Friday's Primary Sources

Dear all,

This week, the primary source "Eusebius of Caesaria" will be an optional reading. You are required to read all the others.

Doctor's Report Required to take the Make-up Exam

Those who will take the make-up exam should bring a doctor's report stating the reason for your absence on November 22. Those who couldn't take the exam due to other problems should get in touch with Elif Unlu in order to take the make-up.

MAKE-UP EXAM

The make-up exam for HIST 105 will be held on November 29 at NH 203, from 17:00 to 18:30.

MOVIE SCREENING FOR TOMORROW

Dear all,

This is to remind you that tomorrow we will have a movie screening, "The Crusades" by Terry Jones, at 17:00 in Ayhan Sahenk, Garanti Kültür.

Midterm Exam - Topics and Places

Dear all,

The midterm exam for HIST 105 will be on November 22 at 17:00. You are required to study all the topics we have examined, except the last lectures on Byzantine Empire. The exam places are as follows:

AÇIKGÖZ - BORA: NH 105
BORAN - ERDİM: NH 301
ERDOĞAN - KARALDI: NH 305
KARAMAN - ÖZSOY: NH 401
ÖZTÜRK - YÜKSEL: NH 405
Have a nice holiday, and good luck!

MIDTERM EXAM QUESTIONS - Examples from earlier exams

Example - Long Essay Question

1. How would you describe the changes that contributed to the rise of democracy in

    Greece after the end of the “Dark Ages”?

            It is possible to describe the changes that contributed to the rise of democacy in Greece under three categories: Rise of polis, hoplite phalanx, colonization and economic expansion. This essay will explain these topics in detail.

            “Polis” are political institutions controlled by nobility. During the eighth century BC, state was governed by a council of aristocrats. The council elected officials who executed the power that the council gave for one year. Moreover, there was the People’s assembly which was not open to very poor citizens; rather it was again controlled by the aristoctrats. Even though the polis system in Greece was politically aristocratic in its early stages of development, it was inherently more suitable than big states/empires for political participation of its members. Small size of a city, and close interaction of its members would be more condusive to direct democracy than a huge empire.

Hoplite phalanxes were heavy infantries composed of farmer-citizens. This mode of fighting had a leveling effect over the society. Since it placed the safety of the state in the hands of the average citizen-farmer, who fought and returned home, a large portion of the people had high stakes in the government. The demands of the masses could not be ignored

The third change was what may be termed as colonization and economic expansion. Merchants and growing urban manufacturers, whose power was increasing due to commerce, began to challenge the aristocracy. Related to the commercial expansion was the change in the economic structure of Greek cities was well. The opening up of the Greek economy to the outside world made it profitable for Athens to change its agricultural structure from grain production to intensive cultivation of olive oil and wine. Rising merchants challenged the aristocracy. The rise of merchants had a negative effect as well: Small farmers borrowed a lot of money that they could not pay back which resulted in enslavement. Many farmers lost their lands.  These developments resulted in social and political protest. As a response, some politicians rose to the challenge in the sixth century, such as Solon and Cleisthenes, who turned the system into a democratic system in which the People's Assembly became the sole source of power.

Example - Short-Essay Question

1. What developed first, permanent settlements or agriculture? How do we know?

Permanent settlements developed first, then came agriculture. We know that the permanent settlements developed first because there are sites of settlements in the Near East that do not contain remains of domesticated species. The period we speak of roughly dates back to 10,000 BC – an age that is known as the end of the Ice Age. Our knowledge is based on investigations of carbonized plant seeds and animal bones from sites. Investigations can reveal whether domestication (genetic modification) of species has begun. 

 

Example - Definition Questions

Great Wall - Constructed during the Qin Dynasty (ca. 220 BC) by the First Emperor to keep the nomadic invaders out of the Chinese lands.

Upanishads - The literary tradition that evolved as a reaction to the Brahmins' control of religious and political activities. Also known as the "forest literature," created by ascetic mystics who opposed the Brahmins. Date: ca. 800 BC

CHINA FROM EARLY RICE CULTIVATION TO THE HAN DYNASTY

-Yang-Tze River, Yellow River
-Geographically isolated land mass: Himalayas, Pacific Ocean.
-Cultural stability.




Rice Agriculture
-Vital for survival.
-Requires a very-well organized social structure.
-Carefully designed social roles.
-Provided stability through centuries.


Shih Huangdi The First Emperor known as the Tiger of Qin 256 B. C.
Founding of the Qin (Chin) Dynasty 221-207 B. C. Short lived due to harsh rule.



