Time Period II

600 BCE – 600 CE

600 BCE to 600 CE: • Why 600 BCE?– Rise of classical civilizations (Greece, Rome, Qin,

Han, Maurya, Gupta)– development of major world

religions/philosophies (aka: Axial Age circa 500 BCE-ish)

• Why 600 CE?– Islam• Begins a new round of universalizing religion &

conquest• Collapse of most Classical Period Empires

• Big Picture Events:– Development of true empires (large, centralized

land holdings containing diverse people groups) beginning with Persia in 500 BCE

– Apex and fall of Classical empires– Development and spread of universal world

religions and belief systems (mainly Buddhism & Christianity)

– Major development and expansion of large trade networks

• Rise and fall of Empires • China• Zhou dynasty collapses in 256 BCE– Longest lasting dynasty, develop the Mandate of

Heaven• Warring States Period marked the ending

several hundred years of their dynasty• 3 Ways to harmony developed by 200 BCE

Legalism, Daoism, Confucianism

• Qin dynasty (221 BCE-209 BCE) Really short period

• Shi Huangdi- known as the first emperor of China– Unifies China after the warring states period– Uses legalism to straighten everyone up

• People are evil by nature• Super strict• Government is there to keep people from chaos• Burned Confucius’ works

• Builds tomb guarded by Terra Cotta warriors and starts the Great Wall– Modern wall you can walk on today is from Ming

Dynasty – Walls’ goals over the years: keep out Cent. Asian

nomadic pastoralists!• Standardizes weights, measurements,

currencies, laws and written language

• Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 200 CE)• Legalism out, Confucianism back in• Golden Age of China– Golden Age anywhere = Peace, culture, art

• Established the Silk Road– Han trade out silk and Romans give up precious metals

esp. silver– Tons of diffusion on the Silk Roads– Buddhism spreads into China via silk road toward the

end of the Han around 200 CE• From India to China

• Civil Service Confucian Exam begins w/ Han– Based on teachings of Confucius • The Analects = his book

– Government should be highly educated & strictly moral.

– Ren & Xiao = basis of human interactions– Very hierarchical – Created a government bureaucracy skilled and

stable• Based on merit

– Possibility of social mobility through the test

– Society is male dominated due to Confucianism • Husband-wife, older brother-younger brother etc…

– Technology• Paper manufactured, sun dials, calendars,

compass, rudder, seismograph, water power

• India• Mauryan Empire (322- 185 BCE)– First to unify much of South Asia (Indian

subcontinent)– Ashoka• First super-violent, then converted to Buddhism • Patron of Buddhism monasteries, etc.• Larger geographically than Gupta• Traded with outsiders • Centralized bureaucracy & military w/ spies, etc.• Hinduism doesn’t go away, but Buddhism is the state-

sponsored religion

• Gupta Empire (320- 550 CE)• G=Golden• Hinduism reemerges as main power• Hinduism altered by interaction w/ Buddhism to be

more about unity of soul w/ the Universal Soul (Upanishads & Bhagavad Gita = examples of this in holy writings)

• Golden Age of India: 0-9 Number system developed (what we call Arabic numerals), concept of zero, concept of pi, Sanskrit writing flourishes, predicted eclipses, figured out inoculation against diseases, surgeries and bone setting– Maya also have zero w/o interaction

• Therefore, it must have been aliens. Yeah. Aliens.

– Not as centralized, smaller than the Mauryan– Hinduism VERY reasserted• Major continuity throughout Indian history = Hinduism just

keeps holding strong b/c it can just subsume new religious ideas so easily. Example = Buddha becomes another incarnation of a previous Hindu god

• Sati a strong example of patriarchal society in India– High caste women throw themselves on funeral pyre

of husband– Way of women to purify her soul & move up in the

system in her next reincarnation

600 BCE to 600 CE: Mediterranean Empires

• Persian Empire by around 500 BCE• Cyrus the Great starts the Empire (modern Iran)• Zoroastrian religion• Known to take ppl over, but let them worship how they

pleased• Leader known as “King of Kings”• Clever Qanat irrigation system of covered canals to

avoid evaporation & salinization• Royal Road (1600 miles of roads comparable to eventual

