As the World Turns: Beginning of Time - 450 AD !Beginning of Time!When looking for a place to begin a World History course, it is good to begin at… well… the beginning. In this case it is the beginning of time. The problem is that we are a little short on details and primary sources of how everything began. What we are left with are the creation stories of the major religions and the leading scientific theory. Based upon these sources, here are the “common themes” that they all share.!!

• From Nothing to Something. There was a point where there as “nothing,” followed by some event, and then the beginning of everything. In the Bible, it was Elohim speaking into the darkness. In the Vedas, it was a lotus flower blooming from the endless dark coils of a snake. To modern Scientist that was a “singularity” that expanded/exploded, creating the universe.!

• Creation Pattern. They all follow a similar development pattern: Planets, [on earth] sky-land separation, dirt-water separation, fish-animals-birds, and, finally, humans. The ways that this process is explained is different (from evolving microbial to dead body parts becoming land features and creatures) but the pattern/order is the same. !!

The Great Migration!According to archeologists, the first humans (as in Homo Sapiens) appeared in Central/East Africa. From the heart of Africa, humans began the process of migrating, following food and water sources. According to our best estimates, the pattern went as follows:!

• 50,000 BC: Humanity begins in Central/East Africa!• 40,000 BC: Humans migrate to Western Africa, as well as North into the Middle East and Europe!• 35,000 BC: Humans arrive in Southern Africa, as well as East Asia!• 30,000 BC: Humans navigate water to arrive in Australia!• 20,000 BC: Humans brave the cold to arrive in Northern

Europe and Russia.!• 12,000 BC: Humans cross from Russia to North America

(Alaska)!• 11,000 BC: Humans rapidly travel south, spreading across

North and (finally) South America!!Hunting, Gathering and Herding!As humanity spread across the world, they did so in “Hunting and Gathering” tribes. These consisted of tight-knit family groups that followed their plant and animal food sources. When the food was gone, the tribe migrated (moved) to a new place. If there was too much competition with another tribe for food, they moved. Some tribes developed into herders, where they followed and cared for domesticable animals. The first tribes developed tools and weapons made of stone. To help with the hunt and with military victory, along with fertility in child birth, they identified/developed gods to worship. Overtime, tribes developed common meeting areas to hold annual religious gatherings and to trade goods or exchange sons/daughters in marriage. !!

Middle East - Part 1 (10,000 BC - 300 BC)!Neolithic Revolution & Mesopotamia !Around 10,000 BC hunting and gathering groups began the most significant revolution, or change, in the history of the world: they began to farm. This was not something that happened overnight, but instead took thousands of years. One of the first places where farming developed was in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) between the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys. The abundance of domesticable plants and large mammals, plus the rich soil brought in with the annual floods, made it an ideal location to develop farming (agriculture). With the development of irrigation, or ditches that bring water from rivers to the farms, tribes settled down and invested in to growing their own food instead of following it around. !!Farming changed everything. !!Development of City-States and Society!Families settled down and began to claim fertile land. The collection of farms turned into villages. The villages had two problems. The first problem was that they were easy targets for hungry hunting/gathering tribes (think of it as the ancient version of fast food). The second was that because there is a limited amount of fertile land, competition and fighting developed for who would control it. Farmers joined together to help protect each other. They selected a leader organize to govern and protect them. These actions led the creation of city-states. !!By 4,500 BC the first city-states appeared, called the Sumerians. A city-state is an independent city that is run by its own government. A city-state only controls and governs the land and people within the city limits. With the surplus of food, populations grew rapidly, causing people to look for new areas to start new cities. As the good, fertile land was quickly claimed, people had to travel farther away. Soon, city-states were setup throughout the Middle East all along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Kingdoms, as in collections of cities

under one government, began to form. As the city-states and kingdoms grew in number, they began to trade with each other. A trade network developed with cities as far away as India. !!The increase in trade led to the development of the first written language, Cuneiform. Cuneiform was a series of wedges in clay that was used to keep track of sales and trade agreements. Soon, writing was used to record histories, important messages, stories, and poetry. A later kingdom, The Phoenicians,

transformed language further by creating the first alphabet; a set of letters that can be rearranged to create words. !!

