Chapter One: The Middle World

The Middle World
The Middle World before Islam / Not the “Middle East” because it denotes a Western orientation- but a Middle World between the Chinese and Mediterranean World
Some of the earliest settlements were in Mesopotamia, literally meaning between two rivers, about six thousand years ago.
This began a shift from hunting and gathering human populations to settled, Neolithic settlements which included the production of grain and required irrigation.
Without major geographic barriers, Mes. Was a hotbed of cultural interaction. This led to a pattern of “Conquest, consolidation, expansion, degeneration, conquest.”
5500 years ago Sumer formed a collection of 12 or so cities.
Developed the wheel, cart, potter’s wheel, and number system.
Conquered by Akkadians.
Eventually conquered by Amorites who constructed the city of Babylon (Babylonian Empire) who were then conquered by Assyrians who ruled from Egypt to Iraq and ruled ferociously.
Conquered by Chaldeans who had a base-12 number system resulting in 12 months, 24 hours, and sixty being the base of measuring time within a day.
After conquering the ancient Hebrews the Chaldeans are conquered by the Persian Empire. The Persian Empire was vast including much of the Middle World.
550 BC, Persians controlling a TON of real estate. Rule differently than Assyrians, allowing people to remain in their ancestral lands and practice their customs as long as they followed basic laws and demands.
Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion of the Persian Empire.
Founded by Zoroaster around 1000 BCE. He was a philosopher who believed that humans contained good and evil principles. The world was divided into a cosmic struggle of good and evil with Ahura Mazda representing good and Ahriman representing evil. The believed that Ahura Mazda may have created the world, believed goodness lifted you to heaven, and rejected statues and idols.
Zoro. Priests were called “magi”- root of magician and the three wise men who visited the infant Jesus were magi.
The Persians would invade the Greece demanding acknowledgement of their superiority.
Eventually Alexander the Great would conquer the world, meaning Persia.
The Hellenistic influence in the Middle World would fade and eventually be replaced with the Parthians, who would field cavalry, knights, and would battle Rome to a stand still.
The Parthians coincide with the glory years of the Han and Rome.
They were replaced by the Sassanid dynasty in the third century.
The Sassanids rebuilt the Persian empire, put Zoroin central position, and thereby blocked the spread of Buddhism the West and pushed into the East into China.
Meanwhile Rome collapsed and Europe fell into the Dark Ages. The Eastern Roman Empire held on and it was the center of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Until the mid sixth century Byzantium controlled much of Eastern Europe and Anatolia with the Sassanids stretching from Persia to the Himalayas.
Meanwhile the Arabian Pen. Would be home to numerous tribes and it is there that Islam will be born.

Chapter Summary (2-4 sentences): The history of the Middle World is one characterized by conflict and cultural exchange, greatly relating to the geography of the area. Lacking major natural barriers, cultural, political, and religious influences easily crossed from the Mediterranean world into Middle World and vice versa. Among the most important products of the Middle World were Zoroastrianism, language, writing, agriculture, and Neolithic cities.

Coding Key: SPICE

Social issues (Think of social issues in terms of: How society works… What society produces… The unique qualities of that society…)

Political issues (Think of political issues in terms of: The nature of empires or states… How governments work… The role of law…)

Interaction between humans and the environment (Think of interaction between humans and the environment in very basic terms: How has human life and culture changed the environment around them… What diseases are human populations spreading… What sort of plants and animals are humans exchanging across cultures…)

Cultural issues (Think of cultural issues in terms of: Religion… Art… Literature… Poetry… The worldview of a people…)

Economic issues (Think of economic issues in terms of: Trade… Pursuit of resources… Anything related to money, currency, or banking…)