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Chapter 5: Classical Civilizations in the Middle East and Mediterranean (Persia, Greece, Rome) Introduction • Time period of this chapter ranges: • Early people settling area around 800 B.C.E. through the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 C.E. • Legacy • Not to be behind the classical civilizations in the east (India and China), classical west left behind a rich legacy of art, culture, political ideology, trade, and new ideas regarding religion. The Persian Tradition • 550 B.C.E. – Cyrus the Great • Established a massive Persian Empire • Ran E-W through northern Egypt, Turkey (Asia Minor/Anatolia), Iran (Persia), and western portion of India. • Politics • Tolerant of other languages, cultures, traditions • Strong authoritarian government • Centralized law and tax collection • Wide participation in government was rejected • Invested in their infrastructure • Roads, postal service, trade/commerce, military The Persian Tradition (cont…) • Development of a bureaucracy • Tax collection was carefully regulated. • Spies were sent out to make sure regional officials remained loyal to central government. The Persian Tradition (cont…) • Zoroastrianism • Developed by religious leader, Zoroaster • Introduced a monotheistic faith to a polytheistic area • Concept of heaven, hell, final day of judgment • Forces of good (God) and evil • Freewill to choose a force • Lasting effects? • Small percentage of the world is Zoroastrian, but legacy would be its ability to affect the ideas of polytheism in the Middle East. The Persian Tradition (cont…) • Persian rulers expanded the empire and provided much of the Middle East with a long period of peace and prosperity. • Did not conquer Greece. • At height: • 14 million people • Empire did not last through the conquest of Alexander the Great, but culture and language (Persian) survived. Patterns of Greek History • An early kingdom in southern Greece, strongly influenced by Crete, developed by 1400 B.C.E. around the city of Mycenae. • Mycenae was destroyed by a wave of Indo-Europeans • 800 B.C.E. – 600 B.C.E. • Topography of Greece made a unified government impossible. • City-states emerge • Common culture formed through trade, but each city-state had own form of government. Patterns of Greek History (cont…) • 500 B.C.E. – 449 B.C.E, Sparta and Athens • Leading city-states • Sparta • Strong, military state that dominated a slave population • Athens • Diverse, birthplace of democracy • Commercial center, proud artistic/cultural center • Also used slaves • Both came together to thwart a huge Persian invasion. Patterns of Greek History (cont…) • Athens after Persian defeat • Culture reached its highest point. • Pericles, an Athenian statesmen, dominated politics with goals for Athens’ glory. • Peloponnesian Wars – 431 B.C.E. – 404 B.C.E. • Major wars between Athens and Sparta • Depleted both sides • Spartans won • Political fragmentation of Greece only got worse Patterns of Greek History (cont…) • With Greece so divided, a king from the north will come to conquer • Philip of Macedon and son, Alexander the Great • AtG • Hugely successful conqueror • Took Greece, then Egypt, then Persia (which was huge), and ended up in the northwestern portion of India • Tolerant of cultures, the term “Hellenism” resulted from this conquest • Blending of Greek, Egyptian, and Persian cultures • AtG was not a government administrator – he was a conqueror. Patterns of Roman History • 800 B.C.E., Central Italy – small monarchy • Roman aristocrats drove out the monarchy around 509 B.C.E., and established a republic. • 510 B.C.E. – 47 B.C.E., The Roman Republic • Featured aristocratic senate • Extended its influence over rest of Italy, and conquered Greek colonies in the south • Punic Wars (264 B.C.E. – 146 B.C.E.) • Series of wars between Rome and Carthage; fought over commercial power of Mediterranean • Rome won, obliterated city of Carthage with salt Patterns of Roman History • Overtime, politics of Roman republic grew increasingly unstable. • Civil Wars • Julius Caesar and Pompey were in a triumvirate, meaning they shared executive powers with another person, Crassus • Caesar and Pompey eventually go to war • Caesar is greatly victorious (45 B.C.E.) and his rule will mark the effective end of the Roman republic and the beginning of what’s known as the Roman empire. • After his death, his grandnephew, Octavian (later will be known as Augustus Caesar) will come to power. Caesar Pompey Crassus Patterns of Roman History • During the reign of another emperor, Marcus Aurelius, the empire maintained great vigor, bringing peace and prosperity to virtually the entire Mediterranean world. • Pax Romana – period of Roman peace from 27 B.C.E. to 180 C.E. • Rome expanded north • Overall holdings compare to the Han, but with a less centralized government and more tolerance of diversity of the empire. • Both governments were effective and assured stability and prosperity. Patterns of Roman History • After 180 C.E. • The empire suffered a slow but decisive fall that lasted over 250 years, until invading peoples from the north finally overturned the government in Rome in 476 C.E. • Economic deterioration, population loss, the need for nonRoman troops, less effective emperors, and the inability of the state to provide protection and justice all contributed to Rome’s decline. • Some strong later emperors, particularly Diocletian and Constantine, attempted to reverse the tide. • Constantine, in 313, adopted Christianity in an attempt to unite the empire in new ways. Greek and Roman Political Institutions • Greece • Polis – city-state form of government • Athens • • • • Direct