Empires, Religions, and Trade: Rise and Fall in the Classical Period

1. Time Period II 600 BCE – 600 CE

2. 600 BCE to 600 CE: • Why 600 BCE? • Rise of classical civilizations (Greece, Rome, Qin, Han, Maurya, Gupta) • development of major world religions/philosophies (aka: Axial Age circa 500 BCE-ish) • Why 600 CE? • Islam • Begins a new round of universalizing religion & conquest • Collapse of most Classical Period Empires

3. Big Picture Events: • Development of true empires (large, centralized land holdings containing diverse people groups) beginning with Persia in 500 BCE • Apex and fall of Classical empires • Development and spread of universal world religions and belief systems (mainly Buddhism & Christianity) • Major development and expansion of large trade networks

4. Rise and fall of Empires • China • Zhou dynasty collapses in 256 BCE • Longest lasting dynasty, develop the Mandate of Heaven • Warring States Period marked the ending several hundred years of their dynasty • 3 Ways to harmony developed by 200 BCE  Legalism, Daoism, Confucianism

5. Qin dynasty (221 BCE-209 BCE) Really short period • Shi Huangdi- known as the first emperor of China • Unifies China after the warring states period • Uses legalism to straighten everyone up • People are evil by nature • Super strict • Government is there to keep people from chaos • Burned Confucius’ works

6. Builds tomb guarded by Terra Cotta warriors and starts the Great Wall • Modern wall you can walk on today is from Ming Dynasty • Walls’ goals over the years: keep out Cent. Asian nomadic pastoralists! • Standardizes weights, measurements, currencies, laws and written language

7. Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 200 CE) • Legalism out, Confucianism back in • Golden Age of China • Golden Age anywhere = Peace, culture, art • Established the Silk Road • Han trade out silk and Romans give up precious metals esp. silver • Tons of diffusion on the Silk Roads • Buddhism spreads into China via silk road toward the end of the Han around 200 CE • From India to China

8. Civil Service Confucian Exam begins w/ Han • Based on teachings of Confucius • The Analects =his book • Government should be highly educated & strictly moral. • Ren & Xiao = basis of human interactions • Very hierarchical • Created a government bureaucracy skilled and stable • Based on merit • Possibility of social mobility through the test

9. Society is male dominated due to Confucianism • Husband-wife, older brother-younger brother etc… • Technology • Paper manufactured, sun dials, calendars, compass, rudder, seismograph, water power

10. India • Mauryan Empire (322- 185 BCE) • First to unify much of South Asia (Indian subcontinent) • Ashoka • First super-violent, then converted to Buddhism • Patron of Buddhism  monasteries, etc. • Larger geographically than Gupta • Traded with outsiders • Centralized bureaucracy & military w/ spies, etc. • Hinduism doesn’t go away, but Buddhism is the state-sponsored religion

11. Gupta Empire (320- 550 CE) • G=Golden • Hinduism reemerges as main power • Hinduism altered by interaction w/ Buddhism to be more about unity of soul w/ the Universal Soul (Upanishads & Bhagavad Gita = examples of this in holy writings) • Golden Age of India: 0-9 Number system developed (what we call Arabic numerals), concept of zero, concept of pi, Sanskrit writing flourishes, predicted eclipses, figured out inoculation against diseases, surgeries and bone setting • Maya also have zero w/o interaction • Therefore, it must have been aliens. Yeah. Aliens.

12. Not as centralized, smaller than the Mauryan • Hinduism VERY reasserted • Major continuity throughout Indian history = Hinduism just keeps holding strong b/c it can just subsume new religious ideas so easily. Example = Buddha becomes another incarnation of a previous Hindu god • Sati a strong example of patriarchal society in India • High caste women throw themselves on funeral pyre of husband • Way of women to purify her soul & move up in the system in her next reincarnation

13. 600 BCE to 600 CE: Mediterranean Empires • Persian Empire by around 500 BCE • Cyrus the Great starts the Empire (modern Iran) • Zoroastrian religion • Known to take ppl over, but let them worship how they pleased • Leader known as “King of Kings” • Clever Qanat irrigation system of covered canals to avoid evaporation & salinization • Royal Road (1600 miles of roads comparable to eventual Roman roads) • Led to trade and ease of governing

14. Capital Persepolis (comparable to Chang’an, Athens, Rome, Teotihuacan) • Really rich city, lots of gold • Persian War = v. Greeks • Kicked out of Greek area by Delian League of Greeks in Persian War and finally defeated by Alexander the Great of Macedonia

15. Greece • Adopted Phoenician alphabet • Geography makes them unique • Mountains, crappy soil = turn to trade & cultural interactions w/ others • City-states • Athens- democracy (limited), science, arts, philosophy, architecture (Parthenon) • Sparta- militaristic • Join together in Delian League to fight in the Persian War

16. Culture- Olympics, mythology, epic poems of the Odyssey and Iliad (Homer), drama and comedy, development of philosophy (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander) X taught Y • Aristotle model of Greek thought by use of logic • Reason, logic, truth is based on observations • Peloponnesian War • Delian League falls apart • Athens v. Sparta(Civil war) • Sparta wins • All of Greek city-state = Weakened; power vacuum • Taken over by Alexander