Terra-Cotta Statues of the Army



Forbidden City



The Great Wall


The Chinese Political Philosophy and Historic Change
The Mandate of Heaven is discussed as a political social philosophy that served to explain the success and failure of monarchs and states until the end of the empire in 1911, the Chinese Nationalist Revolution of Sun Yat Sen. Whenever dynasties fell, the reason was that the rulers had lost the moral right to rule, the Mandate of Heaven, which is given by Heaven alone. The theory is claimed to be the invention of the Chou (Zhou) dynasty to justify their theory of overthrowing the Shang. Paternal and familial values, the importance of harmony among members of social hierarchy were major components of this philosophy. The tradition was probably derived from the ancient faith of the Chou in Tien hsia, the supreme divinity of heaven, similar to the Tangri of the Ancient Turks who shared a frontier culture between North China and the Steppe world of the Nomads beyond the Great Wall of China. According to the Chinese perception of the cosmos, Heaven was cosmic force that ruled the world of man and nature with one law, that of morality. Note how I Yin the chief minister explains the virtuous rule of the Hsia kings as represented in the peaceful and tranquil conduct of nature – no calamities from Heaven. Birds and the beasts, fishes and tortoises enjoyed existence according to the nature. But, when rulers are corrupt and loose their moral character, nature as the instrument of Heaven’s wrath punishes all by calamities, and even work as a divine inspiration for peasant rebellions. Natural calamities and popular protest are reflections of Heaven’s moral indignation on the decline of virtue in the world of men. This cycle of morality, virtue, and political change explained the rise and fall of dynasties in Chinese history, the dynastic cycle which had a metaphysical explanation behind the politics of change.

Age of Philosophy and Confucius

The 6th century B.C. in Greece and in Ancient China represent the age of philosophy in human history. The age of the Hundred Schools corresponds to the Classical Age of Greek Antiquity, an interesting coincidence in historical change. Confucius, K’ung fu tzu, latinized by later European scholars who admired the principles of Chinese Civilization, lived between 551-479, a decade before the birth of his great Greek counterpart Socrates 469-399 B.C. Plato lived 427-347 B.C. again quite contemporary to the Chinese philosophers. Both believed that a good society or state had to be led by men of superior virtue and wisdom. Both distrusted laws and regulations because they made men devious, and distrusted merchants because they were greedy. Neither favored democracy, but believed in absolute truth and that humans should live in harmony and peace. While Confucius believed men were inherently good, Plato argued men needed controls an idea closer to the Legalists who were rivals of Confucius in Chinese society.

Confucius systematized what was already a familiar discussion in Chinese culture and his disciples prepared the written text of the Analects, Lun-yu, that became the major corpus of learning in Chinese society in the later ages, constituting the written texts that became the foundation of the tradition of the centralized state.

Confucius starts off by arguing that men are born Good. Evil or Corruption is the result of loosing the Way and not a consequence of inherited traits or Original Sin. Education therefore is the only and crucial means with which a person can discover the good in himself or herself and become a cultivated gentlemen. While Confucius approved of a society of elites, and a social hierarchy, his arguments assume that all men have the potential for becoming Chun-tzu or a cultivated gentlemen which infuses an egalitarian principle into his political and social philosophy. The Gentleman is not an implement, a technician or specialist. He should be a man of all seasons, having a great vision, a balanced perspective without bias over many questions. A gentleman thinks of the Way not how to make a living even if he is a farmer. Confucius did not idealize poverty as would be the case of ascetic religious life, but that wealth and prosperity should not be the only object of one’s desire.

Confucius emphasized the major importance of the ideal of filial piety, meaning the obligations and duties of children toward parents that now became the model for governing the relations of rulers and subject. Filial piety is the base of the tree trunk of a gentlemen’s character. Feeding is not good enough, loyalty and respect have to complement the performance of one’s duties toward parents. The virtue of Ren or humanity was a major quality of a gentleman. Ren is human heartedness, love, benevolence, propriety which makes the world go around.

Confucius envisioned a society in which human relationships defined the individual not laws. Five Relationship Doctrine of the Mean, of ruler subject, father son, husband wife, elder brother younger brother, and friend and friend. An orderly society is one where all behave according to the expectations of these social relationships in reciprocity of benevolence and loyalty, cultivate their persons by the investigation of things, knowledge extended. For Confucius, it was the familial universe of the Five Relations that was the ideal society of a human being, whereas for Plato it was the city or polis. Human nature for Confucius was one and good, whereas it constituted of three parts, rational, desires for pleasure and wealth, a part which favored spirited love of honor and victory. While the guardians of Plato excelled in wisdom, they were similar to the gentlemen of Confucius but Plato’s guardians led by a philosopher king had true knowledge whereas the others had beliefs. The Gentleman of Confucius is the product of a meritocratic principle if not a social order for anyone with good cultivation can become one. In this sense Plato has less faith in human’s ability to create a perfect society. Most people were destined to live by mistaking shadows for reality. Both were founders of political thought and social ideals in their civilizations. And both were concerned about the solution to injustice and chaos in the world of human kind.

