This week’s reading focused
on the Classical Era covering the time from approximately 500 BC to 500 AD. We look at and compare certain civilizations
as they develop during this time of enormous growth and change. We examine multiple early empires and learn
about the development of intricate social structures and hierarchies that in
some cases, still exist today. The
overlying theme of this week’s reading seems to be that with the growth of the
population in the world, the nature of the communities and civilization are
bound to change, and we see it happen similarly in areas quite separated by
distance. It is interesting to observe
how similar many things are in the early development of these civilizations.
Our first chapter
describes the larger Eurasian Empires.
We have the Persian Empire with a single king with absolute power. This empire sees the beginnings of coins used
as currency, a canal dug to link the Red Sea with the Nile, and a system of
roads used to improve travel and the ability to carry messages out to the
farther territories. This empire is
short lived however, with conflicts with Greece and final devastation by Alexander
the Great.
In contrast to the
Persians, we have the Greeks, with their concept of city-states governed by
citizen participation, and their interest in greater knowledge and culture. This was the era in which the Parthanon was
built, interest in theatre grew, and some of the earliest philosophers began to
teach. The Greeks were also very
dependent on trade by way of sea, and built a large harbor to keep their
enormous fleet of ships.
We then take a look at
the Roman Empire. Rome began as a small
city-state with a king who was overthrown by the people who then developed a
method of government where all wealthy landowners would have a say in how
things were run. Rome slowly grew a strong
army and navy and began to conquer neighboring territories until they became a
huge empire. At this point, political power
began to be centered in an Emperor, most of which were assassinated during their
reign. The Roman Empire grew to be very large, but
was eventually too spread out to withstand the challenges of the Germanic
peoples to the north of their borders.
On the other side of
the continent, we have the Chinese Empire built from many small states. The first Emperor was a military leader who executed
anyone who opposed him and established a legal system involving rules and
punishments that should be followed absolutely.
This early empire was responsible for a standardized system of weights
and measurements, as well as the construction of the Great Wall for the
protection from northern barbarians.
From here, the book
moves on to discuss India. The
short-lived Mauryan Empire with a large and powerful military, was very warlike
until the complete turnaround in the emperor Ashuka, who in the aftermath of a
particularly bloody battle renounced all violence and became a Buddhist. He then encouraged a philosophy of
non-violence, including the end of animal sacrifies and the beginnings of a
largely vegetarian society.
One interesting point
that I find here, is that all of these civilizations place a large importance
on growth and military power. There is much
conquering and either enslaving, killing, or assimilating other groups of
people. This theme shows up in all of
these larger empires and seems to be one of the most defining aspects of their
power. It seems without this need for
domination in their nature, they would not have become such super-powers. I wonder what the world would be like now if
we had all managed to remain non-violent.
Our next chapter, on
Eurasian Cultural Traditions, introduces all the philosophies and religions
that begin to evolve during these early empires. We start with Confucius, who had aspirations of
being a politician in Chinese government, but ended up leaving his students
with a list of his ideas of morality.
His philosophies were based on a system of relationships, with the
higher powered member of each relationship having a moral obligation to the
lower powered member to protect and guide them, while the lower member of the
relationship had the moral duty of being respectful and loyal to the higher
member. This was his recipe for peace
within the family and the greater community and this philosophy has found its
way into much of the Chinese culture and history.
In India, we have the
beginnings of Hinduism, which was an attempt to unite all the various religious
beliefs of all the smaller communities and peoples who were gathered into the
Indian Empire. Hinduism is a very
inclusive religion, and as far as I know, the only one that includes monotheism,
polytheism, and atheism under the same title.
The main goal of Hindus is to achieve the enlightened state of moksha,
where your soul will no longer have to be reincarnated but can relax in peace
for eternity.
We also learn a little
about the beginnings of Buddhism, a similar quest for spiritual enlightenment
that allows a person to transcend beyond the sufferings of everyday life, and
touch upon the early Jews and the short but influential life of Jesus. Huge topics, really, but the amount of
information to be condensed into these chapters is really overwhelming!
Our next chapter talks
about Eurasian Social Hierarchies, or the evolution of caste systems or class
systems. In China we have peasants,
landowners, merchants, and rulers. In
India, we have people grouped also by trade specialty, but seen as parts of a
divine god and unchangeable in their caste.
So, once one is born to a caste, one is forever in said caste. We explore early slavery in all the societies
we have looked at so far, and how treatment of slaves differs from civilization
to civilization, including its possible ending in freedom in certain
situations. We also look at gender
inequalities, and the role of women in patriarchal societies. It’s amazing to think of how far we have come
in this sort of thinking, and yet, how far we have still to go.
Our final chapter in
this week’s reading assignment takes us over to the African and American continents
where we look at the Civilizations that were evolving there. We read about the Bantu language that begins
to unite the small tribes of African peoples and exposed them to the principles
of farming, even with the challenges that agriculture faces in the hot African
climate. There is the introduction of
new crops and new breeds of animals that can be herded, which changes the way
the people of Africa are able to live. At
some point, Christianity is introduced to some of these people, and then Islam.
We look at the American
continents and study the Mayans of Mesoamerica.
These people enjoyed an agricultural lifestyle, with multiple gods,
religious ceremonies, and a thriving economy based on trade. The Mayans developed a calendar and a system
of writing using a form of hieroglyphs.
They were one of the first peoples to change their landscape to suit
their agricultural needs, and had specializations of labor that included artisans
and craftsmen.
The readings this week
have been fascinating, but long. I find
that there is so much going on during this part of history in each of these
civilizations, that there is too much to cover.
But when we try to cover the formation of several civilizations at once,
it is overwhelming and almost impossible to appreciate the complexities of each
or the ways in which they are similar or different. It is interesting to note that each of these
societies has certain things in common:
They all turn to a more agricultural way of life, they all increase
their populations allowing for greater specialization in trades and the need
for a more formalized government, they all begin to find religious ideals that
seek better life on earth and beyond, and they all find ways of categorizing
their people in terms of value or worth, through caste or class systems, or
specific gender roles and expectations.
I suppose it could be said that each of these civilizations follows a
pattern in its formation, even though they evolve at different rates and in
different places. Enjoyable reading
overall, but a LOT of information!!!