About the Cover Image
The Feast of Saint George, (oil on panel), Marten van Cleve (1527–81) Van Cleve was one of several Flemish painters from the time known for their depictions of peasant life, especially feast days, weddings and festivals. He established a major workshop in Antwerp, one of the major commercial centers of the time. He and his family were most likely in Antwerp during the religious conflicts of the 1560s and 1570s but he chose to depict mainly peaceful scenes.
VALUE EDITION
The Making of the West Peoples and Cultures
Sixth Edition
Volume I: To 1750
Lynn Hunt University of California, Los Angeles
Thomas R. Martin College of the Holy Cross Barbara H. Rosenwein
Loyola University Chicago Bonnie G. Smith
Rutgers University
FOR BEDFORD/ST. MARTIN’S Vice President, Editorial, Macmillan Learning Humanities: Edwin Hill Senior Program Director for History: Michael Rosenberg Senior Program Manager for History: William J. Lombardo History Marketing Manager: Melissa Rodriguez Director of Content Development, Humanities: Jane Knetzger Senior Developmental Editor: Leah R. Strauss Senior Content Project Manager: Kendra LeFleur Senior Workflow Project Supervisor: Jennifer Wetzel Production Coordinator: Brianna Lester Editorial Assistant: Belinda Huang Media Project Manager: Michelle Camisa Project Management: Lumina Datamatics, Inc. Editorial Services: Lumina Datamatics, Inc. Composition: Lumina Datamatics, Inc. Cartographer: Mapping Specialists, Ltd. Photo Editor: Jennifer MacMillan Photo Researcher: Bruce Carson Permissions Editor: Kalina Ingham Design Director, Content Management: Diana Blume Text Design: Lisa Buckley Cover Design: William Boardman Cover Art: The Feast of Saint George, (oil on panel), Cleve, Marten van (1527–81)/Private Collection/Photo © Christie’s Images/Bridgeman Images
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Preface Why This Book This Way We are delighted to present the Value Edition of The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures, Sixth Edition. With this edition, The Making of the West combines the best of the print and digital platforms while staying true to the fundamental approach that has made this book a popular choice for both instructors and students. We continue to link the history of the West to wider developments in the world. We continue to offer a synthetic approach to history — from military to gender — that integrates different approaches rather than privileging one or two. And we continue to believe that students benefit from a solid chronological framework when they are trying to understand events of the past. This new edition is priced affordably, to save students money and keep the overall course budget manageable. Bedford’s learning platform, known as LaunchPad, is loaded with the full-color e-book including two primary source features per chapter plus LearningCurve, an adaptive learning tool; the popular Sources of The Making of the West documents collection; additional primary sources; a wealth of assessment tools; chapter summative quizzes; and more.
Helping Instructors Teach with Digital Resources We are pleased to offer The Making of the West in LaunchPad, Macmillan’s premier learning platform that offers an intuitive, interactive e-book and course space. Free when packaged with a bound text or available at a low price when used alone, LaunchPad is ready to use as is, or it can be edited and customized with your own material and assigned right away.
Developed with extensive feedback from history instructors and students, LaunchPad for The Making of the West includes the
complete narrative of the print book, the companion reader Sources of The Making of the West by Katharine Lualdi, and LearningCurve adaptive quizzing that is designed to get students to read before they come to class. With new source-based questions in the test bank and in LearningCurve and the ability to sort test bank questions by chapter learning objectives, instructors now have more ways to test students on their understanding of sources and narrative in the book. The LaunchPad e-book features three skill-building features in every chapter. In LaunchPad, there is an autograded multiple-choice quiz for the primary source features.
Primary Source Analysis gives students a more direct experience of the past through original voices. Whether it is an excerpt from an anonymous Sophist’s handbook of the late fifth century B.C.E. (Chapter 3), twelfth-century letters between two anonymous lovers (Chapter 11), or Marie de Sévigné’s description of the French court (Chapter 16), primary documents offer windows into the thoughts and actions of the past. Each document is introduced by a headnote and followed by Questions to Consider. Contrasting Views compares two or more conflicting primary sources focused on a central event, person, or development — such as the Roman attitudes toward Cleopatra (Chapter 4), the Mongols (Chapter 12), and the consumer revolution of the eighteenth century (Chapter 17) — enabling students to understand history from a variety of contemporaneous perspectives. Each document pairing is introduced with a headnote and is followed by Questions to Consider. NEW! Terms of History, now in every chapter, looks not only at the origin of a term — such as democracy (Chapter 3), barbarian (Chapter 7), and gothic (Chapter 11) — but also at the changing meaning of the term over time, which further underscores historical skill building.
For instructors who need a mobile and accessible option for delivering adaptive quizzing with the narrative alone, Macmillan’s
Achieve Read & Practice e-book platform offers an exceptionally easy-to-use and affordable option. This simple product pairs the Value Edition with the power of LearningCurve’s quizzing, all in a format that students can use wherever they go. Available for the first time with this edition, Achieve Read & Practice’s interactive e-book, adaptive quizzing, and gradebook are built with an intuitive interface that can be read on mobile devices and are fully accessible and available at an affordable price.
To learn more about the benefits of LearningCurve, LaunchPad, Achieve Read & Practice, and the difference versions to package with these digital tools, see the Versions and Supplements section.
About The Making of the West Even with all the exciting digital alternatives now available, our primary goal remains the same: to demonstrate that the history of the West is the story of an ongoing process, not a finished result with one fixed meaning. There is not one Western people or culture that has existed from the beginning until now. Instead, the history of the West includes many different peoples and cultures. To convey these ideas, we have written a sustained story of the West’s development in a broad, global context that reveals the cross-cultural interactions fundamental to the shaping of Western politics, societies, cultures, and economies. To highlight the importance of this broad notion of the West, the first chapter opens with a section on the origins and contested meaning of the term Western civilization.
New Coverage and Current Scholarship As always, we have also incorporated the latest scholarly findings throughout the book so that students and instructors have a text on which they can confidently rely, including updated Suggested References at the end of each chapter. In the sixth edition, we have included new and updated discussions of topics such as the agency of women in ancient Greece, the structures of Islamic societies in the Middle Ages, the growth of the European slave trade in the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries, and a host of new developments in the past few years. The final chapter now includes a discussion of the economic, technological, and cultural changes since the downturn of 2008 that have shaped the rise of populism, including rising immigration, the increasingly interventionist policies of Russia, and the unraveling of the “Arab Spring” with the catastrophe of the Syrian civil war and the continuing threat of ISIS.
Chronological Framework We know from our own teaching that introductory students need a solid chronological framework, one with enough familiar benchmarks to make the material easy to grasp. Each chapter is organized around the main events, people, and themes of a period in which the West significantly changed; thus, students learn about political and military events and social and cultural developments as they unfolded. This chronological integration also makes it possible for students to see the interconnections among varieties of historical experience — between politics and cultures, between public events and private experiences, between wars and diplomacy and everyday life. For teachers, our chronological approach ensures a balanced account and provides the opportunity to present themes within their greater context. But perhaps best of all, this approach provides a text that reveals history as a process that is constantly alive, subject to pressures, and able to surprise us.
An Expanded Vision of the West Cultural borrowing between the peoples of Europe and their neighbors has characterized Western civilization from the beginning. Thus, we have insisted on an expanded vision of the West that includes the United States and fully incorporates Scandinavia, eastern Europe, and the Ottoman Empire. Now this vision encompasses an even wider global context than before, as Latin America, Africa, China, Japan, and India also come into the story. We have been able to offer sustained treatment of crucial topics such as Islam and to provide a more thorough examination of globalization than any
competing text. Study of Western history provides essential background to today’s events, from debates over immigration to conflicts in the Middle East. Instructors have found this synthesis essential for helping students understand the West amid today’s globalization.
