existence of the Shang dynasty,
Western scholars are often hesitant to associate settlements that are contemporaneous with
the Anyang settlement with the Shang dynasty. For example, archaeological findings at
Sanxingdui suggest a technologically advanced civilization culturally unlike Anyang. The
evidence is inconclusive in proving how far the Shang realm extended from Anyang. The
leading hypothesis is that Anyang, ruled by the same Shang in the official history, coexisted
and traded with numerous other culturally diverse settlements in the area that is now
referred to as China proper.
Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC)
The Zhou Dynasty was the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history, from 1066 BC to
approximately 256 BC. By the end of the 2nd millennium BC, the Zhou Dynasty began to
emerge in the Yellow River valley, overrunning the territory of the Shang. The Zhou
appeared to have begun their rule under a semi-feudal system. The Zhou lived west of the
Shang, and the Zhou leader had been appointed "Western Protector" by the Shang. The
ruler of the Zhou, King Wu, with the assistance of his brother, the Duke of Zhou, as regent,
managed to defeat the Shang at the Battle of Muye.
The king of Zhou at this time invoked the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to legitimize his
rule, a concept that would be influential for almost every succeeding dynasty. Like Shangdi,
Heaven (tian) ruled over all the other gods, and it decided who would rule China. It was
believed that a ruler had lost the Mandate of Heaven when natural disasters occurred in
great number, and when, more realistically, the sovereign had apparently lost his concern
for the people. In response, the royal house would be overthrown, and a new house would
rule, having been granted the Mandate of Heaven.
The Zhou initially moved their capital west to an area near modern Xi'an, on the Wei River,
a tributary of the Yellow River, but they would preside over a series of expansions into the
Yangtze River valley. This would be the first of many population migrations from north to
south in Chinese history.
Imperial era
Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC)
Historians often refer to the period from Qin Dynasty to the end of Qing Dynasty as Imperial
China. Though the unified reign of the Qin Emperor lasted only 12 years, he managed to
subdue great parts of what constitutes the core of the Han Chinese homeland and to unite
them under a tightly centralized Legalist government seated at Xianyang (close to modern
Xi'an). The doctrine of Legalism that guided the Qin emphasized strict adherence to a legal
code and the absolute power of the emperor. This philosophy, while effective for expanding
the empire in a military fashion, proved unworkable for governing it in peacetime. The Qin
Emperor presided over the brutal silencing of political opposition, including the event
known as the burning of books and burying of scholars. This would be the impetus behind
the later Han synthesis incorporating the more moderate schools of political governance.
The Qin Dynasty is well known for beginning the Great Wall of China, which was later
augmented and enhanced during the Ming Dynasty. The other major contributions of the
Qin include the concept of a centralized government, the unification of the legal code,
development of the written language, measurement, and currency of China after the
tribulations of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. Even something as
basic as the length of axles for carts had to be made uniform to ensure a viable trading
system throughout the empire.[17]
Han Dynasty (202 BC–AD 220)
Western Han
The Han Dynasty (202 BC – AD 220) emerged in 206 BC, with its founder Liu Bang
proclaimed emperor in 202 BC. It was the first dynasty to embrace the philosophy of
Confucianism, which became the ideological underpinning of all regimes until the end of
imperial China. Under the Han Dynasty, China made great advances in many areas of the
arts and sciences. Emperor Wu consolidated and extended the Chinese empire by pushing
back the Xiongnu into the steppes of modern Inner Mongolia, wresting from them the
modern areas of Gansu, Ningxia and Qinghai. This enabled the first opening of trading
connections between China and the West, along the Silk Road. Han Dynasty general Ban
Chao expanded his conquests across the Pamirs to the shores of the Caspian Sea.[18] The
first of several Roman embassies to China is recorded in Chinese sources, coming from the
sea route in AD 166, and a second one in AD 284.
Eastern Han
Emperor Guangwu reinstated the Han Dynasty with the support of landholding and
merchant families at Luoyang, east of Xi'an. This new era would be termed the Eastern Han
Dynasty. Han power declined again amidst land acquisitions, invasions, and feuding
between consort clans and eunuchs. The Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in AD 184,
ushering in an era of warlords. In the ensuing turmoil, three states tried to gain
predominance in the period of the Three Kingdoms. This time period has been greatly
romanticized in works such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Wu Hu Period (AD 304–439)
Taking advantage of civil war in the Jin Dynasty, the contemporary non-Han Chinese (Wu
Hu) ethnic groups controlled much of the country in the early 4th century and provoked
large-scale Han Chinese migrations to south of the Yangtze River. In 303 the Di people
rebelled and later captured Chengdu, establishing the state of Cheng Han. Under Liu Yuan,
the Xiongnu rebelled near today's Linfen County and established the state of Han Zhao. Liu
Yuan's successor Liu Cong captured and executed the last two Western Jin emperors.
Sixteen kingdoms were a plethora of short-lived non-Chinese dynasties that came to rule
the whole or parts of northern China in the 4th and 5th centuries. Many ethnic groups were
involved, including ancestors of the Turks, Mongols, and Tibetans. Most of these nomadic
peoples had, to some extent, been "sinicized" long before their ascent to power. In fact, some
of them, notably the Qiang and the Xiongnu, had already been allowed to live in the frontier
regions within the Great Wall since late Han times.
Sui Dynasty (AD 589–618)
The Sui Dynasty, which managed to reunite the country in 589 after nearly four centuries
of political fragmentation, played a role more important than its length of existence would
suggest. The Sui brought China together again and set up many institutions that were to be
adopted by their successors, the Tang. Like the Qin, however, the Sui overused their
resources and collapsed. Also similar to the Qin, traditional history has judged the Sui
somewhat unfairly, as it has stressed the harshness of the Sui regime and the arrogance of
its second emperor, giving little credit for the Dynasty's many positive achievements.
Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907)
Tang Dynasty was founded by Emperor Gaozu on June 18, 618. It was a golden age of
Chinese civilization with significant developments in art, literature, particularly poetry, and
technology. Buddhism became the predominant religion for common people. Chang'an
(modern Xi'an), the national capital, was the largest city in the world of its time.
Since the second emperor Taizong, military campaigns were launched to dissolve threats
from nomadic tribes, extend the border, and submit neighboring states into tributary
system. Military victories in the Tarim Basin kept the Silk Road open, connecting Chang'an
to Central Asia and areas far to the west. In the south, lucrative maritime trade routes
began from port cities like Guangzhou. There was extensive trade with distant foreign
countries, and many foreign merchants settled in China, boosting a vibrant cosmopolitan
culture. The Tang culture and social systems were admired and adapted by neighboring
countries like Japan. Internally, the Grand Canal linked the political heartland in Chang'an
to the economic and agricultural centers in the eastern and southern parts of the empire.
From about 860, the Tang Dynasty began to decline due to a series of rebellions within
China itself and in the former subject Kingdom of Nanzhao to the south. One warlord,
Huang Chao, captured Guangzhou in 879, killing most of the 200,000 inhabitants,
including most of the large colony of foreign merchant families there.[19] In late 880,
Luoyang surrendered to him, and on 5 January 881 he conquered Chang'an. The emperor
Xizong fled to Chengdu, and Huang established a new temporary regime which was
eventually destroyed by Tang forces. Another time of political chaos followed.
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (AD 907–960)
The period of political disunity between the Tang and the Song, known as the Five
Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, lasted little more than half a century, from 907 to 960.
During this brief era, when China was in all respects a multi-state system, five regimes
succeeded one another rapidly in control of the old Imperial heartland in northern China.
During this same time, 10 more stable regimes occupied sections of southern and western
China, so the period is also referred to as that of the Ten Kingdoms.
Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271–1368)
The Jurchen-founded Jin Dynasty was defeated by the Mongols, who then proceeded to
defeat the Southern Song in a long and bloody war, the first war in which firearms played
an important role. During the era after the war, later called the Pax Mongolica, adventurous
Westerners such as Marco Polo travelled all the way to China and brought the first reports
of its wonders to Europe. In the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols were divided between those
who wanted to remain based in the steppes and those who wished to adopt the customs of
the Chinese.
Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, wanting to adopt the customs of China,
established the Yuan Dynasty. This was the first dynasty to rule the whole of China from
Beijing as the capital. Beijing had been ceded to Liao in AD 938 with the Sixteen Prefectures
of Yan Yun. Before that, it had been the capital of the Jin, who did not rule all of China.
Before the Mongol invasion, Chinese dynasties reportedly had approximately 120 million
inhabitants; after the conquest was completed in 1279, the 1300 census reported roughly
60 million people.[20] While it is tempting to attribute this major decline solely to Mongol
ferocity, scholars today have mixed sentiments regarding this subject. Scholars such as
Frederick W. Mote argue that the wide drop in numbers reflects an administrative failure to
record rather than a de facto decrease whilst others such as Timothy Brook argue that the
Mongols created a system of enserfment among a huge portion of the Chinese populace
causing many to disappear from the census altogether. Other historians like William
McNeill and David Morgan argue that the Bubonic Plague was the main factor behind the
demographic decline during this period. The 14th century epidemics of plague (Black Death)
is estimated to have killed 30% of the population of China.[21][22]
Ming Dynasty (AD 1368–1644)
Throughout the Yuan Dynasty, which lasted less than a century, there was relatively strong
sentiment among the populace against the Mongol rule. The frequent natural disasters
since the 1340s finally led to peasant revolts. The Yuan Dynasty was eventually overthrown
by the Ming Dynasty in 1368.
Urbanization increased as the population grew and as the division of labor grew more
complex. Large urban centers, such as Nanjing and Beijing, also contributed to the growth
of private industry. In particular, small-scale industries grew up, often specializing in paper,
silk, cotton, and porcelain goods. For the most part, however, relatively small urban centers
with markets proliferated around the country. Town markets mainly traded food, with some
necessary manufactures such as pins or oil.
Zhu Yuanzhang or Hong-wu, the founder of the dynasty, laid the foundations for a state
interested less in commerce and more in extracting revenues from the agricultural sector.
Perhaps because of the Emperor's background as a peasant, the Ming economic system
emphasized agriculture, unlike that of the Song and the Mongolian Dynasties, which relied
on traders and merchants for revenue. Neo-feudal landholdings of the Song and Mongol
periods were expropriated by the Ming rulers. Land estates were confiscated by the
government, fragmented, and rented out. Private slavery was forbidden. Consequently, after
the death of Emperor Yong-le, independent peasant landholders predominated in Chinese
agriculture. These laws might have paved the way to removing the worst of the poverty
during the previous regimes.
The dynasty had a strong and complex central government that unified and controlled the
empire. The emperor's role became more autocratic, although Zhu Yuanzhang necessarily
) to assist with the immense
continued to use what he called the "Grand Secretaries" (
paperwork of the bureaucracy, including memorials (petitions and recommendations to the
throne), imperial edicts in reply, reports of various kinds, and tax records. It was this same
bureaucracy that later prevented the Ming government from being able to adapt to changes
in society, and eventually led to its decline.
内阁
In 1449 Esen Tayisi led an Oirat Mongol invasion of northern China which culminated in
the capture of the Zhengtong Emperor at Tumu. In 1542 the Mongol leader Altan Khan
began to harass China along the northern border. In 1550 he even reached the suburbs of
Beijing. The empire also had to deal with Japanese pirates attacking the southeastern
coastline;[23] General Qi Jiguang was instrumental in defeating these pirates. The deadliest
earthquake of all times, the Shaanxi earthquake of 1556 that killed approximately 830,000
people, occurred during the Jiajing Emperor's reign.
During the Ming dynasty the last construction on the Great Wall was undertaken to protect
China from foreign invasions. While the Great Wall had been built in earlier times, most of
what is seen today was either built or repaired by the Ming. The brick and granite work was
enlarged, the watch towers were redesigned, and cannons were placed along its length.
Qing Dynasty (AD 1644–1911)
The Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) was the last imperial dynasty in China. Founded by the
Manchus, it was the second non-Han Chinese dynasty. The Manchus were formerly known
as Jurchen residing in the northeastern part of the Ming territory outside the Great Wall.
They emerged as the major threat to the late Ming Dynasty after Nurhaci united all Jurchen
tribes and established an independent state. However, the Ming Dynasty would be
overthrown by Li Zicheng's peasants rebel, with Beijing captured in 1644 and the last Ming
Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide. The Manchu then allied with the Ming Dynasty
general Wu Sangui and seized Beijing, which was made the capital of the Qing dynasty, and
proceeded to subdue the remaining Ming's resistance in the south. The decades of Manchu
conquest caused enormous loss of lives and the economic scale of China shrank drastically.
Nevertheless, the Manchus adopted the Confucian norms of traditional Chinese government
in their rule and was considered a Chinese dynasty.
In the 19th century, the empire was internally stagnated and externally threatened by
imperialism. The defeat in the First Opium War (1840) by the British Empire led to the
Treaty of Nanjing (1842), under which Hong Kong was ceded and opium import was
legitimized. Subsequent military defeats and unequal treaties with other imperial powers
would continue even after the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
Internally, the Taiping Rebellion (1851–1864), a quasi-Christian religious movement led by
the "Heavenly King" Hong Xiuquan, would raid roughly a third of Chinese territory for over
a decade until they were finally crushed in the Third Battle of Nanking in 1864. Arguably
one of the largest warfares in the 19th century in terms of troops involvement, there were
massive lost of lives, with a death toll of about 20 millions.[24] A string of rebellions would
follow, which included Punti-Hakka Clan Wars, Nien Rebellion, Muslim Rebellion, Panthay
Rebellion and the Boxer Rebellion.[25] All rebellions were eventually put down at enormous
cost and casualties, the weakened central imperial authority would gradually give rise to
regional warlordism. Eventually, China would descend into civil war immediately after the
1911 revolution that overthrew the Qing's imperial rule.
At the turn of the 20th century, a conservative anti-imperialist movement, the Boxer
Rebellion violently revolted against foreign suppression over vast areas in Northern China.
The Empress Dowager, probably seeking to ensure her continual grip on power, sided with
the Boxers as they advanced on Beijing. In response, a relief expedition of the Eight-Nation
Alliance invaded China to rescue the besieged foreign missions. Consisting of British,
Japanese, Russian, Italian, German, French, US and Austrian troops, the alliance defeated
the Boxers and demanded further concessions from the Qing government.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_China
Evolution of Egyptian Civilization
Prehistory
Some 60,000 years ago the Nile River began its yearly inundation of the land along its
banks, leaving behind rich alluvial soil. Areas close to the floodplain became attractive as a
source of food and water. In time, climatic changes, including periods of aridity, further
served to confine human habitation to the Nile Valley, although this was not always true.
From the Chalcolithic period (the Copper age, beginning about 4000 BC) into the early part
of the Old Kingdom, people apparently used an extended part of the land.
In the 7th millennium BC, Egypt was environmentally hospitable, and evidence of
settlements from that time has been found in the low desert areas of southern, or Upper,
Egypt; remains of similar occupation have been discovered at Nubian sites in modern
Sudan. Enough pottery has been found in Upper Egyptian tombs from the 4th millennium
BC (in the Predynastic period) to establish a relative dating sequence. The Predynastic
period, which ends with the unification of Egypt under one king, is generally subdivided
into three parts, each of which refers to the site at which its archaeological materials were
found: Badarian, Amratian (Naqada I), and Gerzean (Naqada II and III). Northern sites (from
about 5500 BC) have yielded datable archaeological material of apparent cultural continuity
but no long-term sequences such as those found in the south.
The Old Kingdom
The Old Kingdom (about 2755-2255 BC) spanned five centuries of rule by the 3rd through
the 6th dynasties. The capital was in the north, at Memphis, and the ruling monarchs held
absolute power over a strongly unified government. Religion played an important role; in
fact, the government had evolved into a theocracy, wherein the Pharaohs , as the rulers
were called, were both absolute monarchs and, also gods on earth.
The 3rd Dynasty was the first of the Memphite houses, and its second ruler, Zoser, or
Djoser, who reigned about 2737-2717 BC, emphasized national unity by balancing northern
and southern motifs in his mortuary buildings at Sakkara . His architect, Imhotep, used
stone blocks rather than traditional mud bricks in the complex there, thus creating the first
monumental structure of stone; its central element, the Step Pyramid, was Zoser's tomb. In
order to deal with affairs of state and to administer construction projects, the king began to
develop an effective bureaucracy. In general, the 3rd Dynasty marked the beginning of a
golden age of cultural freshness and vigor.
