history unit 1

achaemenid dynasty

first persian empire, founded by Cyrus the great

• known for: efficient admin, royal road, cultural tolerance

• Cyrus & Darius I were good but Xerxes was intolerant

ancestor veneration

ancestors were vital to family wellbeing in ancient China

ahriman

the evil spirit in zoroastrianism

ahura mazda

the wise Lord in zo

analects

confucius’ teacings about morals, ethics, politics (compiled by his followers)

aryans

arrived in south asia

• the vedas

• hierarchical society

• called the locals “dasas” (enemies)

ashoka

3rd of Mauryan dynasty

• converted to Buddhism

• concept of dharma transformed him from a conqueror to a humanitarian

ban zhao

supported female education, but wrote “Lessons for Women”

book of the dead

how to get through the dozens of trials to the afterlife, final step is Osiris weighing your heart (failure —> nonexistence)

brahmins

priestly class in the Hindu social hierarchy (highest)

catal huyuk

major neolithic trade center in modern Turkey, one of the oldest proto-cities (transition from hunter-gatherers)

complex societies

• urban focus

• distinct religious structure

• political & military structures

• social structure based on economic power

• writing

• building of monumental architecture

code of Hammurabi

~1654 BC, stone stele

strict & retributive justice

taxation & centralized bureaucracy

efficient & predictable

somewhat classist

confucius

~551-479

emphasized morality & leading by example

social & familial hierarchy

silver rule

teachings: analects

concepts of: junzi, ren, li, xiao

cuneiform

wedge-shaped

symbols pressed into clay

used in mesopotamia for 3000 years

cyrus the great

559-530

conquest of babylon

toleration

governed ~70 different ethnic groups, died in battle, was a Persian/Mede

daoism

Laozi

reflection and introspection

inactivity

“the way of nature”

four noble truths

1. suffering exists.

2. desire causes suffering.

3. the end of desire is the end of suffering.

4. following the eightfold path ends desire.

gilgamesh

2000 BC

early mesopotamian lit (first epic)

legendary sumerian king of uruk

search for immortality

hammurabi

amorite king (6th)

military expansion

effective governance

han dynasty

replaced Qin dynasty

• imperial expansion

• strong centralized gov.

• silk roads

liu bang followed by han wudi

han wudi

“martial emperor”

• fused legalism and confucianism

• imperial university

• centralized power

• expansion into korea/n. vietnam

harappa

most extensively-excavated city in south asia

• river valley civilization formed ~3000 BC

• larger than Egypt

• large & standardized

• abandoned ~1500

hieroglyphs

~3200 BC

each picture had phonetic value

tax records, religious texts, epic narratives

hyksos

“foreign” rulers —> a semitic nomadic people who captured memphis and levied tribute throughout egypt

were eventually pushed out

indus river

agricultural lfieline, sustained one of the earliest complex societies

spiritual place for hindus/buddhists

jainism

ancient Indian religion emphasizing ahimsa (extreme non-violence)

reincarnation and detachment

jati

hindi subcastes based on occupation

jericho

one of the oldest continously-inhabited cities (since ~9000 BC)

archaeological layers

massive fortifications

junzi

confucian “superior” individuals (because of their morals and ethics, leaders by example)

kshatriyas

warriors & aristocrats, 2nd highest caste

laozi

alleged founder of daosim, likely confucius’ contemporary (“old master”)

legalism

state is supreme (no ethics)

• severe penalty system

• incentives

• collective responsibility

• valued agriculture and military (not education)

unpopular but effective

lex talionis

“law of retaliation”

eye for an eye

proportional justice

ma’at

ancient egyptian concept of truth, justice, harmony, cosmic order

• important in cosmis balance, government, and the afterlife

mandate of heaven

the Zhou dynasty’s concept that the right to rule was granted by a divine force

• cyclical nature

mohenjo-daro

massive indus river city

city walls & grid layout

highly standardized

neolithic age

new stone age (10,000-4,000 BC)

• shift to agriculture

nile river

supported egypt and nubia, flooded yearly

(caused famine in new kingdom when it shifted course)

trade route

“the lifeblood of egypt”

nirvana

ultimate state of enlightenment and liberation in buddhism

end of rebirth

oracle bones

fortunes carved on bones, mostly from Shang dynasty, durable records

osiris

god of the underworld

• immortal

• moral values

• weighed hearts

was killed by brother but his wife Isis brought him back to life

paleolithic age

old stone age (until ~10,000 BC)

