How the silk roads brought together in one indivisible unit the Afro-Eurasian landmass, allowing for the peaceful diffusion of religions, letters, arts and cultures.
This document provides an overview of the history and key developments of various ancient civilizations including:
- China, Egypt, Inca, Greece, Rome, Babylon, Persia, Assyria, Indus Valley, Byzantine, African, Arabian, Mayan, Aztec, and Mesopotamian civilizations. For each civilization, it discusses origins, technological/cultural achievements, and important time periods. The document is submitted as part of a course on the history of Western clothing and fashion.
Prc’s geo political cresent strategy controlling a 300 mile arch from littora...GERARD LA TOURNERIE
PRC'S GEO POLITICAL CRESENT MARITIME STRATEGY CONTROLLING A STRATEGIC 300+ MILE ARCH REACHING FROM THE YELLOW SEA, SEA OF JAPAN INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, THROUGH SOUTH EAST ASIA THROUGH THE MULLOCAN STRAIGHTS INTO THE INDIAN OCEAN
The document discusses the achievements of the Qin and Han dynasties in building a cohesive China. The Qin dynasty first unified China under Emperor Qin Shi Huang and established administrative reforms like standardized weights, measures and script. The Han dynasty expanded on these reforms and made economic achievements through irrigation projects and technological advances. It also spread Confucianism and connected with the West through the Silk Road, contributing to China's development.
The Akkadian Empire was centered in the city of Akkad in Mesopotamia, reaching its height between 2400-2200 BC under King Sargon of Akkad. Sargon conquered surrounding regions and established an empire stretching from the Mediterranean to Persia. However, within 100 years the empire collapsed due to invasion by Gutian tribes from the northeast as the region experienced a severe drought.
The document provides information on several ancient empires including the Gupta Empire, Akkadian Empire, Achaemenid Empire, Roman Empire, and Persian Empire. It discusses the origins, key rulers, and extent of these empires. The empires covered spanned different time periods from the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD and regions including India, Mesopotamia, Persia, Europe, and the Mediterranean.
Procedures involved in succession process among asian and african owned businessJohn Johari
The document provides a history of trade from ancient to modern times. It describes how early trade developed along rivers and coastlines, facilitated by advances in transportation like domesticated camels and ships. Key trading civilizations and empires like Phoenicia, Greece, Rome, West Africa, and China established trade routes and hubs that exchanged precious goods and spread religions and ideas over vast regions. The Silk Road opened direct trade between East Asia and Europe. Later, groups like the Vikings, Mongols, and Hanseatic League expanded and protected trade networks across Eurasia and northern Europe.
This chapter discusses the Mediterranean and Middle East from 2000-500 BCE. Key events include the rise and fall of civilizations like the Minoans, Mycenaeans, and Assyrians. The Assyrians built a large empire through conquest but eventually overextended themselves, leading to their downfall. Israel was divided into northern and southern kingdoms and both were later invaded by foreign powers. Phoenicia expanded trade throughout the Mediterranean and established colonies like Carthage. The chapter covers politics, culture, trade, and the interactions between these societies in the ancient Middle East and Aegean regions.
How the silk roads brought together in one indivisible unit the Afro-Eurasian landmass, allowing for the peaceful diffusion of religions, letters, arts and cultures.
This document provides an overview of the history and key developments of various ancient civilizations including:
- China, Egypt, Inca, Greece, Rome, Babylon, Persia, Assyria, Indus Valley, Byzantine, African, Arabian, Mayan, Aztec, and Mesopotamian civilizations. For each civilization, it discusses origins, technological/cultural achievements, and important time periods. The document is submitted as part of a course on the history of Western clothing and fashion.
Prc’s geo political cresent strategy controlling a 300 mile arch from littora...GERARD LA TOURNERIE
PRC'S GEO POLITICAL CRESENT MARITIME STRATEGY CONTROLLING A STRATEGIC 300+ MILE ARCH REACHING FROM THE YELLOW SEA, SEA OF JAPAN INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, THROUGH SOUTH EAST ASIA THROUGH THE MULLOCAN STRAIGHTS INTO THE INDIAN OCEAN
The document discusses the achievements of the Qin and Han dynasties in building a cohesive China. The Qin dynasty first unified China under Emperor Qin Shi Huang and established administrative reforms like standardized weights, measures and script. The Han dynasty expanded on these reforms and made economic achievements through irrigation projects and technological advances. It also spread Confucianism and connected with the West through the Silk Road, contributing to China's development.
The Akkadian Empire was centered in the city of Akkad in Mesopotamia, reaching its height between 2400-2200 BC under King Sargon of Akkad. Sargon conquered surrounding regions and established an empire stretching from the Mediterranean to Persia. However, within 100 years the empire collapsed due to invasion by Gutian tribes from the northeast as the region experienced a severe drought.
The document provides information on several ancient empires including the Gupta Empire, Akkadian Empire, Achaemenid Empire, Roman Empire, and Persian Empire. It discusses the origins, key rulers, and extent of these empires. The empires covered spanned different time periods from the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD and regions including India, Mesopotamia, Persia, Europe, and the Mediterranean.
Procedures involved in succession process among asian and african owned businessJohn Johari
The document provides a history of trade from ancient to modern times. It describes how early trade developed along rivers and coastlines, facilitated by advances in transportation like domesticated camels and ships. Key trading civilizations and empires like Phoenicia, Greece, Rome, West Africa, and China established trade routes and hubs that exchanged precious goods and spread religions and ideas over vast regions. The Silk Road opened direct trade between East Asia and Europe. Later, groups like the Vikings, Mongols, and Hanseatic League expanded and protected trade networks across Eurasia and northern Europe.
This chapter discusses the Mediterranean and Middle East from 2000-500 BCE. Key events include the rise and fall of civilizations like the Minoans, Mycenaeans, and Assyrians. The Assyrians built a large empire through conquest but eventually overextended themselves, leading to their downfall. Israel was divided into northern and southern kingdoms and both were later invaded by foreign powers. Phoenicia expanded trade throughout the Mediterranean and established colonies like Carthage. The chapter covers politics, culture, trade, and the interactions between these societies in the ancient Middle East and Aegean regions.
1) The document summarizes important people, places, works of art and literature from Inner Asia, China, Northeast Asia, and Japan between 620-1185 CE.
2) It describes political changes and developments over time in each region, including the rise and fall of empires and establishment of new governments.
3) Cultural exchange between the regions is discussed, with items like silk, crops and precious goods being traded along the Silk Road, waterways and South China Sea.
The document discusses ancient civilizations that arose in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It describes the Sumerian civilization that developed in southern Mesopotamia between 3000-2000 BC and the later Babylonian civilization in central Mesopotamia. It provides details on architectural features of these civilizations including their use of mud bricks, elevated buildings, and ziggurats. The ziggurat of Ur-Nammu in Ur from 2100 BC is highlighted as an example.
The Bronze Age saw the rise of two important civilizations in Greece - the Minoans on the island of Crete who built an advanced palace civilization at Knossos, and the Mycenaeans on the mainland who came to power after the Minoans declined due to natural disasters and may have contributed to their fall. Both civilizations left lasting legacies through their art, architecture, and myths, though they eventually fell due to invasions and the transition to the Iron Age.
Five Hearths of Urbanization - MesopotamiaMimi Alguidano
Mesopotamia was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (today's Iraq, Syria, Turkey). It was the site of early civilizations like the Sumerians and Akkadians. Major cities included Uruk, Babylon, Nineveh, and Persepolis. Mesopotamian societies were based around agriculture and temples. They developed writing, law codes, and innovations like the wheel. The region was home to powerful empires like the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Persians over thousands of years.
Carthage was a Phoenician state that included, during the 7th–3rd centuries BC, its wider sphere of influence known as the Carthaginian Empire. The empire extended over much of the coast of Northwest Africa as well as encompassing substantial parts of coastal Iberia and the islands of the western Mediterranean Sea.
The Kingdom of Carthage was the major power in the western Mediterranean from its establishment by the semi-legendary Queen Dido in 814 B.C. until its fall following its struggles against the rising Roman Republic. Carthage was one of the great trading powers of the Mediterranean and had relatively few rivals until its fall from grace, namely the Etruscans and the Greek city-states of Sicily and Cyrenaica. Much of Carthage's foreign policy depended on maintaining its mercantile dominance and expanding its control over island territories with which it could base its powerful navies and trade fleet.
The document provides an overview of the ancient Kingdom of Aksum located in what is now Eritrea and Ethiopia. It flourished between 100-940 AD and grew to become a major trading empire, facilitating trade between Rome/Byzantium and India. Aksum adopted Christianity in the 4th century and left behind significant architectural remains including large obelisks and tombs. It minted its own currency and had foreign relations across the Red Sea region and beyond. The document also discusses Aksumite society, culture, and the legend of the Queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon which Ethiopians believe founded their Solomonic dynasty.
The civilization of Ancient Greece emerged into the light of world history in the 8th century BC. Normally it is regarded as coming to an end when Greece fell to the Romans, in 146 BC. However, major Greek, or “Hellenistic”, kingdoms lasted longer than this. As a culture, Greek civilization lasted longer still, continuing right to the end of the ancient world.
During the Yamato Period from 300-710 AD, the Japanese imperial court began promoting the adoption of Chinese culture, including Confucianism, Chinese writing characters, Buddhist sects, art, architecture, and government structure. Prince Shotoku further adopted Chinese cultural influences and created a new government structure through his 17 Article Constitution in 604 AD. The Heian Period from 794-1156 AD saw the growth of large landed estates, flourishing Chinese arts and literature at court, and the development of elaborate court life, literature like The Pillow Book and Tale of Genji, and a gradual move away from Chinese cultural models. The feudal system in Japan was similar to that in Europe, based on loyalty between l
- Ethiopians may have had contact with the Americas before Columbus, as evidenced by the travels of Abu Bakr II, king of Mali who sailed west with thousands of ships in 1310.
- Mansa Musa, who inherited the throne from Abu Bakr II, was Lord of the Mines of Wangara, a global gold trading network dating back to King Solomon that could have facilitated transatlantic trade.
- Evidence suggests Abu Bakr II may have reached the Americas, potentially linking to the later emergence of the Aztec civilization and its cultural similarities to West Africa. The story of Queen Califia of California also shares similarities with Mansa Musa's female guards.