The 4th Dynasty began with King senfru , whose building projects included the first true
pyramid at Dahshor (south of sakkara ). Snefru, the earliest warrior king for whom
extensive documents remain, campaigned in Nubia and Libya and was active in the Sinai.
Promoting commerce and mining, he brought prosperity to the kingdom. Snefru was
succeeded by his son Khufu (or Cheops), who built the Great Pyramid at Giza. Although
little else is known of his reign, that monument not only attests to his power but also
indicates the administrative skills the bureaucracy had gained. Khufu's son Redjedef, who
reigned about 2613-2603 BC, introduced the solar element (Ra, or Re) in the royal titular
and the religion. Khafre (or Chephren), another son of Khufu, succeeded his brother to the
throne and built his mortuary complex at Giza. The remaining rulers of the dynasty
included Menkaure, or Mycerinus, who reigned about 2578-2553 BC; he is known primarily
for the smallest of the three large pyramids at Giza.
Under the 4th Dynasty, Egyptian civilization reached a peak in its development, and this
high level was generally maintained in the 5th and 6th dynasties. The splendour of the
engineering feats of the pyramids was approximated in every other field of endeavour,
including architecture, sculpture, painting, navigation, the industrial arts and sciences, and
astronomy; Memphite astronomers first created a solar calendar based on a year of 365
days. Old Kingdom physicians also displayed a remarkable knowledge of physiology,
surgery, the circulatory system of the body, and antiseptics.
Beginning of Decline:
Although the 5th Dynasty maintained prosperity with extensive foreign trade and military
incursions into Asia, signs of decreasing royal authority became apparent in the swelling of
the bureaucracy and the enhanced power of no royal administrators. The last king of the
dynasty, Unas, who reigned about 2428-2407 BC, was buried at sakkara , with a body of
religious spells, called Pyramid Texts, carved on the walls of his pyramid chamber. Such
texts were also used in the royal tombs of the 6th Dynasty. Several autobiographical
inscriptions of officials under the 6th Dynasty indicate the decreasing status of the
monarchy; records even indicate a conspiracy against King Pepi I, who reigned about 23952360 BC, in which the ruler's wife was involved. It is believed that during the later years of
Pepi II, who reigned about 2350-2260 BC, power may have been in the hands of his vizier
(chief minister). Central authority over the economy was also diminished by decrees of
exemption from taxes. The Nomes (districts) were rapidly becoming individually powerful, as
the monarchs—governors of the districts—were beginning to remain in place rather than
being periodically transferred to different Nomes.
The Middle Kingdom:
Without one centralized government, the bureaucracy was no longer effective, and regional
concerns were openly championed. Egyptian art became more provincial, and no massive
mortuary complexes were built. The religion was also democratized, as commoners claimed
prerogatives previously reserved for royalty alone. They could, for instance, use spells
derived from the royal Pyramid Texts on the walls of their own coffins or tombs.
Reunification
Although the Middle Kingdom (2134-1784 BC) is generally dated to include all of the 11th
Dynasty, it properly begins with the reunification of the land by Mentuhotep II, who reigned
2061-2010 BC. The early rulers of the dynasty attempted to extend their control from
Thebes both northward and southward, but it was left to Mentuhotep to complete the
reunification process, sometime after 2047 BC. Mentuhotep ruled for more than 50 years,
and despite occasional rebellions, he maintained stability and control over the whole
kingdom. He replaced some nomarchs and limited the power of the nomes, which was still
considerable. Thebes was his capital, and his mortuary temple at Dayr al Bahrì
incorporated both traditional and regional elements; the tomb was separate from the
temple, and there was no pyramid.
The reign of the first 12th Dynasty king, Amenemhet I, was peaceful. He established a
capital near Memphis and, unlike Mentuhotep, de-emphasized Theban ties in favor of
national unity. Nevertheless, the important Theban god Amon was given prominence over
other deities. Amenemhet demanded loyalty from the nomes, rebuilt the bureaucracy, and
educated a staff of scribes and administrators. The literature was predominantly
propaganda designed to reinforce the image of the king as a “good shepherd” rather than as
an inaccessible god. During the last ten years of his reign, Amenemhet ruled with his son as
co-regent. “The Story of Sinuhe,” a literary work of the period, implies that the king was
assassinated.
Amenemhet's successors continued his programs. His son, Sesostris I, who reigned 19621928 BC, built fortresses throughout Nubia and established trade with foreign lands. He
sent governors to Palestine and Syria and campaigned against the Libyans in the west.
Sesostris II, who reigned 1895-1878 BC, began land reclamation in Al Fayyum. His
successor, Sesostris III, who reigned 1878-1843 BC, had a canal dug at the first cataract of
the Nile, formed a standing army (which he used in his campaign against the Nubians), and
built new forts on the southern frontier. He divided the administration into three powerful
geographic units, each controlled by an official under the vizier, and he no longer recognized
provincial nobles. Amenemhet III continued the policies of his predecessors and extended
the land reform.
A vigorous renaissance of culture took place under the Theban kings. The architecture, art,
and jewelry of the period reveal an extraordinary delicacy of design, and the time was
considered the golden age of Egyptian literature
The New Kingdom
With the unification of the land and the founding of the 18th Dynasty by Ahmose I, the New
Kingdom (1570-1070 BC) began. Ahmose re-established the borders, goals, and
bureaucracy of the Middle Kingdom and revived its land-reclamation program. He
maintained the balance of power between the nomarchs and himself with the support of the
military, who were accordingly rewarded. The importance of women in the New Kingdom is
illustrated by the high titles and position of the royal wives and mothers.
The Ramesside Period
The founder of the 19th Dynasty, Ramses I, who reigned 1293-1291 BC, had served his
predecessor as vizier and commander of the army. Reigning only two years, he was
succeeded by his son, Seti I, who reigned 1291-1279 BC; he led campaigns against Syria,
Palestine, the Libyans, and the Hittites. Seti built a sanctuary at Abydos. Like his father, he
favored the delta capital of Pi-Ramesse (now Qantir). One of his sons, Ramses II, succeeded
him and reigned for nearly 67 years. He was responsible for much construction at Luxor
and Karnak, and he built the Ramesseum (his funerary temple at Thebes), the rock-cut
temples at Abu Simbel, and sanctuaries at Abydos and Memphis. After campaigns against
the Hittites, Ramses made a treaty with them and married a Hittite princess. His son
Merneptah, who reigned 1212-1202 BC, defeated the Sea Peoples, invaders from the Aegean
who swept the Middle East in the 13th century BC, and records tell of his desolating Israel.
Later rulers had to contend with constant uprisings by subject peoples of the empire.
The second ruler of the 20th Dynasty, Ramses III, had his military victories depicted on the
walls of his mortuary complex at Medinet Habu, near Thebes. After his death the New
Kingdom declined, chiefly because of the rising power of the priesthood of Amon and the
army. One high priest and military commander even had himself depicted in royal regalia.
The Hellenistic and Roman Periods
The occupation of Egypt by the forces of Alexander the Great in 332 BC brought an end to
Persian rule. Alexander appointed Cleomenes of Naucratis, a Greek resident in Egypt, and
his Macedonian general, known later as Ptolemy I, to govern the country. Although two
Egyptian governors were named as well, power was clearly in the hands of Ptolemy, who in
a few years took absolute control of the country.
Roman and Byzantine Rule
For nearly seven centuries after the death of Cleopatra, the Romans controlled Egypt
(except for a short time in the 3rd century AD, when it came under the power of Queen
Zenobia of Palmyra). They treated Egypt as a valuable source of wealth and profit and were
dependent on its supply of grain to feed their multitudes. Roman Egypt was governed by a
prefect, whose duties as commander of the army and official judge were similar to those of
the Pharaohs of the past. The office, therefore, was one with which the native population
was familiar. Because of the immense power of the prefects, however, their functions were
eventually divided under Emperor Justinian, who in the 6th century AD put the army
under a separate commander, directly responsible to him.
