There have been many empires and civilizations since recorded history. These empires or powerful states are not something that have only appeared in more modern times. Empires and civilizations did not appear suddenly, but have been around even before 350 BC. There are multiple parts that help lead to their rise. However, the main aspects being religion, agriculture, and governmental implementation. These aspects are all interconnected and play a huge part in why empires were created in the early parts of history. Agriculture and technological advancements are a key foundation of creating any type of civilization. This gives a population of people the means to be self-sufficient. During a large part of history, people tended to be more nomadic …show more content…
Being able to grow food sources, meant that groups of people could bring in livestock. This helped the domestication process of plants and animals. An example of this, goes back to a local governor named Djehutynakht. In his tomb, wooden models were found that depicted tools used in farming and processing food. The Epic of Gilgamesh really shows the transitions from living like and animal to a more sophisticated life style. In the story, Enkidu is brought to the shepherd’s picnic where he had bread and beer. This is his first time experiencing this as he had previously been eating grass like an animal. This symbolizes people overcoming the wildness by becoming more sophisticated. Especially, in terms of how people …show more content…
It aided in how empires viewed the world around them. This also greatly impacted the leaders of the different powerful states. For example, Mencius was a very highly influential Confucian thinker and often visited different kingdoms and would speak to the leaders and share his ideas. He mainly talked about how caring for the commoner was a moral duty (page 139). Another example which shows the role of religion and new thinking, is The Epic of Gilgamesh. For a large portion of the story, it deals with the theme of urbanization Mesopotamia and their religion were bound together (gilgy). Governmental implementation is another key component in the rise of an empire. This provides more structure so that the population can grow can expand even more. Typically, within the government, there would be leaders in which would lead a civilization. This is commonly in forms of kings and ruling families before 350 BC. As leaders, they could enforce different governing rules. The government a lot of times had some sort of military that was used. This provided protect for the people living the empire or
Burbank and Cooper in their book Empires in World History portray the evolution of power and the development of different states. They elaborate on how powerful cities and states imposed their rules and waged conquest on surrounding territories. Political dynasties developed strongly among states inspired by religious, politic and economic trends. The Han dynasty of China and the Imperial Rome were some of the powerful states that developed during the third century. The two states adopted different strategies and ideas in developing of their emperor. The Roman, for instance, developed a more advanced for of governance as opposed to the Han. Their system of governance emerged as an expensive identity around the Mediterranean. These two empires controlled and conquered their territory in unique and different ways that made them strong and remarkable during their heyday.
The Epic of Gilgamesh served the purpose to shed some light on the culture of Sumeria. The story has helped give factual information even though the epic many not be true in whole, it may have some truth in parts. It has given us more knowledge on the architectural craftsmanship of Sumerian people, and also shows us the belief of many gods in Sumer's polytheistic society.
The ancient Mesopotamian writing, The Epic of Gilgamesh, gives readers insight into the traditions and customs of the people who wrote it. Like all epics, The Epic of Gilgamesh is the story of a heroic national figure: this epic gives the story of the life of Gilgamesh from his birth as two-thirds god, one-third man to his death. Throughout the epic the importance of loyalty is addressed. In The Epic of Gilgamesh readers see that loyalty is the most important aspect of a Mesopotamian relationship and that there are always consequences for violating trust.
Throughout ancient years, there have been many empires that have impacted culture, politics, religion, and people. The Mongol empire and the Roman empire both had their ways of growing their empires, administering their empires, having successes and failures, and legacies. As the empires began to take shape, expand, and become more complex, they will important in the lives of people.
Post Classical politics first came to be when Kong Fuzi or Confucius brought it up during the classical era. Confucius was an educator and a political advisor. At the time, China was experiencing problems and Confucius helped to settle everything. He passed his knowledge on to students who then created analects which are political and cultural traditions that Confucius had taught. Confucius was a very wise man. He did not answer philosophical questions because it did not help to solve the problems at hands and he refused to answer religious question because it was too complex for mere human beings to understand. He believed that political and social harmony came from appropriate arrangements of human relationships with one another. To him, the country should not have been ruled by someone born into power, but to someone who was erudite and incredibly meticulous. When the post classical era came around Yang Jian brought China back to an un-centralized rule after their collapse during the Han dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty they came up with the “bureaucracy based on merit” (Bentley and Zeigler, p. 378) or by recruiting government officials.