Roman roads)– Led to trade and ease of governing

• Capital Persepolis (comparable to Chang’an, Athens, Rome, Teotihuacan)– Really rich city, lots of gold

• Persian War = v. Greeks• Kicked out of Greek area by Delian League of

Greeks in Persian War and finally defeated by Alexander the Great of Macedonia

• Greece– Adopted Phoenician alphabet– Geography makes them unique• Mountains, crappy soil = turn to trade & cultural

interactions w/ others

– City-states• Athens- democracy (limited), science, arts, philosophy,

architecture (Parthenon) • Sparta- militaristic• Join together in Delian League to fight in the Persian

War

• Culture- Olympics, mythology, epic poems of the Odyssey and Iliad (Homer), drama and comedy, development of philosophy (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander) X taught Y– Aristotle model of Greek thought by use of logic

• Reason, logic, truth is based on observations

• Peloponnesian War– Delian League falls apart– Athens v. Sparta (Civil war)– Sparta wins – All of Greek city-state = Weakened; power vacuum– Taken over by Alexander

• Alexander the Great• Conquered Greece, Egypt, Persia, all the way to Indus

River and spread Greek culture (Hellenism)– Awesome @war– Empire facilitated interaction and spread of culture (Greece,

India, Persia, and Egypt)– Hellenistic Empire – Golden Age

• Library of Alexandria in Egypt center of learning (good comparison to later Timbuktu, Mali)– Geometry, medicine, anatomy, circumference of the earth,

Pythagorean theorem, geocentric thought of Ptolemy

• Rome (Greatest achievements are law and engineering)– Roman Republic• Senate, Twelve Tables Law Code (comparable to

Hammurabi’s law code)• Concrete & roads & aqueducts!• Patricians (rich) and Plebeians (poor)• Military domination and expansion with the Punic wars

v. Carthage (N. Af.)

• Empire• First Emperor: Julius Caesar killed (44 BCE), Octavian

Augustus becomes emperor in 31 BCE = EMPIRE PERIOD BEGINS

• Empire stretches from England to Middle East• Pax Romana (Roman peace)– Golden Age– Comparable to Golden age of Athens, later Pax Mongolica– Law- innocent unless proven guilty by court– Engineering (Coliseum), aqueducts (for clean water)– Roads (comparable to Persian royal road and later Incan

roads)

• Roman culture influenced by Greek cultural diffusion– Roman/Greek gods the same; Hellenistic building style,

young Roman men go to study in Athens at Plato’s Academy

• Slavery- Both Greek and Roman society heavily dependent on slavery (comparison to Chinese dependency on the peasants)– China had peasants, not slaves – Slaves did all jobs, not just regular labor less

motivation to innovate new technology to save labor• Silk Road– Rome traded precious metals with the Han for silk

600 BCE to 600 CE: The Americas• Americas– Maya (200s BCE – 900s CE)– Develop later than Mediterranean and Chinese

classical civs b/c not in river valley & difficulty in domesticating maize

– “3 Sisters” ag system of maize, beans, & squash• Warring city states under one ruler (Tikal, Chichen Itza)• Writing system-glyphs (comparable to Egyptian

hieroglyphics)– Pictographs + syllabrary– Means “carving”

• Super complex calendars able to predict solar eclipses, etc. Both ritual calendar & solar calendar.

• Developed zero as a placeholder like Gupta India

• Popol Vul = religious text ball games are reenactments of sacred myths

• Steppe pyramids of Tikal (Guatemala) and Chichen Itza (Yucatan, Mexico)– Compare with ziggurats in Mesopotamia and

Egyptian pyramids

• Teotihuacan– Huge City in valley of Mexico (later model for

Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan)– Based on grid– Similar time as Mayas – Turquoise & quetzal feathers = trade goods

throughout Americas– Perhaps 100,000 people

• Comparisons– Maya and Gupta develop the concept of zero

independently

• Rome and Han• Politically centralized but Han had centralized

bureaucracy based on merit rather than local elites• Economically both used the silk road to exchange

goods• Religiously Rome was first polytheistic later adopted

Christianity (380 CE) while the Han relied on Confucianism and later Buddhism filters in– Both adopted foreign religions

