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HUMANITIES A History of Civilizations THE CONCEPT OF CIVILIZATION AND SOCIAL SCIENCES • The necessity to refer to history • History through the sociologist’s eyes • Civilization as an accumulative combination of all • • cultural characteristics, making that civilization unique Settled societies as the start point of the civilizing process of mankind From the ancient civilizations to today’s contemporary world MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATIONS • FIRST ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS FOUNDED • • AROUND THE BASINS OF THE TIGRISEUPHRATES RIVERS SETTLED AGRARIAN SOCIETIES POLITICALLY ORGANIZED AS CITY-STATES THE FIRST OF THESE SOCIETIES WAS THE SUMERIANS ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA SUMERIANS • A PEOPLE OF ARIAN ORIGIN WHO MIGRATED • • TO THE REGION 4.000 YEARS B.C. THEY FORMED A BI-ETHNIC SOCIETY WITH THE ACCADIANS OF SEMITIC ORIGIN WHO ALREADY RESIDED IN THE REGION THERE WAS A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SUMERIANS AND THE ACCADIANS SUMERIANS • THEY WERE THE FIRST TO USE A WRITING • • • FORM, NAMELY CUNEIFORM, WITH CLAY TABLETS THEY WERE THE FIRST TO USE A LUNAR CALENDAR THEY USED WHEELED TRANSPORT IN TRADE ACTIVITIES THEY WERE THE FIRST TO DESIGN A POLYTHEISTIC PANTHEON WITH LOTS OF DEITIES, EACH IN CHARGE OF VARIOUS DUTIES SUMERIANS • AT THE CENTER OF SUMERIAN SOCIAL LIFE LIES THE ZIGGURATS; HUGE BUILDINGS WHICH SERVE AS CENTERS OF: POLITICAL ADMINISTRATION RELIGIOUS WORSHIP SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH TRADE RELATIONS AND TRANSACTIONS EDUCATION SUMERIANS SUMERIAN SOCIETY WAS COMPOSED OF THE FOLLOWING SOCIAL CLASSES: • RULING DYNASTY AND THE PRIESTS • SPECIALISTS (MERCHANTS, ARTISANS, ADMINISTRATORS) • FREE FARMERS • SLAVES SUMERIANS • A MAJOR CONTRIBUTION OF THE SUMERIANS • TO MIDDLE EASTERN CIVILIZATION IS THEIR POLYTHEISTIC PANTHEON WHICH WAS ALSO ADOPTED BY OTHER SEMITIC SOCIETIES OF THE REGION THE THEOGONY AND COSMOGONY DESIGNED BY THEM SERVED AS A MODEL FOR OTHER FOLLOWING SOCIETIES SUMERIANS • ENUMA ELIS (TALE OF CREATION) • THE FLOOD TALE • THE GILGAMESH EPIC SUMERIANS • SUMERIAN POLITICAL EXISTENCE WAS ENDED BY AMORITE INVASIONS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 2.000s B.C., BUT THEIR CULTURE AND INSTITUTIONS SURVIVED AS A DOMINANT PART OF FUTURE MIDDLE-EASTERN CIVILIZATIONS BABYLONIANS • THE AMORITES WERE CALLED AS BABYLONIANS, • • • • • DEDICATED TO THE NAME OF THEIR BIGGEST CITY-STATE: BABYLON. THEY WERE A TRIBE OF SEMITIC ORIGIN THE FIRST BABYLONIAN KING HAMMURABI (17921750 B.C.) PREPARED THE FIRST WRITTEN LEGAL CODE, NAMELY THE HAMMURABI CODE MAIN LOGIC OF THIS CODE WAS: TOOTH TO TOOTH, EYE TO EYE THIS CODE SERVED AS THE FOUNDATIONS OF MIDDLE-EASTERN ETHICAL UNDERSTANDING BABYLONIAN THEOGONY AND THE CHAOS&ORDER ASSYRIANS (1250-700 B.C.) • THEY ROSE OVER THE ASHES OF THE BABYLONIANS • THEIR MAIN CULTURAL CONTRIBUTION WAS THE GREAT LIBRARY IN NINEVEH • THEIR REIGN WAS BROUGHT TO AN END