INTRODUCTION - Triumph Learning · INTRODUCTION ... Growth of Parliamentary Democracy in England...

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

PART I: READING AND WRITING FOR THE GLOBAL HISTORY TEST . 8

1. REVIEWING YOUR READING SKILLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Finding Information in a Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Finding the Main Idea of a Passage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Finding Supporting Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Using Context to Work Out Word Meanings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Identifying an Author’s Point of View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Distinguishing Fact from Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Comparing Statements and Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Drawing Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Making a Judgment by Combining Information from Documents with Your Own Knowledge of History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19More Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

2. ANALYZING AND INTERPRETING PICTURES, MAPS, AND GRAPHS . . . . . . . . 21

3. UNDERSTANDING AND ANALYZING TEST QUESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Multiple-Choice Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Document-Based Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

4. WRITING YOUR ANSWERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Planning Your Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Writing Your Essay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Editing Your Essay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

PART II: CONCEPTS, THEMES, AND SKILLS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES . 43

5. HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Historical Concepts and Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Interpreting History from Multiple Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Chronology and Periodization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

6. GEOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Six Elements of Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Regions of the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

7. ECONOMICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Major Economic Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

8. THE CONCEPTS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

PART III: GLOBAL HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

9. THE ANCIENT WORLD: FIRST CIVILIZATIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS . . . . . . 53Early Peoples 10,000–3500 B.C.E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54River Valley Civilizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Egypt, 3000–945 B.C.E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Mesopotamia, 3500–1600 B.C.E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Indus Valley and Yellow River Civilizations, 2500–1000 B.C.E. . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Classical Civilizations and Empires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties in China, 1028 B.C.E.–220 C.E. . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Table of Contents

Kingdoms and Trade in the Middle East, 1500–400 B.C.E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Greek City States, 600-300 B.C.E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Rome: Republic and Empire, 509 B.C.E.-476 C.E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

The Emergence and Spread of Belief Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Hinduism and Buddhism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Judaism and Christianity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Islam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Section Review: The Ancient World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

10. EXPANDING ZONES OF EXCHANGE AND ENCOUNTER, 500–1200 C.E.: SETTINGTHE STAGE FOR THE FUTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

The Gupta Empire in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73China’s Tang Dynasty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74The Byzantine Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75The Arab World: Arab Origins and the Spread of Islam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Life and Culture in the Arab World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Medieval Europe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Feudalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78The Church and the Crusades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Section Review: Expansion, 500–1200 C.E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

11. GLOBAL INTERACTIONS, 1200–1650: RETREAT AND ADVANCE IN EURASIA . . 82Feudalism in Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83The Mongol Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84The Revival of Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Medieval Towns and the Plague. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86European Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

The Commercial Revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Renaissance and Humanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Reformation and Counter Reformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89The Emergence of Nation States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Section Review: Early Global Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

12. THE FIRST GLOBAL AGE, 1450–1770: THE EMPIRE BUILDERS . . . . . . . . . . . 94Mesoamerica and South America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95The Kingdoms of West Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96The Ming Dynasty in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97The Ottoman Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98European Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Advances in Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Portuguese and Spanish Voyages of Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100European Empire Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101The Columbian Exchange and the Slave Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Case Studies in Absolute Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103Akbar the Great and Mogul Rule in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104The Spanish Hapsburgs: Charles V and Philip II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Louis XIV in France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106Peter the Great in Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Resistance to Absolutism: Growth of Parliamentary Democracy in England . . . . . . . 108Section Review: The First Global Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

13 AN AGE OF REVOLUTIONS, PART 1: CULTURAL AND POLITICAL CHANGE,1650–1825 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

The Scientific Revolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113The Enlightenment in Europe: Rethinking People and Government . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

The American Revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115The Enlightened Despots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116The French Revolution: Causes and Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Napoleon’s Empire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119The Congress of Vienna and the Balance of Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120Independence Movements in Latin America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Section Review: Political Revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

14. AN AGE OF REVOLUTIONS, PART 2: INDUSTRIALIZATION, NATIONALISM,DEMOCRACY, AND IMPERIALISM, 1800–1914 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Social and Economic Revolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126Changes in Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126The Industrial Revolution Begins in Britain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127Industrialization Spreads Beyond Britain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128Mercantilism and Laissez Faire Economics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Industrialization and Ideology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130Urbanization and Changes in Social Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Revolution, Reaction, and Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132Western Europe, 1815-1848. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132The Triumph of Authoritarian Government in Latin America . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Absolutism and Expansion in Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

The Modernization of Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136Global Nationalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

The Unification of Italy and Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137Nationalist Struggles in the Ottoman and Hapsburg Empires. . . . . . . . . . . . 138The Mexican Revolution and Socioeconomic Nationalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Imperialism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140British Rule in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141European Spheres of Influence in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142Europeans Scramble for Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Section Review: The Nineteenth Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

15 CRISIS AND ACHIEVEMENT, 1914–1945: WAR, REVOLUTION, ANDTOTALITARIANISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

World War I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149The Causes of the War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149How the War Was Fought: Strategies and Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150The Treaty of Versailles Creates New National Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Revolution and Change in Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152Lenin and the Revolutions of 1917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152Lenin and Stalin Create a Totalitarian State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Between the Wars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154The League of Nations and an Uneasy Peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154Nationalist Responses to Colonialism in Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155Nationalist Responses to Colonialism in the Middle East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156Economic Depression and Its Consequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157Fascism and Militarism in Europe and Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

World War II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160War in Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160War in Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161The Legacy of Total War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Section Review: World War and Economic Depression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

16. THE TWENTIETH CENTURY SINCE 1945: CONFLICT, CRISIS, AND CHANGE . . 166The Cold War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

