Ancient history is the aggregate of past events[1] from thebeginning of writing and recordedhuman history and extending as far aslate antiquity. The phrase may be used either to refer to the period of time or the academic discipline. The academic study of ancient history can be eitherscientific (archaeology, with the examination of physical evidence) orhumanistic (the study of history through texts, poetry, and linguistics).
The span ofrecorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with theSumeriancuneiform script, with the oldest coherent texts from about 2600 BC.[2] Ancient history covers all continents inhabited by humans in the period 3000 BC – AD 500. Thethree-age system periodizes ancient history into theStone Age, theBronze Age, and theIron Age, with recorded history generally considered to begin with the Bronze Age.[3] The start and end of the three ages varies between world regions. In many regions the Bronze Age is generally considered to begin a few centuries prior to 3000 BC,[4] while the end of the Iron Age varies from the early first millennium BC in some regions to the late first millennium AD in others.
The broad term "ancient history" is not to be confused with "classical antiquity", the period that follows the Iron Age. Classical antiquity refers to the period of Mediterranean history during which the civilizations ofAncient Greece andRome flourished, from the firstOlympiad in 776 BC and thefounding of Rome in 753 BC, to the middle of the first millennium BC. The latter part of classical antiquity is known aslate antiquity.
Although the ending date of ancient history is disputed, someWestern scholars use thefall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD (the most used),[5][6] the closure of thePlatonic Academy in 529 AD,[7] the death of the emperorJustinian I in 565 AD,[8] the coming ofIslam,[9] or the rise ofCharlemagne[10] as the end of ancient and Classical European history. Outside of Europe, there have been difficulties with the 450–500 time frame for the transition from ancient to post-classical times.
During the time period of ancient history (starting roughly from 3000 BC), theworld population was already exponentially increasing due to theNeolithic Revolution, which was in full progress. According to HYDE estimates from the Netherlands, world population increased exponentially in this period. In 10,000 BC inprehistory, the world population had stood at 2 million, rising to 45 million by 3,000 BC. By the rise of theIron Age in 1,000 BC, the population had risen to 72 million. By the end of the period in 500 AD, the world population is thought to have stood at 209 million. In 10,500 years, the world population increased by 100 times.[11]
Study
Historians have two major ways of understanding the ancient world:archaeology and the study ofsource texts.Primary sources are those sources closest to the origin of the information or idea under study.[12][13] Primary sources have been distinguished fromsecondary sources, which often cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources.[14]
Archaeology is the excavation and study ofartifacts in an effort to interpret and reconstruct past human behavior.[15][16][17][18] Archaeologists excavate the ruins of ancient cities looking for clues as to how the people of the time period lived. Some important discoveries by archaeologists studying ancient history include:
The city ofPompeii (Italy):[22] an ancient Roman city preserved by the eruption ofMount Vesuvius in AD 79. Its state of preservation is so great that it is a valuable window into Roman culture and provided insight into the cultures of theEtruscans and theSamnites.[23]
Most of what is known of the ancient world comes from the accounts of antiquity's own historians. Although it is important to take into account the bias of each ancient author, their accounts are the basis for our understanding of the ancient past. Some of the more notable ancient writers includeHerodotus,Thucydides,Arrian,Plutarch,Polybius,Sima Qian,Sallust,Livy,Josephus,Suetonius, andTacitus.
A fundamental difficulty of studying ancient history is thatrecorded histories cannot document the entirety of human events, and only a fraction of those documents have survived into the present day.[25] Furthermore, the reliability of the information obtained from these surviving records must be considered.[25][26] Few people were capable ofwriting histories, as literacy was not widespread in almost any culture until long after the end of ancient history.[27]
The earliest known systematic historical thought emerged inancient Greece, beginning withHerodotus of Halicarnassus (484–c. 425 BC).Thucydides largely eliminated divine causality in his account of the war between Athens and Sparta,[28] establishing a rationalistic element which set a precedent for subsequent Western historical writings. He was also the first to distinguish between cause and immediate origins of an event.[28]
TheRoman Empire was an ancient culture with a relatively high literacy rate,[29] but many works by its most widely read historians are lost. For example,Livy, a Roman historian who lived in the 1st century BC, wrote a history of Rome calledAb Urbe Condita (From the Founding of the City) in 144 volumes; only 35 volumes still exist, although short summaries of most of the rest do exist. Indeed, no more than a minority of the work of any major Roman historian has survived.
The Bronze Age forms part of thethree-age system. It follows the Neolithic Age in some areas of the world. In most areas of civilisation,bronze smelting became a foundation for more advanced societies. There was some contrast with New World societies, who often still preferred stone to metal for utilitarian purposes. Modern historians have identified five original civilisations which emerged in the time period.[32]
The first civilisation emerged inSumer in the southern region of Mesopotamia, now part of modern-day Iraq. By 3000 BC, Sumeriancity-states had collectively formed civilisation with government, religion,division of labour, and writing.[33][34] Among the city-states,Ur was among the most significant.
In the 24th century BC, theAkkadian Empire[35][36] was founded in Mesopotamia. From Sumer, civilisation andbronze smelting spread westward to Egypt, theMinoans and theHittites.
The beginning of theShang dynasty emerged in China in this period, and there was evidence of a fully developedChinese writing system. The Shang dynasty is the first Chinese regime recognized by Western scholars though Chinese historians insist that theXia dynasty preceded it.[38][39] The Shang dynasty practiced forced labour to complete public projects. There is evidence of massive ritualburial.
Across the ocean, the earliest known civilisation of the Americas appeared in the river valleys of the desert coast of central modern day Peru. TheNorte Chico civilisation's first city flourished around 3100 BC. TheOlmecs are supposed to appear later in Mesoamerica between the 14th and 13th centuries.
TheIron Age is the last principal period in the three-age system, preceded by the Bronze Age. Its date and context vary depending on the country or geographical region. The Iron Age overall was characterized by the prevalent smelting of iron withferrous metallurgy and the use ofcarbon steel. Smelted iron proved more durable than earlier metals such ascopper or bronze and allowed for more productive societies. The Iron Age took place at different times in different parts of the world, and comes to an end when a society began to maintain historical records.
During the 13th to 12th centuries BC, theRamesside Period occurred in Egypt. Around 1200 BC, theTrojan War was thought to have taken place.[40] By around 1180 BC, the disintegration of theHittite Empire was under way. The collapse of the Hittites was part of the larger-scaleBronze Age collapse which took place in theancient Near East around 1200 BC. In Greece, theMycenae and Minoans both disintegrated. A wave ofSea Peoples attacked many countries; only Egypt survived intact. Afterwards some entirely new successor civilisations arose in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In 1046 BC, the Zhou force, led byKing Wu of Zhou, overthrew the last king of the Shang dynasty. TheZhou dynasty was established in China shortly thereafter. During this Zhou era China embraced a feudal society of decentralized power. Iron Age China then dissolved into thewarring states period where possibly millions of soldiers fought each other over feudal struggles.
Pirak is an early iron-age site inBalochistan,Pakistan, going back to about 1200 BC. This period is believed to be the beginning of theIron Age in India and the subcontinent.[41] Around the same time came theVedas, the oldest sacred texts for theHindu religion.
In 1000 BC, theMannaean Kingdom began inWestern Asia. Around the 10th to 7th centuries BC, theNeo-Assyrian Empire developed in Mesopotamia.[42] In 800 BC, the rise ofGreek city-states began. In 776 BC, the first recordedOlympic Games were held.[43] In contrast to neighboring cultures, the Greek city-states did not become a single militaristicempire but competed with each other as separatepolis.
The preceding Iron Age is often thought to have ended in the Middle East around 550 BC due to the rise ofhistoriography (the historical record). The Axial Age is used to describe history between 800 and 200 BC of Eurasia, includingancient Greece,Iran,India, andChina. Widespread trade and communication between distinct regions in this period, including the rise of theSilk Road. This period saw the rise ofphilosophy and proselytizing religions.
Philosophy, religion and science were diverse in theHundred Schools of Thought, producing thinkers such asConfucius,Lao Tzu andMozi during the 6th century BC. Similar trends emerged throughout Eurasia in India with the rise ofBuddhism, in the Near East withZoroastrianism andJudaism and in the west withancient Greek philosophy. In these developments religious and philosophical figures were all searching for human meaning.[44]
The Axial Age and its aftermath saw large wars and the formation of large empires that stretched beyond the limits of earlier Iron Age Societies. Significant for the time was the PersianAchaemenid Empire.[45] The empire's vast territory extended from modern day Egypt toXinjiang. The empire's legacy include the rise of commerce over land routes through Eurasia as well as the spreading of Persian culture through the middle east. TheRoyal Road allowed for efficient trade and taxation. Though the MacedonianAlexander the Great conquered the Achaemenid Empire in its entirety, the unity of his conquests did not survive him. Greek culture and technology spread through West and South Asia, often synthesizing with local cultures.
Formation of empires and fragmentation
SeparateGreek kingdoms Egypt and Asia encouraged trade and communication like earlier Persian administrations.[46] Combined with the expansion of theHan dynasty westward the Silk Road as a series of routes made possible the exchange of goods between the Mediterranean Basin, South Asia and East Asia. In South Asia, theMauryan Empire briefly annexed much of theIndian subcontinent; though short-lived, its reign had the legacies of spreading Buddhism and providing an inspiration to later Indian states.
