tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33963263608694105672024-03-13T23:41:52.309-07:00World History to 1500Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-81742626147634290262010-12-09T10:43:00.000-08:002010-12-09T10:43:52.782-08:00Weekly Assignment RoundupWeekly Assignment 17<br />
Due Date: December 17, 2010<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">In this era of long-distance exploration, did Europeans have any special advantages over other cultural regions? What explains the different nature of Europe’s interactions with Africa, India, and the Americas?</span><br />
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Weekly Assignment 16 <br />
Due Date: December 17, 2010<br />
What social, political, and military developments contributed to the rise of European nations in this period?<br />
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Weekly Assignment 14<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">In what ways did Mesoamerica influence the cultural centers of North America?</span><br />
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Weekly Assignment 8<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">What were the most important similarities and differences between the Roman Empire and the Chinese Empire, and what do these similarities and differences tell us about the circumstances and the character of each? Your essay should be well in excess of two pages, double-spaced, with conventional one-inch margins and twelve point font</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Weekly Assignment 7</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">How did the Persian Wars and their aftermath affect the politics and culture of Ancient Greece and Iran?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Weekly Assignment 6</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">How did the civilization of Israel develop, following both cultural patterns typical of other societies and in its own unique way?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Weekly Assignment 4</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">In the readings and lectures on Mesopotamia and Egypt, religious beliefs played an important role in organizing society. What specifically were the religious beliefs in the two regions—meaning, what were the specific religious practices. What benefit did religion have in each society—and were there any practices that were harmful. How were these practices different from those today—and are there any similarities?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-12019599650658646102010-12-08T19:20:00.000-08:002010-12-08T19:20:39.291-08:00Global Maritime ExpansionI. Global Maritime Expansion Before 1450<br />
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A. Pacific Ocean<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tahiti1.com/images/canoe-toamotu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://www.tahiti1.com/images/canoe-toamotu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>1. Polynesian Voyages--the ancestors of the Polynesians originated in Asia. After centuries of island-hopping migration, Polynesians developed more sea-worthy canoes, some as long as 120 feet (that's 40 yards--nearly half the length of a football field). Polynesian voyagers eventually reached the mainland of the Americas, where they gained access to the sweet potato, which was domesticated first in South America. Long-distance travel spread this nutritious crop as far away as New Zealand.<br />
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B. The Indian Ocean<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cache3.asset-cache.net/xc/71986768.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF878921F7C3FC3F69D929FD3D6E8E24F8AD364CF009A96C200C772C40970506D69B774ADA70E170507C691C" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://cache3.asset-cache.net/xc/71986768.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF878921F7C3FC3F69D929FD3D6E8E24F8AD364CF009A96C200C772C40970506D69B774ADA70E170507C691C" width="320" /></a></div>1. Chinese Voyages--the Indian Ocean traders before 1400 operated outside the control of empires and the states they served, but China under the Ming dynasty was becoming more interested in these wealthy ports of trade. Between 1405 and 1433, the Ming sent out 7 imperial fleets, each with an enormous number of ships. The expeditions were led by Admiral Zheng He, a Chinese Muslim eunuch. After 1433, Ming emperors stopped sending out these fleets, influenced by Confucian advisers who thought that people who could not speak Chinese had little to offer them.<br />
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II. European Expansion 1400-1500<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJd_-gRnZCYSWqHR9vItCdhjc_Cd3AwOf6SmNcrWZwCgKQgP-50tvB7mjMHO-yqe9Lfi1JlWNw7zirlumzkHmLUlE2-WGUAywH5h8mJhEfR-cLRqsV0MQCVUUFcpMaKZztdNrz2tF8EK0/s1600-h/olga_atlantic_high.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384486300396192530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJd_-gRnZCYSWqHR9vItCdhjc_Cd3AwOf6SmNcrWZwCgKQgP-50tvB7mjMHO-yqe9Lfi1JlWNw7zirlumzkHmLUlE2-WGUAywH5h8mJhEfR-cLRqsV0MQCVUUFcpMaKZztdNrz2tF8EK0/s320/olga_atlantic_high.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirwwL2u9C_PYbRkzTv7TP4kAbhp4XiBgMECUJt7heYCpV73Sd4ZSms8Qf_QbsTGuReVKwuxL1YL7J7A2XCHJ5w0hl9X8WVE377Zi5O0c-OR_jayAcy5RvwssK6GZf84yhWoRxo9mzT1g/s1600-h/columbus_fleet.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384478302834192914" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirwwL2u9C_PYbRkzTv7TP4kAbhp4XiBgMECUJt7heYCpV73Sd4ZSms8Qf_QbsTGuReVKwuxL1YL7J7A2XCHJ5w0hl9X8WVE377Zi5O0c-OR_jayAcy5RvwssK6GZf84yhWoRxo9mzT1g/s320/columbus_fleet.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 275px;" /></a><br />
I. Portuguese Exploration<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ70Zvej9tMKmIJmP-d-DmOMIsJ5mlve6lK0yfaq5o3XcAQueGgMvvQJ0vuIRhjQlOn7QpqZpRaEX8qJTPnuQeuI8Ptikttk5e7lb8qCX8jrX3K6HreBvRaumjAl07vqz6W6sjV91WCXI/s1600-h/Henry_the_Navigator1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384479673507281554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ70Zvej9tMKmIJmP-d-DmOMIsJ5mlve6lK0yfaq5o3XcAQueGgMvvQJ0vuIRhjQlOn7QpqZpRaEX8qJTPnuQeuI8Ptikttk5e7lb8qCX8jrX3K6HreBvRaumjAl07vqz6W6sjV91WCXI/s320/Henry_the_Navigator1.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 281px;" /></a><br />
A. Henry the Navigator--younger son of ruling Aviz family. Became head of the religious military organization Order of Christ in 1420. Portuguese nobility, fired by the long, successful struggle against Islam in the Iberian peninsula, and were looking for allies to extend this struggle to retake Jerusalem from Islamic control--preferably with a partner east of the Holy City.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_PvY1i_SMXOoHStmsIfBidbPrKrfNhqHot-e1lcRL7-aiyE04UlPocfHFuvqpzFV5TyjBgvktmQA6x4rokLXW6YlOQf98KBvK8-XRd69lH-MgdDzIe5DQdFDVMexWLCwjyDOT-I45zDs/s1600-h/cabo.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384480694896408466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_PvY1i_SMXOoHStmsIfBidbPrKrfNhqHot-e1lcRL7-aiyE04UlPocfHFuvqpzFV5TyjBgvktmQA6x4rokLXW6YlOQf98KBvK8-XRd69lH-MgdDzIe5DQdFDVMexWLCwjyDOT-I45zDs/s320/cabo.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 189px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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1. Legend of “Prester John”--a supposed long-lost Christian king, located somewhere in Africa (or maybe Asia--nobody is really sure). Henry’s plan seems to have been to seek out the kingdom of Prester John, and ally with it to “free” the Holy Land.<br />
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a) Basis in reality?--there were, of course, Christians in eastern Africa (the Coptic Church in both Egypt and Ethiopia), as well as Christians in the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, and India--none of them called Prester John, of course.<br />
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2. Systematic exploration--the Portuguese began a systematic exploration of the African Coast to look for the “western Nile” (apparently the Senegal River) that would take them to the kingdom of Prester John.<br />
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B. Benefits of Arab Contact<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfrxFJcvOyBghKS-XjbkkwQ-NO6hR-193cElDMP6UPgetwx5bdCvPfuUX94grhuw1wvh7Vybs9VnvK1A4firgDma9ZjA_jmw6qW4JgynOWFY-z4XyfbASkaFxOjxZ3KScwBupXTL2sI4/s1600-h/astrolab382.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384481801325943314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfrxFJcvOyBghKS-XjbkkwQ-NO6hR-193cElDMP6UPgetwx5bdCvPfuUX94grhuw1wvh7Vybs9VnvK1A4firgDma9ZjA_jmw6qW4JgynOWFY-z4XyfbASkaFxOjxZ3KScwBupXTL2sI4/s320/astrolab382.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 286px;" /></a><br />
1. Navigational tools--from their Muslim contact, Portuguese sailors had learned to use an astrolab and a compass, and to build a modified ship they called the caravel, which had a lateran sail that allowed the ship to tack better--necessary to navigate on the open ocean (particularly against the wind)<br />
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2. Navigational maps--as the exploration process progressed, Portuguese mapmakers grew more skilled, and gathered more information, to draw more accurate maps. These new maps included not only more accurate depictions of land masses, but also indications of the direction and strength of trade winds and sea currents<br />
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3. Knowledge of Arab trade routes--Portuguese were also hoping to tap into some of the wealth the Arabs generated from their trade with Africa and Asia. <br />
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II. The Expeditions<br />
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A. To the “Western Nile”<br />
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1. Cape Bojador--the southernmost point known to Europeans to this time. It was a fairly unattractive place, port along the Atlantic coast with Sahara Desert as its hinterland. It eventually was discovered that sailing well into the Atlantic--out of the sight of land--was a better route.<br />
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a) Porto Santo (1419)-- “Discovered” by an expedition that got caught in a storm and blown off course; became an important launching point for future expeditions.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoa93oNHF31cefbqZ1DmbocaTdRAkl75zwSaG-ho-RvbVbhyZ8dCXOFKkogLumJQvTLG7CXl7E-y9OnNjPsLzYYxHQ4H4cXxkH0XazJVk4eu4_5DK58k57SIYyMCHey-VmdzdoPtZSms/s1600-h/madeira_island.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384482431256166370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoa93oNHF31cefbqZ1DmbocaTdRAkl75zwSaG-ho-RvbVbhyZ8dCXOFKkogLumJQvTLG7CXl7E-y9OnNjPsLzYYxHQ4H4cXxkH0XazJVk4eu4_5DK58k57SIYyMCHey-VmdzdoPtZSms/s320/madeira_island.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 170px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
b) Madeira Islands (1420)--became an important source for wood to construct ships (madeira is portuguese for wood); it was colonized, and becomes an important source for industrial agricultural products.<br />
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2. Tangiers--Portuguese disasterous attack on this city, held by Berbers. Portuguese army surrounded and forced to surrender; only way to save the army was to send youngest Aviz brother, Prince Fernando, into captivity. He died in captivity four years later. This tragedy seemed to spur Prince Henry on, however.<br />
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3. Cabo Branco (Cape Blanco)--an expedition to “make peace” with Africans ended up capturing a number of them, including a chief named Adahu, who provided the Portuguese with much information.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRe8_j6N7ONoCFRvhoFUxUIy2otwVTnf5rzlNf4GDd5fEv3C-gcnr7EFrk1UFqXBs2n4kOY1w8SFhDpNF30deMwwfi83wyJPkgYBRBdXzWFaZFDoODpzR1EDs6SDHchDWhk5EodHQ4qTw/s1600-h/1900Africa_map.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384488972689536786" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRe8_j6N7ONoCFRvhoFUxUIy2otwVTnf5rzlNf4GDd5fEv3C-gcnr7EFrk1UFqXBs2n4kOY1w8SFhDpNF30deMwwfi83wyJPkgYBRBdXzWFaZFDoODpzR1EDs6SDHchDWhk5EodHQ4qTw/s320/1900Africa_map.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 250px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
B. The Atlantic Islands and the Development of Slavery--the Portuguese colonized the islands they “discovered” in the Atlantic, probably because they used these as stations during expeditions. Using the model of the islands of the Mediterranean, plantation agriculture using slave labor was quickly developed--particularly the cultivation of sugar cane, which used slave labor; many slaves from Africa were used to cultivate sugar cane in the Mediterranean, and the importation of African slaves to work the plantations on these Atlantic islands seemed a natural progression.<br />
1. Madeira Islands--sugar cane, and grapes (Madeira wine)<br />
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2. Azores Island (1427)<br />
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3. Cape Verde Islands (1460)<br />
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4. Sao Tome (1470)--all these islands were colonized, in contrast to the “factories” that were established on the African coast as trading outposts.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG4oRCXDblNu7G7AowIy2j3WbJFyEyX5zLAmKy2Z9kj8dHKBHg3kI0yAqoWYAYSLzhZQlK2aK6W8uUP9pF7M3i1MYFgnTFUzjlJUAyXFAmbY5KsjtuFzZu6iGSb3NsTg_fHVIPCvIvOYU/s1600-h/gold_guinea.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384488137034586466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG4oRCXDblNu7G7AowIy2j3WbJFyEyX5zLAmKy2Z9kj8dHKBHg3kI0yAqoWYAYSLzhZQlK2aK6W8uUP9pF7M3i1MYFgnTFUzjlJUAyXFAmbY5KsjtuFzZu6iGSb3NsTg_fHVIPCvIvOYU/s320/gold_guinea.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 314px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
C. Guineas and Gold--Guinea was the name applied to the land south of the Sahara Desert, and to the people living there. It later became applied to a several countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It also became a slang term for the gold coin minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1813, made with gold mined in Guinea--and those coins were often traded for slaves (Guinea slaves)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC8MrC6IyLs0ot5MRTdkChj4YPJKIuxIWjMDSIqgc3m7F_2i2L-HWJzMmwVShzzazhmNKNIKC7lT1q3wDf6wH9tnfDs2ZHsrd45rSjtMgEcicnO_KdMCHcYXwN898CFZG_r-EvdwrZRGI/s1600-h/caravel.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384489281786948498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC8MrC6IyLs0ot5MRTdkChj4YPJKIuxIWjMDSIqgc3m7F_2i2L-HWJzMmwVShzzazhmNKNIKC7lT1q3wDf6wH9tnfDs2ZHsrd45rSjtMgEcicnO_KdMCHcYXwN898CFZG_r-EvdwrZRGI/s320/caravel.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 246px;" /></a><br />
1. Caravel--in 1441, the first expedition to use the caravel was made, and at a village along the Rio do Ouro several people were kidnapped, taken back to Portugal, and sold as slaves--the beginning of the slave trade in Europe (Arabs had dealt in the African slave trade for hundreds of years to this point).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy5O-myBhJeqKePja0c-D-HQFgY_OGn0V5WOz8KHebVoYM9NawFeSRpGScVGW6L_xNQyQD4v6tM-pMuH8qs-Hj1XvsR8Dm4yumqlxkHgJqBVKrExj4vOtbAp3xUoCXjyXQI8gz0XUdCa4/s1600-h/portugallagosmarket2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384490474609627650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy5O-myBhJeqKePja0c-D-HQFgY_OGn0V5WOz8KHebVoYM9NawFeSRpGScVGW6L_xNQyQD4v6tM-pMuH8qs-Hj1XvsR8Dm4yumqlxkHgJqBVKrExj4vOtbAp3xUoCXjyXQI8gz0XUdCa4/s320/portugallagosmarket2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 319px;" /></a><br />
2. Bay of Arguin (1448)--first Portuguese fort constructed on African coast from which trade was conducted with Africans. The few Portuguese agents in these forts were called “factors,” which is how these establishments became known as “factories.”<br />
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3. Cape Verde (1444)--Dinis Dia, inspired by the earlier discovery that the Sahara Desert ended, found the westernmost part of Africa. From this point on, Portuguese merchants became more involved in the exploration process, because of the potential wealth to be gained from establishing trade networks; the Portuguese monarchy was happy to take a cut of the trade proceeds without having to risk anything.<br />
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a) Fenao Gomes--one of the merchants who financed their own expeditions. Gomes and his crew “discovered” the Gold Coast (modern Ghana).<br />
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D. King Joao II--succeeded his father Afonso V to the throne, he actively supported his own expeditions, and signalled a renewed drive on the part of the Portuguese crown to seek a sea route to Asia; within four years of his gaining the crown, Portuguese expeditions round the Cape of Good Hope.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAtYZcpm2VBnPbd_Xfv0aUFgkWnW4-hXrYVKGzS-_F8qPg6CSTf-AT6rqtgHOOi24yV-uo9jFVHSdD38nGpg8_dgdpLGgjmgzR57kl6ClsBWQdJCntEC8VPvLqrNICvD0bedlX2ajDfeQ/s1600-h/portugalkingofkongo2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384490951313283602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAtYZcpm2VBnPbd_Xfv0aUFgkWnW4-hXrYVKGzS-_F8qPg6CSTf-AT6rqtgHOOi24yV-uo9jFVHSdD38nGpg8_dgdpLGgjmgzR57kl6ClsBWQdJCntEC8VPvLqrNICvD0bedlX2ajDfeQ/s320/portugalkingofkongo2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 246px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
1. Voyage of Diogo Cao (1482)--Cao discovered that the western coast of the African continent turned south and ran for over a thousand miles before turning again. Cao also became the first European to come into contact with the Kingdom of the Kongo, which became an important trading partner and the first successful effort to convert sub-Saharan Africans to Christianity.<br />
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2. Christopher Columbus--was turned down by King Joa in 1484 (and again in 1488).<br />
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3. Bartolomeu Dias (1487)--sent on expedition to find the southern cape of Africa. He was successful, but did not at first recognize his feat because his small fleet had been caught in a serious storm as they approached the cape, and passed in the midst of that. He reported back that his fleet had rounded the “Cape of Storms,” but king changed the name to “Cape of Good Hope” because investors would be scared off from an expedition that had to pass by the Cape of Storms.<br />
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II. Spanish Exploration<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7bCjF1FLnEqNzvwIIQP61jYsERcEY-DRy0xpSPujmsVNBvXim2zIgS647X63wKvV2TbogWNrNL-NNwkDIybJZsY7C9bfGKUJ8cHfs9-qUNrP2rXqEmpIhF8U9ajgKsLTtIzOVEi2IZk/s1600-h/columbus.lg.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384491367703422914" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7bCjF1FLnEqNzvwIIQP61jYsERcEY-DRy0xpSPujmsVNBvXim2zIgS647X63wKvV2TbogWNrNL-NNwkDIybJZsY7C9bfGKUJ8cHfs9-qUNrP2rXqEmpIhF8U9ajgKsLTtIzOVEi2IZk/s320/columbus.lg.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 259px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
A. Christopher Columbus--son of a Genoese shopkeeper. Columbus aspired to greatness on the seas; from his early teen years on he gained sailing experience. He developed a theory that one could reach Asia by sailing west from Europe, largely because of a miscalculation.<br />
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1. Columbus in Lisbon--Portugal is the westernmost country in Europe, and had sailors sailing the Atlantic long before the rise of Prince Enrique (Henry) the Navigator. With the fall of Constantinople, Lisbon had become the place for seafaring adventurers.<br />
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a) Columbus’ proposal (1485)--to Joao (or John) II, that he be outfitted with three ships and a year’s time to make the voyage to Asia and back. King Joao turned this request over to his councilors, who concluded that Columbus had badly miscalculated the circumference of the earth, and that the trip was impractical.<br />
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b) Columbus’ proposal (1488)--same sales pitch, same result. Decision was also probably influenced by knowledge that a Portuguese expedition had yet to return from an attempt to round the continent of Africa.<br />
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2. Columbus in Cadiz--Columbus had already utilized his Genoese connections to find half the money for the expedition; he had to rely upon a European monarch for the other half of the funding, however.<br />
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a) Proposal to Henry VIII of England, who did not decide in favor before Columbus was finally able to persuade the dual monarchs of Spain to take the chance.<br />
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b) Ferdinand and Isabella--although the Kingdom of Spain was mostly broke from fighting the final battles to unite their kingdom, they were able to find some money in the treasury (and force contributions from some of their subjects) to fund the expedition<br />
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c) Departure--from Palos de la Fronterra on August 3, 1492. The three ships made a stop in the Canary Islands for final repairs, then departed on September 6.<br />
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d) Arrival--land was spotted on October 12 (Columbus Day in much of the Spanish-speaking world)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEn4P7YP5_EGDA0Kuw_54PnoLkw3XgQzT6ZRfdoMH3m3Al17lrnyYXE5jb7X7r9ca6QkRiGjwgckO3Nn4rl9PePxRMrrtjzVDQLmHC_y8lRlei9baXBOiyRBdII1KdG0DKK4KCkjKq5-E/s1600-h/tainos.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384492197744886018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEn4P7YP5_EGDA0Kuw_54PnoLkw3XgQzT6ZRfdoMH3m3Al17lrnyYXE5jb7X7r9ca6QkRiGjwgckO3Nn4rl9PePxRMrrtjzVDQLmHC_y8lRlei9baXBOiyRBdII1KdG0DKK4KCkjKq5-E/s320/tainos.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 269px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
3. Columbus in the New World<br />
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a) Caribbean Islands--Columbus’ first encountered a gentle, friendly people the Spanish called the Tainos, who seemed to welcome the strangers<br />
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b) Columbus was attracted to their gold jewelry, and attempted to ascertain where they obtained it--but they had great difficulty communicating with each other, since neither party spoke the others’ language.<br />
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c) Kidnapped 12 “Indios” to take back to Spain (kind of like specimens); tellingly, all 12 died shortly after their arrival in Spain<br />
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d) Columbus made three other voyages, and served for a time as governor of “New Spain” (when he was accused of misusing his power and theft, and briefly thrown in jail), but it is not clear that he ever understood the importance of his “discovery.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuoQXjnQoN-C-0Hm8qfqXV8RDnMWBtqaJ0M3addp6-iFR2NQacComhhdQOdBciR25oHcksGSlYxyCKCKqC7AYYKhapKyr8GQYN4EBkj7W5TbdwyEHhv3ONffn5AIZgQjQWWmg2oQCK3o/s1600-h/tordesillas.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384493022745761730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuoQXjnQoN-C-0Hm8qfqXV8RDnMWBtqaJ0M3addp6-iFR2NQacComhhdQOdBciR25oHcksGSlYxyCKCKqC7AYYKhapKyr8GQYN4EBkj7W5TbdwyEHhv3ONffn5AIZgQjQWWmg2oQCK3o/s320/tordesillas.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 297px;" /></a><br />
E. Treaty of Tordesilla (1494)--divided the world outside of Europe into two spheres of influence--Portuguese and Spanish. These spheres were divided by the Pope in a line running north/south from 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands.<br />
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1. Spanish proposal--after Columbus’ “discovery,” Spain insisted upon dividing world into two different areas for making claims of surzenity, or control. Spain’s proposal was to demarcate the line 100 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands.<br />
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2. Portuguese response--King Jao insisted that the line be drawn at 370 leagues--why? Why not 200, or 300? Did the Portuguese have information about the existence of a large land mass on the other side of the Atlantic?<br />
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III. Voyage of Vasco da Gama<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2esiEDYOOuVT__ZVmzc3RXKJ3c5Mo8jUdu_rPFLWr_sbCLHOCJ6mVkJu9fswLbdWmqXoOH1fSpXo0ZlCZl7149HRO7cK57_Ot2KkT8MCY7xi87p7HIeUPOP909BuGUJaNCt-lDS_rp0/s1600-h/vasco.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384493523919352002" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2esiEDYOOuVT__ZVmzc3RXKJ3c5Mo8jUdu_rPFLWr_sbCLHOCJ6mVkJu9fswLbdWmqXoOH1fSpXo0ZlCZl7149HRO7cK57_Ot2KkT8MCY7xi87p7HIeUPOP909BuGUJaNCt-lDS_rp0/s320/vasco.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 224px;" /></a><br />
A. Arming the caravel--in preparation for sailing into the Indian Ocean--known to be dominated by Islamic traders, a method was devised to put cannons below deck, behind doors built into the bulkhead. This provided da Gama and his successors an immense advantage, because they were the most heavily armed ships in the Indian Ocean.<br />
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B. The Voyage<br />
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I. Portuguese Age of Exploration 1415-1530<br />
1. da Gama left in 1497. Hoping to avoid the difficulties faces by Dias, Gama used the trade winds of the Atlantic to his advantage--but still almost missed the Cape of Good Hope.<br />
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2. After rounding the Cape, the expedition made slow progress up the east coast of Africa, before finding a local pilot knowledgeable of the Indian Ocean, who guided the fleet across to India.<br />
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3. Returned to Portugal in 1499.<br />
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IV. The Aftermath<br />
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A. Spice trade--after reaching India, Portuguese explorers continued to press eastward, eventually reaching the Spice Islands, China, and Japan.<br />
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1. As on the coast of Africa, the Portuguese established factories to carry out trade, which allowed them to dominate the spice trade to Europe for about 100 years.<br />
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2. Asciento system--in the early years of Portuguese dominance, they were able to insist that ships that traded in the Indian Ocean by a license to trade there; as more ships followed the Portuguese example of heavily arming their ships, this became less effective; Portuguese also found it difficult to maintain such a huge empire with fewer than 300 ships and less than 10,000 Portuguese to run it.<br />
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3. Succession problems--the fall of the House of Aviz, and the ascension of Philip II of Spain to the throne of Portugal, made the lucrative spice trade a ready target for Philip’s growing list of enemies--particularly the Dutch, who take over much of the Portuguese empire in Asia by 1620.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-24243346274287527232010-12-06T19:44:00.000-08:002010-12-06T19:44:28.573-08:00The Latin West, 1200-1500I. Rural Growth and Crisis<br />
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A. Peasants, Population, and Plague<br />
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1. Rural life--In 1200, most western Europeans lived as <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/serf">serfs</a> tilling the soil on large estates woned by the nobility and the Church. They owed their lord a share of both their harvests and numerous labor services. As a consequence of the inefficiency of farming practices and their obligations to landowners, peasants received meager returns for their hard work. Even with the numerous religious holidays, peasants labored fifty-four hours a week in their fields, more than half that time in support of the local nobility. Each noble household typically lived on the labor of fifteen to thirty peasant families.<br />
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2. New Farming Technology--Population growth required more productive farming and new agricultural settlements. The new three-field system replaced the practice of leaving half the land fallow (unplanted) every year so it could regain its fertility. Instead, complimentary plants restored nutrients to the soil, and the fallow field allowed pasture for horses, who in turn produced fertilizer.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.napolun.com/mirror/napoleonistyka.atspace.com/img/teutonic_knights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="http://www.napolun.com/mirror/napoleonistyka.atspace.com/img/teutonic_knights.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>3. New Settlements--The Order of Teutonic Knights drove out native peoples who had not adopted Christianity, and resettled Christian peasants on the land in much of present day Germany; other Latin Christians were able to found new settlements on lands conquered from Muslim and Byzantines in southern Europe, and on Celtic lands in the British Isles.<br />
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4. Famines--the population explosion necessitated the draining of swamps and clearing of forests, opening more marginal land to settlement. With climatic change beginning about 1250, this land was more suceptible to frost, and after 1300 northern Europe could no longer depend upon warm summers. After 1300, most Europeans could expect to face extreme hunger once or twice during his (or her) 30 to 35 years of life.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/black-death.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/black-death.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>5. Black Death--reversed this population growth. Brought to Kaffa by Mongol invaders, the disease was brought to Italy and southern France by Genoese traders in 1347. The disease spread throughout Europe for the next two years, in some places killing as much as two-thirds of the population. For Europe as a whole, about one-third of the population was killed.<br />
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B. Social Rebellion--the Black Death triggered social changes in western Europe, as workers who survived demanded higher pay for their services.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.newworldencyclopedia.org/5/5f/DeathWatTyler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://static.newworldencyclopedia.org/5/5f/DeathWatTyler.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>1. Wat Tyler Rebellion--In 1831, English peasants, under the leadership of one of their own, Wat Tyler, invaded London, demanding an end to serfdom and obligations to landowners. Demonstrators murdered the archbishop of Canterbury and several royal officials, and authorities responded with even greater violence and bloodshed--including the killing of the unarmed Tyler during a meeting with the King. These actions could not stave off the higher wages and other changes demanded by the rebels, however<br />
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2. Better Rural Conditions--Serfdom practically disappeared in western Europe after this time period, as serfs either ran away to cities (inhabitants became free in most cities in western Europe after living there one year), or purchased their freedom. Some large English landowners, no longer having enough serfs to work their landholdings, instead began raising sheep and providing wool to manufacturers in Flanders and, later, England. The Black Death had only effected human populations; so, those left had more to eat. The material conditions of the rural poor improved after the plague, although the gap between rich and poor was still huge.<br />
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C. Mills and Mines--Mining, metalworking, and the use of mechanical energy expanded so greatly in the centuries before 1500 that some historians speak of an "industrial revolution" in medieval Europe.<br />
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1. Watermills--Watermills were not, of course, a European invention, but before 1500 the landscape in much of western Europe fairly britstled with watermills. Because the watermills worked more efficiently if water dropped from above the wheel, many of the rivers in Europe were also dammed. In areas that were fairly arid, or where winter were severe enough that they froze over, windmills became favored. These mills provided power for a host of different activities.<br />
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2. Milling and Iron Making--watermills provided much of the power to break up iron ore, and to operate the bellows that superheated the fire that turned the iron into liquid.<br />
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3. Growth of Industry--Demand stimulated iron mining in many parts of Europe; in addition, new silver, lead, and copper mines in the region supplied metal for coins, church bells, cannon, and statues. Industrial growth changed the landscape: towns grew outward and new ones were founded, dams and canals changed the flow of rivers, quarries and mines were developed. Urban factories like tanneries, along with human waste from these cities, polluted the waterways. Deforestation accelerated, providing wood for ships, buildings, and as fuel in such endeavors as glass making.<br />
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II. Urban Revival<br />
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A. Trading Cities-Most urban growth after 1200 resulted from manufacturing and trade, both between cities and their hinterlands and over long distances. Northern Italy particularly benefited from maritime trade with port cities of the eastern Mediterranean, and, through them, the markets of the Indian Ocean and East Asia. In northern Europe, commercial cities in the county of Flanders (roughly today's Belgium) and around the Baltic Sea profited from regional networks and from overland sea routes to the Mediterranean.<br />
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1. The Fourth Crusade--Was not really a Crusade, but a Venetian-inspired attack on Constantinople, that temporarily eliminated Byzantine control of the Straits of Bosporus, and allowed Venice to seize control of Crete and expand its trading colonies around the Black Sea.<br />
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2. Marco Polo--A young Venetian merchant who traveled in 1271 overland via the Silk Road to China during the reign of Khubilai Khan. Polo served as an official in the Chinese government for Khubilai (he claimed), including a stint as a governor of a Chinese province, before returning to Europe via the Indian Ocean some twenty-four years after he began his journey.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bergenfjords.com/bryggen/hansa_map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://www.bergenfjords.com/bryggen/hansa_map.gif" width="320" /></a></div>3. Genoa and the Hanseatic League--Venice was not the only city in northern Italy that developed an extensive trade network; the sea trade conducted by Genoa was probably just as extensive, and in northern Europe among the members of the Hanseatic League, who traded mainly among the ports of the Baltic Sea, including as far east as Novogorod in Russia and London in England.<br />
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4. Flemish Cities and Textiles--In the late 13th century, Genoese galleys from the Mediterranean and Hanseatic ships from the Baltic were converging on the trading and manufacturing cities in Flanders. Artisans in Bruges, Ghent, and Ypres transformed wool from England into fine woolen cloth that was softer and smoother than the "homespun" cloth made in villages around the continent. Dyed in vivid colors, these Flemish textiles appealed to wealthy Europeans, who also were buying textiles from Asia<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ledburyportal.co.uk/portal/images/stories/history/euro_medieval_fair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://www.ledburyportal.co.uk/portal/images/stories/history/euro_medieval_fair.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>5. Trade Fairs--Venetians traded with these Flemish cities via an overland route, and in the Champagne region of France there developed trade fairs, where local merchants and farmers could trade their goods with each other, as well as with these Venetian traders going to and from Flanders. This trade became much more regular when the French king gained control of the Champagne region, and could guarantee safe passage for travelers. This trade expanded so much that it became cheaper to send ships from Venice, and the trade fairs declined in international importance, although they remained regionally important.<br />
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6. Wool Trade--In the late 13th century, the English king raised the tariff on exported raw wool, so that it became cheaper to manufacture woolen cloth in England--especially after a number of Flemish artisans moved to England and brought their knowledge of the trade with them. Florence, another city in northern Italy, also developed a home-grown textile industry.<br />
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7. Venice--While Venice first grew in importance as a trading center, by the 15th century it had also grown as a manufacturing center, turning out glassware and fine textiles that previously had only been available from Asian sources. <b>Europeans were able to adopt innovations from other cultures readily, and make them their own.</b><br />
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B. Civic Life--Most northern Italian and German cities were independent states, much like the port cities of the Indian Ocean Basin. Other European cities held charters that exempted them from control of local nobles. This autonomy enabled them to adapt to changing market conditions more quickly than cities controlled by imperial authorities, as in China and the Islamic world. Since anyone who lived in a chartered city for over a year could claim freedom, urban life promoted social mobility.<br />
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1. Jews in Europe--Western Europe's Jews mostly live in cities. Spain had the largest number of Jews as a result of the religious tolerance practiced by the Muslim rulers there. Most commercial cities welcomed Jews with manufacturing and business skills; however, during times of crisis (like the Black Death), Jews were blamed and persecuted. In 1492, and Isabel and Ferdinand were consolidating their control of modern-day Spain, they ordered all Jew expelled from the kingdom.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.traditioninaction.org/OrganicSociety/Images_1-100/A_023_Blacksmith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="http://www.traditioninaction.org/OrganicSociety/Images_1-100/A_023_Blacksmith.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>2. Artisan Guilds--Within most towns and cities, powerful associations known as guilds dominated civic life. Guilds brought together craft specialists or merchants working in a particular trade to regulate business and to set prices. Guilds also trained apprentices and promoted members' interests in the city government. Guilds denied membership to certain people (especially Jews), and protected the interests of families of members.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fullissue.com/wp-content/uploads/BANKING-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.fullissue.com/wp-content/uploads/BANKING-.jpg" /></a></div>3. Banking--By the fifteenth century, a new class of wealthy merchant bankers was operating on a vast scale and specializing in money changing and loans and making investments on behalf of other parties. Some merchant-bankers even developed their own news service, gathering information on any topic that could affect business. The Medici family of Florence operated banks in their hometown, as well as in Florence and London--and became important enough that one of the members of the family became Pope. The holding of the Medici's paled in comparison to the Fugger family by 1500, however, as that family's holdings was as much as ten times larger. The Fugger's financed various activities, including Hungarian copper mining.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.broroy.com/notre%20dame%20cathedral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="http://www.broroy.com/notre%20dame%20cathedral.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>C. Gothic Cathedrals--The men who designed and built the cathedrals had little or no formal education and a limited understanding of mathematics or of modern civil engineering. Master masons sometimes miscalculated, causing parts of some overly ambitious parts of cathedrals to come tumbling down. But as builders gained experience and invented novel solutions to their problems, success rose from the rubble of their mistakes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-34174556107718364632010-12-02T09:39:00.000-08:002010-12-02T09:39:24.058-08:00Tropical Africa and Asia, 1200-1500I. New Islamic Empires<br />
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A. Mali in the Western Sudan--Muslim rule in the seventh century greatly stimulated increased trade along the routes that crossed the Sahara. In the centuries that followed, Islam gradually spread to the lands south of the desert.<br />
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1. Muslim advances--Muslim Berbers invading out of the desert in 1076 caused the collapse of Ghana, the empire that preceded Mali in the western Sudan, but their conquest did little to spread Islam. To the east, the Muslim attacks that destroyed the Christian Nubian kingdoms on the upper Nile in the late 13th century opened the area to Muslim influence, but Christian Ethiopia successfully withstood Muslim advances. Instead, Islam's spread south usually followed a pattern of gradual and peaceful conversion. The expansion of commercial interests, coupled with Islam's spiritual appeal to many Africans, were the major forces behind this.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mrdowling.com/images/609sundiata.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.mrdowling.com/images/609sundiata.jpg" /></a></div>2. Sundiata--a leader of the Malinke people, whose army defeated King Sumanguru's army from Takrur for control of regional and trans-Saharan trade routes. Mali, as the new kingdom was known, controlled not only the nearby trade routes, but the core trading area surrounding the upper Niger River--including the rich gold fields at the headwaters of the river.<br />
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3. Mansa Musa--was one of Sundiata's successors. During his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324-1325, he distributed so much gold that the value of that metal was depressed for years afterward. He traveled to Mecca with a huge retinue, including his principal wife, five hundred of her ladies in waiting, as many as sixty thousand porters and a vast caravan of camels, with 500 hundred slaves who carried golden staffs.<br />
<br />
4. Ibn Battuta in Mali--Ibn Battuta wrote vivid accounts of the countries he visited during his extensive travels; his accounts are perhaps the best source for an idea of what life was like in Muslim countries during this time. He visited Mali during the reign of Mansa Suleiman, and reported that "complete and general safety" prevailed in the vast territory he ruled.<br />
<br />
5. The Fall of Mali--Two centuries after its founding, Mali began to disintegrate. Mansa Suleiman's successors could not prevent rebellions breaking out among the diverse peoples subject to Malinke rule, and other groups outside this sphere of influence were drawn to attack to attempt to gain some of the wealth of the kingdom. By 1500, the rulers of Mali ruled only little more than the Malinke heartland.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.storyofpakistan.com/images/p0206010101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.storyofpakistan.com/images/p0206010101.jpg" /></a></div>B. The Delhi Sultanate in India--after losing the defensive unity of the Gupta Empire, the divided states of northwest India fell prey to raids by Afghan warlords by the early 11th century. In the last decades of the 12th century, a Turkish dynasty armed with powerful crossbows captured the Indian cities of Lahore and Dehli.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.picturesindia.com/media/architecture/02_001513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://www.picturesindia.com/media/architecture/02_001513.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>1. Sultan Iltutmish--Between 1206 and 1236, Muslim invaders extended their rule over the Hindu princes and chiefs in much of northern India. Sultan Iltutmish consolidated this conquest in a series of military expeditions that made his realm the largest in India. He secured official recognition of the Delhi Sultanate as a Muslim state from the caliph of Baghdad, and began the transformation of Muslims from brutal conquerors to somewhat more benign rulers<br />
<br />
