Western Civilization

Western Civilization

A Brief History

Paul R. Waibel

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Name: Waibel, Paul R., author.Title: Western civilization : a brief history / Paul R. Waibel. Description: First edition. | Hoboken : John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2020. | Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019046600 (print) | LCCN 2019046601 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119160717 (paperback) | ISBN 9781119160779 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119160786 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Civilization, Western–Textbooks. Classification: LCC CB245 .W255 2020 (print) | LCC CB245 (ebook) | DDC 909/.09821–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019046600LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019046601

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v

Preface xiiiAcknowledgements xv

Part I Ancient and Classical Civilization: An Overview 1

1 The Cradle of Civilization 3­Birth­of Civilization­ 5­Egypt­ 9­Hebrews­ 15­Hebrew­Contribution­to Western­Civilization­ 17­Later­Empires­ 19References­ 20

2 The Ancient Greeks and Their World 21­Minoan­Civilization­ 22­Mycenaean­Civilization­ 23­The­Dark­Ages­(c.­1100–800 bc)­ 25­The­Archaic­Age­(c.­800–480 bc)­ 25­Sparta­and Athens­ 27­Persian­Wars­(492–449 bc)­ 29­The­Classical­Age­(c.­480–338 bc)­ 30­The­Hellenistic­Age­(323–31 bc)­ 32­Greek­Society­ 33­Women­in Greek­Society­ 33­Slaves­in Greek­Society­ 34­Sex­in Greek­Society­ 34­Greek­Philosophy­ 35­The­Greek­Legacy­ 38References­ 39

3 The Roman World 41­Early­Republic­ 42­Early­Conquest­Under­the Republic­ 44

Contents

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Contentsvi

­Roman­Expansion­in the East­ 46­Decline­of the Republic­ 47­Pax Romana 50­Roman­Cultural­Life­ 53­The­Rise­of Christianity­ 54­Decline­of the Empire­ 56References­ 60

Part II Europe in the Middle Ages: An Overview 61

4 The Birth of Europe 63­Early­Germanic­Kingdoms­ 64­Disintegration­of the­Carolingian­Empire­ 70­New­Invasions­ 70­Feudalism­ 72­Feudal­System­ 73­Manorial­System­ 74­Europe’s­Neighbors­ 76­Rise­of Islam­ 78References­ 79

5 Dawn of the Age of Faith 81­Rise­of the Papacy­ 82­Rise­of Monasticism­ 84­Feudalism­and the Church­ 85­Church­Renewal­ 86­Crusades­ 88­Feudal­Monarchies­ 92­England­ 93­France­ 96­Holy­Roman­Empire­ 96References­ 100

6 The High Middle Ages, 1000–1300 101­Faith­and Reason­ 102­Medieval­Synthesis­ 108­Medieval­Model­of the Universe­ 109­Medieval­Art­and Literature­ 111­Late­Middle­Ages,­1300–1500­ 112­Famine­ 112­Plague­ 113­Hundred­Years’­War,­1337–1453­ 115References­ 118

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Contents vii

Part III Birth of Modern Europe: An Overview 119

7 The Renaissance and Reformation 121­Renaissance­Italy­ 121­Renaissance­Humanism­ 125­Leading­Italian­Humanists­ 127­Northern­Renaissance­ 130­Leading­Christian­Humanists­ 131­Renaissance­Art­and Culture­ 132­Protestant­Reformation­ 133­Background­ 133­Mainline­and Radical­Reformation­ 136­Martin­Luther­ 136­Huldrich­Zwingli­ 137­John­Calvin­ 137­Reformation­in England­ 138­Catholic­Reformation­ 139­Conflicts­among­the Protestant­Reformers­ 140­Assessment­ 141References­ 142

8 New Horizons 143­Rise­of the Nation‐States­ 144­Spain­ 144­France­ 145­England­ 147­Holy­Roman­Empire­ 150­Exploration­and Discovery­ 151­Scientific­Revolution­ 154­From­Copernicus­to Newton­ 156­Bacon­and Descartes­ 159­Significance­of the Scientific­Revolution­ 161References­ 162

9 Age of Enlightenment and Revolution 163­Enlightenment­ 164­Enlightenment­Political­Theory­ 166­Social­Contract­Theorists­ 167­Thomas­Hobbes­ 167­John­Locke­ 168­Jean‐Jacques­Rousseau­ 169­Montesquieu­ 170­Enlightened­Despotism­ 170­French­Revolution­and Napoleon­ 171

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Contentsviii

­Background­ 171­Moderate­Phase,­1789–1791­ 173­Radical­Phase,­1792–1794­ 175­End­of the Terror­and Return­of the Moderates,­1794–1799­ 176­Napoleonic­Period,­1799–1815­ 177­Enlightened­Despot­ 178­Empire­ 180References­ 183

