Peoples and World Empires of Eurasia 500 B.C.E.-500 C.E. - Flashcards

Peoples and World Empires of Eurasia: 500 B.C.E. - 500 C.E.

Introduction to the Axial Age

• Classical Culture: Refers to the traditional authoritative form of a culture.

• Axial Age: A term used by historians for the centuries shortly before and after the year 1 C.E., marked by radical intellectual shifts in Eurasian powers that profoundly influenced these regions and beyond.

• Spread of Ideas:

  • Around 300 B.C.E., Clearchus of Athens traveled to Ai Khanoum (modern Afghanistan), a city recently founded by Greeks.

  • He inscribed sayings from Apollo's sanctuary at Delphi, reflecting the spread of characteristic Greek values:

    • "When a child, show yourself well behaved;

    • When a young man, self-controlled;

    • In middle age, just;

    • As an old man, a good counselor;

    • At the end of your life, free of sorrow."

  • This spread was facilitated by Alexander the Great's empire, which connected Greece to the Indus River, allowing Greeks to maintain political control and spread their ideas.

• Global Phenomenon: The Greeks were not unique; across Eurasia, empires centered in China, India, and the Mediterranean (see Map 5.1) enabled the influence of great thinkers. The flourishing of these ideas defined the classical ages for these regions, with their lasting impact leading to the designation of this era as the Axial Age.

• Limits to Development: Areas on the fringes, such as the Celtic zone in western Europe, often maintained distinct local traditions despite contact with dominant cultures.

India: Thinkers, Traders, and Courtly Cultures 500 B.C.E.-500 C.E.

Major Global Development

• The period between 500 B.C.E. and 500 C.E. saw revolutionary religious and cultural developments in India, China, and Greece that remained fundamental to Eurasian history.

Focus Questions for India

• How did new social circumstances stimulate changes in religious beliefs and cultures?

• What processes encouraged close connections among the various regions of Eurasia?

• In what ways did the revolutionary thinkers discussed here have a lasting impact on the histories of the regions they inhabited and beyond?

Overview of India (500 B.C.E.-500 C.E.)

• Indian culture and society underwent fundamental changes.

• Influential thinkers radically affected prevailing religious currents, changing the caste system and stressing individual responsibility.

• Political Structure: Around 300 B.C.E., the Mauryan and Gupta Empires rose successively, centralizing control over large parts of South Asia and promoting Indian arts and scientific investigation.

Religious Ferment: The Rise of Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism

• Context for Change: The rigid Vedic caste system, assigning birth status, was ill-suited to Indian society by 500 B.C.E. Wealthy merchants and craftspeople from lower castes, unhappy with their secondary status, turned to religious teachers who emphasized individual behavior over caste.

• Asceticism: Many new teachers prescribed asceticism, a lifestyle of indifference or rejection of physical comfort, sometimes leading to deprivations.

Jainism

• Founder: Vardhamana Mahavira (mah-hah-VEER-uh), known as the Jina ("the conqueror"), born around 540 B.C.E. in northern India.

• Core Beliefs:

  • Everything (humans, animals, plants, inanimate objects) possesses a soul.

  • This belief led to complete nonviolence; no creature should be killed, even accidentally.

  • Dharma: In Jainism, dharma refers to the moral virtue that inspires such nonviolent behavior.

• Goal: To end the cycle of reincarnation (rebirth), which reinforced the caste system, and to free the soul from the body through ascetic practices like fasting.

• Adherents:

  • Few could fully adhere to its rigorous lifestyle.

  • Especially popular among urban merchants and artisans who were attracted to its rejection of castes and its pacifism.

  • Influenced figures like Mahatma Gandhi in the 20th century.

• Spread: Remained largely confined to India.

Buddhism

• Impact: Had a powerful impact across the entire Asian continent.

• Founder: The Buddha ("the Awakened One"), Prince Siddhartha Gautama from southern Nepal (c. 563 to 480 B.C.E.).

  • Early Life: Shielded from suffering, at age 29 he witnessed old age, illness, and death.

  • Quest: Left the palace to search for a state beyond birth and death. Initially joined ascetics but realized self-mortification was not the solution.

  • Enlightenment: After weeks of meditation, formulated "the middle way"—a balanced life between luxury and asceticism as the answer to human suffering.

• Four Noble Truths:

  1. Existence is suffering.

  2. The cause of suffering is negative deeds of the body inspired by desire.

  3. Desire can be eliminated.

  4. The way to end desire lies in the eightfold path (right belief, resolve, speech, behavior, occupation, effort, contemplation, and meditation).

• Appeal: The "Three Jewels":

  1. The charismatic teacher (the Buddha).

  2. His teachings (the Buddhist interpretation of dharma).

  3. The community (sangha), consisting of monks and nuns who are seen as successors to the Buddha's original companions.

• Spread and Monasticism:

  • For 45 years after his awakening, the Buddha taught in northeastern India.

  • Most followers remained laypeople, but some became monks and nuns, founding monasteries (communities devoted to religious seclusion).

  • Nirvana: The goal of Buddhist practice, a state without desire, hatred, and ignorance, and ultimately without suffering and rebirth, where the physical is completely removed from the spiritual.

• Post-Buddha:

  • His remains were cremated, distributed, and buried under stupas (Buddhist monuments).

  • Pilgrims visited sacred sites, spreading the religion using vernacular dialects rather than literary Sanskrit.

