Western Civilization to 1700

“The time for extracting a lesson from history is ever at hand for those who are wise.”

-- Demosthenes, Athenian orator (384-322 BC)

Key web sties to remember:

Library of Congress Online: www.loc.gov

National Archives: www.access.gpo.gov/nara/

Classic Greco-Roman Literature: http://classics.mit.edu/

Encyclopedia Britannica Online: www.britannica.com

Encarta Online Encyclopedia: www.encarta.msn.com

SouthArk Community College: www.southark.edu

Dr. Bridges’s Homepage: http://www.southark.edu/academic-departments/dynpage.asp?pageID=637

THE PREHISTORY OF HUMANITY

Paleontologists estimate that the earliest human ancestors arose between 3 million and 4 million years ago in eastern Africa. Advances were slow and life was a hand-to-mouth existence. Through perseverance and occasional innovation, man survived and slowly learned how to build tools and adapt to a hostile environment.

PALEOLITHIC ERA – “Old Stone Age” – The old stone age marks the period between the earliest use of stone or flint tools to approximately 10,000 years ago. Archaeologists and paleontologists note the development of stone and flint tools, possibly as early as 1.5 million years ago. They discover this by noting the worn stones sometimes being clutched by the fossilized remains of prehistoric man – stones that originated hundreds of miles away. Some 750,000 years ago, man also learned to use fire, allowing for cooked foods and warmth in the cold of winter. Scientists have determined this age by the remains of campfires deep inside caves, undisturbed for millennia. At Shanidar Cave in northeastern Iraq, scientists have discovered the earliest known ceremonial burials – by Neanderthals some 70,000 years ago. The care in which the dead were buried indicates the realization of human beings of their own mortality and the development of religious beliefs to try answer the questions of existence and of life and death. Some evidence indicates the site may be 100,000 years old.

NEOLITHIC ERA – “New Stone Age” – With the new stone age, roughly 10,000 to 6000 BC, stone tools still prevail, but many advancements have been made in the technology. The tools are more refined, pottery begins to appear, and most important, agriculture and the domestication of animals begins. After this, the progress of technology accelerates.

The earliest known inhabitation of Europe appears to be in central Italy some 730,000 years ago. Habitation seems to have become more common and widespread in central Europe and Spain around 350,000 years ago. The Terra Amata site, discovered in 1965 in southern France, confirms this as the remains of a small hut on the beach dates back 350,000 years.

In North America, the last great ice ages allowed the immigration of humans and animals from Asia. Advancing glaciers caused global ocean levels to drop, leaving a land bridge of sorts between Siberia and Alaska, a relatively short distance. Scholars believed this may have allowed humans to enter America as early as 40,000 to 50,000 years ago. But evidence points to permanent habitation beginning between 18,000 and 16,000 years ago. Following herds of animals such as woolly mammoths, or perhaps from a sense of adventure, humans arrived in the Alaska and spread throughout North and South America. Evidence of human arrival in Arkansas dates back eight thousand years. Thousands of years would pass, however, before the Americans would again encounter denizens of the Old World.

No written records exist from this era. The earliest known written records extend back only 6,000 years. Many of these are fragmentary at best. Oral records can be unreliable. Details and facts often escape the memory, only to be filled with details that never happened. Tales told from one generation to the next can be lost or have the facts twisted beyond recognition. Where written records do not exist, archaeologists can reconstruct elements of these ancient societies by examining the artifacts left behind. With modern technology, archaeologists can also determine the time periods from which these artifacts emerged. Many different techniques exist for dating objects:

Carbon-14 dating (also called radiocarbon dating) – this technique is based on the radioactive decay of the isotope carbon-14. Ordinary carbon (in sugar, pencil leads, diamonds, and the like are carbon-12) has an atomic weight of 12, with 6 protons (the number of protons in the atomic nucleus determines the identity of the element) and 6 neutrons. Carbon-14 has 6 protons and 8 neutrons. This is an unstable state for carbon, so it tries to shed this extra weight through radioactive decay. This process is as regular as clockwork – so much so that atomic clocks, the most advanced clocks known to modern science, are based upon this principle. Each isotope has a different decay rate, called a half-life. For carbon-14, the half-life is 5,730 years. Since all organic objects contain carbon, carbon-14 dating can be used to date their origins. Once a person dies, the carbon-14 decay process begins. By measuring the isotope ratios, scientists can determine the time of death. For paper and other manufactured products, the date of manufacture can be determined. This process is effective for a time period from 100 to 40,000 years.

Dendrochronology (also called tree-ring dating) – This process dates trees by counting the annual rings. It can only be used as far back as 8,000 years, but is useful for gauging local climate conditions.

