Transcript Beginnings of English America, 1607-1660

Shrinking the
Afro-Eurasian World,
350 BCE–250 CE
Chapter 6
Political expansion and
cultural diffusion
• Alexander the Great’s armies linked a new
Hellenistic world to many other regions
– Did not eradicate local culture but linked it or
changed it
– Hellenism brought worlds together
– Did not lead to a single common culture
except in Greek city-states where cultures
had common features
Political expansion and
cultural diffusion
• Alexander the Great’s armies linked a new
Hellenistic world to many other regions
•
•
•
•
•
Language
Art
Drama
Politics
Philosophy
Political expansion and
cultural diffusion
• Alexander’s conquests laid the foundation
for state systems
– Those systems protected and stabilized trade
– States encouraged use of money and
common language
– Larger trade routes, such as the Silk Road,
established
Political expansion and
cultural diffusion
• Worlds had been linked before Alexander,
especially through migration, trade, and
technological diffusion
– Alexander followed preexisting paths
– His conquests expanded and accelerated the
links between world regions
– Buddhist influence also spread with the new
contacts
Political expansion and
cultural diffusion
• Interconnections of trade and cultural
diffusion enhanced regional integration
– Created new contacts and restimulated old
ones
– Long-distance caravans and sea voyages
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Conquests of Alexander the Great
– Alexander from Macedonia, a frontier state of
Greece
– Between 334 and 323 BCE, Alexander
commanded a mobile and technologically
advanced army
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Conquests of Alexander the Great
– Macedonia used gold resources and money
from slave trade to build a powerful army
• Heavily armored infantry
• Tight phalanxes and large-scale shock cavalry
– Alexander’s father first conquered
surrounding areas
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Conquests of Alexander the Great
– Alexander took over and fought off the
Persian Empire’s invasion in 334 BCE
– Used speed and surprise to conquer new
lands
– Campaigns smashed barriers that had
separated East and West
• Alexander married Roxana, a woman from Bactria
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Conquests of Alexander the Great
• He established a capital in the East at Balkh
• The conquests brought systems of monetary
exchange and cultural ideas associated with Greek
city-states
• Money taken from Persia redistributed throughout
Mediterranean city-states
map 6-1
Map 6.1 Afro-Eurosia in 250 BCE
Worlds Together Worlds Apart, 3rd Edition
Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Alexander’s successors and the territorial
kingdoms
– Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BCE at age
32
– His conquered lands fragmented, and his
generals took over regions
• Modeled themselves on regional rulers rather than
Greek citizens
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Alexander’s successors and the territorial
kingdoms
• Brought the idea of absolute rulership to the region
• Some women from powerful ruling families had a
chance to rule, unlike in the Greek city-states
– Berenice of Egypt (320–280 BCE)
– Cleopatra (30s BCE)
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Alexander’s successors and the territorial
kingdoms
• Large territorial states emerged
– Syria
– Macedonia
– Egypt
• Middle-size kingdoms emerged
– Pergamum in modern northwest Turkey
• In other places, smaller states banded together to
form confederations
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Alexander’s successors and the territorial
kingdoms
– Political states became bigger and more
standardized
• Expanded by integrating neighboring peoples as
fellow subjects
• Warfare continued on a larger and more complex
scale
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Alexander’s successors and the territorial
kingdoms
• Parity between large states meant that the battles
gained little for anyone
• Diplomacy and treaties replaced fighting
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Hellenistic culture
– Common culture included language, artistic
style, and politics
•
•
•
•
•
Secular disciplines
Philosophical and political thinking
Popular entertainment
Public games
Art for art’s sake
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Hellenistic culture
– Throughout the conquered areas, evidence of
Greek culture can be found
– Some places resisted, whereas others
embraced the spread of Hellenistic culture
• Judea, mainly Jewish area, considered Greek
ways lethal to their culture
