Philosophies Developed During the Zhou Dynasty

Philosophies Developed during the Zhou Dynasty

During the Zhou Dynasty, a period of warfare and increasing decentralization occurred known as the “Age of Warring States”
In this time period of warring lords and chaos, philosophers developed new ways of thinking about society and personal relationships
Confucius developed a philosophy based on five primary relationships [emperor and subject, father and son, husband and wife, elder brother and younger brother and friend and friend]
In Confucianism, an individual must know his role in society and act accordingly; the superior must set a good example and provide for the inferior while the inferior must obey
In Daoism, an individual is encouraged to live naturally and close to nature
In both Confucianism and Daoism, new belief systems emerged from political disorder; these belief systems did not worship a deity and remained primarily regional beliefs

Reasons for the Fall of the Roman Empire in the West

Germanic invaders – called Barbarians by the Romans – invaded
These widespread and intensified barbarian invasions weakened the Empire in the West and ultimately led to the collapse of empire in the West
In addition, corrupt emperors and an ineffective way of selecting an emperor did not help or that emperors ruled for life, even bad emperors
Certainly, high taxes did not help either
Yet invaders ultimately ended Roman rule in the West

Social Structure of Han China and of Classical India

In Classical India, there was the caste system: Priests, Warriors, Merchants, Farmers and Untouchables or Outcastes
In Han China, there were scholar-gentry, peasants, and merchants
Clearly, the difference is found in the elite
In the top position in Classical India was the Brahmin or Priest
In Han China, the scholar-gentry were the elite
The scholar-gentry were men who had passed the examination for government service and were rewarded with government service, land, and privilege
Yes, the Chinese placed bureaucrats rather than priests at the top of the social hierarchy

Japanese Feudalism and Feudalism in Western Europe

Both systems were largely decentralized where lords had private armies and soldiers and kings or shoguns depended on these lords to ensure their power and rule

Japanese and European feudalism were also similar in that both ended as their respective regions developed centralized governments
But there were differences too
European feudalism was contractual
In European feudalism, there was a contract between a lord and his vassal that clearly spelled out the obligations of each party
Japanese feudalism, however, was based on the personal relationship between lord and vassal but not a contract
In Japanese feudalism, loyalty was paramount

Judaism

Monotheism – a belief in a single, omnipotent deity
Ethical and Moral Religion [The Ten Commandments] ... certain behaviors are required of a Godly people
A covenant or agreement exists between God and his People such as to worship one God and obey His Commandments
By obeying God’s Commandments, the Hebrews are blessed
By disobeying God’s Commandments, the Hebrews are punished
Judaism is the longest, lasting monotheistic faith in the world

Southeast Asia Prior to 1000 C.E.

Southeast Asia is located between India and China
Southeast Asia was part of the Indian Ocean trade network
Cultural diffusion from India and China influenced Southeast Asia
Even after 1000 C.E., the French referred to their colony in Southeast Asia as “Indochina”
Present-day nations in the region include Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar [Burma], Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand

Meritocracy

A meritocracy is a system in which the talented are chosen and moved ahead on the basis of their achievement
It is a system where leadership is selected on the basis of intellectual criteria and ability
Clearly, the examination system in China was a meritocracy
Open to all men, the Chinese examination system selected men for government service based on intelligence and ability
The examination was difficult to pass but if the candidate passed the examination – regardless of his background – he was rewarded with government service and became a member of the elite scholar-gentry
A characteristic of a meritocracy is the increasing use of civil service exams to fill government positions

Buddhism and Its Acceptance and Rejection of Hindu Beliefs

Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, was raised a Hindu
While Siddhartha rejected many Hindu concepts and created a new belief system, he did accept several Hindu doctrines
Upon achieving Enlightenment and becoming the Buddha, Siddhartha formulated the Four Noble Truths on the causation and cessation of suffering
He accepted the Hindu doctrine of karma – that all deeds have consequences – and samsara or reincarnation
He rejected the Hindu caste system or the idea that a person is born into a social class and remains in that class throughout his lifetime
In Buddhism, there is no caste system

The Proper Chronological Order of the French Revolution

The French Revolution begins with the formation of a National Assembly
After the representatives of the Third Estate walked out of the meeting of the Estates General and took the Oath of the Tennis Court, they formed a new government – a representative government known as the National Assembly; of course, France was at this point a Constitutional Monarchy as the King still ruled although his power was limited by the National Assembly
After a bit of time, France was attacked by enemies of the Revolution and there was fear that within France, there were counterrevolutionaries plotting against the Revolutionary Government in addition to foreign armies massing on France’sborders
Thus, the Revolution entered the second phase or the Reign of Terror – a period when the guillotine was used to behead suspected counterrevolutionaries
After the French tired of the bloodshed from the Reign of Terror, a new government formed yet again known as the Directory
But the Directory failed to solve the problems confronting France
Finally, Napoleon came to power and ruled as a dictator and an emperor and so, the French Revolution came to end when Napoleon came to power – although he did keep many of the ideas of the Revolution like equal rights for men

