Review II

1. Review II

2. Zoroastrianism • Based on the teachings of Zarathustra • Proclaimed that visions revealed to him by the supreme god, whom he called Ahura Mazda (“wise lord”) • Influence of Zoroastrian religion can be found in Judaism and Christianity, for example, the concept of good and evil • Once the religion of the Persian Empire • A force of light and goodness and force of evil • Cosmic struggle between good and evil • People must choose • Heaven and Hell • Avesta  sacred text

3. Confucius • Lived in China during the Warring states period and sought to restore order to China • Students recorded his teachings in the Analects • Believed in five constant relationships ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, older brother and younger brother, and older friend and younger friend • The superior in the relationship had to set a good example while the inferior had to obey

4. Confucianism • Does not address philosophical or religious questions • Wanted to end the Warring States period • The best way to promote good government is to hire people who were well educated and conscientious – focused on the formation of Junzi (“superior individuals)” • Ren courteousness, respectfulness, loyalty • Li  a sense of propriety, appropriate behavior • Xiao  filial piety, respect by children for parents and other elders • Moral integrity and fair judgment

5. Daoism • An alternative solution to end the Warring States period – contrary to Confucian beliefs • Central concept Dao or “the way” or “the way of nature” • Humans should stop trying to achieve personal goals and live very simply in order to achieve harmony with nature • Wuwei  important moral trait whereby people remove themselves from worldly affairs • Ideal societal structure  self-sufficient communities • Yin Yang  how seemingly contrary forces are interconnected

6. Legalism • One of the major philosophies that emerged from the Hundred Schools of Thought during the Warring States period • Based on the goal of expanding and strengthening the state at all costs • Described as ruthless and efficient • Strict laws with harsh punishments lessen number and severity of crimes • Notable people: Shang Yang and Han Feizi • Used by the Qin dynasty, led by Shi Huangdi, to end Warring States period

7. Qin Dynasty • Used Legalist philosophy to restore order and stability to China and end the Warring States period • Centralized bureaucracy ruled the state • Qin expanded their empire • Unified China • Standardized weights and measures • Standardized script • Short-lived because of strict laws and harsh punishments

8. Shih Huangdi • Self-proclaimed “first emperor” of China – reigned fourteen years, established centralized rule through large-scale political organization • Central bureaucracy • Built roads to enhance and expedite communication and movement of armies; standardized laws, currencies, weights and measures, and Chinese script; and built defensive walls, including linking sections of the Great Wall • Executed anyone who criticized his regime – burned 460 Confucian scholars alive for their critical comments

9. Early Han Dynasty • Claiming the “mandate of heaven,” Liu Bang centralized rule started the longest lasting Chinese dynasty  the Han (206 B.C.E. – 220 C.E.) • Demand for Chinese silk in India, Persia, Mesopotamia, and the Roman Empire led to development of trade routes (the silk roads) • Building of roads and canals to increase trade and communication • Established examination system to select candidates for government service

10. Emperor Wudi • Han emperor who had a problem recruiting qualified people for government posts because there was no uniform system of public education • Established an imperial university to educate government officials in 124 B.C.E. • Although the government was based on Legalist principles, the university focused its instruction on Confucianism out of necessity – it was the only Chinese belief system developed enough to establish a curriculum • Policy of imperial expansion led to invasions of northern Vietnam and Korea (had to pay tribute)

11. Later Han Dynasty • Ignoring the problem of inequitable land distribution led to increased banditry and rebellions led by disgruntled peasants • The Yellow Turban uprising (rebels wore yellow headgear) • Government used the military to suppress rebellions but the collective efforts of peasants weakened the Han • Factions developed in courts that effected the central government • This internal weakness led to the downfall of the empire, which was divided into several large kingdoms

12. Fall of Han Dynasty • Collapsed – divisions within the ruling elite limited the effectiveness of the government • Issues  land distribution, private armies, unrest, economic decline • Rise in epidemics late second, early third centuries led to the Yellow Turban Rebellion (rebels’ yellow turbans represented their peasant status and their ties to the earth) • Dynasty in 220 C.E. formally ended

13. Mauryan Dynasty • A classical Indian dynasty that developed out of a political void created by the failed invasions of Persian emperor Darius – then controlled by the kingdom of Magadha for two centuries • Flourished during the late 320s B.C.E., when Chandragupta Maurya took over and laid the foundations for a centralized, unified government • Ashoka (ruled 268-232 B.C.E.) conquered the kingdom of Kalinga through bloody battles but changed as a result • Ashoka built irrigation systems, constructed roads, supported Buddhism, and encouraged religious tolerance • Ashoka’s death led to decline of empire