Egypt in the Roman period was relatively peaceful; its southern boundary at Aswan was
only rarely attacked by the Ethiopians. Egypt's population had become Hellenized under the
Ptolemies, and it included large minorities of Greeks and Jews, as well as other peoples
from Asia Minor. The mixture of the cultures did not lead to a homogeneous society, and
civil strife was frequent. In 212, however, Emperor Caracalla granted the entire population
citizenship in the Roman Empire.
Alexandria, the port city on the Mediterranean founded by Alexander the Great, remained
the capital as it had been under the Ptolemies. One of the great metropolises of the Roman
Empire, it was the center of a thriving commerce between India and Arabia and the
Mediterranean countries. It was the home of the great Alexandrian library and museum and
had a population of some 300,000 (excluding slaves).
Egypt became an economic mainstay of the Roman Empire not only because of its annual
harvest of grain but also for its glass, metal, and other manufactured products. In addition,
the trade brought in spices, perfumes, precious stones, and rare metals from the Red Sea
ports. Once part of the empire, Egypt was subject to a variety of taxes as well.
In order to control the people and placate the powerful priesthood, the Roman emperors
protected the ancient religion, completed or embellished temples begun under the
Ptolemies, and had their own names inscribed on them as Pharaohs ; the cartouches of
several can be found at Isna, Kawn Umbu, Dandara, and Philae. The Egyptian cults of Isis
and Serapis spread throughout the ancient world. Egypt was also an important center of
early Christendom and the first one of Christian monasticism. Its Coptic or Monophysite
church separated from mainstream Christianity in the 5th century.
During the 7th century the power of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire was challenged
by the Sassanids of Persia, who invaded Egypt in 616. They were expelled again in 628, but
soon after, in 642, the country fell to the Arabs, who brought with them a new religion,
Islam, and began a new chapter of Egyptian history.
Egypt Under the the Byzantinans:
Alienated by the religious intolerance and heavy taxation of the Byzantine government, the
Coptic Egyptians offered little resistance to their Arab conquerors. A treaty was
subsequently signed, by which the Egyptians agreed to pay a poll tax (jizyah) in return for
an Arab promise to respect the religious practices, lives, and property of the Copts. Besides
the poll tax, the male population, estimated at between 6 and 8 million, paid the kharaj, a
tax levied on agricultural land.
Local Government
No changes in the administration were made by the Arabs, who adopted the Byzantine
decentralized system of provincial governors reporting to a chief governor, resident in the
capital, Alexandria. They did, however, later move the capital to a new, more central
location, called Al Fustat (“the tent”), a few miles south of present-day Cairo.
For the next two centuries Egypt was ruled by governors appointed by the caliph, the leader
of the Muslim community. In this system, mild and generous rule alternated with severity
and religious oppression, depending on the character of the governor appointed, his
relationship with the population, and his financial needs. Immigration of Arab tribes and
the replacement of the Coptic language by Arabic in all public documents began a slow
process of Arabization that was eventually to turn Coptic-speaking Christian Egypt into a
largely Muslim and wholly Arabic-speaking country. Coptic became a liturgical language.
The Fatimid
After the last rule by the Tulunids, the country fell into a state of anarchy. Its weak and
defenseless condition made it an easy prey for the Fatimids, a Shiite dynasty that in 909,
rejecting the authority of the Abbasids, had proclaimed their own caliphate in Tunisia and
by the mid-10th century controlled most of North Africa. In 969 they invaded and
conquered Egypt and subsequently founded a new city, Cairo, north of Al Fustat, making it
their capital. See Caliphate.
Al Fustat, however, remained the commercial hub of the country under the Fatimids. It was
an impressive, multistoried urban center with an excellent underground sewage system. An
Iranian traveler, Nasir-i-Khosrau, who visited Egypt in 1046, marveled at the rich markets
and the security of the land. Egypt was then enjoying a period of tranquillity and prosperity.
The Fatimids, although Shiites in their beliefs, for the most part coexisted peacefully with
the predominantly Sunni population. They founded the oldest university in the world, Al
Azhar, and Cairo became a great intellectual center.
The Ottoman
Although the real hold of the Ottoman Turks over Egypt was to last only until the 17th
century, the country remained nominally part of the Ottoman Empire until 1915. Rather
than exterminate the Mamelukes, the Ottomans used them in their administration. They
established a governor and settled six ocaks (regiments) in Egypt as a garrison. In time the
roman ocaks intermarried with the native people, playing an important role in the country's
economic and political life. Rural areas were treated as crown lands, parceled into plots
called iqta, the produce of which went to the Ottoman elite.
The Time of Muhammad Ali:
The French occupation of Egypt in 1798, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, was a brief interlude,
for the French never acquired full dominion or control. The grain-producing regions of
Upper Egypt remained in Mameluke hands. Napoleon's invasion was too short-lived to have
any lasting impact, but it marked the beginning of a renewed European interest in Egypt. In
1801 an Anglo-Ottoman force expelled the French. For the next few years, struggles
between Mamelukes and Ottomans for mastery ruined the country until Muhammad Ali, an
Ottoman general of Albanian origin, seized power with the cooperation of the local
population. In 1805 the Ottoman sultan declared him the governor of Egypt.
Muhammad Ali, a man of genius, slowly and methodically destroyed or bought off all his
opponents until he became the only source of power in the country. To gain control of all
the trade routes into Egypt, he embarked on wars of expansion. He first conquered Al Hijaz
(the Hejaz, now in Saudi Arabia) in 1819 and Sudan from 1820 to 1822; by 1824 he was
ready to help the Ottoman sultan put down an insurrection in Greece. The European
powers, however, intervened to halt Egyptian advances in Greece, and Muhammad Ali was
forced to withdraw his army.
At home, Muhammad Ali encouraged the production of cotton to supply the textile mills of
Europe, and he used the profits to finance industrial projects. He established a monopoly
over all commodities and imposed trade barriers to nurture industry. He sent Egyptians
abroad for technical education and hired experts from Europe to train his army and build
his manufacturing industries (which, however, were never as successful as he hoped they
would be).
In 1831 Muhammad Ali invaded Syria, thereby coming into conflict with his Turkish
overlord. The Egyptians defeated the Ottoman armies, and by 1833 they were threatening
the Turkish capital, Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). Once again, Russia, Britain, and
France intervened, this time to protect the sultan. Muhammad Ali's forces withdrew, but he
was left in control of Syria and Crete.
Egyptian expansion and control over trade routes conflicted with Britain's growing interest
in the Middle East as a market for its burgeoning industrial production. The threat to the
integrity of the Ottoman Empire also disturbed Britain and roused fears of Russian
encroachment in the Mediterranean. For these reasons the British opposed Egypt, and
when Muhammad Ali again rebelled against the sultan in 1839, they stepped in for the
third time to make him back down. He was offered hereditary possession of Egypt, but had
to give up his other conquests and remain an Ottoman vassal.
The Coup of 1952
World War II (1939-1945) suspended further political bargaining. The war years brought
inflation, interparty strife, and disillusion with the Wafd. Fundamentalist religious
organizations, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, and Communist groups developed.In 1948
Egypt and several other Arab states went to war in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the
establishment of the state of Israel. Blaming the government for its loss, the army turned
against King Faruk, Fuad's son, who showed no aptitude for government and a blatant
disregard for public well-being and morality. In 1952 a group of army officers carried out a
successful coup d'etat that ousted the king and in 1953 declared Egypt a republic.
http://www.ask-aladdin.com/history1.htm
Mesopotamian Civilization
Before Civilization
Between 9000 B.C. and the beginning of the Christian era, western civilization came into
being in Egypt and in what historians call Ancient Western Asia (modern-day Cyprus, Syria,
Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, southwestern Russia, Iraq and Iran). The earliest
permanent settlements occurred between 9000-6000 B.C. and were accompanied by the
domestication of plants and animals. Between 4000-3000 B.C., the first cities appeared in
response to the pressures of population growth, the organizational requirements of
irrigation and the demands of more complex trade patterns. According to our previous
definitions, these societies of Egypt and Ancient Western Asia correspond to what we would
call civilization.
