The Rise of the First Hydraulic Civilizations

The Purpose of this article is to explain the development of ancient hydraulic civilizations in the time period of 3500 BCE to 900 BCE for those interested. The development of the Mesopotamian civilization of modern day Iran laid an important foundation for todays world. The Egyptians built a stable, social and well administered society throughout it's 5 Periods. The East Indian civilizations that rose in the Indus Valley between the Indus and Ganges rivers had a complex caste system and was the birthplace for multiple modern religions. The Chinese civilization was to be a crucible of loosely tied government and deep traditional value that would last for over 2500 years, it's only equal in such longevity being ancient Egypt

The civilizations of Mesopotamia began around 5000 BCE with a settlement named Eridu. This civilization known as Old Sumer lasted from about 3300 BCE to 2000 BCE when Ur, one of the last great Sumerian cities, fell to the Elamites. After the fall of Ur, Amorites would continue this trend in founding the great Babylonian empire. The inventions that were discovered by these Mesopotamian peoples during this time would become an important part of the future. Inventions like irrigation and mathematics which have made an everlasting impression on modern culture.

It would be the Sumerian civilization that would be the cultural center for Mesopotamia from 3300 to 2000 BCE. The Sumerian's discovered writing. They created the first Story and the first protagonist in the Epic of Gilgamesh the story of a king of Uruk that dates back as far as 7000 BCE and was recorded as early as 2000 BCE. These people would invent mathematics, pottery and the wheel. Probably the greatest creation of the Sumarians would be agriculture; the planting of grains and its subsequent irrigation.

Early on, the peoples of Sumer were brought together by the temples. At the time they were loosely scattered groups that would pilgrimage to and settle around centers for religious worship. These religious centers would become the center of the city and act as the first government for the Sumerians. Initially, the Sumerians likely had a single god per city, which would probably have been a creation of the political atmosphere of that city. However, by sometime around 2250 BC a Sumerian pantheon had emerged. This pantheon consisted of many of the old Sumerian gods, it had some famous names such as Ishtar and the head of the pantheon was Anu.

As i mention earlier religion was very important to the politics of Sumer as the land was all believed to be owned by the gods, and through the gods there mandate; the Sumerian King-priest.

Of course, most often new discoveries are adapted to military application out of necessity. The Sumarians used the wheeled chariot in combat. The Sumarians were not the only Mesopotamian culture to contribute to the future. The Akkadians (a ethnic group of Mesopotamian Semites who conquered Mesopotamia and integrated the culture of Old Sumer) for example; found such great success do to their composite bow. They were the first civilization to use the Phalanx formation (A rectangular formation utilizing a wall of shields and hedge of spears) in warfare. Their king Sargon I was the first to separate church and state, resulting in the first organized governing body.

The Akkadian empire eventually fell to a group of mountain dwelling people known as the Guitians. Once again Sumarians were the center of Mesopotamian culture with the city of Ur at it's heart. This only lasted though till 2000 BCE, when the Elamites destroyed Ur. Sometime after the destruction of Ur; a group of Amorites achieved the victory over its rivals and found the Babylonian Empire. (Roberts, 59-61)

Babylon was most famous for its great king Hammurabi. Hammurabi was the first ruler to record his law in writing. The people of Babylon created Astronomy, and our system of time based on the number 60 with the Sun Dial to go with it. They gave Sumerian writing Syllables to make it more functional for there uses. Babylon though in time would weaken, till finally it was conquered by the Hittites around 1700 BC. This would finally bring about the end of the long great Mesopotamian civilization that gave us many things we use today with little thought as to there origins.

The Egyptian civilizations would bare many hallmarks. Among these hallmarks you will find conservative religious belief, logistical and administrative organization, enduring culture and architectural creations that would be among the greatest in the world. Egypt went through several periods: Predynastic, Old Kingdom, 1^st Intermediate, Middle Kingdom, 2^nd Intermediate, and New Kingdom. Each one of these periods represent a long and unique time of growth and change for the Egyptian people covering a expanse of time over 3000 years.

