global final exam (shortened)

egypt:

egypt - geographic (nile river):

• segmented into 2 parts (upper and lower) the government wasn’t originally unified

• lower egypt was more important since nile delta provided more trade and economic opportunities

• nile river flowed from south to north

• nile had good transportation, made land fertile, floods were predictable, regular farming cycle, irrigation

• nile was worshipped as a god

pharaohs/government:

• pharaohs (word means royal house) had absolute power but had to follow ma’at

• ma’at main principle is the ruler must rule fairly and with intergrity

• egypt was a theocracy (ruled in the name of god, no seperation b/w state and religion)

• pharaohs had political and religious power

• pharaohs were responsible for the irrigation system, directing the army, maintaining peace, controlling trade and economy

• office of vizier: highest official to serve the pharaoh

• regional territories: controlled by nomes

• governer of territories: controlled by nomarchs

• believed pharoahs ruled even after death, placed the responsiblity of egypt’s wellbeing on them

• king tut died at 19, didn’t acchieve much, famous for being discovered

• king tut’s father forbid worship of other gods, only aten (sun disk)

taxes:

• taxes were paid for public buildings, irrigations, ports, and mines

• taxes were paid by peasants with grains (kings later survived famines with it)

social class system:

• upper class: landowners, priests, army commanders, government officials (scribes)

• middle class: merchants, artisans

• lower class: peasants, farmers, slaves

• government workers (priests and nobles) lived in spacious houses, had servants and entertained other high class families

• scribes: recorded in hieroglyphics, records government documents, trade, taxes, poems, supplies and other resources

• artisans: produced goods, traded, more skill = more money

• peasants: grew crops, raised animals, worked on irrigation and tombs/temples

• women had more power than most others: could own property, get a divorce, could become a priest and doctors

the afterlife:

• (osiris) dead were judged by weighing the heart and a feather on a scale if the heart was heavier then they are going to devourer of soul and if feather is heavier than going to other world

• the book of dead: collection of spells which enable the soul of a deceased to navigate afterlife (ancient egyptian bible)

• never codified which means no 2 copies are the same (created in 3rd dynasty)

• center of pyramids were for kings and they were put in sarcophagus’ (queens also were put)

• the dead were offered food, drinks, pets, weapons, treasures for the journey to the afterline

• treasures were marks of status

• coffins were covered in text (spells for guidance in the afterlife)

• all classes had tombs/were mummified (canopic jars for organs and preserves corpses)

• ba: eternal spirit

temples/religion:

• ra: sun god, horus: sky god, mother goddess: giver of life (nile river)

• each region had patron god (took place in temples)

• priests took care of the temples, yearly rituals (based off of cosmic calender), mediate god and king

• social status: upper class had more options/rights in the temples than lower class

• valued magic and animals (believed to have supernatural powers)

decline of egypt:

• middle kingdom: trade flourished, conquered nubia for gold, had good economy

• declined because of too many weak pharaohs so nobles and priests took over

• hyksos invade from asia in the delta region

• hyksos had horses, chariots, bronze weapons, and heavy bows, stuff egypt didn’t have

• war of liberation: egypt used hyksos techniques to overthrow

• new kingdom: paid tributes: slaves, gold, jewels, ivory

• ramses: last powerful pharaoh

• hittites invaded eastern with iron weapons

• fought for decades but ramses married daughter so peace

• weak military, constant wars, bad economy, disunification, looting

india:

indus river valley:

• unpredictable rivers, strong winds, monsoons (created feasts and famine)

• grew and flourished in 2,500 B.C. (western part of south asia)

• two cities harappa + mohenjo-daro

• successful b/c grid system, wide street, citadels (fortress), assembly hall, pulic baths, plumbing + sewage system ***

• homes were equal in size suggesting little divison in social class

• believed in many gods, respected nature, cultivated grains (first to grow cotton), domesticated animals ***

• artisans worked with copper, bronze, gold (system of weights, measured by weight), made pottery

• merchants used stone or clay seals to mark goods + sign contracts *****

• irv declined because of abandonded cities, trade slowed, economy failed, law in order failed, climate change (overused resources)

the aryans and the aryan invasions:

• from central and south asia, semi-nomadic warriors

• built no cities, no art, no architecture, no written language (no written records)

• war-like nomads and measured wealth in livestock

• horse culture, chariot racing, hunting, gambling, fighting

• tribe ruled by a king (king part of tribal council)

• caste system: brahmine (priests + teacher), kshatriyas (warriors), vanisyas (farmers craftspeople, sudras (servants, originally from irv)

• rajah (chief), warriors (nobles), priests, commoners

• aryans invaded because they wanted land and animals

hinduism:

• originated from vedas (oldest text of hinduism, religious text)

• traditions come from epics (mahabharata: tells a great war with gods and people on the same side to fight corruption, ramayana: is a love story b/w ideal hindu couple (rama and sita)

• monotheistic (brahman = everything in the universe)

• atman: person soul

• reincarnation: rebirth of soul in another body

• karma: force created by persons good and bad actions (better karma = better reincarnations)