A Development Partially Resulted from Knowledge of Greek Science [1000 to 1450]

Islamic medical books in Baghdad
It is important to remember that the Byzantines and the Muslims preserved Greek and Roman learning
As a result of this preservation, new scientific ideas built upon earlier Greek ideas regarding rationalism and using the intelligent mind to understand the universe

Muslims in Northern India

From Islam’s earliest days, there were Muslims in India – primarily through trade
As the years passed, Muslims armies began to conquer parts of the Indian subcontinent
Before the Mughals – establishing an empire with a Muslim minority ruling a Hindu majority in the 1500s – Muslims invaded Northern India
Indeed over two hundred years, between the 1000s and 1200s, Muslims seized parts of northern India
The Delhi Sultanate is one example of Muslim conquests in this period

Dhimmis

“People of the Book” in Islam – usually fellow monotheists
Islamic law made a distinction between two categories of non-Muslim subjects – pagans and dhimmis (“protected peoples,” or “peoples of the book”; i.e., those peoples who based their religious beliefs on sacred texts, such as Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians)
The Muslim rulers tolerated the dhimmis and allowed them to practice their religion
In return for protection and as a mark of their submission, the dhimmis were required to pay a special poll tax known as the jizya
The jizya was a head or poll tax
In general, Jews and Christians were “People of the Book” in that they, too, worshipped a single God and a single sacred text – the Bible

The Turks

The Turks entered the Middle East in the eleventh century C.E. and came to dominate most of Anatolia
The Turks were originally from Central Asia and eventually converted to Islam
They were skilled warriors on horseback
The Turks were also the third carriers of Islam after the Arabs and the Persians
The Turks established the Ottoman Empire, the empire that conquered Constantinople in 1453
The Turks ruled over Anatolia and a vast empire at its height under Suleiman the Magnificent, an empire that ruled over parts of three continents – Europe, Asia, and Africa

The Tokugawa Shogunate

Japan’s Tokugawa (or Edo) period lasted from 1603 to 1867 untilthe Meiji Restoration of 1868 toppled the long-reigning Tokugawa shoguns and propelled the country into the modern era
Tokugawa Ieyasu’s dynasty of shoguns presided over 250 years of peace and prosperity in Japan, including the rise of a new merchant class and increasing urbanization
To guard against external influence, they also worked to close off Japanese society from Westernizing influences, particularly Christianity
The Tokugawa Shoguns had come to power after a devastating civil war in Japan
The primary goal of the Tokugawa Shoguns was to ensure unity and peace
Indeed, the years of the Tokugawa Shogunate are known as “The Great Peace”
To prevent any disunity, the Tokugawa shoguns isolated Japan – this meant no foreigners in [excluding the Chinese and Dutch who were allowed to trade at the port of Nagasaki] and no Japanese out
The Japanese were forbidden from going abroad for if they travelled abroad, they would return with new ideas that could create division within Japan
The Japanese were not allowed to leave and the foreigners were not allowed to enter
Yet in this time of isolation, there was tremendous productivity
And isolationism did not mean a rejection or earlier cultural borrowing; the Japanese still practiced Buddhism and Confucianism
Isolationism also did not mean economic depression as merchants became increasingly wealthy from expanded internal trade opportunities and agriculture became very productive thereby freeing many Japanese from farm work
Yet with the arrival of Commodore Perry, an American, the Japanese had fallen dangerously behind, and the Tokugawa Shoguns were forced to end their policy of isolationism by opening Japan to foreigners
With this change, the government also changed as the Japanese realized that to compete in the world, modernization was required

The Byzantine Empire

Formerly the Eastern Roman Empire
Capital – Constantinople
Location – Between Europe and Asia
Conquered and collapsed in 1453 by Ottoman Turks

Many traditions and practices which began in the Roman Empire endured in the Byzantine Empire even after Rome fell in Western Europe.
The Hagia Sophia, which was built as a church under the Byzantine Empire, continues today as a mosque.
One of its emperors, Justinian, systemized Roman law [the Code of Justinian] in such a manner that it became the basis for law in most of Western Europe
Orthodox Christianity was the religion of the Empire
Caesaropapism was its political theory – the Emperor was the head of the state and the Church

