Major Ancient

Civilizations of the
Old World
Naeem Hussain Shah
(M.Phil. 1st Semester)
Roll. No. 09-2325
 References
• World Civilizations (Seventh Edition-Volume A)
by Edward McNall Burns, Philip Lee Ralph,
Robert E. Lener and Standish Meacham
• Ancient Times—A History of the Early World
(Second Edition) by James Henry Breasted
• National Geographic Magazine, published by
National Geographic Society
• World History Encyclopedia
• Encyclopedia Britannica
 Origin & Application of the Word
‘Civilization’
• The word ‘civilization’ relates to the Latin
‘civitas’ which is the root word for English
expression ‘city’.
• According to Joshua J. Mark, the term is
applied to any society which has writing system,
government, production of surplus food, division
of labour and urbanization.
• National Geographic Society has defined
civilization ‘a society made up of cities.’
• During French Revolution in the late 18th, and
early 19th centuries, the word ‘civilization’ was
used in singular, never in the plural sense which
implies ‘ the progress of humanity as a
whole.’
 Pre-historic Advancements which
Led to Civilization
• Verbal Communication or origin of language was
the first advancement towards civilization.
• The second advancement was to learn how to
kindle fire.
• In the beginning man used wooden tools.
• Later man began to use stone tools. From the
specimens of these stone tools, we classify
Stone Age into three sub-ages: the Early Stone
Age, the Middle Stone Age and the Last Stone
Age.
• The idea of ‘resemblance’ was the dawn of art.
 Man Settles in the Nile-gorge
• The Nile gorge was at first lacking in soil but by the end
of the Middle Stone Age, the river began carrying down
from the highland of Abyssinia a great deal of black soil.
• Man learned to domesticate animals in the Nile gorge.
• People of the Nile-gorge discovered a new and lasting
source of food what is called agriculture.
• Most of the hunters finally became farmers and cattle-
breeders and man entered in the Age of Food-
production. This led to settled life.
• Nile-dwellers learnt the art of hardening of clay by
heating it and cloth making by useful fibers of wild plants
during their settled life.
• Egyptian discovered metal in Sinia Peninsula.
• In 4236 B.C. Egyptian developed solar calendar.
 Egyptian Civilization
• About 3100 B.C. Egyptian Unification of the Lower and
the Upper Kingdoms by the king Menes.
• About 30 dynasties ruled ancient Egypt.
• In 670 B.C. Egypt was conquered by Assyrians but lost it
after 8 years.
• Egypt was doomed to an untimely end, however, in 525
B.C., the country was conquered by the Persians. The
ancient civilization never revived.
• Finally, in 332 B.C., Alexander the Great of Macedonian
conquered Egypt.
• Hieroglyph writing system, irrigation system, mega stone
structures, mummification, invention of paper and
excellence in geometry are its achievements.
 Mesopotamian Civilization
• Around 3500 B.C. the most ancient civilization
began in the Tigris-Euphrates valley.
• Formerly, it was called Babylonian or
Babylonian-Assyrian civilization.
• Later, it was known that it was founded by earlier
people called Sumerians.
• Geographical term “Mesopotamian” is used to
cover the whole civilization.
• Cuneiform writing system, written law, irrigation
system, and excellence in mathematics &
astronomy are among its achievements.
 Mesopotamian vs. Egyptian
Civilizations
• Both the civilizations developed simultaneously.
• We know more about the accomplishments of
Egyptians than those of other early peoples.
• Egypt has more sense of stability than
Mesopotamia, in terms of security threats,
predictability of floods,
• For the above reasons, Egypt was both very
advanced & remarkably peaceful.
• The Greek historian Herodotus referred to Egypt
as “the gift of the Nile.”
 Persian Civilization
• Little is known about the Persians before the 6 th
century B.C.
• Persians were not Semites but spoke an Indo-
European language.
• Cyrus the Great founded Achaemenid Empire,
also known as the First Persian Empire in 550
B.C.
• Within 20 years it became the largest empire of
the world ever known till that time.
• Cyrus the Great is known the most sensible
ancient ruler.
• The cultural, intellectual and artistic
achievements largely are derived from previous
civilizations.
 Indus Valley Civilization
• Mehrgarh is the oldest rural settlement of it
which is 7 millennia B.C. old. The society
urbanized around 2600 BC. People settled
between and along sides of the Indus and
Sarasvati (Hakkar-Gaggara) rivers.
• From 2600 B.C. to 1900 B.C. is known as
mature period.
• It declined around 1300 B.C. for unknown
reasons.
• Indus Valley Civilization is known for its,
modern urban town planning and trade
links with other civilizations.
 Greek Civilization
• Around 800 B.C. village communities began to
give way to larger political units, known as ‘City
States’.
• Athens and Sparta were two major city states.
• Alexander the Great enthroned in 336 B.C. and
died in 323 B.C. He established the largest
Empire ever known till that time.
• Greek Civilization was conquered by Romans in
146 B.C.
• Greek Civilization is marked with remarkable
achievements, in philosophy, medicine, art,
architecture and literature.
 Roman Civilization
• The founders of Rome were Italic people who
lived in the south of Tiber River.
• Archaeological research places that the city was
found around 753 B.C.
• In 509 B.C. Rome turned from kingdom to
Republic.
• In 27 B.C. Augustus declared it to be an empire.
• Western Roman empire collapsed in 476 A.D.
• The greatest territorial extent, sound political
structure and construction of roads & bridges are
among major achievements.
 Effects of Greek & Roman
Civilizations on Western Civilization
• The dominant Western Civilization of
today bears the strong cultural, political
and intellectual legacies of the past
civilization of Rome and Greek. For
instance, most of the European languages
derive majority of their words from Latin
and Greek.
• In law, medical, politics and philosophy the
powerful effects of these two civilization
are quite visible in western societies.
 Ancient Chinese Civilization
• China is the home of one of the earliest
human species, the so-called Peking man.
• Chinese Civilization developed around the
Yellow River.
• Xia dynasty ruled from 2070 to 1600 BC.
• Shang dynasty rule from 1600 to 1046 BC.
• Chinese Civilization is known for
developed writing system, inventing writing
material and silk cloth.
 To Sum up
• Out of the 4 major ancient civilizations Egyptians left
more archaeological remains intact today which makes it
more documented.
• Indus Valley discovered is less explored. From
archaeological discoveries, apparently, it seems it can
even be the older than Egyptian and Mesopotamian
civilizations. If its writing system is deciphered, we can
have intellectual and political achievements of the people
of its inhabited here. There is a strong probability, Indus
Valley can be the house of many sub-civilizations.
• Western Civilization of today carries many of the
legacies of the Greek and Roman Civilizations.
• Muslim Civilization of today has strong intellectual effects
of Persian Civilization.
• Mesopotamian Civilization is the most disturbed
civilization in terms of external invasions.
• Archaeological evidence supports that it can either be
contemporary or older than Egyptian and Mesopotamian
Civilizations.