Around 10,000 B.C., many hunter-gatherers
living along the coastal plains of modern Syria
and Israel and in the valleys and hills near the
Zagros Mountains between Iran and Iraq began to
develop special strategies that led to a
transformation in the human community. Rather
than constantly traveling in search of food, people
stayed in one region and exploited the seasonal
sources of food, including fish, grain, fruits and
game. At a community such as Jericho, people
built and rebuilt their mud brick and stone huts
rather than moving on as had their ancestors. In
general, these communities began to focus on seasonal food sources and so were less likely
to leave in search of new sources.
Just why hunters and gatherers in this region of the ancient world turned to agriculture is
difficult to say. And there are a variety of problems associated with this transformation. For
one thing, specialization in a relatively small number of plants or animals could spell
disaster during times of famine. Some scholars have argued that agriculture developed out
of an increased population and the development of a political hierarchy. In settled
communities, infant mortality decreased and life expectancy rose. This change may have
occurred since life in a fixed community was less demanding. The practice of infanticide
decreased since children could now be used in rudimentary agricultural tasks. And as
population growth put pressure on the local food supply, gathering activities required more
coordination and organization and led eventually to the development of political leadership.
Settlements began to encourage the growth of plants such as barley and lentils and the
domestication of pigs, sheep and goats. People no longer looked for their favorite food
sources where they occurred naturally. Now they introduced them into other locations. An
agricultural revolution had begun.
The ability to domesticate goats, pigs, sheep and cattle and to cultivate grains and
vegetables changed human communities from passive harvesters of nature to active
partners with it. The ability to expand the food supply in one area allowed the development
of permanent settlements of greater size and complexity. The people of the Neolithic or New
Stone Age (8000-5000 B.C.) organized fairly large villages. Jericho grew into a fortified town
complete with ditches, stone walls, and towers and contained perhaps 2000 residents. Catal
Hüyük in southern Turkey may have been substantially larger.
Although agriculture resulted in a stable food supply for permanent communities, the
revolutionary aspect of this development was that the community could bring what they
needed (natural resources plus their tool kit) to make a new site inhabitable. This
development made it possible to create larger communities and also helped to spread the
practice of agriculture to a wider area. Farmers in Catal Hüyük cultivated plants that came
from hundreds of miles away. The presence of tools and statues made of stone not available
locally indicates that there was also some trading with distant regions.
Agricultural society brought changes in the organization of religious practices as well.
Sanctuary rooms decorated with frescoes and sculptures of the heads of bulls and bears
show us that structured religious rites were important to the inhabitants of these early
communities. At Jericho, human skulls were covered with clay in an attempt to make them
look as they had in life suggesting that they practiced a form of ancestor worship. Bonds of
kinship that had united hunters and gatherers were being supplemented by religious
organization, which helped to regulate the social behavior of the community.
Around 1500 B.C., a new theme appears on the cliff walls at Tassili-n-Ajjer. We see men
herding horses and driving horse-drawn chariots. These practices had emerged more than
fifteen hundred years earlier in Mesopotamia, a desert plain stretching to the marshes near
the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Chariots symbolized a dynamic and
expansive phase in western culture. Constructed of wood and bronze and used for transport
as well as for warfare, the chariot is symbolic of the culture of early river civilizations, the
first civilizations in Ancient Western Asia.
Mesopotamian Civilization
The history and culture of Mesopotamian civilization is inextricably connected to the ebb
and flow of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The earliest communities developed to the
north but since rainfall in that area was so unpredictable, by 5000 B.C. communities had
spread south to the rich alluvial plain. The economy of these communities was primarily
agricultural and approximately 100-200 people lived in these permanently established
villages. The alluvial plain in southern Mesopotamia ("land between the rivers") was far
more fertile than the north but because there was little rainfall, irrigation ditches had to be
constructed. Furthermore, the river beds of the Tigris and Euphrates rise and fall with the
seasons and they change their course unpredictably. Southern Mesopotamia also had its
share of flash floods which could destroy crops, livestock and village homes. Floods and
torrential rains were a significant theme in Mesopotamian literature as depicted in the Epic
of Gilgamesh.
The rampant flood which no man can oppose,
Which shakes the heavens and causes earth to tremble,
In an appalling blanket folds mother and child,
Beats down the canebrake's full luxuriant greenery,
And drowns the harvest in its time of ripeness.
Rising waters, grievous to eyes of man,
All-powerful flood, which forces the embankments
And mows down mighty trees,
Frenzied storm, tearing all things in massed confusion
With it in hurling speed.
Civilization emerged in Mesopotamia because the soil provided a surplus of food. With this
surplus, people could settle down to village life and with these new settlements, towns and
cities began to make their appearance, a process known as urbanization. With settlements
and a surplus of food came an increase in the population, a well-defined division of labor,
organization, cooperation and kingship. The emergence of cities involved interaction
between people. Most cities evolved from smaller farming villages and with the practice of
irrigation, which was necessary for villages distant from the Tigris and Euphrates, a stable
food supply was produced. This, in turn, allowed increases in the number of people who
inhabited each settlement.
http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/meso_res.htmlBecause the land closest to the river
was the most fertile, there was a variation in terms of the wealth of these early farmers,
which led to distinct social classes. At the same time, the construction of canals, ditches
and dikes essential to irrigation demanded cooperation between different social groups.
Decision-making, regulation and control of all food production and herding all meant
cooperation. And because more food could be produced by less people, some people gave up
farming and became craftsmen, laborers, merchants and officials and this too required
cooperation. The Mesopotamians built massive temples or ziggurats which housed the
priestly class, the human representatives of the gods. The priests controlled the religious
life of the community, the economy, land ownership, the employment of workers as well as
the management of long distance trade.
Mesopotamian villages and towns eventually evolved into independent and nearly selfsufficient city-states. Although largely economically dependent on one another, these citystates were independent political entities and retained very strong isolationist tendencies.
This isolationism hindered the unification of the Mesopotamian city-states, which
eventually grew to twelve in number.
By 3000 B.C., Mesopotamian civilization had made contact with other cultures of the Fertile
Crescent (a term first coined by James Breasted in 1916), an extensive trade network
connecting Mesopotamia with the rest of Ancient Western Asia. Again, it was the two rivers
which served as both trade and transportation routes.
The achievements of Mesopotamian civilization were numerous. Agriculture, thanks to the
construction of irrigation ditches, became the primary method of subsistence. Farming was
further simplified by the introduction of the plow. We also find the use of wheel-made
pottery. Between 3000 and 2900 B.C. craft specialization and industries began to emerge
(ceramic pottery, metallurgy and textiles). Evidence for this exists in the careful planning
and construction of the monumental buildings such as the temples and ziggurats. During
this period (roughly 3000 B.C.), cylinder seals became common. These cylindrical stone
seals were five inches in height and engraved with images. These images were reproduced
by rolling the cylinder over wet clay. The language of these seals remained unknown until to
20th century. But, scholars now agree that the language of these tablets was Sumerian.
Ancient Sumer
The Sumerians inhabited southern Mesopotamia from 3000-2000 B.C. The origin of the
Sumerians is unclear -- what is clear is that Sumerian civilization dominated Mesopotamian
law, religion, art, literature and science for nearly seven centuries.
http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/cuneiform.htmlThe greatest achievement of
Sumerian civilization was their Cuneiform ("wedge-shaped") system of writing. Using a reed
stylus, they made wedge-shaped impressions on wet clay tablets which were then baked in
the sun. Once dried, these tablets were virtually indestructible and the several hundred
thousand tablets which have been found tell us a great deal about the Sumerians.
Originally, Sumerian writing was pictographic, that is, scribes drew pictures of
representations of objects. Each sign represented a word identical in meaning to the object
pictured, although pictures could often represent more than the actual object.
The pictographic system proved cumbersome and the characters were gradually simplified
and their pictographic nature gave way to conventional signs that represented ideas. For
instance, the sign for a star could also be used to mean heaven, sky or god. The next major
step in simplification was the development of phonetization in which characters or signs
were used to represent sounds. So, the character for water was also used to mean "in,"
since the Sumerian words for "water" and "in" sounded similar. With a phonetic system,
scribes could now represent words for which there were no images (signs), thus making
possible the written expression of abstract ideas.