The Emergence of Two Superpowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167Standoff in Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168Rivalries Across the Globe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Global Economic Issues, 1945–1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170Communism, Capitalism, and Other Economic Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170Case Studies of Economic Growth in Developing Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171Economic Growth in East Asia: Japan and the Pacific Rim . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172Economic Recovery and Steps Towards Union in Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

The Chinese Communist Revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174Mao Zedong’s Economic and Cultural Revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174Deng Xiaoping Introduces Limited Reforms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Collapse of European Imperialism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176Independence Movements and Independence in Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176India: Independence and Partition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177Turmoil and Tragedy in Southeast Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Conflict and Change in the Middle East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179The Creation of Israel and the Arab Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179Arab Nationalism, Oil Production, and Regional Conflict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

The Collapse of Communism, 1989-1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181The Breakup of the Soviet Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181Independence and Change in Central and Eastern Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Revolution and Conflict in Latin America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183Tensions in the 1990’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Ethnic and Religious Conflict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Other Hot Spots Across the Globe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

17. GLOBAL CONNECTIONS AND INTERACTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187Social Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Population Pressure and Poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188Urbanization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189The Status of Women: Tradition and Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190Global Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192Modernization and Tradition in Japan and the Islamic World . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Economic Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194Decision-Making in Developing Economies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194The Global Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Environmental Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196Deforestation and Desertification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196Environmental Pollution: Who Will Stop It? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Science and Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198The Nuclear Menace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

The Role of the United Nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201Looking to the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Section Review: Contemporary Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

PART IV: PRACTICE TEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

GLOSSARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

BIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

INDEX OF MAJOR THEMES AND CONCEPTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

GENERAL INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

NOTICE: Photocopying any part of this book is prohibited by law. 53

In 10,000 B.C.E. humans livedand hunted together in smallgroups and worshiped nature

spirits. By the year 500 C.E., mostpeople lived in farming communi-ties where they grew their ownfood. Some individuals lived incities working as artisans,traders, and officials. Most of thepeople of southern Europe, theMiddle East, India, and Chinanow participated in belief systemsthat required good conduct fromtheir followers. In this chapter wewill examine how these hugechanges came to pass.

These are the questions we willask and seek to answer:

Part III: Global History9. The Ancient World: First Civilizations

and Belief Systems

This cave painting of a bison was created about 14,000 years agoduring an Ice Age. It was found in a Spanish cave.

What role did technology play in the development of human civilization?

What contributions did early and classical civilizations make to the history ofmankind?

How did these early civilizations develop trading links with each other and how didcultural change pass along these links from one people to another?

What similarities and differences can we find in the major religions that developedduring this period? How do these belief systems affect our lives today?

54 NOTICE: Photocopying any part of this book is prohibited by law.

People today belong to the species homosapiens. This species originated in Africaover 50,000 years ago and gradually spreadacross the world. These people hunted andgathered their food. By 10,000 B.C.E., theywere using pottery and tools made of bone

It was around this date that the NeolithicRevolution began. The glaciers that hadcovered the earth during the last Ice Agemelted, and this allowed new forests andgrasslands to emerge. People began to shiftfrom a nomadic life where they huntedtheir food to a more settled existence wherethey grew crops and domesticated animals.

These changes occurred at different timesin different parts of the world. People in theMiddle East planted wheat and barley aslong ago as 8000 B.C.E., but rice was notgrown in China until 3,000 years later.

The beginning of agriculture had two majorresults: it provided a steady supply of food,and it allowed people to settle in one place—hunters had lived a nomadic life.

1 Several developments made itpossible for early people to livesettled lives as farmers. Whichwas one of these developments?

A the ability to make warmclothes

B the domestication ofanimals

C the invention of pottery

D the use of the wheel

2 Which of the following occurredfirst?

A the building of village com-munities

B the manufacture of wovenfabrics

C the use of horse-drawncarts

D the use of speech

Early Peoples, 10,000–3500 B.C.E.

Early People and the Neolithic Revolution

Homo Sapiens in Africa

Cro-Magnon Man (European name for homo

sapiens) in Europe

Settlement at Catal Hüyük in Turkey

Invention of plow

and use of fertilizers

in agriculture

�

First crops

grown in Middle

East

50,000 B.C.E. 20,000 B.C.E. 10,000 B.C.E. 5000 B.C.E.6000 B.C.E.7000 B.C.E.9000 B.C.E. 8000 B.C.E.

Cave paintings in Europe

End of last Ice Age

Domestication of goats

Domestication of cattle, pigs,

sheep, chickens

Humans begin using

language

Settlement at Jericho on West Bank of Jordan River

Invention of pottery and bone tools

Looms used to weave clothes

Invention of wheel; used for transport


New sources of food allowed the world’spopulation to grow from about two millionin 15,000 B.C.E. to 90 million by 4000B.C.E. Farming families built villages inareas where there was fertile soil and plen-tiful water. The time line and the map showsome of these early villages.

New inventions made farming easier. Oxenwere trained to pull plows; fields were fer-tilized with manure to make them yieldmore crops. Farmers needed to know whenthey should plant their crops. They devel-oped calendars to help them measure theseasons. Farmers claimed that the landthey farmed was theirs. Disputes over landownership led to conflict and war.

Inventions also changed cultural life.People who had worn nothing but animalskins could now weave clothes from theirsheep’s wool. They could travel in cartsonce the wheel was invented. They couldbuild their houses from bricks once theylearned how to bake clay.

3A List three ways that new tech-nologies changed farming?

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3B Choose one of these technolo-gies. Describe how farmerscoped before it was available.

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_______________________________________

_______________________________________

3C Give reasons to support youranswer to the above question.

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

Earliest man (homo sapiens) 50,000 B.C.E.