Part IV Nineteenth Century: An Overview 185

10 Europe’s Great Powers in the Nineteenth Century 187­Vienna­Congress­ 188­Concert­System­ 190­Latin­America,­Britain,­and the United­States­ 192­Greek­War­for Independence­ 192­Decembrist­Revolt­ 193­Revolutions­of 1830–1832­ 194­Revolutions­of 1848­ 195­France­ 196­Germany­ 198­Austria­ 199­Rome­ 200­Why­the Revolutions­Failed­ 201­Unification­of Italy­and Germany­ 202­Italy­ 202­Germany­ 203­Paris­Commune­ 206References­ 207

11 Industrial Revolution 209­Origins­ 210­A­Second­Industrial­Revolution­ 214­Free­Trade­ 215­Impact­of the Industrial­Revolution­on Society­ 216­Child­Labor­ 217­Women­ 219­Urbanization­ 220­Responses­to Industrialization­ 221­Early­Reform­Efforts­ 223­Marxism­and the Working­Class­ 225­Marxism’s­Appeal­ 227­Orthodoxy­and Revision­ 228

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Contents ix

­Socialism­in Britain­ 229­Anarchism­ 229References­ 230

12 Nineteenth-Century Intellect and Culture 231­Romanticism­ 232­Romantic­Revolt­and Immanuel­Kant’s­Idealism­ 235­A­Second­Scientific­Revolution­ 236­Darwin­and Evolution­ 237­Reaction­to Darwin’s­Theory­of Evolution­ 240­Christian­Response­to Darwin­ 241­Social­Darwinism­ 242­Positivism­ 243­Realism­and Naturalism­ 244­Revolt­Against­Reason­ 245­Friedrich­Nietzsche­ 246­Bergson,­Sorel,­Freud,­and Einstein­ 247References­ 249

13 Nineteenth‐Century Imperialism 251­New­Imperialism­ 253­Motives­ 253­Colonial­Empires­ 258­Scramble­for Africa­ 258­India­ 261­China­ 263­Japan­ 266­Southeast­Asia­ 269­American­Empire­ 270References­ 273

Part V The Crisis of Western Civilization: An Overview 275

14 The Great War: 1914–1918 277­Prelude­to the Great­War­ 278­Explosion­in the Balkans­ 280­1914­ 281­War­in the Trenches­ 282­Modern­Weapons­of War­ 285­1915­ 286­Sausage­Machine:­1916­ 287­Home­Front­ 289­War­around­the World­ 291

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Contentsx

­Year­of Decision:­1917­ 292­End­of the War:­1918­ 295References­ 296

15 Peace and Disillusionment 297­Paris­Peace­Conference:­1919­ 298League­of Nations­ 303Disillusionment­ 305Culture­ 306Art­ 307­Literature­ 310­Popular­Culture­ 311­Social­Impact­ 313References­ 314

16 A Failed Peace: 1919–1939 317­Recovery­and Prosperity­ 318­Great­Britain­ 319­France­ 322­Weimar­Germany­ 323­United­States­ 326­Soviet­Russia­ 330­Italy­ 332­The­Great­Depression­ 333­American­Connection­ 333­Hitler’s­Rise­to Power­ 336References­ 337

17 A Second Great War 339­Road­to War­in Europe­ 340­Totalitarianism­ 341­Hitler­and the Appeasers:­1933–1939­ 342­Blitzkrieg­ 345­Road­to War­in the Pacific­ 349­Turning­of the Tide­ 352­Banality­of Evil­ 355­Holocaust­ 356­No­Room­ 358References­ 359

Part VI The End of Europe: An Overview 361

18 Cold War and Recovery: 1945–1962 363­Origins­of the Cold­War­ 364­1946­ 367­Containment­ 368

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Contents xi

­Cold­War­in Asia­ 371­China­ 371­Vietnam­ 373­Europe­ 375­To­the Brink­of Nuclear­War­ 376­Postwar­Recovery­ 378­Rise­of Christian­Democracy­ 380­Building­the Welfare­State­ 381­Postwar­America­ 382References­ 383

19 Cold War: 1962–1991 385­The­Space­Race­ 386­Globalizing­the Cold­War­ 387­Vietnam­War­ 391­Turbulent­1960s­ 395­Paris:­1968­ 397­The­Prague­Spring:­1968­ 398­Economic­Slump­ 399­Recovery­ 401­Revolution­of 1989­and End­of the Russian­Revolution­of 1917­ 401References­ 406

20 A New World Order 409­Visions­of a New­World­Order­ 410­War­in the Balkans­ 413­Terrorism­and War­ 414­Afghanistan­ 415­Iraq­ 416­Arab­Spring­ 417­World­Migration­ 417­The­Search­for Meaning­in a Multicultural­World­ 419­Culture­ 422­Popular­Culture­ 424­2000–2019­ 425­Worldwide­Internet­ 425­Probing­the Limits­of Space­ 426­Human­Genome­Project­ 427­Western­Civilization­and the World­ 428References­ 428

Index 431

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xiii

I began teaching survey courses in the history of Western Civilization in 1975 as a graduate teaching assistant at West Virginia University. From then until my retirement from teaching in 2016, I taught survey courses in Western Civilization and World Civilization, as well as upper level courses in everything from ancient history to the history of the twentieth century. During my 40 years of teaching at four colleges and universities, I watched higher education in the United States undergo radical change. Today’s students represent a wide range of academic preparation.

