Classical Civilizations:The “Common Era”

Mr. Skommesa -- AP World History

Questions to Consider

1. What are some major points of comparison between the major classical civilizations of East Asia, South Asia, and the Mediterranean?

2. What sorts of reactions to established traditional forces were there among the common peoples?

3. In what way was the collapse of the Roman Empire more complete that that of the Han, Maurya, or Gupta?

4. Why might some historians refer to the era from 500BCE to 500CE as the “Common Era”?

Classical China

Unification of China

• Qin dynasty develops, 4th-3rd centuries BCE

• Generous land grants under Shang Yang– Private farmers decrease power of large landholders

– Increasing centralization of power

• Improved military technology

From Warring States to Unification

Qin Dynasty (221-207BCE)

• Brought an end to the Warring States Period• Shi Huangdi proclaims self to be first emperor of China• Promoted Legalism to enact laws to prevent challenges

from rival powers– Land was divided among heirs– Slavery was abolished to create a labor force that would pay taxes

• Standardized coinage and laws• Built thousands of miles of roads, walls (the “Great Wall”),

and canals• After Shi Huangdi’s death people rose up against his

oppressive rule

The Han Dynasty (206BCE-220CE)

• Liu Bang founds the Han Dynasty – Former Han (206 BCE-9 CE)

– Interruption (9-23 CE)

– Later Han (25-220 CE)

• Cultural and political characteristics greatly influence subsequent dynasties

Han Centralization

• The Martial Emperor: Han Wudi (141-87 BCE)

• Increased taxes to fund more public works

• But huge demand for government officials, decline since Qin persecution

• Able bodied men were required to serve in the military for 2 years and donate a month’s worth of labor for the construction of palaces, temples, and roads

Confucian Educational System

• Han Wudi establishes an Imperial University in 124 BCE

• Not a lover of scholarship, but demanded educated class for bureaucracy

• Adopted Confucianism as official course of study

• 3000 students by end of Former Han, 30,000 by end of Later Han

Iron Metallurgy

• Expansion of iron manufacture– Iron tips on tools abandoned as tools entirely made from iron

• Increased food production

• Superior weaponry

Other technological Developments

• Cultivation of silkworms– Breeding

– Diet control• Other silk-producing lands relied on wild worms

• Development of paper

• Bamboo, fabric abandoned in favor of wood and textile-based paper

Population Growth in the Han Dynasty

• General prosperity

• Increased agricultural productivity

• Taxes small part of overall income

• Produce occasionally spoiling in state granaries

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

220 BCE 9 CE

Population (millions)

Economic and Social Difficulties

• Expenses of military expeditions, esp. vs. Xiongnu

• Taxes increasing

• Arbitrary property confiscations rise

• Increasing gap between rich and poor– Slavery, tenant farming increase

– Banditry, rebellion

Reign of Wang Mang (9-23 CE)

• Wang Mang regent for 2-year old Emperor, 6 CE

• Takes power himself 9 CE

• Introduces massive reforms– The “Socialist Emperor”– Land redistribution, but poorly handled