Obsidian Hydration – This process measures the accumulation of weathering of obsidian artifacts. This process has a range of 35,000 years and requires calibration for local conditions.

Thermoluminescence – This process measures the accumulation of thermoluminescent crystals that appear from objects when heated at high temperatures (particularly from fire). This process can be used to date pottery, heated stones, and calcite artifacts. This process has a range of up to 1 million years but is limited by environmental contamination.

Potassium-Argon dating (also known as radiopotassium dating) – This process measures the isotope ratios of potassium in volcanic rocks and minerals. This process has an unlimited range, but the dates are only approximate. The margin of error gets larger as time progresses.

DATING SYSTEMS – different societies use different calendars to date important events. These calendars can mark important religious and secular events, the society’s belief when the world was created. For example, the Jewish calendar dates to the perceived beginning of the world. The year 2004 in the Christian calendar, the calendar most commonly used around the world because of the political and economic dominance that Christian nations have around the world, translates to the year 5764 in the Jewish calendar. The Muslim calendar begins with the prophet Muhammad’s flight from Mecca to Medina in the year 632 by the Christian calendar. The Muslim calendar in 2004 roughly translates to 1372. The ancient Romans dated their calendars from the fabled founding of the city in 753 BC, from the one-year consulship of certain Roman hierarchs, and from the reign of emperors (for example, Roman scholars would write “During the third year of Hadrian,” or “During the consulship of Cicero.”) In this system, 703 BC would be Year 50 of Rome. In the sixth century, after the fall of the Roman Empire, an Italian monk decided on a new calendar year system. He divided history from the time of what he felt was the most important event of all time, the birth of Christ, and divided the calendars appropriately. Thus, the modern Christian dating system was created. An explanation:

BC: Before Christ. For example, 234 years Before Christ, or 234 BC.

AD: In Latin, Anno Domini, or, “In the Year of Our Lord.” For example, AD 2004, or In the Year of Our Lord 2004.

CE/BCE: The monk, however, did not have the exact year of Christ’s birth. Scholars believe that Christ was born sometime between 4 and 6 BC. Some scholars try to adjust this discrepancy by using the “CE/BCE” system – Before Common Era and Common Era instead of AD and BC.

BP: Typically used by archaeologists, this simply means years Before Present. Dealing with ancient events, this has become a quick shorthand for scholars of events and civilizations in the distant past.

Medieval scholars would often use their king’s reign as a year (the seventh year of the reign of …)

THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION

The domestication of animals and crops allowed people to settle in one place for an extended period of time. No longer did individuals have to follow their food supply – they learned how to keep their food supply in one place, expand this supply, and keep it within arm’s reach. Permanent settlements began to appear around the world once agriculture was developed. The earliest known permanent settlements are the Fertile Crescent region of the Middle East, extending from the Tigris-Euphrates Valley in the Persian Gulf, north to modern-day Turkey, and southwest to modern-day Israel. The oldest continuously inhabited settlement is the city of Jericho in modern Jordan, founded some 12,000 years ago. Even when the city was mentioned in biblical passages, the city was already ancient.

In Mexico, agriculture began around 4500 BC as dependence on corn cultivation began. Farming began in the Balkan Peninsula of southeastern Europe around 6500 BC, spreading to central Europe, the Mediterranean Sea area, and southern France by 4000 BC. Permanent settlements in what would become the United States emerged around 1200 BC. The Poverty Point site in northeastern Louisiana saw some of the earliest large-scale construction and settlement in the United States, with temple mounds and evidence that perhaps several hundred people lived in the community, living a hunter-gatherer-fisher existence.

Societies also begin to craft metals. By 4000 BC, copper smelting had begun in some areas. By 1200 BC, the Bronze Age begins as humans began to learn how to blend two metals, copper and tin, and smelt them into a stronger substance, bronze. This allowed for the development of stronger weapons and experimentation into the development of stronger metals.

River Valley Civilizations:

Most early civilization arose in major river valleys. The constant supply of water, fertile soil, and abundant vegetation created a stable food supply and allowed a society to stay in one place for an extended period and evolve further. The only major exception to this is the Mesoamerican civilizations of Central America, but the climate of thee regions also provided stable food supplies in this region in great abundance. Among the most important and influential of the ancient river valley civilizations:

Nile River (Egypt)

Tigris-Euphrates Rivers (Mesopotamia)

Indus-Ganges Rivers (India)

Yangtze (Yellow) River (China)

The Middle East is home to some of the oldest known civilizations. The different societies that emerged in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley and the Fertile Crescent region had a profound impact on the development of the region over the centuries.

