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Sumerian city states weren’t strong enough to hold off invaders but their civilization continued
-1st Empire (brings togeather several people, nation, or independent city-states under oen ruler)
Builders
----------reinforced principle that government had responsibility for what had occurred in the
society.
Egypt- Nile
Delta- broad triangular area of marsh land that forms deposits of silt.
----too little=starvation
Desserts on two side of the river=natural barriers+forced people to live near the Nile
Theocracy-ruler is a divine figure; type fo gov’t repsonsible for the kingdom (flow of nile=truth
and justice)
-Pyramids- immense structures made for the burial of pharaohs- preserved though
mummification (spirts(Ka) ruled over Egypt after death)
---lighter then a feather= pre and honest—moves on, others devoured by the croc
Hierarchy
King+Queen+royal family
poepel could move up social classes through marriahe and success n job
Monsoon- seasonal winds that dominate India’s climate blowing dry air across the country in the winter
and carrying moisture from the ocean in great rain clouds in the spring.
Reincarnation- a process by which an individual soul or spirit is born again and again until moksha is
received.
Moksha- a state of perfect understanding of all things through two people exploring how a person can
achieve liberation from desires and suffering-reincarnation.
Caste- a social system that divided the ranks of the Indus people into 4 categories, Brahmins in the top,
Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras in the bottom. People were born into their caste permanently which
had decided their jobs and the people they would associate with.
Untouchable- people who did unclean jobs such as butchers and gravediggers had endangered the ritual
purity of others by even a simple touch were therefore placed outside of their caste structure.
Karma- the good or bad deeds one has which follows him throughout all of his lives while reincarnating-
good karma brought good fortune and bad karma brought bad fortune.
Four Noble Truths- first sermon of Buddha which had 4 main ideas; everything in life is suffering and
sorrow, the cause of all suffering is people’s selfish desire for the temporary pleasures of this world, the
way to end all suffering is to end all desires, the way to overcome such desires and attain enlightenment
is to follow the Eightfold Path, which is called the Middle Way between desires and self-denial.
Geography -Is separated from the rest of the Asian continent by the 3 land elevations of; Hindu Kush,
Karakoram, and Himalaya all of which help refer to this South Asian section as the Indian
subcontinent including; India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
-Mountains of the North and the desert of the west count as natural barriers for the Indus
River Valley which prevented invasions but didn’t keep the people from communication
with other outside this are because the Indus River was directed towards the sea where trade
was established.
major cities -The first largest cities were; Kalibangan, Mohenjo-Daro,and Harappa- called citadels- all
of which had established through organization with the grid system.
-The Hittites and established themselves in Anatolia while the Aryans came into India by
crossing over he Northwest mountains and established themselves into India.
-The Aryans developed a caste system in which they were the nobles due to their arrogance.
One of the kings, Magadha the most ambitious one had created a kingdom and soon planned
out to expand out.
-Later the great epic of, Mahabharata set to the beginnings of a new religion-bringing the
Aryans and non-Aryans to assimilate with each other.
Buddhism - Brought about by the Buddha-enlightened one- Siddhartha Gautama who listed the 4
Noble truths.
- Established the ways a person could pass the Eightfold and reach nirvana.
-Made up the Three Jewels where people took refuge in Buddha, the dharma, and therefore
was part of the sanghra.
Veda -4 collections of prayers, magic spells, and instructions for performing rituals-the sacred
literature of the Aryans.
-Set the bases for Hinduism and their gods- the Rig Veda contained 1028 hymns extolling
all the Gods.
-Believed in karma- good deeds led to a a good life and bad deeds led to a bad life.
- Believed that Buddha was just a form of Vishnu- one of the Gods just reappearing himself-
therefore they though Buddhism itself was not a religion but a part of Hinduism.
Mandate of Heaven- belief that the royal authority came form heaven, a just ruler had divine approval whereas
a depraved ruler would lose his control..
oracle bones- animal bones and tortoise shells which priests would scratch out questions for the gods to answer
and by burning them, cracks formed would have to be deciphered for an answer,
feudalism- a political system in which nobles/lords are granted the use of lands that legally belong to the king
and in return the nobles owe loyalty and military service to the king and protection to the people who live on the
estates.
a. Confucius – social order, harmony, and good government could be restored in China if society was organized
around five basic relationships; 1. Ruler and subject, 2.) Father and son, 3.) Husband and wife, 4.) Older brother
and younger brother, 5.) friend and friend. The rulers are to be kind and practice virtuous living while the
subjects remain loyal and law-abiding.
b. the Taoists – natural order is more important than social order meaning that the search of knowledge helps
bring about the advances in technology and science, in order to do so humans must live in harmony with their
environment (nature).
c. the Legalists – belief that a highly efficient and powerful government was the key to restoring order
therefore there should be punishments and for the people to be prohibited form thinking critically about the
government .