Age of Empires!Around 2200 BC, Sargon of Akkad led his army to begin conquering surrounding city-states, building the first empire. An Empire is created when one people group conquers and rules over another or other people groups. This set off the Age of Empires, where a seemingly endless number of people groups attempted to conquer as

much land as possible and control it for as long as possible. At first the empires were small and regional. But by 2000 BC, empires were conquering thousands of miles of territory. Famous empires like the Hittites, Assyrians and Babylonians ruled over the Middle East for hundreds of years. Each empire lost its power when the next great kingdom developed the next great technology, using it to rise to military and political greatness. Sometimes, geography played a role, as draughts and famines would cause there to be food shortage, weakening/collapsing the empire. By 300 BC, the Persian Empire was in the height of its glory, ruling from Egypt to Greece, and as far east as Afghanistan and continuing to expand west-ward.!!As the empires grew, the governments became more complex. They developed bureaucracies, or support staffs, to help them rule over the lands and people they conquered. They also developed new laws. Most famous of the legal codes was Hammurabi’s Code. Hammurabi was king of Babylon in 1770s. He created the first set fixed rules and put copies throughout the empire to unify the people and to create order. !!

With more expansive empires came great advancements in technology and architecture. Palaces became bigger and more exquisite in their decorations. Cities built massive walls for protection. City planning began to involve channeling water from rivers into the cities for people to drink and for plumbing to take peoples’ natural waste out of the city. City were developed around organized planned layouts. Tools were made out of bronze and then iron. Deadly weapons were developed, like chariots, bow and arrows, catapults, and siege towers. !!Religions became more complex, as well. Gods were worshipped in extensive temple complexes. Statues were built 30 to 50 feet tall out of bronze. Written language allowed for the creation of official religious texts to record the words from the gods and their prophets. Priests led elaborate ceremonies with music, costumes and massive sacrifices of animal or human life (or both). !!

In a mere 10,000 years, societies in the Middle East developed from wandering tribes and chasing food to massive empires, controlling thousands of miles of land and ruling over the people of the entire region.!!Africa (4,000 BC - 300 BC)!Egypt!In North-East Africa flows the Nile River, the longest river in the world. The Nile River was followed by the first humans who migrated north and has played a vital role in the history of the region because of how robust yet predictable its flood patterns. Along the Nile, a civilization flourished for almost 3,000 years: the Egyptians.!!The story of Egypt follows very closely with the Middle East. Egypt was one of the first river valley civilizations, founded soon after the Mesopotamians. The Egyptians were able to transplant the domesticable plants and animals from Mesopotamia, to grow along the extremely fertile Nile River. The Egyptians developed a complex system of government and writing soon after the Sumerians, as well. !!

While the Middle East saw perpetual competition and ongoing wars between rising and falling empires, the Egyptians were remarkably stable. Their civilization lasted 3,000 years (minus two disastrous droughts) before finally being defeated by the Assyrians. A couple factors led to their remarkable success. !

• First, they had an abundant and dependable food and water supply, thanks to the Nile River. !

• Second, they were protected by natural barriers. To the South and West was the worlds largest desert: the Sahara Desert. To the North was the Mediterranean Sea. To the East was the Red Sea. Only a small strip of land connected Egypt to the Middle East and that made the Egyptian land easy to defend. !

• Third, the Egyptians developed a powerful government system that allowed them to keep peace and order: the god-king. To the Egyptians, the Pharaoh served as their king who was also a living god. To disobey the Pharaoh was to disobey an actual god, putting your life at stake in both this life and in the afterlife. This tied religion in with politics in a very profound way that would be copied and emulated for centuries to come. !!