Supplanting the warring Greek kingdoms in the western world came the growingRoman Republic and the IranianParthian Empire. As a result of empires, urbanization and literacy spread to locations which had previously been at the periphery of civilisation as known by the large empires. Upon the turn of the millennium the independence of tribal peoples and smaller kingdoms were threatened by more advanced states. Empires were not just remarkable for their territorial size but for their administration and the dissemination of culture and trade, in this way the influence of empires often extended far beyond their national boundaries. Trade routes expanded by land and sea and allowed for flow of goods between distant regions even in the absence of communication. Distant nations such as Imperial Rome and the Chinese Han Dynastyrarely communicated but trade of goods did occur as evidenced by archaeological discoveries such as Roman coins in Vietnam. At this time most of the world's population inhabited only a small part of the earth's surface. Outside of civilisation, large geographic areas such asSiberia,sub-Saharan Africa andAustralia remained sparsely populated. TheNew World hosted a variety of separate civilisations but its own trade networks were smaller due to the lack of draft animals and the wheel.
Empires with their immense military strength remained fragile to civil wars, economic decline and a changing political environment internationally. In 220 AD Han China collapsed intowarring states while the European Roman Empire began to suffer from turmoil in the3rd-century crisis. In Persia regime change took place from Parthian Empire to the more centralizedSassanian Empire. The land-based Silk Road continued to deliver profits in trade but came under continual assault by nomads all on the northern frontiers of Eurasian nations. Safer sea routes began to gain preference in the early centuries AD
Proselytizing religions began to replacepolytheism andfolk religions in many areas.Christianity gained a wide following in the Roman Empire, Zoroastrianism became the state enforced religion of Iran andBuddhism spread to East Asia from South Asia. Social change, political transformation as well as ecological events all contributed to the end of ancient times and the beginning of the Post Classical era in Eurasia roughly around the year 500.
Roman castterracotta of ram-hornedJupiter Ammon, a form ofZeus, 1st century AD. Gods were sometimes borrowed between civilisations and adapted to local conditions.
The rise of civilisation corresponded with the institutional sponsorship of belief in gods, supernatural forces and the afterlife. During the Bronze Age, many civilisations adopted their own form of polytheism. Usually, polytheistic Gods manifested human personalities, strengths and failings. Early religion was often based on location, with cities or entire countries selecting a deity, that would grant them preferences and advantages over their competitors. Worship involved the construction of representation of deities, and the granting of sacrifices. Sacrifices could be material goods, food, or in extreme cases human sacrifice to please a deity. New philosophies and religions arose in both east and west, particularly about the 6th century BC. Over time, a great variety of religions developed around the world, with some of the earliest major ones being Hinduism (around 2000 BC),Buddhism (5th century BC), andJainism (6th century BC) inIndia, and Zoroastrianism inPersia. TheAbrahamic religions trace their origin to Judaism, around 1700 BC.
The ancientIndian philosophy is a fusion of two ancient traditions:Sramana tradition andVedic tradition. Indian philosophy begins with theVedas where questions related to laws of nature, the origin of the universe and the place of man in it are asked. Jainism and Buddhism are continuation of the Sramana school of thought. The Sramanas cultivated a pessimistic world view of the samsara as full of suffering and advocated renunciation and austerities. They laid stress on philosophical concepts likeAhimsa,Karma,Jnana,Samsara andMoksa. While there are ancient relations between the Indian Vedas and the IranianAvesta, the two main families of theIndo-Iranian philosophical traditions were characterized by fundamental differences in their implications for the human being's position in society and their view on the role of man in the universe.
In the east, three schools of thought were to dominate Chinese thinking until the modern day. These wereTaoism,Legalism andConfucianism. The Confucian tradition, which would attain dominance, looked forpoliticalmorality not to the force of law but to the power and example of tradition. Confucianism would later spread into theKorean peninsula andGoguryeo[47] and towardJapan.
In the west, the Greek philosophical tradition, represented bySocrates,Plato, andAristotle, was diffused throughout Europe and the Middle East in the 4th century BC by the conquests of Alexander the Great. After theBronze and Iron Age religions formed, the rise and spread of Christianity through the Roman world marked the end ofHellenistic philosophy and ushered in the beginnings ofMedieval philosophy.
In thehistory of technology andancient science during the growth of the ancient civilisations, ancient technological advances were produced inengineering. These advances stimulated other societies to adopt new ways of living and governance. Sometimes, technological development was sponsored by the state.[48]
The characteristics ofancient Egyptian technology are indicated by a set of artifacts and customs that lasted for thousands of years. The Egyptians invented and used many basic machines, such as the ramp and the lever, to aid construction processes. The Egyptians also played an important role in developing Mediterranean maritime technology, including ships[49] and lighthouses.[50]
Water managingQanats which likely emerged on theIranian plateau and possibly also in theArabian peninsula sometime in the early 1st millennium BC spread from there slowly west- and eastward.[51]
Ancient Greek technology developed at an unprecedented speed during the 5th century BC, continuing up to and including the Roman period, and beyond. Inventions that are credited to the ancient Greeks such as the gear, screw, bronze casting techniques, water clock, water organ, torsion catapult and the use of steam to operate some experimental machines and toys. Many of these inventions occurred late in the Greek period, often inspired by the need to improve weapons and tactics in war.Roman technology is the engineering practice which supported Roman civilisation and made the expansion of Roman commerce and Roman military possible over nearly a thousand years. The Roman Empire had the most advanced set of technology of their time, some of which may have been lost during the turbulent eras oflate antiquity and theEarly Middle Ages. Roman technological feats of many different areas, like civil engineering, construction materials, transport technology, and some inventions such as the mechanical reaper went unmatched until the 19th century.[citation needed]
The history of ancient navigation began in earnest when men took to the sea inplanked boats and ships propelled bysails hung onmasts, like the Ancient EgyptianKhufu ship from the mid-3rd millennium BC. According to the Greek historian Herodotus,Necho II sent out an expedition ofPhoenicians, which in three years sailed from theRed Sea around Africa to the mouth of theNile.[52] Many current historians tend to believe Herodotus on this point, even though Herodotus himself was in disbelief that the Phoenicians had accomplished the act.
Hannu was an ancient Egyptianexplorer (around 2750 BC) and the first explorer of whom there is any knowledge. He made the first recorded exploring expedition, writing his account of his exploration in stone. Hannu travelled along the Red Sea toPunt, and sailed to what is now part of easternEthiopia andSomalia. He returned to Egypt with great treasures, including preciousmyrrh,metal, andwood.
Ancient warfare is war as conducted from the beginnings of recorded history to the end of the ancient period. In Europe, the end of antiquity is often equated with the fall of Rome in 476. In China, it can also be seen as ending in the 5th century, with the growing role of mounted warriors needed to counter the ever-growing threat from the north.
The difference betweenprehistoric warfare and ancient warfare is less one of technology than of organization. The development of the first city-states, and then empires, allowed warfare to change dramatically. Beginning in Mesopotamia, states produced sufficient agricultural surplus that full-time ruling elites and military commanders could emerge. While the bulk of military forces were still farmers, the society could support having them campaigning rather than working the land for a portion of each year. Thus, organized armies developed for the first time.
These new armies could help states grow in size and became increasingly centralized, and the first empire, that of the Sumerians, formed in Mesopotamia. Early ancient armies continued to primarily usebows andspears, the same weapons that had been developed in prehistoric times for hunting. Early armies in Egypt and China followed a similar pattern of using massed infantry armed with bows and spears.
Ancient music developed in literate cultures, replacing prehistoric music. 'Ancient music' refers to the various musical systems that were developed across various geographical regions such as Persia, India, China, Greece, Rome, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. Ancient music is designated by the characterization of the basic audible tones and scales. It may have been transmitted through oral or written systems. Arts of the ancient world refers to the many types of art that were in the cultures of ancient societies, such as those of ancient China, Egypt, Greece, India, Persia, Mesopotamia and Rome.
The core territory of 15th century BCAssyria, with its two major citiesAssur andNineveh, was upstream ofBabylonia and downstream of the states ofMitanni andHatti.
Mesopotamia is the site of some of the earliest known civilisations in the world. Early settlement of the alluvial plain lasted from theUbaid period (late 6th millennium BC) through theUruk period (4th millennium BC) and the Dynastic periods (3rd millennium BC) until the rise ofBabylon in the early 2nd millennium BC. The surplus of storable foodstuffs created by this economy allowed the population to settle in one place instead of migrating after crops and herds. It also allowed for a much greater population density, and in turn required an extensive labour force and division of labour. This organization led to the necessity of record keeping and the development of writing(c. 3500 BC).
Babylonia was anAmorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southernIraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged whenHammurabi (r. c. 1792–1750 BC) created an empire out of the territories of the former kingdoms of Sumer andAkkad. The Amorites beingancient Semitic-speaking peoples, Babylonia adopted the writtenAkkadian language for official use; they retained theSumerian language for religious use, which by that time was no longer a spoken language. The Akkadian and Sumerian cultures played a major role in later Babylonian culture, and the region would remain an important cultural center, even under outside rule. The earliest mention of the city of Babylon can be found in a tablet from the reign ofSargon of Akkad, dating back to the 23rd century BC.
