PART IFrom Hunting and Gathering to Civilizations, 2.5 million–1000 B.C.E.: Origins

Overview. The first human beings appeared in east Africa over two million years ago. Gradually humans developed a more erect stance and greater brain capacity. Early humans lived by hunting and gathering. The most advanced human species, Homo sapiens sapiens, migrated from Africa into the Middle East, then into Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. Over time, they learned to fashion tools and weapons from stone, bone, and wood, and were, therefore, able to move away from hunting-and-gathering practices to form larger groups. The beginnings of agriculture, about 10,000 B.C.E., were based on improved tools during the New Stone Age (Neolithic). The development of agriculture was a radical change in humans’ way of life. By providing a dependable source of food, people could stay in one place, develop toolmaking technologies using metals, and, by increasing agricultural output, free individuals to specialize in other kinds of work. More elaborate political and cultural forms slowly emerged. Civilization emerged in five different regions. While focusing on the agricultural revolution, we must not lose sight of the many areas in which other systems prevailed. Hunting-and-gathering was not only a different economic system, it brought with it differences in gender relations, daily life, and social complexity.

Big Concepts. Each of the key phases of the long period of early human history (2.5 million B.C.E.—1000 B.C.E.) can be characterized by a central topic or Big Concept. The first of these is the development of human hunting skills, the adaptation of those skills to the shift geography and climate of the Ice Age, and the patterns of human migration. The second Big Concept is the rise of agriculture and the changes in technology associated with the Neolithic revolution (9000 B.C.E. and 4000 B.C.E.). These changes set in motion the agricultural phase of human experience that lasted until just a few centuries ago. The final Big Concept is the appearance of increasingly distinctive human societies through agriculture or nomadic pastoralism and the early contacts among these societies, particularly after 3500 B.C.E. when larger and more formally organized societies, often with early cities as well, emerged and began to develop more consistent patterns of interregional trade.

Triggers for Change. The phase of human history talked about in this chapter is mainly the story of accommodating different environments, especially in the search for food. Around 10,000 years ago, near the Black Sea, humans turned to agriculture, as hunting became less productive. The reasons for the change are not clear, but possibilities include population pressure, and shortages caused by accidental or deliberate over-hunting. Agriculture brought essential changes in social organization, tool-making, and specialization of occupation.

The Big Changes. Agriculture involved a different set of challenges and benefits than did hunting-and-gathering. The demands of farming meant a sedentary life and larger settlements. Social structures became more complex, and greater gender divisions of labor. Agriculture also made possible the key elements of civilization: states, towns, and monumental building. The first four civilizations arose in river valleys that made irrigation, and, hence, large-scale agriculture possible.

Continuity. This transition took place over millennia. Many peoples adhered to their traditional economy, which meant, as well, adherence to traditional social and cultural ways. As they took to farming, traditionally women’s work, men developed ideas of superiority over women. This can be interpreted not as innovation, but as a way to compensate for change.

Impact on Daily Life: Children. Hunting-and-gathering societies necessitated small families, because of the migratory lifestyle and limited resources. With farming, however, not only were larger families possible, they made sense. Children were an integral part of traditional agriculture. Birth rates increased enormously, although infant mortality remained high. The importance of child labor, moreover, brought with it strict control over children. A culture of parental dominance developed—totalitarian in some instances.

The Geography of Early Agriculture. Hunting-and-gathering societies persisted as sedentary agricultural societies developed. Animal domestication led to pastoralism in semi-arid regions. Pastoral peoples posed a serious challenge to agricultural societies and created extensive empires. Interactions between nomads and agriculturalists were a long-enduring major theme in world history. The agriculturists increased in numbers and spread their production techniques for grain crops and fibers from the Middle East to Asia, Europe, and northern Africa. Africans south of the Sahara evolved independently, developing root and tree crops. Rice, first cultivated in Southeast Asia, spread to China, India, and the Southeast Asian islands. Maize (corn) was developed in the Americas. Many scholars have termed the development of agriculture, the Neolithic Revolution, but the term is a bit misleading in that the shift to agriculture was no sudden transformation and many peoples continued to rely on hunting-and-gathering and herding.Patterns of Change. The growing population of sedentary humans, with their plants and animals, transformed their immediate environments. Agriculture supported larger populations with a more reliable food supply. Agricultural peoples could afford to build houses and villages. Despite the many benefits of a more sedentary existence, people did not uniformly embrace it. Some people came to agriculture as a result a diminishing supply of game, some were converted as conquering people moved in, some simply disappeared, the victims of diseases for which they had no immunities. On the steppes of central Asia, the climate was more conducive to herding and, in North America, Indians practiced only limited agriculture until just a few centuries ago. Nomadic invaders played a vital role across the millennia linking major civilizations until just a few centuries ago. Nonetheless, villages and their cultivated lands became the dominant feature of human habitation.Further Technological Change. Surplus production allowed the development of specialized occupations, including political and religious elites, and specialized production of tools, weapons, and pottery. Early science developed to understand weather and flooding patterns. The first potter’s wheel stimulated better, faster pottery production. One basic change took place fairly soon after the introduction of agriculture. The discovery of metal tools dates back to the Middle East around 4000 B.C.E. First copper, then bronze entered the picture. By about 3000 B.C.E. the last of the stone ages had passed into the Bronze Age. The distinction between “history” and “prehistory”, long dependant on the introduction of writing as the distinguishing characteristic, has been blurred in recent years as scholars have learned how to include objects and burial sites as part of the historical record. The preagricultural—agricultural distinction is more central. Agriculture encouraged the formation of larger as well as more stable human communities than had existed before Neolithic times. Most hunting people lived in small tribal groups and moved with the supply of game. Some agricultural peoples moved also, practicing a slash and burn method of agriculture whereby an area would be farmed until the soil became too depleted. Herders moved in tribal bands, with strong kinship ties as well.Settled Societies. Major agricultural regions involved more permanent settlements with structures, wells, and irrigation systems that were meant to last for generations. Irrigation and defense required the coordination of larger groups of people, and by 7000 B.C.E. population centers numbering in the thousands. One of the earliest settlements in the Neolithic transformation was at Çatal Hüyük.Çatal Hüyük. Çatal Hüyük, was founded around 7000 B.C.E. in southern Turkey. It was the most advanced human center of the Neolithic period. A rich economic base was built on extensive agricultural and commercial development. Standardized construction patterns suggest the presence of a powerful ruling elite associated with a priesthood. Well-developed religious shrines indicate the growing role of religion in people’s lives.Defining Civilization. Scholars have argued for two ways to define civilizations. The broader view takes it to mean that a society has developed enough economic surpluses to form divisions of labor and a social hierarchy involving significant inequalities. The narrower view suggests that the chief difference between civilizations and other societies, agricultural or not, involves the emergence of formal political organizations or states as opposed to family or tribes. The word civilization comes from the Latin term for city, and in truth most civilizations depend on the existence of significant cities that function as centers for governance, commerce, trade, sharing ideas, art, and science. Most civilizations also develop a form of writing to help manage taxes, contracts, treaties, and communications over long distances, as well as record events, observations, and ideas. People in civilizations have had a long history of looking down on societies unlike their own. The Greeks and Romans did; as did the Chinese and Aztecs. Europeans during the 17th and 18th centuries revived the perceived difference between civilized and barbarian societies. Interestingly, many nomadic societies were appalled at the doings of civilized peoples; they also have contributed significantly to world history. The term “civilization” cannot be equated with “good.” It commands the attention of historians because it is the form of human existence that has continued the process of technological change and political organization and generated the largest populations and most elaborate artistic and intellectual forms.