Janissaries

Janissaryalso spelled Janizary or in Turkish, Yeniçeri,
Members of an elite corps in the standing army of the Ottoman Empirefrom the late 14th century to 1826
Highly respected for their military prowess in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Janissaries became a powerful political force within the Ottoman state
The Janissary corps was originally staffed by Christian youths from the Balkan provinces who were converted to Islām on being drafted into the Ottoman service
Subject to strict rules, including celibacy, they were organized into three unequal divisions (cemaat, bölükhalkı, segban) and commanded by an ağā
The Janissaries frequently engineered palace coups in the 17th and 18th centuries, and in the early 19th century they resisted the adoption of European reforms by the army
Their end came in June 1826 in the so-called Auspicious Incident
On learning of the formation of new, westernized troops, the Janissaries revolted
Sultan Mahmud II declared war on the rebels and, on their refusal to surrender, had cannon fire directed on their barracks
Most of the Janissaries were killed, and those who were taken prisoner were executed
Yet they will always be remembered asChristian boys taken from conquered territories and raised as Special Forces

Manchu Leaders in China by the early 1800s

The Qing or Manchu Dynasty was the last dynasty of China
The Manchus, although foreigners, claimed the Mandate of Heaven and ruled China from the 1644 to 1911
The Manchus adopted the examination system and Confucianism yet required Chinese men to wear the queue or a braid
The queue was a sign of Manchu domination over the Han Chinese
In the beginning of their reign, the Manchu were strong and capable rulers but over time, China began to decline in global power as Europe grew in power
With the infusion of opium into the Chinese market, the Manchu faced increasing problems
After defeat in the Opium Wars, the Manchus faced rebellions and resistance
But even before the Opium Wars, the dynasty was beginning to decline due to corrupt rulers and an economy that was not expanding fast enough to meet the needs of China’s growing population
Thus, by the early 1800s, the Manchus met with popular discontent and widespread reaction against corruption and economic malaise

The Impact of the Haitian Rebellion

Haiti was the first nation in Latin America to declare independence from a European colonial power
Haiti’s independence movement was also the world’s first successful slave rebellion that led to independence and the end of a minority planter-class that dominated a society of largely African slaves
After independence, the Haitian government often aided other Latin American nationalists seeking to overthrow European colonial control
Indeed, the great liberator of South America, Simón Bolívarreceived aid from Haiti
The Haitian Rebellion inspired rebellions elsewhere in Latin America and caused France to abandon its main colonies in the New World
It is important to remember that after the French loss of Haiti, Napoleon offered the Louisiana Territory to U.S. President Thomas Jefferson

Classical Persia

In 549 BCE, the Persians, led by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid family, overthrew the Median court of Western Iran
Cyrus thus founded the first Persian Empire
The Achaemenid kings are known to have been very pious Zoroastrians, trying to rule justly and in accordance with the Zoroastrian law of asha (truth and righteousness)
The Avesta is the holy book of Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrians believe there is one God called Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord) and He created the world
They believe that the world is a cosmic battleground between good and evil and that people are free to choose to follow good or evil
Those who follow good are rewarded with Heaven and evildoers punished in Hell
Cyrus the Great was relatively tolerant
While he himself ruled according to Zoroastrian beliefs, he made no attempt to impose Zoroastrianism on the people of his subject territories
The Jews most famously benefited from this; Cyrus permitted them to return to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon, and rebuild their temple
Darius the Great, another significant emperor, was also famously pious and showed the same general tolerance for other faiths as his predecessor Cyrus
Under Darius the empire was stabilized, with roads for communication and a system of governors (satraps) established
Darius initiated two major building projects: the construction of royal buildings at Susa and the creation of the new dynastic center of Persepolis
A culturally diverse empire
However, in 498 B.C.E., the eastern Greek Ionian cities, supported in part by Athens, revolted
It took the Persians four years to crush the rebellion, although an attack against mainland Greece was repulsed at Marathon in 490 B.C.E.
The Royal Road was a road of a distance of more than 1,500 miles
The Royal Road connected the empire
Royal messengers, who, according to the Greek historian Herodotus, were stopped by “neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night,” traversed the entire road in nine days, thanks to a system of relays

The Christian Community in Tokugawa Japan

To maintain political stability, Tokugawa Ieyasu issued the Christian Expulsion Edict prohibiting all Christian activity among Japanese
Christians were brutally persecuted and driven into secrecy
It was made a capital offense for a Japanese to be a Christian, anddaimyoswere forbidden to have Christians in their employ
Military assaults were made against Christian strongholds
Captured European and Japanese Christians were executed, and some Christians survived to pursue their Christianity in secret
Dutch traders, managed to hold on to a small trading post on the island of Deshima, next to Nagasaki, and to the south in the Ryukyu Islands, south of Kyushu
The Dutch accomplished this by agreeing to give up all show of Christianity and by agreeing to restrictions regarding trading and place
And the Dutchenjoyed seeing their trading rivals, the Spaniards and Portuguese, expelled

Creole Elites in Latin America