Cave paintings

10,000 B.C.E.

Farmers grow potatoes

4500 B.C.E.

Farmers grow barley

8000 B.C.E.

Villages at Jericho (8000 B.C.E.) & Catal Hüyük (7000 B.C.E.)

Farmers grow rice

5000 B.C.E.

THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION


Over thousands of years, some of these farm-ing communities grew into great cities. Lifein these cities was much more complex thanin the agricultural villages. Urban citizensspecialized in different occupations: theywere traders, craftsmen, priests, and govern-ment officials, as well as farmers. New tech-nologies and an organized system of govern-ment allowed them to build irrigation sys-tems and other group projects. Citizensshared a system of values and beliefs. Richerindividuals could read and write. Thesecities are known as civilizations.

The major ancient civilizations grew uparound the great rivers shown in themap. The earliest ones developed around3500 B.C.E. in the valleys of the Tigrisand Euphrates Rivers in present-dayIraq. Soon thereafter the AncientEgyptians built cities in the fertile NileValley, and by about 2500 B.C.E. settle-ments began to appear around the IndusRiver. One thousand years after that thefirst Chinese civilization flourished alongthe banks of the Huang Ho (YellowRiver). By 750 B.C.E. there were cities in

Europe, America, and East Africa. Evenso, most people continued to live in small-er farming communities.

4A In which four regions were theRiver Valley civilizationslocated?

___________________ ___________________

___________________ ___________________

4B Cities were possible only afterfarmers increased their output.Why?

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

4C Describe what is meant by theterm “civilization.”

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

River Valley Civilizations

A F R I C A

E U R O P E

A S I A

India

China

Huang Ho River

Indus River

Mesopotamia

Tigris River

Nile River

EgyptEuphratesRiver


Between about 3000 B.C.E. and 945 B.C.E.,Egypt was ruled by pharaohs believed tobe gods as well as kings. The pharaohs heldabsolute power and created a bureaucra-cy to help them govern. These officialsoversaw trade, collected taxes, and super-vised irrigation projects that spread theNile’s waters and its fertile silt (known asloess) over nearby farmland.

Egyptians believed that the souls of thepharaohs continued to rule, even afterdeath, so they preserved their rulers’ bodiesand placed these mummies, along with thepharaohs’ possessions, in the magnificenttombs we know as pyramids.

Ancient Egypt is often divided into threeeras: the Old Kingdom (2686–2181 B.C.E.),the Middle Kingdom (2040–1786 B.C.E.),and the New Kingdom (1570–1005 B.C.E.).The Old Kingdom saw the unification of thecountry under one ruler and the building ofthe pyramids. During the Middle Kingdom,the pharaohs extended their empire southto include the Sudan. They also built acanal linking the Nile with the Red Seathat allowed traders to travel to Arabia andEast Africa. The pharaohs of the NewKingdom expanded their empire north toinclude Syria. Egypt’s power waned after945; it came under Kushite control in thesouth and Libyan rule in the west.

Egyptian society was highly stratified: theroyal family, nobles, and priests were at thetop. Craftsmen and merchants were in themiddle. Most Egyptians were at the bottom

of the ladder. They were poor farmers whorented their land from the king in returnfor a part of their crops. Occasionally theyworked on state building projects.

Religion was central to Egyptian life. Thepeople were polytheistic, worshipingmany gods whom they held responsible forthe climate, their health, and their fortunesin general. By 1500 B.C.E., the poorbelieved that they, as well as the rich,would enjoy an afterlife.

Egyptians developed a picture writing sys-tem called hiero-glyphics—a simpleform of it was used ineveryday business.Many of the arti-facts created byEgyptian scribes,craftsmen, andbuilders—writing,pyramids, and tem-ples—have survived.We learn from themthat the Egyptians were skilled in astrono-my and medicine. Their calendar enabledthem to predict when the Nile would flood,and their doctors were able to treat frac-tures, wounds, and diseases.

5 Arrange the following events inchronological order to create atime line. Place the letter nextto each event in the correct box.

A The New Kingdom began.

B The pharaohs conqueredthe Sudan.

C The pyramids were built.

D Western Egypt wasconquered by the Libyans.

Egypt, 3000–945 B.C.E.


Mesopotamian civilizations were builtaround the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.Unlike the Nile, the Tigris and Euphratesdid not provide a regular supply of water—when there was no rain, they dried up. Attimes, floods swept away whole villages.The Sumerians built dams and canals tocontrol river waters and this allowed localfarmers to grow grains and other crops.Even so, the rivers could bring disaster.This affected people’s attitudes: they feltthat they had no control over their livesand regarded their gods (the people werepolytheistic like the Egyptians) as selfishcreatures who brought floods and famines.

The Sumerians built the firstMesopotamian civilization. Their city-stateswere built around massive ziggurats thatcontained tombs like Egypt’s pyramids butalso served as temples for the priests.Located on a wide open plain, theSumerians were much more exposed thanthe Egyptians to the threat of invasion.Accordingly, their self-governing city-stateschose military leaders who then becamehereditary kings. Like the pharaohs, thekings also served as the high priests of thelocal gods.

Sumerians developed cuneiform writingas early as 3100 B.C.E. and engraved itssymbols on clay tablets. Scribes wrote busi-ness records and literary epics like thepoem Gilgamesh on these tablets. TheSumerians were an inventive people anddeveloped a metal plow, the wagon wheel,the potter’s wheel, the making of bronzefrom copper and tin, and a calendar with 12months based on the cycles of the moon.

