The First Civilization arose in the 62nd century. back.

The Last Civilization stopped in the 41st century. back.

Ancient Oriental include civilizations that developed at the end of the 5th - 2nd millennium BC. in North Africa and Asia.

These civilizations, which developed, as a rule, in isolation from each other, are called riverine, since their origin and existence were associated with the great rivers - the Nile, the Tigris and the Euphrates, the Indus and the Ganges, the Yellow River and the Yangtze.

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Andm are typologically similar to the states that existed in the II - early I millennium BC. on the Balkan Peninsula and the islands of the Aegean archipelago.

DAncient Eastern civilizations arose independently of each other. They created the first writing systems, discovered the principles of statehood and the norms of coexistence of people who differed ethnically, socially, property, professionally and religiously. Their historical experience was used by civilizations that arose at a later time.

DThe ancient east became the cradle of modern civilization. Here the first states, the first cities, writing, stone architecture, world religions appear.

FROMThe knowledge of the man of the Ancient East was mythological. He saw causal relationships as personal forces endowed with consciousness and will.

ATcountries of the Ancient East, the universe was identified with the state. The ideal that prevailed there can be described by the formula "living righteously, thinking righteously and acting righteously in our righteous community." A quiet person corresponded to the ideal - modest, meek, humble, submissive to the order of things established by the gods.

Pcomplete obedience to the gods (and to the deified ruler) was the basis of moral values ​​and the core of the ideal person. He was opposed to an arrogant, proud and obstinate person. The worst of sins was disobedience to the gods.

TThe ore of the farmer and cattle breeder was recognized as one of the highest values, diligence - the only way to well-being. Poverty was seen as evil, but wealth, if it was not interconnected with selflessness and helping the needy, was usually not considered an absolute good. More significant was, as a rule, the acquisition of the highest good - wisdom.

ToThe orporativity of ancient Eastern societies made the family one of the most important values. Ideas about the norm of family life were associated with consent between spouses, having many children and honoring parents.

PThe first states arise in river valleys. Agriculture in the ancient east was very productive, but this required irrigation systems (drainage, irrigation). The construction of irrigation systems required a large amount of labor. One community could not cope with such work, and there was a need to unite the communities under the control of a single state. For the first time this happens in Mesopotamia (the Tigris River, the Euphrates River), Egypt (the Nile River) at the end of the 4th - beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. Later, states arise in India and China; these civilizations were called riverine.

Hin the Ancient East, the first ever command-distribution system of the economy was formed. Its basis was agriculture (as a rule, irrigation), which separated from the craft at the initial stage of the formation of the state. The economy was natural.

Andthe irrigation economy, which required labor-intensive earthworks, was based on the eastern form of ownership; The state represented by the king acted as the supreme owner of the land. He was the main organizer of the work on the creation and maintenance of the irrigation system, was in charge of the distribution of water and crops. The problem of surplus labor force was solved by the total involvement of community members in the construction of grandiose structures.

Danother type of economy - simple commodity production - was represented by urban craft

PIn the absence of direct (independent of the supreme power) economic, political and cultural ties between communities, the centralized state played a huge role. It was a deified power that controlled, regulated and directed the actions and deeds of people.

OThe new order was the unlimited and uncontrolled power of the king - a living god or chief priest. He was the supreme owner of the land, the supreme commander in chief, the highest authority in court. The backbone of the king's power was the bureaucratic apparatus that ruled on his behalf.

Wman was completely subordinate to the state. It exploited not an individual community member, but the entire community. As users of the land, the community members gave part of the harvest to the state, performed public works and carried out recruitment duties. Farmers were often attached to the land, and craftsmen - to the profession.

Twhat type of statehood is despotic (from the Greek word despot - ruler). The countries of the Ancient East almost did not know social unrest. This was partly due to the fact that there were no ideas about personality. Unanimity reigned in the public mind. The concepts of king and justice merged, and personal property and the social ranks were to some extent protected by tradition and law.

PThe first stage in the development of the states of the Ancient East is associated with the formation of the first centers of civilizations - nome states in Egypt and city-states in Mesopotamia - and covers the end of the 5th - 4th millennium BC.

ATthe second stage - the era of centralized kingdoms - falls on the III-II millennium BC. The civilizations of the Aegean, Transcaucasia, the Iranian Highlands and the Arabian Peninsula that arose at that time were in close contact with the ancient civilizations of the Near East, while the contemporary civilizations of India and China developed in isolation.

DThis era is characterized by the dominance of subsistence farming. The formation of two forms of ownership of land, water and minerals - royal-temple and communal - became the basis for the coexistence of two sectors of the economy - communal and centralized, state-temple.

