Transcript political system

Period 2
Classical Civilizations
600BCE-600CE
Differences from early civilizations
• 1. Size and political strength - could more easily control
large areas of land
• 2. Complex cultures - religions emerge and art and
literature flourish
• 3. Better written records - sophisticated forms of
writing
• 4. More complex long distance trade - new trade
routes
• 5. Contact between nomads and sedentary people
• 6. Direct influence on modern civilizations
Three Areas
• 1. Mediterranean*
• 2. Indian subcontinent
• 3. East Asia
• *Mediterranean
– Greece, Persia, Rome
Greece
• Geography
– Land travel difficult
Brief History
• Minoans controlled area by 1600
BCE
• Replaced by Mycenaeans who
were often at war
• Invasions and attacks hurt
Mycenae leads to dark era until
800BCE
• Isolation until Phoenicians made
contact and traded with Greeks
• Trade brings prosperity
Political
Development
• Greek city-states (or polis) begin to
develop
• Major city-state was Athens; rival = Sparta
• All sorts of governments were adopted
• In Early Athens, an oligarch named Solon
(6th century BCE) set up laws that could
be revised; rather than passed down
• About 510 BCE Cleisthenes further
experimented with democracy
Political
Development
• Athens "Town Meeting" - all
free males called on to make
decisions (no women or
slaves)
• Early Sparta
• Highly militaristic society
• Emphasis on self-discipline,
obedience and physical
fitness
– Clip from 300; 7-9 on M&M
Ancient Greece – Polis
Minoans
Mycenaeans
Sparta
Athens
Economic
Characteristics
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Trade was most important in economy
Invention of coins
Farmers = part-time soldiers
Hoplites - armored soldiers who fought in close cooperation together
Colonies were established for surplus, tribute and trade
– Greece - Ionia, Marsalia (Marseille)
Social distinctions
• Citizen and non-citizen
• Sparta, there was theoretical
equality
– Simple clothing and no jewelry and
were frugal
• Sparta maintained self-sufficiency;
leery of trade
• Athenians had no disdain for
luxuries
• Almost 30% of the population was
enslaved (but generally well treated)
Women
• Spartan women were free and
equal with men
• Women expected to be
physically fit
• Men were at war so women ran
Sparta
• Athenian women were confined
to the home
• No political rights and could not
own property or businesses
Bronze statue of
girl running
Cultural
Characteristics
• Polytheistic
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Zeus and Hera
Poseiden, sea
Athena, wisdom and war
Apollo, sun
• Most educated Greeks did not
take the gods very seriously
• Emphasis on secularism to
seek answers to dilemmas of
life
Philosophy - "love
of wisdom"
• Greek philosophers
invented "natural law"
• Socrates - emphasis on
rationalism, ability of
humans to reason
• Plato - Socrates student;
allegory of the cave
• Aristotle - Plato's student
Plato
More Cultural Advancements
• Greeks developed: Drama, Lyric poetry,
"Classical" architecture (Acropolis)
• Cultural achievements by classical era Greeks
are part of Hellenic culture (hellas = Greece)
Persia
• Geography
• Rose in Iran; between major trading areas
Afro-Eurasia in 350 BCE
Persian Empire
Persian Empire (558-332 BCE)
• Founded by Cyrus the Great
• Darius I (521-486 BCE)
– Balanced central administration
& local governors
– Divided government into 3
districts ran by satraps
– Built the Royal Road
– Fought Persian Wars (500-479
BCE)
• Led to the decline of the
Persian Empire
Persian Empire
• Persian Society
– Women worked in textile
manufacturing
– Government used slaves to complete
public works projects
• Persian Economy
– Government coined money
– Facilitated trade from Greece to India
• Persian Religion
– Zoroastrianism
World in 350 BCE
Brief History
• Organized under Cyrus the Great
and expanded eventually to the
Mediterranean
• Cyrus created strong political
system
• Subjects allowed to keep local laws
and customs
• Local governors (called satraps)
collected tribute and provided for
soldiers
• Major city - Persepolis; court
created there
History continued
• Athens was expanding in
Anatolia and so was
Persia, under Darius I
• Major war at Marathon
(490 BCE) which the
Greeks won
• Battles continued; the
Persian Xerxes was
weakened in 480 BCE at
Thermopylae
• "east" vs. "west"
Persian Wars
• Contributed to Persia's decline and
Athens as the premier city-state of
Greece
• Athens formed alliances
– Delian League under leader Pericles
• Athens attacks Corinth, who is
Sparta's ally
• Peloponnesian War (431-404BCE)
between Sparta and Athens
• Sparta eventually won but Greece
was vulnerable to attack
Kingdom of Macedon
• King Phillip II (359-336
BCE) transformed
Macedonia by building a
powerful military
• Poised to expand his
empire after uniting
most of Greece under
his control, he was
assassinated
• His 20 year old son,
Alexander took over
Alexander the…. Who?