Sumerians – This is among the earliest civilizations to emerge in the Fertile Crescent region. They occupied the lower reaches of the Tigris-Euphrates valley and expanded to some five city-states by 3000 BC: Eridu, Uruk, Ur, Umma, and Lagash. These communities were loosely held together by trade, a common culture, and a common language. Because of this loose structure, it made them easy targets for more aggressive powers.

The city-states were walled communities, built for common defense. Uruk itself covered 1,000 acres, had walls six miles long, with defense towers every 30-35 feet. The buildings within the city were primarily huts made from sun-dried bricks. At the center of the city was a ziggurat (a stepped temple) to the local god. Sumerian governments were theocracies, that is they believed that the gods ruled the cities and kings were merely agents of the gods. In other societies, kings would declare themselves to be gods themselves or descended from the gods in order to awe the people and frighten them away from the possibility of rebellion. Some 90% of Sumerians were farmers. There is evidence of production of woolens textiles, pottery, and metalwork. By 3000 BC, the wheel had been developed, allowing much faster and more efficient trade and transportation throughout the region. A class-based society, Sumerians routinely used slave labor, either buying slaves at markets or using captured enemy troops and civilians as slaves.

Akkadian Empire – In 2340 BC, Sargon of Akkad, to the north of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley, overran the Sumerians, ushering in the age of the Akkadian Empire. The Akkadians ruled the area until 2100 BC, when their government collapsed and rule of the area reverted to the system of city-sates.

Amorites – In the 19^th century BC, the Amorites swarmed into the region and conquered the city-states. The Amorites began imposing their own culture on the Sumerians, producing a unique mixture of beliefs, language, and customs. Among the most notable of the Amorite kings was Hammurabi, who ruled from 1792 to1750 BC. He built new city walls, new temples, and created the first system of codified law, the Code of Hammurabi. These 282 laws would be posted in each city, etched in stone. It was a system based on vengeance, centering on the theory of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Punishments were not equal for the different classes, however. Upper class offenders were punished far less harshly, particularly if their offense was against a person from a lower class. However, if a member of the lower classes were to commit a crime against a member of the upper classes, he would be punished much more severely than if he had committed the act against a member of the same class. Public officials were responsible for law enforcement. For example, if they could not locate stolen goods, they must compensate the victim for their loss.

See more on the Code of Hammurabi at: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/medieval/hammenu.htm

Egypt: The Nile River has always been the focal point of Egyptian politics and culture. For the ancient period most Egyptians were farmers, depending on the annual flooding of the Nile for the success of their crops from the fresh, fertile silt the floods provided. Egypt was originally separated into two kingdoms: Lower Egypt, which controlled the delta, and Upper Egypt, which controlled the areas further upstream toward Sudan. The two kingdoms were united by Menes in 3100 BC. Most of the information available on ancient Egypt comes from archaeologists and their translations of hieroglyphics and surviving artifacts. This early period of the united Egypt is referred to as the Thinite Period, which lasted until 2700 BC. At this point, the Old Kingdom (2700-2200 BC) emerges. This is when Egyptian culture begins to flourish as the Egyptians began to trade in the areas of Sudan, the Red Sea, and the eastern Mediterranean. The phahrohs were seen as god-kings. Instead of being agents of the gods, as was the practice in Babylon, phahrohs convinced the population that they had some supernatural powers since they were descended from gods and demanded that they be worshipped. Thus the power of the phahroh was unquestioned and they were restrained only by the principle of the Ma’at – concerning truth and justice. In later periods, the Egyptians continued their system of worshipping many gods, but began to concentrate on Re, the Sun god. The phahrohs by the New Kingdom period often claimed that they were descended from Re.

The Old Kingdom, with its capital at Memphis, saw the largest pyramids in Egyptian history. The largest was constructed for King Khufu. This pyramid, completed in 2540 BC, covered 13 acres, was 481 feet high, and was 756 feet long on each side. The pyramids, considered among the wonders of the ancient world, were meant as burial chambers for the phahrohs, who would one day be resurrected into their old bodies and live again. To preserve the bodies, the phahrohs would be mummified by priests, a process which took 70 days. The Old Kingdom ended in 2200 BC with a series of civil wars.

This website provides a wealth of information on the famous pyramids of Egypt:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/

For more information on Egyptian Hieroglyphics, see this web site:

http://history.smsu.edu/jchuchiak/HST%20101--Lecture%203--Egyptian%20Hieroglyphs.htm

Middle Kingdom (2050-1652 BC) – Egypt had restored its stability by 2050 BC, which marks the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. The administration of the kingdom was reorganized. Districts would be controlled by hereditary officeholders and local districts were given precise boundaries. The phahroh was seen as more of a shepherd for his people during this period. Egypt was conquered by the Hyksos in 1652 BC, ending the Middle Kingdom.