  • Attraction: Appeal to wealthy mercantile class by promising escape from reincarnation and rejecting the caste system.

• Schools of Thought:

  • Mahayana Buddhism: "Greater Vehicle" to salvation, more inclusive. Portrayed the Buddha as a divine being worthy of worship.

  • Bodhisattva: An "enlightened being" who achieved freedom from suffering but postponed nirvana to teach others, becoming an object of veneration. This figure became popular in Buddhist art and literature (e.g., Image of a Bodhisattva from Ajanta caves shown in meditation).

  • Hinayana Buddhism: "Lesser Vehicle," more restrictive, adhering closely to the Buddha's original dharma.

  • These schools coexisted, sometimes within the same monastery.

• Spread Beyond India: Supported by royals (missionaries) and merchants (manuscripts translated into local languages). This external spread was crucial for Buddhism's survival, as Hinduism eventually replaced it as India's dominant religion.

Hinduism

• Evolution: Evolved from the Vedic tradition in reaction to challenges from Buddhism and Jainism.

• Widened Appeal: In a centuries-long process, it abandoned special treatment for upper-caste Brahmins.

• Literature: Coincided with written Sanskrit versions of the Vedas and a large body of secular and religious literature.

• Core Concepts:

  • Emphasized the value of the individual within a caste framework.

  • All people had an obligation to fulfill their caste duties (dharma, meaning "duty" in Hindu thought).

  • Proper behavior could lead to individual spiritual liberation from the cycle of reincarnation.

• Synthesis: Combined essential elements of the Vedic tradition with some beliefs and ideals of its critics, creating a stronger, more popular religion.

• Balanced Life: Encouraged a balanced pursuit of devotion and pleasure: righteousness, virtue, duty alongside material gain, love, and recreation.

• Bhagavad Gita ("Song of the Lord"):

  • A poem explaining how to attain ideal balance in an active life.

  • Dialogue: Between the hero Arjuna and his charioteer Krishna.

  • Key Message: Krishna convinces Arjuna to fight his family and friends, arguing that he will only harm their renewable bodies, not their immortal souls:

    • "Just as man, having cast off old garments, puts on other, new ones, even so does the embodied one, having cast off old bodies, take on other, new ones. … He is eternal, all pervading, stable, immovable, existing from time immemorial." (Bhagavad Gita)

  • Caste Duties: Reinforced specific roles: Brahmin (wisdom), warrior (valor), Vaishya (industry), Shudra (service).

• Conclusion of Indian Intellectual Activity: The centuries after 500 B.C.E. saw remarkable intellectual activity. Thinkers reinterpreted Vedic ideals for broader accessibility. Hinduism emphasized caste but offered spiritual liberation for all, while Buddhism and Jainism focused on individual salvation outside caste. All three religions gained widespread and lasting appeal.

Unity and Fragmentation: The Mauryan and Gupta Empires

• Challenge: India's vast size, diverse ecology, and population made centralized political control difficult.

• Empires: Between 300 B.C.E. and 500 C.E, the Mauryan and Gupta Empires controlled large parts of India, encouraging cultural merging and using new religions to foster regional community.

• Pre-Mauryan: South Asia was fragmented into warring kingdoms.

Mauryan Empire

• Origins: Civil struggles ended, possibly due to external pressure (Alexander of Macedonia crossed the Indus in 326 B.C.E.). Greek sources mention "Sandracottos," a rebellious Indian prince who urged Alexander to conquer Magadha. Alexander's troops eventually retreated.

• Chandragupta Maurya: Indian sources name this "penniless servant" as Chandragupta. He established himself as ruler of Magadha and, through conquest and diplomacy, created the largest empire in Indian history, controlling the entire subcontinent except the far south (Map 5.2).

• Administration:

  • Relied on chief adviser Kautilya, famous for efficiency.

  • Arthasastra ("Treatise on Material Gain"): Kautilya's handbook on government. Argued the king was the sole guarantor against disorder and could use any means necessary (spies, assassination).

  • Chandragupta followed this ruthlessly, but later regretted his policies. Around 297 B.C.E., he abdicated, became a Jain monk, and starved himself to death (absolute asceticism).

• Ashoka (Grandson of Chandragupta):

  • Deeply influenced by Buddhist ideals, which inspired his government.

  • Reforms: Publicly announced through carved inscriptions (oldest preserved writings from India after Indus Valley texts).

  • Unique Rule: Urged nonviolence, humane treatment of servants, and generosity. Led by example rather than force:

    • "All the good deeds that I have done have been accepted and followed by the people. And so obedience to mother and father, obedience to teachers, respect for the aged, kindness to Brahmins and ascetics, to the poor and weak, and to slaves and servants, have increased and will continue to increase."

  • Welfare Initiatives: Promoted general welfare by lining roads with fruit trees, digging wells, building rest houses, and providing medicine to people and animals.

  • Goal: To unify diverse subjects under an ideology of tolerance and universal principles.

• Decline: Ashoka's empire did not long outlast his death in 232 B.C.E. By 185 B.C.E., the Mauryan Empire dissolved, and India fragmented.

Gupta Empire

• Rise: A dynasty from the Ganges Valley, the Guptas, unified the north and parts of the center between around 320 and 540 C.E.

• Founder: Chandra Gupta, naming himself to recall the Mauryan past, though his state was smaller.