2. Raiziya, a Female Sultan--Iltutmish astonished his ministers by attempting to pass over his sons and designate his daughter Raziya his successor. Only after her elder brother proved completely inept did the Turkish chiefs accede to her father's wishes--although that was only for four years, even though she proved a capable ruler.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.travelagentforindia.com/images/internalpg/gujarat.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://www.travelagentforindia.com/images/internalpg/gujarat.gif" width="320" /></a></div>3. Annexation of Gujarat--After a half-century of stagnation and rebellion after the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, Sultan Ala-ud-din Khalji increased the control over the outlying provinces. Successful frontier raids and high taxes kept his treasury full, wage and price controls kept down the costs of maintaining a huge army, and a network of spies stifled intrigue.<br />
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4. Muslim and Hindus--A small majority in a giant land, the Turkish rulers relied on terror to keep their subjects submissive, on harsh military reprisals to put down rebellion, and on pillage and high taxes to sustain the ruling elite in luxury and power--none of which endeared them to those they conquered.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2315/2493813315_92c81b41e4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2315/2493813315_92c81b41e4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>5. South Indian Kingdoms--Personal and religious rivalries within the Muslim elite, along with Hindu discontent, threatened the Delhi Sultanate whenever it showed weakness, and finally hastened its end. In the mid-14th century, Muslim nobles established the independent Bahmani kingdom on the Deccan Plateau. To resist further Muslim incursions southward, the Hindu states of south India united to form the Vijayanager Empire--although they cooperated with the Bahamani rulers when it suited them, and the Bahamani's incorporated Hindu's into their ruling clique. <br />
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6. Timur Sacks Delhi--By 1351, when all of south India had cast off Delhi's rule, northern India rose in rebellion. In the east, Bengal broke away from the sultanate in 1338, and became the center of the mystical Sufi tradition of Islam; Gujarat regained its independence by 1390. In 1398, the disorder in Delhi led the Turko-Mongol ruler Timur to attack Delhi; when his army finally withdrew a year later, they left with great quantities of loot and tens of thousands of slaves, and the largest city in southern Asia lay in ruins.<br />
<br />
II. Indian Ocean Trade<br />
<br />
A. Monsoon Mariners<br />
<br />
1. Trade Goods--The prosperity of Islamic and Mongol empires in Asia, cities in Europe, and new kingdoms in Africa and Southeast Asia stimulated and contributed to the vitality of the Indian Ocean network. The demand for luxuries--precious metals and jewels, rare spices, fine textiles, and other manufactures--rose. Larger ships made shipments of bulk cargoes profitable. The great distances necessary to cover help to divide this trade into two legs: from the Middle East across the Arabian Sea to India and from India across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.imagineafrica.co.uk/images/ken-tusitiri---poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.imagineafrica.co.uk/images/ken-tusitiri---poster.jpg" width="299" /></a></div>2. Dhows--relatively small watercraft manufactured on the Malabar Coast in southwestern India dominated trade on the Arabian Sea--although they grew from 100 ton capacity in 1200 to 400 tons by 1500. On a typical expedition, a dhow might sail west from India to Arabia and Africa on the northeast monsoon winds (December to March) and return on the southwest monsoons (April to August)<br />
<br />
3. Chinese Junks--by far the largest ships plying the oceans of the world; junks could accommodate 100 passenger cabins and a cargo of over 1,000 tons--and the largest carried a crew of over 1,000. Junks dominated China's foreign shipping to Southeast Asia and India, but the Chinese did not control all of the junks that plied these waters. During the 15th century, similar vessels came out of shipyards in Bengal and Southeast Asia sailed by local crews.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/cabs/world_oil_transit_chokepoints/images/MalaccaDistance.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="http://www.eia.doe.gov/cabs/world_oil_transit_chokepoints/images/MalaccaDistance.gif" width="320" /></a></div>4. From Africa to China--Decentralized and cooperative commercial interests, rather than political authorities, connected the several regions that participated in the Indian Ocean trade. The Swahili Coast supplied gold from the interior of Africa, ports around the Arabian peninsula supplies horses and goods from the northern parts of the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and eastern Europe. Merchants in the cities of coastal India received goods from east and west, sold some locally, passed others along, and added Indian goods to the trade. The Straits of Malacca, between the eastern end of the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, provided a meeting point fro the trade from Southeast Asia, China, and the Indian Ocean. In each region, certain ports functioned as giant emporia, consolidating goods from smaller ports and inland areas for transport across the seas.<br />
<br />
B. Africa: The Swahili Coast and Zimbabwe--Trade expanded steadily along the East African coast from about 1250, giving rise to between thirty and forty separate city-states by 1500. After 1200, masonry buildings replaced mud and thatch buildings, and archaeological findings indicate and extensive trade network had been built.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.utalii.com/Off_the_normal_path/Kilwa_gereza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="http://www.utalii.com/Off_the_normal_path/Kilwa_gereza.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>1. Ibn Battuta in Kilwa--Sometime after Ibn Battuta's visit to Mogadishu in 1331, the more southerly city of Kilwa surpassed it as the Swahili Coasts most important commercial center--because by then it was exporting more than a ton of gold each year from mines even further south.<br />
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2. Great Zimbabwe--the city now known to us as Great Zimbabwe controlled these gold mines, and used the profits generated from the gold trade to build a grand city, but scholars now suspect that the depletion of firewood and the overgrazing of cattle hastened the empire's collapse in the 15th century.<br />
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C. Arabia: Aden and the Red Sea<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fas.org/man//dod-101/sys/ship/cole-aden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.fas.org/man//dod-101/sys/ship/cole-aden.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>1. Ibn Battuta in Aden--The city of Aden had a double advantage in the Indian Ocean trade. Monsoon winds brought enough rainfall to supply drinking water for a large population and to grow grain for export, and its location made in a convenient stopover for trade with India, the Persian Gulf, East Africa, and Egypt. Ibn Battuta observed that these conditions contributed to fabulous wealth for a number of merchants<br />
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2. Yemen and Ethiopia--Common commercial interests generally promoted good relations among the different religions and cultures in the region, although sometimes these differences created periods of friction.<br />
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D. India: Gujarat and the Malabar Coast--The state of Gujarat in western India prospered from the expanding trade of the Arabian Sean and the rise of the Delhi Sultanate. Blessed with a rich agricultural hinterland and a long coastline, Gujarat attracted new trade after the Mongol destruction of Baghdad in 1258 disrupted the northern land routes. After the initial violence of its forced incorporation into the Delhi Sultanate in 1298, Gujarat prospered from increased trade with Delhi's ruling class. Independent again after 1390, the Muslim rulers of Gujarat extended their control over neighboring Hindu states and regained their preeminent position in the Indian Ocean trade.<br />
<br />
1. Maritime Trade--Gujaratis exported cotton textiles and indigo to the Middle East and Europe, in return for gold and silver. They also shipped cotton cloth, carnelian beads, and foodstuffs to the Swahili Coast in exchange for ebony, slaves, ivory, and gold. During the 15th century, traders expanded eastward to the Strait of Malacca. These Gujarati merchants helped spread the Islamic faith among East Indian traders, some of whom even imported carved gravestones from Gujarat.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.archaeologyonline.net/indology/gulf-of-cambay.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.archaeologyonline.net/indology/gulf-of-cambay.gif" /></a></div>2. Cambay and Calicut--Later observers compared the Gujarati city of Cambay with cities in Flanders and northern Italy in the scale, artisanry, and diversity of its textile industries. Cotton, linen, and silk cloth, along with carpets and quilts, found their way to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. At the height of its prosperity, its well-laid out streets and open places boasted fine stone housed with tiled roofs. Although Muslims controlled most of the overseas trade, Hindu merchants profited so much from related commercial activities that their wealth and luxurious lives became the envy of other Indians. Other cities along the west coast like Calicut also shared in the wealth.<br />
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D. Southeast Asia--At the eastern end of the Indian Ocean, the Strait of Malacca between the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra provided the principle passage into the South China Sea. As trade increased in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, this commercial choke point became the site of political rivalry.<br />
<br />
1. Kingdom of Majapahit--The mainland Kingdom of Siam controlled most of the upper Malay Peninsula, while the Java-based Kingdom of Majaphahit extended its domination over the lower Malay Peninsula and much of Sumatra. They could not control a band of Chinese pirates based in Palembang, however, that preyed on ships sailing through the strait. In 1407, a fleet from China smashed the pirates' power and took their chief back to China for trial. Majahpahit, weakened by internal struggles, could not take advantage of China's intervention, however.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Detroit_Malacca.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Detroit_Malacca.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
2. The Rise of Malacca--The beneficiary of China's intervention was the newer port of Malacca, which dominated the narrowest part of the strait. Princes in Malacca made a series of strategic alliances, which resulted in the visit of the imperial fleet from China, and with Muslim traders fro Gujarat and elsewhere. Malacca served as both a meeting point and an emporium of exotic trade goods<br />
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III. Social and Cultural Change<br />
<br />
A. Architecture, Learning, and Religion<br />
<br />
1. Temples and Mosques--Social and cultural changes typically affected cities more than rural areas. As Ibn Battuta and other travelers observed, wealthy merchants and ruling elites spent lavishly on mansions, palaces, and places of worship. Most places of worship surviving from this period blended older traditions and new influences.<br />
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2. Spread of Literacy--Mosques, churches, and temples were centers of education as well as prayer. Muslims promoted literacy among their sons (and sometimes their daughters) so they could read the sacred texts.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/africa/architecture/pictures/timbuktu.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/africa/architecture/pictures/timbuktu.gif" width="320" /></a></div>3. Timbuktu--a city on the Niger River in the modern country of Mali. The city was founded by the Tuareg as a seasonal camp sometime after 1000. As part of the Mali Empire, Timbuktu became a major terminus of the trans-Saharan trade and a center of Islamic learning, with over 150 schools teaching the Quran, and leading clerics taught advanced classes in private homes.<br />
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5. End of Indian Buddhism--In India, Muslim invasions eliminated the last strongholds of long-declining Buddhism, including the great Buddhist center of study at Nalanda in Hihar in 1196. Manuscripts were burned, and thousands of monks killed or driven into exile in Nepal and Tibet. Islam emerged as the second most important religion in India, behind Hindusim--and Islam displaced Hinduism in most of maritime Southeast Asia.<br />
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B. Social and Gender Distinctions--the growth of slavery accompanied the rising prosperity of the elites.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.belch.com/img/slavers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://www.belch.com/img/slavers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>1. The Slave Trade--According to modern estimates, between 1200 and 1500 Saharan and Red Sea traders bought approximately 2.5 millions slaves from sub-Saharan Africa. Because of the abundance of "free" labor, however, the purpose of these slaves was to serve as house servants, and often as soldiers in various armies--although some were also employed in occupations like mining, which few free workers desired to engage in.<br />
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2. Status of Women--in much of the region, the status of women improved somewhat. In India, the sati remained a strongly approved social custom, but as Ibn Battuta made clear, it was an option that could be resisted more successfully than in the past. Indian parents still gave their daughters in marriage before puberty, but the marriage was not consumated until the young woman was ready.<br />
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3. Women's Activities--Besides child rearing, women were engaged with food preparation--including brewing, when not prohibited by religious practice. Women were also largely responsible for much of the farm work, including especially planting and harvesting crops<br />
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IV. Conclusion--Tropical Africa and Asia contained 40 percent of the world's population and over a quarter of its habitable land in 1500. Between 1200 and 1500, commercial, political, and cultural currents drew the region's peoples closer together, and the Indian Ocean became the world's most important and richest trading area. Trade and empire followed closely the enlargement of Islam's presence and the accompanying diversification of Islamic customs.<br />
<br />
Yet many social and cultural practices remained stable. Most tropical Africans and Asians never ventured far outside the rural communities where their families had lived for generations. Their lives followed the patterns of the seasons, the cycle of religious rituals and festivals, and the stages from childhood to adulthood.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-18522638156027016782010-11-23T10:00:00.000-08:002010-11-23T10:00:32.388-08:00Mongol Eurasia and Its Aftermath, 1200-1500I. The Rise of the Mongols, 1200-1260<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/centralasia/architecture/pictures/old%20yurt%20scene%20mongolia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/centralasia/architecture/pictures/old%20yurt%20scene%20mongolia.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
A. Nomadism in Central and Inner Asia<br />
<br />
1. Mongol Society--pastoral nomads of the Eurasian steppes played on on-again, off-again role in Europe, the Middle East, and Chinese history for hundreds of years before the rise of the Mogols. Moving regularly and efficiently with flocks and herds required firm decision-making in public, with many voices being heard<br />
<br />
a. Decsions were largely made by a council with representatives of leading families ratifying decisions made by the leader, the khan. Yet people who disagreed with a decision could strike off on their own--even during military campaigns.<br />
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b. Menial work in Mongol communities fell to slaves--people either captured during war, or who sought refuge in slavery to escape starvation.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://kekexili.typepad.com/.a/6a00d834523d7769e2012876ff5ab0970c-500wi" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="http://kekexili.typepad.com/.a/6a00d834523d7769e2012876ff5ab0970c-500wi" width="320" /></a></div>2. Mongol women--leading families combined resources and solidified intergroup alliances through arranged marriages and other acts, a process that helped to generate political federations. Marriages were arranged in childhood and children became pawns of diplomacy. Women from prestigious families could wield power in negotiations and management, although they risked assassination and execution, just like the men.<br />
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3. The Khan--families often included believers in two or more religions, most commonly Buddhism, Christianity, or Islam--but virtually all Mongols observed practices of traditional shamanism. Mongols believed in world rulership by a khan who, with the aid of his shamans, could speak to and for an ultimate god, represented as the Sky or Heaven.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://jambudveep.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/mongol_empire_history.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" ox="true" src="http://jambudveep.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/mongol_empire_history.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
B. The Mongol Conquest, 1215-1283--shortly after his acclamation in 1206, Genghis initiated two decades of Mongol aggression. By 1209 he had defeated the Tanggut, and in 1215 he captured the Jin capitol of Beijing. In 1219 he turned westward, invading Khwarezem, east of the Caspian Sea, that included much of Iran. After 1221, when most of Iran had fallen, Genghis left the command of most campaigns to subordinate generals.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.notablebiographies.com/images/uewb_05_img0298.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://www.notablebiographies.com/images/uewb_05_img0298.jpg" /></a></div>1. Genghis Khan's successors--Ögödei, Genghis's son, became the Great Khan in 1227 after his father's death. He completed the destruction of the Tanggut and the Jin and put their territories under Mongol governors. By 1234 he controlled most of northern China and was threatening the Southern Song.<br />
<br />
a. 1236 Batu, Genghis's grandson, attacked Russian territories, took control of the towns along the Volga River, and conquered Kievan Russia, Moscow, Poland, and Hungary in a five-year campaign. Only the death of Ögödei in 1241--and the suspension of the campaign--saved Europe from more serious damage.<br />
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b. Güjük (another of Genghis's grandsons) was installed as the new Great Khan, and the conquests resumed. In the Middle East a Mongol army sacked Baghdad in 1258 and executed the last Abbasid caliph.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.history-of-china.com/img/song-dynasty-map-b.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" ox="true" src="http://www.history-of-china.com/img/song-dynasty-map-b.gif" width="320" /></a></div>c. Genghis Khan's original objective had probably been collecting tribute from these various conquered peoples, but the success of the Mongol conquests created a new situation. Ögödei unquestionably sought to rule a united empire based at his capitol--Karakorum--and until his death he controlled the subordinate Mongol domains: the Golden Horde in Russia and the Jagadai domains in Central Asia. After Ögödei's death, however, family unity began to unravel; when Khubilai declared himself Great Khan in 1265, the descendents of Genghis's son Jagadai and other branches of the family refused to accept him. As Karakorum was destroyed in the ensuing fighting, Khubilai transferred his court to the old Jin capitol of Beijing. In 1271 he declared himself founder of the Yuan Empire.<br />
<br />
d. Jagadai's descendents continued to dominate Central Asia and enjoyed close relations with the region's Turkic-speaking nomads. This, plus a continuing hatred of Khubilai, contributed to Central Asia becoming an independent Mongol center of power and to the spread of Islam there.<br />
<br />
e. After the Yuan destroyed the Southern Song in 1279, Mongol troops attacked Annam--now northern Vietnam. They occupied Hanoi three times and then withdrew after arranging for tribute. In 1285 Khubilai's forces invaded Champa--now southern Vietnam--and made it a tribute nation as well. A plan to invade Java by sea failed, as did two invasions of Japan, in 1274 and 1281.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.search.com/thumb/2/26/MongolCavalrymen.jpg/250px-MongolCavalrymen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://img.search.com/thumb/2/26/MongolCavalrymen.jpg/250px-MongolCavalrymen.jpg" /></a></div>2. Military techniques--the Mongols were extraordinary riders and utilized superior compound bows. These bows could shoot over one-third farther than bows used by their opponents. Mongol archers had only 5 arrows, and rarely used all of these; utilizing their marksmanship from afar, their shots decimated enemy bowmen, and then they charged the opposing infantry on horseback with sword, lance, javelin, and mace.<br />
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3. Seige and Terror--cities that resisted faced seige and annihilation--surrender was the only option. The slaughter the Mongols inflicted on Balkh in present-day nothern Afghanistan and other cities that resisted spread terror and caused other cities to surrender.<br />
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C. Overland Trade and Disease<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/projects/renaissance/graphics/marcopolotwo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/projects/renaissance/graphics/marcopolotwo.jpg" /></a></div>1. Travelers' accounts: Marco Polo--the Mongols facilitated trade, and travelers' accounts like Marco Polo, who freely mixed the fantasic with the factual, whetted appetites of other adventurers and traders.<br />
<br />
2. Rats and fleas--in northwestern China bubonic plague had festered since the early Tang period. In the mid-13th century, supply trains servicing Mongol garrisons in Yunnan province facilitated the spread of rats carrying infected fleas. Marmots and other rodents along the caravan routes became infected and passed the disease to dogs and humans. Plague incapacitated the Mongol army during its assault on the city of Kaffa in Crimea in 1346. They withdrew, but the plague remained. From Kaffa flea-infested rats reached Europe and Egypt by ship--and began the Black Death.<br />
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II. The Mongols and Islam, 1260-1500<br />
<br />
A. Mongol Rivalry<br />
<br />
1. Il-khan--the state established by Genghis's grandson Hülegü, and controlled Iran, Azerbijan, Mesopotamia, and parts of Armenia<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.insidesocal.com/tv/italeri-6020-golden-horde.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" ox="true" src="http://www.insidesocal.com/tv/italeri-6020-golden-horde.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>2. Golden Horde--controlled the area north of the Caspian Sea, and had conquered southern Russia and established their capitol at Sarai on the Volga River--and founded by another grandson, Batu.<br />
<br />
3. Conversion to Islam--the Golden Horde quickly adopted the Turkic language and Islam, and Batu's successor swore to avenge the killing o fthe Abbasid caliph. Mongol dietary practices (the believe that animals should be consumed with as little bloodshed as possible) were appalling to Muslims (who used the kosher practice of killing animals by draining them of blood by cutting the cartoid artery). While this might seem an insurmountable obstacle, the flexibility of Islam proved able to overcome this difficulty.<br />
<br />
4. European allies--this division among the Mongols gave some Europeans hope that the Il-khan state could be recruited to help them regain control of a number of sites in the Holy Land, but the conversion of the Il-khan ruler Ghazan to Islam in 1295 quashed that hope.<br />
<br />
B. Islam and the State<br />
<br />
1. Taxes and Administration--the Il-khan government sold tax-collecting contracts to small partnerships, mostly consisting of merchants who might also finance caravans, small industries, or military expeditions. Whoever offered to collect the most revenue for the government won the contract. These collectors could use whatever method they chose and could keep everything over and above the contracted amount. While this lowered administrative costs in the short run, in the long term the extortions of the tax farmers drove many landowners into debt and servitude. Agricultural productivity declined, making it hard to supply the army--so the government resorted to taking land to grow its own grain.<br />
<br />
2. Paper money--Ghazan faced many economic problems, and citing Islam's humane values, he promised to reduce taxes. But the need for revenue kept the decrease from being permanent, and the government began printing paper money to make up for the shortfall, causing inflation.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kidspast.com/images/tamerlane.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="http://www.kidspast.com/images/tamerlane.gif" width="319" /></a></div>3. Khanate of Jagadai--led by Timur (known in the west as Tamerlane), who challenged the control of Il-khan and the Golden Horde from a base in Central Asia.<br />
<br />
C. Culture and Science in Islamic Eurasia<br />
<br />
1. Administrators and Historians--the Il-khan and Timurids (descendents of Timur) presided over a brilliant cultural flowering in Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia based on blending Iranian and Chinese artistic trends and cultural practices. The dominant cultural tendencies were Muslim, however. Timur died before he could unite Iran and China, but by transplanting Middle Eastern scholars, artists, and craftsmen to his capitol Samarkand, he fostered the cultural achievements of this descendents.<br />
<br />
III. Mongol Domination of China, 1271-1368<br />
<br />
A. The Yuan Empire, 1271-1368--the Yuan sought a fruitful synthesis of the Mongol and Chinese traditions. Khubilai Khan gave his oldest son a Chinese name and had Confucianists participate in the boy's education.<br />
<br />
1. Beijing as Yuan Capitol--Beijing served as the eastern terminus of the Silk Road. A horseback courier system improved communications with other parts of the kingdom.<br />
<br />
2. Yuan Society--with the Mongol takeover, society in the Yuan Empire was re-ordered, with Mongols at the top, Central Asians and Middle Easterners next, then northern Chinese, and lastly southern Chinese.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ferrebeekeeper.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/mongarch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" ox="true" src="http://ferrebeekeeper.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/mongarch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>3. Yuan Administration--like the Il-khans, the Yuan rulers stressed census-taking and tax collecting--especially tax collecting. The Mongols organized all of China into provinces, and the central appointiments of provincial governors, tax collectors, and garrison commanders marked a radical change. These appointments went almost exlusively to Mongols, Central Asians, and Middle Easteners, shutting out the Chinese.<br />
<br />
4. Growth of Commerce--with the Chines shut out of government posts, for which the Confucian system had channeled Chinese elites into, elite families instead began moving into commerce, both as merchants and as bankers, especially lending money to Mongol elites. They also moved into tax farming. While Central Asians and Middle Easterners initiall controlled the corporations in China, Chinese with money quickly became partners, and many eventually gained controlling interests in these corporations.<br />
<br />
5. Population loss--although Chinese elites found ways to prosper under Mongol rule, the same could not be said for rural Chinese. Chinese farmers were treated brutally, and many lost their landholdings due to the extreme rate of taxation. Peasant uprisings usually led to even greater brutal treatment.<br />
<br />
B. The Fall of the Yuan Empire--in the 1340s, strife broke out among the Mongol princes. Within 20 years, farmer rebellions coupled with this internal political strife created a period of chaos. In this situation, a charismatic Chinese leader, Zhu Yuan-zheng, mounted a campaign that destroyed the Yuan Empire and brought China under the control of his empire, the Ming. Although some Mongols, Central Asians, and Middle Easterners fled the country, a number stayed, assumed Chinese names, and became part of the diverse cultural world of China<br />
<br />
IV. The Early Ming Empire, 1368-1500<br />
<br />
A. Ming China on a Mongol Foundation--the Ming dynasty re-established many former Chinese practices. The early Ming years was one of conflict over reaching out to the world outside the borders of China, however.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.chinatownology.com/images/356px-Hongwu1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="http://www.chinatownology.com/images/356px-Hongwu1.jpg" width="190" /></a></div>1. Emperor Hongwu--moved the Ming capital to Nanjing on the Yangzi River, turning away from the Mongol capital. Hongwu choked off relations with Central Asia and the Middle East, and severely restricted imports and foreign visitors. Silver replaced paper money for commerce and tax collection, but this proved as economically unhealthy as Yuan policies.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Yongle_Emperor_portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Yongle_Emperor_portrait.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>2. Emperor Yongle--seized power in a coup d'etat. Yongle returned the capital to Beijing, and improved the Forbidden City to its current splendor. Yongle also re-established commercial links to the Middle East. Because Mongols still largely controlled the Silk Road, he turned to a possible maritime solution<br />
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3. Zheng He--a Muslim enuch, Zheng He was put in charge of this maritime expedition to establish contacts with the Indian Ocean.<br />
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<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/A2MKzWyZuOM?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/A2MKzWyZuOM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-89763802935389343302010-11-18T10:21:00.000-08:002010-11-18T10:21:58.883-08:00Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas, 200-1500I. Olmec Civilization--the first great civilization of the Americas (that archeologists know about, anyway).<br />
<br />
1. Located in the narrow “waist” of Mexico, recognizable civilization by about 1800 BCE.<br />
<br />
2.Lived in towns and cities centered on temple mounds that they built. Created large stone heads with helmets, many over six feet tall, that are vaguely African in appearence and have sparked speculations that African peoples may have made contact with them.<br />
<br />
3.Olmec practiced human sacrifice (as did the God of Abraham)<br />
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4.Intellectual feats--invented a dozen different systems of writing, tracked the orbits of planets, created a 365-day calendar (much more accurate than any used in Europe to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar), and wrote down their histories in accordian-folded books made of fig tree bark. Olmec scholars also invented the concept of zero, which didn’t appear in Europe until the 12th century (1100s)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/maya/maya-map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" ox="true" src="http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/maya/maya-map.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br />
II. Classic-Era Culture and Society in Mesoamerica, 200-900<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://thelastdaysoftolemac.com/prophecy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/teotihuacan-from-air.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" ox="true" src="http://thelastdaysoftolemac.com/prophecy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/teotihuacan-from-air.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>A. Teotihuacan--was located about 30 miles northeast of modern Mexico City. It existed between the years 100 to 750, and at its height of power was home to more than 150,000 people--as large as some of the largest cities in Europe and Asia<br />
<br />
1. The Role of Religion--The people of Teotihuacan recognized and worshiped many gods and lesser spirits, but the three main gods were the Sun and Moon and Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, god of agriculture and the arts. Murals left indicate that these people also worshiped a storm god called Tlaloc and a female fertility god..<br />
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a. Human sacrifice--like the Olmec before them, the Teotihuacan people practiced human sacrifice. These people probably saw human sacrifice as a duty to appease their gods, and believed that it was essential to ensuring the well-being of their society.<br />
<br />
2. Agriculture--the elites in Teotihuacan controlled the farmers in the rural areas surrounding the city. Scholars believe this came about from the after-effects of a volcanic eruption, when farmers fled the countryside for the safety of the nearby city. Approximately two-thirds of the city remained agricultural workers, walking from the city out the to fields, and then returning to the city in the evening.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.caminandosinrumbo.com/mexico/teotihuacan/f4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" ox="true" src="http://www.caminandosinrumbo.com/mexico/teotihuacan/f4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>a. Religion and the city--elites were able to control the rural population because of the religious power and symbolism of their city. Teotihuacan was the center of religious practice, and the worship and appeasement of the gods kept order in society.<br />
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b. Chinampas--the Teotihuacans developed an early method of hydroponic farming, where they wove together reeds, dredged muck from lake bottoms, anchored it to shore, and were able to grow food year round, because it was resistant to frost. In this way the Teotihuacans were able to support a growing population.<br />
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3. Decline and collapse--It is unclear what exactly cause the Teotihuacan society to collapse, but we do know that by the year 500 the population of the city had declined to about 40,000, and those who were left had built defensive walls around the city, an indication that there were threats from the countryside. Pictorial evidence suggests that elites mismanaged resources, and in the societal strife that followed, various factions broke off and fought amongst themselves. The most important temples were burned, and religious images defaced. By the year 750, the collapse was complete<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hotels.org.mx/Riviera-maya/images/1riviera-maya_piramide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" ox="true" src="http://www.hotels.org.mx/Riviera-maya/images/1riviera-maya_piramide.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
B. The Maya--occupied the territory that now makes up Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and southern Mexico. Although the Maya shared a single culture, they were never one unified state; instead, rival kingdoms ruled by hereditary elites fought each other for regional dominance--much like Mycenaean-era Greeks. The Yucatan Peninsula, where most of the Mayan cities were located, was ill-suited to support a large population, since only a thin layer of soil covers a strata of porous limestone. The abundance of rainfall quickly passes through the soil, and into limestone caverns, where it quickly becomes undrinkable.<br />
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1. City of Kaan--the discovery of the City of the Snake, which covered as much as 25 miles and contained thousands of buildings, alterred the perception of Mayan civilization.<br />
<br />
a.) By the year 2000, archeologists uncovered evidence that Kaan was involved in a devastating war that lasted more than a century, and which contributed to its downfall.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZIQFTOFx62SRsjYaaDekKPOGQEOi02RInCW-iH7VPM7ls05Bu1pZpLxPIUObf2YOmfVB8H2SowCzePPNzxZNRTk1n4Asl5OOattSryKDuoShYBxQnksiO-1mqiFXb9FnX334c9LeJtiu8/s640/muren+in+Kaan+Calakmul+2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZIQFTOFx62SRsjYaaDekKPOGQEOi02RInCW-iH7VPM7ls05Bu1pZpLxPIUObf2YOmfVB8H2SowCzePPNzxZNRTk1n4Asl5OOattSryKDuoShYBxQnksiO-1mqiFXb9FnX334c9LeJtiu8/s320/muren+in+Kaan+Calakmul+2009.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
2. Mayan civilization was one of the world’s most intellectually sophisticated cultures; developed written language, science, math (invention of zero).<br />
<br />
3. Mayans inhabited land that was poorly suited to intensive agriculture, but at the height of their civilization supported a population of upwards of a million people.<br />
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a.) Prolonged drought and war decimated the population; archeologists discovered that at the end, priest were inscribing gibberish on stone tablets--they appeared to have lost knowledge of literacy, but still attempted to follow their cultural function.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.imagesofanthropology.com/images/j.Pyramid_of_the_Warriors_Toltec_site_of_Tula_Mexico.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" ox="true" src="http://www.imagesofanthropology.com/images/j.Pyramid_of_the_Warriors_Toltec_site_of_Tula_Mexico.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>C. Toltec civilization--occupied the mile-high basin that Mexico City now sits on; their military expertise allowed them to defeat and subjugate most of their enemies. Aztecs believed that Toltecs created everything that contributed to the development of their civilization, although we know that the Toltecs borrowed heavily from the civilizations that preceded them/<br />
<br />
1. Internal strife--including allegations of drunkeness and incest--led to the king leaving with a few followers, promising to return. He appears to have set up shop instead in the weakened Mayan sphere, and established a semi-Toltec fiefdom. But his promise to return was portentous for the Aztec civilization that followed.<br />
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D. Aztec civilization--what we usually call Aztec is actually an alliance of three native peoples living in city-states around a large lake that was near present-day Mexico City, known as the Triple Alliance. Although this implies an equal share of the rule, in fact it was a very unequal partnership. The rulers in Tlacopan received one-fifth of the tribute, those in Nezahialcoyot received two-fifths, and the Mexica of Tenochtitlan received two-fifths.<br />
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1. Mexica people--arrived in the Valley of Mexico in the 12th century (1100s), and served as vassals of the people already living there. Feeling ill-treated, they made alliances with the aforementioned two other groups, and were able to overcome the Toltecs.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://karenswhimsy.com/public-domain-images/aztec-indians/images/aztec-indians-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="http://karenswhimsy.com/public-domain-images/aztec-indians/images/aztec-indians-3.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>2. Usual practice of conquerers in the Valley of Mexico was to destroy the history of the conquered people; the Mexica went a step further and destroyed their own history so that they could re-invent themselves as a people of destiny.<br />
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3. Tlacaclel--when the Aztecs came to power, Tlacaclel believed the Mexica were destined for greatness, and was the principle developer of the ideology that the Mexica were responsible for maintaining order in the cosmos (meaning the daily rising of the sun)--but that this order could only be maintained by ritual human sacrifice.<br />
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4. Warfare--was the means of maintaining a steady flow of sacrificial victims. Mexica military technique was the mano a mano face-off, and the victims were usually beaten into submission--then taken into the victor’s home, and treated like family until sacrifice time. Warfare for native peoples was a means of displaying manhood, rather than killing one’s enemies.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/aztecs/aztecs21.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" ox="true" src="http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/aztecs/aztecs21.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br />
5. Tenochtlitan, the capital of the Mexica, was far cleaner than its European counterparts--and far larger, as well; it probably was home to over 100,000 people by 1520. It had a large workforce to remove garbage, etc., and a sewer system to remove human waste (in Europe, they simply threw it into the streets, where it mixed with animal waste and garbage). But this system was teetering on the brink of collapse even before the Spanish showed up.<br />
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6.Vassal states--the ruling hand of Aztecs was rather heavy, with tribute and the constant threat of warfare to gain sacrificial victims, so when someone showed up promising to upset the balance of power, their were plenty of eager allies.<br />
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III. Northern Peoples<br />
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A Southwestern Desert Cultures--Around 300 B.C.E. in what is today Arizona, contacts with people living in Mexico led to the introduction of agriculture based on irrigation and maize. Irrigation allowed the planting of two crops every year, the population grew and villages appeared. The Hohokam, who settled in the Salt and Gila River Valleys (around present-day Phoenix), showed the strongest Mexican influence, incorporating many cultural artifacts from Mexico into their own daily life.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.terragalleria.com/images/np-plateau/meve0819.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" ox="true" src="http://www.terragalleria.com/images/np-plateau/meve0819.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>1. Anasazi--used to identify a number of dispersed, but similar, desert cultures in the Four Corners region of the present-day states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. With irrigation, they grew maize, beans, and squash, as well as cotton, into which they made cloth. After 900, these people lived in multi-story residential and ritual centers (which was why they were called "Pueblos" by the Spanish), incorporating connected residences and kivas.<br />
<br />
B. Mound Builders: Hopewell and Mississippian Cultures--natives that lived in the fertile bottom land along the Ohio River and, eventually theMississippi River, near present-day St. Louis, but impacting an area reaching from southern Minnesota to central Alabama.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hope-of-israel.org/img/serpent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" ox="true" src="http://www.hope-of-israel.org/img/serpent.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>1. Hopewell--Hopewell towns in the Ohio River Valley had several thousand inhabitants and served as ceremonial and political centers. Large mounds were built to house burials and serve as platforms for religious rituals. Often, these mounds were shaped to resemble creatures the people held sacred, and reflect sunrise and moonrise patters. People living in these towns relied manly on hunting and gathering, with little agriculture--which restricted their size, of course. We are not sure what caused their decline, but the abandoment of major sites around 400 signalled that the decline took place.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-illinois/CahokiaMounds-old.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" ox="true" src="http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-illinois/CahokiaMounds-old.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>2. Mississippian Culture--Cahokia at its apex supported upwards of 15,000 to 60,000 people. By c.1400, workers at the settlement had denuded the immediate area of trees for various building projects, which removed the means of preventing erosion during sometimes severe midwestern thunderstorms. Flooding and erosion during critical growing times meant the loss of the maize crop, and led to the destruction of the civilization<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-illinois/CahokiaMounds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" ox="true" src="http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-illinois/CahokiaMounds.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>2. While at its apex, Cahokia was a major trade center, a place of exchange between the plains and the woodlands with the gulf coast--and even beyond, into present-day Mexico.<br />
