Ancient past (part 1)

Ancient history

Human history from the earliest records to the end of the classical periods

This article is about history from the beginning of writing. For earlier periods, see Prehistory. For other uses, see Ancient history (disambiguation).

"Ancient" and "Ancient World" redirect here. For the TV series, see The Ancient World (TV series). For other uses, see Ancient (disambiguation).

Ancient history is the aggregate of past events from the beginning of writing and recorded human history and extending as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history covers all continents inhabited by humans in the period 3000 BCE – 500 CE. The three-age system periodizes ancient history into the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age, with recorded history generally considered to begin with the Bronze Age. The start and end of the three ages varies between world regions. In many regions the Bronze Age is generally considered to begin a few centuries prior to 3000 BCE, while the end of the Iron Age varies from the early first millennium BCE in some regions to the late first millennium CE in others.

Well-known ancient artworks, each representing a certain civilisation. From left to right: the Standard of Ur (Sumerian), the Mask of Tutankhamun (Egyptian), the Priest-King (Harappan), the Venus de Milo (Greek), the Sarcophagus of the Spouses (Etruscan), the Augustus of Prima Porta (Roman), a soldier from the Terracotta Army (Chinese), the Haniwa warrior in Keiko Armor (Japanese) and a colossal head (Olmec)

During the time period of ancient history (starting roughly from 3000 BCE), the world population was already exponentially increasing due to the Neolithic Revolution, which was in full progress. According to HYDE estimates from the Netherlands, world population increased exponentially in this period. In 10,000 BCE in prehistory, the world population had stood at 2 million, rising to 45 million by 3,000 BCE. By the rise of the Iron Age in 1000 BCE, the population had risen to 72 million. By the end of the period in 500 CE, the world population is thought to have stood at 209 million. In 10,500 years, the world population increased by 100 times.

Study

Main articles: Archaeology and History

History is the study of the past using sources such as archaeology and written records. Historians divide source texts into two general types – primary sources and secondary sources. Primary sources are usually considered to be those recorded near to the event or events being narrated. Historians consider texts recorded after an event to be secondary sources, and they usually draw on primary sources directly. Historians use archaeological evidence to help round out the written record or when there is no written record at all. Archaeology is the excavation and study of artifacts in an effort to interpret and reconstruct past human behavior.

A fundamental difficulty of studying ancient history is that recorded histories cannot document the entirety of human events, and only a fraction of those documents have survived into the present day. Furthermore, the reliability of the information obtained from these surviving records must be considered. Few people were capable of writing histories, as literacy was not widespread in almost any culture until long after the end of ancient history.

Prehistory

Main articles: Prehistory and Neolithic Revolution

Prehistory is the period before written history. Most of our knowledge of that period comes from the work of archaeologists. Prehistory is often known as the Stone Age, and is divided into the Paleolithic (earliest), Mesolithic, and Neolithic.

The early human migrations in the Lower Paleolithic saw Homo erectus spread across Eurasia 1.8 million years ago. Evidence for the use of fire has been dated as early as 1.8 million years ago, a date which is contested; with generally accepted evidence for the controlled use of fire dating to 780,000 years ago. Actual use of hearths first appears 400,000 years ago. Dates for the emergence of Homo sapiens (modern humans) range from 250,000 to 160,000 years ago, with the varying dates being based on DNA studies and fossils respectively. Some 50,000 years ago, Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa. They reached Australia about 45,000 years ago, southwestern Europe about the same time, southeastern Europe and Siberia around 40,000 years ago, and Japan about 30,000 years ago. Humans migrated to the Americas about 15,000 years ago.