• Administration: Replaced the direct administration of the Mauryans with a system relying on allies and vassals.

• Expansion: Much of the conquest was led by Chandra Gupta's son, Samudra Gupta (c. 330-380 C.E.), who maintained the empire through violence and its threat, receiving tribute from Central Asia to Sri Lanka.

• Decline: Faced increasing pressure from Central Asian nomads and disappeared by 540 C.E.

• Legacy: Imperial rule did not return to India until the Mughal dynasty in the 16th century C.E.

A Crossroads of Trade

• Economy: Most Indians were agricultural laborers in small villages, supporting urban growth.

• Urban Artisans: Created products for elites across India.

• Geographical Advantage: India's location at the crossroads of land and sea trade routes made it a center of a dynamic international trading system.

• Trade Growth: Long-distance trade continued to grow from 500 B.C.E. to 500 C.E., despite political turmoil.

• Global Contacts: India was connected to China, Southeast Asia, East Africa, and the Mediterranean world.

• Merchants and Rulers: Indian merchants accumulated wealth as importers and exporters of luxury goods. Rulers benefited financially and sent ambassadors, promoting an exchange of ideas and styles.

• The Silk Road:

  • Trade routes to China became known as the Silk Road (or "Silk Roads," referring to multiple branches).

  • Span: Stretching 4000 miles through diverse regions, it connected China to western Asia and the Mediterranean coast.

  • Name Origin: Derived from China's monopoly on silk until the 5th century C.E.; demand for silk led to large shipments of gold, silver, and other goods eastward.

  • Trade Dynamics: Few traveled the entire route; goods were passed between traders at stations in oases, mountain passes, and strategic locations.

  • Cultural Exchange: Crucially, the Silk Road was also a conduit for the spread of ideas, including Buddhism and Christianity, into China.

Literary and Scientific Flowering

• India's Classical Age: The era from 500 B.C.E. to 500 C.E. saw immense literary production, encompassing religious and secular poetry, drama, and prose.

• Early Records: During the Mauryan period, the Vedas and their interpretations (Upanishads) began to be written down. Ashoka's use of various languages and scripts encouraged the use of vernacular dialects in writing.

• Sanskrit Literature:

  • Sanskrit: The language of the Vedas became the primary literary language of ancient India, used until the 19th century C.E.

  • Epics: Most prominent, recorded after 100 B.C.E.

    • Mahabharata ("Great Epic of the Bharata Dynasty"): Perhaps the longest single poem in world literature, with 100,000 stanzas (including the Bhagavad Gita).

      • Describes a contest between two branches of a royal family, culminating in an 18$-day battle involving all Indian kings, Greeks, Bactrians, and Chinese.

      • Illustrates how people of all ranks should behave according to dharma (duty).

    • Ramayana ("Story of Prince Rama"): A shorter epic showing adherence to dharma.

      • Prince Rama's wife Sita is kidnapped and taken to Sri Lanka; after her rescue, her chastity is doubted, leading her to live in the forest where she gives birth to Rama's twins. The family is reunited, but Sita eventually returns to her mother, the goddess Earth.

      • These epics were widely popular, providing common cultural touchstones across India.

• Beyond Epics:

  • Kalidasa (Gupta period, c. 390-470 C.E.): Famous for poetry and dramatic works.

    • "Cloud Messenger": An exiled man asks a cloud to carry a message to his wife, expressing deep longing and drawing parallels between her features and natural beauty:

      • "In the vines I see your limbs, your look in the eye of a startled doe, the loveliness of your face in the moon, in the peacock's plumage your hair, the playful lift of your brows in the light ripples of rivers, but, O, sadly, nowhere, my passionate girl, is the whole of your likeness in any one of these."

    • His dramas featured gods, heroes, and courtiers who faced intrigue and hardship but always triumphed.

• Scholarship and Science:

  • Linguistics: Panini (c. 5th century B.C.E.) developed a grammar for Sanskrit, recording over 4000 rules.

  • Sciences: Investigations in astronomy, medicine, physics, and chemistry led to significant advancements.

    • Metallurgy: Delhi's Iron Pillar (c. 400 C.E.)—over 10 feet tall, weighing 6 tons, made of 98 percent pure iron, and unrusted—demonstrates unparalleled technical skill in early world history (not matched in Europe until the 19th century C.E.).

    • Mathematics: Indian mathematicians invented the concept of zero. The Indian number system (symbols 0-9) spread east and west in the 7th century C.E. and was adopted by Western Europeans as "Arabic" numerals around 1000 C.E.

China's First Empires: The Qin and Han Dynasties 221 B.C.E.-220 C.E.

Focus Question for China

• How did the early Chinese philosophers come to have a long-lasting influence on the intellectual development of the region?

Political Context: Fragmentation and Intellectual Ferment

• Decline of Zhou: The unified Zhou kingdom began disintegrating around 800 B.C.E.

  • Later Zhou Dynasty (770-221 B.C.E.): Characterized by political fragmentation.

    • Spring and Autumn Period (770-481 B.C.E.): Described in The Spring and Autumn Annals as a world of over 100 warring states.

    • Warring States Period (480-221 B.C.E.): Conflicts intensified further.

• Revolutionary Thinkers: Inspired by the era's volatility, thinkers like Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, and Lord Shang Yang founded intellectual movements questioning human nature, the state, and political behavior.

