World History: Classical and Postclassical Civilizations Review

Civilizations of Western Eurasia and the Persian Empire

• Strong civilizations developed in Persia, Greece, and Rome between $600\text{ B.C.E.}$ and $600\text{ C.E.}$, connected through trade, warfare, and cultural exchange.
• The Persian Empire, also known as the Achaemenid Empire, was established around $559\text{ B.C.E.}$ under Cyrus the Great. It spanned from the Aegean Sea in the west to the border of India in the east.
• Persia utilized a strong centralized government, an efficient bureaucracy, and an extensive network of roads to promote stability and prosperity.
• The empire was ethnically and religiously diverse, and the government practiced religious toleration to maintain order.

The City-States of Greece

• Greece was divided into approximately $1,000$ city-states, a decentralization caused by mountainous terrain and numerous islands.
• Greeks shared a common polytheistic religion where deities possessed human frailties, fostering a belief that humans controlled their own destiny. This contrasted with the monotheistic Hebrews who worshipped a single all-powerful God.
• Sparta was organized around a powerful military. Free men trained as soldiers while women, the elderly, and enslaved people filled other societal roles.
• Athens experienced a Golden Age in the late $400\text{s B.C.E.}$, making advances in architecture, literature, theater, and philosophy.
• Athens developed a direct democracy allowing free adult males to participate in political decision-making.
• In the $300\text{s B.C.E.}$, Alexander the Great's conquests spread Greek culture across Egypt and Persia to India, creating the Hellenistic world.

The Roman Republic and Empire

• Legend states Rome was founded in $753\text{ B.C.E.}$ Roman culture adopted Greek gods, relied on slavery, and developed enduring government practices.
• Romans pioneered representative government and the judicial concept of "innocent until proven guilty."
• The Twelve Tables were publicly displayed written laws intended to protect individual rights and provide a check on government power.
• Roman society was patriarchal, but women had more rights than Greek women, including the ability to own and inherit property and initiate divorce.
• At its peak, Rome ruled territory from Scotland to northern Africa and the Middle East, treating the Mediterranean Sea as a "Roman lake."
• The empire was a land-based power with a strong central government, well-maintained roads, and public projects like aqueducts and large stadiums.
• The decline of Rome was driven by military over-extension, corruption, and epidemics of smallpox and bubonic plague. Trade and urban populations declined as a result.
• Invasions by groups including the Huns, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, and Vandals weakened the empire until a non-Roman became emperor in $476\text{ C.E.}$ for the first time in over a millennium.

The Development and Legalization of Christianity

• Roman religious toleration usually extended to any faith that accepted the divine nature of the emperor. Monotheistic Jews refused this, leading to Roman persecution and the diaspora (spreading) of Jews to northern Africa and Europe.
• Jesus emerged from the Jewish community; his followers, who viewed him as the Christ or savior, became known as Christians. Despite persecution, disciples spread his teachings.
• Christianity was attractive to the poor due to its promise of a better life after death. In the $4\text{th century}$, under Emperor Constantine, Christianity became legal and was adopted as the official religion of the empire.
• Christianity is a universalizing religion, meaning it actively seeks converts and adapts to new regions. It offered monastic lifestyles for monks (men) and nuns (women).

The Byzantine Empire

• The eastern half of the Roman Empire became wealthier and more powerful by the mid-$4\text{th century}$. In $330\text{ C.E.}$, Constantine moved the capital to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople).
• In $395\text{ C.E.}$, the empire was officially divided into the Western Roman Empire (capital: Rome) and the Eastern Roman Empire (capital: Constantinople).
• Constantinople served as a major entrepAt (coastal trading center), receiving raw goods from northern Europe, cereals from Egypt, and spices from the east.
• Justinian the Great ($527$-$565\text{ C.E.}$) oversaw the construction of the Hagia Sophia church ($537\text{ C.E.}$) and the creation of the Justinian Code.
• The Justinian Code consolidated Roman law and served as the foundation for European legal systems into the $19\text{th century}$. The Byzantine Empire survived for $900$ years after its peak.

Classical Civilizations of the Americas

• Teotihuacan was a multicultural urban center near modern-day Mexico City, featuring a grid system and temples dedicated to the sun and moon. Its population reached $125,000$ by the $6\text{th century C.E.}$ before being abandoned by $650\text{ C.E.}$
• The Mayans were the most influential classical civilization in the Americas, peaking between $250\text{ C.E.}$ and $900\text{ C.E.}$
• Mayan achievements included the most complex written language in the pre-contact Americas, an accurate calendar, and an understanding of the concept of zero.

Trade, Technology, and the Decline of Classical Empires

• Increased trade and technological innovation, such as stirrups and camel saddles, facilitated Eurasian exchange networks.
• Maritime technology included improved sail designs and ship hulls, while knowledge of monsoon winds aided Indian Ocean trade.
• The Silk Roads experienced a first Golden Age during the classical period.
• Common causes for the decline of classical empires by $600\text{ C.E.}$ included:
  • Challenges in tax collection weakening the government.
  • Declines in trade and access to foreign markets.
  • Spread of disease reducing urban populations.
  • Widening gaps between rich and poor causing social conflict.
  • Lack of broad support for leadership.
  • Increased spending on defense due to outside attacks.
• Common religions often provided social unity when governments failed, such as Christianity in Europe, Confucianism in China, and Hinduism/Buddhism in South Asia.