- Ethiopians likely had contact with the Americas before Columbus, as evidenced by the travels of Abu Bakr II of Mali who sailed west with thousands of ships around 1310, potentially reaching the Americas and establishing early Aztec city-states.
- The Wangara mines network, which Mali's Mansa Musa was lord over, had mines scattered worldwide including in Australia, and traded gold globally via routes established since King Solomon's time.
- Mansa Musa's hajj in 1324 allowed Mali to circumvent the Mediterranean-based Radhanite merchants and connect directly east to China, expanding the global trade network.
Ancient history refers to the period from the first civilizations until around the 5th century AD in the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa. Mesopotamia was one of the earliest civilizations located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in modern-day Iraq, where the Sumerians established cities like Babylon around 3000 BC. Egypt also developed one of the earliest civilizations starting around 3000 BC with stable kingdoms ruled by pharaohs. India's earliest civilizations originated along the Indus River valley in cities like Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro in approximately 2500 BC. China is considered the second oldest cradle of civilization after Mesopotamia, with early mentions dating to
The Shang Dynasty ruled from around 1600 BC to 1046 BC and was the first true dynasty of China. It developed a feudal system with the king at the top ruling over clan rulers who governed smaller city-states. Writing was invented during this period, found mainly on oracle bones. The Shang people practiced ancestor worship and ritual human sacrifice.
In 2.0 version of the presentation, I have added several slides on the Srivijaya and of the Chola Empire and reconstruction of the Borobudur ship.
To cover over 2 millennium of maritime trade, in the Middle East, India, SE Asia and China under 50 slides, can only give us the briefest gleam into the course of history. To get the benefit of the slides, you will need to set aside some time to read through the contents. Our perceptions on the maritime contacts are changing too. The discovery in particular of dozens of ancient shipwrecks in Southeast Asia has built up a picture of the historic trade and the technology.
The voyage of the Chinese mariner Zhenghe and his voyages to the Indian Ocean. Until recently it is relatively unknown in the West. When I get started, I found that these spectacular Zhenghe's voyages were only the last brilliant chapter of the Asian Maritime book, before the arrival of the European by sea. As I dig deeper, I discovered dozen of shipwrecks and the achievements went far into the past.
The Srivijaya was the Asian equivalent of the European maritime power, like Venice. Their power was based on the control of the sea-lanes, with a series of ports and they rarely ventured into the hinterlands. This and other powers in Southeast Asia were in turned seeded by an even older maritime power in south India, the Cholas Empire. From India the journey took me further west to the lands of the Arab and Persian, the maritime world of Sinbad the Sailor. Until the arrival of the European and before the development of the Chinese maritime network in the Tang Dynasty, Arab dhows sailed across the ocean and the seas from ends to ends, linking distance people of China to the European. At last, I arrived in Alexandria, the ancient trading hub of the Mediterranean world, a bridge between the East with the West.
In the slides, I have included three incidences of overseas traders being massacred in Chinese history. This is not to put black marks on an otherwise successful Chinese civilisation, but to remind ourselves how history have been sanctified one way or another. History should be a honest account of the past, without distortions and omissions. History is the witness. I hope in these few slides, would help to understanding an aspect of human civilization on Earth. Too often our own ego-centric interest becomes a source of our own ignorance.
The document summarizes the history and culture of Mesopotamia. It was divided into five periods from Sumer to the Persian conquest. Each city/state was initially independently governed by priests, but later large empires formed under military rulers. Mesopotamian society was stratified with kings, priests, nobles, traders, farmers, and slaves. Their economy was based on irrigated agriculture and stock farming, which led to the development of crafts, trade, and money. Culturally, they invented the cuneiform writing system and made advances in mathematics, astronomy, law, and art.
The Indus Valley civilization arose along the Indus River in modern-day Pakistan around 1900 BC and had large, well-planned cities with advanced sewer systems and indoor plumbing. By 1700 BC, the civilization declined for unknown reasons, possibly due to invasion by Aryans, changing weather patterns, or a combination of factors. Early Chinese civilization began along the Huang He and Yangtze Rivers in dynasties like the Xia, Shang, and Zhou. The concept of the Mandate of Heaven justified changes in ruling dynasties and rebellions based on a ruler's wisdom. Chinese society had a feudal system, social classes, ancestor worship, and advancements like writing, silk, coinage
This document provides an overview of ancient art from the Near East region, known as Mesopotamia, between 6000 BCE and 500 BCE. It summarizes the major cultures and developments, including the origins of agriculture in Sumer along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Key contributions of the Sumerians included the earliest writing system of cuneiform pressed into clay tablets, as well as advances in architecture like ziggurats, metallurgy, and urban living. Later empires like Assyria and Babylon continued cultural and artistic traditions in Mesopotamia until the rise of the Persian Empire in 500 BCE.
Here is a 3 sentence response:
The most important contribution made by the ancient civilizations of the Fertile Crescent was the development of bureaucracy by the Persians. By creating a standardized system of administration, taxation, and record keeping to manage their vast empire, the Persians established organizational practices that are still used in governments worldwide today. The bureaucratic structures developed by the Persians have had an enduring influence and allow modern societies to function effectively at a large scale.
Mesopotamia was the first civilization in history located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in modern Iraq, Syria, and surrounding areas. It began as independent Sumerian city-states like Ur and Uruk before being unified under empires like the Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Neo-Babylonian. Mesopotamian society was hierarchical with kings and priests at the top. Their economy was based on irrigated agriculture and they developed writing, mathematics, astronomy, law codes, and architectural achievements like ziggurats and arches. Their polytheistic religion influenced later civilizations.
The Silk Roads were complex networks of trade routes across Eurasia that connected China with Central Asia and the Mediterranean world from around 200 BCE to 1400 CE. They facilitated the exchange of goods, ideas, technologies and religions between civilizations. While silk was an important trade good, many other products like spices, metals, glass and ceramics were also exchanged. The routes were used by nomadic pastoralists, merchants from places like Sogdiana, and travelers like Buddhist monks to transmit Buddhism and other faiths. Over time, different groups like the Xiongnu, Sogdians, Turks, Arabs and Mongols rose to power in Central Asia and controlled sections of the routes, shaping patterns of trade and cultural exchange
Since ancient times, people have been exploring unknown lands and foreign countries with customs and traditions different from their own. This eagerness for something new made people travel, discover new territories, create routes and build roads connecting distant parts of the globe. Merchants’ caravans carrying commodities, ambassadors, explorers and travelers walked along these routes.
Trade, being one of the most significant factors of the historical process, encouraged the interaction of different cultures. At the same time, the representatives of different regions exchanged information from different fields of knowledge: inventions, technologies and crops were borrowed and assimilated. Although separated by long distances, civilizations established a dialogue, enriching each other and giving impulse to further development.
The earliest information about trade relations between different countries dates back to the 2nd millennium bc. At that period there were already trade routes which spanned the Ancient East including Bactria, Media, Persia, Armenia, India, Arabia and Western Asia. In antiquity trade was a risky business, but, on the other hand, it guaranteed a considerable profit in case of success. International trade flourished in peacetime and diminished in wartime, but never ceased.
In the Middle Ages a stable and developed system of international trade routes functioned, connecting almost all the civilizations of the Old World: the Silk Road, the Saharan Trade Routes, the Trade Route from the Varangians to the Greeks, etc. New merchants’ commercial confederations like the Hanseatic League and such city-states as medieval Venice and Genoa came into existence, specializing in international trade. Beginning with the Age of Discovery (since 1475), an opportunity to deliver Indian goods to European ports only by sea has become available. The Manila Galleons, which sailed over the Pacific Ocean from Manila (the Philippines) to Acapulco (Mexico) embodied Christopher Columbus’s dream about trading with the East.
Most of those ancient routes are nowadays not more than objects of historical research, however, some of them — for example, the Saharan Trade Routes or the Great Trunk Road — are still in use, keeping up with the modern pace of life. Trade routes continue their everlasting journey through space and time, connecting countries and being the media of the dialogue of civilizations.
1) The document summarizes important people, places, works of art and literature from Inner Asia, China, Northeast Asia, and Japan between 620-1185 CE.
2) It describes political changes and developments over time in each region, including the rise and fall of empires and establishment of new governments.
3) Cultural exchange between the regions is discussed, with items like silk, crops and precious goods being traded along the Silk Road, waterways and South China Sea.
The document discusses ancient civilizations that arose in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It describes the Sumerian civilization that developed in southern Mesopotamia between 3000-2000 BC and the later Babylonian civilization in central Mesopotamia. It provides details on architectural features of these civilizations including their use of mud bricks, elevated buildings, and ziggurats. The ziggurat of Ur-Nammu in Ur from 2100 BC is highlighted as an example.
The Bronze Age saw the rise of two important civilizations in Greece - the Minoans on the island of Crete who built an advanced palace civilization at Knossos, and the Mycenaeans on the mainland who came to power after the Minoans declined due to natural disasters and may have contributed to their fall. Both civilizations left lasting legacies through their art, architecture, and myths, though they eventually fell due to invasions and the transition to the Iron Age.
Five Hearths of Urbanization - MesopotamiaMimi Alguidano
Mesopotamia was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (today's Iraq, Syria, Turkey). It was the site of early civilizations like the Sumerians and Akkadians. Major cities included Uruk, Babylon, Nineveh, and Persepolis. Mesopotamian societies were based around agriculture and temples. They developed writing, law codes, and innovations like the wheel. The region was home to powerful empires like the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Persians over thousands of years.
Carthage was a Phoenician state that included, during the 7th–3rd centuries BC, its wider sphere of influence known as the Carthaginian Empire. The empire extended over much of the coast of Northwest Africa as well as encompassing substantial parts of coastal Iberia and the islands of the western Mediterranean Sea.
The Kingdom of Carthage was the major power in the western Mediterranean from its establishment by the semi-legendary Queen Dido in 814 B.C. until its fall following its struggles against the rising Roman Republic. Carthage was one of the great trading powers of the Mediterranean and had relatively few rivals until its fall from grace, namely the Etruscans and the Greek city-states of Sicily and Cyrenaica. Much of Carthage's foreign policy depended on maintaining its mercantile dominance and expanding its control over island territories with which it could base its powerful navies and trade fleet.