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3. Was Cahokia a civilization?--Cahokia was not filled with tradesmen, as we usually picture a city being; however, being the first city-like entity north of the Rio Grande River, they had no idea of what a city was.<br />
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III. Andean Civilization, 200-1500<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://c1.ecolocalizer.com/files/2008/06/chavin-de-huantar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="http://c1.ecolocalizer.com/files/2008/06/chavin-de-huantar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>A. Chavin Civilization--by the time of the Chavin, enormous environmental challenges had been overcome to allow human civilization to exist. People had learned to effectively fish the rich source off-shore, and to deal with the lack of rain with irrigation--and to grow food in the mountains, even though there was a danger of frost between 250-300 days each year. This required an accurate calendar and the domestication of frost-resistant varieties of potatoes and grains.<br />
<br />
1. Ayllu--the clan, which was the foundation of Andean achievement. The ayllu members thought of each other as brother and sister, and were obligated to assist one another to accomplish tasks that a single family could not accomplish on their own.<br />
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2. Mit'a--with the formation of territorial states ruled by hereditary aristocracies and kings after 1000, the obligations of the ayllu were extended to the mit'a, a rotational labor draft that performed work in the fields, herded llama and alpaca for religious establishiments, the aristocracy, and the royal court, and well as construction of roads, public buildings, irrigation and drainage projects. They also made textiles and beer made from maize and coca (Loko One?)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LepNJqVwr8Pz43nHr-t4KcXuuBIsn9EBLRXqN4fIz052_nldDXWZlCnLTPOEJ4wYRstUt4fd0j1-W_zHDd5C1dURDUu5QhlLHKVBTTumTbRfR7SQXO0AYuftQmbGVkLNIV62s32xi1c/s400/Moche+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LepNJqVwr8Pz43nHr-t4KcXuuBIsn9EBLRXqN4fIz052_nldDXWZlCnLTPOEJ4wYRstUt4fd0j1-W_zHDd5C1dURDUu5QhlLHKVBTTumTbRfR7SQXO0AYuftQmbGVkLNIV62s32xi1c/s320/Moche+1.jpg" width="290" /></a></div><br />
B. Moche--Around 200, some four centuries after the collapse of the Chavin, the Moche developed the cultural and political tools needed to dominate the north coastal region of Peru. The did not establish a formal empire or create unified political structures, but they did exercise authority over a broad region.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.swerdloff.us/Lima/images/Lima%20-%20Museo%20Rafael%20Larco%20pottery%20Moche4_jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" ox="true" src="http://www.swerdloff.us/Lima/images/Lima%20-%20Museo%20Rafael%20Larco%20pottery%20Moche4_jpg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>1. Moche social order--evidence indicated that the Moche cultivated maize, quinoa, beans, manioc, and sweet potoatoes with the aid of massive irrigation works that the Moche rulers forced commoners and subject peoples to build and maintain. Moche society was highly stratified, with the elite constructing their dwellings on platforms so that they literally looked down on commoners, enhancing their position in society.<br />
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2. Environment crisis and decline--the archaeological record makes clear that the rapid decline of Moche civilization was spurred by a succession of natural disasters in the sixth century, including a 30 year drought which expanded the area of costal dunes and clogged the irrigation system. Coupled with the development of a new military power to their immediate south, the Moche were never able to recover.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Tiwanaku_VerzonkenTempel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" ox="true" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Tiwanaku_VerzonkenTempel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>C. Tiwanaku and Wari--Tiwanaku developed near Lake Titicaca; modern excavations indicate that a vast drainage project undertaken was able to reclaim nearly 200,000 acres of lake bottom land for agriculture, and this allowed them to support a population of upwards of 30,000 12,500 feet above sea level (about 4 miles).<br />
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1. Tiwanaku social structure--it is clear that Tiwanaku was a highly stratified society ruled by a hereditary elite that controlled a large, disciplined labor force in the surrounding region<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tampere.fi/ekstrat/taidemuseo/arkisto/peru/800/wari_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="http://www.tampere.fi/ekstrat/taidemuseo/arkisto/peru/800/wari_2.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>2. Wari--located about 450 miles northwest of Tiwanaku, the Wari shared many elements of their culture, but the relationship between the two remains obscure. Some scholars maintain that Wari was a dependency of Tiwanaku, while others suggest they were joint capitals of a single empire. What is clear from the evidence in the lack of cut stone masonry in public an private buildings is that the Wari elite were either weaker than their Tiwanaku counterparts, or they lacked the necesarry skill.<br />
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3. Eclispe of Tiwanaku and Wari--a time of increased warfare throughout the Andes around 1000 led to the downfall of both the Tiwanaku and Wari, and their replacement by the Inca.<br />
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B. Inca civilization<br />
1. The Inca Empire--was the largest empire in the world during its time, stretching nearly the entire west coast of South America; much of the empire was contained within the Andes Mountains, at heights were sustaining civilization is very difficult.<br />
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2. Inca reign--lasted just over one hundred years before its demise at the hands of Francisco Pizzaro; but as we shall see, like his cousin Cortez, he lucked into attacking an empire that was suffering from internal difficulties that contributed to its downfall.<br />
3. Rise of the Inca--Inca was the name for the people, as well as incorporated into the name of the ruler.<br />
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a.) Originated near Lake Titicaca, in the Andes along the border of present-day Peru and Bolivia. Move then to area near Cusco (or Qosqo)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www2.truman.edu/~marc/webpages/andean2k/religion/MachuPicchu01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" ox="true" src="http://www2.truman.edu/~marc/webpages/andean2k/religion/MachuPicchu01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>b.) Inca made enemies of the Chanka people, were suppose to be led into battle by Wiraqocha Inca and his designated heir (the Inca named their successors), Inca Urqon. The fled the Chanka, however, and the Incas were led into battle by the youngest son, Inca Cusi Yupaki, who led them to victory. After being tipped off to his father’s plans to have him murdered, Yupaki foiled the plot, and his humiliated father fled. Yupaki then renamed himself Pachakuti (“Worldshaker”) in Runa Sumi, the Inkan language.<br />
c.) The Hegemonic Empire--Pachakuti formed his empire largely by persuading other peoples to adopt Inca ways of life and Inka protections; then co-opting local rulers to do his bidding.<br />
d.) Succession problems--naming the successor worked as long as it was a decisive decision--and the person named outlived the Inka. By the early 1500s, to successive ascensions to the throne were contested, setting off small civil wars in Inkan society; the second was only resolved just before the appearance of Pizzaro.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-61474829990885346022010-11-16T08:38:00.000-08:002010-11-16T08:38:48.907-08:00Inner and East Asia, 581-755I. The Sui and Tang Empires, 581-755<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://yanxishan.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/sui-dynasty-map1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" px="true" src="http://yanxishan.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/sui-dynasty-map1.gif" width="320" /></a></div>A. Sui Empire<br />
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1. Reunification of China--After the fall of the Han Dynasty, China was fragmeneted for several centuries. It was reunified under the Sui dynasty, a father and son ruling duo who held power from 581 until Turks from Inner Asia defeated the son in 615.<br />
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2. Sui rulers--called their new capital Chang'an in honor of the old capital in the Wei River Valley. Though northern China constituted the Sui heartland, population centered along the Yangzi River in the south and pointed the way for future Chinese expansion. To facilitate communication and trade with the south the Sui built the 1,100 mile long Grand Canal<br />
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3. Sui military ambitions--extended to Korea and Vietnam, as well as Inner Asia, and required high levels of organization and the mustering or resources--manpower, livestock, wood, iron, and food supplies. The same was true of their massive public works projects. These burdens proved to be more than the Sui could sustain. Over-extension compounded the political dilemma stemming from the military defeat and subsequent assassination of the second Sui emperor. These circumstances opened the way for another strong leader to establish a new state.<br />
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4. In 618 the powerful Li family took advantage of the Sui disorder to carve out an empire of similar scale and ambition. They adopted the dynastic name Tang. The brilliant emperor Li Shimin extended his power primarily westward into Inner Asia. Though he and succeeding rulers of the Tang Empire retained many Sui governing practices, they avoided over-centralization by allowing local nobles, gentry, officials, and religious establishments to exercise significant amounts of power.<br />
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B. Buddhism and the Tang Empire--the Tang rulers followed Inner Asian precedents in their political use of Buddhism. State cults based on Buddhism had flourished in Inner Asia and North China since the fall of the Han dynasty. Some interpretations of Buddhist doctrines accorded kings and emperors the spiritual function of welding humankind into a harmonious Buddhist society. Protecting spirits were to help the rulers govern and protect the people from harm.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sulekha.com/mstore/cutthecrap/albums/default/3a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="http://www.sulekha.com/mstore/cutthecrap/albums/default/3a.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>1. Mahayana Sect--Mahayana Buddhism predominated in the region, and fostered a faith in enlightened beings--bodhisattvas--who postponed nirvana to help others achieve enlightenment. This permitted the absorption of local gods and goddesses into Mahayana sainthood and made conversion of local peoples more attractive to them. Mahayana also encouraged translating Buddhist scripture into local languages, and it accepted religious practices not based on written texts.<br />
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2. Inter-regional contacts--as the Tang Empire expanded westward, contacts with western Asia and India increased, as did the complexity of the Buddhist influence throughout China. Chang'an became the center of a continent-wide system of communication and trade.<br />
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C. To Chang'an by Land and Sea<br />
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1. Tributary system--a type of political relationship dating from Han time by which independent countries acknowledged the Chinese emperor's supremacy by sending representatives bearing gifts. While the "inferior" countries may have seen this as a way to facilitate trade with China, the Chinese saw it as a political relationship/<br />
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C. Upheavals and Repression, 750-879<br />
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1. Opposition to Buddhism--the later years of the Tang dynasty witnessed increased conflict with Tibetans and Uighurs; one result of this was a backlash among the Chinese against "foreigners," which, to Confucians, meant all Buddhists<br />
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2. Wu Zhao--Buddhism was also attacked for encouraging women to become involved in politics. One, Wu Zhao, declared herself empress by claiming to be a bodhisattva. She was not deposed until 705, when she was more than eighty years old.<br />
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3. Closing the monasteries--because Buddhist monks and nuns renounced earthly treasures, and live in poverty, they were exempt from taxation--although the monasteries where they lived tended to collect great riches. This, coupled with the fact that these monks and nuns also practiced celibacy, made them seem threatening to Confucians. By 840, the government moved to crush these monasteris, and within 5 years 4,600 temples had been destroyed, and an enormous amount of land and 150,000 workers returned to the tax rolls.<br />
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D. The End of the Tang Empire, 879-907<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Ch'ien_Hs%C3%BCan_002.jpg/300px-Ch'ien_Hs%C3%BCan_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Ch'ien_Hs%C3%BCan_002.jpg/300px-Ch'ien_Hs%C3%BCan_002.jpg" /></a></div>1. An Lushan Rebellion--The defeat of the Chinese army at the Battle of Talas River in 751, which halted Chinese expansion in Western Asia, also led to army demoralization and underfunding. A disgruntled general by the name of An Lushan led his soldiers in a rebellion against the emperor, resulting in his fleeing from the capital. The rebellion lasted eight years, and was only put down by provincial military governors--which further eroded the power of the emperor.<br />
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2. Further unrest--a disgruntled member of the gentry led another rebellion, which peasants and other poor farmers joined because it offered some protection from local bosses and landlords. Hatred of foreigners proved an outlet for this stress, and thousands of the foreigners were murdered on Canton and Beijing.<br />
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II. The Emergence of East Asia, to 1200<br />
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A. Emergence of Three New States--formed in the vaccuum created by the disintegration of the Tang Empire.<br />
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1. Liao Empire--established by the Khitan people, pastoral nomads related to the Mongols living on the northwest frontier. Centered their government in cities, but the emperor preferred life in nomad encampments.<br />
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2. Tanggut Empire (1038-1227)--of the Minyak people, who were related to the Tibetans on the Inner Asian frontier in northwestern China<br />
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3. Song Empire--Chinese-speaking, located in central China beginning around 960.<br />
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B. The Liao and Jin Challenge<br />
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1. Khitan People--extended from Siberia to Inner Asia. Liao rulers prided themselves on their pastoral traditions as horse and cattle herders, and made no attempt to impose a single elite culture.<br />
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2. Conquest of the Song--the Liao used their skill on horseback and as archers along with the technology of seize engines that they had learned from people in western Asia to defeat the Song, and forced them to send tribute in the form of gold and other valuable metals, and silk.<br />
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3. Jin Empire--after a century of paying tribute, the Song allied with the Jurchen people. The Jurchens toppled the Liao, burning their capital in Mongolia, and proclaimed their own empire--and then turned on the Song, defeating them in 1127 by laying siege to the capital, Kaifeng, and then capturing the Song emperor. As a result, the Song withdrew south of the Yellow River, leaving central China in Jurchen control.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.chinagiftguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Song_Dynasty_Elegant_Party3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" px="true" src="http://www.chinagiftguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Song_Dynasty_Elegant_Party3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>C. Song Industries--the Southern Song (as this period is referred to by historinas) came closer to an industrial revolution than any other premodern society.<br />
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1. Technology--the Song incorported the technology that had earlier come to Tang China to meet their military, agricultural, and administrative needs.<br />
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2. Transportation--refined the compass, which allowed them to use it on sea-going vessels, like the main ocean-going vessel that was also developed around this time, the junk.<br />
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3. Iron and Steel--the Song were able to fight their neighbors to the north, and gained control of a significan number of iron and coal mines there--which allowed them to refine the manufacture of iron and develop the manufacture of steel.<br />
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4. Gunpowder--to counter cavalry assaults, the Song experimented with the use of gunpowder, which they used to propel clusters of flaming arrows. They later developed the mortar.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.art-virtue.com/history/sung/Map_Sung.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" px="true" src="http://www.art-virtue.com/history/sung/Map_Sung.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>D. Economy and Society in Song China--despite living in a war-like era, Song elite culture idealized civil pursuits, and the civil official outranked the military officer.<br />
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1. Neo-Confucianism--new interpretations of Confucian teachings became important during the Song era, and later versions incorporated these new interpretations. A man named Zhu Xi (1130-1200), the most important early thinking propelling neo-Confucianism, wrote in reaction to the many centuries when Buddhism and Daoism had overshadowed the concepts of Confucius. He and others worked out a systematic approach to cosmology that focused on the central conception that human nature is moral, rational, and essentially good. Their human ideal was the sage, who could preserve mental stability and serenity while dealing conscientiously with troubling social problems--in contrast to the bodhisattva, who largely withdrew from the world.<br />
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2. Mediative Buddhsim--Chan Buddhism (known as Zen in Japan--and the United States) emphasized meditation as a way of achieving salvation; it was probably this shift in emphasis that reconciled it with neo-Confucianism, which also emphasized meditation, after the hostile period Buddhist practice experienced during the Tang dynasty.<br />
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3. Examination system--hereditary class distinctions meant less during the Song dynasty than they had in the Tang, and efforts were made to recruit the most talented men, no matter what their origin--but men from rich families retained a distinct advantage, because they could prepare for the examinations much more thoroughly than their poorer counterparts.<br />
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4. Printing--a technical change to the woodblock led to the development of an early form of moveable type, and permitted the Song to authorize the mass production of preparation books in the years before 1000. Although one had to be literate to read the books, and a basic education was out of the reach of most Chinese, this did allow a few sons of poorer families to move into the Song bureaucracy.<br />
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5. Population growth--during the 1100s, as the Song added more territory and prosperity was the norm, China's population grew to more than 100 million people. Although no individual city was more than 1,000,000, the size of many Chinese cities dwarfed anything else in the world, and despite their size were much cleaner (and healthier) than cities in Europe.<br />
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6. Trade and Credit--begun during the Tang era, interregional or intercity money--promissary notes, in reality--largely depended upon family relationships in far-flung places. When the Song attempted to issue paper money to meet its obligations, it created inflation so severe that at the beginning of the 1100s that the paper money was trading at only 1 percent of its face value.<br />
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7. Status of women--although merchants depended upon their wives to run their businesses while they were off trading, rights of women further diminished under the Song. Women were only educated enough that they could function in an increasingly comples society, but not to the point where they could compete with men<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://uploads.neatorama.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/500footbinding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" px="true" src="http://uploads.neatorama.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/500footbinding.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>a. Footbinding--although it appeared in the Tang era among slave dancers, footbinding became more widespread in the Song period. Females of elite families--or those who aspired to elite status--had their feet bound from a young age to make them more desirable for male suitors.<br />
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III. New Kingdoms in East Asia<br />
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A. Chinese influences--Korea, Japan, and Vietnam had first centralized power under ruling houses in the early Tang period, and their state ideologies continued to resemble that of the early Tang period, when Buddhism and Confucianism seemed more compatible.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.leicester-tkd.com/New%20Folder/koryo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://www.leicester-tkd.com/New%20Folder/koryo.jpg" /></a></div>B. Korea--our first knowledge of Kora, Japan, and Vietnam comes via Chinese visitors. During the Han era, it was noted that Koreans engaged in horse breeding, were ruled by strong hereditary elites, and practiced shamanism (the belief that certain individuals could contact the spirit world)--which was quickly replaced by Buddhism and Confucianism.<br />
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1. Aristocratic families--in the early 500 the dominant landholding families made inherited status--the "bone ranks"--permanent in southern Korea. In 668, the northern kingdom, known as Koguryo, came into conflict with the Sui and Tang. Supported by the Tang, the southern kingdom, known as Silla, took control of the north. In the early 900s, Silla collapsed, along with their patrons the Tang's, and this allowed the Koryo to rule a united peninsula for the next three centuries.<br />
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C. Japan--Consists of four main islans and many smaller ones stretching in an arc from as far north as Maine to as far south as Georgia. Mountainous and heavily forested in this early period, only 11 percent of its land was considered arable.<br />
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1. Yamato Regime--we are not sure at this point what spurred Japanese unification, although it seems likely that horse riders from Korea played a part. By the 600s, these rulers implemented the Taika and other refoms, which gave the Yamato regime key features of the Tang government. A legal code, an official variety of Confuciansim, and an official reverence for Buddhism blended with the local recognition on indigenous and immigrant chieftains as territorial administrators. Within a century, a centralized government with a complex system of law had emerged--attesting to the influence of Confucianism.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.taleofgenji.org/images/heian_jingu_east.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" px="true" src="http://www.taleofgenji.org/images/heian_jingu_east.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>2. Chinese influences--Japanese incorporated Chinese building techniques, and by the 700s Japan had largely passed China in Buddhist studies--but Japan did not incorporate the idea of the Mandate of Heaven, instead believing that the ruling family to have ruled Japan since the beginning of time. While the dynasty never changed, the prime minister and leaders of the native religion, who held actual power, did change with some frequency.<br />
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3. Fujiwara Clan--in 794 the central government moved to Kyoto (then known as Heian), and remained centralized (more or less) until 1185, although central power had began to disintegrate near the end. Members of the Fukiwara clan controlled power and protected the emperor during much of this time, and favored men of Confucian learning over illiterate warriors.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.jujitsustudies.com/ieyasu_samurai.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://www.jujitsustudies.com/ieyasu_samurai.JPG" /></a></div>4. The Shogunate--military values became increasingly important during the period from 1156-1185, when warfare between rival clans culminated in the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate, who replace the Fujiwara family.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.vnafmamn.com/mementos/annam_fortress2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" px="true" src="http://www.vnafmamn.com/mementos/annam_fortress2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>D. Vietnam--not until the Tang era did the relationship between Vietnam and China become close enough for economic and cultural interchange to play an important role<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.wn.com/ph/img/9f/0a/260684300b9d071d18a08ae36649-grande.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="http://cdn.wn.com/ph/img/9f/0a/260684300b9d071d18a08ae36649-grande.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>1. Rice Culture--Vietnam's economic and poltical life centered on two fertile river valleys; the Red River in the north, and the Mekong River in the south. The rice-based agriculture of Vietnam made it well-suited to economic integration with southern China<br />
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2. Relations with China--although the Vietnamese may have adopted the use of draft animals before China, the elites of northern Vietnam adopted Confucian training, Mahayan Buddhism, and other aspects of Chinese culture. The Annamese continued to rule in the Tang style after that regimes fall; the Annam assumed the name Dai Viet in 936 and retained good relations with the Song as an independent country.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Champa_Po_Nagar_Nha_Trang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" px="true" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Champa_Po_Nagar_Nha_Trang.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>3. Champa--located in southern Vietnam, were more influenced by its maritime networks of trade with Malay and India. The Champa and Dai Viet were often fighting among themselves, but cooperate together to resist what threats would emanate from the SongUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-3682344324638200332010-11-09T08:18:00.000-08:002010-11-09T08:18:55.401-08:00Christian Societies Emerge in Europe, 600-1200I. The Byzantine Empire, 600-1200<br />
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A. An Empire Beleaguered--having a single ruler endowed with supreme legal and religious authority prevented the breakup of the Eastern Empire into petty principalities (as was the case with the Western Empire--the "fall" of Rome)--but a series of territorial losses sapped the strength of the empire.<br />
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1. Arab defeat of the Sasanid Empire<br />
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2. Arab victories also gain for them the former Byzantine controlled territories of Egypt, Syria, and Tunisia.<br />
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3. The threat of Islam--the rise of Islam in these territories meant the diminished influence of Christianity there; by the end of the 12th century, some two-thirds of the Christians in these former Byzantine territories had adopted the Muslim faith.<br />
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4. Christiam schism--at the same time that the Byzantine Empire was being threatened by Islam, worsening relations with the bishops of Rome and western princes limited the support for Byzantium when it was most needed; by 1054, religious differences between the eastern Christian churches and the Latin Church in the west had grown into a full schism that has only partly been mended.<br />
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B. Society and Urban Life<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/picture-1-63.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" px="true" src="http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/picture-1-63.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
1. Plague of Justinian--although the eastern empire was more urbanized, both parts of the empire were devasted during the 6th century epidemic of <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/11/01/the-%E2%80%9Cblack-death%E2%80%9D-bacterium-began-its-rampage-in-china/">bubonic plague</a>, named for the emperor Justinian, who ruled Byzantium from 527 to 565. Narrative histories tell us little about its effects, but popular narratives of the lives of saints show a transition from stories about educated saints hailing from cities to stories about saints who originated as peasants<br />
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2. Urban elite population shrinks--as the urban elite population shrank, the importance of high-ranking aristocrats and rural landowners increased. Populations in cities shrank, and in many area barter replaced money transactions.<br />
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3. Rise of Rural Elites--as the number of urban elite shrank, the importance of high-ranking aristocrats at the imperial court and of rural landowners increased. Power centered in rural families began to rival the power of class-based officeholding. By the end of the 11th century, a family-based military aristocracy had emerged.<br />
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4. Restriction of economic freedom--Byzantine emperors continued the late Roman inclination to set prices, organize grain shipments to the capital, and monopolize trade in luxury goods. While this kept the masses out fo the streets and relatively well-fed, this was probably a factor in slowing technological development and economic innovation--and tended to restrict the growth of other urban areas in the Eastern Empire, as well.<br />
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B. Cultural achievements<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://hagia-sophia.org/hagia_sophia_interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" px="true" src="http://hagia-sophia.org/hagia_sophia_interior.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>1. Hagia Sophia cathedral--as well as a number of other places of worship<br />
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2. Byzantine religious art--an outgrowth of the religious archtecture<br />
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3. Cyrillic alphabet--used by Slavic Christians adhering to the Orthodox (Byzantine) rites in religious practice--and the basis for the persistance of Orthodox religious practice among the southern Slavic peoples (and Russians), while the Roman alphabet and religion prevails among the Poles, Czechs, and Croatians<br />
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II. Early Medieval Europe, 600-1000<br />
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A. The Time of Insecurity<br />
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1. Muslim Invasions--Arabs and Berbers crossed the Straits of Gibraltar in 711, and quickly overran the Visigoth kingdom in modern Spain. They pushed the Christian princes to the northern areas of the peninsula, then turned to invading France, reaching as far north as Tours (about 150 miles south of Paris) before being defeated and forced to withdraw to Iberia by Charles Martel (the grandfather of Charlemagne)<br />
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2. The Carolingian Empire--military effectiveness was the key element in the rise of the Carolingian family, first as the protectors of the Frankish kings, and then as kings themselves--and eventually as emperors. At the peak of Charlemagne's power, the Carolingian Empire encompassed all of Gaul and parts of Germany and Italy, with the pope ruling parts of the latter. When Louis the Pious, Charlemagne's son, died, the Treaty of Verdun split the empire into three parts: the French-speaking west (France); the middle (Burgandy), and the German-speaking in the east (Germany). The Carolingian economic system based upon landed wealth and a brief intellectual revival sponsored personally by Charlemagne provided a common heritage.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://socialstuds.wikispaces.com/file/view/vikings.jpg/69774905/vikings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" px="true" src="https://socialstuds.wikispaces.com/file/view/vikings.jpg/69774905/vikings.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>3. Viking Raids--Europe was threatened not only from invaders from the south, but from the north, as well. The Vikings were adventerous and skilled sailors, and their hit-and-run raids around northern Europe struck fear into the hearts of the people living in those areas. Their legacy can still be viewed in the person of the stereotypical Irish redhead; Celts were more darkly complected, but with the offspring of Viking invaders, there grew a large population of redheads.<br />
<br />
C. A Self-Sufficient Economy<br />
<br />
1. Germanic Customs--the Germanic peoples who came to power in the vaccuum of the fall of Rome had little use for the urban-based civilization of the Romans; the population of cities fell, and much of the infrastructure constructed by the Romans fell into disrepair. The German diet consisted largely of beer, lard or butter, bread made from barley, rye, or wheat, all supplemented by pork from swine heards that were free range fed on acorns, beechnuts, and whatever else they found in forests.<br />
<br />
2. The Manorial System--fear of attack led many small farmers to give their land to large landowners in return for physical and political protection. The large landowners, in turn, supported a fighting force to protect the area they were accumulating this land in--and to keep the former small landowners in line. In this hierarchical society, the former small landowners found their status changed, as well.<br />
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<br />
a. Serfs--Serfs were agricultural workers who belonged to the manor, tilled its fields, and owed dues and other obligations. Serfs could not leave the manor where they were born (legally). Most peasants in England, France, and western Germany were unfree serfs in the 10th and 11th centuries. In Bordeaux, Saxony, and few other regions, free peasantry survived based on the egalitarian social structure of the Germanic people during their period of migration. Outright slavery, on the other hand, diminished as more and more peasants became serfs in return for a lord's protection.<br />
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D. Early Medieval Society in the West<br />
<br />
1. Feudalism--is the term used to describe the the relationship between nobles and "vassals"--or those person nobles gave land to in return for military service. By the 10th century, these vassals using owned horses from which they fought from, and provided their own armor. As they obtained technology like stirrups, their armor became more elaborate<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://jimbisselistheantichrist.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/knights_templar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://jimbisselistheantichrist.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/knights_templar.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>2. Knights--By the 11th century, the knight had emerged as the central figure in medieval warfare. As a knight became more prosperous, he could afford a more elaborate outfit, which signaled his greater status<br />
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3. Fiefdoms--a grant of land in return for military service was often called a fief. Although at first these grants were taken back at the end of the fief's life, by the 10th century, these fiefdoms could be inherited as long as the military service continued to be provided. It evolved as a general practice for a king or major noble to make grants of land to his vassals (other members of the nobility), who in turn made grants to their vassals. The lord of the manor provided governance and justice locally; the royal government was quite distant to the average peasant.<br />
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4. Noblewomen--became enmeshed in this system as heiresses and as candidates for marriage. A man who married a widow or the daughter of a lord could gain control of the lord's property. Noble daughters and sons had little say in marriage matters; issues of land, power, and military service took precendence.<br />
<br />
III. The Western Church<br />
<br />
A. Politics and the Church<br />
<br />
1. The papacy--in the west Roman nobles lost control of the papacy, and it became a more powerful international office after the tenth century. Councils of bishops usually convened not only to chose the next pope, but also to fix church doctrine. The lack of trained clergy, difficult transportation, political disorder, and the prevalence of non-standard practice often made the enforcement of approved practice difficult.<br />
<br />
2. The Holy Roman Empire--as the French philosopher Voltaire pointed out, the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. It was a creation of the pope Charlemagne's father Pepin in an attempt to make Pepin an ally. Tension quickly grew between the pope and the various princes in Europe, particularly after Hildebrand as Pope Gregory decreed that all earthy princes were all subservient to him, since he was God's appointee on earth. This tension came to a head in the <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/292452/Investiture-Controversy">investure controversey</a>, when Gregory excommunicated (denied the sacraments of the Church) the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV over Henry's refusal to follow Gregory's reforms. While Henry was penitent over this matter, when Gregory declared Henry deposed (removed as emperor) in 1078, Henry forced Gregory to flee from Rome, and Gregory died in exile in Salerno two year later. This dispute was not resolved until the Concordat of Worms, when Henry V renounced his right to choose bishops and abbots or bestow spiritual symbols upon them, while Pope Calixtus II agreed to permit the emperor to invest papally appointed bishops and abbots with any lay rights or obligations before their spiritual consecration.<br />
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3. Henry II of England and Thomas a Becket--Becket was Henry's closest friend and advisor, so when Henry convinced him to become a priest and had him appointed Archbishop of Canterbury (the most important bishop in England), Henry assumed he could therefore also control the Church in England. When Becket resisted, four of Henry's knights, knowing that Henry wished Becket dead, murdered him. The backlash from this underhanded deed undermined the authority the Henry had wielded.<br />
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B. Monasticism--became prominent in almost all medieval Christian lands, although its origins lie in the eastern lands of the Roman Empire.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.newgenevacenter.org/09_Biography/benedict.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://www.newgenevacenter.org/09_Biography/benedict.jpg" /></a></div>1. Benedictine Rule--the most important form of monasticism in western Europe involved groups of monks or nuns living together in organized communities. The person most responsible for introducing this originally Egyptian practice in the Latin west was Benedict of Nursia in Italy. Benedict began his monastic career living as a hermit in a cave, but eventually organized several monastraries, each headed by an abbot. Benedictine Rule governed the behavior of monks, and envisioned a life of devotion and work, along with obigations of celibacy, poverty, and obedience to the abbot. Those who lived by monastic rules were classified as regular clergy, while those who lived in secular society were secular clergy.<br />
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2. Preservation of knowledge--since those living in monastaries were among the few people in European society during this time that could read and write, and because they were to devote themselves to work when not devoted to prayer, monastaries in western Europe were responsible for preserving much of the knowledge acculated by the Romans (Muslim societies and Byzantium preserved much of the Greek knowledge, plus their own discoveries).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://faculty.cua.edu/pennington/ChurchHistory220/TopicFive/ClunyMapSm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" px="true" src="http://faculty.cua.edu/pennington/ChurchHistory220/TopicFive/ClunyMapSm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>3. Cluny--even with the Rule of Benedict, religious practices in monastaries were susceptible to corruption. The abbot at the Benedictine monastary in Cluny, France, led the first reform movement, and at the peak of Cluny's influence nearly 1,000 monastaries and priories (lower-level monastic houses) came under the rule of the abbot of Cluny.<br />
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IV. Western Europe Revives, 1000-1200<br />
<br />
A. The New Millenium--when the next millenium passed, and Jesus did not reappear as was widely believed, Europeans seemed to gather the wherewithal to work to improve their society, since it seemed likely that they would be around a while longer.<br />
<br />
B. The Role of Technology<br />
<br />
1. Population growth--the population in western Europe doubled in the 200 years between 1000 and 1200<br />
<br />
2. Horses and plows--Europeans switch over almost exclusively to the use of horses from oxen; horses can pull heavier loads, although they need more grain than oxen. Europeans also begin to use the horse collar, rather than previous kinds of harnesses, which shifted the burden back to the animals shoulders, rather than neck, and allowed them to pull things with choking themselves. A new kind of plow was also developed, which allowed ploughmen to furrow deeper, and to work in the heavier soils of western Europe.<br />
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C. Cities and the Rebirth of Trade<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.uwo.ca/modlang/images/venice2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="http://www.uwo.ca/modlang/images/venice2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>1. Independent Cities in Italy--Independent cities governed and defended by communes appeared first in Italy and in Flanders, and then spread elsewhere. Communes were groups of leading citizens who banded together to defend their city and to demand the right of self-government from their lay or religious lord. With this independence, they were able to attract workers from the surrounding countryside, who brought their skills to these cities, began manufacturing items--and provided merchants with the material to begin trading with.Venice, built on a series of swampy islands on the eastern side of the Italian peninsula, and Genoa on the western side, became two of the leading independent cities that sparked trade with Muslims in the Middle East, eventually trading with India and on the Silk Road.<br />
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2. Independent Cities in Flanders (modern Belgium)--cities like Bruges, Ghent, and Ypres rivaled Italian cities in wealth, by trading in fish caught in the North Sea, and by becoming an early textile manufacturing center.<br />
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V. The Crusades, 1095-1204<br />
