Duiker William J., Spielvogel Jackson J. The Essential World History
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ONE OF THE MOST di cult challenges in study-
ing world history is coming to grips with the multitude
of names, words, and phrases in unfamiliar languages.
Unfortunately, this problem has no easy solution. We have
tried to alleviate the di culty, where possible, by provid-
ing an English- language translation of foreign words or
phrases, a glossary, and a pronunciation guide. e issue is
especially complicated in the case of Chinese because two
separate systems are commonly used to transliterate the
spoken Chinese language into the Roman alphabet. e
Wade- Giles system, invented in the nineteenth century,
was the most frequently used until recent years, when the
pinyin system was adopted by the People’s Republic of
China as its own o cial form of transliteration. We have
opted to use the latter, as it appears to be gaining accep-
tance in the United States, but the initial use of a Chinese
word is accompanied by its Wade- Giles equivalent in pa-
rentheses for the bene t of those who may encounter the
term in their outside reading.
In our examination of world history, we also need to be
aware of the dating of time. In recording the past, histori-
ans try to determine the exact time when events occurred.
World War II in Europe, for example, began on September
1, 1939, when Adolf Hitler sent German troops into Poland,
and ended on May 7, 1945, when Germany surrendered. By
using dates, historians can place events in order and try to
determine the development of patterns over periods of time.
If someone asked you when you were born, you would
reply with a number, such as 1991. In the United States, we
would all accept that number without question, because it
is part of the dating system followed in the Western world
(Europe and the Western Hemisphere). In this system,
events are dated by counting backward or forward from
the birth of Christ (assumed to be the year 1). An event
that took place 400 years before the birth of Christ would
most commonly be dated 400 b.c. (before Christ). Dates
a er the birth of Christ are labeled as a.d. ese letters
stand for the Latin words anno domini, which mean “in
the year of the Lord” (or the year of the birth of Christ).
us, an event that took place 250 years a er the birth of
Christ is written a.d. 250, or in the year of the Lord 250. It
can also be written as 250, just as you would not give your
birth year as a.d. 1991, but simply 1991.
Some historians now prefer to use the abbreviations
b.c.e. (“before the common era”) and c.e. (“common era”)
instead of b.c. and a.d. is is especially true of world his-
torians who prefer to use symbols that are not so Western
or Christian oriented. e dates, of course, remain the
same. us, 1950 b.c.e. and 1950 b.c. would be the same
year, as would a.d. 40 and 40 c.e. In keeping with the cur-
rent usage by many world historians, this book will use the
terms b.c.e. and c.e.
Historians also make use of other terms to refer to
time. A decade is 10 years; a century is 100 years; and
a millennium is 1,000 years. e phrase fourth century
b.c.e. refers to the fourth period of 100 years counting
backward from 1, the assumed date of the birth of Christ.
Since the rst century b.c.e would be the years 100 b.c.e.
to 1 b.c.e., the fourth century b.c.e would be the years 400
b.c.e. to 301 b.c.e. We could say, then, that an event in 350
b.c.e. took place in the fourth century b.c.e.
e phrase fourth century c.e. refers to the fourth pe-
riod of 100 years a er the birth of Christ. Since the rst
period of 100 years would be the years 1 to 100, the fourth
period or fourth century would be the years 301 to 400.
We could say, then, for example, that an event in 350 took
place in the fourth century. Likewise, the rst millennium
b.c.e refers to the years 1000 b.c.e to 1 b.c.e; the second
millennium c.e refers to the years 1001 to 2000.
e dating of events can also vary from people to peo-
ple. Most people in the Western world use the Western
calendar, also known as the Gregorian calendar a er Pope
Gregory XIII who re ned it in 1582. e Hebrew calen-
dar, on the other hand, uses a di erent system in which
the year 1 is the equivalent of the Western year 3760
b.c.e., considered by Jews to be the date of the creation of
the world. us, the Western year 2010 is the year 5770 on
the Jewish calendar. e Islamic calendar begins year 1
on the day Muhammad ed Mecca, which is the year 622
on the Western calendar.
A NOTE TO STUDENTS ABOUT LANGUAGES
AND THE DATING OF TIME
xxx
ASTRONOMERS INVESTIGATE THE universe through
telescopes. Biologists study the natural world by collecting
plants and animals in the eld and then examining them
with microscopes. Sociologists and psychologists study
human behavior through observation and controlled lab-
oratory experiments.