The document provides an overview of the ancient Kingdom of Aksum located in what is now Eritrea and Ethiopia. It flourished between 100-940 AD and grew to become a major trading empire, facilitating trade between Rome/Byzantium and India. Aksum adopted Christianity in the 4th century and left behind significant architectural remains including large obelisks and tombs. It minted its own currency and had foreign relations across the Red Sea region and beyond. The document also discusses Aksumite society, culture, and the legend of the Queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon which Ethiopians believe founded their Solomonic dynasty.
The civilization of Ancient Greece emerged into the light of world history in the 8th century BC. Normally it is regarded as coming to an end when Greece fell to the Romans, in 146 BC. However, major Greek, or “Hellenistic”, kingdoms lasted longer than this. As a culture, Greek civilization lasted longer still, continuing right to the end of the ancient world.
During the Yamato Period from 300-710 AD, the Japanese imperial court began promoting the adoption of Chinese culture, including Confucianism, Chinese writing characters, Buddhist sects, art, architecture, and government structure. Prince Shotoku further adopted Chinese cultural influences and created a new government structure through his 17 Article Constitution in 604 AD. The Heian Period from 794-1156 AD saw the growth of large landed estates, flourishing Chinese arts and literature at court, and the development of elaborate court life, literature like The Pillow Book and Tale of Genji, and a gradual move away from Chinese cultural models. The feudal system in Japan was similar to that in Europe, based on loyalty between l
- Ethiopians may have had contact with the Americas before Columbus, as evidenced by the travels of Abu Bakr II, king of Mali who sailed west with thousands of ships in 1310.
- Mansa Musa, who inherited the throne from Abu Bakr II, was Lord of the Mines of Wangara, a global gold trading network dating back to King Solomon that could have facilitated transatlantic trade.
- Evidence suggests Abu Bakr II may have reached the Americas, potentially linking to the later emergence of the Aztec civilization and its cultural similarities to West Africa. The story of Queen Califia of California also shares similarities with Mansa Musa's female guards.
- Ethiopians likely had contact with the Americas before Columbus, as evidenced by the travels of Abu Bakr II of Mali who sailed west with thousands of ships around 1310, potentially reaching the Americas and establishing early Aztec city-states.
- The Wangara mines network, which Mali's Mansa Musa was lord over, had mines scattered worldwide including in Australia, and traded gold globally via routes established since King Solomon's time.
- Mansa Musa's hajj in 1324 allowed Mali to circumvent the Mediterranean-based Radhanite merchants and connect directly east to China, expanding the global trade network.
Ancient history refers to the period from the first civilizations until around the 5th century AD in the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa. Mesopotamia was one of the earliest civilizations located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in modern-day Iraq, where the Sumerians established cities like Babylon around 3000 BC. Egypt also developed one of the earliest civilizations starting around 3000 BC with stable kingdoms ruled by pharaohs. India's earliest civilizations originated along the Indus River valley in cities like Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro in approximately 2500 BC. China is considered the second oldest cradle of civilization after Mesopotamia, with early mentions dating to
The Shang Dynasty ruled from around 1600 BC to 1046 BC and was the first true dynasty of China. It developed a feudal system with the king at the top ruling over clan rulers who governed smaller city-states. Writing was invented during this period, found mainly on oracle bones. The Shang people practiced ancestor worship and ritual human sacrifice.
In 2.0 version of the presentation, I have added several slides on the Srivijaya and of the Chola Empire and reconstruction of the Borobudur ship.
To cover over 2 millennium of maritime trade, in the Middle East, India, SE Asia and China under 50 slides, can only give us the briefest gleam into the course of history. To get the benefit of the slides, you will need to set aside some time to read through the contents. Our perceptions on the maritime contacts are changing too. The discovery in particular of dozens of ancient shipwrecks in Southeast Asia has built up a picture of the historic trade and the technology.
The voyage of the Chinese mariner Zhenghe and his voyages to the Indian Ocean. Until recently it is relatively unknown in the West. When I get started, I found that these spectacular Zhenghe's voyages were only the last brilliant chapter of the Asian Maritime book, before the arrival of the European by sea. As I dig deeper, I discovered dozen of shipwrecks and the achievements went far into the past.
The Srivijaya was the Asian equivalent of the European maritime power, like Venice. Their power was based on the control of the sea-lanes, with a series of ports and they rarely ventured into the hinterlands. This and other powers in Southeast Asia were in turned seeded by an even older maritime power in south India, the Cholas Empire. From India the journey took me further west to the lands of the Arab and Persian, the maritime world of Sinbad the Sailor. Until the arrival of the European and before the development of the Chinese maritime network in the Tang Dynasty, Arab dhows sailed across the ocean and the seas from ends to ends, linking distance people of China to the European. At last, I arrived in Alexandria, the ancient trading hub of the Mediterranean world, a bridge between the East with the West.
In the slides, I have included three incidences of overseas traders being massacred in Chinese history. This is not to put black marks on an otherwise successful Chinese civilisation, but to remind ourselves how history have been sanctified one way or another. History should be a honest account of the past, without distortions and omissions. History is the witness. I hope in these few slides, would help to understanding an aspect of human civilization on Earth. Too often our own ego-centric interest becomes a source of our own ignorance.
The document summarizes the history and culture of Mesopotamia. It was divided into five periods from Sumer to the Persian conquest. Each city/state was initially independently governed by priests, but later large empires formed under military rulers. Mesopotamian society was stratified with kings, priests, nobles, traders, farmers, and slaves. Their economy was based on irrigated agriculture and stock farming, which led to the development of crafts, trade, and money. Culturally, they invented the cuneiform writing system and made advances in mathematics, astronomy, law, and art.
The Indus Valley civilization arose along the Indus River in modern-day Pakistan around 1900 BC and had large, well-planned cities with advanced sewer systems and indoor plumbing. By 1700 BC, the civilization declined for unknown reasons, possibly due to invasion by Aryans, changing weather patterns, or a combination of factors. Early Chinese civilization began along the Huang He and Yangtze Rivers in dynasties like the Xia, Shang, and Zhou. The concept of the Mandate of Heaven justified changes in ruling dynasties and rebellions based on a ruler's wisdom. Chinese society had a feudal system, social classes, ancestor worship, and advancements like writing, silk, coinage
This document provides an overview of ancient art from the Near East region, known as Mesopotamia, between 6000 BCE and 500 BCE. It summarizes the major cultures and developments, including the origins of agriculture in Sumer along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Key contributions of the Sumerians included the earliest writing system of cuneiform pressed into clay tablets, as well as advances in architecture like ziggurats, metallurgy, and urban living. Later empires like Assyria and Babylon continued cultural and artistic traditions in Mesopotamia until the rise of the Persian Empire in 500 BCE.
Here is a 3 sentence response:
The most important contribution made by the ancient civilizations of the Fertile Crescent was the development of bureaucracy by the Persians. By creating a standardized system of administration, taxation, and record keeping to manage their vast empire, the Persians established organizational practices that are still used in governments worldwide today. The bureaucratic structures developed by the Persians have had an enduring influence and allow modern societies to function effectively at a large scale.
Mesopotamia was the first civilization in history located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in modern Iraq, Syria, and surrounding areas. It began as independent Sumerian city-states like Ur and Uruk before being unified under empires like the Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Neo-Babylonian. Mesopotamian society was hierarchical with kings and priests at the top. Their economy was based on irrigated agriculture and they developed writing, mathematics, astronomy, law codes, and architectural achievements like ziggurats and arches. Their polytheistic religion influenced later civilizations.
The Silk Roads were complex networks of trade routes across Eurasia that connected China with Central Asia and the Mediterranean world from around 200 BCE to 1400 CE. They facilitated the exchange of goods, ideas, technologies and religions between civilizations. While silk was an important trade good, many other products like spices, metals, glass and ceramics were also exchanged. The routes were used by nomadic pastoralists, merchants from places like Sogdiana, and travelers like Buddhist monks to transmit Buddhism and other faiths. Over time, different groups like the Xiongnu, Sogdians, Turks, Arabs and Mongols rose to power in Central Asia and controlled sections of the routes, shaping patterns of trade and cultural exchange
Since ancient times, people have been exploring unknown lands and foreign countries with customs and traditions different from their own. This eagerness for something new made people travel, discover new territories, create routes and build roads connecting distant parts of the globe. Merchants’ caravans carrying commodities, ambassadors, explorers and travelers walked along these routes.
Trade, being one of the most significant factors of the historical process, encouraged the interaction of different cultures. At the same time, the representatives of different regions exchanged information from different fields of knowledge: inventions, technologies and crops were borrowed and assimilated. Although separated by long distances, civilizations established a dialogue, enriching each other and giving impulse to further development.
The earliest information about trade relations between different countries dates back to the 2nd millennium bc. At that period there were already trade routes which spanned the Ancient East including Bactria, Media, Persia, Armenia, India, Arabia and Western Asia. In antiquity trade was a risky business, but, on the other hand, it guaranteed a considerable profit in case of success. International trade flourished in peacetime and diminished in wartime, but never ceased.
In the Middle Ages a stable and developed system of international trade routes functioned, connecting almost all the civilizations of the Old World: the Silk Road, the Saharan Trade Routes, the Trade Route from the Varangians to the Greeks, etc. New merchants’ commercial confederations like the Hanseatic League and such city-states as medieval Venice and Genoa came into existence, specializing in international trade. Beginning with the Age of Discovery (since 1475), an opportunity to deliver Indian goods to European ports only by sea has become available. The Manila Galleons, which sailed over the Pacific Ocean from Manila (the Philippines) to Acapulco (Mexico) embodied Christopher Columbus’s dream about trading with the East.
Most of those ancient routes are nowadays not more than objects of historical research, however, some of them — for example, the Saharan Trade Routes or the Great Trunk Road — are still in use, keeping up with the modern pace of life. Trade routes continue their everlasting journey through space and time, connecting countries and being the media of the dialogue of civilizations.
During the period from 600 to 1450 CE, several major developments occurred globally. Large religions expanded their influence, while nomadic groups like the Bedouins and Mongols impacted many regions through migration and conquest. A new religion, Islam, arose and spread widely. Empires developed in Mesoamerica, South America, China, and parts of Africa and West Asia. Long distance trade intensified along routes like the Silk Road and Indian Ocean, connecting diverse regions and cultures. The Crusades brought Europeans into global trade networks, and the vast Mongol Empire briefly united much of Eurasia before eventually fracturing.