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A. The Roots of the Crusades<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/Giotto_-_Legend_of_St_Francis_-_-11-_-_St_Francis_before_the_Sultan_(Trial_by_Fire).jpg/220px-Giotto_-_Legend_of_St_Francis_-_-11-_-_St_Francis_before_the_Sultan_(Trial_by_Fire).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/Giotto_-_Legend_of_St_Francis_-_-11-_-_St_Francis_before_the_Sultan_(Trial_by_Fire).jpg/220px-Giotto_-_Legend_of_St_Francis_-_-11-_-_St_Francis_before_the_Sultan_(Trial_by_Fire).jpg" /></a></div>1. The Truce of God--Christian societies in Europe were very violent, with knights looking to prove their worth, and war as a means of overcoming ones opponents. Church leaders attempted to change this atmosphere by decreeing certain times forbidden for carrying out war--Lent, Sundays, othe important holy days. While many knight welcomed a religiously approved alternative to fighting other Christians, the leaders of these societies were also looking for new lands to conquer and exploit. In addition, Italian merchants wanted to increase trade with the eastern Mediterranean, and eliminate the Muslim middlemen they were dealing with. But without the rivalry between the popes and kings discussed above, and without the desire of the Church to demonstrate political authority over western Christendom, the Crusades might never have happened.<br />
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2. Pilgrimages--were important in the religious life in Europe. The Muslim rulers benefited monetarily from these pilgrimages, and did their best to accommodate these pilgrims. Pilgrims were usually accompanied by knights during the long journey, who interacted with other knights and learned of efforts to overthrow Muslim rulers in other parts of Europe--particularly in the Iberian Peninsula. When security in the eastern Mediterranean began to break down after the Seljuk Turk victory and the spread of Turkish nomads throughout the region, tension rose.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/htimages/A002HT2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/htimages/A002HT2.jpg" /></a></div>3. Pope Urban II--despite theological differences between the Othodox and Roman Churches, the Byzantine emperor Alexius Conenus asked the pope and western European rulers to help him retake the Holy Land and end the Muslim threat. Urban responded, called upon western Christians to stop fighting each other, and to fight Muslims instead. While the First Crusade was fairly successful, capturing Jerusalem and establishing Christian communities in other locales in the region, Muslim retook Jerusalem in 1187; by the Fourth Crusade, the religious ardor that had animated the First Crusade had waned to the extent that the crusaders sacked Christian Constantinople before beginning, in order to pay for shipping the Crusaders across the Mediterranean<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.aijac.org.au/review/2005/images/crusades.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://www.aijac.org.au/review/2005/images/crusades.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>B. Impact of the Crusade--although at war with Muslims, western European crusaders were also impressed with the civilizations that Muslims created in the eastern Mediterranean, and sought to learn from them. The crusaders brought back to western Europe much of the knowledge preserved in the region, from Ancient Greece, from Arab scholars, translated it, and began to incorporate what they learned.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-71313963849113795882010-11-04T10:16:00.000-07:002010-11-04T10:16:38.748-07:00Islam After MuhammadI. The Rise and Fall of the Caliphate, 632-1258<br />
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The Islamic caliphate built on the conquests the Arabs carried out after Muhammad's death gave birth to a dynamic and creative religious society. By the late 800s, however, one piece after another of this huge realm broke away. While the idea of a caliphate remains a touchstone of Sunni belief in the unity of the umma, because Sunni Islam never gave one person the power to define true belief, expel heretics, and discipline clergy like the popes were given in the Christian faith.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.studenthandouts.com/photo_gallery/Maps/MiddleAges-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" px="true" src="http://www.studenthandouts.com/photo_gallery/Maps/MiddleAges-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
A. The Islamic Conquests, 643-711<br />
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1. Arab Conquests Outside Arabia--began with the second caliph, Umar, who ruled between 634 to 644.<br />
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a. Syria (636)<br />
b. Egypt (639-642)<br />
c. Sasanid Empire (632-651)<br />
d. Tunisia (661)<br />
e. Iberian Peninsula (711)--except for the northern third of the peninsula, which remained a center of resistance to Muslim rule for the next seven centuries.<br />
f. Sind (711)--the southern Indus Valley was also conquered by Arabs from Iraq.<br />
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2. Stability--this vast area remained largely under the control of Arabs for the next three centuries, until conquest began anew during the 11th century when India and Anatolia experienced invasions and large portions of sub-Saharan Africa was converted peacefully to Islam through trade contacts.<br />
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3. Reasons for conquest--although these Arab conquerors all shared the same Muslim faith, they did not fight for converts to this religion; they instead fought to obtain the booty of war. The second caliph, Umar, prohibited Arabs from assuming ownership of conquered territory, and insisted that soldiers had to remain in a military camp to be eligible for the regular pay and opportunities for the spoils of war. The million or so Arabs who over the generations took part in these conquests constituted a small, self-isolated minority living on the taxes paid by a vastly non-Arab and non-Muslim subject population. The Arabs had little incentive to encourage conversion, and there is little evidence of a coherent missionary effort to spread Islam during the conquest period.<br />
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B. The Umayyad and Early Abbasid Caliphates, 661-850<br />
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1. Arab realm--the Umayyad caliphs presided over an Arab realm, rather than a religious empire. Centered in Damascus, they Umayyad regime relied upon an army consisting almost entirely of Muslim Arabs; they retained Sasanid and Byzantine administrative practices, and gradually replaced non-Muslim secretaries and tax officials with Muslims, as well as introducing Arabic and the language of government.<br />
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2. Growing unrest--although converts to Islam in this period only made up about 10 percent of the indigenous population, they were still important because of the small number of Arab warriors--and these converts resented the Arab social domination. In addition, non-Syrian Arabs envied the Syrian domination of caliph affairs, pious Muslims were disappointed with the unpious behavior of the caliphs, and Shi'ites and Kharijites attacked the Umayyad family's legitimacy as the heirs of Muhammad.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/course/79-104/Readings/Gallery/Gallery1/HWC306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" px="true" src="http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/course/79-104/Readings/Gallery/Gallery1/HWC306.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>3. Abbasid Revolution--in 750, in the region of Khurasan in what is today northeastern Iran, the last Umayyad caliph was overthrown. The Abbas family controlled the secret organization that coordinated the revolt, and utilized their kin connection with leading Shi'ites who were related to Ali, and in this way gained Shi'ite assistance to gain control. The Abbasid Caliphate remained in control of the region until 1258, when Mongol invaders killed the last of them in Baghdad.<br />
<br />
a. With its roots among the semi-Persianized Arabs of the Khurasan, this new dynasty gradually adopted many of the ceremonies and customs of the Sasanid shah, and the government grew more complex in Baghdad.<br />
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b. With more non-Arab peoples converting to Islam, the ruling elite became more cosmopolitan, and this in turn promoted the growth of literature.<br />
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c. With the greater number of converts to Islam, discrimintation against non-Arab Muslims gradually faced.<br />
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C. Political Fragmentation, 850-1050<br />
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1. Abbasid Decline--caused by a variety of factors: limits of communication over such a vast area; lessening of the umma's solidarity, as the conversion of larger numbers of local populations lessened the threat against Islam. This then led local political elites to seek greater independence from the caliphate, to set up local principalities, and to siphon of a larger share of the tax revenue that previously went to Baghdad.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://countryturkmenistan.tripod.com/SeljukEmpireMap-resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" px="true" src="http://countryturkmenistan.tripod.com/SeljukEmpireMap-resized.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/mamluke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/mamluke.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>2. Mamluk Slave Soldiers--declining revenues, and the growing distrust of outlyings generals and troops, who were growing increasingly close to local elites, induced the caliphate to buy Turkic slaves called mamluks from Central Asia, and establish them as a standing army. The mamluk army proved to be extremely effective militarily, but also very costly--and prone to uprisising if not paid in a timely fashion.<br />
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3. Fall of the Abbasid Caliphate--in 945, after several attempts to save it proved fruitless, the Abbasid Caliphate fell to the Buyid family, from the Daylam region in northern Iran. The Buyids were Shi'ite, but because Shi'ite ideology had developed the idea that the last Iman had disappeared around 873, and would not reappear until the end of time, they were willing to keep the Abbasid caliph on the throne to keep the Sunni population in line.<br />
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4. Samanid Dynasty--this political fragmentation led to the rise of a number of smaller principalities, including the Samanid family, who established one of the more prosperous courts in Bukhara, a major city along the Silk Road. The Samanids patronized literature and learning, but the literature produced was in Persian written in Arabic letters.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.danheller.com/images/Africa/Morocco/Berbers/berber-g-big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://www.danheller.com/images/Africa/Morocco/Berbers/berber-g-big.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>5. African Muslims--Berber revolts against Arab rule led to the appearance after 740 let to the appearance of the city-states of Sijilmasa and Tahert on the northern fringe of the Sahara. The Kharijite (a second deviation from the Sunni/Shi'ite split) beliefs interfered with their east-west trade, and led them to begin to seek trading partners in the Sahara--where they found the Berber people. The earliest known sub-Saharan beneficiaries of this trade was the kingdom of Ghana, which was a major source of gold. It was one of the first lands outside the orbit of the caliphate to experience a gradual and peaceful conversion to Islam.<br />
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6. The Fatimid Caliphate--claimed to be be Shi'ite Imams descended from Ali (this claim is somewhate doubtful, however) established itself in Tunisia in 909. After consolidating its hold on northwest Africa, the Fatimids conquered Egypt in 969. Claiming the title of caliph in a direct challenge to the Abbasids, the Fatimids established their capitol in a town they called Cairo. The gold they were able to channel their way from West Africa made the Fatimids a major economic power in the Mediterranean.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://bss.sfsu.edu/behrooz/Map-umayyad%20spain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://bss.sfsu.edu/behrooz/Map-umayyad%20spain.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>7. Islamic Iberia--cut off from the rest of the Islamic world by the Straits of Gibraltar and, from 740, by the independent city-states of Morocco and Algeria, Umayyad Spain developed a distinctive Islamic culture that blended Roman, Germanic, and Jewish traditions with those of Arabs and Berbers. Although historians disagree on how quickly most of the Iberian population converted to Islam, it seems likely that the most rapid surge occured in the 10th century.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/islam/architecture/pictures/cordobamosquesm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/islam/architecture/pictures/cordobamosquesm.jpg" /></a></div>a. Muslims were responsible for developing cities in Iberia, particularly Cordoba, Seville, and Toledo, and for inspiring the development of the arts.<br />
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D. Assault from Within and Without, 1050-1258<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://boivieapedia.pbworks.com/f/seljuk%20turks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://boivieapedia.pbworks.com/f/seljuk%20turks.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>1. Turks in the Middle East--The Turkish mamluks overthrew the remnant of the Abbasid Caliphate in 1030, when the Seljuk family established a Turkish Muslim state. Tughril Beg created a kingdom that stretched fro northern Afghanistan to Baghdad. The Seljuks later pressed on into Syria and Anatolia, administering a lethal blow to Byzantine power at the Battle of Manzikert, forcing the Byzantine army to retreat to Constantinople, from which they never emerged.<br />
<br />
2. Economic Decline--under Turkish rule, the nomadic background of the Seljuks led them to neglect the infrastructure that had supported agriculture in the region; agriculture, as a not unsurprising result, went into decline--aided by global cooling which also affected raising crops.<br />
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3. Crusader Challenge--internecine feuding preoccupied the Seljuk family when the Christian Crusaders arrived in 1099. Although these Christians were able to establish principalities in Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli, and Jersalem, these cities quickly became mere pawn in the shifting pattern of politics already present.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://pages.usherbrooke.ca/croisades/big_images/c_croisade3_saladin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" px="true" src="http://pages.usherbrooke.ca/croisades/big_images/c_croisade3_saladin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>a. Salah-al-Din (Saladin)--a Kurd who seized power at the death of his uncle, defeated the Fatimid Dynasty in Egypt and Syria, and in 1187 recaptured Jerusalem from the Europeans. Saladin's descendents defeated subsequent Crusades.<br />
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II. Islamic Civiliation<br />
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A. Law and Dogma--The Shari'a did not exist in Muhammad's time. It developed after his death, as those who knew him personally also died, and it no longer was possible to refer to someone who could related how Muhammad would respond to a certain situation<br />
<br />
1. Sunna and Hadith--while some Muslims argued for the concept that the reasoned considerations of a mature man offered the best resolution of issued not covered by Q'ranic revelation, other aruded for the sunna, or tradition, of the Prophet as the best guide. To understand the sunna, they collected and studied thousands of reports, called hadith, which purported to convey the precise workd or deeds of Muhammad.<br />
<br />
2. The Shari'a--Muslim scholars collected those hadith they determined were the most reliable into books (Sunnis into six books, Shi'ites into four) that over time gained authoritative status, which every Muslim ruler was expected to abide by and to enforce. In practice, this expectation was often not met, but it provided an important basis for an urban lifestyle that varied little from Morocco to India.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.worldreligions.psu.edu/images/artimages/maps/important%20cities%20in%20muslim%20expansion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" px="true" src="http://www.worldreligions.psu.edu/images/artimages/maps/important%20cities%20in%20muslim%20expansion.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>B. Converts and Cities<br />
<br />
1. Impact of Conversion--conversion was easy--one simply stated in the presence of a Muslim "There is no God by God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God." There was no priesthood established by Muhammad to guide the faithful; usually one had to live among Arabs to learn to read the Q'ran, and to learn how to behave as a Muslim should. Continuing to live in one home community as a Muslim was more difficult, because religious belief had by this time become the main component of social identity. Migration into the growing cities was a way to avoid this, and to take advantage of the economic opportunities that were present in these places where Arab tax revenues were flowing.<br />
<br />
2. Urban growth--Islam was largely an urban phenomenon, and as it grew, so did cities.<br />
<br />
3. Islam and Society--these growing urban centers fostered the development of agriculture in adjacent rural areas, as they grew a variety of crops to feed these cities--and trade developed between cities, aided by abundant coinage.<br />
<br />
4. Technology and Science--Muslim scholars inherited much of the knowlege propagated by the Greeks and Romans. The writings of Aristotle were translated into Arabic, and Muslim doctors and astronomers developed skills far in advance of their European counterparts.<br />
<br />
C. Women and Islam<br />
<br />
1. Women's lives--women seldom traveled. In rural areas, they worked in the fields; in urban areas, they were restricted largely to their own households. Only slave women could be in the presence of unrelated men; while men could have up to four wives, and as many slave concubines as he wished, a woman was restricted to only one husband.<br />
<br />
2. Women's legal status--despite these onerous restrictions, Muslim women were better off than their Christian or Jewish counterparts. They could inherit property, which remained theirs to keep or sell. Women could remarry if their husbands divorced them, and they could initiate divorce proceedings under some circumstances. They could also go on a haj<br />
<br />
3. Homosexuality--because of the restrictions placed on women, homosexual relationships were usually tolerated, although not encouraged.<br />
<br />
4. Slavery--Islam allowed slavery, but forbade Muslims from enslaving other Muslims or so-called People of the Bood--Christians and Jews--except those captured during war, which was the fate of many women caputred in army camps. A heriditary slave society did not develop, however, and the offspring of slave women and Muslim men were born free.<br />
<br />
C. Recenterring Islam<br />
<br />
1. Ulama--although this kept Islam from splintering as much as Christianity would in the following centuries, factional disputes also arose among various Ulama groups as to what constituted proper Islamic practice.<br />
<br />
2. Madrasa--a result of this splintering was the establishment of religious colleges in a number of cities, the madrasa gave a place for scholars drawn to these urban settlements to teach what they had learned from their ulama group<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_evSmtYwqMcM/Sdl-Z17FsdI/AAAAAAAACYc/NucfOPE8i1A/s288/dervish_gathering_india.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_evSmtYwqMcM/Sdl-Z17FsdI/AAAAAAAACYc/NucfOPE8i1A/s288/dervish_gathering_india.jpg" /></a></div>3. Sufi brotherhoods--roughly analogous to the development of fraternal groups.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-58388820249052322712010-11-02T08:27:00.000-07:002010-11-02T08:27:32.986-07:00Rise of Islam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ivargault.com/mynter/persiske/sassanid_empire_map2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" nx="true" src="http://www.ivargault.com/mynter/persiske/sassanid_empire_map2.gif" width="400" /></a></div>I. The Sasanid Empire, 224-651<br />
<br />
A. Politics and Society--the Sasanid Kingdom was established around 224CE. While it was sometimes in conflict with the Romans located west of the kingdom--and subsidized Arab chieftains to protect the kingdom from invasion from the west (and the Romans--or, as they were known after 330CE, the Byzantines--did the same to ensure their kingdom wasn't invaded from the east)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images-mediawiki-sites.thefullwiki.org/07/2/3/3/69752151945729760.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nx="true" src="http://images-mediawiki-sites.thefullwiki.org/07/2/3/3/69752151945729760.jpg" /></a></div>1. Politics--the mountains and plateaus of the interior of Iran formed the hinterland for the Sansanid Kingdom. Cities were little more than fortified military outposts. Much of the area was ruled by aristocratic families, connected to the shah (king) by bonds of kinship--although there did not develop the feudal structure that dominated European society.<br />
<br />
2. Society--Sananid society was dominated by the aristocratic families who lived on rural estates. The male members of these families spent most of their time hunting, feasting, and learning the arts of war, just like the the noble warriors described in the sagas of ancient kings and heroes sung at their banquets.<br />
<br />
3. The Silk Road--brought trade goods into the Sansanid Kingdom, including plants like cotton, sugar cane, rice, citrus trees, eggplants, and other crops adopted from India and China. Sansanid farmers pioneered raising all of these crops in western Asia, and are responsible for introducing them to farmers further west<br />
<br />
B. Religion and Empire<br />
<br />
1. Zoroasterism--the Sansanids established Zoroasterism as the official state religion, something their predecessors the Parthians had not done.<br />
<br />
2. Christianity--was the official religion of the Byzantines, the rivals of the Sansanids. Although Zoroasterism had previously encouraged religious toleration, this was transformed during the Sansanid era to intolerance--probably a result of it becoming a means to further a political ends. Christianity did not have the track record for tolerance of other religious faith practices, but it also became increasingly intolerant during this era--for much the same reason, probably, since it also served as an adhesive role in Byzantine society. Ordinary people in both Byzantium and the Sansanid Kingdom became pawns in the struggle between the two kingdoms, and saw that sometimes their differing religious views were tolerated, while other times they would be persecuted.<br />
<br />
a. Heresy--from the 4th century onwards, Christian bishops exercised greater power in regulating the practice of the religion, declaring some practices and beliefs that had been tolerated un-Christian, or heresy<br />
<br />
b. Nestorian Christians--maintained that divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ coexisted, and maintained that Mary was therefore not the Mother of God--but only the mother of the human Jesus. The majority of the bishops present held that this teaching was in error, and ordered the Nestorians to stop preaching it, or be barred from the Church. The Nestorians instead sought refuge with the Sansanids.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkaogKaGh_cb1nIf8n9vyzAFBa16crSuGkMiP38Oj81afIU987WEvTo4uV2U1Ow6VhN2pa0V9IZobIefw5XiDo7t0KSKZ9R6IvYGwKgDvScLbM9W22pm203-Gmo9mcW-ZaEtxHNI4m80I/s400/manichaeism_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkaogKaGh_cb1nIf8n9vyzAFBa16crSuGkMiP38Oj81afIU987WEvTo4uV2U1Ow6VhN2pa0V9IZobIefw5XiDo7t0KSKZ9R6IvYGwKgDvScLbM9W22pm203-Gmo9mcW-ZaEtxHNI4m80I/s320/manichaeism_large.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>c. Manichaeanism--a preacher named Mani preached a dualist faith--a struggle between good and evil--that was theologically derived from Zoroasterism. While this would seem to make Manichaean practice a natural fit with the Sansanids, Mani and many of followers were martyred by the Sansanids in 276. Manichaeanism remained a potent force, however, and compete throughout Central Asia with Nestorian Christianity for converts.<br />
<br />
d. Effects on Arabs--Arabs were exposed to the religious disagreements because they acted as border protectors for both the Byzantines and the Sansanids; because religious practice during this time helped to define one's self, Arabs did develop an appreciation of the doctrinal controversies among Christians.<br />
<br />
II. The Origins of Islam<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lmeola.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/arabianpeninsula.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" nx="true" src="http://lmeola.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/arabianpeninsula.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>A. The Arabian Peninsula Before Muhammad--throughout most of its history, more people have lived as farmers on the relatively watered coast than in the interior of the Arabian Peninsula as pastoralists.<br />
<br />
1. Agriculture--farming villages along the southwestern coast--particularly in Yemen--receive enough rainfall to support agriculture--a surprising development for many of us, no doubt, since the popular image of the Arabian Peninsula is one of a vast desert wasteland.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://thewondrous.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Arabian-peninsula-desert-600x400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nx="true" src="http://thewondrous.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Arabian-peninsula-desert-600x400.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>2. Pastoralists--in the interior, of course, the few people residing there made a living raising camels. With the advent of long-distance trade, because of the development of the Silk Road, some of these pastoral people became traders or involved in the trade through providing camels or as guides for trade caravans.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Kaba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Kaba.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>3. Mecca--was a late-blooming trade city, located near the western coast of the Arabian Peninsula. A nomadic kin group known as the Quraysh settled in Mecca in the fifth century and assumed control of the trade traversing through the region. Mecca occupies a barren mountain valley halfway between Yemen and Syria; it is too far away from Byzantine Syria, Sasanid Iraq, and Ethiopia-controlled Yemen to be attacked by any of those political entities, and therefore prospered as a local connection to a wider trade network. Mecca was home to a shrine called the Ka'ba, said to have been built by Abraham, and a site just outside the city as the place where God asked Abraham to sacrafice his son Ishmael (the son he fathered with Hagar, his wife Sarah's handmaiden)--identified by the Jewish bible as the forefather of the Arabs.<br />
<br />
B. Muhammad in Mecca and Medina<br />
<br />
1. Muhammad--was born in Mecca in 570, and grew up as an orphan in the house of his uncle. He became a trader, and married a Quarysh widow named Khadija, whose caravan interests he superintended. During the year 610, Muhammad began meditating at night in the mountainous terrain around Mecca, and during one night vigil, he received what he claimed was a visit from the angel Gabriel, telling him to preach about the one true God (Allah in Arabic).<br />
<br />
2. Revelations--Muhammad related what Allah told him in verse. This would have been in line with practice at the time, especially with pre-literate people, because verse is easier to remember than straight text. Because Muhammad's verse was extremely beautiful, people hearing him assumed he was under a spell from jinns, the spirits thought to possess seers and poets; Muhammad, of course, believed that he was communicating with Allah.<br />
<br />
3. Islam--translates to "the will of God," and Muslim means one who submits to Islam<br />
<br />
4. Muhammad's banishment--the leaders of Mecca feared that accepting Muhammad as the sole agent of the one true God would diminish their own power, so they began to put pressure on his relatives to disavow him, and to punish the weakest of his followers. As a result, Muhammad and some of his followers removed to Medina, 215 miles north of Mecca.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hicaz2000.com/tarihimedine/eskimedine1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="http://www.hicaz2000.com/tarihimedine/eskimedine1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>C. Formation of the Umma--Before Muhammad, Arab society was completely organized by kin relationships. Leaders in Medina decided to accept Muhammad and his followers, because they viewed him as a mediating force that would end the internal feuding that the leading families in Medina had engaged in. It was during this time in Medina that the strictures in behavior developed in Islam.<br />
<br />
1. Battle for Mecca--these continuing revelations led to a determination that Mecca had to be won over to Islam, and a low-grade war, defined by raids and negotiations with desert nomads, sapped Mecca's strength (and a portion of its wealth), and brought that city's leaders to the belief that God favored Muhammad--although Muhammad himself remained in Medina.<br />
<br />
D. Succession to Muhammad--in 632, after a brief illness, Muhammad died, and a battle over the religion he founded commenced.<br />
<br />
1. Abu Bakr--Muhammad had no direct male heir, because his only son had died of an illness years before. Within 24 hours of his death, a group of Medina leaders along with three close friends determined that a man named Abu Bakr, one of Muhammad's early followers and the father of Muhammad's favorite wife A'isha, should become the khalifa (caliph in English, meaning successor).<br />
<br />
2. Five Pillars of Islam--1) Avowal that there is only one God, and that Muhammad is his messenger; 2) prayer five times a day; 3) fasting during the lunar month of Ramadan; 4) paying alms; and 5) making a pilgrimmage to Mecca at least one during one's lifetime. Muslim armies fought to confirm the authority of the newborn caliphate against other Arab communities that had abandoned their allegiance to Medina or followed other would-be prophets; some of this fighting spilled over into non-Arab areas in Iraq.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://msmnorthwest.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/quran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="http://msmnorthwest.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/quran.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>3. The Q'ran--Abu Bakr reportedly ordered the men who had written down Muhammad's revelations to collect them in a book, which Muslims believe took its final form in 650. They view this book not as the words of Muhammad, but as the unalterable word of God. Theologically, it compares not so much to the Bible, as to the person of Jesus Christ.<br />
<br />
4. Disintegration of the Umma--although willing to accept God's will, members of the umma could not come to an agreement over the successors to Muhammad. When rebels assassinated the third caliph, Uthman, in 656, the assassins nominated Ali, Muhammad's first cousin and the husband of his daughter Fatima.<br />
<br />
a. Shi'ites--the party of Ali, who believed that Ali was the rightful heir to Muhammad. When Ali accepted the nomination of the assassins, civil war broke out. Ali prevailed in the initial battle, but the challenge was renewed by a relative of Uthman. Inconclusive battle gave way to arbitration. The arbitrators decided that Uthman did not deserve to be killed, and that Ali was wrong to accept the nomination; Ali rejected these findings, but was murdered anyway by one of his followers for agreeing to arbitration in the first place.<br />
<br />
b. Sunnis--the "People of Tradition and Community" supported the first three caliphs, and regarded the succeeding caliphs--except for the Ali interlude, of course--to be immans.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-50098693216786883142010-10-28T10:28:00.000-07:002010-10-28T10:31:28.437-07:00Networks of Communication and Exchange, 300BCE-1100CE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.orexca.com/img/silk_road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" nx="true" src="http://www.orexca.com/img/silk_road.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I. The Silk Road<br />
<br />
A. Origins and Operations<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/maps/parthianempire.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" nx="true" src="http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/maps/parthianempire.gif" width="320" /></a></div>1. Parthians--because the Seleucid kings who succeeded Alexander the Great in the 3rd century BCE focused their energies in Mesopotamia and Syria, an Iranian nomadic leader was able to establish an independent kingdom in northern Iran. The Parthian Kingdom left little in the way of written documents, and constant warfare between themselves and the Greeks and the Romans meant we can gleen little from those source; what we have been able to uncover indicates that they helped forster the Silk Road by being the initial western terminus, and because they shared customs with the nomadic peoples farther east, who also helped establish this trade route.<br />
<br />
2. Zhang Jian--travelled west in search of desirable trade goods (particularly horses), which he found with the nomadic people residing in the Valley of Ferghana, where he also encountered for the first time rivers that flowed to the west.<br />
<br />
3. Nomadic peoples of the steppes--although little of the trade along the Silk Road was directed toward the local people of the steppes, that trade would not have occurred without their assistance and acquiesence.<br />
<br />
4. Trade goods:<br />
<br />
a. Silk from China<br />
b. New plants to China--like pistachio, walnuts, pomegranates, sesame, spinach; non-food items like jasmine oil, oak galls, sal ammonia, copper oxides, zinc, and precious stones.<br />
<br />
B. Nomadism in Central and Inner Asia--the Silk Road could not function without the guidance these nomadic people provided, along with the animals and animal handlers to transport the trade goods.<br />
<br />
1. Scythians--appear in the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus in the 6th century BCE. Extremely proficient on horseback, they moved regularly and effiencently with their huge hers of livestock.<br />
<br />
2. Self-sufficiency--because of their mobility, nomads liked to make sure their food source was mobile, as well. Although they ate and used products grown by farmers, they remained nomadic to ensure that their herds did not overgraze.<br />
<br />
3. Dependency--nomads were dependent upon settled regions to provide bronze metal and iron, which they then reshaped to use in stirrups, bridles, cart fittings, and weapons.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gallery4collectors.com/images/HongNianZhang-TheSilkRoad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nx="true" src="http://www.gallery4collectors.com/images/HongNianZhang-TheSilkRoad.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
C. Impact of the Silk Road<br />
<br />
1. Iranian speakers--as trade became more important in Central Asia, the Iranian speakers largley moved to trading cities and surrounding farm villages, and were replaced on the steppes by peoples speaking unrelated Turkic languages.<br />
<br />
2. Military technology--radiated outward from the nomadic people, who invented technology like the stirrup and the chariot.<br />
<br />
II. The Indian Ocean Maritime System<br />
<br />
A. Ship Design--ships used in the Indian Ocean differed from those sailing in the west. Whereas ships in the Mediterranean used square sails and oarsmen, Indian Ocean vessels use triangular sails without oarsmen.<br />
<br />
1. Greater distances--for merchants and sailors in the Indian Ocean meant that the trade that took place there was fundamentally different than that in the Mediterranean; whereas Greece and Rome established colonies under their direct poltical control, trading colonies in the Indian Ocean were generally ruled by local princes.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.nationmaster.com/images/motw/islands_oceans_poles/indianoceanarea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="http://images.nationmaster.com/images/motw/islands_oceans_poles/indianoceanarea.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>B. Origins of Contact and Trade<br />
<br />
1. Earliest Records--from around 2000BCE Sumerian records indicate regular trade between Mesopotamia, the islands in the Persian Gulf, Oman, and the Indus Valley. This trade broke off, eventually, and later trade references mention East Africa more often than India.<br />
<br />
2. Madagascar--about 2000 years ago, sailors from Southeast Asia crossed the Indian Ocean, eventually settling on the island of Madagascar. They brought with them some of their native foods, like bananas, yams, and other crops native to Southeast Asia, which were promptly introduced to mainland Africa, as well.<br />
<br />
B. Impact of Indian Ocean Trade<br />
<br />
1. Demand for trade goods<br />
<br />
a. East Africa--provided exotic animals, wood, and ivory (irvory was also proved other regions bordering the Indian Ocean, so it is difficult in determining what ivory came from where)<br />
b. Somalia and southern Arabia--grew scrubby trees whose aromatic resin was valued as frankincense and myrrh.<br />
c. The Persian Gult abounded with pearls<br />
d. Oman provide a source of copper<br />
e. India and Southeast Asia--provided spices; Southeast Asia was also a conduit for manufactured items--particularly pottery--from China.<br />
<br />
2. Small hinterlands--trade in the Indian Ocean basin was hindered by the small hinterlands of Indian Ocean ports, particularly those ports to the west. This meant they had less access to items to trade with, and also meant the trade volume was less.<br />
<br />
3. Greater distances--whereas the Mediterranean was relatively compact, the great distance between ports in the Indian Ocean meant more time travelling, and less time trading.<br />
<br />
III. Routes Across the Sahara<br />
<br />
A. Early Saharan Cultures<br />
<br />
1. Climate change--the Sarhara Desert is the result of significant climate change; before its formation (a gradual process0, people lived in the area it now occupies. As change occurred gradually, people learned to adampt or, mostly, moved on to more hospitable environments.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/Photography/Images/POD/s/sahara-rock-art-525368-sw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/Photography/Images/POD/s/sahara-rock-art-525368-sw.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>2. Rock paintings--much of what we know about early life in the Sahara comes from interpreting rock paintings left in the desert, which depict scenes of life there that are remarkably similar to life in the northern reaches of sub-Saharan Africa today--like pastoral cattle raising.<br />
<br />
a. Cattle breeders were succeeded by horse breeders, who used the horsed to pull chariots. We are uncertain exactly where these horse breeders came from, although the hypothesis that they were refugees from Mycenean and Minoan civilizations seems highly unlikely.<br />
b. Domestication of the Camel--probably inaugurated trans-Saharan trade, because humans then had a means of reliable transportation across the forbidding landscape.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shanesthoughts.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/sahara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nx="true" src="http://shanesthoughts.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/sahara.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> B. Trade Across the Sahara<br />
<br />
1. Southern traders--traders in the southern region of the Sahara utilized the salt deposits there to trade for goods with sub-Saharan peoples, particularly forest products like kola nuts and palm oil.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://s.ngm.com/2008/04/sahel/img/sahel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nx="true" src="http://s.ngm.com/2008/04/sahel/img/sahel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>2. Sahel people--the southern borderlands of the Sahara was populated with farmers who traded grain to both Saharan merchants and the sub-Saharan peoples.<br />
<br />
3. Roman colonists--provided Italy with agricultural products, primarily wheat and olives. This pattern changed in the 3rd century CE, with the decline of the western half of the Roman Empire.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8zYOa_Tuff_umG2_4HfUlMJ4TsuYhGxF5AMzZvvwOJ-5j6MFk7TXy4BDLxLxutS2Ih_2RL_xt1gaexfPoJhqf5jyN5wInTxVviC96oEYKvV-x5FLXUDeo0ovYvDTSlIXlyjyanAc56r8/s1600/africa_habitats.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="412" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8zYOa_Tuff_umG2_4HfUlMJ4TsuYhGxF5AMzZvvwOJ-5j6MFk7TXy4BDLxLxutS2Ih_2RL_xt1gaexfPoJhqf5jyN5wInTxVviC96oEYKvV-x5FLXUDeo0ovYvDTSlIXlyjyanAc56r8/s640/africa_habitats.gif" width="640" /></a></div>IV. Sub-Saharan Africa<br />
<br />
A. Challenging Geography--the Sahara, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and the Red Sea form the boundaries of the region, and worked to isolate it from from contact with other regions<br />
<br />
1. 4000 Miles--the distance from the southern edge of the Sahara to the Cape of Good Hope. A traveler would have to cover over 50 degrees of latitude, and travel through the flat, arid steppes of the Sahel regions, to the tropical savanna, through the tropical rainforest, then through another expanse of savana, followed by more steppe and desert, and then finally a region of temperate highlands at the southern tip--and as far south of the equator as Greece and Sicily are north.<br />
<br />
B. Development of Cultural Unity--the geographic isolation enjoyed by sub-Saharan Africa worked more in favor of fostering cultural diversity than cultural unity; there are more than 2000 languages spoken throughout the region.<br />
<br />
1. Geographic diversity--fostered diverse food production systems, from hunting and gathering (in diverse locations, from tropical jungle to teh Khosian people of the southwestern deserts, to the cultivation of bananas and yams to sorghum and other grains).<br />
<br />
2. Sub-Saharan African covered a larger and more diverse area than any other cultural region in the first millenium CE, and had a lower overall population density. Societies and polities therefore had ample room to form and reform, and ample space separated such groups--therefore, there was not the conflict that fostered cultural succession in much of the rest of the world.<br />
<br />
3. Isolation--the geographic barriers also prevented most outside contact, and meant that they were isolated from contact with aggressive cultures like the Greeks and the Romans--but also isolated from their techonology.<br />
<br />
C. African Cultural Characteristics--despite all these factors promoting cultural diversity, there were cultural similarities, as well.<br />
<br />
1. Agricultural techniques--use of the digging stick and hoe<br />
<br />
2. Rhythmic nature of African music--and the use of the drum. Music played an important role in social rituals, and did dancing and the wearing of masks.<br />
<br />
3. Ritual isolation of kings and fixed social categories--age groups, kinship divisions, distinct gender roles and relations, and occupational groupings--all showed a resemblence from one region to another, even in societies too small to have a king.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://gossamerstrands.com/Hist100/100images/000f2413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="http://gossamerstrands.com/Hist100/100images/000f2413.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>D. Advent of Iron and the Bantu Migration<br />
<br />
1. Early metal working--many historians have argued that the discovery of the secrets of ironworking happened only once in the history of mankind--in Anatolia--and from there spread around the world. The fact that sub-Saharan Africans were working with iron, despite their isolation, shortly after its discovery calls this assumption into question.<br />
<br />
2. Importance of the Bantu--more than 300 languages in sub-Saharan Africa have Bantu as their root. The original home of the Bantu, near the present-day border between Nigerian and Cameroon, is also the location of the beginning of iron-making in Africa--and the migration of Bantu speakers also spread the manufacture of iron throughout Africa.<br />
<br />
V. Spread of Ideas<br />
<br />
A. Ideas and Material Evidence<br />
<br />
1. Eating pork--early pig domestication began in Southeast Asia. Anthropological studies have indicated that eating pork became highly ritualistic, and sometimes was only permitted during ceremonial occassions.<br />
<br />
a. Probably because wild pigs lived in swamps, they became associated with eveil gods (like Set, in Egypt), and were therefore thought not desirable--or even dangerous--to eat.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.buddhanet.net/images/spread3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" nx="true" src="http://www.buddhanet.net/images/spread3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>B. The Spread of Buddhism<br />
<br />
1. Royal promotion--promotion by Mauryan emperor Ashoka and the Kushan king Kanishka, followed by proselytizing by Buddhist monks, missionaries, and pilgrims who crisscrossed India, followed the Silk Road, or took ships across the Indian Ocean, brought the Buddha's teaching to China, Korea, Southeast Asia, and Japan.<br />