The art of government concerned all Chinese scholars. Confucianism is the most famous of the many schools of thought which debated about what Good government should be and what was the ideal social utopia of human kind. For Confucius, rule by force or even by the constraints of rule and regulations prescribed by written codes were inferior modes of political power. The great ruler does so from the sheer charisma of moral force, and keep order by ritual. Correct etiquette, and the court and religious ceremonies in all matters. It is leadership by example, not by enforcement. In the ideal Confucian state of affairs, good government and social harmony are achieved by a sort of influenza effect of the positive influence emanating naturally from the leader to the community effortlessly.

RELIGION IN THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN AND THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY

 

1)      The Greco-Roman Religion and its decline

• Early religions based on ANIMISM
• Development of anthropomorphic gods in Ancient Greece, with specific functions (Zeus, Hera, Athena...)
• Adoption of these Gods by Roman people and translation of their names into Latin (Jupiter, Juno, Minerva...)
• Religious practices: prayers, sacrifices, processions, oracles, votive inscriptions.
• Religious buildings: temples (ex. Assos (6th BC), Parthenon (Athens)...)

The Greco-Roman religion declined because:

-it was a state religion rather than a personal belief

-it did not propose any ethics

-it did not offer any hope after death

2)      The mystery cults and the philosophical quests

• Mystery cults, offering some ethical principles and hope for resurrection. Ex: Orphic cult, Mithraism, Isis cult
• Philosophical answers: quest for transcendancy, moral principles... ex.: Platonism and Neo-Platonism (3rd c. BC)

3)      The first monotheism: Judaism

• Born in  Mesopotamia around 2000 BC (Abraham)
• 10 Commandments given by God to Moses > ethical basis
• Construction of a kingdom with its capital and its temple in Jerusalem (Solomon)
• Principles: - One God, all-powerful, all-knowing

            - Israelites as the “chosen people”, who made a covenant with God

             - waiting for the promised Land

• Relationship with Romans: Judea became a Roman province.

Revolt in 66> in 70, the Temple was destroyed (cf. Arch of Titus in Rome)

Revolt, in 132 > begginings of the DIASPORA, central in Jewish religion

4)      The rise of Christianity

·        Jesus (4 BC- 30 AD) : born as a Jew, claimed himself the son of God (Messiah). Oppositions of the Jews and the Romans > Crucifixion

·        The teachings of Jesus:
- love of God and of his son, Jesus
- fraternity: love the other as yourself

            - life after death: Heaven for the Good people

From Isis to Virgin Mary
• The spread of  Christianity: role of Paul, addressing the Gentiles (i.e. the non Jewish people), stressing the universality of Christianity (no more circumcision but baptism). Journeys throughout the Mediterranean > the first missionary

• Reasons for Christianity’s success:

-Embraced all people (men, women, slaves, poor, nobles)

      -Gave hope to the powerless

            -Offered personal relationship with a loving God

            - Promised eternal life after death

• Roman reactions: persecutions (Nero in 65, Diocletian at the end of the 3d c.)    > Christianity as a secret cult with symbolism (ex. The fish, the pastor in the Catacombs (underground cemeteries) of Rome)

      > martyrdom which enhanced the power of attraction of Christianity

• Christianity as a state-religion (Byzantine Empire and Germanic kingdoms)

ROMAN HISTORY: Fall of Rome and Its Legacy

The Fall of Rome and the Roman Legacy

Questioning the paradigm of “Decline and Fall” (cf. E. Gibbons, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 1788 ( ! ) )

→Transformation and Legacy of the Roman Empire

1)     The 3^rd Century Crisis

·        Enemies and separatist states: Germanic tribes, Sassanid Empire (224), Palmyra, Gaul kingdom…

·        Problem of succession: no more dynasty→usurpers and lack of legitimacy

·        Feebleness of the Senate

·        Fiscal crisis: devaluation

2)     Diocletian’s reforms (284-305)

·       The Tetrarchy: 2 Augusts and 2 Caesars to rule the Empire

·       Image of the Emperor: sacralization

·       Administrative reform: rise of the bureaucracy

·       Military reform: expansion of the army, mobile troops, alliance with barbarian groups

·       Economic reforms: Price edict (301)

BUT these reforms failed…

3)     East and West in the 4^th c.: the division

At the beginning of the 4^th century Constantine managed to establish his authority on the whole Empire and chose Byzantion as a capital. The Empire became Christian.