The document summarizes three major trade routes that connected different regions from around 247 BCE to 400 CE. The Silk Road linked the Mediterranean and China through Central Asia. The Indian Ocean Trade Route connected East Africa, Arabia, India and Southeast Asia. The Trans-Saharan Trade Routes connected the Nile Valley and Guinea in the west through the Sahara Desert. Goods traded included silk, crops, metals, medicines and ivory. The trade routes expanded territories and increased wealth but also spread cultures and technologies. While the trade routes changed over time, the Indian Ocean Trade Route saw relatively little change after being established in the 1st century CE. The trade routes were important connections between people and their continued operation was important for regional economies.
Notes on Central Asian History during 200 BC and its effects on later history, Role of Yuezhi migration in Ancient History of Central Asia, settlement of Yuezhi after migration and various theories about current form of Ancient Yuezhi tribe: (Gurjar/Gujjar/Gujar/Gusar/Gusur/Khazar/Ughar/Gazar/Gusarova)
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of bronze, proto-writing, and other early features of urban civilization.
The Bronze Age is the second principal period of the three-age Stone-Bronze-Iron system, as proposed in modern times by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen, for classifying and studying ancient societies.
During the period from 600-1450 CE:
1. Long-distance trade expanded greatly via routes like the Silk Road, increasing interactions and cultural spread.
2. The Pax Mongolia under Genghis Khan's vast empire brought a period of peace and heightened trade.
3. Major political changes included the fall of classical empires and rise of decentralized states, as well as invasions and migrations that altered world regions.
The Silk Road was a network of trade routes connecting China and Rome that began in the 2nd century BC during the Han Dynasty. It consisted of northern, central, and southern routes across Central Asia that allowed for the exchange of goods like silk, ivory, gold, food, animals, technology, religion, and ideas between East and West. Recent archaeological studies provide evidence that the Silk Road may have been used for trade even earlier and helped connect diverse populations across Eurasia through an important system of commerce and cultural diffusion.
In the Autumn, around 825 AD, an Arabic dhow left the port of Guangzhou (Canton) China and set sail to Gulf area for the Abbasid Empire. The ship was built in Oman and manned by an international crew, including Chinese and Arabs, for a 5 months voyage, leaden with ceramics and treasures. After 2 to 3 weeks later, the ship reached the Java Sea sailing though the treacherous waters around the island of Belitung. It was heading toward Java to pick up some South Sea spices, in exchange of some of its ceramic bowls made in China. It was near the Belitung Island that the heavily laden dhow met its fate and sank with its precious cargo. The wreck laid beneath the waves undisturbed for over 12 centuries, before discovered by a local fishermen diving for sea cucumbers. The wreck was found in shallow water less than 3 km from land and was vulnerable to looting. A team of divers and archaeologists were assembled for the excavation of the wreck. From the wreck, the ship tells a story of China during the 9C and the flourishing maritime trades between China and the countries all along its route to the Middle East.
This document provides an overview of European exploration and encounters with Africa and Asia between 1415-1796. It discusses how the search for spices by Europeans led to the age of exploration, including early Portuguese voyages along the coast of Africa and Vasco da Gama's arrival in India in 1497. It also summarizes the rise and fall of several African kingdoms like Ghana, Mali, and Songhai that controlled the trans-Saharan trade routes, as well as coastal trading kingdoms in West and Southern Africa.
Humans are in born explorers. Throughout history, one of the deepest human impulses has been the
drive to voyages to explore, encounter, and reveal the unknown. The history of exploration is complete
with noteworthy success stories and the unfortunate failures of many explorers. People have always
been curious about the world and this quest for knowledge has driven explorers on bold adventures
throughout the ages. Voyages and Exploration has also been motivated by the desire for wealth and
power, the wish to spread one’s culture and religion, and the need to reach new trading partners. Many
navigational tools and map-making developed over time have enabled explorers to reach these goals.
The earliest civilizations developed around 3200 BC in Mesopotamia and Egypt. The Sumerians settled in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, where they invented the potter's wheel and their ruler Gilgamesh was the subject of one of the earliest works of literature. Egypt's civilization arose in the fertile Nile River valley. The ancient capital of Memphis featured pyramids from the Old Kingdom period that demonstrated Egypt's early prominence. Independent civilizations also emerged around 2500 BC along the Indus River in the cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro in India, and around 1600 BC in ancient China along the Huang He River with the Shang dynasty
The document provides an overview of the Fertile Crescent region located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It describes the early civilizations that emerged there, including the Sumerians around 3200 BC. Key aspects of society, government, religion, and cultural developments in Mesopotamia are summarized, such as the use of cuneiform writing and the later influence of empires like Babylon, Assyria, and Persia in the region.
The document provides information on education and libraries in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. It discusses the time periods and locations of both civilizations, as well as their economic activities, natural resources, and approaches to education. Libraries were important in both societies for preserving knowledge and intellectual works.
The document discusses various migrations and empires in the Mediterranean region throughout history. It describes how the Phoenicians established trading posts and colonies and dominated seafaring in the early period. It then discusses the Greek colonies that expanded throughout the Mediterranean for trade and surplus population relief. Finally, it briefly summarizes the Roman, Islamic, and Byzantine empires and their control and influence over Mediterranean commerce.
Kolokium Siswazah dan Prasiswazah Pengajian Arab dan Tamadun Islam (e-KOSPATI 3.0) 2021
7-9 Julai 2021; SlideShare.net & Channel YouTube
Pembentang Utama: Dr. Izziah Suryani Mat Resad @ Arshad (UKM)
Anjuran:
1. Program Pengajian Arab dan Tamadun Islam (PPATI), FPI, UKM
2. Pusat Kajian Bahasa Arab dan Tamadun Islam (ArabIC), FPI, UKM
3. Duta Pembelajaran Aktif @PPATI-ArabIC, FPI, UKM
4. Kluster Peradaban dan Kepelbagaian Budaya, FPI, UKM
To cover over 2 millennium of maritime trade, in the Middle East, India, SE Asia and China under 50 slides, can only give us the briefest gleam into the course of history. To get the benefit of the slides, you will need to set aside some time to read through the contents (This is a very wordy document. It takes time to read). Our perceptions on the maritime contacts are changing too. The discovery in particular of dozens of ancient shipwrecks in Southeast Asia has built up a picture of the historic trade and the technology.I hope in these few slides, would help to understanding an aspect of human civilization on Earth.
Too often our own ego-centric interest becomes a source of our own ignorance.
This document summarizes trade networks that developed across different regions between 500-1500 CE. It discusses the Silk Roads that connected China, India, the Middle East and Mediterranean societies, facilitating the spread of goods, cultures and diseases. It also describes the Indian Ocean trade network enabled by monsoon winds, and the key role of India. Major port cities emerged in Southeast Asia and East Africa engaged in the lucrative Indian Ocean trade. In West Africa, trans-Saharan trade routes developed using camels, connecting the Mediterranean world with West African empires involved in the gold trade. The Americas had more localized trade due to geographic barriers, but states like the Maya, Aztec and Inca developed important trade networks within their regions.
The document provides a historical overview of pre-Islamic Arabia. It describes how Arab peoples migrated throughout the Arabian peninsula over millennia and adopted the Arabic language. Several important caravan cities developed, such as Petra and Palmyra, due to their strategic locations along trade routes. The region was influenced by neighboring empires like Persia and Rome, and experienced ongoing conflicts between these powers competing for control over trade. By the 6th century, the Arabian peninsula suffered an economic crisis and decline of agriculture.
Similar to The Historical Silk Roads, China and Islam - Part I (20)
Мировая политика как черное и белое: Иран и Израиль, или как люди становятся жертвами намеренно проецируемых на них заблуждений
Содержание
Введение
I. Каждый сектантский подход и каждая сектантская мысль являются порочной ошибкой и нетерпимым поступком
II. Политическая ситуация и международные отношения не определяют природу режимов, правительств и государств
III. Когда дело касается мировых дел, не существует шахматной доски с «черными» и «белыми» клетками
IV. Все СМИ сообщают одну и ту же ложь, меняя только «шахматные наборы»
V. Достоинство иранцев и палестинцев является наиболее спорным вопросом
VI. Вера в обещания, данные врагами, замаскированными под друзей, может оказаться смертельной
VII. Военные и фермеры против королевской семьи и аятолл
VIII. Нет никакой разницы между Ираном и Египтом, когда дело доходит до раболепия по отношению к крупным колониальным схемам
Contents
Introduction
I. Every sectarian approach and every sectarian thought are a vicious mistake and an intolerable act.
II. Political situations and international relations do not define the nature of regimes, governments, and states.
III. When it comes to world affairs, there is no such thing as a chessboard with "black" and "white" squares.
IV. All mass media report the same lies, changing only the «chess sets».
V. The dignity of the Iranians and the Palestinians is a most controversial subject.
VI. Believing promises given by enemies disguised as friends may be lethal.
VII. Military and farmers against the royals and the ayatollahs
VIII. There is no difference between Iran and Egypt when it comes to servility toward major colonial schemes.
За пределами афроцентризма: предпосылки для того, чтобы Сомали возглавила африканскую деколонизацию и девестернизацию
Содержание
Введение
I. Деколонизация и отказ афроцентрической интеллигенции
II. Афроцентристским африканским ученым следовало бы отобрать египтологию у западных востоковедов и африканистов.
III. Западная узурпация африканского наследия должна быть отменена.
IV. Афроцентризм должен был включать в себя резкую критику и полное неприятие так называемой западной цивилизации.
V. Афроцентризм как форма африканского изоляционизма, проводящая линию разделения между колонизированными странами Африки и Азии.