<br />
2. Flexibility to change according to local conditions--different lands that received the story and teachings of the Buddha preserved or adapted them in different ways.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blogs.usask.ca/SaskLanka/poson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="http://blogs.usask.ca/SaskLanka/poson.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>a. Theravada Buddhism--became popular in Sri Lanka, ans was centered closely on the Buddha's earliest teaching--that the goal was to achieve Nirvana, and that it was only available to monks.<br />
b. Mahajana Buddhism--popular in East Asia, and stressed the goal of becoming a bodhisattva, and therefore helping others achieve Nirvana.<br />
<br />
VI. ConclusionUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-46789815306558693512010-10-21T09:00:00.000-07:002010-10-21T09:00:53.068-07:00Religion and Trade in Southeast Asia<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mSIRAF75sa0?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mSIRAF75sa0?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
I. Threats to Vedic Hegemony<br />
<br />
A. Jainism<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.herenow4u.net/uploads/pics/Fig.2.Bronze_Jina__Karnataka_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nx="true" src="http://www.herenow4u.net/uploads/pics/Fig.2.Bronze_Jina__Karnataka_.jpg" /></a></div>1. Mahavira (540-468BCE)--known to his followers as Jina (the Conqueror), so these followers were known as Jianists, and the religion as Jianism.<br />
<br />
2. Emphasized the holiness of the life force animating all living creatures, Mahavira and his followers practiced strict non-violence--including wearing masks so as not to accidently breath in insects, and they carefully brushed off seats before sitting down, so as not to inadvertently sit on a living creature.<br />
<br />
3. Extreme <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ascetic">asceticism</a>--some followers went so far as to refuse to wear clothing (so they wouldn't have to kill plants to obtain fiber to make clothe), and ate only what others gave them--so many ended up starving to death.<br />
<br />
a. While this seems extreme to us today--and it is--it should be noted that some early Christians chose to live as hermits--in a desert, with no clothing, only eating what they could find.<br />
<br />
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<br />
B. Buddhism--Buddha, "the enlightened one"<br />
<br />
1. Siddhartha Gautama--born into a royal family of the Sakyan people, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Despite being born into wealth, as a young man Siddhartha abandoned his family and privileges to become an wondering ascetic<br />
<br />
2. The Middle Path--after six years of wandering and self-deprivation, Siddhartha decided that his new lifestyle would no more lead to spiritual enlightenment than his old lifestyle of idle leisure did. Instead, his moment of enlightenment led him to seek the Middle Path.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.exoticindiaart.com/sculptures/emaciated_buddha_zc89.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="http://www.exoticindiaart.com/sculptures/emaciated_buddha_zc89.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>3. Siddhartha's Enlightenment--led him to discover the Four Noble Truths--<br />
<br />
a. Life is suffering<br />
b. Suffering arises from desire<br />
c. The solution to alleviating suffering lies in curbing desire<br />
d. Desire can be curbed if a person follows the "Eighfold Path":<br />
i. Right views<br />
ii. Aspirations<br />
iii. Speech<br />
iv. Conduct<br />
v. Livelihood<br />
vi. Effort<br />
vii. Mindfulness<br />
viii. Meditation<br />
<br />
4. Buddha's First Sermon--introduced the Wheel of the Laws, which set forth the central tenets of his philosophy.<br />
<br />
5. Central tenets of Buddhism--focused on the individual, dismissed the usefulness of deities to a person seeking enlightenment. What mattered was practicing moderation, in order to minimize desire and therefore suffering, as well as practicing meditation and self-discipline to search for spiritual truth.<br />
<br />
6. Nirvana--"snuffing out the flame" released one from the cycle of reincarnations, and the achievement of a state of perpetual tranquility.<br />
<br />
7. Buddha's death--Buddha urged his followers to "be their own lamp." His teachings, memorized by his followers, spread throughout India and into Central, Southeast, and East Asia--and its success began to subvert the individualistic and essentially atheistic tenets of its founder.<br />
<br />
a. Stupas--large earthen mounds symbolizing the universe were built over relics of the cremated founder to allow worshipers to have a connection with Buddha (like relics of the cross for Christians)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ancientsculpturegallery.com/images/2982.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="http://www.ancientsculpturegallery.com/images/2982.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>b. Bodhisattvas--men and women who had achieved enlightenment and were on the threshold of nirvana, but chose to remain among the living to assist others; this eventually developed into practices like the Dalai Lama.<br />
<br />
8. Difficulty of the individualistic path--Hinduism won out in India because it used element of Buddhism, but also incorporated gods that people could connect to , and feel they could present their personal trouble to for resolution.<br />
<br />
II. Southeast Asia, 50-1025CE<br />
<br />
A. Three geographic zones<br />
<br />
1. Indochina mainland--includes the present-day countries of Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar (Burma).<br />
<br />
2.Malay Peninsula--Malaysia, Singapore <br />
<br />
3. Pacific Islands--Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei<br />
<br />
B. Agriculture--reliable rainfall because of the monsoon, coupled with consistently warm temperatures, allows Southeast Asia several growing season each year, and allows the region to support a large population. Because much of the region also sits on top of active volcanoes, they soil is high in carbon and very fertile.<br />
<br />
1. Swidden agriculture--commonly known as "slash and burn" agriculture. The land was farmed until it was exhausted, then farmers abandoned it and let the jungle reclaim and refurbish the soil.<br />
<br />
2. Rice--was the staple crop, but other crops were introduced to the region from other regions in Asia, including soybeans, sugar cane, yams, bananas, and coconuts, as well as domesticated animals like chickens and pigs.<br />
<br />
C. Peopling Southeast Asia<br />
<br />
1. Malay peoples--became the dominant population in this region and were the result of several waves of migration from southern China from around 3000BCE.<br />
<br />
a. Some of the indigenous peoples merged with the Malays; others retreated to the mountain and forest zones. Subsequently, rising populations and disputes within communities led to streams of people leaving the mainland for the islands.<br />
<br />
2. Navigational skills--by 1000BCE, these people had developed an awareness of the regularity of the monsoon winds, as well as the ability to use other signs, to navigate the surrounding waters--and to eventually populate islands from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific--half the circumference of the globe.<br />
<br />
3. Northern Indochina--its proximity to China made the people living there vulnerable to Chinese pressure, and to Chines culture.<br />
<br />
III. Trade in the Indian Ocean Maritime System<br />
<br />
A. Origins of Contact and Trade--Sumerian records indicate trade between Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf, Oman, and the Indus Valley. This early trade broke down, however.<br />
<br />
1. Southern Indochina--sailors from southern Indochina sailed as far west as Mozambique, and brought with them bananas, yams, and other Southeast Asian plants.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/reprints/forster/OutofAfrica-whichway-.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" nx="true" src="http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/reprints/forster/OutofAfrica-whichway-.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br />
B. Indian Ocean Ports--were often isolate from hinterlands by geographic barriers, particularly in the west (the Arabian Peninsula, the African side of the Red Sea, southern Iran, and Northern India--present-day Pakistan--were mostly barren desert.<br />
<br />
1. Western India--has steep mountains that cut off most of the central plain from the western seacoast<br />
<br />
2. Eastern India--was more hospitable, with denser populations. This drew traders from Southeast Asia, who brought spices and other trade goods to exchange. This in turn led Indian traders to set up shop in Southeast Asia, to both trade goods locally, and to facilitate trade with Chinese merchants.<br />
<br />
3. Role of women--because sailors and traders were exclusively male, native females acted as cultural ciphers, and created a multi-cultural, cosmopolitan population in the Indian Ocean ports--which helped to facilitate trade.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Vietnam_location_map.svg/1000px-Vietnam_location_map.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Vietnam_location_map.svg/1000px-Vietnam_location_map.svg.png" width="163" /></a></div>C. Funan--the first major Southeast Asian political center was called Funan by Chinese visitors, and flourished between the first and sixth centuries C.E. Funan was centered in the Mekong Delta, in present-day southernmost Vietnam.<br />
<br />
1. The Funan capital was located in the delta, on the southwest coast of present day Vietnam. The Mekong Delta was a "rice bowl"--meaning that is could sustain a large population because of the fertility of the soil and the growing conditions for rice.<br />
<br />
2. The Rulers of Funan mobilized large numbers of these people to work digging irrigation channels and to prevent destructive floods. This in turn allowed them to extend control over much of southern Indochina and the Malay Peninsula.<br />
<br />
3. Trade Routes--the early trade route between China and India was partially overland--across the Malay Peninsula--which gave the Funan rulers a great deal of control over this trade. The route was partially over land because sailing around the islands near the Malay Peninsula was dangerous, with shallow waters, shoals, and pirates.<br />
<br />
4. Downfall of Funan--occurred in the 6th century CE, probably due to the switch to an entirely water-borne route as navigation skills improved.<br />
<br />
D. Srivijayan Kingdom--rose during the 6th century CE, with the shift in trade route between China and India.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Srivijaya_Empire.svg/468px-Srivijaya_Empire.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Srivijaya_Empire.svg/468px-Srivijaya_Empire.svg.png" width="314" /></a></div>1. Location--the kingdom was centered at the site of the modern-day city Sumatran city of Palembang, fifty miles up the navigable Musi River. The kingdom was well-situated to control the southern part of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, parts of Java and Borneo, and most importantly the Straits of Malacca and Sunda--where shipping was most vulnerable on this new route.<br />
<br />
2. Srivijayan control zones--Srivijayan rulers controlled fours disctinct ecological zones<br />
<br />
a. Agricultural plain along the Musi River, which provided the food for the work force in the core area of the kingdom, and therefore allowed them to extend control outward.<br />
b. Upland regions of the Sumatra interior, which was a source for commercially valuable forest products (exotic wood, in particular)<br />
c. River ports of what had been Srivijayan rivals, which were conquered initially, and then made allies by incorporating the pirates that worked from these ports to become the Srivijan navy, in turn for a cut of the profits--and the protection the Srivijan kings could offer.<br />
d. The "rice bowl" on the central plain of Java--a region so productive that it still houses and feeds a majority of the population of present-day Indonesia today.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/52/167786910_1142ed4b10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/52/167786910_1142ed4b10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>3. The Theater State--like the Gupta Kingdom, the Srivijayan kings relied upon pomp, circumstance, and religious ceremony to carry off their period of rule. It was successful until trade routes again shifted--and Palembang was invaded and sacked by the Chola kingdom from southeast India in 1025CE.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-68765194403840917472010-10-19T10:42:00.000-07:002010-10-19T10:42:02.261-07:00Foundations of Indian Civilization, 1500BCE-300CEI. Indian Subcontinent<br />
<br />
A. Definition--a subcontinent can be defined as a large land mass isolated by geological features from the continent it is part of.<br />
<br />
B. Geography of the Indian Subcontinent<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.topnews.in/files/himalayas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="http://www.topnews.in/files/himalayas.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>1. Mountainous northern zone--the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush ranges to the north, which also includes heavily forested foothills and high meadows.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.indiadaily.org/images/ganges-river-india5_26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="http://www.indiadaily.org/images/ganges-river-india5_26.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>2. River Basins--northern India is drained by two large, silt-laden rivers: the Indus, which flows southwesterly, and the Ganges, which flows southeasterly.<br />
<br />
3. Monsoon--the northern mountains shield India from cold Artic winds, and fives it a sub-tropical climate. This makes the land mass much warmer than the ocean that surrounds it, prompting the development of the monsoons.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.whoi.edu/cms/images/GibbonsIndianOceanMonsoons_85266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="http://www.whoi.edu/cms/images/GibbonsIndianOceanMonsoons_85266.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
a. Sailors in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean quickly learned how to use the monsoon wind to their advantage.<br />
<br />
C. The Vedic Age--historians call the period between 1500-500BCE the Vedic Age, after the Vedas people that serve as our main source of information about this period. Most historians believe that a new group of people, animal herding warriors who spoke an Indo-European language, emigrated to northwest India around 1500BCE, although some historians argue that this migration occurred much earlier.<br />
<br />
1. Migration to the Ganges Plain--around 1000BCE, after the fall of the Indus civilization, some groups moved further east, along the banks of the Ganges River. They brought with them new iron tools, which allowed them to cut down trees and till the thick, fertile soil.<br />
<br />
2. Varna--the invaders moved into the Indian subcontinent from central Asia were much lighter-skinned than the native people they were living amongst, the Dasa. Because these invaders, the Arya, were much more aggressive, they pushed many of the Dasa further south. The elites among the two groups intermarried to some extent, but the lower class were exclusively Dasa. The result was a mixture of different peoples of different skin hues, and with that grew an attempt by the lighter-skinned invaders to mark these differences in appearance into social differences.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.vibeasia.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/caste.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://www.vibeasia.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/caste.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
a. Brahmins--priests and scholars<br />
b. Kshatriya--warriors and royal officials<br />
c. Vaishya--merchants, artisans, and landowners<br />
d. Shudra--peasants and laborers<br />
e. Dalit--or "untouchables," mainly native peoples who were relegated to those task seen as ritually "unclean"--butchering animals, leather working, removing waste<br />
<br />
Members of each <i>jati</i> had very little contact with members of other castes; to do so ran the risk of becoming unclean, which necessitated purification rituals.<br />
<br />
3. Karma--the class and caste system came to be connected to the widespread belief in reincarnation.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hinduyuva.org/tattva-blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/karma-yog-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.hinduyuva.org/tattva-blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/karma-yog-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
a. Reincarnation--the Brahmins taught that every living creature had an immortal essence, call <i>atman</i> (or breath). The atman became separated from the body at death, and then was later reborn in another body. Whether that body was human, animal, or insect depended upon the kind of life that had been led. People who led exemplary lives could then be reincarnated into a higher caste.<br />
<br />
II. Imperial Expansion and Collapse, 324BCE-650CE<br />
<br />
India has been characterized by political fragmentation for most of its history, largely due to its size, geographic barriers, language variation, and cultural practices<br />
<br />
A. Mauryan Empire, 324-184BCE<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/MAURYA.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/MAURYA.GIF" width="320" /></a></div><br />
1. Magadha Kingdom--located in eastern India south of the Ganges. The Magadha kingdom became increasingly wealthy by 600BCE, due to its location along overland trade routes, in addition to its wealth in agriculture and iron mines.<br />
<br />
2. Chandragupta Maurya--may have been inspired by the example of Alexander the Great, who had recently invaded India as far east as the Punjab.<br />
<br />
3. Chandragupta Maurya and his two successors managed to extend their control over much of the subcontinent, except for the southernmost tip.<br />
<br />
4. The tax equivalent of about 25 percent of the yearly harvest supported the empire; this tax income was supplemented by excise taxes collected on trade goods passing through the empire. Income was also derived from the monopolization of alcohol sales, the manufacture of weapons, and fees charged for using irrigation systems that were built.<br />
<br />
5. Reliance upon relatives to govern the far-flung empire<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.quickblogcast.com/5/6/4/2/2/130943-122465/200px_India_CG3Chandragupta.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/5/6/4/2/2/130943-122465/200px_India_CG3Chandragupta.bmp" /></a></div>6. Ashoka--grandson of Chandragupta; at the beginning of his reign he engaged in military campaigns to extend his empire that resulted in thousands of people being killed. In a battle to conquer Kalinga, hundreds of thousands of people were killed, wounded, or deported. Overwhelmed by the brutality, the young king became a convert to Buddhism.<br />
<br />
B. Commerce and Culture in an Era of Political Fragmentation<br />
<br />
1. Fall of the Mauryan Empire--although the empire prospered for several years after Ashoka's death in 232BCE, dynastic disputes, the cost of maintaining a huge army, and the administrative costs in running the empire all contributed to its fall.<br />
<br />
2. Politic unrest outside the borders of the empire contributed to its downfall, as well; eventually several of the foreign powers exercised some political control over the region.<br />
<br />
3. Cities established during the Mauryan era continued to carry on a lively trade, and India remained an important cog in the trade that occurred between China, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Africa, and the Mediterranean. This trade fostered the use of coins, for which a value was easier to establish<br />
<br />
4. Guilds--with the decrease in central authority, guilds of merchants and artisans became politically powerful in the cities and town<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.indhistory.com/img/ramayana-06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.indhistory.com/img/ramayana-06.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>5. Epic poetry--both the <i>Ramayana</i> and the <i>Mahabharata</i>, based upon oral traditions going back hundreds of years, achieved their written forms during this era.<br />
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6. The Tamil Kingdoms--the southern tip of the subcontinent remained in the control of the Tamil peoples. Although three of the Kingdoms--the Cholas, the Pandyas, and the Cheras-- were in near-constant conflict with one another, and each experienced periods of ascendancy and decline, this was the also the era of the flowering of Tamil culture.<br />
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C. The Gupta Empire, 320-550CE<br />
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1. Chandra Gupta--consciously modeled himself on Chandragupta Maurya, and led his kingdom from its capital Pataliputra on the Ganges Plain. The Gupta Empire was never as large as the Mauryan Empire, but Gupta power extended across northern and central India, west to Punjab and east to Bengal, north to Kashmir, and south into the Deccan Plateau.<br />
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2. Trade routes--like the Mauryan predecessor, the Guptas enjoyed the same strategic advantages, sitting astride the same trade routes, exploiting the same agricultural productivity of the Ganges Plain, and controlling iron deposits..<br />
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3. Administrative bureaucracy--less onerous than the Mauryan. The administrative bureaucracy was smaller and less intensive, as was its spy network. The standing army relied on marksmanship with bow and arrow and skill on horseback (learned from their nomadic conquerors), rather than superior numbers. This allowed the Gupta's to closely control the core of the empire, while relying on governors paying tribute to control the periphery.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lifestyle.indianetzone.com/fashion/images/Fashion_216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lifestyle.indianetzone.com/fashion/images/Fashion_216.jpg" /></a></div>4. The "Theater State"--without a large standing army to keep underlings and vassals in line, the Gupta relied instead on pomp and circumstance--solemn ceremonies, rituals, and cultural events that advertised the benefits of association with the empire. And gifts. Lost of gifts.<br />
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5. The role of women--during the Gupta era, women lost rights, and males increased their control of the lives of the women in their families.<br />
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a. Kama Sutra--sold in bookstores today an kind of an exotic sex manual, it was more a directory to the proper way men and women should behave with one another in Indian society.<br />
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b. Great emphasis on the "purity" of women, ensuring women were "maidens" (virgins) before they were married. This eventually led to women becoming betrothed at extremely young ages--some as early as six or seven years of age--to ensure their virginity.<br />
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c.<i> Sati</i>--the ritual where wives who outlived their husbands were expected to cremate themselves on their husbands' funeral pyre; women who failed to do this were ostracized, cut off from their families, and disinherited.<br />
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d. Women of higher social status could sometimes escape this fate, as could women who joined religious communities.<br />
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6. Rise of Hinduism--the Gupta's were Hindu (whereas the Maruyan's had been Buddhist) and revived ancient Vedic practices that gave their ceremonies an aura of sanctity. They incorporated Brahmin priests into these ceremonies and validated the role of the priests--who in turn used their influence to validate the Gupta's rule ) and were rewarded with substantial land grants, etc.).<br />
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7. Fall of the Gupta--pressure from Hun raids on the Gupta northern frontier, and the expense of attempting to defend it, exhausted the Gupta treasury, and led to the downfall of the empire.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-49774865279633833672010-10-05T09:52:00.000-07:002010-10-05T10:02:51.620-07:00The Rise of Rome<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XbI-fDzUJXI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XbI-fDzUJXI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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I. The Roman Republic, 753-31BCE<br />
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A. Republic of Farmers--the Roman Republic was not a democracy in the modern usage of the term. The Assembly, where sovereign political power resided, only represented the interest of male Roman citizens--and the votes of the well-to-do counted for more than the less-well-off.<br />
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1. The Importance of Agriculture--Agriculture was the essential activity in the early Roman state, and land was the basis of wealth; because of this, social status, political privilege, and fundamental values were all related to land ownership. Most early Romans were self-sufficient farmers who owned small plots of land<br />
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a. A small number of families eventually were able to acquire larger tracts of land. The heads of these families became members of the Senate--a "Council of Elders" that played a dominant role in the politics of the Roman state.<br />
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2. Conflict of the Orders--conflicts between elites in Roman society (known as the patricians) and the majority of the population (known as the plebians) is known as the Conflict of the Orders. On several occasions, plebians refused to work or fight--and sometimes simply withdrew from the city in order to force concessions from the patricians. To resolve these conflicts, patricians had the grant two concessions:<br />
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a. Publication of Roman laws on 12 stone tablets<br />
b. The creation of the position of tribune, a man drawn from the non-elite classes who was given veto power over laws passed by the Assembly that he felt threatened the interests of the lower orders.<br />
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3. Patron/Client relationships--also helped to regulate the relationship between the upper orders and lower orders. Clients sought advice, protection, and sometimes money from men in the upper order who acted as their patron. Patrons, on the other hand, gained prestige from being able to gather large retinues around themselves. Many clients also acted as patrons for those below them in the social order. This helped to alleviate some of the conflict caused by the inequality of the Roman social system, while at the same time reinforcing that inequality.<br />
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4. Women in the Republican Rome--we have little first hand information on what life was like for women in Rome. We do know that in early Rome,women were considered child-like, and moved from the control of their father to the control of their husbands upon marriage. Despite these limitations, Roman women were less constrained than their Greek counterparts; eventually, marriage was reformed for some Roman women, and there were left under the control of their fathers upon marriage--but considered independent when their fathers died.<br />
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5. Early Roman Religion--Romans tried to maintain a state of <i>pax deorum</i> (peace of the gods)--a covenant between the gods and the Roman state, by directing priests drawn from the aristocracy to make sacrifices and perform rituals in their honor; in return, the gods were expected to favor various Roman undertakings. After coming into contact with the Greeks in southern Italy, Romans equated their major deities with Greek gods and the myths created around them.<br />
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B. Expansion in Italy and the Mediterranean<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Testudo_formation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Testudo_formation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>1. The Roman Legion--the chief instrument in the expansion of Roman power was the Roman army. As was the case with most Roman institutions, the model for the Roman Army was appropriated from some best practices, and then changed and improved upon by their own innovations. In this case, they used the idea of the heavily armored infantry soldier (the hoplite) from the Greeks, but sub-dived the command unites to make the force more flexible.<br />
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a. Growth of the army was spurred by conflicts between the herders of the Appine Mountains and farmers in the mountain valleys. Rome was at first the organizer of the common defense, but the experience gained led them to begin extending "protection" to other cities in the peninsula, eventually demanding soldiers for its army from these other cities. It was the superiority in numbers of the Roman Legion, rather then tactics, which allowed them to eventually overwhelm most opponents.<br />
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2. Roman citizenship--while the Greeks had treated "barbarians" with contempt, Romans from very early on decided to incorporate select outsiders within their body politic. They did this by co-opting the most influential local people, and making their concerns Roman concerns.<br />
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3. Roman hegemony--the size of the Roman Legion allowed Rome to eventually gain control of the entire Mediterranean basin, and as for north in Europe as the border between England and Scotland.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i-cias.com/e.o/slides/punic_wars01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" px="true" src="http://i-cias.com/e.o/slides/punic_wars01.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>a. Punic Wars--the Punic Wars were fought between 264 and 146BCE; the Roman triumph eventually obliterated Carthage, which some Romans perceived as a threat to their control of the Mediterranean.<br />
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b. Conquest of the Hellenistic World--while dispatching of the Carthaginians, Rome was also extending its control to the eastern Mediterranean--particularly to Alexandra and Egypt. By 330CE, in fact, the eastern Mediterranean became the the locus of Roman political power with the establishment of Contantinople--the city of Constantine.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://historywarsweapons.com/wp-content/uploads/image/RomanRepublic2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" px="true" src="http://historywarsweapons.com/wp-content/uploads/image/RomanRepublic2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>C. The Failure of the Republic--the success of the empire project unleashed factors that lead to the end of the Republic. Most of the wealth generated by the near constant state of warfare and conquest flowed to the wealthiest, while impoverishing small farmers in the countryside. While the male head of household was off fighting, his family often became impoverished, being forced to sell their land and move to the city.<br />
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1. Social dislocation--the impoverished masses were eventually recruited to serve in the Roman army--but their dependence upon the largess of their generals meant that their primary loyalty was to them, rather than to Rome, and the army was used be a series of individuals to seize control of the government.<br />
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D. The Roman Principate, 31-330CE--this period of political unrest came to an end in 31CE, when Julius Caesar's grandnephew Octavian eliminated (killed or had killed) all rivals and seized power.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ancient-bulgaria.com/images/emperor_octavian_augustus_statue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.ancient-bulgaria.com/images/emperor_octavian_augustus_statue.jpg" width="126" /></a></div>1. Augustus--better known to us by the honorific title bestowed upon him by the Senate, Octavian retained the trappings of Republican governance, while holding all real power for himself. He did such a good job of hiding where the real power lay that three of his relatives succeeded him to the throne, despite there well-known problems.<br />
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2. Roman law--during the Republic, law developed from decrees issued by the Senate, bills passed by the Assembly, and their application by public officials. During the Principate, the source of law was the emperor.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/France_Arles_Arena_North_Night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/France_Arles_Arena_North_Night.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>E. The Urban Empire--in the first three centuries of the Common Era, Rome was an urban empire. Although 80 percent of the population lived in rural areas, most of wealth was displayed in urban settings. This was the case throughout the empire, as any urban settlement of substance was modeled after Rome.<br />
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F. Rise of Christianity<br />
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1. Career of Jesus--much debate still rages over his teaching. Christians believe that he was the son of God, and therefore God himself. As depicted in the Christian bible, Jesus of Nazareth was a charismatic preacher, and the attention he attracted, and his criticism of the practice of Judaism, led to the insistence of Jewish leaders that he be arrested.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wf-f.org/WFFResource/PaulConversion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="http://www.wf-f.org/WFFResource/PaulConversion.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>2. Saul of Tarsus--his Christian conversion experience led him to change his name to Paul. Paul's frustration with the refusal of Jews to accept that Jesus was the Messiah (who Jews believed would lead them to power in the region), led him to begin to proselytize to non-Jews (gentiles).<br />
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G. Technology and Transformation<br />
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1. The Third Century Crisis--from 235-284CE witnesses another period of severe political upheaval in Rome, coupled with growing unrest along the frontiers--particularly in the north, led to a state of civil war and anarchy. More than twenty men attempted to rule as emperor in this period, some for only a few months.<br />
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1. Diocletian--pulled the empire back from the brink of disaster. He halted inflation by setting state prices for many goods, and restricted the professions people could move into by decreeing that sons had to follow the professions of their fathers.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://orthodoxwiki.org/images/2/27/Constantine_the_Great.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://orthodoxwiki.org/images/2/27/Constantine_the_Great.jpg" /></a></div>2. Constantine--when Diocletian resigned in 305CE, there was again a power struggle, which Constantine eventually won in 312CE. Christianity was a growing power in the empire, and Constantine credited his victory to the Christian god's intercession. With the Edict of Milan, Constantine ended the persecution of Christians, and on his deathbed, after a long and decadent life, he himself converted.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-72989266110677120142010-09-30T10:58:00.000-07:002010-09-30T10:58:11.404-07:00The Persian Wars, 546-323BCEA. The Athens-Sparta Rivalry--these two cities were the pre-eminent Greek city-states of the Archaic and Classical periods. The different character of these two cities underscores the diversity of human societies, even when they share similar climates and cultures.<br />
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1. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkWS9PiXekE&feature=related">Sparta</a>--Sparta's unique (to Greece) solution for handling the conundrum of an exploding population and lack of arable land--the annexation of Messenia and the enslavement of its population--changed Sparta politically and, eventually, culturally.<br />
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a. Land near Sparta and Messenia was divided into several thousand lots and assigned to Spartan citizens. The helots (the enslaved population of Messenia) worked the land and turned over a portion of what they grew to their Spartan masters who, being freed from the work of food production, could spend their lives in military training and service.<br />
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b. The Spartan army was undoubtedly the finest in Greece, far superior, militarily, than the citizen militias of the other city-states. Military training for Spartan boys began at age seven, when they were taken from their families and placed in barracks, under strict discipline, often placed in conditions of deprivation, to prepare them for such conditions on the battlefield.<br />
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c. A Spartan male's whole life was subordinated to the military needs of the state. Sparta essentially stopped the cultural clock at about 500BCE, and took no part in the flowering of Greek culture that occurred during the Archaic period.<br />
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d. Sparta's military might was largely used to ensure that there was no uprising of the helots; after proving their bravery and military skill early in the Archaic period, Sparta's military prowess became a given, and few rivals felt the need to test it. The need to remain in close range of Sparta meant that the city-state adopted a cautious and isolationist foreign policy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.initiativesamendment.org/images/pnyx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://www.initiativesamendment.org/images/pnyx.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>2. Athens--Athens was also fairly unique in Greece. It lies in a fairly prosperous region, with a larger plains area suitable for the cultivation of grain and olive trees, which also supported numerous villages and several larger towns--all of which became satellites of Athens.<br />
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a. Political turmoil--by 594BCE, Athens was on the verge of a civil war, as aristocratic families vied for control of the city. To reduce this growing conflict, a respected member of the elite class, Solon, was given extraordinary powers as a lawgiver. First, he divided Athenians into four classes, based upon the annual yield of their farms. Those members of the top three social classes were granted the right to hold political office, while members of the lowest class could not. While this arrangement cannot really be classified as democracy, it did break the political stranglehold wealthy aristocratic families had exercised in Athens.<br />
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b. Continued political turmoil--despite this broadened political base, political turmoil continued in Athens until 546BCE, when an aristocrat named Pisistratus seized power as a tyrant. To strengthen his position and weaken the power of the other members of the aristocracy, Pisistratus began a major building program (he is responsible for the construction of the Temple of Athena on the Acropolis) to provide public space in the city that, in conjunction with an expanded program of festivals, religious processions, play performances, athletic contests, and the equivalent of modern-day "poetry slams" to entice people in the hinterland to identify with Athens, were he was most popular. In large part, this strategy worked, and he was able to pass on the leadership of the city on to his son.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fullissue.com/wp-content/uploads/Athens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.fullissue.com/wp-content/uploads/Athens.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>c. Pericles and Athenian Democracy--the son of Pisistratus proved to be somewhat less popular, and in the last decade of the sixth century BCE, with the assistance of Sparta, the Athenians turned out the ruling family. By the middle of the fifth century (between 460 and 450BCE), Pericles and his political allies took the last step in the evolution of Athenian democracy, and transferred all power to popular organs of government: the Assembly, the Council of 500, and the People's Courts. Now men of moderate or small means could participate fully in the political process, even filling the highest positions, because government officials were now paid, so they could afford to take time from work. the focal point for governing Athens quickly became the Assembly, where several times a month proposals were debated, decisions were made openly, and any citizen could speak to the issues of the day.<br />
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B. Wars Between Persia and Greece, 546-323BCE--this series of wars was probably more meaningful to the Greeks, who saw the Persians as a threatening enemy, while Persia was more concerned with rivals to the east.<br />
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1. Early Encounters, 546-499BCE--Cyrus' conquest of Lydia in 546BCE led to the subjugation of the Greek city-states on the Anatolian coast. In the years that followed, local groups or individuals who collaborated with the Persians ruled their home cities with minimal Persian interference as satraps. All of this changed with the Ionian Revolt, when the Greeks and other subject peoples on the western frontier of the Persian Empire took up arms to wrest control from Persia. After five years and a massive infusion of troops, the rebellion was finally put down.<br />
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a. First Persian War, 490BCE--Darius dispatched his army to punish Eretria and Athens, the two mainland city-states that had aided the Ionian rebels. Eretria was betrayed to the Persians, and the survivors were marched of to permanent exile in southwestern Iran. The Athenians probably would have suffered a similar fate, but their hoplites defeated the more numerous but lighter-armed Persian troops at the battle of Marathon, 26 miles from Athens.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sr3179.k12.sd.us/events%20project/pictures/thermopylae.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://sr3179.k12.sd.us/events%20project/pictures/thermopylae.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>b. Second Persian War, 480BCE--Darius' son and successor, Xerxes, led a huge invasionary force consisting of the Persian army, contingents from all the peoples of the empire, and a large fleet of ships drawn from maritime subjects. This huge force met little initial resistance from Greek city-states, who chose to submit "earth and water" rather than face the possibility of annihilation. The city-states in the southern part of the Greek peninsula rallied under the leadership of Sparta in the Hellenic League, and 300 Spartans slowed the advance at Thermopylae long enough to allow their allies to escape certain death or capture. The Persian army continued its advance, sacking Athens. Shortly afterward, the Persian navy was lured into the narrow straits near Salamis, where their superior numbers and maneuverability were neutralized, and suffered a devastating defeat. The following spring, in 479BCE, the Persian army was defeated at Plataea, and the Persian threat largely receded. Keeping a large army in the field far from friendly territory proved impossible one the Persian naval superiority was wiped out proved to be impossible.<br />
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c. On the Offensive--Athens stubborn refusal to submit, and the vital role its navy had played in defeating the Persian advance--coupled with the losses Sparta had suffered at Thermopylae, and Sparta's preferred isolationist stance--made Athens the natural choice to lead a counter-offensive to liberate those Greek states still under Persian control. The formation of the Delian League (477BCE), initially a voluntary alliance of Greek states and led by Athens, permitted them to sweep the Persians from the waters of the eastern Mediterranean within twenty years.<br />
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2. The Height of Athenian Power--the reluctance of other Greek states to continue to supply troops for this enterprise allowed Athens to transform the Delian League from a voluntary association to a means of dominating the other city-states.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Trireme_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Trireme_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>a. Naval technology--Athens transformed naval technology with the development of the trieme, a sleek, fast vessel that was powered by 170 rowers, in addition to its sail power. This new naval technology is also a reflection of the changed Athenian political climate; while hoplites had provided their own armor, and thus had been part of the middle class, rowers came predominately from the lower orders, and their importance to ensuring the supremacy of the trieme made it difficult to deny them greater political power.<br />
