The readings from week 2, which
includes chapters 4,5,6 and 7, have a lot of information that refers to the
Classical era. There is a lot to learn from this Classical era, it is amazing
to understand how it all became to be what it is today, because even when so
much time has passed by; there are things that are still ongoing from back
then. People sometimes don’t take the time to really appreciate, the things we
have and how we currently live; if they would only think about how different
and harder things were back then.
The first chapter of the second
part, explains how some of the major empires of Eurasia where built, and how
they collapsed. Each Empire was brought up differently and had different
impacts from the history point of view. One of the largest and impressive of
the world’s empires was that one of the Persians. On the other hand the Greeks
created a civilization that was distinctive in many ways, particularly in
comparison to that of the Persians. Their population was a fraction of that of
the Persians. The most distinctive and contrasting feature that separated the
Greeks from the Persians was there popular participation in Political life.
Alexander “ the great” was celebrated as the liberator from Persian domination
and was declared “son of the gods”. While these two empires where in conflict,
two other empires were taking shape, the Roman Empire and the China’s imperial
state. They both flourished around the same time. Unlike the Persians and
Greeks, the Romans and the Chinese had almost no direct contact with each
other. Both of these empires invested heavily in Public Works. Another
interesting thing about them is that both of their authorities invoked
supernatural sanctions to support their rule.
As we go to the next chapter, the
main topic of this chapter was cultural traditions and the development of the
different religions. I am not at all a religious person, but it is interesting
to learn and understand how they developed and how they differ from each other.
Their beliefs are very different and what they want to prove is also
interesting. In my personal opinion Confucious is something that I would agree
on, his way of thinking seems to have impacted many, and is still ongoing
nowadays. So many religions and so many points of view, can make people
confused on what to follow.
It is also important to look at the
hierarchies in the Eurasian societies, where slaves were prevalent in many
different cultures during this era. In China and India, both of these
civilizations, birth determined social status for most people, sharp
distinctions and great inequalities characterized the social life. India had
their unique Caste system, in which their social status was determined by their
race or the purity of their blood. In the case of the Roman Empire, slavery
generally meant ownership by a master, the possibility of being sold, working
without pay, and the status of an outsider at the bottom of the social
hierarchy. This is so harsh, imagine being one of those slaves, I wouldn’t have
being able to take so much injustice, and no human rights at all.
The last chapter of this second
part involves Africa and the Americas during the classical era. Everywhere
except Oceania, gathering and hunting remained long as the sole basis for
sustaining life. At the beginning the world human’s population was very
unevenly across the three giant continents; during the Classical era, Euroasia
had 80% of the population, leaving Africa with about 11% and the Americas with
about 5 to 7% only. This is one of the
many reasons why there is more attention on the history of Euroasia than on
Africa or the Americas. These civilizations where also fewer in number and
generally smaller than those of Euroasia, and larger numbers of their people
lived in communities that did not feature Cities and states.