• Rome saw the Greek culture as a way to raise its
status
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Hellenistic culture
• Carthaginians helped spread the Greek ways
– Common language
• Common (koine) Greek became the international
language of the day
• Benefited communication and exchange
throughout the Afro-European world
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Hellenistic culture
– Cosmopolitan cities
• Alexandria in Egypt exemplified the new city
–
–
–
–
–
Multiethnic due to in-migration
New urban culture emerged
Art needed to appeal to a broad audience
Plays began to have common plots and stock characters
Residents of cities thought of themselves as
cosmopolitans (citizens of the universe rather than just of
one polis)
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Hellenistic culture
– Rulers took on a personality that set them apart from
regular citizens
– A cult of the self became part of the Hellenistic world
– Philosophy and religion
• Individuals expressed their concern with self in
many ways
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Hellenistic culture
• Different philosophers promoted new ideas
– Some emphasized nature, but others rejected old ways,
such as traditional social status
– Stoicism
• Religion was also transformed through
colonization
– The cult of Isis was revived from the pharaonic days
– New religious beliefs and rituals were practiced
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Hellenistic culture
– Hellenism and the elites
• Elites began to embrace Hellenism for status
reasons
• Romans borrowed from the Greeks, especially
historical writing
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Jewish resistance to Hellenism
– Jews had a long history of resistance to
foreign rule
– Although some Jews, especially elites,
embraced Greek culture, others resisted
– Rebellion occurred when Syrian overlords
tried to forbid Jewish practices
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• The Hellenistic world and the beginnings
of the Roman Empire
– City-state along Tiber River unites Italy
– Rome became large territorial state
– Adoption of Greek culture seen as “civilized”
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• The Hellenistic world and the beginnings
of the Roman Empire
– Some elites resisted acceptance of Greek
ways
• Cato the Elder kept old ways while embracing new
ones
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Carthage
– Carthage adopted Hellenism on economic
grounds
– Trade expanded to southern France and West
Africa
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Carthage
– Carthaginians also known by Romans as
Punic
– Temples and public buildings reveal a hybrid
nature of Hellenistic with Punic culture
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Economic changes: Plantation slavery and
money-based economies
– Unprecedented wealth in the Mediterranean
world led to the establishment of large
plantations worked by slaves
• Slaves were peoples either kidnapped or
conquered in warfare
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Economic changes: Plantation slavery and
money-based economies
• Plantations devoted to producing surplus crops
• Free peasants were displaced to the already
crowded cities
• Slave uprisings between 135 and 70 BCE
– Eunus, a religious seer
– Spartacus
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Economic changes: Plantation slavery and
money-based economies
– Use of money for trade became widespread
from Gaul to North Africa
• Many different places began to coin their own
money
The emergence of a
cosmopolitan world
• Economic changes: Plantation slavery and
money-based economies
– Some areas on the fringes of the
Mediterranean world sold their own people
into slavery for money to purchase desirable
commodities
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• Influences from the Mauryan Empire
– Alexander’s occupation of the Indus Valley led
to the rise of the Mauryan Empire
– Chandragupta Maurya led the Magadha
kingdom to control much of the northern part
of the peninsula
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• Influences from the Mauryan Empire
– Mauryan Empire became first large-scale
empire in South Asia and a model for later
empires
• Chandragupta ruled 321–297 BCE
• Used elephants in battle
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• Influences from the Mauryan Empire
– Seleucid kingdom and Mauryan Empire
reached a diplomatic agreement through
trade and marriage
• Megasthenes sent as ambassador to India
– Wrote Indica
– Depicted society in detail