• Defeated Anatolia, Egypt
(greeted as pharaoh), Persia
• Conquered land between the
Adriatic Sea and Indus River
• Never lost a battle
• Becomes known as Alexander
the Great
• Hellenistic Age follows because
of spread of Greek culture
• Hellenistic synthesis refers to
blending of cultures, creation
of cosmopolitan societies
connected by trade and Greek
culture
Important Wars
Persian Wars
• Ionian Revolt - 499 BCE -Greeks
upraise on Persian rule
• Xerxes - 480 BCE - launches
massive army (300,000?)
• Battle of Thermopylae – 300
Spartans lead by Leonidas fight
heroically and inspire other
Greek hoplites who are better
armed that Asiatic infantry to
continue to fight Persia
• The Delian League - lead by
Athenian generals and navy
liberate the Greek city states
over the next 20 years
Peloponnesian War
• 100 years are full of polis on
polis violence
• 430 BCE – Sparta dominates
the land and Athens the sea
• 404 BCE – Sparta buys
Persian boats and defeats
Athens at sea
• 338 BCE - Macedonians –
rough and rowdy
(questionable ‘Greakness’),
lead by Philip, wins control of
Greek city states
• 334 BCE Alexander Philip’s
son spreads the Greek
Empire
Rome
• heavily influenced by the Greeks
• dominates the area for 700 years;
encompassed 2000 years
The legend of Romulus and Remus
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Rhea was married to Mars, the Roman god of war.
Rhea had twin sons. She loved her boys, but there
were plots afoot by other gods and goddesses to
harm her father, herself, her husband, and her
children. To protect the boys, she set them adrift on
the river, hoping someone would find them. Who
would not love such beautiful boys?
Sure enough, first they were found by a she-wolf
who fed them. Then a shepherd and his wife
adopted the boys.
As the twins grew older, they decided they did not
want to take care of sheep. They wanted to be
kings. They decided to build a city on the shores of
the Tiber. They both wanted to be the only king.
They quarreled. In a fit of rage, Romulus picked up a
rock, killed his brother, and made himself king.
That’s how Rome started.
Political Development
• Etruscans established city-states
about 800BCE
• One of their earliest communities
was called Rome (509 BCE)
– *Romulus and Remus
• 509 BCE - Rome gains
independence and declares itself a
republic, or state without monarch
• Republic lasted until 31BCE when
Augustus becomes emperor
• Republic government not a
democracy
Political Development
• Senate - aristocrats
• General Assembly Plebeians (90%)
• Two consuls were elected
from the Senate
– one-year terms
• Plebeians eventually were
allowed representatives
called tribunes
Political Development
• Julius Caesar, patrician general,
challenged the power of the
Senate and created a
Triumvirate (rule of three)
(Crassus and Pompey)
• Caesar was assassinated by
senators (44BCE)
• Octavian (Caesar's nephew)
won control
• Senate declares him Augustus
("revered one")
Augustus’ Achievements
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Created civil service
Codified Roman law
New courts and legal experts
Built roads and public works
Reorganize the navy
Pax Romana
Women
• Treated as children
• First father supervises her, then husband, then
son
• However, many women supervised the family
business
• Roman literature – vocal and powerful women
Culture
• Legal Innovations
• 1) Concept of precedent
• 2) Belief that equity should be the goal of the
legal system
• 3) Natural law
• 4) Interpretation of the law (responsibility of
judges)
Culture
• Imitation of Greek gods
– Same god different
name
• Zeus = Jupiter, Poseidon
= Neptune, Athena =
Minerva, Ares = Mars
• No immortality; no
afterlife (most)
Culture
• Spread of Latin as a
language
• Engineering - roads and
aqueducts
Virgil – Roman poet known for
Aeneid
Decline
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Defense of long borders
Class struggles
Epidemics
Second capital city Constantinople
– Constantine in 4th Century CE
• Germanic invasions; last
emperor in 476CE
China
• At same time of Rome increasing
influence, China was emerging from
• Warring States Period - end of Zhou
dynasty, marked by political turmoil,
warlords constantly challenging Zhou
• How to solve problems?
Qin Shi Huangdi
3 Belief Systems Form
• 1) Legalism
– humans = evil and only obey authority by force
– strict laws, harsh punishments
– sacrifice personal freedom for the state
• 2) Daoism
– Laozi encouraged people to avoid useless
struggles by following Dao (path)
– politics and military lack morality
– individual retreat from society; emphasis on
acceptance
• 3) Confucianism
– based on hierarchical, harmonious
relationships to create orderly society
– 5 relationships key, family at the center
Qin Dynasty
• Qin emphasized Legalism
– iron weapons to defeat and unite China
– king declares himself first "emperor"
• Shi Huangdi, 221-210BCE
Coming from Underground
• Shi Huangdi, the First Emperor of
China, created the army to protect him
in the afterlife
First Emperor’s accomplishments
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Unified warring states
Network of roads
Linked/extended Great Wall
Single written script
Mass production
Interchangeable parts
Unified law code and currency
Iron Fist
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Ruthless
Absolute right of command
Heavy taxation and oppressive policies
Several assassination attempts
– Built covered walkways
– Wore disguises
– Slept in different places every night
• Obsessed with finding the secret to
immortality
– Searched for magic elixirs
– One such elixir contained mercury and
it’s believed mercury poisoning
contributed to his death.