Evidence for agriculture emerges in about 9000 BC in what is now eastern Turkey and spread through the Fertile Crescent. Settlement at Göbekli Tepe began around 9500 BCE and may have the world's oldest temple. The Nile River Valley has evidence of sorghum and millet cultivation starting around 8000 BCE and agricultural use of yams in Western Africa perhaps dates to the same time period. Cultivation of millet, rice, and legumes began around 7000 BCE in China. Taro cultivation in New Guinea dates to about 7000 BCE also with squash cultivation in Mesoamerica perhaps sharing that date. Animal domestication began with the domestication of dogs, which dates to at least 15,000 years ago, and perhaps even earlier. Sheep and goats were domesticated around 9000 BCE in the Fertile Crescent, alongside the first evidence for agriculture. Other animals, such as pigs and poultry, were later domesticated and used as food sources. Cattle and water buffalo were domesticated around 7000 BCE and horses, donkeys, and camels were domesticated by about 4000 BCE. All of these animals were used not only for food, but to carry and pull people and loads, greatly increasing human ability to do work. The invention of the simple plough by 6000 BCE further increased agricultural efficiency.

Metal use in the form of hammered copper items predates the discovery of smelting of copper ores, which happened around 6000 BCE in western Asia and independently in eastern Asia before 2000 BCE. Gold and silver use dates to between 6000 and 5000 BCE. How to make metal alloys began with bronze in about 3500 BCE in Mesopotamia and was developed independently in China by 2000 BCE. Pottery developed independently throughout the world, with fired pots appearing first among the Jomon of Japan and in West Africa at Mali. Sometime between 5000 and 4000 BCE the potter's wheel was invented. By 3000 BCE, the pottery wheel was adapted into wheeled vehicles which could be used to carry loads further and easier than with human or animal power alone.

Writing developed separately in five different locations in human history: Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, and Mesoamerica. By 3400 BCE, "proto-literate" cuneiform spread in the Middle East. Egypt developed its own system of hieroglyphs by about 3200 BC. By 2800 BCE the Indus Valley Civilization had developed its Indus script, which remains undeciphered. Writing in China was developed in the Shang Dynasty dating to the period 1600 to 1100 BCE. Writing in Mesoamerica dates to 600 BCE with the Zapotec civilization.

Chronology

Middle to Late Bronze Age

Main articles: Bronze Age and Cradle of civilization

The Bronze Age forms part of the three-age system. It follows the Neolithic Age in some areas of the world.

The first civilisation emerged in Sumer in the southern region of Mesopotamia, now part of modern-day Iraq. By 3000 BCE, Sumerian city-states had collectively formed civilisation with government, religion, division of labour, and writing.

Early Iron Age

The Iron Age is the last principal period in the three-age system, preceded by the Bronze Age. Its date and context vary depending on the country or geographical region. The Iron Age overall was characterized by the prevalent smelting of iron with ferrous metallurgy and the use of carbon steel. Smelted iron proved more durable than earlier metals such as copper or bronze and allowed for more productive societies. The Iron Age took place at different times in different parts of the world. Axial Age

Main article: Axial Age

The Axial Age is used to describe the history between 800 and 200 BCE of Eurasia, including ancient Greece, Iran, India, and China. Widespread trade and communication between distinct regions in this period, including the rise of the Silk Road. This period saw the rise of philosophy and proselytizing religions.

History by region

Southwest Asia (Near East)

Main article: Ancient Near East

The ancient Near East is considered the cradle of civilisation. It was the first to practice intensive year-round agriculture;[citation needed] created one of the first coherent writing systems, invented the potter's wheel and then the vehicular and mill wheel,[citation needed] created the first centralized governments, law codes and empires, as well as displaying social stratification, slavery, and organized warfare. It began the study of the stars and the sciences of astronomy and mathematics. Mesopotamia

Further information: Mesopotamia and History of Iraq

Mesopotamia is the site of some of the earliest known civilisations in the world. Agricultural communities emerged in the area with the Halaf culture around 8000 BCE and continued to expand through the Ubaid period around 6000 BCE. Cities began in the Uruk period (4000–3100 BCE) and expanded during the Jemdet Nasr (3100–2900 BCE) and Early Dynastic (2900–2350 BCE) periods. The surplus of storable foodstuffs created by this economy allowed the population to settle in one place instead of migrating after crops and herds. It also allowed for a much greater population density, and in turn required an extensive labour force and division of labour. This organization led to the necessity of record keeping and the development of writing.

Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq), with Babylon as its capital.[citation needed] Babylonia emerged when Hammurabi created an empire out of the territories of the former kingdoms of Sumer and Akkad.

