Civilized Ancients:
Ancient civilizations are societies that emerged during the early stages of human development, often marked by organized cities, governance, writing, advanced agriculture, and social hierarchies. Here's an overview of some notable ancient civilizations:
Ancient civilizations often relied on the fertile climate of river valleys for their survival. The development of farming in 8500 BC made it possible for once-nomadic cultures to settle in permanent communities. Civilizations within Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and China settled respectively along the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates, the Indus, and the Yellow Rivers.
Q. What are the 4 types of ancient civilizations?
Ans: The four oldest civilizations are
a) Mesopotamia
b) Egypt
c) the Indus Valley and
d) China as they provided the basis for continuous cultural development in the same geographic location.
Mesopotamia:
Mesopotamia was one of the first places to develop agriculture, it was also at the crossroads of the Egyptian and the Indus Valley civilizations. This made it a melting pot of languages and cultures that stimulated a lasting impact on writing, technology, language, trade, religion, and law.
Much of what we know today as basic tenets of civilization started with the Mesopotamians. Originating in the mountains of Turkey, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers join in southern Iraq and empty into the Persian Gulf near the modern-day city of Basra. The region dependent on these two rivers came to be known as Mesopotamia, a word that means “the land between two rivers.” Mesopotamia is important, in part, because its first major civilization, Sumer, was so culturally powerful. Sumer’s cuneiform writing influenced later writing systems across the Mediterranean basin; moreover, as a result of its early development of writing, Sumer was the first culture to enter written history.
The region is also significant because the Mesopotamian city of Jericho is the world’s first known city, having been settled as far back as 8000 BCE.
Sumer is often regarded as the earliest human civilization. It flourished from around 3200–2360 BCE and was characterized by city-states. These were cities (and the land surrounding them) ruled by a sovereign priest or king. Some of the major city-states included Lagash, Uruk, Ur, Kish, and Nippur. Based on the Sumerian king list (a detailed account of the successive Sumerian dynasties) we know that the King of Kish, Enmebaragesi, would later unite the twelve city-states under one rule. The Epic of Gilgamesh (written in the later Babylonian era) portrays the siege of Uruk by Agga, Enmebaragesi’s son.
The Sumerian culture was succeeded by Mesopotamian civilizations, including the Hittites, the Akkadians, and the Assyrians.
China:
In China, dynasties ruled ancient times. Each dynasty brought its own strengths to the life of the civilization. The Shang Dynasty’s skill with bronze and other metals remained unrivaled for centuries, and the time period spanning 771–221 BC saw the beginnings of Daoism, Confucianism, and Legalism. The timeline below shows the basic shape of ancient dynastic China.
Egypt:
People began living in villages in the Nile river valley as early as 5000 BC, and the Pharaoh Menes is credited with uniting the people of lower and upper Egypt circa 3200 BC. Memphis was the capital of this Egyptian empire.
The Great Pyramid of Giza in the photo above was completed around 2500 BC and was a tribute (or burial spot) for the Fourth Dynasty king Khufu, also known by his Greek name Cheops.
Incredibly, thirty successive dynasties ruled Egypt until the Persian invasion in 341 BC. The land was also conquered by the Greeks, the Romans, and Muslim Arabs, who introduced Islam to the region in the seventh century. The Muslims ruled for another six centuries before falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1517.
The Indus Valley:
Another of the great ancient civilizations, the Indus Civilization covered the area that is now Pakistan and parts of modern-day India and Afghanistan. The Indus cultures relied on the Indus River for sustenance, and some historians have suggested the existence of another now-dried-up river running parallel to the Indus.
Of all the ancient cultures, the Indus may be the most mysterious. While it is known that this civilization flourished in the second century BC, not much is known about the language or culture of the people who lived there in comparison with Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China.
What is known points to a highly organized and urban culture: cities comprised thousands of residents, streets that were laid out in grids, and sanitation systems that were built using precise measurements.
Review:
1. Ancient civilizations were based in fertile river valleys. Keep these rivers (and their attendant civilizations) in mind: Tigris & Euphrates (Sumer, Babylon, Assyria); Nile (Pharaoh Menes’s Egyptian empire); Yellow River (Shang and Zhou Dynasties); Indus (ancient Indian civilization)
2. The Sumerians created the first great civilization in Mesopotamia; they invented writing (cuneiform) and their most powerful city-state was Ur.