• Social: Coerced labor in Rome = slaves, Han = peasants

• Intellectual: Roman law and engineering/ Han civil service exam, export goods, & labor-saving tech

• Artistic: state sponsored art

• Greeks and Romans much more dependent on slavery than the Han

• Maya were warring city states similar to that of Greece• Classical empire capitals – (Athens, Persepolis (Persia), Teotihuacan, Chang an, Rome)

• Golden Ages(Rome Han Gupta)– Peace– Art/Science– Trade

• Fall of Empires• Maya- possible exhaustion of fragile tropical rain

forest environment; wars over limited resources desired by upper classes

• Han China- (220 CE)– Internal - population increases, land problems,

corruption, peasant rebellion called Yellow Turban (184 CE), disease

– External- conflict with nomadic Xiongnu• People from Cent. Asia w/ good horses

• Roman Empire (Western Rome falls in 476 CE, East survives as the Byzantine Empire)– Internal- tax revolts, poor leaders, division of

empire, violent death of emperors, over expansion, decrease in trade, reliance on mercenaries, disease

– External- Huns and Goths (Cent. Asian nomads)Gupta- Invasion by the White Huns- cost weakened state and eventually overrun– Hinduism and caste system survived– China & India = cultural elements remain after

centralized political authority falls

600 BCE to 600 CE: Belief Systems, Part 1

• Polytheism- most early civilizations were polytheistic (belief in many gods)– Animism- Africa, Americas – objects can have

spirits (ANIMATE)– Shamanism- Americas, Central Asia (Shamans go

between real and spirit world)

Hinduism

• Began with Aryan invaders and is the oldest of the major religions

• No founder & no cohesion a set of hugely diverse practices we stick under one label

• Caste system established and priests are at the top of the social hierarchy

• Goal = reincarnation up the “ladder”

• Follow dharma (rules of your caste) next life determined by karma

• Karma – what you do this life (following your set caste dharma or duties) will determine your caste next life

• Reincarnation- cycle of life and death• Moksha- release from the cycle of life and

death

• Hinduism keeps India together through different empires

• Vedas and Upanishads sources of prayers that guide Hindus– Rig Veda = impersonal gods – Baghavad Gita = makes religion personal

• Patriarchal– Sati– Women could not achieve moksha

• Always serves as a continuity in South Asia & India

• Hinduism & Buddhism both diffuse to SE Asia– On sea roads (600-1450)

Buddhism• Symbols include the 8 spoked wheel & water

lotus• Spawned out of Hinduism like Christianity out

of Judaism– Reaction against Hinduism’s impersonal nature

(rituals are run by top caste) & strict hierarchy• Can reach nirvana in this life (anyone can)• Not about castes• Personal effort counts a lot!• Appeals to the poor

• Founder was Siddhartha Gautama (500s BCE during Axial Age)

• Four Noble Truths- – life is suffering– Suffering is caused by attachment to stuff and ppl

(desire)– There is a way to end suffering– It is the Eightfold Path

• Follow the Eightfold path-right conduct/meditation (being good and nice)

• Nirvana (peace/bliss through release of all desires)- comparable to Moksha in Hinduism

• Appealed especially to the poor since nirvana could be achieved in one lifetime

• Offers a monastic life for men and women (like Christianity)

• Universalizing Religion (like Christianity and Islam)– Easily adapted to other cultures

• Monastic (like Christianity) – monks and nuns – Escape society to worship

• Split Theravada (monks in monasteries) (lesser vehicle) and Mahayana (new, all people, personal devotion to deities done outside a monastery) (greater vehicle)

• Ashoka- Fosters Buddhism in India• Silk Road spread Buddhism to China and on to

Korea and Japan

600 BCE to 600 CE: Belief Systems, Part 2

• China• Confucianism• Developed during the Warring State period– Need to bring order during this time

