Mesopotamia
(911-612)
Assyrian Empire. Owed much to Hurrian influence.
Local lords ruled the peasants almost as serfs.
Politically: the heart of the system was the king, a great warrior.
Unending struggle to keep the subject people under control. Peace and order purchased by the subjects at heavy price in cash and lives. Ruthless spirit.
The Assyrian army had no equal down to its time.
Religion: rites and superstition continued to have a great place
Syria/Phoenicia
(1,200-800)
All fragmented in small states.
Iran
Zoroastrianism
Religion: Zoroaster, a prophet, starts Zoroastrianism according to which:
there is one universal and transcendental God, Ahura Mazda, the one uncreated Creator and to whom all worship is ultimately directed.
Ahura Mazda's creation - evident as asha, truth and order - is the antithesis of chaos, evident as dorugh, falsehood and disorder. The resulting conflict involves the entire universe, including humanity, which has an active role to play in the conflict.
Active participation in life through good thoughts, good words and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep the chaos at bay. No asceticism.
Ahura Mazda will ultimately prevail, at which point the universe will undergo a cosmic renovation and time will end. In the final renovation, all of creation - even the souls of the dead that were initially banished to "darkness" - will be (re)united in God.
In Zoroastrian tradition, the malevolent is represented by Angra Mainyu, the "Destructive Principle", while the benevolent is represented through Ahura Mazda's Spenta Mainyu, the instrument or "Bounteous Principle" of the act of creation. It is through Spenta Mainyu that Ahura Mazda is immanent in humankind, and through which the Creator interacts with the world.
As expressions and aspects of Creation, Ahura Mazda emanated six "sparks", the Amesha Spentas, "Bounteous Immortals" that are each the hypostasis and representative of one aspect of that Creation.
Palestine
(Hebrews & Israelities)
The Israelities pushed into Canaan (Palestine), where a not powerful but sometimes tempting Canaaite (possibily = Phoenicians) cutlure existed, and David erected Jerusalem as capital of the Kingdom of Israel.
Judaism
Religion:They broke decisively with the older polytheism and created Judaism (1,200), according to which God was unique, omnipotent, impartial and ethical. God operated through history to enlighten and mold His chosen people and through them, the rest of mankind. History therefore was perceived not as chaos nor an endless cycle but a continuous development.
They wrote the Old Testament, one of the most enduringly influential books of all time.
Ethics: The prophets of Israel with their prophecies sought much more to criticize the present rather than predict forthcoming events. They called for the return of earlier ways of life; they constructed a righteous life in ethical terms; in ethical terms they were radical, but in terms of social and economic organization they were conservative and did not insist on sweeping reforms. Accoring to Jeremiah (perhaps the favorite prophet of Jesus), men must individually worship God and this worship was not bound to the ceremonies conducted at the temple. Ezekiel however sensed that the people could not live by faith alone but needed a scheme of daily rites at the temple.
Social: They took over the principle of private property, but the spirit of the patriarchal family in which all goods were owned in common, continued. They had to face the threat of another group of invaders: the Philistines. Always reluctant to sacrifice their own rights in favor of royal absolutism, after king Solomon, they split apart again: Israel (Samaria) and Judah (Jerusalem).
India
(1000-500 BC)
Hinduism
Religion: Evolution of Hinduism, not only as a pattern of religious thought but also a social structure, is obscure. Hinduism does not have a known founder. A fusion of aryan and pre-Aryan cults; a great jumble which appealed to every taste. Vishnu (was thought to have 10 major incarnations on earth among which were Rama and Krishna), Siva, Parvati (or Kali) were some of the gods.
However it was through profound ascetic thinkers and priests (the Brahmans) that one of the most abstact forms of religious thought evolved. They considered the meaning of life and the nature of the world.
Brahma, the great spirit of the world, encompassed everything and was so impersonal that could only be described by saying what it was not. The spirit of man (Atman) was identical with the great spirit of the world (Brahma) = Man and God are the same. Asceticism and hypnotic withdrawal via the yoga meditation was the best method for man to accomplish this realization. Failure to reach this goal produced rebirth in another form in the next life (transmigration of the soul). The ultimate goal was therefore to release oneself from the endless cycle of rebirth.
According to Hindu philosophical doctrine action in this world is useless.
Social: by the end of this period civilization had reemerged (expansion of infantry and cavalry, commerce, true cities, vast irrigation systems) and some states had grown into republics.
China
The Chou dynasty (1122-256 BC)
It is over this period that the historic characteristics of Chinese civilization come closely into focus.
Philosophy. The prime problem of early philosophers was the salvation of civilized order and the definition of its basic values. To ascertain the ideal human society, thinkers had to assess the nature of man, whether good, bad, or neutral and also the nature of the universe. However they di not lose themselves into mysticism or in overly great concern for the meaning of the individual by himself.
Social. The peasants were virtually serfs to the nobles.
In 221 BC China will become politically unified
Italy
Rome was founded as a city-state in 753BC, but legendary in many aspects and not historically proven.
Greece
Hellenic civilization started in the dark ages (1,100-750 BC). Then followed a great age of expansion (750-650 BC).
Politics: they create the concept that every citizen of a state has rights and duties, under law. Individuals had bound themselves together within the more perfect union of the polis, without thereby yielding all freedom of the individual.
Psychologially: they admitted only restricted freedom to themselves and viewed human life in terms of generalized, idealized concepts rather than conceiving men as absolutely individualistic atoms. Nonetheless Hellenic civilization was deeply humanistic in the sense that it concentrated upon the human being and considered him as an object of infinite worth.
Through trade and the movement of aristocrats and artists the Greek world shared the same outlook, yet each area had its own flavor to a greate extent than was ever again to be true. A happy blend of internationalism and localism!!!