Part 1: Human Development to c. 600 B.C.E.

The First Migrations

Modern humans first appeared in East Africa between 200,000 B.C.E. and 100,00 B.C.E. They were nomadic and lived in groups of about a dozen. As they traveled, they adapted and developed genetic and cultural differences.

They developed animism, a reverence for deities associated with the features of nature, such as animals or specific mountains or rivers. These societies were fairly egalitarian, but they showed early signs of patriarchy: domination by males.

By 10,000 B.C.E., humans lived on every continent except Antarctica.

The Agricultural Revolution

Around 10,000 years ago, 8000 B.C.E., the climate was warming from an Ice Age. This change, called the Agricultural Revolution, began in the Middle East.

For the first time in history, one part of the population produced enough food to feed everyone, transforming human life, and causing innovations:

• The population grew

  • People lived in larger settlements

• People became skilled at one job

  • Artisans made tools and weapons

  • Merchants engaged in trade

  • Priests conducted rituals

• People developed technology

  • Improved irrigation systems

  • Use of the wheel in transportation

  • Replaced stone with metals

• People created more extensive governments and taxation

  • The desire to keep records about trade and taxes led to the invention of writing

• Competition for resources and the accumulation of wealth increased group conflicts

  • The development of government provided a more peaceful way to settle conflicts between individuals

• People became more sharply divided into social classes by wealth and occupation

  • In general, the status of women declined

The First Civilizations

Trends that emerged after the Agricultural Revolution led to the first civilizations: large societies with cities and a powerful state. Most were in river valleys: places with fresh water and fertile land

Mesopotamia: The world’s first civilization was here, in a region around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is today Iraq.

A city-state is an independent state made up of a city and its surrounding territory. All city-states:

• Were highly patriarchal

• Built monumental architecture

• Engaged in long-distance trade.

The people were polytheistic: believing in many gods.

Sumer was a city-state along the southernmost region of ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerians invented cuneiform: the first written language in history.

Egypt was under one ruler: a pharaoh. The Egyptians developed hieroglyphics and a complex system of mathematics. They built pyramids that demonstrated the pharaoh’s power. Egyptian women were allowed to own property and were equal to men in court. These rights gave women higher social status than their counterparts in other patriarchal civilizations.

Indus: South Asian cities along the Indus River like Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro:

• Engaged in long-distance trade with Mesopotamia

• Practiced polytheism

• Developed technology such as indoor plumbing

• Planned the layout of urban areas

China: Along the Huang He River in Northern China, there was a highly patriarchal and centralized system. Its people gave special honor to their ancestors.

Non-River Valley Civilizations: The Olmec in Mesoamerica and the Chavin in the Andes were complex societies that took part in extensive trade.

Hinduism and Judaism

In animism, most deities were identified with specific places. Over time, people decided that deities were not tied to one spot. In some places, polytheism was replaced with monotheism: a belief in just one supreme deity.

Hinduism, which goes back 3,500 years, is sometimes categorized as both monotheistic and polytheistic. Aryans from north of the Himalayan Mountains migrated south to now Pakistan and India. They spoke an Indo-European language and brought scriptures: the Vedas.

The Vedas taught that a soul is reincarnated repeatedly until it spiritually advances enough to become free. They taught that society should organize into sharply defined classes: castes, which prohibited social mobility.

Zoroastrianism is an example of an early form of monotheism that developed in Persia. Its followers focus on free will and the battle between good and evil.

Judaism: The most influential example of monotheism. Its earliest followers were known as Hebrews, Israelites, or Jews. Judaism developed in and around what is now Israel. The Jewish people trace their history to the teachings of Abraham, who lived about 4,000 years ago.

Jews believe that they have entered into a mutual promise with their God: Yahweh. In return for their devotion, Yahweh considers them his chosen people. Judaism was further developed with the writing of Hebrew Scriptures or the Old Testament.

Christianity and Islam are also monotheistic religions that look back to Abraham as an important figure.

Part 2: The Classical Era, c. 600 B.C.E. to c. 600 C.E.

Several great empires that arose between 600 B.C.E. and 600C.E. became the core foundations of later civilizations:

• Western Eurasia:

  • Persian Empire

  • Greek Empire

  • Roman Empire

  • Byzantine Empire

• Southern Asia:

  • Mauryan Empire

  • Gupta Empire

• Eastern Asia:

  • Qin Dynasty

  • Han Dynasty

• Mesoamerica:

  • Mayan Empire

Goods and ideas flowed along land routes such as the Silk Roads and maritime routes in the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. These trade routes fostered the development of such great cities as:

• Rome (Italy)

• Constantinople (Turkey)

• Damascus (Syria)

• Pataliputra (India)

• Chang’an (China)

Buddhism and Developments in South Asia

South Asia was unified under one government only twice during the Classical Period. The most influential development in South Asia was Buddhism.

