Ancient Civilizations in Asia PDF

Ancient Civilizations in Asia What is “Civilization” - The stage of human social development and organization which is considered most advance. They mainly include: the Mesopotamian civilization in Western Asia, the Indian civilization in South Asia, the Umran civiliza...

Ancient Civilizations in Asia What is “Civilization” - The stage of human social development and organization which is considered most advance. They mainly include: the Mesopotamian civilization in Western Asia, the Indian civilization in South Asia, the Umran civilization in Central Asia, and the Chinese civilization in East Asia.  Mesopotamia “The Cradle of Civilization” ★ The word “Mesopotamia” is in origin a Greek name (mesos ‘middle’ and potamos ‘river’ - so land between two rivers). ★ Home to the first civilizations to developed the basics of technology and culture. ★ First cities developed around 3,500 B.C. Major civilizations included Sumeria Babylonia Assyria Akkadia - the twin sources of water for a region that lies mostly within the borders of modern-day Iraq, but also included parts of Syria, Turkey and Iran. - the emergence and evolution of civilization in Mesopotamia also was influenced by other factors—in particular, changes in climate and the natural environment.  Extent ★ Between tigris river and euphrates river. ★ Mesopotamia made up of hills and plains. ★ Land is fertile most of the year because of the rains, rivers, and the streams. ★ Irrigation System  Political ★ They never believed their kings were actually gods. ★ Kings often named themselves “king of the universe” or “great king” ★ Kings had to look after their people. ★ King Hammurabi created sets of rules containing crimes and their punishments and also citizen conduct.  Economics ★ Poor people mostly had to depend on crops because they had little money. ★ Rich people had slaves and easier ways of obtaining food. ★ Farming one main way to get food and other needs. ★ Barter systems were used. Indus Valley Civilization  Indus Valley Civilization “Harappan Civilization” ★ Indus Valley Civilization or the Harappan Civilisation is one of the four greatest civilisations in the world. ★ It was the period of Bronze Age. ★ It flourished in 2500 BC, on the banks of the Indus River. ★ It also referred to as the “Harappan Civilization” owing to the fact that it was first discovered in 1921 at the modern site of Harappa situated in Punjab province of Punjab.  Important Indus Valley Sites ★ There are seven main Indus Valley Civilisation cities that we need to know about. They are Mohenjodaro (Pakistan), Harappa (Pakistan and India), Kalibangan (Rajasthan), Lothal (Gujarat), Chanhudaro (Pakistan), Dholavira (Gujarat) and Banawali (Haryana).  Decline of the Civilizations ★ 3 most prevalent theories for the decline of the civilizations are: Invasions by the conquerors like the Aryans Ecological disturbances Natural Disaster Chinese Civilization  Chinese Civilization ★ One of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations that began around 1,500 BC ★ 3 main rivers: Yellow river in the north Yangtze river in the south Pearl River ★ China has lot of mountains, forests, and tracts of jungle that make it to be isolated from others. The Chinese history may be divided into 3 periods: 1. Pre-imperial China (the dynasties of Xia, Shang, Zhou up to 221 BC); 2. Imperial China (Qin dynasty 221 BC - Qing dynasty 1911);); 3. New China (1911 – modern time).