Tthe third stage - the first half of the 1st millennium BC. - the era of the emergence and death of great empires - such as the Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, Achaemenid and Qin. The leading trend in their development was the integration of the regions that made up these superstates and the alignment of their levels of development.

DThis era was characterized by the growth of the role of commodity economy and private property.

Drevnevostochnye society in the Middle East ceased to exist after the campaigns of Alexander the Great (336-323 BC). In the Middle and Far East, ancient civilizations that developed in isolation to a greater extent gradually grew into medieval civilizations (noticeably different from the feudal civilization of Western Europe).

Dthe ancient Eastern society was hierarchical and divided into estates - closed groups of the population with a similar set of duties and privileges; belonging to the estates was hereditary. Each person occupied a strictly defined social niche.

Hand at the top of the hierarchy stood the king and the highest stratum of the nobility, which consisted of tribal, administrative and military aristocracy and priesthood. Officials belonged to the middle strata; the bureaucracy controlled all spheres of life. At the bottom of the social hierarchy were artisans and free communal farmers.

ATIn a number of countries of the Ancient East, the population was divided into castes, which differed from estates in complete isolation from each other.

Drevnevostochnoe society was built on communal collectivism. The community was not only the main production unit, but also ensured social stability. The community had self-government and was closed. It was a privilege to belong to her. Members of the community usually bore collective responsibility for everything that happened on its territory.

TWhat kind of system could exist only with the invariance of its links and with the observance of tradition, which was conceived as absolute truth. The main thing was to reproduce the experience of the fathers, which was considered the highest value. This slowed down the changes in society.

PThe first states appeared in the delta of the Tigris and Euphrates (at the turn of the 5th-4th millennium BC) and in the Nile Valley (at the beginning of the 4th millennium BC) - in areas with a dry and hot climate. At that time, tools made of copper were mastered there. The tribes of the steppe and forest-steppe of Eurasia were only then switching to agriculture, and the tribes of the forest and polar regions lived in conditions of a highly productive appropriating economy based on hunting, fishing and trapping of sea animals.

ATIn the valleys of the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates, irrigation was the basis of agriculture. The emergence of a system of dams and canals in Egypt was dictated by the need to bring water to the fields and keep water with fertile silt there for as long as possible during the floods of the Nile. In the swampy Southern Mesopotamia, water was diverted from the fields with the help of canals.

Prare Egyptians appeared in the Nile Valley, which was inhabited by Semitic tribes related to them in language, about 5000 BC. In the first half of the IV millennium BC. tribal communities in Egypt consisted of large patriarchal families. It was headed by the patriarch, followed by his sons and grandsons with children and relatives who did not separate. They worked together on the land that was the property of the community.

Pafter the appearance of dams and canals in the second half of the 4th millennium BC. the harvest has grown. The community received a surplus sufficient for the maintenance of the disabled and for the release of artisans from cultivating the land. Since the surpluses were small, there remained a need for their egalitarian distribution and for the organization of labor to maintain the canal system. These tasks were performed by the priests, who brought the community into contact with the gods. The priests got the levers of managing the economy and, as a result, power over the community.

ToThe operation of tribal communities contributed to their development into nomes - communities where territorial and neighboring ties predominated, based on joint ownership of land, on maintaining a single system of channels and on the veneration of common gods. The center of the nome was the temple, and its high priest was considered the head of the community. He was allocated a plot of land, which was cultivated by community members. Over time, the centers of the nomes became cities.

BLarge patriarchal families broke up into small ones. They consisted of two generations - parents, their unmarried sons and unmarried daughters. Family ties gave way to neighborly ones.

PChanges in agriculture and the collapse of tribal ties within the community led to the emergence of a management apparatus. He was supported by community members. As a result of the wars between the nomes, slavery spread in Egypt and a permanent squad appeared, subordinate to the head of the community - the priest.

Hohms (there were about 40 in Egypt), uniting communities around the local irrigation system, became the first states (sometimes they are called proto-states). The centers of such political formations were the city with the temple of the supreme god, around which artisans settled. The nome was divided into tax districts. The taxes went to the maintenance of the ruler, the administrative apparatus and the squad.

PThe process of state formation in Egypt was completed by the unification of the nomes. At the end of the IV millennium BC. 22 southern nomes formed the Upper Kingdom with its capital in Hierakonpolis. The 20 nomes in the north made up the Lower Kingdom, with its capital at Buto.

BUTThe process of formation of states in the Southern Mesopotamia was taxing. At the end of the 5th millennium BC. it was settled by the Sumerians - a people whose ancestral home is unknown, and whose language is not similar to any of the existing ones. They called themselves blackheads. Later it became the self-name of all the peoples of Mesopotamia.

ATthe beginning of the IV millennium BC. tribal communities of the Southern Mesopotamia owned a network of small canals. Nomov-type communities and a unified canal system appeared later.