Having started in 3500 B.C.E., civilization developed in four initial centers—the Middle East, Egypt, northwestern India, and northern China—over the following 2500 years. (An early civilization would emerge in Central America, though slightly later in time.) Such early civilizations, all clustered in key river valleys, were in a way pilot

tests of the new form of social organization. Only after about 1000 B.C.E. did a more consistent process of development and spread of civilization begin.Tigris–Euphrates Civilization. Mesopotamia- generated the basic definition of civilization. Its society was based upon economic surplus and was able to support priests, government officials, merchants, and artisans. The spreading irrigation systems made regional coordination vital. A clearly defined government developed. Most individuals lived in the countryside. In the emerging cities, residents amassed wealth and power; they exchanged ideas encouraging technological innovation and artistic development; they promoted specialization in trade and manufacture. Sumerians, migrating from the north about 4000 B.C.E., mixed with local groups to establish Mesopotamian civilization. Already competent with copper and bronze manufactures, the wheel, pottery production, and irrigation processes and technologies, the Sumerians established the world’s first civilization from scratch around 3500 B.C.E. Sumerians-- writing cuneiform, scribes. numeric system based on units of 12, 60, and 360, pantheon based religion intervening arbitrarily in human affairs fear and gloom among believers. Each city had a patron god- Priests placating gods and in making astronomical calculations vital to the running of irrigation systems. Many Sumerian religious ideas influenced Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.city-states; their leaders—kings and local councils—ruled agricultural hinterlands- responsible for defense and warfare, and, along with priests, controlled land worked by slaves. Akkadians, the Babylonians followed later. The Babylonian king, Hammurabi, is noted for establishing a code of law articulating court procedures, property rights, duties of family members, and punishments for crimes his subjects could expect. The Babylonians maintained Sumerian cultural traditions, extending its influence into other parts of the Middle East. New Arrivals, particularly Semitic peoples, adopted the culture of conquered peoples. But large political units declined in favor of smaller city-states or regional kingdoms, particularly during the centuries of greatest turmoil, between 1200 B.C.E. and 900 B.C.E. Thereafter, new invaders, first Assyrians and then Persians, created large new empires in the Middle East.Egyptian Civilization. Egyptian civilization, formed by 3000 B.C.E., benefited from contacts with Mesopotamia, but produced a very different society. Egyptian civilization flourished along the Nile River for 2000 years before beginning to decline around 1000 B.C.E. Less open to invasion, Egypt retained a unified state throughout most of its history and influenced later African culture. Egypt’s rulers, pharaohs, were contacts between gods and people, and had immense power. Political organization and economic development were coordinated under the authority of a pharaoh thought to possess the power to assure the prosperity of the Nile agricultural system. The pyramids were constructed to commemorate the greatness of pharaohs. In comparison with Mesopotamia, Egypt’s science and alphabet were less developed though mathematics proved more advanced and influential. For example, Egyptian mathematics produced the idea of a day divided into 24 hours. Egypt’s art was lively and colorful, depicting, for example, an afterlife in which people might be surrounded by the pleasures of earthly life. Egyptian architectural forms were also quite influential in Egypt but also in other parts of the Mediterranean.Indian and Chinese River Valley Civilizations. River valley civilizations developed in two other centers. A prosperous urban civilization emerged along the Indus River by 2500 B.C.E., supporting several large cities, including Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, whose houses even had running water. Indus River peoples had trading contacts with Mesopotamia, but they developed their own alphabet and artistic forms. Infiltrations by Indo-Europeans, however, plus natural calamities, resulted in such destruction that it makes it hard to speak with confidence about either the nature of this culture or its subsequent influence on India. It remains true that civilization never had to be fully reinvented in India.The Great Cities of the Indus Valley. Harappa and Mohenjo Daro were densely populated, walled cities similar in layout and construction. They were built on a square grid pattern divided by main streets into smaller, precise grids. Buildings and walls were made of standardized kiln-dried bricks. The massive scale required an autocratic government able to manage large numbers of workers. Each city possessed fortified citadels that served as defensive sanctuaries, community centers, assembly halls or places of worship, and public bathing tanks. Large granaries located nearby stored grain, whose sale and production may have been regulated by the state. The main food crops were wheat, rye, peas, and possibly rice, and domesticated animals and cotton were also part of the system. Irrigation systems controlled the rivers’ flow. The cities were major trading centers; there is evidence of trade with Mesopotamia, China, and Burma. The Harappans remained conservative and resistant to external influences, including weapon development. A powerful class of priests, drawing authority from their role as intermediary between the populace and gods, dominated society. Promoting fertility was a paramount concern. The most prominent deity depicted was a horned god. The concern with fertility also was demonstrated by numerous mother-goddesses. The presence of these figures, in Sumer and other urban sites in the Persian Gulf region, suggests that large quantities of various commodities were traded in the region spanning Mesopotamia and the Indus River valley. The precise causes of Harappan decline remain disputed. Evidence suggests that the region suffered from severe flooding and earthquakes. Shifts in climatic patterns eventually transformed the fertile region into an arid steppe. The priestly class lost power. Civilization disappeared as Aryan pastoralists conquered the indigenous agricultural

