The Rise of Human Civilization - Essay Sample

Introduction

Human history is as old as existence itself. No specific documentation has published how the past is account. Australopithecus is among the ancient evidence of the realities of creatures that had man-like characteristics and features. In general, it is historically believed that human beings evolved from an animal about 40 million years ago according to Darwin's theory of evolution (Roberts and Westad 43). Close to 45 million years later, civilization was first witnessed in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. Ever since civilization continues to evolve, and history continues to be written. This essay thus endeavors to explore world history by comparing various major historical units and events.

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Ancient Civilization

Human being traces their origin from such creature as Australopithecus. However, "there came to live contemporaneously with some australopithecine species other, more man-like animals, to whom the genus name Homo" (Roberts and Westad 26). Homo has very close features to the modern man and remains of these creatures have been found in Africa and parts of Asia. It has been recorded that during this era such vital things as fire, clothing, shelter and indoor farming were invented by Homo Erectus and homo sapiens (Roberts and Westad).

The human being, however, traces their civilization from Homo sapiens. According to Robert and Westad (44), about 50,000 years ago, after the end of the last Ice Age, the 'hominids' displayed advancement on the tools, activities and is also believed that it is during this period that the aspect of language was fast invented. "At one time tools and weapons are made of stone, then of bronze, then of iron" (Robert and Westad). "New materials came into use in the Upper Paleolithic, too, as bone and antler were added to the wood and flint of earlier workshops and armories" (Roberts and Westad).

Egypt

Egypt is considered to be the origin of modern civilization. However, According to Robert and Westad (72), "the first appearance of something which is recognizably civilization has been made for the southern part of Mesopotamia." This section was within the Fertile Crescent. The 'Fertile Crescent' was the region stretching from northern Egypt through the Persian Gulf and is considered the homeland and origin of civilization. The part saw the earliest development of writing, agriculture, trade, science, urbanization, and organized religion (Cartwright).

Sumerian people shared a common way of life; they lived in villages and had their own ceremonies and centers for their practicing. Pottery is linking to the pre-civilized Mesopotamia, other inventions included writing which cylinder seals, "on which little pictures were incised to be rolled on to clay, preceded. The seals are considered the great artistic achievement for the Mesopotamians." (Robert and Westad 85).

Much of Mesopotamian contribution is evident on Egyptian art, "Egyptian art, in the presence of cylinder seals at the outset of Egyptian records, in similar techniques of a monumental building in brick, and the debt of hieroglyph, the pictorial writing of Egypt, to the early Sumerian script." River Nile was the bringer of life and the most significant contribution to the practice of farming. People lived in villages along with the centers and lived in clans. Egypt is also known for her trading activities and her well-organized government and military (Robert and Westad).

Islam

The eastern empire of Byzantium has been more divided by Christian than it was unified. As a result, rivalry among the great cities of Antioch, Alexandria, Rome, Jerusalem, and Constantinople was expressed in the competition among their bishops or patriarchs. The official "right teaching," or orthodox, the faith of Constantinople and l~ patriarch was bitterly opposed by "deviant," or heterodox, bishops of other religious traditions around which developed separatist ethnic political movements. [N Syria and Egypt in particular, theological disagreements about the nature of God had become rallying points of political opposition. At the end of Justinian ruling (527- 565), the emperors focused on anarchy "maintaining absolute authority" and being the most powerful individual in their empire.

China and Japan

Imperial China was one of the massive imperial government after Byzantium and the Roman empire. Imperial China is also famous for its civil service examination system, which begun during the Sui dynasty (581-618 CE) but and fully developed during the Qing dynasty (Roberts and Westad 569-70). Historian record that the system played a significant role in education and new government as well as society itself, especially during throughout Qing times. "The civil service examination system was squarely based upon the Confucian classics and upon recognized commentaries on those classics. The Sui dynasty and the Tang empire that later was to build on its brief reign were two of the most significant departures in Chinese history." (Roberts and Westad 570).

Crusades

The pope and other Christian denominations organized series of the military campaign take cities such as Jerusalem and other towns from Muslim control (Roberts and Westad 467). There are eight official and major crusades that took place between 1095 CE and 1270 CE (Cartwright). Four Crusader States were formed: "the Kingdom of Jerusalem, County of Edessa, County of Tripoli, and Principality of Antioch." The Second Crusade took place In 1144 CE the city of Edessa in the Upper side of Mesopotamia was captured by Imad ad-Din Zangi who was a leader of the Muslim Seljuk group (r. 1127-1146 CE). Many Christians and non-Muslims were killed, and those that did not die were enslaved (Cartwright).

The Crusades recorded the most devastating and catastrophic aftermath of religious war. Besides death, hardship, destruction, and enslavement, significant political and social effects were also experienced. For instance, the fall of Byzantine Empire, the popes were titled the "de facto leaders" to the Church, Italy, and Spain important positions were recovered while the Moors were pushed toNorth Africa under the Iberian peninsula (Roberts and Westad 457).

Within a century, small Christianity, as well as a much-hated religion at the time, rose to be the dominant religion of the Western world. Christianity, by being the dominant religion in the Roman Empire, rose ultimately to be the most prominent and most influential religion in the whole world. After the persecution of Christians, Constantine converted to Christianity. He ruled over the Roman Empire alone, and it was during his tenure that Christianity was made the state religion. This lead to the rise of Christianity to become a dominant religion. The belief was taken up by the Western countries, and they made it their first faith.

Slavery and the Slave Trade

During the early 1600s, there was a gradual settlement of the English on several Atlantic colonies. These settlers had large tracts of land, but with limited human resources. They significantly required considerable human labor to work the agricultural cash crop farms. Initially, this labor was provided by the English servants, but with time this system proved to pose several challenges. This made the English settlers to gradually shift to racial slavery which begun with importing black Africans slaves from Africa and Caribbean colonies. At the mid-1600s, there was a significant increase in the number of free and enslaved Africans in the territory of Virginia The Virginia Colony, "Various Status Regarding Race and Slavery," (1660-1705)

By the early 1700s, slaveholders and slave trade was all over in the state, that led to several members of Congress and founders detest its further spread, among the Thomas Jefferson and James Tallmadge.

Congress of slavery spread and abolishment in Missouri and Louisiana. During this debate, a few members of the Congress supported his idea, led by Tallmadge, of slave abolishment while majority rejected the idea and instead supported the spread of slavery Nathaniel Macon, "Speech for an Enslaved Missouri," (1820).

Works Cited

Arabia Media. The Ottoman Period, 1534-1918. n.d. Article. 8 May 2019.

Benedictow, Ole J. The Black Death: The Greatest Catastrophe Ever. 3 March 2005. 8 May 2019. <https://www.historytoday.com/archive/black-death-greatest-catastrophe-ever>.

Cartwright, Mark. Crusades. 12 October 2018. Website. 8 May 2019. <https://www.ancient.eu/Crusades/>.

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Power, Carla. What the Koran says about a woman. 6 November 2015. 8 May 2019. <http://s.telegraph.co.uk/graphics/projects/koran-carla-power/index.html>.

Robert, J.M and O.A Westad. "Book one: BEFORE HISTORY." Robert, J.M and O.A Westad. The Penguin History of the World. London: Penguin Books, 2007. 17-64. Print.

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Roberts, J.M and Odd Arne Westad. The Penguin History of the World. London: Penguin Books, 2007. Print.