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• Influences from the Mauryan Empire
– Mauryan Empire reached its territorial height
during reign of Aśoka (Chandragupta’s
grandson)
• Dynasty’s last campaign against Kalinga
• Terrible loss of life (100,000 soldiers killed;
150,000 people displaced)
• Aśoka issued an edict renouncing his brutal ways
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• Influences from the Mauryan Empire
– Aśoka’s Buddhism influenced his rule
• Built stupas (Buddhist dome monuments)
• Ruled according to the dhamma, or dharma
• Issued edicts and decrees in various languages
including Greek
• Art created during his rule showed the blending of
Greek, Persian, and Indian cultures
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• The Seleucid Empire and Greek
influences
– A large number of Alexander’s eastern
outposts became major Greek cities
– Seleucus Nikator (312–281 BCE) took over
the eastern conquests of Alexander and
expanded them, including Mesopotamia,
Syria, and Persia
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• Greek soldiers settled in the conquered
lands
– Took local wives
– Brought Greek ways to the local populations
– Greek language and writing
– Descendants grew up bilingual
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• The kingdom of Bactria and the Yavanna
kings
– Hellenistic influences increased in later
regimes
– Bactrian kingdom was a bridge between
South Asia and the Greek world of the
Mediterranean
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• The kingdom of Bactria and the Yavanna
kings
• Sent elephants to the Greek armies in the west
• Greek art and coins showed fascination with
elephants
– Greek king Demetrius invaded India 200 BCE
• His generals extended the empire
• Known as the Yavanna kings
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• The kingdom of Bactria and the Yavanna kings
– Material culture of the ancient city of Samarkand
shows Greek influences
•
•
•
•
Administrative center
Greek architecture and art
Elite read poetry and philosophy
Worshipped Greek deities, Zoroastrian gods, and gods of
Mesopotamia
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• The kingdom of Bactria and the Yavanna
kings
– Asian cities combined Asian culture with
Greek culture
• Temples showed cultural assimilation with foreign
gods, wearing Greek garb
• Greeks brought olives and vineyards
• Coins had Greek inscriptions
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• The kingdom of Bactria and the Yavanna
kings
– Menander, a city-state king, provides the best
example of mingling Greek and Indian
influences
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• Nomadic influences of Parthians, Sakas,
and Kushans
– Invasions into central Asia weakened Hellenic
influence
• Parthians invaded Iran in 130 BCE
– Became enemies of the Romans for 400 years
– Greek commentators discussed the Parthians
– Eastern frontier of Rome continued to trade even during
war times
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• Nomadic influences of Parthians, Sakas,
and Kushans
• Nomadic people from Mongolia and central Asia
migrated to India; became enemies of the Romans
for 400 years
– Took over for the disintegrating empires of Alexander
and Aśoka
– Abandoned equestrian, nomadic culture
– Blended Greek and Buddhist religions
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• Nomadic influences of Parthians, Sakas,
and Kushans
• The Xiongnu, a tribal confederacy, emerged in
East Asian steppe lands
– Pushed the Saka tribes into southwest India
– Parthians also entered Indus Valley
– Lacked a writing system but imitated rulers who had
drawn on Greek culture
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• Nomadic influences of Parthians, Sakas,
and Kushans
• The Sakas became the new central Asian rulers
• The Yuezhi-Kushans most dynamic group to
migrate
–
–
–
–
Unified all the tribes in the region
Established the Kushan dynasty
Played critical role in the formation of the Silk Road
Illiterate but adopted Greek as their official language
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• Nomadic influences of Parthians, Sakas,
and Kushans
• The Kushan rulers kept alive the influences of
Hellenism in Afghanistan and northwestern India
– Coins, weights, and measures at markets all based on
Greek standards
• Nomadic group continued to set themselves apart
from locals through their dress and their equestrian
skills
Converging influences in
central and South Asia
• Nomadic influences of Parthians, Sakas,
and Kushans
– Horses became the most prestigious status symbol of the
ruling elite
– Began to consume exotic goods from the East