BY THE MEDES AND THE CHALDEANS NEW BABYLONIANS • THE CHALDEANS FOUNDED THE NEW • • BABYLONIAN EMPIRE IN THE 600s B.C. BABYLON’S HANGING GARDENS ARE THE ARTIFACTS OF THIS ERA THEIR REIGN WAS BROUGHT TO AN END BY THE PERSIANS PHONECIANS (1500-300 B.C.) • THEY WERE SPECIALISED IN TRADE AND THEY • FOUNDED OVERSEAS TRADE COLONIES AROUND THE MEDITERRANEAN, CARTHAGE AS THE MOST NOTEWORTHY AND LONG-LASTING AMONG THEM HUMAN SACRIFICE WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THEIR RELIGIOUS CULTURE (THE BAAL CULT) ANOTHER RIVER CIVILIZATION: THE EGYPTIANS • MUCH LIKE THE CASE IN MESOPOTAMIA, A SETTLED • • AGRARIAN CIVILIZATION WAS FOUNDED AROUND THE BASIN OF THE RIVER NILE IN THE 3rd MILLENIUM B.C. BUT UNLIKE THE MESOPOTAMIAN EXPERIENCE, DUE TO GEOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS, THE NILE VALLEY PROVIDED SECURITY AGAINST FOREIGN INVASIONS OF NOMADIC TRIBES PLUS, FLOW RATE OF THE NILE WAS MUCH MORE STABLE THAN OF THE TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES RIVERS, MAKING THE LAND MORE AVAILABLE FOR AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES THE EGYPTIANS • UNLIKE THE MESOPOTAMIAN CITY-STATE, • ANCIENT EGYPTIANS FOUNDED A POLITICALLY UNIFIED STATE SYSTEM WITH THE PHARAOH AS THE HIGHEST AUTHORITY, THE PRIESTKING EGYPTIAN SOCIETY WAS A RACIALLY HETEROGENEOUS ONE, A MIXTURE OF MEDITERRANEAN AND NEGROID PEOPLES EGYPTIANS THE MAIN SOCIAL CLASSES WERE: • • • • • • ROYAL FAMILY PRIESTS NOBLES PROFESSIONAL SOLDIERS MIDDLE CLASS (ARTISANS, MERCHANTS...etc) PEASANTS ( slaves can also be counted as another class) EGYPTIANS • USE OF HIEROGLIPHIC WRITING FORM • ADOPTION OF THE SUMERIAN PANTHEON • UNLIKE THE MESOPOTAMIANS, SUN GOD RE AS • • THE CHIEF DEITY OSIRIS CULT: AN AGRARIAN THEME THE FIRST MONOTHEISTIC RELIGION: ATON CULT UNDER PHARAOH IKHNATON (14th century B.C.) EGYPTIANS • THEY SURVIVED INVASIONS BY THE HYKSOS, • • • ASSYRIANS, PERSIANS, GREEK AND ROMANS FINALLY THE ROMANS BROUGHT AN END TO EGYPTIAN REIGN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CULTURE SURVIVED FOR A LONG TIME, UNTIL THE ARABISATION OF EGYPT TODAY THE CHRISTIAN COPTS IN EGYPT CLAIM TO BE THE DESCENDANTS OPF ANCIENT EGYPTIANS THE HEBREW CIVILIZATION • THEY WERE A PEOPLE OF SEMITIC ORIGIN • BIBLICAL FAMILY TREE DATES BACK TO ABRAHAM (1700 B.C.) • ABRAHAM’S GRANDSON JACOB AND HIS TWELVE SONS: TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL HEBREW CIVILIZATION • MOSES AND EGYPTIAN EXODUS (1300 B.C.) • KING DAVID (1000 B.C.) AND THE FIRST • • HEBREW KINGDOM KING SOLOMON (LARGEST FRONTIERS) AFTER SOLOMON’ DEATH, THE HEBREW KINGDOM WAS SPLIT INTO TWO PARTS: KINGDOM OF ISRAEL IN THE NORTH AND KINGDOM OF JUDAH IN THE SOUTH HEBREW CIVILIZATION • KINGDOM OF ISRAEL WAS CRUSHED BY THE • • ASSYRIANS IN 722 B.C. AND THE TEN TRIBES FOUNDING THIS KINGDOM WERE SPREAD AROUND THE WORLD, BEING ASSIMILATED BY OTHER ETHNIC SOCIETIES AND THUS BEING CALLED AS “THE TEN LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL” KINGDOM OF JUDAH WITH THE TWO REMAINING HEBREW TRIBES