Notes on Empires and Networks (600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E.)

The Big Picture: Technological and Environmental Transformations (to 600 B.C.E.)

• Keep up with broad trends and themes for the period before 600 B.C.E.:

  • 1) During the Paleolithic era, hunters and gatherers migrated from East Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas, adapting technology and cultures to new areas.
  • 2) Interactions among different groups were usually limited to nearby communities, but interactions increased steadily in frequency and distance over time.
  • 3) Physical geography and the natural environment interacted with human activities to shape changes and continuities.
  • 4) This period is made up of two time periods distinguished by big lifestyle changes: the development of agriculture and early agricultural communities, and the appearance of the earliest urban-based societies.

• From 600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E., large empires appeared in Eurasia and the Americas and expanded boundaries to govern increasingly diverse cultural and ethnic groups. As empires grew, they developed powerful militaries and governments, but they eventually faced problems holding vast domains together.

  • Even though all of the big empires collapsed before 600 C.E., long-distance trade routes allowed a vibrant exchange of goods, people, technology, and religious and cultural beliefs that connected regions as never before.

• New empires emerged in several areas:
  1) The Mediterranean – The Greeks emerged as an influential civilization of the Mediterranean area, followed by the Romans.
  2) Southwest Asia – The Persian Empire stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus River.
  3) The Indian subcontinent – Two empires rose on the subcontinent: the Mauryan Empire and the Gupta Empire.
  4) East Asia – China emerged from the Warring States Period (after the Zhou Dynasty) to form the Qin Dynasty, followed by the Han Dynasty (longer-lasting).
  5) The Americas – In Mesoamerica, Teotihuacan and the Maya city-states emerged; the Moche controlled Andean South America (discussed in Chapter Seven).

• Note on evidence and interpretation:

  • Modern law codes are more similar to Roman law codes than to Hammurabi’s Code (an example of how later eras reflect earlier practice more closely than distant predecessors).
  • Religions and belief systems from this era continue in various forms, whereas some earlier religious traditions (e.g., in Egypt and Sumeria) did not survive into modern times.

The Mediterranean Civilizations: Greece (and the Aegean World)

• Settled agricultural communities developed along the Aegean Sea by about $2000 ext{ B.C.E.}$, probably first on the island of Crete.

• Geography of Greece:

  • Mountainous terrain with limited arable land and no broad river valleys or level plains.
  • The sea is ever-present: the mainland is surrounded by water inlets and a sea filled with small islands.
  • A geographic advantage was access to water via natural harbors, navigable bays, and calm waters with islands that served as multiple docking places for ships.
  • Land travel was difficult because of mountains and deep-water inlets, so the early Greeks became skilled sailors.

• The Minoan and Mycenaean eras:

  • The Minoan civilization on Crete controlled most of the area by about $1600 ext{ B.C.E.}$
  • The Mycenaeans rose and were part of the Late Bronze Age trade network that collapsed by about $1200 ext{ B.C.E.}$
  • The Mycenaeans fought the city of Troy across the Aegean and were invaded by peoples from the north around the same period; this chaos led to the abandonment of many settlements.
  • The Aegean entered a "Dark Age" from roughly $1200 ext{ B.C.E.}$ to $800 ext{ B.C.E.}$, after which Greek cities began to reemerge as important urban centers.
  • From the fall of Mycenae until about $800 ext{ B.C.E.}$, the Greeks were relatively isolated from others, until contact with the eastern Mediterranean resumed via the Phoenicians, who reestablished links between Greece and the Middle East.
  • Greek ships traveled widely across the Mediterranean, and trade brought renewed prosperity to the Aegean.

• Political development: the polis (city-state)

  • The geographic features of the Greek homeland encouraged the development of the polis, each city dominating the surrounding countryside.
  • At its peak, there were about $200 ext{ poleis}$, each a separate political and cultural unit, independent of others.
  • Some poleis were stronger and more influential than others, and they sometimes cooperated with each other in inter-city leagues, but they were never united under one government.
  • Athens emerged as a dominant city-state, with Sparta as a major rival to the south.
  • Each polis had its own patron god or goddess and held regular rituals to celebrate and maintain the patron’s protection.