• Impact: Their ideas reconfigured political life, paving the way for the Qin and Han empires.

• Cultural Flourishing (c. 500 B.C.E.-200 C.E.): Extensive scholarly writings on law, medicine, divination, and philosophy.

• Focus on Secularism: Unlike Indian thinkers who focused on religion, Chinese scholars concentrated on secular subjects, leading to their teachings being labeled as philosophy (similar to Greek thinkers).

• Common Goal: All sought to understand and improve their societies.

Intellectual Churning: Confucians, Daoists, and Legalists

Confucianism

• Confucius (551-479 B.C.E.): Dominant figure whose teachings profoundly influenced Chinese society and politics.

  • Background: Son of an impoverished aristocrat, became a tutor in his thirties. Had 3000 followers by his death, according to Sima Qian.

  • Teachings: Compiled in the Analects (likely by 100 B.C.E.), documenting his ideas on human nature, behavior, and the state.

  • Core Idea: Proper conduct in social interactions instilled humaneness, emphasizing benevolence and kindness.

  • Moral Code: "For the gentleman integrity is the essence; the rules of decorum are the way he puts it into effect; humility is the way he brings it forth; sincerity is the way he develops it. Such indeed is what it means to be a gentleman."

  • Social Hierarchy: Stressed filial piety (children caring for parents) and obedience to superiors.

  • Political Philosophy: Advocated for a return to the centralized rule of the Zhou dynasty. Believed good behavior would prevent evil (e.g., war). Renounced coercion in government as it bred resentment rather than respect.

  • Societal Goal: Proper behavior by all could lead to a peaceful and prosperous society.

• Later Interpretations:

  • Mencius (c. 372-289 B.C.E.): Emphasized human compassion and believed all humans shared the capacity for empathy.

  • Xunzi (c. 300-230 B.C.E.): Believed humans were inherently greedy and selfish, advocating for strict rules to prevent evil.

Daoism

• Contrast with Confucianism: Unlike Confucius, Daoists urged withdrawal from society and meditation.

• Core Idea: Forsake wealth and prestige, seek a peaceful inner life. Believed that if many people behaved well, the world would naturally be in harmony and follow its course.

• Origin: Ascribed to the 6th-century B.C.E. sage Laozi, though the teachings were likely compiled under his name in the 3rd century B.C.E.

• Evolution: In the Later Han period (after 25 C.E.), Daoism became an official religion, closely associated with Buddhism, and Laozi was deified.

• Focus: Emphasized personal introspection over practical guidance for rulers and officials.

Legalism

• Contrast with Daoism: Focused intently on the ruler, social hierarchy, and practical aspects of government.

• Lord Shang Yang (c. 390-338 B.C.E.): Implemented Legalist ideas in the Qin state during the Warring States period, paving the way for China's unification.

  • State-centric Occupations: Believed every man should have an occupation beneficial to the state, introducing compulsory military service and forced farming.

  • Strict Laws: Established harsh laws that punished even minor crimes, assuming fear would prevent wrongdoing. The only reward for correct behavior was the absence of punishment.

  • Collective Responsibility: Introduced the principle that if a soldier disobeyed, his entire family would be executed.

• Outcome: When the Later Qin state imposed Legalism on the entire population, its harshness led to the government's overthrow due to unpopularity.

Unification and Centralization: The Worlds of Qin and Han

• Restoration of Unity: After 500 years of fragmentation following the Zhou kingdom's decline, rulers inspired by Confucius, Lord Shang, and others restored China's political unity.

• Changes in Warfare:

  1. Infantry: Chariotry, central to the Shang army, became less effective. Infantry rose in importance, leading to thousands of farmers and commoners being forced to fight. This shifted armies toward a meritocratic structure, allowing soldiers from any social background to advance.

  2. Iron Weapons: Iron became the preferred metal, being stronger than bronze and more widely available, leading to cheaper and more abundant weapons.

• Rise of Bureaucracy: As military aristocracy and family ties declined in importance, bureaucracies emerged to administer states.

  • Legalism inspired centralized taxation and military drafts.

  • A new educated elite of administrators, trained in Confucian ideas, arose.

Qin Dynasty (221-210 B.C.E.)

• Rise: The Qin state in western China, after successfully applying Legalism under Lord Shang, launched an all-out war in 237 B.C.E.

  • Conquest: In 15 years, it unified a vast part of China (two-thirds of today's territory).

  • Success Factors: Strong economic base, ability to raise numerous troops, and widespread iron weapons.

• Shi Huangdi ("First August Emperor," r. 221-210 B.C.E.): Proclaimed himself emperor in 221 B.C.E., initiating reforms that shaped China's political organization for over 400 years and inspired centralized rule until the 20th century C.E. (The modern name "China" derives from Qin).

  • Agricultural Expansion: Considered the basis of progress, he ordered large irrigation canals and sponsored the exploitation of new territories by granting land to farmers.

  • Infrastructure: Forced construction of 4000 miles of roads to connect regions to the capital, Xianyang.

  • Defense: Built defensive walls at the northern border, a forerunner to the Great Wall of China (Map 5.3).

  • Suppression of Dissent:

    • Assassinated 460 Confucian scholars who criticized him (according to late Han sources).

    • Ordered all books burned in 213 B.C.E., except practical works on agriculture, medicine, and divination. Chinese classics survived due to hidden copies or oral transmission.