CThe center of the community was a temple with granaries and workshops. Settlements clustered around it. This is how the first cities were born. The most ancient of them, the Sumerians considered Shuruppak. The head of the community was the high priest of the temple - en. He was given a plot of land, which was considered the possession of God.

HOm farms of Egypt and temple farms of Mesopotamia were such complex organisms that, due to the need to take into account their activities, writing arose - at the beginning of the 4th millennium BC. - in Egypt, at the turn of IV-III millennia BC. - in Sumer.

Sumerian writing, which developed from the drawing, became the basis of other writing systems in Mesopotamia, Western Asia and Iran. Symbols and their groups denoted syllables, concepts or determinatives (explanations of concepts). This system was called cuneiform, since when writing on clay - the main writing material of Mesopotamia - it was convenient to reproduce signs resembling wedges. This form of signs was also preserved when writing on stone.

EEgyptian writing, like that of the Sumerians, developed from drawing. Each drawing (pictogram, hieroglyph) meant a syllable, a concept, and a determinative. The writing material was a kind of paper made from papyrus stalks, so the pictorial form of signs has been preserved.

RThere are three types of Egyptian writing: ceremonial hieroglyphics, cursive-hieratic (priestly writing) and cursive-demotica (folk writing). Later, an alphabet of 21 characters appeared, denoting consonants, but it was not widely used.

Ethe Egyptians believed that "knowledge came out of Egypt", the birthplace of science. They determined the time of the flood of the Nile by the stars. On this basis, the Egyptians identified the signs of the Zodiac, divided the year into 365 days, and the day into 24 hours. From the experience of dividing land plots and calculating crop volumes, knowledge of the basics of geometry and algebra emerged. The tradition of mummification of the bodies of the dead contributed to the development of anatomy and surgery. The Egyptians were the first to smelt glass, which was based on knowledge of chemical processes. The word chemistry comes from the name that the Egyptians endowed their country with - Ta-Kemet (Black Earth). These sciences were the sum of practical knowledge and were not supported by theory.

CCivilizations of the Ancient East:

Dvurechye, Mesopotamia, Mesopotamia. Unlike other civilizations, it was an open state. Many trade routes passed through the Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamia was constantly expanding, involving new cities, while other civilizations were more closed. Here appeared: a potter's wheel, a wheel, metallurgy of bronze and iron, a war chariot, and new forms of writing. Farmers settled Mesopotamia in the 8th millennium BC. Gradually, they learned to drain wetlands.

Dvureche was rich in grain. Residents exchanged grain for missing household items. Clay replaced stone and wood. People wrote on clay tablets. At the end of the 4th millennium BC, in the southern Mesopotamia, the state of Sumer arose.

ATAbout the 2nd millennium BC, the importance of Babylon, where King Hammurabi ruled, increases. From the 14th to the 7th century BC, Assyria was strengthened, and it was replaced by the Neo-Babylonian state. In the 6th century BC, Babylon was conquered by the Persian kingdom.

Egypt. It was located in the valley of the Nile River, which was divided into upper and lower. The first state associations were called nomes. As a result of a long struggle, upper Egypt annexed lower Egypt. In Egypt, the positions of the priesthood were strong.

Toitaly. Formed in the valley of the Yellow River. The Yellow River often changed its course and flooded vast areas. At the head of the state was a deified ruler. In China, there was total control over the population, the population performed heavy duties.

AndIndia. Formed in the valley of the Indus River. The largest irrigation systems and large cities were created here. Craft was at a high level of development, sewer systems were created. The supreme governing body was Parshiat - Brahmans - King. In the second half of the millennium BC, the Aryan tribes invaded India and settled the Ganges River. They installed the Varna system.

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By the III millennium BC. e. the first centers of civilization arose in the Ancient East. Some scientists call ancient civilizations primary in order to emphasize that they grew directly from primitiveness and did not rely on the previous civilizational tradition. One of the characteristic features of primary civilizations is that they have a significant element of primitive beliefs, traditions and forms of social interaction.

Primary civilizations arose in similar climatic conditions. Scientists point out that they the zone covered an area with a tropical, subtropical and partly temperate climate, the average annual temperature of which was quite high - about + 20 ° C. Only a few millennia later, the zone of civilization began to spread to the north, where the nature is more severe. And this means that certain favorable natural conditions are needed for the emergence of civilization.

Historians also point out that the birthplace of primary civilizations, as a rule, are river valleys. In the III millennium BC. e. civilization arose in the Nile River valley in Egypt, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - in Mesopotamia. Somewhat later - in the III-II millennium BC. e. Indian civilization originated in the Indus Valley in the 2nd millennium BC. e. in the valley of the Yellow River - Chinese.