• Forms of government in the poleis:

  • Monarchies: hereditary rule by one ruler.
  • Oligarchies: rule by a few individuals.
  • Aristocracies: rule by leading families.
  • Democracies: a new form of popular government.
  • One outcome of these competing governing styles was the emergence of tyrants by the 6th century B.C.E.; tyrants were often military leaders who gained popular support against the aristocracy and, while not necessarily oppressive, did not always align with later democratic ideals.

• Connections to broader world history:

  • The Greek polis model influenced later political thought and practice, including concepts of citizenship, civic participation, and the organization of public life.
  • Greek religion, ritual practice, and the patronage of city-states connected political life to religious life in materially distinct ways.

Alternatives to Sedentary Life (Perspectives in this era)

• The period from 600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E. was dominated by sedentary civilizations, but many groups practiced alternatives to sedentary agriculture:

  • Shifting cultivation (slash-and-burn): common in rainforests of Central and South America, West Africa, East and Central India, and much of South China and Southeast Asia. Process: farmers burn the undergrowth to clear land, the ashes fertilize the soil, crops are grown until nutrients are depleted, then they move to a new area.
  • Pastoral nomadism: practiced across the vast plains of central Eurasia, the central Arabian Peninsula, and areas south of the Sahara; relied on domesticated animals (horses, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, reindeer) and required frequent movement to find pasture.
  • Between these nomadic groups and settled communities, many trade routes across central Asia were controlled by pastoral nomads, though some later settled in urban trade centers along the Silk Road.

• These patterns illustrate alternative ways of organizing economic life and the flow of goods, people, and ideas across vast distances, contributing to long-distance exchange even when large empires dominated other regions.

Connections and Implications

• Interregional exchange:

  • Long-distance trade routes connected regions in new ways, enabling the transfer of technology, ideas, religion, and culture across vast distances despite political fragmentation.

• Cultural and religious continuity:

  • Some beliefs and practices persisted and evolved into modern forms, while others did not survive into the present.

• Economic and military implications:

  • Empires built powerful militaries and bureaucracies to manage diverse populations, yet maintaining control over far-flung territories proved difficult, contributing to eventual collapses prior to 600 C.E.

• Methodological note for exam prep:

  • Compare the scale and governance of different empires (e.g., Persian vs. Roman) and examine how geography influenced political structures and trade networks.

Key Terms and People to Remember

• Polis / Poleis: The city-state political units of ancient Greece.; about $200$ poleis at their height.
• Minoans (Crete): Early Mediterranean civilization dominant around $1600 ext{ B.C.E.}$.
• Mycenaeans: Later Aegean power; involved in the Late Bronze Age trade network; war with Troy around the same period; collapsed by $1200 ext{ B.C.E.}$.
• Dark Age (Greece): $1200 ext{ B.C.E.}$ to $800 ext{ B.C.E.}$; revival of urban centers after this period.
• Phoenicians: Seafaring people who reestablished contact with the Aegean around $800 ext{ B.C.E.}$ and contributed to long-distance trade.
• The Greeks: Emerged as a major Mediterranean civilization; later followed by Roman expansion.
• Persian Empire: From the Mediterranean to the Indus River.
• Mauryan and Gupta: Indian empires that shaped political and cultural life on the subcontinent.
• Qin and Han: Dynasties that unified and then expanded China, shaping East Asian history.
• Teotihuacan, Maya, Moche: Key civilizations in the Americas during this era.

Connections to prior/other lectures: the shift from early urban civilizations to empires and transregional networks builds on themes of governance, law, religious continuity, and globalization that recur across world history.

Practical implications: the study of how legal codes (e.g., Roman vs Hammurabi) reflect evolving notions of governance, justice, and state power; the role of geography in shaping political and economic life; and the ways long-distance trade fosters cross-cultural exchange.

Summary Points (for quick review)

• The era 600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E. saw the rise and partial collapse of large empires and a vibrant system of long-distance trade.
• Empires in multiple regions (Mediterranean, Southwest Asia, Indian subcontinent, East Asia, and the Americas) connected disparate peoples and ideas, even as political fragmentation persisted.
• Greece’s geographic features fostered the polis system, with diverse political forms and a tradition of tyrants emerging in the 6th century B.C.E.
• Non-sedentary strategies like shifting cultivation and pastoral nomadism played a role in sustaining some populations and shaping trade networks (e.g., Silk Road)
• Evidence-based connections (e.g., Roman law similarity to later codes) highlight continuity and transformation across eras.