Akkad was a city and its surrounding region in central Mesopotamia. Akkad also became the capital of the Akkadian Empire.[53] The city was probably situated on the west bank of theEuphrates, betweenSippar andKish (in present-day Iraq, about 50 km (31 mi) southwest of the center ofBaghdad). Despite an extensive search, the precise site has never been found. Akkad reached the height of its power between the 24th and 22nd centuries BC, following the conquests of King Sargon of Akkad. Because of the policies of the Akkadian Empire toward linguistic assimilation, Akkad also gave its name to the predominant Semitic dialect: the Akkadian language, reflecting use ofakkadû ("in the language of Akkad") in the Old Babylonian period to denote the Semitic version of a Sumerian text.
Assyria was originally (in theMiddle Bronze Age) a region on the UpperTigris, named for its original capital, the ancient city ofAssur. Later, as a nation and empire that came to control all of theFertile Crescent, Egypt and much ofAnatolia, the term "Assyria proper" referred to roughly the northern half of Mesopotamia (the southern half being Babylonia), withNineveh as its capital. The Assyrian kings controlled a large kingdom at three different times in history. These are called theOld (20th to 15th centuries BC),Middle (15th to 10th centuries BC), andNeo-Assyrian (911–612 BC) kingdoms, or periods, of which the last is the most well known and best documented. Assyrians inventedexcavation to underminecity walls,battering rams to knock down gates, as well as the concept of a corps ofengineers, who bridged rivers with pontoons or provided soldiers with inflatable skins for swimming.[54]
Mitanni was an Indo-Iranian[55] empire in northern Mesopotamia from c. 1500 BC. At the height of Mitanni power, during the 14th century BC, it encompassed what is today southeasternTurkey, northernSyria and northern Iraq, centered around its capital,Washukanni, whose precise location has not been determined by archaeologists.
Elam is the name of an ancient civilisation located in what is now southwestIran. Archaeological evidence associated with Elam has been dated to before5000 BC.[56][57][58][59][60][61][62] According to available written records, it is known to have existed from around 3200 BC – making it among the world's oldest historical civilisations – and to have endured up until 539 BC. Its culture played a crucial role in theGutian Empire, especially during theAchaemenid dynasty that succeeded it, when theElamite language remained among those in official use. The Elamite period is considered a starting point for the history of Iran.TheMedes were anancient Iranian people. They had established their own empire by the 6th century BC, having defeated the Neo-Assyrian Empire with theChaldeans. They overthrewUrartu later on as well. The Medes are credited with the foundation of the first Iranian empire, the largest of its day until Cyrus the Great established a unified Iranian empire of the Medes andPersians, often referred to as the Achaemenid Empire, by defeating his grandfather and overlord,Astyages the king of Media.
The Achaemenid Empire was the largest and most significant of the Persian empires, and followed theMedian Empire as the second great empire of the Iranians. It is noted in western history as the foe of the Greek city-states in theGreco-Persian Wars, for freeing theIsraelites from theirBabylonian captivity, for its successful model of a centralized bureaucratic administration, theMausoleum of Halicarnassus (one of theSeven Wonders of the Ancient World), and for institutingAramaic as the empire'sofficial language. Because of the Empire's vast extent and long endurance, Persian influence upon the language, religion, architecture, philosophy, law and government of nations around the world lasts to this day. At the height of its power, the Achaemenid dynasty encompassed approximately 8.0 million square kilometers, held the greatest percentage of world population to date, stretched three continents (Europe, Asia and Africa) and was territorially the largest empire ofclassical antiquity.
Parthia was an Iranian civilisation situated in the northeastern part of modern Iran. Their power was based on a combination of the guerrilla warfare of a mounted nomadic tribe, with organizational skills to build and administer a vast empire – even though it never matched in power and extent the Persian empires that preceded and followed it. The Parthian Empire was led by the Arsacid dynasty, which reunited and ruled over significant portions of the Near East and beyond, after defeating and disposing the HellenisticSeleucid Empire, beginning in the late 3rd century BC. It was the third native dynasty of ancient Iran (after theMedian and the Achaemenid dynasties). Parthia had many wars with the Roman Republic (and subsequently the Roman Empire), which marked the start of what would be over 700 years of frequentRoman-Persian Wars.
TheSassanid Empire, lasting the length of the late antiquity period, is considered to be one of Iran's most important and influential historical periods. In many ways the Sassanid period witnessed the highest achievements ofPersian civilisation and constituted the last great Iranian Empire before theMuslim conquest and the adoption of Islam.[63] During Sassanid times, Persia influenced Roman civilisation considerably,[64] and the Romans reserved for the Sassanid Persians alone the status of equals. Sassanid cultural influence extended far beyond the empire's territorial borders, reaching as far as Western Europe,[65] China, and India, playing a role, for example, in the formation of both European and Asiatic medieval art.[66]
The early history of theHittite empire is known through tablets that may first have been written in the 17th century BC but survived only as copies made in the 14th and 13th centuries BC. These tablets, known collectively as theAnitta text,[67] begin by telling howPithana, the king ofKussara (a small city-state yet to be identified by archaeologists), conquered the neighbouring city ofNeša (Kanesh). The main subject of these tablets is Pithana's son Anitta, who conquered several neighbouring cities, includingHattusa andZalpuwa (Zalpa).
Assyrian inscriptions ofShalmaneser I (c. 1270 BC) first mentionUruartri as one of the states ofNairi – a loose confederation of small kingdoms and tribal states in theArmenian Highland from the 13th to 11th centuries BC. Uruartri itself was in the region aroundLake Van. The Nairi states were repeatedly subjected to attacks by the Assyrians, especially under Tukulti-Ninurta I (c. 1240 BC),Tiglath-Pileser I (c. 1100 BC), Ashur-bel-kala (c. 1070 BC),Adad-nirari II (c. 900),Tukulti-Ninurta II (c. 890), andAshurnasirpal II (883–859 BC).
TheKingdom of Armenia was an independent kingdom from 321 BC to 428 AD, and a client state of the Roman and Persian empires until 428. Between 95 and 55 BC under the rule ofKing Tigranes the Great, the Kingdom of Armenia became a large and powerful empire stretching from theCaspian to the Mediterranean Sea. During this short time it was considered to be the most powerful state in the Roman East.[68][69]
Israel
The Iron Age Kingdom of Israel (blue) and Kingdom of Judah (yellow)
Israel andJudah were related Iron Age kingdoms of the ancient Levant and had existed during the Iron Ages and the Neo-Babylonian, Persian and Hellenistic periods.The name Israel first appears in thestele of the Egyptian pharaohMerneptah c. 1209 BC, "Israel is laid waste and his seed is no more."[70] This "Israel" was a cultural and probably political entity of the central highlands, well enough established to be perceived by the Egyptians as a possible challenge to theirhegemony, but an ethnic group rather than an organised state;[71] Archaeologist Paula McNutt says: "It is probably ... during Iron Age I [that] a population began to identify itself as 'Israelite'," differentiating itself from its neighbours via prohibitions onintermarriage, an emphasis onfamily history andgenealogy, and religion.[72]
Israel had emerged by the middle of the 9th century BC, when the Assyrian KingShalmaneser III names "Ahab the Israelite" among his enemies at thebattle of Qarqar (853). Judah emerged somewhat later than Israel, probably during the 9th century BC, but the subject is one of considerable controversy.[73] Israel came into increasing conflict with the expandingneo-Assyrian empire, which first split its territory into several smaller units and then destroyed its capital, Samaria (722). A series of campaigns by theNeo-Babylonian Empire between 597 and 582 led to the destruction of Judah.
The history of Pre-Islamic Arabia before the rise ofIslam in the 630s is not known in great detail. Archaeological exploration in theArabian peninsula has been sparse; indigenous written sources are limited to the many inscriptions and coins from southern Arabia. Existing material consists primarily of written sources from other traditions (such as Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, Romans, etc.) andoral traditions later recorded by Islamic scholars. Many small kingdoms prospered from Red sea andIndian Ocean trade. Major kingdoms included theSabaeans,Awsan,LahkimidHimyar and theNabateans. Arab kingdoms are occasionally mentioned in the HebrewOld Testament under the name ofEdom.Though theUgaritic site is thought to have been inhabited earlier, Neolithic Ugarit was already important enough to be fortified with a wall early on. The first written evidence mentioning the city comes from the nearby city ofEbla, c. 1800 BC. Ugarit passed into the sphere of influence of Egypt, which deeply influenced its art. On the Mediterranean coast of modern-day Israel, Palestine and Lebanon, Canaanite peoples became wealth through trade inspiring Phoenicians.
Phoenicia was an ancient civilisation centered in the north of ancientCanaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern-dayLebanon, Syria and Israel. Phoenician civilisation was an enterprisingmaritime trading culture that spread across theMediterranean between the period of 1550 to 300 BC. One Phoenician colony,Carthage, became a powerful nation in its own right.