VI. Общая оценка человеческих ресурсов, времени и необходимых затрат
VII. Деколонизация означает, прежде всего, деанглификацию и дефранкизацию.
Contents
Introduction
I. Decolonization and the failure of the Afrocentric Intelligentsia
II. Afrocentric African scholars should have been taken Egyptology back from the Western Orientalists and Africanists
III. Western Usurpation of African Heritage must be canceled.
IV. Afrocentrism had to encompass severe criticism and total rejection of the so-called Western Civilization
V. Afrocentrism as a form of African Isolationism drawing a line of separation between colonized nations in Africa and Asia
VI. General estimation of the human resources, the time, and the cost needed
VII. Decolonization means above all De-Anglicization and De-Francization
What was Ordinary in the Antiquity looks Odd today, due to the Greco-centric Fallacy of the Biased European Colonial 'Academics'
Contents
Introduction
I. Fayoum, Al Bahnasa (Oxyrhynchus), and Ancient Egyptian Papyri
II. Karl Wessely and his groundbreaking research and publications
III. Papyrus fragment 1224 of Karl Wessely's SPP VIII
IV. Βουλγαρικ- (Vulgarik-)
V. Eastern Roman Emperor Maurice's Strategicon and the Bulgarian cloaks
VI. Historical context and the Ancient History of Bulgars
VII. Historical context, the Silk Roads, and Bulgarian exports to Egypt
VIII. Academic context and the Western falsehood of a Euro-centric World History
i- the conceptualization of World History
ii- the contextualization of every single document newly found here and there
iii- the stages of historical falsification that were undertaken over the past 500 years
iv- the forgers themselves and their antiquity
v- and last but not least, several points of
a) governance of modern states
b) international alliances, and
c) the ensuing captivity of all the targeted nations, each one well-adjusted into the preconceived role that the forgers invented for it
Contents
Introduction
I. A fictional concept: the origin of the fraud
II. A construct based on posterior textual sources
III. The deceitful presentation
IV. 5th century BCE texts found in 15th c. CE manuscripts do not make 'History'.
V. Abundant evidence of lies and deliberate distortions attested in the manuscript transmission
VI. Darius I the Great, the Behistun inscription, and Ctesias
VII. The historical Assyrian Queen Shammuramat and the fictional Queen Semiramis of the 'Ancient Greek sources'
VIII. The malignant intentions of the Benedictine liars: from the historical Darius I the Great to the fictional Semiramis
IX. The vicious distortions of the Benedictine liars: from Ctesias to Herodotus
亞里斯多德作為歷史偽造品,西方世界的虛假歷史和腐爛的基礎,金灿荣和他敏銳的評論
Аристотель как историческая подделка, фальшивая история и гнилые основы западного мира, и проницательные комментарии профессора Цзинь Канронга
Contents
I. Aristotle: a Major Founding Myth of the Western World
II. When, where and by whom was the Myth of Aristotle fabricated?
III. The Myth of Aristotle and its first Byproducts: Scholasticism, East-West Schism, the Crusades & the Sack of Constantinople (1204)
IV. Aristotelization: First Stage of the Westernization and the Colonization of the World
V. Aristotelization as Foundation of all the Western Forgeries: the so-called Judeo-Christian Heritage and the Fraud of Greco-Roman Civilization
VI. The Modern Western World as Disruption of History
VII. The Myth of Aristotle and the Monstrosity of Western Colonialism
Introduction
I. Chinese as the First Foreign Language in Egypt
II. Systematic Dissociation and Separation from Western Europe and North America
III. The Egypt - Sudan - Libya Confederation
IV. How the Chinese-Egyptian Alliance will reshape Africa into Five Mega-States
Contents
Introduction
I. Toshka or New Valley Project
II. Water Desalination Plants
III. Relocation of a Sizeable Part of Egypt's Population
IV. The Rafah-Taba Canal
V. Twenty (20) Chinese Universities to operate in Egypt
--------
First published on 18th January 2024 here:
https://megalommatiscomments.wordpress.com/2024/01/18/a-special-military-alliance-with-china-is-egypts-only-chance-for-survival-iv/
Contents
I. Grave Threats for Egypt's Existence and Serious Danger for China's Expansion
II. Perspectives of the Strategic Alliance between Egypt & China
III. Two Chinese Military Bases in Egypt: One Million Chinese Military on African Soil
IV. Joint Chinese-Egyptian Military Operations in Sudan and the Perspectives of a Chinese-Egyptian-Sudanese Alliance
V. Joint Chinese-Egyptian Military Operations in Libya and the Perspectives of a Chinese-Egyptian-Libyan Alliance
----------
First published on 16th January 2024 here:
https://megalommatiscomments.wordpress.com/2024/01/16/a-special-military-alliance-with-china-is-egypts-only-chance-for-survival-iii/
The rise of China as a world superpower has hitherto been a long path marked with several successes and advances, but also significant drawbacks and failures. The Arab Spring can be seen from many viewpoints and interpreted as per its impact on diverse states, but it was indisputably a severe impediment to China's attempt to penetrate in Africa and offer the numerous African nations a trustworthy perspective and a valuable support in terms of nation building and sustainable development. It goes without saying that, if the Chinese establishment truly intends to bring forth a groundbreaking change at the worldwide level, Beijing must carefully take the lesson of those circumstances before 13 years and overwhelmingly modify China's understanding of perplex situations and approach to long standing problems, notably the European colonialism in Africa and elsewhere.
In the first part of this series of articles, I expanded on a) the centuries-old Western hatred of Egypt, b) the existing historical threats against the Valley of the Nile, c) the gradual process of decomposition that the criminal Western gangsters applied to Libya and the Sudan over the past 12 years, and d) the direct relationship between the otherwise worthless Renaissance Dam (also known as GERD), which has been built in the Occupied Benishangul land (currently province) of Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia), and the Abyssinian 'Prophecy' against Egypt and Sudan. This is the link:
https://megalommatiscomments.wordpress.com/2024/01/01/a-special-military-alliance-with-china-is-egypts-only-chance-for-survival/
In the present article, I will complete the presentation of the Egyptian approach to the need of the Egyptian-Chinese Military Alliance and I will expand on the Chinese perspective towards the topic.
Contents
I. The War in Gaza and the Destabilization of the Red Sea Region
II. The Rise of China as a World Super-power
III. The Irrevocable Prerequisites of China's Worldwide Predominance
The Western World hates Egypt terribly; that's why all the administrations of the country -pseudo-royal (khedivial), presidential (military) or Islamist (republican)- were always appointed after French, English and/or American decision or active involvement and with Western support only to function as local ignorant servants definitely unable to fathom the deeply self-destructive nature of the acts that their foreign masters force them to implement, and absolutely unsuspicious of the venomous hatred that their beastly superiors harbor against the Holy Land that is the Valley of the Nile down to Khartoum.
Contents
I. Western Hatred against Egypt and Plans against Mankind
II. The End of Egypt may be very close
III. Egypt and the Pulverization of Sudan and Libya
IV. The Renaissance Dam in the light of the Abyssinian 'Prophecy' against Egypt and Sudan
Περιεχόμενα
Α. Πνευματικότητα, Θρησκείες, Θεολογίες και Ιδεολογίες
Β. Αποδοχή μιας άλλης θρησκείας και δράση προσηλύτων
Γ. Εγκλήματα προσηλυτιστών
Δ. Αλλαγή θρησκείας, προσηλυτισμός και πολυπολιτισμικότητα
Ε. Δεν υπάρχει το Ισλάμ ως θρησκεία χωρίς τις ιστορικές ισλαμικές επιστήμες
Επίλογος
Προτάσεις για την Υπέρβαση της Θράκης, του Κοσμά Μεγαλομμάτη: Εξόρμηση, 5 Μαρτίου 1990; Πολιτικά Θέματα, 2-8 Μαρτίου 1990; Οικονομικός Ταχυδρόμος, Ιούλιος 1990
Proposals to transcend the problem in Thrace, by Cosmas Megalommatis: Exormisi (Sortie), 5 March 1990; Politika Themata (Political Matters), 2-8 March 1990; Oikonomikos Tahydromos (Economic Courier), July 1990
Предложения по преодолению проблемы во Фракии, автор Космас Мегаломматис: Exormisi (Вылазка), 5 марта 1990 г.; Политика Фемата (Политические вопросы), 2–8 марта 1990 года; Ойкономикос Тагидромос (Экономический курьер), июль 1990 г.
Σουννίτες και Σιίτες: στη ρίζα της διαφοράς, του Κοσμά Μεγαλομμάτη – Εποπτεία 119, Ιανουάριος 1987, σελ. 29-37
Sunnis and Shiites: at the root of the dispute, by Cosmas Megalommatis: Epopteia (‘Overview’) 119, January 1987, p. 29-37
Сунниты и шииты: в основе спора, (автор:) Кузьма Мегаломматис: Эпоптея («Обзор») 119, январь 1987 г., с. 29-37
Η διεθνής αντιμετώπιση της ισλαμικής Περσίας, του Κοσμά Μεγαλομμάτη: Εποπτεία 119, Ιανουάριος 1987, σελ. 38-48
How the international community treated the Islamic Republic of Iran, by Cosmas Megalommatis: Epopteia (‘Overview’) 119, January 1987, p. 38-48
Как международное сообщество относилось к Исламской Республике Иран, (автор:) Кузьма Мегаломматис: Эпоптея («Обзор») 119, январь 1987 г., стр. 38-48
Η Πολιτική Ζωή στην Ισλαμική Περσία, του Κοσμά Μεγαλομμάτη: Εποπτεία 119, Ιανουάριος 1987, σελ. 19-28
Political Life in Islamic Iran, by Cosmas Megalommatis: Epopteia (‘Overview’) 119, January 1987, p. 19-28
Политическая жизнь в исламском Иране, (автор:) Кузьма Мегаломматис: Эпоптея («Обзор») 119, январь 1987 г., с. 19-28
——————————–
Συνήθεις αναγνώστες μου θα παραξενευθούν επειδή χρησιμοποιώ τον όρο ‘Περσία’ αντί ‘Ιράν’ στο συγκεκριμένο άρθρο, καθώς και σε πολλά άλλα άρθρα, εγκυκλοπαιδικά λήμματα, επιστημονικ΄ά άρθρα, και βιβλία δημοσιευμένα στην δεκαετία του 1980 και στις αρχές του 1990. Αυτό οφείλεται στο γεγονός ότι ο όρος αυτός είναι περισσότερο γνωστός και αγαπητός στο ελληνόφωνο αναγνωστικό κοινό, ενώ ο όρος ‘Ιράν’ ακούγεται μάλλον ξενικός. Τότε έγραφα για να πληροφορήσω και να κατατοπίσω σχετικά με θέματα ιστορικού, πνευματικού, θρησκευτικού και πολιτιστικού ενδιαφέροντος σχετιζόμενα με το Ιράν, καθώς και για υποθέσεις επιμελώς αποκρυμμένες σε όλο τον δυτικό κόσμο, όπως επίσης και για δημιουργήσω συμπάθεια προς το Ιράν εναντίον του οποίου στρέφονταν η Δυτική Ευρώπη, το σοβιετικό μπλοκ, οι ΗΠΑ, άλλες δυτικές χώρες, και τα τρισάθλια σκουπίδια των εθελόδουλων κυβερνητών του ανύπαρκτου και ανυπόστατου “αραβικού” κόσμου. Βεβαίως και τότε γνώριζα πολύ καλά ότι ο εξεπίτηδες προτιμώμενος από την μεροληπτική, αποικιοκρατική, δυτική βιβλιογραφία όρος ‘Περσία’ είναι ολότελα λαθεμένος, επειδή το Φαρς (Περσία) αποτελεί μόνον ένα μικρό τμήμα του ιστορικού Ιράν.