• Social chaos ends in his assassination 23 CE

Later Han Dynasty

• Han Dynasty emperors manage, with difficulty, to reassert control

• Yellow Turban uprising challenges land distribution problems

• Internal court intrigue

• Weakened Han Dynasty collapses by 220 CE

Classical India

India Before the Mauryan Dynasty

• 520 BCE Persian Emperor Darius conquers north-west India

• Introduces Persian ruling pattern

• 327 Alexander of Macedon destroys Persian Empire in India

• Troops mutiny, departs after 2 years– Political power vacuum

Chandragupta Maurya

• Took advantage of power vacuum left by Alexander

• Overthrew Magadha rulers

• Expanded kingdom to create 1st unified Indian empire– Mauryan Dynasty

Ashoka Maurya

• Grandson of Chandragupta

• Represents high point of Mauryan Empire, r. 268-232 BCE

• Expanded empire to include all of Indian subcontinent except for south

• Positive rulership integrated Indian society

The Rock and Pillar Edicts

Decline of the Mauryan Empire

• Economic crisis follows death of Ashoka

• High costs of bureaucracy, military not supported by tax revenue

• Frequent devaluations of currency to pay salaries

• Regions begin to abandon Mauryan Empire– Disappears by 185 BCE

The Gupta Dynasty

• Based in Magadha

• Founded by Chandra Gupta (no relation to Chandragupta Maurya), c. 320 CE

• Slightly smaller than Mauryan Empire

• Highly decentralized leadership

Gupta Decline

• Frequent invasions of White Huns, 5th c. CE

• Gupta Dynasty disintegrates along regional fault lines

• Smaller local kingdoms dominate until Mughal Empire founded in 16th c.

Economic Trends in Classical India

Towns and Manufacturing• Manufactured goods in big demand• Developed in dense network of small workshops• Trade intense, capitalizes on trade routes across IndiaLong-Distance Trade• Persian connection since Cyrus, Darius• Massive road-building projects under Persian rule• Alexander extends trade west to Macedon• Trade routes through Kush mountains, the silk roadsTrade in the Indian Ocean Basin• Seasonal sea trade expands

– Spring/winter winds blow from south-west, fall/winter winds blow from north-west

• Trade from Asia to Persian Gulf and Red Sea, Mediterranean

Challenges to the Old Social Order

• People reacted against the rigid social hierarchy and religious monopoly of the Brahmins

• People retreated to the forests to seek salvation through yoga, special diets, and meditation

• Ideas of religious dissidents are reflected in the Upanishads

Jainism

• Vardhamana Mahavira, 540-468 BCE

• Practiced Ahimsa – extreme nonviolence– Most extreme: went naked and starved to death

– Less extreme: devoted lives to commerce and banking to avoid killing

Buddhism

• Siddhartha Gautama, c. 563-483 BCE

• Enlightenment gained through moderate living, self-discipline, and meditation

• Goal: Nirvana can be achieved by anyone – the caste and jati are rejected

• Texts in the vernacular, not sanskrit

• Two schools develop after the Buddha’s death

• Theravada: kept close to original teachings

• Mahayana: incorporated new beliefs

Symbols of the Buddha

Buddhist Doctrine: The Dharma

• The Four Noble Truths1. all life is suffering

2. there is an end to suffering

3. removing desire removes suffering

4. this may be done through the eight-fold path

• The Eightfold Path: right views, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration

Popular Hinduism

• Counter to the challenges – led to more personal forms of devotion

• Gods and goddesses seen as manifestations of a single divine force

• Ganges became a popular pilgrimage site

• Religious duties vary according to gender, social status, and age

• Hinduism became dominant religion because it appealed to the common peoples need for personal deities they could identify with

Shiva

Rome’s Mediterranean Empire

The Roman Republic (507-31BCE)

• A small society of independent farms

• Some individuals acquired large amounts of land – these wealthy men (Patricians) made up the Senate, the dominant political body in the Roman Republic

• All male citizens could attend Senate meetings, but votes heavily favored the wealthy elite

• Tensions grew between the wealthy elite and the working class (Plebians) who wanted more political rights

Expansion of the Republic

• Developed highly trained and disciplined armies by the 3rd century B.C.E.