New Kingdom (1567-1085 BC) – After a period of rule by the Hyksos, the Egyptians staged a massive rebellion that overpowered their conquerors. This period, the New Kingdom, saw Egypt rise to its greatest territorial extent as its borders expanded from Egypt to Libya to Syria and Palestine. This period saw the rise of the sun cult as many Egyptians worshipped the sun god, Re. The phahroh portrayed himself as the son of Re. A number of land gods were also worshipped, as they were seen to be connected with the land. Ramses II (the Great) was among the great conquerors and builders of this period.

Postempire (1085 BC- 30 BC) -- The Postempire period covered ten dynasties and lasted from 1085 BC to 30 BC. During this period, Egypt was dominated by various countries. In the fourth century BC, Egypt was conquered by Alexander the Great. Egypt would be controlled by the Greek Hellenistic dynasties until it was conquered by the Romans in 30 BC.

Egyptian women had some property rights and could operate businesses, but they were supposed to stay out of politics. Some Egyptian queens tried to become the power behind the throne, influencing their husbands and key officials, and even influencing their sons once they became phahroh. Sometimes, they had so much influence that they became phahroh in their own right. Queen Hatshepsut took over for her son when he died. It was seen as a natural succession since she had effectively made all of his decisions.

Hyksos – Little is known about the Hyksos. What we know about primarily stems from their conquest of the Egyptians in 1652 BC, which ended the Egyptian Middle Kingdom. They introduced the Egyptians to their much more advanced weaponry, made of bronze. This was the first Egyptian encounter with bronze. Angry at Hyksos rule, the Egyptians adapted these new weapons to their own use and staged an uprising against the Hyksos in 1567 BC. The Hyksos were routed and the Egyptian New Kingdom began. As for the Hyksos, they largely vanished after this.

Hittites – This group began migrating into the area of Anatolia and Asia Minor (southern Turkey) around 1750 BC. The Hittites began creating a powerful state. Having learned to forge iron and having access to large quantities of the ore, the Hittites built a powerful army. Iron allowed them to have much stronger weapons than their adversaries (far stronger than bronze) and the prevalence of iron made the weapons very cheap to produce. Between 1600 BC and 1200 BC, the Hittites built an empire across West Asia that soon encroached on the Euphrates River. In 1200 BC, the Hittite Empire was destroyed by a mysterious group known only as “the Sea Peoples.” The Hittite Empire was gone, and the Sea Peoples disappeared soon afterward.

Hebrews – According to the tradition in the book of Genesis (traditionally believed to have been written by Moses), the Hebrews were descended from Abraham, they had migrated from Mesopotamia to Palestine and were known as “the Children of Israel.” A drought caused many to go to Egypt where the Hebrews lived peacefully for a time until the Egyptians enslaved them. Some time in the early thirteenth century BC, the famed Exodus occurred as Moses led the Hebrews out of slavery and out of Egypt. It is just after this that the Hebrews received the Ten Commandments, which served as the heart of Hebrew law and faith. While traveling in the deserts to the east of Egypt, they organized into twelve tribes and resettled in Palestine. In their absence, the Philistines had encroached on their territory, sparking a number of wars.

Between 1200 BC and 1000 BC, the Israelite kingdom organized. Among the early kings, Saul (ca. 1020 BC-1000 BC) was killed in battle with the Philistines and replaced by David (1000 BC-970 BC). David defeated the Philistines and established Jewish control over all of Palestine. David’s son Solomon reigned for 40 years (970 BC-930 BC). The reign of Solomon is marked by the strengthening of royal power, the expansion of political and military establishments, and increased trading influence. The famed Temple was built in Jerusalem where the Ark of the Covenant was housed. But the Hebrew kingdom had split, with the ten northern tribes becoming Israel, with its capital at Samaria. The northern kingdom was defeated by the Assyrians in 722 BC and these tribes dispersed across the region. The southern kingdom, Judah (where the term Judaism emerges) existed for a longer period, with its capital at Jerusalem. The Kingdom of Judah survived until it was conquered by the Chaldeans in 586 BC.

Judaism – Monotheism had started to emerge in the western world. The Jews believed that God ruled the world and all obeyed His will. Also, they believed that God created nature but He was not in nature. God was a god of mercy and love but could also punish disobedience. The Jewish faith centers on three ideas: the covenant (the belief that the Jews are God’s chosen people and that if the Israelites promise to follow God, He will protect them), the law (the Ten Commandments and the idea that all are equal in the eyes of God), and the prophets (messengers from God). Exodus defines the Jewish experience, the return to the promised land. Despite centuries of conquest and oppression, the Jewish culture and faith has endured, symbolic of the Exodus experience.