• subsistence lifestyle

• hunting & gathering

persian royal road

built by achaemenid empire (Darius the Great)

• 1600mi

• helped with trade, gov admin, cultural exchange, military mobilization

Qin dynasty

Qin Shihuangdi unifies China

defensive walls & centralized power

fell due to riots ~206 (replaced by the Han dynasty)

Qin Shihuangdi

unifies China by conquest

• merciless

• drank mercury as an elixir and died

raja

chieftains who rules tribes in the Vedic-Aryan society (1500-1600)

sanskrit

brought to Indus River area by the Aryans (used in the Vedas)

sargon of akkad

king of kish

• conquered sumerian city states (tore down their walls to keep control)

• standing army

• 200 year empire (overextended and fell)

satrap

a persian regional governer — “the eyes and ears of the king”

• 23 districts

• used spies/military/tax collectors to keep them in check

satrapy

persian province

shang

• fell to wine/women/greed

• shang yang - ruthless leader

• encouraged peasant migration (weakening aristocracy)

• bronze metallurgy

• political organization

• capital city

shudras

landless peasants & serfs in Hinduism (lowest caste)

sumerians

incl. Ur & Uruk

• invented cuneiform (& cities)

• first known legal code

terracotta soldiers

thousands guarding Qin Shihuangdi’s tomb, showing his wealth/power

tigris & euphrates

created the fertile crescent/mesopotamia

sustained the sumersians, akkadians, babylonians, assyrians

untouchables

Dalits in hindiusm

not even in caste system

vaishyas

3rd level of caste system

cultivators, artisans, merchants

varna

the 4 broad levels of the caste system

vedas

“wisdom/knowledge”

• four aryan religious texts (hymns)

• rig veda = most important

xerxes I

succeeded Darius, tried to impose Persian values, causing rebellion, bad rap

xia dynasty

2100-176

• organized through village network

• hereditary monarchy

• flood control

• sage kings

yangtze river

fertile soil for rice

water source

longest

yellow river

“China’s sorrow”

floods & changing course

zhou

1050-256

• iron weapons

• mandate of heaven

• decentralized rule led to downfall (warring states period)

• produced literature

• state of Chu challenged it

xiongnu

warlike confederatoin in the north (problem for han dynasty)

ziggurat

large temple @ city-state center in mesopotamia

zarathustra/zoroaster

born in 7th century BC ish

• founded zoroastrianism

zoroastrianism

good vs. evil dualism

judgment after death

magi

avesta = holy book

fell off when alexander the great killed many priests, but it revived later during sasanian period

PREHISTORIC ERA

• cosmic geology in ANE

• one of the most important shifts —> agricultural

• stone age (paleolithic & neolithic)

MESOPOTAMIA

• “cradle of civilization”

• development of writing, legal codes, irrigation, math, astronomy

• sumerian city-states (first complex societies)

• assyrians —> trade routes, big cities, military, torture

• babylonians (chaldeans) —> walls, hanging gardens

EGYPT

• centralized government

• monumental architecture

• religion, trade, medicine

• three kingdoms: old, middle, new

• menes unified it

• postive religion

PERSIA

4 dynasties — achaemenid, seleucid, parthian, sasanian

• achaemenids: efficient admin, satraps, royal road, zoroastrianism

carved into 3 eralms after alexander’s death

• seleucids (choice realm, satrap rebellions)

• parthians (federation of semi-nomadic clans, mithradates I, “restorers of persian tradition”)

• sasanians (claimed direct descent from alexander, conquered parthians 224 AD, created buffer states as a protection from Rome, killed by Muslims)

elements of society:

• educated/bureaucratic classes

• slavery/wider economic disparities

• agriculture/long distance trade

• standardized coins

CHINA

key features

• feudal system

• ancestor veneration

• defensive walls

• silk roads

legalism, confucianism, daoism

dynasties: xia, shang, zhou, qin, han

SOUTH ASIA

key features:

• indus river valley civilizations

• vedic period (indo-aryans) & caste system

• emergence of hinduism, buddhism, jainism

mohenjo-daro & harappa

aryans: tribal, cattle-herders, warlike, sansrkit, vedas, clashes w/ indigenous people, tribal chiefdoms became regional kingdoms