Carthage was founded in 814 BC by Phoenician settlers from the city ofTyre, bringing with them thecity-godMelqart.[74]Ancient Carthage was an informalhegemony ofPhoenician city-states throughout North Africa and modernSpain from 575 BC until 146 BC. It was more or less under the control of the city-state of Carthage after the fall of Tyre toBabylonian forces. At the height of the city's influence, its empire included most of the western Mediterranean. The empire was in a constant state of struggle with the Roman Republic, which led to a series of conflicts known as thePunic Wars. After the third andfinal Punic War, Carthage was destroyed then occupied by Roman forces. Nearly all of the territory held by Carthage fell into Roman hands.
Ancient Egypt was a long-lived civilisation geographically located in north-eastern Africa. It was concentrated along the middle to lower reaches of the Nile River, reaching its greatest extension during the 2nd millennium BC, which is referred to as the New Kingdom period. It reached broadly from theNile Delta in the north, as far south asJebel Barkal at theFourth Cataract of the Nile. Extensions to the geographical range of ancient Egyptian civilisation included, at different times, areas of the southernLevant, the Eastern Desert and the Red Sea coastline, theSinai Peninsula and theWestern Desert (focused on the severaloases).
Ancient Egypt developed over at least three and a halfmillennia. It began with the incipient unification of Nile Valley polities around 3500 BC and is conventionally thought to have ended in 30 BC when the early Roman Empire conquered and absorbedPtolemaic Egypt as a province. (Though this last did not represent the first period of foreign domination, the Roman period was to witness a marked, if gradual transformation in the political and religious life of the Nile Valley, effectively marking the termination of independent civilisational development).
The civilisation of ancient Egypt was based on a finely balanced control of natural and human resources, characterised primarily by controlledirrigation of the fertile Nile Valley; the mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert regions; the early development of an independent writing system andliterature; the organisation of collective projects;trade with surrounding regions in east / central Africa and the eastern Mediterranean; finally,military ventures that exhibited strong characteristics of imperial hegemony and territorial domination of neighbouring cultures at different periods. Motivating and organizing these activities were a socio-political and economicelite that achieved social consensus by means of an elaborate system ofreligious belief under the figure of a (semi)-divine ruler (usually male) from a succession of rulingdynasties and which related to the larger world by means ofpolytheistic beliefs.
TheKushite civilisation, which is also known as Nubia, was formed before a period of Egyptian incursion into the area. The first cultures arose in what is nowSudan before the time of a unified Egypt, and the most widespread culture is known as theKerma civilisation. Egyptians referred to Nubia as "Ta-Seti," or "The Land of the Bow," since the Nubians were known to be expert archers. The two civilisations shared an abundance of peaceful cultural interchange and cooperation, including mixed marriages and even the same gods. In the New Kingdom, Nubians became indistinguishable in the archaeological record from Egyptians. The Kingdom of Kush survived longer than that of Egypt and at its greatest extent Nubia ruled over Egypt (under the leadership of KingPiye), and controlled Egypt during the 8th century BC as the25th Dynasty.[75]
It is also referred to asEthiopia in ancient Greek and Roman records. According to Josephus and other classical writers, the Kushite Empire covered all of Africa, and some parts of Asia and Europe at one time or another. In contrast to the Egyptians the Nubians had an unusually high number of ruling queens also known asKandake, especially during the golden age of the Meroitic Kingdom. Unlike the rest of the world at the time, women in Nubia exercised significant control in society.[76] The Kushites are also famous for having buried their monarchs along with all their courtiers in mass graves. The Kushites also built burial mounds and pyramids, and shared some of the same gods worshipped in Egypt, especiallyAmon andIsis.
Egyptian soldiers from Hatshepsut's expedition to the Land of Punt as depicted at her temple atDeir el-Bahri.
The Land of Punt, also called Pwenet or Pwene[77] by the ancient Egyptians, was a trading partner known for producing and exporting gold, aromatic resins,African blackwood,ebony,ivory, slaves, and wild animals.[77] Information about Punt has been found in ancient Egyptian records of trade missions to this region.The exactlocation of Punt remains a mystery. The mainstream view is that Punt was located to the south-east of Egypt, most likely on the coast of theHorn of Africa. ArchaeologistRichard Pankhurst states:
[Punt] has been identified with territory on both the Arabian and the Horn of Africa coasts. Consideration of the articles that the Egyptians obtained from Punt, notably gold and ivory, suggests, however, that these were primarily of African origin. ... This leads us to suppose that the term Punt probably applied more to African than Arabian territory.[77][78][79][80]
TheEzana Stone records negus Ezana's conversion to Christianity and conquests of his neighbors.
The Axumite Empire was an important trading nation in northeastern Africa centered in present-dayEritrea and northern Ethiopia, it existed from approximately 100–940 AD, growing from the Iron Age proto-Aksumite period c. 4th century BC to achieve prominence by the 1st century AD.[82]According to the Book of Aksum, Aksum's first capital, Mazaber, was built by Itiyopis, son of Cush.[83] The capital was later moved to Axum in northern Ethiopia. The kingdom used the name "Ethiopia" as early as the 4th century.[84][85]
The Empire of Aksum at its height at its climax by the early 6th century extended through much of modern Ethiopia and across the Red Sea to Arabia. The capital city of the empire wasAksum, now in northern Ethiopia.
Its ancient capital is found in northern Ethiopia, the kingdom used the name "Ethiopia" as early as the 4th century.[84][86] Aksum is mentioned in the 1st century ADPeriplus of the Erythraean Sea as an important market place for ivory, which was exported throughout the ancient world, and states that the ruler of Aksum in the 1st century AD wasZoscales, who, besides ruling in Aksum also controlled two harbours on the Red Sea:Adulis (nearMassawa) and Avalites (Assab). He is also said to have been familiar with Greek literature.[87] It is also an alleged resting place of theArk of the Covenant and home of theQueen of Sheba. Aksum was also one of the first major empires to convert toChristianity.
Reconstruction of theOikumene (inhabited world) as described by Herodotus in the 5th century BC
Macrobia was an ancient kingdom situated in the Horn of Africa (present day Somalia) it is mentioned in the 5th century BC. According to Herodotus' account, the Persian emperorCambyses II, upon his conquest of Egypt (525 BC) sent ambassadors to Macrobia, bringing luxury gifts for the Macrobian king to entice his submission. The Macrobian ruler, who was elected based at least in part on stature, replied instead with a challenge for his Persian counterpart in the form of an unstrung bow: if the Persians could manage to string it, they would have the right to invade his country; but until then, they should thank the gods that the Macrobians never decided to invade their empire.[88][89][90]
The Macrobians were a regional power reputed for their advanced architecture and gold wealth, which was so plentiful that they shackled their prisoners in golden chains.[89]
After the collapse of Macrobia, several wealthy ancient city-states, such asOpone,Essina,Sarapion,Nikon,Malao,Damo andMosylon nearCape Guardafui would emerge from the 1st millennium BC–500 AD to compete with theSabaeans, Parthians andAxumites for the wealthyIndo-Greco-Roman trade and flourished along the Somali coast. They developed a lucrative trading network under a region collectively known in the Peripilus of the Erythraean Sea asBarbaria.[91]
The Nok culture appeared in Nigeria around 1000 BC and mysteriously vanished around 200 AD. The civilisation's social system is thought to have been highly advanced. The Nok civilisation was considered to be the earliest sub-Saharan producer of life-sized Terracotta which have been discovered by archaeologists. The Nok also used iron smelting that may have been independently developed.[92] A Nok sculpture resident at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, portrays a sitting dignitary wearing a "Shepherds Crook" on the right arm, and a "hinged flail" on the left. These are symbols of authority associated with ancient Egyptian pharaohs, and the god Osiris, which suggests that an ancient Egyptian style of social structure, and perhaps religion, existed in the area of modern Nigeria during the late Pharonic period.[93] (Informational excerpt copied fromNigeria and Nok culture articles)
The civilisation of Djenné-Djenno was located in the Niger River Valley in the country of Mali and is considered to be among the oldest urbanized centers and the best-known archaeology site in Sub-Saharan Africa. This archaeological site is located about 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) away from the modern town and is believed to have been involved in long-distance trade and possibly the domestication of African rice. The site is believed to exceed 33 hectares (82 acres); however, this is yet to be confirmed with extensive survey work. With the help of archaeological excavations mainly by Susan and Roderick McIntosh, the site is known to have been occupied from 250 BC to 900 AD The city is believed to have been abandoned and moved where the current city is located due to the spread of Islam and the building of the Great Mosque of Djenné. Previously, it was assumed that advanced trade networks and complex societies did not exist in the region until the arrival of traders from Southwest Asia. However, sites such as Djenné-Djenno disprove this, as these traditions in West Africa flourished long before. Towns similar to that at Djenne-Jeno also developed at the site of Dia, also in Mali along the Niger River, from around 900 BC.
Dhar Tichitt and Oualata were prominent among the early urban centres, dated to 2000 BC, in present-day Mauritania. About 500 stone settlements littered the region in the former savannah of the Sahara. Its inhabitants fished and grew millet. It has been found that the Soninke of the Mandé peoples were responsible for constructing such settlements. Around 300 BC, the region became more desiccated and the settlements began to decline, most likely relocating to Koumbi Saleh. From the type of architecture and pottery, it is believed that Tichit was related to the subsequent Ghana Empire. Old Jenne (Djenne) began to be settled around 300 BC, producing iron and with sizeable population, evidenced in crowded cemeteries. The inhabitants and creators of these settlements during these periods thought to have been ancestors of the Soninke people.