Study Aids to Support Active Reading and Learning We know from our own teaching that students need all the help they can get to absorb and make sense of information, to think analytically, and to understand that history itself is often debated and constantly revised. With these goals in mind, we retained the class- tested learning and teaching aids that worked well in the previous editions, but we have also done more to help students distill the central story of each age.
Focused Reading Each chapter begins with a vivid anecdote that draws readers into the atmosphere of the period and introduces the chapter’s main themes, accompanied by a full-page illustration. The Chapter Focus poses an overarching question at the start of the narrative to help guide students’ reading. Strategically placed at the end of each major section, a Review Question helps students assimilate core points in digestible increments. Key Terms and names that appear in boldface in the text have been updated to concentrate on likely test items; these terms are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms and People at the end of the book.
Reviewing the Chapter At the end of each chapter, the Conclusion further reinforces the central developments covered in the chapter. The Chapter Review begins by asking students to revisit the key terms, identifying each and explaining its significance. Review Questions are also presented again so that students can revisit the chapter’s core points. Making Connections questions then follow and prompt students to think across the sections of a given chapter. A chronology of Important
Events enables students to see the sequence and overlap of important events in a given period and asks students a guiding question that links two or more events in the chapter.
Geographic Literacy The map program of The Making of the West has been praised by reviewers for its comprehensiveness. In each chapter, we offer two types of maps: full-size maps show major developments and a Mapping the West summary map at the end of each chapter provides a snapshot of the West at the close of a transformative period and helps students visualize the West’s changing contours over time. All of these maps — plus up to four “spot” maps per chapter that are positioned within the discussion right where students need them — appear in full color in LaunchPad.
Images and Illustrations We have integrated art as fully as possible into the narrative. Over 100 images and illustrations were carefully chosen to reflect this edition’s broad topical coverage and geographic inclusion, reinforce the text, and show the varieties of visual sources from which historians build their narratives and interpretations. All artifacts, illustrations, paintings, and photographs are contemporaneous with the chapter; there are no anachronistic illustrations. The captions for the maps and art help students learn how to read visuals, and we have frequently included specific questions or suggestions for comparisons that might be developed.
Acknowledgments In the vital process of revision, the authors have benefited from repeated critical readings by many talented scholars and teachers. Our sincere thanks go to the following instructors, whose comments often challenged us to rethink or justify our interpretations and who always provided a check on accuracy down to the smallest detail: David S. Bachrach, University of New Hampshire; Robert Bond, Mira Costa College; Curtis Bostick, Southern Utah University; Trevor
Corless, Cégep Heritage College; Michael Frassetto, University of Delaware; William L. Grose, Wytheville Community College; Joanne Klein, Boise State University; Rosemary Moore, University of Iowa; Lisa Payne Ossian, Des Moines Area Community College; Svanur Petursson, Rutgers University, Newark; David Pizzo, Murray State University; Allison E. Stein, Pellissippi State Community College; Kathryn Steinhaus, Seminole State College; Erin W. Stone, University of West Florida; Sarah L. Sullivan, McHenry County College; Nancy Vavra, University of Colorado at Boulder; and Mirna Zakic, Ohio University, Main Campus.
Many colleagues, friends, and family members have made contributions to this work. They know how grateful we are. We also wish to acknowledge and thank the publishing team at Bedford/St. Martin’s who did so much to bring this revised edition to completion: editorial director Edwin Hill; publisher for history Michael Rosenberg; program manager for history Bill Lombardo; developmental editor Leah Strauss; media editor Tess Fletcher; editorial assistant Belinda Huang; marketing manager Melissa Rodriguez; content production manager Kendra LeFleur; project manager, Andrea Stefanowicz; art researcher Bruce Carson; and cover designer Billy Boardman.
Our students’ questions and concerns have shaped much of this work, and we welcome all our readers’ suggestions, queries, and criticisms. Please contact us at our respective institutions or via history@macmillanhighered.com.
Lynn Hunt Thomas Martin Barbara Rosenwein Bonnie Smith
Versions and Supplements Adopters of The Making of the West and their students have access to abundant print and digital resources and tools, including documents, assessment and presentation materials, the acclaimed Bedford Series in History and Culture volumes, and much more. The LaunchPad course space for The Making of the West provides access to the narrative as well as a wealth of primary sources and other features, along with assignment and assessment opportunities at the ready. Achieve Read & Practice supplies adaptive quizzing and our mobile, accessible Value Edition e-book, in one easy-to-use, affordable product. See the following text for more information, visit the book’s catalog site at macmillanlearning.com, or contact your local Bedford/St. Martin’s sales representative.
Get the Right Version for Your Class To accommodate different course lengths and course budgets, The Making of the West is available in several different formats to best suit your course needs. The comprehensive The Making of the West includes a full-color art program and a robust set of features. The Making of the West Value Edition offers a trade-sized two-color option with the unabridged narrative and selected art and maps at a steep discount. The Value Edition is also offered at the lowest price point in loose-leaf format, and these versions are available as e- books. To get the best value of all, package a new print book with LaunchPad or Achieve Read & Practice at no additional charge to get the best that each format offers. LaunchPad users get a print version for easy portability with an interactive e-book for the full-feature text and course space, along with LearningCurve and loads of additional assignment and assessment options; Achieve Read & Practice users get a print version with a mobile, interactive Value Edition e-book plus LearningCurve adaptive quizzing in one exceptionally
affordable, easy-to-use product.
Combined Volume (Chapters 1–29): available in paperback, Value, loose-leaf, and e-book formats and in LaunchPad and Achieve Read & Practice Volume 1: To 1750 (Chapters 1–17): available in paperback, Value, loose-leaf, e-book formats and in LaunchPad and Achieve Read & Practice Volume 2: Since 1500 (Chapters 14–29): available in paperback, Value, loose-leaf, and e-book formats and in LaunchPad and Achieve Read & Practice
As noted in the following text, any of these volumes can be packaged with additional titles for a discount. To get ISBNs for discount packages, visit macmillanlearning.com or contact your Bedford/St. Martin’s representative.
Assign LaunchPad — An Assessment-Ready Interactive E-book and Course Space Available for discount purchase on its own or for packaging with new books at no additional charge, LaunchPad is a breakthrough solution for history courses. Intuitive and easy to use for students and instructors alike, LaunchPad is ready to use as is and can be edited, customized with your own material, and assigned quickly. LaunchPad for Making of the West includes Bedford/St. Martin’s high-quality content all in one place, including the full interactive e- book and companion reader, Sources of The Making of the West, plus LearningCurve adaptive quizzing; guided reading activities designed to help students read actively for key concepts; autograded quizzes for primary sources, and chapter summative quizzes. Through a wealth of adaptive and summative assessment, including the adaptive learning program of LearningCurve (see the full description ahead), students gain confidence and get into their reading before class. These features, plus additional primary source documents, video tools for making video assignments, map activities, flashcards, and
customizable test banks, make LaunchPad an invaluable asset for any instructor.
LaunchPad easily integrates with course management systems, and with fast ways to build assignments, rearrange chapters, and add new pages, sections, or links, it lets teachers build the courses they want to teach and to hold students accountable. For more information, visit launchpadworks.com or to arrange a demo, contact us at historymktg@macmillan.com.