14. Gupta Dynasty • Chandra Gupta laid foundations for empire by making alliances with powerful families in the Ganges; he conquered many; others chose to form tributary alliances with Guptas • Government, both policy and administration, was left to the locals; Gupta did not impose uniform law; brought stability and prosperity • Golden age of Hindu culture concept of zero, infinity, and decimal system developed great art and literature in Sanskrit (ancient Indian language) • Decline caused by invasions by the White Huns nomadic people from central Asia – dynasty continued in name only

15. Hinduism – Part I • The basic beliefs and concepts of classical Hinduism were all in place by at least 200s B.C.E. • Central belief all time and space is the World Soul, or the Brahman (“Ultimate Reality”) • All things that exist are reflections of Brahman’s perfection • Every living creature has its own individual soul, known as atman • However, the material world is an illusion (maya) • This illusion causes suffering and prevents the individual soul from perceiving or being connected with the world Soul • The goal of existence is to rejoin one’s atman with Brahman

16. Hinduism – Part II • A cycle of life, death and rebirth called the wheel of life (samsara) • According to the laws of deeds (karma), a person’s actions in one life will have consequences in a future life • Good actions and spiritual discipline will reduce an atman’s (individual soul’s) karmic debt, leading one to a greater understanding of moral duty (dharma) • When a person has eliminated his or her karmic debt and achieved a sufficient understanding of his dharma, his or her atman gains release (moksha) from samsara  the atman is free to join with the Brahman

17. Hinduism – Part III • In addition to the Brahman, Hinduism recognizes literally hundreds of gods and goddesses  this makes it a polytheistic religion • However, Hindus consider all deities to be avatars, or incarnations of the Brahman • One of the best known features of Hindu belief involves the caste system (origins date back to Aryan migration to India) • Priests (brahmins), warriors and political rulers (kshatriyas), commoners (vaishyas), and servants and members of lower class (shudras) • As time went on, category of untouchables (most degrading tasks) • Birth determined caste  Many subdivisions over time  men superior to women

18. Jainism • Indian belief system popularized by Vardhamana Mahavira (“the great hero”) • Disciples referred to Mahavira as Jina (“the conqueror”) and called themselves Jains • Practiced ahimsa – nonviolence to living things or their souls • Extremists swept ground as they walked to avoid harming insects (souls) • Not practical, but attractive – because if all creatures possessed a soul, there should not be rigid social classes (especially popular among lower classes)

19. Buddhism – Siddhartha Gautama • Originating in India  Founder, Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 B.C.E.) • Spread China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Korea, etc. • Two major schools Theravada (Hinayana) and Mahayana (with its concept of the Bodhisattva) • When ventured outside palace, Siddhartha was appalled by the pain and poverty he saw renounced wealth • After six years of self-deprivation, decided that neither extreme fasting and asceticism or its opposite led to insight • While following middle way, achieved enlightenment (became Buddha or enlightened one)

20. Buddhist Beliefs • Four Noble Truths human existence is inseparable from suffering, the cause of suffering is desire, suffering is extinguished by extinguishing desire, desire may be extinguished by following the Eightfold Path • The Eightfold Path know the truth, resist evil, do nothing to hurt others, respect all forms of life, work for the well-being of others before that of yourself, free your mind of evil, control your thoughts, practice meditation • Five Moral Rules do not kill, do not take what is not given, do not speak falsely, do not drink intoxicants, do not be unchaste • Nirvana means “to extinguish”, liberation from samsara (the wheel of life, death, reincarnation)

21. Theravada and Mahayana • After the Buddha’s death in 483 B.C.E., the tradition he founded not only spread throughout Asia but split into various denominations • The older movement is Theravada (“Way of the Elders”) Buddhism, also referred to as Hinayana (“Lesser Vehicle”) Buddhism prominent in south and southeast Asia remains closer in spirit to Buddha’s actual teachings simplicity, meditation, nirvana as renunciation of self and human consciousness Buddha not a deity • Mahayana (“Greater Vehicle”)Japan, Korea, Tibet, and parts of China more elaborate forms and ritual developed pantheons of deities bodhisattvas(souls achieved enlightenment but remained in earthly realm to help others) nirvana came to resemble a kind of heaven as opposed to suppression of self