Several of my readers may be astounded because I use the term ‘Persia’ instead of ‘Iran’ in this article, as well as in many other articles, entries to encyclopedias, scholarly articles and books published in the 1980s and the early 1990s. This is due to the fact that this term is better known and preferred by the Greek-speaking readership, while the term ‘Iran’ sounds rather foreign to them. At the time, I was writing in order to inform and enlighten about historical, spiritual, religious and cultural topics pertaining to Iran, as well as about matters carefully hidden throughout the Western world, and in order to generate sympathy for Iran against which Western Europe, the Soviet bloc, the USA, other Western countries, and the wretched, docile and useless rulers of the non-existent “Arab” world had formed an alliance. Of course, even then, I was fully aware of the fact that the term ‘Persia’, which is intentionally supported by the biased colonial Western scholarship, is wrong; this is so because Fars (Persia) is only a small part of historical Iran.
Κοσμάς Μεγαλομμάτης, Ουροβόρος: Παγκόσμια Μυθολογία, Ελληνική Εκπαιδευτική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια, 1989
Кузьма Мегаломматис, Уроборос (свернувшийся в кольцо змей или дракон, кусающий себя за хвост): мировая мифология, Греческая педагогическая энциклопедия, 1989
Kosmas Megalommatis, Ouroboros oder Uroboros (‘Selbstverzehrer’ oder ‘Schwanzverzehrender’ / eine zusammengerollte Schlange oder ein Drache, der sich in den Schwanz beißt): Weltmythologie, Griechische Pädagogische Enzyklopädie, 1989
Kosmas Gözübüyükoğlu, Ouroboros (kendi kuyruğunu ısıran bir yılan): Dünya Mitolojisi, Yunan Pedagoji Ansiklopedisi, 1989
قزمان ميغالوماتيس، اوروبروس (دُنبخوار/مار یا اژدهایی است که دماش را میخورد): اساطیر جهانی، دایره المعارف آموزشی یونانی، 1989
Côme Megalommatis, Ouroboros (un serpent ou un dragon qui se mord la queue): Mythologie mondiale, Encyclopédie pédagogique grecque, 1989
1989 قزمان ميغالوماتيس، الأوربوروس (الثعبان أو التنين وهو يأكل ذيله.) : الأساطير العالمية، الموسوعة التربوية اليونانية،
Cosimo Megalommatis, Urobòro (chiamato anche uroburo o uroboros o ancora ouroboros / un serpente o un drago che si morde la coda, formando un cerchio senza inizio né fine): mitologia mondiale, Enciclopedia pedagogica greca, 1989
Cosimo Megalommatis, Uróboros (uróboro o ouroboro o uroboro / serpiente que se come la cola): mitología mundial, Enciclopedia pedagógica griega, 1989
Cosmas Megalommatis, Ouroboros (or Uroboros / a serpent or dragon eating its own tail): World Mythology, Greek Pedagogical Encyclopedia, 1989
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Recent years have seen a disturbing rise in violence, discrimination, and intolerance against Christian communities in various Islamic countries. This multifaceted challenge, deeply rooted in historical, social, and political animosities, demands urgent attention. Despite the escalating persecution, substantial support from the Western world remains lacking.
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The Historical Silk Roads, China and Islam - Part I
1. The Historical Silk Roads, China and Islam
By Prof. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
The historical silk roads did not start with the beginning of History. However, when
we refer to the very existence of the silk roads and to the developments that were
unfolded because of them, we often forget that this remarkable affair that shaped the
World History is merely a continuation and a prolongation of the earlier existed
commercial roads that linked Central Asia, Siberia and India to Mesopotamia.
On the other hand, due to other early commercial roads, Mesopotamia was also
connected with the Caucasus region, Anatolia and the Balkans, and the Horn of
Africa. Last, since the Dawn of the Civilization, the Valley of the Twin Rivers was
densely linked with the Valley of the Nile, via the Syro-Phoenician – Palestinian
corridor.
I. The Historical Silk Roads
Although widely used to describe a "network of trade routes which connected the
East and West", the term is very inaccurate indeed; this is so because the silk trade in
itself was a minor part of the trade exchanged between 'East' and 'West'. The
historically correct and exact term is "Silk-, Spice-, and Perfume-Routes via Land,
Desert and Sea" or alternatively "Land-,Desert- and Sea-Routes of Silk-, Spice-, and
Perfume-Trade". Perfume stands for all types of incense. At this point, one has to
point out that the multivalent geographical terms 'East' and 'West' mean diverse
lands and localities to different audiences at all times.
The earliest form of the aforementioned network of trade routes consisted of two
commercial roads that linked 4th millennium BCE Mesopotamia, i.e. Sumer and
Elam, with Central Asia and the Indus Valley; in the second case, we also have
plenty of indications of sea trade. This means that we can already speak of land-,
desert- and sea-routes as early as the beginning of the Bronze Age. Findings at Tepe
Yahya, Iran fully document the Mesopotamian – Indian trade thatdates back in the
middle of the 4th millennium BCE. Similarly, impressive findings, such as Proto-
Elamite tablets, excavated at Tepe Sialk, Iran bear witness to the developed form of
trade that Mesopotamia had with Central Asia at the end of the 4th millennium BCE.
The same is also valid for Tureng Tepe, near Gorgan, and furtheron for Yarim Tepe,
near Gonbad-e Kavus, in NE Iran. This brings the kingdoms and the empires of
Mesopotamia in direct contact with Siberian cultures, such as Andronovo and
Karasuk, that ranged from the Caspian Sea to Aral to Yenissei and maintained
evident contacts with Dzungaria and China in the 2nd and the 1st half of the 1st
millennium BCE. Across these early trade roads, the movements of Scytho–Siberian
nations generated a turmoil that the Achaemenid shahs of Iran spent time to contain.
The real establishment of the network of trade routes that we now call 'silk road' is
entirely attributed to Achaemenid Iran. Having understood the enormous benefits
that would derive from the systematization of the earlier existed networks of trade
routes, the early Achaemenids dedicated a great effort to set up safe imperial roads
across their immense empire. The 'Royal Road' was the original part (Susa to Sardis;
2. 2700 km), but soon after the entire empire was endowed with a great network of sea,
desert and land routes.
As a matter of fact, the establishment of the Silk Road was the mere consolidation,
improvement, interconnection and imperial administration of the earlier existed
trade routes. Egypt had established a maritime connection with Somalia and Eastern
Africa as early as the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE or even earlier; with
Egypt as Achaemenid Iranian province,Iran benefitted enormously from this trade.
Furthermore, the circumnavigation of the Arabian Peninsula would permit the
imperial administration to bypass Babylonia, when ensuring transportation of
products, services and armies between mainland Iran and Egypt.
For this purpose, Darius I reopened the Old Suez Canal (from the area of today's
Zagazig and the Bubastite branch of the Delta to the Timsah Lake, which was
connected at the time with the Red Sea by means of a natural canal) that had fallen in
desuetude for centuries; this is solemnly stated in the Achaemenid Shah's
quadrilingual inscription (in Old Achaemenid, Babylonian,Elamite and Egyptian
Hietoglyphic), e.g. the so-called Shaluf stele.
It is on this background that silk products started moving across the aforementioned
network of trade routes and also across extra roads appended to this network; thanks
to the Pazyryk culture, silk was found as west as the kurgans of Ukraine or
Heuneburg and Rheingoenheim in Germany and as early as the middle of the 1st
millennium BCE. Exchanges, silk tributes and silk trade were only intensified after
the 3rd c. BCE, and more specifically after the Battle of Baideng (白登之戰), when
Gaozu of Han (漢高祖) was defeated and had to pay a heavy tribute to Motun (冒頓
單于), the founder of the Hun (Xiongnu) Empire.
The enormous trade development, which ensued, was certainly due to numerous
parameters other than the establishment of the Achaemenid trade network, the
construction of royal roads across Iran, and the annual tributes of the Han emperors
to the Xiongnu. The role of the Aramaeans, the Sogdians and the Khotanese in terms
of product diversification, road bifurcation, linguistic impact,spiritual influence, and
cultural exchange was outstanding; this shows that, despite the importance of states,
the catalytic activity of private entrepreneurs was unmatched. The states extracted
benefits and levied customs duties, but the pioneering practice and spirit were
private. This is how Buddhism, Manichaeism, and Nestorian Christianity made their
way to China.
II. China
The State of the Middle (中國/中国) was late to expandto the West, in Central Asia
and further on. Only at the times of Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), Zhang Qian
(張騫) was tasked (138 BCE) to effectuate a trip to establish contacts with the Yuezhi
and other Central Asiatic states; however, he and his guards had to spend ten years
in Xiongnu prisons, before returning (125 BCE) to Chang'an (Xi'an) and writing his
reports about countries he visited (Dayuan kingdom in Ferghana, Yuezhi kingdom in
Transoxiana, Tokharian kingdom of Daxia in Bactria, and Kangjiu kingdom in
Sogdiana) and he did not visit (Anxi kingdom of Arsacid Parthian Iran,Tiaozhi
kingdom of Seleucid Syria, Shendu kingdom of Indo-Scythians in Southern Pakistan,
and Wusun kingdom in the Tarim Basin).
3. It is only at the end of the 2nd c. BCE (104-102) that Li Guangli (李廣利) and Chinese
army undertook an expedition to Ferghana (Dayuan) and successfully besieged Osh
(in today's Kyrgyzstan). Finally, the Tarim Basin became Chinese imperial territory
(Protectorate of the Western Regions: 西域都護府) only during the 1st c. BCE.
However, the Hexi Corridor to Dunhuang and the Western Regions remained
unstable for many long centuries.