The Sumerians used writing primarily as a form of record keeping. The most common
cuneiform tablets record transactions of daily life: tallies of cattle kept by herdsmen for their
owners, production figures, lists of taxes, accounts, contracts and other facets of
organizational life in the community. Another large category of cuneiform writing included a
large number of basic texts which were used for the purpose of teaching future generations
of scribes. By 2500 B.C. there were schools built just for his purpose.
http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/sumer_res.html
The city-state was Sumer's most important political entity. The city-states were a loose
collection of territorially small cities which lacked unity with one another. Each city-state
consisted of an urban center and its surrounding farmland. The city-states were isolated
from one another geographically and so the independence of each city-state became a
cultural norm with important consequences. For instance, it was held that each city-state
was the estate of a particular god: Nannar (moon) was said to have watched over the citystate of Ur; Uruk had An (sky), Sippar had Utu (sun) and Enki (earth) could be found at
Eridu. Nippur, the earliest center of Sumerian religion, was dedicated to Enlil, god of wind
(Enlil was supplanted by Marduk at Babylon). Each city-state was sacred since it was
carefully guarded by and linked to a specific god or goddess. Located near the center of
each city-state was a temple. Occupying several acres, this sacred area consisted of a
ziggurat with a temple at the top dedicated to the god or goddess who "owned" the city. The
temple complex was the true center of the community. The main god or goddess dwelt there
symbolically in the form of a statue, and the ceremony of dedication included a ritual that
linked the statue to the god or goddess and thus harnessed the power of the deity for the
benefit of the city-state. Considerable wealth was poured into the construction of temples as
well as other buildings used for the residences of priests and priestesses who attended to
the needs of the gods. The priests also controlled all economic activities since the economy
was "redistributive." Farmers would bring their produce to the priests at the ziggurat. The
priests would "feed" and "clothe" the gods and then redistribute the remainder to the people
of the community.
With its rather large pantheon of gods and goddesses animating all aspects of life, Sumerian
religion was polytheistic in nature. By far, the most important deities were An, Enlil, Enki
and Ninhursaga. An was the god of the sky and hence the most important force in the
universe. He was also viewed as the source of all authority including the earthly power of
rulers and fathers alike. In one myth, the gods address them in the following manner:
What you have ordered comes true!
The utterance of Prince and Lord is but what you have ordered, do agree with.
O An! your great command takes precedence, who could gainsay it?
O father of the gods, your command, the very foundations of heaven and earth, what god
could spurn it?
Enlil, god of wind, was considered the second greatest power of the universe and became
the symbol of the proper use of force and authority on earth. As the god of wind, Enlil
controlled both the fertility of the soil and destructive storms. This dual nature of Enlil
inspired a justifiable fear of him:
What has he planned? . . .
What is in my father's heart?
What is in Enlil's holy mind?
What has he planned against me in his holy mind?
A net he spread: the net of an enemy; a snare he set: the snare of an enemy.
He has stirred up the waters and will catch the fishes, he has cast his net, and will bring
down the birds too.
Enki was god of the earth. Since the earth was the source of life-giving waters, Enki was
also god of rivers, wells, and canals. He also represented the waters of creativity and was
responsible for inventions and crafts. Ninhursaga began as a goddess associated with soil,
mountains, and vegetation. Eventually she was worshipped as a mother goddess, a "mother
of all children," who manifested her power by giving birth to kings.
Although these four deities were supreme, there were numerous gods and goddesses below
them. One group included the astral deities, who were all grandchildren and greatgrandchildren of An. These included Utu, god of the sun, the moon god Nannar, and
Inanna, goddess of the morning and evening star as well as of war and rain. Unlike
humans, these gods and goddesses were divine and immortal. But they were not allpowerful since no one god had control over the entire universe. Furthermore, humans were
capable of devising ways to discover the will of the gods and to influence them as well.
The relationship of human beings to the gods was based on subservience since, according
to Sumerian myth, human beings were created to do the manual labor the gods were
unwilling to do for themselves. As a consequence, humans were insecure since they could
never be sure of the god's actions. But humans did make attempts to circumvent or relieve
their anxiety by discovering the intentions of the gods; these efforts gave rise to the
development of the arts of divination, which took a variety of forms. A common form, at
least for kings and priests who could afford it, involved killing animals, such as sheep or
goats, and examining their livers or other organs. Supposedly, features seen in the organs
of the sacrificed animals foretold of events to come. Private individuals relied on cheaper
divinatory techniques. These included interpreting patterns of smoke from burning incense
or the pattern formed when oil was poured into water.
The Sumerian art of divination arose from a desire to discover the purpose of the gods. If
people could decipher the signs that foretold events, the events would be predictable and
humans could act wisely. But the Sumerians also developed cultic arts to influence good
powers (gods and goddesses) whose decisions could determine human destiny and to ward
off evil powers (demons). These cultic arts included ritualistic formulas, such as spells
against evil spirits, or prayers or hymns to the gods to win their positive influence. Since
only the priests knew the precise rituals, it is not difficult to understand the important role
they exercised in a society dominated by a belief in the reality of spiritual powers.
The Code of Hammurabi
Mesopotamian men and women viewed themselves as subservient to the gods and believed
humans were at the mercy of the god's arbitrary decisions. To counter their insecurity, the
Mesopotamians not only developed the arts of divination in order to understand the wishes
of their gods, but also relieved some anxiety by establishing codes that regulated their
relationships with one another. These law codes became an integral part of Mesopotamian
society. Although there were early Sumerian law codes, the best-preserved Mesopotamian
collection of law codes was that of Hammurabi (fl.18th century B.C.).
The Code of Hammurabi reveals a society of strict justice. Penalties for criminal offenses
were severe and varied according to the wealth of the individual. According to the code,
there were three social classes in Babylonia: an upper class of nobles (government officials,
priests, and warriors), the class of freemen (merchants, artisans, professionals, and wealthy
farmers), and a lower class of slaves. An offense against a member of the upper class was
punished with more severity than the same offense against a member of a lower class. The
principle of retaliation ("an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth") was fundamental. It was
applied in cases where members of the upper class committed criminal offenses against
their own social equals. But for offenses against members of the lower classes, a money
payment was made instead.
Mesopotamian society, like any other society, had its share of crime. Burglary was common.
If a person stole goods belonging to the temples, he was put to death, and so was the
person who received the stolen goods. If the private property of an individual was stolen, the
thief had to make a tenfold restitution. If he could not do so he was put to death. An
offender caught attempting to loot a burning house was to be "thrown into that fire."
Private individuals were often responsible for bringing charges before a court of law. To
insure that accusations were not brought lightly, the accuser in cases of murder was
responsible for proving his case against the defendant. If the accuser could not, he was put
to death. Providing false testimony in a murder case meant the same fate.
Hammurabi's code took seriously the responsibilities of all public officials. The governor of
an area and city officials were expected to catch burglars. If they failed to do so, public
officials in which the crime took place had to replace the lost property. If murderers were
not found, the officials had to pay a fine to the relatives of the murdered person. Soldiers
were also expected to fill their duties. If a soldier hired a substitute to fight for him, he was
put to death, and a substitute was given control of his estate.
The law code also extended into the daily life of the ordinary citizen. Builders were held
responsible for the buildings they constructed. If a house collapsed and caused the death of
its owner, the builder was put to death. Goods destroyed by the collapsed must also be
replaced and the house itself rebuilt at the builder's expense.
Slavery was a common feature of Mesopotamian society. Slaves were obtained by war;
others were criminals. Crimes such as striking one's older brother and kicking one's mother
were punished by condemnation to slavery. A man could pay his debts by selling both his
children and wife into slavery for a specified length of time. One could become a slave
simply by going into debt.
Slaves were used in temples, in public buildings, and in the homes of private individuals.
Most temple slaves were women who did domestic chores. Royal slaves were used to
construct buildings and fortifications. Slaves owned by private citizens performed domestic
chores. The laws were harsh for those slaves who tried to escape or who were disobedient.
"If a male slave has said to his master, 'You are now my master,' his master shall prove him
to be his slave and cut off his ear." Despite such harsh measures, slaves did possess a
number of privileges: they could hold property, participate in business, marry free man or
women, and eventually purchased their own freedom.