Egypt served as an economic and cultural powerhouse during its 3,000 year reign. The pyramids, tombs of the Pharaohs, were both an engineering marvel as well as a sign of a well organized society. The temple complexes and their pillars were duplicated throughout the Mediterranean. Their art, pottery, and literature was traded and distributed throughout the Middle East and Europe. Their religion, in particular their view of the after life, has been emulated in other major world religions. Needless to say, even when the Egyptians were defeated by the Assyrians and Persians, their cultural influence continued on.!!The Rest of Africa (until ~200 AD)!While Central Africa was the birth place of Humanity, non-Egypt parts of Africa was poorly equipped ecologically to develop agriculture and advanced societies. Only West Africa had a handful of domesticable plants and there are zero native domesticable large mammals. The massive Sahara Desert kept the plants, animals, technology and culture of Egypt from reaching the rest of Africa. These natural barriers hampered Africans’ early develop, limiting the people to being hunting and gathering tribes. !!China!In East Asia, a civilization developed that would be described as, “a civilization with which no people could ever hope to compare”… China. The first city-states from were established along the Yellow and Yangtze River Valleys around 4,000 BC. These city-states grew into a kingdom around 2100 BC and an empire by 206 BC. Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di, of the Qin Dynasty, had conquered the surrounding warring tribes and gave the land its name: China. He united China by enforcing a common language, currency (money system), and unified laws. The Han Dynasty brought China into its “Golden Age,” and ruled from 206 BC-220 AD.!

!The Kings/Emperors of China ruled by the Mandate of Heaven. They believed that China was the blessed land of the gods, existing under the shadow of heaven. The King (and his family) had received the mandate or blessing of heaven to rule. To go against the king was to go against the will of the gods. The mandate was passed through the Emperor’s dynasty. A dynasty is when power passes from father to son, or the next eligible member (typically male). However, if the king abused his power, the mandate would be taken from him and given to another family.!!During these early years, China saw many great accomplishments. They built the first Great Wall to protect against northern invaders. They began the Silk Road, a land based trade network that stretched from China through India to Rome selling expensive items like silk and porcelain. This spread Chinese culture across the continent while also making China quite wealthy. They created many complex mathematical principles and applied to great engineering feats and astronomical discoveries. They created paper, mirrors, seismographs, and acupuncture. They designed feudalism, a system where land was exchanged for military service or loyalty. !!China also produced the great philosopher, Confucius. Around 500 BC, Confucius promoted ways of having a more organized and functional society. Confucianism promoted a government system where Chinese youths spent their childhood preparing for the state exam. Those who passed the exam were given the title of scholar and were appointed a role in the state the bureaucracy. This ensured that the brightest minds ran the government. !!Confucius also believed that relationships were the foundation of a successful society. Thus, Confucius promoted the 5 Key Relationships: !

1. Ruler - Subject!2. Father - Son!3. Husband - Wife!4. Older Brother - Younger Brother!5. Friend - Friend!

Confucius taught that if people know their appropriate role in each relationship that it would create better lives and a stable empire. He also promoted filial piety, the worship of ancestors (think Mulan and Mushu). If a person acted inappropriately, it would bring dishonor to the family, to both the dead and the living.!!In 220 AD, the great Han Dynasty collapsed. The Han Dynasty had led China to great military, economic and cultural achievements. However, weaknesses had developed inside the empire. There was a large gap between the rich and poor, with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. The Emperor made bad policies that hurt all in China, along with fostering corruption (dishonest actions, misusing money/resources). There were also a series of earthquakes, floods and plagues to strike China. The people decided that the Emperor had lost his “Mandate of Heaven.” War broke out between warlords, dividing the once great empire into warring states.!!Europe - Part 1: 10,000 BC - 323BC!People arrived in Europe in waves. The first humans migrated in 40,000 BC. The Aryan Migration began around 1700. The Aryans migrated from Central Europe, spreading their unique language and pantheon (collection of gods) east to Spain/Italy and north to England/Norway/Germany.!

!Greeks!The first official civilization in Europe was the Ancient Greeks in 700s BC. The Greeks developed into city-states but never into kingdoms. This was because of the mountainous terrain. However, their close proximity to the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas allowed them to trade frequently with the other cities and empires around the Mediterranean Sea. The Greeks borrowed heavily from other Middle Eastern and Egyptian cultures, before finally developing their own distinct “Greek” culture. Some of the Greek achievements: the Greek

Pantheon of Gods, Doric/Ionic/Corinthian style columns with triangle pediment on top, theatrical comedies and tragedies and the olympic games. !!The most impactful of the Greek achievements were Democracy and Socratic Philosophy. Around 600 BC, Athens had a string of corrupt tyrants, or cruel oppressive leaders. The Athenians crafted a model of government that put power in the hands of the people: democracy. Specifically a direct democracy, where every person (well… every male who was a citizen) votes on all the issues, policies and decisions of the government.!!