Beginning of Buddhism: The founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Gautama who was born into a wealthy Hindu family around 530 B.C.E. He became aware of humanity’s suffering. To understand why, he pursued a life of poverty and meditation.

Buddhist doctrines were summarized in the Four Noble Truths, which sought to eliminate desire and suffering with the Eightfold Path. This requires individuals to meditate, reflect, and refrain from excessive earthly pleasures. The goal is to achieve enlightenment and peaceful bliss: nirvana, which ends reincarnation.

The spread of Buddhism: Buddhism provided an alternative to the Vedic beliefs that founded Hinduism. It spread quickly throughout India and across Asia. Missionaries and merchants spread it along the Silk Roads and around the Indian Ocean.

Buddhism was a universalizing religion that sought converts. Buddhism is also a monastic faith that develops monastery communities for men and women.

The Mauryan Empire: The first period of unity in South Asia was under the Mauryan Empire (322 B.C.E.-187 B.C.E.). It reached its peak during the rule of Ashoka. He created a tax system and built roads that connected commercial centers. Ashoka spread knowledge of the law by inscribing his edicts on pillars throughout the empire.

Ashoka converted from Hinduism to Buddhism. This helped spread the faith throughout India. After Ashoka, the Mauryan Empire declined in power, resulting in political decentralization.

The Gupta Empire: The second period of unity in South Asia was under the Gupta Empire: c. 320 C.E. to c. 550 C.E. This period is considered the Golden Age of India. Physicians made medical advances in public hospitals and mathematicians developed a numbering system that combined a small number of symbols, 0-9, and the idea of a place value.

To unify people, the Guptas strongly supported Hinduism, the most common religion in India today.

Confucianism and Developments in East Asia

Central China was united under the Zhou Dynasty (1076 B.C.E.). However, as the dynasty weakened, China suffered a time of instability and decentralization referred to as the Warring States Period.

The mandate of Heaven is the idea that “heaven,” or some universal force, justified an emperor and his family to rule China. If a ruler became corrupt or ineffective, “heaven” would show its displeasure through natural disasters, which was a sign that the ruler had lost the Mandate of Heaven. Several major peasant uprisings in China were a direct result of this belief.

Confucianism: During the Warring States period, 551 B.C.E., the philosopher K’ung Fu-tzu, Confucius, was born. The teachings of Confucius describe how people should behave in everyday life. He emphasized filial piety: the duty to honor ancestors. Confucius affected Chinese beliefs and values more than any other philosophy.

Daoism was a second response to the chaos of the Warring States period, which focused on living in harmony with nature. The practices of Daoism emphasized internal reflection more than external behavior.

The Qin and Han Dynasties: China regained stability when the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.E.-207 B.C.E.) and Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.) established centralized control. The Qin standardized Chinese script, established a system of weights and measures, and built canals and roads.

The Han created a civil service exam. It required students to analyze Confucian teachings. Those who scored well received prestigious jobs in the government bureaucracy. This produced a government of well-educated individuals and some social mobility.

Civilizations of Western Eurasia and Christianity

In western Eurasia between 600 B.C.E. and 600 C.E., strong civilizations developed in Persia, Greece, and Rome. Trade, war, and the flow of ideas connected these civilizations.

Persia: Around 559 B.C.E., a large empire developed in Persia (modern-day Iran) under the leadership of Cyrus the Great. The Persian Empire or the Achaemenid Empire included lands from the Aegean Sea to the border of India.

Spartans organized their society around the military. Women, the elderly, and enslaved people filled roles that allowed free men to train as soldiers and fight when needed. Athenians made advances in architecture, literature, theater, and philosophy. Many advances came during its Golden Age in the late 400s B.C.E. They also developed democracy: a system of government in which a large part of the population runs the government. Athens allowed free adult males to participate directly in making political decisions.

In the 300s B.C.E., the army of Alexander the Great spread Greek culture into Egypt, Persia, and India. This region became known as the Hellenistic world.

Rome was founded in 753 B.C.E. The Romans:

• Incorporated Greek gods into their pantheon of deities

• Relied on slavery

• Made advances in government

Romans developed representative government and the concept of “innocent until proven guilty.” The Romans publicly displayed written laws called the Twelve Tables.

Rome had a patriarchal society but women had rights, including the right to own and inherit property and to initiate divorce proceedings.

