WORLD HISTORY
ANCIENT GLOBALIZATION
NOTES
· BIG IDEA: CONNECTIONS
· Mediterranean Peoples
o Minoans – 2000-1400 BC
§ Dominated trade in the Mediterranean Sea
§ Lived on Crete
§ Goods: pottery, weapons, precious metals, art,
§ Unique architecture, customs, & religious rituals … major influences on Greece
§ “stepping stone” of cultural exchange
§ Cities unfortified – peaceful
§ Women highly ranked in society
§ Unclear of reasons for end of this civilization … (natural disasters, invasions, etc.)
o Phoenicians - @1100 BC
§ Centered on the eastern coast of the Med Sea (today Lebanon)
§ Wealthy city-states – important trading centers
§ Ship builders and seafarers – went beyond the Strait of Gibraltar
§ Goods: dye, papyrus … also goods from other places: wine, weapons, metals, ivory, slaves
§ Colonized throughout the region
§ Alphabet
· Needing a way to keep records of commercial transactions, developed a writing system
· System was phonetic – symbols represented sounds
· Influenced future alphabets … Greeks … English
§ Trade disrupted by Assyrian invasions in 842 BC … Babylonian control later
o Alexander the Great
§ Royal family of Macedonia (north of Greece) – culture looked down upon by Greeks
§ Philip II (father) organized army to invade the Greeks – defeated the combined Greeks …
§ Alexander came to power following father’s assassination – moved kingdom toward goal to invade Persians (go east) …
§ Highly trained in military arts & tutored by Aristotle
§ Crushed revolts mercilessly
§ Soundly defeated Persians – Anatolia & then rest of the empire (Egypt, Mesopotamia, etc.)
§ Extended conquest to the Indus River Valley and beyond – after 11 yrs and 11,000 miles the army’s exhaustion was high and morale was low
§ On journey back west, re-organization efforts in Babylon were stopped when he became ill and died (323 BC at 32 yrs old)
§ Control of empire was divided amongst his generals who then fought between themselves – all ruled with complete/absolute power over their territory
§ Impacts: assimilated into many Persian cultural habits (dress, marriage, etc.) – blend of Greek and Eastern culture was produced
§ His conquest spread the Hellenistic Culture (blending of Greek, Egyptian, Persian, Indian influences)
· Trade centers like Alexandria in Egypt became centers for culture as well (library, arts, architecture, museum, etc.)
· Science and technology advanced
o Astronomy: sun bigger than earth, planets revolve around sun (later, Ptolemy wrongly determined Earth at center of solar system) … Eratosthenes (mathematician, astronomer, poet, historian) closely calculated the Earth’s circumference
o Math & Physics: Euclid’s work on geometry (465 propositions & proofs) … Achimedes – value of pi; also invented the Archimedes screw & the compound pulley
o Philosophy & Art: Stoicism – ppl should live in harmony with the will of god or natural laws of god & human desires are dangerous … Epicureanism – gods have no interest in humans & only real stuff is determined by 5 senses & advocated moderation … Realism was the goal of art/sculpture
· By 150 BC Hellenistic world was in decline with Rome growing in power … their Greek influence culture world become basis for Western civilization
o Though Rome was in charge, they admired the Greeks in art, architecture, literature and philosophy
o Each Roman province was governed the same way – created a consistency in spreading ideas and culture
o Mosaics, paintings, and writings took cues from Greek influences by applied them more practically
o Legacy of Rome:
§ Seen in language (Latin) as it influenced speech of conquered peoples
§ Building of practical infrastructure (aqueducts) and roads (long lasting)
§ Legal systems that provided order and protected rights would last well beyond the rule of the empire
o Byzantines
§ Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople in 330 AD (previously known as Byzantium) … keeping the Greek name, Byzantium would flourish as an empire for 1000 yrs after Rome
§ Justinian to the throne in 527
· Successfully expanded power in lands with powerful army
· Simplified Roman law … spread with the sword BUT also with trade – Byzantines at the crossroads of the world
o Justinian Code … listed the laws – summarized opinions on the laws – provided a textbook … covered a variety of topics for everyday life
· Church building was greatest passion – Hagia Sophia most heralded
o Built many other public facilities in empire
o Preserved Greco-Roman culture not only in building but in family life, education
§ Constantinople as a city … Hectic pace – commerce, entertainment, food, etc.