17. Alexander the Great • Conquered Greece, Egypt, Persia, all the way to Indus River and spread Greek culture (Hellenism) • Awesome @war • Empire facilitated interaction and spread of culture (Greece, India, Persia, and Egypt) • Hellenistic Empire • Golden Age • Library of Alexandria in Egypt center of learning (good comparison to later Timbuktu, Mali) • Geometry, medicine, anatomy, circumference of the earth, Pythagorean theorem, geocentric thought of Ptolemy

18. Rome (Greatest achievements are law and engineering) • Roman Republic • Senate, Twelve Tables Law Code (comparable to Hammurabi’s law code) • Concrete & roads & aqueducts! • Patricians (rich) and Plebeians (poor) • Military domination and expansion with the Punic wars v. Carthage (N. Af.)

19. Empire • First Emperor: Julius Caesar killed (44 BCE), Octavian Augustus becomes emperor in 31 BCE = EMPIRE PERIOD BEGINS • Empire stretches from England to Middle East • PaxRomana (Roman peace) • Golden Age • Comparable to Golden age of Athens, later PaxMongolica • Law- innocent unless proven guilty by court • Engineering (Coliseum), aqueducts (for clean water) • Roads (comparable to Persian royal road and later Incan roads)

20. Roman culture influenced by Greek cultural diffusion • Roman/Greek gods the same; Hellenistic building style, young Roman men go to study in Athens at Plato’s Academy • Slavery- Both Greek and Roman society heavily dependent on slavery (comparison to Chinese dependency on the peasants) • China had peasants, not slaves • Slaves did all jobs, not just regular labor  less motivation to innovate new technology to save labor • Silk Road • Rome traded precious metals with the Han for silk

21. 600 BCE to 600 CE: The Americas • Americas • Maya (200s BCE – 900sCE) • Develop later than Mediterranean and Chinese classical civs b/c not in river valley & difficulty in domesticating maize • “3 Sisters” ag system of maize, beans, & squash • Warring city states under one ruler (Tikal, Chichen Itza) • Writing system-glyphs (comparable to Egyptian hieroglyphics) • Pictographs + syllabrary • Means “carving”

22. Super complex calendars able to predict solar eclipses, etc. Both ritual calendar & solar calendar. • Developed zero as a placeholder like Gupta India • PopolVul = religious text  ball games are reenactments of sacred myths • Steppe pyramids of Tikal (Guatemala) and Chichen Itza (Yucatan, Mexico) • Compare with ziggurats in Mesopotamia and Egyptian pyramids

23. Teotihuacan • Huge City in valley of Mexico (later model for Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan) • Based on grid • Similar time as Mayas • Turquoise & quetzal feathers = trade goods throughout Americas • Perhaps 100,000 people

24. Comparisons • Maya and Gupta develop the concept of zero independently

25. Rome and Han • Politically centralized but Han had centralized bureaucracy based on merit rather than local elites • Economically both used the silk road to exchange goods • Religiously Rome was first polytheistic later adopted Christianity (380 CE) while the Han relied on Confucianism and later Buddhism filters in • Both adopted foreign religions • Social: Coerced labor in Rome = slaves, Han = peasants • Intellectual: Roman law and engineering/ Han civil service exam, export goods, & labor-saving tech • Artistic: state sponsored art

26. Greeks and Romans much more dependent on slavery than the Han • Maya were warring city states similar to that of Greece • Classical empire capitals • (Athens, Persepolis (Persia), Teotihuacan, Chang an, Rome) • Golden Ages(Rome Han Gupta) • Peace • Art/Science • Trade

27. Fall of Empires • Maya- possible exhaustion of fragile tropical rain forest environment; wars over limited resources desired by upper classes • Han China- (220 CE) • Internal - population increases, land problems, corruption, peasant rebellion called Yellow Turban (184 CE), disease • External- conflict with nomadic Xiongnu • People from Cent. Asiaw/ good horses

28. Roman Empire (Western Rome falls in 476 CE, East survives as the Byzantine Empire) • Internal- tax revolts, poor leaders, division of empire, violent death of emperors, over expansion, decrease in trade, reliance on mercenaries, disease • External- Huns and Goths (Cent. Asian nomads) Gupta- Invasion by the White Huns- cost weakened state and eventually overrun • Hinduism and caste system survived • China & India = cultural elements remain after centralized political authority falls

29. 600 BCE to 600 CE: Belief Systems, Part 1 • Polytheism- most early civilizations were polytheistic (belief in many gods) • Animism- Africa, Americas – objects can have spirits (ANIMATE) • Shamanism- Americas, Central Asia (Shamans go between real and spirit world)

30. Hinduism • Began with Aryan invaders and is the oldest of the major religions • No founder & no cohesion  a set of hugely diverse practices we stick under one label • Caste system established and priests are at the top of the social hierarchy • Goal = reincarnation up the “ladder”