In about 2300 B.C.E., the Sumerians wereconquered by the Akkadians who hadmigrated north from Arabia. Sargon, theAkkadian king, was mainly interested inmilitary conquests, but his people adopted

many aspects of Sumerian culture. By about1900 B.C.E., Mesopotamia was ruled by theBabylonians. Hammurabi, their greatestruler, created a law code for the region. Someof its laws seem harsh to us, but it did makecrime a community concern and it providedlegal protection for weaker citizens. In about1600 B.C.E., the Hittites, who were the firstin the region to use iron weapons, put anend to the kingdom of Babylon.

6 What does the following excerptfrom the epic poem Gilgameshsuggest about theMesopotamians’ view of life?

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

Mesopotamia, 3500–1600 B.C.E.

Kingdoms of Mesopotamia

Red Sea

Lake Nyasa

Mediterranean Sea

1000 Km

1000 Mi.

Persian GulfR. Nile

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R. Tigris

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Babylon

Sumer

• Babylon

• Ur

• Ebla

Arabian Peninsula

“Where is the man who can clamber toheaven? Only the gods live forever…butas for us men, our days are numbered,our occupations are a breath of wind.”

—The Epic of Gilgamesh


Like the Tigris and Euphrates, theIndus and Ganges Rivers of north-ern India are unpredictable.Summer monsoon rains causethem to flood, enriching the soil. Butthe heaviest rains destroy homesand villages, while light or laterains can lead to starvation.

The cities of Harappa andMohenjodaro were built on the floodplain of the Indus in about 2500B.C.E. and survived for about 800years. The food surplus created bylocal farmers enabled town citizensto work as potters, metal toolmak-ers, and merchants. The merchantstraded with the Mesopotamians from whomthey may have borrowed their written lan-guage. But until we decode this language,the Indus Valley civilization will remain amystery to us.

The Huang Ho carries large amounts ofloess downstream. When melting snow andmonsoon rains cause the river to flood, thisloess is spread over the North China Plain,making it one of the richest agriculturalareas in the world. It was in this region

that the first Chinese civilization emergedaround the year 2500 B.C.E.

The Shang was the first dynasty for whichrecords have survived; they ruled this areabetween about 1700 and 1100 B.C.E. Likeother early kings, the Shang were priests aswell as rulers. The people worshiped naturegods. The priests developed a complex lan-guage which was written on bones. Chinesecraftsmen made bronze weapons and jadeand ivory statues. They wove garments fromsilk and made pots from a fine white clay.

Indus Valley and Yellow River Civilizations, 2500–1000 B.C.E.

Hua ng Ho R.

PACIFICOCEAN

Gang es R

Indu

sR

. YangtzeR.

Xi Jian g

Yellow Sea

SouthChina Sea

Gulf of Thailand

Bay ofBengal

ArabianSea

PACIFIC OCEAN

INDIANOCEAN

HIMALAYAS

HINDU KUSH

KUNLUNMTS.

DE

CC

AN

PLATE

AU

GobiDesert

Huang Ho

Indus River Valley,2500–1700 B.C.E.

Shang Dynasty,1700–1000 B.C.E.

•

•Harappa

Anyang •

Mohenjodaro

EARLY CIVILIZATIONS OFSOUTH AND EAST ASIA

Summary Question. Pick any two of the River Valley civilizations: Egypt,Mesopotamia, India, or China.

7A For each choice, explain how geography affected its development.

1 ____________________________________________________________________

2 ____________________________________________________________________

7B Compare the political systems of the two civilizations you have selected.

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________


The history of China is dividedinto eras based on the namesof its dynasties.

China’s rulers had to find away to control their vastempire. The Zhou gave theirrelatives areas to govern, butin time these kinsfolk seizedpower for themselves. TheQin emperor (after whomChina is named) divided thecountry into military districtsand took away the power ofthe local lords. He built theGreat Wall to keep out nomadic invadersfrom the north. The Han also centralizedcontrol of government and extended theirrule west to the borders of India andsouth to Indochina.

During the chaos of the Zhou era, Chinesephilosophers developed ideas for bringingpeace and order. Confucius taught thatethics should guide personal conduct. Hebelieved that better-educated, ethical offi-cials could restore social harmony and goodgovernment. Wudi, the greatest Han ruler,wanted to put these ideas into practice. Toraise the quality of his officials, he requiredthem to take long, written exams to obtaintheir posts. This system created a new classof scholar civil servants called mandarins.

Other important philosophical ideas camefrom the Taoists and Buddhists. Taoistsbelieved people should be guided by nature,not by rules of conduct. Buddhism, whichentered China from India by way of CentralAsia in the first century C.E., stressedescape from suffering through meditation.

Social life in China was influenced by theseideas. The family was at the center of dailylife; its members had well-defined roles andduties. Society was divided into three tiers.

At the bottom were the merchants andtraders, despised for their pursuit of wealth.Next came the peasants (perhaps 90% ofthe population) who rented their land fromtheir lords and lived in rural villages. Atthe top were the aristocrats whose homesand lives were filled with art and literature.

Chinese inventors created silk, paper, andgunpowder. Traders carried this silk to theMiddle East along the route known as theSilk Road. There they exchanged it forglasswares and wool and linen cloth.Chinese engineers built suspension bridgesand mines. Their doctors recognized theimportance of nutrition and developed thetechnique of acupuncture.

8 The map suggests that theGreat Wall of China

A kept invaders from theNorth out of Han empire

B prevented Indian culturefrom spreading into China

C helped the Zhou emperorsto centralize their kingdom

D was in the valley of theHuang Ho

Classical Civilizations and Empires

Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties in China, 1028 B.C.E.–220 C.E.

Hua ng Ho R. Yellow

Sea

SouthChina Sea

Bay ofBengal

PACIFICOCEAN

HIMALAYAS

HINDU KUSH

GobiDesert

Zhou Dynasty,1028–256 B.C.E.