In the West, official date of fall: 476 (Germanic general, Odoacer, deposed the Roman Emperor).

→Western Europe divided into Germanic kingdoms (Visigoths, Vandals, Franks, Ostrogoths)

4)     The Roman legacy

·       Political system

·       Law

·       The Latin language

·       Culture

·       Architecture

ROMAN HISTORY: The Empire

ROMAN EMPIRE (27 B.C – end of 2nd century A.D)

44-27 BC: struggle for power (2d triumvirate: Antony, Octavian, Lepidus)

31 BC: victory of Octavian ( battle of Actium)

27: Octavian becomes Augustus→ TRANSITION FROM REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE

1)   Political system

a)   Augustan Reforms:

His power base:

• Proconsular power
• Tribunician power             

→power in Rome and the provinces

His reforms:

• in the senate
• in the administration
• in the army→ professionalization
• in legislation and morality

→Fiction of the restauration of the Republic and beginning of the Empire.

The Roman Emperors:
27 B.C-69 A.D. (Julio-Claudian dynasty): Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero
69-96 (the Flavian dynasty): Vespasian, Titus, Domitian
96-180 (Nervan- Antoninan ‘5 Good Emperors’): Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius

2)    Expansion of Rome:

Walls of Rome:

Provincial administration:

- imperial provinces and senatorial provinces (eg. Bithynia)

-role of the provincial elites

-economic role of the provinces (food and goods for the capital)

-citizenship extended to all inhabitants of the Empire in 212.

3)   Social changes and mobility

-Aristocracy of land owners

-Trade for equestrians and freedmen

       - Rise of the freedmen (eg Trimalchio in Petronius’ novel)

4)    Roman Gods:

-Household worship

-‘Official’ roman gods

-Imperial cult: the divine emperors

 -Mystery cults (Isis, Mithra) / Christianity

ROMAN HISTORY: The Republic

ROMAN HISTORY

The Kingly Period and the Republic

Two main topics:
1. The political system
2. The military expansion and its consequences

1)     The Roman Monarchy (753-509)

a)            Italy in the 8th century:
1.Old settlers : Sabines, Samnites, Latins.
2.New comers:  Etruscans, Greeks.

 
 b)    Roman kingdom:

·        A monarchy (king and a council of nobles):  

·        Almost a caste system:  the Patricians (= nobles) versus the Plebeians (the rest of the society)

  In the 6th century, Etruscan kings ruled Rome. But in 509, the Roman people revolted, expulsed the Etruscan king and dismantled the monarchy.

2)     The Roman Republic
a) The political system

Executive:

·        2 Consuls, elected for one year + other officials (such as proconsul, dictator)

·        Directed government and army.

            Aristocratic component:

·        Senate

·        Could pass laws

·        Controlled foreign affairs.

Democratic component:

·           People’s assemblies such as Plebeian Council

·            Approved/rejected laws

·            Tribune could veto actions of executive officials.

→ The Roman Republic was not a democracy, rather an oligarchic system mixed with some democratic elements. Plebeians obtained their rights by struggling during decades against the Patricians ( the Struggle of Orders). There was no written Constitution but in 450, the first Roman legislation was written down (the 12 Tables).

b)     The military expansion and its consequences

·      Expansion step-by-step:

-         Italy: the Etruscan ligue and the Greek cities are obliged to enter the Roman confederation  (3th c. BC)

-          Punic wars against Carthage and its leader, Hannibal. The Carthaginians were defeated in the 2th c. BC and Rome annexed NorthernAfrica and Southern Spain.

-         Macedonian wars: Rome fighted against the Macedonian forces  and managed to dominate all the Greek  peninsula by 146 BC.

-         Gaul: Annexed by Caesar in 52 BC

·      Social consequences of the expansion:

-         Rise of a new class: the Equestrians (or knights)

-         Rise of slaves (73: revolt of Spartacus)

-         Constitution of large estates (latifundia)/ poor peasants migrating to Rome

·      Attempts of reform:

-Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus (proposed land reforms but were killed)

-Julius Caesar: alliance with Pompey and Crassus (= triumvirate) in 60BC against the Senate. After the conquest of Gaul, came back to Rome with his army and concentrated all the powers. Assassinated in -44.