Historians study the past by examining historical “evi-
dence” or “source” materials—church or town records, let-
ters, treaties, advertisements, paintings, menus, literature,
buildings, clothing—anything and everything written or
created by our ancestors that give clues about their lives
and the times in which they lived.
Historians refer to written materials as “documents.” is
textbook contains excerpts from more than one hundred
documents—some in shaded boxes and others in the text
narrative itself. Every chapter includes not only several selec-
tions from documents but also a number of photographs of
buildings, paintings, and other kinds of historical evidence.
As you read each chapter, the more you examine all
this “evidence,” the better you will understand the main
ideas of the course. is introduction to studying histori-
cal evidence and the Discovery features at the end of each
chapter will help you learn how to look at evidence the
way your instructor does. e better you become at read-
ing and analyzing evidence, the better the grade you will
earn in your course.
Source Material Comes in Two Main Types:
Primary and Secondary
“Primary” evidence is material that comes to us exactly as
it le the pen of the person who wrote or created it. Letters
between King Louis XIV of France and the king of Tonkin
(now Vietnam) are primary evidence (p. 354). So is the
court transcript of a witchcra trial in France (p. 372), a
poem by Shakespeare, or a diagram of the solar system
drawn by Copernicus (p. 437).
“Secondary” evidence is an account by someone about
the life or activity of someone else. A story about Abraham
Lincoln written by his secretary of war would give us pri-
mary source information about Lincoln by someone who
knew him. Re ections about Lincoln’s presidency written
by a historian might give us insights into how, for example,
Lincoln governed during wartime. But because the historian
did not know Lincoln rsthand, we would consider this in-
formation a secondary source of information about Lincoln.
Secondary sources such as historical essays (and textbooks!)
can therefore be very helpful in understanding the past. But
it is important to remember that a secondary source can re-
veal as much about its author as it does about its subject.
Reading Documents
We will turn to a speci c document in a moment and ana-
lyze it in some detail. For now, however, the following are
a few basic questions to consider—and to ask yourself—as
you read any written document:
Who wrote it? e authors of this textbook answer 1.
this question for you at the beginning of each docu-
ment in the book. But your instructors may give you
other documents to read, and the authorship of each
document is the rst question you need to answer.
What do we know about the author of the document? 2.
e more you know about the author, the better and
more reliable the information you can extract from
the document.
Is it a primary or a secondary document?3.
When was the document written?4.
What is the purpose of the document? Closely tied 5.
to the question of document type is the document’s
purpose. A work of ction might have been written
to entertain, whereas an o cial document was writ-
ten to convey a particular law or decree to subjects,
citizens, or believers.
Who was the intended audience? A play was meant 6.
to be performed, whereas Martin Luther’s Ninety- ve
eses were posted publicly.
Can you detect a bias in the document? As the two 7.
documents on the siege of Jerusalem (p. 168) sug-
gest, rsthand accounts of the Crusades written by
Christians and Muslims tend to di er. Each may be
“accurate” as far as the writer is concerned, but your
job as a historian is to decide whether this written
evidence gives a reliable account of what happened.
You cannot always believe everything you read, but
the more you read, the more you can decide what is,
in fact, accurate.
STUDYING FROM PRIMARY
SOURCE MATERIALS
xxxi
xxxii STUDYING FROM PRIMARY SOURCE MATERIALS
“Reading” and Studying
Photographs and Artwork
is book pays close attention to primary source and writ-
ten documents, but contemporary illustrations can also be
analyzed to provide understanding of a historical period.
A historian might study a painting like the one of a
medieval town (p. 297) to learn more about life in a me-
dieval town. e more you learn about medieval social
history, the more information this painting will reveal.
To help you look at and interpret art like a historian, ask
yourself the following questions:
By looking closely at just the buildings, what do you 1.
learn about the nature of medieval town dwellings
and the allotment of space within the town? Why
were medieval towns arranged in this fashion? How
does this di er from modern urban planning?
By examining the various activities shown, what do 2.
you learn about the kinds of groups that might be
found in a medieval town? What do you learn about
medieval methods of production? How do they di er
from modern methods of production? What di er-
ence would this make in the nature of community
organization and life?