population and settled in their place. The Aryans, warrior herders, may have consciously destroyed or neglected the irrigation system on which the Harappan people had once depended. They were superb horsemen, employed chariots, and had more effective weapons than the Harappans. The interaction between the invaders and indigenous peoples established the basis for India’s great classical civilization.Early Civilization in China. Chinese civilization took form independently along the Yellow River (Huanghe), although some overland trading contact with India and the Middle East did develop. A state arose to carefully regulate irrigation in the flood-prone river valley and by 2000 B.C.E., the Chinese had advanced technology, science, music, intellectual life, pottery, an early system of ideographic writing, and could ride horses. By 1000 B.C.E., they had introduced iron, which they soon learned to work with coal. By 1500 B.C.E., one tribe, the Shang, skilled horsemen, chariot drivers, and metalworkers, became dominant and established the foundations of Chinese civilization. They were warlike nomads, ruled by strong kings, regarded as the intermediary between the supreme being and mortals; he held responsibility for the fertility of the state. The king presided over a sizeable bureaucracy and system of vassalage ascribing land tenure, tribute, military service, and administrative duties. The state itself was understood as the center of the world. Shang elites were preoccupied with rituals, oracles, and sacrifices. They joined the ruler in propitiating spirits to provide crops and offspring. Artistic expression peaked in bronze vessels used for offerings of grain, incense, wine, and animals. Human sacrifice occurred during ritual warfare and ceremonies. Shamans performed oracular functions for harvests, wars, journeys, and marriages. Readings were taken from animal bones and tortoise shells. They were drilled and seared, and the resulting cracks were interpreted. Patterns inscribed on the bones and shells formed the basis for a written language that provided the diverse peoples of the loess zone with a common culture. The initially pictographic characters evolved to convey complex ideas. By the end of the Shang period there were 3000 characters. The bones and bronze vessels on which the characters were first carved gave way to bamboo, silk, and wooden surfaces. In the 1st century C.E., they were replaced by the Chinese invention of paper. The written language made communication possible between the elites, and eventually artisan and cultivating classes, of the many different groups across the region’s diverse cultures and languages. The use of increasingly standardized and sophisticated characters provided a bond between river valley peoples. Writing became fundamental to Chinese identity and the growth of civilization.Many accomplishments of the river valley civilizations had a lasting impact. Monuments such as the Egyptian pyramids have long been regarded as one of the wonders of the world. More prosaic achievements are fundamental to world history even today: the invention of the wheel, the taming of the horse, the creation of usable alphabets and writing implements, the production of key mathematical concepts such as square roots, the development of well organized monarchies and bureaucracies, and the invention of functional calendars and other divisions of time. Almost all later civilizations are built on the massive foundations first constructed in the river valleys. Despite the many accomplishments, over 2500 years, most of the river valley civilizations were in decline by 1000 B.C.E.Heritage of Early Civilizations. While the Harrapan civilization of the Indus valley collapsed, and much was lost, influences persisted at the core of following Indian civilizations. Harappan civilization had a markedly different legacy than the Shang. The region where the Chinese polities emerged became the center of a civilization continuing until today. The system of writing was one of many factors in the evolution of Chinese civilization. Mesopotamia and Egypt differed in influencing regions beyond their spheres. Europeans, even North Americans, are sometimes prone to claim these cultures as the “origins” of the Western civilization in which we live. These claims should not be taken too literally. It is not clear that either Egypt or Mesopotamia contributed much to later political life, though the Roman Empire emulated the concept of a godlike king and the existence of strong city-states in the Middle East itself continued to be significant. Ideas about slavery may have been passed on from these civilizations. Specific scientific achievements proved vital, for example the Greeks studied Egyptian mathematics. Scholars argue, however, on how much was passed on beyond certain techniques for measuring time or charting the stars. Some historians of philosophy have argued that Mesopotamian-influenced cultures emphasized a division between humanity and nature, in sharp contrast to the Chinese understanding of harmony, which they claim affected later civilizations around the Mediterranean in contrast to China. It is, however, hard to assess these continuities. Mesopotamian art and Egyptian architecture had a more measurable influence on Greek styles, and through these, in turn, later European and Muslim cultures.New Societies in the Middle East. There was a final connection between early and later civilizations in the form of regional cultures that sprang up under the influence of Egypt and Mesopotamia, along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean mainly after 1200 B.C.E. Civilization had spread widely enough to encourage a set of smaller centers to emerge, mixing their cultures with Mesopotamian influences. These cultures produced important innovations that would affect later civilizations in the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and other parts of the world as well. For example, the Phoenicians devised a simplified alphabet that became the ancestor of the Greek and Latin lettering systems. They also improved the Egyptian numbering system Phoenician traders established colonies on the shores of the Mediterranean in Europe and North Africa. Another regional group, the Lydians, first introduced coined money.

Judaism. The most influential of the smaller Middle Eastern groups were the Jews, who gave the world the first clearly developed monotheistic religion. The Hebrews, a Semitic people influenced by Babylonian civilization settled around the Mediterranean around 1200 B.C.E. Their distinctive achievement was the development of a monotheistic and ethical religion. They regarded themselves as a chosen people under God’s guidance. Their religious ideas were written down in the Hebrew Bible and other writings. The Jewish religion and moral code persisted even as the Jewish state suffered domination by foreign rulers, from 772 B.C.E. until the Romans seized the state outright in 63 B.C.E. In Jewish hands, the concept of God became less humanlike, more abstract. This represented a basic change in not only religion but humankind’s overall outlook. God had not only a power but also a rationality unlike the capricious traditional gods; the Jewish God was orderly and just, and individuals would know what to expect if they obeyed God’s rules. God was also linked to ethical conduct, to proper moral behavior. Religion for the Jews was a way of life, not merely a set of rituals and ceremonies. The Jews were not important politically, but their written religion enabled them, even when dispersed, to retain cultural identity. The Jews did not try to convert other peoples, but the later proselytizing faiths of Christianity and Islam incorporated their ideas.Assessing the Early Civilization Period. Overall, the river valley civilizations, flourished for many centuries, created a basic set of tools, intellectual concepts such as writing and mathematics, and political forms that would persist and spread to other parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Invasion and natural calamities in India, and invasions and political decline in Egypt, marked a fairly firm break between the institutions of these river valley civilizations and those that would later develop. Huang he civilization, in contrast, flowed more fully into the more extensive Chinese civilization that would follow. The Middle East, where civilization had first been born, provided the most complex heritage of all. Here too there was a break between the riverine empires and the civilizations of Greece and Persia that would later dominate the region. However, smaller cultures, such as that of the Jews, provided a bridge between the river valley period and later Middle Eastern society, producing vital new inventions and ideas. One final result of the first, long period of human civilization is clear: a pattern of division of the world’s peoples. Small groups of people had spread to every corner of the world, developing separate languages and cultures. The rise of agriculture stimulated new links, for example, the Phoenicians traded with Britain for metals whereas the Chinese traded their silks with Egypt. Here we have one of the basic themes of history: steadily proliferating contacts against a backdrop of often fierce local identity. Civilization itself was an integrating force at a larger regional level though smaller identities persisted. Four distinct centers of civilization (five, if the emerging Olmec culture in Mexico is included), shared the basic features defining civilization, like cities, trade, and writing, but each developed widely varied patterns, from style of writing to beliefs about nature. Civilization and considerable diversity thus coexisted hand in hand.GLOBAL CONNECTIONS: The Early Civilizations and the World. Mesopotamia and Egypt presented two different approaches to relationships outside the home region. Mesopotamia was flat, with few natural barriers to recurrent invasion from the north. Perhaps for this reason, Mesopotamian leaders thought in terms of expansion, conquering territories within the Middle East. Many traders pushed outward dealing either with merchants to the east or sending expeditions into the Mediterranean and beyond, and also to India. Egypt, though not isolated, was more self-contained. There was important trade and interaction along the Nile to the south, which brought mutual influences with the peoples of the Kush and Ethiopia. Trade and influence also linked Egypt to Mediterranean islands like Crete, south of Greece. River valley civilization in had fewer far-reaching contacts than its counterpart in Mesopotamia. Ultimately, however, contacts with China would shape development in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Already in the river valley period, the Chinese were advancing new technologies, for example the manufacture of silk, which would have wide influence on later interregional trade. Chinese irrigation systems became increasingly sophisticated, involving engineering principles that would gain wider scope later on. Harappan society traded widely with Mesopotamia, but there is little evidence of significant influence. Harappan civilization proved much more vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change, particularly in contrast to China. Comparison of the early civilizations thus emphasizes quite different patterns of scope and legacy.

KEY TERMS

Hunting and gathering: means of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization.

Civilization: societies with reliance on sedentary agriculture, ability to produce food surpluses, and existence of nonfarming elites, along with merchant and manufacturing groups.

Paleolithic: the Old Stone Age ending in 12,000 B.C.E.; typified by use of evolving stone tools and hunting and gathering for subsistence.

Neolithic: the New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished.

Nomads: cattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as “barbarian” by civilized societies.

Culture: combinations of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction.

Homo sapiens: the species of humanity that emerged as most successful at the end of the Paleolithic.

Agrarian revolution: occurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture.

Pastoralism: a nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies.

Çatal Hüyük: early urban culture based on sedentary agriculture; located in modern southern Turkey; larger in population than Jericho, had greater degree of social stratification.