Assign LearningCurve So Your Students Come to Class Prepared Students using LaunchPad receive access to LearningCurve for The Making of the West. Assigning LearningCurve in place of reading quizzes is easy for instructors, and the reporting features help instructors track overall class trends and spot topics that are giving students trouble so they can adjust their lectures and class activities. This online learning tool is popular with students because it was designed to help them rehearse content at their own pace in a nonthreatening, gamelike environment. The feedback for wrong answers provides instructional coaching and sends students back to the book for review. Students answer as many questions as necessary to reach a target score, with repeated chances to revisit material they haven’t mastered. When LearningCurve is assigned, students come to class better prepared.
Assign Achieve Read & Practice So Your Students Can Read and Study Wherever They Go Available for discount purchase on its own or for packaging with new books at no additional charge, Achieve Read & Practice is Bedford/St. Martin’s most affordable digital solution for history courses. Intuitive and easy to use for both students and instructors, Achieve Read & Practice is ready to use as is, and can be assigned quickly. Achieve Read & Practice for The Making of the West includes the Value
Edition interactive e-book, LearningCurve formative quizzing, assignment tools, and a gradebook. All this is built with an intuitive interface that can be read on mobile devices and is fully accessible and available at a discounted price so anyone can use it. Instructors can set due dates for reading assignments and LearningCurve quizzes in just a few clicks, making it a simple and affordable way to engage students with the narrative and hold students accountable for course reading so they will come to class better prepared. For more information, visit macmillanlearning.com/ReadandPractice or to arrange a demo, contact us at historymktg@macmillan.com.
iClicker, Active Learning Simplified iClicker offers simple, flexible tools to help you give students a voice and facilitate active learning in the classroom. Students can participate with the devices they bring to class using our iClicker Reef mobile apps (which work with smartphones, tablets, or laptops) or iClicker remotes. We’ve now integrated iClicker with Macmillan’s LaunchPad to make it easier than ever to synchronize grades and promote engagement — both in and out of class. iClicker Reef access cards can also be packaged with LaunchPad or your textbook at a significant savings for your students. To learn more, talk to your Macmillan Learning representative or visit us at www.iclicker.com.
Take Advantage of Instructor Resources Bedford/St. Martin’s has developed a rich array of teaching resources for this book and for this course. They range from lecture and presentation materials and assessment tools to course management options. Most can be found in LaunchPad or can be downloaded or ordered at macmillanlearning.com.
Bedford Coursepack for Blackboard, Canvas, Brightspace by D2L, or Moodle. We can help you integrate our rich content into your course management system. Registered instructors can download coursepacks that include our popular free resources and book-
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specific content for The Making of the West. Visit macmillanlearning.com to find your version or download your coursepack.
Instructor’s Resource Manual. The instructor’s manual offers both experienced and first-time instructors tools for presenting textbook material in engaging ways. It includes content learning objectives, annotated chapter outlines, and strategies for teaching with the textbook, plus suggestions on how to get the most out of LearningCurve and a survival guide for first-time teaching assistants.
Guide to Changing Editions.
Designed to facilitate an instructor’s transition from the previous edition of The Making of the West to this new edition, this guide presents an overview of major changes as well as of changes in each chapter.
Online Test Bank. The test bank includes a mix of fresh, carefully crafted multiple- choice, matching, short-answer, and essay questions for each chapter. Many of the multiple-choice questions feature a map, an image, or a primary source excerpt as the prompt. All questions appear in easy-to-use test bank software that allows instructors to add, edit, resequence, and print questions and answers. Instructors can also export questions into a variety of course management systems.
The Bedford Lecture Kit: Lecture Outlines, Maps, and Images. Observe carefully and save time with The Bedford Lecture Kit. These presentation materials are downloadable individually from the Instructor Resources tab on macmillanlearning.com. They include fully customizable multimedia presentations built around chapter outlines that are embedded with maps, figures, and images from the textbook and are supplemented by more detailed instructor notes on
key points and concepts.
Print, Digital, and Custom Options for More Choice and Value For information on free packages and discounts up to 50%, visit macmillanlearning.com, or contact your local Bedford/St. Martin’s sales representative.
Sources of The Making of the West, Sixth Edition. Thoroughly revised, this companion reader provides written and visual sources to accompany each chapter of The Making of the West. A broad range of source types and themes illuminate historical experience from a diversity of perspectives. Now with a visual source as well as a comparative source pairing in every chapter, this reader offers instructors even more opportunities to promote classroom discussion of primary documents and to help students develop essential historical thinking skills. This companion reader is an exceptional value for students and offers plenty of assignment options for instructors. Available free when packaged with the bound text and included in the LaunchPad e-book with autograded quizzes for each source. In LaunchPad, each chapter of the reader includes special primary source online activities — self-graded exercises that challenge students to assess whether a specific piece of evidence drawn from the sources supports or challenges a conclusion related to a guiding question. Sources of The Making of the West is also available on its own as a downloadable e-book.
NEW Bedford Select for History. Create the ideal textbook for your course with only the chapters you need. Starting from one of our Value Edition history texts, you can rearrange chapters, delete unnecessary chapters, select primary sources from Sources of The Making of the West, Sixth Edition, and add document projects from the Bedford Document Collections, or choose to improve your students’s historical thinking skills with the Bedford Tutorials for History. In addition, you can add your own
original content to create just the book you’re looking for. With Bedford Select, students pay only for material that will be assigned in the course, and nothing more. Order your textbook every semester, or modify from one term to the next. It is easy to build your customized textbook, without compromising the quality and affordability you’ve come to expect from Bedford/St. Martin’s. For more information, visit macmillanlearning.com/bedfordselect.
NEW The Bedford Document Collections for World History. Available to customize the print text, this collection provides a flexible repository of discovery-oriented primary source projects ready to assign. Each curated project — written by a historian about a favorite topic — poses a historical question and guides students through analysis of the sources. Examples include “The Silk Road: Travel and Trade in Pre-Modern Inner Asia,” “The Spread of Christianity in the Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries,” “The Singapore Mutiny of 1915: Understanding World War I from a Global Perspective,” and “Living through Perestroika: The Soviet Union in Upheaval, 1985–1991.” For more information, visit macmillanlearning.com.
NEW The Bedford Document Collections for World History Print Modules.
Choose one or two document projects from the collection (see above) and add them in print to a Bedford/St. Martin’s title, or select several to be bound together in a custom reader created specifically for your course. Either way, the modules are affordably priced. For more information, contact your Bedford/St. Martin’s representative.
NEW Bedford Tutorials for History. Designed to customize textbooks with resources relevant to individual courses, this collection of brief units, each 16 pages long and loaded with examples, guides students through basic skills such as using historical evidence effectively, working with primary sources, taking effective notes, avoiding plagiarism and citing sources, and more. Up
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Brief Contents 1 Early Western Civilization, 400,000–1000 B.C.E. 2 Near East Empires and the Reemergence of Civilization in Greece, 1000–500 B.C.E. 3 The Greek Golden Age, c. 500–c. 400 B.C.E. 4 From the Classical to the Hellenistic World, 400–30 B.C.E. 5 The Rise of Rome and Its Republic, 753–44 B.C.E. 6 The Creation of the Roman Empire, 44 B.C.E.–284 C.E. 7 The Transformation of the Roman Empire, 284–600 C.E. 8 The Heirs of Rome: Islam, Byzantium, and Europe, 600–750 9 From Centralization to Fragmentation, 750–1050 10 Commercial Quickening and Religious Reform, 1050–1150 11 The Flowering of the Middle Ages, 1150–1215 12 The Medieval Synthesis — and Its Cracks, 1215–1340 13 Crisis and Renaissance, 1340–1492 14 Global Encounters and the Shock of the Reformation, 1492–1560 15 Wars of Religion and the Clash of Worldviews, 1560–1648 16 Absolutism, Constitutionalism, and the Search for Order, 1640– 1700 17 The Atlantic System and Its Consequences, 1700–1750
Contents Preface: Why This Book This Way Versions and Supplements Brief Contents Maps and Figures Authors’ Note: The B.C.E./C.E. Dating System CHAPTER 1 Early Western Civilization, 400,000–1000 B.C.E.