Philistines – This group had moved into the coastal regions of the Israelite Kingdom while they Hebrews were in Egypt. They mixed with the Hebrews as they returned from Egypt, openly displaying their polytheistic faith. This led to numerous admonitions by Hebrew prophets against practicing idolatry, lest the Judaic faith be compromised. After a series of wars, the Philistines are eventually conquered by the Hebrews.

Phoenicians – This group populated the area near present-day Lebanon and Jordan. They were an extensive trading society, with connections throughout the Mediterranean region. They traded in everything – lumber, especially from the famed Cyprus trees of the region, various grains and dyes, as well as luxurious gold and jewels. They were known as cultural “transmitters” because there trade activities brought them into contact with numerous societies which allowed them to spread the ideas and traditions of these societies elsewhere. They developed colonies throughout the Mediterranean which survived after the Phoenician conquest by the Persians. One of these colonies, Carthage, in North Africa, became a major power in its own right, challenging the Romans for domination of the western Mediterranean.

The Phoenicians produced an alphabet by the ninth century BC which the Greeks adapted for their language. After the Romans came into contact with the Greeks, the Romans, impressed with the extent of Greek artistic and intellectual achievements, adapted the Greek alphabet into use in the Latin alphabet. The Latin alphabet is the basis for the modern English alphabet. The letters used to write this sentence can thus trace their origins to ancient Phoenicia.

Assyrian Empire (700 BC – 605 BC) – From their capital at Nineveh on the upper Tigris River, the Assyrians take control f an empire extending to the Persian Gulf, western Iran, Iraq, Syria, Phoenicia, southern Turkey, Cyprus, and Egypt. It was governed by an absolute monarchy with the provinces controlled by hereditary governorships. Communication throughout the empire was maintained through a series of stations from which messengers would ride horses as quickly as possible to the next station. Messages and responses to important queries could be sent and received in a week’s time. Internal revolts disrupt the empire. Nineveh falls to the Chaldeans and the Medeans in 612 BC. The empire is divided up among the two powers in 605 BC.

Chaldeans – After conquering the Assyrians, the Chaldeans went to expand their power further, capturing Judah and destroying Jerusalem in 586 BC. This is the destruction of the First Temple, in which the Ark of the Covenant was kept – the heart of the Jewish faith. The Babylonian Captivity begins at this point and lasts until 538 BC, when the Hebrews, imprisoned by the Chaldeans in Babylon are freed by the Persians and allowed to return.

Persian Empire (6^th century BC to 4^th century BC) – In the seventh-century BC, the Persians unified in what is now Iran, with the capital for the Persians at Persis. Cyrus (559-530 BC) laid the groundwork for creating a powerful Persian state through his military conquests. In 550 BC, he captured Media, in northern Iran and quickly moved west, capturing Lydia in western Asia Minor (modern Turkey) by 547. He later went on to conquer the Greek city-states on the Ionian Coast, the Aegean coast of Asia Minor. He turned next to the east, conquering Sogdiana (modern Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), Afghanistan, and western India. In 539, he turned against the Chaldeans, conquering their capital at Babylon.

Cyrus did not move to exploit the new resources of his empire or enslave the people or even force them to give up their culture as previous conquerors had done. Instead, Cyrus allows the Jews to return to Israel and allowed all temples of local religions to be restored in the far-flung areas of his empire. He tried to convince the Babylonians that he was not a foreign conqueror but part of the proud lineage of Babylonian kings. By tolerating the cultures of these other peoples, the Jews, Babylonians, and Medians all accepted the Persians as their legitimate rulers.

Cyrus’s son, Cambyses (530-522 BC) expanded the empire with the conquest of Egypt. Darius I (the Great), the son of Cambyses, took the throne in 521 BC and created the largest land empire seen up to that time. Darius conquered Thrace in the lower Balkans and made Macedonia in northern Greece a vassal state, independent but forced to pay tribute to the Persians. Concerned by the Persian move westward, in 499 BC, the Greeks encouraged their fellow Greeks on the Ionian Coast to rebel against the Persians. Darius crushed the rebellion and moved against the Greeks in what is now known as the Persian War. The leading city-state, Athens, barely managed to defeat Darius’s army at the battle of Marathon in 490 BC. It is at this battle, that a messenger was sent to run to Athens as quickly as he could (26 miles from Marathon) to spread the word of the Greek victory. The messenger died of exhaustion on his arrival. Since that time, a marathon has been a race run over that distance. The Persian defeat forced Darius to withdraw from Greece.

