3

Contemporary
World Civilizations
Editors

Prof. Emeritus Andrew TARGOWSKI

Dr. Joseph DREW
Prof.Dr. Nejat DOĞAN

Authors

CHAPTER 1 Dr. Tseggai ISAAC

CHAPTER 2 Prof. Emeritus Andrew TARGOWSKI

CHAPTER 3
Dr. Norman C. ROTHMAN

Prof. Emeritus Andrew TARGOWSKI

CHAPTER 4 Dr. Joseph DREW

CHAPTER 5
Dr. Vlad Alalykin-IZVEKOV

Prof.Dr. Qadar Bakhsh BALOCH

CHAPTER 6 M.Ed. Peter HECHT

CHAPTER 7
Prof.Dr. Onur ARUGASLAN

CHAPTER 8
Prof. Emeritus Andrew TARGOWSKI
 T.C. ANADOLU UNIVERSITY PUBLICATION NO: 3684
OPEN EDUCATION FACULTY PUBLICATION NO: 2507

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CONTEMPORARY WORLD CIVILIZATIONS

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ESKİŞEHİR, February 2019

3197-0-0-0-1809-V01
 Contents

Hindu and
African
CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 3 Buddhist
Civilization
Civilizations
Introduction.................................................... 3 Hinduism as a Civilizıng Force in Society..... 64
African Civilization in Historical and Hinduism: Origin, Geographical and
Cultural Context............................................. 4 Historical Background........................... 64
African Civilization and Outside Conquest.... 8 Hinduism and Culture.................................... 66
Food........................................................ 66
Islam and Africa..................................... 9
Clothing .................................................. 67
Europeanism, Colonialism, and Music and Art ........................................ 68
African Civilization................................ 10 The Heritage, Infrastructure, Timeline, and
African Civilization in Sociological and Future of Hinduism ....................................... 70
Anthropological Context............................... 14 The Timeline of Hinduism and Its
The Unity and Essence of African Civilization... 15 Future in the World............................... 71
Articulating African Civilization.................... 16 Timeline and Main Events of the
Hindu Civilization.................................. 73
African Civilization Today .................... 19
Buddhism........................................................ 74
Assessing the African Civilization ........ 19 Definition, Origin, Geographical and
Historical Background........................... 74
Brief Timeline of Events in Buddhism... 74
Buddhism and Its Role in Society......... 75
The Influence of Buddhism upon
Global and Regional Civilization
through Culture and Infrastructure..... 76
The Ramifications of Buddhist
Infrastructure......................................... 78
Present and Future Place of Buddhism
in The World................................................... 79

The Chinese The Western

CHAPTER 2 and Japanese CHAPTER 4
Civilizations Civilization

Introduction.................................................... 29 Introduction.................................................... 91
The Origin of the Chinese and Japanese The Origin of the Western Civilization........ 91
Civilizations..................................................... 30 Western-Jewish Civilization.................. 94
Chinese Civilization................................ 30 The Rise of Christianity......................... 96
Japanese Civilization.............................. 32 The Civilizing Society of the Western
The Religion of the Chinese Civilization....... 34 Civilization...................................................... 97
Buddhism in China................................. 34 People ..................................................... 98
The Civilizing Society of the Chinese and Education................................................ 98
Japanese Civilizations..................................... 36 Government........................................... 101
Chinese Society in the 21st Century....... 36 European Union..................................... 102
Military .................................................. 103
The Civilizing Culture of the Chinese and
Economy................................................. 103
Japanese Civilizations..................................... 43 Quality of Life ....................................... 104
Chinese Culture in the 21st Century...... 43 Jewish Society Today ............................ 104
Japanese Culture in the 21st Century.... 47 The Civilizing Common Culture of the
The Civilizing Infrastructure of the Western Civilization....................................... 104
Chinese and Japanese Civilizations............... 49 The Legacies of Western Culture ........ 104
Chinese Infrastructure........................... 49 The Civilizing Infrastructure of the
Japanese Infrastructure......................... 50 Western Civilization....................................... 108
Major Trends of the Far East Major Trends of the Western Civilization
Civilizations and Timeline.............................. 52 and a Timeline................................................ 110
Main Trends............................................ 52 Main Trends............................................ 110
Timeline.................................................. 52 Timeline of Western Civilization.......... 110

iii
 The Eastern The Islamic
CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6
Civilization Civilization

Introduction.................................................... 121 Introduction.................................................... 145

The Eastern Civilization During the The Origin of The Islamic Civilization.......... 145
Agricultural Period: The Succession and the The World Before Islam........................ 146
Geographical Boundaries of Societies ......... 121 The Prophet Mohammed...................... 147
The Origin of the Eastern Civilization... 122 Important Features of Islamic Civilization.. 152
Kievan Rus.............................................. 122 Islam: An Enlightened Influence ......... 153
The Mongol Invasion and the Islam: Social Engineering Genius......... 153
Demise of the Kievan Rus..................... 123 Important Developments in The Timeline of
Novgorod Republic................................ 123 The Islamic Civilization ................................. 154
The Grand Principality of Moscow....... 124 Medina: Capital of the First Islamic
The Czardom of Russia.......................... 124 State ....................................................... 154
The Evolutıon of the Eastern Civilization Period of Righteous Caliphs ................. 154
During the Industrial Period: The Russian The Umayyad Dynasty 661 CE - 750 CE.. 155
Empire and the Ussr....................................... 125 The Abbasids Dynasty 750 CE - 1517 CE... 155
The Russian Revolution and the The Seljuk Empire: 1037 CE - 1194 CE.... 155
Creation of the Ussr .............................. 128 North Africa and Spain ......................... 156
The Soviet Union................................... 129 After The Mongol Invasion................... 156
Ukraine: A Stage of the Eastern The Ottoman Empire 1453 CE - 1923 CE.. 156
Civilization With a Different Fate? ............. 131 Persia ...................................................... 157
The Old Order: Before 2004 ................ 131 India ........................................................ 157
Moderate Phase: November ................ 131 Malaysia and Indonesia......................... 157
2004 - February 2014............................ 131 Africa ...................................................... 157
Radical Phase: February 2014 - Present ... 132 Contributions of The Islamic Civilization to
The Evolution of Religious Beliefs Within Knowledge and Science ................................ 158
The Eastern Civilization Through The Ages..... 132 Muslims’ Contributions ........................ 158
Beliefs of the East Slavs ........................ 132
The Orthodox Branch of Christianity ...... 132
Religion in the Soviet Union and Russia..... 133
Development of Other Cultural Practices
Within the Realm of the Eastern Civilization.... 133
Cultural Legacy of the Eastern
Civilization ............................................. 133
Westernizers and the Slavophils.......... 134
Political Ideology and Social Institutions
of the Eastern Civilization..................... 135
Timeline of Main Events – The Eastern
Civilization ............................................. 136

iv
 The Turkish Civilization in
CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8
Civilization the 21st Century

Introduction.................................................... 171 Introduction.................................................... 203

The Origin of the Turkish Civilization.......... 171 Centrally Arising Civilizations in the
Major Events in Turkish Civilization and Twenty-First Century..................................... 203
Timeline........................................................... 174 The State of the World Civilization Today... 207
Main Trends............................................ 174 Major Crises............................................ 207
The Periods of Turkish History............. 175 Effects of Transition and
Timeline.................................................. 182 Transformation in World Civilization
The Culture of the Turkish Civilization........ 184 in the Twenty-First Century................. 211
Language................................................ 185 The Civilizing Society of World Civilization
Alphabet................................................. 185 in the Transformation in the 21St Century...... 214
Literature................................................ 185 Global Society......................................... 214
Society in the Turkish Civilization................ 190 Virtual Society........................................ 215
State and Administration...................... 190 The Civilizing Culture of the Western
Religion................................................... 190 Civilization...................................................... 217
Military................................................... 191 Global Culture........................................ 218
Science.................................................... 191 Virtual Culture........................................ 219
Economy ................................................ 192 The Civilizing Infrastructure of the
Turkish Cuisine....................................... 193 Western Civilization in the 21St Century....... 221
Law.......................................................... 194 Global Infrastructure............................. 221
Virtual Infrastructure............................ 223
Major Trends of the Global and Virtual
Civilizations and a Timeline of the Future...... 224
Main Trends............................................ 224
Timeline of Main Events: The Arrival
of the Global Civilization and the
Virtual Civilization................................. 225

v
 Preface

Dear Students,
This is the second volume of a textbook on you are gaining advanced university education;
the history of civilizations. In the first volume, you will soon graduate into a world elite
we collected seven ancient civilizations to composed of a few million educated people.
cover; they were not the only civilizations, The strengths, common intelligence, data,
but certainly they ranked among the most knowledge, and wisdom of this world elite also
significant. In this volume, we have gathered share in the Virtual civilization now emerging.
nine current civilizations -- African, Chinese,
We hope that you will revisit the book often,
Japanese, Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, Western,
refreshing your knowledge and drawing firm
Eastern, and Turkish -- and two non-
conclusions about what, as Homo sapiens, we
conventional, emerging civilizations: Global
can and should do to create a more equitable
and Virtual.
and productive today, a brighter tomorrow.
Young people of today will be able to witness
The chapters of these textbooks have been
these last, new civilizations arise, and they
written and edited principally by scholars who
today contribute to the development of them.
adhere to the International Society for the
These are unique, unusual civilizations. Why?
Comparative Study of Civilizations. Formally
Because the Global civilization now penetrates
established in 1961 at a UNESCO-sponsored
the extant traditional ones via the Internet,
meeting in Salzburg organized by historian
global transportation infrastructure, global
Othmar Anderle and attended by fellow
capital, dress codes, “CNN,” and the English
historians Arnold J. Toynbee and Rushton
language.
Coulborn, the society chose sociologist Pitirim
For example, we find that the Western Sorokin of Harvard University as its first
civilization has transformed almost entirely president. In 1970 the Society elected Benjamin
into the Global civilization while the Hindu Nelson of the New School for Social Research
and Japanese civilizations are simultaneously as the first American president. Leading
accepting the process of the Westernization. figures have included political scientist David
Others of today’s older civilizations allow the Wilkinson; literary comparativist Michael
modernization processes to proceed but reject Palencia-Roth; cultural logician Vytautas
the Westernization processes. Kavolis; and sociologist Matthew Melko.
Simultaneously, the Virtual civilization is
utilizing the same horizontal processes to Editors
penetrate the older civilizations. More than
Prof. Emeritus Andrew TARGOWSKI
two billion people are engaged worldwide in
the Virtual civilization, most of them via social Dr. Joseph DREW
networks like Facebook, Twitter, and others.
Prof.Dr. Nejat DOĞAN
Most readers belong simultaneously to this
new, Virtual civilization and to one of the older
civilizations; moreover, signs of the Global
civilization are found everywhere. As students,

vi
 Chapter 1 African Civilization
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

1 2
Learning Outcomes

Fully comprehend the historical and cultural Explain the impact of foreign conquest on
context (background) of African Civilization. African Civilization.

3
Interpret African Civilization from the
sociological (the cultural structure of
societies) and anthropological (human study)
perspective.
4 Hypothesize the unity and essence of African
Civilization.

5 Identify African civilization as a wholistic value

of Africa.

Chapter Outline Key Terms

Introduction • Africa, • European Colonialism,
Afrıcan Civilization in Historical and Cultural • African Civilization, • Ghanaian Empire,
• Abyssinia, • Sinai Desert,
Context
• Axum, • Maghreb,
African Civilization and Outside Conquest • Benin Empire, • Mali Empire,
African Civilization in Sociological and • Byzantine Civilization, • Nubia,
Anthropological Context • Carthage, • Nubian Civilization,
• Islam, • Southern Europe,
The Unity and Essence of African Civilization • Christianity, • Timbuktu,
Articulating African Civilization • Cush/Kush Civilization, • Persian Civilization,
• Egyptian Civilization, • Great Zimbabwe

2
 1
Contemporary World Civilizations

INTRODUCTION dynasties influenced Africa, consistently and were

Africa is the second largest continent in the lasting. Egyptian influences are visible as far as
world. It is a home to thousands of different Central Africa, Chad, and all West Africa (Diop,
languages, millions of tribes and ethnicities, 1968:1-28). The direction and orientation of the
hundreds of traditional and deistic religions, Maghreb civilization covered west and southwest
the location for the largest deserts in the world, Africa as well as Southern Europe during, before,
indigenous home to thousands of wildlife animals, and after the Punic Wars.
the longest river in the world, and home and origin In similar pattern, the direction and orientation
to the family of man. There are 54 sovereign states of the Nile Valley civilization covered the entire
whose peoples are inheritors of a tapestry of mosaic east and central African region and areas across
cultural heritages, having direct claim to ancient the Red Sea to southern Arabia. By virtue of its
civilizations. In the annals of history, Africa is an stellar civilization, ancient Egypt attracts scholarly
ancient continent, but its history has not been told attention. Its wonders capture the intellectual
on its own merit, that is, aside from the colonial attention at the expense of its sources and tributaries.
perspectives. For this reason, the broad sweeps of Its link to interior Africa is tenuous, until we dig
history have bypassed Africa without establishing a deeper into the remote past and identify historical
uniting episodic or regional record. markers substantiating a unitary heritage uniquely
Nations and global societies express pride in African (Appian of Alexandria, 1899: 52-55).
their civilizations. Based on that pride and fame, This work suggests the uniting markers of African
they articulate their civilizations and emphasize to civilization are to be found in the Nile Valley where
the world that the contribution of their civilization ancient cultural and civilizational tributaries forged
is something to be noticed, studied, and analyzed. their uniting flow through the Nile’s banks, and
For instance, it is easy to comprehend that where creative communities took root and flowered
references to the Chinese civilization unmistakably in the Nubian, Kush, and Egyptian civilizations.
refer to China. Similarly, Indian civilization The Maghreb civilization is a subsidiary to the
represents India. Europe is represented by what is Egyptian civilization. It becomes significant in the
euphemistically referred to as Western Civilization. ways it facilitated African civilization’s expansion
In the case of Africa, the level of articulation and to West Africa and Southern Europe.
acknowledgement of African Civilization is Second, African Civilization is analyzed by
weak and less articulated in a sense of pride and scholars from the point of view of material and
confidence. Several reasons can be presented for structural perspectives. Material and structural
not emphasizing African Civilization as a holistic ways of articulating civilizations underemphasize
and robust civilization. the essential roles of historical and cultural
First, a singular historical perspective, traditions. Historical and cultural events and
representing tangible historical records that can values can be embellished, treated with skepticism,
stand out as clearer markers of a singular African and outright ignored as their effect in capturing
Civilization, has not been institutionalized. In scholarly imaginations is subject to prejudices.
the northern regions of Africa, the Egyptian The historical perspective articulates societies
civilization and Maghreb civilization represent when they have matured, become regional or
the region and their influence spill over to southern global powers, and it celebrates their administrative
Europe. What is significant about the holistic systems, military victories or defeats, or their
approach is that we can observe patterns where the scientific feats. The less capable a country, society,
maturity of African civilization showed patterns or a region is, the less its presence is acknowledged,
of expansion. On the Maghreb side covering its accomplishments recognized, and its traditional
central and Western Libya, a demonstrative link and grass-root historical characteristics articulated.
to the 12th Dynasty of Egypt appears. The Libyan Third, Africa, over the centuries, was exposed
Dynasty left a legacy of the internationalization of first to slavery, then to colonialism. Both slavery
Egyptian civilization when it marched to western and colonialism are negative interrelationships
Asia, captured Jerusalem and Judea. Previous of humans. Both create a system of superior-

3
1
African Civilization

inferior dichotomy. In this equation of human AFRICAN CIVILIZATION IN

relationships, Africa was regarded by slave traders HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL
as inferior to their captors. Europe compounded
CONTEXT
the injury of Africa by the double damage of
slavery and colonialism. Slavery and colonialism Some 10,000 years ago, the African landscape
reduced Africa as land of no civilization. Whatever was transformed by environmental change. The
civilization might be visible in Africa, such as that Sahara Desert became a marked dryland whereas
of Egypt, were easily dissociated as non-African. the region south of the Sahara formed a savannah
These critical historical evolutions, slavery and and tropical forest. North of the Sahara was the
colonialism, hindered the sober analysis and moderate North African region. The northeastern
articulation of African Civilization. part of Africa, beginning from southeastern
Egypt to the tip of the Horn of Africa, including
Before the arrival of explorers, merchants, and
the regions across the Red Sea. Western and
religious proselytizers into the African landscape,
southwestern Arabia shared identical topographical
African societies were organized into kingdoms.
features, marked by hilly and mountainous, rainy
These kingdoms were guided by African cultural
deciduous forests and grassy lands. This region
and political systems. Both the cultural and
linking Arabia and Eastern African includes the
political systems, in addition to the multitudes of
topographical characteristics of the Rift Valley
African religious practices, served as catalysts for
in its eastern section, and the Nile Valley on its
what can be described as African Civilization.
western edges.
African Civilization is as old as Africa. It
is scientifically proven that Africa is the origin
of humans. For this reason, African Civilization
germinated in the indigenous African soil with
its own civilizational features that expressed
purely African thoughts and actions. As other
civilizations in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe
evolved, their civilizations exchanged ideas,
methods, and means of communications with the
African Civilization. For this reason, we must look
at the African Civilization from its indigenous and
interactive perspectives.
Before other civilizations interacted and
interchanged ideas and means of socio-economic,
political, and religious values and ideas, African
Civilization was autonomous and segmented into
regional civilizations. Using population size of cities
as indicator of a well-formed civilization, David
Wilkinson identified regional civilizations in Africa.
Wilkinson was meticulous in focusing the defining Figure 1.1 Map of the Rift Valley
characteristics of civilization into states with cities of Source: www.geology.com
over 10,000 population, possessing oral or written
legal traditions, defended by established defense This region can be singled out as the origin of
forces, and governed by ruling elites whose authority man, the origin of the Nile, and the origin of the
is rooted in legitimately constructed legislative and three monotheistic faiths, Judaism, Christianity,
judicial foundations (Wilkinson, 2015 :41-.61). and Islam. The civilizations that originated in the
Wilkinson spells out the interconnectedness of Rift and the Nile Valleys were heavily influenced by
African civilizations to what he calls the Central two things: the ancient Egyptian Civilization and
Civilization that originated in Egypt and branched the three monotheistic faiths mentioned above.
out to the entire world to be known as Western The entire region is also undeniably influenced by
Civilization (Wilkinson, 2015: 44). Africa for the following reasons.

4
 1
Contemporary World Civilizations

First, Egyptian Civilization springing from the Finally, we see that Erman affirms that the
Nile Valley spread to the adjacent regions in Africa ancient Egyptians were “natives of their own
and the Middle East. It can be said that Egyptian country, children of their own soil.” In the remotest
Civilization is an aspect of African Civilization to era of the Egyptian civilization, the Egyptians were
which the countries in the Middle East and southern insular to Africa only. The patterns and directions
Europe can affirm that they were partakers. of the Egyptian Civilization’s progress indicates
Second, the foundations of Judaism and a progressive change from the initial formation
Christianity, in chronological order, were first laid of communities in the southern part of Egypt
down in Egypt, Africa. The ancient Hebrews were and evolution from low level of civilizational
sheltered in Egypt during the 18th Dynasty. They accomplishments to more sophisticated, highly
thrived as Israelites when the biblical Joseph was the differentiated, and spectacular aesthetic and artistic
viceroy of Egypt, equivalent to a prime minister. skills. This evolutionary progress is a function of
When Christianity was at its infancy, before it was geography and space. Geographically, the farthest
established as a religion, its founder Jesus Christ and southernmost points of Egypt appear to be the
made his first journey with his family to Egypt. He origin, the first space where Egyptian civilization
came to Egypt seeking shelter from the Romans started to form communities. J. Spencer
who were to kill him before he grew up to become Trimingham (1952: 4-6) states that the Nubians
“King of the Jews” and to unite the Jews into an and the Beja of Eastern Sudan and northern
uprising to drive out the Romans from the region. Eritrea are “the unmodified representatives of the
predynastic Egyptians”. They share linguistic and
Third, when the Prophet Mohammed started
lifestyle practices with the ancient founders of the
preaching the faith of Islam in Arabia, he was
Egyptian civilization.
faced with persecution by the Meccans. As he
battled his adversaries, he sent some of his most
faithful followers, including his daughter, to seek
shelter in Abyssinia. He told them they would face
hospitality and security there. He also instructed
them to preserve the faith, advance its teachings
if he and his followers were exterminated by those
who were persecuting them.
In the three historical records mentioned
above, we see historical Africa serving as a source
of the Nile Valley Civilizations and as a shelter
and protector of the three monotheistic religions.
These important contributions to the survival of
the human faith, cultures, and civilizations are
integral parts of African Civilization. The inherent
cultural behavior of Africans is demonstrated by
the above instances in which African soil provided
hospitality, justice, security, and providential
shelter to the most prominent divinely ordained
religions and civilizations. The most visible
indigenous Africa revealed in the glories of its
civilizational testimonials is the Egypt of Africa.
According to Adolf Erman (Erman,1971: 31-33),
“We may conscientiously believe them [the ancient
Egyptians] to be the natives of their own country,
children of their own soil, even if it should be
Figure 1.2 Ancient Egypt map
proved that their old language, like their modern
one, was imported from other countries”.

5
1
African Civilization

The comparative analysis above has argued that The broad fields of the Delta opened out to
the cultural practices and lifestyle norms of societies Libya, to the Mediterranean, and to Asia, whereas
are derived from their geographical environment. the long trough of Upper Egypt was hemmed in
From the geographical perspective, the Egyptian by blighted deserts. The agricultural richness of
Civilization is as African as that of Nubia, Ethiopia/ middle Egypt contrasted sharply with the poverty of
Kush or Zimbabwe. These are African civilizations southernmost Egypt. The two factors of insulation
finding their nourishment from the cultural and from strong outside influence and of wide internal
social developments that evolved along the banks variety helped explain the tolerant flexibility and
of the Nile River and the Red Sea and farther in genial sophistication. Certainly, the self-assurance,
southeastern Africa. These historical markers begin at and the active sense of gaiety stood in contrast to
every river bank through which the River originates, an austerity which marked the Asiatic culture.
at lakes of Victoria and Tana that its tributaries trace. The above quote is not about superiority
The river culture of these societies, from the remote or inferiority of cultures. It is about how
past, gave the cultural and civilizational seeds that environmental elements mold cultures which in
bore bounties of civilizational fruits in Kush, Nubia, effect plant roots for the germination, growth, and
and Egypt; and from there they spread farther out flowering of civilizations. The quote also indicates
to the Maghreb, West Africa, Southern Europe, and the adaptability of societies to socio-cultural
the Sinai Desert. norms that nurture their civilizations.
It is only at the organic village or by viewing At the formative level, Greek Civilization was
primitive life that we can infer the features of heavily influenced by Egyptian mathematical,
African Civilization. Basil Davidson (1968:13) and architectural legacies (McCant, 2012: 46). It
pointed out the evidential argument as follows: expanded into North Africa and along the shores
Here in this ancient community of cultures of the Red Sea up to and beyond the port of Adulis,
between the Atlantic and the Red Sea, one may an ancient Egyptian port build by the Ptolemies,
indeed trace the ground-stratum of many obscure later to become the primary port of the Axumite
but persistent unities of thought and attitude Empire. The Axumite Empire, at the height of its
among African peoples no living far apart and global power, dominated the northeastern part of
apparently in total isolation of each other. Thus, it Africa up to the southern borders of Upper Egypt
was not simple diffusion from Pharaonic Egypt, but on the north and as far as Southern Arabia. Basil
still earlier diffusion from the Saharan-Sudanese Davidson (Davidson, 37-39) provides detailed
community, which can probably explain why the description of the Axumite Empire as follows:
ram and python should be symbols of religion all [T]he ocean trade between Ptolemaic Egypt
around the Sahara and far beyond it, or why many and the lands of India and the Far East made
related social attitudes and institutions should be extensive use of the north Ethiopian port of Adulis.
present among widely separated African peoples. Ethiopia’s early trading links with Kush and Egypt
The seeds of all civilizations, including were multiplied by many contacts with the ports
Western civilization, are to be found in their of the Indian Ocean and beyond. Adulis became a
cultural manifestations. Cultures are the center of world trade, and the Ethiopian capital of
macrocosm, offshoots or ripple effects of religion, Axum, in the hills behind Adulis, felt the influence
family values, beliefs, and, written and unwritten, of all this. Writing of the later years of the first
rules of community management. Cultures reflect century BCE, Strabo could note that no fewer than
the level of societies’ wholesomeness. Wholesome one hundred and twenty ships were known to have
societies have great cultures orienting their sailed from the Egyptian Red Sea port of Myos
societies to creativity, peacefulness, tolerance, and Hormos on business connected with the Indian
facilitative elements of forward looking visions. Ocean trade, while an Egyptian–Greek sailors
John A. Wilson (1958:134-135), reflecting on the guide of the great period of Axumite expansion
contrast between ancient African and Egyptian describes Adulis as a vital link in the long chain of
cultures as compared to ancient Asian cultures ports which lay between the central coast of East
made the following observation: Africa and the Red Sea.

6
 1
Contemporary World Civilizations

Figure 1.3 The Axumite Empire during the Roman Figure 1.4 One of several stellas still standing in the
control of North Africa village of Axum
Source: Google Maps Source: Google İmages

Major historical events are culminations of Axum controlled the southern part of the
events occurring sequentially or in a “cycle of Red Sea. The rise of the Persian Empire in the
history” (Schlesinger, 1986). The birth, maturity, 4th century CE introduced a big threat to the
and decline of states is hypothesized as a cogent Roman Empire. In 533 CE, Emperor Justinian,
proof that great nations will rise, experience sensing the need for alliance, sent a letter to the
greatness, but somehow, they expire in inglorious Axumite Emperor urging him to block Persian silk
decline (Spengler,1997: 98-102). This “cycle” trade through the Red Sea. The Persian Empire’s
greatness of nations begins with the rise of great formidable power defeated the Axumite forces in
empires. They reach maturity and then dissipate Southern Arabia. The Axumite Empire that ruled
their energies, unable to defeat the weakest over northeast Africa and Arabia did not recover
adversary. The Axumite Empire experienced similar from this defeat (Gibbon, 1952: 49-50).
scenarios. It rose up in the highlands of northern The historical trajectories in North Africa
Ethiopia and the highlands of the State of Eritrea. were similarly connected in a series of events with
Its capital was the village of Axum where ancient distinct African interests aligning or conflicting
landmark and monuments are still standing, and with European powers. The entire Maghreb
its seaport was the port of Adulis at the Red Sea. region was heavily under the canopy of the mighty
Egyptian Civilization.