    • Sought political centralization, viewing diversity as a source of disorder.

  • Standardization: Standardized the script used by bureaucrats, weights and measures, and currency across the empire.

• Shi Huangdi's Tomb: Near Xianyang, an unexcavated underground palace.

  • Terra Cotta Army: Surrounded by 7300 life-size terra cotta statues of footmen, archers, charioteers, and cavalry, mass-produced but with individual faces.

  • Sima Qian's Description: Claimed a bronze foundation, mercury representations of seas and rivers with special mechanisms, and crossbow traps for intruders.

  • Labor and Sacrifice: Allegedly built by 700,000 men who were imprisoned upon completion. Childless royal concubines also accompanied him in death. The tomb was filled with treasures, intended to continue his rule in the afterlife.

• Fall of Qin: Shi Huangdi's death in 210 B.C.E. effectively ended the dynasty due to palace intrigues and weakened central control. Mobs, resentful of harsh rule, sacked the court and killed officials.

Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.)

• Foundation: China was not fragmented; Liu Bang, a determined and popular rebel leader, established dominance in 206 B.C.E.

• New Nobility: Liu Bang created a new nobility by granting two-thirds of the empire as kingdoms to relatives and supporters, securing loyalty.

• Name: Named Han after his home region (Map 5.3).

• Duration: Ruled for 400 years, with a short interruption from 9 to 24 C.E.

• Periods:

  • Former (Western) Han (206 B.C.E.-25 C.E.): Capital at Chang'an in the west.

  • Later (Eastern) Han (25-220 C.E.): Capital at Luoyang farther east.

• Former Han Success: Combined Legalist pragmatism with Confucian traditions ingrained in the bureaucratic elite.

  • Economy: Highly centralized and organized, relying on agricultural resources.

  • State Monopolies: Controlled iron and salt, charging artificially high prices for these vital products.

  • Trade Income: Luxury goods, especially silk and lacquerware, generated substantial income.

• Collapse of Han:

  • Land Concentration: By the end of the 1st century B.C.E., large estates acquired by local families reduced the population to slavery.

  • Usurpation: A usurper seized the throne in 9 C.E., temporarily ending the Han dynasty and freeing slaves.

  • Restoration and Weakness: When the Han regained the throne by 25 C.E., the local landed gentry became even more powerful.

  • Rebellions: Large-scale peasant rebellions, though crushed, weakened the central government.

  • Final Fall: The Han dynasty fell by 220 C.E., leading to another period of political fragmentation in China.

• Governmental Structure (Qin and Han):

  • Bureaucracy: State-trained officials, chosen for ability (not family), applied uniform practices and provided a powerful unifying force.

  • Competing Forces: Strong pressures from decentralization, especially from wealthy aristocratic families controlling local populations.

  • Exploitation: Both central administration and local elites excessively demanded from the general population, leading to resentment and ultimate overthrow of both empires.

Preserving and Spreading the Written Word

• Value of Writing: Chinese political elite highly valued the written word, burying themselves with libraries of manuscripts on bamboo and silk.

• Writing Format:

  • Bamboo strips necessitated long vertical columns, a layout that persisted in Chinese writing until the 20th century C.E.

  • Silk manuscripts were also used.

• Mawangdui Tomb Excavation (1970s): Revealed an extensive library from the Han elite, including medical treatises (some on sexual pleasure) on bamboo, and classic philosophy, astronomy, astrology, politics, military, culture, science, and technology on silk.

  • This demonstrated the high value of manuscripts and the rarity of literacy as a hallmark of upper Chinese society.

• Former Han Period: Crucial for the preservation of Zhou and Warring States literature, which shaped literary production for millennia.

• Mandatory Readings: Confucius's teachings became mandatory for bureaucrats, alongside works like Laozi's Classic of Integrity and the Way.

• History Writing: Flourished under the Han dynasty.

  • Sima Qian (c. 145-90 B.C.E.): China's first historian and author of Records of the Historian.

    • Dynastic Cycle Concept: Developed the idea of a continuous sequence of dynasties ruling all of China, setting a tradition for Chinese historical writing.

    • Scope: Covered mythological distant past, sages, and the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties (Chapter 3), providing dates, battles, and events.

    • Purpose: Intended to show that Han empire-building aligned with historical tradition.

  • Continuation by Ban Family:

    • Ban Biao (1st century C.E.): Started History of the Former Han Dynasty.

    • Ban Gu: His son, continued the work.

    • Ban Zhao (c. 45-120 C.E.): Ban Gu's sister, tasked by the emperor to finish the work, with access to state archives. She covered the narrative up to the Han interruption in the 1st decade C.E.

    • Scale: By 1747 C.E., the combined work of this family and subsequent authors amounted to 219 volumes, an unparalleled continuous historical record.

• Ban Zhao (c. 45-120 C.E.):

  • Remarkable woman from a scholarly family, well-educated, married at age 14.

  • Joined the court at 30 after her husband's death, gaining influence.

  • Taught young women, including the future Empress Deng.

  • Authored numerous literary and scholarly works.

  • Lessons for Women: Initially famous for her History, this work gained immense popularity from c. 800 C.E. onwards.

    • Though written as practical advice for her daughters on how to survive in their husbands' family homes, it was later used by men to justify women's inferior role in society.