democracy - all citizens can participate Only a minority of the Athenian population were active citizens Women had no rights of political participation Half of all adult males weren’t citizens, being former slaves or foreigners Pericles – Athenian statesmen Greek and Roman Political Institutions • Rome – the Republic • Citizen assemblies elected magistrates to represent the interests of the common people. • Aristocrats held more executive offices and comprised the Senate, Rome’s primary legislative body. • Patricians and Plebians • 12 Tables of Rome • Laws of Rome Patricians Plebians Aristocratic land-owners with most of Common farmers, artisans, and the power merchants- made up the majority Inherited social status and power Citizens who can vote, but can’t hold govt positions Senate allowed own assembly – protected plebian rights Greek and Roman Political Institutions • Rome – the Empire • developed organizational capacities to scale, including its vast hierarchy of the Roman army • Allowed for considerable local autonomy in many regions • pursued a policy of “bread and circuses” designed to prevent popular disorder • Cheap food and entertainment to keep the masses entertained Rome (cont…) • Roles of Government • Public works • Help to unite empire • Maintaining law courts, police power • Official religion of gods/goddesses, but there was little effort to inforce this onto the empire. • Tolerance if the religions did not interfere with the loyalty to the empire. • Christianity did not place the empire/emperor first, therefore it was often attacked. Religion and Culture • The Greeks and Romans did not create a significant, world-class religion. • Christianity arose during Roman Empire, but was not a result of Rome. • The characteristic Greco-Roman religion was derived from a belief in the spirits of nature elevated into a complex set of gods and goddesses who were seen as regulating human life. FIGURE 5.4 After murdering his wife and children, Hercules, who became the Greeks’ greatest mythical hero, was sentenced to perform 12 tasks that would have been impossible for most mortals. This vase depicts the fourth labor of Hercules, in which he was ordered to capture the Erymanthian boar and bring it to his master, Eurystheus. The frightened Eurystheus has hidden in a wine jar. (Copyright The British Museum.) Religion and Culture • The dominant religion failed to satisfy many ordinary workers and peasants, who gravitated to “mystery” religions, often imported from the Middle East. • The lack of ethical content in the GrecoRoman religion left many upper-class people dissatisfied, too. Religion and Culture • Thinkers, such as Aristotle and Cicero, developed independent moral philosophies stressing moderation and balance in human behavior. • Mediterranean philosophy emphasized the powers of human thought. • Socrates urged youth of Athens to question everything, including their elders/statesmen. • Socrates was charged with “corrupting the youth of Athens” and had to choose between drinking poison or being exiled. He “drank the kool-aid.” Religion and Culture • The Greeks were not outstanding empirical scientists, but their interest in rationality carried over to an inquiry into the underlying order of physical nature. • Hellenistic Period • Pythagoras and Euclid contributed major achievements to geometry, while Galen’s contributions to anatomy were a standard for centuries. Religion and Culture • The Arts • Drama: comedy and tragedy • Balance between virtue and emotions • Sophocles, Oedipus Rex • Epics, the Iliad, Odyssey • Architecture • Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian styles • Roman engineering, athleticism • Classical art – the form, balance, beauty Religion and Culture • Greek genius was philosophy, but Roman genius was engineering. • Use of dome, arches, the aqueducts – engineering marvels FIGURE 5.5 This is an artist’s recreation of the Forum in imperial times. The use of decorative styles that originated in classical Greece was a central feature of Roman architecture, but as the empire grew, buildings became steadily more massive. Larger columns and greater heights reflected the Roman taste for the monumental. Ultimately, Roman architects also developed the capacity to build domed structures—a feat of engineering. (Hypothetical reconstruction of the Roman Forum in Imperial Times. Southern part. Watercolor. Soprintendenza alle Antichita, Rome, Italy/Scala/Art Resource, NY.) Economy and Society in Mediterranean • Agriculture and Trade • Constant trend to market farming • Grapes, olives • Led to trade • Grain from Egypt • Merchants • Traded with India and China • Unfavorable balance • Legally respected • Not socially esteemed • Better than a merchant from China, but not India. Economy and Society in the Mediterranean • Slavery • From conquest • Becomes a motive for expansion • Result? • Technological innovation in farming lacking • Unfavorable trade balance with eastern Asia • Greeks did build impressive ships, and the Roman engineering feats cannot go unnoticed, but compared to the technological progress of Eastern Asia – they were significantly behind. Economy and Society in the Mediterranean • Family • Patriarchal • Women have economic role • Some women active in commerce • Women could own property • The oppression of women was probably less severe in this civilization than in China • Pressing the Environment • Deforestation • Air pollution • Garbage Toward the Fall of Rome • A Complex Legacy • Enduring ideas • Comparison to contemporary North America • Governments • Architecture • Education • Direct and indirect • Consciously imitated, revived • Mingled with Middle Eastern legacy • Persia's separate identity