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Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), lying between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, was the site of some of the world's earliest cities and civilisations. The name means "land between rivers" in Greek. From around 3000 BCE, settlements began to develop into cities in southern Mesopotamia. Writing, the wheel, the plough, and the earliest kingdoms all emerged from this region. **Origins of Cities:** From around 3000 BCE, settlements had begun to develop in southern Mesopotamia. The earliest cities emerged from some of these settlements. These were of various kinds: those that gradually developed around temples, those that developed as centres of trade, and imperial cities. It is cities of the first two kinds that will be discussed here. Early settlers (their origins are unknown) began to build and rebuild temples at selected spots in their villages. The earliest known temple was a small shrine made of unbaked bricks. Temples became larger over time, with several rooms around open courtyards. Some of the early ones were possibly not unlike the ordinary house — for the temple was the house of a god. But temples always had their outer walls going in and out at regular intervals, which no ordinary building ever had. **The Temple as Urban Institution:** The god was the focus of worship; to him or her people brought grain, curd and fish (the floors of some early temples had thick layers of fish bones). The god was also the theoretical owner of the agricultural fields, the fisheries, and the herds of the local community. In time, the processing of produce (for example, oil pressing, grain grinding, spinning, and the weaving of woollen cloth) was also done in the temple. Organiser of production at a level above the household, employer of merchants and keeper of written records of distributions and allotments of grain, plough animals, bread, beer, fish, etc., the temple gradually developed its activities and became the main urban institution. **Writing and Record-Keeping:** Writing began in Mesopotamia around 3200 BCE. This tells us that business was a means of storing information and of sending messages afar, writing was soon as a sign of the superiority of Mesopotamian urban culture. Writing allowed the temple to keep records of distributions and allotments of grain, plough animals, bread, beer, fish, etc. **Timeline — Key Developments in Mesopotamia:** - 4000–3000 BCE: Use of the potter's wheel, wheel for transport (3600 BCE), writing (3200 BCE, Mesopotamia), bronze - 3000–2000 BCE: Plough agriculture, cities in Mesopotamia; domestication of horse (Central Asia) - Agricultural hazards: The natural outlet channels of the Euphrates would have too much water one year and flood the crops, and sometimes they would change course altogether. The archaeological record shows villages were periodically relocated in Mesopotamian history. **Kings and Temples:** There was also another factor on the scene. In spite of natural fertility, agriculture was subject to hazards. When there was continuous warfare in a region, those chiefs who had been successful in war could oblige their followers by distributing plunder. This led to the emergence of kings as a distinct category. The king was a war leader who could also regulate the economy and dispense justice.
The Crusades were a series of religious wars launched by Western European Christians from the late eleventh century onwards to reclaim the Holy Land (Palestine), particularly Jerusalem, from Muslim rule. They were shaped by Christian religious motivation, the hostility between the Christian and Islamic worlds that grew in the eleventh century, and changes in the social and economic organisation of Western Europe. **Background — Christian-Muslim Tension:** Christian pilgrimages and missionary activities were considered meritorious by the People of the Book (i.e., Christians, with reference to the New Testament and Bible). Christians were granted safe conduct while venturing into Muslim states as merchants, pilgrims, ambassadors and travellers. These territories also included those which were once held by the Byzantine Empire, notably the Holy Land of Palestine. Jerusalem was conquered by the Arabs in 637 but it was ever-present in the Christian imagination as the place of Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection. This was an important factor in the formation of the image of Muslims in Christian Europe. Hostility towards the Muslim world became more pronounced in the eleventh century. Normans, Hungarians and some Slavs had converted to Christianity. There was also a change in the social and economic organisation of Western Europe in the eleventh century which contributed to the hostility between Christendom and the Islamic world. The clergy and the warrior class (the first two orders) were making efforts to ensure political stability as well as economic growth based on agriculture and trade. The possibilities of military confrontation between competing feudal principalities and a return to economic organisation based on plunder were contained by the Peace of God movement. All military violence was forbidden inside certain areas, near places of worship, during certain periods considered sacred in the Church calendar, and against certain vulnerable social groups, such as churchmen and the common people. The Peace of God deflected the aggressive tendencies of feudal society away from the Christian world and towards the "enemies" of God. **The Crusades:** It built a climate in which fighting against the infidels (non-believers) became not only acceptable but a religious duty. This crystallised in the Crusades, military campaigns aimed at recapturing the Holy Land from Muslims, launched from the late eleventh century onwards. The Crusades were called for by the Pope and the warrior class participated eagerly, motivated by religious duty and also by the prospect of land and plunder in the east. **Impact:** The Crusades had complex long-term impacts. They brought Western Europeans into contact with the richer, more sophisticated Islamic civilisation and facilitated the transfer of knowledge (in medicine, mathematics, astronomy) from the Islamic world to Europe. Trade between Europe and the Middle East expanded. However, the Crusades also intensified religious bigotry and left a legacy of Christian-Muslim hostility.