Like the Assyrians, the Persians used a system of staging posts to relay messages from one end of the empire to the other as rapidly as possible. This “pony express” system was extremely effective. The governorships of the different provinces (or satrapies) eventually became hereditary. But to subsidize their luxurious lifestyles, these officials demanded higher and higher taxes from their subjects, leading to a growing resentment of the Persian government. Their armies were made up of peoples from all over the empire, instead of the Persians alone.

Zoroastrianism – the religion of the Persians was Zoroastrianism. It stemmed from Zoroaster, a semi-legendary figure apparently born around 660 BC. His revelation caused him to form a new religion. The Zend Avesta was the Zoroastrian holy book, but this text was not written down until the third century AD. Believers felt that the old Persian god Ahuramazda was the only true god. Ahuramazda possessed all of the positive abstract qualities of morality, truth, life, and love. Ahriman was the exact opposite, the embodiment of death, darkness, lies, and evil. Zoroastrians believed that humans played a role in the battle of good against evil, but followers of Ahuramazda would triumph in the end. His followers would be rewarded with eternity in paradise, while evildoers would be sent to an abyss of darkness and despair. Although Ahuramazda was the only god in the religion, over time Ahuramazda and Ahriman became co-equals in the Zoroastrian faith.

Development of Writing:

Several civilizations developed their own alphabet, but the English alphabet is derived from the alphabet of the Phoenicians. The Phoenician alphabet can trace elements of its origins to Egypt of the second millennium BC. As the Phoenicians came into contact with the Egyptians and others, it slowly developed its own alphabet with 22 distinct letters for each sound rather than picture symbols for words. As the Phoenicians continued to trade throughout the Mediterranean world, other civilizations began to copy the Phoenician alphabet. The Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet and modified it, becoming the first European civilization to use an alphabet. Originally, Phoenician and Greek were written right-to-left but changed to left-to-right by about 500 BC. Later, as the Romans came into contact with the Greeks, they took the Greek alphabet, modified it again, and made it their own alphabet, adding such letters as X and Y. As the Romans spread, other groups picked up elements of Roman cultural influences. As the English language emerged, it continued to use the Roman alphabet and again adding to it, with such letters as J emerging from the letter I and letters U and W emerging from the letter V. Lower-case letters emerged around AD 800.

Phoenician alphabet: circa 1500 BC

Greek alphabet: circa 900 BC

Early Aramaic: circa 700 BC

Nabatian: from a small trading society near Israel, circa 100 BC

Arabic: replaces Aramaic by about AD 700

Early Latin: circa 600 BC

Classical “Modern” Latin: circa 300 BC

From: www.ancientscripts.com and http://phoenicia.org/alphabet.html.

History of Asia

This web site has information on the history of India, China, and Japan:

http://www.friesian.com/sangoku.htm

Greek Philosophers

The Greeks, most notably the Athenians, were renowned for their scholarly works. Art, literature, architecture, math, science, philosophy, and many other subjects captured the attention of the Greeks. Using logic and deductive reasoning, the Greeks developed a wide range of theories in many scientific fields. Most mathematical concepts used today have Greek origins. Tragically, some of their works have been lost over the centuries. Only fragments remain of some works. Despite this, thousands of volumes have survived, giving us an idea of how the Greeks lived. Their works still inspire to this day. Browse through some of their works online at http://classics.mit.edu/Browse/index.html. Among the more notable of the classical Greek thinkers:

Writers:

Homer (ca. 700 BC) – Writer of two of the most famous Epic poems of ancient

Greece, The Iliad and The Odyssey. The Iliad is the story of the Trojan Wars, while The Odyssey tells the tale of the 10-year voyage of Odysseus to return to Greece. Read The Iliad at http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/iliad.html and The Odyssey at http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.html.

Herodotus (ca. 484 BC- ca. 425 BC) – Considered to be the first known historian.

Founded Greek colony of Thurii in southern Italy. Wrote The Persian Wars.

Thucydides (ca. 460 BC-ca. 400 BC) – historian and former general. Deposed in 424

BC for failing to prevent the fall of Amphipolis to the Spartans. Writes The History of the Peloponnesian Wars. He writes that human nature is a constant.

Aeschylus (526 BC – 456 BC) – First known writer of tragic plays. The tragedian wrote

90 plays, only 7 of which have survived in their entirety. Most Greek tragedies

meant to be written as trilogies. In Aeschylus’s Orestes, Agamemnon sacrifices

his daughter to the gods and his bereaved wife kills him. In the next play, their

son Orestes seeks revenge for his father’s death and kills his mother,

Clytemnestra. Orestes is pursued by the Furies and eventually tried by the

goddess Athena and acquitted. Reason triumphs over evil in this trilogy.