    • Four Qualifications: Womanly virtue (chastity, modesty), womanly words (careful, appropriate speech), womanly bearing (cleanliness, hygiene), and womanly work (sewing, weaving, preparing food).

    • These qualities were deemed easy to possess if treasured in the heart.

• Conclusion for China: From 500 B.C.E. to 200 C.E., Chinese cultural foundations (arts, sciences, politics) were established. The chaos of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods spurred philosophical and political innovations. Imperial administrations were centralized and often harsh, but decentralizing forces remained strong. Excessive demands from both central and local elites ultimately led to the collapse of these empires.

Greece: Intellectuals and Innovators 500-30 B.C.E.

Focus Question for Greece

• What were the cultural innovations of classical Greece, and how did they affect the peoples of Greece, North Africa, and Southwest Asia?

Athens's Golden Age 500-400 B.C.E.

• Context: After resisting the Persian Empire (early 5th century B.C.E.), Athens's prestige and wealth created fertile conditions for new ideas in politics, science, and literature.

• Pericles's Democracy (443-429 B.C.E.):

  • Athenian democracy reached its peak under Pericles.

  • Goal: Ensure all Athenian citizens, rich or poor, participated actively in government.

  • Policy: Instituted daily stipends for men serving in council or on juries, allowing poor citizens time off work.

  • Limitations: Aimed to increase participation among existing citizens, not to increase the total number of citizens.

• Rhetoric and Sophists:

  • The art of rhetoric (public speaking) became unprecedentedly important for presenting convincing arguments.

  • Sophists ("wise men"): New teachers who offered instruction in rhetoric for a fee.

    • While today the term has a negative connotation (false argument), in ancient Athens, sophists rigorously examined intellectual and religious traditions, pushing Greek thought in new directions.

    • They believed in the power of human reason as essential for understanding the universe.

    • Athens, with its wealth and vibrant cultural life, became an intellectual crossroads and the center of philosophy ("love of wisdom").

Philosopher Giants

• Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle: The three most famous and influential Greek philosophers, closely linked through mentorship, laid the foundation for education and scientific investigation in the Middle East and Europe until modern times.

Socrates (c. 470-399 B.C.E.)

• Method: Did not leave written works; known primarily through his student Plato.

• Aim: Sought justice, equating it with truth.

• Socratic Method: Questioned those claiming wisdom to expose the limits of their knowledge, aiming to discover true wisdom.

• Death: Condemned to death (ostensibly for corrupting youth) and chose suicide by hemlock rather than escape.

Plato (c. 428-348 B.C.E.)

• Works: Wrote in dialogue form, often featuring Socrates leading discussions to logical conclusions.

• Epistemology: Assumed all knowledge is innate and can be revealed by asking the right questions (e.g., teaching a slave boy geometry).

• Dualism: Stressed the distinction between the imperfect physical world and the perfect spiritual world, believing only the immortal human soul could know the spiritual.

• Political Philosophy: In Republic, he questioned democracy, proposing a hierarchy:

  • Guardians: Wise and well-educated rulers.

  • Auxiliaries: Provided protection.

  • Producers: Provided food and goods.

  • Laws would enable guardians to implement decisions.

• School: Founded the Academy, attracting students like Aristotle.

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.)

• Background: Plato's most famous pupil, later mentored Alexander the Great.

• School: Founded the Lyceum in 335 B.C.E., teaching diverse subjects from natural sciences to literary criticism.

• Philosophy: Rejected Plato's distrust of the physical, focusing on empirical observation of particulars to derive general conclusions through logical induction.

• Works: Authored many analytical treatises, including Politics.

  • Politics: Described a state guided by the virtues of its people. Disapproved of tyranny and direct democracy (rule by the masses), advocating for a middle path with an assembly led by able experts.

  • Slavery: Believed slavery was a natural condition for some, benefiting the state.

• Ethics: Emphasized striving for balance and warned against extremes.

• Legacy:

  • Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle's rational explanations and systematic ideas became models for scholarly investigation in the Hellenistic world.

  • Their works were translated into Arabic, preserving them, and formed the foundation of scientific inquiry in Europe and the Middle East for centuries.

Greek Historians and Drama

• Historians:

  • Herodotus (c. 485-425 B.C.E.): Known as the "Father of History" ("inquiry" in Greek) for being the first to investigate the past to find causes for historical events, specifically the Persian Wars.

  • Thucydides (c. 460-400 B.C.E.): Documented the Peloponnesian War, in which he fought.

    • Analysis: Explained the war as an unavoidable clash between two expansionist states (Athens focusing on sea power, Sparta on land).

    • Political Views: Supported democratic rule under a strong leader, linking Athens's problems to deviations from this ideal.

  • Innovation: Both historians presented events as consequences of human actions, not merely divine intervention, reflecting Athens's Golden Age curiosity about underlying structures and causes.

• Drama: Athens was a hub for extraordinary literary production, particularly tragic drama.

  • Tragic Authors: Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.E.), Sophocles (c. 496-406 B.C.E.), and Euripides (c. 485-406 B.C.E.) explored human nature and society.

  • Hubris: A common theme was hubris (excessive pride/self-confidence) leading to a hero's downfall.

    • Oedipus the King (Sophocles): Oedipus's intellect and certainty in uncovering truth lead to his ruin (blinding himself, mother's suicide).

  • Vengeance: Explored as an endless cycle, as shown in Oresteia (Aeschylus), which ends only when an Athenian jury resolves the cycle of revenge (Clytemnestra killing Agamemnon, Orestes killing Clytemnestra).