Ancient world literature and early civilization stories are mostly centered on human’s relationship with higher beings. Ancient civilizations were extremely religious, holding the belief that their very lives were in the hands of their almighty god or goddess. This holds true for both the people of biblical times as well as those of the epic era. However, their stories have some differences according to cultural variation but the main structure, ideas, and themes are generally found correlative. It is hard to believe that one work did not affect the others. The first great heroic epic poem of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament are parts of two cultures that are hundreds of years apart. Whereas Gilgamesh is a myth and the book of Genesis is the basis of many religions, they both have notably similar accounts of symbols, motifs, meaningful events according to the relationship between the divine and humans in literature.
More than two thousand years ago, two great empires arose. The Chinese and the Roman Empires. Having different locations, there were obvious differences from the start, assembly and the collapse of the empires, but there were also astonishing similarities. Located in modern time Asia and Europe, the Chinese and Roman empires were revolutionary with their ideas and accomplishments in their time from the start to the end of their empires.
Perhaps one of the main reasons the Epic of Gilgamesh is so popular and has lasted such a long time, is because it offers insight into the human concerns of people four thousand years ago, many of which are still relevant today. Some of these human concerns found in the book that are still applicable today include: the fear and concerns people have in relation to death, overwhelming desires to be immortal, and the impact a friendship has on a person’s life. It does not take a great deal of insight into The Epic of Gilgamesh for a person to locate these themes in the story, and even less introspection to relate to them.
The Roman Empire In 27 BC, Augustus became the first emperor of Rome, thus creating a strong leader figure, which could shape and mold the Republic system into what was best for the empire or themselves. During the reign of the emperors, the political policies for Rome would vary according to, which emperor was in power. Not only were politics shaky, but there never was a clear-cut method of succession for the man who controlled those politics. Rome had created the position of emperor in hopes that men like Augustus would continue to lead her into prosperity, however the office of emperor struggled in attempting to find great men to lead Rome. The office never truly evolved into something greater than when it had been created, but rather the office varied according to the personality of the man in the position.
---. “The Development and Meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: An Interpretive Essay.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 121.4 (2001): 614-622. JSTOR. Web. 28 Feb 2014.
We learn about ancient civilizations through literature, artifacts, and stories passed down from generation to generation. The Mesopotamian civilization is one of earth's earliest civilizations, and it's also one we know very little about. We can gather information about these people's way life, beliefs, and geographical location. The Epic of Gilgamesh, a literary work from this time period, shows us several important pieces of information that helps us understand this ancient civilization. This epic shows us the Mesopotamian peoples belief system, their views on death, and their description of the after life.
The stories of the hunt for immortality gathered in the Epic of Gilgamesh depict the conflict felt in ancient Sumer. As urbanization swept Mesopotamia, the social status shifted from a nomadic hunting society to that of a static agricultural gathering society. In the midst of this ancient "renaissance", man found his relationship with the sacred uncertain and precarious. The Epic portrays the strife created between ontological nostalgia for a simpler time and the dawn of civilization breaking in the Near East. In this Epic, Gilgamesh is seen trying to achieve immortality through the methods of both the old and the new. His journeys through the sacred and the profane in many ways characterize the confusion arising from the unstable social climate. Therefore, the society, by writing the story of Gilgamesh, guarantees not only his immortality, but the immortality of the new order being established.
Most of the civilizations throughout history have been taken over or replaced by other civilizations due to disunity and chaos. Although an empire might seem prosperous, the decline and fall of empires are sometimes inevitable. Even though an empire might seem invincible, there are many factors that could lead to the sudden decline or fall of an empire. Over many centuries, historians have composed many reasons, such as weak militaries, economic burdens, dynastic successions, and external enemies, which have been known to contribute to the rise and fall of many once successful empires.
The Castle Doctrine is a bill that was passed which lets you defend yourself with necessary force in your residence if someone is breaking into your home. Criminals like to go after easy targets such as, the elderly, disabled citizens, children, and people who are unarmed. Every citizen has the right to live free and happy, if they are attacked they should be able to defend themselves and their property without being charged as a murderer.
The epic is based off of a group known as the Sumerians. The Sumerians were the first educated inhabitants of Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was a society established around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Sumerian society were the first group of people able to build and maintain a society that included people working together for a common goal. They are also known for having the first sort of use of language to communicate, they also had some sort of a government used to keep everything in order and working smoothly. They also were the first known society to use a form a caste system where people were apart of different classes. They were also able to develop some form of crop rotation and able to work the land for the best turn out of