Figure 1.5 Trade and commerce connection Major African Empires and trading centers.
Source: Wikipedia

7
1
African Civilization

Maghreb cultural, economic, and trade relations European colonialism, reveals that the African
branched out south as far as West Africa and north as historical narratives were based on an unbroken link
far as Spain, Portugal, and Rome. Greece and Rome to indigenous Africa. Like the rest of the continents
retreated from Africa to their geographical home of the world, its societies have evolved along their
base. Both were European civilizations seemingly regional spaces with unique civilizations. These
bearers of the same heritage, but their doctrinal civilizations can be stated in terms of the geographical
differences on their common faith, Christianity, region where they emerge to evolve from simple
exploded into ideological battles. Their religious tribal families, communities and villages.
and ideological differences progressed to deadly
wars. As Rome and the Byzantines mired themselves
into endless doctrinal conflicts, draining their
energies into terminal deadlock, Persia’s conquest 1
of Egypt in 618 CE displaced the Byzantines. Why is the historical and cultural approach
The Persian Empire’s defeat by the Arabs put an to the study of African Civilization essential
end to the cultural, political, and social structures for the study of African Civilization?
that connected Europe, Asia, and Africa. Islam
rose from the deserts of Arabia with flaming zeal
and unstoppable revolution. In the end, the Arabs
transformed African societies by mixing the values
AFRICAN CIVILIZATION AND
of religious proselytizing, commerce, and trade OUTSIDE CONQUEST
(July, 1998:79-84; Speel, 1960: 370-397). The interior of Africa was shrouded behind
Islam swiftly dismantled European civilization thick forests and jungles, making it not so easy for
in the peripheries, such as Egypt and North Africa, outside contact with Europe. For this reason, Africa
and it reached to the Iberia regions of Europe was often referred to as the “Dark Continent,”
and to East Asia. Global Islamic conquest raged indicating the ignorance of Europeans regarding
in all parts of Asia and Africa and the dynamic Africa. More knowledgeable and effective carriers
inspirational forces of its faith molded Muslim of knowledge, trade, and inter-African and North
soldiers (Pantucci, 2015: 17). It is within the African relations thrived before the capture of
above historical summaries that we look at the Egypt by the Ptolemies in 332 BCE.
context of African Civilization. Out of the above North and West Africa trade relations were long
socio-cultural bases of African Civilization, the lasting and legendary in their orderly and technical
anthropological and sociological contexts served as management. Barters of gold, salt, ivory, incense,
additional formations of African Civilization. grain, animal skin, precious minerals were exchanged
African belief systems; social organizations; with finished goods such as silk, jewelry, and
religious rituals; rules of leadership recruitment; household implements. The kingdoms of Maghreb,
the enthronement and dethronement of royalties; Fezzan, and Libya were important powers,
the limits of authority and community power, all commanding trade and military presence extending
reveal linear similarities at their most formative to southwest and central Africa. The dominant
levels. In other words, those organizational means national group with proven warrior attributes were
and rituals of leadership and worship that seem to the Berber (Brett and Fentress, 1997: 22-25).
have governed Nubian communities radiated to the In addition to their warrior skills, the Berber
northern, southern, eastern, and western part of their of North Africa were intrepid traders. Prominent
neighbors. The Red Sea hills, the Abyssinian plateau kings of the Berber who ruled around 135 BCE
from where the waters of the Blue Nile originate, were Syphax, king of Mauritania, and Massinissa
created the formative elements of Nubian and who ruled over the Kingdom of Numidia, a
Egyptian civilizations (Breasted,1905: 4-5). These territory covering parts of Tunisia and Algeria.
transformations have, over the centuries, become They interacted and allied with Carthage in a
part of the African mode of thinking and living. subordinate role, but they also showed indomitable
A look at the initial formation of the civilization spirit and enterprising aptitude for trade. Their
and those influences that have religions, Islam and venture into trade took them deep into interior

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Contemporary World Civilizations

Africa. In the pre-Islamic era, they used horse-drawn chariots to cross the Sahara Desert, to bring goods
from the interior of West and Central Africa and to unload them at northern ports. Key terminal ports
were Leptis, Sabratha, Dougga, and Thubrba.
With the conquest of pharaonic Egypt by the Romans, the region converted to Christianity. The
Maghreb, and North Africa in general, were Christianized. The north-south trade caravan trade continued
under the influence of Christianity and intensified commerce. Long before European colonization, the
interior Africa south of the Sahara was economically integrated with the north (Brett and Fentress,
1997: 25-45).

Islam and Africa

In 641 CE, Islam reached North Africa when Alexandria fell under the mighty arm of Islamic warriors.
North Africa began to experience new religious activity with irresistible secular and sacred commitments
to spread the faith of Islam. Great Islamic centers of Islamic learning, such as Timbuktu, thrived in
uniting the central and western parts of Africa. The traditional contact with interior Africa continued to
flourish in trade, this time with Islam as the driving force for intensified trade in African goods.
Arab traders relying on camel, horse,
mule, and donkey caravans braved the
formidable challenges of the Sahara
Desert, and traded with interior Africa.
This began in the 8th and 9th centuries
when the fervency of Islamic spirit was
dynamic, enthusiastic, and inspired with
the foresight to spread the faith to Africa.
It was followed by European colonialism.
These two portals for the penetration
of interior Africa have the same network
of trade and communication means. They
differed in purpose and on the legacy they
left behind. Islamic influence was lasting
in the faith that it transplanted to deistic
and animistic Africa.
The economic interaction continued
with much vigor around 800 CE as the
Arabs continued to utilize the ancient
trade path paved by ancient traders
using the same market cities. “These
cities represented so many colonies of
Muslim immigrants from the north,
part conquerors whose cities were
Figure 1.6 Map of Africa with Mali highlighted their capitals, part merchants eager to
exploit the silver of the Anti-Atlas, and
increasingly the gold of Western Sudan which came across the Sahara from Ghana, the land of gold”
(Brett and Fentress, 1997: 90).
The fervency of Islamic faith in Africa was not as ecstatic as to capture the imagination of African
Muslims. The zeal and earnestness that inflamed the soldiers of the successive Rashidun who followed the
Prophet’s commission to spread the faith was lacking in energy for the depths of theological orthodoxy.
West African Muslims accepted Islam, in fact, but gradually grew cold to its edicts as well as means
and ends. There were massive jihads to spread the faith in West Africa, where Ghana, Mali, and other

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African Civilization

African states gained their independence from foreign incursions and recaptured their sovereignty in the
years following the Second World War (Trimingham, 1961: 19-26).
The first phase of the Islamization of Africa began after North Africa was Islamized, beginning with
the conquest of Egypt by Arab forces around 639-641 CE. These historical developments were an aspect
of the eruption of the global Islamic revolution, when Islam was on a march of conquest.
Thus, new concepts of faith
and politics rooted in the Quranic
declarations that were promulgated
in Medina and Mecca, declared by
the Prophet, were embraced and
enthusiastically implemented by the
First Rashidun, successors of the
Prophet, who swept over Arabia,
the Middle East, and North Africa.
Subsequent years saw the complete
integration of the entire North African
region into the Islamic world. The
region became called the “Maghreb” by
the Arabs (Isichei, 1995: 42-45).
Figure 1.7 North Africa

The pre-Islamic centers of Christian institutions in North Africa were replaced by Islamic institutions.
The African harbors and ports, connecting rivers, seas, and oceans, have always served as terminal points
for outsiders who have arrived to explore, trade, and to colonize and extract African resources. African
rivers were useful conveyer belts for transporting African material resources from the hinterlands to the
coasts (McCall and Bennett, 1971: 31-63).
As early as 800 CE, Islam became the dominant faith in West Africa, as well. Muslim traders and
religious ambassadors of the faith charted the trade paths of West Africa, where the Ghanaian, the Mali,
and the Songhai empires were mighty powers. They embraced Islam and became suppliers of African
goods to North Africa and Europe. Ghana was the golden empire that mixed African traditional cultural
and anthropological foundations with the strictures of Islam.
Islam is also adept at the exercise of the full range of human interactions as a means for the perpetuation
and supreme ascendance of the faith. Pragmatism, patience, and persuasion go together to make the faith
an indispensable belief which all human beings within the range of the clerical call must heed.

Europeanism, Colonialism, and African Civilization

The term “Europeanism” is used here to explain the analytical framework of Europeans in their study,
description, and conclusions of Africa, its people, and its cultural values. Africa, its people, and its cultural
values are the bedrock of African Civilization. The mental image embedded in Europeans adventurers,
explorers, and colonialists was formed by the purpose and objective of slavery, colonialism, and post-
colonial monopoly capitalism. Africa was stripped of its precious resources, and the indignity of being
dominated does not enable its victims to confidently extol or glory in their civilizations. The objective
study of civilizations, irrespective of their current political or economic status, reveals societies of celebrated
histories and civilizations.
Civilized societies are civilized in their own cultural and societal traditions and experiences. Even though
societies are civilized in their own ways, they all share one expectation: that there is an intrinsic expectation
that their civilization is edifying, wholesome, characterized by peace, tranquility, and a high level of
aesthetic and artistic expressions. In other words, civilizations are portraits of good societies. It is this one
parameter of wholesome civilization with which we judge the character of societies.

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Contemporary World Civilizations

Reflecting on the African Civilization, the that come from Western Civilization transferable
question to ask is, how does African Civilization in ways that respect the cultural, historical,
measure in wholesomeness to the rest of other religious, and societal values of other societies in
civilizations? Can African civilization be faulted far better ways than the civilization of non-Western
for the persistence of African poverty without civilization could deliver?
accounting for the crippling effects of the slave Empirical observations do not support the
trade, colonialism and post-colonial tyranny, universal adaptability of Western Civilization.
most of which can be traced directly to the global
First, the concept of liberalism is regarded as
entanglement of the African economy and its
an ultimate value of civilized societies. However,
dictatorial institutions?
exclusion, disfranchisement, and grievous
The positive expectation of wholesome violations of human rights remain prevalent in
civilizations and the negative results of less than liberal systems in measures like those regarded as
wholesome civilizations are revealed as undeniable illiberal and uncivilized. The Apartheid system of
societal images. earlier South Africa, where democratic pluralism
The positive realities are the expressions was good for selected citizens while perpetrating
of political and social systems. When they are savage cruelties against most South African citizens,
exercised mechanically for utilitarian purposes, reveals that the “civilized” democratic system of the
they reflect constructive results bearing fruits in the West falls short of becoming wholesome, because it
progressive paths of enlightenments, renaissances, has not matured to the highest of civilized culture
technological and industrial revolutions. as it tolerates gross injustice within its societies and
Mechanical results of scientifically contrived outside its own societies.
civilizations are secular, calculative, scientific, and Second, if the Western societies make
far removed from tradition, unique identity, and congratulatory claims for their civilizations, the
homebound civilization (Parson,1937: 51-53). ruins and devastations that they left in their wake,
In their dedication to the mechanical patterns and the civilizational values of pathological defects,
of measuring their own civilizations within the such as racism, inequalities, and capitalist excesses
context of their cultural and environmental bordering on genocidal criminalities as they extract
circumstances, distinct civilizations looking precious resources from defenseless societies
at other societies’ civilizations can suffer from without remedial investment, must be elements of
prejudicial conclusions. They end up showing a Western Civilization also. No society can have it
glaring incapacity to look at the historical, cultural, both ways. No society has the right to claim that its
religious and environmental contexts of the other civilization entitles it to the monopoly of wholesome
societies (Gibbon, 1952: 49). and civilized culture, especially if the indicators
They exhibit denial of the frequent defects that of its civilization cannot restrain its appetites for
persist in their own civilizations. These include: perpetrating injustice, tolerating inequality, and
wars, predatory economic pursuits, crimes against demonstrating the unremitting penchant for
the environment, unrelenting injustices against violence. Many civilizational justifications by
domestic minorities, insensitivity to global famine modern states and their leadership elites capitalize
amidst plenty, domestic neglect and violence on their skills and capacities of sanctimonious self-
against the defenseless, such as children, women, congratulations for what they perceive to be their
and the criminalization of punitive and vindictive, enlightened civilization while casting aspersions
legal systems designed to punish instead of over others, particularly Africa, a victim of the
rehabilitation and prevent crimes. savagery of colonialism and globalization.
The accepted global opinion, by and large, Third, Western liberalism takes pride in its
is that Western Civilization is temperamentally civilization, because its democratic systems rooted
dynamic, adaptable, transformational, and capable in Western civilization have resulted in scientific
of creating political instruments for plebian and modernization and participatory democratization.
pluralist deliberations (Beard and Mary, 1942: While these are indeed worthy claims, the
165). The question to be asked is: are the values advocates of Western civilization have failed

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African Civilization

in demonstrating the universal applicability of plebiscital participation as testimonials for Western

scientific modernization or democratic pluralism civilization. The Greek and Roman civilizations
outside the West, Japan, and South Korea being the contained in their internal logic the rules and the
exception. Western liberalism may bring parochial principles of republican democracy, free market,
and local prosperity. It cannot be denied that the rule of law, and all aspects of political behavior
those prosperities are extracted from the sweat and that govern pluralistic civil societies. Obviously,
tears of impoverished societies. Africa represents a these practical attributes differentiate them from
continental ghetto, governed by dictatorial regimes the underdeveloped societies, but it does not
(Association of African Scholars, 1966: 1-43). make them more civilized, since their cultural
These regimes preside over bureaucratic systems predispositions, the spirit of their parochial values,
mired in debilitating corruption against their incapacitate them to see those values flourish
own societies. They thrive, however, as agents for outside their cultural settings and beyond their
the exploitative networks representing Western exclusionist systems. While advocates of European
civilization (Rodney, 1974: Chapter 1). Civilization can take pride in their heritage of Greek
Fourth, the spirit of Western democratization and Roman civilization, they tend to demonstrate
was adapted from practical applications of the ambivalence when considering that African and
Greek and Roman civilizations. The Greeks refined Third World civilizations have been arrested by
the arts of rhetorical debates about democracy; invasions and retrograde attitudes of colonialism
the Romans favored law and the principles promulgated by the Western powers. Nothing
of oligarchic republicanism, shifting between about colonialism indicates a level of civilization
authoritarian monarchism and soft republicanism of which any healthy society can express pride.
(Sabin, 1937: 198-207). The intellectual inertia Even European missionaries travelling to Africa
of the earlier centuries came to serve as political to convert Africans to Christianity were engaged
foundations upon which the modern liberal system in the slave trade. Colonialism, next to slavery,
was constructed (Sibley,1970: 503-514). indicated cultural and civilizational backwardness,
particularly when measured by the principles
Fifth, in the immediate years after the Second
and original intents of Christian injunctions
World War, the decolonization campaigns, in
(Isichei,1995:71; Tocqueville, 1969: 360-363).
tandem with the Leninist-Stalinist and Maoist
revolutionary rhetoric, reverberated in the liberal Finally, conservative intellectuals coalesced
capitalist countries such Great Britain and the their energies into rightwing reactionary thought,
United States. The post-World War II global reviving the classical variety of liberalism (Sibley,
environment gave rise to attitudinal expression in 1970: 512). Classical liberalists trace their
the guise of ideological conservatism (Sibley, 1970: ideological birth to ancient Greece. They regard any
504-509). The German Nationalist Party’s earlier other thoughts and ideologies as radical anti-West.
civilizational expression had inspired German The Greek variety of democracy and selectively
attitude, expressed in pride and civil immodesty, as used elements of Roman Laws gave the basis to the
to what it means to be a German. The answer was forms of liberalism that had evolved and became
articulated in the sadistic and violent ideology of institutional guidelines for administrative and
Nazism. Nazism professed its filial parentage in the political applications.
“conservative” temper of Western Civilization. Its At the organic level, as Talcott Parson describes,
advocates felt able to cast aspersions on non-Western nearly all civilizations exhibit the common
societies as pagan, uncivilized, and backward. For attitudinal orientation to aspire to ultimate
conservatives and narrow nationalists, “Third happiness and tranquility for their societies. The
World” societies’ having a civilization heritage of Persian, Greek, and Roman invasions of Egypt
superlative magnitude as that of Egypt would be introduced extra-African blends to the African
difficult for them to embrace. Civilization that was ancient Egypt.
Sixth, additional attitudinal orientations of the Breasted, a renowned Egyptologist, observed
liberal sector of the Western ideology championed that as Egyptian contact with the outside world
moderation, toleration, human rights, and increased, “the fortunes of the Pharaohs began to

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Contemporary World Civilizations

decline, and as the civilization and power, first of the The march of civilization was gaining a new
East and then of classic Europe, slowly developed, revolutionary momentum during the events
Egypt was finally submerged in the great world of described above. The march was inspired by
Mediterranean powers, first dominated by Persia and Islam. The inspiration was the Islamic revolution
then by Greece and Rome” (Breasted, 1909, p.12). that declared all other civilizational inspirations
Egypt was not submerged, however, because null and void. Hereafter, a new faith combining
the cultural values, beliefs, and attitudinal visions religious inspiration and military strategy was
that gave rise to its most spectacular civilization bound to spread a new Islamic Civilization. This
were not replicated in Europe. The cultural civilization was to bring new ways of governance,
factors on which that civilization was planted and newer society, the Ummah, inspired by Islam
were not adopted in Europe to prevent the rise and aiming for the oneness of human beings under
of regional wars, colonialism and the regressive one faith and this new Islamic Civilization.
effects of devastations caused by World War I African Civilization, examined by the standards
and World War II. Egypt was neither equaled nor described above, places Africa on a par with
imitated as having a filial relationship to European other societies of the globe. The West credits
Civilization. itself with exemplary civilizational outcomes, but
Persia’s stay in Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula the political, economic, social, and legal decay
was uneventful, because the great Persian exhibited in Western societies affect their peoples
Civilization of Cyrus and Darius did not embody in an identical manner to African societies that are
an ideological motivation that would have inspired victims of dictatorship and the legacies of slavery,
Persian warriors in Egypt or in the Middle East colonialism, and the homegrown tyranny supported
to leave traces of Persian Civilization. Persian and tolerated by the West. The difference between
technology, despite its advanced foundations, was Western Civilization and the African Civilization is
quickly eclipsed by its successors, the European that the West has the resources and the wherewithal,
and Islamic Civilizations (Gibbon, 1952: 80-81). institutional capacities to enhance and create
Greece and Rome appropriated the theoretical gracious civilization, but it finds itself crippled
and practical/scientific elements of the Persian by the mechanical and utilitarian visions to mend
Civilization and submerged its legacy into their itself. Africa retains its organic civilization, rooted
own (McCant, 2012: 37). in its soil, communitarian in nature, sensitive to
the human quest of peace and harmony, but finds
Zoroastrianism was a sophisticated religious
itself crippled by past legacies that have impaired
belief with seamlessly woven rationalizations for
its capacity to create a mechanical and utilitarian
adaptive political frameworks, but its geographical
vision tempered by its organic heritage and
reach and religious exegeses, like Judaism, were too
traditional values.
circumscribed to a region or a people to command
universal attention (Lenczowski, 1978). G. E. Most of African civilizations originate at
Von Grunebaum, gave a description of the lack the waterways and seaports where dynamic
of cultural and traditional commitment Persian communications and market transactions
Civilization faced. He noted Zoroastrianism’s flourished. The riverine perspective of civilizations
incapacity to provide cultural groundings and is important, because it provides evidence of
the extent to which civilizations can be arrested institutionalized means of communications among
to oblivion when their edification and inspiring ancient peoples. It also reveals the direction of
values do not complement each other. He stated: trades and commerce within Africa and overseas.

Zoroastrianism had passed its missionary phase;

though it was the official religion of the Sasanians to
the end, it had had to fight formidable opposition in 2
its homeland and was besides too intimately identified How did slavery and colonialism affect Africa
with a specific cultural area to offer effective resistance and the European colonialists?
to the potential universalism of Islam (Grunebaum,
1962: 2-3).

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African Civilization

AFRICAN CIVILIZATION manners of survival, family formation, and

IN SOCIOLOGICAL AND manners of expression, such as songs, arts, dances,
and linguistic patterns. Patterns of age recruitment,
ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONTEXT
division of gender roles, and manners of worship are
The anthropological and sociological important indicators. The Egyptian Civilization, in
contexts reflect societies’ indigenous identities. its initial phase, at the time it first sprouted roots,
This research attempts to identify the fusion began by nurturing its roots in the African soil,
between anthropological, sociological and cultural receiving its nourishments by the waters of the Nile
features from which civilizational behaviors and and the African sunshine.
civilizations rise.
As civilizations increase in influence, fame, and
African Civilization reflects the African peoples’ power, they are bound to influence their neighbors
cultural heritages and the components of their soil far and wide. Through trade transactions, territorial
and environmental habitat. The peoples of Africa, competition, and alliance formation, their
in themselves, represent a mural or multifaceted civilizations add values from other civilizations,
tapestry covering the entire continent by shades even to the point of resulting in transformational
of skin color ranging from dark, brown, and light social and anthropological features. James H.
brown. It is most likely that the ancient Egyptian Breasted described this transformational influence
population was a microcosm of that tapestry, of the Egyptian Civilization by stating:
consisting of people of dark, brown and light
brown shades of skin. It is to Egypt that we must look as the dominant
All continents of the world have unique power in the Mediterranean basin, whether by force
civilizations and specific attributes reflected in their of arms or by sheer weight of superior civilization
civilizations. For scholars to make accurate and throughout the earliest career of man in southern
indisputable conclusions about those civilizations, Europe, and for long after the archaic age had
they look at anthropological, archeological, socio- been superseded by higher culture. To us who are in
cultural, linguistic, and religious evidence as the civilization the children of early Europe, it is of vital
basis of their unique civilizations. Each continent of interest to raise the curtain and peer beyond into the
the world and its peoples embrace specific cultural ages which bequeathed our forefathers so precious a
values that are unique, original. These values are legacy (Breasted, p. vii).
embedded into the identity of the peoples as
elements of their civilization. In the above quote, Breasted is right to credit
Egypt as having “bequeathed” to the European
Strong civilizations such as that of ancient
“forefathers so precious a legacy.” It is a puzzle
Egypt can affect geographical overlap where the
why he is reticent to overlook Egypt’s “precious
components of the civilization, such as architectural,
legacy” and its dominant influences, by diplomatic
linguistic, and religious features are embraced by
feats, trade relations, and, when duty and
those with whom they came in contact. The extent to
diplomatic wisdom dictated, by conquest, that
which linguistic characteristics of ancient Egypt are
were also “bequeathed” to Africans and Asians.
cognate to Greek, Latin, Nubian, Yoruba or Ethiopic
In other worlds, the spectacular and awe inspiring
languages tell us the anthropological relationship of
Egyptian Civilization was a towering world
the ancient Egyptians and their neighbors.
civilization. Its shining glories radiated to the
Invariably, the markers, traces, and remains of entire globe as testimonials to the creative capacity
strong civilizations are never restricted to a smaller of humans, irrespective of African, European, or
geographical region. Big civilizations leave big Asian forefather-hood. The anthropological and
footprints. They are dominant, not to be subordinated sociological perspectives relative to the Egyptian
or outshined in the legacy of excellence and awe- Civilization are from the African soil and habitat
inspiring creativity. They sway the orientation and environment. The origin, birth, rise and maturity
direction of other societies’ civilizations. of the Ancient Egyptian Civilization, is African, for
Indicators of anthropological and sociological certainly Egypt is in Africa; it is not in Europe or in
characteristics become visible in the societal Asia. Its influences are global; its origin is African.

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Contemporary World Civilizations

The geographical propinquity of Egypt to THE UNITY AND ESSENCE OF

Southern Europe, the Middle East, and Western AFRICAN CIVILIZATION
Asia is also undeniable, but Egypt comes from
The unity and essence of the African Civilization
the geographical womb of Africa; Breasted
himself was the ultimate scholar who figured the is the macrocosm of those civilizations that emerged
anthropological and sociological foundations, in the Continent of Africa. Even though they may
in conjunction with the environment, as driving be explained in regional terms, their unity to a
elements of civilization. He noted: common Continent displaying uniquely African
heritages a binding thread to the broad African
If Egypt became the mother of the mechanical Civilization.
arts, the river will have been one of the chief natural African Civilization linked to the anthropological
forces to which this fact was due. With such natural and sociological foundations is inseparable from
assets as these, an ever-resplendent soil, and almost the identifying characteristics of the Egyptian
unfailing waters for its refreshment, the wealth Civilization. Its seamless roots and branches
of Egypt could not but be chiefly agricultural, a cannot be alienated and divorced from the
fact to which we shall recur. ... Such surroundings
African soil. Africa in its entirety is the storehouse
reacted powerfully upon the mind and thought of the
of all that is African. There cannot be any African
Egyptian, conditioning and determining his idea of
region or people that can be singled out as alien to
the world and his notion of the mysterious powers
Africa while they share the essential cultural and
which ruled it. The river, the dominant features of his
valley, determined his notion of direction: his words civilizational formations.
for north and south were “down-stream” and “up- Unfortunately, Egyptologists adapted a
stream” (Breasted, 1909: 9-10). myth stating that the Sahara Desert was an
insurmountable gap separating the southern from
Civilizations are inseparable from the the northern region of Africa. The northern region
geographical location in which they are born and of Africa is an example of the tapestry of linguistic
from where they progressed. The environment and cultural contexts where European and Arab
of their geographical location, the topography, civilizations have impacted Africa.
the air, the waters, the plants, and the animal
kingdom in their surroundings formulate their
components, images, and artistic and aesthetic
features. These factors give the anthropological
characteristics of civilizations. The sociological
characteristics relate to the interactions and
interrelations of the geographical habitants. The
vision, the geographical location, the creativity,
and the dedication to achievement of the people
create the details and features of the civilizations,
including African Civilization.

Figure 1.8 Map of the Sahara Desert

3 Source: www.maps.wallpapereu.us

Explain the sociological and anthropological

contexts of the African Civilization. At the same time Africa provided those regions
and peoples with the same, consistent, indelible
anthropological and sociological features found

15
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African Civilization

in the regions south of the Sahara. The Maghreb they originate and spread across international
Berbers share Egyptian linguistic patterns as borders. Between the time they started to be noticed,
do the Nubians, Oromo, Somalis, and Yoruba to become famous, and the time they die, they have
(Wescott,1961: 41-45). different levels of birth, mature, spread, and death.
The region above tropical Africa is the Savanah;
it is the connecting bridge between the northern
and southern regions of the continent. Scholars of 4
civilizations in the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries did not have any doubts that the Greek What does the phrase “Unity and Essence of
and Roman civilization belonged to Europe. They African Civilization” mean to you?
unquestionably accepted that Greece is a European
state, and Greek Civilization is indisputably
European. The same with Rome. The successive ARTICULATING AFRICAN
Caesars who ruled over the Roman Empire, whose CIVILIZATION
writs of authority extended as far as the end of From the macrocosm of the broad features
Western Europe in the north, as far south as North of African Civilization, it becomes possible to
Africa, and as far east as the limits of northwestern give a generalized unity and pointed articulation
Asia, were never regarded as representing Asian, of African Civilization. The historical, cultural,
African, or Mediterranean civilization. They sociological and anthropological factors described
were simply accepted by scholars as Europeans above, each in their own field of discipline, give
representing European civilization. benchmarks that describe the totality and unity of
One prominent world class historian expressed African Civilization.
similar prejudice referring to Africa as an outlier Before its spread outside Africa, Egyptian
with no historical and civilization to claim. Civilization found its inspirational materials
Edward Gibbon was a towering intellectual and cultural contexts in the region where
force, but he possessed thoughtless intellectual it was born and among the people whose
judgement and indecorous scholarship of which inspiration, creativity, sense of purpose, and
his own words can be presented to as evidential visions of ingenuity and scientific foresights
proof. He stated: laid the foundation its spectacular rise. Africa in
The geographers of antiquity have frequently general, before the rise of Dynastic Egypt had
hesitated to what portion of the globe they should trendsetting practices of institution building.
ascribe Egypt. By its situation that celebrated The structure of orderly societies managed by
kingdom is included within the immense peninsula wisdom, justice, and order were long planed
of Africa, but it is accessible only on the side of Asia, among African societies.
whose revolutions, in almost every period of history, Basil Davidson states that ancient Africa’s
Egypt has humbly obeyed. A Roman perfect was kingdoms are: “among the oldest institutions
seated on the splendid throne of the Ptolemies, and anywhere; they look out of the mist of antiquity
the iron scepter of the Mamelukes is now in the like the unknown ghosts of ancestral nations that
hands of a Turkish pasha. The Nile flows down the have no certain place or name, and yet are not to
country, above five hundred miles from the tropic be denied” (Davidson, 1994:19).
of Cancer to the Mediterranean and marks, on Merrick Posnansky argues that African
either side, the extent of fertility by the measure of civilization is expressed in its regional settings
its inundation (Gibbon, 1952: 10-11). as an adaptation of Hamitic and Nilotic origins
One of the significant characteristics of (Posnansky, 1962: 44-45). He also details African
civilizations is that they cannot be harnessed by civilization as a focal point for scholarly analysis, yet
geographical barriers. Civilizations spread and a moving target without a conclusive and uniting
branch out inside the geographical location where theoretical tool rooted in scientific postulations.

