Ancient Civilizations around the World

Mesopotamia Civilization

It is believed that the early civilizations were originated near the rivers. Mesopotamian culture is one such civilization in Bronze Age and is said to be formed on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is today Iraq and Kuwait at around BC 4000. It is called so, since the place is located between these rivers. The wheel was invented in Mesopotamia in 3500 BC. Ur is the main town of Mesopotamia. The people of Ur worshipped Nanna (Moon). It falls under Babylonian Empire. Hammurabi is the main king of Babylonian Empire. He ruled the empire from BC 1792 to BC 1750. He prepared the laws and had written the “The Code of Hammurabi”. One of the wonders of ancient world, Hanging Gardens is situated in Babylonia. Nebuchadnezzar King built the Hanging Gardens. The people of Mesopotamia respected the king same as to God. The Sumerian people of Mesopotamia invented the cuneiform script. Cuneiform Script used pictograms to represent objects. Calendar was first invented by the Mesopotamian People and it was prepared by astronomers of that period as a 12-month calendar based on the cycles of the moon. They also divided a day into 24 hours and were first in the world to do that.

Egyptian Civilization

Herodotus, Greek historian called Egypt as the Gift of Nile. Herodotus is also known as the Father of History. It is believed that Egyptian civilization takes place in around 3150 BC with the political union of Upper and Lower Egypt under the Egyptian King, Pharaoh. People of Egypt considered Pharaoh as the god of people. Sun is the chief god of People. Mummification introduced in Egypt. Mummy is any dead body that is preserving the fleshy parts with the treatment with natron and resin and covering it in bandages. Pyramids (shown) are the tombs of Pharaoh, which is now considered as one of the seven wonders of world. The Pyramid of Khufu located at Giza near the capital Cairo is the biggest Egyptian pyramid. The pyramid Giza was built by the Pharaoh, Khufu in BC 2650. The Sphinx located in Giza with a lion's body and a human head is a greatest limestone statue. The face of the statue is considered as the face of Pharaoh Khafra. The pyramid was said to be built by 3 lakh people and took around 20 years to complete. The script used by Egyptian is Hieroglyphic script. They wrote in the leaves of Papyrus Plant. The decimal system was first introduced by Egyptians. They are the first people who introduced the Calendar System based on Sun.

Indus Valley Civilization

Indus Valley Civilization flourished from the Northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan to India. It grew on the banks of river Indus and is one among the ancient civilizations of world. It is otherwise called as Harappan Culture. It emerges and lasts from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE. It is believed that the Indus Valley Civilization was collapsed due to the invasion of Aryans or from other natural disaster. The main occupation of the inhabitants of this era is making Bricks. The main deities worshipped by people are Pashupati (Shiva) and goddess. Sumerian People call them Meluhha. Wheat and Barley are the chief grains cultivated. Lothal is the main trade centre of Harappan people. They are unaware about Iron and Horse.

Mayan Civilization

The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization originated in Middle America in BC 1000. There are 18 months in a year and 20 days in a Month on their Calendar System. Mayans worshipped the Maize god. They performed human sacrifice which is ritual presenting nourishment to the gods. Maize is the major food and also the cultivation of Mayans. The pyramid built by Mayans in AD 800 is Chichen Itza (shown), which is one among the seven wonders of world.

Aztecs Civilization

The Aztecs emerged in AD 1200 is the current people of cities in Mexico. Tenochtitlan is the capital of Aztecs. Nahuatl is the language of Aztecs. Chinampas is the floating gardens built during the period of Aztecs.

Inca Civilization

The Inca civilization arose from the South American highlands of Peru, Chile and Ecuador. Incas practiced Human sacrifice and also child sacrifices during important events. Incas worshipped Sun as God. Sun Festival is the famous festival of Incas. Both Mayans and Incas built the Pyramid. The Machu Picchu (shown in figure) built by Incas is one among the seven wonders of World. Its remnants are now found in the city of Peru. Cusco was the capital of Incas. Inca Kings believed that, they were the followers of Sun.

Chinese Civilization

In BC 800, twelve local kingdoms emerged and it was ruled by Zhou Dynasty. Upon BC third century, Ch'in, Chou and Yihu came into existence. In BC 221, Ch'in became the major power. The word ‘China’ is also derived from Ch'in. Shi Huangdi is the most popular king of Ch'in dynasty. The construction of Great Wall was also started during his period. Flooding from Huangpu River made the Chinese people life difficult. So the river is called as “Sad of China”. It is also called as Yellow Bank River. Silkworm Cultivation, Silk Cloth Farming, Metal Mirror etc were believed to be first made in China. Also the invention of papermaking is another contribution. The four main inventions of ancient china include Paper, Printing, Gunpowder and Compass. Confucianism and Taoism were the major beliefs. Confucius, who born in BC 551 in Lu state (Zou) is the founder of belief, Confucianism. His teachings were compiled in the book “Analects”. Taoism is the philosophical and religious belief founded by Laozi in BC Sixth Century. Tao Te Ching is the holy work of Taoism. The meaning of word Tao is Way or Path. Laozi is also known as the Gautama Buddha of China.

Great Wall of China: The Great Wall of China is the lengthiest man made wall in the world. It is one among the seven wonders of world. The length of this wall is 7240 kilometers. It is mainly built for the purpose of protecting the Chinese Empire against warlike peoples or other forces from north. The construction of this wall was started during the period of Shi Huangdi from Ch'in Dynasty (BC 221 – BC 206). Changcheng is the Chinese name of Great Wall of China.