Based on what the people in the street are wearing, 3.
what do you judge to be their economic status? Are
they typical of people in a medieval town? Why or
why not?
What do you think the artist who created this picture 4.
was trying to communicate about life in a medieval
town? Based on your knowledge of medieval towns,
would you agree with the artist’s assessment? Why or
why not?
What do you think was the social class of the artist? 5.
Why?
Reading and Studying Maps
Historical events do not just “happen.” ey happen in a
speci c place. It is important to learn all you can about
that place, and a good map can help you do this.
Your textbook includes several kinds of maps. e
pullout map of the world bound into the inside front cover
of the textbook is a good place to start. Map basics include
taking care to read and understand every label on each
map you encounter. e textbook’s pullout map has labels
for the following kinds of information, each of which is
important:
Names of countries1.
Names of major cities2.
Names of oceans and other large bodies of water3.
Names of rivers4.
Longitude and latitude. Lines of longitude extend 5.
from the North Pole to the South Pole; one such line
intersects Iceland in the top le (or northwest) corner
of the map. Lines of latitude circle the globe east to
west and intersect lines of longitude. ese imaginary
lines place countries and oceans in their approximate
setting on the face of the earth. Not every map in-
cludes latitude and longitude.
Mileage scale. A mileage scale shows how far, in 6.
miles and kilometers, each location is from other
locations.
Most Maps Include ree Basic Types
of Information
e boundaries of countries, cities, empires, and 1.
other kinds of “political” information. A good map
shows each political division in a di erent color to
make them all easy to nd. e color of each region
or country is the decision of the mapmaker (also
known as a cartographer).
Mountains, oceans, rivers, and other “physical” or 2.
“topographic” information. e mountains on this
map appear as wavy lines: Ethiopia and the west-
ern United States are mountainous; Sudan and
Kazakhstan are at.
Latitude, longitude, a mileage scale, and other in-3.
formation. ese elements help the reader place the
information in some kind of context. Some maps
include an N with an arrow that points north. Most
maps show northern areas (Alaska, Norway, etc.) at
the top, but a map that does not do so is not wrong.
But if an N arrow appears on the map, be sure you
know where north is.
“Political” information tends to change a great deal
over time. For example, a er a major war, the boundar-
ies of countries may change if the winners expand their
territory. “Physical” information changes slowly. Latitude,
north, distances, and the like do not change.
In addition, maps may include many other types of
information such as the way a disease spread, the loca-
tion of cathedrals and universities, or trade routes. ere
is hardly any limit to the kinds of information a map
can show, and the more information a map can display
clearly, the more useful it is. A good map will include a
boxed “legend” stating the information that makes the
map useful. e more detailed the map, the more infor-
mation the mapmaker should provide in the legend.
Again, note that only the “physical” features
shown on a map, such as the oceans, lakes, rivers, and
Studying from Primary Source Materials xxxiii
proximity of two or more ideas. Map 14.2 (p. 340) shows
the routes of several voyages of the sixteenth and seven-
teenth centuries. Note that the boxed legend associates the
color of a route (shown as a line) with its nation of ori-
gin. is map makes it possible to see a number of useful
things at a glance that would otherwise take several maps
to depict, including:
Where each voyage began. Note the places that 1.
launched the most voyages and those that launched
none.
How long each voyage was. Note the mileage scale.2.
Which route each explorer took. Note the letters la-3.
beling each line.
e trading cities that were established. Which nation 4.
established the most?
e location of the trade winds. What e ect would 5.
they have had on voyages, such as Vasco da Gama’s?
Another kind of movement appears in Map 9.3 (p. 213).
is map shows the spread of religions in southern and
eastern Asia between 600 and 1900 c.e. Using the legend,
trace the movement of each major religion.
Putting It Together: Reading and
Studying Documents, Supported
by Maps and Images
Learning to read a document is no di erent from learn-
ing to read a restaurant menu. e more you practice, the
quicker your eyes will nd the lobster and pastries.