22. Mycenaeans • Located on the Greek mainland • 1450-1150 B.C.E.  Trading society • Wealthy through conquest (they are best known for fighting the Trojan War, ca. 1250 B.C.E.) • Around 1200 B.C.E., a series of Greek-speaking tribes invaded the southeastern tip of Europe, as well as nearby islands • Over time, these tribes joined together into a single culture, the Greeks (or, as they called themselves, Hellenes • These years of gradual cultural union are known as the Greek Dark Ages (1150-800 B.C.E.) • Common language and religion but low level political and social development

23. Sparta • Rugged, mountainous terrain and the fact that so many of the Greeks lived on islands prevented them from creating a single nation • Instead formed dozens of independent city-states • It is from the Greek word city-state, polis, that the word “politic” comes • Sparta  a key Greek city-state • Sparta  a rigid, slave-holding dictatorship that created the Greek world’s most effective and most feared army • Slavery was common in all Greek city-states, but most prevalent in militaristic Sparta with is helots or Spartan slaves

24. Athens • Athens was a significant Greek polis or city-state • Athens  became a culturally and politically advanced city that gained wealth through trade and power thanks to its naval strength • Ancient Greece’s most significant political innovation came from the city of Athens • This was democracy, or rule by the people • Democratic government began in Athens in 508 B.C.E. It reached its peak under the leadership of the statesman Pericles (ca. 461-429 B.C.E.) • But women and slaves were excluded from Athenian political life, and did not have the right to vote • Yet most representative government in ancient world

25. Wars and the Greeks • During the Greeks’ classical period (ca. 500-338 B.C.E.), the Greeks fought two major wars with the Persians, in 492 to 490 B.C.E. and 480 to 479 B.C.E. • In both cases, the Persians attempted to invade Greece, only to be driven back, thanks mainly to Spartan and Athenian leadership • Afterward, competition between Sparta and Athens for dominance over the Greek world led to a long and devastating civil conflict known as the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.E) • Although Sparta and its allies won the war, the conflict left all of Greece’s city-states weakened

26. Macedonian Empire • Macedonia was a region to the north of Greece whose people were related to the Greeks, but not as politically or socially advanced • It was this Greek-Macedonian kingdom that the ancient world’s most skilled general, Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.E.), launched one of the most successful military campaigns of all time • In less than a decade, Alexander crossed into Asia, took over the Persian Empire, and conquered territory all the way to the borderlands of India • Before dying at the age of thirty-three – of exhaustion, alcoholism, and fever – he had led an army of 30,000 to 50,000 troops more than 20,000 miles • Alexander spread Greek culture

27. Hellenistic Culture • The Greeks’ general cultural outlook is known as Hellenism (after the Greeks’ own name for Greece, Hellas) • Although the Greeks worshipped a number of gods, Hellenism tended to be more worldly and rational than other ancient cultural traditions • Science was important • The celebration of life and the experience of being human was a hallmark of Hellenic culture • Western thought rests on the intellectual foundation established by the philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle • Aristotle’s writings on logic, observation, and experimentation set into place a mode of scientific inquiry • Greek architecture  columns

28. Roman Republic • The city of Rome, traditionally considered to have been founded in 753 B.C.E. • From their homeland on the Italian peninsula, the Romans gradually spread outward • For several centuries, Rome was governed by a monarchy, foreign overlords (Etruscans), but in 509 B.C.E., the Romans rebelled and formed a new government called a republic (509-31 B.C.E.) • During the republican period, tensions existed between plebeian (lower classes) and patricians (upper) classes • Through compromise and negotiation, plebeians gained rights • But only patricians elected senators

29. From Republic to Empire • Civil wars from 91 to 30 B.C.E.  power began to fall into the hands of a single ruler  most famous was Julius Caesar assassinated in 44 B.C.E.  by 31 B.C.E.  first emperor  Octavian renamed Caesar Augustus • Empire for approximately five centuries  31 B.C.E. to 476 C.E. • Huge territory from Spain in west to Asia Minor in east, from northern Africa in south to British Isles in north • But overextension of military and political strength made it difficult to govern • Asiatic and Germanic barbarians attacked

30. Rome’s legacy • To begin with, the Romans who were great admirers of Greek culture, preserved for generations to come the Hellenic philosophy, literature, and scientific learning of ancient Greece • The Romans were master builders and engineers • The ideal of Roman imperial unity was a political concept that kings and emperors in a very disunified Europe would attempt to live up to during the medieval period • Roman law remains one of the keystones of Western legal (innocent until proven guilty, etc.) • By making Christianity legal (313 C.E.), then making it the official faith of empire (380 C.E.), Romans ensured that the new religion would be a major force for centuries to come