The Spread and Teachings of Islam

• In the $7\text{th century}$, Muhammad received revelations documented in the Quran. Followers are known as Muslims and believe Muhammad was the final prophet in a line including Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.
• The Five Pillars of Islam are: belief in Allah, ritual prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and the pilgrimage to Mecca.
• Sharia is a law code based on the Quran that regulates religious and civic behavior without distinguishing between the two.
• After Muhammad's death in $632\text{ C.E.}$, a dispute over his successor (the caliph) led to a split:
  • Sunni: Believe the caliph can be selected from any leader in the community (currently the majority of Muslims).
  • Shi'a: Believe the caliph must be a blood relative of Muhammad (strongest in Iran and Iraq).
• By the early $8\text{th century}$, Islam united southern Spain, North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of India into Dar al-Islam (the House of Islam).
• The Abbasid Caliphate ($750$-$1258\text{ C.E.}$) enjoyed a golden age in Baghdad, making advances in medicine, algebra, the astrolabe, and astronomical observatories.
• The Abbasids practiced religious toleration through the jizya (tax on non-Muslims) and improved rights for women regarding marriage and property, though they continued the practice of veiling.

Postclassical China: Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties

• The Sui Dynasty ($581$-$618\text{ C.E.}$) reunited China and built the Grand Canal, which stretched over $1,000\text{ miles}$ to connect the agricultural south with the northern population centers.
• The Tang Dynasty ($618$-$907\text{ C.E.}$) expanded into Mongolia, Central Asia, and Vietnam. Population growth was supported by fast-ripening rice.
• Tang innovations included gunpowder, paper money, and the expansion of the civil service exam and bureaucracy.
• China operated under the tributary system, where surrounding kingdoms paid tribute for trading privileges with the "Middle Kingdom."
• The Song Dynasty ($960$-$1279\text{ C.E.}$) continued China's golden age with a meritocracy that allowed upward mobility. China became the leading manufacturer of iron, steel, silk, and porcelain.
• Neo-Confucianism, a blend of Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist philosophies, became popular during the Song era.

Postclassical Developments in Japan, Africa, and South Asia

• Japan's golden age ($800$-$1200\text{ C.E.}$) eventually shifted toward a decentralized feudal system with a shogun (military general), daimyos (land-owning nobles), and samurais (warriors).
• Bantu migrations ($1000\text{ B.C.E.}$ to $1500\text{ C.E.}$) spread language, iron-working, and farming techniques across sub-Saharan Africa.
• The kingdom of Ghana ($c. 700$-$c. 1240\text{ C.E.}$) grew wealthy by taxing gold and salt on the trans-Saharan trade routes. Islam spread as Muslim merchants traded in West Africa.
• Great Zimbabwe was a large kingdom in southeast Africa that dominated the region between the $12\text{th}$ and $15\text{th centuries}$.
• In South Asia, Hinduism and the caste system provided stability after the Gupta Empire fell in $550\text{ C.E.}$ Islam arrived in northern India in $711\text{ C.E.}$
• India became the hub of Indian Ocean trade as merchants utilized monsoon winds to transport porcelain, silk, spices, horses, ivory, and enslaved people.

Postclassical Europe and the Americas

• In Europe, the Western Roman Empire's collapse led to a power vacuum and decentralized rule by duchies and fiefdoms, while the Viking invasions occurred in northern Europe.
• The Roman Catholic Church in the west and the Orthodox Church in the east split in $1054\text{ C.E.}$
• In $1095\text{ C.E.}$, the pope called for the Crusades to take Jerusalem from Islamic control; although militarily unsuccessful, they increased European interest in Middle Eastern and Asian technology and intellectual achievements.
• The Mississippian civilization thrived near modern St. Louis between the $8\text{th}$ and $16\text{th centuries}$, centered in the city of Cahokia.
• The Toltecs emerged in Mesoamerica in the $10\text{th century}$, practicing a polytheistic and animistic religion that influenced the later Aztec Empire.

The Global Context in 1200

• By $1200\text{ C.E.}$, new states had emerged to promote trade and intellectual transfer. Afro-Eurasia was interconnected via the Silk Roads, Indian Ocean, and trans-Saharan routes.
• The Byzantine and Islamic empires provided stability from Eastern Europe to South Asia, while China and Dar al-Islam remained the primary centers of innovation.
• Western Europe and Japan maintained decentralized systems dominated by land-owning nobles, while much of Africa remained stateless except for trade-rich regions in the east and west.
• Afro-Eurasia, the Americas, and Oceania developed in relative isolation from one another as of $1200\text{ C.E.}$