A Chinese embassy may have reached Rome at the times of Octavian, if we take into
account the text of Florus, an African Roman historiographer of the 1st – 2nd c. CE.
And around the end of the 1st c. CE, General Ban Chao (班超),the imperial
administrator of the 'Western Regions' (basically the Tarim Basin), advanced further
in the West up to an undefined location in Central Asia; several Western Orientalists
advanced the theory of Ban Chao reaching the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea,but
there is no certainty in this. On the contrary, what is sure is that Ban Chao's envoy,
Gan Ying (甘英) reached the 'Western Sea' (which can be variably identified with the
Persian Gulf, the Caspian Sea or the Mediterranean Sea); it is a matter of scholarly
interpretation of few excerpts in the Hou Hanshu Annals.
Last, in the middle of the 3rd c. CE, Yu Huan writes in his illustrious Weilüe (魏略)
about the Black River (Hei Shui: 黑水) that demarcates the Western territories of the
Roman Empire (: Atlantic Ocean), pretty much like his contemporary Roman
counterpart, the famous historian Ammianus Marcellinus, who wrote in the middle
of the 4th c. CE about the Eurasiatic landmass' easternmost confines only to use
almost similar terms:
Ultra haec utriusque Scythiae loca, contra orientalem plagam in orbis speciem consertae,
celsorum aggerum summitatesambiunt Seras, ubertate regionum et amplitudine
circumspectos, ab occidentali latere Scythis annexos, a septentrione et orientali nivosae
solitudini cohaerentes.
As a matter of fact, moving across the Land-, Desert- and Sea-Routes of Silk-, Spice-,
and Perfume-Trade, major religions, faiths and cults were diffused from
Mesopotamia, Iran and India to China:
A. Buddhism reached China at the times of Han dynasty (first mention: 65 CE at the
times of Emperor Ming, 明),
B. Manichaeism (明教: the bright religion, Míngjiào) appeared in China at the times
of Tang dynasty in a completely sinicized form as the Dunhuang manuscripts
sufficiently evidence, and
C. Nestorian Christianity was introduced in China also at the times of Tang dynasty
(618-690 and 705-907).The first mention is found in the bilingual (Syriac – Aramaic
and Chinese) Nestorian Stele (or Xi'an Stele), which dates in 781 and commemorates
the Persian monk Alopen's mission to China that occurred in 635 during the reign of
Emperor Taizong, 太宗).
III. Islam
4. Little time after the arrival of Manichaeism and Nestorian Christianity in China,
Islam reached the borders of Emperor Gaozong (高宗)'s state at the very middle of
the 7th c., thanks to the zeal of Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas. As per various Hui Muslims'
legends, Gaozong (reign: 649-683) expressed certain sympathy for Islam, viewing in
it a form of Confucian Morality.
Moving across the Land-, Desert- and Sea-Routes of Silk-, Spice-, and Perfume-Trade,
early Muslim traders and navigators were present in China either in the Western
provinces (Tarim Basin) or in the Eastern coast, and more particularly in Canton
(Guangzhou), as early as the 7th and 8th centuries.
When it comes to religions diffused in China along the Silk Road, there is a
tremendous difference between Buddhism, Manichaeism, and Nestorian Christianity
from one side and Islam from the other side. The former three religions were never
state religions of a powerful empire, whereas Islam was already the state religion of
the Umayyad Caliphate,which – only 30 years after the death of Prophet
Muhammad – stretched from Libya to Central Asia to the Indus Valley. The early
Islamic expansion to the east (651) reached Rey, Nishapur and Khurasan in today's
NE Iran. The next stage of the expansion in Central Asia involved fierce clashes with
the Kingdom of Sogdia and the Buddhist Turkic states in Central Asia and Siberia
during the late 7th and the early 8th c. Following the Islamic conquest of Bukhara
and Samarqand (706-712), the Chinese emperors took the case more seriously.
Chinese armies fought to stop the Islamic advance in very bloody battles across the
famous Ferghana Valley in 715 only to be engaged in another battle two years later at
Aksu, further to the east, in the Tarim basin. This was an early Chinese victory. The
entire region between Kashgar and Samarqand became then a critical, frontal zone.
However, for some time, the gradual decadence of the Umayyaddynasty prevented
Muslim armies from further focusing on Central Asia. With the rise of the Abbasid
dynasty, one of the major historical battles took place in the Talas River Valley (751).
It was a major victory for the Abbasid forces and it marked the end of Chinese
presence in Central Asia. Prevalence in that region ensured enormous benefits for
Abbasid Baghdad.
However, the Abbasid – Chinese relationship took another course with the An
Lushan Rebellion (755-763; An–Shi Disturbances:安史之亂), when general An
Lushan challenged the imperial throne; to successfully squelch the event, the
embattled Emperor Suzong (肅宗) wrote a letter to the Abbasid Caliph Al Mansur,
asking his help. The Caliph dispatched a force of 4000 Muslim soldiers, who helped
reinstall the order in Chang'an. This event means thatat the time one could
encounter Abbasid soldiers in full control of territories that were located at a direct
distance of almost 9500 km from one another (from the Maghreb coast of
Northwestern Africa to Xi'an)!
The infamous rebellion ended after much time passed and much blood was shed
only to weaken the Tang monarchs.However, Tang dynasty marked an era of
religious tolerance, cultural exchanges, Eurasiatic cosmopolitanism and numerous
intermarriages. Sogdian merchants, Muslim soldiers and other foreigners
significantly contributed to the Chinese civilization and became dignitaries of the
imperial administration by learning Chinese, hiding their ethnic identity, and
5. changing their names. The vicinity of Turan (the term denotes Eastern Europe,
Central Asia, Siberia, Northern Asia, Mongolia and today's NW China) with the
world of Islam was the reason for a) the conversion of many Turanians to Islam, b)
the rise of many Turanian Muslim rulers in various lands of the Caliphate as far as
Africa, and c) the flourishing trade routes across Central and Northern Asia.
The formation and the magnificent expansion of the Turanian Islamic empires, which
are falsely called 'Mongol' (the term denotes a military rank, not a historical nation)
are not as spectacular and as fortuitous as depicted in the Western Orientalist
bibliography. The Great State (Ulug Ulus) or 'Golden Horde' (Altın Urda) that
controlled (1242–1502) all lands from Poland to the easternmost confines of Northern
Asia is not the side effect of the division of the Turanian (: 'Mongol') Empire. It is the
continuation of a millennium long Turanian prevalence across the said territories
and the successor to numerous earlier empires involving the Xianbei Empire (93-234
CE), the Rouran Khaganate (330-555 CE), the Hunnic Empire (370–469), the Göktürk
Khaganate (552-659 CE), the Eastern Turkic Khaganate (581-650 CE), the Western
Turkic Khaganate (581–657),the Second Turkic Khaganate (682–744), the Uyghur
Khaganate (744–840),the Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate (840-1207), the Liao Empire
(916–1125)and the Khamag Empire (10th c. – 1206). During those ages, 'silk road
trader', 'Turanian' and 'Muslim' became almost synonyms.
Muslims played a great role in China's History at the times of Song dynasty (960-
1279; 宋朝), whereas at the times of the Mongol dynasty (1271-1368; the Great Yuan -
大元), following extensive intermarriages, they became a very important component
of China's economic, social and intellectual life. As the fratricidal wars among
Turanian nations intensified, Muslims and Chinese fought against the Mongols and
some of China's most illustrious generals were Muslims indeed, like Lan Yu (藍玉).
When the Mongols were finally kicked out of China, Hongwu (洪武), the founding
emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644; 大明), felt obliged to compose (1368) the
celebrated Hundred-word Eulogy (bǎizìzàn: 百字讃) and thus express his great
veneration of Prophet Muhammad, 'the most noble sage', as he described him.
Hongwu found it also important to send a letter to John V Palaiologos and keep him
informed about the rise of the Ming dynasty.
Quite contrarily, Chinese Muslims, as Ming loyalists, suffered enormous losses at the
times of Qing dynasty, which originated from the Manchu,a minority; this period
marks however the progressive decline of all major Asiatic empires: the Ottomans,
the Iranians, the Mughal Gorkanian (of India), and the Chinese.
IV. The decline of the Islamic Empiresand of China overthe
past four centuries
The advent of Qing dynasty (1636-1912) ushered China in a new era that proved to
be the worst page of China's 4000-year long History. Qing rulers' major counterparts
in Asia and Africa were found in the same situation either their dynasty's origins go
back to 1300 or their rule was established around 1500. Hong Taiji (皇太極),the
founding emperor (1636-1643), was contemporaneous with
- Shah-Jahan-i-Azam ( شاہجہاناعظم : 1627-1658) of the Gurkanian Mongol ('Mughal')
dynasty (who had the famous Taj Mahal mausoleum built),
- Shah Safi ( شاہصفی : 1629-1642) of the Turkmen Safavid dynasty of Iran, and
- Sultan Murad IV ( مرادرابع : 1623-1640) of the Ottoman Empire.
6. A good indication of the minimal degree of threat discernment, friend-foe
identification system, universal perspective, diplomatic diligence, and imperial
preparation that characterized all four major Afro-Asiatic empires is the fact that
Hong Taiji's reign coincided with the end of the 16-year long Ottoman–Safavid War
(1623–1639) which dramatically weakened both empires. The Ottomans won and
prevailed in Mesopotamia, but short term gains proved to be useless, as they could
not ensure enduring strength.
Hong Taiji's reign was also marked by two major events in the North of Asia: the rise
of the Romanov dynasty under Michael I Romanov (Михаил Фёдорович Романов:
1613-1645)of Russia and the Russian expansion across Northern Siberia, afterthe
collapse of the Sibir Khanate in 1598. The Russians reached the Pacific Ocean in 1639,
decimating indigenous nations (Buryats; Yakuts; in the case of Chukchis, Koraks,
Itelmens and Yukagirs, we attested a planned genocide) and spreading diseases
(smallpox). Of course, the Kazakh Khanate was still strong under Salqam-Jangir
Khan (1629–1680),but again the incessant wars among the Central Asiatic khanates
(Bukhara, Tashkent,etc) created a worrisome situation not far from China's western
borders.
Another even graver problem for China and for the Central Asiatic khanates was the
rise of the Buddhist Dzungar Khanate (1634) and the dreams of their ruler Erdeni
Batur, who attempted to revive the gigantic state of Genghis Khan. The ceaseless
wars between the Kazakhs and Dzungaria (1643–1756), as well as between Qing
China and the Dzungars (1687–1757), ended with the Dzungar defeatand genocide
but paved the way for Russian predominance across Northern Asia. No Asiatic
empire benefited from these developments.