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Contemporary World Civilizations

Thus, the archaeological, anthropological, and

sociological disciplines speak in union affirming
that African Civilization is indigenous to the
grounds and soil of Africa, but whether its
component civilizations in Eastern, Western,
Northern, and Southern Africa has one binding
and uniting source is widely disputed (Posnansky,
1962: 46-47).
George Murdock makes cogent observation
of how ecological fallacy can beguile scholars into
making conclusions fraught with inaccuracies.
European botanists visiting India discovered “the
origin of many cultivated plants” and declared that
they were of Indian origin. Murdock refutes the
claim by explaining:
Figure 1.9 Benin Bronze
The mistake was especially difficult to correct
Source: Wikipedia
in the case of India; many of the important crops
of Negro Africa had spread there before the dawn
Africa in its demographic aspects is the home of
of the Christian era, so that Europeans, who first those Africans in Africa, including in Egypt. Of the
encountered them in India, not unnaturally assumed numerous methodological options and research
them to be local cultigens. Finally, we cannot tools that can be used to develop best approaches
ignore the vulgar assumption, widespread among to the topic, the holistic approach -- where the
Asiatic as well as Europeans, that the Negro is an entire Continent of African is taken as a unit of
inferior race incapable of making any substantial analysis -- seems appropriate. A realistic synthesis
contribution to civilization, with its corollary that tailored to touch on the fundamentals of African
all complex manifestations of culture in Africa south civilizations at the macro level can appreciably
of the Sahara must have emanated from some other succeed in casting Africa as a home-base for the
and ‘higher’ races like the Caucasoid ‘Hamites’” emergence and development of those civilizations
(Murdock, 1959: 38-39). that have impacted Africa and Africans.
The above analysis is an attempt to capture
The tendency of scholars in past centuries the uniting features of African civilization:
with conservative ideological undertones was that
• The river valleys where small communities
nearly all non-African civilizations with historical,
thrived, inspired by their geographical
anthropological, social and religious legacies in their
environment to plant the seeds of stellar
place of origin are accepted; their centrality to the
civilizations.
native soil, environment, and cultural fundamentals • The Egyptian Civilization emerged around
are not questioned. In their estimation, however, it 3100 BCE, interacting with its geographical
seems that the Egyptian Civilization is the only one orientations.
that seems out of place. It is not African, because • Nubia, Libya, and Kush exchanged
it is in Africa, a place from which no evidence of leadership and custodial authorities over
civilization can be expected to emerge. Africa, in the each of these civilizations.
prejudiced thinking of some of these scholars, is a not • Libya, during the Twelfth Dynasty, was
a place where a civilization of unparalleled scientific the dominant ruler of Egypt, its authority
depth, cultural nobility, governmental sagacity, and reached as far as Palestine on the northeast
unfathomable scientific feats in fact could flourish, and the entire Maghreb expanse of and
thereby confounding all other civilizations. West Africa.

17
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African Civilization

• At the time when the Twenty-fifth Nubian of the bells we find a double-spiral ornamentation of
Dynasty was at the seat of the Egyptian throne, old Swiss lake dwellers. The Manilla is almost Celtic in
its trade, diplomatic, and military outreaches shape; the squeezed-up lizard might be Scandinavian.
covered East Africa, the Middle East through The mixture of the designs in fact almost equal that of
the Red Sea, and conquered Palestine/Israel. the population of ancient Babylonia. . . and we may
The Nile Valley on the eastern part of Africa, ask what made their bronze casting unique, for there
and the western and northwestern part of is absolutely nothing like them in any other part of the
Africa adjoining the Maghreb in the north world” (Roth, 1903: 234-235).
related to Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia and Arabia
and southern Europe in trade exchanges and If there is any proof that African civilization
regional conflagrations. embodies universal representation, linking Asia and
• Other African civilizations such as the Europe, the above quote tells it in most emphatic
Ghanaian, the Mali and the Songhai empires, affirmation. What the author calls “foreign forms”
in their varying eras, exhibit linguistic, is not foreign to Africa in general or to Benin. It
cultural, life styles, family structures, age- is most likely purely of African heritage that had
transition rituals, and community hierarchies radiated to “foreign” lands in ancient centuries.
like the Egyptian civilization. If historical speculation is permitted, and we
• The rise of Islam provided another uniting are given license to make probabilistic conclusions,
foundation of belief, but it was interrupted there is no reason why speculations about where
before it could take on the firm foundations African influence reached in Europe or Asia
of Islamic civilization with an African should be discouraged, just as it has always been
character. a habit for scholars to speculate about what they
• West Africa, from ancient times to today, imagined European influences arriving in Africa.
possesses massive natural riches in the form It goes both ways. Ancient Africa looked at from
of gold, diamonds, ivory, animal skins, the perspectives of its natural resources and trade
grains, incense, palm oil, dates, and hard relations gives hint of its historical characteristics.
wood. During the Fourth Dynasty, West The trade networks that connected ancient
Africa and Egypt had trade relations. cities and localities give evidence of trade exchanges
Thus, the overarching interconnectedness as well as cultural interactions. Before the arrival of
of African civilizations, their original habitat colonialism, the direction of African trade followed
and symbiotic link to each other, their artistic north-south caravan paths using camels, horses,
renditions, transcending epochal centuries and mules, donkeys, and human portage.
international borders, has been explained by early
The interior cities in West Africa, such as
explorers as follows:
Kumbi Salaaeh, Awdaghost, Timbuktu, Tidjikja
“In an attempt to ascertain the origin of the Benin and Ghadames, served as hub markets from where
bronze art, we cannot pass over unnoticed the facts goods, such as gold, ivory, gums, animal skin, and
that several of their institutions show indications of cotton, were caravanned up North African ports
exotic origin, and that ornamentation is full of foreign (July, 1998: 37-40).
forms. We find the law of inheritance different from The terminal ports were Carthage, Alexandria,
that of the peoples of the surrounding country, probably Marrakesh, Tripoli, Leptis Magna, and reaching as
as a result of the gross superstition which centered far north as Spain and Portugal.
everything in the fetishism of the king. We find vestiges West Africa enjoyed trade relations with Egypt,
of the old Catholic ritual in more than one instance. Spain, and Portugal. If there is anything that had
We find designs in wood-carving which were common brought endless pain and incalculable travails, it is
forms among the Hittites, and we have bronze and the capitalization of man by man in the form of
brass castings which bear undoubted traces of the slavery. Slavery itself is illogical; it is not rational. The
influence of European of the middle ages. One of the concept of universal rights is universally accepted as
patterns of a ring is Graeco-Roman, another we meet right, proper, and just. Its universal feasibility and
with in Tunis, a third is like Saxon work, and on one suitability is contested on a cultural basis.

18
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Contemporary World Civilizations

African Civilization Today Civilizations are manifested in the ways

The citizens of the 54 sovereign states suffered long communities create institutions for conflict
under the dereliction of profligate and delinquent resolution, and in the ways they prioritized peace-
dictators. There seems to be an imperceptible making agenda before falling to the temptation
resilience of character and soil-bound endurance, of war-making. The persistence of home grown
which can only be described as clear indicators of dictatorial oppression still casts an uncivilized
the ancient characteristics of the African civilization. image of Africa. From the perspectives of Looking
We see the maturity of African civilization in at Africa from the ground up, however, we realize
the ways families form networks of support and that it is the oldest continent to have inspired
caretaking. James Q. Wilson observes that it is not human activity, starting around 3.7 million years
modernization and technological innovations that ago when human life arose in the African Rift
instruct us about civilized life and the enshrinement Valley, in north eastern Ethiopia. Looking from
of moral conduct such as morality, fairness, justice above, Africa in its totality is a complex homeland
and civilized behavior. He points out that the most to the oldest civilization, that of Egypt and Nubia.
primitive African enclaves in the remotest part of Travelling from the interior of Africa heading
Africa, in the Kalahari Desert, can teach us worthy north towards Egypt, a traveler can see the more
lessons on family relations, child rearing, community than 250 Nubian pyramids and conclude that
responsibility, and hierarchical meritocracy without the Nubian civilization must be the older of the
the iron fist of authoritarian tyranny. He points out: two. He will head downward to the north and will
A sense of childhood – and the love of children find the first cataract of the Nile and, according
– is seen as a modern invention, ascribed variously to modern scholarship of historical records, he will
to religions, capitalism, and the Enlightenment. mistake the cataract by calling it the first, because
It is odd that this view should have had so large Western scholars, beginning their count north of
an impact, since we already knew from studies the Delta, call it the 6th and the last of the cataracts!
of contemporary primitive societies, such as the
San of the Kalahari Desert, that children are not Assessing the African Civilization
only loved but indulged without the benefit of In evaluating African civilization and its
modern science, enlightened teaching or capitalist historical relation to the Egyptian civilization,
requirements (Wilson, 1993: 2). we cannot claim that all Africans are the creators
of Egyptian Civilization. While we do not credit
Africans in general for creating the phenomenal
Egyptian Civilization of ancient days, it cannot
be said with convincing intellectual and scientific
ascertainment that the Egyptian Civilization
was created by non-Africans, such as Europeans
or Asians. There are no traces of linguistic,
anthropological, religious, or socio-political
habits and modes of thinking and acting that
are even remotely, let alone closely connected to
Pre-dynastic or Dynastic Egypt that can easily
be identified in Europe, the Middle East, or the
Asian societies.
Rather, we find many commonalities with the
Egyptian Civilization expressed in the Maghreb, in
West Africa, in East Africa and in Central Africa.
What is scientifically indisputable is the fact that
there are linguistic, religious, and socio-cultural
Figure 1.10 Kalahari Desert patterns of worship, communication, artistic, and
Source: www.britannica.com aesthetic expressions in Africa, such as in Nubia,

19
1
African Civilization

Kush/Ethiopia, Mali, and farther in southwestern While the uniqueness of the history of trade
Africa, whose affinity to Egyptian civilization can among regional and international powers is
be categorized as identical or similar. uniquely effective in cementing the ancient
Archeological, anthropological, and historical reach and extent of civilizations, sociological,
analysis tend to be particularistic and circumscribed anthropological, and archeological research
to their geographical localities. Scholars laboring together can augment commerce and trade
on these fields can make conjectures about the evidences. They lend their own civilizational
extent and reach of their material findings. variables such as recruitment into age cohorts,
survival practices, methods of food gathering,
On many occasions, their material findings
cooking, and the many similarities of household
can be indisputable, but their generalizations and
implements and utensils.
interpretations tend to be inferential. For instance,
precolonial and pre-Islamic Africa is explained in Explorers heading to Africa and other lands
conjectures and reductionist undertones from the find similarities with what they encountered in
perspectives of varying disciplines. Europe and Asia, and, instead of contemplating
that what they encounter might have arisen from
Scholars rely on probability and fall short
ancient African artistic expressions and functional
on conclusive objectivity. An example of this
utilities, they leap into concluding the civilization
is the unresolved dispute about the origins of
traces or artifacts were transported to Africa from
major African civilizations, such as that of Egypt
Europe or Asia.
relative to Africa, and their reciprocal impact on
regional or transnational civilizations. Studying To understand the African civilization, then,
trade relations among and between civilizations one must remove the blinders of prejudice and
give broad indications of the extent and reach of long-surviving, bigoted assumptions, and let the
civilizations. Trade relations among African regions evidence prevail.
and civilizations give clearer footprints of historical
relationships and interactions among civilizations.
Specific examples about the usefulness of trade
in defining origin and extent of civilization are: 5
coins, currency equivalence and denominations, How would you articulate – describe in detail
measurement units, and currency denominations, – African Civilization?
rough representation of comparative advantages,
ports, and open markets.

20
 1
Contemporary World Civilizations

LO 1 Fully comprehend the historical and cultural

context (background) of African Civilization.

The historical and cultural approach to the study of African

Civilization helps us look at two critical factors in the study
of African Civilization. First, the historical perspective sheds
light on the problems Africans faced through the ages and
how they overcame those challenges. Historical context also
gives us description of events and how they are interrelated or
separate from each other. Second, the cultural context gives us

Summary
the similarities or dissimilarities of African communities in the
north, south, east, and west of the continent. From these two
perspectives, we can be able to infer or give conclusive answers
to questions on African Civilization.

LO 2 Explain the impact of foreign conquest on

African Civilization.

Slavery inflicted enormous human misery on Africa and

Africans. The selling of human beings for profit caused the
ultimate level of destruction. Over time, it also created a state
of mind that accepted humiliation as a normal way of life for
the slave and it accorded unmerited superiority to the slave
trader. Slavery is an abnormal enterprise; it was practiced due
to greed and economic profit. This places wealth on human
life. Africa was a victim of this pathological enterprise.

21
1
African Civilization

LO 3 Interpret African Civilization from the sociological

(the cultural structure of societies) and
anthropological (human study) perspective.

The sociological and anthropological context of the study of

African Civilization shows two critical factors in the study of
those essential ingredients that sow the seeds of civilizations. The
anthropological perspective helps us study the origin of societies,
their family structure, family organizations, language patterns,
means for gathering, processing, and marketing food, and family
and community hierarchies. The sociological perspective helps us
Summary

study how societies at all levels of the anthropological stage are

organized. Anthropology is about units; sociology is about how
the social units are organized to deliberate on issues, to resolve
conflicts, and to stage community events, to select leaders. It
is at the anthropological and sociological level of the study of
civilizations that we can observe the identities of civilizations
such as the Egyptian and other African Civilizations.

LO 4 Hypothesize the unity and essence of

African Civilization.

The phrase “the essence and unity of African Civilization”

refers to the broad, but clear-cut patterns unity, oneness, and
commonality that the study of African Civilization shows
among the African peoples. Looking at African civilization,
there is no denying that Africa has a unique civilization. That
civilization is the sum of the people of Africa in the east, west,
north and south of this great continent.

LO 5 Identify African civilization as a wholistic

value of Africa.

The articulation of African Civilization is an endeavor aimed

at establishing rational grounds, and substantiating historical,
cultural, anthropological, and sociological facts. These variables
have elements in them that need further clarification. These
elements include religion, ethnicity, language, and tribal
patterns. They assist us in articulating civilizations. In the
case of African Civilization, we noticed how the Maghreb, the
Egyptians, the Nubians, the West Africans and the Ethiopians
displayed these variables to present African Civilization in its
various elements.

22
 1
Contemporary World Civilizations

1 According to the reading, African Civilization 4 Africa’s exposure to slavery and colonialism
is ___? resulted in ___?
a. the most studied and researched area of study a. reducing the population burden of Africa and
compared to Asian and European civilizations. creating a favorable atmosphere for the study of
b. a neglected field of study in comparison to other African Civilization.
world civilizations. b. sparing Asians from being targeted by Europeans
for slave trade.

Test Yourself
c. covered in the study of Egyptian Civilization; c. sparing Europeans from being targeted by
no need to focus on the rest of Africa. Portuguese merchants for slave trade.
d. insignificant, Africans have not had the capacity d. inspiring Islamic jihad against Europe to rescue
to create a civilization of their own. Africans from slavery.
e. based on European colonization; we only need e. reducing Africa as a region of no civilization
to study colonization to understand African worthy of objective scholarly attention.
Civilization.
5 As the Nubian and Ethiopian civilizations
2 In the study of African Civilization, the focus
were directly impacted by the Egyptian civilization,
the same can be said of West African civilizations
on monuments and material artifacts tends to having a reciprocal impact with ___?
underemphasize ___?
a. Greece, Rome, and Mesopotamia.
a. the historical and cultural traditions that link b. Arabia, Persia, and India.
generations in the unfolding of common c. Europe and the Middle East.
legacies, traditions, and cultural practices. d. Libya, Fezzan and the Maghreb.
b. the symbiotic or unbroken relationship of e. China and India.
African Civilization with that of European
Civilization. 6 Which of the following was a great Islamic
c. the contribution of Asian Civilization to center of Islamic learning?
the linguistic and artistic progress of African a. Darfur b. Kush
Civilization. c. Timbuktu d. Axum
d. the role of the Jews and Hebrews as the founders e. Kilwa
of the African Civilization.
e. the Greeks and the Romans as the main authors 7 To understand the depth and range of African
of African Civilization. Civilization, it would be useful to approach the
study by ___?
3 According to the reading, and from the a. beginning to study other civilizations, such as that
regional and geographical perspective relating to of Mesopotamia, and compare their similarities.
the spread of the impact of civilizations, the Horn b. beginning to study the cultural, sociological,
of Africa, southern and northwestern Arabia are and anthropological elements of African
societies and determine patterns of common
regarded as ___? features in language, religion, and family values
a. the origins of man and the cradle of the three and community structures.
monotheistic religions. c. beginning to study the modern political,
b. least civilized societies and lagging in the religious, diplomatic and trade relations of
African societies and compare their similarities
production of civilizational legacies. and contrasts with ancient Africans.
c. the sources of high technology and launching d. beginning to study the ethnic composition
global industrial revolution. of African societies today and compare their
d. sources of the principles of democratic systems family, religious, and governmental structures
and governing laws. to those of ancient African societies.
e. the origins of science and technology that are e. using carbon dating to determine the authentic
tribal features of ancient Africans and compare
still widespread throughout the world. them to today’s African DNA markers.

23
1
African Civilization

8 With respect to the “Unity and Essence of 10 African Civilization, in its totality is ___?
African Civilization”, we can observe that ___?
a. an autonomous civilization that can be clearly
a. African Civilization embodies uniting elements articulated as being of Africa, from Africa and
the essence of which are expressed in sociologi- of Africans.
cal, anthropological, historical and ethno-lingu- b. a dependent civilization with its values and be-
istic characteristics. liefs borrowed from Asian and European civili-
Test Yourself

b. African societies are the direct offspring of zations.

Middle Eastern societies in anthropological and c. tentative, unarticulated, still underdeveloped as
sociological characteristics. to rightly say Africa does not have a civilization.
c. African societies taught European societies in d. a hybrid civilization imported from the Middle
the art of iron and bronze technology. East embodying Islamic and Christian civiliza-
d. African societies use the commonality of their tions.
cultural resources to prevent wars and guarantee e. a modified version of European civilization in
the permanence of global peace. Africa imported by Christian Missionaries.
e. Africa as the origin of humanity is also the sour-
ce of all languages and cultures throughout the
world.

9 European colonization of Africa ___?

a. introduced Christianity and abolished the prac-
tice of slave trade.
b. created a strong anti-communist balance of po-
wer, preventing Africa from being overrun by
communists.
c. introduced democratization, economic prospe-
rity and political stability in Africa.
d. allowed African to have equal and complete ci-
tizenship in the European countries that coloni-
zed Africans.
e. continued the practice of slavery, with even
Christian missionaries profiteering from the
practice of the slave trade.

24
 1
Contemporary World Civilizations

If your answer is incorrect, review

1. b If your answer is incorrect, review 6. c
“See Afrıcan Cıvılızatıon and Outsıde
“Introductıon”.
Conquest”.

Answer Key for “Test Yourself”

If your answer is incorrect, review “See If your answer is incorrect, review “See
2. a 7. b
Afrıcan Cıvılızatıon in Hıstorıcal and Afrıcan Cıvılızatıon in Socıologıcal and
Cultural Context”. Anthropologıcal Context”.

If your answer is incorrect, review “See

3. a 8. a If your answer is incorrect, review “See
Afrıcan Cıvılızatıon in Hıstorıcal and
Unıty and Essence of Afrıcan Cıvılızatıon”.
Cultural Context”.

If your answer is incorrect, review If your answer is incorrect, review

4. e “See Afrıcan Cıvılızatıon and Outsıde
9. e
“See Afrıcan Cıvılızatıon and Outsıde
Conquest”. Conquest”.

If your answer is incorrect, review

5. d 10. a If your answer is incorrect, review “See
“See Afrıcan Cıvılızatıon and Outsıde
Artıculatıng Afrıcan Cıvılızatıon”.
Conquest”.

Why is the historical and cultural approach to the study

of African Civilization essential for the study of African
Civilization?

Suggested Answers for “Your Turn”

The historical and cultural approach to the study of African Civilization helps
us look at two critical factors in the study of African Civilization. First, the
historical perspective sheds light on the problems Africans faced through the
your turn 1 ages and how they overcame those challenges. Historical context also gives
us description of events and how they are interrelated or separate from each
other. Second, the cultural context gives us the similarities or dissimilarities
of African communities in the north, south, east, and west of the continent.
From these two perspectives, we can be able to infer or give conclusive answers
to questions on African Civilization.

How did slavery and colonialism affect Africa and the

European colonialists?

Slavery inflicted enormous human misery on Africa and Africans. The selling
of human beings for profit caused the ultimate level of destruction. Over
time, it also created a state of mind that accepted humiliation as a normal
your turn 2 way of life for the slave and it accorded unmerited superiority to the slave
trader. Slavery is an abnormal enterprise; it was practiced due to greed and
economic profit. This places wealth on human life. Africa was a victim of this
pathological enterprise.

25
1
African Civilization

Explain the sociological and anthropological contexts of the African

Civilization.

The sociological and anthropological context of the study of African

Suggested Answers for “Self Review”

Civilization shows two critical factors in the study of those essential ingredients
that sow the seeds of civilizations. The anthropological perspective helps us
your turn 3 study the origin of societies, their family structure, family organizations,
language patterns, means for gathering, processing, and marketing food,
and family and community hierarchies. The sociological perspective helps us
study how societies at all levels of the anthropological stage are organized.
Anthropology is about units; sociology is about how the social units are
organized to deliberate on issues, to resolve conflicts, and to stage community
events, to select leaders. It is at the anthropological and sociological level of
the study of civilizations that we can observe the identities of civilizations such
as the Egyptian and other African Civilizations.

What does the phrase “Unity and Essence of African Civilization”

mean to you?

The phrase “the essence and unity of African Civilization” refers to the broad,
but clear-cut patterns unity, oneness, and commonality that the study of
African Civilization shows among the African peoples. Looking at African
your turn 4 civilization, there is no denying that Africa has a unique civilization. That
civilization is the sum of the people of Africa in the east, west, north and south
of this great continent.

How would you articulate – describe in detail – African Civilization?

The articulation of African Civilization is an endeavor aimed at establishing

rational grounds, and substantiating historical, cultural, anthropological, and
sociological facts. These variables have elements in them that need further
clarification. These elements include religion, ethnicity, language, and tribal
your turn 5 patterns. They assist us in articulating civilizations. In the case of African
Civilization, we noticed how the Maghreb, the Egyptians, the Nubians, the
West Africans and the Ethiopians displayed these variables to present African
Civilization in its various elements.

26
 1
Contemporary World Civilizations

References
Beard, Charles A. and Mary R. (1942). The American Merton, R. (1938). “Social Structure and Anomie,”
Spirit: A Study of the Idea of Civilization in the United American Sociological Review, Vol. 3/5: 672-682.
States. New York, NY: The Macmillan Company. Murdock, G. F. (1959). “Sudanic Agricultural
Breasted, J. H. (1905). A History of Egypt from the Civilization: Its People and their Culture”. In
Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest. Volume I. Robert O. Collins, (Editor), Problems of African
New York: Scribner. History. New York, NY: Prentice Hall.
Breasted, J. H. (1909). A History of Egypt from the Pantucci. R. (2015). We Love Death as you Love Life:
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New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons. Hurst and Co.
Brett, M and Fentress, E. (1997). The Peoples of Africa: Posnansky, M. (1962), “Kingship, Archaeology, and
The Berbers, London, UK: Blackwell, Malden, MA. Historical Myth”, in Problems in African History,
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Davidson, B. (1968). Africa in History. London, UK:
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Horrors. Halifax, England: F. King & Sons.
Diop, C. A. (1968). “Negro Nations and Culture”, Sabin, G. H. (1937). A History of Political Theory.
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Samkange, S. (1971). African Saga. New York, NY:
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NY: Dover Press.
Sibley, M. Q. (1970). Political Ideas and Ideologies:
Gibbon, E. (1952). The Decline and the Fall of the A History of Political Thought. New York: NY:
Roman Empire, Volume I. Chicago, Ill.: The Harper & Row,
University of Chicago Great Books,
Speel, C. J. (1960). “The Disappearance of Christianity
Grunebaum, V. G. E. (1962). Modern Islam: The in North Africa and the Rise of Islam”, Church
Search for Cultural Identity. University of History, Vol 29/4: 379-397.
California press.
The Roman History of Appian of Alexander (1899).
Huntington, S. P. (1968). Political Order in Changing White, H. Translation from Greek, London,
Societies, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. George Bell and Sons.
Isaac, T. and Targowski, A. (Editors), (2015). African Tocqueville, A. (1969). Democracy in America. Garden
Civilization in the 21st Century. Nova Scientific City, New York: Anchor Books,
Publishers, New York, NY. Trimingham, J. S. (1961). Islam in West Africa.
July, R. (1998). A History of the African People. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Prospect Heights, Illinois, Waveland Press. Wescott, R. W. (1961), “Ancient Egypt and Modern
Lenczowski, G. (1978). Iran Under the Pahlavis, Africa”, in Problems in African History, Robert O.
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McCall, D. and Bennett, N (1971). Aspects of West Wilkinson, D. (2015), “The Civilizations of Africa”,
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27
 Chapter 2 The Chinese and Japanese
Civilizations
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:

Recount the origin of the Chinese and

1 2
Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate how Buddhism impacted the

Japanese civilizations within the broad context Chinese and Japanese civilizations and how
of historical events. Shinto influenced the Japanese civilization.

Apply knowledge of Chinese and Japanese

Interpret the dynamics of the Chinese versus culture (ideology, music, art, theater and so

3 Japanese societies in the pursuit of the

balanced life. 4 forth), to comprehend their impact on other
civilizations.

Summarize how the infrastructure of the

5 6
Chinese and Japanese civilizations contribute
to the development of their own and world Recognize the major events of the Chinese
civilizations. and Japanese civilizations.

Chapter Outline Key Terms

Introduction • Chinese Civilization • The Great Wall
The Origin of the Chinese and Japanese • Japanese • The Long March
Civilizations Civilization • The Cultural
The Religion of the Chinese Civilization • Civilization Revolution
• Buddhism • Mainframe
The Civilizing Society of the Chinese and
• Shinto Computers
Japanese Civilizations
• Confucianism • Highways
The Civilizing Culture of the Chinese and • Sinic Sphere • Bullet Trains
Japanese Civilizations • The Chinese • Hiroshima and
The Civilizing Infrastructure of the Chinese and Character Nagasaki
Japanese Civilizations
Major Trends of the Far East Civilizations and
Timeline

28
 2
Contemporary World Civilizations

INTRODUCTION - Tibetan civilization (with some

The Asian civilization embraces 41 nations. Hindu and Chinese influence)
An impressive presence, it today is successfully - Burman or Myanmar Civilization
(with some Chinese and British
challenging Western civilization via technological
influence)
development and economic advances. It is
º Japanese civilization (Buddhism-
composed of the following major civilizations:
oriented, with some Chinese and
• Chinese civilization (Buddhism-oriented) with some Western influence since the 19th
some strong impact on the following ones: century)
- Taiwanese sub-civilization (de • Hindu civilization
facto Chinese civilization with • Eastern civilization (Russian civilization).
Capitalism) While the current Chinese and Japanese
- Hong Kong sub-civilization (de civilizations should be the primary focus of analysis,
facto Chinese civilization with one must note that a number of countries with some
Capitalism) roots in the Chinese civilization belong to the Sinic
- Singaporean civilization (Chinese- sphere in Eastern Asia. This sphere succeeds, in some
Hindu civilization with Capitalism) senses, the former Japanese sphere of co-prosperity,
º Buddhist civilization a sweeping concept that spread to, and partially
- Korean civilization (with Chinese united, Japan-occupied Asia from 1930 to 1945. It
influence) stretched beyond East Asia, extending cultural and
- Vietnamese civilization (with some economic tendrils to Northeast Asians, Southeast
Chinese and French influence) Asians, and Oceanians. Its purpose included
- Cambodian civilization (with creating the self-reliant “bloc of Asian countries led
Chinese and some French influence) only by the Japanese, no longer dependent upon
- Laotian civilization (with some the sponsorship of Western powers.
Chinese and French influence)

Figure 2.1 The Japanese sphere of co-prosperity (1930-45) and the Sinic sphere in the 21st century
Source: Targowski, 2014: xviii.