From the Stone Age to Mesopotamian Civilization, 400,000– 1000 B.C.E.
Life and Change in the Stone Age The Emergence of Cities in Mesopotamia, 4000–2350 B.C.E. Metals and Empire Making: The Akkadians and the Ur III Dynasty, C. 2350–C. 2000 B.C.E. The Achievements of the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Canaanites, 2000–1000 B.C.E.
Egypt, the First Unified Nation, 3050–1000 B.C.E. From the Unification of Egypt to the Old Kingdom, 3050–2190 B.C.E.
The Middle and New Kingdoms in Egypt, 2061–1081 B.C.E. The Hittites, the Minoans, and the Mycenaeans, 2200–1000 B.C.E.
The Hittites, 1750–1200 B.C.E. The Minoans, 2200–1400 B.C.E. The Mycenaeans, 1800–1000 B.C.E. The Violent End to Early Western Civilization, 1200–1000 B.C.E.
Conclusion Chapter 1 Review
CHAPTER 2 Near East Empires and the Reemergence of
Civilization in Greece, 1000–500 B.C.E. From Dark Age to Empire in the Near East, 1000–500 B.C.E.
The New Empire of Assyria, 900–600 B.C.E. The Neo-Babylonian Empire, 600–539 B.C.E. The Persian Empire, 557–500 B.C.E. The Israelites, Origins to 539 B.C.E.
The Reemergence of Greek Civilization, 1000–750 B.C.E. The Greek Dark Age The Values of the Olympic Games Homer, Hesiod, and Divine Justice in Greek Myth
The Creation of the Greek City-State, 750–500 B.C.E. The Physical Environment of the Greek City-State Trade and “Colonization,” 800–580 B.C.E. Citizenship and Freedom in the Greek City-State
New Directions for the Greek City-State, 750–500 B.C.E. Oligarchy in the City-State of Sparta, 700–500 B.C.E. Tyranny in the City-State of Corinth, 657–585 B.C.E. Democracy in the City-State of Athens, c. 700–500 B.C.E. New Ways of Thought and Expression in Greece, 630–500 B.C.E.
Conclusion Chapter 2 Review
CHAPTER 3 The Greek Golden Age, C. 500–C. 400 B.C.E. Wars between Persia and Greece, 499–479 B.C.E.
From the Ionian Revolt to the Battle of Marathon, 499–490 B.C.E.
The Great Persian Invasion, 480–479 B.C.E. Athenian Confidence in the Golden Age, 478–431 B.C.E.
The Establishment of the Athenian Empire Radical Democracy and Pericles’ Leadership, 461–431 B.C.E. The Urban Landscape in Athens
Tradition and Innovation in Athens’s Golden Age Religious Tradition in a Period of Change Women, Slaves, and Metics Innovative Ideas in Education, Philosophy, History, and Medicine The Development of Greek Tragedy The Development of Greek Comedy
The End of Athens’s Golden Age, 431–403 B.C.E. The Peloponnesian War, 431–404 B.C.E. Athens Defeated: Tyranny and Civil War, 404–403 B.C.E.
Conclusion Chapter 3 Review
CHAPTER 4 From the Classical to the Hellenistic World, 400–30 B.C.E.
Classical Greece after the Peloponnesian War, 400–350 B.C.E. Athens’s Recovery after the Peloponnesian War The Execution of Socrates, 399 B.C.E. The Philosophy of Plato Aristotle, Scientist and Philosopher Greek Political Disunity
The Rise of Macedonia, 359–323 B.C.E. Macedonian Power and Philip II, 359–336 B.C.E. The Rule of Alexander the Great, 336–323 B.C.E.
The Hellenistic Kingdoms, 323–30 B.C.E. Creating New Kingdoms The Layers of Hellenistic Society The End of the Hellenistic Kingdoms
Hellenistic Culture The Arts under Royal Support Philosophy for a New Age
Scientific Innovation Cultural and Religious Transformations
Conclusion Chapter 4 Review
CHAPTER 5 The Rise of Rome and Its Republic, 753–44 B.C.E. Roman Social and Religious Traditions
Roman Moral Values The Patron-Client System The Roman Family Education for Public Life Public and Private Religion
From Monarchy to Republic Roman Society under the Kings, 753–509 B.C.E. The Early Roman Republic, 509–287 B.C.E.
Roman Imperialism and Its Consequences Expansion in Italy, 500–220 B.C.E. Wars with Carthage and in the East, 264–121 B.C.E. Greek Influence on Roman Literature and the Arts Stresses on Society from Imperialism
Civil War and the Destruction of the Republic The Gracchus Brothers and Violence in Politics, 133–121 B.C.E. Marius and the Origin of Client Armies, 107–100 B.C.E. Sulla and Civil War, 91–78 B.C.E. Julius Caesar and the Collapse of the Republic, 83–44 B.C.E.
Conclusion Chapter 5 Review
CHAPTER 6 The Creation of the Roman Empire, 44 B.C.E.–284 C.E. From Republic to Empire, 44 B.C.E.–14 C.E.
Civil War, 44–27 B.C.E.
The Creation of the Principate, 27 B.C.E.–14 C.E. Daily Life in the Rome of Augustus Changes in Education, Literature, and Art in Augustus’s Rome
Politics and Society in the Early Roman Empire The Perpetuation of the Principate after Augustus, 14–180 C.E. Life in the Roman Golden Age, 96–180 C.E.
The Emergence of Christianity in the Early Roman Empire Jesus and His Teachings Growth of a New Religion Competing Religious Beliefs
From Stability to Crisis in the Third Century C.E. Threats to the Northern and Eastern Frontiers of the Early Roman Empire Uncontrolled Spending, Natural Disasters, and Political Crisis, 193–284 C.E.
Conclusion Chapter 6 Review
CHAPTER 7 The Transformation of the Roman Empire, 284–600 C.E.