The Neo-Babylonian Empire, or Chaldea, was Babylonia from the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. Under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, it conquered Jerusalem. This empire also created the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the still-surviving Ishtar Gate as architectural embellishments of its capital at Babylon.

Akkad was a city and its surrounding region near Babylon. Akkad also became the capital of the Akkadian Empire. The city was probably situated on the west bank of the Euphrates, between Sippar and Kish (in present-day Iraq, about 50 km (31 mi) southwest of the center of Baghdad).[citation needed] Despite an extensive search, the precise site has never been found. Akkad reached the height of its power between about 2330 and 2150 BCE, following the conquests of King Sargon of Akkad. Through the spread of Sargon's empire, the language of Akkad, known as Akkadian from the city, spread and replaced the Sumerian language in Mesopotamia and eventually by 1450 BCE was the main language of diplomacy in the Near East.

Assyria was originally a region on the Upper Tigris, where a small state was created in the 19th century BCE. The capital was at Assur, which gave the state its name. Later, as a nation and empire that came to control all of the Fertile Crescent, Egypt and much of Anatolia, the term "Assyria proper" referred to roughly the northern half of Mesopotamia (the southern half being Babylonia), with Nineveh as its capital. The Assyrian kings controlled a large kingdom at three different times in history. These are called the Old (20th to 18th centuries BCE), Middle (14th to 11th centuries BCE), and Neo-Assyrian (9th to 7th centuries BCE) kingdoms, or periods.

Mitanni was a Hurrian empire in northern Mesopotamia founded around 1500 BCE. The Mitanians conquered and controlled Assyria until the 14th century BCE while contending with Egypt for control of parts of modern Syria. Its capital was Washukanni, whose precise location has not been determined by archaeologists. Iranian people

Further information: Achaemenid Empire and History of Iran

The Medes and Persians were peoples who had appeared in the Iranian plateau around 1500 BCE. Both peoples spoke Indo-European languages and were mostly pastoralists with a tradition of horse archery. The Medes established their own Median Empire by the 6th century BC, having defeated the Neo-Assyrian Empire with the Chaldeans in 614 BCE.

The Achaemenid Empire was founded by Cyrus the Great, who first became king of the Persians, then conquered the Medes, Lydia, and Babylon by 539 BCE. The empire built on earlier Mesopotamian systems of government to govern their large empire. By building roads, they improved both the ability to send governmental instructions throughout their lands as well as improving the ability of their military forces to be deployed rapidly. Increased trade and upgraded farming techniques increased wealth, but also exacerbated inequalities between social classes. The empire's location at the centre of trading networks spread its intellectual and philosophical ideas throughout a wide area, and its religion, while not itself spreading far, had an impact on later religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Cyrus' son Cambyses II conquered Egypt, while a later emperor, Darius the Great, expanded the empire to the Indus River, creating the largest empire in the world to that date. But Darius and his son Xerxes I failed to expand into Greece, with expeditions in 490 and 480 BCE eventually failing. The Achaemenid dynasty and empire fell to Alexander the Great by 330 BCE, and after Alexander's death, much of the area previously ruled by the Cyrus and his successors was ruled by the Seleucid dynasty. Extent of Iranian influence circa 170 BCE, with the Parthian Empire (mostly speaking Western Iranian languages) in red and other areas dominated by Scythia (mostly Eastern Iranian) in orange.

Parthia was an Iranian civilisation situated in the northeastern part of modern Iran. Their power was based on a combination of military power based on heavy cavalry with a decentralised governing structure based on a federated system. The Parthian Empire was led by the Arsacid dynasty,[citation needed] which by around 155 BCE under Mithradates I had mostly conquered the Seleucid Empire. Parthia had many wars with the Romans, but it was rebellions within the empire that ended it in the 3rd century CE.