Create an outline and briefly provide three analyses for each aspect:
geography - China was surrounded by natural barriers among all side; Pacific Ocean to the east,
Taklimakan dessert and Plateau of Tibet to the west, Himalayas to the southwest, Gobi
Desert and Mongolian Plateau to the north.
- About 90% of the remaining land is suitable for farming which lies within the plains
of Huang He river, northern china and Yangtze river, central china.
- Due to living in between all these natural barriers and settling in the heartland the
Chinese belief that they were the only civilized group of people was promoted.
-Despite natural barriers, China was consistently invaded by people from the west and
north.
major cities -Anyung, the capital of the Shang Dynasty (1532-1027 B.C.)- oldest and built of wood
considering that it stood on a forest clearing.
- Cities surrounded by earthen walls which were chary and were able to be raised and
control large forces of workers to equivocate any trouble such as the extemporaneous
wars taking place at the time where horse-drawn chariots were driven through.
-Walls most likely took a group of 10,000 men over a time period of 12 yrs to build.
economy -Social classes were divided into two groups; consisting of; nobles who owned the land
and the warrior-nobles who governed the land headed with the king.
-Then there were the peasants whom tilted the soil using wooden digging sticks and
hoes and sickle made of stone.
- Based on farming- consisting of mainly rice and wheat.- Feudalism was brought
about.
change in -Zhou effaced Shang and a new dynasty began sharing similar cultural aspects.
society
- Roads and canals were built stimulating trade along with agriculture and later the use
of coinage.
- Iron was now used and mended to create weapons and tools.
- Zhou dynasty slowly enervated near 771 B.C. when the monarch was murdered and
later was expunged near the 256 B.C.
Zoroastrian- an ancient religion founded by the Persian prophet Zoroaster, the principal belief of which is in a
supreme deity and a cosmic contest between two spirits, one good and one evil
2. Compare and Contrast the significance of Assyrians, the Phoenicians and the Persians.
Assyrians had once captured Phoenician city states of the east only promoting them to set up city-states in the
west such as Carthage. The Phoenicians also had their homelands conquered by the Babylonians which was
later in the hands of the Persians. Both conquers assimilated to the Phoenician methods considering how
adequate their skills of shipbuilding and being a seaman was as well as their proficient writing system which
was erudite among several countries through the Persian traders. Persians became famous for their discovery of
purple dye, had traveled past Africa and around the Strait of Gibraltar then back, as well as constructing two
story homes with balconies and brought about techniques of glass making from silica.
HW #11
Define Terms:
Exodus- the period in which the Hebrews fled Egypt with the help of Moses.
Ethical Monotheism- carrying out the right conduct and the worship of one God.
1. How was the Jewish religion revolutionary in ancient times?
The Jewish religion was revolutionary because this was the first type of monotheistic religion to arise and the
belief the Yahweh, the name of their god was just and not a physical being therefore no physical images were to
be made of him. And there was one servant at a time to be a messenger of God amongst the people through a
series of covenants, starting with Abraham and the pledge of loyalty towards Yahweh in return for protection
then later Moses and the discovery of the Ten Commandments. The Hebrew idea of ethical monotheism has
influenced human behavior for thousands of years through Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
-Location by the sea and its mountainous land- created city-states, skilled sailors and
traders, and difficult to invade.
Mycenaean culture
-Wealthy kings and nobles lived lives of splendor and earned wealth by controlling local
production and commercial trade, while also leading armies to plunder.
-conquered Crete and retained Minoan culture: Trade over sea, adaptation of Minoan language to
Greek language, art, legends
-Trojan War- Tory supposedly located in modern day Northwestern Turkey- 2 reasons include-
a. Mycenaean King’s wife Helen was captured and taken to Troy, b. to gain control of the crucial
water ways of the Aegean Sea.
Minoan culture
-wall paintings indicated graceful athletic people who loved nature and beautiful objects.
-women had a higher rank than other neighboring societies
- Minoans civilization ended mysteriously but wasn’t able to rebuild due to Mycenaean invasion.
Dorian Age led to a decline in economy and trade because of their lower advancement. No
written records during this time- Dorian were savage/war like beings who were illiterate with a
less developed culture.
-Homer helped Greek culture to survive through spoken word- he wrote epics-most famous
being the Iliad and the Odyssey- myths reflecting on the Trojan War
- Greek gods were said to have human like feelings so the people could develop closer
relationships with their deities.
---------Dorian had an oligarchy because they became unhappy with their current aristocrat
government system.-People began to separate themselves in terms of wealth and power strict
military rule and favored to prevent disorder and maintain peace.