Bronze Age: from 4000 to 3000 B.C.E.; increased use of plow, metalworking; development of wheeled vehicles, writing.

Mesopotamia: literally “between the rivers”; the civilizations that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys.

Potter’s wheel: a technological advance in pottery making; invented circa 6000 B.C.E.; encouraged faster and higher-quality ceramic pottery products.

Sumerians: people who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states.

Cuneiform: a form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets.

City-state: a form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king.

Ziggurats: massive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections.

Babylonian Empire: unified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E.

Hammurabi: the most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law.

Pharaoh: the term used to denote the kings of ancient Egypt; the term, “great house” refers to the palace of the pharaohs.

Pyramids: monumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs.

Hieroglyphs: form of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform.

Kush: African state that developed along the upper reaches of the Nile circa 1000 B.C.E.; conquered Egypt and ruled it for several centuries.

Monotheism: the exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization.

Phoenicians: seafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean.

Harappa and Mohenjo Daro: major urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern.

Aryans: Indo-European nomadic, warlike, pastoralists who replaced Harappan civilization.

Huanghe (Yellow) River Basin: site of the development of sedentary agriculture in China.

Shang: 1st Chinese dynasty.

Oracles: shamans or priests in Chinese society who foretold the future through interpreting animal bones cracked by heat; inscriptions on bones led to Chinese writing.

Ideographic writing: pictograph characters grouped together to create new concepts; typical of Chinese writing.

Contacts and Their Limits. This period saw no regular contacts between population centers. Notable similarities between the emerging civilizations resulted from similar needs, not exchange. Three kinds of intermittent contact did occur in early human history. First, trade between neighboring areas was an important vehicle for the diffusion of knowledge. Diplomatic exchanges, often in the form of gifts, were also important. Most of the details of this kind of commerce remain a mystery to us. While the products can be traced, the mechanics of the exchange cannot. Movement of peoples, through migration or invasion, was another kind of contact. While these movements could be traumatic, they were nevertheless often fruitful. Finally, direct trade between centers of civilizations also occurred. Some areas, such as China and the Americas, remained isolated.

Change Analysis Neolithic revolutionSocietal Comparison Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China

PART IITHE CLASSICAL PERIOD, 1000 B.C.E. – 500 C.E.: UNITING LARGE REGIONS

In the classical period, China, India, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East, East Africa, and Mesoamerica all saw the development of large regional civilizations, and, in some cases, massive empires. These civilizations had not only the greatest concentrations of people, but also influenced areas outside their control. Classical civilizations also had important relationships with nomadic groups, mostly from central Asia, who traded with them and periodically attempted invasion. For the most part, little contact existed between the regions, but for some, trade forged links, and sometimes served to further an exchange of ideas. Syncretism, the combination of cultural elements such as an Indian sculpture of Buddha clothed in Greek fashion, was often a result of this exchange. Syncretism was not the most common feature of the classical period, but its occurrence hinted at what would be developed more fully later. The establishment of distinctive cultural and institutional patterns was a key legacy of this period.

Big Concepts. The formation of the classical societies involved two striking features. First was the emergence and standardization (within each society) of key cultural and religious traditions and second, in the political realm, was the development of state and empires—again, with each society producing some characteristic political forms within this category. Finally, as the period’s third overarching feature, the contacts that did develop among different regions spurred trade and, to some degree, communication. All three of these features would affect world history long after the classical period had itself ended.

Triggers for Change. Despite the lack of a clear transition, the classical civilizations that began to emerge about 1000 B.C.E. were measurably different from their river valley predecessors. While they built on earlier achievements, they grew noticeably larger in their geographic, cultural, and economic reach. What allowed this greater reach was military conquest, made possible by the introduction of iron tools and weapons, beginning around 1500 B.C.E. As larger empires developed, leaders worked to tie their territories together both commercially and culturally. New trade links emerged, sometimes aided by new infrastructure such as canals (China) or postal service (Persia). Religion and philosophy were formalized and disseminated as part of training a cohesive elite. Each of the classical societies

ultimately declined, some collapsed altogether, Though these developments did not happen at exactly the same time, together they brought the classical period to a close by 500 C.E.

The Big Changes. Each of the classical civilizations had its own social structure, religion, political system, system of science, and styles of art. Comparisons of these differences, which have continued to the present day, form a vital part of studying the classical period. To take one example: in the late 20th century the Chinese government proved reasonably effective in mandating drastic changes in birth rates. The Indian government tried and failed to enforce similar regulations. One significant factor in explaining the difference is the extent to which these populations considered it the legitimate business of government to regulate personal life. The differences in attitude can be traced back to the classical period. All of the civilizations that marked this period have proved to have lasting influence. Moreover, each area developed a common culture, especially in ideology. Conquest was also a commonality. Each of these civilizations had an impact on surrounding peoples, India had the largest commercial reach. Even more widely, nomadic peoples were often attracted toward centers of civilization as immigrants, soldiers, or invaders. Some nomadic peoples facilitated trade between civilizations. Finally, in each area, the achievements of civilizations inspired awe, at the time and later. Great developments in philosophy, politics, and art in classical civilizations provided the foundations for subsequent civilizations.

Continuity. Although technology was a factor in change, particularly iron, the era was not marked by widespread innovation. In the rural world in particular, continuity was more common than change. Patriarchy remained the norm, now integrated into new cultural systems. In general, some of the hallmarks of the earlier civilizations—money and law codes for instance—were carried forward and further developed.

Impact on Daily Life: Old Age. A respect for the aged was common to all of the great cultural regions. It was seen as a sign of good habits and wisdom. Furthermore, in groups where literacy was not common, the elderly could be a vital source of information and cultural memory. Respect for the elderly was a sign of good manners in all the classical societies. Confucianism in China placed special value on veneration of elders. The Mediterranean culture, that of Classical Greece, Rome, and Hebrews, showed greater ambivalence.

How Chinese Civilization Fits Together. China’s politics and culture meshed readily, especially around the emergence of a Confucian bureaucracy. Economic innovation did not disrupt the emphasis on order and stability, and family structures were closely linked to political and cultural goals. Classical Chinese technology, religion, philosophy, and political structure evolved with very little outside contact. Proud of their culture and of its durability, the Chinese had neither the need nor the desire to learn from or conquer other societies. the theme of unusual isolation, developed during the formative period of Chinese civilization, was to prove persistent in later world history—in fact, it has not entirely disappeared to this day.Social and Cultural Links to Politics. Chinese civilization was also noteworthy for the relative harmony among its systems of government, belief, economy, and social structure. The centralized government, gave the clearest unity and focus to Chinese society; Confucianism provided a vital supplement, making the bureaucracy a trained corps with some common ideals. An appreciation of distinctive artistic and literary tradition added to this common culture. Political stability over a large and fertile land aided economic growth, and the government took a direct role in encouraging both agriculture and industry. A strong economy, in turn, provided the government with vital tax revenues. Economic interests were also related to the pragmatic Chinese view of science, whose aim was to determine how nature worked. Finally, social and family structures meshed with the virtues of obedience and respect that were important to the larger political system. Not surprisingly, given the close links among the various facets of their civilization, the Chinese tended to think of their society as a whole; they did not see government and society as two separate entities.

KEY TERMS

Zhou: originally a vassal family of the Shang; possibly Turkic-speaking in origin; overthrew Shang and established 2nd Chinese dynasty (1122–256 B.C.E.)