Similar situations were attested in Southern Asia whereby the three Muslim
emperors did not have the foresight to avoid divisions and fratricidal wars and to set
up a common front against the seafaring empires, namely the Portuguese, the Dutch,
the French and the English. It is true that the emergence of the Turkmen Safavids in
Iran (with Shah Ismail I in 1502), the advent of the Mongol Gurkanian (with Babur in
1526) and the Ottoman rise in the East and expansion in Africa (from Egypt to
Somalia to Algeria) under Yavuz Sultan Selim I (1512-1520) andhis successors
occurred only on an extremely divided and diversified, almost millennium-long,
background of Islamic faith and power.
Only in its very early period, the Islamic Caliphate proved to be a centripetal force.
However, when the Caliphs expanded beyond the borders of the Sassanid Empire
(224-651) under Khusraw II (590/591-628),centrifugal forces prevailed only to prove
that Central Asia and Carthage can never belong to the same empire - as already
Darius I, the Achaemenidian (522-486), dreamt of but failed to implement.
Furthermore, the prevalence of centrifugal forces within the immense Abbasid
Empire was only a normal, historical phenomenon, because Islam was diffused
among nations very far away from one another, with very different spiritual, cultural
and historical backgrounds with which the proponents of the new faith were forced
to interact in many dimensions. As early as the 10th century the contrast was
enormous among Muslims in Andalusia, Egypt, Somalia, Yemen, Iran, India and
Central Asia. To this testifies the enormous number of mystic brotherhoods, religious
7. tariqas, philosophical doctrines, academic – scientific schools, literary styles, artistic
and architectural rhythms, theological dogmas and systems of jurisprudence, which
grew like mushrooms from Andalusia to Yemen to Central Asia, during the first 300
years of Islamic rule. Consequently, further divisions were to ensue.
At the beginning of the 16th c., most of the Dravidian Deccan (Modern India's
southern part) was divided among the Golconda Sultanate (Qutb Shahi dynasty /
Shia), the Bijapur Sultanate (Adil Shahi dynasty / Shia), the Ahmednagar Sultanate
(Nizam Shahi dynasty / Shia) and the Brahmani Sultanate (Barid Shahi dynasty /
Sunni and Shia). This was not a particularity of the subcontinent only.
The same multidivisional structure of the Deccan was attested across the Ocean in
the Eastern African coast; the Sultanate of Ifat, the Adal Sultanate, the Warsangali
Sultanate, the Sultanate of Mogadishu, the formidable Ajuran Sultanate, the Geledi
Sultanate, the Kilwa Sultanate (whose seafarers were the first known to have reached
Australia long before the English) and other smaller Eastern African principalities
(Mombasa, Pemba, Zanzibar, Mafia, Comoro, Mozambique Island, etc.) existed and
prospered for centuries, having always fully recognized the Caliph's authority
without however becoming incorporated in the Caliphate stricto sensu. Some of the
Somali sultanates were strong enough to oppose the Portuguese, and the history of
Ajuran – Portuguese wars (16th – 17th c.) marks the first and perhaps the most epic
page of the illustrious African anti-colonial fights.
In many among the aforementioned cases, a Yemenite, an Iranian or a Turanian
arrived in either the Deccan or Eastern Africa and they were easily accepted as rulers
among the local Muslims. It was only after many decades and numerous wars that
the Mongol Gurkanian authority managed to incorporate the Deccan sultanates in
the Empire. And after Aurangzeb ( اورنگزیب : 1658-1707) the decline started.
Many consider the Iranian invasion of the Mongol South Asiatic Empire, which was
undertaken by the Turkmen Afshar Nader Shah ( نادرشاہافشار : 1736-1747) in 1739, as
the main reason for the subsequent collapse of the vast state of the Gurkanian whose
formidable empire is fallaciously called 'Mughal India' by English Orientalists and
historical forgers. The Iranian invasion, as well as the sack and the plunder of the
Old Delhi, were a terrible hit, but they were not the main reason for the demise of the
Gurkanian.
As a matter of fact, the concessions made to the British East India Company and the
farman issued by Farrukhsiyar ( فرخسیر : 1713-1719), who allowed to English colonials
the right to reside and trade in the Mughal Empire, were an inane and ominous
decision. It was that cruel and criminal company that prepared the final collapse of
the greatest South Asiatic Empire of all times and deposed Bahadur Shah II, the last
Mongol Emperor, in 1862, i.e. 145 years afterhis idiotic and pathetic predecessor
offered them the aforementioned privileges. As the Gurkanian Mongol power was
dissolved, it was easy for the criminal colonials of England to start the Opium Wars
(1839-1860) against China.
However, all major Afro-Asiatic empires, the Ottomans,the Safavids, the Gurkanian
and the Qing failed to assess – already in the 17th c. as they should have had – the
real nature, the scope, the targets, the profits and the consequences of the
phenomenal company, which was incorporated in 1602 and started being active from
8. India to Japan as early as 1608-1609: the Dutch East India Company. Seeking
concessions and imperial protection, safe passages, and legal presence, the Dutch
generated enormous profits, which if known and analyzed would surely be
perceived as a threat for the Mughal durbar.
The Dutch were present in Gujarat (Suratte,1616), Malabar (1661), Coromandel
(1608), Bengal (1627) and also in Sri Lanka (1640), but their enormous benefits and
the ensued antagonism with other powers (Denmark, France and England) were not
perceived as real threats by the Mongol Gurkanian. Quite contrarily, they willingly
entered into compromises with the company, only because they were not strong on
the sea. Even worse, they failed to monitor, examine and assess the groundbreaking
company's potentialities, the real intentions behind it, the wealth accumulated due to
multiple factors (the spice trade monopoly being only one), and the deriving threats
for the Mughal Empire. Each and every time, the Mughal palatial administration
dealt with the symptoms and not with the root causes, which they had not even
imagined, let alone identified. The same attitude characterized the Qing, the Safavids
and the Ottomans in their relations with either this company or other Western
European corporations and schemes.
As a matter of fact, the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) consisted in a
hitherto unknown form of expansion in which individual zeal, personal risk, human
fascination with extraordinary material wealth,private entrepreneurship,and
corporate systematization preceded all forms of military aggression and state
conflict; this concept spearheaded a new type of expansionism that had cataclysmic
impact and deteriorated all aspects of military conflict and cruelty. In fact, it was a
state within a state or, if you want, a CorporNation. Even worse, it weaponized
knowledge, thus totally altering and distorting the foundations of scholarly research,
academic study, and human exploration that were historically accepted by all
cultures and civilizations worldwide until that time. Quite unfortunately, this was
not noticed by any Afro-Asiatic imperial establishment – even at a moment they
were still omnipotent.
The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (1658–1707) is an excellent example in this regard;
he was contemporaneous with
- the Ottoman sultans and Caliphs Mehmed IV (1648-1687),Suleyman II (1687-1691),
Ahmed II (1691-1695), Mustafa II (1695-1703), and Ahmed III (1703-1730),
- the Safavid shahs of Iran Abbas II (1642-1666), Suleyman I (1666-1694), and the last
Safavid, Sultan Husayn (1694-1722),and
- the Qing Emperors Shunzhi (1644-1661) and Kangxi (1662-1722).
None of these imperial establishments, which were still quite powerful, was able to
either be informed about the publication in Holland of the monumental series of
volumes of Hortus Malabaricus (1678–1693) or grasp its real meaning and grave
consequences. Never before had specialized knowledge acquired such pre-eminence
among a state's priorities in view of future profit. Detailed and exact science was not
anymore a scholarly endeavor but a corporate, entrepreneurial task. And who was
the author of the grand opus? None other than Hendrik van Rheede (1636–1691), the
Governor of Dutch Malabar atthe time!
I can understand that the Ottomans, the Safavids and the Qing were not directly
involved; but the highly educated Aurangzeb whose name means "the Ornamentof
9. the Throne" and whose royal title was Alamgir ("Conqueror of the World" in Farsi)
should have got due information about this great work and should have assessed it
as a real weapon against his own throne. Hortus Malabaricus is an enormous treatise
about the flora of Malabar, a territory that corresponds to present day India's Kerala
and Karnataka. With this treatise, an average Dutch in Amsterdam would know the
flora of Kerala better than the emperor in whose state Kerala belonged. Thus, Natural
Sciences became a tool for further corporate profit.
Weaponized knowledge and far-fetched explorations, pioneering fieldwork,
archaeological excavations, antiques collections, a great number of monument
purchasing diplomats, and entire armies of 'arrogant connoisseurs' would soon be
unleashed against the four Afro-Asiatic empires. A real scramble for manuscripts,
inscriptions, bas-reliefs, coins and bronzes would then take place. This would bring
forth a hitherto unseen form of conquest and occupation.
That's why modern historians, who focus on 18th c. and 19th c. Ottoman –Iranian
wars (1730-1736 between the Ottomans Ahmed III and Mahmud I and the last
Safavid shah Tahmasp II, Abbas III, and Nader Shah of Iran; 1743-1746 between
Mahmud I and Nader Shah; 1775-1776 between Abdulhamid I and Karim Khan
Zend; 1821-1823 between Mahmud II and Fath Ali Shah of the Turkmen Qajar
dynasty) to find the reasons of the Western European powers' meteoric rise at the
world stage during the 19th and the 20th centuries, really miss the point.
As a matter of fact, the real battles were engaged not in the war fronts but in caves,
archaeological sites, libraries, museums, European universities' Oriental
departments, and the personal cabinets of professors and decipherers who decoded
ancient signs that were tragically meaningless and disastrously useless to the
Sultans, the Shahs, the Gurkanian and the Qing. The deciphermentof ancient scripts
was completed with the formulation of a fallacious World History, which was
meticulously preconceived as per the arrogant connoisseurs' interests, worldview
and discriminatory attitude toward the rest. Then,colonial diplomats, military
regiments, various agents, indigenous traitors, corrupt businessmen, and local
puppets undertook the enduring work of imposing this fallacious World History on
local populations by means of Education, Culture, Publications, and Mass Media.
Indiscriminately, from Morocco to China, all alternatives were used to alter natives.
(to be continued)