Rome expanded in all directions, turning the Mediterranean Sea into “a Roman lake.” At the peak of its power, the Roman Empire ruled from Scotland to northern Africa and the Middle East. Both Rome and Persia were land-based empires under a strong central government. Both Rome and Persia fostered trade and prosperity with roads and militaries to protect travelers. Rome was also famous for other publicly funded projects, such as aqueducts: systems to transport water to cities and stadiums for public entertainment.

Roman leaders over-extended the military, were corrupt, and failed to deal with smallpox and the bubonic plague. Gradually, trade and urban populations declined. Rome’s decline was made worse by invasions from groups such as:

• The Huns

• Ostrogoths

• Visigoths

• Vandals

By 476 C.E., the empire was so weak that a non-Roman became emperor for the first time in over a thousand years.

The Development of Christianity: Rome’s most enduring legacy was religion. Rome generally tolerated all faiths as long as subjects agreed to accept the divine nature of the emperor.

Jews living in the Middle East refused to recognize any deity but their own. Roman persecution of Jews living in the Middle East contributed to the diaspora of Jews as they looked for places to worship freely.

One leader who emerged from the Jewish community was Jesus. The Romans executed him. Since his followers considered him the Christ, they became known as Christians. Despite persecution by the Romans, Jesus’s disciples continued to spread his teachings. By the end of the 1st century C.E., Christians were practicing their faith throughout the empire.

This faith was attractive to the poor because it taught that people could live a better life after death if they believed in Jesus. Despite continued persecution, Christianity grew stronger. In the 4th century, under Constantine, Christianity became legal and was accepted as the empire’s official religion.

Christianity was a universalizing religion. It also offered monastic lifestyles for men (monks) and women (nuns) to devote their lives to.

Byzantine: By the middle of the 4th century, the eastern half of the Roman Empire had become wealthier and more powerful than the western half. Because of this, in 330, Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the empire to Byzantium and renamed the city Constantinople. In 395, the Roman Empire was divided into two. Rome was the western capital, and Constantinople was the eastern capital.

Constantinople became a political and economic hub. Its rivers from the north flowed into the nearby Mediterranean and Black Seas. As an entrepôt (coastal trading center), Constantinople did well as it received raw goods from Europe, cereals from Egypt, and precious spices and finished products from the East.

At its peak, the Byzantine Empire extended to the eastern half of the Mediterranean. The reign of Justinian the Great (527–565) included great accomplishments such as the construction of Hagia Sophia (537) or the Justinian Code. Though constantly threatened by foreign incursion, the Byzantine Empire would survive for another 900 years.

Early American Civilizations

Afro-Eurasian civilizations developed in isolation from American civilizations during the classical era. Two of the most important were in Mesoamerica, now Mexico and Central America.

Teotihuacan: One of the most important civilizations in the Americas was in this city, near modern-day Mexico City. By the 6th century C.E., it was one of the largest cities in the world with a population of 125,000. Teotihuacan had streets laid on a grid and religious temples dedicated to the sun and moon gods. The city was abandoned by 650.

The Mayans were the most influential classical civilization in the Americas. The Mayans can be traced as far back as 1500 B.C.E. They reached their height of population and wealth between 250 C.E. and 900 C.E. Mayan priests created an accurate calendar, showing that they understood the movement of Earth and space.

Comparisons in the Classical Age

Early Trade Networks: Eurasian exchange networks utilized Roman and Han innovations, such as stirrups and networks of places to rest and eat.

There were also improvements in sail design and ship hulls that allowed ships to maneuver in unfavorable wind conditions. Improvements to the camel saddle made caravan trade profitable and possible across the Sahara.

The Mediterranean Sea lanes continued to facilitate cultural exchange and goods between the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and people of North Africa.

Decline of Classical Empires: By 600 C.E., many of the great classical empires were losing their unity and political power. As a result, people faced growing problems. Each unsolved problem made peace and prosperity more precarious:

• issues collecting taxes weakened government

• declines in trade lowered access to foreign goods and markets

• spread of disease reduced urban populations

• larger gaps between the rich and poor created social conflict

• lack of broad support for leadership made solving problems harder

• attacks by outside groups led to a need for more spending on defense

In some areas, common religion helped keep society unified as a government failed. This unity would help new empires arise.

Ex: in Europe, the Roman Empire broke apart in the 5th century, but Christianity held society together. Confucianism did the same in China, as well as Hinduism and Buddhism in South Asia.