The growth of what is commonly referred to as “non‐traditional” education has required a rethinking of how core courses are taught and what can be required from the students enrolled in them. Such courses are often marketed as a means for working adults to complete a degree once started, but interrupted. Frequently, adult students need to take a semester or two of history survey to meet a core requirement. Hence, courses in Western Civilization or World History are offered. Students may be required to attend evening classes that meet once a week for six to eight weeks, during which an entire semester’s work is completed. At one point in my career, I was assigned to teach a one‐semester course in Western Civilization in a weeks as part of a non‐traditional adult program. Increasingly, non‐traditional courses are taught online, either live or prerecorded. Adult students taking these condensed courses, while at the same time trying to juggle work, family, and other of life’s daily demands usually have very little time to spend reading the traditional survey history textbook.

Taking all of the above into consideration, I set for myself the task of writing a Western Civilization text that could be used in the traditional on‐campus course, or the non‐traditional classes. I wanted the text to be written in an interesting and engaging style, that is to say, I wanted it to be more than a chronological list of dates and names of dead people. What Theodore Roosevelt said of writing in general, I think is especially impor-tant in writing a history text for today’s student population: “Writings are useless, unless they are read, and they cannot be read unless they are readable.” A history text should not be a dry academic piling up of facts. Historian Barbara W. Tuchman described herself “as a storyteller, a narrator, who deals in true stories, not fiction.” She also noted that writing readable history is not easy: “One has to sit down on that chair and think and transform thought into readable, conservative, interesting sentences that both make sense and make the reader turn the page.”

Preface

Prefacexiv

When writing this and earlier books, I tried, however imperfectly to follow Ms. Tuchman’s advice and example. With that in mind, I chose to emphasize topics that students I taught over the many past years found interesting and likely to stimulate class discussion. I am well aware that there is no such thing as true objectivity in teaching or writing history. Merely selecting what historical events and personalities to include in a brief history destroys any such pretense. E.H. Carr called attention to this handicap of every historian in his classic What is History? “The belief in a hard core of historical facts existing indepen-dently of the historian,” wrote Carr, “is a preposterous fallacy, but one that is very hard to eradicate.”

Being aware that my own understanding and interpretation of historical events will invariably find its way into my writing to some degree, I nevertheless tried to be faithful to the facts. However, I do have a theme, or organizing idea, around which my story of the rise of Western Civilization is constructed, and it is a rather traditional one.

The roots of Western Civilization are found in the Ancient Near East and the Greco‐Roman world. From the former came the Judeo‐Christian religious tradition. From the latter came classical humanism. These two different ways of understanding the universe – how it works, whether it has meaning, humankind’s place in it, etc. – was synthesized with certain Germanic traditions during the period of the Middle Ages in Europe. By ad 1000, there was in Europe, a new civilization that was different from all others, and armed with a worldview that facilitated both a Scientific Revolution and an Industrial Revolution. With a virtual monopoly on useful (that is, scientific) knowledge, Western Civilization was able to dominate the world by the end of the nineteenth century.

The spread of Western Civilization to the non‐Western world enabled those previously more advanced civilizations to “modernize,” and liberate themselves from Western imperi-alism. By the beginning of the twenty‐first century, a modernized China, for example, was able to challenge the West for world leadership. Still, the world we live in is a Westernized world.

xv

A number of individuals contributed to this project. Students of mine and parents who home schooled their children often asked why I did not write my own history textbook. Well, once I was able to retire, I finally had time to entertain such a challenge. Andrew J. Davidson helped me prepare the proposal for the project. Haze Humbert and Jennifer Manias served as Executive Editors, Janani Govindankutty, Niranjana Vallavan, and Ajith Kumar served as conscientious project managers, Kelley Baylis, Sakthivel Kandaswamy, and many others at Wiley‐Blackwell whose names are unknown to me, have played a role in bringing this project to fruition.

My wife Darlene and daughter Elizabeth Waibel edited the individual chapters as I wrote them, correcting grammar and making helpful stylistic suggestions. Former colleagues, friends, and family members contributed images, thus helping to keep the price of the book reasonable. Finally, I wish to thank four professors who imbued in me the love of history and the desire to teach and write history – Benjamin W. Wright, Jr., Clifton W. Potter, Jr., Sheldon Vanauken, and Robert P. Grathwol. A special debt of gratitude is owed to Sheldon Vanauken, who encouraged me to “live under the mercy,” and to whose memory I dedicate this book.

Acknowledgments

1

Part I

Ancient and Classical Civilization: An Overview

The story of Western Civilization begins around 3500 bc in the area referred to by histori-ans as the Fertile Crescent, a quarter‐moon shaped area that stretches from the Nile River valley, along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and the river valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to the Persian Gulf. It was in that area of fertile soil that people learned to farm and irrigate their fields with water from the rivers. Settled farming required organi-zation, which gave birth to the first cities. It was also there that people first learned to write. Organized agriculture and urban life gave rise to a class structure, in which most of the people performed certain tasks, producing the means of livelihood, while a few had the time to contemplate the meaning and purpose of life. Writing made it possible to record not only the mundane affairs of day‐to‐day life, but also what may be described as philosophi-cal and religious speculation.

