EARLY RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS
Approximately 5000 years ago
the first complex, politically centralized civilizations began to crystallize
independently along a number of river valleys throughout the southern half of
Asia and northern
Africa
. These civilizations constitute the
next step in the organization and centralization of human economic, political,
religious, and social institutions and practices.
Why did the first complex,
politically centralized civilizations materialize along rivers? Because
rivers supplied a continuous if not always dependable flow and supply of water
for farming and human consumption. These
rivers along with climate, vegetation, geography, and topography shaped the
development of the early river valley civilizations.
However, while people of these civilizations were dependent on the
rivers, the rivers also inspired new technological, economic, institutional, and
organizational innovations and developments.
Between 3000 and 2000 B.C.E.
such river valley civilizations formed independently of each other along the
Indus, the Nile, the Tigris and Euphrates, and the Yellow
Rivers. These civilizations shared certain
characteristics that distinguished them from the collections of Neolithic
communities that preceded them.
Nile
River
valley civilizations
The
Nile
River
was the axis of two early African civilizations,
Egypt
and
Nubia
. The
Nile
River
shaped the development of both civilizations, providing a reliable source of
water for farming and linking them to sub-Saharan Africa and the
Mediterranean Sea
. The
Nile
gave them limited access to various Bantu peoples to the south and various
Mediterranean peoples to the north. Although
both civilizations crystallized along the
Nile
, they developed along different lines.
Egypt
unified politically earlier and more effectively than
Nubia
. The ruler-conqueror first united
Egypt
about 3100 B.C.E. Subsequently, the
institution of the pharaoh as deified ruler developed during a period known as
the Archaic Period(3100-2660 B.C.E.).
Ancient Egyptian history is
chronologically divided by dynasty and “kingdom”.
The three principle periods are the Old Kingdom(2660-2160 B.C.E.), the
Middle Kingdom(2040-1640 B.C.E.), and the
New Kingdom
(1550-1070 B.C.E.). In a number of
ways the
Old Kingdom
is considered the classic era in ancient Egyptian history.
This period is marked by the power and influence of the pharaoh being at
its height, as manifest in the construction of massive pyramids for burial of
the pharaohs. While pyramids were
constructed during all three kingdom periods, Egyptians built the largest
pyramids for their pharaohs during the
Old Kingdom
. Of course, these massive monuments
have come to define ancient
Egypt
in popular culture. Arguably the
most famous pyramids were constructed between 2600 and 2500 B.C.E. at
Giza
, two of the best known being the Great
Pyramid of the ruler Khufu and the
Great Sphinx.
The periods of the Middle and
the
New
Kingdoms
are defined by greater contact with various peoples around the
Mediterranean
. During the period of the New
Kingdom ancient
Egypt
was at the height of its imperial power in northern
Africa
and the Mediterranean basin. After
the end of the New Kingdom Egypt came under the control of a succession of
foreign powers in northern Africa, the Mediterranean basin, Anatolia, and
western Asia. Despite long periods
of political and/or military subjugation, significant remnants of ancient
Egyptian culture survived and even thrived.
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a Greek word
that means “land between the rivers”, referring to the Tigris and the Euphrates
Rivers. These two rivers were the axes of
one of the most influential ancient civilizations in history.
With the development of irrigation around 6000 B.C.E. farming villages
appeared and grew into larger communities and then cities along these rivers.
Political centralization first
occurred in Mesopotamia in much the same way that it took place along the
Nile
River
. From approximately 3200 to 2350
B.C.E. various Sumerian cities dominated
Mesopotamia
. During this period these cities,
ruled by monarchs, came to control surrounding economic hinterlands, and, in the
process, evolved into city-states. These
city-states were rivals who vied for influence throughout, even dominance of
Mesopotamia
. In the twenty-fourth century B.C.E.
Sargon, the ruler of the city of
Akkad
, became the first man to unify
Mesopotamia
under his control. From 2350 to
1600 B.C.E. Mesopotamia was dominated by
Babylon
, a city that straddled the Tigris and
Euphrates
Rivers.
Mesopotamia
left a number of important cultural legacies for Western civilization.
Mesopotamia
culture was a synthesis of both Sumerian and Semitic forms.
One of these legacies was various legal codes developed by a succession
of Mesopotamian rulers. Most notably
among these rulers was Hammurabi(r. 1792-1750 B.C.E.), a Babylonian ruler who
had various legal codes, guidelines, and precedents compiled.
This compilation was part of his larger effort to standardize the
administration of his kingdom. Another
legacy was the Epic of Gilgamesh, a
collection of stories about ancient
Mesopotamia
which centered around a legendary king of Uruk, who was part god.
These stories became one of the models for later heroic epics which
celebrated the exploits of rulers and their champions.
Harappan
civilization
From roughly 3000 to 1500 B.C.E.
a complex, urbanized civilization existed along the
Indus
River
in what is today northern
India
. This ancient
Indus River valley civilization was dominated by several large cities,
including Harappa and Mohenjo-daro,
and today is known by the name of the former.
The people of this civilization were known as Dravidians.
For a number of different
reasons we don’t know as much about Harappan civilization as we do about its
counterparts along the Nile, the Tigris and Euphrates, and the
Yellow
Rivers
. Unlike these other civilizations
the language of ancient Harappan civilization cannot be deciphered.
Our knowledge of this civilization is based almost entirely on various
physical remains.
The
Xia, the Shang, and the Zhou Dynasties of Early
China
Early Chinese civilization developed along the same lines as that of ancient
Egypt
and
Mesopotamia
. Between 7000 and 5000 B.C.E.
agricultural villages appeared and grew along the Yellow and
Yangzi
Rivers
.
Ancient Chinese history is marked by three successive dynasties that
would become the roots of Chinese culture and civilization.
Little is known about the Xia Dynasty(2200-1766 B.C.E.), the first of
these dynasties. The Shang
Dynasty(1766-1122 B.C.E.) built on the base established by its predecessor, with
the help of various technological advances, including bronze metallurgy and
horse-drawn chariots. The Zhou
Dynasty(1122-256 B.C.E.) expanded upon Shang accomplishments.
One of the Zhou Dynasty’s best known achievements was articulation of
the concept of the Mandate of Heaven as a justification for the overthrow of an
unpopular and/or unsuccessful dynasty.
These three dynasties established many
of the threads of Chinese civilization.
The
Legacies of the
Ancient
River
Valley
Civilizations
These civilizations laid the
foundations for political centralization and organization upon which nearly all
subsequent civilizations are built. They
also provided many of the roots of human civilization all the way to the present
including the practices of monument building, written articulation of legal
codes, and the construction of the legal and political infrastructures necessary
to run a central government of a state. If one were transported back in
time to one of these early civilizations, one would find much that was familiar.