Paleolithic simple stone tools were developed, hunter/gatherer societies were organized in small groups, women and men were equally important to the survival of the group Neolithic first began in the Middle East near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, establishment of agriculture (domestication of crops and animals), more advanced tools made of metals, men more important in agricultural societies, status of women dropped, specialized labor due to surplus of food Egypt - massive building projects, firm religious beliefs, well-organized, durable centralized empires, trade with other regions/states Mesopotamia massive building projects, firm religious beliefs, organized into city-states which were susceptible to internal conflicts and external invasions, trade with other regions/states China Zhou dynasty: feudal and less centralized, Qin dynasty: less feudal and more centralized than the Zhou (based on Legalism), rigid social hierarchy based on Confucian beliefs, merchants considered to be among the lowest social class, less emphasis on trade with other regions/states. Han dynasty: most centralized, introduction of civil service exams, fall of Han was due to internal revolt and not just due to outside invasion by nomadic tribes (who were better horsemen than the settled Han peoples). Mediterranean Greece intellectual life emphasized, Socratic Method: importance of questioning widely held beliefs, due to geography Greece politically organized into city-states, political centralization difficult Rome unlike the Chinese emphasis on a trained bureaucracy, Rome emphasized the rule of law, Roman rule after 200 C.E. saw the spread of monotheistic religions, decline of Rome was affected by the introduction of a new religion (Christianity) which attracted a great number of followers to rival the authority of the emperor and outside invasion by barbarians (i.e. someone who is not part of a civilization). India Aryans brought religious ideas to India to help form the basis of Hinduism, Aryans established a rigid caste system to promote social order and behavior, Hinduism focused on individual responsibility to carry out the functions/duties assigned to caste, Buddhism established as a rejection of caste system of Hinduism and emphasized ethical behavior, Hindu caste system elevates the status of merchants, India trades extensively with other regions/states, due to geography India was politically fragmented, political centralization difficult.
Establishment of Islam the main beliefs of Islam reflected the nomadic Bedouin lifestyle of the Arabian Peninsula, the founder of Islam (a merchant named Muhammad) was a member of the Umayyad clan who established the trading city of Mecca which was also a religious center of the region, Islamic beliefs and practices Muslims were to practice the 5 Pillars of Islam, the religious leader of Islam was to be called caliph, conversion to Islam was never to be forced (early Arab conquerors also discouraged wide spread conversion of the people they conquered because they did not want to share their booty or lose tax revenues), non-coverts were called mawali, women under Islam enjoyed higher status than women of other/previous empires/civilizations due to the high status women had in Bedouin culture, other monotheistic religions were considered acceptable but Islam was the final and true faith of God. The lack of a process for succession, however, led to a split among Shi a and Sunni Muslims. Sufism, a movement which incorporated mysticism and evangelism, also developed as a separate branch of Islam. Islam in India An Islamic sultanate, centered on the capital city of Delhi, was established along the Gangetic (Ganges River) Plain. While many Hindus resisted conversion to Islam, significant numbers of Indians, namely Buddhists and low-caste Hindus, did convert. The main Islamic challenge to Hindu belief was in the egalitarianism of believers stressed by Islam. In order to meet this challenge, Hindu believers began to stress the worship of gods such as Shiva and Vishnu, allowing more devotional practices by lower caste Hindus. One of the main cultural exchanges between Muslims and Hindus was the spread of the mathematical concept of Arabic numerals. Spread and Effects of Islam Islam spread throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. It also spread to parts of Europe, West Africa, East Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. In Islam, the emphasis on learning caused the preservation of the works of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, knowledge, and culture. The far-reaching spread of Islam also led to the exchange of ideas and culture from one civilization to another. While women were looked on as spiritual equals, in the Abbasid Empire, women lost status with the practice of seclusion, veiling, and the establishment of the harem. The Abbasid Empire fell when the Mongols captured Baghdad in 1258.
The arrival of Islam, which came due to increased contact with the outside world, was the most significant impact on Sub-Sahara Africa. Before the arrival of Islam, many African societies were organized around kinship and lacked the concentration of political power and authority. These societies were considered stateless One of the great Islamic empires of West Africa, Songhay, was originally dominated by the Empire of Mali. Despite the arrival of Islam to Africa, Ethiopia remained the most important Christian kingdom in Africa Despite the arrival of Islam and Christianity to Africa, many Africans continued their animistic beliefs. Animism held a belief in the power of natural forces personified as deities. In East Africa, a Bantu-based and Arabic-influenced language called Swahili was spoken by a number of important city states which engaged in trade within the Indian Ocean trading network The Byzantine Empire was seen as a direct continuation of the Roman Empire. However, the inhabitants rejected the Latin language of the old Roman Empire and adopted Greek as the official language of the Empire. The capital of the Byzantine Empire was the city of Constantinople. In 1453, the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople and renamed the city Istanbul One of the major architectural sites in Constantinople was the great church built by the Emperor Justinian called the Hagia Sophia. Justinian also attempted to restore the territory of the original Roman Empire but ultimately he failed to hold onto his territorial conquests. The Byzantine Emperors were also the religious leaders of the Empire. The version of Christianity practiced by the Emperors and most of their subjects is called Orthodox Christianity. Much like the Chinese bureaucracy, the Byzantine Empire allowed talented commoners and not just aristocrats to hold government positions.