Sophocles (ca. 496 BC – 406 BC) – Writer of the Oedipus trilogy (ca. 429 - ca. 406 BC).

Euripides (ca. 485 BC – 406 BC) – Writer of The Bacchae, in which he is critical of

traditional Greek religion.

Aristophanes (ca. 450 BC – ca. 385 BC) – In The Clouds, he satirizes the philosopher

Socrates. In Lysistrata, he opposes the Peloponnesian Wars.

Scientists and Philosophers:

Sophists – Traveling philosophers who stressed the importance of rhetoric and believed

there was no absolute right or wrong. They believed that true wisdom came from

being able to perceive and pursue one’s own good.

Socrates (469 BC – 399 BC) – No known writings have survived. Our knowledge if his

philosophies come only from his student, Plato. He had been a critic of the

Sophists. He believed that all real knowledge existed within a person and anyone could gain that knowledge through examination of themselves and their perceptions of the world. “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Plato (ca. 429 BC – 347 BC) – Believed there existed two planes of existence: the

celestial plane, where Ideas and Ideal Forms (of reality) exist and have always existed; and the material plane. He believed that to know the Forms was to know Truth.

In Republic, he devises his ideal form of government, writing that one

cannot attain an ethical life unless he lives in a just and rational state. “Unless . . .

political power and philosophy meet together . . . there can be no rest from

troubles,” writes Plato. The ruling elites (philosopher-kings) are at the top of this

society, but they (including women) should be removed from concerns for wealth

or prestige. The next class would be the warriors (driven by courage) who protect

the society, and then the masses (not driven by courage but by desire) who are the

artisans and producers of the society.

Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) – A student of Plato and later a tutor to Alexander the

Great. He wrote voluminously on a wide variety of subjects, from politics and society to religion and ethics to astronomy and biology.

He authors a geocentric theory of the universe which holds sway for centuries. For Aristotle, logic is the tool of inquiry; and for a person to have knowledge of a particular thing, a person must understand not only what it is but its causality, why it is. He differs with Plato on a number of issues, including his theory of forms.

In his Politics, he examines 158 constitutions and forms of government

and divides the best governments into three categories: monarchy, aristocracy, and constitutional government. He warns, however, that these governments can degenerate into tyranny, oligarchy, and anarchy.

Hippocrates (ca. 460 BC – ca. 377 BC) – Considered to be the father of medicine, the Hippocratic Oath is named for him, although it is not known if he wrote

this oath for caregivers to do no harm to patients. His style of medicine, known for professional detachment, and direct, clinical observations begins ascribing the causes of disease to environmental factors.

Aristarchus (ca. 310 BC – 230 BC) – Greek astronomer who postulates the heliocentric theory of the universe.

Eratosthenes (ca. 275-194 BC) – Postulates that the Earth is round and calculates the

Earth’s circumference at 24,675 miles, close to the modern accepted value of 24,830 miles.

Euclid – (ca. 300 BC) – Elements, his systematic organization of the fundamentals of

geometry became the standard for centuries.

Archimedes (287 BC-212 BC) – Mathematician who writes extensively on geometric

spheres and cylinders. He devises the mathematical constant of pi, which establishes the constant ratio of a circle’s diameter to its circumference (approximately 3.14). He is believed to have developed a system of pumping out water from mines and developed the theory of the specific gravity and density of objects. His renowned work with levers led him to say, “Give me a lever and a place to stand, and I will move the world.”

Epicurus (341 BC-270 BC) – Did not believe that the Greek gods played an active role

in the affairs of the world.

Epicureanism – Philosophy derived from the writings of Epicurus. Epicureans believe

that happiness is the goal of life and the means to achieving happiness is pleasure. They define pleasure not as hedonistic or gluttonous pursuits but as freedom from emotional turmoil and freedom from worry. To do this, people must separate themselves from politics and society.

Zeno (335 BC-263 BC) – Founder of stoicism. He wrote that happiness is the supreme

good, but can only be found in virtue and living in harmony with the divine will (or the will of nature).

Stoicism – Unlike the Epicureans, stoics see public service as noble. Everyone contains

a divine spark (a spark or energy from creation or nature), thus making everyone equal spiritually. Stoics value reason.