From Principate to Dominate in the Late Roman Empire, 284– 395
The Political Transformation and Division of the Roman Empire The Social Consequences of Financial Pressures From the Great Persecution to Religious Freedom
The Official Christianization of the Empire, 312–C. 540 Polytheism and Christianity in Competition The Struggle for Clarification in Christian Belief The Emergence of Christian Monks
Non-Roman Kingdoms in the Western Roman Empire, C. 370–
550s Non-Roman Migrations into the Western Roman Empire Social and Cultural Transformation in the Western Roman Empire
The Roman Empire in the East, C. 500–565 Imperial Society in the Eastern Roman Empire The Reign of Emperor Justinian, 527–565 The Preservation of Classical Traditions in the Late Roman Empire
Conclusion Chapter 7 Review
CHAPTER 8 The Heirs of Rome: Islam, Byzantium, and Europe, 600–750
Islam: A New Religion and a New Empire Nomads and City Dwellers The Prophet Muhammad and the Faith of Islam Growth of Islam, C. 610–632 The Caliphs, Muhammad’s Successors, 632–750 Peace and Prosperity in Islamic Lands
Byzantium Besieged Wars on the Frontiers, C. 570–750 From an Urban to a Rural Way of Life New Military and Cultural Forms Religion, Politics, and Iconoclasm
Western Europe: A Medley of Kingdoms Frankish Kingdoms with Roman Roots Economic Activity in a Peasant Society The Powerful in Merovingian Society Christianity and Classical Culture in the British Isles Unity in Spain, Division in Italy
Political Tensions and the Power of the Pope Conclusion Chapter 8 Review
CHAPTER 9 From Centralization to Fragmentation, 750–1050 The Byzantine Emperor and Local Elites
Imperial Power The Macedonian Renaissance, C. 870–C. 1025 The Dynatoi: A New Landowning Elite The Formation of Eastern Europe and Kievan Rus
The Rise and Fall of the Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate, 750–936 Regional Diversity in Islamic Lands Unity of Commerce and Language The Islamic Renaissance, C. 790–C. 1050
The Carolingian Empire The Rise of the Carolingians Charlemagne and His Kingdom, 768–814 The Carolingian Renaissance, C. 790–C. 900 Charlemagne’s Successors, 814–911 Land and Power Viking, Muslim, and Magyar Invasions, C. 790–955
After the Carolingians: The Emergence of Local Rule Public Power and Private Relationships Warriors and Warfare Efforts to Contain Violence Political Communities in Italy, England, and France Emperors and Kings in Central and Eastern Europe
Conclusion Chapter 9 Review
CHAPTER 10 Commercial Quickening and Religious Reform, 1050–1150
The Commercial Revolution Fairs, Towns, and Cities Organizing Crafts and Commerce Communes: Self-Government for the Towns The Commercial Revolution in the Countryside
Church Reform Beginnings of Reform The Gregorian Reform and the Investiture Conflict, 1075–1122 The Sweep of Reform New Monastic Orders of Poverty
The Crusades Calling the Crusade The First Crusade The Crusader States The Disastrous Second Crusade The Long-Term Impact of the Crusades
The Revival of Monarchies Reconstructing the Empire at Byzantium England under Norman Rule Praising the King of France Surviving as Emperor
Conclusion Chapter 10 Review
CHAPTER 11 The Flowering of the Middle Ages, 1150–1215 New Schools and Churches
The New Learning and the Rise of the University Architectural Style: From Romanesque to Gothic
Governments as Institutions England: Unity through Common Law France: Consolidation and Conquest Germany: The Revived Monarchy of Frederick Barbarossa Eastern Europe and Byzantium: Fragmenting Realms
The Growth of a Vernacular High Culture The Troubadours: Poets of Love and Play The Birth of Epic and Romance Literature
Religious Fervor and Crusade New Religious Orders in the Cities Disastrous Crusades to the Holy Land Victorious Crusades in Europe and on Its Frontiers
Conclusion Chapter 11 Review
CHAPTER 12 The Medieval Synthesis — and Its Cracks, 1215–1340 The Church’s Mission
Innocent III and the Fourth Lateran Council Inquisition Lay Piety Jews as Outcasts
Reconciling This World and the Next The Achievements and Failures of Scholasticism New Syntheses in Writing and Music Gothic Art
The Politics of Control The Weakening of the Empire Louis IX and a New Ideal of Kingship The Birth of Representative Institutions The Weakening of the Papacy
The Rise of the Signori The Mongol Takeover The Great Famine
Conclusion Chapter 12 Review
CHAPTER 13 Crisis and Renaissance, 1340–1492 Crisis: Disease, War, and Schism
The Black Death, 1346–1353 The Hundred Years’ War, 1337–1453 The Ottoman Conquest of Constantinople, 1453 The Great Schism, 1378–1417
Renaissance: New Forms of Thought and Expression Renaissance Humanism The Arts
Consolidating Power New Political Formations in Eastern Europe Powerful States in Western Europe Republics The Tools of Power
Conclusion Chapter 13 Review
CHAPTER 14 Global Encounters and the Shock of the Reformation, 1492–1560
The Discovery of New Worlds Portuguese Explorations The Voyages of Columbus A New Era in Slavery Conquering the New World The Columbian Exchange
The Protestant Reformation The Invention of Printing Popular Piety and Christian Humanism Martin Luther’s Challenge Protestantism Spreads and Divides The Contested Church of England
Reshaping Society through Religion Protestant Challenges to the Social Order New Forms of Discipline Catholic Renewal
Striving for Mastery Courtiers and Princes Dynastic Wars Financing War Divided Realms
Conclusion Chapter 14 Review
CHAPTER 15 Wars of Religion and the Clash of Worldviews, 1560–1648
Religious Conflicts Threaten State Power, 1560–1618 French Wars of Religion, 1562–1598 Dutch Revolt against Spain Elizabeth I’s Defense of English Protestantism The Clash of Faiths and Empires in Eastern Europe
The Thirty Years’ War, 1618–1648 Origins and Course of the War The Effects of Constant Fighting The Peace of Westphalia, 1648
Economic Crisis and Realignment
From Growth to Recession Consequences for Daily Life The Economic Balance of Power
The Rise of Science and a Scientific Worldview The Scientific Revolution The Natural Laws of Politics The Arts in an Age of Crisis Magic and Witchcraft
Conclusion Chapter 15 Review
CHAPTER 16 Absolutism, Constitutionalism, and the Search for Order, 1640–1700
Louis XIV: Absolutism and Its Limits The Fronde, 1648–1653 Court Culture as an Element of Absolutism Enforcing Religious Orthodoxy Extending State Authority at Home and Abroad
Constitutionalism in England England Turned Upside Down, 1642–1660 Restoration and Revolution Again Social Contract Theory: Hobbes and Locke
Outposts of Constitutionalism The Dutch Republic Freedom and Slavery in the New World
Absolutism in Central and Eastern Europe Poland-Lithuania Overwhelmed Brandenburg-Prussia: Militaristic Absolutism An Uneasy Balance: Austrian Habsburgs and Ottoman Turks Russia: Setting the Foundations of Bureaucratic Absolutism
The Search for Order in Elite and Popular Culture Freedom and Constraint in the Arts and Sciences Women and Manners Reforming Popular Culture
Conclusion Chapter 16 Review
CHAPTER 17 The Atlantic System and Its Consequences, 1700– 1750
The Atlantic System and the World Economy Slavery and the Atlantic System World Trade and Settlement The Birth of Consumer Society
New Social and Cultural Patterns Agricultural Revolution Social Life in the Cities New Tastes in the Arts Religious Revivals
Consolidation of the European State System A New Power Alignment British Rise and Dutch Decline Russia’s Emergence as a European Power Continuing Dynastic Struggles The Power of Diplomacy and the Importance of Population
The Birth of the Enlightenment Popularization of Science and Challenges to Religion Travel Literature and the Challenge to Custom and Tradition Raising the Woman Question
Conclusion Chapter 17 Review
Glossary of Key Terms and People Index About the Authors
Maps and Figures MAPS
Chapter 1 MAP 1.1 The Ancient Near East, 4000–3000 B.C.E. MAP 1.2 Ancient Egypt MAP 1.3 Greece and the Aegean Sea, 1500 B.C.E. MAPPING THE WEST The Violent End to Early Western Civilization, 1200–1000 B.C.E.
Chapter 2 MAP 2.1 Expansion of the Persian Empire, C. 550–490 B.C.E. MAP 2.2 Phoenician and Greek Expansion, 750–500 B.C.E. MAPPING THE WEST Mediterranean Civilizations, C. 500 B.C.E.