Xianyang: capital of the Zhou dynasty.

Feudalism: social organization created by exchanging grants of land (fiefs) in return for formal oaths of allegiance and promises of loyal service; typical of Zhou dynasty.

Mandate of Heaven: the divine source of political legitimacy in China; established under Zhou to justify overthrow of Shang.

Qin: dynasty (221–207 B.C.E.) founded at the end of the Warring States period.

Shi Huangdi: first emperor of China; founder of Qin dynasty.

Warring States period: time of warfare between regional lords following the decline of the Zhou dynasty in the 8th century B.C.E.

Confucius: major Chinese philosopher born in 6th century B.C.E.; sayings collected in Analects; philosophy based on the need for restoration of social order through the role of superior men.

Laozi: Chinese Daoist philosopher; taught that governments were of secondary importance and recommended retreat from society into nature.

Daoism: philosophy associated with Laozi; individual should seek alignment with Dao or cosmic force.

Legalists: Chinese school of political philosophy; stressed the need for the absolute power of the emperor enforced through strict application of laws.

Great Wall: Chinese defensive fortification built to keep out northern nomadic invaders; began during the reign of Shi Huangdi.

Han: dynasty succeeding the Qin ruled from 202 B.C.E. to 220 C.E.

Leader Analysis Shi HuangdiChange Analysis Factors in the fall of classical China

China and India Compared. The thrusts of classical civilization in China and India reveal the diversity generated during the classical age. Whereas Chinese art and poetry is known for restraint and its politics structure shaped its history, India depended on a strict caste system to regulate life and enjoyed dynamic, sensual art and poetry. Even in science, where there was similar interest in pragmatic discoveries, the Chinese placed greater stress on purely practical findings, whereas the Indians ventured further into the mathematical arena.

Beyond the realm of formal culture and the institutions of government, India and China may seem more similar. As agricultural societies, both civilizations relied on a large peasant class, organized in close-knit villages with much mutual cooperation. Cities and merchant activity, although vital, played a secondary role. Political power rested primarily with those who controlled the land, through ownership of large estates and the ability to tax the peasant class. On a more personal level, the power of husbands and fathers in the family—the basic fact of patriarchy—encompassed Indian and Chinese families alike.

However, Indian and Chinese societies differed in more than their religion, philosophy, art, and politics. Ordinary people had cultures along with elites. Hindu peasants placed less emphasis on personal emotional restraint and were less constrained than were the Chinese by recurrent efforts by large landlords to gain control of their land. Indian merchants played a greater role than their Chinese counterparts. Revealingly, India’s expanding cultural influence was due to merchant activity, whereas Chinese expansion involved government initiatives. India and China, the two giants of classical Asia, remain subjects of comparison to our own time, because they have continued to build distinctively on their particular traditions, established before 500 C.E.GLOBAL CONNECTIONS: India and the Wider World. India was more open to outside influences than other classical civilizations. Indian civilization produced major contributions in art, philosophy, science, technology, mathematics, urban development, and commercial organization. It was able to support one of the world’s largest populations. Buddhism was one of a few truly world religions. Indian civilization fundamentally influenced mainland and island southeast Asia, and made important contributions to Mediterranean culture.

KEY TERMS

Himalayan Mountains: region marking the northern border of the Indian subcontinent.

Varnas: the categories organizing Indian society into a functional hierarchy.

Untouchables: lowest caste in Indian society; performed tasks that were considered polluting (street sweeping, removal of human waste, tanning).

Karma: the sum of merits accumulated by an individual; determined the caste one would be born into in the next life.

Reincarnation: the successive rebirth of the soul according to merits earned in previous lives.

Mahabharata, Ramayana: Indian epics, deeply imbued with Hindu teachings.

Buddha: creator of a major Indian and Asian religion; born in the 6th century B.C.E.; taught that enlightenment could be achieved only by abandoning desires for earthly things.

Nirvana: the Buddhist state of enlightenment; a state of tranquility.

Maurya dynasty: established in Indian subcontinent in 4th century B.C.E. following the invasion of Alexander the Great.

Chandragupta Maurya: founder of the Mauryan dynasty, the first empire in the Indian subcontinent; first centralized government since Harappan civilization.

Kautilya: political advisor to Chandragupta Maurya; wrote political treatise.

Ashoka: grandson of Chandragupta Maurya; extended conquests of the dynasty; converted to Buddhism and sponsored its spread throughout his empire.

Stupas: stone shrines built to house relics of the Buddha; preserved Buddhist architectural forms.

Upanishads: later books of the Vedas; combined sophisticated and sublime philosophical ideas. Shiva, Vishnu: the most important Hindu deities.

Gupta dynasty: built an empire in the 3rd century C.E. that included all but southern Indian regions; less centralized than Mauryan Empire.

Sanskrit: the classical and sacred Indian language.

Leader Analysis AshokaChange Analysis Impact of Aryan InvasionSocietal Comparison Classical India and Classical China

GLOBAL CONNECTIONS: Persia, Greece, Rome, and the World. Persian roads and institutions facilitated commerce and cultural exchange from Asia to the Mediterranean. Like the Chinese, the Greeks thought other peoples were inferior barbarians. But, although city-states like Sparta rejected outside influences, most Greeks were a trading and expansionist people. Some, like Herodotus, studied other cultures. Alexander extended Greek outreach beyond the Mediterranean world to as far as western India. Though his system did not last, the interest in setting up stronger links between the eastern Mediterranean and Asia remained an important concern. Most Roman attention, in trade as well as politics, focused on creating ties within the vast territories of the empire, but significant influence extended outside its borders into Europe, Africa, and India. Some of these connections would affect trading patterns and missionary religious outreach even as the empire began to decline.

KEY TERMS

Cyrus the Great: (c. 576 or 590–529 B.C.E.); founded Persian Empire by 550 B.C.E.; successor state to Mesopotamian empires.

Zoroastrianism: Persian religion that saw material existence as a battle between the forces of good and evil; stressed the importance of moral choice; a last judgment decided the eternal fate of each person.

Hellenism: culture derived from the Greek civilization that flourished between 800 and 400 B.C.E.

Hellenistic culture: culture associated with the spread of Greek influence and intermixture with other cultures as a result of Macedonian conquests.

Iliad and Odyssey: Greek epic poems attributed to Homer; defined relations of gods and humans that shaped Greek mythology.

Polis: city-state form of government typical of Greek political organization from 800 to 400 B.C.E.

Socrates: Athenian philosopher of late 5th century B.C.E.; condemned to death for “corrupting” minds of Athenian young; usually seen as the father of western philosophy.

Direct democracy: literally, rule of the people—in Athens it meant all free male citizens; all decisions emanated from the popular assembly without intermediation of elected representatives.

Pericles: Athenian political leader during 5th century B.C.E.; guided development of Athenian Empire.

Olympic games: one of the pan-Hellenic rituals observed by all Greek city-states; involved athletic competitions and ritual celebrations.

Persian Wars: 5th century B.C.E. wars between the Persian Empire and Greek city-states; Greek victories allowed Greek civilization to define identity.

Peloponnesian War: war from 431 to 404 B.C.E. between Athens and Sparta for domination in Greece; the Spartans won but failed to achieve political unification in Greece.

Macedon: kingdom of northern Greece; originally loosely organized under kings; became centralized under Philip II; conquered Greek city-states.

Philip II: ruled Macedon from 359 to 336 B.C.E.; founder of centralized kingdom; conquered Greece.