Han Dynasty,207 B.C.E.–220 C.E.

Xi Jian g

Huang Ho

YangtzeR.

Qin Dynasty,221–210 B.C.E.

China’s Zhou,Qin, and Han

Dynasties

Great Wall

INDIA

INDO-CHINA

KUNLUNMTS.


After Hammurabi’s Mesopotamianempire was destroyed by theHittites, the region was controlledby a series of warlike people. TheHittites were followed by theAssyrians who were conquered inturn by the Chaldeans. These war-riors frequently deported wholepopulations and resettled them inother parts of their empires. Theywere excellent soldiers, and theAssyrians, at least, were fineadministrators, but they weremore interested in conquest thanculture. The Hittites andAssyrians borrowed the legal sys-tem, the gods, the script, and theart forms of the Mesopotamians.The short-lived Chaldean Empirereached its peak under KingNebuchadnezzar, a talented general andstatesman. He rebuilt the city of Babylonand created the famous Hanging Gardensin his splendid new palace.

The peoples conquered by these warriorstates included the Phoenicians and theIsraelites. The Phoenicians were greattraders. They sailed around theMediterranean and beyond to West Africafrom their ports of Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos.They carried cedar wood, dyed textiles,glass, and jewelry. To help them keep trackof their accounts, the Phoenicians devel-oped an alphabet which became the basis ofthe alphabets used in Western languages.

The Israelites lived in the small kingdomsof Israel and Judah. Israel was conqueredby the Assyrians; the people of Judah weredeported by the Chaldeans to Babylon in586 B.C.E. and their temple at Jerusalemwas destroyed. But their legacy ofmonotheism (belief in one God) and acommitment to ethics survived this andsubsequent diasporas.

9 Identify the people describedby the sentences below.

A ____________________

B ____________________

C ____________________

D ____________________

Kingdoms and Trade in the Middle East, 1500–400 B.C.E.

R. Nile

R. Euphrates

R. Tigris

• Babylon

• Byblos

• Jerusalem

• Damascus

Kingdoms and Empires of the Middle East

Red Sea

Mediterranean Sea

Persian Gulf

AssyrianEmpire in 670 B.C.E.

R. Nile

• Babylon

• Damascus

Byblos • Sidon • Tyre •

PH

OE

NIC

IA

JUDAH

• JerusalemISRAEL

• Nineveh

Hattusas •

H I T T I T E E M P I R E

C H A L D E A N

E M P I R E

Hittite Empire in 1500 B.C.E.

Chaldean Empire in 600 B.C.E.

“At its height, their empirestretched from the Persian Gulfto Egypt.”

“These daring explorers estab-lished towns along the west coastof Africa, on the islands of thewestern Mediterranean, and inSpain.”

“In the 1300’s B.C.E. their empirereached its peak and includedmuch of Asia Minor and northernSyria.”

“Their exile is known as theBabylonian Captivity.”

A

B

C

D


One of the world’s greatest civilizationsflourished on the mainland and islands ofGreece between 750 and 336 B.C.E. Itsearly history and myths were celebrated bythe blind poet Homer in two epic poems,the Iliad and the Odyssey. In the centuriesthat followed, the Greeks adopted thePhoenician alphabet and wrote plays, poems,histories, and books on philosophy and sci-ence that are still performed and studied.

The coastline of Greece is filled with fineharbors; the interior, apart from a coastalplain, is mountainous. Not surprisingly, theGreeks became sailors, traders, and fisher-men. Rugged geography separated one partof Greece from another and so it was neverunited under one government. It consistedinstead of independent city states—citiesand the farmland and villages that sur-rounded them. When a city could no longerfeed itself, it created colonies along theMediterranean and Black Sea coasts. Thecolonies supplied the parent city with foodand stimulated the growth of trade.

Originally, Greek communities were ruledby kings. By 750 B.C.E., power had passedto noble landowners. By 500 B.C.E. mostcity states were either oligarchies like

Sparta or democracies like Athens. In thelatter, all free Athenian-born males (about20% of the total population) were citizens.As such they were equal beforethe law and could serve on juriesand participate in the Assembly.The Assembly made the laws,served as a supreme court, andappointed army generals.Everyday government decisionswere made by a Council of 500whose members were chosen bylottery each year.

Sparta also had a law-making assembly,but its political life was controlled by ahandful of citizens. The army dominatedSpartan life. Although they were allowed tomarry at age 30, Spartan males spent mostof their active lives drilling and fighting.The Spartans’ iron discipline allowed themto control their large helot (slave) popula-tion. But it made them resist change, trade,and culture. Sickly babies who would makepoor soldiers were left to die. Surprisingly,women were encouraged to be active andhealthy and given more freedom and powerthan women in other cities. Athenian womenwere not even trusted to do the shopping!

Greek City States, 600–300 B.C.E.

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R. Nile

R. Euphrates

R. Tigris

Black Sea

Arabian Sea

Aral Sea

Caspian Sea

Mediterranean Sea

R. Oxus

Persian Gulf

Alexandria •

•Persepolis

Susa • �•

Babylon

Tyre •

•

Miletus

• Sardis *Issus *Gaugamela

*Granicus

Alexandria Eschate

•

Indus

R.

MACEDONIA

EGYPT

INDIA

GREECE

• Syracuse

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Byzantium •

• Sparta

• Athens��@@��ÀÀ��QQ¢¢

Byblos •

The Greek Colonies in 600 B.C.E. and the Empire of Alexander the Great

Location of Greek Colonies in 600 B.C.E.

Alexander's EmpireRoute taken by his armies, 334–323 B.C.E.