• ultimate goal is moksha: release from the cycle of rebirth

• dharma: outlines behavior that is in harmony (fulfill duties, rights laws, conduct, virtues, right way of living)

• to recieve moksha you need proper dharma and karma (good behavior)

buddhism:

• originated from the story of buddha getting enlightened

• nontheisitic (neither since buddha is respected but no supreme god is worshipped)

• 3 main marks of existence: suffering, impermanence, egolessness

• karma: right actions/thinking - certain actions create reactions (pos or neg)

• ultimate goal is nirvana: 4 noble truths and eightfold paths

• traditions based on buddhava cana (word of buddha) and sutras (buddhist scriptures)

• don’t believe in fate, create your own destiny (how inspirational)

4 noble truths:

• all life is full of suffering and pain

• cause of suffering is the desire for things (riches, power, long life)

• cure for suffering is to overcome the desire

• can overcome the desire through the eightfold paths

eightfold paths:

• control your thoughts

• resist evil

• free your mind of evil

• work for the good of others

• respect life

• know the truth

• say nothing to hurt others

• practice meditation

mauryan empire:

• chandragupta mauryan established mauryan empire 322 B.C.

• bindusara took over after as empire 299 B.C. (father of ashoka the great)

• bindusara maintained control and expanded trade

• battle of kalinga: ashoka invaded republic of kalinga, won but lost 250,000 men

• ashoka's edict: word spread throughout south asia and many adopted buddhism

• ashoka has bad successors, split into smaller kingdoms (greek, tribes from central asia, persians)

dravidians:

• fled from aryan invasions, remained free and culture developed

• practiced hinduism, spoke different language (tamil), embraced different customs and traditions

• good merchants and traders

gupta empire:

• had to unite india (hard because of foriegn territories)

• after a lot of warfare chandragupta created gupta empire (hindu revival)

• medicine, litereature, math, astronomy

• peace, culture blossomed, art flourished, literature revived, trade expanded (prospered during decline of rome)

• literature showed importance of hinduism in everyday life

• downfall: barbarians from central asia attacked the borders, weakened central government and power passed to local leaders

china:

geography (yellow river):

• river turned yellow because of loess sediments turned the water yellow

• deposited soil but flooded (called china’s sorrow)

• isolation (oceans, deserts, mountains)

• fished, farmed, irrgated land, rice was main choice because it thrived in warm areas with flooded fields (terrace farming)

xia dynasty:

• first dynasty founded by prince yu (tamed the waters so farmers could live there)

• xia rulers after xia were cruel

• collapsed and ended up being ruled by noble family shang

shang dynasty:

• bronze was scarce used for weapons and religious purposes (only for upper class)

• dominated by small upper class (mostly lower class)

• upper class: king = priest, nobles = warriors, priests

• lower class: farmers, artisans, slaves

• powerful army, nobles led (spears, bronze shields, bow and arrows)

• demanded tribute which kept econ going (at war constantly)

• shang created first writing system (religious purposes, needles and bone/tortoise shell)

• declined because leaders were tyrants and zhou (small territorty) was tired of paying

zhou dynasty:

• zhou justified taking over shang with mandate of heaven (shang didn’t deserve to rule)

• mandate of heaven: approval from gods to rule

• king wen was wise and beneviolent but cruel to enemies

• alliance with neighboring chiefs and was imprisioned in youli

• king wu (son) won against shang since many shang soldiers had no loyalty

• king wu gave land to nobles in exchange for loyalty (lord took advantage)

• lords went to war with others for wealth and land - king power lost

• declined because lords rebelled royalty fled east to luoyang)

• instability and chaos

zhou achievenments:

• first coined money (no more barter)

• improved transportation (roads and canals)

• improved efficiency of government

• created civil servants who travelled state to state advising rulers how to rule

confucianism: ****

• restoring social stability and order

• eevil rulers were responsible for evil actions of subject

• father responsible for kids, rulers and subjects, husband and wives

• li: rites, rules, rituals, decorum

• ren: beneviolence, humanity

• shu: empathy

• yi: righteousness

• xiao: fillial piety (respect families)

daoism: ****

• lao zi (tao tzu)

• reject formal knowledge

• relying on senses and instinicts

• discovering nature and rhythm

• ignoring political and social laws

legalism: ****

• han fe zi (political philosopher of qin)

• humans are naturally selfish

• intellectualism and literacy is discouraged

• law is supreme authority replaces morality

• ruler must rule with an iron fist (war strengthens ruler’s power)

qin dynasty:

• qin overthrew zhou (only 15 years) legalism

• shi huangdi was a brutal leader (first emperor)

• li si (trusted advisor, founder of legalism)

• designed standard currency

• standard wheel axle size (road all one size)

• standardized the writing system (seal)

• great wall of china: northern territories to protect borders

• banished and killed scholars and burned books

han dynasty:

• military leader declared himself as emperor (gao zu)

• han vs. huns

• expansion, trade, good governing, lowered taxes, no harsh rules

• emperor wudi conquered lots yayaya

• emperor, governer, king, nobles, scholars, peasants, artisans, soldiers

• farmers were mistreated, farming was important but were indebt because of taxes

• civil servce exams (confucian scholars are back)

i gave up ;)