Alexander the Great: (r. 336–323 B.C.E.); son and successor of Philip II; conquered Persian Empire and advanced to borders of India; attempted to combine Greek and Persian culture.

Alexandria: Egyptian city; founded 334 B.C.E.; one of many “Alexandrias” founded by Alexander the Great.Socrates: (b. 465 B.C.E.); Athenian philosopher; usually seen as the father of western philosophy.

Aristotle: Greek philosopher; teacher of Alexander; taught that knowledge was based upon observation of phenomena in material world.

Stoics: Hellenistic philosophers; they emphasized inner moral independence cultivated by strict discipline of the body and personal bravery.

Sophocles: Greek writer of tragedies; author of Oedipus Rex.

Doric, Ionic, Corinthian: three distinct styles of Hellenic architecture; listed in order of increasing ornate quality.

Consuls: two chief executives of the Roman republic; elected annually by the assembly dominated by the aristocracy.

Carthage: founded by the Phoenicians in Tunisia; became a major empire in the western Mediterranean; fought the Punic wars with Rome for Mediterranean dominance; defeated and destroyed by the Romans.

Punic Wars: three wars (264–146 B.C.E.) between Rome and the Carthaginians; saw the transformation of Rome from a land to a sea power.

Hannibal: Carthaginian general during the second Punic War; invaded Italy but failed to conquer Rome.

Republic: the balanced political system of Rome from circa 510 to 47 B.C.E.; featured an aristocratic senate, a panel of magistrates, and popular assemblies.

Julius Caesar: general responsible for the conquest of Gaul; brought army back to Rome and overthrew republic; assassinated in B.C.E.by conservative senators.

Octavian: later took name of Augustus; Julius Caesar’s grandnephew and adopted son; defeated conservative senators after Caesar’s assassination; became first Roman emperor.

Cicero: conservative senator and Stoic philosopher; one of the great orators of his day.

Vergil: a great Roman epic poet during the Golden Age of Latin literature; author of the Aeneid.

Leader Analysis PericlesConflict Analysis Roman policy toward religion in general and ChristianityChange Analysis Mediterranean shifts from republics to empiresSocietal Comparison Mediterranean, Indian, and Chinese family cultures

GLOBAL CONNECTIONS: The Late Classical Period and the World. Classical civilizations influenced other regions. When they started declining, contacts both accelerated and became more difficult. Commerce across Eurasia became dangerous, but ocean connections rose, especially in the Indian Ocean. Porous borders were penetrated by traders, missionaries, and nomadic invaders. Thus the end of the period experienced important cultural exchanges across regions.The Classical Period: Directions, Diversities, and Declines by 500 C.E. The great civilizations of the classical period— Rome, India and China—were economically and culturally self-sufficient, nonetheless they traded extensively between themselves in the Indian Ocean. It is hard to determine how much cultural exchange was carried this way. Some cultural similarities may be no more than mere coincidences, while others are clear borrowings. What we do know is that Indian traders continued long after Gupta decline. We also know that the Persians, Greeks from the eastern Roman Empire, and later, the Chinese, rekindled competition for trade in the Indian Ocean. It would not be long before Arab traders proved even more important.

Fall of Classical Empires Review. Between 200 and 600 C.E., the three great classical civilizations of Rome, Han China, and Gupta India collapsed or declined. All three suffered from invasions by nomads who took advantage of internal imperial weaknesses, however they did not follow the same pattern of decline or achieve the same results. At the same time, new great religions spread. The general collapse formed a significant break in world history. Many components of the classical achievement survived the period of decline, and new forms appeared as civilizations altered to meet changing conditions. The resulting change in civilization boundaries unleashed new forces that affected sub-Saharan Africa, northern Europe, and other parts of Asia. Developments outside the classical orbit had rhythms of their own during the classical period, and they would gain new prominence as the great civilizations faltered.

Expansion and Integration. The heritage of the classical civilizations features a host of new ideas, styles, technologies, and institutions. Many of these arose as part of the broad process of adjusting to the expansion of civilization. All three were inspired by the common need to articulate central values in their respective societies, and each developed its own means to unite their territories and societies as part of a larger process of generating a shared culture on the basis of which their expanding societies might operate. All the classical civilizations made some efforts to maintain a basic social cohesion while acknowledging inequality. On balance, however, some techniques may have worked better than others. The integration of Mediterranean society was slightly more tenuous than that of the classical civilizations of Asia.Beyond the Classical Civilizations. Significant change occurred bearing some relationship to the classical world from outside the three great civilizations, specifically in northeastern Africa, Japan, and northern Europe. Elsewhere, most notably in the Americas, new cultures evolved in an entirely independent way. In all cases, changes during the classical period set the stage for more important links in world history later on.Developments in Africa’s Kush and its Heritage. By 1000 B.C.E. the kingdom of Kush was flourishing along the upper Nile. It possessed writing, major cities, a divine king, iron working centers, and, briefly, in 750 B.C.E. the Kush even conquered Egypt. During the 3rd century C.E., Axum defeated the Kush, later Axum fell to Ethiopia. Ethiopia’s

trade was cut off after Rome’s fall, but not before Jewish merchants had introduced Judaism and Greek merchants introduced Christianity. A Small Jewish sect still survives in Ethiopia as does an independent Christian church. Ethiopia itself grew to be the world’s oldest continuous monarchy until the 20th century. How much influence it had into sub-Saharan Africa is not clear. Knowledge of iron working spread, helping to expand agriculture, but Kushite writing did not, suggesting contact was limited. Toward the end of the classical era, regional kingdoms were forming in western Africa, leading to the first great state in the region: Ghana. Despite dense vegetation and the impact of African diseases on domesticated animals, agriculture spread slowly southward, preparing the way for a wave of African kingdoms, far to the west of the Nile. New crops introduced through trade with southeast Asia about 100 C.E., helped African farmers push into new areas.Japan and Northern Europe. Japan, by the year 200 C.E., had established extensive agriculture and iron working, and had developed a regional political organization based on tribal chiefs and a tribal god, thought of as an ancestor. By 400 C.E., regional states had emerged and introduced writing from Korea. Japan’s religion, Shintoism provided for the worship of political rulers and the spirits of nature. Japan became increasingly more unified as a culture around 600 C.E., by this time they would enter the orbit of China.