Let’s Explore a Pair of Primary Sources
As the introduction to the reading on the next page makes
clear, King Louis XIV of France is writing to the king of
mountains, really exist in nature. As mentioned earlier,
they are relatively changeless. All other features shown
on maps are created by human beings and change fairly
o en. e maps you see here and on the next page all
show the same familiar “boot,” which we call Italy. But
over the centuries all or part of this landmass has also
been called Latium, Campania, the duchy of Benevento,
the kingdom of Lothair, the Papal States, the kingdom of
Sicily, Tuscany, Lombardy, Piedmont, Savoy, and nally,
in 1870, Italy. People and places change; mountains and
oceans do not, at least not very much or very quickly.
Whenever you have trouble nding a region or a place
on a map, look for a permanent feature to help you get
your bearings.
In addition to kingdoms, cities, and mountains, maps
can show movements, developments, or the physical
Ancient Italy
Europe in the High Middle Ages
Europe in 1763
xxxiv STUDYING FROM PRIMARY SOURCE MATERIALS
the letter he receives from his fel-
low king.
e following questions are the
kinds of questions your instructor
would ask about the document.
Why does Louis refer to the 1.
king of Tonkin, whom he had
never met, as his “very dear
and good friend” (line 2)? Do
you think that this French king
would have begun a conversa-
tion with, say, a French shop-
keeper in quite the same way? If
not, why does he identify more
with a fellow king than with a
fellow Frenchman?
How o en do you think the 2.
king of France had to persuade
Tonkin to ask permission to send
Christian missionaries to Southeast
Asia. But this exchange of letters
tells a great deal more than that.
Before you read this document,
take a careful look at the portrait of
Louis XIV (p. 376). As this image
makes clear, Louis lived during an
age of ourishes and excess. Among
many other questions, including
some that appear later, you may
ask yourself how Louis’s manner of
writing re ects the public presenta-
tion you see in his portrait.
Your textbook does not show
a corresponding portrait of the
king of Tonkin, but you might try
to create a picture of him in your
mind as you read his response to
Mediterranean
Sea
Adriatic Sea
P
o
R
.
M
A
R
C
H
E
S
U
M
B
R
I
A
Corsica
Sardinia
Sicily
SWITZERLAND
FRANCE
AUSTRIAN
EMPIRE
OTTOMAN
EMPIRE
KINGDOM
OF THE
TWO SICILIES
PAPAL
TUSCANY
MODENA
PIEDMONT
SAVOY
LOMBARDY
VENETIA
PARMA
ROMAGNA
STATES
Rome
Messina
Florence
Naples
Genoa
Magenta
Milan
Venice
Solferino
Nice
Turin
KINGDOM OF
PIEDMONT
0 100 200 Miles
0 100 200 300 Kilometers
Kingdom of Piedmont, before 1859
To Kingdom of Piedmont, 1859
To Kingdom of Piedmont, 1860
To Kingdom of Italy, 1866, 1870
The Uni cation of Italy
A Letter to the King of Tonkin from Louis XIV
Most high, most excellent, most mighty, and most magnanimous
Prince, our very dear and good friend, may it please God to increase
your greatness with a happy end!
We hear from our subjects who were in your Realm what pro-
tection you accorded them. We appreciate this all the more since
we have for you all the esteem that one can have for a prince as il-
lustrious through his military valor as he is commendable for the
justice which he exercises in his Realm. We have even been in-
formed that you have not been satisfied to extend this general
protection to our subjects but, in particular, that you gave effec-
tive proofs of it to Messrs. Deydier and de Bourges. We would
have wished that they might have been able to recognize all the
favors they received from you by having presents worthy of you
offered you; but since the war which we have had for several
years, in which all of Europe had banded together against us, pre-
vented our vessels from going to the Indies, at the present time,
when we are at peace after having gained many victories and ex-
panded o ur Realm through the conquest of s everal important
places, we have imm ediately given orders to the Royal Company
to establish itself in your kingdom as soon as possible, and have
commanded Messrs. Deydier and de Bourges to remain with you
in order to maintain a good relationship between our subjects and
yours, also to warn us on occasions that might present themselves
when we might be able to give you proofs of our esteem and of
our wish to concur with your satisfaction as well as with your best
interests.
By way of initial proof, we have given orders to have brought
to you some presents which we believe might be agreeable to you.