Of course, not all ancient civilizations were riverine. Thus, in a special geographical situation, Phenicia, Greece and Rome developed. This is the type coastal civilizations. The peculiarity of coastal conditions left a special imprint on the nature of economic activity, and this, in turn, stimulated the formation of a special type of social and political relations, special traditions. Thus, another type of civilization was formed - the Western one. Thus, already in the Ancient World, two global and parallel types of civilization begin to take shape - east and west.

In the spiritual life of an Eastern man, religious and mythological ideas and canonized styles of thinking dominated. In terms of worldview in Eastern civilizations, there is no division of the world into the world of nature and society, the natural and the supernatural. Therefore, the perception of the world by an Eastern person has a syncretic approach, expressed in the formulas "all in one" or "all in all". From the point of view of religious life, oriental culture is characterized by a moral and volitional attitude towards contemplation, serenity, mystical unity with natural and supernatural forces. In Eastern worldview systems, a person is absolutely not free, he is predetermined in his actions and fate by cosmic law. The most common symbol of Eastern culture is "a man in a boat without oars." It testifies that a person's life determines the course of the river, that is, nature, society, the state - therefore, a person does not need oars.

Eastern civilizations have amazing stability. A. Macedonian conquered the entire Middle East, built a huge empire. But one day everything returned to normal - to its eternal order. Eastern civilization is focused primarily on the reproduction of existing social structures, the stabilization of the established way of life that has dominated for many centuries. A characteristic feature of Eastern civilization is traditionalism. Traditional patterns of behavior and activity, accumulating the experience of ancestors, were regarded as an important value and were reproduced as stable stereotypes.

The social life of Eastern civilizations is built on the principles collectivism. Personality is not developed. Personal interests are subordinated to the general: communal, state. The collective of the community determined and controlled all aspects of human life: moral norms, spiritual priorities, principles of social justice, the form and nature of labor.

The political organization of the life of Eastern civilizations received in history the name despot. Let us consider in more detail what the eastern despotism was.

An important sign of Eastern despotism is enforcement policy, and even terror. Oriental despotism is characterized by public property(primarily on the ground). According to religious and moral teachings, land, water, air and other natural resources were given to all mankind. Socially, the structural basis of Eastern despotism was leveling, the complete absence or extremely insignificant role of class differences, horizontal ties in general.

The next global type of civilization that developed in antiquity was western type of civilization. It began to emerge on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and reached its highest development in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, societies that are commonly called the ancient world in the period from the 9th-8th centuries. BC e. to IV-V centuries. n. e. Therefore, the Western type of civilization can rightfully be called the Mediterranean or ancient type of civilization.

Ancient civilization has come a long way of development. In the south of the Balkan Peninsula, for various reasons, early class societies and states emerged at least three times: in the 2nd half of the 3rd millennium BC. e. (destroyed by the Achaeans); in the XVII-XIII centuries. BC e. (destroyed by the Dorians); in the IX-VI centuries. BC e. the last attempt was a success - an ancient society arose.

Antique civilization, as well as Eastern civilization, is a primary civilization. It grew directly out of primitiveness and could not take advantage of the fruits of a previous civilization. Therefore, in ancient civilization, by analogy with the eastern, in the minds of people and in the life of society, the influence of primitiveness is significant. The dominant position is religious and mythological worldview. However, this worldview has significant features. Ancient worldview cosmologically. Cosmos in Greek is not only the world. The Universe, but also order, the world whole, opposing Chaos with its proportionality and beauty. This order is based on measure and harmony. Thus, in ancient culture, on the basis of worldview models, one of the important elements of Western culture is formed - rationality.

Civilization of Ancient Greece. The peculiarity of Greek civilization lies in the emergence of such a political structure as "polis" - "city-state", covering the city itself and the territory adjacent to it. The policies were the first republics in the history of all mankind.

Numerous Greek cities were founded along the shores of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, as well as on the islands - Cyprus and Sicily. In the VIII-VII centuries. BC e. a large stream of Greek settlers rushed to the coast of southern Italy, the formation of large policies in this territory was so significant that it was called "Great Greece".

Citizens of policies had the right to own land, they were obliged to take part in public affairs in one form or another, and in case of war they were made up of a civil militia. In the Hellenic policies, in addition to the citizens of the city, personally free people usually lived, but deprived of civil rights; often they were immigrants from other Greek cities. At the bottom rung of the social ladder of the ancient world were completely disenfranchised slaves.

The product of the highest culture of antiquity is the civilization of Hellenism, the beginning of which was laid by the conquest by Alexander the Great in 334-328. BC e. Persian power, covering Egypt and a significant part of the Middle East to the Indus and Central Asia. The Hellenistic period lasted three centuries. In this wide space, new forms of political organization and social relations of peoples and their cultures developed - the civilization of Hellenism.