Greeks – The Greek civilization emerged in the Aegean Sea region around 2800 BC. It is called the Minoan civilization after King Minos of Crete. The Minoans reached their height from 2000-1450 BC but suffered a sudden collapse around 1450 BC. At this point, the Mycenaean civilization took over as Mycenae flourished between 1600 and 1100 BC. Mycenae entered a long decline after it was burned in 1100 BC. It is during this period that the legendary Trojan Wars took place, around 1250 BC. Homer forever made famous these long ago battles in The Iliad, written centuries later. It is believed that the fight against Troy was a trade dispute between the mainland and the settlement on the coast of Asia Minor. Many believed that Troy was a myth until its ruins were uncovered in the nineteenth century. Civilization came to the mainland around 1900 BC in a series of stratified communities. Between 1100 BC and 750 BC is the “Dark Ages,” a period of chaos and decline of which little is known. Afterward, the classical Greek civilization emerged.

The center of the classical Greek community was the polis, or city-state, in which each community would essentially act as its own country, ruling over small areas surrounding them. Athens, with a population of 300,000 by the fifth century BC, became the leading city-state. It was the first democracy – the men of the city (women were not allowed to participate) would vote for officials who would decided matters for the polis. Athens became the intellectual and artistic heart of classical Greece. Sparta was Athens’s main rival. It was a more militarized city and grew even more so over time. The Lycurgun Reforms, instituted by the Spartan leader Lycurgus, totally mobilized Spartan society, taking boys as young as six to live in military barracks and train for the day that they would join the military. All Spartan men were required to serve in the military from age 20 to age 60.

Peloponnesian War (431 BC-404 BC)

Athens (Athenian Empire or Delian League) vs. Sparta (Peloponnesian League)—for years, the walls surrounding Athens gave it protection and its fleet of merchant vessels kept the city supplied. But in 405 BC, the Athenian fleet was destroyed at the battle of Aegospotami. By the next year, after 27 years of fighting, the Athenians realized that they could no longer hold out and surrendered to the Spartans. Sparta had defeated its rival, but at such a cost that it could not capitalize on this victory and the city-states began to fight among themselves for supremacy in the Greek world.

For a chronology of Greek History, see: http://www.filetron.com/grkmanual/detailgreekchrono.html

This site shows a more detailed picture of Greek History: http://www.providence.edu/dwc/grkhist.htm

By the end of the fifth century BC, Macedon, to the far north in Greece, had emerged as a power, filling in the vacuum left by Sparta and Athens. Phillip II (of Macedon) (359 BC-336 BC) emerged as king and built and effective military. He soon seized control of all of Greece, establishing the Corinthian League as a confederacy dedicated to supporting Macedonian ends. Under this arrangement, the city-states would maintain control over local affairs, but defer to Philip in foreign policy areas. After Philip’s assassination in 336 BC, his son, Alexander the Great (336 BC-323 BC) ascended to the throne.

After coming to the Macedonian throne at age 20, Alexander went on to conquer most of the known world. In 334 BC, he entered Asia Minor, then Persian territory, with an army of 37,000 men (half of the troops were Macedonian, half were from other Greek communities) and accompanied by an army of scientists, engineers, and scholars ready to learn about the new lands Alexander was set to conquer. He surprised the Persians with the ferocity of his armies. By 332, Alexander controlled Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and Asia Minor. He founded the city of Alexandria in Egypt, which became renowned as a city of learning and great port on the Mediterranean. By 331, Alexander was moving eastward again, sweeping aside Persian resistance. The Persian king, Darius III, offered half of his empire to Alexander if he would leave them in peace. Alexander refused. By the end of the year, Alexander had captured the Persian capital and its vast treasury.

Darius III was pursued by Alexander, even after his empire had collapsed. Eventually, Darius was killed by his own men in 330.

Over the next three years, Alexander charged steadily eastward, conquering the whole of modern Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. By 327, he had entered India, a strange and exotic land. His troops, weary after years of warfare, pressed him to return home. He returned to Babylon by 323 and began planning more campaigns in the west, but succumbed to an illness compounded by years of exhaustive fighting and lingering injuries. By the time of his death, his empire stretched from Greece to Egypt to India.

After the death of Alexander, his empire was split into four parts by various factions. Alexander had only said that his empire was to be left “to the strongest.” The Hellenistic Kingdoms (Hellenistic means “to imitate the Greeks”) that emerged included the Seleucid Dynasty (encompassing most of the Middle East), the Attalid Kingdom (Pergamum in Asia Minor), the Ptolemaic Dynasty (Egypt), and the Antigonid Dynasty (Macedonia). Ultimately, they were all crushed by the Romans by the first century BC, except for the Seleucid Dynasty which was essentially split between the Romans and the Parthian Empire. The Greeks transmitted their culture to these regions, but in many ways, these remained segregated societies with a Greek ruling class and a native underclass.