If one thinks of an axis around which civilization develops and radiates outward, that axis moved from the Fertile Crescent north‐westward to the area of the Aegean Sea, as civi-lizations appeared along the rim of the Aegean Sea on the island of Crete, the coast of Asia Minor, and the Greek mainland. The Minoan Civilization on Crete and the Mycenaean Civilization on the Greek mainland contributed to the development of classical Greek civilization after 800 bc. With the conquest of the Middle East by Alexander the Great (d. 323 bc) and his successors, the Greek language and humanistic civilization of classical Greece spread throughout the Middle East and Egypt.

The Romans imposed political and, to a degree, cultural unity on the whole Mediterranean world by the end of the second century ad. But, though the Romans conquered the Hellenistic world, they were in turn conquered culturally by the Greeks, thus spreading the Greek language and culture to the western Mediterranean. The axis of civilization shifted westward to the Italian peninsula. It was during the centuries‐long rule of Rome, that the religious thought of the ancient Hebrews and early Christians blended with the classical humanism of Greek civilization.

Western Civilization: A Brief History, First Edition. Paul R. Waibel. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

3

Western Civilization: A Brief History, First Edition. Paul R. Waibel. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

1

Chronology

c. 8000–5000 bc Neolithic Agec. 3500 bc First Cities Appear in Sumerc. 3300–3100 bc First Writing Appears in Sumerc. 3100 bc Civilization Appears in Nile River Valleyc. 2500 bc Civilization Appears in Indus River Valleyc. 2150 bc Epic of Gilgamesh is Written Downc. 2100–2050 bc Code of Ur‐Nammu, Oldest Known Law Codec. 1900 bc Abram (Abraham) Leads Hebrews From Ur to Canaanc. 1754 bc Law Code of Hammurabic. 1500 bc Civilization Appears in Yellow River Valleyc. 1446 bc One Possible Date for Hebrew Exodus from Egyptc. 1393 bc Birth of Mosesc. 1270 bc One Possible Date for Hebrew Exodus from Egyptc. 1024–930 bc United Kingdom of Israel722 bc Assyria Conquers northern Kingdom of Israel587 bc Babylonians Capture Jerusalem, Fall of Kingdom of Judah

The story of Western Civilization began during the Neolithic Age (c. 8000 bc–5000 bc), before the appearance of civilization. Humans ceased being hunters and gatherers and began to domesticate animals and cultivate crops. Agriculture enabled human beings to take control of their environment rather than be controlled by it. A technological revolu-tion followed. New tools to cultivate the land and clear forests appeared, along with methods of collecting, storing, and using water from the nearby rivers to irrigate fields. Agricultural centers, or villages, appeared consisting of a group of individuals living together, mutually dependent on one another. As agriculture spread, trade in surplus crops and necessary tools and resources followed.

Discoveries of certain of the Neolithic communities by archeologists are very revealing. Jericho, located in the Jordan valley, was first settled sometime between 10 000 and 9 000 bc.

The Cradle of Civilization

Western Civilization: A Brief History4

By around 9 400  bc Jericho occupied about 10 acres (4 ha). There were more than 70 circular dwellings made of sun‐dried brick measuring about 15 ft. (4.6 m) across. Estimates of the size of the population vary anywhere from 200 to 300 upward to 2000 or 3000. The village was surrounded by a stone wall more than 12 ft. (3.7 m) high and nearly 6 ft. (1.8 m) wide at the base. Inside the wall stood a stone tower more than 12 ft. (3.7 m) tall with an internal stone staircase. Outside the stone wall was a moat approximately 10 ft. (3.8 m) deep.

The wall served as a defense against potential enemies. The purpose of the tower remains shrouded in mystery. Two archeologists from Tel Aviv University, Roy Liran and Ran Barkai, after studying how the setting sun on the summer solstice interacted with the tower and the surrounding landscape suggest that “the tower was built not just as a marker or a time‐keeping device, but as a guardian against the dangers present in the darkness cast by a dying sun’s last rays of light” (Sutherland 2018). The dead were buried within the village, often under the floor of the dwelling in which the deceased is assumed to have lived. The skulls were covered in plaster, painted, and placed in the walls. The practice may be evidence of some sort of ancestor worship, but like so much else, that explanation is speculation.

Even more interesting is the Neolithic settlement located in southern Anatolia (modern Turkey) called Çatalhöyük (sometimes spelled Çatal Höyük or Çatal Hüyük), which existed from approximately 7500 to 5700 bc. The site was discovered in the late 1950s and first excavated between 1961 and 1965. Excavations and research by an international team of archeologists began in 1993 and are ongoing.