§ With accomplishment comes difficulty
· Plague spreads into empire – arriving with trade from distant lands … large population center made losses huge
· Challenges from neighbors: Lombards to the west – Avars, Slavs, Bulgars, Russians to the north – Sassanid Persians to the east
o Byzantines used bribes, diplomacy, marriages and military to keep invaders at bay
o Finally fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453
§ Church also split … growing division of Christianity between east and west as early as the 4th century
· Pope in the west had no political superior, in the east the patriarch bowed to the emperor
· Differences finally resulted in the pope and the patriarch excommunicating each other in 1054 (resulted in Roman Catholic Church in west, and Eastern Orthodox Church in the east)
·
· The Silk Road
o Trade networks of Asia became pathways for ideas and knowledge as much as they were for goods
§ Safety of trade in the region was critical to its effectiveness (Mauryan and later Gupta dynasties promoted and profited from these efforts) … Indians were introduced into this east-west trade by nomadic peoples of Central Asia
· goods from Indian were increasingly valuable …
· the Indians also were the middlemen of trade between goods from China to the West …
· trade stations along the route were often located on oases
§ Sea trade also increased – across the Arabian Sea/Persian Gulf to the West and the Bay of Bengal to the East
§ Banking practices increased as money was willingly lent knowing profits would return (15-20% interest on funds for sea trade
§ With trade went culture, religion, art, architecture, etc.
· Spread of Islam
o Middle East
§ The rise of the religion Islam provided a unifying force for a people in a region
§ Muhammad had conquered surrounding cities and destroyed competing idols
· No named successor put the community into conflict after his death, 632 AD
· Loyal friend, Abu Bakr became the first caliph (successor or deputy)
§ Early caliphs: had known Muhammad, used the Qur’an and his actions as guides to leadership
· Abu Bakr first used jihad (“striving” – inner struggle vs. evil … Qur’an applies this as an armed struggle vs. unbelievers) to bring re-commitment to wayward groups on the Arabian Peninsula
o Later, Abu Bakr will use the meaning to encourage and justify Islamic expansion
· By 750, the Muslim Empire from Atlantic Ocean to the Indus Valley
o Army was expertly commanded and well disciplined
o People welcomed the Muslims as they had been persecuted by the Byzantines (Christianity) and Sassanid (Zoroastrianism) … Islam’s message of equality and hope was attractive
o Conversions were not forced – Christians and Jews of the region paid taxes to be exempt from military service (they were also not allowed to spread their faith
§ A split in power …
· Assassinations and power grabs as early as 650’s …
· Umayyads came to power and moved capital to Damascus and turned to life of wealth by leaders … Arabs felt this was too far and differed from Muhammad’s ways
· Disagreement brought dissention groups … Those that felt the caliph should be a descendent of the Prophet – Shi’a (Shi’ites) = party of Ali … those that followed the Umayyad rule were the Sunni
· Umayyads were overcome by rebellion in 750 and the Abbasids took power
§ Abbasid rule
· Though most of Umayyad family murdered, one prince fled to Spain to set up an Umayyad caliphate
· Abbasids moved the capital of the empire to Bagdad – central in trade routes of the region
· Created and flourished with a bureaucracy – supported by taxes on land, imports, exports, etc.
§ A rival caliphate formed – Fatimid – claiming to be descended from Muhammad’s daughter Fatima … covered N.Africa, western Arabia, and Syria
§ Despite divisions all the caliphates were connected in religion, language and trade
· Two major sea-trading networks existed: Med Sea & Indian Ocean … Muslim Empire was in the middle of both
· Serving as connectors between the supply and demand for goods east to west, the Muslims became powerful as money changer, bankers and merchants
· Their cities were the largest, most cultured centers on the planet – blending diverse peoples economically, artistically, and scholastically.