• Shortly after his death revolts start
that lead to the end of Qin
Han Dynasty (206BCE - 220 CE)
• Liu Bang - quickly
brought order
– strengthened
bureaucracy
– Bureaucracy – body
of non-elected
government officials
• Forbidden City (only
his family, servants,
and closest advisors)
Han Political Development
• Strong, nonhereditary
bureaucracy
• De-emphasized legalism
• Emphasized Confucian
values
• “Mandate of Heaven" emperor had support of
the heavens as long as he
was a good ruler
Dynastic Cycle/Mandate of Heaven
Economic Activity
• Han rulers expanded trade
• Threats from the north
• Restores and expands Great Wall
Economic Development
• Canals built
• Main export was silk
– (guarded methods and created monopoly)
Social Distinctions
• Highest social
distinction for Shi
– (mandarins)
• Shi liked Confucianism
• Exam to identify best
candidates for
bureaucracy
• Only wealthy had leisure
to study for them
Main Social classes
• 1) Scholar-gentry - linked to shi; wealth based
on land
• 2) Ordinary, but free, citizens - majority
peasants; could be forced to join army
• 3) Underclass - described in many texts are
barbarians; shifting cultivators, dependent
peasants, slaves
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Cultural
Developments
artisan class grows
brush pen
paper
water mills for agriculture
rudders and compasses for
ships
• new mining technologies
for iron and copper
• society was a patriarchy
Culture and Science
• calligraphy - artistic rendering of written word
• mathematics, geography, astronomy were
valued
• medicine - blood circulation, acupuncture
invented
Chi
Decline
• Last 200 years were gradual
decline
• Causes
– defense of long borders
– rise of nobility lead to competition
for power
– corruption in government led to
dynasty losing effectiveness
• Dynastic cycle continues
• ***comparison Rome and Han,
p.99
Roman Empire
Han Dynasty
Characteristics
Han China
• Well organized
bureaucracy based
upon Confucian ideas
and education
Roman Empire
• Well organized
bureaucracy founded
on Roman law and
classical
learning
Characteristics
Han China
• Emphasis on Family
ancestors: patriarchical
• Reliance on landed gentry
• Engineering
accomplishments: roads,
canals, the Great Wall
Roman Empire
• Emphasis on family: pater
familias
• Reliance on patricians
• Engineering
accomplishments: roads,
aqueducts, amphitheatres,
domes, sewage systems,
central heating
Characteristics
• Grand Canal
• Roman Roads
Characteristics
• Great Wall
• Roman Aqueduct
Characteristics
Han China
• Religion:
Confucianism,
Daoism, native gods,
intro to Buddhism
Roman Empire
• Religion: Emperor as
god, paganism, intro
to Christianity
Decline of Han Dynasty
• Infighting among ruling elites
• Inequitable distribution of land - tax burden
fell on peasants rather than on large
landowners
• Series of peasant rebellions
• Generals usurp political power - become
warlords
Decline of Han Dynasty
• 220 CE generals divide empire into three
kingdoms.
• Emigration of nomadic peoples into N. China
kept country disunited
Decline of Roman Empire
• Internal opposition - barrack emperors
• Difficulties in administering vast empire
creates rivalries and divisions of authority
• Eastern and Western Empire - capital
moved to Constantinople
Decline of Roman Empire
• Germanic invasions by Vandals, Ostrogoths,
and Visigoths
• 476 Odacer deposes final Western Roman
Emperor
• Eastern Roman Empire becomes Byzantine
Empire - lasts another 1000 years
Shared Characteristics
• Decline in Morals and Values
– Decline in those values that have upheld this
particular society together
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Public Health and Urban Decay
Political Corruption
Unemployment and Inflation
Inferior technology
Military Spending
Classical India
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Shiva is the third god in the Hindu triumvirate. The
triumvirate consists of three gods who are
responsible for the creation, upkeep and destruction
of the world. The other two gods are Brahma and
Vishnu.