Today’s Sinic sphere is essentially a derivative form of the Chinese Civilization that influences nearby
countries, including Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Taiwan, and Cambodia. This sphere developed
when Chinese Buddhism, mixed with Confucianism, spread over East Asia between the 2nd and 5th
centuries CE. These countries developed strong central governments modeled on the type that had been
long institutionalized in China. Scholarly officials in Vietnam and Korea, and for a short time in Japan,

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were selected through a series of examinations on topics related to the teaching of Confucius which had
been developed by the Chinese for their civil service examinations (Fogel, 1997: 686). “Shared familiarity
with the Chinese classics and Confucian values provided a common framework for intellectuals and ruling
elites across the whole region” (Reischauer, 1974:342).

THE ORIGIN OF THE CHINESE AND JAPANESE CIVILIZATIONS

Chinese Civilization
Chinese civilization is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. It has existed for 5,000 years, thus
for 83 percent of recorded history, which arose with the civilization established about 6,000 years ago in
Mesopotamia. We assume that Chinese culture began in Neolithic Times (5000 BCE) with the Yangshao
Culture, which was established around the Yellow River valley and lasted until 3000 BCE.
Later, the Yangshuo culture was superseded by the Longshan culture, which was centered on the Yellow
River and flourished from about 3000 to 2000 BCE. This Longshan culture was led by the city of Jinan,
which was then considered the center of the Chinese civilization. One of the characteristic features of early
Chinese civilization was the intricate wheel-made pottery pieces produced in Jinan. Today, about seven
million people live in this city.
Scholars observe that the early history of China was long unknown to the world. This is due to the lack
of written documents from this period; however, other accounts have attempted to describe events that
occurred several centuries before the Longshan: Some written ancient documents describe the Xia Dynasty
(2100 – 1600 BCE) as the first one in Chinese history.
Records indicate that the Egyptian civilization came into existence about 5,100 years ago. However,
the Islamic civilization replaced the ancient Egyptian civilization. By contrast, China today is still defined
by the presence of a continuous Chinese civilization, although it has recently been threatened by the
opportunities currently afforded by Global civilization (Targowski, 2014).
We ask: Will the
globalized Chinese
civilization, which is
overpopulated, provide
a way for the world
to sustain human
civilization in the 21st
century or will its own
downfall be expedited
as a result of the Figure 2.2 Overpopulated “elbow to elbow” China (with 1.4 billion people) threatens
depletion of strategic sustainable world civilization in the 21st century
natural resources?
Chinese Civilization is experiencing its second turn as the world leader. At one point in the first
half of the Second Millennium (CE), China was roughly at the same level with Europe in scientific
knowledge and far ahead in the technologies of printing, naval navigation, and ammunition (dynamite).
However, the worst political mistake in the history of world civilization was almost certainly a decision
made by the fourth Emperor Hongi in the Ming Dynasty to destroy the Chinese fleet; the last long
voyage overseas was ended in 1433. The exploration of new territories across the oceans was terminated
along with the abolition of a capable fleet of ships that could make long trips. Documents of those
trips were also destroyed to avoid any good memories about these successful adventures and political
achievements. It was a suicidal move that put China in a disadvantageous position among the strongest
countries of the world.

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China secured its borders with the construction and let China use more resources, or will it fight to
of the Great Wall, starting in 1358. Ever since, China maintain its probably unsustainable lifestyle? On
found itself isolated from the rest of the developing the other hand, will China abandon its dream and
world and a victim of the passivity it had brought let the American Dream continue to prevail?
upon itself. China became subordinate to foreign Today, China is one of the key players in
rulers and invaders -- Mongolians, Manchurians, politics, economics, science and technology,
British, and Japanese. and social developments. The new look of
Since the famous Long March in the 1930s, the international relations, the balance of power, and
Chinese have been awakening. They have begun the consumption of goods, is happening because
to think again about themselves as the original China plays a critical role in the Global Economy
settlers of China and have tried to throw off their in the 21st century.
submission to foreigners which dominated their First, China in recent decades has risen to
foreign and domestic affairs over the last several become the World Factory, and second, it is the
centuries. As a consequence of the ending of primary debt collector of Western Civilization. The
exploration voyages in 1433, China fell behind Chinese have the largest population in the world,
Europe (i.e., Western Civilizations) in science and including people living in China and its diaspora.
technology. However, they started to catch up. This Today, Chinese people live in almost every country
can be seen at the beginning of the 21st century, in the world. They are considered active not only in
when 600 years of separation from the rest of the business but also in tourism.
world, and defeat and colonization by the invaders
Thus, the Chinese, as a civilization and as a world
and western powers, has been replaced by dynamic
leader in economics, are to be found are all over the
world leadership.
globe, and now they plan to go to the Moon - the
second nation in human history to do so, should they
succeed. But, equally important, China has built the
fastest computer in the world, and their reach, their
adventures, their aspirations are all beyond the Great
Wall (Targowski and Han, 2014: vii-xix).
In the past 80 years, the Chinese have undergone
many social revolutions (i.e., the Long March of
1934 to 1936; a cultural surge from 1966 to 1976,
and the rise to power of the Eight Elders -1978
to 1992). These have occurred about 246 years
after the English Revolution in 1688 and 145 years
after the French Revolution of 1789 in Europe.
Now, China outperforms the European Industrial
Revolution (i.e., from 1820 to 1900) that occurred
194 years ago. And yet, even the Chinese are still far
behind from the West, but we must also point out
that today the West is deindustrializing. After the
Figure 2.3 The Great Wall of China isolated this downfall of the Soviet Empire in 1991, the West
country for centuries. called for “the end of history” (Fukuyama, 1992)
because democracy and liberal capitalism had won
and supposedly the West would rule forever.
The United States is the most fortunate major
country since it has about six percent of the world’s Today, China faces multiple options: Should it
population but consumes about 30 percent of the follow the ideals of the Western Civilization, which
world’s resources. From now on, China will become used to be the successful route, or should it analyze
active and will surely consume a substantial portion “what has been wrong” with Western Civilization
of the world’s resources. The question is whether to avoid future mistakes? China is at the crossroads.
the U.S. will give up its leadership, and its luxuries, According to Forbes-2014, there are 152 billionaires

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in China, and also there are thousands of millionaires The emperor’s duties were mostly concerning
who are well-to-do Chinese civilians. Unfortunately, Shinto, a uniquely Japanese religion that was
the remaining one billion plus Chinese people are on evolving at this period. Shinto, which reflects the
their way with one full meal each day if lucky. “Way of the Gods” and is still common in Japan,
There are other options. China might ally emphasized the role of the forces of nature which
with Russia in sharing a common anti-American affect Japan so profoundly (earthquakes, tsunamis,
ideology or she might opt to take her own route to and so forth). Shinto mostly focuses on ritual
the future. Notably, after the annexation of Crimea purification to remove any impurity caused by
by Russia in spring 2014, regardless of the high contact with physical dirtiness, sex, childbirth,
adverse reaction by the international community, wounds, and death. The current Japanese insistence
China chose to abstain during the resolution vote on baths and cleanliness probably derives from this
that condemned Russian’s action in the Ukraine aspect of Shinto. The most famous Shinto shrine
at the Security Council of the United Nations in at Ise is consecrated to the sun goddess, helping
March 2014. Perhaps China may reverse the Silk to reinforce the loyalty to the imperial family
Road and take another way in its dealings with the associated with that deity.
outside world. By the 5th century CE, the growing power
But, if China follows the path of western and sophistication of the Japanese state were
consumerism and modernization to satisfy her making Japanese society more open to the impact
own needs, then China and the whole world will of Chinese culture coming in by way of Korea. A
be at risk of committing civilizational suicide due list compiled in 815 CE showed that more than
to insufficient strategic resources to sustain such one-third of Japan’s aristocratic families claimed
super-consumerism. ancestry from Korea or China by way of Chinese
colonies in Korea.  The most significant influence
coming from China were ideas of Buddhism and
Japanese Civilization Confucianism.  An important side effect of the
The primary influences on Japan’s early culture introduction of Buddhism was the introduction of
were Mongolian. From about 250 BCE to 300 Chinese writing to Japan.  The writing invention
CE, a culture migrating from Asia and known as led many Japanese researchers to study in China
Yayoi prevailed, introducing rice farming, iron and and to bring new knowledge back home.  Thus,
bronze technology, and weaving. Yayoi society was Buddhism assisted as a vehicle for the diffusion of
matriarchal, with women having significant spots Chinese civilization in much the same way that
as priestesses or shamans. Later in Japanese history, Christianity brought Mediterranean civilization to
women were reduced to a more subservient role in North Europe.
society. Furthermore, Confucianism brought two
By the third century CE, civilizational influences important elements to Japanese civilization.  It
were coming from Korea, especially in terms of stressed a strict hierarchy of relationships. It also
better iron weapons and fighting from horseback; reinforced the already cooperative nature of
this led to the Yamato period of Japanese culture Japanese society as well as assured the role of the
(c. 300 to 710 CE). The Japanese were divided strict social and political order that would emerge. 
into the many combatant clans, each with its Also, Confucianism’s emphasis on merit and
patriarchal chief and guardian deity. Progressively, education as the tools of advancing in government
the Yamato clan integrated most of Japan under were absorbed by the Japanese. This idea of
its rule, appealing to its divine ancestry from the advancement by merit, however, met with firm
sun goddess Amaterasu. The imperial family in resistance from the hereditary Japanese nobility.
Japan nowadays still traces its lineage back to the In the 600’s, Chinese Confucian influence
Yamato clan of the fourth century of the current sparked some Japanese governmental reforms.  The
era. Later, as there was no real distinction between Chinese concepts of a supreme ruler, one supported
governmental and religious functions in early by a centralized bureaucracy and advancement
Japan, the imperial family’s duties were always through merit, when added to the Confucian virtues
concerned with religious ritual.

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overall, were adopted in Japan. This created a system of court ranks that replaced the hereditary Uji ranks as
the principal basis for status.  Prince Shotoku also sent several large delegations to China; the primary strategy
of his was to inspire a Japanese cultural transformation into a Chinese-like civilization.
In the 700’s CE, the central government introduced law codes and a taxation system modeled after that
of T’ang China.  The Taika reforms and Taiho law system increased the power of the emperor and court
but with some characteristically Japanese adjustments.  The Japanese never adopted the Chinese Mandate
of Heaven doctrine, which was against corrupt rulers.  Consequently, the same dynasty of emperors has
kept the throne in Japan throughout its history despite how unqualified some of them may have been.
In 1867, the long-lasting Tokugawa Shogunate malformed and gave way to the Meiji Restoration
movement. The city of Tokyo became the imperial capital of Japan after the Kyoto, as the capital, stopped
functioning. Japan then focused its energies on industrialization and modernization. During World War
I, the United States and Japan fought on the same side of the war, although relations were not satisfactory
between the two nations because of disagreement about China’s competition for power in the Pacific,
among other reasons. After World War I, Japan’s economy began to decline and hit a low point in 1926
when the Great Depression touched the world. The recession, combined with domestic political turmoil
(assassination attempts on the Emperor, coup d’etat attempts, terrorist violence), eventually contributed to
the augmented militarism in Japan during the late 1920’s and 1930’s.
Japanese imperialist policy soon aimed to dominate China to obtain its enormous material and natural
assets. In the early 1930’s there were numerous small-scale military “incidents” between the two countries.
These incidents peaked into a full-scale war in 1937. The United States joined in that on December 8,
1941, following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, on Oahu, Hawaii, by the Japanese air force the day
before. In 1945, atomic bombs were thrown on two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Japan
surrendered soon afterward on August 14, 1945.

Figure 2.4 The American atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6 and on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945,
killing about 226,000 civilians, leading to and, some say, causing the surrender of Japan and ending World War II.

After the surrender of Japan, the Allied Forces occupied the island country, marking the first time
in the nation’s history that a foreign power had held it. The American-led occupation ended in 1951,
Japan’s government shifted from imperial and military rule to a parliamentary democracy and became
Westernized, with an eventually booming economy and social peace.

Did Japanese civilization impact

Chinese civilization or vice versa?

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THE RELIGION OF THE religions-although people tend to retain a particular

CHINESE CIVILIZATION link with one religion. Perhaps most members of the
upper-class tend to practice or adhere to the tenets of
Confucianism. Some educated men, philosophers,
Buddhism in China might keep a strong tie with Daoism. Many
Buddhism was imported from India, but it has uneducated people just follow all the religions.
been a widely accepted religion in China for many Thus it is that Chinese religions are in general
centuries. Buddhism offers the prospect of salvation tolerant of other faiths, even though occasional
and grants an opportunity of entering the eternal conflicts occur. The lack of a monotheistic deity
joyful realm [Nirvana]. Buddhist monasteries can not only helps many religions to coexist peacefully
be found in almost all provinces in China and serve together but also prompts them to absorb each
as the centers of Chinese spirituality. other’s teachings. Throughout Chinese history,
“Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual there has not been a Western-patterned religious
development leading to insight into the true nature war although the Taiping Revolution was sparked
of reality. Buddhist practices like  meditation  are by a religious movement.
means of changing yourself to develop the qualities In the 1920s, when Mao Zedong initiated the
of awareness, kindness, and wisdom. The experience peasant movement in Hunan, he started to target
developed within the Buddhist tradition over religions and blamed them as being “supernatural”
thousands of years has created an incomparable and dominated by religious authorities; they were
resource for all those who wish to follow a path an oppressive force. Nonetheless, Mao did not
— a path which ultimately culminates in advocate an immediate abolition of all religious
Enlightenment or Buddhahood.  An enlightened beliefs even after he seized full power in China
being sees the nature of reality clearly, just as it is, in 1949. In the following decades, Mao, like
and lives fully and naturally by that vision. This is other communists, regarded religion as a spiritual
the goal of the Buddhist spiritual life, representing opium, the opiate of the masses. However, at the
the end of suffering for anyone who attains  it” same time, he tended to confine religious believers
(www.thebuddhistcentre.com/buddhism). and limit, rather than eliminate, their propagation.
Chinese religions are not necessarily exclusive. The most disastrous move against religions
Thus, as an educated man, a Chinese in his office is in modern Chinese history occurred during the
most likely a Confucian, as he respects his superiors Cultural Revolution (or Great Proletarian Cultural
and endeavors to fulfill his duties. When he returns Revolution) that lasted from 1966 to 1976. Many
home, he might be a Daoist, as he intends to relax to religious monasteries, shrines, churches, statues, and
enjoy a natural way of life. Occasionally, he might other worshipping sites were severely damaged or
visit a Buddhist temple to burn incense and pray even totally eradicated. Soon after the chaos of the
for benefits. This syncretism (multi-faith system) post-Mao period subsided, and after Deng Xiaoping
works for most Chinese people, even though many had taken the lead in China, reforms were initiated,
religious professionals vigorously champion a and religions in China started to enjoy a remarkable
single faith and advise people to keep away from revival, a speedy recovery, and an astonishing
other religions. dissemination. Temples are renovated, shrines
Chinese religions have evolved, at least from the rebuilt, congregations held, seminaries reopened,
perspective adopted in the past, from philosophy rituals performed, festivals reorganized, and all kinds
to religion. Even now as a belief system, religion of religious activities “came bubbling to the surface”
still carries on its philosophical teachings. In many whenever and wherever conditions permitted.
ways, it is fair to say that Chinese religion functions The system of co-existing religions should
as a philosophical-religious tradition, or a humanist continue to enable the Chinese to carry on their
belief, or a philosophical religion, or an ethical faith. humanistic traditions, and to establish their own
Chinese religions tend to be stratified, with “harmonious society,” to improve their human
different applications or understandings enabling relationships and rebuild their civilization (Shan,
different social classes to keep ties with many 2014:62).

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Buddhism and Shinto in Japan spirit (kami) of that place, and abstract things represent
Many Japanese people respect the religious development and fertility. Sacred objects, such as rocks
practices of Japan as a fragment of the country’s or trees, can be documented by the individual ropes
culture, within the national scope of individual trust and white paper strips dedicated to them.
or faith. Most Japanese people perceive rites of the People enter shrines by passing through
Shinto as the natural religion and others practice a distinguishing gate (torii). These gates are
Buddhism and some accept Christianity or other symbolic fences separating the living people from
faiths. A person may revere a local commemoration their spiritual-driven worlds. There are often
at a Shinto shrine, a wedding ceremony at a Christian two guardian animals on each side of the gate,
church, and a burial at a Buddhist temple. defending the entrance.
Buddhism. The Zen form of Buddhism The shrine may hold offerings of food and sake
highlights life experience and daily meditation located before a symbol of the kami. Most people
rather than theoretical knowledge or learning from throw a coin in the box, sound the gong a couple of
religious transcripts. The essential seated meditation times, bend deeply twice, clap hands firmly twice,
recollects both the posture in which the Buddha turn once deeply, turn once lightly and then back
is said to have attained enlightenment and the away graciously, ducking or turning their back to
mindfulness and concentration which are fragments the shrine.
of the Eightfold Path as the Buddha cultivated it. Shinto has continued through the centuries
Because the Zen ritual is for direct to inspire Japanese society, even today. Many
communication rather than a setting for scriptural important Japanese practices have roots either
study, the Zen instructor has conventionally played directly or indirectly in Shinto. For example, the
a central role. A Zen instructor is a person intended Shinto ideal of harmony with nature inspires such
to teach the dharma (right way of living, or natural typically Japanese arts as flower-arranging (ikebana),
harmony), to guide pupils of meditation, and traditional architecture, and garden design. Explicit
to undertake or lead in rituals. There are certain relations to Shinto are seen in sumo wrestling like
procedures shared in the Zen tradition which many Shinto-inspired ceremonies such as cleansing
seem unusual to the non-initiated, but these are the wrestling arena by scattering it with salt before
envisioned to surprise or shock a student out of a competition. Many Japanese customs, such as
customary ways of understanding. These contain, using wooden chopsticks, and getting rid of shoes
for example, the loud stomach shout identified as before coming into a building, have their source in
katsu. It is a practice shared by many instructors at Shinto principles and practices.
Zen societies to have a stick with them throughout
formal rituals – a sign of authority which can also
be used to strike the table during a conversation.
Shinto. It is the natural religion of Japan and
was once its national religion. It includes the
worship of kami or spirits. Some kami are local, and
the spirit is of a particular place – like Amaterasu,
the Sun goddess, or Mount Fuji.
This religion has no established dogma or
unique book, no holiest place, no person or kami
viewed as the most sacred, and no well-defined
customary prayers. As an alternative, Shinto offers
Figure 2.5 A long row of Torii gates of Shinto shrine,
worshippers an assortment of rituals and methods
Kyoto, Japan.
intended to control the relations between living
people and the spirits.
The key leitmotif in the Shinto religion is love
and reverence for ordinary artifacts and processes. So, 2
a waterfall or a rock might arise to be observed as a What is the main idea of
Buddhism?

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The Chinese and Japanese Civilizations

THE CIVILIZING SOCIETY OF couple’ policy, although today that policy has been
THE CHINESE AND JAPANESE relaxed somewhat.
CIVILIZATIONS Statistics from the census of 2010 disclose that
China’s population context has changed and it has
been found that the “one child” policy led to low
Chinese Society in the 21st birth rate, an aging society, and broadening gender
Century inequity. Beginning in 2009, a relaxed one-child
policy was applied in most provinces; couples are
now permitted to have two children. The two-child
People
policy is steadily replacing the one-child policy in
China, with about 1.4 billion people (including China.
Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) as of May
China is a multiracial state consisting of 56
2011, is the most populous nation in the world.
ethnic groups. The most populous one is the Han,
According to the census of 2010, the ratio of men
which comprises about 91.51% of the country’s
to women is about 51.27% to 48.73% female.
total population, whereas the other 55 ethnic
The surplus of men is troublesome since there are
minorities comprise the remaining 8.49%. Most
not enough candidates as potential husbands for
ethnic groups live together with others in vast areas
potential wives. About 50% of the population lives
whereas some live in individual communities in
in the urban cities and towns whereas the rest of
small areas. Yunnan Province  is the most multi-
the population is in rural areas.
national province; there are 25 ethnic minorities
China has about 20% of the world’s entire settled in that province. The minorities mostly
population. To control the rapid population have their distinctive religious views, the freedom
growth rate and to ensure the quality of life, of which is respected and legally protected by the
Family Planning has been a core state policy since government with some restrictions.
1978. The strategy to sidestep over-population,
The Chinese are entrepreneurial, productive,
late marriage and postponement of childbearing,
hardworking, peace-loving, creative, and energetic
lead to fewer but healthier babies. In 1979, China
people. Many of them are friendly, old-fashioned,
became the first country to launch a ‘one child per
modest and in general easy to approach.

Figure 2.6 The Chinese people work in different settings today

Family
There is a complex system in China, one characterized by kinship and clan. In the Chinese kinship
system, maternal and paternal lineages are distinguished. For example, a mother’s brother and father’s
brother are called by different terms. A Chinese clan is a patrilineal and patrilocal group of linked Chinese
individuals. A married woman is part of her husband’s clan. When China went into isolation from the
world after 1433 CE, vast social changes occurred. For example, many of the Chinese people, except for
a few narrow and elite groups, fell into poverty. In order to survive, they maintained and still maintain

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Contemporary World Civilizations

healthy relations among family members, more powerful ones than with the state, which was seen as the
oppressor. For the Chinese, a healthy family is the setting for the best art of living, enabling individuals to
survive harsh conditions of life and sustain a modus operandi for future.

Education
Literacy and Schools: (UNICEF, 2004-2008, www.unicef.org)
• Literacy is defined as knowledge of 1,500 Chinese characters in rural locations and 2,000
characters in urban areas.
• By 2008, the adult illiteracy rate in China dropped to only 3.58%. Elementary school and junior
secondary school enrollment jumped to 99.5% and 98.5% respectively.
• In the 21st century, Chinese youth (15-24 years) have a 99% literacy rate.
• Students from Shanghai’s schools outperformed those from 65 countries/regions, according to
a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which
has tested high-school students since 2000. Table 1.1 illustrates the ranking of educational
performance by 15-year-olds.

Table 2.1 The Ranking of Education Performance of 15-Year-olds in Some 65 Countries

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is a forum where the governments of
34 democracies with market economies work with each other as well as with more than 70 non-member
economies to promote economic growth, prosperity, and sustainable development. The acronym PISA
stands for the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment.
Source: OECD PISA 2009.

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The Chinese and Japanese Civilizations

Educational System
• China has about 400 million students today (LaFleur, 2010: 208).
• Chinese children typically start their formal education at age two (Kristof, 2011).
• By the first semester of first grade, students are expected to recognize 400 Chinese characters and
write 100 of them. (LaFleur, 2010:212).
• Chinese citizens must attend school for at least nine years.
• Under China’s “Law on Nine-Year Compulsory Education,” primary school is tuition-
free. However, students must pay a small tuition fee after the compulsory nine years of education,
during middle and high school.
• To increase literacy rates, the Communist party has switched from “traditional” Chinese
characters to a “simplified” form of writing (using fewer strokes). Singapore also uses simplified
Chinese. However, Hong Kong and Taiwan still employ traditional characters.

Higher Education
• In the 21st century, China has over 2,000 universities and colleges, with over 2 million total
students enrolled in higher education.
• China is creating its own version of the Ivy League, singling out nine of its top universities (www.
economist.com).
• Chinese students (over 127,000) are the largest group of international students in America’s
universities. But only about 14,000 American students are studying in China. However, the number
of American students
studying Chinese has
continued to grow steadily
(www.economist.com).
• China has over 1,200,000
IT (Information
Technology) professionals
and is adding 400,000
technical graduates each
year. China ranks #1 in the
world, followed by India
and the US (Arnell, Global
Workforce).
• China has around 170,000
certified lawyers, 12,000 law
firms, and more than 300
law schools. (Arnell, Global Figure 2.7 Chinese college students at a job fair in Nanjing (2008)
Workforce).

Government
The Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has several organs
These include the following:
• The legislative branch, the National People’s Congress.
• The executive branch, the State Council and President of China.
• The judicial branch, the Supreme People’s Court, and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate.
• The military branch, People’s Liberation Army (PLA) via the Central Military Commission.
The Communist Party has legal power in the country. This is defined by the PRC constitution and is
the highest political authority in the PRC through its leadership of state, military, and media.

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The primary structures of state power Here are a few facts concerning China’s
are: the  National People’s Congress  (NPC), Military Forces in the 21st century (Lockie,
the President, and the State Council with a prime 2016):
minister and ministers. During the 1980s there • China’s ground forces: 1.9 million
was an effort made to distinguish between party personnel, 14,000 tanks, 14,500 artillery
and state roles, with the party determining general units, 453 helicopters.
policy and the state carrying it out. The challenge • China’s air force: 470,000 personnel,
was postponed. 2,556 jet fighters, 400 ground attack
Thus, a dual structure persists, resting upon a planes.
single centralized focus of power (www.revolvy.com). • China’s navy: 250,000 personnel, 66
submarines, 27 destroyers, 52 frigates and
1 aircraft carrier.
Military • China’s missile arsenal: 100,000 personnel,
In the 21st century, the world is curious to find 140 nuclear missiles, 1,000 conventional
out an answer to the question “Will China expand theater missiles.
its might far beyond its borders?” Some perceive • New weapons: The Dong Feng 21D is
Chinese maneuvers in the East and the South a land-based missile capable of striking
China Sea as a sign of that kind of expansion. But an aircraft carrier as far as 2,000 miles
China, it can be argued, is just copying the Monroe offshore.
Doctrine (1823), which allowed the United States • Pentagon officials believe that China has
to take away control of the Western Hemisphere secretly built a base capable of housing
from the European powers in the 19th century. up to 20 nuclear submarines on Hainan
China, some may argue, is simply seeking the Asian Island.
version of that doctrine. Does China deserve to • China has now advanced and tested its
practice a similar doctrine? Whether the West likes first stealth fighter jet, the J-20. The U.S.
it or not, China clearly believes that it is entitled to is the only other country in the world to
dominance over the East Asia region and perhaps have a stealth fighter.
that it will be staying within its Sino-sphere only.
From a military point of view, some say that Economy
China wants to win wars without battles. It has
China’s  “socialist” market economy  is
already won an economic war of sorts with other
the  world’s second-largest economy by nominal
civilizations in the 21st century. Only time will tell
GDP after the United States. However, according
whether China will be wise enough to continue
to the IMF, it is the world’s biggest economy in
its rise to power in the coming decades. That the
terms of PPP, purchasing power parity (basket of
Chinese have amassed 5,000 years of being civilized
goods for daily local living). Until 2015 China was
should help in this endeavor.
the world’s fastest-growing economy, with annual
China, like the old Soviet Union, will not seek growth rates close to 10% in the last thirty years.
overseas physical presence, since China knows China is a global manufacturing hub (due to Western
her weaknesses. However, it certainly would like civilization’s outsourcing for cheap labor), and
to win local wars, perhaps under the guise of the therefore it is the prime manufacturing economy
newly significant cyber wars, which are cheaper to in the world and the chief exporter of goods in the
conduct than conventional wars. Moreover, one world. China is simultaneously the world’s fastest
can assume that China will not attack first, but if rising domestic consumer market and it is second
attacked, it will strike back. However, what China in the world as an importer of goods for its huge
considers as an assault is ill defined. It will surely population. Regarding service products, China is a
be defined in coming years. An attack does not net importer.
have to be a kinetic strike, but the actions of other
Market socialism with a Chinese character is
states in waters claimed by China could be seen
the new challenge to the current version of Western
by China as an attack on its national sovereignty.
capitalism, which lost its human face and became

39
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The Chinese and Japanese Civilizations

so efficient that it might deplete all strategic resources soon, perhaps in the second half of this century. It
is not “the end of history,” but rather a beginning of a new phase. This will be, as noted above, the second
time China has challenged the leadership of the globe exercised by Western powers. After more than 500
years, China again is challenging the West. How odd that the challenge comes not from Soviet “socialism”
(1917-1991) but from Chinese market socialism. It is an interesting contest shaping up in our times:
which model, the “Western” or the “Chinese,” will fit well when the wars for limited resources take place
on our planet?