* Major battles

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Pericles, a greatAthenian gener-al and democrat

The Greeks believed in striving for excel-lence and calmly accepting one’s fate. Theyput man at the center of their philosophyand culture. Their dramas focused on theinterplay between man and destiny. Theirarchitecture, painting, and sculpture

stressed beauty, balance, andsimplicity. Philosophers likeSocrates, Plato, and Aristotlewrestled with the meaning oftruth and the nature of gov-ernment. Historians tried toseparate truth from legend intheir study of the past.Scientists based their theorieson experiments and on obser-

vations of the world around them.

The Greeks humanized their gods, too, andmade them into a family that lived onMount Olympus. Each god controlled his orher own sphere: Zeus, the chief god, ruledthe sky; his brother, Poseidon, was lord ofthe sea; and his daughter, Aphrodite, wasthe goddess of love. The Greeks believedthat their quarrelsome, selfish gods createdphysical events like storms and sunshineand brought to mankind both good fortuneand disaster.

Before the Golden Age of Athens (490–431B.C.E.) could begin, the Greeks had to jointogether to keep out the Persians. In 546B.C.E., the Greek colonies in Asia Minorhad become part of the mighty PersianEmpire. Fifty-six years later, the Persianking, Darius, decided to conquer mainlandGreece. He was stopped by two Greek victo-ries: a land battle at Marathon and a sea

battle at Salamis. But cooperation amongthe city states was short lived. Between 431and 404, city leagues headed by Athens andSparta fought each other in thePeloponnesian War. The war destroyed thespirit and weakened the economies of theGreeks and made it easy for Philip ofMacedonia to conquer them in 338 B.C.E.His son, Alexander the Great, becameruler of Greece and Macedonia. His careerwas spent as a conqueror, leading his menas far east as India. Alexander tried toblend Greek and Persian cultures and tospread Greek language and Hellenisticculture throughout his vast empire.

10A List the achievements of theGreek people that were passedon to later ages.

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

10B Choose the achievement thatyou consider most importantfor the history of humankindand explain your choice.

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________


Black Sea

Arabian Sea

AralSea

CaspianSea

Mediterranean Sea

Persian Gulf INDIA

GREECE

R. Oxus

•Persepolis

•Susa

• Sardis

Indu

s R.

EGYPT

The Persian EmpireEmpire in 330 B.C.E.The Royal Road

* SalamisMarathon*

* Battles

A famous sculp-ture of a discus

thrower


By 146 B.C.E., the Greek citystates and most of theremains of Alexander theGreat’s empire had beenswallowed up by Rome. In theprocess, the Romans absorbedmuch of Greek culture andscientific achievement.

Rome had begun as a smallcity on the Italian peninsula.In 509 B.C.E., Rome’s citi-zens expelled their Etruscanruler. By 264, they controlledthe whole of Italy. Romanexpansion was halted brieflyin 216 by General Hannibalof Carthage. Hannibal withhis army and his elephants invaded Italyand threatened to destroy Rome. ButRoman troops finally defeated Hannibal. In146 they burned Carthage and this gavethem control of the western Mediterranean.The conquest of Greece and Macedonia hadsecured the eastern Mediterranean. Thelands around this sea were the core ofRome’s empire, though later generals wouldextend its boundaries north and east.

Rome began as a republic. There were twoclasses of citizens: the aristocratic patri-cians and the majority of citizens, the ple-beians. Both groups had some civic rights,but only patricians could be elected tooffice. Rome’s government was divided intoexecutive and legislative branches. TwoConsuls headed the executive branch. TheSenate dominated the legislature. Its 300patrician members, who were elected forlife, advised the Consuls and debated for-eign policy and legislation. In 494 B.C.E., arevolt by the plebeians increased theirpolitical power and established the princi-ple that all free citizens were protected bythe laws.

Rome’s military success was based on itswell-organized and highly disciplined army.At first, when most Romans were smallfarmers, all male citizens served as sol-diers. But military conquests changed that.Thousands of conquered people werebrought as slaves to Rome and replaced thepaid workers. At the same time, manysmall farmers lost their lands to greatlandowners who also used slave labor.Rome’s swelling population of the poor andunemployed now provided army recruits.

These new soldiers were loyal to the gener-als who paid them, not to the state.Powerful generals used their soldiers togain political control. The most importantwas Julius Caesar. After conquering Gauland Britain, Caesar’s army invaded Italy.In 45 B.C.E. he began to rule as dictator forlife. Caesar carried out many socialreforms, but some senators viewed him as atyrant and murdered him in 44 B.C.E.Caesar’s nephew, Octavian, defeated hisrivals and made himself Rome’s firstemperor as Augustus Caesar in 27 B.C.E.

Rome: Republic and Empire, 509 B.C.E.–476 C.E.

The Roman Empire atits Height, 117 C.E.BRITAIN

GAUL

SPAINBlack Sea

EGYPT

GREECE

ITALY

Danube R.

MESOPOTAMIASYRIA

ASIAMINOR

Red Sea

ATLANTICOCEAN

Caspian Sea

The Roman Empirein 117 C.E.

Rome•

•Athens

Byzantium•

Alexandria •

Mediter ranean Sea

AFRICA

Carthage •


Emperor Augustusand the “goodemperors” whoruled from 96 to180 C.E. reformedthe administrationof the empire. Theyappointed capablegovernors to rulethe provinces; finenew roads allowedthem to communi-cate with Rome.

Imposing public buildings were constructedand aqueducts were built to carry waterto the cities. Roman law applied to rich andpoor alike and was used across the empire.