• Emphasis on education, respect, reciprocity, virtue and order

• Filial (family) piety (respect)– Respect for elders, respect a child should show for

parents

– Five Relationships: Mutual respect keeps both in harmony• Superior and inferior • Ruler to ruled, Father to Son, Husband to Wife, Elder

brother to younger brother, friend to friend

– Gov and dads love it• Embraced by governments as ruler superior to

ruled• Civil Service Exam based on Confucian Analects– Government bureaucracy based on merit– Allowed for the possibility of social mobility

• Patriarchal society develops as a husband superior to wife– Eventually see foot binding in Time Period III

• Eventually combines with Buddhism to form Neo-Confucianism during the Tang dynasty

• Daoism (Yin Yang)– Founder Laozi– Harmony with nature (escape to the forest!)– Influence on Chinese culture with chemists,

botanists and astronomers

• Legalism– Philosophy of Shi Huangdi and Qin dynasty

(221BCE)• Terra cotta warriors and great wall

• Axial Age – means “pivot” or “turning point”– Confucius, Buddha, Socrates and Laozi all around

the same time• Jesus around 400 years after these thinkers• Mohammed around 1000 years after these thinkers

• Middle East• Judaism (Star of David)• First great monotheistic faith• Influenced Christianity and Islam• Covenant with God

– Contract says Jews are His special people • Founder Abraham• Follow the laws of Moses in the Torah• Deuteronomic Code to remain intentional unassimilated (so

they can remain monotheistic among so many polytheists)• Not universal because it stays in the same area

• Christianity• Developed out of Judaism• Jesus– Crucified under the Roman Empire– Religion was spread by his followers, especially

Peter & Paul • Universalizing religion (like Buddhism and

Islam)• Offers a monastic lifestyle (like Buddhism)

• Most populous religion today• Spread of Christianity– Paul, Roman roads, Roman dominance– Spread through Mediterranean & N. European

world through trade, war, migration

• Roman Empire embraces Christianity• Constantine issued the Edict of Milan (stopped

persecution)• Made Official Roman Religion in 380 CE• Too late to save and unify Rome• Western Rome falls in 476 CE, Christianity will be

a continuity in Europe (like Hinduism in India)• Christianity keeps Western Europe together

through Dark Ages

600 BCE to 600 CE: Trade Networks

• Interactions of the Classical period (Silk Roads, Sea Roads and Sand Roads)

• Silk Road• Three Golden Ages of the Silk Road

– Started with the Rome and Han– Tang/Song in China with the Abbasid dynasty– Pax Mongolica

• Silk a desired commodity throughout the silk road• Facilitates diffusion of disease, technology, beliefs and

ideas– Buddhism from India to China

• Indian Ocean (Sea Roads)• Route linked India, East Africa, Middle East, Southeast

Asia and China in flourishing trade– Arab merchants and India early leaders of the trade– Knowledge of the monsoon winds vital– Lateen sail– Dhow & Junk Ships

• Silk, salt, metals and spices (pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg) a trading continuity

• Diffusion of beliefs– Hinduism and Buddhism & later Islam to Southeast Asia

• Trans-Saharan (Sand Roads)• Camel (ship of the desert) in 100s BCE

significant• Camel saddle in 300s CE greatly increases

trade across the Saharan• Trade connects Sub-Saharan Africa with North

Africa and Mediterranean

• Mediterranean– Carthage, Phoenicians, Greeks, Berbers, Romans and

Egyptians all traded• Sub-Saharan– Bantus culture & language is a common link– Connect Sub-Saharan Africa with East Africa and the IOMS

• Americas– Trade during this time is limited and is regional unlike Afro-

Eurasian world– Continents are vertical unlike Afro-Eurasia (Horizontal)

• Different crops• Crops can’t spread north to south as easily• Mountains, climate regions

• Review• Rise and fall of classical empires– China- Qin/Han, India- Mauryan/Gupta, Mediterranean-

Persian/Greek/Roman, Americas- Mayans• Compare Rome, Han and Maurya/Gupta• Development of world belief systems– Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism,

Judaism and Christianity• Trade Routes• Silk Road, Indian Ocean, and Trans-Saharan