Quality of Life
Today, the Chinese have a relatively good standard of living in the cities (where about 800 million people
live), with meaningfully enhanced facilities for housing and education. The healthy Chinese economic
growth is impressive; it has risen on average 8% per year in the 21st century. In some less populous regions,
the improvement of the standard of living is faster.
In addition, there has been a real enhancement in the status of women; the rights of senior citizens and
children get steadily more protection and care. Chinese society has become more open, accommodating to
technology challenges and ending up being self-sustained in these new times of the globalization and the
quest for the sustainability of the world civilization.
Clearly, the Chinese people want to modernize their way of living, but they do not necessarily wish to
Westernize. Although the latter policy is liked by the young generation today, power still resides with an
older, more traditional, “Communist Party” elite.

Japanese Society in the 21st Century

People
The Japanese people are homogeneous and comprise 98.5% of the whole population of Japan. Worldwide,
roughly 129 million people are of Japanese ancestry; of these, around 125 million are inhabitants of Japan.
The Japanese language has a three-component writing system applying Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.
Inland Japanese people use mostly Japanese for daily communication. The adult literacy rate in Japan
surpasses 99%.
Nonetheless, Japan accepts a steady flow of 15,000 new Japanese citizens by naturalization per year. 
Japan is a country of “one race, one civilization, one language and one culture.” Internal Affairs and
Communications Minister Taro Aso has called Japan a “one race” nation (The Japan Times. October 18,
2005).

Figure 2.8 The traditional Japanese costume and etiquette.

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Contemporary World Civilizations

Education training leading to a bachelor’s degree, and some offer

Japan’s national goal for its education program six-year programs leading to a professional degree.
is to nurture creative, unorthodox, hardworking, There are two types of public four-year colleges:
high-spirited and cultured members of the Japanese the 86 national universities (including The Open
society. Some facts about its implementation of University) and the 95 local public universities,
these goals are as follows (www.academic-writing. founded by prefectures and municipalities. The
org/blog): 597 remaining four-year colleges in 2010 were
private (Higher Education in Japan, www.wow.
1. Kindergarten is compulsory. At the
com/wiki/Universities_in_Japan).
age of 3, every child in Japan goes to
kindergarten, where the subjects include
basic Math, reading, and writing. Government
2. Japanese students spend six years in The  state government of Japan  is headed by
primary, three years in secondary, three a  hereditary monarchy  in which the authority of
years in high school, and at least four years the  Emperor  is constitutionally restricted and is
in college education. restricted mostly to regular, ceremonial duties. The
3. To enter a school, every student has to Government has three divisions: the Executive branch,
pass the exams. That is compulsory and it the Legislative branch, and the Judicial branch.
reveals the level of knowledge they possess
The Government operates according to
even at such early ages.
the Constitution of Japan, promulgated in 1947. It
4. Education in elementary and secondary
is a state with forty-seven administrative divisions,
schools is free. The students pay for
with the Emperor as its head of state. The Cabinet
education in high schools and universities.
is the source of power for the Executive branch
5. Every school has its unique uniform.
and it is formed by the Prime Minister; the latter is
6. To read and write in Japanese, youngsters
chosen by the National Diet and accession to office
have to learn nearly 2500 symbols.
is agreed upon by the Emperor.
7. Japanese children should learn to write
in three different styles: proper Japanese The National Diet is the parliament, the structure
hieroglyphic symbols, the Japanese version of the Legislative branch. It has two houses with
of Chinese hieroglyphic symbols, and the House of Councillors being the upper house,
Latin symbols. and the House of Representatives being the lower
8. The major subjects in Japanese schools house. During the national election, people vote to
are Math, Language, Social Science, select members of the National Diet. The Supreme
Craftsmanship, Music and Physical Court and other lower courts belong to the Judicial
Education. branch, and they are autonomous, independent of
9. Additionally, youngsters in Japan study the executive and the legislative branches.
the Healthy Way of Life, IT, Culture,
Housekeeping, Haiku, and Calligraphy. Military
10. There are no janitors in Japanese schools.
The  Japan Self-Defense Forces -- or  JSDF,
As a rule, the pupils themselves clean up in
occasionally referred to as JSF, JDF, or SDF -- are
small groups.
the unified  military forces  of  Japan. They were
11. Extracurricular activities are widely
organized in 1954 and are managed by the Ministry
encouraged. These include the following,
of Defense. In recent years they have been involved
at a minimum: sports, culture, arts, and
in international  peacekeeping  operations of  UN.
Information Technology – pupils have
Tensions with  North Korea  have triggered the
plenty of room for choice.
discussion over the standing of the JSDF about
University Education: In 2010 more than 2.8
Japanese society, and it is not clear at the present
million students were registered in Japan’s 778
time whether or not Japan will abandon its official
universities. At the top of the higher education
pacifism, its non-use of the military for aggressive,
structure, these institutions provide four-year
warlike purposes.

41
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The Chinese and Japanese Civilizations

Japan’s Self-Defense Forces have about 240,000

personnel—all theoretically civilians, in agreement
with the 1954 law establishing the SDF. Its annual
budget is about $50 billion, divided among land,
sea, and air forces. Japan’s navy is considered the
most challenging of these three branches and among
the most impressive in the world. The air force, in
fact less powerful than the Navy, is presently at
work with the United States to advance a Theatre
Missile Defense system (TMD). It is also thinking
of expanding its long-range precision missile
technologies (enabling it to reach North Korea),
should the Liberal Democratic Party, currently in
power, secure either legal agreement or modification Figure 2.9 The Japanese Navy is one of the most
of the Constitution. sophisticated navies in the world.

Economy
In spite of its small size, Japan is the third largest economy in the whole world, behind only the United
States and China. Japan has little land suitable for agriculture, but it delivers high yield nonetheless, and
local markets consume most of its products. Rice is the main agricultural crop and it is highly subsidized.
Those desiring to import rice must pay high tariffs. Regarding food, Japan imports meat and wheat from
the United States and China. Raw materials are Japan’s largest import for manufacturing.
Since World War II, Japan has become very successful in producing and exporting a variety of the
following goods:
• Consumer electronics (Televisions, Mp3 players, DVD players)
• Cars
• Semiconductors
• Optical equipment
• Optoelectronics
• Optical fibers
• Visual media
• Copy machines, and
• Robots

Figure 2.10 Toyota has became the largest maker of cars in the world, and Japanese electronics are conquering the
economies of the world.

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Contemporary World Civilizations

Quality of Life in the political process, is about 53%

What about the quality of life? Japan during national elections; this is well below
accomplishes excellence in some of the metrics the OECD average of 68%.
used to build the Better Life Index. Moreover, • In general, the Japanese are less satisfied
Japan ranks at the top in personal security. with their lives than the OECD average.
Overall, Japan has grown so dramatically since When asked to rate their general
World War II that it scores above average in satisfaction with life on a scale from 0 to
the rankings of the Organization for Economic 10, the Japanese gave it a 5.9 grade, lower
Cooperation and Development (35 countries) than the OECD average of 6.5.
for income and wealth, education and skills,
jobs and earnings, personal security, and social
connections. However, it falls below the average in
the available scope of housing, civic engagement, 3
subjective well-being, work-life balance and What is the goal of the
health status (www. oecdbetterlifeindex.org). Japanese school education in
Commentators on Japanese life point out that: the 21st century?
• Money cannot purchase happiness, but
it is a substantial resource for achieving
higher living standards. In Japan, and THE CIVILIZING CULTURE OF
using the American dollar as the measure, THE CHINESE AND JAPANESE
the average household net-adjusted CIVILIZATIONS
disposable income per capita is $27,323
a year, less than the OECD average of
$29,016 a year. There is a considerable Chinese Culture in the 21st
gap between the richest and the poorest Century
Japanese. The top 20% of the population Culture reflects a society’s way of life. The
earn more than six times as much as the term refers to human behaviors and the symbols
bottom 20%. that give significance to these behaviors; thus,
• Good education and skills are necessary it constantly changes with social development.
requisites for finding a job. Japan is a top- Generally speaking, every society has a different
performing country regarding the quality culture.
of its educational system.  Regarding Chinese culture is exceptional, in part because
health, life expectancy at birth in Japan is it is harmoniously mingled — a precious asset to
almost 83 years, three years higher than the world. As of 2015, a total of 48 important
the OECD average of 80 years, and one of Chinese places are listed for their cultural value to
the highest in the OECD. Life expectancy the world: 37 for Cultural Heritage, 8 for Natural
for women is 87 years, compared with 80 Heritage, and 3 for Cultural and Natural Heritage
for men. (World Heritage List, UNESCO, http://whc.
• The level of atmospheric 2.5 PM – tiny air unesco.org/en/list/). China is next only to Italy for
pollutant particles small enough to enter World Heritage locations.
and cause damage to the lungs – is 16
Traditional Chinese culture is, in the formal
micrograms per cubic meter, higher than
sense, a composite system of spiritual concepts
the OECD average of 14.05 micrograms
reflecting values, moral codes, and behavior
per cubic meter. Japan does better in the
standards. Steadily through centuries and millennia,
scope of water quality.
these formed the long-term social and economic
• Concerning the public sphere, there is a
development of China. In the final analysis, such a
strong sense of community and moderate
culture could influence the minds and behavior of
levels of civic participation in Japan. Voter
most of the Chinese people.
turnout, a measure of citizens’ involvement

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The Chinese and Japanese Civilizations

Through millennia, the Chinese culture was Furthermore, since the family is the most
closed to other ethnic groups. However, since primary educational unit of society, the idea of
the May 4th Movement of 1919 (which was attaching importance to family values has been
the  Chinese  government’s frail response to the commonly recognized and enforced in the 20th
Treaty of Versailles, allowing Japan to take control and 21st century. The way for the Chinese to get
of some Chinese territories), one can discern along with each other is to find a way to deal with
a turning point in Chinese history. Until that the most pressing questions faced by humanity, the
time, China had been relegated to the status of relationship between humans, nature and “Tian.”
a semi-colony and had been enslaved to a series “Tian” is the utmost power ruling over minor gods
of humiliating treaties, facing unprecedented and human beings. (The word tian may denote a
challenges from the West. divinity, impersonal nature, or both). This leads to
Under the great impact of Western culture, developing “kindness in human nature.”
however, some good was achieved: the Hence, the goal of contemporary Chinese
disadvantages and weaknesses of traditional culture is achieving the harmonious state and “the
Chinese culture had been exposed day by day, and unity of the Tian and Humanity” which reflects
the values of the old ways, based almost exclusively the harmony and balance, all within a modern
on Confucianism, lost their appeal in the process setting. The Chinese praise that form of humanity,
of exposure to Western-oriented industrialization especially the top-down government in the 21st
and urbanization. Some scholars even called this century. To this day, Chinese scholars have never
Westernization a “New Culture Movement,” stopped exploring the values of traditional Chinese
one which brought permanent damage to the culture and learning how to apply them to the
traditional culture due to the extreme nature of modern society.
the Western criticisms. Although Western culture
had almost destroyed the traditional Chinese value
system, the Western value system was never liked
Internet
by the Chinese people in those early years of the At the end of the 20th century, the Chinese
20th century. used the Internet mainly for research. Information
Technology was not popularized among the
Thus, during the period of the post- Mao social
ordinary Chinese. At the beginning of the 1990s,
transformation (the times of Deng Xiaoping’s
however, personal computing became a necessity
leadership, from 1978 to 1989 and beyond), there
for life and so it entered the ordinary routines of
appeared a new kind of person, practicing the
family life for the first time. Since then, the ways of
traditional and modern culture simultaneously.
communication have changed Chinese life greatly.
These individuals turned to China’s traditional
Today, dominant apps like Skype and Google are
culture, trying to mix the best elements from the
very present; the Chinese people share a new social
East and the West, to achieve a new operative and
communication medium based on the Internet.
functional synthesis. (Yeo-Chi, 1999: 82). The
This energizes the way people in China get along
Chinese knew that traditional humanism presented
with each other. Different from off times, the
by Confucianism advocated the establishment of
Internet now offers people the online platform that
a well-disciplined, stable, multi-level society with
contains a wide range of vehicles, various streams
high moral values. Confucianism was reflected in
of information and communication.
the moral codes and social concepts of the Chinese
people through centuries. For a long time, the Chinese people were
not only isolated from the foreign countries but,
Chinese moral codes required people to strive
due to their huge population, perhaps, their
for perfection based on the integration of the soul
communication was limited to the closest circles.
and actions, or of a person’s inner quality and
Furthermore, their movement and communication
outward appearance. What comtemporary families
attempts were controlled by the state apparatus.
have been implementing was based on modern
Now the Chinese people believe that they can
education and folk tradition, as adjusted and made
communicate with anybody in China without any
applicable to modern Chinese conditions.
problem. It is not true. About 120,000 computer

44
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Contemporary World Civilizations

scientists control the communications of the Chinese culture, saturated with all aspects of
Chinese people on the Internet; these officials traditional almost ancient social life, the challenge
decide how to apply their guidance and where to to Chinese culture and social values is enormous.
do so. It is believed that about 15% of the young Watching television is a new way to
Chinese generation is addicted to the Internet and communicate within families. During the spring
need clinical treatment as a result. festival, for example, almost every Chinese family
Also, with the advent of complicated sits together and watches the Gala Evening
merchandise, both real and virtual, the Internet celebrations of the New Year. Mass-produced and
generates a new form of economy and consumption distributed television shows and videos elicit more
in China. People can go for online shopping interactions with audiences.
and complete the payment online too. In this One especially significant part of pop culture
sense, the virtual world and the real world have worldwide is music. Different from the classic
been connected. Furthermore, the most popular European music and Chinese traditional music,
applications have become online games; these have pop music is a new style of music composition.
taken over the attention of young people, mostly For example, rock music, with its fast pace and
boys. undulating passion, makes the Chinese people,
Finally, along with the development of the especially the young, fall in love with it. Through
information society, a new democratic pattern this unprecedented style of music, people can
called cyber democracy or e-democracy has understand some of the thoughts and attitudes of
appeared in China. Although the Chinese top- a Western culture that was formerly perplexing to
down government (practicing a “socialist” market them. Now, many pop music designers in China
economy with a Chinese character) is reluctant to compose colorful songs and melodies even in
develop horizontally self-governing social units, English. 
surprisingly, some of them are being tested. What Finally, because of the television and computer-
does this mean for Chinese social relations in the induced pop culture, the style of Chinese clothing
future? shows a new developmental direction. The Western
At present, Weibo, a primary social networking style of clothing emphasizes convenience and
service in China, plays a leading role in Chinese individuality to a high degree. After the First and
e-democracy. Many government departments have the Second World War, the American clothing style
Weibo accounts, through which they can announce became a leader of world fashion. Influenced by
official news and communicate with the public at this clothing trend, the Chinese have shown a new
any time. A typical example is that the trial of Bo and special taste in clothing. The Chinese designers
Xilai’s case (about a corrupted top politician) was combined Western fashion and Chinese aesthetics
broadcasted synchronously by Weibo. to create a new way of Chinese clothing design. 

Popular Culture Shopping

In the 21st century, the rapid development of Another effect of the new media and pop
the Internet has led to the development of popular culture has been to bring Western ideas about
culture in China which follows western pop consumption into China. A century ago, a key
culture. This rising Western-oriented pop culture moment in the emergence of shopping as popular
has rich and extensive connotations. In a narrow culture was the development of the department
sense, pop culture relates to art, literature, pop store in the late 19th century, which now has
music or a new lifestyle for young people. And in evolved into large-scale supermarket providing
a wider, generalized sense, it implies much more, all kinds of products. (Storey, 2007:148). It has
as the new media emerges, so do the consumer become a familiar feature of city life. This kind of
conception and common values change. So, pop institution functions economically and at the same
culture perhaps means a culture that most people time socially. And together with advertising, a new
share and are aware of. Since many Chinese long force has been unleashed: the start of the present-
felt that foreign cultures were critical of the native day consumer society.

45
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The Chinese and Japanese Civilizations

Foreign culture influences the Chinese drive China’s number two foreign fast food option.  In
for consumption. Originally, the Chinese were addition to American style fast food, today China
much more frugal and conservative, while the has many of its own, specialized local fast food
Americans dared to consume and throw away. In restaurants, including a passel of eateries that try to
America, consumption loans are the basis for a copy fast food, particularly KFC.
universal phenomenon, and now, Chinese people
share a similar idea, especially in the purchase of
houses, cars or something costly like iPhones. Most
Social Dances
people have agreed with the saying “high incomes, Western-style ballroom dancing in China grew
high consumption level and high quality of life,” into popularity in the late 20th century. Due to
even though sometimes they don’t enjoy such a strict Chinese culture, it would not have been
high incomes. Financing of consumption among acceptable for men and women from reputable
ordinary people is another feather in this aspect. families to dance together.  It was only popular
In the past, financing was considered as a luxury in the 1940s in decadent Shanghai nightclubs.
available only to the rich. But nowadays, many Surprisingly, communist leaders such as  Mao
ordinary people who have a certain amount of Zedong (as First Secretary of the Party) and Zhou
savings can get financing for shopping in China. Enlai  (as the Prime Minister) were enthusiastic
Russian-style ballroom dancers. However,
ballroom dancing disappeared after the  Cultural
Food Revolution  in the 1960s and was replaced by
Western-style  fast food in China  is a fresh massive group dances such as the yangge dance.
wonder, again deeply reshaping Chinese culture Ballroom dances, however, reappeared after the
and daily life. As of October 1987, Kentucky Fried liberalization of China later in the 20th century.
Chicken became the most widespread fast food Today, ballroom dancing is performed by many
chain in China, when the first such restaurant was people in public parks in the morning as an exercise.
opened in  Beijing. Why? Because chicken meat The young generation like to dance Western and
is very popular in China. Very soon, McDonald’s Chinese (adapted) rock and roll when they do not
followed, trailing KFC in China, and it remains communicate with smartphones.

Figure 2.11 Chinese clothes are colorful and beautiful

46
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Contemporary World Civilizations

Japanese Culture in the 21st Anime (Animated) Movies

Century The initial and very profitable Japanese
Japanese culture is very rich in symbols and animation dates back a century, to 1917, and
rituals which reflect its island character and warrior- Japanese anime production has since sustained
oriented society. It reflects the unity of simplicity, steady growth. The distinctive anime art style
quietness, and harmony which is present in the appeared in the 1960s with the contributions of
Japanese cultural environment, architecture, art, Osamu Tezuka. Due to his creative artistry, it spread
music, and literature. internationally in the late 20th century, creating a
After World War II, and as a result of the large domestic and international audience.
powerful impact of the United States which Anime is disseminated theatrically, by way of
governed this country following the end of the war television streaming, and over the Internet. It is
in 1945, what was previously an ethnically closed grouped into many categories aiming at varied,
Japanese culture opened widely to Western culture. wide-ranging and niche audiences. The making
Eventually, it led to the rise of popular culture with of anime concentrates less on the animation of
a strong Western flavor.   This culture embraced movement and more on the realism of settings.
a wide range --   food,    animated movies,  manga It applies the camera effects, including panning,
(comic books), music, and dance. In consequence, zooming, and angle shots. Being drawn by hand,
and because of a brilliant form of government – anime is detached from reality by a crucial gap of
industry cooperation, Japan developed its big fiction that provides an ideal path for escapism.
electronic industry (television and recording It allows the audiences to plunge themselves
systems) and entertainment programs, including into reflective ease.
music and films. Comic books (manga) are very The Japanese anime industry contains about
popular in this country and this has led to the 500 production studios, with such major names
development of a massive comic book industry. as Studio Ghibli, Gainax, and Toei Animation.
The Japanese teenagers found retreats in electronic Despite covering only a fraction of Japan’s local film
games, bowling alleys, and karaoke salons. market, anime makes up a large portion of Japanese
DVD sales. It has also gotten international success
Food after the increase of English-dubbed programming.
Japan adopted many American chains after
World War II, in part because many American Manga (Comic Books)
servicemembers stayed, and some still stay, in this Since the beginning of the 21st century, manga
country. For the mostly fish-eating Japanese, the has gained global renown to such an extent that
American fast-food chains introduced more beef its name is now surfacing in various discourses
as the main meat component of a hamburger and far beyond Japanese shores. Since the late 1990s,
French fries diet. Kentucky Fried Chicken in Japan Japanese comics have been proliferating to such an
serves the traditional items, but in its Japanese extent that their name, manga, is now circulating
menus it has localized Yuzu Fried Chicken, with as a neologism in many languages. Manga has
aromatic yuzu shichimi (which is a type of raw fish). also become an easy-to-grasp label, deployable for
Also, McDonald’s provides a very Japanese a wide range of purposes. Japanese government
addition to the American cheeseburger with its institutions, for example, use manga as an umbrella
Cheese Katsu Burger. The snack is a hamburger term when addressing soft power and the global
bun with a layer of cabbage and a deep-fried pork dissemination of Japanese media products.
cutlet full of cheese and abundantly moistened Throughout the 20th century, the word
with curry sauce. Even Starbucks, which very rarely manga denoted cartoons, caricatures, comic
changes its drink menu (coffee) offerings beyond strips (Koma manga) as well as graphic narratives
the U.S., has a Frappuccino featuring squares of serialized in weekly or monthly manga magazines.
coffee jelly—a local favorite. Since the 1960s, the word sometimes serves as a
collective term for all kinds of comics, regardless

47
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The Chinese and Japanese Civilizations

of nationality. The word was further used for Computer Games

animated films (manga eiga, TV manga) before the The early 21st century was a period of a
name anime gained currency in the 1970s. successful second wave of computer-game series.
Due to the global spread of Japanese comics The PlayStation 2 became an internationally
since around 2000, the Romanized version popular console for the Japanese video game
of the word has found entrance even into market. The PlayStation 2 is today the No.1-best-
Japanese calligraphy. Today, manga signifies selling video game platform in the world. It was sold
serialized entertaining fiction in comics form in 155 million units after its release in 2000. More
that integrates image and text with the help than 3,870 game titles have been released for that
of a vast variety of balloons, pictograms and platform. This console successfully contested with
modifying lines, fonts, and graphically rendered the Sega Dreamcast, Microsoft Xbox, and Nintendo
sound effects. Manga appears in a vast variety GameCube. Other Japanese game consoles included
of forms, stretching from literary digests to Dragon Quest VII and the GameCube.
science textbooks, and, regarding style, from In the early years of the 21st century, many
entirely fictionalized accounts to talking-heads, Japanese developers adjusted their game projects to
occasionally including hybrids of purely textual address the western taste. Due to the big diversity
passages and a few paneled comics pages in- of computer games and consols, the Japanese
between. Manga/comics studies easily passed to game industry gradually became standardized.
educational, or informational comics and it is The new game consoles and their online and
gaining ground in Europe and North America, multimedia features placed special emphasis on the
as well playing a crucial role in the South social aspect of video gaming. Japan may not be
Korean manhwa and Chinese-language manhua controlling the video game market now as like they
entertainment industries. were in prior decades. This may be due to Western
In recognition of the global manga phenomenon, game producers with greater markets in the United
the Japanese government, represented by then- States and Europe. However, Japanese games are
foreign minister Asō Tarō, established its more fun and playable due to the specificity of
International Manga Award in 2007. From the Japanese culture.
pre-war era onwards, Mickey Mouse had been a This may well be because the Japanese
popular character; it appeared as early as 1934 in understand the basics of what makes games
one of the earliest manuals for drawing manga and enjoyable and do not try to put the player down
later in the weekly Shōnen Magazine (1960). with useless functionality and options.   The wish
Disney’s influence on manga is legendary. to play with others and compete against them is
Tarzan was a character of overwhelming presence a determined part of Western gaming culture. By
in the post-war years, and Superman was no contrast, in Japan very few of the most popular
stranger to Japanese boys either. In 1970, Ikegami video games place a foremost accent on competitive
Ryōichi (b. 1944) even transferred Spiderman to play. Nintendo’s  Pokémon  is a rare exclusion, but
Japan in a series, which was translated into English that game too has a vigorous single-player element.
and published worldwide. In recent years of the Competition in video games is a crucial factor in
21st century, an increasing number of journalists, the success of most western games. On the subway
critics, and researchers from different academic in Tokyo, one can notice women, men, the young,
fields have shown interest in manga. This interest and the old playing video games. The reason for this
is primarily related to larger social issues, stretching is that the games are planned to be fun for a wider
from nuclear power to attempts at a constitutional audience, and they keep the functionality simple.
amendment, from gender relations to fictionalized Japanese video game creators have learned the art of
sexuality. To evaluate manga texts in the context of simplicity with great depth and applied this Japanese
their social, affective or sensual impact, it is vital cultural trait to business. Their culture likes the
to acknowledge variables such as gender, age, and integration of simplicity, quietness, and harmonies,
taste, familiarity with media and genre, affiliation formerly applied to their famous gardens or tea
with “fandom” and so on (Berndt, 2016). parties, now to a huge international business success.

48
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Contemporary World Civilizations

After the 1990 economic crisis, Japan came to a period of sluggishness and did not rebound quickly. One
dangerous example of the problem is the more than one million young men who have given up on school
or employment and prefer to spend time in their cramped apartments where they play computer games and
escape from reality to virtuality. Zielenziger (2007) writes that many young people in Japan have converted to
hermits — withdrawing into a world that is limited to their rooms and playing computer games. And that is
problematic for families. He profiles a caste of Japanese youth called hikikomori, mostly young men who lock
themselves away in their bedrooms, fearful of society’s expectations. They have become the lost generation.

Figure 2.12 Japanese dress on each occasion.

What is the difference

between Chinese and
Japanese dresses?

THE CIVILIZING INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE CHINESE AND

JAPANESE CIVILIZATIONS

Chinese Infrastructure
Infrastructure is one of three main components of civilization (besides society and culture). In the last
600 years when China was isolated and stagnant, its infrastructure was undeveloped. Since becoming the
World’s Factory, China has witnessed a huge
rise in its income. Concomitantly, China
has spectacularly developed its infrastructure
(Table 1.2).
In the 35 years from 1982 to 2017, this
country built fully 92,000 km of highways;
these are 1.3 times longer than those in the
U.S., which were built beginning in the
1950s. The density of highways in Germany
and Japan is higher, but these countries are
land dwarfs. The new highways and railroads
should limit traffic jams. For example, the
worst traffic jam in history was a 100-km
queue on the Beijing-Tibet highway in August Figure 2.13 Transportation (Shanghai) in China at the dawn of
the 21st century; now, at world-class level.

49
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The Chinese and Japanese Civilizations

2010, where drivers were held up for over 20 days. The cause of the chaos was hundreds of heavy trucks
transporting coal from Inner Mongolia to power stations in the capital Beijing.