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b. Pre-eminent Trade Center--Athen's port, Piraeus, became the most important commercial center in the eastern Mediterranean, and Athens did not hesitate to use its naval power to promote its economic interests. Subject states were forced to pay tribute, and Athenian political leaders like Pericles used this tribute money to build monuments and temples on the Acropolis--as well as buildings throughout the city, thereby transferring the tribute money to the citizens of Athens though wages and goods for buildings these structures.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://flowstate.homestead.com/files/socrates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://flowstate.homestead.com/files/socrates.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>c. Cultural achievements--were also supported by the profits of empire. Wealthy Athenian (who profited directly from the empire) paid for the production costs of the tragedies and comedies performed at state festivals. The most creative artists and thinkers in the Greek world were thereby attracted to Athens, including a sculptor by the name of Socrates, who enjoyed the attention he received from deflating the pretensions of those who thought themselves wise. This propensity, along with the coterie of young men he attracted while performing in this way, led to his downfall, especially his lack of contrition despite the seriousness of the charges (to others, that is). Although Socrates himself wrote nothing, one of his students, Plato, did write down his recalled Socratic dialogues, eventually moving to write his own interpretation of the conversations Socrates directed over the major questions discussed during these dialogues--the nature of truth, knowledge, justice, and wisdom, among others.<br />
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4. Inequality in Classical Greece--Athenian democracy was enjoyed by a relatively few men, perhaps 30,000 to 40,000, out of a total population in Athens of some 300,000 people.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://stoa.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/slavery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://stoa.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/slavery.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>a. Slave--slaves made up possibly one-third of the population of Classical Athens, and did nearly all of the word; in fact, it was the labor of slaves that made it possible for Athenian men to engage in the democratic process. Greeks like Aristotle rationalized the institution of slavery by arguing that the <i>barbaroi </i>lacked the capacity to reason, and thus were better off under the direction of rational Greek owners--an argument that would be made again and again in history to legitimize slavery.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.fropper.com/z/blog-images/500x400/G/GREECE2002-cei-blog-3609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://img.fropper.com/z/blog-images/500x400/G/GREECE2002-cei-blog-3609.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>b. Women--the status of women varied from state to state in Classical Greece. Ironically, women were perhaps the most free in Sparta, where they were expected to raise strong virile children, and enjoyed a level of visibility and outspokenness that shocked other Greeks; in Athens, women were perhaps the most oppressed, where men attempted to confine them to the home to reign in their alleged promiscuousness. In Athenian society, the main role of women was to produce children, and preferably male children, since female offspring were more likely to suffer from infanticide.<br />
<br />
5. Failure of the City-State and the Triumph of Macedonia<br />
<br />
a. Peloponnesian War (431-404BCE)--resentment towards the high-handed attitude of Athens led a number of other city-states, under the direction of Sparta, to begin the two-decade long Peloponnesian War. During the early years of the conflict, Athens refused to engage the invading army outside the walls it had constructed to connect it to the port of Piraeus; the hoplites that made up the bulk of the attacking force would have to withdraw during the year to harvest the crops at their farms. With the financial assistance of Persia, however, Sparta was able to build a navy to defeat the Athenians, and Sparta quickly assumed Athens place as the most despised city-state because of its own haughty attitude. The skirmishing continued in Greece until the king of Persia brokered the King's Peace in 387BCE. Problems in the eastern portion of the empire diverted Persian attention elsewhere, but the position of the King of Persia as the guarantor of the status quo kept the Greek city-states in a weakened condition.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ancientsculpturegallery.com/images/0342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.ancientsculpturegallery.com/images/0342.jpg" width="319" /></a></div>b. Philip of Macedonia--Philip II transformed his previously backward kingdom of Macedonia into the premier military power in the Greek world. He refined the hoplite battle tactics, and incorporated and coordinated the use of cavalry and infantry together. His military engineers developed the early catapults, which transformed siege warfare. By 338BCE, Philip brought this new technology to use against a coalition of Greek city-states, defeating them and then establishing the Confederacy of Corinth to attack Persia. He had just established a bridgehead on the Asiatic side of Hellespont when he was killed by assassins in 336BCE<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.miracosta.edu/home/gfloren/alxhed1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.miracosta.edu/home/gfloren/alxhed1.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>c. Alexander the Great--used the military innovations of his father, and the avowed goal of revenging Xerxes invasion of Greece, to roll through the Persian Empire, eventually reaching the Indus Valley. Also demonstrating that he could learn from his avowed enemy, he maintained the framework of the Persian administration, while replacing the administrators themselves with those personally loyal to him--while at the same time, marrying several well-connected Persian and Iranian women, and adopting Persian-style dress and some customs--much to the dismay of the Macedonian nobility. His death in 323BCE ended this controversy.<br />
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C. The Hellenistic Sythesis, 323-30BCE<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bu.edu/mzank/Jerusalem/mp/hellenisticworldmap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="http://www.bu.edu/mzank/Jerusalem/mp/hellenisticworldmap.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
1. The Three Kingdoms--the short-lived Macedonian dynasty was broken into three kingdoms after Alexander's death: Seleucid, Ptolemaic, and Antigonid.<br />
<br />
a. Selucid--took over the bulk of the empire, and promptly lost great portions of it--the Indus Valley and Afghanistan, and most of Iran by the middle of the second century BCE. From their capital is Syrian Antioch, the Selucid monarchs controlled Mesopotamia, Syrian, and parts of Anatolia<br />
<br />
b. Ptolemies--ruled Egypt, which was more homogenous than the Selucid kingdom, and easier to control. The Ptolemies ruled from Alexandria, planned by Alexander himself. The Ptolemies were happy to collect taxes from the rich agricultural lands, but did little to attempt to integrate Egyptians into the kingdom; only the last Ptolemy ruler, Cleopatra (51-30BCE) even bothered to learn the Egyptian language.<br />
<br />
c. Antigonids--ruled over the ethnically homogeneous region of Macedonia and northern Greece. While they maintained garrisons in the southern part, and the threat of invasion kept the southern city-states in line, they did not control southern Greece. The southern city-states banded together in various alliances, except for Sparta and Greece. Sparta continued to believe its own myth of invincibility, even while losing battles to Macedonia, and Athens was content to remain neutral, an educational center.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikivisual.com/images/f/f4/Pharos_of_Alexandria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://en.wikivisual.com/images/f/f4/Pharos_of_Alexandria.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
2. Alexandria--was the premier city of the Hellenistic Age, the center of learning, culture, and Greek-style democracy.<br />
<br />
D. ConclusionUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-38693334467394061742010-09-28T09:54:00.000-07:002010-09-28T09:54:07.585-07:00The Persians and the Greeks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/persian_empire_map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" px="true" src="http://www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/persian_empire_map.gif" width="400" /></a></div>A. The Rise of Persia<br />
<br />
1. Geography and Resources--present-day Iran (which contains ancient Persia) is bounded by the Zagros Mountains to the west, the Caucus Mountains and the Caspian Sea to the northwest and north, the mountains of Afghanistan and the Baluchistan Desert to the east and southeast, and the Persian Gulf to the southwest. Many of these features provide natural barriers to the threat of attack, although Persia was susceptible from the northeast, which the nomads from Central Asia took advantage of. Iran is characterized by high mountains at the edge of the region, salt deserts in the interior depressions, and mountain streams draining into interior salt lakes and marshes. This land could not support a very large population in the ancient era.<br />
<br />
a. Irrigation--in the first millenium BCE, irrigation enable people to move down from the mountain valleys, and open the plains to agriculture. To irrigate the hot, dry plains, however, the channels had to be built underground. Constructing and maintaining these channels was very labor intensive, and helped to create the conditions for a more hierarchical society.<br />
<br />
2. The Achaemenid Empire<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.heritage-history.com/books/horne/soldiers/zpage005.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.heritage-history.com/books/horne/soldiers/zpage005.gif" width="234" /></a></div>a. Cyrus (Kurush)--the son of a Persian chieftain and a Median princess, Cyrus united the various Persian tribes, and overthrew the Median monarch around 550BCE. His victory should probably be seen as less of a conquest, and more of an alteration of the relationship between the two groups, since Cyrus placed both Persians and Medians in positions of responsibility and retained the framework of the Median governing structure.<br />
<br />
b. Persian expansion--during the next two decades from 550BCE, Cyrus redrew the map of Western Asia. In 546BCE, his army defeated the kingdom of Lydia, all of Anatolia (including the Greek city-states. In 539BCE, the Persian army swept into Mesopotamia and overthrew the Neo-Babylonian dynasty that had ruled since the decline of Assyrian power. Rather than run roughshod over the conquered peoples, however, Cyrus incorporated local leaders--both political and religious--into his colonial power structure.<br />
<br />
c. Cambyses--succeeded his father in 530BCE, upon his father's death. Cambyses set his sights on Egypt, which the Persian army was able to conquer of several bloody battles. The Persian army then explored further south to Nubia, and west into Libya. Contemporary records indicate that Cambyses ruled much as his father had, although the Greeks maintained he was cruel and capricious (in keeping with their general view of Persians).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.boisestate.edu/courses/images/people/darius1persia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://www.boisestate.edu/courses/images/people/darius1persia.jpg" width="172" /></a></div>d. Darius I--Cambyses died in 522BCE without a clear heir; after a great deal of political turmoil, Darius, a distant cousin of the deceased king, seized the throne. Darius ruthlessly put down several attempted rebellions while consolidating his hold on the country. During his reign, Medes began playing a diminished role, because Darius filled most governmental positions with Persians. Darius extended Persian influence eastward as far as the Indus Valley, and westward into Europe, where he bridged the Danube river.<br />
<br />
2. Imperial Organization<br />
<br />
a. Persian Satraps--Darius divided the empire into 20 districts, and assigned a satrap (or royal governor) to each one. These satraps were usually connected to the royal family either through kin relationship, or through marriage. Satraps were allowed to pass their positions on to members of their families. This fostered the fact that the families of the satraps living in the districts they governed, becoming familiar with local conditions and customs, and forming connections with local elites.<br />
<br />
b. Tribute--Darius set the amount that each district was responsible for contributing to Persia each year, usually paid in precious metal. Some of this money was spent on internal improvements like roads, but much of it was simply hoarded by the king. This took money out of circulation, and the resulting inflation made it more difficult to meet tribute levels, among other financial difficulties. As a result, a gradual economic decline began in the Persian Empire around the fourth century BCE.<br />
<br />
c. Mobile Capitol--the king and his court moved with the seasons, living in luxurious tents while on the road between residence in a series of palaces in both Mesopotamia and Iran. The king traveled with an extensive entourage, including the sons of noble families (both to see to their education, and as hostages to ensure good behavior on the part of the relatives), many nobles themselves, the central administrations (including the treasury, the secretariat, and the archives), the royal bodyguard, and lots of courtier and slaves to do all the heavy lifting.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.iranologie.com/history/Achaemenid/susa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" px="true" src="http://www.iranologie.com/history/Achaemenid/susa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>d. Administrative Capitol--was centrally located at Susa, the ancient capitol of Elam, in present-day southwestern Iran near the border with Iraq.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wadias.in/site/arzan/blog/Persepolis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" px="true" src="http://www.wadias.in/site/arzan/blog/Persepolis.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>e. Ceremonial Capitol--was located in Persepolis, home to a series of palaces, audience halls, treasury buildings, and barracks. Construction in Persepolis was begun by Darius, and finished by his son, Xerxes; they were inspired by the great Assyrian kings who created the great fortress-cities as advertisements of the power and wealth.<br />
<br />
3. Ideology<br />
<br />
a. Perhaps best depicted by the relief sculptures found at the ruins of Persepolis, which depict the multitude of subjects coming forth willingly with a portion of their wealth to pay tribute,<br />
<br />
b. Darius' claim to the throne was tied to his belief that Ahuramazda had called him forth to be king--and convincing others to believe this, as well.<br />
<br />
4. Religion<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://imagecache6.allposters.com/LRG/21/2148/831CD00Z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="http://imagecache6.allposters.com/LRG/21/2148/831CD00Z.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>a. Zoroastrianism--the origins of the religion are fairly obscure. Piecing it together from a variety of sources, Zoroastrianism was founded by a man named Zoroaster (Zarathustra), who probably lived in eastern Iran between 1700 and 500BCE. Zoroaster taught that the world had been created by Ahuramzda in a state of perfection, but that this perfection had been damaged by the attacks of Angra Maiyu, the "hostile spirit." Good and evil then struggle for thousands of years, with good destined to prevail. Darius brilliantly joined the moral theology of Zoroastrianism to political ideology, by in essence claiming for himself the divinely ordained mission of the empire, to bring all the scattered peoples of the world back together again under a regime of justice, and thereby restore the perfection of creation.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.avesta.org/gifs/tile.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" px="true" src="http://www.avesta.org/gifs/tile.gif" width="320" /></a></div>b. In keeping with this Zoroastrian worldview, Persians were sensitive to the beauties of nature and venerated its beneficial elements, like water (which was not to be tainted by human excrement) and fire.<br />
<br />
c. Zoroastrianism was one of the great religions of the ancient world. It was one of the earliest monotheistic religions, held humans to high ethical standards, and promised eternal salvation. It probably had great deal of influence upon the development of Judaism, and therefore indirectly on the development of Christianity; the concepts of Heaven and Hell, God and the Devil, reward and punishment, and the Messiah and End Time all appear to be its legacies.<br />
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B. The Rise of Archaic Greece, 1000-500BCE<br />
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1. Geography and Resources--while Greece benefited from a Mediterranean climate, the rocky, mountainous land could not support a very large population in the ancient world, and resulted in the Greeks establishing colonies around the Mediterranean.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/ClasDram/images/03/maparchaicgreece.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" px="true" src="http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/ClasDram/images/03/maparchaicgreece.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
a. Summers are hot and dry in the regions, because a prevailing weather front prevents Atlantic storms from entering the Mediterranean; in the winter, the front dissolves and ocean storms roll in, making the weather cool and wet.<br />
<br />
b. Southern Greece is a dry and rocky land, with small plains areas separated by low mountains. To the east of the Greek peninsula, the Aegean Sea is home to hundreds of small islands, populated from early times. People could sail from Greece to Anatolia almost without losing sight of land.<br />
<br />
c. Greek farmers were almost entirely reliant upon rainfall for growing crops. Farmers planted grain (mostly barley, since it is hardier than wheat) on the plains, and olives and grapes on the sides of mountains.<br />
<br />
d. The Greek mainland has a deeply pitted coastline with many natural harbors. This fact, coupled with the lack of navigable rives in the country and the need to import most trade goods, drew many Greeks to the sea.<br />
<br />
2. The Greek "Dark Age"<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://frysingerreunion.org/1/greece/mycenae53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://frysingerreunion.org/1/greece/mycenae53.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>a. Mycenaean Culture--largely and adaptation to the Greek terrain of the imported institutions of Middle Eastern palace-states<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wired.com/images/index/2008/04/trojan_horse_400px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="289" px="true" src="http://www.wired.com/images/index/2008/04/trojan_horse_400px.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>b. Causes for decline--perhaps tied to the after-effects of the Trojan War? A long, costly battle, and may have resulted with Greeks returning home with the bubonic plague.<br />
<br />
c. Ionia--the Greek city-states were established along the west coast of Anatolia before and after the Trojan War<br />
<br />
d. Isolation--during this Dark Age era, the Greeks were largely isolated from the rest of the world. Importation of needed trade materials steeply declined, which further impoverished the people.<br />
<br />
e. Phoenician traders--the Greeks were reconnected to the world through trade with the Phoenicians, who also brought their alphabet, which the Greeks modified (designating some symbols for vowel sounds, which the Phoenicians had not utilized). The Greeks quickly moved on from commercial uses for this innovation to create literature, writing down oral traditions they had long told each other.<br />
<br />
3. The Nature of the Polis--polis is another name for city-state, and designated not only a particular city, but also included the hinterland that surrounded the city.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://questgreekmythology.wikispaces.com/file/view/acropolis_aerial_veiw.jpg/32868989/acropolis_aerial_veiw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" px="true" src="https://questgreekmythology.wikispaces.com/file/view/acropolis_aerial_veiw.jpg/32868989/acropolis_aerial_veiw.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>a. Physical features--the polis utilized the physical features of the landscape it was built on. A hilltop "acropolis," often surrounded by a wall, offered refuge in an emergency, and acted as the seat of government. Each polis also had an agora, a square where citizens met to ratify the decisions of their leaders, assemble before marching off to war--or just to get goods at the market.<br />
<br />
b. Hoplite warfare--each polis was jealous of its independence, and suspicious of its neighbors. By the early seventh century BCE, the Greeks has developed a new form of warfare, called hoplite, which utiliized heavily armored infantrymen fighting in close formation. Hoplites were farmers called to service for short periods of time; this development helped to shape the development of the polis, because the morale of the hoplites was boosted by giving them rights as citizens, so they had some voice in the government of the polis.<br />
<br />
4. Political development--while kings ruled in the Mycenaean Age, during the Archaic period a new kind of political system began to develop in the Greek polis.<br />
<br />
a. Tyrants--power in the Greek city-state devolved from kings to the aristocracy. Disgruntled aristocrats, acting as tyrants, had to appeal to persons in the lower orders of society to obtain, or regain, political power. This itself quickly devolved in to democracy<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sparta.net/images/listing_photos/1_sparta-location.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" px="true" src="http://www.sparta.net/images/listing_photos/1_sparta-location.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>5. Sparta--Sparta had a rather unique development as a polis, since it had no overseas colonies. Instead, Sparta conquered and enslaved the people of nearby Messenia, enslaving their fellow Greeks, whom they now referred to as helots. Constantly in fear of an uprising of these helots, Spartan society became completely militarized. Boys were taken from the families at age seven and place in barracks, where they were severely disciplined, and taught the arts of war.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-37819376269204756782010-09-23T09:04:00.000-07:002010-09-23T09:04:03.504-07:00The Middle East and the Western Mediterranean<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXvOmGXmahZYoiJelhOoBWfJjrn0352-BtQGFbfHRP_9kFH_9ImlS7XT66iHTtTG2ypgd3JZjrlXRfaK_EIi8SFSc7W7ZOUKrnpigAOj5WaYhMqhyphenhyphenBkxUMgXiLtr4O5FKJGOzkUS8DB1KS/s1600/assyria1200bce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXvOmGXmahZYoiJelhOoBWfJjrn0352-BtQGFbfHRP_9kFH_9ImlS7XT66iHTtTG2ypgd3JZjrlXRfaK_EIi8SFSc7W7ZOUKrnpigAOj5WaYhMqhyphenhyphenBkxUMgXiLtr4O5FKJGOzkUS8DB1KS/s400/assyria1200bce.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
A. The Assyrian Empire, 911-612BCE<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbLxCmHoW57kGFWdwJ6pqQvAtK088nqqxu62Bo_K9XVyRo0Sje_iijFJs2GIclTfKRY6gW4CSYhX8o-SbjktwEuLXO_f90-B3UeMrVIqftOgJl5I756NZrgMwf1OlofanKRIBDCafhGZCX/s1600/assyrianarmy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbLxCmHoW57kGFWdwJ6pqQvAtK088nqqxu62Bo_K9XVyRo0Sje_iijFJs2GIclTfKRY6gW4CSYhX8o-SbjktwEuLXO_f90-B3UeMrVIqftOgJl5I756NZrgMwf1OlofanKRIBDCafhGZCX/s320/assyrianarmy.jpg" /></a></div>1. The Assyrian Army--peasant farmers, accustomed to defending themselves from raiders from the mountains to the north and east, and the arid plains to the south, provided the foot soldiers for the revival of Assyrian power. These farmers joined the Assyrian army because of promises of land, and the labor to work that land (slaves, and other indentured peasants from the larger landholding class), as well as the wealth to be gained from sacking those cities and villages the army conquered. After early successes,the king could then use propaganda about his favor among the gods in order to gain support for the continuation of these battles, and to gain new recruits.<br />
<br />
2. God and king--the Assyrian belief system was predicated upon the idea that the Assyrian gods chose their king; even though the king chose his successor, that decision did not take hold until these gods demonstrated their support through oracles, revealed through their priests--and agreed to by the Assyrian nobles.<br />
<br />
a. The king was also the main military commander, supervised the state religion, attended elaborate rituals in both public and private, adjudicated disputes between subjects, managed a large ring of spies, and oversaw the upkeep of temples. He made no major decisions without consulting the gods, who again demonstrated their judgment through oracles. Military success was, of course, the means of demonstrating the correctness of the oracle, and proof that Ashur (the leading Assyrian god) superiority over other gods in the region.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkBoF_lO6oasaazIoQENjv0ZfRBZwd7Diklp0iDSKB1Xrel1hyphenhyphen1DRupTY7f8l-yYO87GmHpc6YqKK0ih5yobX3gjJagB9ezQnH9T3VXptbRmvLeSnL14OOIPpfDNXrS2rsMYC8YPWQ4m5/s1600/assyria_front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkBoF_lO6oasaazIoQENjv0ZfRBZwd7Diklp0iDSKB1Xrel1hyphenhyphen1DRupTY7f8l-yYO87GmHpc6YqKK0ih5yobX3gjJagB9ezQnH9T3VXptbRmvLeSnL14OOIPpfDNXrS2rsMYC8YPWQ4m5/s320/assyria_front.jpg" /></a></div>3. Conquest and Control--superior military organization and technology explains much of the Assyrian success.<br />
<br />
a. Professional army--although the initial successes of the Assyrian army was because of the skill and <i>espirit de corps</i> of these farmer/soldiers fighting for more land, they were soon replaced with professional soldiers--both Assyrians and selected subject people--that at times exceeded more than half a million troops.<br />
<br />
b. Weaponry--Assyrians were skilled in the manufacture of iron, and used it in a variety of weapons. These weapons, in combination with the use of horses, allowed the Assyrians to overwhelm most of their opponents.<br />
<br />
c. Tactics--the Assyrians were able to innovate in the area of combat engineering, constructing tunnels under the walls of cities, building portable towers for archers, using battering rams against locked city gates.<br />
<br />
d. State terror--Assyrians used extremely harsh measures to inhibit resistance to their attempted conquests--burning people alive, skinning people, and beheadings were just a few of the tactics they used.<br />
<br />
e. Mass deportation--they removed thousands of conquered people from their homes, a tactic that was part of the Assyrian effort to soften resistance to their rule. While this seems quite harsh to us today, it should be noted that this was common practice over much of the Middle East at this time.<br />
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f. Paying for conquest--the expense for all of this was born by those conquered, who were required to pay tribute and taxes for the Assyrian cost of conquest--and for the elaborate castles and temples that were built in Ashur to demonstrate the greatness of the Assyrian king.<br />
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g. Effectiveness--the effectiveness of these policies can be judged by the fact that, while the Assyrians could control the area immediately around Ashur, their ability to control areas further away required a near constant state of warfare.<br />
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4. Assyrian Society and Culture--the Assyrians were hierarchially directed, with the king at the top, nobles, priests, and government officials at the next rung of the social ladder, and at the bottom were most Assyrians and conquered peoples.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitRfaCw26Q9aF5n83NLv5ijKtMLGCqwGHpKhGe9kj7iEFQhL_0Ndq52ilXKJ4Nry9zdb7KzOao4gIJzWRq8SeXBJdH7e5EtlJyhwaTkX5oKNGBcicQHsrP2RkyrGbHB1sNV3vcbHSkJ54u/s1600/judahmap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitRfaCw26Q9aF5n83NLv5ijKtMLGCqwGHpKhGe9kj7iEFQhL_0Ndq52ilXKJ4Nry9zdb7KzOao4gIJzWRq8SeXBJdH7e5EtlJyhwaTkX5oKNGBcicQHsrP2RkyrGbHB1sNV3vcbHSkJ54u/s400/judahmap.jpg" width="277" /></a></div><br />
B. Israel, 2000-500BCE<br />
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1. Significance--although its neighbors probably viewed it as relatively insignificant, since the area controlled by the Israelites was relatively small, not terribly strategic, and only "controlled" by them for a relatively short period of time. Nevertheless, the invention of Judaism, which begat both Christianity and Islam, has made Israel much more prominent than its modest history during this era would suggest.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>2. Origins, Exodus, and Settlement--the information we know about the early history of Israel comes from a variety of sources, including the royal annals of Egypt and Assyria. Much information also comes from the <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Tanakh.html"><i>Tanakh</i></a>, or Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament, for Christians).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH90Sg4Zgbt7V7hVavHD8NFIKqMhDYToqj3gBDgOdumqXqyXXolxmNlp41O47GYylgzstJuZofWyxpILzvjyAhblLQWMpPwivZAoXv2uMvWdIeycfwRgwHB5DdW-4wF_TbTH57cJpL_pjQ/s1600/tanakh_page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH90Sg4Zgbt7V7hVavHD8NFIKqMhDYToqj3gBDgOdumqXqyXXolxmNlp41O47GYylgzstJuZofWyxpILzvjyAhblLQWMpPwivZAoXv2uMvWdIeycfwRgwHB5DdW-4wF_TbTH57cJpL_pjQ/s200/tanakh_page.jpg" width="171" /></a></div>a. Tanakh--is a compilation of several collections of materials that originate with different groups and advocate particular interpretations of past events. Traditions about the Israelites early history were long transmitted orally, and not until the 10th century BCE were they written down; the text we have today dates from the 5th century BCE, and largely reflects the viewpoint of the priests who controlled the Temple in Jerusalem.<br />
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b. The history of ancient Israel follows a familiar pattern in the ancient Middle East: Nomadic pastorlists, occupying marginal land between inhospitable desert and settled agricultural area; Sometimes engaging in trade, but also occasionally stealing from nearby farms and villages; eventually settling into agricultural life themselves.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcMc7SFKv0v70CCbw_mwAZel9rh0jfNJkSb-vSlZ9n14eGTq9ZZbKsONtBJP6xxchWttmQ3wHbr-Wiatvi0fnjijHDPDMCYSYFzcT76uai8cY0rbpVH5cCuECHcE9UkPKSxRwyWGwRCzUH/s1600/abraham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcMc7SFKv0v70CCbw_mwAZel9rh0jfNJkSb-vSlZ9n14eGTq9ZZbKsONtBJP6xxchWttmQ3wHbr-Wiatvi0fnjijHDPDMCYSYFzcT76uai8cY0rbpVH5cCuECHcE9UkPKSxRwyWGwRCzUH/s320/abraham.jpg" /></a></div>c. Father Abraham--Israelite tradition claims its founding from a man named Abraham, who rejected idol worship in favor of the Israelite god Yahweh. Abraham's son Isaac and grandson Jacob succeeded him as leader of this small group. Jacob's squabbling sons (from several wives) sold their youngest brother into slavery into Egypt.<br />
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d. Exodus--Joseph became very successful in Egypt, and was well-placed to help his people when drought struck their country. The Egyptians, however, thought little of these rough herders, and with building projects looming, chose to enslave this group. This enslavement lasted until Moses, raised with the royal family after his fortuitous rescued from the Nile River, was able to lead the Israelites out of Egypt after Yahweh cursed the land with ten different plagues.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-qY51MEikU66xomnh9Xv70dLUWuV_N7ApJMML8W2qcxZV0aHldRCJ-hOWRJwmTEN7thgruBmR-rnTfxpNeE8agryKe3FRvnYw4MpAL1Qj418mjKPxVX02SGTqF3A_wKbNbf4yfy7vFek/s1600/exodus.map.large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-qY51MEikU66xomnh9Xv70dLUWuV_N7ApJMML8W2qcxZV0aHldRCJ-hOWRJwmTEN7thgruBmR-rnTfxpNeE8agryKe3FRvnYw4MpAL1Qj418mjKPxVX02SGTqF3A_wKbNbf4yfy7vFek/s400/exodus.map.large.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
e. Wandering in the Desert--on the way back to reclaim Israel, Moses stopped at Mt. Sinai to make a sacred covenant with Yahweh. In his absence, the Israelites immediately began worshiping other gods, incurring Yahweh's wrath, and cursing themselves to wander in the desert for forty years.<br />
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f. Back to Canaan--the Israelites claimed to have conquered several Canaanite towns (including, most famously, Jericho), but this contention is not supported by archeological evidence. The period around 1200BCE (when the Israelites arrived) is one of great disturbances throughout the region, with governments in turmoil, and a great number of people on the move. We do know there was not a great cultural break in these cities in Canaan, so it seems most likely that, except for religious practices, the Israelites largely assimilated into Canaan society.<br />
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3. Rise of the Monarchy<br />
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a. Conflict with the Philistines--the troubles in the region that brought the Israelites to Canaan also brought a people called the Philistines, who had a series of conflicts with the Israelites. This led to an Israeliste religious leader named Samuel to annoint the first Israelite king, Saul, around 1020BCE. When Saul was killed in battle, he was succeeded by David (1000BCE), who in turn was succeeded by his son, Solomon.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4M6gABDtluILrThSJ735H14pqG5P-GVooU6SeMbT9tQ_A1AxIddWOHvNvStzf7-LEJuLF-FsQzN1uRYR1BLsj0rfh_4ApwjXqtl2SoiwW1DNo6iqvZzdQjjIdcwzB6UrZQBKMU2BDTrGR/s1600/solomon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4M6gABDtluILrThSJ735H14pqG5P-GVooU6SeMbT9tQ_A1AxIddWOHvNvStzf7-LEJuLF-FsQzN1uRYR1BLsj0rfh_4ApwjXqtl2SoiwW1DNo6iqvZzdQjjIdcwzB6UrZQBKMU2BDTrGR/s320/solomon.jpg" /></a></div>b. Solomon ruled ca. 960-920BCE, and during his reign the Israelite monarchy reached its apex. Solomon consolidated the political and religious centers at Jerusalem, building an impressive Temple, and installing priests to offer sacrifices to Yahweh. The Temple priests became quite wealth as a result of this arrangement, which emphasized the growing inequality gap between the rich and poor in Israelite society--and making way the path for a series of fiery prophets who condemned this arrangement.<br />
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4. Fragmentation and Dispersal--this growing inequality gap contributed to the fragmentation of Israelite society.<br />
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a. Death of Solomon--around 920BCE, along with the resentment fostered by inequality, continued royal demands for money and labor for elaborate building projects, and the neglect of tribal prerogatives, led to splitting the kingdom in two: Israel in the north, with its capital at Samaria; and Judah in the south, in the area around Jerusalem. These two kingdoms were sometimes allied, and other times at war.<br />
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b. The final formulation of monotheism takes place at this time, but many Israelites were still attracted to the ecstatic religious practice around the worship of the Canaanite storm god Baal and the fertility goddess Asherah--although later prophets condemned this practice.<br />
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c. The Assyrian Threat--although the two kingdoms were reunited in the attempt, resistance proved futile to the invasion of the Assyrians in 721BCE. The Assyrians invaded and quickly conquered Israel, destroyed the kingdom, and exported most of the people living there (as they did all areas they conquered). Judah was able to hold out for another century, alternating resistance with paying tribute.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZniTxI3yNIHYdvOfmXEVZvXOf8UiuYQPyq5IvUFUj4aEJTqNFYjOVFhjFMa2IwcHlgMOnnFppscA_Nl8OAs9r5RshwC7OppwW9eQDHD2kfq7QM2KU092WN1S6RHaReP4FZ2avqIwTBl1/s1600/Prisoners.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZniTxI3yNIHYdvOfmXEVZvXOf8UiuYQPyq5IvUFUj4aEJTqNFYjOVFhjFMa2IwcHlgMOnnFppscA_Nl8OAs9r5RshwC7OppwW9eQDHD2kfq7QM2KU092WN1S6RHaReP4FZ2avqIwTBl1/s320/Prisoners.jpg" /></a></div>d. The Babylonian Captivity--this is the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora (the migration of Jews around the world). Most did so well in their new homes that they turned down an offer from the Persian king Cyrus to return to their homeland 50 years later--although a small group did return, rebuild a more modest Temple, and edited the Tankh into its present form. This group was unable to re-establish Israelite control in the region, however.<br />
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C. Phoenicia and the Mediterranean, 1200-500BCE--Phoenicia is the name given to them by the Greeks; they called themselves the Canaanites.<br />
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1. Phoenician City-States--the problems around 1200BCE caused several Canaanite cities to be destroyed, and the Canaanite cities that remained were on the coast. By 1100BCE, the Canaanite territory had shrunk to a narrow strip in present-day Lebanon, between the mountains and the coast. From this vantage point, the Phoenicians began to engage in trade, which spurred the development of the port city of Tyre, which was located on an offshore island.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMrE5tNabSdc0INAUjbv2PFf4tlrXiIntjswAJHG3-5Kv5OM4nUOfvBeQCVr-Y4SRFbpC-DgM-tUCZSGh6fSIrMVgZxBY1ANqvkDyZVJa1Quo9cQpFhuA7Nh-teNv9PjpHjIzTmSiwkDTd/s1600/tyre_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMrE5tNabSdc0INAUjbv2PFf4tlrXiIntjswAJHG3-5Kv5OM4nUOfvBeQCVr-Y4SRFbpC-DgM-tUCZSGh6fSIrMVgZxBY1ANqvkDyZVJa1Quo9cQpFhuA7Nh-teNv9PjpHjIzTmSiwkDTd/s320/tyre_map.jpg" /></a></div>2. Expansion into the Mediterranean--after 900BCE, Tyre turned its attention westward, and established a colony on the island of Cyprus. Being hemmed in by an aggressive Assyrian opponent, merchants and officials in Tyre looked westward to expand and establish colonies like Gades (Cadiz) at the Straits of Gibraltar, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, and Carthage.<br />
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3. Rise of Carthage--the most important of these Phoenician colonies was located in northern Africa, near the present-day city of Tunis.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5Sq3JjF5p3FZsrwDLMoJlYiiDDVBUpscRyN85g05UBOpG7NH4EBKd05-HTVegJ0Nr55nZQ5orPfHJGwM_ELht1-rCSYaAfGk3Qc66fI41jwnWAfGJmK7baTQ4LtRB-Wx_r8xqzP-31Al/s1600/Carthage_carte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5Sq3JjF5p3FZsrwDLMoJlYiiDDVBUpscRyN85g05UBOpG7NH4EBKd05-HTVegJ0Nr55nZQ5orPfHJGwM_ELht1-rCSYaAfGk3Qc66fI41jwnWAfGJmK7baTQ4LtRB-Wx_r8xqzP-31Al/s320/Carthage_carte.jpg" /></a></div>a. By 500BCE, Carthage had a population of roughly 400,000 people, making it by far the largest city in the ancient world.<br />
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b. Political organization was dominated by merchants, rather than by birth. This aided Carthage in avoiding the political conflict that created difficulties in Greek city-state and in Rome. Carthage concentrated on maintaining sea lanes, and ensuring that they received the lion's share of the "carrying trade."<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAo_JHk6Dx0Fmt-o-125p21zI-QRWC58-WAjs6FxHbEfZn1BdAfsPoaGumSd6F0z5eRdcw9ArdEDKJ7ZXUaF5mDSKO56239mFPMOxLaTL7FuJY7OWKCenfjJnWPN9c2XeR-UfB-DbXxrgr/s1600/carthage13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAo_JHk6Dx0Fmt-o-125p21zI-QRWC58-WAjs6FxHbEfZn1BdAfsPoaGumSd6F0z5eRdcw9ArdEDKJ7ZXUaF5mDSKO56239mFPMOxLaTL7FuJY7OWKCenfjJnWPN9c2XeR-UfB-DbXxrgr/s200/carthage13.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>4. War and Religion<br />
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a. Carthage did not attempt to rule a huge land area; in fact, it only directly controlled an area sufficient to provide food for its population, and allowed the other Phoenician outposts a great deal of autonomy. Army service was not required of the population.<br />
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b. The two major gods--storm god Baal Hammon and female fertility god Tanit, were powerful and capricious entities that had to be appeased--sometimes by the sacrifice of the children of their followers.<br />
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D. Conclusion--by 650BCE, Assyrian stood unchallenged in Western Asia. Its now lengthy border, and the ill-will fostered by the brutal methods used to get and keep this empire were already at work undermining it. The emergence of two new groups of people in the region--the Chaldaens and the Medes (an Iranian people), would eventually work to topple the Assyrian control, and open new opportunities.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-36306589531447550052010-09-21T08:15:00.000-07:002010-09-21T08:15:28.637-07:00Mediterranean Culture, Part One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yhzBI0GCMKmL1sqahNMIcf8NfaUjrAmXtSsmfVl-rxlL256A0E06S1X7H7KzHnyr6foylF0sRIew6Xwiqs7p3i4CI3xB95q30V20NTgy9CcT5nmajhWfNi9XDBu-emeSQB1FRI5MV0HG/s1600/ramesses_II+jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yhzBI0GCMKmL1sqahNMIcf8NfaUjrAmXtSsmfVl-rxlL256A0E06S1X7H7KzHnyr6foylF0sRIew6Xwiqs7p3i4CI3xB95q30V20NTgy9CcT5nmajhWfNi9XDBu-emeSQB1FRI5MV0HG/s400/ramesses_II+jpg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I. The Cosmopolitan Middle East, 1700-1100BCE<br />
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A. Western Asia<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9x56uNi0rK4FoZtzODRuTAR9xi2ztWLMtNSYd2PLspW4zjOmdWfpJ3H-EZsb_MDiJQSxBeaklsfXc7dadGMhVBzxSSTte9t7pQgHbcId5PH9aj_IB84z0m5-9XaM3xm7wnIfwk2spIrW/s1600/Kassite_dynasty_Babylonia_locator_map.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9x56uNi0rK4FoZtzODRuTAR9xi2ztWLMtNSYd2PLspW4zjOmdWfpJ3H-EZsb_MDiJQSxBeaklsfXc7dadGMhVBzxSSTte9t7pQgHbcId5PH9aj_IB84z0m5-9XaM3xm7wnIfwk2spIrW/s200/Kassite_dynasty_Babylonia_locator_map.png" width="153" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>1. Babylonia--Babylon had gained political and cultural ascendancy over the southern plain of Mesopotamia under the dynasty of Hammurabi in the eighteenth and seventeenth centuries BCE. After this, a people called the Kassites, from the Zagros Mountains to the east migrated into southern Mesopotamia. The Kassites retained names in their native language, but otherwise embraced Babylonian language and culture, and inter-married with the native population. During the 250 years of rule, the Kassites defended the core area and traded for raw materials, but did not pursue territorial conquest.<br />
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2. Assyria<br />
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a. "Old Assyrian" kingdom--as early as 2000BCE, the city of Ashur on the northern Tigris River anchored a busy trade route stretching north to the Anatolian Plateau, in what is now central Turkey. Assyrian merchant families settled outside the walls of the Anatolian cities to trade textiles and tin for silver.<br />
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b. "Middle Kingdom"--engaged in campaigns of conquest and expansion of its economic interest.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGf6isu-fWAsTs6vx4r73UUsEjrKoixViVGSyaO3nCOj5qx5rdSgj9Ssz0t3lERxZwHo1IP5NVy03g9BwontpcOESaKfVwHiwJeRPtUkYBsQsNK5EjQhG2HXt_Gebg7oZ2n2R-Ci8sMAuC/s1600/Hittite_Empire.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGf6isu-fWAsTs6vx4r73UUsEjrKoixViVGSyaO3nCOj5qx5rdSgj9Ssz0t3lERxZwHo1IP5NVy03g9BwontpcOESaKfVwHiwJeRPtUkYBsQsNK5EjQhG2HXt_Gebg7oZ2n2R-Ci8sMAuC/s200/Hittite_Empire.png" width="188" /></a></div>3. Hittites--emerged from what is now central Turkey, with their capital located in Hattusha (near present-day Ankara). The Hittites became perhaps the foremost power in the region because of two technical innovations:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCUFyvlpmmba2LI3aKrbaTfUN4mvVzJQLDtS7gW1hljScQhyphenhyphenjXqbB4Nk8X-18e6OTmqqUJu6TONdYwbKo0HBkAsgozWUbBXGx42ssSKcTZcVyIwUqB-qwF3TI4rbz2wZqSwPlZGs0mBbf/s1600/Hittite002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCUFyvlpmmba2LI3aKrbaTfUN4mvVzJQLDtS7gW1hljScQhyphenhyphenjXqbB4Nk8X-18e6OTmqqUJu6TONdYwbKo0HBkAsgozWUbBXGx42ssSKcTZcVyIwUqB-qwF3TI4rbz2wZqSwPlZGs0mBbf/s200/Hittite002.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>a. Horse-drawn chariots, which gave them greater mobility than their opponents<br />