Chapter 3 MAP 3.1 The Persian Wars, 499–479 B.C.E. MAP 3.2 Fifth-Century B.C.E. Athens MAP 3.3 The Peloponnesian War, 431–404 B.C.E. MAPPING THE WEST Greece, Europe, and the Mediterranean, 400 B.C.E.
Chapter 4 MAP 4.1 Conquests of Alexander the Great, r. 336–323 B.C.E. MAP 4.2 Hellenistic Kingdoms, 240 B.C.E. MAPPING THE WEST Roman Takeover of the Hellenistic World, to 30 B.C.E.
Chapter 5 MAP 5.1 Ancient Italy, 500 B.C.E. MAP 5.2 The City of Rome during the Republic
MAP 5.3 Roman Expansion, 500–44 B.C.E. MAPPING THE WEST The Roman World at the End of the Republic, 44 B.C.E.
Chapter 6 MAP 6.1 The Expansion of the Roman Empire, 30 B.C.E.–117 C.E. MAP 6.2 Natural Features and Languages of the Roman World MAP 6.3 Christian Populations in the Late Third Century C.E. MAPPING THE WEST The Roman Empire in Crisis, 284 C.E.
Chapter 7 MAP 7.1 Diocletian’s Reorganization of 293 MAP 7.2 The Spread of Christianity, 300–600 MAP 7.3 Migrations and Invasions of the Fourth and Fifth Centuries MAPPING THE WEST Western Europe and the Eastern Roman (or Byzantine) Empire, C. 600
Chapter 8 MAP 8.1 Expansion of Islam to 750 MAP 8.2 Byzantine and Sasanid Empires, C. 600 MAP 8.3 The Merovingian Kingdoms in the Seventh Century MAPPING THE WEST Rome’s Heirs, C. 750
Chapter 9 MAP 9.1 The Byzantine Empire, 1025 MAP 9.2 Islamic States, C. 1000 MAP 9.3 Expansion of the Carolingian Empire under Charlemagne MAPPING THE WEST Europe and the Mediterranean, C. 1050
Chapter 10 MAP 10.1 The First Crusade, 1096–1099 MAPPING THE WEST Europe and the Mediterranean, C. 1150
Chapter 11
MAP 11.1 Europe in the Age of Henry II and Frederick Barbarossa, 1150–1190 MAP 11.2 Crusades and Anti-heretic Campaigns, 1150–1215 MAP 11.3 The Reconquista, 1150–1212 MAPPING THE WEST Europe and Byzantium, C. 1215
Chapter 12 MAP 12.1 France under Louis IX, r. 1226–1270 MAP 12.2 The Mongol Khanates after 1260 MAPPING THE WEST Europe, C. 1340
Chapter 13 MAP 13.1 Advance of the Black Death, 1346–1353 MAP 13.2 The Hundred Years’ War, 1337–1453 MAP 13.3 Ottoman Expansion in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries MAPPING THE WEST Europe, C. 1492
Chapter 14 MAP 14.1 Early Voyages of World Exploration MAP 14.2 The Peasants’ War of 1525 MAPPING THE WEST Reformation Europe, C. 1560
Chapter 15 MAP 15.1 The Empire of Philip II, r. 1556–1598 MAP 15.2 The Thirty Years’ War and the Peace of Westphalia, 1648 MAP 15.3 European Colonization of the Americas, C. 1640 MAPPING THE WEST The Religious Divisions of Europe, C. 1648
Chapter 16 MAP 16.1 Louis XIV’s Acquisitions, 1668–1697 MAP 16.2 Dutch Commerce in the Seventeenth Century MAP 16.3 State Building in Central and Eastern Europe, 1648– 1699
MAPPING THE WEST Europe at the End of the Seventeenth Century
Chapter 17 MAP 17.1 European Trade Patterns, C. 1740 MAP 17.2 Europe, c. 1715 MAP 17.3 Russia and Sweden after the Great Northern War, 1721 MAPPING THE WEST Europe in 1750
FIGURES
FIGURE 1.1 Cuneiform Writing FIGURE 1.2 Egyptian Hieroglyphs FIGURE 3.1 Triremes, the Foremost Classical Greek Warships FIGURE 3.2 Styles of Greek Capitals FIGURE 6.1 Cutaway Reconstruction of the Forum of Augustus FIGURE 9.1 Diagram of a Manor and Its Three-Field System FIGURE 10.1 Plan of Fountains Abbey FIGURE 11.1 Floor Plan of a Romanesque Church FIGURE 11.2 The Song “A chantar m’er de so” FIGURE 13.1 The Valois Succession FIGURE 17.1 African Slaves Imported into American Territories, 1701–1800
Authors’ Note The B.C.E./C.E. Dating System When were you born? What year is it? We customarily answer questions like these with a number, such as “1991” or “2008.” Our replies are usually automatic, taking for granted the numerous assumptions Westerners make about how dates indicate chronology. But to what do numbers such as 1991 and 2008 actually refer? In this book the numbers used to specify dates follow a recent revision of the system most common in the Western secular world. This system reckons the dates of solar years by counting backward and forward from the traditional date of the birth of Jesus Christ, more than two thousand years ago.
Using this method, numbers followed by the abbreviation B.C.E., standing for “before the common era” (or, as some would say, “before the Christian era”), indicate the number of years counting backward from the assumed date of the birth of Jesus Christ. The abbreviation B.C.E. therefore indicates the same chronology marked by the traditional abbreviation B.C. (“before Christ”). The larger the number preceding B.C.E. (or B.C.), the earlier in history is the year to which it refers. The date 431 B.C.E., for example, refers to a year 431 years before the birth of Jesus and therefore comes earlier in time than the dates 430 B.C.E., 429 B.C.E., and so on. The same calculation applies to numbering other time intervals calculated on the decimal system: those of ten years (a decade), of one hundred years (a century), and of one thousand years (a millennium). For example, the decade of the 440s B.C.E. (449 B.C.E. to 440 B.C.E.) is earlier than the decade of the 430s B.C.E. (439 B.C.E. to 430 B.C.E.). “Fifth century B.C.E.” refers to the fifth period of 100 years reckoning backward from the birth of Jesus and covers the years 500 B.C.E. to 401 B.C.E. It is earlier in history than the fourth century B.C.E. (400 B.C.E. to 301 B.C.E.), which followed the fifth century B.C.E. Because this system has no year “zero,” the first century
B.C.E. covers the years 100 B.C.E. to 1 B.C.E. Dating millennia works similarly: the second millennium B.C.E. refers to the years 2000 B.C.E. to 1001 B.C.E., the third millennium to the years 3000 B.C.E. to 2001 B.C.E., and so on.
To indicate years counted forward from the traditional date of Jesus’s birth, numbers are followed by the abbreviation C.E., standing for “of the common era” (or “of the Christian era”). The abbreviation C.E. therefore indicates the same chronology marked by the traditional abbreviation A.D., which stands for the Latin phrase anno Domini (“in the year of the Lord”). The abbreviation A.D. properly comes before the date being marked. The date A.D. 1492, for example, translates as “in the year of the Lord 1492,” meaning 1492 years after the birth of Jesus. Under the B.C.E./C.E. system, this date would be written as 1492 C.E. For dating centuries, the term “first century C.E.” refers to the period from 1 C.E. to 100 C.E. (which is the same period as A.D. 1 to A.D. 100). For dates C.E, the smaller the number, the earlier the date in history. The fourth century C.E. (301 C.E. to 400 C.E.) comes before the fifth century C.E. (401 C.E. to 500 C.E.). The year 312 C.E. is a date in the early fourth century C.E., while 395 C.E. is a date late in the same century. When numbers are given without either B.C.E. or C.E., they are presumed to be dates C.E. For example, the term eighteenth century with no abbreviation accompanying it refers to the years 1701 C.E. to 1800 C.E.