The first well understood period of Egypt is the Old Kingdom which lasted from 3000-2686 BCE. Memphis was the first capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom, which was started under the guidance of king Menes a great king who unified the north. Egypt unified was a empire over 600 miles in length. This period is marked by the presence of few cities in Egypt. Pharaoh is a god, his power is absolute his word the peoples will. This was a period in which the Egyptians first began demonstrating the organizational and logistical skill they would be known for. This is when the Egyptians created great pieces of architecture such as the column and the Pyramids.

The Middle Kingdom was the first period in which people other then Pharaoh could expect eternal life after death. This period was ushered in under Amenemhet I who made the capital of Egypt; Thebes. A new type of order is established in Egypt, where the Pharaoh is not only god but will be preceded by gods. Egypt would begin expanding further then the Old Kingdom had establishing itself in places such as Nubia and Sinai. The Middle Kingdom would end as the Old Kingdom did in insurrection.

It was during the time of the next period the New Kingdom that Egypt would become the cultural and political power it's remembered for in history. This Period would adopt new military techniques and the Pharaoh would be more powerful then he was previously. Under Hatshepsut the first female Pharaoh Egypt would expand it's territory greatly as far as the Euphrates river. This is the period in which what was thought to be the first monotheistic religion began to develop under Amenhotep IV who created this god Aton and renamed himself Aknhaton. Egypt's power would persist another 200 years, during this time Egypt would fight many hard wars and grasp at any attempt to keep stability; like marrying into the families of foreign civilizations.

In 2600 BCE a thriving culture had built itself up in India's Indus Valley. This civilization would come to be known to historians as Harappan after one of it's greatest cities Harappa. Another of the Indus Valley's great cities was Mohenjo-Daro. These two cities demonstrate similar skill in planning that the Mesopotamian and Egyptians cultures displayed. These cities were organized into a neat rectangular grid of housing which had efficient drainage system which was reminiscent of there strong beliefs in cleanliness and bathing. One of there architectural achievements was also a great dock south of the Indus Valley which suggests international trade by water.

The invention of cotton was credited to these peoples as the first earliest evidence of cloth made from cotton can be found here. The Harappans also had developed a writing system consisting of pictographs. They also grew rice in the Indus Valley as early as 3000 BCE and became a staple of the Indian diet. This civilization though seemed to come to an end in 1750 BCE when the Aryans invaded. The Aryans were a Indo-European warrior people who brought chariots and bronze weaponry. Though the Aryans only assimilated; rather then destroy the native Harappan people.

The Aryans had a religion based around sacrifice. They believed in Varuna god of the heavens, Indra the warrior god, and Agni the god of fire. This religion was survived by thousands of hymns used during ceremonies collected as early as 1000 BCE. The Aryan society brought with them a caste system that started simply with Brahmans which served as priests, Kshatriyas their warriors, and Vaishyas. Outside this caste system they had Dasa's; or slaves that consisted of the native Indians. Eventually a fourth caste was added as a way for the Aryans to distinguish themselves from the native peoples (Shudras; Unclean) who did not share there beliefs. This system became more and more complex till there were thousands of local castes or Jatis. These local castes usually had strict mandates on isolating themselves from other castes and focusing on a particular occupation.

Sometime around 700 BCE new Indian civilizations began to rise in Northern India in the Ganges Valley. They were centered on the kingdom of Magadha which was to eventually become the center of Indian civilization Magadha would also lay the foundations for India's classical empires. It is during this period of time that two great religions were born: Hinduism and Buddhism.

Vishnu a god of Hinduism appears to be Aryan in origin like many hindu gods. Contrastingly Shiva another deity is thought to be pre-Aryan and possibly the patron of the oldest cult in the world. One thing they did share though is Sanskrit the language of religious literature which transcended ethnic boundaries across India. Buddhism began with Siddhartha Gautama a prince of the warrior caste. When he saw the suffering of the people he embraced asceticism, which he concluded over the course of 7 years to be the wrong path. Eventually he came to believe that one could be free from suffering by embracing a higher level of consciousness. It would though, continue to be regularly small and dwarfed by Hinduism in India; Though it was the first world religion to be take up by cultures outside it's origins.

In 1700 BCE the Shang established what would be the foundation of Chinese society in the Yellow River valley. There influence would stretch to be great as 40,000 square miles. The Shang system consisted of large land owners supporting the king of the Shang. Their culture initially met such great success do to there use of the chariot in war. It was advanced enough to have writing and standardized currency. Shang dominance began to wane and ended sometime between 1150 and 1120 BCE when they were conquered by the Chou.