But the one thing in the world which we desire most, both for you
and for your Realm, would be to obtain for your subjects who have
already embraced the law of the only true God of heaven and earth,
the freedom to profess it, since this law is the hig hest, the noblest,
the most sacred, and especially the most suitable to have kings reign
absolutely over the people.
We are even quite convinced that, if you knew the truths and
the maxims which it teaches, you would give first of all to your sub-
jects the glorious example of embracing it. We wish you this
incomparable blessing together with a long and happy reign, and we
pray God that it may please Him to augment your greatness with
the happiest of endings.
Written at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the 10th day of
January, 1681,
Your very dear and good friend,
Louis
Answer from the King of Tonkin to Louis XIV
The King of Tonkin sends to the King of France a letter to express
to him his best sentiments, saying that he was happy to learn that
fidelity is a durable good of man and that justice is the most im-
portant of things. Consequently practicing of fidelity and justice
cannot but yield good results. Indeed, though France and our
Kingdom differ as to mountains, rivers, and boundaries, if fidelity
and justice reign among our v illages, our conduct will express all
of our good feelings and contain precious gifts. Your communica-
tion, which comes from a country which is a thousand leagues
away, and wh ich proceeds from th e heart as a testimony of yo ur
sincerity, merits repeated consideration and infinite praise. Polite-
ness toward strangers is nothing unusual in our country. There is
no t a stran ger who is not well received by us. How then could we
refuse a man from France, which is the most celebrated among
the kingdoms of the world and which for love of us wishes to fre-
quent us and bring us merchandise? These feelings of fidelity and
justice are truly worthy to be applauded. As regards your wish
that we should cooperate in propagating your religion, we do not
dare to permit it, for there is an ancient custom, introduced by
edicts, which formally forbids it. Now, edicts are promulgated
only to be carried out faithfully; without fidelity nothing is stable.
How could we disdain a well-established custom to satisfy a pri-
vate friendship? ...
We beg you to understand well that this is our communication
concerning our mutual acquaintance. This then is my letter. We
send you herewith a modest gift, which we offer you with a glad
heart.
This letter was written at the beginning of winter and on a
beautiful day.
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Studying from Primary Source Materials xxxv
for the “protection” the French were accorded (lines
55–60)? And protection from what?
What reason does the king of Tonkin give for refusing 8.
Louis’s o er of Christian missionaries (lines 61–67)?
He takes care to explain to Louis that “edicts are pro-
mulgated . . . nothing is stable.” What does this suggest
about the king of Tonkin’s attitude toward Louis and
the “incomparable blessing” of faith in the Christian
God? How many French people (or Europeans, for
that matter) is the king of Tonkin likely to have met?
What French person or persons might have already
given the king ideas about Louis and his o er?
Compare the nal lines of the two letters. What sig-9.
ni cance do you draw from the fact that Louis names
the day, month, and year, and the location in which
he writes? Apart from later historians, who in par-
ticular is most likely to have been interested in having
this information? What is the signi cance of the king
of Tonkin’s closing lines?
If you can propose thoughtful answers to these ques-
tions, you will have understood the material very well and
will be ready for whatever examinations and papers await
you in your course.
people to do what he wanted rather than order them
to do so? Who might the people that he had to per-
suade have been?
Note that Louis uses what is known as the “royal ‘we’” 3.
and refers to himself in the third person singular.
When does the king of Tonkin refer to himself in the
rst person (“I”), and when does he refer to himself
in the third person (“we”)?
Why does Louis say that he is writing at this time, 4.
rather than earlier (lines 13–18)?
Why does Louis say that Christian missionaries will 5.
be good for Tonkin and its people (lines 28–33)?
What reason in Louis’s own letter makes you wonder
if converting the people of Tonkin to Christianity is
“the one thing in the world which we desire most”?
Does the king of Tonkin seem pleased to hear from 6.
Louis and by his request (lines 45–55)? How does he
refer to the gi Louis o ers him?
Louis mentions his gratitude for the good treatment 7.
of some French subjects when they were “in your
realm.” What do you think the French were actually
doing in Tonkin? Do you think they were invited, or
did they arrive on their own? How does the king of
Tonkin respond to Louis’s expression of appreciation
PART
I
T
HE
F
IRST
C
IVILIZATIONS AND THE
R
ISE
OF
E
MPIRES
(P
REHISTORY TO
500
C
.
E
.)