Table 2.2 The factors of infrastructural ability characteristic of selected economically-leading countries in the world
in the 21st century

Factors China USA Japan Germany Russia

Land area (square miles) 3,705,405 3,717,811 145,882 137,846 6,592,768
96,200 76,334 7,803 12,800 806
Length of highways (km)
(2012) (2012) (2011) (2010) (2009)
98,000 224,792 23,474 41,981 87,157
Length of railroads (km)
(2012) (2011) (2007) (2011) (2011)
Land area (km2) per km railroad 105 43 16 9 133
Number of potential passengers per
14,722 1,379 5,451 2,210 1,117
km railroad (millions)
Number of cars and trucks sold in
17.4 14.5 5.2 3.3 2.9
2012 (millions)
Percentage of population living in
47% 82% 67% 74% 73%
cities (2011)
Improved-water access, % of
89 99 100 100 96
population
Source: A. Targowski, “Where is China Heading?” Targowski and Hun, 2014: 201.

Moving on Up
This means that societal progress is exemplified by living in cities rather than in villages in the rural
areas. China is quickly developing cities to move more people out of the countryside and to be on par
with developed countries. With 47% of residents in the towns, China can fill the gap between itself and
Western Civilization very quickly. From 1980 to 2014 the population of urban China grew by more than
500 million people, from 100 to 611 million in 2013. This fast growth of cities means that China contains
two Americas or 87% of Europe living in its cities. The architecture of these cities is up to date even by
modern and Western standards.

From Colonized to Colonizer

The United States led most significant technological advances in the 19th and 20th centuries, inventing,
enhancing or perfecting many small steps and giant leaps. Will China do the same in the current century?
Also, China is thinking about going into space and colonizing some planets first, having enough candidates
to travel there. Recently, China landed the unmanned Yutu rover on the Moon with the help of the
Chinese-built fastest computer in the world – the 2017 Milk 2.

Japanese Infrastructure
The Japanese infrastructure is adapted to its terrain. Japan is a mountainous land on a series of islands.
It hosts an impressive network of highways and bullet-trains, built first in the world. These trains set the
pace, providing an example for the development of similar trains in France and China.

50
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Contemporary World Civilizations

Nearly two-thirds of all Japanese live here,

occupying but three percent of the country’s
landmass. Residential density in the region exceeds
6,600 persons per square kilometer. In Tokyo, it
even exceeds 11,000 persons per km2. The density
of individuals living in the Japanese Megapolis
exceeds twenty times the average density of the
habitable land portion of Japan. As a result, the
trend is to move to suburban areas with housing
and commercial services as well as with industries
and businesses. This process needs more funding
for the roads, cars, and transportation systems,
which to some extent is covered by the employers.
Figure 2.14 Aside from the invasive highway, business
at the Gate Tower Building in Osaka is almost standard. Therefore, telecommuting is getting popular,
The highway does not interact with the building, and particularly in high-tech industry.
a structure surrounding the highway keeps noise and
vibration out.
Life
Source: www.skyscrapercity.com
Life in the country is very different from life in
urban Japan. It can be characterized as follows
In 2012,  Japan had twelve cities with (www.factsanddetails.com):
populations of more than one million people.
Almost 100 million Japanese, or 78 percent of the • Families of shop owners often live above
country’s total population of 127.4 million, live in their shops. Calculations are from time
urban areas. All the people of Japan’s largest 103 to time still completed on an abacus. The
cities sum to 63.9 million, just over half of all the wife often runs upstairs when business is
country’s residents. sluggish to take care of household tasks.
Post offices assist as banks and insurance
Tokyo, with nearly nine million inhabitants, is firms. Volunteer mail carriers serve as
by far the largest Japanese city. The Greater Tokyo firefighters, report on dents and road traffic
region is estimated to have a population exceeding accidents, and help out older adults by
some 13 million individuals. In fact, the number of picking up their bank books and bringing
residents in the Japanese capital is greater than the them back cash. Business in some places
united population of the next three largest cities of is conducted on a barter system known as
the country: Yokohama, Osaka, and Nagoya (www. dan-dan (“thanks again”).
citymayors.com). • The less advanced side of Japan is often
The axis of the highest concentration of cities referred as the “backside of Japan” as
in Japan ranges from Kanto to Kinki and alongside opposed to more developed “front side”
the Inland Sea to Northwest Kyushu. This belt that looks at the Pacific.
forms the Japanese Megapolis, with six significant • Most young people find small-town life
metropolitan areas: Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, annoying and are anxious to get out and
Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe. These cities remind travel to urban areas when they can find a
observers of the Boston to Washington corridor better, more successful career.
along the northeastern seacoast of the United • The population of some municipalities has
States. Like American’s dense population in this dropped by 25 percent or more, and the
region, the Japanese Megapolis is characterized remaining residents would not be there
by the growing and dominating service economy. without government subsidies.
This has brought to Japan the post-industrial, • Communities are losing their bus
informational and transactional era (relations amenities and public transportation since
among people replaced by transactions of there is a lack of travelers. Schools have
“something” for “something”). shut down because there is an absence of

51
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The Chinese and Japanese Civilizations

children. Stores have closed, healthcare facilities are far away, and farmers have found it is too
expensive to transport their products and have thus stopped raising crops. People in their 90s are
taken care of by their offspring in their 70s.
• The countryside is full of single men since few women want to marry farmers or bear the work of
rural life. “Wives here are wanted primarily for their labor,” one rural Japanese woman told the Los
Angeles Times. “That is why the Japanese women do not want to do it.” One said that in his town,
only five out of 30 girls in his school class stayed to marry men in his hometown.

What was the role of the Japanese

fast trains in the development of
transportation in the world?

MAJOR TRENDS OF THE FAR EAST CIVILIZATIONS AND TIMELINE

Main Trends
1. The rapid development of science, technology, and education is impressive in the 21st century, as
the Far East civilization is catching up with the Western civilization.
2. The Far East civilization is developing the mass production of consumer and industrial goods for the
world market successfully.
3. Chinese civilization is modernizing while refusing to Westernize, but there is one large exception:
the younger generation.
4. The Japanese civilization is now almost fully modernized. It has Westernized but suffers from the
growing number of older adults who need support.
5. The Chinese civilization supports the development of the Globalization Wave, since it wants to
be the World’s Factory, the country which is ready to make goods for all the world.
6. The Japanese civilization is saturated with people and goods, and therefore is in the search for its right
goal. It looks for a strategy on how to develop and sustain its civilization in the future.

Timeline

Chinese Civilization
• 5000 BCE – the beginning of the recorded history of Chinese civilization.
• 1700 BCE – the first towns and cities in China
• 300+ BCE – Buddhism enters China
• 220 CE – Mongol invasions of China commence
• 1358 CE – the Great Wall rises to protect China against invasions
• 1433 – the Chinese government opts to destroy the Chinese fleet and China deepens its isolation
from the rest of the world
• 1644 – 1911 – China ruled by Mongols and British
• 1911-1949 – Civil War and Republic of China
• 1949 - the People’s Republic of China ruled by Mao Zedong
• 1966-1976 – Cultural Revolution
• 1978 – Deng Xiaoping, the new leader of PRC, promotes “socialism” with the market
• 2015 – China – the second largest economy of the world, regarding GDP, after the U.S.

52
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Contemporary World Civilizations

Japanese Civilization
• 900 BCE – 300 CE -- Ancient Japan
• 250 BCE – 300 CE -- Culture of the Yayoi arrives from Asia
• 600 CE – Centralized state formed
• 1100 – 1800 CE – Conflicts between samurais and shoguns (rulers)
• 1852-1854 - Perry visits Japan and establishes the first trade with the West
• 1867 – the Meiji Restoration (Westernization)
• 1889 – Japan adopts Western-style constitution
• 1894-1995 – War against imperial China
• 1904-1905 – Victorious War against Russia
• 1920 – Annexation of Korea by Japan
• 1931 – Invasion of China by Japan
• 1941 – World War II on the side of Germany and Italy
• 1941 – December 7, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
• 1941 – December 8, the United States declares war on Japan
• 1945 – August 6 and 9, atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan surren-
dered on August 14.
• 1945-52 – The U.S. occupies Japan, introduces democratic political system and restores Japan’s
independence.
• 1980s– Pax Niponnica (growth and prosperity) in the world economy
• 2015 – the third largest economy of the world

Which two events mentioned

in the Timeline indicated
a withdrawal from foreign
affairs and a turn inward by
China?

Further Reading

Cavendish, M. (2005). History of world war II. vol. 3. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish
Corporation.
Fukuyama, F. (1992). The End of History and the Last Man. New York: Penguin Group.
Huntington, S. P. (1996). The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York:
Simon & Schuster.
Targowski, A. (2014). Global Civilization in the 21st Century. New York: NOVA Science Publishers.
Targowski, A. (2015). Western Civilization in the 21st Century. New York: NOVA Science Publishers.
Westad, O. A. (2012). Restless Empire: China and the World Since 1750. London: Bodley Head

53
2
The Chinese and Japanese Civilizations

Recount the origin of the Chinese and

LO 1 Japanese civilizations within the broad context
of historical events.

The Chinese civilization originated about 5000 or more years

ago and extended its influence in East Asia, including Korea,
Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and other countries. It is
the oldest civilization among the contemporary civilizations of
the world.
Summary

Demonstrate how Buddhism impacted the

LO 2 Chinese and Japanese civilizations and how Shinto
influenced the Japanese civilization.

Buddhism came from India to China in about the third century

BCE. Buddhism highlighted the exercise of meditation as the
shortest way of gaining awareness and attaining enlightenment
in this life. In Japan, a cult of nature under the form of Shinto
is practiced together with Buddhism.

Interpret the dynamics of the Chinese versus

LO 3 Japanese societies in the pursuit of the
balanced life.

Both Chinese and Japanese societies are based on the family life
and observe religious values and efforts to pursue the wise life.
Chinese society influenced the Japanese society strongly. When
Japanese Emperor Hirohito was speaking to the nation over the
radio about the lost war, his speech had to be translated into
colloquial Japanese, because the Emperor knew only the formal
Chinese-Japanese language.

Apply knowledge of Chinese and Japanese

culture (ideology, music, art, theater and so
LO 4 forth), to comprehend their impact on other
civilizations.

Both Chinese and Japanese cultures are strongly devoted to

traditional cultural traditions. This is particularly so for the
Chinese society, although younger people are challenging
the status quo. The Japanese society has strong elements of
Westernization in its culture in some areas and the aim is to be
at an equal level with the West.

54
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Contemporary World Civilizations

Summarize how the infrastructure of the

LO 5 Chinese and Japanese civilizations contribute

to the development of their own and world
civilizations.

Both Chinese and Japanese civilizations are intensively

modernizing their highways and railroad systems, even exceeding
the scope and intensity of Western civilizations in infrastructure.
Japan was the world leader in developing the bullet trains which

Summary
connect all parts of this country, with travel taking only a few
hours.

LO 6 Recognize the major events of the Chinese

and Japanese civilizations.

The Chinese civilization was born in about 3000 BCE. In 1433

C.E., China destroyed its fleet, and thus isolated itself from the
rest of the world behind the Great Wall (which had been in
development since 1358). However, in the years from 1644 to
1911, China was ruled by outsiders. But following a civil war
in the mid-Twentieth Century, China became a communist co-
untry in 1949. As of 1978, it began to transform itself once
again, moving from rigid communism into market “socialism”
with a Chinese character. Today China is the second strongest
economic power in the world.
Japan is a younger civilization. In 1867 with the Meiji Restora-
tion, it began to Westernize its civilization and militarize. In the
period from 1937 to 1945, Japan invaded China and in 1941,
it attacked the U.S. at Pearl Harbor, joining Nazi Germany in
the World War II. On August 14, 1945, two cities, Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, were hit by the American atomic bomb, basically
ending the world war. Since 1945, under the American umbrel-
la, Japan has democratized its political system and risen in eco-
nomic power. Contemporary Japan ranks as the third strongest
economic power in the world.

55
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The Chinese and Japanese Civilizations

1 Which of the following civilizations does not 6 The food of which of the following
belong to the Chinese and Japanese civilizations? civilizations is the most popular in the world?
a. Korean a. Korean
b. Japanese b. Vietnamese
c. Vietnamese c. Chinese
Test Yourself

d. Pakistan d. Singaporean
e. Cambodian e. Japanese
2
Which of the following civilizations was the 7 Which of the following civilizations was the
first civilization in Asia?
first in implementing the bullet-trains?
a. Korean
a. Korean
b. Vietnamese
b. Vietnamese
c. Chinese
c. Chinese
d. Singaporean
d. Singaporean
e. Japanese
e. Japanese
3
Which civilization wanted to expand the co- 8 Which of the following civilizations had the
prosperity sphere in the 1930s?
fastest computer in the world in 2017?
a. Korean
a. Korean
b. Vietnamese
b. Vietnamese
c. Chinese
c. Chinese
d. Singaporean
d. Singaporean
e. Japanese
e. Japanese
4 Which civilization develops market socialism? 9 Which of the following civilizations was the
a. South Korean third largest economy in the world in 2017?
b. Western
a. Korean
c. Chinese
b. Vietnamese
d. Singaporean
c. Chinese
e. Japanese
d. Singaporean
5
Which of the following civilizations has the
e. Japanese
best achieving school pupils?
a. Korean 10 Which of the following civilizations has
b. Vietnamese become “the World’s Factory”?
c. Chinese a. Korean
d. Singaporean b. Vietnamese
e. Japanese c. Chinese
d. Singaporean
e. Japanese

56
 2
Contemporary World Civilizations

1. d If your answer is incorrect, review 6. c If your answer is incorrect, review “The

“Introduction” Section on Chinese Food”

2. c If your answer is incorrect, review “Chinese 7. e If your answer is incorrect, review “The
Civilization” Section on Japanese Infrastructure”

Answer Key for “Test Yourself”

If your answer is incorrect, review the
3. e 8. c If your answer is incorrect, review “The
“Origin of the Chinese and Japanese
Section on Chinese Infrastructure”
Civilizations”

If your answer is incorrect, review “The

4. c If your answer is incorrect, review “The 9. e
Section on Japanese Society in The Twenty
Section on Chinese Economy”
First Century”

5. c If your answer is incorrect, review “The 10. c If your answer is incorrect, review “The
Section on Chinese Education” Section on Chinese Civilization”

57
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The Chinese and Japanese Civilizations

Did Japanese civilization impact Chinese civilization?

No. Vice-versa: The Chinese civilization is much older and had a very strong
impact upon the formation of the Japanese civilization. For example, the Chi-
nese writing structure was passed to spoken Japanese and it provided a main
path for intellectual creativity and the development of a more centralized po-
your turn 1 litical system. Diffused from China through Korea, Buddhist religious beliefs
and art arrangements augmented the Japanese culture both for the elite and
for the popular culture. Of course, the Japanese invasion of China in the 20th
century did affect the Chinese culture tremendously, but it may be too soon
to see civilizational impacts.

What is the main idea of Buddhism?

Buddhism came from India to China in about the third century BCE. Budd-
hism highlighted the exercise of meditation as the shortest way of gaining
your turn 2 awareness and feeling Enlightenment in this actual life. In Japan, a cult of
nature under the form of Shinto is practiced together with Buddhism.

What is the main goal of the Japanese educational system

in the 21st century?

Japan’s national educational goal is to nurture creative, unorthodox, hardwor-

king, high-spirited and cultured members of the Japanese society. After the
Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japan began to Westernize rapidly but it was able
your turn 3 to retain at least some of its traditional, characteristically Japanese qualities.
Today, Japan is the only developed country from a non-Western civilizational
range. The Japanese are proud of this developmental achievement.

What is the difference between Chinese and Japanese

dresses?

The kimono of Japan has no curves on it. All the lines are straight; a woman
who puts it on will discover that it does not display her figure at all. Japanese
women typically want to project a calm, serious, and peaceful demeanor. On
the other hand, the purpose of the Chinese hanfu is to show the female figure
your turn 4 positively, with curves designed to make the wearer look prettier and thinner.
Because Japan is an island country, the weather there tends to be warm and
humid; a kimono should make the wearer feel cool and comfortable. Howe-
ver, the hanfu covers the body and prevents others from seeing the wearer’s
skin.

58
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Contemporary World Civilizations

What was the role of the Japanese fast trains in the

development of world transportation?

Japan has been the world leader in developing the bullet trains through its
island chain. Later, France developed its Train Grande Vitesse (TGV) – Rail-
roads of Great Speed network. Eventually, Germany and others followed the
your turn 5 French model in Europe. In the last two decades, China has developed a very
large network of the bullet trains. Usually, these trains can compete with airli-
ne-based transportation, which involves time-consuming land transportation
to and from airports and waits at the airports at intermediate points.

Which two events mentioned in the Timeline indicated a

withdrawal from foreign affairs and a turn inward by China?

First, although the Great Wall of China had been originally built in 220-206
BCE, it was rebuilt between 1368-1644 CE to protect the country from in-
vasions along the northern border. Second, the Chinese fleet, on adventures
your turn 6 overseas, was turned around and brought back to China in 1433 CE. And
the fleet never sailed again. Together, these acts removed China from much of
world affairs for a long time.

59
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The Chinese and Japanese Civilizations

References
Bergsten, F. (2006). China: The Balance Sheet. New Reischauer, E. (1974). “The Sinic World in
York: Perseus Books-Public Affairs. Perspective.” Foreign Affairs 52(2):342.
Berndt, J. (2016). “Manga, Which Manga? Publication Shan, P. F. (2014). “Old Faith for the New
Formats, Genres, Users.” In Targowski, A., Juri, A. Millennium.” In Targowski and Hun, editors, The
and Hisanori K. eds. (2016). Japanese Civilization Chinese Civilization in the 21st Century. New York:
in the 21st Century. New York: NOVA Science NOVA Science Publishers.
Publishers.
Storry, R. (1973). The Double Patriots: A Study of
Fang. F. (2007). China Fever. Berkley, CA: Stone Japanese Nationalism. Westport, CT: Greenwood
Bridge Press. Press.
Fogel, J. (1997). The Sinic World. New York: ME. Targowski, A., Juri, A. and Hisanori K. (2016).
Sharpe. Japanese Civilization in the 21st Century. New
York: NOVA Science Publishers.
KingYeo-Chi . (1999). From Tradition to Contemporary.
Peking: China Renmin University Press. Zielenziger, M. (2007).  Shutting Out the Sun: How
Japan Created Its Own Lost Generation. New York:
LaFleur, R. A. (2010). China: Asia in Focus. Santa
Random House.
Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Lockie, A. 2016). “How the World’s Largest Military
Stacks up to the US Armed Forces,” available at
http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-military.

Internet Sources
Academic-writing.org (2017). www. academic-writing.org/blog/30-facts-on-education-in-japan-maybe-we-
should-even-adopt-anything.
Arnell, Roger. “China 1 – Global Workforce.” https://sites.google.com/site/rogerarnellchina1/introduction/
global-workforce
Citymayors.com (2017). www.citymayors.com/gratis/japanese_cities.html
Factsanddetails.com (2017). “Urban and Rural Life in Japan,” www.factsanddetails.com/japan/cat19/
sub122/item646.html
Kristof, Nicholas (2011). “China’s Winning Schools?”, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/opinion/16kristof.
html
Oecdbetterlifeindex.org (2017). “How is life? OECD Better Lifie Initiative,” www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/
countries/japan.
Revolvy.com. (2017). “Chinese government.” www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Chinese%20
government&item_type=topi.

60
 Hindu and Buddhist
Chapter 3 Civilizations
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

1 2
Learning Outcomes

Summarize the effect of Hinduism on the social

and economic structure of Indian society. Analyze the role of Hinduism in Indian culture.

4
Discuss the influence of Buddhist contributions

3 Demonstrate the heritage as well as the future

of Hinduism.
to Southeast Asian and East Asian societies
and cultures as well as the world society and
culture.

5 Evaluate the role of Buddhism in regional and

global civilization in the present and future.

Chapter Outline Key Terms

Hinduism as a Civilizing Force in Society • Hinduism • Gupta period
Hinduism and Culture • Caste • Mahayana
The Heritage, Infrastructure, Timeline, and • Ashoka • Dalits
Future of Hinduism • Zen Buddhism • Arya Samaj
• Dravidians • Sutras
Buddhism • Vedas • Puranas
Present and Future Place of Buddhism in the • Sanskrit
World

62
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Contemporary World Civilizations

INTRODUCTION and Mongolia. Japan is nominally Buddhist but

This chapter deals with the Hindu and Buddhist simultaneously professes Shintoism and emperor
civilizations. Its purpose is to introduce the student worship.
to these civilizations. The chapter will deal first Both religions spread throughout the region,
with the Hindu Civilization and then with the but Buddhism is more messianic (recruits through
Buddhist Civilization. missionaries) while Hinduism is a religion in which
There are four primary reasons for grouping one must undergo a series of steps for conversion.
these two civilizations together. vFirst, they are Neither spread through military means. Both
derived from the same area—the Indian sub- religions stress meditation. Hinduism tends to
continent; second, their first dispersion was be more polytheistic (belief in many gods), but it
through East Asia; third, they share many of the maintains belief in one universal force, absolute
same concepts; and fourth, as two of the major monism, which however appears in three major
religions, they continue to influence other world forms — Brahma, the creator deity; Vishnu, the
civilizations. Preserver; and Shiva, the Destroyer (meant to be
ridding the old for the new). These also exist in
Hinduism and Buddhism are the longest existing other forms called avatars (different aspects of the
systems among significant faiths. Hinduism is deities). Vishnu and Shiva have more avatars as
believed to have formed around 1500 BCE, while Brahma, as the Creator, has completed his role.
Buddhism appeared soon after 500 BCE. They are
the third and fourth largest of the major religions Buddhism was initially quite simple, with its
in the world with Hinduism estimated to have 1.2 precepts embodied in the Four Noble Truths. It
billion followers and Buddhism over half a billion. assisted the believer to a self-realization beyond the
material world. But when it arrived in East Asia,
The durability of the two civilizations is partly it became more polytheistic, as it incorporated
due to their permeability. They are both syncretic deities from other faith systems such as Shinto, for
in structure. Hinduism grew out of a combination example, in Japan.
of Indus River Valley beliefs, defined by many
as Dravidian, and the beliefs held by Indo- Hinduism has a caste system attached;
Aryans, who arrived there just before 1500 BCE; Buddhism does not. However, both religions
Buddhism combined traditional beliefs in their disdain the material world in favor of the attainment
host countries with early Buddhism. Hinduism of complete spirituality. Both have the primary
incorporated external beliefs such as Buddhism, goal of release from the cycle of existence (Moksha
which it reabsorbed during the first millennium in in Hinduism and Nirvana in Buddhism). The
the Common Era. As will be shown, concepts such highest level for of the latter is to achieve oneness
as Dharma (duty) and Karma (fate) are common to with the universal spirit and thus be released from
both faiths. Both of their extra-Indian expansions the earthly desires of existence.
were in East Asia.
There are some differences.
About 90% of Hindus live in India with
significantly smaller numbers in Nepal, Sri Lanka,
and Bali -- plus converts overseas. The Roma
people, although originating in north central
India, cannot technically be considered part of the
Hindu diaspora.
In contrast, Buddhism is spread throughout
East Asia. It affected every country including China
and Indonesia, the two largest in population.
Currently, Buddhism is the most extensive religious Figure 3.1 Gold Figure of Brahma, the Creator God in
element in Sri Lanka (Ceylon); Myanmar (Burma); Hinduism
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Tibet, South Korea,

63
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Hindu and Buddhist Civilizations

HINDUISM AS A CIVILIZING There is a creator god. Many Hindus recognize

FORCE IN SOCIETY that there is a universal divinity, even though
Hindus worship many gods in various forms.
Hinduism is the oldest major religion. It has
Followers of yoga chant “om” -- I am -- as a symbol
demonstrated the ability to absorb various ideas
of one divinity. In sum, Hinduism is polytheistic
throughout its long history. What, then, exactly
with overtones of monotheism. It thus differs from
constitutes Hinduism or what is it? “Unlike other
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, all of which are
religions in the world, the Hindu religion does
basically monotheist.
not claim any one prophet, does not worship any
one god, does not believe in any one philosophical What, then, holds Hinduism together?
concept, does not follow any one act of religious Essentially, it can be viewed as a hybrid. From
rites or performances; in fact, it does not satisfy the the Dravidians came goddesses of fertility and
traditional features of a religion or creed. It is a way sacrifice. Some scholars propose that Hindu self-
of life and nothing more” (The Supreme Court, identification is a response to India’s multitude of
1995). Therefore, as a religion it appears amorphous languages, races, and ethnicities.
or unclear and often contradictory. There is no actual It is believed that the Indus River Civilization,
given date of origin or even a range of years. This is usually identified with the Dravidians now
because there is no single prophet such as Jesus Christ resident in southern India, was in decline after
in Christianity or Prophet Mohammed in Islam. 1800 BCE and that the new migrants gradually
took over. After that, they, the Aryans from
Central Eurasia, interspersed their beliefs with
Hinduism: Origin, Geographical those of their predecessors. From the Aryans
and Historical Background came the custom of associating gods with natural
Hinduism was probably born following the elements as well as a hierarchy of gods; this is
arrival of the Aryans before 1500 BCE, maybe reminiscent of other Aryan deities worshipped in
even centuries earlier. The birthplace location is Greece, Rome, and Persia. Above all, the Aryans
the Indus River Valley, which encompasses both contributed their language, part of the Indo-
Punjab (now in both India and Pakistan) and Sind European language family.
(in Pakistan). This spans over 200,000 miles and
the religion was perfected as the population moved
into Gangetic plain in north-central India. A similar
vagueness surrounds critical events; there is only
an approximation for the composition of Hindu
Vedas or sacred texts, historical epics, Puranas,
Upanishads, and other bases for Hinduism which
were not compiled and put in written form until
centuries later. There is no single text in Hinduism
and neither is there a hierarchy or a recognized head.

Figure 3.3 Sample of Sanskrit on a temple wall

This is Sanskrit—the equivalent of Latin for

Rome. It is the language of sacred texts or Vedas,
the Epics of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana,
the Puranas, and the Upanishads. The modern
descendant, Hindi, is the most widely spoken
language in India today. The Islamic version is
called Urdu. The present version of Hinduism
Figure 3.2 Harappa ruin –Harappa was a major city in dates from the Gupta Period (ca. 320-550B CE).
the Indus River Civilization

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Some authors maintain that India represents a

nation with a Hindu culture. The majority do live
in a single state, and there is neither a hierarchy nor
a single head in Hinduism. One can disregard holy
texts and not attend temples or festivals without
forfeiting membership. Hinduism does not seek to
convert anyone. Hindus tend to be involved with
personal gods representing parts of nature, such
as the sun, moon, water, or trees; or knowledge,
and wealth. Upon these, existence depends and
therefore they are with you in everyday life. It is
not a religion that one observes, prays to, or visits
temples or shrines for- unless one so wills.
The Indian social structure is often considered
rigid because the caste system still exists even if it Figure 3.4 Brahmins in Conversation
is outlawed by the Indian Constitution and despite
the set-asides for lower-level groups in recent years. Following the late Vedic Period and the
The terms Varna and caste are different. The former ensuing Epic Period (800-200 BCE), the sacred
has a ritual and ideological rationale while the Varna system emerged. In theory, it was open, but
other deals with socio-economic status. ultimately it became commingled with the caste
Theoretically, Varna had its origin in the sacred system. The Vedas mention the Varna system but
texts of the Vedic Period and the Epic Period, dated the strict adherence to heredity came later. The
from before 1000 BCE to 200 BCE. During this Indian economy evolved and the social system
long era, the ritualistic aspect was formulated. became stratified socio-economically. Caste was
Since at that time, people lived a relatively simple based on a number of factors—for example,
agrarian existence, and there was originally a simple lighter-skinned Aryans were more prominent in
three-caste structure: the upper castes than were the Dravidians. The
• The Brahmins symbolized the head of an idea of Dharma (or duty to one’s caste, occupation,
organism. This group was composed of bias) developed. Increased specialization led to the
those with knowledge of the sacred texts final differentiation between Vaisya, who became
and who were, therefore, the priests and merchants, artisans, craftsmen, and goldsmiths,
scholars. and the Sudras, who were peasants on the land.
• The second group was the Kshatriya who By the epic period, caste lines drew tight; the
represented the heart. They symbolized two higher castes vied for power, as Brahmins
defenders of society and were politicians, purveyed sacred knowledge and Kshatriyas were
soldiers, and administrators. nobles, mostly in the military. The Brahmins
• There was not yet a separate Sudra group gained influence, became hereditary, and imposed
or peasants, but all were of the Vaisya rules on the others.
grouping, occupied with worldly matters. The Brahmins, however, received a setback
• Finally, there were already people -- mostly during the Mauryan Era (322-184 BCE) when
non-Aryans -- who were excluded from its most famous member, the Emperor Ashoka,
the system. These later became known who united almost all of India, became a Buddhist
as members of the Scheduled Castes or and attempted to make India a Buddhist state.
Untouchables. Buddhism had started as a reaction against too
much elitism on the part of the Brahmins as had
another religious group, the Jains. During the
next five centuries, Buddhism declined, as did
its attempt to minimize caste barriers in favor of
universal brotherhood.