If the Shang can be said to be the foundation for Chinese civilization the Chou could then be considered to have cultivated it. The Chou would keep many of Shangs social and governmental accomplishments and continue to improve upon them. Things such as burial rites, metal working and art were also preserved from there original form. The Chou believed themselves to be greater then outside cultures and nations never considering foreign envoys more then bringers of tribute. They were a tribe of warriors; this would again lead to a non-centralized government in which again the powerful landowners would support the king, and require support from the king in varying degrees. In 700 BCE barbarians drove the Chou from there ancestral home east into Honan. Even after this the dynasty would last until 256 BCE during th Warring States period.

The Warring States would last from 403 to 221 BCE. This time was a period in which hundreds of what you might call states where scattered through the north and the Yangtze valley. During this time one state would rise briefly to power only to be conquered by a greater state. This would have the effect of eventually uniting all of China under the Ch'in, which is where the name "China" originates.

One trait shared by all the rising civilizations of China was the separation of the nobility and common man. The peasants would lead a life of quiet suffering farming there crops when able and surviving the harsh winter when unable to farm. While the nobility would gather great wealth for themselves and practice a tradition of revering there ancestry. It was these very rituals which would decide who could hold office or possess land. The authority of the ruling house also would find it's claim in divine right handed down through the ancestry. They would claim that a god greater then there ancestors would pass the mandate to rule onto the chosen house.

One important thing that would play a important roll in Chinese society was the teachings of K'ung-fu-tzu or Confucius. Confucius taught that the people should follow the tradition of a mythical past age where each man knew his duty and followed the Tao (or ways). His teachings were to produce men who respected tradition, and scrupulously do there duties, following his tenants of Documents, conduct, loyalty and faithfulness. So great was his influence and that all schools of philosophy in china had to consider K'ung-Fu-Tzu's teachings.

In 2700 BCE there existed a small but important group of people known as the Phoenicians. These people built themselves a reputation as traders and mediator's. They were skilled sailors and great builders. Like many other civilizations the Phoenicians saw there success in the decline of once greater empires like Egypt, Hittite and Hebrew. The Phoenicians had at least three great cities Byblos, Sidon and Tyre. It was in Byblos that the alphabet the Greeks used was created and the city name itself is where the Greeks take their word for "book". By the Phoenicians decline they boasted 25 ports for trade across the Mediterranean In 700 BCE Sidon was burned to the ground and the daughters of Tyre's king were brought before the Assyrian Ashurbanipal.

Finally, we come to the Hebrews, who's relatively insignificance was able to produce such a profound worldwide influence today. They were the descendants of Jacob, the son of Abraham The Hebrews begin sometime around 1800 BCE when Abraham left after the fall of Ur. Abraham first brought about the idea of one god when he made a covenant with their tribal deity Yahweh. Besides there belief that he was one god it was believed that he commanded that no graven images may be made of him.

Throughout there history the Hebrews were oppressed by Egypt, the Philistines. It was Moses who led the Hebrews out of Egypt and held them together as they wandered the desert. He brought them law by bringing the ten commandments given to him by Yahweh. The second time the Hebrews were conquered by the Philistines, they were led to freedom by two famous men. First Saul who brought them victory against there enemies and then David who finished what Saul had started. David also established Jerusalem as the capital of Israel helping to centralize Israel government, and began to impose his influence on this neighbors.

So here it is that we see that humanity has it's origins in the four early cultures of the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Indians and Chinese. The Sumarians, Akkadians, and Babylonians contributed many essential inventions to the world like agriculture, mathematics, and the wheel. While the Egyptians were able to maintain there social and administrative skills through five great periods of change. The Indians would create Hinduism and Buddhism during it's growth in the Indus and Ganges valley. Finally, the Chinese would develop there tradition and cultural identities untainted through it's isolation despite the chaos of it's great states and maintain it's greatness for over 2500 years.

Works Cited

The New Penguin History of The World Roberts, J.M. Penguin (Non-Classics); Rep Sub edition (August 3, 2004)