The document discusses the Classical period in world history, which ran from around 1000/800 BCE to 500/600 CE. Some key developments during this period included the formation and expansion of major civilizations like China, India, Persia, and the Mediterranean. These classical civilizations established population centers with tens of millions of people, utilized iron technology, and had more contacts with each other than earlier river valley societies through entities like the Phoenicians. The classical period thus saw the emergence of larger, more interconnected civilizations that built upon earlier achievements.

1. The
Classical
Period
in
World
History
Thursday, May 9, 13

2. Periodiza5on:
Classical
Thursday, May 9, 13

3. Periodiza5on:
Classical
• The
classical
period
runs
from
about
1000
or
800
BCE
to
500
or
600
CE.
Thursday, May 9, 13

4. Periodiza5on:
Classical
• The
classical
period
runs
from
about
1000
or
800
BCE
to
500
or
600
CE.
• Some
of
the
key
forma5ve
elements
of
major
civiliza5on-­‐what
historians
call
the
great
tradi5ons-­‐were
forged
in
the
classical
period
and
would
be
ingredients
in
world
history
from
this
point
onward.
Thursday, May 9, 13

5. Periodiza5on:
Classical
• The
classical
period
runs
from
about
1000
or
800
BCE
to
500
or
600
CE.
• Some
of
the
key
forma5ve
elements
of
major
civiliza5on-­‐what
historians
call
the
great
tradi5ons-­‐were
forged
in
the
classical
period
and
would
be
ingredients
in
world
history
from
this
point
onward.
• The
classical
civiliza5ons
were
situated
in
areas
where
river
valley
civiliza5ons
had
flourished
earlier,
although
they
usually
relocated
somewhat
and
always
expanded.
Thursday, May 9, 13

6. The
Classical
Age
• Areas:
China
expanded
from
the
north
to
the
southern
por5on
of
the
Yellow
River,
forming
the
Middle
Kingdom.
Indian
civiliza5on
spread
through
the
whole
subcon5nent,
with
its
focus
now
in
the
Ganges
River
basin
rather
than
the
northwest.
Classical
Mediterranean
civiliza5on
was
located
in
Greece
and
along
the
shoreline
of
the
eastern
Mediterranean
and
ul5mately
spread
westward,
both
in
North
Africa
and
southern
Europe.
Thursday, May 9, 13

7. The
Classical
Age
The
classical
civiliza5on
that
stayed
closest
to
it
river
valley
roots
was
Persia,
which
had
its
center
in
the
Tigris-­‐Euphrates
valley
but
also
spread
more
widely
in
the
Middle
East.
So
the
core
areas
of
China,
India,
Persia
and
the
Mediterranean
are
the
centers
of
the
Classical
Age.
Thursday, May 9, 13

8. The
Classical
Age
Thursday, May 9, 13

9. The
Classical
Age
• The
period
saw
great
ac5vity
and
many
changes.
These
major
civiliza5ons
included
major
popula5on
centers.
Thursday, May 9, 13

10. The
Classical
Age
• The
period
saw
great
ac5vity
and
many
changes.
These
major
civiliza5ons
included
major
popula5on
centers.
• At
its
height,
China
included
54
million
people;
Rome
had
52
million.
*Urbaniza5on
chart
Thursday, May 9, 13

11. The
Classical
Age
• The
period
saw
great
ac5vity
and
many
changes.
These
major
civiliza5ons
included
major
popula5on
centers.
• At
its
height,
China
included
54
million
people;
Rome
had
52
million.
*Urbaniza5on
chart
• It
must
be
noted
that
the
features
that
came
from
the
classical
civiliza5ons
did
not
define
the
whole
world—key
parts
of
northern
Europe,
many
parts
of
sub-­‐Saharan
Africa,
places
in
Asia
(such
as
Japan)
and
the
Americas
are
le`
out.
Thursday, May 9, 13

12. The
Classical
Age
Thursday, May 9, 13

13. The
Classical
Age
• Also
of
note:
The
Classical
socie5es
did
build
on
the
river
valley
kingdom’s
achievements,
but
classical
civiliza5on
differed
in
many
ways:
– Classical
civiliza5ons
are
much
larger.
– All
of
these
civiliza5ons
had
iron
technologies.
Iron
had
been
introduced
around
1500
BCE.
(Thus
the
Assyrian
Empire
was
one
of
the
first
to
use
Iron
and
building
an
Empire
in
the
Middle
East.)
**Metallurgy
– Leaders
saw
advantages
in
terms
of
popula5on
expansion
for
economic
and
military
reasons.
Thursday, May 9, 13

14. The
Classical
Age
• Also
of
note:
The
Classical
socie5es
did
build
on
the
river
valley
kingdom’s
achievements,
but
classical
civiliza5on
differed
in
many
ways:
– Classical
civiliza5ons
are
much
larger.
– All
of
these
civiliza5ons
had
iron
technologies.
Iron
had
been
introduced
around
1500
BCE.
(Thus
the
Assyrian
Empire
was
one
of
the
first
to
use
Iron
and
building
an
Empire
in
the
Middle
East.)
**Metallurgy
– Leaders
saw
advantages
in
terms
of
popula5on
expansion
for
economic
and
military
reasons.
– Places
were
used
to
civiliza5on.
Thursday, May 9, 13