In the 400s, the Greeks produced the great philosopher, Socrates. A philosopher is someone who loves knowledge and wisdom. Socrates used questions to pursue truth or solve problem, questioning everything to determine what is truth. The modern scientific method is one of the lasting legacies of Socratic Philosophy. From Socrates students arose the great Philosophers, Plato and Aristotle whose ideas are still shaping our ideas on government and science.!!In 499 BC, the Greek city states went to war against the Persian Empire. The

Persians, as was stated above, were the largest empire in the Middle East and had one of the most powerful militaries on the planet. The Greeks were a dysfunctional and divided collection of city-states. Yet, when the Persians invaded, the Greeks were able to ban together to successfully defend their land against the Persians (think of the movie “300”). Nothing unites a divided people like a common enemy.!!The Persian Wars were important for a couple reasons. First, it created the idea of “Western Civilizations” vs “Eastern Civilizations”… or an “us” vs “them.” This West/East mentality persists to this day. It united the Greek people to create a Athenian Empire. It was also one of the last times that an “Eastern Power” threatened to rule over a Western Power. !!The Athenian Empire would not last. The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), saw the Greek city states side with either Athens or Sparta. Sparta was the victor, but everyone in Greece was left severely weakened. This opened the door to a power that had been building to the north.!!Alexander the Great!After the Peloponnesian War, Macedonia swept in from the north and defeated the Greek city-states. In 335 BC, Alexander took power and set out to conquer the Persian Empire. By 323 BC, Alexander had conquered from Greece down to Egypt and East into India, never losing a battle. However, in India his troops demanded to turn back. Alexander died shortly thereafter. Alexander’s conquest spread Greek language, philosophy,

architecture and culture. Greek became the first language to spread across three continents. Greek became the language for trade, academic sharing and for international relations (often times rulers and the rich knew Greek better then their native language).!!Alexander’s empire did not last past his death. The massive empire split into three sections, each ruled by a different general. However, these kingdoms continued to promote Greek culture throughout the Middle East and into India for centuries to come.!!India/South Asia!Northern India was host to an early river civilization, the Harappans. From 3,300-1600 BC The Harappans were excellent city planner and traders, who traded with the Sumerians in the Middle East. The remainder of India consisted of primarily hunters and gatherers.!!In 1700BC, the Aryan migration swept into India. Just as in Europe, the Aryans brought their religion that would become Hinduism and their language, called Sanskrit. Sanskrit is related to Latin and shares many similar words. As the Aryans expanded into India, they created and implemented the Caste System. The Caste System divided societies into castes or roles, with the religious and rich on top and the poor on the bottom. The Aryans married/settled throughout India, forming small communities and regional kingdoms around Hinduism and the Caste System.!!Buddhism!Around 450, Siddhartha was a Hindu Prince who sought to reform to reform the religion. After a life of luxury, Siddhartha explored the world of India and was met with great suffering. Upon seeing the suffering in the world, he promoted the ideas that would become the foundation of Buddhism:!

• The Four Noble Truths (Summary): Life is suffering caused by your unmet desires!• The Eight Fold Path (Summary): Living “rightly” will result in the removal of your desires and suffering.!

Siddhartha (aka: the Buddha) and his students evangelized, or taught and sought to convert, people to this new teaching. However, by the time of Siddhartha’s death, the number of people following Buddhism was quite small.!!Alexander and the Mauryan Empire!In 324BC, Alexander the Great came storming into India, conquering all in his path. After Alexander’s men mutinied to return home, a young Indian Lord Chandragupta became inspired by a vision of unifying India in an “Alexander-esque” military campaign. Chandragupta was successful in uniting almost all of India under his rule. A later ruler, Ashoka the Great converted to Buddhism after seeing the destruction of a bitterly fought battle. Ashoka worked to base his empire on Buddhist teachings and spread Buddhism across all of South Asia and beyond. However, after Ashoka, the diverse geography and the Caste System promoted people’s loyalty to their local caste and lord, leading to the collapse of the Maurya Empire.!!