1 THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS:THE PEOPLES
OF
WESTERN ASIA AND EGYPT
2 ANCIENT INDIA
3 CHINA IN ANTIQUITY
4 THE CIVILIZATION OF THE GREEKS
5 THE FIRST WORLD CIVILIZATION:
R
OME,CHINA, AND THE EMERGENCE
OF THE
SILK ROAD
FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of years, human beings
lived in small communities, seeking to survive by hunting, fishing, and
foraging in an often hostile environment. Then, in the space of a few
thousand years, there was an abrupt change of dir ection as human beings
in a few widely scattered areas of the globe began to master the art of
cultivating food crops. As food production increased, the population in
such areas grew, and people began to congregate in larger communities.
Cities appeared and became centers of cultural and religious develop-
ment. Historians refer to these changes as the beginnings of civilization.
How and why did the first civilizations arise? What role did cross-
cultural contacts play in their development? What was the nature of the
relationship between these permanent settlements and nonagricultural
peoples living elsewhere in the world? Finally, what brought about the
demise of these early civilizations, and what legacy did they leave for
their successors in the region? The first civilizations that emerged in
Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China in the fourth and third mil-
lennia
B.C.E. all shared a number of basic characteristics. Each developed
in a river valley that was able to provide the agricultural resources
needed to maintain a large population.
The emergence of these sedentary societies had a major impact on
the social organizations, religious beliefs, and ways of life of the peoples
living within their boundaries. With the increase in population and the
development of centralized authority came the emergence of cities.
Within the cities, new forms of livelihood appeared to satisfy the
growing need for social services and consumer goods. Some people
became artisans or merchants, while others became warriors, scholars,
or priests. In some cases, the physical divisions within the first cities
reflected the strict hierarchical character of the society as a whole, with
a royal palace surrounded by an imposing wall and separate from the
remainder of the urban population.
Although the emergence of the first civilizations led to the ap-
pearance of major cities, the vast majority of the population un-
doubtedly consisted of peasants or slaves working on the lands of the
wealthy. In general, rural peoples were less affected by the change than
their urban counterparts. Farmers continued to live in simple mud-
and-thatch huts, and many still faced severe legal restrictions on their
freedom of action and movement. Slavery was still commonly practiced
in virtually all ancient societies.
Within these civilizations, the nature of social organization and
relationships also began to change. As the concept of private property
spread, people were less likely to live in large kinship groups, and the
concept of the nuclear family became increasingly prevalent. Gender
roles came to be differentiated, with men working in the fields or at
various specialized occupations and women remaining in the home.
Wives were less likely to be viewed as partners than as possessions
under the control of their husbands.
These new civilizations were also the scene of significant religious
and cultural developments. All of them gave birth to new religions as
a means of explaining the functioning of the forces of nature. The
approval of gods was deemed crucial to a community’s chances of
success, and a professional class of priests emerged to govern relations
with the divine world.
Writing was an important development in the evolution of these
new civilizations. Eventually, all of them used writing as a primary
means of communication and of creative expression.
From the beginnings of the first civilizations around 3000
B.C.E., there
was an ongoing movement toward the creation of larger territorial states
with more sophisticated systems of control. This process reached a high
point in the first millennium
B.C.E. Between 1000 and 500 B.C.E., the As-
syrians and Persians amassed empires that encompassed large areas of the
ancient Middle East. The conquests of Alexander the Great in the fourth
century
B.C.E. created an even larger , if short-liv ed, empire that soon di-
vided into four kingdoms. Later , the western portion of these kingdoms as
well as the Mediterranean w orld and much of western Europe fell subject
to the mighty empire of the Romans. At the same time, much of India
became part of the Mauryan Empire. Finally , in the last few centuries
B.C.E.,
the Qin and Han dynasties of China created a unified Chinese empire.
At first, these new civilizations had relatively little contact with
peoples in the surrounding regions. But there is growing evidence that
a pattern of regional trade had begun to dev elop in the Middle East, and
probably in southern and eastern Asia as well, at a very early date. As the
population increased, the volume of trade undoubtedly rose with it, and
the new civilizations began to move outward to acquire new lands and
access to needed resources. As they expanded, they began to encounter
peoples along the periphery of their growing empires.