The provinces sent luxury items from theEast and raw materials to Rome. Italiancraftsmen made pottery, cloth, glass, andjewelry for the provinces. The profits oftrade and agriculture allowed wealthyRomans to lead comfortable and culturedlives. Most citizens were poor but they wereconsoled by free grain and public spectaclessuch as chariot races and gladiator fights.

The period of peace and prosperity between27 B.C.E. and 180 C.E. is known as the PaxRomana—the peace brought by Rome.Literature, art, and science flourished.Latin poets like Virgil and Horace and his-torians like Livy celebrated Rome’s great-ness. Doctors and astronomers developedtheories based on the observations madeearlier by Greeks and Egyptians.

But by 200, the Roman empire was threat-ened from inside and out. Christianity wasspreading, especially among poor city folk.Christians refused to fight in the army orto honor Roman gods (including the emper-or who was viewed as a god). They werewidely persecuted and even though theirnumbers were small, their influence wasconsiderable. By 392, Christianity was sowidespread that it became the officialreligion of the empire.

After 192, emperors were appointed by thearmy. Most of them ruled only briefly. Armyfactions fought each other constantly. Thisinternal fighting disrupted trade and indus-try and destroyed harvests and farms.

To make matters worse, Germanic groupswhom the Romans called barbariansbegan to threaten the empire. Rome’s armywas too divided, and its borders too long tobe defensible. Emperor Diocletian recog-nized that it was impossible for one man torule such a vast area and appointed sepa-rate rulers for the eastern and westernprovinces (the empire was formally dividedinto two halves in 395). In 330, EmperorConstantine moved the capital to theGreek city of Byzantium which was easierto defend than Rome. The city of Rome wasfinally conquered in 476, but the easternhalf of the empire survived for another1,000 years.

11A Which forces caused theRoman Empire to expand?

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

11B Which forces caused its decline?

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

Statues of Emperor Augustusshowed him in a heroic pose


The development of belief systems is amajor theme in human history. Belief sys-tems are the structures that groups or indi-viduals create in order to fulfill their reli-gious faith. The table shows five of theworld’s principal belief systems. As the mapindicates, they all originated in southwestor southern Asia. These five religionsevolved over a relatively short space oftime—between 2000 B.C.E. and 622 C.E.The Coach uses two chapters to cover thishistorical period, but these religions aretreated together here so that they may becompared.

12 Which three major religionsoriginated in the Middle East?

A Buddhism, Hinduism, andIslam

B Christianity, Hinduism, andIslam

C Christianity, Hinduism, andJudaism

D Christianity, Islam, andJudaism

13 Unlike the other major reli-gions, Hinduism

A has no holy books

B stresses belief in one God

C was founded after the endof the Neolithic period

D was not developed by any-one that we can identify

The Emergence and Spread of Belief Systems

Buddhism Christianity Hinduism Islam Judaism

FOUNDERS Siddhartha Jesus Christ Unknown Mohammed AbrahamGautama, known and Mosesas Buddha

PLACE AND DATE Northern Palestine India before Arabia PalestineOF ORIGIN India about about 1500 B.C.E. 622 C.E. about

500 B.C.E. 30 C.E. 2000 B.C.E.

HOLY BOOKS Holy Bible The Vedas Koran Torah(Old & NewTestaments)

SYMBOLS Wheel of life Cross Crescent Star of David

BASIC BELIEFS Right thinking, Salvation of Reincarnation; One God, One God, whospeech, and the souls of good or bad Mohammed his gave the lawaction lead to those who fortune (karma) prophet; five to his peopleenlightenment have faith comes from obligations for

in Christ good or bad the Faithfulbehavior

FIVE GREAT RELIGIONS

Black Sea

Arabian Sea

Aral Sea

Caspian Sea

Mediterranean Sea

Persian GulfINDIA

R. Nile

R. EuphratesR

. Tigris

R. Oxus

Indus R.

ARABIA

• Medina

• Mecca

• Jerusalem

The Islamic World in 750 C.E.

Islamic Empire

Byzantine Empire

Arab Trade Routes

*Tours Battle Site

• Rome

Isipatana •

INDIA

Buddhism

Hinduism

Islam

Judaism

Christianity

Unlike other belief systems,Hinduism does not have afounder. It originated in thebeliefs and practices of the peoplewho lived in India before 400B.C.E. From them, Hinduismadopted the belief in several gods(the most important wereBrahma, Shiva, and Vishnu), andin the idea of reincarnation.This teaches that when a beingdies, his/her/its soul is reborn inanother body. This is painful forthe soul which yearns to end the reincarna-tion process by achieving unity with the uni-versal spirit. The kind of body that a soul isreborn into depends on karma. This meansthat the soul of an individual who lives anevil life may be reborn as a lowly creature,but the soul of someone whose life is filledwith good deeds will be reborn into a highersocial class and move closer to universaloneness. Good deeds consist of a life filledwith prayer, self-denial, and the rejection ofworldly goods.

The founder of Buddhism was an Indianprince called Siddhartha Gautama. WhenGautama learned that suffering and povertyexist, he wanted to understand how sufferingcould be ended. After years of meditationand fasting, he reached a new understandingof the human condition. In the Four NobleTruths, he taught his followers:

• all beings suffer—it is part of beinghuman

• people are driven by worldly desireswhich cause the soul to be reincarnated

• by eliminating desire, people caneliminate suffering

• desire can be eliminated by truthful-ness, resisting and freeing the mind of

evil, not harming othersand working for their wellbeing, respecting life, con-trolling one’s thoughts, andmeditation.