• Successful rule of the Kushans stabilized the trade
routes through central Asia
map 6-2
Map 6.2 Nomadic Invasions 350 BCE–100 CE
Worlds Together Worlds Apart, 3rd Edition
Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company
The transformation of Buddhism
• India as a spiritual crossroads
– India became a melting pot of ideas and
institutions
– Hellenism, nomadism, and Arab seafaring
culture transformed India’s Buddhism
– Kushan rulers established a model of
supporting and embracing local religions
• Gave money to build shrines and to the
monasteries
The transformation of Buddhism
• India as a spiritual crossroads
• Buddhism changed as India’s growing prosperity
led to wealth in the monastic complexes
– Buddhist monasteries open to the public as places of
worship
• The new Buddhism: The Mahayana school
– New influences led to a new Buddhist school
of theology, Mahayana
– Ended debate over Buddha’s status
The transformation of Buddhism
• The new Buddhism: The Mahayana school
– Mahayana school said that Buddha was a
deity
– Religious tenants of Mahayana Buddhism
more appealing to the average person
• Bodhisattvas prepared the way and helped others
reach “Buddha-lands”
• Afterlife much more appealing
The transformation of Buddhism
• The new Buddhism: The Mahayana school
– Mahayana (Great Vehicle) view was that it
could help all individuals from a life of
suffering into a happy existence
• Avolokiteshvara (a bodhisattva) said he would stay
and help guide those who traveled in caravans or
navigated ships
– New ideas of Buddhism appeared in literature
• Aśvaghosa wrote a biography of Buddha with new
fictive information, which became widely read
The transformation of Buddhism
• Cultural integration
– First-century BCE texts showed colorful
images of Buddha that were later used in
creating art depicting the Buddha
– Stupas and shrines, as well as sculpture,
showed the Buddha
– The various depictions of Buddha reflected
the local culture
• Gandharan Buddhist art shows strong Greek and
Roman artistic influences
The transformation of Buddhism
• Cultural integration
– Art shared common elements of giving the
Buddha and bodhisattvas realistic human
form
– Buddhist art depicted a society of diverse
populations
The transformation of Buddhism
• Cultural integration
– Long-distance and regional trade contributed
to the transformation of Buddhism
• Traders brought incense and jewels that went to
the bodhisattvas and stupas
• Monastic organizations treated traders well
• Commodities became sacred to Buddhism
map 6-3
Map 6.3 Afro-Eurasian Trade, c. 150 CE
Worlds Together Worlds Apart, 3rd Edition
Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company
The formation of the Silk Road
• Silk Road follows earlier trade routes
established between China and central
Asia
– New route expanded trade from central Asia
to Mediterranean
– Traders traveled specific segments of the
route
The formation of the Silk Road
• Silk Road follows earlier trade routes
established between China and central
Asia
– Waterways also became a way for longdistance trade
• Better maritime technology allowed sailors to move
away from coasts and trade across the Indian
Ocean
The formation of the Silk Road
• Expansion of commerce and contacts
between the Mediterranean and South
Asia encouraged even more trade
– Traders on camels or in ships brought
commodities to market
– Trade strengthened ongoing political and
intellectual and spiritual shift
The formation of the Silk Road
• Long-distance exchanges altered the
political geography of Afro-Eurasia
– Long-standing empires like Egypt gave way to
borderland regions, which formed their own
empires through the commerce of trade
– “Middle East” became the commercial middle
ground between east and west
The formation of the Silk Road
• Long-distance exchanges altered the
political geography of Afro-Eurasia
– East Asia became connected to the west via
central and South Asia
• Silk, from the Greek and Roman name for the
people of northwest China
The formation of the Silk Road
• Nomads, frontiers, and trade routes
– Long-distance trade routes developed from
the ways of horse-riding nomads
– Their constant movement exposed them to a
greater variety of microbes and made them
more immune than sedentary people
– Steppe nomads were skillful archers on
horseback
The formation of the Silk Road
• Nomads, frontiers, and trade routes
– Served as cultural mediators to bring
disparate Afro-Eurasian world together
– Xiongnu nomads became powerful in China
with their knowledge of metal technology and
weapons
The formation of the Silk Road
• Early overland trade and caravan cities