One of the earliest Neolithic sites in the Indian subcontinent isBhirrana along the ancientGhaggar-Hakra (Saraswati) riverine system, in the present-day state ofHaryana in India, dating to around 7600 BC.[94] Other early sites includeLahuradewa in the MiddleGanges region andJhusi near the confluence of Ganges andYamuna rivers, both dating to around 7000 BC.[95][96] The aceramic Neolithic atMehrgarh lasts from 7000 to 5500 BC, with the ceramic Neolithic at Mehrgarh lasting up to 3300 BC; blending into the Early Bronze Age. Mehrgarh is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming and herding in the Indian subcontinent.[97][98] Early Mehrgarh residents lived in mud brick houses, stored their grain in granaries, fashioned tools with local copper ore, and lined their large basket containers with bitumen. They cultivated six-row barley, einkorn and emmer wheat, jujubes and dates, and herded sheep, goats and cattle. Residents of the later period (5500 BC to 2600 BC) put much effort into crafts, including flint knapping, tanning, bead production, and metal working. The site was occupied continuously until about 2600 BC.
A political map of theMauryan Empire, including notable cities, such as the capitalPataliputra, and site of the Buddha's enlightenment.A possible representation of a "yogi" or "proto-Shiva", 2600–1900 BC
The Indus Valley Civilisation (c. 3300–1700 BC, flourished 2600–1900 BC), abbreviated IVC, was an ancient civilisation that flourished in theIndus andGhaggar-Hakra river valleys have been found in easternAfghanistan, Pakistan, and western India. Minor scattered sites have been found as far away asTurkmenistan. Another name for this civilisation is the Harappan Civilisation, after the first of its cities to be excavated,Harappa in the Pakistani province ofPunjab. The IVC were known to the Sumerians as theMeluhha, and other trade contacts may have included Egypt, Africa, however, the modern world discovered it only in the 1920s as a result of archaeological excavations and rail-road building.
The births ofMahavira andBuddha in the 6th century BC mark the beginning of well-recorded history in the region. Around the 5th century BC, the ancient region ofAfghanistan and Pakistan was invaded by the Achaemenid Empire underDarius in 522 BC[99] forming the easternmost satraps of the Persian Empire. The provinces of Sindh and Panjab were said to be the richestsatraps of the Persian Empire and contributed many soldiers to various Persian expeditions. It is known that anIndian contingent fought in Xerxes' army on his expedition to Greece. Herodotus mentions that the Indus satrapy supplied cavalry and chariots to the Persian army.[100] He also mentions that the Indus people were clad in armaments made of cotton, carried bows and arrows of cane covered with iron.[101] Herodotus states that in 517 BC Darius sent an expedition under Scylax to explore the Indus.[102] Under Persian rule, much irrigation and commerce flourished within the vast territory of the empire. The Persian Empire was followed by the invasion of the Greeks under Alexander's army. Since Alexander was determined to reach the easternmost limits of the Persian Empire he could not resist the temptation to conquer India (i.e. the Punjab region), which at this time was parcelled out into small chieftain-ships, who were feudatories of the Persian Empire. Alexander amalgamated the region into the expanding Hellenic empire.[citation needed] TheRigveda, inSanskrit, goes back to about 1500 BC. The Indian literary tradition has an oral history reaching down into theVedic period of the later 2nd millennium BC.
Ancient India is usually taken to refer to the "golden age" of classicalIndian culture, as reflected in Sanskrit literature, beginning around 500 BC with the sixteen monarchies and 'republics' known as theMahajanapadas, stretched across theIndo-Gangetic plains from modern-day Afghanistan toBangladesh. The largest of these nations wereMagadha,Kosala,Kuru andGandhara. Notably, the great epics ofRamayana andMahabharata are rooted in this classical period.
Amongst the sixteen Mahajanapadas, the Kingdom ofMagadha rose to prominence under a number of dynasties that peaked in power under the reign ofAshokaMaurya, one of India's most legendary and famous emperors. During the reign of Ashoka, the four dynasties ofChola,Chera, andPandya were ruling in the South, while the KingDevanampiya Tissa (250–210 BC) was controlling the Anuradhapura Kingdom (nowSri Lanka). These kingdoms, while not part of Ashoka's empire, were in friendly terms with theMaurya Empire. There was a strong alliance existed between Devanampiya Tissa and Ashoka of India,[103] who sentArahatMahinda, four monks, and a novice being sent to Sri Lanka.[104]
They encountered Devanampiya Tissa atMihintale. After this meeting, Devanampiya Tissa embraced Buddhism the order of monks was established in the country.[105] Devanampiya Tissa, guided by Arahat Mahinda, took steps to firmly establish Buddhism in the country.
The period between AD 320–550 is known as the Classical Age, when most ofNorth India was reunited under theGupta Empire (c. AD 320–550). This was a period of relative peace, law and order, and extensive achievements in religion, education, mathematics, arts, Sanskrit literature and drama. Grammar, composition, logic, metaphysics, mathematics, medicine, and astronomy became increasingly specialized and reached an advanced level. The Gupta Empire was weakened and ultimately ruined by the raids ofHunas (a branch of theHephthalites emanating from Central Asia). UnderHarsha (r. 606–47), North India was reunited briefly.
The educated speech at that time was Sanskrit, while the dialects of the general population of northern India were referred to asPrakrits. The South IndianMalabar Coast and theTamil people of theSangam age traded with the Graeco-Roman world. They were in contact with thePhoenicians,Romans,Greeks,Arabs,Syrians,Jews, and the Chinese.[106]
The regions of South Asia, primarily present-day India and Pakistan, were estimated to have had the largesteconomy of the world between the 1st and 15th centuries AD, controlling between one third and one quarter of the world's wealth up to the time of theMughals, from whence it rapidly declined during British rule.[107]
The Chinese civilisation that emerged within theYellow River valley is one of five original civilisations in the world. Prior to the formation of civilisation neolithic cultures such as theLongshan andYangshao dating to 5,000 BC lived in wall cities and likely had social organizations of complex chiefdoms. The practice of rice cultivation was vital to settled life in China.
The early part of the Shang dynasty described in traditional histories (c. 1600–1300 BC) is commonly identified with archaeological finds atErligang,Zhengzhou andYanshi, south of the Yellow River in modern-dayHenan province.The last capital of the Shang (c. 1300–1046 BC) atAnyang (also in Henan) has been directly confirmed by the discovery there of the earliest Chinese texts, inscriptions of divination records on the bones or shells of animals – the so-called "oracle bones".
Towards the end of the 2nd millennium BC, the Shang were overrun by theZhou dynasty from theWei River valley to the west. The death ofKing Wu of Zhou soon after the conquest triggered a succession crisis and civil war that was suppressed by Wu's brother, theDuke of Zhou, acting as regent. The Zhou rulers at this time invoked the concept of theMandate of Heaven to legitimize their rule, a concept that would be influential for almost every successive dynasty. The Zhou initially established their capital in the west near modernXi'an, near the Yellow River, but they would preside over a series of expansions into theYangtze River valley. This would be the first of many population migrations from north to south in Chinese history.
In the 8th century BC, power became decentralized during theSpring and Autumn period, named after the influentialSpring and Autumn Annals. In this period, local military leaders used by the Zhou began to assert their power and vie for hegemony. The situation was aggravated by the invasion of other peoples from the northwest, such as theQuanrong, forcing the Zhou to move their capital east toLuoyang. This marks the second large phase of the Zhou dynasty: the Eastern Zhou. In each of the hundreds of states that eventually arose, local strongmen held most of the political power and continued their subservience to the Zhou kings in name only. Local leaders for instance started using royal titles for themselves. TheHundred Schools of Thought of Chinese philosophy blossomed during this period, and such influential intellectual movements as Confucianism,Taoism,Legalism andMohism were founded, partly in response to the changing political world. The Spring and Autumn period is marked by a falling apart of the central Zhou power. China now consisted of hundreds of states, some only as large as a village with a fort.
After further political consolidation, seven prominent states remained by the end of the 5th century BC, and the years in which these few states battled each other is known as the Warring States period. Though there remained a nominal Zhou king until 256 BC, he was largely a figurehead and held little power. As neighboring territories of these warring states, including areas of modernSichuan andLiaoning, were annexed, they were governed under the new local administrative system ofcommandery andprefecture. This system had been in use since the Spring and Autumn period and parts can still be seen in the modern system ofSheng and Xian (province and county). The final expansion in this period began during the reign of Ying Zheng, the king of Qin. His unification of the other six powers, and further annexations in the modern regions ofZhejiang,Fujian,Guangdong andGuangxi in 214 BC enabled him to proclaim himself theFirst Emperor (Qin Shi Huangdi).