Western Europe: After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Western Europe experienced a period of chaos known as the Middle Ages In the Middle Ages, the institution of feudalism was prevalent and the concept of serfdom was widespread. Serfs were agricultural laborers under the jurisdiction of aristocratic landowners. Feudalism was established to different degrees in Europe. England adopted feudalism quickly after the Norman conquests of 1066, while in France, feudalism was developed more slowly. In order to gain some domination over the Franks, the Frankish king, Clovis, converted to Christianity and encouraged his subject to convert as well The Crusades, a series of wars led by Christian knights of Western Europe to gain control of the Holy Lands, caused Western Europe to adopt new military techniques, be exposed to new scientific learning, and begin to use Arabic numerals. Political unity in Western Europe was impossible. The Holy Roman Emperors attempted to establish a strong, central European government but in the end failed because they could not overcome the regionalism and diversity of Western Europe The Roman Catholic Church was an influential institution during the Middle Ages but it had many conflicts with secular rulers. One such conflict was over the state appointment of bishops (called investiture). Pope Gregory VII decreed investiture invalid and required papal appointment of all bishops. Another leading figure within the Catholic Church was St. Thomas Aquinas who was a theologist and philosopher at the University of Paris in the 13 th century. During the 14 th century, the plague or Black Death, killed nearly one third of Europe s population impacting society and the economy for generations. Russia/Eastern Europe: People in the Russian principalities practiced Orthodox Christianity rather than Roman Catholicism because the ruler of Kievan Russia, Vladimir I, preferred the combined position of political and religious leader modeled on the Byzantine Emperor. He was concerned with the possibility of papal interference of the Pope in Rome if he chose to follow Roman Catholicism. Western Europe had little influence on Kievan Russia because Russia s religion, culture, and economy developed separately from Western Europe. Russia s focus was more on Central and Eastern Asia rather than on Western Europe. Eventually Kievan Russia was conquered by the Mongols in 1236 further orientating Russia towards the East rather than the West.
The Americas American civilizations during the post-classical period developed elaborate cultural systems, highly developed agricultural systems, build large cities based on elaborate political and economic organization, and practiced a form of polytheistic religions. These civilizations were also isolated from the rest of the global interchange of goods, people, and ideas during the post-classical period. China The founding of the Sui dynasty by the Emperor Wendi ended the period of political chaos which occurred after the fall of the Qin-Han dynasties Emperor Wendi instituted a policy of reform which established public granaries to relieve the threat of famine The Tang Empire exceeded the territory of the Han and reformed the examination system so that a higher percentage of members of the scholar gentry received office through the examination system (although birth/family connections continued to be important). While the early Tang Emperors adopted Buddhism, Confucianists still had a great influence within the government. As resentment against the economic power of the Buddhist monasteries grew, later Tang rulers returned to Confucian beliefs and practices and began to persecute Buddhists in China. The result was that Confucianism remained the central ideology in China until the 20 th century. In the Song Dynasty, the scholar-gentry secured its position over the aristocratic and Buddhists rivals. During the Song Dynasty, women s status fell compared to their status in the Tang Dynasty. Evidence of this fall in status was the Song practice of footbinding, which effectively cause the seclusion of women to their household Japan Buddhism played a key role in the spread of Chinese culture/civilization to Japan in the postclassical period. One aspect of civilization that was attempted but ultimately failed to take root was the implementation of the Taika Reforms in 646 C.E. which tried to establish a Chinese-like emperor with strong central powers. Another attempt at strong central government was attempted by the Ashikaga Shogunate but this dynasty was ultimately overthrown an replaced by the rule of four large aristocratic states under the powerful bushi or warlords. Korea - Proximity to China and the spread of Buddhism played a key role in the spread of Chinese culture/civilization to Korea in the post-classical period. One aspect of Chinese civilization that took root in Korea was the civil service examination; however, admission to the bureaucracy was mainly based on birth and not test scores Vietnam Vietnam for the most part successfully resisted Chinese influence; however after Vietnam independence was established, the Vietnamese rulers retained the concept of a Chinese bureaucracy based on the Confucian examination system.
The Mongols, under Chinggis Khan, were tolerant of the religions of the people they conquered, although Chinggis Khan himself retained his shamanistic beliefs The greatest social impact on Russia, as a result of the rule of the Golden Horde khanate, was the conversion of the free peasantry to a life of serfdom. This was caused by the immense amount of tributary payments made to the Khanate by Russian principalities. The greatest political impact on China as a result of Mongol rule under the Yuan Dynasty, was the discontinuation of the examination system. The exam system was ended because the Mongols wanted to reduce the power and influence of scholar-gentry. The Renaissance began in the Italian city-states Unlike medieval culture which emphasized religion and the after-life, the culture of the Renaissance was more concerned with earthly subjects and humanism. The Columbian Exchange was the transfer of goods, people, animals, ideas, and diseases between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. The bringing of disease to the New World by European explorers and settlers caused the widespread deaths of native Americans who were not immune to these diseases. The introduction of maize, or American corn, to Europe caused a major growth in population in Europe. While Spain initially benefitted the most from the exploration and settlement of the New World, it could not sustain its hold on a position of dominance in world trade. This was due to the fact that its internal economy and banking system were not sufficient to accommodate the vast amount of bullion coming from the New World. In addition, Spain lacked significant manufacturing capabilities to truly exploit the colonies it had acquired. The German monk, Martin Luther, is generally credited with starting the Protestant Reformation in 1517. He gained widespread support among the German elite because by following Lutheranism, the German princes could increase their independence from the Holy Roman Emperor, seize church lands, and control the Lutheran church in their territories The Edict of Nantes, issued in France in 1598, allowed for limited freedom of worship by French Protestants and helped to end the French civil wars of religion. However, the Edict was later rescinded by the French monarch, Louis XIV, who is most associated with the institution of absolute monarchy In response to Absolutism and as a result of the Scientific Revolution, a new intellectual movement, called the Enlightenment, began in the 18 th century.