The number of laws in Hammurabi's code dedicated to land and commerce reveal the
importance of agriculture and trade in Mesopotamian society. Numerous laws dealt with
questions of landholding, such as the establishment of conditions for renting farmland.
Tenant farming was the basis of Mesopotamian agriculture. Ten farmers paid their annual
rent in crops rather than money. Laws concerning land-use and irrigation were especially
strict. If a landowner or tenant failed to keep dikes in good repair he was required to pay for
the grain that was destroyed. If he could not pay he was sold into slavery and his goods
sold, the proceeds of which were divided among the injured parties. Rates of interest on
loans were watched carefully. If the lender raised his rate of interest after a loan was made,
he lost the entire amount of the loan. The Code of Hammurabi also specified the precise
wages of laborers and artisans.
The largest number of laws in the Code of Hammurabi was dedicated to marriage and
family. Parents arranged marriages for their children. After marriage, the party signed a
marriage contract. Without this contract, no one was considered legally married. While the
husband provided a bridal payment, the woman's parents were responsible for a dowry to
the husband. Dowries were carefully monitored and governed by regulations.
Mesopotamian society was a patriarchal society, and so women possessed far fewer
privileges and rights in their marriage. A woman's place was at home and failure to fulfill
her duties was grounds for divorce. If she was not able to bear children, her husband could
divorce her but he had to repay the dowry. If his wife tried to leave the home in order to
engage in business, her husband could divorce her and did not have to repay the dowry.
Furthermore, if his wife was a "gadabout, . . . neglecting her house [and] humiliating her
husband," she could be drowned.
Women were guaranteed some rights, however. If a woman was divorced without good
reason she received the dowry back. A woman could seek divorce and get her dowry back if
her husband was unable to show that she had done anything wrong. The mother also chose
a son to whom an inheritance would be passed.
Fathers ruled their children as well as their wives. Obedience was expected: "If a son has
struck his father, they shall cut off his hand." If a son committed a serious enough offense,
his father could disinherit him. It should be clear that the Code of Hammurabi covered
virtually every aspect of an individual's life. Although scholars have questioned the extent to
which these laws were actually employed in Babylonian society, the Code of Hammurabi
provides us an important glimpse into the values of Mesopotamian civilization.
Evolution of the Roman Civilization
In the 800’s and 700’s BC, Italy was largely undeveloped and its inhabitants, primarily
Hellenic and Etruscan people, were not as advanced as the Greeks. In centuries to come,
Rome would rise to power and bring with it many advances in civilization. This is strongly
supported by the theory of cultural diffusion, claiming that civilization eventually spread
westward from the Nile River valley and Greece to Italy.
Bringing the tide of civilization from the East was the Etruscans who settled in
mountainous north Italy and migrated south until they were stopped at Cumae in 524 BC
by the Greeks. The Etruscans were masters of augury, which is the observing of birds in
relation to the sky, and haruspices, which is the examination of animal livers. By pursuing
these practices, the Etruscans felt that they became more in touch with their gods: Tinia,
Uni, and Menerva. The Etruscan influence on the Romans is evident by the Roman’s
adoption of Etruscan gods. Tinia, Uni and Menerva are very similar to Jupiter, Juno, and
Minerva respectively.
The Tiber River is vital for the trade of central Italy. It is controlled easily by an island it
surrounds approximately fifteen miles from its mouth. Occupation of this Tiber island is
dependent on the control of seven hills along the bank of the river. The Palatine, the most
important of all these hills, is the site where Romulus allegedly founded the Roman culture
in 753 BC.
At this time, Rome developed a Monarchy. Some early kings were Priscus, Tullius, and
Superbus who constituted the Etruscan dynasty. Tarquinius Superbus, the last of the
dynasty, was overthrown in 509 BC due to his tyranny, Romans dislike of Etruscans, and
their restraining of the upper class. The high families of Rome formed an oligarchic republic
and ousted the Etruscans.
Patricians, the high class of Rome, developed a senate and elected two rulers, called
consuls, annually. Commoners living in Rome elected a tribune to protect their rights.
Somewhat of a battle for equality took place between the Patricians and the Plebeians
lasting from the installment of the republic for nearly two hundred years. The publishing of
the Twelve Tables in 450 BC made the procedures of Roman law known to all and
contributed to the equality of the masses.
Rome's potential as a major power increased as
and Etruscan invasions were rebuffed in the
390's BC. Rome had a major success in 396 BC
when Veii, an Etruscan city close to Rome, was
after a long battle. It was becoming obvious that
Rome was an expansionist power. Many of
Rome's Latin allies were angered by Rome's rise
power. The Latin War, started in 340 BC,
proved that Rome was superior as it emerged as
dominant power in Italy.
Celt
won
to
the
As Rome went into the first Punic War in 264
BC,
its power in Italy spanned the whole peninsula
as
far north as Ariminum. Rome's motivation for all three of the Punic Wars was to defeat the
African city of Carthage and gain Mediterranean dominance. They built an army of one
hundred ships and experienced growing success, as they became masters of naval war. The
Romans won Sicily in 241 BC. In the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) they defeated General
Hannibal of Carthage and in the Third Punic War (149-146 BC) the Romans seized the city
of Carthage itself. Encouraged by these victories, Rome defeated Syria and then Macedonia
to gain rule over the western Hellenistic world.
Throughout this time of conquest, there was much progress being made within Rome. Many
structures were built, including the Circus Flaminius in 221 BC, the Basilica Aemilia in 179
BC, and several triumphal arches to commend victories. Andronicus, the first Roman
playwright, was popularized in the 240's BC and the poet Ennius came to Rome in 204 BC.
Greek art and philosophy were introduced and Cato published his history of Rome in 149
BC.
After conquering all, Rome found that its motivating purpose was now gone and suffered
numerous internal difficulties. The Gracchus brothers led a popular movement for land
reform, but were put down by the Patricians. Gaius Marius, a strong general, did much to
transfer power to the Roman Army. Sulla and then Pompey succeeded Marius as dictators
of Rome. The famous Julius Caesar challenged Pompey and took control of Rome. The
Roman Republic came to an end in 44 BC when Caesar was assassinated.
Taking Julius Caesar's place was Mark Antony, Aemilius Lepidus, and Octavian Caesar; the
famous triumvirate. In 31 BC, the ambitious Octvian defeated Antony and became emperor
of the Roman world. Having unbelievable fame amongst the Romans, Octavian gave all his
power to the Senate to create a "restored republic" knowing that the Senate would give his
some central role in government. The Senate did respond as Octavian had expected by
offering the administration of many Roman provinces, including Spain, Egypt, and Gual.
This placed him in control of nearly all Rome's military strength and he was given the title
Augustus. More powers soon followed making the first emperor of Rome a legend.
When Augustus died in 14 AD, Tiberius -Augustus' chosen heir- took the throne. He had
little success in dealing with the Senate and he withdrew himself from office. Tiberius'
great-nephew Gaius Julius, or Caligula, was next to take the empire which Augustus had
created. Caligula was murdered in 41 AD, and the Praetorian Guard (emperor's bodyguards)
forced the Senate to accept another emperor, Claudius. Claudius did much to solidify the
office of emperor and won victories in Britain in 43 AD.
Claudius' wife Agrippina likely poisoned him to get her son Nero into the throne. Once
emperor, Nero had his mother killed, persecuted Christians, and possibly arranged the
burning of Rome which occurred in 64 AD. He built a great palace in the center of Rome's
rubble with a giant stature of himself inside. When Gaul and Spain revolted, Nero
committed suicide ending the Augustus reign and Sulpicius Galba, governor of Spain, took
office.
Rome was in constant Civil War in 68 AD, as the throne changed hands four times. In 70
AD, the emperor Titus captured Jerusalem. His brother Domitian followed him. After the
death of Nerva in 97, Trajan, Hadrian, the Antonine emperors, and the Severan emperors
reigned in a time of peace and consolidation. Many buildings and statues were built in
Northern Africa during this time. The Colosseum and the Pantheon were also built in Rome
during this period.
From 235 to 284 AD Rome was in disorder as Germans, Goths, and Persians attacked.
Many military figures became emperors and were quickly deposed by others. In 284 AD,
Diocletian, traditional militaristic Roman, introduced reforms that bought Rome back to
order. He divided the Empire in half and appointed two rulers for both west and east Rome.