Human evolution spans approximately 5.6 million years, from the emergence of the first hominids in Africa to the spread of modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) across the globe. This topic is foundational for understanding world history and is approached through fossil evidence, stone tools, cave paintings, and analysis of skeletal remains. **Hominids vs Hominoids:** - Hominoids: a subgroup of primates including apes and humans - Hominids: a family (Hominidae) that includes all forms of human beings — characterised by large brain size, upright posture, bipedal locomotion, and specialisation of the hand - The genus Australopithecus (from Latin australis = southern, and Greek pithekos = ape) first appeared c. 5.6 million years ago in Africa **Key Species in Human Evolution:** 1. Australopithecus: 5.6–1.8 mya; Africa only; smaller brain, heavier jaws, larger teeth; partially upright walking but still tree-adapted 2. Homo habilis ("the tool maker"): fossils at Omo (Ethiopia) and Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania); earliest genus Homo 3. Homo erectus ("the upright man"): fossils in Africa AND Asia — Koobi Fora, West Turkana (Kenya), Modjokerto and Sangiran (Java, Indonesia); survived nearly 1 million years; migrated out of Africa 2–1.5 mya 4. Homo heidelbergensis and Homo neanderthalensis: archaic Homo sapiens; Neanderthals occupied Europe and western/central Asia 130,000–35,000 years ago; disappeared abruptly ~35,000 years ago in western Europe 5. Homo sapiens sapiens (modern humans): earliest fossils from Omo Kibish, Ethiopia (195,000–160,000 years ago); spread globally **Out of Africa:** Two competing theories about the origin of modern humans: - Replacement Model: modern humans evolved in Africa and completely replaced older human forms everywhere — supported by genetic homogeneity of modern humans and earliest Homo sapiens fossils from Africa - Regional Continuity Model: archaic Homo sapiens in different regions gradually evolved into modern humans at different rates — based on regional physical differences among modern humans **The Positive Feedback Mechanism:** Key to understanding human evolution is the positive feedback loop between: upright walking → hands freed for tools → brain capacity increases → better tools → more efficient walking. Indirect evidence of bipedalism dates to 3.6 mya (fossilised footprints at Laetoli, Tanzania). **Early Humans — Ways of Obtaining Food:** Early hominids obtained food through gathering (plant foods: seeds, nuts, berries, fruits, tubers), scavenging (carcasses of dead animals), and later hunting. Evidence of deliberate, planned hunting begins c. 500,000 years ago (Boxgrove, England; Schoningen, Germany). Evidence of planned large-scale hunting (herds of reindeer killed at river crossings) exists from c. 35,000 years ago (Dolni Vestonice, Czech Republic). **Cave Paintings and Shelters:** From about 35,000 years ago (in Europe and slightly earlier elsewhere), there is evidence of cave paintings. Key sites: Altamira (Spain), Lascaux (France), Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh, India — c. 30,000–10,000 BP). These demonstrate symbolic thinking, language development, and social organisation. **Transition to Agriculture:** The shift from nomadic hunter-gatherer life to settled agriculture began c. 10,000 years ago (8000–7000 BCE) in West Asia (domestication of wheat and barley) and slightly later in East Asia (rice and millet) and the Americas (maize). This shift — sometimes called the Neolithic Revolution — enabled larger, permanent settlements and eventually city life.