With a population that ranged between 3000 and 8000, Çatalhöyük was much larger than Jericho. It consisted of about 32 acres (approximately 13 ha) of mud‐brick dwellings closely packed together without streets or alleyways. Access to the individual dwellings was through holes in the roofs. The life of the community took place largely on the roofs of what must have resembled a large beehive‐like structure. Each dwelling had an oven and furniture that consisted of mud‐brick platforms under which deceased family members were buried. The floors were covered in reeds. The walls were covered in bright white plas-ter, often decorated with colorful frescos. Paintings of bulls on the walls, plastered skulls of oxen embedded in the walls, and the presence of bull horns suggest some sort of religion centered on the worship of bulls, like the religion that appeared later in Minoan Crete (see Chapter 2). One scene painted on a wall depicts a village with a mountain, perhaps Mount Hasan, an inactive volcano. Some art historians regard the painting as the first painted landscape in history.

Most importantly, the people of the Neolithic villages like Jericho and Çatalhöyük did not possess the ability to read and write. Hence, there is no evidence of religious or philosophical thought, no recorded attempts to wrestle with those perennial questions of meaning and purpose. Writing is the defining characteristic of civilization, and so, as impressive as their technologic achievements were, most scholars regard these Neolithic villages as proto‐civilizations. To locate the birthplace of civilization, and at the same time, provide some explanation of the difference between a Neolithic village and a civilization, we must look to the fertile land that lies between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, an area known as Mesopotamia, or the “land between the rivers.”

The Cradle of Civilization 5

Birth of Civilization

The cradle of civilization lay in the southern most area of Mesopotamia known as Sumer where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers empty into the Persian Gulf. The Sumerians called themselves “the black‐headed people” and their home “the land of the black‐headed people,” or simply “the land.” It was in Sumer around 3500 bc that the first cities appeared, and most important, it was in Sumer sometime between 3300 bc and 3100 bc that people first learned to write.1

Writing was a byproduct of urbanization. Trade between the cities of Sumer required the ability to communicate. Using a reed with the end cut off, scribes made wedge‐shaped marks in small clay tablets that were then allowed to dry in the sun. At first, they made

1 Approximately four centuries later, around 3100 bc, civilization appeared in the Nile River Valley of Egypt. It then appeared in the Indus River Valley of India around 2500 bc, and in the Huang Ho (or Yellow) River Valley of China about 1500 bc. The spread of civilization in ancient history, and contacts between ancient civilizations is an interesting topic, but beyond the scope of this survey. Dates of events in ancient history are always approximate and vary widely from one source to another.

SINAI

Dead Sea

Babylon

Caspian

Sea

UrukUr

PersianGulf

Jericho

Black Sea

Tigris R.MESOPOTAMIA

Kadesh

CA

NN

AN

UPPER

EGYPT

Nile

R.

Euphrates R.PHONICIA

Umma

SUMER

Jerusalem

Mediterranean Sea

Çatalhöyük

Red Sea

ANATOLIA(ASIA MINOR)

Figure 1.1 Map of the ancient Near East: The Birth of Civilization.

Western Civilization: A Brief History6

marks that represented objects (pictographs), and then marks that represented sounds (phonograms). This style of writing is known as “cuneiform,” meaning “wedge‐shaped.”

Scribes were trained in schools that taught not only the art of writing and reading, but law, medicine, and astrology. Literature appeared as scribes began to write down stories about the gods and heroic figures. The Epic of Gilgamesh, considered by many to be the first great work of literature in history, was written down sometime around 2150  bc. It  tells the story of Gilgamesh (“Bilgamesh” in Sumerian), king of Uruk, and his companion Enkidu.

In the first half of the epic tale, Gilgamesh and Enkidu go on a series of adventures including a journey to the Cedar Forest, the dwelling place of the gods. There, they defeat the giant monster Humbaba (“Huwawa” in Sumerian), guardian of the Cedar Forest. Gilgamesh spurns the advances of Ishtar, goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. Ishtar pun-ishes Gilgamesh for his impudence by convincing the gods to kill Enkidu.

The death of Enkidu leads to Gilgamesh’s quest to find the meaning of life and death. It is this second half of the epic that is of greatest importance, for in the attempt to answer the perennial questions of meaning and purpose, the Epic of Gilgamesh becomes more than an epic tale; it becomes a work of philosophy, another characteristic of a civilization.

Some of the stories related in the Epic of Gilgamesh have counterparts in the Old Testament book of Genesis. The flood account in Genesis bears a striking resemblance to the flood story in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The two stories have at least 20 points of similarity leading to the obvious conclusion that there must be some connection, but there are signifi-cant points in the two accounts that differ. Some who subscribe to the school of thought known as “Panbabylonism,” which asserts that the Hebrew Bible and Judaism are derived from Mesopotamian (Babylonian) mythology, consider the Genesis flood story to be mod-eled after that in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Others consider both to be myths with spiritual significance, or accounts of an actual flood that occurred at some time in the past.

Religious beliefs are at the heart of any given civilization’s identity. Ultimately, a people’s worldview, or understanding of what is real, determines every aspect of life. Since world-view and religious belief are entwined, how a society is governed and organized, as well as its literary and artistic expressions, are rooted in its religious beliefs. Not surprisingly, tem-ples with gods and priests who interceded on behalf of the people were the center of life in Sumerian cities.