o Africa
§ Great empires grew and thrived in Africa south of the Sahara (the Sahel – savanna region)
· Built on the wealth of trade
· Ghana, Mali, and Songhai
§ Ghana (700-1000)
· Connected goods of the continent bc of intro of camel by Berber nomads
· Rulers of Ghana gained wealth by taxing the goods and trade
· West Africa rich in gold – lacked salt … main items
o Cloth, weapons, manufactured goods from the Med Sea also found the markets of W.Africa
o King of Ghana monopolized gold
· Islam had spread thru northern Africa with conquest, it reached into sub-Saharan Africa thru trade
o Rulers saw the advantage of adhering to the religion of their trade partners
o Many subjects clung to animistic beliefs and practices
· Invasions from the north became too much by the 11th century
§ Mali (emerged by 1235 … dominate by 14th century … declined by 15th century)
· Came to power by replacing cruel, unpopular leaders
· Conquered trade centers of the Ghana
· Turned to a bureaucracy driven centralized gov’t
· Leaders were Muslim: built mosques, supported Muslim teachings in policy, etc.
· Mansa Musa to power (1312 – 1332) – expanded Mali’s power and land
o Skilled military leader – 100,000 in army
o Divided empire into provinces
o Went on a hajj to Mecca (1324-1325) – spending became legend
· Writings of traveler Ibn Battuta became source of information that would influence the world as to the wealth of the empire & continent
· China
o Tang (followed the Sui Dynasty which ruled 581-618 … only two emperors)
§ Sui
· Accomplishments: the Grand Canal – connected the Huang He and Chang Jiang Rivers (trade)
· Overtaxed and overworked, the peasants revolted and the emperor assassinated
§ Tang ruled nearly 300 yrs – the empire expanded, regaining lands not held since the Han … also took Korea
· Restored the vast bureaucracy needed to manage such holdings
· Exams excluded those that were not fit to perform the tasks of running the institution
· Taxes were high to run this expansive gov’t – military and building cost a lot of $$$
· Outside threats became too strong to overcome
o Song (lasted about 300 years – 960-1279
§ Rival warlords divided China after the Tang, but in 960 the general Taizu reunited China
§ Unable to regain western lands or northern lands – tried to buy peace with enemies (ultimately failed as the ppl of Manchuria conquered the north and established the Jin Empire)
§ The Song controlled southern China – saw great economic prosperity – trade flourished
o Prosperity in China during Tang & Song reign
§ Movable type on printers, gunpowder, porcelain, the mechanical clock, paper money, the magnetic compass
§ Mathematical ideas like using negative numbers spread from China
§ Advances in farming – needed more food with growing population (new rice from Vietnam allowed two harvests per year)
§ Military provided safety of trade along the Silk Roads (though it would decline)
§ Sea trade to the Indian Ocean opened new opportunities
§ A golden age of poetry and art
§ Society changed and the old aristocratic families faded – a new upper class made of scholar-officials began to dominate (the gentry)
· Gained status thru education and civil service positions
· The urban middle class was below (merchants, artisans, minor officials)
· At the bottom of the urban society was the laborers, soldiers and servants
· In the country side was the peasants – the largest group
· Women’s status – continued to decline during the Tang & Song dynasties
§ The social, economic and technological transformations of the Tang & Song periods permanently shaped China’s civilization
· The Mongols
o Originated in the Eurasian steppe (grasslands) – nomadic and pastoral (herded domesticated animals) … traveled in kinship groups - clans
o Developed into fierce horseback warriors …
o Genghis Khan (name was Temujin – became “Genghis Khan” with the unification of the Mongol clans in 1206 – means universal ruler)
§ Conquered much of Asia in 21 years
§ Tactics centered on murder and terror – retribution for killings of Mongol traders & ambassadors by the Muslims
· Brilliant organizer – military followed the model of the Chinese … placed capable and loyal people in command
· Gifted strategist – used a variety of techniques to deceive opponents
· Used cruelty as a weapon – brutality was well traveled, leaving many to surrender upon his arrival
§ His successors continued expansion
o The empire divided to sons & grandsons (Mongol tradition): khanates …
o Destroyers as they conquered – lacking the infrastructures to sustain, many areas never recovered
o Leaders were tolerant in time of peace … often assimilating into the bureaucracies and adopting the cultures they conquered (using the civil service in China … becoming Muslim in some khanates)