In 302 AD, Diocletian banned Christians from the Roman Army. He brought religion into
the office of emperor and made the position a "divine monarchy."
In 312 AD, Constantine, proclaimed ruler by Britain, defeated Maxentius to become the
absolute ruler of Rome. He was a very religious Christian and converted Rome into a
Christian society. Constantine tried to counter alien attacks by creating more mobile forces,
which could respond quickly, but lack of manpower made the idea unworkable.
Constantine's biggest contribution to Rome was the founding of the new capitol of Rome,
Constantinople. Constantine was baptized shortly before he died in 337 AD.
From 378 AD on the divided Rome was slowly killed by various attackers. In 363 AD,
Persians captured Mesopotamia. Goths ravaged Rome in 410. Vandals infiltrated Gaul and
Spain. In 476 AD, Romulus Augustus was deposed and west Rome dies. The great wealth of
east Rome maintained the government and it lived until 1453 AD.
Evolution of the Greek Civilization
The Background: Aegean Civilization, 2000-1200 B.C.
Greek civilization was unique in so many ways that a student of history might infer that it
developed free from outside influences, springing full blown from the mountains and plains
of this small land. The Greek achievement, however, was preceded by an advanced
civilization located on the lands surrounding the
Aegean Sea. This Aegean civilization, which came
into full flower about 2000 B.C. and collapsed
suddenly following 1200 B.C., developed through
two major periods.
Minoan And Mycenaean Phases
The first and longer phase of Aegean civilization,
which ended about 1450 B.C., is called Minoan
after the legendary Cretan King Minos. Crete was
the center of Minoan civilization, which spread to
the Aegean Islands, the coast of Asia Minor, and mainland Greece. The last period of Aegean
civilization, the two and one-half centuries following 1450 B.C. when the center of Aegean
political power and culture lay on the Greek mainland, is called Mycenaean after its most
important site at Mycenae.
The Minoans
The narrow, 160-mile-long island of Crete was a stepping stone between
Europe, Asia, and Africa. Stimulated by immigrants from Asia Minor and by
contacts with Mesopotamia and Egypt, a brilliant civilization emerged here by
2000 B.C.
Minoan prosperity was based on large-scale trade that ranged from Sicily,
Greece, and Asia Minor to Syria and Egypt. The Minoans employed the first
ships capable of long voyages over the open sea. Chief exports were olive oil,
wine, metal ware, and magnificent pottery. This trade was the monopoly of an
efficient bureaucratic government under a powerful ruler whose administrative
records were written on clay tablets, first in a form of picture writing and
later in a syllabic script known as Linear A. As neither script has been
deciphered, our knowledge of Minoan civilization is scanty and imprecise; most
of it is derived from the material remains uncovered by archaeologists.
It was the epoch-making discoveries of the English archaeologist Sir
Arthur Evans that first brought to light this civilization, whose existence
had previously only been hinted at in the epics of Homer and in Greek legends
such as that of the minotaur, half bull and half man, who devoured youths and
maidens sent as tribute from Greece. Between 1900 and 1905 Evans unearthed the ruins of
a great palace at Knossos, the dominant city in Crete after 1700 B.C.
Rising at least three stories high and sprawling over nearly six acres, this "Palace of Minos,"
built of brick and limestone and employing unusual downward-tapering columns of wood,
was a maze of royal apartments, storerooms, corridors, open courtyards, and broad
stairways. Furnished with running water, the palace had a sanitation system that
surpassed anything constructed in Europe until Roman times. Walls were painted with
elaborate frescoes in which the Minoans appear as a happy, peaceful people with a
pronounced liking for dancing, festivals, and athletic contests. Women are shown enjoying a
freedom and dignity unknown elsewhere in the ancient Near East or classical Greece. They
are not secluded in the home but are seen sitting with men and taking an equal part in
public festivities - even as toreadors in a form of bull
fighting. Their dresses are very elaborate, with gay patterns and colors,
pleats, puffed sleeves, and flounces. Bodices are open in front to the waist,
and hair is elaborately fashioned with ringlets over the forehead and about
the ears.
The glory of Minoan culture was its art, spontaneous and full of rhythmic
motion. Art was an essential part of everyday life and not, as in the ancient
Near East, an adjunct to religion and the state. What little is known of
Minoan religion also contrasts sharply with conditions in the Near East: there
were no great temples, powerful priesthoods, or large cult statues of the
gods. The principal deity was the Mother Goddess; her importance reflected the
important position held by women in Cretan society. A number of recovered
statuettes show her dressed like a fashionable Cretan woman with flounced
skirts, a tightly laced, lowcut bodice, and an elaborate coiffure. She was
probably the prototype of such later Greek goddesses as Athena, Demeter, and
Aphrodite.
The Mycenaeans
About 2000 B.C. or shortly thereafter, the first Indo-European Greek
tribes, collectively called Achaeans, entered Greece, where they absorbed the
earlier settlers and ruled from strongly fortified citadels at Mycenae, Pylos,
Athens, and other sites. By 1600 B.C. the Achaeans - or Mycenaeans, as they
are usually called - had adopted much of the advances culture of the Minoans.
They remained warlike, however, and plied the seas as raiders as well as
traders. Mycenaean women adopted Cretan fashions and added a variety of
sumptuous jewelry from bracelets to earrings.
Some of the wealth accumulated by the kings of Mycenae - the greatest
single hoard of gold, silver, and ivory objects found anywhere before the
discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb - was unearthed in 1876 by Heinrich
Schliemann, fresh from his even more sensational discoveries at Troy. The
royal palace on the acropolis, or citadel, of Mycenae had well-proportioned
audience rooms and apartments, fresco-lined walls, floors of painted stucco,
and large storerooms. Noteworthy also were the royal "beehive" tombs,
constructed of cut stone and covered with earth.
The expansive force of Mycenaean civilization led to the planting of
colonies in the eastern Mediterranean (Hittite sources refer to Achaeans in
Asia Minor) and to the conquest of Knossos about 1450 B.C. The latter event
was made possible by the destruction of the labyrinthian palace at Knossos by
fire - the aftereffect, it is now conjectured, of a great tidal wave caused by
the eruption of the small volcanic island of Thera (Santorini) eighty miles
north of Crete. The palace at Knossos was rebuilt by the Mycenaeans (to be
destroyed finally about 1380 B.C. by earthquake and fire), and the center of
Aegean civilization shifted to the Greek mainland.
This story of Achaean-Cretan relations was unclear until after 1952 when
a young English architect, Michael Ventris, startled the scholarly world by
deciphering a type of Cretan script known as Linear B, many examples of which
had been found by Evans at Knossos and by later archaeologists at Pylos,
Mycenae, and Thebes. When Linear B turned out to be an early form of Greek
written in syllabic characters, it followed that the rulers of Knossos after
1450 B.C. must have been Achaean Greeks who had adopted the Cretan script to
write their own language.
The Fall Of Mycenaean Civilization
About 1200 B.C. a new wave of Indo-Europeans, the Dorian Greeks,
materially aided by weapons made of iron instead of bronze, invaded Greece.
First of the Mycenaean strongholds to fall was Pylos, whose Linear B archives
contain numerous references to hastily undertaken preparations to repel the
invaders. We find orders directing women and children to places of safety;
instructions to armorers, "rowers," and food suppliers; and a report entitled
"How the watchers are guarding the coastal regions." ^2 The preparations were
in vain, however. Pylos was sacked and burned, and the destruction of the
other major Mycenaean citadels soon followed. Mycenaean refugees found a haven
at Athens and in Ionia on the western coast of Asia Minor.
The Rise Of Hellenic Civilization, 1150-500 B.C.
The four centuries from c.1150 to 750 B.C., the Greek Dark Ages, were
marked by the disappearance of the major characteristics of Mycenaean
civilizationcentralized and bureaucratic administration, wide-ranging
commerce, sophisticated art forms (including monumental architecture), and
writing. Yet while the Dorian invasion was an undoubted catastrophe, it was
also vital to the ultimate rise of a unique Hellenic (from Hellas, the
Greek name for Greece) civilization that was not largely an offshoot of the
Near East, as was Aegean civilization. A fresh start now had to be made
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