For the people of Sumer and Mesopotamia in general, both life and the afterlife were gloomy at best. People were only the pawns of capricious gods who controlled the universe and all that is part of it, and who might bestow blessings or suffering at will. Everywhere there were hostile gods and demons that the people feared. Natural disasters or human actions such as wars were caused by the gods. The people used various means of divination to try and determine what fate the gods might have in store for them as individuals or for the city. Sacrifices, prayers, and magic were employed to appease the gods and ward off the demons. The belief that the will of the gods was revealed in the position of the planets and stars led the Mesopotamians to the study of astronomy and astrology.

People could not look forward to death for relief from uncertainty, anxiety, and fear. The netherworld was understood to be a dark existence governed by a hierarchy of gods. It was not some sort of heaven or hell, a place to which the dead went according to how they lived their lives. Life after death offered only a gloomy existence, a fate that could not be avoided.

The Cradle of Civilization 7

Despite their gloomy view of life, the Mesopotamians greatly influenced the history of civilization and continue to influence life today. The number 60, sacred to the sky god An (or Anu), became the basic unit of mathematical calculation and lives on in our division of time into the 60‐second minute, the 60‐minute hour, and the degrees of a circle. When we add urbanization, the wheel, chariots, and four‐wheeled wagons, writing and the first lit-erature, mathematics, and the science of astronomy, and agriculture and animal husbandry to the list, we must acknowledge civilization’s debt to the people of ancient Mesopotamia.

Mesopotamia sat at the crossroads of trade, migration, and invasions of conquering armies, all of which spread its culture. Kingdoms and empires rose and fell as power shifted between rival city‐states2 and conquering armies. The appearance of a new technology such as smelting bronze or iron, or the appearance of a new weapon like the first metal arrowheads, the composite bow, body armor, or the war chariot enabled the possessor of the new technology to enjoy its historical moment until the next conqueror appeared armed with some new military technology.

The era of warring city‐states ended when Lugalzaggisi, king of Umma, united all of Sumer during his reign, c. 2375–2350 bc. He ruled for only 25 years. In c. 2334 bc, Lugalzaggisi’s army was defeated in battle by Sargon (reigned 2334–2279 bc), leader of the Akkadians, a Semitic‐speaking people in Mesopotamia north of Sumer. Sargon founded the first multi‐national empire. It stretched from the Persian Gulf to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Sargon appointed his daughter, Enheduanna, High Priestess in the temple of the moon god Nanna in the Sumerian city‐state of Ur. Enheduanna is the first author and poet known by name in history. She left behind a collection of literary works that include poetry, devotionals, and hymns to Nanna. A collection of her temple hymns known as the “Sumerian Temple Hymns” is considered by some scholars to be the first attempt at a systematic theology.

Sargon’s empire ended about 2100 bc. Of the empires that followed, two require men-tion. First is the Third Dynasty of Ur (Ur III) that lasted from c. 2112 bc to c. 2004 bc. The significance of this brief empire lies in the appearance of one of the oldest known law codes, the Code of Ur‐Nammu, king of Ur during the mid‐twenty‐first century bc. It is not the first written law code. That honor may belong to Urukagina (sometimes spelled Uruinimgina or Irikagina), who ruled the city‐state of Lagash in the first half of the twenty‐fourth century bc. Though no copy of his law code has been found, its content can be deduced from references to it in other sources from the period.

The Code of Ur‐Nammu (r. 2047–2030 bc) consists of 57 laws inscribed on clay tablets. The laws are stated in a simple form: If this is the crime, then this is the punishment. It differs from the later Code of Hammurabi in that it prescribes monetary compensation for crimes that cause physical harm, except in cases of murder, robbery, adultery, and rape, which were capital offenses.

The first two fragments of the Code of Ur‐Nammu were found at Nippur in Sumer and translated in 1952. They contained the prologue and five of the laws. Additional tablets were found at Ur and translated in 1965. Something of a social class structure in society at the time can be deduced from the code. All of the people below the king were divided into two classes, free and slave.

2 A city and the surrounding territory controlled by it are commonly referred to as a city-state, kingdom, or city-state kingdom.

Western Civilization: A Brief History8

Better known is the Code of Hammurabi issued in 1754 bc, during the Old Babylonian Empire. The Code of Hammurabi was found at Susa in 1901 by Jean‐Vincent Scheil (1858–1940), a French Dominican scholar. Scheil translated and published the code in 1902. The code consists of 282 laws found on 12 tablets. Unlike the Code of Ur‐Nammu, Hammurabi’s law code follows the principle of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” the law of retaliation, or Lex Talionis. Punishment varied according to whether the injured party was a nobleman or a commoner.

Figure 1.2 The Ishtar Gate, entrance to the inner city of ancient Babylon, was constructed by King Nebuchadnezzar II c. 575 bc. Source: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Collections.