----------Getting out of the Dark Ages- several types of government systems had formed
Government Systems
Monarchy-state ruled by a king, rule is hereditary, some claim divine right. (Practiced in
Mycenae)
Aristocracy- state ruled by nobility, rule is hereditary and based on land ownership, social status
and wealth support rulers’ authority (practiced in Athens).
Oligarchy-state ruled by a small group of citizens, rule is based on wealth, ruling group controls
military (practiced in Sparta)
Democracy-state ruled by its citizens, rule based on citizenship (free adult land owning adult
males-slaves and women excluded), majority decides vote (practiced in Athens)
----------Women’s life in Athens under democracy- centered around the home and family-
included child bearing, cloth weaving, preparing meals, managing household- limited power.
(Messenians)- helots
---------------------slaves
2 group government
b. council of elders-proposed laws (assembly voted on these laws) + ephors (5 elected officials)-
carried out laws the council passed= controlled education and prosecuted court cases.+ 2 kings-
ruled Sparta’s military
Boys-----------Men=Tough soldiers
7-no shoes, army barracks, marched all day, slept on hard benches, ate coarse black porridge.
Spartans= service over family= S/F=no culture, duty strength and discipline.
Persian War
Persian War= Battle at Marathon- tactic of Greek pharynx + Battle at Thermopylae and Salamis-
Spartan Sacrifice+ naval battle (fight at sea)
= Athens becomes new feared and Greek civilization power- head of Delian League- 140 polis
under rule
Leads to:
Pericles
-Appealed to the needs and wants of his people, he gained power and was able to build up the
government and helped strengthen city state
-Goals were:
Glorify/Beautify Athens- used money from Delian League- bought god, ivory, marble- most
money spent on the artisans of the Parthenon to honor Athena- protector of Athens- 38 feet tall
statue
Hold and Strengthen Empire--------money from Delian League- to build Athens 200 ship navy-
strengthen the safety of Athens specially in its waterways- overseas trade to gain grain/raw
materials.
Stronger Democracy
-During this age, drama, sculpture, poetry, philosophy, architecture, can science reached new
heights. 1st theaters- portrayed civic pride+ tributes to gods
----------Comedies + tragedies
Peloponnesian War- Sparta declares war on Athens due to unfair use of treasury
-Athens resides in city walls-------Athenian power declines due to plague= close proximity+
unsanitary conditions
--------------Pericles’ strategy to battle at sea---------Athens surrender
*After the Peloponnesian war, Athens lost its empire, power, and wealth. Confidence in
democracy faltered...Bad leaders did not help; Greece was declining. Philosophers (Socrates,
Plato, Aristotle), rose during time of uncertainty and questioning
7. Philosophy- search for the truth (lovers of wisdom) questioning why what happened-
why the society faltered?
Socrates-
-“unexamined life is not worth living” “if a person fully understands what the good is, then he
will do the good”- vice or evil is the absence of knowledge------referring to self-knowledge
Plato-
Socrates died under a democracy due to the jury disagreeing with him and therefore Plato his
student thought democracy was the worst form of government because the people were ignorant
and would lead the society to a downfall. --------didn’t want a repeat of Socrates’ unjustified
death.
They are always striving for more; unsatisfied because they are the bottom of the
pyramid->desires->AMBITIOUS
“Knowledge is virtue”- so the soul must operate within limits, avoiding excess so as not to usurp
the authority of other parts of the gov’t= appetite + spirit + reason
Virtues
reason
“I saw clearly, with regard to all states now existing that without exception their system of
government is bad.”
“Can never grow into a reality or see the light of day, and there will be no end to the trouble of
states, or indeed of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we
now call king sand rulers really and truly become philosophers.”
Democracy- 2nd to worst form- based on the power of the people – majority (consensus rules)-
ignorant- uneducated- there are more desires- biased+ foolish decisions- minorities are excluded
Despotism- is the worst because desires overcome reason and logic. ruled by an aggressive tyrant
who abuses his power and leaves the people under fear, this fear eclipses their judgment of
wrongdoing of the ruler and leads people to selfish doing-creates chaos.
Aristotle
3 laws
principle of contradiction- a statement cannot be true and false at the same time
principle of the excluded middle- a statement must be true or false.- no third possibility
not based on logical or reasonable deduction like Aristotle’s ideal for reasoning.
Square of opposition- remind us that to defeat such a universal affirmative thesis we only need
one example----------- few arguments are deductive-probability-
Political Thinking
“In order to fulfill himself, a man must activate his social life which requires existence within his
society.
3 worst forms- tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy- defective- rulers seek their own personal gain
first.
Aristotle agrees with slavery considering that slaves lack the intellect to think for themselves and
need to be commanded
Alexander
“I set no limits to laborers to a man of spirit. It is a lovely thing to live with courage and to die,
leaving behind an everlasting renown.