Classical India
• Before the fall of MohenjoDaro and Harappa, Aryans
migrate into Indian subcontinent from their home
north of the Black Sea
• By 1000 BCE Aryans settled
between Himalayan foothills
and Ganges River
• By 500 BCE, migrated to
Deccan plateau
• Interacted with native
Dravidians
Caste System
• Caste - social class of hereditary and usually
unchangeable status
• Aryans used the word "varna" (Sanskrit for
"color") to refer to social classes
Caste
• Brahmins - highest social class; priests and scholars
• Kshtriya (roughly pronounced shatria)- warriors and
government officials
• Vaishya (roughly pronounced vice-ya)- landowners,
merchants, artisans
• Shudra - common peasants and laborers
• During classical era, caste system becomes more
complex
– subdivided into jati, or birth groups, each with own
occupations, duties and rituals
Early Religion and Culture
• 1500-500BCE = Vedic Age
• “Vedas" - religious texts that were passed down from
generation to generation of Aryans
– Rig veda was most important
• Over the years, Aryan and Dravidian beliefs blended, as
reflected in a body of works called Upanishads
• The Upanishads spoke of a universal spirit, known as
Brahman, which was eternal and unchanging
– central belief was through reincarnation, atman (human spirit)
could join the universal spirit as long as human behaved
ethically
– these beliefs come to be known as Hinduism
Traditional Goals
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Dharma -Virtue
Artha - Gain wealth and success
Kama - Find pleasure
Moksha - seek enlightenment
Karma
• Indian tradition that deeds performed in past
and present determines what will happen in
the next life cycle
Story of India
• Video Episode 1 - start with 25:00 Sanskrit,
end with 43:05 (Mahabharata)
Buddhism
• Begins in the classical period
• Siddhartha Gautama was born a prince
– did not claim to be a god, but elevated to that
status by followers
• Episode 2 - 3:00-14:32, Buddhism
Buddhism
• Embraced by traders and
merchants; spread
• Confucianism and Buddhism
link with government
Mauryan Dynasty
• Despite jati, geographic,
language, cultural
differences, the Mauryan
Dynasty comes to rule
– Almost 300 years
• Located along Ganges River
trade routes
• Chandragupta Mauryan was
founder of the dynasty
Ashoka
• Ashoka was his grandson
and greatest ruler of
Mauryans
• Huge military was
dominant and destroyed
Kalinga, trampled people
• Elephant Army
• Shocked by the violence of
this battle, he turned to
Buddhism
Rock Edicts
• Ashoka’s Rock Edicts
• "Wheel of Law" is a symbol
that has represented
dharma
Collapse
• After Ashoka’s death, attacks from borders
drove India into regional kingdoms for more
than 500 years
Gupta Empire
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4th century BCE
Founder - Chandra Gupta
Smaller and less powerful than Maurya
Show map here
Expansion of Trade Networks and
Communication Patterns
• Silk Road
• Xi'an in China to the eastern Mediterranean
• 2nd century BCE, Zhang Jian made his way to Tarim basin where he
discovered "heavenly horses“
• http://virtuallabs.stanford.edu/silkroad/SilkRoad.html
• Chinese started to trade silk for horses
• Tarim basin was connected by trade routes to the west
• http://www.amnh.org/ology/features/silkroadmusic/music.php
SILK ROAD
PRODUCTS
• From China - peaches, apricots, cinnamon, ginger,
silk
• From the West - alfalfa, grapes, pistachios,
sesame, spinach
• Inventions in any one place made it to all the
places
• Stirrup
• Pastoral nomads of Central Asia
• Provided protection, insured smooth operation
• Christianity and Buddhism spread
INDIAN
OCEAN
MARITIME
SYSTEM
• Trade all the way back to Ancient
Egyptians
• 1) Southeastern China to Southeast Asia
• 2) Southeast Asia to the eastern coast of
India
• 3) Western coast of India to the Red Sea
and the eastern coast of Africa
• PRODUCTS
• Ivory from Africa, India and Mesopotamia
INDIAN
• Frankincense and myrrh from southern
OCEAN
Arabia
MARITIME • Pearls from the Persian Gulf
SYSTEM
• Spices from India and Southeast Asia
• Pottery from China
Frankincense and Myrrh for
personal, religious, medicinal
use
Sahara
Trade
Routes
• 1st century BCE, camels
introduced
• Demand for Salt
• Extensive routes connected the
Sahara to Indian Ocean and Silk
Road
MAJOR
MIGRATIONS
200-600CE
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Huns
Attila organizes attacking army
Invaded Hungary, Balkans, Gaul, northern Italy
Defense of Gupta frontiers from the Huns led to its collapse
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Germanic People
Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Angles, Saxons, Vandals
Fought amongst themselves
Rome falls, kingdoms spring up
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Bantu
Desertification
Migrated to sub-Saharan Africa
Spread languages, knowledge of iron, agricultural techniques
Gradual, not fast and aggressive like Huns or Germanic
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Polynesians
Gradual migration
From mainland Asia to Fiji, Tonga, Samoa
Double canoes, triangular sails