The Sassanid Empire began when the Parthian Empire ended in 224 CE. Their rulers claimed the Achaemenids as ancestors and set up their capital at Ctesiphon in Mesopotamia. Their period of greatest military expansion occurred under Shapur I, who by the time of his death in 272 CE had defeated Roman imperial armies and set up buffer states between the Sassanid and Roman Empires. After Shapur, the Sassanids were under more pressure from the Kushans to their east as well as the Roman then Byzantine empire to its west. But the Sassanids rebuild and founded numerous cities and their merchants traveled widely and introduced crops such as sugar, rice, and cotton into the Iranian plateau. But in 651 CE, the last Sassanid emperor was killed by the expanding Islamic Arabs. Largest expansion of Kingdom of Armenia under Tigranes the Great

The Hittites first came to Anatolia about 1900 BCE and during the period 1600-1500 they expanded into Mesopotamia where they adopted the cuneiform script to their Indo-European language. By 1200 their empire stretched to Phoenicia and eastern Anatolia. They improved two earlier technologies from Mesopotamia and spread these new techniques widely – improved iron working and light chariots with spoked wheels in warfare. The Hittites introduced the casting of iron with molds and then hammering it which enabled weapons and tools to be made stronger and also cheaper. Although chariots had been used previously, the use of spoked wheels allowed the chariots to be much lighter and more maneuverable. In 1274 BCE the Hittites clashed with the Egyptians at the Battle of Kadesh, where both sides claimed victory. But in 1207 the Hittite capital of Hattusa was sacked, ending the Hittite Empire.

The Iron Age Kingdom of Israel (blue) and Kingdom of Judah (yellow)

Main article: History of Ancient Israel and Judah

Israel and Judah were related Iron Age kingdoms of the ancient Levant and had existed during the Iron Ages and the Neo-Babylonian, Persian and Hellenistic periods. The name Israel first appears in the stele of the Egyptian pharaoh Merneptah around 1209 BCE. This "Israel" was a cultural and probably political entity of the central highlands, well enough established to be perceived by the Egyptians as a possible challenge to their hegemony, but an ethnic group rather than an organised state.

Israel had emerged by the middle of the 9th century BCE, when the Assyrian King Shalmaneser III names "Ahab the Israelite" among his enemies at the battle of Qarqar (853). Judah emerged somewhat later than Israel, probably during the 9th century BCE, but the subject is one of considerable controversy. Israel came into conflict with the Assyrians, who conquered Israel in 722 BCE. The Neo-Babylonian Empire did the same to Judah in 586. After both conquests, the conquering forces deported many of the inhabitants to other regions of their respective empires.

Following the fall of Babylon to the Persian Empire, Cyrus the Great allowed the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem, and some of the exiles from Judah returned to Judea, where they remained under Persian rule until the Maccabean revolt led to independence during Hellenistic period until Roman conquest.

Others

Main articles: Pre-Islamic Arabia and Ancient history of Yemen

The history of Pre-Islamic Arabia before the rise of Islam in the 630s CE is not known in great detail. Archaeological exploration in the Arabian peninsula has been sparse; indigenous written sources are limited to the many inscriptions and coins from southern Arabia. Existing material consists primarily of written sources from other traditions (such as Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, Romans, etc.) and oral traditions later recorded by Islamic scholars.[citation needed] A number of small kingdoms existed in Arabia from around 100 CE to perhaps about 400 CE.

Phoenicia was an ancient civilisation centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern-day Lebanon, Syria and Israel. Phoenician civilisation was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean between the period of 1550 to 300 BCE. One Phoenician colony, Carthage, ruled an empire in the Western Mediterranean until being defeated by Rome in the Punic Wars. The Phoenicians invented the Phoenician alphabet, the forerunner of the modern alphabet still in use today.

Afro-Asiatic Africa

Carthage

Main article: Carthage

Carthage was founded around 814 BC by Phoenician settlers. Ancient Carthage was a city-state that ruled an empire through alliances and trade influence that stretched throughout North Africa and modern Spain. At the height of the city's influence, its empire included most of the western Mediterranean. The empire was in a constant state of struggle with the Roman Republic, which led to a series of conflicts known as the Punic Wars. After the third and final Punic War, Carthage was destroyed then occupied by Roman forces. Nearly all of the territory held by Carthage fell into Roman hands.

Soo, Ancient past (part 2)

in second book.

Written by : SAUBHIK KESHRI.