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The Brahmins, nonetheless, staged a comeback Change also has occurred due to the processes of
by the time of the Gupta period (ca. 320-550 CE), industrialization and urbanization. Developments
so that Brahmanism and the caste system returned in in transportation and communication have
full force. Sudras received punishment for insulting drawn people from disparate backgrounds into
Brahmins; reportedly, this included the pouring of urban areas. Newly arrived migrants have mixed
hot oil into ears and the cutting out of the tongue. with individuals from different castes, sharing
There were still examples of caste intermarriage, but a house or even a meal, and working together
they were rare. Untouchability now reached full in a factory. Mass education also reduced the
bloom as Untouchables were forced to live apart Brahmin’s monopoly of knowledge. All these
and make their living in “unclean” occupations changes meant that caste barriers could no longer
such as butchering. Occasionally, a Sudra might be rigidly enforced. Nevertheless, despite the
become an artisan or trader, and thus move up the weakening in caste ties due to legislative fiat and
caste ladder. However, primary social mobility was social and economic change, group membership
within the caste. The Vaisya caste has had dozens persists. Further, marriage between castes is still
of occupations under the jati or sub-caste system uncommon, due to continued feelings about social
so that success in business might lead to improved pollution, especially in the rural parts of India.
economic, if not social, status.
Social mobility can occur today despite the
caste system; however, it has been based on quotas
1
in education and employment which in turn has
stoked resentment. Summarize social distinctions
Socio-economic change is the most important as indicated by the major castes
agent for change, and there is often a generational and the special role of religious
gap between legal change and societal change. knowledge specialists.
External influence has played little part. The central
Asian invaders such as the Rajputs were absorbed
into the Kshatriya caste. In response to Muslim
HINDUISM AND CULTURE
conquests between 1206 and 1757, Brahmins Hinduism is a series of everyday practices based
posed as the protector of Hinduism. They could on favored beliefs. We can divide culture into
do this as the temples that they staffed were centers popular and formal culture. The former includes
not only of religious activity but also of social, diet, dress, housing, mass entertainment, and
political, and cultural activities. During the British sports. Formal culture would be literature, and the
period (1857-1947), legal reforms meant that civil arts, philosophy, education and higher education.
and criminal courts replaced caste courts. The Based on the Vedas and other sacred scripts from
Caste Disabilities Removal Act also abolished caste the past, there are recommendations to promote
penalties. physical and spiritual well-being.
There have been some attempts at internal
reform. The Brahmo Samaj movement rejected caste Food
distinctions and stood for the brotherhood of man. Food varies according to a hierarchy related
The Arya Samaj also opposed the caste system and to caste and class, although tastes are changing as
pressed for its abolition. Other organizations that India becomes more global and fast food national.
pressed for caste reform and caste abolition were Traditionally, according to the Vedas, meals could
the Prarthana Sabha and the Lingayat Movement. be divided into three groups:
Nonetheless, despite legislative reforms and reforms
• Sattvic or ascending meals, meant for those
after independence in 1948 forbidding caste
of higher castes equivalent to their stage
discrimination, a sort of caste system stratification
of spiritual development. These consisted
has continued. Therefore, quotas were established
of fruits, vegetables, and grains, and they
in the employment and education for lower castes
werev thought to promote transcendence
especially for the Untouchables -- officially known
associated with Brahmins.
as the Scheduled Castes or Dalits.

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Contemporary World Civilizations

• Next was the food of the middle castes. They were to consume onion, garlic, mushrooms, fish,
and eggs, considered to be less spiritual and to encourage intellect and passion at the expense of
meditation.
• Finally, there were foods for the lower castes, called Tamasic, such as meat and fermented alcohol,
supposed to be linked to dullness and inertia.

Figure 3.5 Vegan and Vegetarian diet typical cuisine for higher caste Hindus
Due to these guidelines, diet in the Hindu Cotton was worn from earliest times, India being
civilization has often featured vegetables (and the first civilization that produced it. By 600 BCE,
fruits). Overall, though, perhaps 30% follow the saris had become common and the material that
sattvic diet. In addition, via the Hare Krishna sect, composed saris began to reflect class differences.
vegetarians have increased in number and visibility During the Gupta period, women wrapped
outside of India. While Brahmins are supposed themselves in different ways, wealthy or upper caste
to follow this diet, there are regional exceptions. women favoring saris made of silk imported from
Furthermore, veneration for cows among Hindus China and other women using cotton.
does not mean no strict prohibition everywhere.
Female cows are used for milk, and the males for
veal exports, at least on occasion. As in the case in
vegetarianism, there are exceptions. Meat is eaten
in Rajasthan and fish in Maharashtra. Gujarat in
the west and South India are two regions that tend
toward vegetarianism. Thus, even though there
is guidance on food, there are regional and caste
exceptions.

Clothing
Clothing follows a similar pattern. A dhoti kurta
is an outfit that is often worn by married Hindu Figure 3.6 Examples of Indian saris
men. It is composed of a generously cut cotton shirt
called a kurta covered by the dhoti. The latter is a There is a visible sign of Hindu influence still
long piece of material that ties around the waist and present among observant Hindus. This is the dot,
spreads down to cover most of the legs. Many Hindu usually red, placed in the middle of the forehead
women wear a sari, a word of classical Sanskrit origin or between the eyes. It is called bindi in the Hindi
meaning “cloth.” Those who do not and have not language, bindu in Sanskrit. However, in the largest
adopted western-style clothes sometimes will wear language of the Dravidian south, Tamil, it is called
a pair of loose-fitting trousers and a long tunic. This pottu. The dot is a religious symbol and is meant
outfit is called a salwar kameez. Women who cover to signify the world beyond the physical. It implies
their heads might wear a chunni or a shawl. spiritual wisdom that goes beyond the world around

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Hindu and Buddhist Civilizations

us and encourages the individual to understand the this is “I am” and constitutes part of the link to
forces beyond the immediate environment. mankind. Hindus often play the sitar, a stringed
Various denominations employ other marks instrument roughly equivalent to the guitar in the
to indicate their faith. Thus, a follower of Vishnu Western civilization.
might wear a V-shaped mark on the forehead called
a tilak.
Hindus place their emphasis on the square
or rectangular shape. Structures in this shape
favor, according to Hindu beliefs, the entrance
of positive currents instead of negative ones. The
northeast is the closest to spirituality, as the sun
rises in the northeast on the longest day of the year.
Accordingly, a family may place a shrine – the most
essential part of a house -- in that area. Conversely,
the southwest is the lowliest part of the house and
it is where the bathroom is often located.
Figure 3.8 A Sitar

The famous nautch dancers perform their

rhythmic dances to traditional music in temples
and at festivals.

Figure 3.7 Example of the red dot or bindi worn by

Hindus

Family worship may involve various Hindu

deities. Worship can include the burning of
incense, as well as gifts of flowers and fruits. There
is often chanting in Sanskrit, if the family knows
the words. It is believed that worship or “Puja”
assists the family in the pursuit of inner tranquility.
If space is available, gardens are planted as an
incentive to positive energy. Individual plants and
trees believed to facilitate this purpose include
jasmine, saffron, lemon and almond trees.

Music and Art

Hindus believe that music is central to worship;
it facilitates feelings of spirituality. Chanting
repetitively is also a link to spirituality and may
include the word “om” as used in yoga meditation; Figure 3.9 Nautch Dancer in traditional costume

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The largest production of films in the world Sanskrit was the language that was used in
is found in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), known classical literary, religious, and philosophical texts.
globally as “Bollywood.” These films frequently use The earliest of these works are the Vedic Scriptures,
Hindu themes and quite often are based on the dating back to before 1000 BCE. They are four in
lives of deities and saints. The most popular Vishnu number and constitute hymns to various aspects
reincarnation, Krishna, is the central character in of the deity. They were accompanied by the
many films. Brahmanas, which are commentaries on the Vedas.
Bollywood stars are celebrities in India and Between 700 and 300 came the Upanishads. These
around the globe. Furthermore, some films are were philosophical tomes – often called the most
in fact made in the Hindi language and others ethereal writing ever, anywhere -- that indicated
in English. Those in the latter language are often how an individual soul or “Atman” could be united
translated or subtitled in Hindi. with the “Brahman,” the universal soul. These
writings explicate the ideas of karma or acts which
By contrast, there is also Hindu high culture.
can determine destiny, the samsara or the paths
This includes art and architecture, philosophy,
taken during the life cycle, and moksha or spiritual
literature, and learning. Although Indian high art
salvation or release from life.
has regular visitors -- such as the Buddhist cave
art at Ajanta and Ellora, and the architecture of The classical period of Hinduism begins by 400
the Moghul empire culminating in the Taj Mahal BCE and ends about 500 CE and is characterized
at Agra -- Hindu-inspired architecture has not by two great literary epics: the Mahabharata and
received as much attention worldwide. the Ramayana. Additionally, there were everyday
sayings present in the voluminous Sutras and
In its history, India had hundreds of kingdoms
Puranas.
and many empires in both northern and southern
regions of the Indian subcontinent. Each princely The Mahabharata was built around the
state had at least one capital. In this capital were notions of karma (past deeds can determine
many temples to be found. As will be seen in the future destiny), moksha (release from the cycle of
next section, the Hindu temple was also a key part existence), and samsara (the cycle of existence).
of the infrastructure, for it served the basic spiritual However, its main theme is Dharma, duty; the
purpose. Its structure, as well as the sculpture, is path to dharma conveys the right way of living,
designed to portray specific deities. righteousness. The scripture also stresses various
paths or yoga including action, devotion, and
Despite the structural arrangements such as
knowledge. These themes are famously discussed
external walls, internal halls, inner chambers
in a section called the Bhagavad Gita or “Song of
or reserved niches, architecture in the Hindu
the Lord.”
civilization is oriented to the deeds of the gods.
Accordingly, all frescoes, sculpture, and murals The other great epic, the Ramayana, recounts the
reflect the works of a high god such as Shiva or life of Rama, a legendary prince who, among other
Vishnu or their offspring such as Ganesh and tasks, sets out to rescue his wife Sita from a demon
Krishna, respectively. These representations king. This epic is centered on the various aspects of
are meant to symbolize the omniscience and bhakti-devotion, faithfulness, determination, and
omnipotence of the deity. As temples remain loyalty.
centers of community activity, they have long been The Sutras are huge volumes, extensive
essential to Hinduized activities of Indian life. collections of sayings and considerations of human
Sanskrit, the ancient Indo-European language, actions. Probably the most famous sutra is the
dominated high culture between approximately Kama Sutra, the study of love; it depicts intimate
1,000 BCE and 1,000 CE. It is considered to this sexual positions. The Puranas at the end of the
day a classical tongue along with classical Arabic, classical period were designed for the common
Persian, Greek, and Latin and is performed at people and were comprised of stories about the
various ceremonies. It served as a key to learning gods and their activities. They stressed bhakti or
for much of Indian history, especially among devotion and dharma.
Brahmin and those of other castes who wished to
serve in government.

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The period ends with what is considered the and measures for trading purposes. (Dani, 2016.)
golden age of Hinduism. The next section will It also developed the concept of zero as well as the
discuss the achievements in this age whose main decimal system. Although the use of the latter does
contributor (ca. 300-500) was the poet and date back to the Babylonians, India developed it
dramatist, Khalidasa, the Indian Shakespeare. further for practical purposes.  The rudiments of
algebra were imported from India via the Middle
East as were aspects of geometry.  
2
Perhaps the most long-lasting achievement of
India during this period was in the creation of
Does Hinduism permeate all ordinal numbers from 1 to 9. These numbers which
aspects of Indian life such as form the basis for numeracy today were originally
the arts, philosophy, food, and called Indian numerals. When transferred to the
clothing? Middle East and then to Europe, they were named
as Arabic numbers. This export from India to the
rest of the world has had an enormous effect on
THE HERITAGE, commerce and business everywhere. Notably, as a
INFRASTRUCTURE, TIMELINE, replacement for the cumbersome Roman numeral
AND FUTURE OF HINDUISM system, it facilitated the rise of central procedures
Hinduism can be interpreted as the ideological in other civilizations, for example, the emergence
center of Indian civilization and the caste system of transactions such as double-entry book-keeping
can be considered the sociological center of Indian in the West.
civilization. There is also a technological center of Other aspects of the infrastructure include the
the civilization, associated with Hinduism. ever-present Hindu temple, which has provided
The culture of India, the birthplace of much essential services supporting the community
of modern mathematics and science, was built throughout the history of the Hindu civilization.
on abstract principles encouraged in Hinduism. Further, every major city has had a body of water
Premium was put on knowledge via the role of connected to a system of tanks, canals, and dams
Brahmins and the emphasis on yoga or knowledge essential to agricultural productivity, the prevention
served as the foundation. When the patronage of of flooding, and the alleviation of droughts.
large-scale states, empires and kingdoms extant in Some of the most significant temples, especially
India combined with the civilization’s respect for in capital cities, have had large squares attached
knowledge and science, the groundwork was laid where public business was conducted -- malls
for construction involving applied technology, which sold fruits and vegetables, pastures for cows,
architecture, and urban planning. and a whole series of shops that sold a variety of
India applied scientific concepts to technology. items from everyday household items to exotic
During the Mauryan and Gupta eras between 300 jewelry. These squares often have been centers for
BCE and 500 CE, with an interregnum of roughly the arts: plays presented on Hindu holidays have
three centuries, the civilization developed iron and long attracted both locals and religious pilgrims.
textile industries based on scientific breakthroughs. Many of these functions have declined with the
In addition, planners used astronomy to calculate advent of shopping centers and social media, but
both lunar and solar years in order to help farmers. they continue, albeit in new or evolved form.
As in the case of China, the availability of iron and Urban Planning, as a discipline, has long been
other applied aspects of metallurgy enabled the associated with India. The Indus River Valley
strengthening of roads. civilization, which later combined with the Indo-
However, it was in the mathematical sciences Aryan arrivals to form the Hindu civilization, had
that India made its most lasting contribution to more than 1000 cities during its existence (2600-
applied technology. In addition to the application 1800 BCE). In the cities, the remnants of which the
of astronomy to plot the seasons for agricultural arriving Aryans took over between 1800 and 1500
purposes, India developed coinage based on weights BCE, were to be found advanced drainage and

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Contemporary World Civilizations

sewage systems. Individual homes were connected despite being the birthplace of Buddhism (which
to these systems. There is evidence of trash some scholars consider a variant of Hinduism) --
collection systems. There is also some evidence of has remained Hindu as has over twenty percent of
public baths and perhaps granaries. The inhabitants Sri Lanka due to Tamil emigration there.
were the type of people that one would meet today Outside of the sub-continent, no territory
-- artisans, craftsman, and merchants. The degree has been more influenced or continues to be
of organization of infrastructure has been observed as influenced by Hinduism than the island of
through artifacts which reveal seals, weights, and Bali. Even today, it remains an overwhelmingly
even bricks with standardized sizes and weights. Hindu territory. Historically, the major islands of
Hindu philosophy governed the spatial layout Indonesia have seen the rise of Hindu-dominated
of cities throughout history. Cities were designed states.
to reflect the divine power and related microcosm These Hindu states arose between the Fifth and
to macrocosm in the same way that individual the Fifteenth Centuries in Java (whose name comes
souls were to be finally linked to the universal from a Sanskrit word) in various parts of the island,
soul (atman to brahman). The temple served as a Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Borneo until replaced first
microcosm that radiated out in all four directions by Buddhism and then by Islam. Note the obvious
to include the city and its environs in one system. derivation of the name Indonesia. The trade routes
Each direction had a divine guardian. This pattern to the “Indies” meant to the Indonesian island
was repeated in Hindu-influenced settlements in chain of the Moluccas, called the Spice Islands
other countries. Ultimately, urban planning was because of their products used for both flavoring
intended to generate a sacred totality for an ideal and preservation. In fact, until the coming of
world. The microcosm-to-macrocosm connection independence, the archipelago was popularly
represented order and power which would provide referred to as the “Indies”.
for harmony and prosperity and control over
Currently, there are over 10 million Hindus in
potentially disruptive forces.
Indonesia. The national language contains Sanskrit
Support for this order and power came not words. A local version of the Ramayana is popular
from secular authority but from the deity whose in Indonesia as are its two heroes, Krishna and
powers the ruler tapped into, establishing a micro- Arjun. The Defense Ministry, the army, and the
macro connection and thereby gaining legitimacy national airlines have Hindu names. The Vedas are
as the conduit for such power. In this way, urban even included in the calendar.
planning rested on divine sanctification and is
Burma, which is next door to the Indian sub-
still a consideration today. The emphasis today is
continent, was associated with it in colonial times.
on local authorities, an evolution stemming from
It has been heavily influenced by Hinduism.
originally philosophical and religious concepts of
Its national language contains Sanskrit loan
urban planning.
words. It has its own version of the Ramayana.
Although mostly Buddhist, Burmese also worship
The Timeline of Hinduism and Its Hindu gods, including Saraswati, the goddess of
Future in the World knowledge.
Hinduism thrives in the world today. Although Although superseded by Buddhism and Islam,
the great age of Hindu expansion between 1000 the rest of Southeast Asia provides evidence for the
CE and 1200 CE is over, the world has seen, presence of Hindu civilization, persisting to the
since that time, the Cholos of South India rule Sri present day. Thus, Thailand has its national epic
Lanka and the Maldives and control much of the also based on the Ramayana. Its historic capital
maritime provinces of South Asia from the Bay of Ayodhya is a local translation of the name of
of Bengal to New Guinea. Hindu reach extended the chariot driver of this epic, Arjun. Its royal
to the coastal regions of Burma, to Thailand, to coronation is in Sanskrit as are its cremation rites.
Cambodia, to Vietnam, to Malaya, and to much The cults of both Vishnu and Krishna are popular.
of the Indonesian Archipelago. Hindu influence Next door, in Indochina, are cultural reflections
remains in this regions. Nepal to the north -- of two once predominantly Hindu states, now

71
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Hindu and Buddhist Civilizations

Buddhist. The Champa civilization in what is business and professional life. Among major
today South-Central Vietnam was influenced by cultural contributions of this diaspora have been
Hinduism, and Hindu architecture is seen in its the practices of meditation. Terms such as yoga,
remaining temples. More prominently, the Khmer guru, and ashram have been added to the global
Empire centered in Cambodia was initially Hindu. vocabulary.
At its height, this empire ruled over Cambodia as well One group associated with the spread of
as parts of Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Its capital Hinduism is the Hare Krishna movement
at Angkor Wat, although now partly Buddhist, is established in America in 1965. In the 70s, it
considered the site of one of the greatest examples of began to operate communes, some of which
Hindu architecture in the world. became controversial. The Hare Krishna movement
worships Krishna, a reincarnation of Vishnu,
as the one Supreme God. Thus, it is avowedly
monotheistic as opposed to other streams of
Hinduism, many of which accept a universal spirit
in theory but are polytheistic in practice. Their
most important text is the Bhavagad Gita, the
central passage of the Mahabharata. The religion
is often seen publicly, chanting on the streets or in
the airports or terminals of major Western cities.
Perhaps it is in the realm of spirituality that
Hinduism (as well as Buddhism) has had its greatest
global popularity. Its meditation practices, now
Figure 3.10 Angkor Wat complex
widespread outside of India, attest to the continued
vitality of Hinduism. Additionally, the term guru
In Malaysia, the Dayaks of Borneo (also in as a leader who guides people to knowledge, has
Indonesia) follow Kshatriya traditions. Next door, evolved to mean a guide in any endeavor.
the independent sultanate of Brunei, although The group of physical, mental, and spiritual
Islamic, has a Hindu title for the ruler. Sarawak, exercises known as meditation has been popular
incorporated into Malaysia in 1957, is called around the globe since the days of the preacher
Lakshmi after Rama’s brother. Its capital city has Vivekananda at the end of the 19th century. It is
a name based partly on Sanskrit. Singapore has found in six separate forms of meditation. Often
an estimated Hindu population approaching employed as a stress relaxant, and as a treatment
30%. Even the Philippines had Hindu titles for its for mental and physical illness, it is now identified
rulers in some of the southern states although the with Zen Buddhism, as discussed below.
population became Muslim and Christian after the
Similarly, the idea of the ashram or spiritual
16th century.
retreat has spread worldwide. As in the case of guru
Outside of Southeast Asia, there is a prominent and yoga, the ashram goes back over two millennia.
Hindu diaspora around the globe. In recent years, Found usually in a remote natural surrounding
there has been an influx of professional and business such as a mountain or lake, an ashram promotes a
people in the Western hemisphere and Europe. Earlier, life style of tranquility, an uncluttered way of life.
former parts of the British Empire with plantation
Hindu meditation and yoga at a remote ashram,
economies brought in Indian labor. As a result, Fiji,
or as found in centers in any major city worldwide,
Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana now
offer an antidote to modern frenzy. It is meant to
have sizeable Hindu populations. Leaders from the
reduce stress and tension as well as combat anxiety
Hindu population have held high political positions,
and depression by clearing the mind. It is especially
especially in Mauritius and Guyana.
useful for individuals in high powered occupations.
Hindu emigrants have brought their
Other aspects of the Hindu civilization have
computer and physics skills to Europe and
found followers everywhere.
North America, where they are prominent in

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One example comes from the father of Indian modernity with secularism. The caste system was
independence, Mohandas Gandhi, the Mahatma, denounced, but it continued in some forms.
who used the principle of ahimsa, non-violent The identification of Hinduism with the Indian
resistance, in his struggle against colonialism. His polity arose before independence, when there
tactics set the pattern for civil rights workers in developed the concept of Hindutva, implying that
other countries, including South Africa and the the true citizens of India were Hindu or affiliates
United States. of Hinduism such as Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains.
The Hindu emphasis on vegetarianism as a In 1925, an organization called the RSS (Rashtriya
gesture of respect to all life forms and as part of Swayamsevak Sangh) was established to promote
the process of being one with nature and is part of Hindu organizations and provide services. The
spirituality has spread as well. Tea has been promoted Hindu grievances it nursed eventually led to
for its soothing qualities. Bollywood films with the emergence of the Bharatiya Janata Party, or
Hindu themes, the playing of the sitar and other BJP, which came to complete power in India
Hindu musical instruments, and the use of saffron in 2014. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi,
and incense have all found acceptance outside of who was supported by the Hindutva movement,
India. These cultural manifestations are in addition with the tacit support of the RSS, has aimed to
to the permanent contribution that mathematicians balance Hindu feeling with continued efforts in
made to numeracy and business practices. modernization.
Within India itself, Hindu feeling has made a A major question for India today is whether
political comeback. Gandhi used Hindu symbols, revivalist Hindu feeling will temper support for
such as clothing, and slogans such as Satyagraha or the world’s largest democratic non-sectarian polity.
“truth force” (insistence on truth) in his political There can be no doubt that the Hindu Civilization
work. But the major party that was associated constitutes a long-lasting, powerful cultural force
with him, the Indian National Congress, equated in the history of mankind.

Timeline and Main Events of the Hindu Civilization

2500–1500 BCE The Indus River Valley civilization develops and flourishes. Evidence of early Hindu
practice dates archaeologically to this vanished culture.
1600–1400 BCE The Aryan warrior culture conquers the Indus River Valley, bringing with it the
Sanskrit language and significant influences on the development of Hinduism.
1500–1200 BCE The Vedic Age: The Rig Veda is written, reflecting the influence of joining the Aryan
and Indus River Valley cultures.
1000–300 BCE The Brahmanas and Upanishads are written and added to the original Vedas.
600–500 BCE The Age of Protest, as Buddhism and Jainism break away from the main flow of
Hinduism.
400 BCE–800 CE The Hindu response to Buddhism and Jainism results in further changes in the
central teachings of Hinduism.
326 BCE Alexander the Great brings his army and the influence of Greek civilization into the
northernmost regions of India. The Indian Mauryan Empire is created to counter
this Greek invasion of culture and ideas.
250 BCE Ashoka becomes Emperor of the Mauryan Dynasty.
400–500 CE Hinduism returns as the dominant religion of India. Temples and monuments are
built to honor Hindu ideas, gods and beliefs. This is the era of the Hindu Renaissance.
900 CE Shankara teaches the reality of One Brahman or One God, introducing significant
monotheistic beliefs into Hinduism.
1100 CE Muslims arrive in India and influence the evolution of the Hindu faith.

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Hindu and Buddhist Civilizations

1400–1700 CE Europeans arrive in India to pursue colonization and commerce within the Hindu
world.
1919–1948 CE The era of Mahatma Gandhi’s profound influence
on Hinduism and India.
1947–1990 CE India and Pakistan become independent countries.
3
Both possess nuclear weapons. Tension increases
between Muslim and Hindu populations. India is Discuss how architecture
secular, Pakistan Muslim. reflects Hindu values.
Present Hindu nationalist party rises to power at the
national level in 2014.

BUDDHISM

Definition, Origin, Geographical and Historical Background

Buddhism is the religion named after Siddhartha Gautama, who, although born of a princely family
on the borders of what is now India and Nepal, was moved by the poverty and suffering of people with
whom he came into contact. As a result, he renounced his status and spent half a century wandering and
teaching. Most of this was done in the states of Bihar and Oudh, located in the area between north-central
and northeastern India. He lived between 560 and 480 BCE (although other dates have also been given).
Gradually, he became known as the “Enlightened One,” or the Buddha, and his followers were called
Buddhists.
The religion spread after his death and reached a height in the third century BCE when the Emperor
Ashoka declared it the state religion. After his death, the religion moved away from its original simple
populist appeal and began to decline. Eventually, many of its followers returned to Hinduism, which had
restored its position by the age of the Guptas (ca.320-550 CE), with the Brahmins back in a position of
authority.
Buddhism almost entirely disappeared from the land of its birth. However, in the meantime, it had
spread throughout Southeast Asia (ironically replacing Hinduism, the religion that was replacing it back
in its birthplace in India) but also through East Asia to China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, and Mongolia. It
was able to do so by land and by sea. It was able to do so by missionaries along the Great Silk Road,
the name for several roads between China and Europe and lands along the way which had been opened
by the third century BCE. Buddhism also spread through the Indian Ocean system which connected
Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia in one vast network.

