1. c. 600 BCE to c. 600 CE
PERIOD 2:
ORGANIZATION AND
REORGANIZATION OF
HUMAN SOCIETIES

2. Key Concept 2.1. The Development and
Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions
As states and empires increased in size and contacts between
regions multiplied, religious and cultural systems were transformed.
Religions and belief systems provided a bond among the people and
an ethical code to live by. These shared beliefs also influenced and
reinforced political, economic, and occupational stratification.
Religious and political authority often merged as rulers (some of
whom were considered divine) used religion, along with military and
legal structures, to justify their rule and ensure its continuation.
Religions and belief systems could also generate conflict, partly
because beliefs and practices varied greatly within and among
societies.

3. Do Now
We saw the effects of symbolic writing during the first unit on the
earliest civilizations. Using this knowledge, along with your own
thinking, predict what sort of effects writing will have on religious
traditions.

4. I. Codifications and further developments of existing
religious traditions provided a bond among the people and an
ethical code to live by.

5. A. The association of monotheism with Judaism was further
developed with the codification of the Hebrew Scriptures, which also
reflected the influence of Mesopotamian cultural and legal traditions.
The Assyrian, Babylonian, and Roman empires conquered various
Jewish states at different points in time. These conquests
contributed to the growth of Jewish diasporic communities around
the Mediterranean and Middle East.

6. Origins of Judaism and Abrahamic Religions
Judaea

7. Jewish Diaspora
The diaspora began with the 6th century BCE conquest of the ancient
Kingdom of Judah by Babylon, the destruction of the First Temple (c.
586 BCE), and the expulsion of the population.
The Babylonian ruler, Nebuchadnezzar, allowed the Jews to remain
in a unified community in Babylon. Another group of Jews fled to
Egypt, where they settled in the Nile delta. From 597 BCE onwards,
there were three distinct groups of Hebrews: a group in Babylon and
other parts of the Middle East, a group in Judaea, and another group
in Egypt.

8. Babylonian depiction of the Jewish Diaspora.

9. B. The core beliefs outlined in the Sanskrit scriptures formed the
basis of the Vedic religions — later known as Hinduism — which
contributed to the development of the social and political roles of a
caste system and in the importance of multiple manifestations of
Brahma to promote teachings about reincarnation.

10. Origins of Hinduism and Dharmic Religions
Northern India

11. Independent – Hinduism Overview
In order to develop a stronger understanding of Hinduism, please
read the article below and complete the attached thinking questions
Hinduism Overview

12. Collaborative Activity
With your trio groups, please use the resources below to create a
compare-contrast poster, comparing Abrahamic religions (in this
presentation represented by Judaism) and the Dharmic religions (in
this presentation represented by Hinduism).
You must use the guiding questions for the assignment to help guide
your thinking.