Ancient Greek

The origin of Greece is believed to be emerged in the banks of Danube River. They are known in the name of Hellens. Democracy is said to be first introduced by the Greeks. Ancient Indians called the Greek People as Yavanas (Mentioned in Mahabharata). Ancient Greek City-States are commonly called as Polis. Acropolis is located in the middle of Polis, inside which a temple had replaced. The Parthenon (shown) is a temple in Greece which is dedicated to the maiden goddess, Athena. Homer is one of the greatest ancient Greek Epic Poet and also the author of Iliad and the Odyssey, which is respected ancient Greek epic poets. The incidents that took place in Trojan War are the main content of the poems. Trojan War was between the City of Troy and the Greeks. The remnants of City of Troy is now located in Turkey. Roman Poet, Virgil wrote Aeneid based on Trojan War. Sophocles, an ancient Greek tragedy dramatist wrote Ajax, Antigone, Oedipus Rex, Electra and Oedipusat at Colonus. He was born in 496 BC (5th Century BC). Athens and Sparta are the popular ancient Greek City-States. Peloponnesian War is between Athens and Sparta. Rafael painted the popular “The School of Athens” in between 1509 and 1511. The painting shows the popular philosophers of that era. It was now located in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican. The father of Medicine, Hippocrates had born in ancient Greece in 460 BC. Also the mathematicians, Euclid and Pythagoras are Greece born. Euclid is considered as the father of Geometry. His notable work is Elements. “There is no royal road to geometry” is the famous quote of Euclid. Pythagoras is popular for his Pythagoras Theorem, where it states the measurements of three sides of triangle. Numbers rule the universe is the words of Pythagoras. Archimedes is also a Greek born mathematician, who introduced the Archimedes Principle. The famous quote of Archimedes is “Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the entire Earth”. His notable work is Sphere and Cylinder. Eureka is also a term used by him. Its meaning is “I find it”. The Greek Athenian philosopher, Socrates was born in BC 469. The main student of Socrates is Plato who was originally named Aristocles. Plato built a university called Academy near Athens in BC 387. The most popular work of Plato is “The Republic”. Apology of Socrates, Phaedo, Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman, Parmenides, Crito and Symposium are other notable works of him. Aristotle is one among the main student of Plato. He is popularly called as Encyclopedic Genius. Lyceum is the education center built by Aristotle. He is also a teacher to Alexander. The notable works of Aristotle include Politics, Categories, On Interpretation, Metaphysics, Nichomachean, Ethics, Rhetoric and Poetics.

Ancient Roman Culture

Roman city is located on the banks of Tiber River in Italy. It is believed that roman city was founded by two brothers, Romulus and Remus. It spread through seven hills. Republic was first introduced to the world by Roman People. The modern world adapted the law and administration method from the people of ancient Romans. Concrete was first invented by Romans and also the building construction technology. The Colosseum (shown in figure) in Ancient Rome is used to perform gladiators, combats between men, wild animals fight and so on. Slavery and Slaves exists in the society. Revolts of slaves are common in the society and one of the major among them is the revolt led by Spartacus in BC 73. Jupiter, Mars, Juno, Vesta are the main goddesses of Romans. Struggle of the Orders is considered as the first Class Conflict took place in the world. It is said to be happened in BC 500. The two sections of Rome are Plebeians and Patricians. Julius Caesar (BC 100 – BC 44) is the most famous king of Roman Empire. Julius Caesar in 47 BC visited Egypt and went to the Middle East, where he defeated Pontus king. Caesar called this victory as I Came, I Saw, I Conquered. In 44 BC March 15, Caesar was murdered by a group of senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus. The Punic Wars were a sequence of three wars that fought between Rome and Carthage from around BC 264 to BC 146. The remnants of old city, Carthage is now located in modern Tunisia. Hannibal is the popular military commander of Carthage.

Persian Culture (Culture of Iran)

Ancient Persia includes the current places of Iran. Darius (shown) is the most powerful king of Persia, who ruled from BC 521 to BC 485. The Darius Empire of Persia spread up to Indus River. Zoroastrianism Religion established between BC 1400 and BC 1000 in Middle Persia and the founder of this religion is a philosopher called Zoroaster. Ahura Mazda is the god of Zoroastrianism. Avesta is the text of this religion. The people of Zoroastrianism region who migrated from Ancient Persia to India are now called as Parsees. Their temples are now called as Fire Temples. Mithra Religion is also said to be originated from Zoroastrianism.

African Civilization

Mali Empire: Mali Empire is a West African empire, found in the 13th Century. Mansa Musa is the most popular king of Mali. Mali Empire is later changed into Songhai in 15th Century.

Kingdom of Kush

The Kingdom of Kush is an ancient African kingdom believed to be existed during the period, 1070 BC to 350 AD. The capital of the kingdom is Kerma, then Napata and later changed into Meroe. It is now located in the modern Sudan and surrounding places. Meroe is now called as Birmingham of Middle Africa. Egyptian and Kush civilizations shared similar culture. The people of Kush Dynasty formed the Meroitic script. The pyramids of the kingdom of Kush are shown. Nubia and Aksum Kingdoms emerged in AD 1st and 2nd century is other empires formed in Africa. Ge'ez is the written language of Kingdom of Aksum.