Civilization - an advanced level of culture, usually characterized by organized government and religion, division of labor, a class structure and a system of writing.

ANCIENT CIVILIZATION IN ASIA

MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION

The Fertile Crescent

          Between the twin rivers of Tigris and Euphrates lies the fertile valley that has the better claim than any other place in the world as the birthplace of civilization. The two rivers carry great volumes of water, cutting deep channel that made irrigation difficult. Mesopotamia or "the land between two rivers" is the name given to its northern part. Its southern part was known as Babylonia and the lowest part was known as Sumer.

      The Sumerians

             Sumerians Create City - States

         Sumerians built their cities in this fertile area of Sumer from the east. Their culture was believed to be rich, having a good soil, was the advantage of these settlers to the flat, swampy land of Sumer, however, they also have their own disadvantages, and some of this are; the flooding of the rivers was unpredictable, Sumer was a small region, and lastly, their natural resources were extremely limited. The Sumerians are the one who built the ziggurat, they built it to honor their Gods. The Sumerians are also the one who invented the form of writing called, cuneiform.

   
 The First Empire Builders

• The Akkadians - Semitic people, they are a group of people who spoke a language related to that if the Hebrew and Arabic. They adopted most of the Sumerian culture.
• The Babylonian Empire - also of Semitic group, invaded Mesopotamia. The Babylonians were lead by an Amorite ruler named Hammurabi. His most important gift to civilization was his written code of laws which included laws that controlled all aspects of Babylonian life.
• The Hittites - they were herdsmen from the northwest of Babylon, they were the first group of people who used iron for weapons, aside from this, their greatest contribution to civilization was their more humane legal system. Under their laws, capital punishment was reserved only for major crimes.
• The Assyrians - came from the northern portion of Mesopotamia, and built the city-state of Assur. Their exposed farmland made them easy prey to attack. They were known as one of the fiercest, cruelest, most aggressive, and most warlike of all the ancient people.
• The Chaldeans - they rebuilt the Babylon
• The Persians - bore the name of Persia, known now as Iran. under the Persian rule, subject people enjoyed remarkable freedom, but, in the end, the Persian Empire fell.
• The Phoenicians - given the name "the greatest traders of antiquity", they were the first people who ventured beyond the strait of Gibraltar. The Phoenicians developed an alphabet consisting of 22 consonants.
• The Hebrews - contributions of this empire, included the Jewish code of laws, the Ten Commandments and a body of laws called the Mosaic Law, which demanded kindness for slaves and the poor.

CIVILIZATIONS IN THE INDUS RIVER VALLEY

  The Indus River and Cities

            The Indus river flows southwest through Pakistan. Just like Tigris and Euphrates of Mesopotamia, the Indus River overflows and causes flood every year, leaving silts that provide fertile soil for farming.

  Environmental Challenges

            The civilization that emerged along the Indus River faced many challenges unlike the ancient civilization of the Sumerians. Unlike the people of Mesopotamia, the people of Indus Valley have to cope with the cycle of wet and dry seasons brought by the monsoon winds. Even if it's just a small rain, plants withered in the field, and people went hungry.  

  Civilization Emerged on the Indus

            Unearthed by archaeologists, it was discovered that Mohenjo-daro and Harappa were abandoned apparently after a flood and disappeared so completely that men forgot that they had ever existed

  Aryans

            The first people to inherit the legacies of the Indus Valley civilization. They were known to be nomads who came from Iran through northwest India across the Khyber Pass.

            The blending  of the Indus Valley civilization and that of the Aryans resulted into a unique Indian civilization. Hinduism was a result of this blending. Sindhu, then, was the name given to the Indus and Sanskrit was their language.

The Mauryan Empire

            Chandragupta Maurya united all the kingdoms on the Ganges and established the Mauryan Empire.

EARLY CIVILIZATIONS IN CHINA

           

        The geography of China

               Chinese civilization grew up in the valley of the Huang Ho or Yellow River and Yangtze River.

The rivers flow out at the highlands of Tibet.

        Dynasties

• The Shang Dynasty - the first family rulers to leave written records. The Shang gave way to a complex society with people specializing in various trades and crafts. 

                 -Social Class - Shang dynasty was divided between nobles and peasants.

                 -Religious Beliefs - the Chinese believed that the spirits of family ancestors had the power to                               bring good fortune or disaster to living members of the family.

                 -Development of Writing - the earliest evidence of Chinese writings comes from the oracle bones.

                 -Shang Economy - was characterized mainly by farming. 

• The Chou Dynasty - overthrew the Shang and established their own dynasty, this dynasty adopted much of the Shang culture.