– Trade routes moved south and west
– Caravan cities developed
• Formed in strategic locations
• Centers of Hellenistic culture
• Many emerged at the northern end of a route that
led through Arabia
– Yemen—green at the end of the desert
» Major gathering spot for spice traders
The formation of the Silk Road
• Early overland trade and caravan cities
– Sabaeans of Arabia became wealthy from spice trade,
especially frankincense and myrrh
– Nabataeans were traders
» Made money in water and food trade to travelers
• Nabataeans built a rock city called Petra as a
trading post
– Many Greek influences including an amphitheater carved
out of the rock
– Flourished until Romans took over
The formation of the Silk Road
• The western end of the Silk Road:
Palmyra
– With Petra’s decline, Palmyra became the
most important caravan city at the western
end of the Silk Road
– Roman citizens relied on Palmyra traders to
get luxury goods
The formation of the Silk Road
• The western end of the Silk Road:
Palmyra
– Local tribal chiefs had a good deal of local
autonomy
• Semitic dialect for daily life, Greek for business
and administration
• Textiles important to the trade, especially silks and
cashmere wool
The formation of the Silk Road
• The western end of the Silk Road:
Palmyra
– Money from trade went to build an impressive
marble city in the desert
• Afterlife apparently important to Palmyrans
– Cemetery as big as the residential area
• Hosted self-contained trading communities—
fonduqs
The formation of the Silk Road
• Reaching China along the Silk Road
– Silk in all its forms helped China grow rich and
gain an upper hand in diplomacy
– Trade in silk increased as the demand for the
material increased
– Around 300 BCE, China increasingly
produced commercial crops
• Merchants formed influential family lineages and
guilds
The formation of the Silk Road
• Reaching China along the Silk Road
– Power shifted from agrarian elites to urban
financiers and traders
• Merchants expanded silk trade across Silk Road
and South China Sea
• Tollgates and customhouses appeared, but
government also sought to facilitate trade and
used military ships to help merchants
The formation of the Silk Road
• Reaching China along the Silk Road
– Silk was only one of many commodities that
went west
– No major ports developed in China that
compared with places such as Palmyra
– Chinese people and the Chinese state
remained little affected by Hellenism and
Mahayana Buddhism
– Looked inward and laid foundations for Han Empire
The formation of the Silk Road
• The spread of Buddhism along the trade
routes
– Monks spread religion along the same trade
routes that goods traveled
• Buddhism the most expansionist religion of the
time
• Monks from Kushan Empire spread Buddhism all
the way to China
– Buddhist texts translated into Chinese
The formation of the Silk Road
• The spread of Buddhism along the trade
routes
• Acceptance of Buddhism was slow and took
several centuries
– Buddhism did less well spreading to the west
• Zoroastrian followers impeded the spread of
Buddhism
Taking to the seas:
Commerce on the Red Sea and
Indian Ocean
• Land routes were tried and true but had
risks of robbers and limits in what could be
carried
Taking to the seas:
Commerce on the Red Sea and
Indian Ocean
• Arabs took risks and began to trade more by sea
routes
– Arab seafarers used the Indian Ocean to forge links
between East Africa, the Mediterranean, India, and
Asia
– Alexandria became a transit point for trade between
east and west
Taking to the seas:
Commerce on the Red Sea and
Indian Ocean
• Arabs took risks and began to trade more
by sea routes
– Used new navigational techniques
• Celestial bearings
• Large ships (dhows)
• Understood seasonal winds
Taking to the seas:
Commerce on the Red Sea and
Indian Ocean
• Arabs took risks and began to trade more
by sea routes
– Maritime knowledge reduced costs and
multiplied the ports of call
• Some historians argue that there were two
Silk Roads: one by land and one by sea
Conclusion
• Alexander’s campaigns had a powerful
effect on Afro-Eurasia, transforming its
culture, governments, and economies.
• The Greek language and other aspects of
Greek culture had long-lasting effects
throughout central and South Asia.
Conclusion
• Indigenous people embraced some
aspects of the Greek culture and merged
them with their own, especially in the case
of religion.
• Influenced by nomads, invaders, and
traders, India became a melting pot of
ideas and cultures.
Conclusion
• Buddhism was transformed into a new,
more accepted version.
• Commercial trade routes expanded with
the trade of silks and spices on land and
sea.