The ChineseHan dynasty dominated the East Asia region at the beginning of the first millennium AD
Qin Shi Huangdi ruled the unified China directly with absolute power. In contrast to the decentralized and feudal rule of earlier dynasties the Qin set up a number of 'commandries' around the country which answered directly to the emperor. Nationwide the philosophy oflegalism was enforced and publications promoting rival ideas such as Confucianism were prohibited. In his reign unified China created the first continuousGreat Wall with the use of forced labour.Invasions were launched southward to annex Vietnam. After the emperor's death rebels rose against the Qin's brutal reign in new civil wars. Ultimately the Han dynasty arose and ruled China for over four centuries in what accounted for a long period in prosperity, with a brief interruption by theXin dynasty. The Han dynasty played a great role in developing the Silk Road, which would transfer wealth and ideas for millennia, and also invented paper. Though the Han enjoyed great military and economic success, it was strained by the rise of aristocrats who disobeyed the central government. Public frustration provoked theYellow Turban Rebellion; though a failure it nonetheless accelerated the empire's downfall. After 208 AD, the Han dynasty broke up intorival kingdoms. China would remain divided until 581 under theSui dynasty; during the era of division Buddhism would be introduced to China for the first time.
The East Asian nations adjacent to China were all profoundly influenced by their interactions withChinese civilisation. Mongolia, Korea and Vietnam often were at war with,paid tribute to, or annexed by Imperial Chinese states.Yayoi Japan, though not occupied, had interactions with Imperial China that shaped its cultural development.
Mongolia in ancient times was nomadic. The ethnicities, cultures and languages in modern Mongolian territory were fluid and changed frequently. The use of horses to herd and migrate started during the Iron Age. These wereTengriist horse-riding pastoral kingdoms that had close contact with the sedentary agrarian Chinese. To appease the aggressive nomads, local Chinese rulers often gave important hostages and arranged marriages. In 208 BC the Xiongnu emperorModu Chanyu, in his first major military campaign, defeated theDonghu, who split into the new tribesXianbei andWuhuan. TheXiongnu were the largest nomadic enemies of the Han Dynasty fightingwars for over three centuries with the Han Dynasty before dissolving. Afterwards the Xianbei returned to rule the Steppe north of the Great Wall. The titles of Khangan and Khan come from the Xianbei.
According to theRecords of the Grand Historian,Wiman Joseon of Korea was founded by GeneralWiman from China who originally served but usurped the throne ofGojoseon (the name of ancient Korea) in 194 BC.[110] In 108 BC, the Han dynasty of China destroyed Wiman Joseon and established four commanderies on the northern Korean peninsula. Three of the commanderies were shortly lost but theLelang commandery remained on the northwestern Korean peninsula for about 400 years. TheThree Kingdoms of Korea ofBaekje,Goguryeo andSilla emerged after the fall of Gojoseon and eventually expelled the Chinese. The Three Kingdoms competed with each other both economically and militarily; Goguryeo and Baekje were the main players for much of the Three Kingdoms era and controlled most of the Korean peninsula. At times more powerful than neighboring Chinese dynasties, Goguryeo (where the name "Korea" comes from) was a regional power that defeatedmassive invasions by the Sui dynasty multiple times.[111] Goguryeo and Baekje were eventually destroyed by aTang dynasty and Silla alliance. Silla then drove out the Tang dynasty in 676 to control most of the Korean peninsula undisputed.
In Vietnam, archaeologists have pointed to thePhùng Nguyên culture as the beginning of the Vietnamese identity from around 2000 BC which engaged in early bronze smelting.Eight hundred years later theĐông Sơn culture arose a prehistoricBronze Age culture that was centered at theRed River valley of northernVietnam. Large scale rice cultivation began around 1200 BC, onward. Pottery and Bamboo working became common in this time period as well as widespread trade and navigation on inland rivers. During this time Vietnam was allegedly ruled by the semi-mythicalHong Bang Dynasty, the last Hong king was deposed by a Chinese Qin Invasion, and a Chinese general declared independence and founded the country ofNanyue, combining Chinese and Vietnamese traditions.
Nanyue, after a century of political maneuvers, was annexed by the Han Dynasty in 111 BC. Originally the Han were lenient governors and attempted to integrate the Vietnamese upper class into Chinese Patriarchy. Chinese abuse of certain vassals led to the famous but futile revolt of theTrung Sisters. Afterwards Chinese authorities ruled Vietnam directly and attempted to push Chinese culture upon the populace though peasants continued to speakVietnamese. Vietnam would be under Chinese domination for a millennium.[112] Meanwhile, South Vietnam held a completely different identity, populated mainly byCham People. While Northern Vietnam came under Chinese domination, theChampa kingdom became closer to Indian kingdoms through trade and embracedHinduism.
Japan first appeared in written records in AD 57 with the following mention in China'sBook of the Later Han:[113] "Across the ocean fromLuoyang are the people ofWa. Formed from more than one hundred tribes, they come and pay tribute frequently." TheBook of Wei, written in the 3rd century, noted that the country was the unification of some 30 small tribes or states and ruled by ashaman queen namedHimiko ofYamataikoku. During both the Han andWei dynasty, Chinese travelers toKyūshū recorded its inhabitants and claimed that they were the descendants of the Grand Count (Tàibó) of theWu. The inhabitants also show traits of the pre-sinicized Wu people with tattooing, teeth-pulling and baby-carrying. TheBook of Wei records the physical descriptions which are similar to ones onHaniwa statues, such men with braided hair, tattooing and women wearing large, single-piece clothing. Power was often decentralized until the creation of its first constitution in AD 600.
In pre-Columbian times, several large, centralized ancient civilisations developed in theWestern Hemisphere,[114] both inMesoamerica and westernSouth America. Beyond these areas, the use of agriculture expanded East of the Andes Mountains in South America particularly with theMarajoara culture, and in the continental United States with theHopewell culture.
The CentralAndes in South America was one of the original areas of civilisation, spanning 4,500 years from the Norte Chico in 3500 BC to theInca Empire, after which the entire continent was transformed by the 16th-centuryColumbian Exchange. Until the late 20th century, details about Norte Chico were unclear and often confused with later cultures such as theChavin.
Ancient Andean civilisation began with the rise or organized fishing communities from 3,500 BC onwards. Along with a sophisticated maritime society came the construction of large monuments, which likely existed as community centers.[115] The large ceremonial structures predated the Measoamerican Olmecs by 2,000 years making Norte Chico the first civilisation in the Western Hemisphere.
Mesoamerican ancient civilisations included the Olmecs andMayans. Between 2000 and 300 BC, complex cultures began to form and many matured into advanced Mesoamerican civilisations such as the: Olmec,Izapa,Teotihuacan, Maya,Zapotec,Mixtec,Huastec, Which flourished for nearly 4,000 years before the first contact with Europeans. The progress of these civilisations included pyramid-temples, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and theology.
The Zapotec emerged around 1500 years BC. They left behind the great cityMonte Albán. Their writing system had been thought to have influenced the Olmecs but, with recent evidence, the Olmec may have been the first civilisation in the area to develop a true writing system independently. At the present time, there is some debate as to whether or not Olmec symbols, dated to 650 BC, are actually a form of writing preceding the oldestZapotec writing dated to about 500 BC.[116]
Olmec symbols found in 2002 and 2006 date to 650 BC[117] and 900 BC,[118] respectively, preceding the oldest Zapotec writing.[119][120] The Olmec symbols found in 2006, dating to 900 BC, are known as theCascajal Block. The earliest Mayan inscriptions found which are identifiably Maya date to the 3rd century BC inSan Bartolo,Guatemala. The Mayan invention of writing makes Mesoamerica one of only three regions in the world that developed writing completely independently.[121]
Organized societies, in the ancient United States or Canada, were often mound builder civilisations. One of the most significant of these was thePoverty Point culture that existed in the U.S state of Louisiana, and was responsible for the creation of over 100 mound sites. The Mississippi River was a core area in the development of long-distance trade and culture. Following Poverty Point, successive complex cultures such as the Hopewell emerged in the Southeastern United States in theEarly Woodland period. Before 500 AD many mound builder societies, retained a hunter gatherer form of subsistence.
Thehistory of the Etruscans can be traced relatively accurately, based on the examination of burial sites,artifacts, and writing.Etruscan culture developed in Italy in earnest by 900 BC approximately with theIron AgeVillanovan culture, regarded as the oldest phase of Etruscan civilisation.[124][125][126][127][128] The latter gave way in the 7th century to an increasinglyorientalizing culture that was influenced by Greek traders and Greek neighbors inMagna Graecia, theHellenic civilisation of southern Italy, evidenced by around 13,000 inscriptions in an alphabet similar to that ofEuboean Greek, in thePre-Indo-EuropeanEtruscan language. The burial tombs, some of which had been fabulously decorated, promotes the idea of an aristocratic city-state with centralized power structures maintaining order and constructing public works, such as irrigation networks, roads, and town defenses.
Ancient Greece is the period inGreek history lasting for close to a millennium, until the rise ofChristianity. It is considered by most historians to be the foundational culture ofWestern Civilisation. Greek culture was a powerful influence in the Roman Empire, which carried a version of it to many parts of Europe.