  • Women in Tragedy: Despite women's inferior status in society, they were often central characters.

    • Antigone (Sophocles): Antigone defiantly opposes her uncle's decree to bury her brother, prioritizing divine laws over human ones, willing to die for her convictions:

      • "And so, for me to meet this fate, no grief. But if I left that corpse, my mother's son, Dead and unburied I'd have cause to grieve As now I grieve not. And if you think my acts are foolishness the foolishness may be in a fool's eye."

    • These female characters often uphold personal values distinct from the public concerns of men.

Hellenism: The Expansion of Greek Ideals and Institutions 323-30 B.C.E.

• Context: Macedonia's rise led to its dominance over Greece, followed by Alexander's conquest of the vast Persian Empire.

• Hellenism: The resulting cultural fusion of Greek, Southwest Asian, and Egyptian ideas within Alexander's empire.

  • Characterized by common language, literature, and intellectual/political ideas.

  • Period: From Alexander's death in 323 B.C.E. to the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 B.C.E.

• Alexander the Great:

  • Succeeded his father Philip as king of Macedonia and leader of Greek states in 336 B.C.E. at age 20.

  • Quickly defeated the Persian Empire, which had dominated for 200 years, earning him the title "the Great."

  • Led campaigns across his realm to consolidate power, reaching the Indus River before his troops refused to go further.

  • Died in Babylon in 323 B.C.E.

• Successor Kingdoms: Alexander's generals fought for succession, carving his empire into several states (Map 5.4).

  • Seleucid Empire: Initially spanned from Syria to the Indus.

  • Ptolemaic Empire: Controlled Egypt and the Libyan coast.

  • Legitimacy: Generals sought legitimacy by integrating indigenous traditions, supporting local cults, commissioning inscriptions (cuneiform for Seleucids, hieroglyphics for Ptolemies), and maintaining existing bureaucracies, though Greek became the administrative language.

• Impact on Populations:

  • Commoners: For Egyptians and Babylonians, daily life changed little; they continued rural tasks, interacting with authorities via local agents.

  • Greeks: Faced fundamental changes, moving from small city-states where everyone knew each other to immense multicultural empires.

  • Political Shift: Hereditary kingdoms (including female succession in Ptolemaic Egypt) replaced citizen-ruled city-states.

• Survival of Polis Ideal: Alexander founded about 70 cities to establish local dominance; his successors continued this policy.

  • These new cities resembled Greek city-states in layout, buildings, and government.

  • Ai Khanoum: A key outpost on the northeastern border at the Oxus River, where Clearchus inscribed Delphi's wisdom (as mentioned earlier).

• Alexandria, Egypt:

  • Capital: Founded by Alexander in 331 B.C.E., it grew to a population of 0.5 million.

  • Description: Dazzling in appearance and a center of learning. Laid out with straight streets intersecting at right angles, lined with palaces, temples, theaters, and a massive library.

  • Cultural Blend: Greek architectural style, but clearly Egyptian, with monumental statues of rulers in traditional styles.

  • Royal Patronage: Drew scholars and artists from across the Greek-speaking world.

  • Library and Museum:

    • The Museum ("House of the Muses") housed poets and scientific researchers.

    • The Library aimed to collect every known Greek literary work, holding 490,000 volumes, likely the largest ancient collection.

• Intellectual Innovations:

  • Stimulated by Alexandrian learning, scientific inquiry built on older traditions (e.g., Babylonian mathematics and astronomy).

  • Aristarchos of Samos (c. 310-230 B.C.E.): Correctly theorized that planets revolved around the sun (heliocentrism), an advance often lost and rediscovered much later.

• Hellenistic Philosophy:

  • With the decline of the polis, philosophy shifted to focus on individual living.

  • Epicureans: Taught the pursuit of simple pleasures and a quiet life.

  • Cynics: Advocated rejection of social norms and conventional behavior, often living as beggars.

  • Stoics: The most influential school, encouraging intellectual inquiry for moral guidance to eliminate anxieties and desires.

    • A Roman Stoic wrote: "Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of one's desires, but by the removal of desire."

    • These ideas show parallels with teachings of the Buddha and Laozi in India and China, suggesting similar intellectual developments across the ancient world.

• Religious Syncretism:

  • A great variety of religious traditions and gods merged. Indigenous cults persisted, but foreign gods were adopted, and identities blended (e.g., Egyptian Osiris with Greek Zeus).

  • Monotheism in Judah: Amidst this polytheistic environment, the inhabitants of Judah continued to honor their single god, Yahweh.

  • Ethical Implication: In Hellenistic times, Jerusalem's priests combined monotheism with the aspiration for a Jewish state, contrasting with the internationalism of Hellenistic kingdoms. This Jewish monotheism would profoundly impact the Roman Empire (Chapter 6).

• Cultural Mixing Debates: Historians debate the extent to which this cultural mixing influenced the majority of people (illiterate farmers often held onto old traditions).

• Conclusion: Despite localized resistance, new ideas and gods gained unprecedented popularity, demonstrating that Hellenism profoundly affected everyone.

COUNTERPOINT: The Celtic Peoples of the Atlantic Zone

Focus Question for Celtic Peoples

• How did the lives and livelihoods of the peoples of Atlantic Europe differ from those of the Mediterranean peoples?