The Cradle of Civilization 9

If a man has destroyed the eye of a man of the ‘gentleman’ class, they shall destroy his eye. If he has broken a gentleman’s bone, they shall break his bone. If he has destroyed the eye of a commoner or broken a bone of a commoner, he shall pay one mina of silver. If he has destroyed the eye of a gentleman’s slave, he shall pay half the slave’s price. (From The Code of Hammurabi, 2019)

Around 1600 bc, the Babylonian Empire collapsed when invaded from the north by the Hittites and from the east by the Kassites. The Hittites plundered and then left, but the Kassites remained and ruled Mesopotamia for the next five centuries.

The Hittites were a powerful empire in Anatolia between c. 1700 bc and c. 1200 bc. They spoke an Indo‐European3 language and entered Anatolia as part of a widespread migration of Indo‐European people. The Hittites were the first to work iron, although they did not use it for weapons. The fall of the Hittite Empire was a part of the general, catastrophic collapse of the Bronze Age civilizations at the end of the thirteenth century bc. The collapse was brought about by invasions (or migrations) of Indo‐Europeans from the north, and repeated attacks from the sea by a mysterious people known as the “Sea People.”

Egypt

About the time that cities and writing were appearing in Mesopotamia, civilization was emerging at the southern end of the Fertile Crescent along the Nile River. Ancient Egypt occupied 450 miles (724 km) of the Nile River valley from the first cataract4 to the Mediterranean Sea. The regular flooding of the Nile created a narrow band of cultivatable land that varied from 5 to 25 miles wide. It was possible to produce two crops per year. It was there, in that narrow band of fertile soil, the “Black Land,” that civilization developed. Beyond it on both sides were the vast barren oceans of desert sand, the “Red Land.”

Not only did the Nile make agriculture – and with it, civilized life – possible, it was easily navigated, thus providing a measure of unity between Upper (southern) and Lower ( northern) Egypt. Relative isolation benefitted ancient Egypt. Invading armies had to either go down the Nile River, where they would be easy targets for defending forces, or cross the Sinai Peninsula, a wide desert. From the beginning of Egypt’s history in c. 3100 bc, until it became a part of the Roman Empire in 30 bc, the sight of invading armies was rare. Thus, the Egyptians experienced a sense of regularity, permanence, and security unknown to the people of Mesopotamia.

3 The term “Indo-European” refers to a group of languages that originated in the Eurasian Steppes about 6000 years ago.4 The cataracts are shallow sections of the Nile River where rocks, small islands, and whitewater rapids make navigation difficult or impossible. There are six cataracts.

Western Civilization: A Brief History10

Around 3100  bc, Upper and Lower Egypt were unified by Narmer, who became the founder of the first dynasty and thus the first king, or pharaoh, of Egypt.5 The history of ancient Egypt is divided into 31 dynasties beginning in c. 3100 bc and concluding in 30 bc, and further divided into the Early Dynastic Period, Old Kingdom, First Intermediate Period, Middle Kingdom, Second Intermediate Period, New Kingdom (or Empire), and Post‐Empire.

The pharaohs of the Old Kingdom (c. 2700–c. 2200 bc) ruled from Memphis in Upper Egypt. Unlike the kings in Mesopotamia, who were servants of the gods, the pharaoh was a living god, often associated with the falcon‐headed god Horus. Upon death, the pharaoh became Osiris, god of the dead. In life, it was his duty to maintain Ma’at – harmony, conti-nuity, unchanging order, justice, and truth. In so doing, the pharaoh guaranteed the safety and prosperity of the people. If he failed to rule wisely, chaos would return in the form of famine or some other disaster. As the possessor of Ma’at, the pharaoh was the source of law and justice. Hence, the Egyptians never developed a law code. There was no need for one.

During the Old Kingdom only the pharaoh, and those he chose to be with him, enjoyed an afterlife. It was important to preserve the pharaoh’s body and to provide him with the things he would need in his afterlife. Pyramids of great size, and later tombs, were constructed and filled with the objects, or models of them, that the pharaoh would need. Scenes depicting hunting or other events that the pharaoh enjoyed in life were carved or painted on the walls. They would become reality in the afterlife.

The Egyptians developed a system of writing that combined pictographs and symbols representing sounds in a script referred to as hieroglyphs (“sacred carvings”), meaning “god’s words.” By inventing the 24 signs for the sounds of consonants, the Egyptians invented the alphabet, or at least the principle of the alphabet. Because of the abundance of Cyperus papyrus, an aquatic plant that grew along the Nile especially in the Delta, the

5 The name of the unifier of Egypt is disputed. Some credit Menes, or Scorpion II, rather than Narmer. The consensus appears to be that Menes and Narmer were the same person, and Scorpion II was a king during the pre-dynastic period. The title “pharaoh” was not used for the Egyptian kings until the reign of Thutmose III (c. 1479–1425 bc) during the period of the New Kingdom, or Empire.

Neolithic Period c. 4500 – 3000 BC

Early Dynastic Period c. 3000 – 2650 BC

Old Kingdom c. 2650 – 2150 BC

First Intermediate Period c. 2150 – 2040 BC

Middle Kingdom c. 2040 – 1640 BC

Second Intermediate Period c. 1640 – 1550 BC

New Kingdom c. 1550 – 1070 BC

Third Intermediate Period c. 1070 – 712 BC

Late Period c. 712 – 332 BC

Graeco-Roman Period c. 332 BC – AD 642

Figure 1.3 Chronology of ancient Egypt.