Many Buddhist teachings(Buddha means “EnlightenedOne”) are derived from Hindubeliefs. But the Buddha did notbelieve in the Hindu gods whobrought warfare and good for-tune, nor in the Hindu varna

system which teaches that a person’s des-tiny depends on the caste into which he orshe is born. Hinduism is deeply rooted inIndian cultural practices and did not spreadmuch beyond India. But Buddhist monkscarried their master’s ideas to China, Japan,Indochina, and Korea.

14A Which of the Hindu beliefs didBuddhists share?

_______________________________________

14B Did the Buddhist version of thisbelief differ from the Hindu ver-sion? If so, how?

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

14C Which Hindu beliefs didBuddhists NOT share?

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

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Hinduism and Buddhism

SiddharthaGautama,the Buddha


Judaism is the faith of the Jewish people.It is based upon a compact between Godand the ancient Israelites that is describedin the Bible. In return for worshiping Himonly and obeying His laws, God promisedspecial honor to the Jewish people and ahomeland in Canaan (Palestine).

The first five books of the Bible are knownas the Torah. They describe the early his-tory of the Israelites and the religious andethical laws received by the prophet Mosesat Mount Sinai. The Torah teaches thatman is made in God’s image and is there-fore uniquely precious. It stresses that peo-ple have a commitment to obey the law andto work with God for the betterment ofmankind. Other books of the Bible describethe teachings of prophets who, acting asGod’s spokesmen, urged the Israelites toremain faithful to Him or be punished.

The Jews were driven from Palestine first bythe Assyrians and Chaldeans, and then, fol-lowing an unsuccessful rebellion in 132 C.E.,by the Romans. After this latter exile, com-munities of Jews were scattered around theMediterranean and the Middle East. Butthey continued to study the Torah in homeand in special schools called yeshivas.Between 200 and 500, learned rabbis wrotecommentaries on the Torah. The Talmud isa collection of these writings.

Jesus was a Jew who was raised inPalestine. He preached that God was for-

giving and compassionate when peoplerepented of their sins, and that peopleshould behave with loving kindnesstowards each other. Jesus claimed that hewas the son of God, and the followers ofJesus believed he was the messiah, thesavior of the Jews. This troubled Romanrulers who feared he might cause politicalunrest. Accordingly, he was crucified in 33C.E.; but Christians believe that he rosefrom the dead after three days.

While Jesus lived, his followers were Jewswho remained within Judaism. After hisdeath, the apostle Paul spread his messageamong gentiles. He preached that God sentJesus to bring salvation to mankind. Paulpreached to small Christian communities(after his death, Jesus was known as Christ)in the Mediterranean world; the apostlePeter allegedly set up a church in Rome.Many Christians including Paul and Peterwere martyred (killed for their beliefs). Butthe faith became legal in the Empire in 322and spread throughout Europe. Europeanmissionaries later spread the teachings ofChristianity through Asia, America, andother parts of the world.

15A Identify one belief shared byJudaism and Christianity.

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

15B What did the Apostle Paul tellpeople about Jesus?

_______________________________________

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Judaism and Christianity

A typicalChristian paint-

ing of Jesusteaching his

followers


In 613, an Arab named Mohammed beganpreaching in the city of Mecca. He taughtthat there was one God whom everyoneshould worship and obey, that those whobelieved in God were equal, that the richshould share their wealth with the poor,and that God judged people according totheir deeds. Most Meccans opposed theseideas, so Mohammed and his followers wentto Yathrib which became the center of Islamunder its new name, Medina. In the MedinaCompact, Mohammed decreed that thecommunity would be ruled by the law andscriptures he had received from God (theywere later recorded in the Koran). As judgeand commander, he would settle all disputes.

Islam spread first to Mecca, then acrossArabia, and then throughout the MiddleEast and beyond. The murder of the fourthcalif and his son (Mohammed’s descendant)by the troops of the Umayyad calif caused adeep division within the faith. A majority ofMoslems (Sunni) believed that any devoutMoslem could serve as calif. The Shiitesstressed the spiritual aspects of leadershipand insisted that only Mohammed’s descen-dants could be califs. The division continuestoday; the Shiites, who live mainly in Iranand Iraq, stress suffering and martyrdomas the hallmarks of Islam.

The Koran teaches similar moral values toJudaism and Christianity: kindness to oth-ers and condemnation of cruel and criminalbehavior. It decrees that the word ofMohammed is law in private and public lifeand it lists the Five Pillars of Islam, thefive duties all Moslems must follow:

• Faith in one God, the God of Christians, Jews,and Moslems, whose prophets include Mosesand Jesus, and the last and greatest of them,Mohammed

• Prayer offered five times a day in the direc-tion of Mecca

• Alms-giving to the poor

• Fasting during the month of Ramadan

• Annual pilgrimage to Mecca (the hajj)

The Koran also includes laws relating todiet, family life, and property ownership.

16 Which event was the mostimportant for Shiite Moslems?

A Mohammed’s journey toMedina

B the murder of Ali and his son

C the spread of Islam beyondthe Middle East

D the victory of the Abbasids

Islam

Milestones in the History of Islam

622 Hijrah to Yathrib

�632 Moham- med dies; Abu Bakr first calif

�

600 650

700

750

700 1250

630 Mecca

becomes Islam's

spiritual center

624 Medina

Compact

631 Islam spreads across Arabia

�661 Calif Ali killed; Umayyad dynasty begins

680 Ali's son, Hussein,

murdered; split between Sunni and

Shiite Moslems

716 Moslems conquer

Spain

732 Moslem

defeat at Battle of Tours halts

spread of Islam into France

747 Umayyads defeated; Abbasid califate

at Baghdad

�635 Koran compiled

800

786–809 Calif Harun

al-Rashid makes non-Arabs equal with Arabs

1258 Mongols destroy Baghdad; end of Abbasid califate

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