The people inhabiting in what today is Germany, England, Scandinavia, and much of eastern Europe, relied on hunting and primitive agriculture, did not write, and lived in loosely organized regional kingdoms. Religious beliefs featured a host of gods and rituals designed to placate the forces of nature. This would all change, under the influence of Christianity. However, these shifts still lay in the future, and even conversions to Christianity did not bring northern and eastern Europe into the orbit of a single civilization. Until about 1000 C.E., northern Europe remained one of the most backward areas in the world.Central America. The first American civilization was based on many centuries of advancing agriculture, expanding from the early cultivation of corn. In Central America, an Indian group called the Olmecs developed and spread from about 800 until they disappeared without a trace in 400 B.C.E. Left behind, are the artifacts of a complex civilization with strong religious, artistic, and scientific interests. The Olmecs developed monumental pyramids and an accurate calendar. Their successors soon developed a hieroglyphic alphabet and built the first great city, Teotihuacan, a center for trade and worship. The great Maya civilization was built on their foundation around 400 C.E. A similar early civilization arose in the Andes region in present-day Peru that would lead, later, to the civilization of the Inca. It is interesting to note that these civilizations developed independently, without the advantage of technologies such as the wheel or iron working, yet were considerably ahead of Europe during the same period.Polynesia. Polynesian peoples had reached islands such as Fiji and Samoa by 1000 B.C.E. Further explorations in giant outrigger canoes led to the first settlement of island complexes such as Hawaii by 400 C.E. Agriculture, in sum, expanded into new areas during the classical period; early civilizations, or early contacts, were also forming. These developments were not central to world history during the classical period itself, but they folded into the larger human experience thereafter. The herding peoples of central Asia also contributed to world history, particularly toward the end of the classical period.Decline in China and India. Between 200 and 600 C.E., all three classical civilizations collapsed entirely or in part. Internal political weaknesses and the incursions of nomadic invasions contributed to their demise.Decline and Fall in Han China. The Han dynasty appeared to recover vitality during the 1st century C.E., but poor rulers and popular unrest fueled by landlord exploitation culminated in revolution. Daoist leaders, the Yellow Turbans, in 184 C.E. began an unstable period ending with the fall of the Han in 220. Nomadic invaders added to the disorder. For a time, Buddhism threatened cultural unity. No stable dynasty emerged for 350 years. Political revival occurred at the end of the 6th century when the Sui dynasty reunited China. The Tang dynasty succeeded the Sui in 618. During these troubled years, old values survived and China retained greater homogeneity than other civilizations. Many of the nomadic invaders, seeing that they had nothing better to offer by way of government or culture, simply tried to assimilate the Chinese traditions. China thus had to recover from a serious setback but did not have to reinvent its civilizationThe End of the Gupta Empire. Gupta India was one of the most stable and peaceful world regions. Fifth-century Hun invasions reduced the decentralized empire’s cohesion. By 500, they controlled northwestern India. Gupta rule collapsed mid-century. India divided into regional dynasties ruled by princes called Rajput. Buddhism steadily declined before Hinduism. Worship of the mother goddess Devi spread widely. The caste system strengthened, assimilating invaders, and extending to southern India. The economy flourished, with new trade links opening to southern India and southeast Asia. An important threat to Indian cultural continuity came from the 7th-century expansion of Islam, as Muslim invaders entered northwest India and won converts. Hindu leaders responded to the Muslim threat increasing the emotional appeal of Hinduism and popularizing it through the Hindi vernacular. By the 8th century, Arab traders gained control of Indian Ocean commerce. the glory days of the Guptas were long past, however, India remained prosperous, and classical traditions survived particularly in Hinduism and the caste system.

Decline and Fall in Rome. The decline of the Roman Empire was already evident by 180 C.E. Emperors had begun to behave arbitrarily, army recruiting became difficult, and the economy, population, and tax revenues were in precipitous decline.Symptoms of Decline. The Roman Empire, for many reasons, was in decline from the late 2nd century C.E. A shrinking population hindered army recruiting. Disputes concerning the role of the emperor and succession were complicated by recurrent intervention of the army in political life. Tax revenues shrank. Recurring plagues further decimated the population and disrupted economic life. Germanic soldiers were increasingly recruited to defend frontiers. In the midst of these problems, Rome’s upper classes turned from political service to pleasure-seeking lives. Cultural activity, except for works by Christian writers, decayed. Rome’s fall, in other words, can be blamed on large, impersonal forces that would have been hard for any society to control or a moral and political decay that reflected growing corruption among society’s leaders. Probably elements of both were involved.An Effort at Revival: An East/West Split. As central authority declined, farmers seeking protection clustered around large landlords. The political decentralization was most pronounced in the western empire. Political power passed to landlords and the economy contracted. Tax revenues fell, trade declined, and cities shrank in size. Some emperors tried to restore central authority. Diocletian (284–305) improved administration and tax collecting, and increased controls on the economy. Constantine (312–337) established a second capital at Constantinople and accepted Christianity. The measures did not restore vitality to the empire as a whole. The eastern half flourished, but the western did not. Attempts to regulate the economy curbed initiative and lowered production. Many overburdened peasants welcomed the changes brought by the Germanic invasions of the 5th century. The last western Roman emperor was removed in 476. The end of the Roman Empire was more serious than was the case in China and India. Unlike China, Greece and Rome had not produced shared political culture and bureaucratic traditions that could allow revival. Nor had Mediterranean civilization generated a common religion that appealed deeply enough to maintain unity amid political fragmentation, as in India.The Early Byzantine Empire. Rome’s collapse ended Mediterranean unity. Three zones emerged, each later producing distinct civilizations. The northeastern part of the empire continued as the vibrant, artistically creative, and commercially active Byzantine Empire, which incorporated Hellenistic and Roman patterns. Justinian attempted to make the empire whole again, but his lasting contribution was the compilation of Roman Law in the Justinian Code. The Byzantine Empire never controlled all of the Middle East. In the north, the Parthian Empire had flourished from Hellenistic times forward, until 227 C.E. when Sassanid Persians reasserted Persian authority over the Empire, revitalizing Zoroastrianism, Persian art, and manufacturing. Both the Parthian and the Sassanid empires served as bridges between the Greek-speaking world and India and China. The Sassanids were overthrown by the surge of Arab conquest that followed the rise of Islam, in the 7th century C.E.; neither Christianity nor Persian culture were destroyed.Western Europe and North Africa. A second zone, in north Africa and along the Mediterranean’s southeastern shores, suffered serious disruption. Temporary regional kingdoms emerged. Although Christianity spread, it fractured into different sects. The famous theologian Augustine was a bishop in North Africa. The Coptic church in Egypt still survives as a small minority. North Africa eventually fell to Islam. In the third zone, modern Europe, the level of civilization declined: cities were decimated, trade almost disappeared. Regional Germanic kingdoms appeared. The only vital force was Christianity, but it was not able to sustain civilization. In the mire of Rome’s collapse, this part of the world forgot for several centuries what it had previously known.The New Religious Map. The decline of the classical civilizations contributed to the growth of the three great world religions: Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam. All emphasized intense devotion and piety, stressing the importance of spiritual concerns beyond the daily cares of earthly life. All three offered the hope of a better existence after this life ended, and each one responded to new political instability and to the growing poverty of people in various parts of the civilized world. Buddhism and Christianity reshaped major portions of Europe and Asia, and, after its introduction in the 7th century, Islam became the most dynamic force in world history during the next several centuries. The spread of the major religions in Asia, Europe, and Africa, crossed many cultural and political boundaries, radically changing beliefs and expectations along the way. The religions themselves changed too, in a process called syncretism, taking on the features of individual civilizations even while maintaining larger religious claims.Hinduism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Despite important common features, the major religions were very different. Hinduism, as we have seen, retained its belief in reincarnation and its combination of spiritual interest in union with the divine essence and extensive rituals and ceremonies. The religion did experience greater popular appeal after the fall of the Guptas, associated with the expanded use of popular languages and with the worship of the mother goddess Devi. Buddhism was altered more substantially than Hinduism as it traveled mainly beyond India’s borders, becoming only a small minority faith in India itself. Buddhism’s spiritual solace and cultural cohesion was increasingly attractive in this unstable period. Buddhists called bodhisattvas, promoting a life of meditation for the attainment of nirvana, popularized the idea of salvation. Chinese Buddhism, called Mahayana, emphasized Buddha as a savior god similar to the Christian Christ, and introduced temples, rituals, and ceremonies. Chinese cultural values, including subordination of women, were