The characteristic features of the Hellenistic civilization include: a specific form of socio-political organization - the Hellenistic monarchy with elements of oriental despotism and polis organization; growth in the production of products and trade in them, the development of trade routes, the expansion of money circulation, including the appearance of gold coins; a stable combination of local traditions with the culture brought by the conquerors and settlers by the Greeks and other peoples.

Civilization of Ancient Rome compared to Greece was a more complex phenomenon. According to ancient legend, the city of Rome was founded in 753 BC. e. on the left bank of the Tiber, the validity of which was confirmed by archaeological excavations of this century. Initially, the population of Rome consisted of three hundred clans, the elders of which constituted the senate; at the head of the community was the king (in Latin - reve). The king was the supreme commander and priest. Later, the Latin communities living in Latium attached to Rome received the name of plebeians (plebs-people), and the descendants of the old Roman clans, who then constituted the aristocratic stratum of the population, were called patricians.

In the VI century. BC e. Rome became a fairly significant city and was dependent on the Etruscans, who lived northwest of Rome.

At the end of the VI century. BC e. with the liberation from the Etruscans, the Roman Republic is formed, which lasted about five centuries. The Roman Republic was originally a small state, less than 1000 square meters. km. The first centuries of the republic - the time of the stubborn struggle of the plebeians for their equal political rights with the patricians, for equal rights to public land. As a result, the territory of the Roman state gradually expands. At the beginning of the IV century. BC e. it has already more than doubled the original size of the republic. At this time, Rome was captured by the Gauls, who settled somewhat earlier in the Po Valley. However, the Gallic invasion did not play a significant role in the further development of the Roman state. II and I centuries. BC e. were times of great conquests that gave Rome all the countries adjacent to the Mediterranean, Europe to the Rhine and Danube, as well as Britain, Asia Minor, Syria and almost the entire coast of North Africa. Countries conquered by the Romans outside of Italy were called provinces.

In the first centuries of the existence of Roman civilization, slavery in Rome was poorly developed. From the 2nd century BC e. the number of slaves increased due to successful wars. The situation in the republic gradually worsened. In the 1st century BC e. the war of the inferior Italians against Rome and the uprising of slaves led by Spartacus shook all of Italy. It all ended with the establishment in Rome in 30 BC. e. the sole power of the emperor, based on armed force.

Six thousand years ago, humanity is moving into a new stage of its development - into the Ancient World (4th - 1st millennium BC), when the first civilizations enter the stage of life.

What were civilizations based on?

This mode of existence of tribes (at a certain stage of their transition into a people) and peoples became possible only with the advent of states. It doesn't matter what size they were - half an East or within one policy.

Another important feature of the civilizational process is the presence of state power and the emergence of social classes. The head of state appeared - the emperor, king or despot. Behind him stretched a special class - the apparatus of government. Quite numerous, as tyrannical as the head of state.

There was a classification of society. Combined slavery and free estates. A significant moment in the activities of ancient civilizations was the presence of armies to protect the borders, both from barbarians and the same new states. And not always nearby.

But more often, military formations existed to capture other territories to attract labor and possess natural resources or to enter trade routes and maritime territories.

Civilizations of the Ancient East

History shows that some civilizations (ancient Greek and Roman) seemed to be specially created for the annexation of foreign states and peoples, alien to each other in mentality, traditions, nature of activity, beliefs: some worshiped a specific god, others held on to polytheism.

Fertility gave impetus to the food trade, because the Sumerians themselves did not eat everything. It was followed by handicrafts, as fewer people began to grow food.

This part of the people was later reborn as managers, priests. Sumer, with its boundless fertility, also gave rise to a negative: the cities attracted peasants, and the fields were swamped or covered with sand dunes.

Sumerian writing, the need for which was dictated by trade, arose three centuries before the Egyptian one. On the artifacts found a list of sold grain, livestock.

But not everything was so rosy in Sumer. It actually consisted of a number of politically independent cities. Some united among themselves, towering over others, looking for new territories.

The Sumerian zikurat is an ancient religious building. Reconstruction

So, the Akkadian ruler Sargon subjugated all other cities of the Sumer civilization, and then increased his territory to the Mediterranean Sea.

Thus was born the first world empire. But she didn't last long either. But, like all civilizations, Sumer naturally came to an end. But his culture became the basis for the emergence of the civilization of Babylon.

Babylon

After the death of the Akkadian kingdom, the role passes to the Sumerian city of Babylon with the smartest ruler Hammurabi, the famous creator of the code of legal norms. For the next twenty centuries, it becomes the largest in the world and the capital of civilization, taking with it all the best from the dead, the Sumerian. Its famous, albeit unfinished, 100-meter tower-temple is recognized as one of the seven "wonders of the world."