15. The
Classical
Age
• Also
of
note:
The
Classical
socie5es
did
build
on
the
river
valley
kingdom’s
achievements,
but
classical
civiliza5on
differed
in
many
ways:
– Classical
civiliza5ons
are
much
larger.
– All
of
these
civiliza5ons
had
iron
technologies.
Iron
had
been
introduced
around
1500
BCE.
(Thus
the
Assyrian
Empire
was
one
of
the
first
to
use
Iron
and
building
an
Empire
in
the
Middle
East.)
**Metallurgy
– Leaders
saw
advantages
in
terms
of
popula5on
expansion
for
economic
and
military
reasons.
– Places
were
used
to
civiliza5on.
• Classical
civiliza5ons
did
have
numerous
contacts.
*Trade-­‐the
Phoenicians
Thursday, May 9, 13

16. General
Comparisons:
Overview
• China:
From
the
fairly
decentralized,
o`en
landlord-­‐dominated
Zhou
dynasty,
China
made
a
move
to
centraliza5on
under
the
Qin
dynasty
and
even
more
centralized
poli5cal
and
ideological
opera5on
under
the
Han
dynasty
at
the
end
Thursday, May 9, 13

17. General
Comparisons:
Overview
• Mediterranean:
This
area
emphasized
the
Greek
tradi5on
un5l
the
4th
century.
This
was
followed
by
the
period
of
Alexander
the
Great’s
conquests
and
the
Hellenis5c
period,
in
which
Greek
cultural
and
poli5cal
influences
interacted
with
the
tradi5ons
of
Egypt
and
the
Middle
East.
In
its
final
phase,
the
civiliza5on’s
emphasis
shi`ed
to
Rome,
the
republican
period
and
expression
of
the
classical
Mediterranean.
Thursday, May 9, 13

18. General
Comparisons:
Overview
• Persia:
In
the
6th
and
5th
centuries
BCE,
Persia
was
more
important
than
Greece
and
had
established
a
strong,
effec5ve
government.
The
Persian
tradi5on
would
be
par5ally
overshadowed,
however,
first
by
the
conquests
of
Alexander,
then
by
the
conquests
of
Arab
Islam.
Thursday, May 9, 13

19. General
Comparisons:
Overview
• India:
Classical
India
involves
the
story
of
the
in-­‐migra5on
of
Arian
or
Indo-­‐European
peoples,
whose
culture
was
gradually
codified
into
major
works
of
literature
and
religious
philosophy.
Indian,
in
this
second
civiliza5on
period,
seiled
down
into
more
recognizably
coherent
development,
with
a
major
empire
in
the
4th
century
BCE-­‐the
Mauryan
Empire-­‐
and,
at
the
end
of
the
classical
period,
another
major
imperial
statement-­‐the
Gupta
Empire.
Thursday, May 9, 13

20. Cultural
comparisons
(differences)
Thursday, May 9, 13

21. Cultural
comparisons
(differences)
Belief
systems:
• China:
Confucianism
and
Daoism;
on
the
whole
China
was
mostly
secular
Thursday, May 9, 13

22. Cultural
comparisons
(differences)
Belief
systems:
• China:
Confucianism
and
Daoism;
on
the
whole
China
was
mostly
secular
• India:
the
most
spiritual
genera5ng
Hinduism
and
Buddhism.
Science:
• China:
Emphasized
empirical
science
because
of
its
u5lity
to
society
and
the
economy.
• The
Greco-­‐Roman
tradi5on
was
more
theore5cal.
Thursday, May 9, 13

23. Cultural
comparisons
(differences)
Belief
systems:
• China:
Confucianism
and
Daoism;
on
the
whole
China
was
mostly
secular
• India:
the
most
spiritual
genera5ng
Hinduism
and
Buddhism.
Science:
• China:
Emphasized
empirical
science
because
of
its
u5lity
to
society
and
the
economy.
• The
Greco-­‐Roman
tradi5on
was
more
theore5cal.
• India
had
a
strong
tradi5on
emphasizing
mathema5cs.
Thursday, May 9, 13

24. Cultural
Comparisons
(differences)
Thursday, May 9, 13

25. Cultural
Comparisons
(differences)
Poli5cal:
• China:
Created
a
strong
central
government
and
a
large
bureaucracy.
Emphasis
on
key
poli5cal
concepts
that
supported
the
central
government,
specific
training
systems
and
even
exams
for
government
officials.
• India:
Stresses
a
smaller,
decentralized
states
and
placed
less
emphasis
on
poli5cal
ideology.
Thursday, May 9, 13