                 -The Mandate of Heaven - became the standard Chinese view of government

                 -Control through Feudalism - the Chous controlled the land using the system of feudalism,                                     feudalism is a political system in which nobles or lords are granted the use of lands that                                    legally belong to the king.

                 -Technology and Trade - the major technological advancement was the use of iron. They use the                          irons to create new weapons and agricultural tools.

          

      Confucius Urged Harmony 

                 Confucius was China's most influential scholar. Confucius lived at a time when the Chou         dynasty was being torn apart by warring lords. Confucius believed that, social order, harmony, and good government could be restored in China if society was organized around five relationships. These were the relationship between ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, older brother and younger brother, older friend and younger friend.

• The Chin Dynasty - this dynasty reunited China. The Chin ruler, Chin Shih Huang-ti, known to be the "First Emperor". He conquered the Barbarians to the south of his kingdom and protected the northern border by building the Great Wall.

 Chin Shih Huang-ti

•  The Han Dynasty - established by Liu Pang. He lessened the taxes paid by the peasants and issued a law lowering the punishment for any crime committed within the empire. The next to rule the Han dynasty was, Wu-ti, also known as the "Martial Emperor". Under his rule,there was a renewal of learning. Scholars were again allowed to read he old Chinese classics. He also proclaimed Confucianism as the official set of beliefs for his government. 
• The Sui Dynasty - the work of driving out the nomadic Huns and reuniting China was accomplished by the short-lived Sui dynasty. The one who ruled this dynasty was Sui Wendi. During this period, the Grand Canal was formed from existing waterways between the Yellow River and Yangtze River. The canal provided a vital route for trade between the northern cities and the southern rice producing region of the Yangtze delta.

• The Tang Dynasty - ruled by Tang Tai. Under the Tang rulers, the empire expanded. The early Tang rulers defeated the invading Turks to the north and west China's eastern neighbors, Korea and Japan. Under this rule, the Chinese perfected their civil service examinations covering current politics, classical literature, calligraphy, and mathematics.
• The Sung Dynasty - the Sung emperors were strengthened by a group of Mongolian people called the Khitans who decided to buy peace with them in the form of annual tributes. However, bribes failed to stop the barbarians and they captured Kaifeng, the capital of Sung.
• The Yuan Dynasty - Kublai Khan was the one who first ruled this dynasty. This was an important period in the history of China because of the following reasons: Kublai Khan united China for 300 years; the control imposed by the Mongols opened China to greater foreign contacts and trade.

THE MUGHAL EMPIRES IN INDIA

        The Rajputs

                   The Rajputs lived by a code of honor and bravery, stressing respect for women, fair play in combat, and mercy for the fallen warriors. There were also well-developed law codes.
                   Hinduism at this time became a powerful institution, it was in this time when the three Hinduism's Gods came to be known. Brahma-creator; Shiva-destroyer; Vishnu-preserver.

        The Reign of Akbar
                   

           His reign was especially marked with fairness. He gave India one of the best government in history. 

      The Reign of Jahangir and NurJahan

       

                Jahangir means "Grasper of the world", and his wife was NurJahan. Unlike Akbar, both of them wanted only to promote Islam in the Mughal Empire.

               

     

    The Reign of Shah Jahan

        

             Shah Jahan was a cultured man who could not tolerate competition. He secured his throne by assassinating all his possible rivals. He was the one who ordered to build the Taj Mahal, one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.

He ordered to build the Taj Mahal, to keep his wife's memory, when his wife died.

  The Reign of Aurangzeb

      

            He was an oppressive ruler. He rigidly enforced the Islamic laws that outlawed drinking, gambling, and other vices. He did all his best to erase all the gains Hindus had made under Akbar and brought back the hated non-Muslim tax.

 THE GROWTH OF JAPANESE CIVILIZATION

                The original inhabitants of Japan were the Ainus. The Ainu is an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaido, the northern part of Japan.

                According to tradition, Jimmu, who founded the Yamato, ascended the throne and became the first emperor of Japan. In time, the emperor of Japan was given the title "Tenno" (Son of Heaven)

   The Nara Period

            One of the most important influences brought by Korean travelers was Buddhism. The most important convert to Buddhism was Prince Shotoku. It was Shotoku who drew up a plan of government known as The Seventeen Article Constitutions. 

  The Heian Period

            At this point, Japan started to create its own kind of culture, thus, was known as Japan's Golden Age. Japan's early prose literature were written almost entirely by women. This is because men at that time wrote in Japanese using the complicated Chinese character while women wrote in their native language using Kana. During this period, the aristocrats or noble families led lives of ease and comfort while the Japanese outside the capital had a hard time and rough life.