31. Follow dharma (rules of your caste) next life determined by karma • Karma – what you do this life (following your set caste dharma or duties) will determine your caste next life • Reincarnation- cycle of life and death • Moksha- release from the cycle of life and death

32. Hinduism keeps India together through different empires • Vedas and Upanishads sources of prayers that guide Hindus • Rig Veda = impersonal gods • BaghavadGita = makes religion personal

33. Patriarchal • Sati • Women could not achieve moksha • Always serves as a continuity in South Asia & India • Hinduism & Buddhism both diffuse to SE Asia • On sea roads (600-1450)

34. Buddhism • Symbols include the 8 spoked wheel & water lotus • Spawned out of Hinduism like Christianity out of Judaism • Reaction against Hinduism’s impersonal nature (rituals are run by top caste) & strict hierarchy • Can reach nirvana in this life (anyone can) • Not about castes • Personal effort counts a lot! • Appeals to the poor

35. Founder was Siddhartha Gautama (500s BCE during Axial Age) • Four Noble Truths- • life is suffering • Suffering is caused by attachment to stuff and ppl (desire) • There is a way to end suffering • It is the Eightfold Path

36. Follow the Eightfold path-right conduct/meditation (being good and nice) • Nirvana (peace/bliss through release of all desires)- comparable to Moksha in Hinduism • Appealed especially to the poor since nirvana could be achieved in one lifetime • Offers a monastic life for men and women (like Christianity)

37. Universalizing Religion (like Christianity and Islam) • Easily adapted to other cultures • Monastic (like Christianity) – monks and nuns • Escape society to worship

38. Split Theravada (monks in monasteries) (lesser vehicle) and Mahayana (new, all people, personal devotion to deities done outside a monastery) (greater vehicle) • Ashoka- Fosters Buddhism in India • Silk Road spread Buddhism to China and on to Korea and Japan

39. 600 BCE to 600 CE: Belief Systems, Part 2 • China • Confucianism • Developed during the Warring State period • Need to bring order during this time • Emphasis on education, respect, reciprocity, virtue and order • Filial (family) piety (respect) • Respect for elders, respect a child should show for parents

40. Five Relationships: Mutual respect keeps both in harmony • Superior and inferior • Ruler to ruled, Father to Son, Husband to Wife, Elder brother to younger brother, friend to friend • Gov and dads love it • Embraced by governments as ruler superior to ruled • Civil Service Exam based on Confucian Analects • Government bureaucracy based on merit • Allowed for the possibility of social mobility

41. Patriarchal society develops as a husband superior to wife • Eventually see foot binding in Time Period III • Eventually combines with Buddhism to form Neo-Confucianism during the Tang dynasty

42. Daoism (Yin Yang) • Founder Laozi • Harmony with nature (escape to the forest!) • Influence on Chinese culture with chemists, botanists and astronomers

43. Legalism • Philosophy of Shi Huangdi and Qin dynasty (221BCE) • Terra cotta warriors and great wall

44. Axial Age – means “pivot” or “turning point” • Confucius, Buddha, Socrates and Laozi all around the same time • Jesus around 400 years after these thinkers • Mohammed around 1000 years after these thinkers

45. Middle East • Judaism (Star of David) • First great monotheistic faith • Influenced Christianity and Islam • Covenant with God • Contract says Jews are His special people • Founder Abraham • Follow the laws of Moses in the Torah • Deuteronomic Code to remain intentional unassimilated (so they can remain monotheistic among so many polytheists) • Not universal because it stays in the same area

46. Christianity • Developed out of Judaism • Jesus • Crucified under the Roman Empire • Religion was spread by his followers, especially Peter & Paul • Universalizing religion (like Buddhism and Islam) • Offers a monastic lifestyle (like Buddhism)

47. Most populous religion today • Spread of Christianity • Paul, Roman roads, Roman dominance • Spread through Mediterranean & N. European world through trade, war, migration

48. Roman Empire embraces Christianity • Constantine issued the Edict of Milan (stopped persecution) • Made Official Roman Religion in 380 CE • Too late to save and unify Rome • Western Rome falls in 476 CE, Christianity will be a continuity in Europe (like Hinduism in India) • Christianity keeps Western Europe together through Dark Ages

49. 600 BCE to 600 CE: Trade Networks • Interactions of the Classical period (Silk Roads, Sea Roads and Sand Roads) • Silk Road • Three Golden Ages of the Silk Road • Started with the Rome and Han • Tang/Song in China with the Abbasid dynasty • PaxMongolica • Silk a desired commodity throughout the silk road • Facilitates diffusion of disease, technology, beliefs and ideas • Buddhism from India to China

50. Indian Ocean (Sea Roads) • Route linked India, East Africa, Middle East, Southeast Asia and China in flourishing trade • Arab merchants and India early leaders of the trade • Knowledge of the monsoon winds vital • Lateen sail • Dhow & Junk Ships • Silk, salt, metals and spices (pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg) a trading continuity • Diffusion of beliefs • Hinduism and Buddhism & later Islam to Southeast Asia