• Military expansion was motivated by a constant desire to create a buffer zone between Rome and its enemies on the frontier

• Men from conquered lands were required to join the military

• Success in the Punic Wars allowed Rome to eliminate the greatest threat to its power in the western Mediterranean

Roman Republic, c.146BCE

Social and Political Developments

• Republic governed by Senators, who served one-year terms as governors on the Roman provinces– Chosen to serve because of who they knew rather than what they knew– Many were corrupt and ineffective

• Conquered people cooperated with Roman rule because of the economic and political advantages that came with adopting Roman customs

• Romanization will be a significant legacy of the Roman Empire, even with the dominance of the Greek language and culture in the Eastern Mediterranean

• Peasant farmers often lost their land to more wealthy land owners that relied on cheap slave labor

• Peasants increasingly looked to ambitious military leaders to administer social justice

From Republic to Empire

• Civil war led to the rise of Julius Caesar (48-44B.C.E.), who championed the Plebian cause

• Civil war led to the rise of Julius Caesar’s nephew, Octavian, who would become the first emperor of Rome and be known by his title Augustus

• Augustus and his successors ruled with the approval of the Senate (in theory)

• Emperors would become the sources of laws and be viewed as gods in death

• The reign of Augustus would mark the beginning of what came to be known as the Pax Romana (Roman Peace)

• Cities would be the center of Roman life, even with 80% of the population tied up in agriculture

Rome, c.117CE

Social Developments in the Empire

• A large economic gap continued to exist in the cities• Upper class wealth came from agricultural production or manufacture

and trade• The poor lived in crowded slums, though some became tenant farmers

and the source of slaves diminished when the empire stopped expanding

• Roman society was based on the family and patron/client relationship– Oldest male headed the family– Heads of wealthy families served as Patrons for clients that worked and

defended their land• Women could not own property or represent themselves in legal

proceedings

Stability and Instability

• Unifying affect of technological innovations: arches, aqueducts, roads, and concrete

• Had to endure “third-century crisis” from 235-284C.E. – high turnover in leadership

• Economic woes: high inflation, trade broke down and got replaced by a barter system, and wealth in the cities declined dramatically

• Germanic tribes infiltrated the Roman border

Han Chinese Road

The Pantheon, Rome

Christianity

• Jesus was a Jew – Judaism never blended will with the polytheistic pagan nature of Roman religion

• Followers came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

• Paul of Tarsus helps spread Christianity by opening conversion up to all that accept Jesus as their savior

• Universal salvation message appeals to all groups feeling oppressed by Roman rule

Synagogue at Capernaum

Diocletian

• Ended the “third-century crisis”

• Fixed prices and forced workers in key industries to stay in their professions

• Created a new state religion in an attempt to unify the Roman people – mass persecution of Christians

• Divided the Roman Empire in half, ruled by two Caesars and two co-Caesars

• People increasingly resented the more intrusive and regimented Roman government

• Diocletian retires to his cabbage farm

Constantine

• Noted for his religious tolerance and for moving the Roman capital to Byzantium, later renamed Constantinople

• Grants toleration of Christianity in 313C.E., later converts to Christianity on his deathbed

• Consolidates rule, co-rulers are simply figureheads until after the reign of Theodosius I

• Relocating the capital to the east relocated the wealth and concentration of the educated populace

Fall of the Western Roman Empire

• The empire officially splits in 395C.E.

• Rome is sacked in 410C.E.

• By 476C.E. the western Roman Empire disintegrates into a collection of Germanic kingdoms

• Rome remains the home of the patriarch of Rome – a position later known as the Pope

Epidemics of the Han and Romans

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

c. 0 CE c. 200 CE c. 400 CE c. 600 CE

Chinese Population, 0-600CE

Millions

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

c. 0 CE c. 200 CE c. 400

Roman Population, 0-400CE

Millions

The Enduring Eastern Empire

• Continues the legacy of the Greek civilization and Roman Empire

• Wealth gets concentrated in the east

• Greek becomes the dominant language – especially in the Christian church of the east

• Historians would later refer to this empire as the Byzantine Empire

Trade: The Silk Road

• Really several roads that stretched east and west for roughly 4,000 miles

• The Persians controlled much of the western portion at one time

• The Middle East came to be dominated by many empires over time, but trade became the lasting unifying force in the region– Connected north Africa and Europe to the Silk Roads

• Wealthy Romans desired silks from the east (China) and cotton and spices from India

• Archaeological evidence of Roman coins and temples in western parts of China