No standard system of numbering years, such as B.C.E./C.E., existed in antiquity. Different people in different places identified years with varying names and numbers. Consequently, it was difficult to match up the years in any particular local system with those in a different system. Each city of ancient Greece, for example, had its own method for keeping track of the years. The ancient Greek historian Thucydides, therefore, faced a problem in presenting a chronology for the famous Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, which began (by our reckoning) in 431 B.C.E. To try to explain to as many of his readers as possible the date the war had begun, he described its first year by three different local systems: “the year
when Chrysis was in the forty-eighth year of her priesthood at Argos, and Aenesias was overseer at Sparta, and Pythodorus was magistrate at Athens.”
A Catholic monk named Dionysius, who lived in Rome in the sixth century C.E., invented the system of reckoning dates forward from the birth of Jesus. Calling himself Exiguus (Latin for “the little” or “the small”) as a mark of humility, he placed Jesus’s birth 754 years after the foundation of ancient Rome. Others then and now believe his date for Jesus’s birth was in fact several years too late. Many scholars today calculate that Jesus was born in what would be 4 B.C.E. according to Dionysius’s system, although a date a year or so earlier also seems possible.
Counting backward from the supposed date of Jesus’s birth to indicate dates earlier than that event represented a natural complement to reckoning forward for dates after it. The English historian and theologian Bede in the early eighth century was the first to use both forward and backward reckoning from the birth of Jesus in a historical work, and this system gradually gained wider acceptance because it provided a basis for standardizing the many local calendars used in the Western Christian world. Nevertheless, B.C. and A.D. were not used regularly until the end of the eighteenth century; B.C.E. and C.E. became common in the late twentieth century.
The system of numbering years from the birth of Jesus is far from the only one in use today. The Jewish calendar of years, for example, counts forward from the date given to the creation of the world, which would be calculated as 3761 B.C.E. under the B.C.E./C.E. system. Under this system, years are designated A.M., an abbreviation of the Latin anno mundi, “in the year of the world.” The Islamic calendar counts forward from the date of the Prophet Muhammad’s flight from Mecca, called the Hijra, in what is the year 622 C.E. The abbreviation A.H. (standing for the Latin phrase anno Hegirae, “in the year of the Hijra”) indicates dates calculated by this system. Anthropology commonly reckons distant dates as “before the present” (abbreviated
B.P.).
History is often defined as the study of change over time; hence the importance of dates for the historian. But just as historians argue over which dates are most significant, they disagree over which dating system to follow. Their debate reveals perhaps the most enduring fact about history — its vitality.
C H A P T E R 1
Early Western Civilization
400,000–1000 B.C.E.
KINGS IN ANCIENT EGYPT BELIEVED THE GODS JUDGED THEM AFTER death. In Instructions for Merikare, written around 2100– 2000 B.C.E., a king advises his son: “Secure your place in the cemetery by being upright, by doing justice, upon which people’s hearts rely…. When a man is buried and mourned, his deeds are piled up next to him as treasure.” Being judged pure of heart led to an eternal reward: “abiding [in the afterlife] like a god, roaming [free] like the lords of time.”
Other Egyptians also believed they should live justly by worshipping the gods and obeying the king. A guidebook instructing mummies about the underworld, the Book of the Dead, explained the jackal-headed god Anubis would weigh the dead person’s heart against the goddess Maat and her feather of Truth, with the bird-headed god Thoth recording the result. Pictures in the book show the Swallower of the Damned — with a crocodile’s head, a lion’s body, and a hippopotamus’s hind end — crouching ready to eat the heart of anyone who failed. Egyptian mythology thus taught people that living a just life was their most important goal because it won them a blessed existence after they died.
This belief — that there are divine beings more powerful than humans — goes back to the time before civilization, when people in the Stone Age lived as hunter-gatherers. Ten to twelve thousand years ago, when global warming promoted the invention of agriculture and the domestication of animals, human life changed
in revolutionary ways that powerfully affect our lives today. Civilization first emerged around 4000–3000 B.C.E. in cities in Mesopotamia (the region between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, today Iraq). Historians define civilization as a way of life based on agriculture and trade, with cities containing large buildings for religion and government; technology to produce metals, textiles, pottery, and other manufactured objects; and knowledge of writing. Archaeological research indicates that those conditions first developed in Mesopotamia.
Civilization always arose with religion at its core. In Mesopotamian civilization, rulers believed they were judged for maintaining order on earth and honoring the gods. Egyptian civilization, which began about 3100–3000 B.C.E., built enormous temples and pyramids. Civilizations emerged starting about 2500 B.C.E. in India, China, and the Americas. By 2000 B.C.E., civilizations appeared in Anatolia (today Turkey), on islands in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and in Greece. The development of civilization produced intended and unintended consequences. The spread of metallurgy (using high heat to extract metals from ores), for example, created better tools and weapons but also increased preexisting social hierarchy (ranking people as superiors or inferiors).
The peoples of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the eastern Mediterranean, and Greece created Western civilization by exchanging ideas, technologies, and objects through trade, travel, and war. Building on concepts from the Near East, Greeks originated the idea of the West as a separate region, identifying Europe as the West (where the sun sets) and different from the East (where the sun rises). The making of the West depended on cultural, political, and economic interaction among diverse groups. The West remains an evolving concept, not a fixed region with unchanging borders and members.
CHAPTER FOCUS What changes did Western civilization bring to human life?
From the Stone Age to Mesopotamian Civilization, 400,000–1000 B.C.E.
People in the Stone Age created patterns of life that still exist. The most significant of those early developments were (1) the
evolution of hierarchy in society and (2) the invention of agriculture and the domestication of animals, which allowed people to stay in one place and raise their own food instead of wandering around to find things to eat in the wild. This change in how human beings met their most basic need — nutrition — led them to settle down in permanent communities for the first time. Eventually, some of these communities grew large enough in population and area to be considered cities. The conditions of life in these populous settlements incubated civilization, beginning in the fertile plains of the two great rivers of the Near East, the Euphrates and the Tigris. There, the Mesopotamians learned to work metals, and their rulers’ desire to acquire and control the sources of these increasingly precious resources generated the drive to create empires. That drive in turn set the world on a course that extends to the modern age.
Life and Change in the Stone Age About four hundred thousand years ago, people whose brains and bodies resembled ours appeared first in Africa. Called Homo sapiens (“wise human beings”), they were the immediate ancestors of modern people. Spreading out from Africa, they gradually populated the rest of the earth. Anthropologists call this time the Stone Age because
people made tools and weapons from stone as well as from bone and wood; they did not yet know how to work with metals. The Stone Age is divided into an early part, the Paleolithic (“Old Stone”), and a later part, the Neolithic (“New Stone”).
In the Paleolithic Age, people existed as hunter-gatherers who originally lived in mostly egalitarian bands (meaning all adults enjoyed a rough equality in making group decisions). They roamed in groups of twenty to fifty, hunting animals, catching fish and shellfish, and gathering plants, fruits, and nuts. Women with young children foraged for plants close to camp; they provided the group’s most reliable supply of nourishment. Men did most of the hunting of wild animals far from camp, although archaeological evidence shows that women also participated, especially in hunting with nets. Objects from distant regions found in burial sites show that hunter-gatherer bands traded with one another. Trade spread knowledge — especially technology, such as techniques for improving tools, and art for creating beauty and expressing beliefs. The use of fire for cooking was a major innovation because it allowed people to obtain nourishment from wild grains that they could not digest if eaten raw.