The Cradle of Civilization 11

Egyptians were able to make a form of paper known simply as papyrus. Instead of having to make wedge‐shaped marks in clay tablets as in Sumerian cuneiform, the Egyptians could use pen and ink to write hieroglyphs on papyrus, as well as carve them or paint them on stone.

The construction of the pyramids during the Old Kingdom testifies to the absolute power of the pharaohs, as well as the engineering skills of the Egyptians. Contrary to the impres-sion one may get from Hollywood, the pyramids were not built by slaves. During the three months each year when the flood waters of the Nile covered the arable land and farming ceased, thousands of peasants were put to work constructing the pyramids. By ensuring the preservation of the pharaoh’s body, they were ensuring the continuity of the rhythm of life, especially the regularity of the Nile’s flooding upon which life depended.

The pyramids are among the most impressive man‐made wonders in history. The first pyramid was built for Djoser (r. c. 2686–c. 2613 bc) at Saqqara, on the west bank of the Nile River opposite Memphis. It has six stepped layers of stone that reached a height of 204 ft. (62 m). The pyramid was surrounded by a 40‐acre (16‐ha) complex of temples and other buildings enclosed by a 30 ft. (9.1m) high wall. The Step pyramid, as it is called, was designed by history’s first known architect, Imhotep (c. 3000–c. 2950 bc).

Most impressive of the pyramids built during the Old Kingdom is the Great Pyramid, built one century later for Khufu (or Cheops, r. c. 2589–2566 bc). It was the first and largest of the pyramids built at Giza on the west bank of the Nile River close to modern‐day Cairo, and is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing.

Figure 1.4 The Great Pyramid of Khufu, or Cheops, completed c. 2560 bc. Source: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Collections.

Western Civilization: A Brief History12

To build the Great Pyramid, workers cut approximately 2.3 million limestone blocks at quarries 500 miles (804.7 km) away and brought them to Giza. Each block weighed an aver-age of 2.5 tons (2.3 MT), though some were as heavy as 16 tons (14.5 MT). The base is 755 ft. (230.4 m) long on each side (570 000 sq. ft., or 52 954.7 sq. m). The stones are so accurately placed that there is no more than an 8‐in. (20.3 cm) difference between the lengths of the sides. The original height was 481 ft. (147 m), making the Great Pyramid the tallest man-made structure well into the nineteenth century ad. The pyramid was encased in smooth limestone. The outer stones fit together so well that a hair cannot be wedged between them. It is estimated that in order to finish the pyramid in 30 years, it would have been necessary to set in place one block every two and a half minutes. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote in The Histories (c. 430 bc) that the Egyptians told him it took 100 000 men 20 years to build the Great Pyramid.

A series of weak pharaohs toward the end of the Old Kingdom allowed much of the cen-tral government’s power to slip into the hands of powerful regional nobles. The result was roughly one century of weak central government and general turmoil between c. 2150 and c. 2050 bc. Mentuhotep II (r. c. 2046–c. 1995 bc), who ruled from Thebes in Upper Egypt, reunited Egypt sometime around the 39th year of his 51‐year reign. He was the first pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom, a period of stability and prosperity that lasted from c. 2050 to c. 1652 bc.

The pharaoh’s role changed somewhat during the Middle Kingdom. His power over the whole of Egypt was restored, but he was no longer the absolute ruler that he was during the Old Kingdom. The age of the great pyramids was over. The pharaohs of the 11th and 12th dynasties undertook great building projects that benefitted the people by providing employ-ment, but nothing on the scale of the Great Pyramid. It was the pharaoh’s role as shepherd of his people that was emphasized. The conquest of Lower Nubia on the southern border of Upper Egypt and military expeditions north along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea enhanced the power of the pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom.

During the latter part of the eighteenth‐century bc, Lower Egypt (the Delta region) was invaded by a people whom the Egyptians called the Hyksos (meaning “rulers of foreign lands”). The Hyksos spoke a Semitic language and migrated away from the Middle East after Indo‐Europeans migrated into it in the second millennium. The Hyksos kings, or pharaohs, ruled Lower Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period from their capital at Avaris in the eastern Delta.

The Hyksos invaders enjoyed the advantage of advanced military organization and tech-nology. The Egyptian army was outdated both in its weaponry and its emphasis on infantry. They relied on their infantry organized into sections of spearmen, bowmen, and archers. Their main weapons were the mace, a solid shaft with a heavy round head used to bludgeon the enemy, and a simple bow. One can only imagine the fear that must have possessed the Egyptians when confronted with a mobile army of warriors with lightweight, horse‐drawn chariots. The Egyptians had never seen horses before. Furthermore, the Hyksos warriors had a new composite bow that could fire an arrow at least 200 yards further than the simple bows used by the Egyptians. They wore helmets and body armor and carried penetrating axes, swords, and quivers of arrows. Weapons made of bronze gave the Hyksos a decisive advantage on the battlefield, and subsequently brought Egypt into the Bronze Age.