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b. Iron weapons--which made their weapons more deadly than their opponents. The methodology or iron manufacture was a closely held secret among the Hittite until the conquest of much of the area of the Middle East was complete.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8IUZ_FIqSjesa5KoE5tD0YMyY2p1kYf2gc0okO_-RE1Xz9Q5vsS1nH1PdCxN3ceo5YvBJ1CO7yGtXtwaG6Rw_amcG08ldwX3nqLqdMxrhQa8sYiAqybSWIO9qusv2rBxd28bgjwGUVXtp/s1600/Hittite+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8IUZ_FIqSjesa5KoE5tD0YMyY2p1kYf2gc0okO_-RE1Xz9Q5vsS1nH1PdCxN3ceo5YvBJ1CO7yGtXtwaG6Rw_amcG08ldwX3nqLqdMxrhQa8sYiAqybSWIO9qusv2rBxd28bgjwGUVXtp/s200/Hittite+2.jpg" width="189" /></a></div>4. Mesopotamian culture--came to dominate most of Western Asia: Akkadian was the language of diplomacy and communication between governments; cuneiform became the basis upon which most other written languages were constructed; and the list could continue on. Mediterranean myths, legends, and styles of art and architecture were widely imitated in the region.<br />
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B. New Kingdom Egypt, 1532-1070BCE<br />
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1. Decline of the Middle Kingdom--after flourishing for almost four hundred years, the Middle Kingdom declined during the seventeenth century BCE. Central authority began to breakdown, with local officials in the countryside becoming more independent, and new groups of people migrating into the Nile Delta region, less likely to follow edicts from Memphis and Thebes.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtlfH8fyuXZ10jqb6WDxwbuH-9k2hmCAMtTTaKMfJ3lOOTpRFd0FgcvHSg1aNRYnZ1SyemdqptjcjjPw_mr0xS9_WOhYU5LZio7JbpfxzfDlimaTGiUGm1fhpjibC5Qc_MdEvKA6iTnW1/s1600/Map.Hyksos.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtlfH8fyuXZ10jqb6WDxwbuH-9k2hmCAMtTTaKMfJ3lOOTpRFd0FgcvHSg1aNRYnZ1SyemdqptjcjjPw_mr0xS9_WOhYU5LZio7JbpfxzfDlimaTGiUGm1fhpjibC5Qc_MdEvKA6iTnW1/s320/Map.Hyksos.gif" /></a></div>2. Reign of the Hyksos--although we are not exactly sure who the Hyksos were, or where they came from, they were able to overcome the Egyptians in their own country through their mastery of two technological innovations:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG62LihWX4sSXDWWiKbxPfYd5uj-rVJaLYJVax09FW08h_5bpkog4Ed61ZvLIkJhEI8OUTKVm2AWGVqZFJAr2TS2RNu_r9nZ_9-_61xDVubqbu5k-enBguOrlIZG9nvKCMEs1NldAcWKsA/s1600/hyksos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG62LihWX4sSXDWWiKbxPfYd5uj-rVJaLYJVax09FW08h_5bpkog4Ed61ZvLIkJhEI8OUTKVm2AWGVqZFJAr2TS2RNu_r9nZ_9-_61xDVubqbu5k-enBguOrlIZG9nvKCMEs1NldAcWKsA/s200/hyksos.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>a. Horse-drawn chariot<br />
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b. Compound bow<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8UZWcK1Q4I_uqe8bnIkNiK7K7qXu_1b1RgWpuEqOFTToqOpGGFqN06rTO3jRkBsGuR0e5ECSRWrH_dyQ1hT9s8nIfMHROLNZLGj06btMmH5-A2gPRxyLDjNhHaYbbslLbivIptatvPv-/s1600/Kamose+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8UZWcK1Q4I_uqe8bnIkNiK7K7qXu_1b1RgWpuEqOFTToqOpGGFqN06rTO3jRkBsGuR0e5ECSRWrH_dyQ1hT9s8nIfMHROLNZLGj06btMmH5-A2gPRxyLDjNhHaYbbslLbivIptatvPv-/s200/Kamose+1.jpg" width="161" /></a></div>3. Reunification--after decades of conflict, Kamose and his son Ahnose were finally able to overcome the Hyksos, remove them from power, and establish their own claim to the throne.<br />
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4. Expansionist--while the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom had been largely content to maintain the core area of their respective kingdoms, the shock of a century of foreign rule spurred the kings of the New Kingdom, initially, to seek to expand into new territory--north into Syria-Palestine, and south into Nubia<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidh79vXmrhZLMLdNjfbW94agDOuupurKmpxQsS0uNVlrR1fQjZmoSKpjsTOdPZUPX-k1VA8mUrsmVkYXo3zzB0Ph2MAfs-QGyKvY9AgEMtgmSPW02AKhLE8Ei1G4rNTNFDiAbJojaTyxeT/s1600/hatshepsut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidh79vXmrhZLMLdNjfbW94agDOuupurKmpxQsS0uNVlrR1fQjZmoSKpjsTOdPZUPX-k1VA8mUrsmVkYXo3zzB0Ph2MAfs-QGyKvY9AgEMtgmSPW02AKhLE8Ei1G4rNTNFDiAbJojaTyxeT/s200/hatshepsut.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>a. Reign of Hatshepsut--the first woman to rule in Egypt. Opposition to her rule is indicated by the fact that her name was chiseled off buildings and memorials, and that statues commemorating her were pulled down. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPP2rOAlTF3RUuBGFW6zrCM-BAImmtepTb4haFLU9-LrtA9_Wcrj26Rwm5b0rj6TRLy8l3DLgA5DVEI_wlq0p7Z60RmmCux6Fb2JG1PIQFya9a5Xd8QLuQXTaVuWBvtZz0nCYzBJYgN-xY/s1600/akhenaten_and_the_aten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPP2rOAlTF3RUuBGFW6zrCM-BAImmtepTb4haFLU9-LrtA9_Wcrj26Rwm5b0rj6TRLy8l3DLgA5DVEI_wlq0p7Z60RmmCux6Fb2JG1PIQFya9a5Xd8QLuQXTaVuWBvtZz0nCYzBJYgN-xY/s200/akhenaten_and_the_aten.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>5. Akhenaten--followed his father Amenhotep III to the throne. Akhenaten's significance it that he is the earliest known person to advocate the concept of monotheism--the belief in a single god. He closed all temples except those dedicated to Aten. Aten was the sun, and was unique in the Egyptian pantheon in that he had no anamorphic form--Aten simply existed. Questions exist as to how much Akhenaten did this because of his religious belief, and how much a factor his attempts to limit the power of the priestly class as a rival to his own.<br />
<br />
a. During Akhenaten's reign, expansion of Egyptian territory halted, as he concentrated on building temples to the glory of Aten.<br />
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b. After Akhenaten's death, the other temples re-opened and the god Amon was once again proclaimed the chief god.<br />
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c. Akhenaten did not produce a male heir, and was instead succeeded by the nine-year-old Tutankhamen:<br />
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Tutankhamen is famous today not only as the butt of an elaborate Steve Martin joke, but also because his grave was one of the few not broken into by grave robbers in the ensuing centuries, and remained intact until its discovery in the 1920s<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxnbr9fHzp1oZMmU72n5vTocttocbKq1Hb0DTL8uue6VqMOAi5iEWiMWwve1M5UlZ1NcadRdwukGkj0F5-F2brXHzMfeGCIDuCOr8F1FOioVO9OdHQrFuGuxjwwo7Njbp8YwIXjQGtVm8X/s1600/ramesses_statue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxnbr9fHzp1oZMmU72n5vTocttocbKq1Hb0DTL8uue6VqMOAi5iEWiMWwve1M5UlZ1NcadRdwukGkj0F5-F2brXHzMfeGCIDuCOr8F1FOioVO9OdHQrFuGuxjwwo7Njbp8YwIXjQGtVm8X/s200/ramesses_statue.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohgNOuczbIJZCERh07F5o2kqVrXosKbwP4SDMZ7SIjiI0RwPZ1zSX-Q0a0MwqhnkxK1Som-ZPnVGEC19aL3xovuecUgwJbd9Tulw2JkPwVMA9OTWjS4S1Dbf48c6-NOMkmvhiEl0R7_2E/s1600/Ramesses_II_mummy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohgNOuczbIJZCERh07F5o2kqVrXosKbwP4SDMZ7SIjiI0RwPZ1zSX-Q0a0MwqhnkxK1Som-ZPnVGEC19aL3xovuecUgwJbd9Tulw2JkPwVMA9OTWjS4S1Dbf48c6-NOMkmvhiEl0R7_2E/s200/Ramesses_II_mummy2.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>6. Ramessides Dynasty--came to power after the brief reign of Tutankhamen; the greates of the Ramessides rulers was Ramesses II. Ramesses embarked on a program of both monument building and territorial conquest.<br />
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a. Ramesses II fought the Hitties to a draw at Kadesh; the subsequent peace negotiation proved quite favorable to Egypt and Ramesses II's interests.<br />
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C. The Aegean World, 2000-1100BCE<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU720tC1qPANqD5xVHNMTr7YGh15_d1-26psZjGp_MN_x5N5fyevxnfz6i9UBJK4Esjwn5u3Alq68_DAil3971l6hbwvJfYIyOYAbntQlHyrhnmQcvlpE2x3bg-oSx924OJJu2a_FvooX7/s1600/mycenae.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU720tC1qPANqD5xVHNMTr7YGh15_d1-26psZjGp_MN_x5N5fyevxnfz6i9UBJK4Esjwn5u3Alq68_DAil3971l6hbwvJfYIyOYAbntQlHyrhnmQcvlpE2x3bg-oSx924OJJu2a_FvooX7/s200/mycenae.gif" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFGdL9i6fV4oVAL4SL3RSPNfCiFxP9dlvgMky4f0XE1s8gPx6JioCs8zQtbvOy8IlsPTbWkV58TC7Y4xiv1NxLEDnZ7idWO1r-IV83Y43gysINYGSPmIy0AXDyqm4Xxu1SkM5iUuKuYKuX/s1600/CnossusPalace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFGdL9i6fV4oVAL4SL3RSPNfCiFxP9dlvgMky4f0XE1s8gPx6JioCs8zQtbvOy8IlsPTbWkV58TC7Y4xiv1NxLEDnZ7idWO1r-IV83Y43gysINYGSPmIy0AXDyqm4Xxu1SkM5iUuKuYKuX/s200/CnossusPalace.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>1. Minoan Crete--by 2000BCE, the island of Crete was home to the first European civilization to have a complex political and social structure, as well as advanced technologies like those found in western Asia<br />
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a. Palaces--there were three minor palaces beside the main palace located in Cnossus. All lacked fortifications, however, leading one to assume that Crete was unified politically.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigCuAVNKcaz315uk67YvfSWwMLMSohjktgnXCSrLovVcaVdA6njO1VEkJX0gqp2HYnv-eyWvn9-tPx2xwlXznE-68yCG9YwZhmlrKnah_3Aoo34E3GRKPvXZUrW-RAq0Po-4iu902w05cr/s1600/PasiphaeTool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigCuAVNKcaz315uk67YvfSWwMLMSohjktgnXCSrLovVcaVdA6njO1VEkJX0gqp2HYnv-eyWvn9-tPx2xwlXznE-68yCG9YwZhmlrKnah_3Aoo34E3GRKPvXZUrW-RAq0Po-4iu902w05cr/s200/PasiphaeTool.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>b. Legend of <a href="http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/minos.html">King Minos</a> and the Minotaur.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRob2XtEV2b8AymO9uBV2uOIUm2MXZtIXgtQyAAB0cnx9bfcCHKr2reKnX6lnkpZOMXo2iBSPhaKLVCfSiRQOsiJWLfa7qVGzhLb75J1M4qqN_pf__KHmTmpl-FqwjNwj4SMBUah_F06g2/s1600/Mycenae_recon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRob2XtEV2b8AymO9uBV2uOIUm2MXZtIXgtQyAAB0cnx9bfcCHKr2reKnX6lnkpZOMXo2iBSPhaKLVCfSiRQOsiJWLfa7qVGzhLb75J1M4qqN_pf__KHmTmpl-FqwjNwj4SMBUah_F06g2/s320/Mycenae_recon.jpg" /></a></div>2. Mycenaean Greece--the legend of King Minos ties the emergence of Mycenaean culture to that on Crete--and the fact that that culture was at one time subservient to the parent culture, but eventually superseded it.<br />
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a. The importance of trade--the modern conception of trade obscures its aggressive beginning. People did not simply put goods in a ship, sail off to foreign lands, lay their goods out on the beach, and wait for customers to show up. Trade often grew out of its predecessor--tribute. Tribute was the result of victory on a field of battleUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-2191131089137876632010-09-16T10:37:00.000-07:002010-09-16T10:37:42.207-07:00Nubia and the Americas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPyrN_hAzlUy97CwyLZyR3gY05LtghBjJ_2Y36KtA_8jjMbARijNnrfOnHfWLdl-ByMnUQjaEVLIzcnAgNYgHeU3IirAbJmIMK43RWaV0lnVO1TlcHbO-toqhTZyUxLDSy89-0gEwTuru/s1600/dongola_map_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPyrN_hAzlUy97CwyLZyR3gY05LtghBjJ_2Y36KtA_8jjMbARijNnrfOnHfWLdl-ByMnUQjaEVLIzcnAgNYgHeU3IirAbJmIMK43RWaV0lnVO1TlcHbO-toqhTZyUxLDSy89-0gEwTuru/s320/dongola_map_sm.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I. Nubia, 3100-350 BCE<br />
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A. Geography--since the first century BCE, Nubia has been denoted as a 1,000 mile stretch of the Upper Nile, from Aswan in the north (just below the First Cataract) to Khartoum in the south.<br />
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1. Mineral wealth--Nubia was much richer than Egypt in mineral deposits, and local craftsmen soon were able to utilize these deposits to craft a variety of items that became highly sought after in Egypt.<br />
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2. Trade--lying between Egypt and sub-Saharan Africa (the only continuously inhabited stretch of land in those latitudes, since the Sahara is largely uninhabitable), Nubian traders acted as middlemen for sellers from sub-Saharan Africa and buyers in Egypt. The desire on the part of Egyptian buyers of such exotic trade items as ebony, ivory, and Pygmy slaves (among other goods) eventually led them to act to cut out the middlemen.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLr_pGnuJ-yNPj-1ykDtyQ2nhzNROuQ8mhuBFzkaWAmnjGrf-Uo9lpKMdPBfDOkCn76hGTYcbdtsjFlWOnndgCseRPTNv5mBpDF6JfYMXVoKJmbsl4lD3BszJkffoRdWtcVHM_MXUQeWoO/s1600/dongola.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLr_pGnuJ-yNPj-1ykDtyQ2nhzNROuQ8mhuBFzkaWAmnjGrf-Uo9lpKMdPBfDOkCn76hGTYcbdtsjFlWOnndgCseRPTNv5mBpDF6JfYMXVoKJmbsl4lD3BszJkffoRdWtcVHM_MXUQeWoO/s320/dongola.JPG" /></a></div>3. Development of Agriculture--from about 5000 BCE, bands of people in northern Nubia had made the transition from semi-nomadic hunting and gathering to a more settled existence based upon domesticated cattle and raising grain. People there settled into agricultural villages along the Nile.<br />
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B. Early Nubian Cultures and Egyptian Domination<br />
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1. Old Kingdom Egyptian trade missions--Nubia entered the historical record around 2300 BCE. At that time the southern frontier of Egypt was at Aswan, just north of the First Cataract. Trade missions from the Old Kingdom regularly visited to obtain ebony, ivory, slaves, and exotic animals from tropical Africa.<br />
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2. Middle Kingdom Egypt--Egyptian officials during the Middle Kingdom era took a more aggressive stance toward Nubia, and built a string of mud-brick forts south from Aswan to the Second Cataract in an attempt to regulate trade and to protect southern Egypt from Nubians and nomadic raiders. The relationship remained largely peaceful, however, and the garrisoned Egyptians had little contact with the local residents.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWk6raIbU0M7ELA3p3o4E0J-OexEIgdZCn5P1jdy0NLVh1qA4bcVeDD66JYRic-SLkARuqnWsP52zJC2p7_NCEaC0z5Z-8_PqvWn6iByl12ATUuibZYn2aOiEQrXaldD2IXLzvY5DmbXh6/s1600/Map_Nubia_German.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWk6raIbU0M7ELA3p3o4E0J-OexEIgdZCn5P1jdy0NLVh1qA4bcVeDD66JYRic-SLkARuqnWsP52zJC2p7_NCEaC0z5Z-8_PqvWn6iByl12ATUuibZYn2aOiEQrXaldD2IXLzvY5DmbXh6/s320/Map_Nubia_German.png" /></a></div><br />
3. Kush--the Egyptian name for the Nubian kingdom that emerged further south of the Second Cataract, between the Third and Fourth Cataracts, where the Nile makes a broad, sweeping S-curve that forms the Dongola Reach.<br />
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a. Kings of Kush built fortification walls and monumental structures at Kerma, one of the earliest urbanized centers in tropical Africa.<br />
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b. The kings of Kush also sacrificed hundreds of servants and wives to accompany them on their journey upon their death.<br />
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4. New Kingdom Era (ca. 1532-1070 BCE)--Egyptians penetrated more deeply into Nubia during the early years of the New Kingdom, crushing Nubian forces in Kush and extending the southern frontier of Egypt to the Fourth Cataract.<br />
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a. Egyptian overseer governed from Napata, near the Gebel Barkal mountain, where a local god was thought to reside, and which contained copious amounts of gold. Locals worked in the mines under extremely harsh conditions, and were not very long-lived because of it.<br />
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b. During the 500 years of Egyptian control, Egyptian culture came to predominate. Children from noble families were held hostage in Memphis, where they learned all things Egyptian.<br />
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C. Kingdom of Meroë 800BCE-350CE<br />
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a. Fall of the New Kingdom--after 1200BCE, turmoil in Egypt led to it losing control in Nubia; almost 400 years after that, a new Nubian kingdom emerged. Initially, the first capital was located at the old Egyptian Nubian capital, Napata. During the heyday of the new kingdom, however, the capital was located further south at Meroë, near the Sixth Cataract.<br />
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b. Nubian rule of Egypt--between 712 and 660BCE, Nubian kings in fact ruled Egypt, until a fateful decision to assist local nobles in Palestine to rebel against their Assyrian rulers. In response, the Assyrians attacked Egypt and removed the Nubians from power.<br />
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II. The Americas<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOVKmVKDcW1ygpfKcq-ensKTS9Rxon-0ZHj3PokPfR3EhfmrmxN_psjG9En0bBzZRDDRwHpCqOZhSwuJnHaNojF3Sf6sFEPdx4nAK7y7H38ISDQ0kBlHsvMRd_1GPRKokQ6H3smhAaZlor/s1600/800px-Olmec_Heartland_Overview_4.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOVKmVKDcW1ygpfKcq-ensKTS9Rxon-0ZHj3PokPfR3EhfmrmxN_psjG9En0bBzZRDDRwHpCqOZhSwuJnHaNojF3Sf6sFEPdx4nAK7y7H38ISDQ0kBlHsvMRd_1GPRKokQ6H3smhAaZlor/s320/800px-Olmec_Heartland_Overview_4.svg.png" /></a></div><br />
A. Olmec CivilizationUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-44342060766060181502010-09-14T08:30:00.000-07:002010-09-14T08:30:47.423-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZYjLo6Zld3S0AWr1h42dJD05wa6OK9KSOHvdJ_MXTIbN8C-e81aZECzx3pF5NFoNkCdbNlm7E4BdH8sQA-7NmZFaoPJsVfm43cfrcAK_qo_uR4ls_13JxblkTRNiGXoPPyg97NbAyhcI/s1600/IndianOcean_19965.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZYjLo6Zld3S0AWr1h42dJD05wa6OK9KSOHvdJ_MXTIbN8C-e81aZECzx3pF5NFoNkCdbNlm7E4BdH8sQA-7NmZFaoPJsVfm43cfrcAK_qo_uR4ls_13JxblkTRNiGXoPPyg97NbAyhcI/s400/IndianOcean_19965.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I. <a href="http://www.harappa.com/">Indus Civilizations</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSeluHPmWk_eI_wkjuQfa7lDDLVp4WYjpCVCAMvRYJ5TCeiir_0NmsWrnsWqWaRumYYqDbJsa0DFX875KZ49Q9HIH-37K2UiEh42hAsmvtQXM9oVB4qdDpVAwwXGFVv9zbkf_ZzwUEzNLF/s1600/indusmap2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSeluHPmWk_eI_wkjuQfa7lDDLVp4WYjpCVCAMvRYJ5TCeiir_0NmsWrnsWqWaRumYYqDbJsa0DFX875KZ49Q9HIH-37K2UiEh42hAsmvtQXM9oVB4qdDpVAwwXGFVv9zbkf_ZzwUEzNLF/s200/indusmap2.gif" width="200" /></a></div>A. Indus Valley--is a plain of more than 1,000,000 acres, stretching from mountains in western Pakistan east the the Thar Desert in the Sindh region, and south to the Indian Ocean.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhTwv9FpXOLPAUxTcfmGVZWY66b7lrqahyEMXsciOULXG7WfBp89Pk3jSV8gpWNLvviM72qdmAuytEe8t0D-kO1tTVEZ2Omv8TQwKTiHTOppuSOTAn5AjZsPcWe_xLqMVTxQGeiV5Nwkt/s1600/indus_amo_10jul05_250m2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhTwv9FpXOLPAUxTcfmGVZWY66b7lrqahyEMXsciOULXG7WfBp89Pk3jSV8gpWNLvviM72qdmAuytEe8t0D-kO1tTVEZ2Omv8TQwKTiHTOppuSOTAn5AjZsPcWe_xLqMVTxQGeiV5Nwkt/s200/indus_amo_10jul05_250m2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6fy8Yncmy0O1MGDsgFC0FlcsqqvJ4GJ4k6XsBQhyphenhyphenhZl3_ZIIHYLZUHEhtpN1ZYVpb0saDk6ZDKYAVyiNPJ9BzS_YOjXcXb8Wl60ePNCV85FU-KEFQ4rIalSxNh2a0zS39P4Y92DIz29RP/s1600/Indus_Reut_608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6fy8Yncmy0O1MGDsgFC0FlcsqqvJ4GJ4k6XsBQhyphenhyphenhZl3_ZIIHYLZUHEhtpN1ZYVpb0saDk6ZDKYAVyiNPJ9BzS_YOjXcXb8Wl60ePNCV85FU-KEFQ4rIalSxNh2a0zS39P4Y92DIz29RP/s200/Indus_Reut_608.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
1. River flooding--like in the Nile Valle, agriculture (and therefore civilization) was dependent upon people learning to work with the biennial flooding of the Indus River.<br />
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a. Mountain runoff--tributaries to the Indus begin in the two mountain ranges that form the northern border of its watershed--the Pumir Mountains (which form Pakistan's present border with Afghanistan), and the Himalaya Mountains. Water from the snow melt in March and April usually floods the Indus, and provides water (and silt) for agriculture.<br />
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b. Summer monsoon--as has been in the news in the last month, the Indus Valley receives its only substantial rainfall in August, with monsoon season. The daily rainfall causes the Indus to flood once again during the month--and creates the opportunity for farmers to have a second growing season.<br />
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c. The two periods of abundant water allowed this generally arid and hot region to grow two crops a year--and therefore create a greater agricultural surplus.<br />
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2. The Rise of Agriculture in the Indus Valley--lying roughly along the same latitudinal lines as Mesopotamia and the Nile Valley, people in the Indus Valley were able to utilize the same crops and animals that were domesticated there, and with the trade network that quickly developed--in part do to the rapid development of coastal trade in the region--getting these crops proved to be quite easy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iZmOOJOTLgLfj9M3rh0CTeL5ee47BUOwrancC_fsArQtDLfjJpiZFFdWWrQ_hz_OE_MtNC4kg_bs3VbOVaMuWsOxgGf13aWxY4V0kCW7AN8nn8vgonM7pSaTIeXk_cwnM4JFih9GJTh3/s1600/harappa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iZmOOJOTLgLfj9M3rh0CTeL5ee47BUOwrancC_fsArQtDLfjJpiZFFdWWrQ_hz_OE_MtNC4kg_bs3VbOVaMuWsOxgGf13aWxY4V0kCW7AN8nn8vgonM7pSaTIeXk_cwnM4JFih9GJTh3/s320/harappa.jpg" /></a></div>B. Rise of the Indus Civilization--the development of agriculture led to the rise of urban settlement, her in the Indus Valley as elsewhere. Two large cities seem to have been dominant forces in the Valley: Harappa in the northern region, and Mohenjo Daro in the central region.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaX71QlZby2Ke59-59myRYpRURlxpGg9PK8tOjA_jSCPQ2U-j_CD6JsMM2NaJUg871Vskt4xYBOSAUziAsUQX3OLjuJ05c78RdL5EsjBcX2BxpqoVKyprTQogPqK3JOz1vn43tV5v6p8LH/s1600/Harappa1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaX71QlZby2Ke59-59myRYpRURlxpGg9PK8tOjA_jSCPQ2U-j_CD6JsMM2NaJUg871Vskt4xYBOSAUziAsUQX3OLjuJ05c78RdL5EsjBcX2BxpqoVKyprTQogPqK3JOz1vn43tV5v6p8LH/s200/Harappa1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>1. Harappa--located in the northern region of the Indus Valley, in the Punjab State of present-day Pakistan. Harappa was a walled city (the wall was made of kiln-fired mud brick, and therefore resistant to floods) home to somewhere between 35,000 and 50,000 people at its height of influence. Streets were laid out in a rectangular grid pattern (similar to our cities today). Harappa's main function is thought to be that of a trade center, exchanging finished trade goods for metal ores and other raw materials.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh797gxdnN_3MtI4zQC4NZ5PtC3s98oIe13ndjwPuYvEWUu7XGJWz2IUXITjL0rEteFHijnBTzHdZ-aBOPI58m3FgSTGHvykFQmXzX08nWL_Nb1zlDwh3mrwdeLnbLWTDG3OG5R8_MeovfA/s1600/mohenjodarostreet63.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh797gxdnN_3MtI4zQC4NZ5PtC3s98oIe13ndjwPuYvEWUu7XGJWz2IUXITjL0rEteFHijnBTzHdZ-aBOPI58m3FgSTGHvykFQmXzX08nWL_Nb1zlDwh3mrwdeLnbLWTDG3OG5R8_MeovfA/s320/mohenjodarostreet63.jpg" /></a></div>2. Mohenjo-Daro (or Mohenjodaro)--was even larger than Harrappa, and at its height of influence was home to well in excess of 50,000 people. Both cities had an extensive system of wells (both public and private), large public baths, a system to carry away human waste that was separate from water used for drinking (something European cities did not do until the 19th century) and was covered (something US cities did not do until close to the 20th century).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuS9eVMyFbQaB6KchAD2pXeNe_rPIJTO4u5opzWcww1aAHzkh13PZ2ODw9yS_Lx79hab7pO0XfRa4dzS_Kr404S30x2NCd2WDdjyTVDiCSheZIP76AldlPG1TsJBNKmU0aoCWa13GTXDDu/s1600/indusplains8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuS9eVMyFbQaB6KchAD2pXeNe_rPIJTO4u5opzWcww1aAHzkh13PZ2ODw9yS_Lx79hab7pO0XfRa4dzS_Kr404S30x2NCd2WDdjyTVDiCSheZIP76AldlPG1TsJBNKmU0aoCWa13GTXDDu/s200/indusplains8.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>3. Indus Valley--access to metal ore spurred the development of metallurgy, and goods made in the Indus Valley became readily available as for away as Mesopotamia and the Nile Valley. People in the Indus Valley developed an extensive irrigation system to help regulate the flooding of the Indus River. They also developed a writing system so complex and sophisticated that scholars today have yet to decipher it completely.<br />
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C. Fall of Indus Valley Civilizations--around 1900 BCE, all of this falls apart. Scholars are not sure of the causes as of yet, although it probably occurred because of some kind of catastrophic phenomenon; a severe earthquake, drastic drought, climate change--or a combination of those elements. Urban settlements in the valley were abandoned, and conditions were ripe for a new group of people to move into the area and to begin to compel the natives to abandon their previous practices.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKUAGhDV9NPkfo9sJqRfujBs9ip4EizGaO6lGCEVHy3ElzMAmCOSGqSHo_Rnaaxb-b2HYD1S4MG5f28eLsVGpgchveSbpUKNlumpS9dfxCB9BAjcMzl0SlvNhuQrMcRBoOVKMqWSAfbBCL/s1600/China-Topographic-Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKUAGhDV9NPkfo9sJqRfujBs9ip4EizGaO6lGCEVHy3ElzMAmCOSGqSHo_Rnaaxb-b2HYD1S4MG5f28eLsVGpgchveSbpUKNlumpS9dfxCB9BAjcMzl0SlvNhuQrMcRBoOVKMqWSAfbBCL/s400/China-Topographic-Map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
II. Civilization in China, 2000-221 BCE<br />
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A. Geology--China is surrounded by formidable natural barriers: the Himalayas to the southwest; the Tian Mountains and the Takla Maken Desert to the west; the Gobi Desert to the northwest; the Manchurian steppe to the north; and the Pacific Ocean on the east.<br />
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B. Age of the Warring States<br />
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1. Late Neolithic period<br />
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1. 2000 BCE--Rise of cities and “states”<br />
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2. 1700 BCE--China enters the Bronze Age<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsqSuj1UWXe45tlnD9n_9JKDBlj0EstfFh77-VTN-Durwl8SFYA5zaoTYo69UrR-vgPRRjqg1p_jepxbQ2k4gWn9wm0_y9pO8ak7x4ZhGVJRsEqoyf_bmABtriOy_-mpySA6ftb8gRyIa5/s1600/shang-dynasty-map-b.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsqSuj1UWXe45tlnD9n_9JKDBlj0EstfFh77-VTN-Durwl8SFYA5zaoTYo69UrR-vgPRRjqg1p_jepxbQ2k4gWn9wm0_y9pO8ak7x4ZhGVJRsEqoyf_bmABtriOy_-mpySA6ftb8gRyIa5/s320/shang-dynasty-map-b.gif" /></a></div>3. Shang Dynasty--in Chinese tradition, the earliest kings were ideal and benevolent leaders of a tranquil Golden Age--interrupted by the Xi Dynasty. These early kings were have traditionally been portrayed as gods, was well--and the XI rulers are portrayed in this way, as well. Western scholars, therefore, argue that the Shang Dynasty is the first historical dynasty of China. Life in China under Shang rulers was dominated by an aristocracy that combined military, priestly, and administrative roles<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6J8pVMOYdZ2KZJGdVzZJk_Tf9koP_0F3hnh54wBDH5V3C2l2Bp8fGxE5dnBMbRz1kH4vaGtmEAijMcqwnYSuiB8c5QzXHbS1ItVnQ-UFrONKLdbuYdQEQLZtKuaK1npiUVSlgdT2W7_8U/s1600/shang_pots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6J8pVMOYdZ2KZJGdVzZJk_Tf9koP_0F3hnh54wBDH5V3C2l2Bp8fGxE5dnBMbRz1kH4vaGtmEAijMcqwnYSuiB8c5QzXHbS1ItVnQ-UFrONKLdbuYdQEQLZtKuaK1npiUVSlgdT2W7_8U/s320/shang_pots.jpg" /></a></div>a. Shang Civilization--little physical evidence has been uncovered about the Shang cities. With little stone to work with, the cities were enclosed with walls made of pounded earth, and the buildings within those walls were made of wood and mud daub--expedient for the time, but not material that leaves a large body of physical evidence thousands of year later <br />
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4. Zhou Dynasty (1100 BCE)--kings delegated much of their power to 100 or so local rulers in a quasi-feudalistic political system--about 2000 years before Europe itself developed such a system.<br />
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a. Warfare and technological advances--The need to remain abreast of technological advances of adversarial states in order to not get overtaken by them<br />
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b. Draining of marshes, spread of irrigation to make more land available for cultivation to ensure the continuation of food surplus<br />
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c. Development of intensive farming--deep plowing with oxen, the use of organic fertilizers (animal dung and human night soil), planting of leguminous crops to restore nitrogen to the soil, and the cultivation of wheat and soya beans<br />
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d. Development of consumer products in addition to tools of war--in addition to swords, spears, and knives, Chinese craftsmen also manufactured spades, hoes, sickles, plows, axes, and chisels for use by peasants (Recall that in Egypt, the used of these kinds of tools was restricted to workers working on pyramids, monuments, temples)<br />
e. Advances in agriculture fed the growth of cities, which provided a market to feed the growth of agriculture (a dialectic process, rather than a causitive one)<br />
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g. Development of consumer products in addition to tools of war--in addition to swords, spears, and knives, Chinese craftsmen also manufactured spades, hoes, sickles, plows, axes, and chisels for use by peasants (Recall those materials were restricted to the use of building pyramids in Egypt).<br />
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C. Religion and Philosophy--the years in which these elite classes battled each other for dominance also saw the emergence of rival philosophical systems to justify the conflicting political systems<br />
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1. Confucianism--Confucius (or Kongzi-6th Century BCE) and his follower Mencius (or Mengzi-4th century BCE) advocated a respect for tradition and ritual, combined with personal honesty and self-control.<br />
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a) Motzer sect demonstrated that even philosophy used to buttress rule by the elites could be used to undermine that authority (if elites failed to meet their obligations to rest of society).<br />
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b) Taoism--preached that individual salvation lie in withdrawing from world in order to master it, rather than engaging in collective action to attempt to change the world. Vied with Buddhism as a religious practice in much of Asia.<br />
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D. Emergence of “legalism”--emphasized government administrators rationally and objectively enforcing government edicts, which were portrayed as being for the well-being of the entire society.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-37164306036798694942010-09-09T08:53:00.000-07:002010-09-09T10:28:39.476-07:00Ancient Egypt<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CSzWJPU_838?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CSzWJPU_838?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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A. Geography<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPi5DOGW7yobAnINef1KmkcCDd8ZRuBN2etwDb7cmzLbh76gnFqiKl7wQZQRip2_DQYDXKqH-1N_-lG2pwws-1jnQQ16Mjli3Pd0eodPKizso3WPi6Otm1zjRBfgfsYOImiqB7tzO8oI1/s1600/Nile_River_and_delta_from_orbit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPi5DOGW7yobAnINef1KmkcCDd8ZRuBN2etwDb7cmzLbh76gnFqiKl7wQZQRip2_DQYDXKqH-1N_-lG2pwws-1jnQQ16Mjli3Pd0eodPKizso3WPi6Otm1zjRBfgfsYOImiqB7tzO8oI1/s400/Nile_River_and_delta_from_orbit.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>1. Nile River--the longest river in the world has had a huge role in shaping Egyptian society. Early civilization in Egypt was dependent upon learning to live with the annual flooding of the river. As this adaptation was made, the civilization that grew alongside the river became dependent upon these yearly floods, and civil upheavals and the rise and fall of political dynasties occurred when the floods were too severe, or did not occur.<br />
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<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmfNhzOdwDU7rcXB2-HCYdHyVyqF_bwvOrL0alM-_19MH0E7J8ISXy_8osVNPXkyRLA81ItacswoUfSgg7-qa5HSTa612cIqDUbOmhL98ftsxIkWb6O5hb3guuhX2f1uqIFasrJhSsMZ_/s1600/greenofnile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmfNhzOdwDU7rcXB2-HCYdHyVyqF_bwvOrL0alM-_19MH0E7J8ISXy_8osVNPXkyRLA81ItacswoUfSgg7-qa5HSTa612cIqDUbOmhL98ftsxIkWb6O5hb3guuhX2f1uqIFasrJhSsMZ_/s320/greenofnile.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>a. Climatic change--the climatic change that helped to transform agriculture in Mesopotamia had a similar effect on the lands to the southwest of that region. The growing aridity of the former fertile grassland across northern Africa (known to us today as the Sahara Desert) found people moving eastward, toward a reliable source of life-giving water. This growing aridity had also moderated the flooding of this river, which previously had such wildly unpredictable flooding so as to make the Nile Valley largely uninhabitable for humans.</blockquote><br />
2. Upper Nile--refers to southern Egypt (the Nile flows south to north). The Upper Nile is more fertile than the Lower Nile, because it is a slightly higher elevation and the temperatures are slightly more moderate. The earth, or dirt, in the Upper Nile region is a rich black color, a result of alluvial deposits, and is prized for farming.<br />
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3. Lower Nile--the northern portion of Egypt. While the Upper Nile region is also referred to as the White Kingdom (probably a result of it being adjacent to the White Nile), the Lower Nile region was also called the Red Kingdom, because of the predominant color of the earth there.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZvejBYKj8nWb04D7g4NEz_GFdZtcmaEvVd4eDnMmBnNPtOAPh8-Laj0nGeBWfWPA-Bqkv5hiqyfkhUfdMEuJ_Jrxqg61SAkSRcYX0ISYpPlkpWabhFk7wtklVG91WTFlbKQaJOzNxqgaS/s1600/nile_flooding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZvejBYKj8nWb04D7g4NEz_GFdZtcmaEvVd4eDnMmBnNPtOAPh8-Laj0nGeBWfWPA-Bqkv5hiqyfkhUfdMEuJ_Jrxqg61SAkSRcYX0ISYpPlkpWabhFk7wtklVG91WTFlbKQaJOzNxqgaS/s320/nile_flooding.jpg" /></a></div>4. The Rhythm of Life Along the Nile--human habitation was completely dependent upon learning to use the Nile River to the advantage of humans.<br />
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<blockquote>a. The Nile Delta is the only part of the country of Egypt that receives any substantial amount of rainfall, which emphasizes the aridity of the rest of the country--and of the importance of the river to agriculture there.<br />
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b. Nile Flooding--agriculture adjacent to the Nile is only possible <i>because</i> of the annual flooding. The floods bring fresh soil--silt washed along by the river as it descends from the tropical highlands to the Mediterranean Sea--that has prevented the soil in Egypt from becoming too heavily salinated.<br />
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c. The annual rhythm of this cycle--and the disaster that ensures when the cycle is interrupted--helped to reinforce the belief by most Egyptians that the world should be kept in balance. When the world was not in a state of equilibrium, bad things like too much flooding, or no flooding, occurred. </blockquote><br />
B. The Divine Kingship<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-igmDphWk2B-QM0bEqnDrMimUtH32tzquu07yGhJ8Q1vYc1dy5z4ExxIXtalI3j36m5vb5ed5aTmNporsCbUtTIN6mObHXZkTVcWOa5AAPRoC3UyVyRYZyWZR1wfixQzb8NpdxoJHCiL/s1600/scorpion-king-shadow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-igmDphWk2B-QM0bEqnDrMimUtH32tzquu07yGhJ8Q1vYc1dy5z4ExxIXtalI3j36m5vb5ed5aTmNporsCbUtTIN6mObHXZkTVcWOa5AAPRoC3UyVyRYZyWZR1wfixQzb8NpdxoJHCiL/s320/scorpion-king-shadow.jpg" /></a></div>1. King Scorpion--the name of two kings, father and son, from Upper Egypt who an Egyptian named Manetho credits with being the first to unite the two kingdoms of Egypt, and two wear the two crowns. The kings Scorpion straddle the divide between myth and history, and besides the ceremonial mace, we have little to tell us about their rule.<br />
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2. King Menes--ruler of the White Kingdom, who united the two kingdoms under his rule, and is credited with being the first king of the first dynasty of Egypt. Ancient Egyptian history has been divided into three main eras--the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom--with the years intervening between labeled the "Intermediate Periods" to designate the political fragmentation and cultural decline that characterizes those era.<br />
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3. 1st Dynasty--8 kings ruled about 600 years, and created a centralized state, a royal court, collected taxes, and created an economy that was able to support a huge number of people who did not work to raise their own food for at least part of the year.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6lkbqVIAVJvsx_bFIouE2k6eo38QkA6fTTn04RdLCpCsBaWXdq1_bh-GqCVsobeOyUcTaBUw1vU9AsRAOZGj5BrNRVe6bdUcp2DTmHNJi4u5Dry47vN2POqQ8Q7pf8iVMz_zyjgd6HLO/s1600/egypt.solar.barq.400web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6lkbqVIAVJvsx_bFIouE2k6eo38QkA6fTTn04RdLCpCsBaWXdq1_bh-GqCVsobeOyUcTaBUw1vU9AsRAOZGj5BrNRVe6bdUcp2DTmHNJi4u5Dry47vN2POqQ8Q7pf8iVMz_zyjgd6HLO/s320/egypt.solar.barq.400web.jpg" /></a></div>4. Burial rites--Egyptians viewed their kings--not known as pharaohs until the New Kingdom era--as a personification of their gods living on earth. When these kings died (or, in the Egyptian view, began their journey to rejoin the other gods in the afterlife), they needed a great deal of material and assistance to ensure a safe journey and that they had to proper acoutrements when they arrived.<br />
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a. Common Egyptians--simply laid on the sand at the edge of the desert facing west (the direction of the underworld), where the sun and lack of humidity (and the occasional vulture, undoubtedly), disposed of most of the body.<br />
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b. Egyptian nobles--buried in what we would recognize today as a cemetery, which was located near Saqqara, just west of Memphis, which served as the political center of Ancient Egypt.<br />
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c. Kingly monuments--early during the 1st Dynasty, kings were buried in rooms made of mud bricks that were partially underground, but this raised concerns about their permanence--and their legacy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhei1LH-OsPcrcRFYBv1kj3bKps682I0OhqSvAlR7N3lkSRgZL8wQTKuyhlLOV8-OK0rMEXl4ddqQaM9D7ud0jHUfjHwGDv0k7h3bVtqEAto3ADAwODfa7LXkO8yPSZ2y1G2vmsHfdeutPC/s1600/osiris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhei1LH-OsPcrcRFYBv1kj3bKps682I0OhqSvAlR7N3lkSRgZL8wQTKuyhlLOV8-OK0rMEXl4ddqQaM9D7ud0jHUfjHwGDv0k7h3bVtqEAto3ADAwODfa7LXkO8yPSZ2y1G2vmsHfdeutPC/s320/osiris.jpg" /></a><br />
i. Brotherly rivalry--Egyptians believed that the Underworld was ruled by Osiris, who was murdered by his brother Set over Set's jealous reaction to Osiris being given the right to rule over the entire world. Set drowned Osiris in the Nile. Isis, Osiris's wife (and sister to both Osiris and Set) found him, and brought him back to life enough that he was able to impregnate her. Their offspring, Horus, became king of the world (or at least, that part of it that most concerned Egyptians), while Osiris was given a new kingdom, the Underworld. Egyptian kings claimed descent from Horus, and soon after used the example of Osiris and Isis, since gods should not be made to mate with mere mortals; this began quickly to shrink the gene pool, of course.<br />
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ii. When Egyptian kings were living, the were the embodiment of Horus; when they died, they became the embodiment of Osiris.<br />
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iii. As long as everything remained in a state of equilibrium, common Egyptians were willing to go along with this interpretation. When the Nile failed to flood sufficiently, or flooded to sufficiently, and famine resulted, the ability of the king to maintain divine order was immediately called into question.<br />
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C. The Pyramid Scheme<br />
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1. 3rd Dynasty--during the era of the Old Kingdom, burial rites for the kings became increasingly more elaborate and abstract; by the time of the 3rd Dynasty kings no longer had to authority to order the murder of hundreds of courtiers to accompany them on their journey across the River Styx.<br />
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a. Heb-sed festivals--by the time of the 3rd Dynasty, kings had to prove annually that they were physically capable of handling the rigors of their office by partaking in a series of contests--which sometimes proved they were not physically capable, and ended their time in office.<br />
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2. Permanent tombs--before the reign of Djoser, the tombs of kings were low, flat affairs, largely underground and made of mud brick.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcH_VPiCY-qBK5LqJkgMEF1Thl7KTzukYXLnmw9l6ssUV4yOkQU7HmyAC3rLxUMefPsE3loFoNv5Oja42ML3pHDFz9CUbSpjbYZErnJO8VjqFMpjI_V7uD7A3W2qT0j_Mw3V3BFfYN0Ooy/s1600/saqqara-step-pyramid-sagstpy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcH_VPiCY-qBK5LqJkgMEF1Thl7KTzukYXLnmw9l6ssUV4yOkQU7HmyAC3rLxUMefPsE3loFoNv5Oja42ML3pHDFz9CUbSpjbYZErnJO8VjqFMpjI_V7uD7A3W2qT0j_Mw3V3BFfYN0Ooy/s320/saqqara-step-pyramid-sagstpy2.jpg" /></a></div>a. Tombs of stone--Djoser's prime minister, a man named Imhotep, changed the way the tombs were constructed. Probably influence by the construction of Mesopotamian ziggurats, Imhotep directed the construction of the Step Pyramid, the earliest of these new permanent structures.<br />
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b. Inside the tomb, in a room called the serdab, a small figure of Djoser sat the represent the body of the king, and sat within the a structure tiers high.<br />
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c. Subsequent kings of the 3rd Dynasty died too quickly in their reigns to get their own tombs constructed, and the resulting power vacuum meant that the dynasty itself fell into disarray.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqx7CcnoYK3fsEg-cjtQa5gCII_M3DMAOYMaVs6kdhgtY0MSwRTMJKzTBlcpzOZAb0zy8NE4hDVfS4Rm0UST-edJmYnmZ_ovGMj6NXTBq-uB_v12vetbCJ7clIKEIessnLHqkZGp7GvLJ/s1600/pyramidmeidum.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqx7CcnoYK3fsEg-cjtQa5gCII_M3DMAOYMaVs6kdhgtY0MSwRTMJKzTBlcpzOZAb0zy8NE4hDVfS4Rm0UST-edJmYnmZ_ovGMj6NXTBq-uB_v12vetbCJ7clIKEIessnLHqkZGp7GvLJ/s320/pyramidmeidum.gif" /></a></div>3. Snerfu--the first king of the 4th Dynasty, he actually finished the pyramid of his predecessor, the Meydum Pyramid, which was the first pyramid to contain the burial chamber within its structure, rather than being built on top. The pyramid collapsed, however, and was never used<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdtf3A-AhG5vaUCNHv_WMksIxX46Y4d7rfmEui8H7VU7cAwdidwqDp2uaQQxrjQ8QByPjYgr9quuuRySW7cZTcgLNIQTyg7jiAdINelixKhyphenhyphenmX67bjdr8rPOlWUeHrLgWj41yfdjM6bMvE/s1600/bent+pyramid+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdtf3A-AhG5vaUCNHv_WMksIxX46Y4d7rfmEui8H7VU7cAwdidwqDp2uaQQxrjQ8QByPjYgr9quuuRySW7cZTcgLNIQTyg7jiAdINelixKhyphenhyphenmX67bjdr8rPOlWUeHrLgWj41yfdjM6bMvE/s200/bent+pyramid+3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>a. Snerfu quickly then turned to constructing a suitable pyramid for himself. This pyramid initially had a 52 degree pitch, but when it became apparent that this would mean that the base wasn't wide enough, the pitch was changed to 43 degrees, giving the pyramid a hunched appearance. Although the pyramid was finished, it was never used.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWG0KpEFzEdJ0MLhILV46rSm56T-V33Yd1V0iFkGaCMZc4F_sKsaKW82BnzFKidZ5ByrmSp3eGJYxq4MrbgrezKqVboR-j2tXXKRXsHe56dqy91sykUhMSm_Um4Whr8ZhWITnuTQ2qivU/s1600/red16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWG0KpEFzEdJ0MLhILV46rSm56T-V33Yd1V0iFkGaCMZc4F_sKsaKW82BnzFKidZ5ByrmSp3eGJYxq4MrbgrezKqVboR-j2tXXKRXsHe56dqy91sykUhMSm_Um4Whr8ZhWITnuTQ2qivU/s200/red16.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>b. The construction of a third pyramid, north of the Bent Pyramid, incorporated the lessons learned from these earlier failures, and the imaginatively named (by Egyptologists) North Pyramid, also known as the Red Pyramid, became the final resting place of Snerfu.<br />