Hittites

The closest "neighbor" of Sumer and Babylon was the Hittite civilization. The Hittites appeared in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) almost simultaneously with the development of the Sumerian civilization. From tribes they quickly formed into a people. They realized that only the strong survive, and they created a powerful army for those times. They moved quickly on horseback, and not on foot, like neighbors in the Ancient East, and with more damaging metal weapons. Their state stood firmly on its "legs" for five centuries.

The Hittites began to influence the politics of the entire Middle East, showing their military strength. One of the commanders captured even well-fortified Babylon and plundered it. We have described this trend, inherent in all civilizations, above.

After Babylon, the Hittites turned their eyes to Egypt. But the forces were equal, and the battle ended in a "draw" - the rulers fraternized. Both the Hittites and the Egyptians understood that it is better to be friends than to be at enmity. Therefore, they began to wait for someone to weaken in order to finish off. In the thirteenth century BC, the Hittite civilization fell under the pressure of the stronger peoples of the Mediterranean.

Egypt

Egypt is one of the incomparable long-livers in Eastern civilization. Geographically, it is somewhat similar to Sumer: on both sides of the desert, and in the middle of the full-flowing Nile with fertile valleys. It also overflowed like the Tigris and Euphrates, causing inconvenience to the farmers and at the same time helping them. Otherwise, this people simply would not have survived.

The social feature of the civilization of Egypt was the continuous subordination of five million people to rulers - pharaohs, kings, and sometimes priests, in whom people were taught to see gods from childhood. There was a periodization of dynasties in the kingdom - early, ancient, transitional, new kingdom, and so on, according to which the years were calculated. The division into territories was carried out according to the geographical principle - Upper and Lower.

Its history is the heyday of cities, agriculture, trade, culture, art (the reign of Tutankhamen), crafts, construction (pyramids, temples, two-three-story brick houses) and so on.

The Eighth, or Late Period, proved to be the most critical for Egyptian civilization. It was torn apart by numerous wars - Assyrians, Persians, Alexander the Great. Fat point put Caesar Augustus in the thirties BC. Both the state and its language disappeared.

The states of the ancient East arose in those territories that were the valleys of the great rivers: the Nile, the Tiger and the Euphrates, the Indus and the Ganges, the Yangtze and the Huang He. This provided people with river water for individual land irrigation, and thus made it possible to increase food production, which was an incentive to create a system of division of labor and mutual cooperation.

The rivers also served as transport arteries.

Within the framework of ancient Eastern societies, special social, political and legal structures are formed.

Eastern society was characterized by the following features:

1) patriarchy. Its preservation was facilitated by the dominance of subsistence farming, the stability of state forms of land ownership, and the extremely slow development of individual private property;

2) collectivism. Ancient Eastern civilizations can be attributed to civilizations of the agricultural type. Economic activity in these regions was possible only in the presence of complex irrigation systems that regulate the flow regime of the great rivers. Great collective efforts of people were necessary for their creation and use. One cannot discount the special role of collective mutual assistance and support in everyday life;

3) community. The originality of the social system of the ancient Eastern states was created primarily by its social base - the community. With its conservatism, its alienation from the outside world and the unwillingness of power to despotism. The suppression of a person, his personality, his will began already within the community to which he belonged. At the same time, the communities could not do without the organizing role of the central government;

4) traditional. This confirms the fact that the foundations of the social structure, statehood and law of ancient Eastern societies survived the centuries;

5) religiosity. Religion determined the way of life of man. Man was focused on spiritual self-improvement;

6) a motley social composition. It can be differentiated within three groups:

- the ruling stratum (officialdom, court and service aristocracy, military leaders, priests, etc.);

- free small producers (peasants, artisans);

In general, the slow pace of historical progress was characteristic of the ancient eastern region. Major social shifts often occurred only under the influence of external conquests or natural disasters. Life went as if in a vicious circle, obeying the natural cycle, the cycle of agricultural work. Minor improvements could not qualitatively change the existing way of life. If any state ideas appeared, they became the property of a narrow circle of priests, courtiers, and nobility, who were kept secret.

Ancient Eastern Civilizations. Specificity of development

the first civilizations arise in the east: China, India, Sumer, Egypt. Thus, Eastern culture overtakes Western. At the same time, the gap between the east and the west is revealed in many areas of culture in modern times, which laid the foundations of industrial culture. For example, the reason for the backwardness of the east is the absence of its own Mediterranean Sea. By the revival, the east was ahead of the west in cultural development. Why is there a delay? It cannot be explained either by geographical, natural factors, or by scientific and technical ones. The main thing in the culture of the civilization of the ancient East is the preservation and restoration - if something is violated - of order, organization, law. Citizens must uphold the law - they must pay taxes on time, pay taxes, and fulfill duties. Courtiers, courtiers should also know the law -

ritual, ceremonial to which court life was subject. If the order was violated, for example, taxes were not received, this was perceived as the wrath of the gods, as the death of culture. The world order urgently needed to be restored.