Evidence from graves shows that hierarchy emerged in Paleolithic times. Some Paleolithic burial sites contain weapons, tools, animal figurines, ivory beads, seashells, and bracelets alongside the corpses; the objects indicate that certain dead persons had greater status and wealth than others. Hierarchy probably began when men acquired prestige from bringing back meat after long hunts and from fighting in wars. (The many traumatic wounds seen in male skeletons show warfare was frequent.) Older women and men also earned status from their experience and longevity, in an age when illness or accidents killed most people before age thirty. The decoration of corpses with red paint and valuable objects suggests that Paleolithic people thought about the mystery of death and perhaps believed in an afterlife. Paleolithic artists also sculpted statuettes of human figures, probably for religious purposes.
Climate and geography — the fundamental features of our natural environment — defined a new way of life for human beings beginning about 10,000 B.C.E. A slow process of transformation started when climate change in the late Paleolithic period brought warmer temperatures and more rainfall at higher elevations. This weather increased the amount of wild grains people could gather in the foothills of the Near East’s Fertile Crescent, an arc of territory extending up from the Jordan valley in Israel, through eastern Turkey, and down into the foothills and plains of Iraq and Iran (Map 1.1).* Paleolithic hunter-gatherers came to settle where wild grains grew abundantly and game animals grazed. Recent archaeological excavation in Turkey suggests that around eleven thousand years ago, groups organized to erect stone monuments to worship gods who they believed helped them to survive, and they started growing food nearby. A more reliable food supply allowed people to raise more children, and increased social organization promoted larger settlements. More people being born, however, in turn, created a greater need for food.
*In this book, we observe the common usage of the term Near East to mean the lands of southwestern Asia and Egypt.
MAP 1.1 The Ancient Near East, 4000–3000 B.C.E. The diverse region we call the ancient Near East included many different landscapes, climates, peoples, and languages. Kings ruled its independent city-states, the centers of the world’s first civilizations, beginning around 4000–3000 B.C.E. Trade by land and sea for natural resources, especially metals, and wars of conquest kept the peoples of the region in constant contact and conflict with one another. How did geography facilitate — or hinder — the development of civilization in the Near East?
After thousands of years of trial and error, people in the Fertile Crescent invented reliable agriculture by sowing seeds from wild grains to produce harvests year after year. This marked the start of the Neolithic Age. Since women had the most experience gathering plants, they probably played the major role in developing farming, while men continued to hunt. Archaeology shows that people learned to domesticate animals about the same time. By nine thousand years ago, keeping herds for food was widespread in the Near East, which was home to wild animals that could be domesticated, such as sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle.
Historians call agriculture and the domestication of animals the “farming package,” which created the Neolithic Revolution. The farming package had revolutionary effects because it produced many permanent settlements and food surpluses. Some Neolithic people lived as pastoralists (herders moving around to find grazing land for their animals), while others were farmers who had to reside in a settled location to raise crops. Fixed settlements marked a turning point in the relationship between human beings and the environment, as farmers increasingly channeled streams for irrigation. DNA evidence from ancient bones and modern populations shows that by 4000 B.C.E., immigrants and traders from the Fertile Crescent had helped spread knowledge of agriculture and domestication as far as the European shores of the Atlantic Ocean. When farmers began producing more food than they needed, the surpluses allowed other people in the community to specialize in architecture, arts, crafts, metalwork, textile production, and trade.
The Neolithic Revolution generated more hierarchy because positions of authority were needed to allow some people to supervise the complex irrigation systems that supported agricultural surpluses, and because greater economic activity created a stricter division of labor by gender. Men began to dominate agriculture after the invention of heavy wooden plows pulled by oxen, sometime after 4000 B.C.E. Not having to bear and nurse babies, men took over long- distance trade. Women and older children mastered new domestic tasks such as turning milk from domesticated animals into cheese and yogurt and making clothing for themselves and their families. This gendered division of labor arose as an efficient response to the conditions and technologies of the time, but it had the unintended consequence of increasing men’s status.
The Emergence of Cities in
Mesopotamia, 4000–2350 B.C.E. Significant changes in human society took place when the first cities — and therefore the first civilization — emerged in Mesopotamia about 4000–3000 B.C.E. on the plains bordering the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (see Map 1.1). Cities developed there because the climate and the soil could support large populations. Mesopotamian farmers operated in a challenging environment; temperatures soared to 120 degrees Fahrenheit and little rain fell in the low-lying plains, yet the rivers flooded unpredictably. The farmers maximized agricultural production by devising the technology and administrative arrangements necessary to irrigate the arid flatlands with water diverted from the rivers. A vast system of canals controlled flooding and made the desert fertile with food crops. The need to construct and maintain a system of irrigation canals in turn led to the centralization of authority in Mesopotamian cities, whose rulers took control of the farmland and irrigation systems outside their fortified walls. This political arrangement — an urban center exercising control over the surrounding countryside — is called a city-state. Mesopotamian city-states were independent communities competing with each other for land and resources.
The people of Sumer (southern Mesopotamia) established the earliest city-states. Unlike other Mesopotamians, the Sumerians did not speak a Semitic language (the group of languages from which Hebrew and Arabic came); the origins of the Sumerians’ language remain a mystery. By 3000 B.C.E., the Sumerians had created twelve independent city-states, including Uruk, Eridu, and Ur, which repeatedly battled each other for territory. By 2500 B.C.E., most of the cities had expanded to twenty thousand residents or more. The rooms in Sumerians’ mud-brick houses surrounded open courts. Large homes had a dozen rooms or more.
The Sumerian city-states became prosperous from agricultural surpluses and trade in commodities and manufactured goods. Their
residents bartered grain, vegetable oil, woolens, and leather with one another, and they acquired metal, timber, and precious stones from foreign trade. The invention of the wheel for use on transport wagons around 3000 B.C.E. strengthened the Mesopotamian economy. Traders traveled as far as India, where the cities of Indus civilization emerged about 2500 B.C.E. Two groups dominated the Sumerian economy: religious officials controlled the temples, and ruling families controlled large farms and gangs of laborers. Some private households also became rich.
Increasingly rigid forms of hierarchy evolved in Sumerian society. Slaves, owned by temple officials and by individuals, had the lowest status. People were enslaved by being captured in war, being born to slaves, voluntarily selling themselves or their children (usually to escape starvation), or being sold by their creditors when they could not repay loans (debt slavery). Children whose parents dedicated them as slaves to the gods could rise to prominent positions in temple administration. In general, however, slaves existed in near-total dependence on other people and were excluded from normal social relations. They usually worked without pay and lacked almost all legal rights. Considered as property, they could be bought, sold, beaten, or even killed by their masters.
Slaves worked in domestic service, craft production, and farming, but historians dispute whether slaves or free laborers were more important to the economy. Free persons performed most government labor, paying their taxes with work rather than with money, which was measured in amounts of food or precious metal (monetary currency was not invented until much later). Although some owners liberated slaves in their wills and a few allowed slaves to keep enough earnings to purchase their freedom, most slaves had little chance of becoming free.
Hierarchy became so strong in Mesopotamian society that it led to monarchy — the political system that became the most common form of government in the ancient world. In a monarchy, the king was at