3. The Egyptian Pharaoh Menes unified the regions along the Nile to create the Egyptian empire. Memphis was its capital.
4. China’s Shang Dynasty (1750–1040 BC) left examples of intricate metalwork and early written Chinese.
The Industrial Revolution:
The Industrial Revolution, beginning in the late 18th century in Britain, was a period of profound technological, economic, and social change. Marked by the shift from agrarian economies to industrialised, machine-based manufacturing, it saw the rise of factories, the expansion of cities, and the growth of industries such as textiles, iron, and coal. This era dramatically improved production efficiency and economic output but also brought significant social challenges.
Many factory workers faced harsh and dangerous working conditions. Long hours, low wages, and minimal safety regulations were common, leading to physical exhaustion and health problems.
Additionally, the demand for cheap labour resulted in the widespread employment and exploitation of children in factories and mines, where they often worked in hazardous environments, sacrificing their education and well-being.
It also spurred mass migration from rural areas to cities, resulting in rapid urbanisation. Cities often became overcrowded and unsanitary, leading to poor living conditions, inadequate housing, and increased spread of diseases. Industrialisation also significantly affected the environment. The reliance on coal as a primary energy source led to widespread deforestation and contaminated waterways.
While it generated wealth for industrialists, it also exacerbated social inequalities, widening the gap between the affluent and the working class and leading to tensions manifested in strikes and protests for better labour rights and living conditions.
Overall, the Industrial Revolution was a period of remarkable progress and innovation that reshaped economies and societies, but it also highlighted significant challenges and injustices that prompted social reform movements and changes in labour laws in the following decades.
1. Mesopotamia (c. 3100–539 BCE)
- Location: Modern-day Iraq, along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
- Key Contributions:
- First writing system (cuneiform).
- Inventions like the wheel and irrigation systems.
- Code of Hammurabi – one of the earliest legal codes.
- Notable Cities: Ur, Babylon, Nineveh.
2. Ancient Egypt (c. 3100–30 BCE)
- Location: Along the Nile River, in modern-day Egypt.
- Key Contributions:
- Pyramids and monumental architecture.
- Hieroglyphic writing system.
- Advances in medicine, mathematics, and engineering.
- Notable Figures: Pharaohs like Ramses II, Cleopatra, and Akhenaten.
3. Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300–1300 BCE)
- Location: Present-day Pakistan and northwest India, along the Indus River.
- Key Contributions:
- Urban planning with grid-like cities and advanced drainage systems.
- Standardized weights and measures.
- Trade networks extending to Mesopotamia.
- Notable Cities: Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro.
4. Ancient China (c. 2000 BCE onward)
- Location: Centered around the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers.
- Key Contributions:
- Development of writing (oracle bones).
- Great Wall and early bronze technology.
- Philosophy: Confucianism, Taoism.
- Notable Dynasties: Shang, Zhou, Qin (built the first unified empire), Han.
5. Ancient Greece (c. 800–146 BCE)
- Location: Modern-day Greece and surrounding islands.
- Key Contributions:
- Birthplace of democracy, philosophy, and Western science.
- Literature: Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.
- Architecture: Parthenon and classical columns.
- Notable Figures: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great.
6. Roman Empire (27 BCE–476 CE)
- Location: Centered in Rome, Italy, extending across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.
- Key Contributions:
- Legal systems influencing modern law.
- Engineering: Aqueducts, roads, and the Colosseum.
- Spread of Christianity.
- Notable Emperors: Julius Caesar, Augustus, Constantine.
7. Mayan Civilization (c. 2000 BCE–1500 CE)
- Location: Modern-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador.
- Key Contributions:
- Advanced astronomical and calendar systems.
- Monumental architecture: pyramids and temples.
- Hieroglyphic writing.
- Notable Sites: Tikal, Chichen Itza.
8. Aztec Empire (c. 1345–1521 CE)
- Location: Central Mexico.
- Key Contributions:
- Agricultural innovations like chinampas (floating gardens).
- Large urban centers such as Tenochtitlán.
- Complex religious and social systems.
9. Inca Empire (c. 1438–1533 CE)
- Location: Andes Mountains in South America (Peru, Ecuador, Chile).
- Key Contributions:
- Advanced engineering: Machu Picchu and terrace farming.
- Quipu system for record-keeping.
- Extensive road networks.
10. Ancient Persia (c. 550–330 BCE)
- Location: Modern-day Iran and surrounding regions.
- Key Contributions:
- The Achaemenid Empire (Cyrus the Great) – first major empire to adopt a policy of religious and cultural tolerance.
- Impressive infrastructure like the Royal Road.
- Contributions to art, science, and governance.