- Hellenism
-After Death of Alexander during the Hellenistic period, another period of dark fragmentation
arose. Philosophy again rose, with different ideals, and a desire to search for individual freedom
within the chaos. They struggled over how to relate to the universe when the world around them
dismantled.
4. School of Philosophy
Stoicism- founded by Zeno who urged humans to want only those things a human can control
and submit themselves to a divinely ordered cosmos where reason ruled the universe. A divinity
controlled the universe and should believe in ethics-storic means rigid
Epicureanism- founded by Epicurus who did not believe in gods, and argued that people should
and could live without fear of gods.
-Therefore, people should renounce politics and be free from worries and the -craziness of
the world.
-Seeker of pleasure
-Behavior often revolting to those around him, as he urinated around banquet tables and
challenged special norms.
-The world should be avoided and lived at minimum level of spiritual and material needs.
Geography of China
1. To the west lays the Taklimakan Desert and the icy plateau of Tibet.
2. To the southwest are the Himalaya Mountains.
3. To the east is the Pacific Ocean
4. To the north is the Huang He River (Yellow River, named for the color of the silt)
5. In the center of China is the Yangtze River.
The Silk Road was established during the Han Dynasty, in which, it began from the Yellow Sea
(northeastern) and continued until the Mediterranean Sea (northwest)
Geography of India
1. India is separated from the rest of Asia by the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalaya ranges.
2. The mountains guard a fertile plain formed by two rivers, the Indus and the Ganges.
3. These two rivers stretch 1500 miles across northern India and the area that they water is
referred to as the Indus Ganges plain.
4. Below the plain is the southern part of the subcontinent, which is a peninsula and verges south
into the Indian Ocean, referred to as the Deccan.
Environmental Challenges
1. The flooding of the rivers was unpredictable.
2. If there was too little rain, plants withered and died, causing people to succumb to death due to
starvation. If there was too much rain, floods would sweep away whole villages.
Benefits
1. The world’s tallest mountains to the north and the desert to the west (the Thar Desert) acted as
natural barriers and protected the Indus Valley from invasions. The Indus Valley also provided a
link to the sea.
Confucianism
1. Social order, harmony, and good government should be based on family relationships.
2. Respect for parents and elders are important to a well-ordered society.
3. Education is important both to the welfare of the individual and to society.
Hammurabi’s Code
1. Set different punishments for the rich and the poor, as well as different punishments for men
and women.
2. Applied the principle of retaliation (an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth)
3. Has 282 laws that deal with everything that affected the community (family relations, business
conduct, and crime)
Sumerians
1) Sumer is located in Mesopotamia.
2) Based upon civilization, which most scholars define as, a complex culture with five
characteristics: 1. Advanced cities, 2. Specialized workers, 3. Complex institutions, 4. Record
keeping, and 5. Advanced technology.
3) Food surpluses provided for specialization, the development of skills in a specific kind of
work.
4) Artisans: skilled workers who made goods by hand.
5) Established cuneiform, meaning wedge shaped, in which the writing system consisted of
pictographs, symbols of the objects or things they represented.
Cultural diffusions occur through trading and generally through contact with other civilizations.
Some examples are migration, a tendency to copy another civilization’s characteristics, and also
for cultural traits to originate in larger cities and then be followed by smaller cities.
Geography of Greece
1. Consists of a majority of mountainous region, approximately three fourths.
2. Neighboring seas of Greece are the Aegean Sea, the Ionian Seam and the Black Sea (acting as
a link between parts of Greece, due to the fact that transportation by land was difficult)
3. Only about 20% of the region of Greece was arable.
4. The climate of Greece was moderate, allowing for a life spent in the outdoors.
5. Often met to discuss public issues, exchange news, and take an active part in civic life.
Philosophy of Greece
1. A philosopher means lovers of wisdom.
2. Socrates believed that standards did not exist for truth and justice, however, encouraged
individuals to question their moral character.
3. Plato, student of Socrates, wrote the Republic, which talked about an ideal society, in which it
was a perfectly governed society and the citizens would fall into three groups, artisans, warriors,
and the ruling class. The one with the most insight and intellect from the ruling class would be
deemed philosopher king.
4. Aristotle questioned the nature of the world and of human belief. He invented a method for
arguing according to logic and provided the basis of the scientific method used today.
Hunters- Gatherers
1. Nomadic groups of people whose food supply depended on hunting animals and collecting
plant surpluses.
2. Hunters gathered experienced pressure to find new food sources due to the fact that
temperatures were rising and more suitable for agriculture.
3. Slash and burn-farming: a process in which trees of grasses were cut and burned in order to
clear a field, in which the ashes would fertilize the soil. They would then plant crops for a year or
two and then moved on, in which after several years the trees and grass grew back, allowing for a
repeat of this process.
4. Domestication: the training of animals in order to keep as a constant source of food as well as
to transport items at a quicker pace.