Introduction to Celtic Peoples

• Historical Focus: Historians primarily focus on the great empires of Eurasia (India, China, Greece) due to abundant sources and momentous developments. Their thinkers produced rich textual records that influenced millennia of intellectual development.

• Fringe Cultures: In contrast, the wide areas north and west of Greece (Atlantic Europe) had different lifestyles and ideologies.

  • Writing: Little written evidence exists, mostly short dedications using Greek or Latin alphabets.

  • Sources: Archaeological remains and often-biased Greek and Roman accounts. Oral literature provides insights, preserved in places like Ireland.

• The Celts: A term used by the Romans, still common today, to refer to diverse groups and cultures in the Atlantic region (Map 5.5).

Who Were the Celts?

• Roman Perspective: Romans, when conquering parts of the Atlantic region in the 1st century B.C.E. and C.E., noted a cultural diversity but applied the blanket term "Celts."

• Linguistic Unity: Despite cultural variations, all these peoples spoke languages belonging to the Celtic branch of Indo-European (some still spoken in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany).

• Oral Traditions: Their ideologies survived largely through oral literary traditions.

Celtic Ways of Life

• Economy: Farmers living in small settlements and villages.

• Social Structure: Ruled by a military aristocracy that highly valued warrior skills.

  • Elites: Inhabited fortresses on natural hills, encircled by moats and walls.

  • Burials: Buried with swords, shields, and chariots, reflecting their warrior status.

  • Social Control: Romans observed that military leaders treated the general population as slaves.

• Warlike Culture: Prominent in Celtic oral literature, recounting raids, single combat for honor, and bonding through feasts and hospitality.

• Women's Roles: Unlike most ancient societies, Celtic women actively participated in military life and could become war leaders.

  • Queen Boudicca (BOO-dee-kah; 60 C.E.): Famously led an army against the Romans, motivated by the mistreatment of her people and the rape of her daughters.

    • Her rallying speech:

      • "Look round, and view your numbers. Behold the proud display of warlike spirits, and consider the motives for which we draw the avenging sword. On this spot we must either conquer, or die with glory. There is no alternative. Though a woman, my resolution is fixed: the men, if they please, may survive with infamy, and live in bondage."

    • Though her troops lost and she committed suicide, Boudicca became a 19th-century symbol of resistance and female valor in Britain.

Celtic Religion and Contacts with the Mediterranean

• Polytheism: Celts honored a multitude of gods closely connected to natural forces.

  • Examples: Coventina (goddess of wells and springs).

  • Priests: Romans called them Druids, considering them the most honored group, equal to warriors.

• Religious Practices: Included human sacrifice.

  • Bog People: Archaeological discoveries of "bog people" (executed by strangulation or other means and buried in bogs) are believed to be offerings to the gods.

  • Roman View: Romans deemed Celtic religious practices "uncivilized" and tried, unsuccessfully, to ban them.

• Contacts with the Mediterranean: Extensive interactions from the early 1st millennium B.C.E., steadily increasing (Map 5.5).

  • Trade Centers: Phoenician and Greek colonies in the western Mediterranean served as exchange points.

  • Goods Exported by Celts: Silver, tin, copper (from as far as Britain), and amber (fossilized resin used in jewelry, from the Baltic Sea).

  • Goods Imported by Celts: Luxury goods such as drinking vessels and wine. Celts were known for heavy consumption of undiluted wine; one Greek author noted a slave could be traded for a single jar of wine.

• Impact on Elites: Contacts allowed some local Celtic elites to acquire Mediterranean luxury goods, like the massive bronze wine crater found in a 6th-century B.C.E. tomb at Vix, France.

• Social Inequality: As elsewhere in the ancient world, most Celts lived simple lives as farmers; few had access to such luxuries.

• Military Forays: Mediterranean wealth may have inspired Celtic raids and settlements in the region.

• Greek/Roman Portrayals: Emphasized Celtic physical strength and martial behavior, but also depicted them as noble savages.

  • A Hellenistic king's monument in Pergamon (late 3$$rd century B.C.E.) celebrating victory over the Galatians (Celts) showed them as honorable fighters preferring suicide over capture, mirroring later Roman portrayals of figures like Boudicca.

Conclusion

• Celtic Distinctiveness: The Celtic peoples at the edge of the Eurasian world maintained fundamentally different traditions, with their history often overshadowed by their more powerful neighbors. Their influences, though less visible than those of Greece, India, and China, were significant.

• Significance of 500 B.C.E.-500 C.E.: This era was critically important for the cultural histories of Eurasia, as it saw the formulation of classical traditions in India, China, and Greece.

• Axial Age Summary: A turning point where men and women across Eurasia developed new ideas about themselves and their place in the universe. They explicitly discussed the causes of events (wars, social conflict) and investigated the human condition through scientific, religious, and philosophical inquiry. This era produced named thinkers (Siddhartha Gautama, Confucius, Socrates), unlike earlier anonymous ones.

• Imperial Context: These intellectual developments occurred during the rise and fall of large territorial empires, which facilitated the widespread dissemination of ideas. While direct intellectual influence across the continent is uncertain, the simultaneous appearance of these approaches is striking.

• Counterpoint Revisited: It is crucial to remember that not all peoples participated in these highly documented developments. Groups like the Celts maintained rich local traditions, largely preserved orally until later recorded by others, such as the Romans.