The development of the East appears as a solid line. New trends here do not destroy the foundations of civilization. On the contrary, they organically fit into the old and dissolve in it. The East is very flexible, it is able to absorb and process many elements alien to itself. In addition, unlike Europe, many religions coexisted in the east, and even Islam, which is irreconcilable with respect to Western Christianity, coexisted quite calmly with traditional Eastern beliefs. Thus, no matter what upheavals occurred, the foundations of civilization remained unshakable.

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3. General features and features of the philosophy of postmodernism. The influence of postmodernism on the development of modern philosophy.
4. 11. Journalistic style: conditions of functioning (sphere of communication), functions, sub-styles, genre varieties, style-forming features, general language features.

And much more, without which it is impossible to imagine the current human community. The first states arise in the valleys of large rivers. Farming in these areas was very productive, but this required irrigation work - to drain, irrigate, build dams and maintain the entire irrigation system in order. One community couldn't handle it. There was a need to unite all communities under the control of a single state.

For the first time, this happens in two places at once, independently of each other - in Mesopotamia (the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers) and Egypt at the end of the 4th-3rd millennium BC. e. Later, the state arises in India, in the valley of the Indus River, and at the turn of III-II millennium BC. e. - in China. These civilizations received in science the name river civilizations.

The most important center of ancient statehood was the area Mesopotamia. Unlike other civilizations, Mesopotamia was open to all migrations and trends. Trade routes opened from here and innovations spread to other lands. The civilization of Mesopotamia continuously expanded and involved new peoples, while other civilizations were more closed. Thanks to this, Western Asia is gradually becoming a flagship in socio-economic development. Here appear the potter's wheel and wheel, the metallurgy of bronze and iron, the war chariot, and new forms of writing. Scientists trace the influence of Mesopotamia on Egypt and the civilization of ancient India.

Farmers settled Mesopotamia in the 8th millennium BC. e. Gradually, they learned to drain wetlands. In the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates there are no stones, forests, metals, but they are very rich in grain. Residents of Mesopotamia exchanged grain for missing household items in the process of trading with neighbors. Stone and wood were replaced with clay. They built houses from clay, made various household items, and wrote on clay tablets.

At the end of IV millennium BC. e. in the Southern Mesopotamia, several political centers arose, which united in the state of Sumer. Throughout its ancient history, the region of Mesopotamia was the scene of a fierce struggle, during which power was seized by a city or conquerors who came from outside. From the II millennium BC. e. The city of Babylon begins to play a leading role in the region, becoming a mighty power under King Hammurabi. Then Assyria is strengthened, which from the XIV to VII centuries. BC e. was one of the leading states of Mesopotamia. After the fall of the Assyrian state, Babylon is strengthened again - the Neo-Babylonian kingdom arises. The Persians - immigrants from the territory of modern Iran - managed to conquer Babylonia in the VI century. BC e. establish a huge Persian kingdom.

Civilization of the ancient Egypt owes its appearance to the world's largest river Nile and its annual floods. Egypt was divided into Upper (Nile Valley) and Lower (Nile Delta). Along the Nile, the first state associations arose - nomes, the center of which became temples. As a result of a long struggle, the nomes of Upper Egypt united and annexed Lower Egypt.

China how the state was formed in the Yellow River valley. Another great Chinese river - the Yangtze, flowing to the south, was developed later. The Yellow River very often changed its course, flooding vast areas. To curb the river required hard work on the construction of dams and dams.

Egypt and China, despite their remoteness from each other, have a number of common features, which can be explained by several reasons. These countries initially had an ethnically homogeneous population, the state apparatus was very stable; at the head of the state was a deified ruler. In Egypt, this is the pharaoh - the son of the Sun, in China - Van, the son of Heaven. Within the framework of both civilizations, there was total control over the population, which was involved in the performance of heavy duties. The basis of the population of Egypt were community members, who were called "servants of the king" and were obliged to hand over the entire crop to the state, receiving food for this or allotment of land for cultivation. A similar system operated in China.

A huge role in the state of this type was played by priests-officials who controlled the apparatus and distributed products among the entire population. In Egypt, it was the priests who played the main role in the distribution of material goods. The Temples wielded considerable power, allowing them to successfully oppose the Center. Unlike Egypt, in China the religious component of the power of the state apparatus faded into the background.