→ Political and social crisis. Roman political system had to be reformed to respond the new challenges of expansion and integration.

Reading for Friday's Discussion Sessions

Dear all,
This is to remind you that this Friday, we will discuss Indian and Chinese history. You are required to read the piece from the Analects of Confucius. Lao Tzu's "The Classic of the Way and Virtue" is just a suggested reading for those who are interested in early Chinese history.

Early South Asia: The Land of Brahmins

Over the millennia various invasions have added great diversity and complexity to the cultures of the Indian subcontinent; the gradual incorporation of various cultural elements into its own complex civilization has been a continuing feature of India's history.

Indus Civilization

One of the world's oldest and greatest civilizations took shape between about 3000 and 2500 BC in the valley of the Indus River, from which the name of the Indian subcontinent is taken. Sites of this INDUS CIVILIZATION at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro--both in present-day Pakistan--have been extensively excavated; other sites have been uncovered in India in the far east and far south as well as the coast of the Gujarat region. The Indus, or Harappa, civilization, one of the most advanced of ancient times, was similar in many ways to contemporary cultures in Mesopotamia. Harappans lived in towns with two- and three-story brick houses, and well-laid-out streets and drainage systems; they employed tools of copper, bronze, and stone; they wore clothing of cotton; and they used rather sophisticated pottery and other kinds of cooking and serving utensils. Harappa script, which appears on innumerable seals and art works, has not yet been deciphered.

Aryan Culture

Harappa culture thrived until about 1500 BC, when the Indus Valley was overrun by ARYAN invaders from the Iranian plateau. The seminomadic Aryans spoke an archaic form of Sanskrit and left no remains of cities, burials, arts, or crafts. What is known about the Aryans has been passed down through religious texts--the VEDAS, especially the Rig Veda ("Verses of Knowledge"). Originally transmitted orally, the Vedas describe a highly ritualistic worship with innumerable deities, a rich mythology, and an elaborate fire sacrifice. They also mention the system of varnas, or classes, from which evolved the CASTE system. The four varnas were the Brahmins, or priests; the Kshatriya, political rulers or warriors; Vaishya, traders and cultivators; and Shudra, artisans. The Vedas and the caste system remain central to the Indian socioreligious system, HINDUISM. Thus the Aryans gave to India many of its basic institutions and cultural habits.

A scheme of the Aryan-Dravidian Society

Early Cultural Cleavages

According to one theory, the Aryans, a warlike people who rode on horseback, pushed southward many of northern India's darker-skinned and shorter inhabitants, whom they called dasas. This theory, yet to be proven, is sometimes used to explain the origins of the division between the Aryan linguistic groups in the North and the DRAVIDIAN LANGUAGES of the South. Some modern southern separatists have claimed that the Dravidian speakers predate the Aryan invaders, but there is not yet sufficient linguistic evidence to date the arrival of Dravidian speakers in southern India. Cultural distinctions between North and South remain, however, in modern India. Aryan religious texts indicate that the Aryans viewed themselves as racially and culturally superior and despised the dasas. In the north, the area of Aryan dominance, the name dasa eventually came to mean "slave" or "bondsman." The dasas probably performed many of the unpleasant but necessary tasks in the segmented society that was developing under Aryan influence.

Epics

The epic Mahabharata is the story about the important battle of the Aryans, the Bharata war, in the area between the two watersheds of the Indus and Ganges. The sense of space particularly sacred because this history is very important to Indian thought as shown in the epic. Composed of 75.000 stanzas it is the longest work of literature in the world. Based on a war between two rival cousins is ultimately construed as a cosmic struggle between evil and virtue. It has been edited and added to over time. One of the most famous additions is the Bhagavad-Gita, the Lord’s song.

Challenges to Brahman Ascendancy

Over the centuries pre-Aryan and Aryan cultures gradually fused in northern India as the Aryans expanded slowly eastward into the Gangetic plain, where the second of ancient India's great urban civilizations developed. Such cities as PATALIPUTRA (near modern Patna), Kasi (modern VARANASI), and Ajodhya rose in importance. In the Bihar region in the 6th century BC a wealthy merchant class (largely Vaishyas) began to support speculation challenging orthodox beliefs. For example, that era's UPANISHADS (scriptural texts that were part of the Vedas but attempted to go beyond them) began to challenge the traditional authority of the Brahmans. In the northeast, where Aryan influence was relatively weak, the religious systems known as JAINISM and BUDDHISM were founded around 500 BC. Both were widely supported by the merchant and landowning aristocracies of eastern India, and both can be viewed in part as revolts against Brahmanism.