The earliest known human settlements in Greece were on the island ofCrete, more than 9,000 years ago, though there is evidence of tool use on the island going back over 100,000 years.[129] The earliest evidence of a civilisation in ancient Greece is that of theMinoans on Crete, dating as far back as 3600 BC. On the mainland, theMycenaean civilisation rose to prominence around 1600 BC, superseded the Minoan civilisation on Crete, and lasted until about 1100 BC, leading to a period known as theGreek Dark Ages.
The Archaic Period in Greece is generally considered to have lasted from around the 8th century BC to the invasion by Xerxes in 480 BC. This period saw the expansion of the Greek world around the Mediterranean, with the founding of Greek city-states as far afield as Sicily in the west and the Black Sea in the east.[130] Politically, the Archaic period in Greece saw the collapse of the power of the old aristocracies,[131] with democratic reforms in Athens and the development ofSparta's unique constitution. The end of the Archaic period also saw the rise of Athens, which would come to be a dominant power in the Classical period, after the reforms ofSolon and the tyranny ofPisistratus.[131]
The Classical Greek world was dominated throughout the 5th century BC by the major powers of Athens and Sparta. Through the Delian League, Athens was able to convert Pan-hellenist sentiment and fear of the Persian threat into a powerful empire, and this, along with the conflict between Sparta and Athens culminating in thePeloponnesian war, was the major political development of the first part of the Classical period.[132]
The period in Greek history from the death of Alexander the Great until the rise of the Roman empire and its conquest of Egypt in 30 BC is known as the Hellenistic period. The name derives from the Greek wordHellenistes ("the Greek speaking ones"), and describes the spread of Greek culture into the non-Greek world following the conquests of Alexander and the rise of his successors.
Following theBattle of Corinth in 146 BC, Greece came under Roman rule, ruled from the province ofMacedonia. In 27 BC, Augustus organised the Greek peninsula into the province ofAchaea. Greece remained under Roman control until thebreak up of the Roman Empire, in which it remained part of the easternByzantine Empire. Much of Greece remained under Byzantine control until the end of the empire in 1453 AD.
Roman Empire 117 AD. The Senatorial provinces were acquired first under theRoman Republic and were under theRoman Senate's control; the Imperial provinces were controlled directly by the Roman emperor.
Ancient Rome was a civilisation that grew out of the city-state of Rome, originating as a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula in the 9th century BC. In its twelve centuries of existence, Roman civilisation shifted from a monarchy to an oligarchic republic to an increasingly autocratic empire.
Roman civilisation is often grouped into "classical antiquity" with ancient Greece, a civilisation that inspired much of theculture of ancient Rome. Ancient Rome contributed greatly to the development oflaw,war,art,literature,architecture, andlanguage in the Western world, andits history continues to have a major influence on the world today. The Roman civilisation came to dominate Europe and the Mediterranean region through conquest and assimilation.
Throughout the territory under the control of ancient Rome, residential architecture ranged from very modest houses tocountry villas. A number of Roman founded cities hadmonumental structures. Many contained fountains with fresh drinking-water supplied by hundreds of kilometres ofaqueducts,theatres,gymnasiums,bath complexes which sometimes included libraries and shops,) marketplaces, and occasionally functional sewers. A number of factors led to the eventualdecline of the Roman Empire. The western half of the empire, includingHispania,Gaul, and Italy, eventually broke into independent kingdoms in the 5th century; the Eastern Roman Empire, governed fromConstantinople, is referred to as the Byzantine Empire after AD 476, the traditional date for the "fall of Rome" and subsequent onset of the Middle Ages.
The Roman Empire underwent considerable social, cultural and organizational change starting with reign ofDiocletian, who began the custom of splitting the empire into eastern andwestern halves ruled by multiple emperors.Constantine the GreatChristianised the empire and established a new capital at Constantinople.Migrations ofGermanic tribes disrupted Roman rule from the late 4th century onwards, culminating in the eventualcollapse of the empire in the West in 476, replaced by the so-calledbarbarian kingdoms. The resultant cultural fusion ofGreco-Roman, Germanic and Christian traditions formed the cultural foundations of Europe.
The Huns left practically no written records. There is no record of what happened between the time they left theMongolian Plateau and arrived in Europe 150 years later. The last mention of the northern Xiongnu was their defeat by the Chinese in 151 atLake Barkol, after which they fled to the western steppe atKangju (centered on the city ofTurkistan inKazakhstan). Chinese records between the 3rd and 4th centuries suggest that a small tribe calledYueban, remnants of Northern Xiongnu, was distributed about the steppe of Kazakhstan.
TheHun-Xiongnu connection is controversial at best and is often disputed but is also not completely discredited.[133][134][135] Historians have estimated that the origins of the Huns came somewhere's from within Kazakhstan.[136] Approaching the Danube River in 370 the Huns would repeatedly invaded Europe and wreaked havoc on the Roman Empire during late antiquity. They later dissolved and became part of the native population.
Migration of Germanic peoples to Britain from what is now northernGermany and southernScandinavia is attested from the 5th century (e.g.Undley bracteate).[138] Based on Bede'sHistoria ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, the intruding population is traditionally divided into Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, but their composition was likely less clear-cut and may also have includedancient Frisians andFranks. TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicle contains text that may be the first recorded indications of the movement of these Germanic tribes to Britain.[139] TheAngles,Saxons andJutes were noted to be a confederation in the GreekGeographia written byPtolemy around 150 AD.
The term 'Anglo-Saxon' is usually used to describe the peoples living in the south and east ofGreat Britain from the early 5th century AD.[140] Benedictine monkBede identified them as the descendants of three Germanic tribes: the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, from theJutland peninsula andLower Saxony (Template:Lang-de, Germany). The Angles may have come fromAngeln, and Bede wrote their nation came to Britain, leaving their land empty.[141] They spokeclosely relatedGermanic dialects. The Anglo-Saxons knew themselves as the "Englisc," from which the word "English" derives.
The term 'viking' refers to a member of theNorse (Scandinavian) peoples, famous as explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates, who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe beginning in the late 8th century.[142] These Norsemen used their famedlongships to travel. The Viking Age forms a major part ofScandinavian history, with a minor, yet significant part inEuropean history. At those times, there was also known area calledKvenland, which was located in and around both Scandinavia (Norway andSweden) andFennoscandia (Finland).[143]
AMurong Xianbei archer. In late antiquity, nomads across Eurasia began to use stirrups. Mounted archers able to shoot while standing up could be devastating in combat.
The term 'late antiquity' is the transitional centuries from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world: generally from the end of the Roman Empire'scrisis of the 3rd century (c. 284) to the Islamic conquests and the re-organization of the Byzantine Empire underHeraclius that occurred in the 7th century. The beginning of the post-classical age (known as the Middle Ages for Europe) follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire, spanning roughly from 500 to 1500.
There has been attempt by scholars to connect European late antiquity to other areas in Eurasia.[144] To an extent most centralized kingdoms within proximity to Steppe grasslands faced major challenges or in some cases complete destruction in the 5th and 6th centuries in the case of nomadic invasions and political fragmentation. The Western Roman Empire in Europe and theGupta Empire in India, and theJin inNorth China were overwhelmed by tribal invasions. Nomadic invasions along with worldwide natural climate change, thePlague of Justinian and the rise of proselytizing religions changed the face of the Old World. Still disconnected was the New World who also built complex societies but at a separate and different pace. By 500 the world era of post-classical history had begun.Despite being placed in different eras of history in an academic view of world history, Ancient and Post Classical eras are linked with each other in the case of the Old World. Land and coastal trade routes often went on similar or the same directions, and many of the inventions and religions which were birthed prior to 500 such as Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism grew to be even more important.
Maps
Political and Societal maps depicting the Ancient World
Map of the world in 2000 BC
Map of the world in 1000 BC
Map of the world in 200 BC
Map of the World in 300 AD
Depicts placement of peoples and national boundaries
^See alsoThe Origin and Development of the Cuneiform System of Writing,Samuel Noah Kramer,Thirty Nine Firsts In Recorded History, pp. 381–383.
^Kipfer, Barbara Ann (30 April 2000).Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology. New York: Springer Science & Business Media (published 2000). p. 564.ISBN9780306461583. Retrieved29 January 2021.Three-Age system: The division of human prehistory into three successive stages - Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age - based on the main type of material used in tools of the period. [...] The Ages are only developmental stages, and some areas skipped one or more of the stages. At first entirely hypothetical, these divisions were later confirmed by archaeological observations.
^Clare, I.S. (1906). Library of universal history: containing a record of the human race from the earliest historical period to the present time; embracing a general survey of the progress of mankind in national and social life, civil government, religion, literature, science, and art. New York: Union Book. p. 1519 (cf., Ancient history, as we have already seen, ended with the fall of the Western Roman Empire; [...])
^United Center for Research and Training in History. (1973). Bulgarian historical review. Sofia: Pub. House of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. p. 43. (cf. ... in the history of Europe, which marks both the end of ancient history and the beginning of the Middle Ages, is the fall of the Western Roman Empire.)
^Myers, P.V.N. (1916).Ancient History. New York [etc.]: Ginn and company.
^DataArchived 2019-12-10 at theWayback Machine fromHistory Database of the Global Environment.Archived 2018-02-27 at theWayback Machine K. Klein Goldewijk, A. Beusen and P. Janssen, "HYDE 3.1: Long-term dynamic modeling of global population and built-up area in a spatially explicit way", from table on p. 2, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP), Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
^Gamble, C. (2000). Archaeology the basics. London: Routledge.