Not much evidence has survived to chronicle the nature of these
first encounters, but it is likely that the results varied widely according
to time and place. In some cases, the growing civilizations found it
relatively easy to absorb isolated communities of agricultural or food-
gathering peoples whom they encountered. Such was the case in
southern China and in the southern part of the South Asian peninsula.
But in other instances, notably among the nomadic or seminomadic
peoples in central and northeastern Asia, the problem was more
complicated and often resulted in bitter and extended conflict.
Contacts between these nomadic or seminomadic peoples and
settled civilizations probably developed gradually over an extended pe-
riod of time. Often the relationship , at least at the outset, was mutually
beneficial, as each needed goods produced by the other. Nomadic peo-
ples in Central Asia also served as an important conduit for goods and
ideas between sedentary civilizations and were transporting goods over
long distances as early as 3000
B.C.E. Overland trade throughout south-
western Asia was already well established by the third millennium
B.C.E.
Eventually, the relationship between the settled peoples and the
nomadic peoples became increasingly characterized by conflict. Where
conflict occurred, the governments of the sedentary civilizations used a
variety of techniques to resolve the problem, including negotiations,
conquest, or alliance with other pastoral peoples to isolate their pri-
mary tormentors.
In the end, these early civilizations collapsed not only as a result
of nomadic invasions but also because of their own weaknesses, which
made them increasingly vulnerable to attacks along the frontier. Some
of their problems were political, and others were related to climatic
change or environmental problems.
The fall of the ancient empires did not mark the end of civili-
zation, of course, but rather was a transition to a new stage of in-
creasing complexity in the evolution of human society.
c Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY
THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS AND THE RISE OF EMPIR ES (PREHISTORY TO 500 C.E.) 1
CHAPTER 1
THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS: THE PEOPLES
OF WESTERN ASIA AND EGYPT
CHAPTER OUTLINE
AND FOCUS QUESTIONS
The First Humans
Q
How did the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages differ, and
how did the Neolithic Revolution affect the lives of men
and women?
The Emergence of Civilization
Q
What are the characteristics of civ ilization, and where
did the first civilizations emerge?
Civilization in Mesopotamia
Q
How are the chief characteristics of civilization evident
in ancient Mesopotamia?
Egyptian Civilization: ‘‘The Gift of the Nile’’
Q
What are the basic features of the three major periods
of Egyptian history? What elements of continuity are
evident in the three periods? What are their major
differences?
New Centers of Civilization
Q
What was the significance of the Indo-Europeans? How
did Judaism differ from the religions of Mesopotamia
and Egypt?
The Rise of New Empires
Q
What methods and institutions did the Assyrians and
Persians use to amass and maintain their respective
empires?
CRITICAL THINKING
Q
In what ways were the civilizations of Mesopotamia and
North Africa alike? In what ways were they different?
What accounts for the similarities and differences?
Ruins of the ancient Sumerian city of Uruk
c
Nik Wheeler/CORBIS
2
IN 1849, A DARING YOUNG ENGLISHMAN made a
hazardous journey into the deserts and swamps of southern Iraq.
Braving high winds and temperatures that reached 120 degrees
Fahrenheit, William Loftus led a small expedition southward along
the banks of the Euphrates River in search of the roots of civiliza-
tion. As he said, ‘‘From our childhood we have been led to regard
this place as the cradle of the human race.’’
Guided by native Arabs into the southernmost reaches of Iraq,
Loftus and his small band of explorers were soon overwhelmed by
what they saw. He wrote, ‘‘I know of nothing more exciting or im-
pressive than the first sight of one of these great piles, looming in
solitary grandeur from the surrounding plains and marshes.’’ One of
these piles, known to the natives as the mound of Warka, contained
the ruins of Uruk, one of the first cities in the world and part of
one of the world’s first civilizations.
Southern Iraq, known to ancient peoples as Mesopotamia, was
one area in the world where civilization began. In the fer tile valleys
of large rivers---the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia, the Nile
in Egypt, the Indus in India, and the Yellow River in China---
intensive agriculture became capable of supporting large groups of
people. In these regions, civilization was born. The first civilizations
emerged in western Asia (now known as the Middle East) and North
The First Humans
Q
Focus Question: How did the Paleolithic and
Neolithic Ages differ, and how did the Neolithic
Revolution affect the lives of men and women?
