Unit 1 and 2: 8000 BCE to 600 CE

Fertile Crescent- land between Tigris and Euphrates (present day Iraq)

By 3000 BCE:➢ Sumer had population of 100,000➢ Cities had kings with absolute authority

Social Order➢ Hereditary kings and priests/priestesses➢ Free commoners➢ Dependent clients➢ Slaves

Technology and Art➢ Cuneiform c. 2900 BCE➢ Astronomy and math lead to 12 month calendar➢ Epic of Gilgamesh c. 2000 BCE

Hammurabi (1792 to 1750 BCE)➢ First documented attempt to detail crimes and

punishments➢ High standard of behavior and strict punishments➢ “Eye for an eye”➢ Shows society was patriarchal with strict social

structure

Agriculture around Nile c. 5000 BCE Protected by its geography Centralized states c. 3100 BCE ruled by

pharaohs Technology and Art

➢ Skilled in math, medicine, and astronomy leading to solar calendar of 365 days

➢ Hieroglyphics➢ Pyramids

Social Order:➢ Pharaoh and priests➢ Commoners➢ Slaves

Polytheistic religion with belief that death was a transition into new existence, hence mummification

Developed c. 3000/2500 BCE and ends c. 1500 BCE

Mysterious because language still undeciphered

Polytheistic Harappa and

Mohenjo-Daro – walled cities

Technology and Economy➢ Traded pottery, tools, decorative items, and

obtained gold, silver, and copper from Persia and wool, leather and olive oil from Meso.

➢ Metal tools of bronze and copper➢ Cotton c. 5000 BCE➢ Writing of 400 symbols

Nomadic people of Indo-European origin enter through Khyber Pass c. 1700 BCE

Est. racial mix Vedas reveal hierarchical, male-dominated

society Polytheistic with nature gods Social structure: The Caste System

India developed by 6th c. BCE into small regional kingdoms fighting each other, most often remaining decentralized

One example of centralized rule was the Mauryans in 320s BCE

Chandragupta Maurya filled power-vacuum left after Alexander the Great withdraws from India

His grandson Ashoka (Asoka) continued conquering until bloody campaign convinced him to rule by moral example

Tightly organized bureaucracy, built roads, hospitals and rest houses which facilitated trade

Rock Edicts After his death, the empire declined and India

returned to regional kingdoms…but order and stability remained with increase in trade

India united again c. 320 CE by Chandra Gupta

South remained out of his control

Left local government and administration in power

Invasion of the White Huns weakened the empire and India returned to regional rule

Economy➢ Benefited from expansion of agriculture and

increase in trade➢ Ashoka promoted trade by building roads,

wells, and inns ➢ Silk Roads connected India with China➢ Indian sailors master monsoon winds, sailing

to Indonesia and Southeast Asia➢ Their cotton and black pepper made it all the

way to Rome

Social Structure and Gender Roles➢ Women forbidden to read Vedas and were legally

minors➢ To marry well, a woman needed a large dowry➢ Women couldn’t inherit and widows could not

remarry➢ Women had property rights but declined in status

during Gupta➢ Ritual of sati for wealthy women➢ Strict social hierarchy with caste system, occupation

dictated by caste

Culture, Arts, Science, Technology➢ Ashoka helps spread Buddhism➢ Hinduism gradually eclipses Buddhism➢ Indian art stressed symbolism➢ Geometry and algebra flourish: circumference of

earth and value of pi calculated, concept of zero, decimal system and “Arabic” numbers developed

➢ Chess and playing cards

● Out of Africahttp://www.wadsworth.com/history_d/special_features/ext/duiker_maps/swfs/ds1_1.html

Bantu● 2000 BCE to 1000 CE, spread from West Africa thru Sub-

Saharan Africa, spread iron and language, bananas furthered migration, increased Africa’s population

Phoenicians● Seafaring people of eastern Mediterranean Sea, colonies

in N Africa and S Europe, alphabet, spread maritime skills and spread alphabetic language to Greece, Rome, and on

Polynesia➢ Australia around 60,000 years ago, 2000 BCE

spread to other Pacific islands like Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii, planned colonization?, distinct development

Israelites➢ Originated about 2000 BCE with Abraham,

settled in Canaan, monotheism distinct, migration to Egypt led to slavery and freed by Moses, formed kingdom of Israel, no conversion, basis of Christianity and Islam, Jewish Diaspora

Huang He or Yellow River 1766 to 1122 BCE Oracle bones Written Chinese pictographs evolved into

ideographs Bronze metallurgy aids in rise of military

state

1122 to 256 BCE Mandate of Heaven

➢ Power divinely given but could be taken away if justice and order not maintained

➢ Floods, earthquakes, and peasant rebellions threatened dynasty

Veneration of ancestors and family unit Class distinctions: ruling elite, aristocrats, free

artisans, peasants, slaves Iron metallurgy

Zhou lost control of western half of empire as early as 771 BCE and last two centuries known as Era of Warring States

441 to 221 BCE no strong central government - constant fighting and disorder

Three philosophies emerge attempting to end the fighting and restore order: Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism

221 BCE to 206 BCE First emperor Qin Shihuangdi

centralizes imperial rule using Legalism

Sponsored building defensive walls (precursor to Great Wall)

Standardized weights, measures, script, currency, laws

Burns Confucian books and buries alive Confucian scholars

When emperor died revolts broke out

206 BCE to 220 CE Used centralized imperial rule but lessened

Legalist hard edge Wu Di (141-87 BCE) built roads and canals,

est. university with Confucian curriculum Civil service exams Expand into North Vietnam, Korea, and

Central Asia

Economy➢ Cycle: agriculture flourishes with increase in long-

distance trade, iron metallurgy increases agriculture- increasing trade and military strength

➢ Military strength allowed overland trade to increase because peace and order maintained

➢ Silk Roads flourish under the Han Dynasty, connecting them to Central Asia, India, and Roman Empire

➢ Tributary system of trade with “inferior neighbors” and gifts to nomads

Social Structure and Gender Roles➢ Patriarchal society with set social structure➢ Women were to find match to strengthen family

alliances; widows could remarry➢ Upper class women tutored➢ Scholar-gentry, peasants, merchants

Culture, Arts, Science, Technology➢ Family and ancestors most important unit➢ Filial piety➢ Daoist reverence for nature important in Han➢ Wheelbarrow, horse collars, watermills➢ Sternpost rudder and compass➢ PAPER

Neo Babylonian empire fell to Persians in 539 BCE Vast and tolerant empire organized into satrapies;

Royal Road; Zoroastrianism

Minoans (3000 BCE to 1450 BCE)➢ Island of Crete; writing known as Linear A;

peaceful; legend of King Minos and minotaur; palace at Knossos; Snake goddess; frescoes; reasons for collapse unknown (Santorini eruption, invasion?)

Mycenaeans (2200 BCE to 1100 BCE)➢ Mainland Greece; writing known as Linear B;

Trojan War

Like India, primarily decentralized based on local identity

Organized by polis (city-state); some monarchy, many had collaborative rule (Sparta v. Athens CC)

Dark Ages (1100 BCE to 800 BCE)

Migration➢ Population pressures created era of colonization➢ Colonies used own resources and followed own

path➢ Facilitated trade throughout region➢ Spread Greek culture➢ Created political conflict with Persia

Persian War (500-470 BCE) Delian League Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE)

King Philip II had Greek peninsula under his control by 338 BCE

Alexander the Great➢ Conquered Persia by 330 BCE➢ Died in 323 BCE➢ Empire divided among three of his generals

� Antigonid (Greece and Macedonia)� Ptolemaic (Egypt)� Seleucid (Persia)

Relied heavily on trade During Hellenistic Era, caravan trade and

sea lanes in Mediterranean flourished

Patriarchal with strict social divisions➢ Women mostly owned no land and wore veils in public➢ Could be a priestess and upper-class women fairly

literate (Spartans competed in athletics) Slaves acquired because they accrued debt, were

POWs, or traded Greek religion was polytheistic and personified

nature

Philosophy➢ Socrates encouraged reflection:

“Unexamined life is not worth living”➢ Plato’s Republic: ideal state had philosopher

king➢ Aristotle

Literature: Homer conveyed the value of the hero in Greek society

Plays

Architecture: temples and columns Science: strides in anatomy (Galen),

astronomy, and math (Archimedes)

Punic Wars with Carthage (264-146 BCE) From Republic to Empire

➢ Class tensions between patricians and plebeians➢ Unequal distribution of wealth➢ Julius Caesar➢ Augustus (27 BCE)

Pax Romana Twelve Tables

System of roads leads to economic success Uniform currency Common language: Latin Mediterranean Sea: the Roman Lake Empire strongly interdependent

Patriarchal, pater familias Women

➢ Oversaw domestic affairs➢ Strict limits on inheritance

New classes of merchants emerge as wealth of empire expands

Slaves (1/3 of pop.)

Influence of the Greeks Religion

➢ Polytheistic➢ Conflict with Jews and Christians➢ Edict of Milan and Theodosius

Engineering: roads, concrete, aqueducts, public baths, stadiums, temples

Art and Architecture: influenced by Greeks

Silk Roads➢ Stretched from eastern China (Changan)

through Mongolia and Taklamakan Desert to India and eastern Roman Empire

➢ Traveled in stages through oasis towns➢ Buddhism popular in oasis towns such as

Samarkand, Kashgar, and Dunhuang

Indian Ocean➢ “Sea lanes of the Silk Roads”➢ From Guangzhou in southern China to SE Asian

islands, India, Arabian Sea, and Persian Gulf➢ Main participants? Malay and Indian sailors➢ Religion and culture spreads, Buddhism to SE

Asia as well as Hindu cults Mediterranean Sea

➢ The Roman Lake➢ Trade from Syria to North Africa

Spread of Disease➢ Han and Roman Empires suffered epidemics

in 2nd and 3rd c. CE (exacerbated by trade and interaction)

➢ Trade declined & economies more regional Migration

➢ Bantu Migration➢ Polynesian Migration