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4. Khufu--learning the lessons learned by his father Snerfu, Khufu directed the construction of one of the most stupendous buildings in the history of mankind, the Great Pyramid of Giza<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia86FV8nmHjYCVb2YyeQiQe4Zog_lJDp5W22BLcaJ4oxXlgFhNCBQhzxI_72UQegv6Z9nlJADzDzbm5rqXTZkrBwW4cPRbPG-ZSJR3EJUa-WtBNylsDR0D776ig1zUlwA8oCpPjoKqY5Vd/s1600/egypt_aerial-giza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia86FV8nmHjYCVb2YyeQiQe4Zog_lJDp5W22BLcaJ4oxXlgFhNCBQhzxI_72UQegv6Z9nlJADzDzbm5rqXTZkrBwW4cPRbPG-ZSJR3EJUa-WtBNylsDR0D776ig1zUlwA8oCpPjoKqY5Vd/s320/egypt_aerial-giza.jpg" /></a></div>Conclusion--our fascination with the engineering feats of building the pyramids tends to hide their real historical significance--the resources dedicated to their construction. Herodotus (not always the most reliable source on these things) claimed that the people of Egypt suffered terribly during this time because of the resources--and labor--dedicated to these projects. It is not hard to imagine that this must have been the case. But it also reveals much about the hierarchical nature of Ancient Egyptian society, and the apparent willingness of many people to accommodate this desire for immortality.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-25285050494386933702010-09-06T19:20:00.000-07:002010-09-06T19:20:37.058-07:00The Political Organization of Mesopotamia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNsI4NgyvDb2TlQ_fZLdD8LdfiZLLmG9ZrVDs42Zp8-MCkptxYqURYwtI4Nu7w37q9J8rsuigBTuOQQylkgfhm1TvhBN95UcUtddg6U9Sx48Mk2xCVaf0XRB5G3xFqcC2r-gsgNDIkcrb/s1600/EarlyMesoKingdoms2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNsI4NgyvDb2TlQ_fZLdD8LdfiZLLmG9ZrVDs42Zp8-MCkptxYqURYwtI4Nu7w37q9J8rsuigBTuOQQylkgfhm1TvhBN95UcUtddg6U9Sx48Mk2xCVaf0XRB5G3xFqcC2r-gsgNDIkcrb/s400/EarlyMesoKingdoms2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The larger cities of Mesopotamia--Kish, Ur, Urak, Adab, Erider, Akkar, Nippur, and eventually Babylon--were all dominated politically by Sumerians (with the lone exception of Akkar), but were not a unified political entity known as Sumer, or even Mesopotamia (which is the Greek name for the region). The kings that ruled in these "city-states"--as we have come to call them--only ruled in their own cities and the hinterland that immediately surrounded the city. The residents in these cities might identify themselves as citizens of their neighborhood or their city, as well as part of a family group, but they had no larger group. Why did Mesopotamian societies develop in this way?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQh27Wx3uM0kMaEYOP5MxkpxXa5n1F3jGeMYMrWT-kQRkDTro5_Nwooet9_3dquhiUgZsiVRH0IGTzhcUmi1yfU4DTHomPQVCWl_npME_n0QV-zxt46rdISmODFbdXWqP0Brh3a6cirJ3c/s1600/akkad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQh27Wx3uM0kMaEYOP5MxkpxXa5n1F3jGeMYMrWT-kQRkDTro5_Nwooet9_3dquhiUgZsiVRH0IGTzhcUmi1yfU4DTHomPQVCWl_npME_n0QV-zxt46rdISmODFbdXWqP0Brh3a6cirJ3c/s200/akkad.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>A. Earliest Mesopotamia--Mesopotamia was not a country (even though it is contained in much of present-day Iraq); our present day used of the word comes to us from the Greeks, who used it to designate that area to their east that "lie between two rivers."<br />
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1. Rise of the city-state--the region we refer to as Mesopotamia consisted of a series of "city-states"--independent cities not belonging to a large political entity, along with their adjacent "sphere of influence." For thousands of years from their emergence to their demise, these city-states were often at war with one another, as one king or another attempted to increase the size of their sphere of influence--or attempted to obtain a ready supply of some needed material that was becoming scarce.<br />
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2. Lack of a National Identity--early Mesopotamian people had no national identity; in fact, during the course of this study we will find few people have any sense of a truly "national" identity. This only really comes about after the invention of the printing press, and then only with the production of books and newspapers and magazines in a vernacular language. For most of the people living in this region during this time period, their main identity lie with their family, then their extended family (or clan), and then to their village or maybe the city they lived in<br />
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B. Farming and Civilization<br />
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1. Farming in Mesopotamia--climatic changes contributed to the development of farming. As the climatic changes continued to occur, they also necessitated changes in farming techniques, like the development of irrigation.<br />
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2. Urban settlements--started as small farming villages, with people sharing tools and work with neighbors that they were usually related to. As farming fostered a growing population, these villages often grew together. This especially became the case after climatic change necessitated the development of irrigation, since the construction of irrigation channels and their upkeep took up a great deal of time.<br />
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<blockquote>a. Hierarchical ordering of society--with the advent of irrigation, societies also became more hierarchical in their structure, since the organization of labor for the construction of the irrigation system required greater amounts of planning.</blockquote><br />
3. Urban settlement and social stratification--urban settlements helped to generate the creation of different social classes, since it fostered the ability of some to exploit the labor of others.<br />
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<blockquote>a. Free land-owning class--consisted of royalty, high-ranking officials, warriors, priests, merchants, some artisans, and shopkeepers.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>b. Dependent farmers and artisans--were tied by obligations to royal, temple, and private estates that restricted their personal freedom of movement in the society.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>c. Slaves--a relatively small class of people in Mesopotamia, especially when compared to later Roman society.</blockquote><br />
C. Civilization and Religion<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPiqjjCsApDMXHu2Wye0h9Jzhn0iTCg3jidVdxkUk7hkygB7OppUmsSU6KM-cbVjkZiH0EH-MKtQy4PDOEs4bsDmGmaxY-dXKXjF2ooqY2KpdqeI-NCDOUBYDLRvT5C5ZU3pJ8goWc9K8A/s1600/mesopotamian_lion_gate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPiqjjCsApDMXHu2Wye0h9Jzhn0iTCg3jidVdxkUk7hkygB7OppUmsSU6KM-cbVjkZiH0EH-MKtQy4PDOEs4bsDmGmaxY-dXKXjF2ooqY2KpdqeI-NCDOUBYDLRvT5C5ZU3pJ8goWc9K8A/s320/mesopotamian_lion_gate.jpg" /></a></div>1. The Nature of Mesopotamian Religion--religion, in general, helps people make sense of the world around them, and assures them that even though life in this world seems random and chaotic, that there is an overarching plan that can be discerned, eventually.<br />
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2. Anthropomorphic gods--in Mesopotamia (as in most other parts of the world), early gods had a human appearance, as well as many human personality traits and desires--food and sex were among the most prominent, as a matter of fact.<br />
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3. Local focus--each of the Mesopotamian city-states had a particular deity that they viewed as the patron of their city, and whom they believed was just a little more powerful than the other gods.<br />
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<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0n_M9wTCN22XZM4gy37_ZqqJ306vXVknMgDNFlOCQRPxRlxiI1HPsOihl8IP9_yl-TawMq8kY1HEuFfGAwCiEGKgcD1lnfze6QtftDpQpmev4Zz_yIH8BH7Q4XwTV6Tog63coPeUum7v6/s1600/sumer_temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0n_M9wTCN22XZM4gy37_ZqqJ306vXVknMgDNFlOCQRPxRlxiI1HPsOihl8IP9_yl-TawMq8kY1HEuFfGAwCiEGKgcD1lnfze6QtftDpQpmev4Zz_yIH8BH7Q4XwTV6Tog63coPeUum7v6/s200/sumer_temple.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>a. Priest class--maintained the temples, interceded with the gods to whom the temple was dedicated. People made donations to particular temples seeking favors from a god, and the accumulation of this wealth allowed priests to gradually become wealthy, themselves. Priests passed on religious ritual and knowledge to their sons, which allowed these families to remain wealthy.</blockquote><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQ_rWAL82a8tY4WwrFCDG_pMdbuzzAu3qf75YxMBcSmT6fRf7qvnsYoXE0SVrRh5qiYXnF1BH1AJ8oMHS47JhjZ3Bs_5z6qKOa_0fXTA34yRoLxTi4oCQrL_Tbx4Z8OCIfiRTMPoPd-fd/s1600/temple_of_bel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQ_rWAL82a8tY4WwrFCDG_pMdbuzzAu3qf75YxMBcSmT6fRf7qvnsYoXE0SVrRh5qiYXnF1BH1AJ8oMHS47JhjZ3Bs_5z6qKOa_0fXTA34yRoLxTi4oCQrL_Tbx4Z8OCIfiRTMPoPd-fd/s200/temple_of_bel.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>b. Building temples--priests argued that the only way to continue to received special favors from a particular god--or, at least, not to provoke their anger--was to build ever-more elaborate temples honoring them, which the priests enjoyed, as well.</blockquote><br />
D. Peoples of Mesopotamia<br />
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1. Sumerians--we are not sure where the Sumerians originated from, in part because we have not been able to figure out the origin of their language. Sumerians dominated early political life in Mesopotamia, however.<br />
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2. Semitic peoples--seem to have originated west and southwest of Mesopotamia. The probably moved into Mesopotamia when the began farming, and brought these farming techniques--and the language to explain it--with them.<br />
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3. Peaceful co-existence--the Sumerians and Semitic peoples lived together peacefully for thousands of years, with Semitic people often moving into positions of political influence in the Sumerian power structure.<br />
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E. The Struggle for Dominance--as resources continued to grow more scarce, we see more conflict between the city-states.<br />
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1. Emergence of the <i>lugal</i>--around 3000 BCE we see the emergence of the "big man" or lugal (what we would recognize as a king) in a number of Sumerian city-states. The most plausible theory for this happening is that the men chosen to lead armies during times of war were able to extend their authority in peacetime, and to assume by political, judicial, and religious functions greater claims to authority over society. In Mesopotamia, these kings claimed to be the earthly representatives of the gods, and saw that proper ritual practices were performed and the temples were properly maintained; gradually this influence spread to other areas of life to include the defense of the city, improving and maintaining irrigation channels, and guarding property rights.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoARRQzMQUiQIg13P2VMEryLqKvlQHdKzifp6MxKDl5kzM3iiYgxH9_1egYoVuoG1RLTKvYH4wM5qxWs5Vh9aWejKDZkMDbQruT_pDWpQVWXt9eAcqGyz2KqoGx7poLPI_cyZ7Jjcdr5uX/s1600/Sargon_of_Akkad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoARRQzMQUiQIg13P2VMEryLqKvlQHdKzifp6MxKDl5kzM3iiYgxH9_1egYoVuoG1RLTKvYH4wM5qxWs5Vh9aWejKDZkMDbQruT_pDWpQVWXt9eAcqGyz2KqoGx7poLPI_cyZ7Jjcdr5uX/s200/Sargon_of_Akkad.jpg" width="168" /></a></div>2. Sargon--became the leader of the city-state of Akkad (and therefore leader of the Semitic people called the Akkadians), and was the first king in the region to unite many cities under one king and one capital--and to maintain this unity for about 120 years. Sargon was able to accomplish this through his military, utilizing new military techniques, and by bureaucratic innovations that he instituted.<br />
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<blockquote>a. Earlier, Sargon served as the cupbearer for the king of Kish, Ur-Zababa--a position much greater in importance than the modest title suggests. In the Sumerian power structure, the cupbearer was the king's righ-hand-man, and tasted the king's food in order to assure the king that he was not plotting against him.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>b. Lugalzeggesi of Urak--the king of Urak during this ear (around 2300 BCE) was making a bid to consolidate the four most important Sumerian cities under his rule, and was then advancing upon Kish.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjem7uKcdy6CZj2SVMhBaAqyDhmnvkeRpszBxjCiG6STA-fnbz7sYTG6oN0WkaEfK4_ZeNUmfoCJG_WAi-wjpyqbKciG9JjaBNtHF4wwv_xPwZ_3dtJ8ia7sp-a2eileoVhdvUT3pzDBGHx/s1600/sargon1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjem7uKcdy6CZj2SVMhBaAqyDhmnvkeRpszBxjCiG6STA-fnbz7sYTG6oN0WkaEfK4_ZeNUmfoCJG_WAi-wjpyqbKciG9JjaBNtHF4wwv_xPwZ_3dtJ8ia7sp-a2eileoVhdvUT3pzDBGHx/s320/sargon1.JPG" /></a></div>c. Ur-Zababa, growing suspicious of Sargon's loyalty, send him to the advancing Lugalzegessi, with a secret not, which bades Lugalzegessi to murder Sagon; Lugalzegessi ignores the request, and after letting Sargon go free, continued on to Kish.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>d. While Lugalzegessi is conquering Kish, Sargon has gathered an army of his own, advanced on Urak, and quickly conquers the city.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>e. When Lugalzegessi gets word of this development, he immediately turns to advance on his own city; Sargon is waiting for him, however, defeats his army, and takes Lugalzegessi captive. He puts a yoke around his neck, and marches him to the Sumerian holy city of Nippur, where he marched him through the gate of that city dedicated to the god Enil, whom Lugalzegessi claimed to have a special relationship with.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>f. Sargon probably benefited from the increasing stratification of Sumerian society. The story of his birth emphasized his humble origins, and therefore his connection to the common Sumerian. The cities that Sargon quickly conquered seemed to put up little resistance to his army.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>g. In the vast area that Sargon conquered, he placed his fellow Akkadians in positions of power, removed walls from those cities (which would make the reconquest easier, should conditions warrant that), banished local garrisons while placing troops loyal to him in those cities. These innovations meant that he and his four successors were able to control this vast region for 120 years.</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhF8dY58wnektsFPuxECC_VgzWCJv09t8Zjz6i8-FGvqQBMrTJjDyEnthV_axOaMni9rwNDpjsLBTja2ziA5Hp0TImjbmOWkeJ2ATDUxi4p4YCkJ2E00j7e0vxtw2QKe3qi-qsJztH2OUV/s1600/CodexOfHammurabi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhF8dY58wnektsFPuxECC_VgzWCJv09t8Zjz6i8-FGvqQBMrTJjDyEnthV_axOaMni9rwNDpjsLBTja2ziA5Hp0TImjbmOWkeJ2ATDUxi4p4YCkJ2E00j7e0vxtw2QKe3qi-qsJztH2OUV/s320/CodexOfHammurabi.jpg" /></a></div><br />
F. Code of Hammurabi<br />
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1. Fall of Akkad--around 2150 BCE, Sargon's heirs lost control of Akkad to Elmite invaders from the north, through much of the area into chaos, since many kings attempted to step into the power vacuum that was left.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-G3c6b_sBnXuSsHcRQNU0HCPiO3G_l-HNPsVANoZLKqWHd2YyRzIpqfKfsg-8mIAShAnQvG5VZyRGy1tz_0NYKVZlXlvFBsccZO6JjUs5wmLKI0L00ypYQ4iMPX4xJd3q6SZq0CvhceAl/s1600/Hammurabi_Code.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-G3c6b_sBnXuSsHcRQNU0HCPiO3G_l-HNPsVANoZLKqWHd2YyRzIpqfKfsg-8mIAShAnQvG5VZyRGy1tz_0NYKVZlXlvFBsccZO6JjUs5wmLKI0L00ypYQ4iMPX4xJd3q6SZq0CvhceAl/s200/Hammurabi_Code.jpg" width="165" /></a></div>2. Rise of Hammurabi--assumed control of Babylon, a relatively new city near the now destroyed Akkad. Hammurabi, acutely aware of his relative weakness at this point in comparison to his neighbors, made diplomatic overtures to keep the peace, while invading lands his neighbors had little interest in, and making infrastructure improvements to his land so the population would be able to support a larger and better-equipped army.<br />
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3. Hammurabi's Code--after successfully conquering his neighbors and extending his kingdom, after years of waiting, Hammurabi next promulgated a code of laws and behaviors, which is credited with sparking the idea of rule of law, rather than the arbitrary decisions of human beings.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-9129441154706298662010-09-02T10:01:00.000-07:002010-09-02T10:01:58.426-07:00Writing, Civilization, and History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVEax77FCqY-Hwum3Jk9bWeuPp0tQBjDlLPwySOhNsK86AHKOC-zXM8r3sIY8n83xBSjDTiUJsLQEoCCHuD5xXDbcXbSh4eo6ZMWKJW-tOZW2mXAXZiugexqXOvUFoGlQoBy7GA_kOIov/s1600/Alulu_Beer_Receipt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVEax77FCqY-Hwum3Jk9bWeuPp0tQBjDlLPwySOhNsK86AHKOC-zXM8r3sIY8n83xBSjDTiUJsLQEoCCHuD5xXDbcXbSh4eo6ZMWKJW-tOZW2mXAXZiugexqXOvUFoGlQoBy7GA_kOIov/s400/Alulu_Beer_Receipt.jpg" width="328" /></a></div><br />
Early Sumerian Civilization--there was no country named Sumer; rather, it was a collection of substantial cities--city-states, in modern usage--that shared a common language and cultural traits.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6naErc02tSUhjPsd76vyVXKBbQEsV2VZ9dJZaGhqssXK5vnfuBmunj0DWl3cq1XqCNII7PRQ9dYzr3qhlZl8lO7IwoOetQjTndqCkG14nohmnmYQmWgDXp3fe5oSMH_3qnh8QOQwGbOag/s1600/Barley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6naErc02tSUhjPsd76vyVXKBbQEsV2VZ9dJZaGhqssXK5vnfuBmunj0DWl3cq1XqCNII7PRQ9dYzr3qhlZl8lO7IwoOetQjTndqCkG14nohmnmYQmWgDXp3fe5oSMH_3qnh8QOQwGbOag/s200/Barley.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5I2xXmGZv2y_W9IUK4aljgk7N9O2KtDn4gAKTw3Zi3xUVh6X9y5WZwwc4pgWtLI0igRCU8jx2k8dIqySr_k5kpdVrv6jIBuWoKwogVygOyaBXhZajoM8wPvz9yIsiUjuEURUK51koRn9A/s1600/fertile_crescent2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5I2xXmGZv2y_W9IUK4aljgk7N9O2KtDn4gAKTw3Zi3xUVh6X9y5WZwwc4pgWtLI0igRCU8jx2k8dIqySr_k5kpdVrv6jIBuWoKwogVygOyaBXhZajoM8wPvz9yIsiUjuEURUK51koRn9A/s200/fertile_crescent2007.jpg" width="170" /></a></div>A. Growing grain<br />
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1. Barley--Sumerians came to favor growing barley, because it was more resistant to the increased salinity of the soil that occurred because of the irrigation that had to be used in the increasingly arid region.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80lUr896ZCLo7gbUyxm4u7QqTZdlDlJagU6C7xAPom6wWd88V2HGrSKDcKiUrMFjuzRgPH332anYAx5cSgEi-4X8iGzGqvA_NcATTpFbWAFok3QJffRUiV-LA4uI4go65xEkBF8jHlJF5/s1600/Sjb_whiskey_malt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80lUr896ZCLo7gbUyxm4u7QqTZdlDlJagU6C7xAPom6wWd88V2HGrSKDcKiUrMFjuzRgPH332anYAx5cSgEi-4X8iGzGqvA_NcATTpFbWAFok3QJffRUiV-LA4uI4go65xEkBF8jHlJF5/s320/Sjb_whiskey_malt.jpg" /></a></div>2. Malted barley--whether as an attempt to soften the tough barley kernel, or by accident, Sumerians discovered that wetting the barley kernels caused them to sprout, and activated the conversion of the starch within the kernel to begin to convert into sugar--the process of which they could stop by heating the kernels in an oven. This process brewers call malting.<br />
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3. Boiling the wort--boiling the malted barley allowed the Sumerians to extract much of the sugar from the barley that had been created in the malting process.<br />
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4. Fermentation--allowing the wort to cool in large open vessels permitted wild yeasts to settle in the concoction, consume a significant portion of the sugar, and convert that sugar into alcohol. Sumerians also discovered that by using the same vessels multiple times, they could obtain more predictable results (the yeast became cultivated).<br />
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5. Uses--beer (and its antecedent mead) became a staple in the diets of peoples throughout Eurasia. In the days before sanitation, it was a way of ensuring that what you were drinking was relatively free of harmful microbes--plus beer retains a portion of the nutritional value from the grain that it is made from. In addition, becoming inebriated consuming beer helped to the edge off a harsh existence.<br />
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B. Writing--earliest writing largely consisted of pictographs--pictures that represented things. As communication became more sophisticated and complex, cultures used these pictures to represent sounds, and many simplified their pictures to more symbolic representations of these sounds--what we today throughout much of the West call "the alphabet" and phonics. Cultures in the East, particularly in China, continued to use abstract pictographs for this purpose. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsxMd7y6pk95KFZ5AMOI_PX8lPjXswdQAu9ULy40oVggjpd_TsL6uGNIhPO9-b_zbGcgjazxXtz9JUBFEvJXOCp8J-2rxzA5VJxkOeaK2DOe1xgA5XDLzIcqJMbIuWPRY9xKWWEsaaZJUo/s1600/mesopotamia_writing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsxMd7y6pk95KFZ5AMOI_PX8lPjXswdQAu9ULy40oVggjpd_TsL6uGNIhPO9-b_zbGcgjazxXtz9JUBFEvJXOCp8J-2rxzA5VJxkOeaK2DOe1xgA5XDLzIcqJMbIuWPRY9xKWWEsaaZJUo/s320/mesopotamia_writing.jpg" /></a></div>1. Accounting--Early Sumerians, after placing grain in a sack, would tie it closed, work a ball of clay around the knot, and then press a seal they had made into the clay. When the clay hardened, the design of the seal signified that they were the owners of the grain in the sealed sack. In addition, Sumerians also kept circular pieces of clay called "counters" to account for goods--like cattle. As some Sumerians became more wealthy, they would keep these counters sealed within another clay container, and it was necessary to account on the outside of the container (because clay is opaque and not easily reusable once it is opened. As trade became more complex, it became necessary to begin using more simplified symbols to designate what was being traded--plus, clay is a difficult medium to draw on, anyway. In addition, as communication became more complex, the symbols for things began to become symbols for sounds.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0RJ16iKuZc52KqVYhM40765NK7zcNX93vY6_CF5QyTooOF2_vopHB01Up6NR5I9konPteLkPcI1CiRxF1djL0vufYubdu4CmqCExZSRm3K7q88szqf09McIKQXuYID1HlYURWjTsWGH_/s1600/hieroglyphics_pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0RJ16iKuZc52KqVYhM40765NK7zcNX93vY6_CF5QyTooOF2_vopHB01Up6NR5I9konPteLkPcI1CiRxF1djL0vufYubdu4CmqCExZSRm3K7q88szqf09McIKQXuYID1HlYURWjTsWGH_/s320/hieroglyphics_pic.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpgGFVbdnsNfgQupy68vVM_UMNq63_SDgCbAJSNyKIrkDNtuICUnBQKcgpdxg3xPv4nzHnsHySijdI1YRpXMOkBQFFW0g4t9hBfWtqbdElEltKAt6kG4pq2XDZX25t6JsSEKLsOLa6fOG/s1600/AlphabetEvolution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpgGFVbdnsNfgQupy68vVM_UMNq63_SDgCbAJSNyKIrkDNtuICUnBQKcgpdxg3xPv4nzHnsHySijdI1YRpXMOkBQFFW0g4t9hBfWtqbdElEltKAt6kG4pq2XDZX25t6JsSEKLsOLa6fOG/s200/AlphabetEvolution.jpg" width="171" /></a></div>1. Egyptian hieroglyphics--seems to have developed independently, although they do seem to have borrowed some elements from their neighbors to the northeast. For Egyptians, however, writing had a higher power than merely counting possessions--writing had the power to bestow immortality (which is why all Egyptian kings had their names put on their tombs and other monuments). Because of the power of writing, the priest class in ancient Egypt kept the meaning of the hieroglyphs a secret among themselves, which is why they were a mystery to modern people until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. A simplified hieroglyph system came to be used in ancient Egypt for everyday communication, and is the basis for the English alphabet that we use in the United States today.<br />
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2. Chinese writing--rather that developing a phonic system like that in the West, China (and those countries in Asia influenced by Chinese culture) retained a greater pictograph element in their writing.<br />
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C. The Creation of the Epic<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFSfdWvGdT5WLDAT4s3JYnUf8TbdqYqZjJ8k2DtNlODty_kSG9Od0zyztUflAwA2nqvfVngE5piA4tq7t0iUwyVVwqeVLzno7YorIwYnim8Gzb8GZGGDM5aBgu2mmeMUtjeUIokuGE1FK_/s1600/gilgameshpicture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFSfdWvGdT5WLDAT4s3JYnUf8TbdqYqZjJ8k2DtNlODty_kSG9Od0zyztUflAwA2nqvfVngE5piA4tq7t0iUwyVVwqeVLzno7YorIwYnim8Gzb8GZGGDM5aBgu2mmeMUtjeUIokuGE1FK_/s320/gilgameshpicture.jpg" /></a></div><br />
1. Gilgamesh--one of the earliest epic stories tells the story of a Sumerian king by the name of Gilgamesh. Although much of the story verges on mythology (and was created to ensure loyalty to Gilgamesh, and to ensure his legacy--much as leaders of countries today attempt to craft the story of their own time in power), it can be a valuable tool for historians, as well.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-73089306408862254312010-08-31T08:16:00.000-07:002010-08-31T08:16:52.545-07:00Domesticating Animals and Disease<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtsu41iZ5yX_Sw6_1I4juClkGayKnOnYmgKvgm3ZtCKc7bI-BFJOX56CszhapVfaEaSAmUO25vbfxbFVruh0rBIOu3H8ghj5xWK1j_D4lxUKXKg6CEgarFOj0F1wfEq3KIVSe3TifbRkq/s1600/abassid-Harun.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtsu41iZ5yX_Sw6_1I4juClkGayKnOnYmgKvgm3ZtCKc7bI-BFJOX56CszhapVfaEaSAmUO25vbfxbFVruh0rBIOu3H8ghj5xWK1j_D4lxUKXKg6CEgarFOj0F1wfEq3KIVSe3TifbRkq/s400/abassid-Harun.gif" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdMCz5Bp3nP4EU3qhPh4RVE4sHYB0jcplDkJVf7iDlnnVnK-9ZkwHp1v-pg1v8G4WrRUNlDWHen_JeAMVlSoXO6ntcyGTvwoYtsGtOeGUtniTwI2yDjKm5276e7J-yNso6Wvo_L_PTv6b/s1600/am_farming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdMCz5Bp3nP4EU3qhPh4RVE4sHYB0jcplDkJVf7iDlnnVnK-9ZkwHp1v-pg1v8G4WrRUNlDWHen_JeAMVlSoXO6ntcyGTvwoYtsGtOeGUtniTwI2yDjKm5276e7J-yNso6Wvo_L_PTv6b/s200/am_farming.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The independent evolution of farming and the domestication of animals has contributed greatly to the uneven development of civilization across the globe. This is not meant to suggest that humans in areas of the globe that experienced a slower growth of civilization (the growth of urban areas and arts and crafts associated with this development); indeed, human beings have shown remarkable adaptability in working with the limitations that geography and climate impose upon them. The remarkable complexity of the Agricultural Revolution is demonstrated in this <a href="http://www.learner.org/vod/vod_window.html?pid=2147">video</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqPv05fvnCZP4AJObsQlDUM_kbiW-bSGw2Qxoo3dGjNqGJ6q_oOswKgwLqIQsumDN48kR4eVSYRVL4e_hN1Sy31jKsvDSfdO8tphEXfaUJon_FhI9p9dQYth7SilppD2AmCBllSrWS9N5/s1600/Farming-on-Indonesia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqPv05fvnCZP4AJObsQlDUM_kbiW-bSGw2Qxoo3dGjNqGJ6q_oOswKgwLqIQsumDN48kR4eVSYRVL4e_hN1Sy31jKsvDSfdO8tphEXfaUJon_FhI9p9dQYth7SilppD2AmCBllSrWS9N5/s200/Farming-on-Indonesia.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The domestication of plants was usually a hit and miss proposition, and most of probably began as the cultivation of wild plants that by irrigation and accident became domesticated. Horticulture and husbandry (the domestication of animals) grew together; the domestication of bovine animals like oxen and cows eventually permitted humans to attach plows to them, and pull these through fields. This allowed humans to further intensify agriculture--that is, to grow the same amount of food within a smaller area. The intensification of food production is what permitted agriculture to become more attractive to large numbers of human beings around 7000 to 10,000 years ago, because this intensification allowed other human beings to devote their time to perfecting crafts, arts, and social practices (like religion) that enriched the societies that they were forming.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz1wl4wJlHiTRZrtuOeTOWrs2kNytRe7qEptyTtvxrlFbh3H0RHVtzf7fw1gJ0HR4FCb8JGHPkIeXxHwueIfqh0rbGuMWF2Rk9Vs9qBE8d43XCh2-QAKuZsgZMrWY7iu4a87I5bX8SWA_K/s1600/mohenjodarostreet63.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz1wl4wJlHiTRZrtuOeTOWrs2kNytRe7qEptyTtvxrlFbh3H0RHVtzf7fw1gJ0HR4FCb8JGHPkIeXxHwueIfqh0rbGuMWF2Rk9Vs9qBE8d43XCh2-QAKuZsgZMrWY7iu4a87I5bX8SWA_K/s200/mohenjodarostreet63.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>The domestication of animals and the development brought unintended consequences as well, of course--and not all of them have been beneficial to man. Chief among them are the development of virulent diseases like pox, plague, and influenza--all of which humans only developed after domesticating animals. Cattle, pigs, and chickens all are afflicted with diseases that are easily transmitted to humans. With humans also living in cities, in close proximity to one another, they can then transmit these diseases to each other. In addition, humans create a great deal of waste, from the food they consume (both excreted and the waste that is not consumed and disposed of as garbage) that animals like mice and rats are willing to consume. The fleas these small animals are host to transit disease, as well.<br />
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<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/grbSQ6O6kbs?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/grbSQ6O6kbs?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPKYwOtN81o5jGs1eyepAAyBtsJf2btJKAmxqN5SK6Z0q1ZK6EAaj74b0PtHOrUTxWn9yfG0OPiE6vUIUmFbNatBQ0xBvv1qblV_i3MgCTMOq8ip38mSv4ObRynT5M-vy2U_2voRGGkgp/s1600/indusriver2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPKYwOtN81o5jGs1eyepAAyBtsJf2btJKAmxqN5SK6Z0q1ZK6EAaj74b0PtHOrUTxWn9yfG0OPiE6vUIUmFbNatBQ0xBvv1qblV_i3MgCTMOq8ip38mSv4ObRynT5M-vy2U_2voRGGkgp/s200/indusriver2.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlzfTZfC7dDha6zfZgTR_4zI4ilzHw32DfrAgORiuY2IfPUgGBR64DH8albnoVSSNLcN_DjqOVRgyxpQ2ymsYtenZ8urzQytttjTFWzIC6PpO3V6ogtNHJWQksMe5sncLDfBwmJ0Ym58EZ/s1600/pottery03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlzfTZfC7dDha6zfZgTR_4zI4ilzHw32DfrAgORiuY2IfPUgGBR64DH8albnoVSSNLcN_DjqOVRgyxpQ2ymsYtenZ8urzQytttjTFWzIC6PpO3V6ogtNHJWQksMe5sncLDfBwmJ0Ym58EZ/s200/pottery03.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>This bit of video comedy is, of course, played for laughs, but has certain truths about living in early cities, as well. The early undertaker knows that the appearance of someone "without shit all over him" means that he is someone of importance (the mythical King Arthur), because people disposed of their waste by simply throwing it out in the streets (it's how archeologists are able to find it). By creating these pathogens, humans living with these domesticated animals often shortened their own lives--but the eventually allowed their descendants to develop immunities and resistance to these diseases, and to pass these diseases along to people who had not developed these immunities.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCtXOZklZ0s3K-68MXag-7AkgOUPY0we-lWBnZ9QMgrQYVp5e3y7YnPJkUS6DX1YoUFUjxcCW8r9t8E5Yxaz37DW01flK3Ku97Ujl3QkKxlzZFTZZDsoS5V8x3YiSZ_asz17Iy265SWQQ5/s1600/perito-moreno-glacier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCtXOZklZ0s3K-68MXag-7AkgOUPY0we-lWBnZ9QMgrQYVp5e3y7YnPJkUS6DX1YoUFUjxcCW8r9t8E5Yxaz37DW01flK3Ku97Ujl3QkKxlzZFTZZDsoS5V8x3YiSZ_asz17Iy265SWQQ5/s200/perito-moreno-glacier.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The point to take away from this discussion is, I think, that civilization, while it does provide great benefits to mankind (in my own self interest, I would not have a job teaching history without it), those benefits come at great costs--both in personal freedom for individuals, and to the environment. Try to keep this in mind as we explore the evolution of human society in the coming months.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396326360869410567.post-79301313622373305302010-08-25T20:40:00.000-07:002010-08-25T20:40:35.836-07:00Creating Civilization<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_RCf-BhCalr9_o0ZYTnl_5wDDwAJIosgfE8pOqitwe_rWZP_wjC3a-UIHqnGKmKBJNRy2TR6PBpziSEGvQhmboB89Jdfm1qThFViSUobKWwsYm9SzlpQeSz1qHE3sh0_mube9QI8Vdw/s1600-h/Newgrange_full_view.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375964183439759426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_RCf-BhCalr9_o0ZYTnl_5wDDwAJIosgfE8pOqitwe_rWZP_wjC3a-UIHqnGKmKBJNRy2TR6PBpziSEGvQhmboB89Jdfm1qThFViSUobKWwsYm9SzlpQeSz1qHE3sh0_mube9QI8Vdw/s320/Newgrange_full_view.jpg" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newgrange, near Drogheda, Eire</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1TuUyk6heb7yTj3RASmU3Go6XQMCRNbwUrPC4RID-_ng8lSWGSqQkXrwN8QwJlvlqmHtXMYGh7AHFKaPk-6L5jlELzTSsP_m8PykJFH6tgtqkIhNKvcH_MU1CozlJO9oVyEVkAAF37M4/s1600-h/farming.jpg" onblur="try
{parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375960212154083442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1TuUyk6heb7yTj3RASmU3Go6XQMCRNbwUrPC4RID-_ng8lSWGSqQkXrwN8QwJlvlqmHtXMYGh7AHFKaPk-6L5jlELzTSsP_m8PykJFH6tgtqkIhNKvcH_MU1CozlJO9oVyEVkAAF37M4/s320/farming.jpg" style="float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 227px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Late Neolithic Period farming</td></tr>
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Neolithic Revolution<br />
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A. Revolution--or Evolution?<br />
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1. Invention of farming--is something of a misnomer. People did not “invent” farming, because they did not make a conscious decision between food production and hunting/gathering. People began simply to adopt (or not adopt) food production for certain foods, while retaining the option to hunt or gather other foods.<br />
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a. Choosing what crops to domesticate undoubtedly occurred through accident and observation; as Jared Diamond points out much food production began in latrines (where humans empties their bowels, and therefore defecated undigested seeds, which in turn produced new plants.<br />
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b. The benefits of farming--the gradual turn to farming had far-reaching implications. It allowed--and encouraged--people to become sedentary. Without having to spend at least part of the day searching for food, this permitted some people living within specific groups to begin specializing in other pursuits--metal working, leather working, making tools, and eventually writing and religious practices. This more sedentary lifestyle encouraged the growth of population, because women could now bear children closer together in age. The practice of farming was also probably developed because of climatic changes that the earth was going through 10,000 years ago, which made it more difficult to find sufficient amounts of food while foraging.<br />
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c. Drawbacks of farming--while it seems counter-intuitive, skeletal remains suggest that early farmers were less well fed than their foraging counterparts; they were significantly smaller, which tells us that their diet was less adequate than the foragers. Farming also encouraged the development of a more more hierarchical social structure. Farms and their crops had to be protected from foragers and wild animals that might be interested in consuming the crops before their planters did. As climate change occurred, and technology like canals and reservoirs were built to provide sufficient water for the crops, a police force was created to regulate its use. In several parts of the earth, animals are domesticated and used as food sources--cattle, pigs, and chickens, in particular. All three of these species, however, transfer their diseases to humans quite readily, resulting in the spread of diseases like influenza and smallpox, among others<br />
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2. Uneven Development--farming develops between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago in a variety of places around the globe. This uneven development is explained (again, by Jared Diamond) by the access early peoples had to plants and animals that were easily domesticated--and to interactions between early peoples that allowed them to transmit their knowledge of these plants and animals and how to grow them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgudkJ4bqK5zDoKQ3WT8MwnteixXuwpGi0HHUIlTuNzURI_jH8M8VuxKACSvkLOwrLpci-eYryjM1SK0XIdh9MDtE175Ho20loWxPnxUMCOtN34PkczAHTASf3VPt1-wGy6jVegmPz-WsO4/s1600/tropics-image-map01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgudkJ4bqK5zDoKQ3WT8MwnteixXuwpGi0HHUIlTuNzURI_jH8M8VuxKACSvkLOwrLpci-eYryjM1SK0XIdh9MDtE175Ho20loWxPnxUMCOtN34PkczAHTASf3VPt1-wGy6jVegmPz-WsO4/s320/tropics-image-map01.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tropical area indicated by pink band</td></tr>
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a. Role of Geography--many of you had great difficulty with Monday's map assignment. Despite your lack of knowledge of the specifics of world geography, however, all of you got specific geographic facts right--that the Eurasia landmass is largely oriented in a horizontal fashion, while Africa and the Americas are oriented vertically. Geographically, this means that Europe and Asia, being roughly within the same latitude, can--and did--readily share the same domesticated plants for food, chiefly wheat, barley, and sorghum, among others. The other continents, being oriented north-south, cannot readily share these domesticated plants and animals, because they cannot live in the tropical zones in order to reach the places that they could grow in the more temperate zones north of the Tropic of Cancer and south of the Tropic of Capricorn. In addition to a large area of shared climate, Europe and Asia are in reality one large, connected land mass, with no geographic features that divide them. Southern Africa, on the other hand, is divided from Europe not only be thousands of miles, but also by a desert and a large tropical rainforest. North and South America are connected by a narrow land mass (called Central America), most of which lies within the northern tropics and slowed the cultivation of maize from rapidly spreading south.<br />
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b. Maize--developed from a wild grass called teosinte, which produces a very small ear (smaller than the so-called “baby corn” sometimes served in some Chinese restaurants and in canned chow mein)--except no one eats teosinte because it takes more energy to harvest than it produces in grain. Early natives in the Valley of Mexico genetically modified the plant (it will not grow by itself past a couple of generations)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQHbcA_MKiluZiOHAiU4TVUJDhmG4iaQkJY23Hekxnnk_DEyV1wMIRBzjYfQ9Z-GEJSX9j01X23j3TdCtxUOanv0m41BYKRGuIvwo3e42vmO0aWBZDqaAumCqN1vgfBBd54Z5nBp8qO4/s1600-h/maize-teosinte.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298808651185625346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQHbcA_MKiluZiOHAiU4TVUJDhmG4iaQkJY23Hekxnnk_DEyV1wMIRBzjYfQ9Z-GEJSX9j01X23j3TdCtxUOanv0m41BYKRGuIvwo3e42vmO0aWBZDqaAumCqN1vgfBBd54Z5nBp8qO4/s320/maize-teosinte.jpg" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 266px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teosinte to maize, left to right</td></tr>
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<blockquote>i.)Once invented, maize cultivation spread mainly northward from the Valley of Mexico, although the fact that it had to also be adopted to the shorter growing seasons north of the Ohio River slowed its spread. </blockquote><blockquote>ii.) Introduction of maize cultivation allowed native peoples like the Mound Builders to flourish, and eventually many native peoples became semi-sedentary; i.e., while still relying on hunting to provide a source of protein, hunting game became a secondary food source, and people chose to remain relatively close to their crops to cultivate their main source of food. </blockquote><blockquote>iii.) Cultivation dilemma partially solved by the adaptation of gender-specific roles (males hunted, females cultivated and gathered additional food); native peoples also eventually developed methods that minimized the labor necessary to grow the “three sisters.”</blockquote><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6EGD50xVjJFmL4u2T9f-2Z9vW-N0QpuEHDwidqY2jx4Cjen1SEPdlPAMVK2u_s7ShS1x-mNlq1gcQzCs13O2TAiQ-Fqzg98e3zG1MMQYhWA271KwFc1JIf-Wgv2xhjhMjFVw3a2C99Eg4/s1600/catal-huyuk2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6EGD50xVjJFmL4u2T9f-2Z9vW-N0QpuEHDwidqY2jx4Cjen1SEPdlPAMVK2u_s7ShS1x-mNlq1gcQzCs13O2TAiQ-Fqzg98e3zG1MMQYhWA271KwFc1JIf-Wgv2xhjhMjFVw3a2C99Eg4/s320/catal-huyuk2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artist's rendition of Catal Huyuk</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7X2bH2uq03jLM2CZ2QURPTsQCFJzNIfDicDs5z-OSwZvH_6aSwn8Ub5Rcl2XVR2ot-wzgZn6mC-N9_QUw1RMZl8B_p0QghAVo2WRgorUHRfnlttevyNH2P0SvlbIu8UcNucSAV9o3FyU/s1600-h/butser_ancient_farm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();}
catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375960981622333330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7X2bH2uq03jLM2CZ2QURPTsQCFJzNIfDicDs5z-OSwZvH_6aSwn8Ub5Rcl2XVR2ot-wzgZn6mC-N9_QUw1RMZl8B_p0QghAVo2WRgorUHRfnlttevyNH2P0SvlbIu8UcNucSAV9o3FyU/s320/butser_ancient_farm.jpg" style="float: left; height: 219px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butser Ancient Farm recreation</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2HUOrMwUE_qdM0mf9BrzWzyn5Y2fpl2X5QkHHCb5UERBQjhHxqZZq-UTRZ4OuywejCn4Y8R3jt3tQKWkWAnIchkko5CtT9wKDJiPzwFI7NyZiWM6sWsQn3O5rA7TS2rFqLjDvvDyXeg/s1600-h/chinaearlyfarming2.gif" onblur="try
{parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375960548037619906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2HUOrMwUE_qdM0mf9BrzWzyn5Y2fpl2X5QkHHCb5UERBQjhHxqZZq-UTRZ4OuywejCn4Y8R3jt3tQKWkWAnIchkko5CtT9wKDJiPzwFI7NyZiWM6sWsQn3O5rA7TS2rFqLjDvvDyXeg/s320/chinaearlyfarming2.gif" style="float: right; height: 166px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 300px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ancient farming in China</td></tr>
</tbody></table> 3. Creating the surplus--farming becomes attractive because domesticated plants prove to be a fairly reliable source of food; so much so, that farmers are actually able to produce more than they need to subsist--and therefore producing a surplus, which they can then trade for other goods.<br />
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B. Why farming wins out<br />
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1. Changes in climate--in certain areas meant that gathering food enough to survive on became more difficult, and made raising food a more attractive option (the Fertile Crescent, for example, became more arid, and people living there were forced to begin raising food--both grain and animals--in order to remain there).<br />
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2. Changes in Technology--the ability to store a harvest (whether from raising food or gathering it) led people to become more sedentary (it is, after all, difficult to transport a granary to support a nomadic lifestyle). Using domesticated animals to iron-tipped plows also made farming more bountiful as well, and freed up labor from plowing to undertake other duties.<br />
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3. Sedentary lifestyle--promoted by the rise of farming led to more children being born. Nomadic peoples tended not to have more children at one time than they were able to carry; with farming families remaining in one location, children were born closer in age in many families, which caused the population of farming groups to grow faster than their nomadic cousins.<br />
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4. Productivity of farming--even though food producers were often less well-nourished than their nomadic counterparts, the greater populations of sedentary groups meant that they often prevailed in conflicts between the two groups (that later changes as nomads develop horsey skills and become more mobile).<br />
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I. The Development of “Civilization”--the term has become somewhat controversial; here we will define it as it is used in <i>The Earth and Its Peoples</i>, defined by the development of specialized roles, the development of writing, sophisticated trade networks, and the development of urban settlements.<br />
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1. Production of the surplus--people were able to live in cities because with agriculture, the production of food beyong the needs of immediate subsistence--surplus food--became the norm. This allowed people to regularly engage in other activities rather than working to ensure their own subsistence. People began to specialize in various artisnal crafts at this point.<br />
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II. Control of the surplus--living in urban areas meant living in groups larger than one’s extended kin network (which was the usual bond between people in paleolithic bands). This led to less reliance upon cooperation, and greater emphasis being placed on coercion to control surplus food production.<br />
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A. Armed force--professional soldiers were developed along with urban living areas because they could be used to appropriate surplus food supplies, both from within people within their settlement as well as without<br />
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B. Accounting for the surplus--with the development of the surplus there also developed a need to account for it--to be able to tell where the surplus went, to whom--and eventually at what cost. The need for this accounting system led to the development of both a system of writing (for record keeping), and the development of mathematics (for the actual accounting).<br />
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C. Rulers and priests--with the development of agriculture, it became important to also keep track of the seasons, and to be able to read (or, even better, influence) the portents so that it could be determined the best time to plant. Among many peoples, the development of a priestly class reinforced the emergence of a ruling class, who emerged because they were able to claim the favor of a particular deity.<br />
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1. Early sedentary farming communities were established without class divisions on fertile soil, but as the communities expanded to less fertile soil, improvements to the land (irrigation, etc.) were made. Those making the improvements needed to expand agricultural production, and felt justified in controlling access to these improvements and to exercising control over the surplus produced.<br />
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2. In this way, in some areas of the world, community leadership grew to expect tribute to be offered to them (usually in goods)<br />
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3. As the means of production changed during the neolithic era, the relationship of people to the means of production changed as well. People tended to accept these changes because of the gradual nature in which they took place, and because the abundance of food during peak periods made the increasingly authoritarian nature of rulers more palatable.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0