Gupta Empire!The Maurya Empire was followed by the Gupta Empire. The Gupta allowed regions to have their autonomy as long as they paid the taxes. Pay Taxes = Autonomy, or freedom to make laws and decisions. Refuse taxes = Death. Under the Gupta empire, many great achievements were made: discovering the world is round and rotated around the sun, the idea of gravity, the decimal system, the number zero, chess, and major medical surgeries.!!The Gupta Empire collapsed around 470 AD. The collapse of Han Dynasty had caused a sharp decline of trade. This caused financial trouble for the Gupta. Added to this trouble, “barbarians” were invading along the northern border. These factors weakened the central government, which was already suffering from weak leadership. Regional powers rose up in rebellion, causing the Gupta empire to collapse into warring states.!!Europe - Part 2: Rome!In the history of the world, few empires compare in size and accomplishment to the Roman Empire. In 501 BC, on the Italian peninsula, the city of Rome was established by a group of warrior-herdsmen took control from a corrupt local king. As the city developed, the Romans established a Republic (representative democracy), where the poor and rich could elect people to represent them and be their voice in the government. They also developed the Twelve Tablets, that setup the rule of law that guided all Roman citizens. During this time, the Romans borrowed heavily from the Greeks (included their gods, law making, and architectural style) and from other Mediterranean civilizations. !!By 202 BC, the city of Rome had conquered all of Italy, most of Spain, and part of North Africa. While the conquest was successfully expanded, the Republic was failing. Around 80 BC, Julius Caesar, who was a popular general who expanded Rome’s territory into France, England and Greece. When Julius Caesar declared himself dictator for life, he was stabbed 23 times. However, Augustus took his uncle’s place and effectively killed the Roman Republic. Augustus entered the era of the Roman Empire, ruled by one man: the Caesar. The Caesar was viewed as the son of the gods, who was the savior of the people of earth and whose task it was to rule the empire. By 300 AD, Rome ruled land on 3 continents, completely surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, calling it “The Roman Lake.”!!Rome’s achievements were not limited to their conquest. They carved millions of miles of roads across Europe and the Middle East. The Romans’ developed the architectural arch. This, along with the creation of cement, allowed the development of massive buildings. One of these buildings

were the aqueducts that brought water in from far rivers/lakes into the their city centers. Culturally, they advanced literature, philosophy and sculptural art. They also promoted the competitive forms of entertainment, like the gladiator games and chariot races. The stadiums held between 50,000 to 150,000 spectators.!!Christianity!Around 30 AD in Jerusalem, Israel, the Jewish faith (Judaism) was undergoing a transformation. A man named Jesus was claiming to be the long-awaited Messiah, the Son of the Jewish God (Jehovah) who was the savior of the world, and restore the connection with Jehovah. His teachings were aimed at reforming the faith back to what Jehovah had intended. The Jewish leaders and the Romans disagreed with Jesus and had him crucified. However, three days later his body was gone, and the followers of Jesus began proclaiming he had come back to life, raised from the dead. They began to evangelize throughout the Roman Empire (thanks to the Roman roads) and their teachings became known as Christianity.!!Fall of Rome!In 285 AD, Rome was in trouble. The massive empire had just been split in two to help with administration. The East half had a new capital called Constantinople, named after Caesar Constantine who had converted to and legalized Christianity in Rome. The Western half held onto Rome as its capital. The problem was that the Eastern half had the trade routes with the east, the better educated population and access to more resources. The Western half was more agricultural and did not possess the natural wealth and resources, nor was it close to any of the great empires with which to trade. The Western half, which already suffered from bad leadership, a lazy population and a famine, was ready to fall. All it took was hungry German Barbarians, or uncultured people, from the north to storm in and take the city in 436 AD. German Barbarian tribes began to conquer large areas of Europe, dividing the Western half of the Roman Empire into warring states.! !

Oceania/Australia!Oceania is a term that refers to Australia and the surrounding islands (Fiji, New Zealand, etc). Australia was first settled around 40,000 BC. Its first inhabitants were stone-age hunters and gathers that are referred to as the Aborigines. By 30 BC, many of the islands had inhabitants that migrated from South China and who brought with them agricultural technology.