The earliest humanlike creatures---known as hominids---
lived in Africa three to four million years ago. Called
australopithecines, or ‘‘southern ape-men,’’ by their dis-
coverers, they flourished in eastern and southern Africa
and were the first hominids to make simple stone tools.
Australopithecines were also bipedal---that is, they walked
upright on two legs, a trait that enabled them to move
over long distances and use their arms and legs for dif-
ferent purposes.
In 1959, Louis and Mary Leakey discovered a new
form of hominid in Africa that they la beled Homo habilis
(‘‘handy human’’). The Leakeys believed that Homo ha-
bilis, which had a brain almost 50 pe rcent larger than
that of the australopithecines, was the earliest tool-
making hominid. Their larger br ains and ability to walk
upright allowed these hominids to become more so-
phisticated in the search for meat, seeds, and nuts f or
nourishment.
A new phase in early human development occurred
around 1.5 million years ago with the emergence of Homo
erectus (‘‘upright human’’). A more advanced human
form, Homo erectus made use of larger and more varied
tools and was the first hominid to leave Africa and move
into Europe and Asia.
The Emergence of Homo sapiens
Around 250,000 years ago, a crucial phase in human
development began with the emergence of Homo sapiens
(‘‘wise human’’). By 100,000
B.C.E., two groups of Homo
sapiens had developed. One type was the Neanderthal,
whose remains were first found in the Neander River
valley in Germany. Neanderthal remains have since been
found in both Europe and the Middle East and have been
dated to between 100,000 and 30,000
B.C.E. Neanderthals
relied on a variety of stone tools and were the first early
people to bury their dead. Recently, some scholars have
suggested that Neanderthals were not a variant of Homo
sapiens but a separate species.
The first anatomically modern humans, known as
Homo sapiens sapiens (‘‘wise, wise human’’), appeared in
Africa between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago. Recent
evidence indicates that they began to spread outside Af-
rica around 70,000 years ago. Map 1.1 shows probable
dates for different movements, although many of these
dates are still controversial. By 30,000
B.C.E., Homo sapiens
sapiens had replaced the Neanderthals, who had largely
become extinct, and by 10,000
B.C.E., members of the
Homo sapiens sapiens species could be found throughout
the world. By that time, it was the only human species
left. All humans today, whether Europeans, Australian
Aborigines, or Africans, belong to the same subspecies of
human being.
The Hunter-Gatherers of the Paleolithic Age
One of the basic distinguishing features of the human
species is the ability to make tools. The earliest tools were
made of stone, and so the early period of human history
(c. 2,500,000--10,000
B.C.E.) has been designated the
Paleolithic Age (the word paleolithic is Greek for ‘‘old
stone’’).
For hundreds of thousands of years, humans relied
on hunting and gathering for their daily food. Paleolithic
people had a close relationship with the world around
them, and over a period of time, they came to know what
animals to hunt and what plants to eat. They gathered
wild nuts, berries, fruits, and a variety of wild grains and
green plants. Around the world, they captured and con-
sumed different animals, including buffalo, horses, bison,
reindeer, and fish.
The hunting of animals and the gathering of wild
plants no doubt led to certain patterns of living. Paleo-
lithic people probably lived in small bands of twenty or
thirty. They were nomadic, moving from place to place to
follow animal migrations and vegetation cycles. Over
the years, tools became more refined and more useful.
The invention of the spear and later the bow and arrow
made hunting considerably easier. Harpoons and fish-
hooks made of bone increased the catch of fish.
Both men and w omen were responsible for finding
food---the chief work of P aleolithic people. Because women
bore and raised the children, they generally stayed close to
the camps, but they played an important role in acquiring
food, gathering berries, nuts, and grains. Men hunted the
wild animals, an activity that often took them far fr om
camp. Because both men and w omen pla y ed important
roles in providing for the band’s survival, scientists hav e
argued that a rough equality existed between men and
women.
THE FIR ST HUMANS 3
Africa, where people developed the organized societies that we
associate with civilization.
Before considering the early civilizations of western Asia
and North Africa, however, we must briefly examine humankind’s
prehistory and observe how human beings made the shift from
hunting and gathering to agricultural communities and ultimately
to cities.