^Wheeler, J.R. (1908). Archaeology [a lecture delivered at Columbia University in the series on science, philosophy and art, January 8, 1908]. New York: Columbia University Press.
^Watkin, David (2005).A History of Western Architecture (4th ed.). Laurence King Publishing. p. 14.ISBN978-1-85669-459-9."The Great Pyramid ... is still one of the largest structures ever raised by man, its plan twice the size of St. Peter's in Rome"
^Jane Portal and Qingbo Duan, The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Arm, British Museum Press, 2007, p. 167
^abGardner, P. (1892). New chapters in Greek history, historical results of recent excavations in Greece and Asia Minor. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 1–.
^Smith, M.S. (2002). The early history of God: Yahweh and the other deities in ancient Israel. The Biblical resource series. Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans Pub. pp. xxii–xxiii
^Nadin, M. (1997). The civilization of illiteracy. Dresden: Dresden University Press.
^abCochrane, Charles Norris.Thucydides and the Science of History, Oxford University Press, 1929. p. 179.
^Harris, W.V. (1989). Ancient literacy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 175.
^H. Liu, F. Prugnolle, A. Manica,F. Balloux,A Geographically Explicit Genetic Model of Worldwide Human-Settlement History. The American Journal of Human Genetics, Volume 79, Issue 2, pp. 230–237
^Berger, Eugene; Israel, George; Miller, Charlotte; Parkinson, Brian; Reeves, Andrew; Williams, Nadejda (30 September 2016).World History Cultures, States and Society to 1500. Dahlonega, Georgia: University of North Georgia, Press. p. 79.ISBN978-1-940771-10-6.
^Berger, Eugene; Israel, George; Miller, Charlotte; Parkinson, Brian; Reeves, Andrew; Williams, Nadejda (30 September 2016).World History Cultures, States and Society to 1500. Dahlonega, Georgia: University of North Georgia, Press. p. 127.ISBN978-1-940771-10-6.
^Clayton, Peter A. (2013)."Chapter 7: The Pharos at Alexandria". In Peter A. Clayton; Martin J. Price (eds.).The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. London: Routledge. p. 11.ISBN9781135629281.Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved28 March 2021.
^Andrew Wilson: "Hydraulic Engineering and Water Supply", in:John Peter Oleson:Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World, New York: Oxford University Press, 2008 (editor),ISBN978-0-19-973485-6, pp. 291f.
^Herodotus. The Histories, with English Translation by A. D. Godley. (1920). Cambridge, Harvard University Press. 4.42.
^"French police on trail of smugglers of Jiroft artifacts".CPProt (Mailing list). 1 June 2005. Archived fromthe original on 11 May 2008.Iran recently sent an appeal to a Belgian court asking for the return of nine boxes of smuggled ancient artifacts and a 2800-year-old pin stolen from the exposition '7000 Years of Persian Art'.
^"ICHTO Struggling to Save Susa Acropol". Archived fromthe original on 16 December 2004.The Municipality of Shoush (Susa) accepted a proposal by the cityÕs Cultural Heritage Department for the transfer of an under-construction passenger terminal from the 7,000-year-old city, but conditioned destruction of the terminal to demolition of other constructions and residential units in the area.
^"Persia 7000 years of civilisation" byDavid Abbasi (Siyavash AWESTA), The discovery in Iran of a civilisation old of 7000 turns all the archaeological data's ups and down.
^The New Review. p. 208 edited by Archibald Grove, William Ernest Henley
^Stager, Lawrence E. (1998). "Forging an Identity: The Emergence of Ancient Israel". In Coogan, Michael D. (ed.).The Oxford History of the Biblical World. Oxford University Press. p. 91.ISBN978-0-19-513937-2.Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved12 November 2020.
^As recounted by Timaeus, FrGrH 566, fr. 60. Archaeological attestation for so early a date is still wanting, though recent discoveries in situ may point nearly as far back in time.
^Tewari, Rakesh et al. 2006. "Second Preliminary Report of the excavations at Lahuradewa, District Sant Kabir Nagar, UP 2002-2003-2004 & 2005–06" in Pragdhara No. 16"Electronic Version p.28"Archived 28 November 2007 at theWayback Machine
^UNESCO World Heritage. 2004."Archived 2020-11-03 at theWayback Machine.Archaeological Site of Mehrgarh
^"Writing May Be Oldest in Western Hemisphere".New York Times. 15 September 2006.Archived from the original on 27 July 2018. Retrieved30 March 2008.A stone slab bearing 3,000-year-old writing previously unknown to scholars has been found in the Mexican state of Veracruz, and archaeologists say it is an example of the oldest script ever discovered in the Americas.
^"'Oldest' New World writing found". BBC. 14 September 2006.Archived from the original on 3 April 2008. Retrieved30 March 2008.Ancient civilisations in Mexico developed a writing system as early as 900 BC, new evidence suggests.
^"Oldest Writing in the New World".Science.Archived from the original on 30 March 2008. Retrieved30 March 2008.A block with a hitherto unknown system of writing has been found in the Olmec heartland of Veracruz, Mexico. Stylistic and other dating of the block places it in the early 1st millennium before the common era, the oldest writing in the New World, with features that firmly assign this pivotal development to the Olmec civilization of Mesoamerica.
^Silberman, Neil Asher; Bauer, Alexander A.; Holtorf, Cornelius; García, Margarita Díaz-Andreu; Waterton, Emma (2012).The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-507618-9.Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved20 March 2019.
^Diana Neri (2012). "1.1 Il periodo villanoviano nell'Emilia occidentale".Gli etruschi tra VIII e VII secolo a.C. nel territorio di Castelfranco Emilia (MO) (in Italian). Firenze: All'Insegna del Giglio. p. 9.ISBN978-88-7814-533-7.Il termine "Villanoviano" è entrato nella letteratura archeologica quando, a metà dell '800, il conte Gozzadini mise in luce le prime tombe ad incinerazione nella sua proprietà di Villanova di Castenaso, in località Caselle (BO). La cultura villanoviana coincide con il periodo più antico della civiltà etrusca, in particolare durante i secoli IX e VIII a.C. e i termini di Villanoviano I, II e III, utilizzati dagli archeologi per scandire le fasi evolutive, costituiscono partizioni convenzionali della prima età del Ferro
^Gilda Bartoloni (2012).La cultura villanoviana. All'inizio della storia etrusca (in Italian). Roma: Carocci editore.
^Giovanni Colonna (2000). "I caratteri originali della civiltà Etrusca". In Mario Torelli (ed.).Gi Etruschi (in Italian). Milano: Bompiani. pp. 25–41.
^Dominique Briquel (2000). "Le origini degli Etruschi: una questione dibattuta fin dall'antichità". In Mario Torelli (ed.).Gi Etruschi (in Italian). Milano: Bompiani. pp. 43–51.
^Gilda Bartoloni (2000). "Le origini e la diffusione della cultura villanoviana". In Mario Torelli (ed.).Gi Etruschi (in Italian). Milano: Bompiani. pp. 53–71.
^Boardman, John; Hammond, N.G.L, eds. (1970). "Preface".The Cambridge Ancient History Volume III, Part 3: The Expansion of the Greek World, Eighth to Sixth Centuries B.C. p. xiii.ISBN978-0-521-23447-4.
^abBoardman, John; Hammond, N.G.L, eds. (1970). "Preface".The Cambridge Ancient History Volume III, Part 3: The Expansion of the Greek World, Eighth to Sixth Centuries B.C. p. xv.ISBN978-0-521-23447-4.
^Lewis, D.M.; Boardman, John; Davies, J.K.; et al. (eds.). "preface".The Cambridge Ancient History Volume V: The Fifth Century B.C. pp. xiii–xiv.ISBN978-0-521-23347-7.
^Wright, David Curtis (2011).The history of China (2nd ed.). Santa Barbara: Greenwood. p. 60.ISBN978-0-313-37748-8.
^J.), Heather, P.J. (Peter (2006).The fall of the Roman Empire : a new history of Rome and the Barbarians. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-997861-8.OCLC806039879.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Parker Library on the WebArchived 2010-08-27 at theWayback Machine, The Parker Library. (cf., "One of the most important collections of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts – for centuries kept at Corpus Christi College – has been entirely digitised, making it the first research library to have every page of its collection captured.")
Diamond, Jared (1999).Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: Norton.
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Further reading
Alcock, Susan E.; Terence N., D'Altroy; Terence N., Morrison; et al., eds. (201).Empires: Perspectives from Archaeology and History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 546.ISBN978-0-521-77020-0.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Carr, E.H. (Edward Hallett).What is History?.
Collingwood, R.G. (1946).The Idea of History. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Dodds, E.R. (1964).The Greeks and the Irrational. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press.
Kristiansen, Kristian; Larsson, Thomas B. (2005).The Rise of Bronze Age Society. Cambridge University Press.
Libourel, Jan (1973). "A Battle of Uncertain Outcome in the Second Samnite War".American Journal of Philology.94 (1):71–78.doi:10.2307/294039.JSTOR294039.
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