Download - Clasical civilizaions
Classical Civilizations
China
India
The Mediterranean
Classical China
Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties
Zhou Dynasty Confucianism– Family, filial piety, harmony, 5 relationships
Qin Dynasty Shi Huangdi– Centralized power, standardized writing,
Great Wall
Han Dynasty Wu Ti (Wudi)– Created government based on Confucianism
China: Political Institutions
China had the longest running continuous government in the world
Political institutions (Confucian) were made up of the emperor, and educated professional bureaucracy
China: Religion and Culture
Emphasis on education
Three major philosophies– Confucianism: ethical system based on
relationships and personal virtue– Legalism: favored an authoritarian state and
harsh rule– Taoism: harmony with nature and simple living
Art was mostly decorative, included calligraphy
China: Economy and Society
Classical economy focused on agriculture
Sharp class division (merchants at bottom)
Extensive internal trade
Technological advances like ox-drawn plows, water powered mills, and paper
Patriarchal with strong emphasis placed on family
Limited outside contact
Classical Indian Civilization
Maurya
Gupta
Framework for Indian History and Geography
Geography- protects and fosters growth
Aryan culture dominated India after the fall of the Indus Valley, introducing the basics of the caste system
Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Upanishads formed basis of Aryan literary tradition
Patterns in Classical India
Two major periods– Maurya (Chadragupta Maurya/ Hinduism)– Gupta (Ashoka/ Buddhism)
Greek conquest (Alexander the Great cultural diffusion
Gupta = Golden Age of the Hindu
Political Institutions in India
Central authority weak due to regionalism and political diversity
Increasingly complex caste system promoted public
Religion and Culture in India
Hinduism: Both religious and social role in society
Stress on reincarnation, dharma, karma, and shallowness of material world
Buddhism founded by Siddhartha Gautama– Important in Gupta Empire– Has greater impact in East Asia than in India
Indian Economy and Society
By 100 BCE India had– Written language– Large cities– Art and literature– Two great world religions– Significant advances in Math and Science
Society dominated by the caste system
Society both patriarchal and patrilocal
Indian Influences
India played an important role in cultural diffusion, linking Asia to the Mediterranean world
China and India
Different political, social, and philosophical traditions
Both have stable structure over long period of time
Classical Civilizations in the Mediterranean World
Greece
Rome
Patterns of Greek and Roman History
Based on tradition of tolerance to local customs, organized military, and advanced artistry found in the Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great
Greek History: – Rise of dynamic city-states– Golden Age of Athens and Pericles– Peloponnesian Wars decline of Athens and
Sparta– Conquest and expansion under Alexander the
Great – Rise of Hellenistic Civilization
Blends Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and INdian
Rome emerges as a new power as the Hellenistic world declines– Defeats Carthage in Punic Wars– Republican government– Expands into an empire under Julius Caesar– 250 years of slow decline after the Pax
Romana
Greek and Roman Institutions
The greatest legacy of Greece and Rome are in the areas of Law and Government
Both emphasized rule by an aristocracy with significant democratic elements– Athens: direct democracy– Rome: Senate– Rome adds the Twelve Tables, basis for most
modern law systems
Greek and Roman Religion and Culture
Limited lasting religious impact
Christianity emerged in territory under Roman control
Philosophy: rationalism, humanism
Greek and Roman Economy and Society
Mirrored many social features found in traditional agricultural society – Large peasantry– Land-owning aristocracy
Patriarchal
Slavery
Effects of the Fall of Rome
Trade declines
East= Byzantium
West= collapse, dark ages that lead to Medieval times
Expansion and Integration
Common theme= territorial expansion and efforts to integrate new territory into existing empires
China unites through political centralization
India unites through religion
Mediterranean World united through cultural achievements
Beyond Classical Civilizations
The Americas and Africa also develop classical civilization, though due to global interactions they have less of an impact on later regional developments
Nomadic societies continued to challenge the borders of classical civs and often led to periods of trouble or collapse
The World Around 500 BC
Development of three major themes for world history– Societies across Eurasia had figure out how
to revive and rework themselves following nomadic invasions
– Establishment of almost all major world religions
– Trade and war lead to the rise of new civilization