26. Cultural
Comparisons
(differences)
Poli5cal:
• China:
Created
a
strong
central
government
and
a
large
bureaucracy.
Emphasis
on
key
poli5cal
concepts
that
supported
the
central
government,
specific
training
systems
and
even
exams
for
government
officials.
• India:
Stresses
a
smaller,
decentralized
states
and
placed
less
emphasis
on
poli5cal
ideology.
• Mediterranean:
A
strong
poli5cal
emphasis,
although
its
overall
poli5cal
tradi5on
was
more
decentralized
than
China.
The
Roman
state
was
more
interested
in
the
development
of
a
legal
system
as
a
unifier,
than
massive
bureaucracies.
Thursday, May 9, 13

27. Cultural
Comparisons
(differences)
Thursday, May 9, 13

28. Cultural
Comparisons
(differences)
Social:
• India:
The
Caste
System
Thursday, May 9, 13

29. Cultural
Comparisons
(differences)
Social:
• India:
The
Caste
System
• Med:
Strong
reliance
on
slavery;
slavery
did
exist
in
India
and
China
Thursday, May 9, 13

30. Cultural
Comparisons
(differences)
Social:
• India:
The
Caste
System
• Med:
Strong
reliance
on
slavery;
slavery
did
exist
in
India
and
China
• China:
Under
Confucianism,
developed
a
social
hierarchy
based
on
the
no5on
of
rule
by
wise
people
of
an
upper
class,
with
the
lower
classes
offering
deference
in
return.
Thursday, May 9, 13

31. Cultural
Comparisons
(differences)
Thursday, May 9, 13

32. Cultural
Comparisons
(differences)
Economics
• China:
Depended
on
trade,
but
Confucianism
prompted
a
cultural
bias
against
merchants,
who
were
viewed
with
suspicion
because
of
their
devo5on
to
moneymaking
and
the
possibility
that
they
would
pull
away
from
the
central
poli5cal
and
social
values
of
Chinese
society.
Thursday, May 9, 13

33. Cultural
Comparisons
(differences)
Economics
• China:
Depended
on
trade,
but
Confucianism
prompted
a
cultural
bias
against
merchants,
who
were
viewed
with
suspicion
because
of
their
devo5on
to
moneymaking
and
the
possibility
that
they
would
pull
away
from
the
central
poli5cal
and
social
values
of
Chinese
society.
• India:
Merchants
were
encouraged
to
use
the
Indian
Ocean
as
an
artery
for
foreign
trade.
Thursday, May 9, 13

34. Cultural
Comparisons
(differences)
Thursday, May 9, 13

35. Cultural
Comparisons
(differences)
Technologies
• China:
Would
be
the
most
important
source
of
technological
innova5on
in
the
world.
Most
technologies
would
go
westward.
• India:
Also
success
in
stressing
inven5on—
especially
steelmaking.
Thursday, May 9, 13

36. Cultural
Comparisons
(differences)
Technologies
• China:
Would
be
the
most
important
source
of
technological
innova5on
in
the
world.
Most
technologies
would
go
westward.
• India:
Also
success
in
stressing
inven5on—
especially
steelmaking.
• Med:
Probably
the
least
developed
emphasis
on
technology,
possibly
because
it
tended
to
expand
the
slave
system
rather
than
increase
produc5on
through
tech
development.
Thursday, May 9, 13

37. Why
the
differences?
• China
may
have
focused
on
poli5cal
order
because
of
its
geography.
The
possibility
of
invasion
from
Central
Asia
may
have
encouraged
an
emphasis
on
order
to
ward
off
disrup5on,
but
the
threat
was
not
so
great
that
establishing
poli5cal
order
became
impossible.
Thursday, May 9, 13

38. Why
the
differences?
• India
was
also
affected
by
invasions
and
influences
from
the
outside
world
that
came
through
the
passes
that
lead
through
the
Himalayas
and
northwestern
India.
Indian’s
emphasis
on
ar5s5c
sensuality
and
religious
fervor
could
have
stemmed
from
its
climate.
Thursday, May 9, 13

39. How
did
these
empires
maintain?
Thursday, May 9, 13

40. How
did
these
empires
maintain?
• Economic
integra5on:
e.g.
China
created
canals
to
connect
loca5ons;
Med
leaders
connected
with
grain
growing
regions
of
Africa.
Thursday, May 9, 13

41. How
did
these
empires
maintain?
• Economic
integra5on:
e.g.
China
created
canals
to
connect
loca5ons;
Med
leaders
connected
with
grain
growing
regions
of
Africa.
• Culture
integra5on:
In
the
6th
and
5th
centuries
BCE
all
of
these
groups
introduced
belief
systems.
E.g.
China
and
Confucianism
and
Daoism;
Hinduism
and
Buddhism
in
India;
Zoroastrianism
in
Persia,
philosophy
and
art
in
the
Greco-­‐Roman
world.
Thursday, May 9, 13

42. How
did
these
empires
maintain?
• Poli5cal
integra5on:
The
building
of
imperial
structures
that
would
foster
and
reinforce
economic
and
cultural
coherence.
Thursday, May 9, 13