Part 3: Postclassical Civilizations, c. 600-c. 1200

The decline of classical civilizations was marked by a century or more of declines in trade, intellectual innovation, and social stability. New states that promoted peace and prosperity replaced them. Throughout Afro-Eurasia, trade intensified after 600. The Silk Roads, the Indian Ocean trade networks, and the trans-Saharan trade routes were full of items such as porcelain, ivory, teakwood, spices, and silk. These networks gave opportunities for technology and ideas to travel across cultures. Regions became familiar with the compass, the astrolabe, credit, paper money, and religious beliefs. Deadly diseases also spread along these routes.

The Spread of Islam

At the beginning of the 7th century, the people of the Middle East were a mixture of animists, Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians, and others. A merchant named Muhammad living on the Arabian Peninsula believed that he had received revelations from God. These revelations were later recorded in the Quran, the sacred scriptures of the religion of Islam. Those who followed the teachings in the Quran became known as Muslims. They believed that Muhammad was last in a line of great prophets that included Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.

The Teachings of Islam: The core principles of the Quran are called the Five Pillars of Islam: a belief in one God (Allah), ritual prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and a pilgrimage to Mecca. There is a law code based on the Quran, sharia, to regulate Muslim religious and civic behavior. Sharia made no distinction between religious and civil law.

Sunnis and Shi’as: Through Muhammad’s leadership, Islam unified and calmed the warring tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. Islam experienced a crisis when Muhammad died in 632 and did not appoint a successor. People fought over who should become the political leader, caliph, of the Islamic community. A divide separated the two major branches of Islam: Sunni and Shi’a. Sunni Muslims felt that the caliph could be selected by all leaders. Shi’a Muslims felt that the caliph should be a blood relative of Muhammad. Today, Sunnis form the majority of Muslims in the world.

Expansion of Islam: In less than a century, Islam had united southern Spain, North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of India. This area became known as the House of Islam, or Dar al-Islam.

The Abbasids: The Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258) was the most influential power in Dar al-Islam, marking a golden age for Islamic culture. A stable government fostered prosperous trade, reviving Silk Road commerce with China under the Tang Dynasty. They also promoted trans-Saharan trade to West Africa and played a key role in the exchange of ideas and goods across the Indian Ocean.

Islamic society, especially in Baghdad, flourished under the Abbasids, becoming a hub of learning. Advances were made in medicine, astronomy, algebra, and the astrolabe, while Greek and Roman texts were preserved. The government allowed religious toleration, permitting non-Muslims to retain their faith by paying a tax called jizya.

The Abbasids ended female infanticide and strengthened the marriage and property rights of women. The Abbasids continued to support the veiling of women and the right of a man to take up to four wives.

China

After the Han Dynasty declined in the 3rd century, China suffered three centuries of turmoil and disunity. However, after that, China experienced several centuries of growth.

Sui Dynasty: The Sui Dynasty: (581–618) ended China's period of troubles by establishing a centralized government and paving the way for prosperity. Its key achievement was the Grand Canal, over 1,000 miles long, connecting the agricultural south with northern population centers. This project stimulated economic growth and helped unify China's diverse ethnic and cultural groups.

The Tang Dynasty (618–907) expanded China's territory into Mongolia, Central Asia, and Vietnam, building on Sui achievements. Population growth was significant due to a fast-ripening rice variety that allowed peasants to produce more calories per acre.

The Tang dynasty expanded the civil service exam and bureaucracy, a lasting aspect of Chinese governance. They invented gunpowder and developed paper money, boosting trade. Political stability and demand for silk, porcelain, and other goods contributed to a second golden age of the Silk Roads.

The Chinese viewed their country as the “Middle Kingdom,” believing they were central to global cultural advances. This perspective led to the tributary system, where surrounding kingdoms paid tribute and submitted to Chinese rule in exchange for trading privileges.

The strength of the Tang eventually declined. A combination of internal peasant uprisings and invasions from the west and north led to the downfall of the dynasty

Song Dynasty:

After the Tang Dynasty's collapse, the Song Dynasty (960–1279) restored order and continued China's golden age. The meritocracy enabled upward mobility, positioning China as the top global manufacturer of iron, steel, silk, and porcelain, with the largest cities. Neo-Confucianism, a mix of Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist philosophies, became popular. This era also saw the export of paper money and the magnetic compass from East Asia.

Japan

From 800 to 1200, Japan experienced a golden age in painting and literature, influenced by Chinese culture but distinct from it. By the end of this period, powerful land-owning clans weakened the emperor's authority, resulting in a decentralized government and increased clan warfare. A political and social hierarchy developed, with the shogun at the top, followed by daimyos, samurais, peasants, and merchants.