incorporated into Buddhism. Buddhism’s growing influence stimulated thought among Daoists; they formalized their religion and adopted beliefs about achieving immortality through good works. Confucian leaders, perceiving Buddhism as a threat to state loyalty, drove out Buddhist missionaries, rendering Buddhism a minority religion in China. Mahayana Buddhism proliferated in Korea, japan, and Vietnam. In parts of southeast Asia, it remained somewhat truer to earlier Buddhist concepts of individual meditation and ethics.Christianity and Islam. Christianity moved westward, from its original center in the Middle East, as Buddhism was spreading east from India; eventually, Christianity became one of the two largest faiths worldwide. Despite important similarities to Buddhism in its emphasis on salvation and the guidance of saints, Christianity differed in crucial ways. Christianity, the heir to the legacy of Mediterranean religions and Roman traditions, emphasized church organization, gave more value to missionary activity, and claimed possession of exclusive truth. Christianity began as a Jewish reform movement, only gradually turning to missionary activity. The Christians believed that there was a single god who loved humanity, that virtuous life should be devoted to his worship, that all people were spiritually equal, and that Christ’s sacrifice permitted attainment of an afterlife. The message, its travels facilitated by Roman unity, satisfied unfilled spiritual needs present in the deteriorating empire. Under Paul of Tarsus, Christianity became a separate religion open to all and, paralleling the provincial government of the empire, was more formally organized. Finally, Christian doctrine became increasingly organized, as the writings of several disciples and others were collected into what became known as the New Testament of the Christian Bible.

During the first three centuries after Christ, Christianity gained ground. Despite government persecution, by the 4th century, Christianity had won over about 10 percent of the Roman Empire’s population. Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made it an accepted faith. Rulers intervened in church affairs, particularly in the eastern empire where government remained strong. In the disorganized West, bishops created a centralized church organization under the authority of the pope—the bishop of Rome— that endured when the western empire collapsed. Doctrinal controversies abounded, though both East and West established certain shared beliefs against several heresies such as the Trinity. Augustine made major contributions in formulating a theology that incorporated elements of classical philosophy. As a syncretic religion, local polytheistic beliefs were incorporated into Christian practice. Mystics flourished, particularly in the Middle East. In the west, this tendency was disciplined by the institution of monasticism. Benedict created the Benedictine Rule for monks in 6th century Italy. Christianity continued to appeal to all classes, especially to the poor and women. It promoted a new culture differing from that of the classical world in its beliefs in spiritual equality and otherworldly emphasis. The state was accepted, but made second to religion, where the brotherhood of all Christians prevailed. Classical values endured, including philosophical themes, architectural styles, and the Latin language in the West and Greek in the East. Monastic libraries preserved classical literature. When the Roman Empire fell, Christian history was still in its infancy. The Western church would soon spread its missionary zeal to northern Europe, and the Eastern church would reach into the Slavic lands of the Balkans and Russia. Christianity truly had become a world religion: a faith of unusual durability and drawing power, one whose complexity wins the devotion of many different kinds of people. Islam, launched early in the 7th century, would initially surpass Christianity as a world faith The centuries after Christianity’s rise, the spread of Buddhism, and the inception of Islam would see the conversion of most of the civilized world to one or another of the great faiths. This produced a religious map that, in Europe and Asia and even parts of Africa, would not alter greatly until our own time.The Spread of the Major Religions. The spread of major religions—Hinduism in India, Buddhism in east and southeast Asia, a more popular Daoism in China, Christianity in Europe and parts of the Mediterranean world, and ultimately Islam—was a vital result of the changes in classical civilizations brought on by attack and decay. Common difficulties, including invading forces and contagious epidemics, help explain parallel changes in separate civilizations. Trade and travel also provided common bonds. Numerous peoples in different societies left old beliefs and turned to concentration on a single divine force and a hope for an afterlife. Polytheistic beliefs and practices continued to flourish as part of popular Hinduism and popular Daoism, and they were not entirely displaced among ordinary people who converted to Christianity, Buddhism, or Islam. But the new religious surge reduced the hold of literal animism in much of Asia and Europe.The World Around 500 C.E. Developments in many parts of the world by 500 C.E. produced three major themes for world history in subsequent centuries. First, and particularly in the centers of classical civilization, there was the task of reviving or reworking their key institutions and values. Second, in these areas, but also in other parts of Africa, Europe, and Asia, was the need to integrate new religious institutions and values into established civilizations or, use them as the basis for a new one. Finally, increased skill in agriculture and the creation of early civilizations or new contacts prepared parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas for new developments in the centuries to come.In the Wake of Decline and Fall. By 600 C.E. the major civilizations had altered in permanent ways. China maintained political cohesion; along with India, it preserved much cultural cohesion. In contrast, the Roman Empire disintegrated, and successor civilizations did not restore geographical unity or a unified classical culture.

KEY TERMS

Axum: a state in the Ethiopian highlands; received influences from the Arabian peninsula; converted to Christianity.

Shinto : religion of the early Japanese court; included the worship of numerous gods and spirits associated with the natural world.

Pastoral nomads: any of the many peoples, from the steppes of Asia that herded animals; transhumant migrants.

Celts: early migrants into western Europe; organized into small regional kingdoms; had mixed agricultural and hunting economies.

Germans: peoples from beyond the northern borders of the Roman Empire; had mixed agricultural and pastoral economies; moved into the Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries C.E.

Slavs: Indo-European peoples who ultimately dominated much of Eastern Europe; formed regional kingdoms by the 5th century C.E.Olmec: cultural tradition that arose at San Lorenzo and La Venta in Mexico circa 1200 B.C.E.; featured irrigated agriculture, urbanism, elaborate religion, beginnings of calendrical and writing systems.

Polynesia: islands contained in a rough triangle with its points at Hawaii, New Zealand, and Easter Island.

Yellow Turbans: Chinese Daoists who launched a revolt in 184 C.E, promising a golden age to be brought about by divine magic.

Sui: dynasty succeeding the Han; grew from strong rulers in northern China; reunited China.

Tang: dynasty succeeding the Sui in 618 C.E

Rajput: regional military princes in India following the collapse of the Gupta Empire.

Devi: mother goddess within Hinduism; devotion to her spread widely after the collapse of the Gupta and encouraged new emotionalism in religious ritual.

Diocletian: Roman emperor (284–305 C.E); restored later empire by improved administration and tax collection.

Constantine: Roman emperor (321–337 C.E); established his capital at Constantinople; used Christianity to unify the empire.

Byzantine Empire: eastern half of the Roman Empire; survived until 1453; retained Mediterranean, especially Hellenistic, culture.

Mahayana: version of Buddhism popular in China; emphasized Buddha’s role as a savior.

Bodhisattvas: Buddhist holy men who refused advance toward nirvana to receive prayers of the living to help them reach holiness.

Saints: holy men and women in Christianity; their merit could be tapped by ordinary Christians.

Pope: Bishop of Rome; head of the Catholic church in western Europe.

Augustine: North African Christian theologian; made major contributions in incorporating elements of classical philosophy into Christianity.

Benedict: founder of monasticism in the former western half of the Roman Empire; established the Benedictine rule in the 6th century.

Leader Analysis ConstantineConflict Analysis Nomadic peoples vs. classical empiresChange Analysis Syncretism in Hinduism and ChristianitySocietal Comparison Postclassical Europe and China