The Roman Empire covered most of Europe, large parts of North Africa, and the Near East (the Fertile Crescent). At its peak (c. 100–150 CE), it stretched from Scotland to the borders of Armenia and from the Sahara to the Euphrates. Two powerful empires dominated the world at this time: Rome (west) and Iran/Persia (east); they were rivals separated by the narrow strip along the river Euphrates. **Origins and Republican Phase:** Rome began as a republic (509 BCE–27 BCE). The Republic was governed by the Senate — a body representing aristocratic families (the "nobility"). Government was based on election, but political institutions gave importance to birth and wealth. From the second century BCE, Rome established control over North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean. Julius Caesar extended the empire to Britain and Germany in the mid-first century BCE. **The Principate (27 BCE onwards):** Augustus (formerly Octavian) established the Roman Empire in 27 BCE. His regime was called the "Principate" — he was the sole ruler but maintained the fiction of being only the leading citizen (Princeps), not an absolute monarch. This was done out of respect for the Senate, which had controlled Rome for centuries. The three key power-holders in the Roman political system: 1. The Emperor (sole source of real authority) 2. The Senate (aristocratic body; emperors judged by how they treated it) 3. The Army (largest single organised body; 600,000 by 4th century CE; paid professional force with 25 years of service) **Geography and Administration:** The Mediterranean Sea was the heart of Rome's empire — the Romans dominated all regions around it. Northern boundaries: the Rhine and Danube rivers. Southern boundary: the Sahara desert. Latin and Greek were the only languages of administration, though many other languages were spoken (Aramaic in Near East, Coptic in Egypt, Punic in North Africa, Celtic in Spain). At its peak (2nd century CE), the empire had a population of about 60 million. Administration worked through cities — every Roman city had its own magistrates, city council, and a territory of surrounding villages. Provincial upper classes collaborated actively with Roman state administration. The key shift in the 2nd–3rd centuries was from Italian-origin senators dominating governance to provincial elites doing so. **Economic Infrastructure:** The empire had a substantial economic infrastructure: harbours, mines, quarries, brickyards, olive oil factories. Major traded goods: wheat, wine, olive oil (from Spain, Gaul, North Africa, Egypt). Liquids were transported in amphorae. Archaeological analysis of amphorae fragments (Monte Testaccio in Rome has remnants of 50 million vessels) allows historians to trace trade patterns with precision. Spanish olive oil dominated the market 140–160 CE. **Third-Century Crisis:** From the 230s CE, the empire faced multiple threats simultaneously: the Sasanian dynasty in Iran (established 225 CE) was aggressive; Germanic tribal confederacies (Alamanni, Franks, Goths) invaded along the Rhine-Danube frontier. Twenty-five emperors in 47 years showed the political instability. The empire was eventually divided into eastern and western halves (4th century CE) to make governance easier. **Decline of the West:** The western empire collapsed in the 5th century CE due to repeated invasions by Germanic tribes (Goths, Visigoths, Vandals) and internal political breakdown. The eastern empire (Byzantine, centred on Constantinople) survived until 1453 CE when it fell to the Ottoman Turks. **Christianisation:** Emperor Constantine became a Christian in the 4th century CE; the empire was substantially Christianised thereafter. Christianity, originally from Palestine (1st century CE), spread throughout the empire and became the official religion. **Gender and Society:** A notable feature: Roman women had stronger legal positions than many contemporaries. Wives did not transfer to husband's authority on marriage but retained rights in their natal family's property. Women could be independent property owners after their father's death. Divorce was relatively easy — either husband or wife could dissolve the marriage by notice of intent. However, marriages were generally arranged and women were often subject to domination.
The Abbasid Caliphate replaced the Umayyad dynasty in 750 CE through a revolution called the *Dawla* (meaning "the turn of fortune"). The Abbasids descended from Abbas, the Prophet's uncle, and mustered the support of various dissident groups to bring down the Umayyads and replace them with another family of Meccan origin — the Abbasids. The revolution led not only to a change of dynasty but changes in the political structure and culture of Islam. **The Abbasid Revolution:** The Abbasid uprising broke out in the distant region of Khurasan (eastern Iran), a 40-day journey from Damascus on a fast horse. Khurasan had a mixed Arab-Iranian population which could be mobilised for various reasons. The Arab soldiers there were mostly from Iraq and resented the dominance of the Syrians. The civilian Arabs of Khurasan disliked the Umayyad regime for having made promises of tax concessions and privileges which were never fulfilled. As for the Iranian Muslims (the *mawali*), they were exposed to the scorn of the race-conscious Arabs and were eager to join any campaign to oust the Umayyads. The Abbasids, descendants of Abbas the Prophet's uncle, mustered the support of the various dissident groups and legitimised their bid for power by promising that a messiah (*mahdi*) from the family of the Prophet would liberate them from the oppressive Umayyad regime. Their army was led by an Iranian slave, Abu Muslim, who defeated the last Umayyad caliph, Marwan, in a battle at the river Zab. **Under Abbasid Rule:** Under Abbasid rule, Arab influence declined while the importance of Iranian culture increased. The Abbasids established their capital at Baghdad, near the ruins of the ancient Iranian metropolis, Ctesiphon. The army and bureaucracy were reorganised on a non-tribal basis to ensure greater participation by Iraq and Khurasan. The Abbasid rulers strengthened the religious status and functions of the caliphate and patronised Islamic institutions and scholars. But they were forced by the needs of government and empire to retain the centralised nature of the state. They maintained the magnificent imperial architecture and elaborate court ceremonials of the Umayyads. The regime which took pride in having brought down the monarchy found itself compelled to establish it again. **Baghdad as Cultural Centre:** Baghdad became a major cultural and commercial centre (c. 750–800 CE). The Abbasids patronised scholars and translated Greek, Persian, and Indian texts into Arabic. Baghdad was the site of major intellectual flowering — the *bayt al-hikma* (House of Wisdom) became a major translation and research centre.