Japan's official religion, Shinto, emphasizes ancestor and nature spirit veneration. Buddhism, introduced by missionaries from China and Korea, gained popularity, with many Japanese adopting it while keeping their Shinto beliefs.

Africa

Between 600 and 1200, sub-Saharan Africa was characterized by small, self-governing chiefdoms with related populations. These kin-based communities often collaborated and formed larger political units. Despite cultural diversity, similarities emerged, especially due to the migrations of Bantu-speaking people from west central Africa (1000 B.C.E. to 1500 C.E.), who spread language, farming techniques, and ironworking knowledge.

By 1000 C.E., irrigation and land allocation led to complex governments, which controlled surplus production. The camel and camel saddle enabled long-distance trade across the Sahara. Muslim merchants boosted trade, enriching Ghana (c. 700–c. 1240). Ghana’s rulers protected and taxed the trans-Saharan trade routes, making the kingdom wealthy.

Trade influenced West African religion as Muslim merchants spread Islam. The region became part of Dar al-Islam. Today, about 50 percent of Nigeria’s population and over 90% of Mali’s population identify as Muslim.

East African merchants connected to the Indian Ocean trading network, linking them with the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. They exported gold, ivory, and enslaved people, and imported porcelain, silk, and spices.

Most African governments were small and local, but Great Zimbabwe in the southeast dominated from the 12th to 15th centuries. Its decline is unclear, possibly due to reduced gold mine output.

South Asia and Southeast Asia

After the Gupta empire fell in 550, South Asia faced disunity and conflict. Hinduism and the caste system kept southern India stable, while northern India experienced invasions and weak confederations. Islam arrived in 711 through one of these invasions.

Despite divisions and conflict, South Asian trade flourished. Understanding monsoon winds made India the hub of Indian Ocean trade, exchanging silks and porcelain from East Asia, spices from Southeast Asia, horses from the Middle East, and enslaved people and ivory from Africa.

Religion and trade shaped South Asia’s influence on Southeast Asia. Buddhists and Hindus spread their teachings through trade networks. Muslim merchants spread Islam by settling in new regions, making it the dominant religion in the Spice Islands and the Malay peninsula.

Europe

During the Postclassical period, the Eastern Roman Empire thrived, while the Western Roman Empire’s decline left a power vacuum. Viking invasions added to cultural exchanges. Central and western Europe fragmented into duchies and fiefdoms, lacking strong central governments. This instability hindered long-distance Afro-Eurasian trade.

Hinduism unified politically divided South Asia, while Christianity unified central and western Europe. In 800, the pope crowned Charlemagne as “Emperor of the Romans.” However, in 1054, Christianity split into the Roman Catholic Church in the west and the Orthodox Church in the east.

In 1095, the pope called for a Holy Crusade to free Jerusalem from Islamic control. Early crusaders had limited success, but after two centuries, the crusades failed. However, they increased European awareness of Middle Eastern and Asian achievements, sparking interest in intellectual and technological advances.

The Americas

By 900, the Mayan golden age ended due to environmental degradation, drought, and warfare, leading to the abandonment of many cities. However, some cities like Chichen Itza remained inhabited.

Two large civilizations emerged in the Western Hemisphere. The Mississippian civilization, near present-day St. Louis, flourished from the 8th to the 16th century. Its city, Cahokia, was a major trade hub with a population larger than London.

The Toltecs emerged in the 10th century in Mesoamerica, adopting many Mayan practices, including a polytheistic and animistic religion. They greatly influenced the later Aztec empire.

The World in 1200

By 1200, the world had largely recovered from the decline of classical civilizations. New states were emerging, promoting trade and idea exchange:

• Africa, Europe, and Asia were connected through Indian Ocean trade, the Silk Roads, and trans-Saharan trade routes.

• The Byzantine Empire and various Islamic empires provided stability in the region from Eastern Europe through the Middle East to South Asia.

• China and Dar al-Islam continued to be leading centers of learning and innovation.

• Western Europe and Japan had decentralized systems of government that featured powerful land-owning nobles.

• Africa largely remained stateless, except for some regions in West Africa and East Africa that were part of Dar al-Islam.

• Afro-Eurasia, America, and Oceania were developing in isolation from each other.

In 1200, people in Africa and Eurasia might have predicted that in the next three centuries, the regions of the world would remain on their paths. China would grow wealthier, Islamic states would become stronger, and Europe would continue to learn from other regions. However, few could have guessed that in the 13th century a little-known group of nomads from Central Asia would upend life in Eurasia. Then, in 1492, a voyage by a European would reshape the lives of people around the world.