LASTED LONGER IN 586 B.C., KINGDOM OF JUDAH WAS INVADED BY THE NEW BABYLONIANS AND MOST JEWS WERE SENT TO EXILE HEBREW CIVILIZATION • IN 538 B.C., BABYLONIANS WERE CONQUERED • • BY THE PERSIANS AND PERSIAN AUTHORITIES ALLOWED THE JEWS TO RETURN TO THE HOLY LAND AFTER THE PERSIANS, ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND ROMANS CONQUERED THE REGION ONE AFTER ANOTHER GREAT EXILE (ORIGINS OF THE JEWISH DIASPORA) HEBREW CIVILIZATION • UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION TO MIDDLE EASTERN • • CIVILIZATION: MASS ACCEPTANCE AND PRACTICE OF THE FIRST MONOTHEIST RELIGION THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF MOSES: A NATIONALIZED SHORT VERSION OF THE HAMMURABI CODE ETHNIC+RELIGIOUS IDENTITY= JEWISH IDENTITY (TRANSFORMATION FROM THE TRIBE TO NATION) THE PERSIANS (550-330 B.C.) • CYRUS REVOLTED AGAINST THE MEDES AND FOUNDED • • • THE PERSIAN EMPIRE, RISING AS A NEW IMPERIAL POWER IN THE REGION PERSIAN CONQUESTS OF BABYLONIA AND EGYPT GRECO-PERSIAN WARS OVER THE CONTROL OF ASIA MINOR AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE END OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE, WHICH WOULD BE SUCCEEDED BY THE PERSO-HELLENISTIC PARTHIAN STATE PERSIAN CIVILIZATION • A POLYTHEISTIC RELIGION DATING BACK TO THE MEDES, WITH MITHRA THE GOD OF LIGHT AS THE CHIEF DEITY (MITHRAISM) • THE BIRTH OF ZOROASTRIAN RELIGION: A TURNING POINT IN THE RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY OF MIDDLE-EASTERN SOCIETIES ZOROASTIAN RELIGION • FROM THE CHAOS&ORDER THEME TO EVIL&GOOD THEME • AHURAMAZDA: GOD OF GOODNESS • AHRIMAN: GOD OF EVIL ANCIENT GREEKS • The Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations • The Dark Ages of Akhaians (1150 to 800 • • • • B.C.) Dorian migrations Ununified Hellenic world with various citystates (polis) Aristocratic monarchies as political regimes The polis, the invention of the Greek alphabet: growth of trade and literacy ANCIENT GREEK MILITARY • The phalanx • The Persian Wars • The Spartan vs. Athenian conflict • The Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.) • The victory of the Spartans and the end of Greek Golden Age POLITICAL LIFE AND CULTURE • Solon and Athenian democracy • Direct democracy in a limited form (women, aliens and slaves excluded from the democratic machinery) • Ancient Greek philosophy and political philosophers (Plato and Aristotle) ANCIENT GREEK CULTURE • The Greek polytheist pantheon • From the Titans of the dark age to the Olympians of the golden age • Greek literature based on mythological texts • The Iliad and Odyssey poems • Greek fine arts: sculpture and architecture ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE HELLENISTIC EMPIRE HELLENISTIC CIVILIZATION • ALEXANDER’s EMPIRE MERGED THE EASTERN • • AND WESTERN WORLDS NOT ONLY IN TERRITORIAL, BUT ALSO IN CULTURAL TERMS ALEXANDER’s ADOPTION OF THE GREEK CITYSTATE MODEL: CITIES AND URBAN LIFE AS CENTERS OF CIVILIZATION SPREAD OF GREEK CULTURE OVER THE MIDDLE-EAST AND THE NEW CULTURAL SENTHESIS