AT India, in the valley of the Indus River, a proto-Indian civilization developed. Large irrigation systems were created here and large cities were built. The ruins of two cities were found near the modern settlements of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro and bear these names. Civilization has reached a high level of development here. This is evidenced by the presence of crafts, a sewer system, and writing. However, the writing of the proto-Indian civilization, unlike the hieroglyphs of Egypt and the cuneiform writing of Mesopotamia, has not yet been solved by scientists, and this civilization continues to remain a mystery to us. The reasons for the death of the civilization of Ancient India, which existed for several centuries, are also unknown.

In the second half of the II millennium BC. e. The Aryans invaded India. The Aryan language belongs to the Indo-European language family and is close to the Slavic languages. The Aryans settled in the valley of the Ganges River, subjugating the local population. Aryans who arrived lived mainly in a tribal system. At the head of the tribes were leaders - rajas, who relied on a layer of Kshatriya warriors. The Brahmin priests fought with the Kshatriyas for the first place in society and the state.

The Aryans, not wanting to dissolve among the large local population, were forced to establish a system of varnas. According to this system, the population was divided into four varnas - Brahmin priests, Kshatriya warriors, Vaishya producers, and also Shudras - the conquered local population. Belonging to the varna was inherited, and it was impossible to change it. Marriages always took place between members of the same varna.

The varna system contributed to the conservation of Indian society. Since the Varnas took over part of the functions of the state, the state apparatus in India did not become as strong and influential as in other civilizations of the Ancient East.

AT Eastern Mediterranean a new form of civilizations arises, different from the classical river states. The most ancient centers of agriculture and cattle breeding existed here, and the first urban centers appeared here. The city of Jericho in Palestine is known as the oldest city in the world (VIII millennium BC). The Eastern Mediterranean is a region located at the crossroads of major trade routes linking Asia, Europe and Africa.

From the III millennium BC. e. the cities of the Eastern Mediterranean are becoming important centers of transit trade. The rich cities and fertile lands of this region constantly served as the object of claims of large powers - Egypt, Assyria, the Hittite kingdom (on the territory of Asia Minor). The Eastern Mediterranean is divided into three parts: in the north - Syria, in the south - Palestine, in the center - Phoenicia. The Phoenicians managed to become experienced sailors, engaged in transit trade, founded their colonies throughout the Mediterranean. The Phoenicians invented an alphabetic script to help them process trade transactions. This alphabet formed the basis of all modern alphabets.

Ancient Greece - the cradle of Western civilization

The oldest civilization in Europe arose on the islands of the Aegean Sea and on the Balkan Peninsula and is known as the Crete-Mycenaean civilization (after the names of the centers - the islands of Crete and Mycenae, cities in southern Greece). The Crete-Mycenaean civilization was a typical ancient Eastern civilization that existed in II thousand BC e. Crete, like Phoenicia, became famous as a maritime power with a mighty fleet. The death of the Crete-Mycenaean civilization is associated with a number of natural disasters and the invasion of Greece and the islands of the Aegean Sea by northern tribes. This invasion led to the establishment of more backward tribal relations on the ruins of civilization. 12th-9th centuries BC e. and are known in Greece as the Dark Ages.

VIII-VI centuries BC e. Ancient civilization begins to form in Greece. The emergence of iron and related tools played a major role in its development. In Greece, there is not enough land for cultivation, so cattle breeding was widely developed here, and then handicrafts. The Greeks, familiar with maritime affairs, were actively engaged in trade, which gradually led to the development of the surrounding territories along the coast. Due to the catastrophic lack of land resources, the Greeks were forced to establish colonies in Italy, Asia Minor, and the Black Sea region.

With the division of labor and the emergence of a surplus product, the tribal community is replaced by a neighboring community, but not a rural one, but an urban one. The Greeks called this community a polis. Gradually, the policy was formalized into a city-state. There were hundreds of policies in Greece. Colonies were also created according to this pattern. Within the framework of the policy, a fierce struggle took place between the tribal nobility, who did not want to cede their power, and the demos, the ignoble members of the community.

The Greeks were aware of their unity - they called their homeland Hellas, and themselves - Hellenes. They had a single pantheon of Olympian gods and pan-Hellenic sports competitions. However, all this did not prevent them from regularly fighting among themselves.

One of the main features of the Hellenic culture is the principle of competitiveness and the desire for superiority, which is not typical for the civilizations of the East. There was a situation in the policy when its power was dependent on the citizens, on whom, in turn, certain duties were imposed, but at the same time significant rights.

Greece was not united by one policy - this was prevented by their fragmentation and disunity. As a result, Greece was conquered first by Macedonia and then by Rome. But the Roman state, which conquered Greece, experienced the strongest influence of Greek culture. The achievements of Greek culture eventually formed the basis of all European culture and civilization.