However, the climate did not allow for large-scale farming. On a few islands, hybrid societies develop that cultivate bananas and tropical fruit while hunting/fishing/gathering. However, a vast majority of the people in Oceania were hunters and gatherers.!!!

North America!People first arrived in North America around 10,000 BC and spread rapidly throughout the continent. Hunting and gathering was the primary food supply in North America. Agriculture first appeared in Mexico around 3000 BC with the Olmec Civilization and over the next two thousand years spread steadily north and east, eventually reaching the Mississippi River Valley. Around the year 1 AD, there were three distinct areas of agriculture: the Mississippi River Valley, South-West America (present day Nevada/California) and Central Mexico. Evan where there was agriculture, the communities were relatively small. The lack of native domesticable plants and large mammals prevents most of the continent from developing agriculture or supporting large kingdoms and empires.!!South America!South America was the last continent to have human habitation. By 3500 BC humans are living throughout the continent, with small farming communities in the northern half. In 200BC, Larger chiefdoms eventually develop along the North-West Coast, by the Andes Mountains (modern day Peru). The Andes Mountains served as a natural barrier between the Andes Highland peoples and those living in the Amazon River Basin (aka Amazonia).!!Conclusion!The Ancient Period was a time of great change and development. Humans settled on all major land masses and created communities that adapted to all types of climates. They expanded from being nomadic hunters and gatherers to establishing massive empires. All the major religions and government styles were developed during this time, as well as the foundations for our modern languages. Humans went from chiseling stone to crafting metal for tools and weapons. They harnessed the power of animals and used technology to develop new transportation methods. They built enormous buildings. They developed deadlier weapons. It was a great and awe-inspiring period of human history… with Geography having the final say in which areas thrived and which ones failed to even launch.!!However, by the 500 AD all of major empires of the Europe and Asia had collapsed into warring states marking the end of the Ancient era.

Assignment

1) Read & Update the Content Matrix

!!2) Fill out this chart with the the strengths/positives and weaknesses/negatives of each region.!!

!

Vocab People Events/Ideas/Rel Groups Big Ideas

- Hunting and Gathering!

- Herding!- City-State!- Caesar!- Bureaucracy!- Irrigation!- Cuneiform!- Alphabet!- Natural Barriers!- Tyrant!- Philosopher!- Pharaoh !- Currency!- Migration!- Pantheon!- Evangelism

- Hammurabi!- Qin Shi Huang Di!- Confucius !- Julius Caesar!- Augustus!- Jesus!- Socrates!- Siddhartha !- Ashoka the Great!- Alexander the

Great

- The Great Migration!- Neolithic Revolution!- Age of Empires!- Caste System!- Persian War!- Silk Road!- Hinduism!- Hammurabi’s Code!- Confucianism !- Feudalism!- Aryan Migration!- Direct Democracy!- Mandate of Heaven!- Representative

Democracy (Republic)!

- Buddhism!- Christianity!- Twelve Tablets!

- Mesopotamia, Sumerians)!

- Egyptians!- China!- Greeks!- Rome!- India (Mauyra

Empire, Gupta Empire)

- How did Geography impact human development!

- Causes of Migration!- Neolithic/

Agricultural Revolution: Causes, Impacts!

- Growth/Spread of Religions!

- Lasting impacts of Society

Region Strengths Weaknesses

East Asia

South Asia

Africa

Europe

North America

South America

Australia

Middle East

!3) Create an impact chart. As you read you are to evaluate each area on the level of impact the people in that

region had on the world culturally, militarily, and economically.!• Rate each area as to how impactful you believe them to be at the Beginning of Time (B), at 300 BC ( )

and at 300 AD ( ).!• Draw arrows to show whether they grew or shrunk in impact and influence.!• If there is change, ask yourself “What caused them to grow or shrink or stagnate in their influence?” and

make note of it on your chart.!!How to rate each region:!

• Local: Mainly Hunter/Gatherers and Small Villages; people barely impacting those outside of their small circles.!

• Regional: Kingdoms, Small Empires. !• Continental: Large empire(s) that span across/impact/consume most of the continent.!• Inter-Continental: Massive empire(s) that span across/impact/consume multiple continents.!• Global: Massive empire(s) that span across/impact/consume most of the world.

B

Examples

B