Brief Timeline of Events in Buddhism

ca.560-480 BCE or later.
Lifetime of the founder, Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Buddha.
Recent dates are now
490-410.
Theravada Buddhism adopted by Indian Emperor Ashoka.

After 100 CE, Mahayana Buddhism spread through eastern and northeastern
260 BCE-1000 CE. Asia while Theravada Buddhism spread to Southeast Asia.

In India, Hinduism incorporated Buddhism, which gradually died out in its

original home.

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Buddhism and Its Role in Society or she had the same opportunity as an individual
Originally, the goal of Buddhism was to correct from an upper caste or class. This emphasis on true
abuses by the Brahmins within Hinduism, but it equality in religion was unprecedented in human
evolved as a separate faith with 500 million people. history and marks a landmark.
Today, it is the fourth largest world religion (but, When Buddhism began to move away from
because of the similarity of principles and practices, this original orientation over time, it began to
some scholars consider it as a variant of Hinduism). lose its mass appeal. As Buddhism spread, it
The Buddha initially maintained that there were began to resemble the polytheistic applications of
three truths about life in this world: sickness, old age, Hinduism. As a result, it became less egalitarian
and death. After years of reflection, he developed a and tended to adapt to local cultures as much as
philosophy that is followed and practiced today. It local cultures adapted to Buddhism (see below). By
does resemble Hinduism as it believes that life on the third century, it had 500 divisions.
earth is an illusion. To escape from this illusion, one Today, Mahayana Buddhism, the “Greater
must seek nirvana (nothingness). Human suffering Vehicle” and the largest of the three major
is caused by desire which, in turn, is caused by branches, has awarded divine status to Buddha
materialism. Materialism creates pursuit which leads himself, who has his own incarnations; these, by no
to frustration, then suffering and unhappiness. coincidence, often happen to be gods in the Hindu
To eliminate this suffering and achieve nirvana, pantheon. Because of its adaptability, Buddhism
an individual must follow an eight-fold path: right exists today and is part of indigenous societies. It is
activities, right concentration, right effort, right amalgamated with local spiritual systems in respect
intentions, right livelihood, right mindfulness, to social roles. Thus, there are few clear distinctions
right speech, and right views. In this way, one between Taoism and Confucianism, on the one
can escape the cycle of birth and re-birth. By this hand, and Buddhism on the other hand, or between
eight-fold path, one can avoid materialism and its Shintoism and Buddhism in Japan. People can be
attendant problems. aligned with two religions at once.
In contrast to the tenets of religions such as At present, Buddhism, though blended with
Hinduism, which hold that only a few can only national arrangements, has, as its main contribution
achieve ultimate enlightenment, Buddhism is open to society in civilization, the application of a code
to all. It was not and is not the monopoly of upper of ethics to the personal behavior of individuals
castes. It was not based on the revelations of one rather than a structural model. This combines
person such as the founder. Ultimate salvation and Hindu teachings, particularly dharma (duty) and
enlightenment could be worked out by everyone in applications of the Buddha’s eight noble truths. The
society regardless of social status. confluence of Hindu influence with the adoption
Internal meditation could achieve this end; of reincarnations in later Buddhism ultimately led
revelations passed on to a select few did not to the reabsorption of Buddhism by Hinduism in
constitute the path. The implications were India. Emphasis on performing one’s duties in the
genuinely revolutionary in ancient India, especially role that society has assigned has blended quite
given the hierarchical nature of the Hindu society nicely with the established norms across Southeast
up to then. and East Asia.
Buddha’s four noble truths emphasize the There exist few differences between Buddhism
commonality of man. First, pain is universal; and Confucianism in China or between Buddhism
second, desire causes pain; third, ceasing to desire and Shintoism in Japan when it comes to the
relieves pain; and fourth, right conduct provides performance of societal roles. The eight “noble
escape from pain. truths” have been affirming ones in any social
order and may be interpreted as confirming the
An ethical code was generated which had not
established order rather than subverting it. Thus,
explicitly existed before. In this code, humility was
Buddhism, which had to do with private positive
the key. The original appeal of this message attracted
behavior, has been permitted to function in
people from every caste and class. It gave hope that
China under the communist regime for the most
no matter what a person’s station in life was, he

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Hindu and Buddhist Civilizations

part. Even the practice of Sangha -- the gathering The Influence of Buddhism upon
together of priests, nuns, and lay people to study Global and Regional Civilization
the teachings of Buddha and the implications through Culture and Infrastructure
of the “eight paths,” a version of karma as it ties
actions to later rebirths, has not been considered Buddhist influence on Southeast and East Asia
overtly threatening by repressive regimes. No one is most directly reflected today in its culture and
can object to doing one’s duty in the workplace or infrastructure, but it is the faith’s spirituality and
setting an example for family, children, and friends the figure of Buddha himself in the visual arts
through “right conduct.” and literature that have special relevance today.
The adaptability of Buddhism to local situations
The path of right mindfulness has a variety of is evident in the varieties of Buddhism that have
present, past and future applications. This tenet arisen. As it has moved far and wide, Buddhism
holds that one should be mindful of the effect and its code of ethics, with the emphasis on love
of his or her actions on others. It may be seen and compassion, have found a ready audience.
in actions regarding polluting the environment, It is still overwhelmingly present in East Asia and
eating habits, and our overall behavior. Southeast Asia: (China alone -- with only 18.2% of
Most observers believe that Buddha’s teachings, its population defined as Buddhist -- had over 244
even if not directly applicable to modern times million in the last census). Buddhism is the majority
and problems, are relevant today. His warnings of religion in Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan,
the dangers of materialism as a source of suffering Sri Lanka, Japan, Laos, and Mongolia. There are
as well as his prohibitions against alcohol can be significant numbers of adherents in Nepal, South
applied to all categories of addictions—whether Korea, Vietnam, China, and Malaysia.
it is to consumer spending or shopping, watching Nor is the Buddhist influence exclusive to the
inordinate amounts of television or the Internet, region, however. The United States has almost four
eating too much, using drugs, alcohol, tobacco, million followers. Its message is so confident that
opiates, or even the over-reliance on pain-relieving it survives even in totalitarian or semi-totalitarian
prescription drugs. One might go as far as applying regimes such as China, Vietnam, and even the
Buddhist warnings to dependency on sugar or salt, closed society of North Korea, with its close to
which can have health implications. Addiction in 400,000 followers. Its sacred scripts, while initially
general, or attraction to potentially harmful habits in Pali and Sanskrit, have been translated into local
and excesses, elicit resonance today (Chrodon, languages.
2013).
Perhaps, the main cultural imprint of Buddhist
civilization has been in its imposing architecture
and its spiritual heritage.
One may argue that Buddhism has continued
to be a vibrant part of culture in East and Southeast
Asia for two reasons.
• First, it did not arrive on the backs of the
army, and although trade was relevant, its
main spread was through its messengers
and the message that these missionaries
spread.
• Second, it has survived because it has
Figure 3.11 Ajanta Buddhist caves amalgamated with local customs in a highly
successful manner.
The original version of Buddhism, known as
Theravada Buddhism (sometimes also called the
Lesser Vehicle), prevails in Sri Lanka, Myanmar
(Burma), Laos, and Cambodia. It tends to be more
philosophical and monastic. This school maintains

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that only a relatively few people can reach the final Unlike Buddhism in other lands, it has a head
stage of nirvana or release from the cycle of birth who is also a political head, the Dalai Lama.
or rebirth. These individuals are known as arhats, The Dalai Lama has been in exile since 1959,
or perfected saints, and they come from the class since the arrival of Han Chinese and the direct
of monks or nuns. It is not open to non-specialists annexation of half of Tibet by China. Because of
who if they lead holy lives can only ascend to the the previous political system, this religious practice
monastic stage. It was most popular in southern is sometimes called Lamaism. The Dalai Lama was
Asia, as these societies did not have a fully developed exiled because he led a political rebellion since
indigenous spiritual system. Lamaism is an integral part of Tibetan culture.
In contrast, when the highly populated countries Other divisions of Buddhism and their hundreds
of Japan and China met Buddhism, they had existing of sub-divisions are apolitical and decentralized. It
spiritual systems such as Shintoism, Confucianism, was quite telling that the Chinese ruler, although
and Taoism. It was, therefore, the Mahayana or asserting political control, allowed another Lama
Greater Vehicle Buddhism which met success there, figure, the Panchen Lama, to assume control
and which now includes more than two-thirds of all leadership in the Tibetan religious hierarchy.
Buddhists. It made itself acceptable to these northern Thus, there is a great deal of syncretism or mixing
cultures by indicating that all laymen can reach of Buddhism with traditional beliefs in East Asia.
nirvana and obtain release from the rebirth cycle in Indeed, Buddhism has mixed with traditional belief
one lifetime. Furthermore, all sacred writings, not systems in both China and Japan. In China, for
just the ones that stem from the Buddha and his example, from the sixth century CE on, Buddhism
immediate disciples, were found acceptable. It also became embedded in Chinese culture as one of
permits the recognition of other gods, with Buddha the “three teachings” where it was considered part
himself given the status of a deity. Other deities are of a trinity of Chinese belief systems along with
considered avatars of him. Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism places
Each of the two divisions of Buddhism has stress on the upholding of social roles, and Taoism
four branches which, in turn, are sub-divided stresses harmony with nature and, by extension,
into numerous units. Furthermore, there is a third with individuals. Therefore, the Buddhist
major division, Vajrayana. highlighting of dharma, or performance of duty in
This division is sometimes ranked with whatever sphere an individual was placed, has been
Mahayana as it allows laymen the possibility of extremely compatible with Confucianism. On the
becoming enlightened in one lifetime and gives other end of the spectrum, pre-Buddhist belief
latitude to later scriptures as well as early scriptures. systems in Tibet such as bori were incorporated
However, it is sometimes considered as tantric into Tibetan Buddhism, especially in its tantric
due to the variety of both images and aspects of aspects with the emphasis on ritual and magical
god; here, it approaches Hinduism. Mongolia is objects.
sometimes ranked with Tibet in this classification.

Figure 3.12 Representation of Buddha in a Tibetan Buddhist Wall Fresco

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Hindu and Buddhist Civilizations

The Ramifications of Buddhist There are many impressive Buddhist temples

Infrastructure and stupas outside of India. Japan alone has over
80,000 temples. Somewhat surprisingly, given its
The fundamental contribution of Buddhism
relatively low population of Buddhists, Indonesia
regarding the material heritage and infrastructure
has the largest Buddhist monument on earth —
lies in its architecture and urban planning. Its
Borobudur in central Java, built during the rule of
architecture especially its stupas and temples are
Buddhist dynasty between 750 and 800 CE. It was
substantial.
constructed as a large Mahayana Buddhist Stupa
Stupas, made of brick or stone, are shrines and measures over 118 square feet. Thirty-two iron
built around burial mounds. These are usually statues surround its gateways. The relief work on
three dimensional and are meant to represent its walls depicting aspects of Buddhism would if
a world mountain. They are surrounded by four spread total 2500 square miles.
gates meant to symbolize points of the compass;
Other prominent monuments built by
gates and walls have carvings of Buddha and his
Buddhists are the Wono Tat Sun Temple in
teachings. Some of the oldest stupas are said to
Hong Kong, the Samye Monastery in Tibet, the
contain the ashes of Buddha. When Ashoka (ca.
Beomeosa temple in Korea, the Snake temple in
272-231 BCE) declared Buddhism the state
Malaysia, the Song Lim temple in Singapore, the
religion, sixty thousand shrines were built. Some
Wat Xieng Thong monastery in Laos, and the
survive; the Great Stupa at Sanchi in central India
Guanghua temple in China. Among the great
is the most imposing. This shrine is enormous. It
variety of Buddhist monuments in Asia are those
has a diameter of 105 feet and it rests on a 20-foot
carved from cliffs and rock walls. The most famous
drum surrounded by chatras, umbrella-like shapes.
of such cave structures are Ajanta and Ellora in
They symbolize the sacred tree under which the
India and Dunhuang and Tun-Huang in China,
Buddha achieved nirvana and the stages by which
plus pagodas such as Mahamuni in Myanmar/
the soul ascends toward the goal of enlightenment.
Burma, and beautiful assorted temples and
monasteries throughout the region.

Figure 3.13 Bobodudur

Urban planning has constituted a continuing aspect of Buddhist civilization, especially in India and
Southeast Asia. It closely follows Hinduism in that a city represents heavenly perfection. A heavenly deity
is found at the center of a city. In successive Burmese capitals, for example, the goddess Indra was placed
at the center of a city through its palace with 32 lesser gods around it
and routes radiating from the center and the lesser gates. The layout
was meant to represent the celestial universe.
4
As a result, today many Southeast Asian cities represent both a
spiritual and a secular place in the cosmos as well as a location for Discuss the contributions of
international commerce. Cambodia is the site of both Hindu and Buddhism to world culture.
Buddhist urban architecture from Angkor Wat to Phnom Penh.

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Contemporary World Civilizations

PRESENT AND FUTURE PLACE mind of any distractions. This is to enable focus
OF BUDDHISM IN THE WORLD on the immediate environment, and it can,
according to Zen, be reached through two ways.
Buddhism grew from the grassroots, not through
The Rinzai school stresses a method whereby a
being imposed by rulers. It died out in one place,
practitioner focuses on puzzles or riddles termed
India, because it was imposed. Due to its organic
“koans,” and thereby acquires mental awareness,
roots, it has exhibited enormous staying power.
enabling attainment of enlightenment through this
Outside of Southeast and East Asia, it has found
concentration. In contrast to the Rinzai method,
a willing audience in both popular culture and
which aims for spontaneous enlightenment, the
meditation. The popular culture associated with
Soto school emphasizes gradual enlightenment
Hinduism has spread globally to the West through
through a method called zazen, which involves
such categories as vegetarianism, Bollywood films,
“just sitting” meditation. The latter is considered
the sitar, incense, and identification with Buddhism.
equivalent to a state of enlightenment or a location
More specifically, Buddhist philosophy and on the road to enlightenment. It involves the
practices became identified with a group of famous guidance of students to the opening of minds.
American writers such as Jack Kerouac and Allan This opportunity thereby deepens the level of
Ginsberg in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s, consciousness, eventually leading to full awareness.
thanks to author Herman Hesse’s books such as
The survival of Buddhism today rests on two
Siddhartha, Buddhism became popular at colleges
things:
in North America.
• its ability to incorporate local belief systems
Finally, the architecture associated with
• its division in three, so as to constitute
Buddhism today is supplemented by gardens,
almost three separate religions.
calligraphy, painting, and poetry available within
Buddhism has evolved to such an extent that
the larger architectural complexes and through
its major branches have little in common beyond
the script for the last three. The most ubiquitous
Buddha and his fundamental teachings.
item in popular culture of Buddhist origin is the
Laughing Buddha figurine. It comes in many As noted above, Theravada Buddhism
forms. He symbolizes contentment, joy, and mirth. corresponds to the original version of Buddhism. It
It is believed that the “Happy Buddha” statue places emphasis on attaining nirvana in a later life
brings good luck and fortune to the owner. It is a via a monastic life in the interval. It is a “council
universal figure. of elders” which places the focus on the first
Buddhist or Pali Canon as the accepted scripture.
Various schools of Buddhism have found favor
Hence, the sobriquet of the lesser vehicle is given.
on a global level by emphasizing meditation as a
As recounted, this type of Buddhism is practiced
stress reducer for the frenetic pace of modern times.
throughout southeast Asia.
It is Zen Buddhism, however, that has had the
most global impact and entered global civilization
as a permanent fixture. It has a unique appeal
within Buddhism. Unlike other schools, it can be
experienced by anyone. Second, it does not require
specialized knowledge or study, simply meditation.
It is meant to reduce stress and so is attractive to
people with high-powered positions. It can be
observed by Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.
To reach enlightenment through a higher state of
mental consciousness is the goal of Zen teaching.
Further, there are no specific physical
requirements such as the assumption of the
“lotus position.” Zen Buddhism focuses on the
achievement of awareness through clearing the Figure 3.14 Group practicing Yoga

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Hindu and Buddhist Civilizations

In contrast, Mahayana or Greater Vehicle Buddhism is the majority branch of Buddhism because it
promises the possibility of rebirth in one lifetime and accepts all religious scriptures, not just the original
Pali Canon. The Vajrayana branch of Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and Mongolia echoes the Mahayana approach,
but it uses images and icons and other spiritual techniques.
The syncretic branch of Mahayana Buddhism in China, Korea,
and Japan has presented itself in such a multiplicity of forms as to be 5
part of the local culture. It sub-divides into four basic schools based
on practice (Zen, Pure Land, Vinaya, and occasionally Vajrayana) What is the present and
and four which are based on philosophy (Tendai, Avatamsaka, future status of Buddhism and
Yogacara, and Madhyamaka). Hinduism in terms of their global
contributions?

Further Reading

Basham, A.L. (1967). The Wonder That Was Michel, G. (1989). The Penguin Guide to the
India. New Delhi: Rupa. Monuments of India. London: Penguin.
Bechert, H. (ed.). (1994). When Did the Sarkar, H.B. (1985). Cultural Relations
Buddha Live? The Controversy of the Dating between India and Southeast Asian Countries. New
of the Historical Buddha. Delhi: Sri Satguru Delhi: Indian Council for Cultural Relations and
Publications. Motilal Banarsidass.
Dutt, N. (1973). Early Buddhist Monasticism. Varma,V.P. (1972). Early Buddhism and Its
Calcutta: Penguin India. Origins. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.
Edwardes, M. (1976). In the Blowing Out of Wagle, K.N. (1966). Society in the Time of
a Flame: The World of the Buddha and the World of the Buddha. Bombay: Mukerje.
Man. London: George Allen & Unwin. Watson, F. (1979). A Concise History of India.
Hudson. W. S. (1982). A New History of London: Thames & Hudson.
India. New York: Oxford University Press. Wheeler, R.E. M. (1966) Civilization of the
Keay, J. (2000). India A History. New York: Indus Valley and Beyond. London: Thames &
Atlantic Monthly Press. Hudson.
Keith, A.B. (1920). History of Sanskrit
Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Contemporary World Civilizations

Summarize the effect of Hinduism on the social

LO 1 and economic structure of Indian society.

Hinduism has defined the social organization of India. The Republic of India, where the great majority
of Hindus reside, has attempted to mitigate class distinctions as embodied in the caste system, but
distinctions still remain, especially in the rural areas.
During the Vedic Age, between 1500 and 1000 BCE, the first of the great Vedas, the Rig Veda,
appeared. The caste system featured the arriving Aryans as the most prestigious. The three highest
groups – the Brahmins or keepers of sacred learning, the Kshatriya or soldiers or rulers, and the

Summary
Vaishya or individuals engaged in world pursuit of business and commerce – were considered twice-
born. The fourth caste -- the peasants, sudras -- derived in part from the earlier population identified
with the Indus River Valley and probably the Dravidians. A fifth group descended from Pre-Aryans
populations and became the “Untouchables,” socially the lowest. By 500 B.C.E., these groupings had
become hereditary castes and were socio-economic as well ritually divided. Aspects of this division has
continued to this day although legislation and urbanization have sought to reverse or mitigate it in
recent times.

LO 2 Analyze the Role of Hinduism in Indian culture.

Hinduism encompasses everyday practices based on specific beliefs. We can divide culture into
popular and formal culture. The former includes diet, dress, housing, mass entertainment, and
sports. Formal culture would be literature, and the arts, philosophy, education and higher education.
Based on the Vedas or other ancient and sacred scripts, there are recommendations to promote
physical and spiritual well-being.

Demonstrate the heritage as well as the future

LO 3 of Hinduism.

Hinduism can be interpreted as the ideological center of Indian civilization, the partially Hindu-influenced
caste system the sociological center of Indian civilization, and the technological center of the civilization
a more recent development associated with Hinduism. India, with the abstract principles encouraged in
Hinduism and a priority given to knowledge, built on a lasting foundation. When the patterns of Hindu
civilization combined with the patronage of large-scale states, empires and kingdoms extant in India, the
groundwork was laid for a construction involving applied technology, architecture, and urban planning.
It is in the realm of spirituality that Hinduism has had the greatest global popularity. Its meditation
practices have become widespread outside of India and attest to the continued vitality of Hinduism.
The term guru as a leader who guides people to self- knowledge, now serves as a term for a guide in any
endeavor. In the spiritual sense, it is through the guru that ultimate liberation or moksha is reached when
one is released from the cycle of existence. Along with the total of one’s deeds or karma, the guru has the
skills and knowledge that lead to self-knowledge and the realization of one’s soul.

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Hindu and Buddhist Civilizations

Discuss the influence of Buddhist contributions to Southeast Asian

LO 4 and East Asian societies and cultures as well as the world society and
culture.

Originally, Buddhism was meant as an attempt to correct abuses within Hinduism, but it evolved into a
separate faith with 500 million people and is now the world’s fourth largest religion (even though some
scholars consider it as a variant of Hinduism because of the similarity of principles and practices).
The Buddha initially maintained that there were three basic truths about life in this world: sickness, old
age, and death. After years of reflection, he developed a philosophy that is followed and practiced today. It
resembles Hinduism, as it believes that life on earth is an illusion. To escape from this illusion, one must
Summary

seek nirvana (nothingness). Human suffering is caused by desire which, in turn, is caused by materialism.
To achieve nirvana, an individual should follow an eight-fold path: right activities, right concentration,
right effort, right intentions, right livelihood, right mindfulness, right speech, and right views. In this way,
one can escape the cycle of birth and re-birth, avoid materialism, and diminish suffering and unhappiness.
Buddhism exists today and is part of indigenous societies. It has amalgamated with local spiritual systems
such that there is little or no distinction between Taoism and Confucianism on one hand, and Buddhism
on the other. Nor is there a major distinction between Shintoism and Buddhism in Japan. People can
be followers of both religions simultaneously. Buddhism, although blended with national arrangements,
has as its main contribution to society the application of a code of ethics for personal behavior. This is a
combination of Hindu teachings, particularly dharma (duty), and applications of the Buddha’s eight noble
truths. In India, Buddhism was reabsorbed into Hinduism, as differences between the two diminished.
Elsewhere, a pre-existing model for duty did not exist as strongly, so that emphasis on performing one’s
duties in the role that society assigned blended quite nicely with the established norms in southeast and
East Asian society.

Evaluate the role of Buddhism in regional and

LO 5 global civilization in the present and future

Buddhism grew through popular conversion, not by being imposed by rulers. When it was imposed
from the top, as it was in India, it died out. Due to its organic roots, it has exhibited enormous staying
power. Outside of Southeast Asia and East Asia, where it has become amalgamated with popular
belief forms and ethics (it is now associated with Taoism and Confucianism in China and Shintoism
in Japan), it has found a willing audience in both popular culture and via meditation around the
globe. Zen Buddhism and its related philosophy has especially achieved worldwide acceptance.
Buddhist civilization has also left its architectural and urban planning heritage throughout East and
Southeast Asia.

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Contemporary World Civilizations

1 The Indus River Valley Civilization was in 6 The founder of Buddhism is ___________.
___________.
a. Mohandas Ghandi
a. The Deccan and Kerala b. Narenda Modi
b. The Malabar and Carnatic Coasts c. Siddhartha Gautama
c. Bengal and Oudh

Test Yourself
d. Prince Rama
d. Punjab and Sind e. Arjun
e. Nepal and Tibet

7 The largest branch of Buddhism is

2 The earliest Hindu sacred texts are ___________.
___________.
a. Theraveda
a. The Vedas b. Mahayana
b. The Old Testament c. Vijarama
c. The Puranas d. Pure Land
d. The Upanishads e. Tantric
e. The Epics

8 Which of these countries is not predomi-

3 The Kshatriya caste are ___________. nantly Buddhist?
a. The peasants a. Nepal
b. The high priests b. Thailand
c. The soldiers c. Sri Lanka
d. The business classes d. Burma (Myanmar)
e. The Untouchables e. Cambodia

4 The ancient sacred texts are written in 9 A typical feature of Buddhist architecture is a
___________. ___________.
a. Prakrit a. Stupa
b. Sanskrit b. Temple
c. Hindi c. Monastery
d. Dravidian d. Ashram
e. Tamil e. None of the above

5 The Indian leader who used Hindu slogans 10 Release from the cycle of rebirth in Budd-
for nationalist purposes was ___________. hism is ___________.
a. Nehru a. Moksha
b. Gandhi b. Karma
c. Ashoka c. Samsara
d. Rama d. Nirvana
e. Krishna e. Dharma

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Hindu and Buddhist Civilizations

If your answer is incorrect, review “Origin, If your answer is incorrect, review

1. d 6. c
Geographical, and Historical Background “Buddhism: Definition, Origin,
of Hinduism” Geographical and Historical Background.”
Answer Key for “Test Yourself”

If your answer is incorrect, review

2. a If your answer is incorrect, review 7. b
“Buddhism: Definition, Origin,
“Hinduism.”
Geographical and Historical Background.”

If your answer is incorrect, review

3. c If your answer is incorrect, review 8. a
“Buddhism and Its Influence Upon Global
“Hinduism.”
and Regional Civilization.”

4. b If your answer is incorrect, review 9. a If your answer is incorrect, review “The

“Hinduism.” Influence of Buddhist Infrastructure.”

If your answer is incorrect, review

5. b If your answer is incorrect, review “Future 10. d
“Buddhism and Its Influence Upon Global
of Hinduism.”
and Regional Civilization.”

Summarize social distinctions as indicated by the four major

castes and the special role of religious knowledge specialists.

The Hindus and Buddhists differ regarding social organization. The

government of India, where most of Hinduism’s adherents reside, has
Suggested Answers for “Your Turn”

attempted to mitigate class distinction, but some aspects of caste divisions

still remain, especially in the rural areas.
During the Vedic Age, between 1500 and 1000 BCE. the Rig Veda, appeared;
this was early India’s magisterial production. The caste system emerged at this
time, with the three highest groups based on the arriving Aryans. Although
not explicitly racial and not originally exclusively hereditary, these highest
groups – the Brahmins or keepers of sacred learning, the Kshatriya or soldiers
or rulers, and the Vaishya or individuals engaged in world pursuit of business
and commerce – were considered “twice-born.” The fourth caste, the sudras,
no doubt derived in part from the earlier population probably from the
Your Turn 1 Dravidians, peasants. A fifth group likely descended from Pre-Aryans. They
became the Untouchables. By 500 B.C.E., these groupings had become
hereditary castes and were socio-economic as well ritual in their divisions.
Although legislation and urbanization have modified the caste system since
Indian independence, the system had become so elaborate and entrenched
that sub-castes called jati based on occupations persist. Most marriage takes
place in an endogamous system.
In contrast, the Buddhist movement was a reaction against the caste system,
especially against the role of the Brahmins as the keepers of ritual secrets.
Buddhism to this day does not have this socio-economic or ritual hierarchy
and it tends to sub-divide into nuns and monks on one hand and everyone
else or the laity on the other. There are no barriers for non-specialists to
become priests or nuns based on heredity.

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Does Hinduism permeate all aspects of Indian life such

as the arts, philosophy, food, and clothing?

Suggested Answers for “Your Turn”

Both Hinduism and Buddhism ascribe to the idea of ahimsa or not inflicting
violence upon others. This means that there should be no violence to humans,
nor to other living things including plants and animals. This is reflected in
the practice of vegetarianism and avoiding all types of meat and flesh. It is also
mirrored in the absence of hunting in most Hindu and Buddhist societies and
communities.
Historically, the attitude toward violence has left of these societies -- especially
predominantly Hindu India -- subject to invasion by more violent groups.
Non-violence can take many forms. It involves the avoidance of disturbances;
compassion toward others; forgiveness; suppression of violent thoughts; the
forbearance of suffering caused by nature, circumstances, and the actions
of others; and a general attitude of detachment to worldly suffering. The
rationale behind this approach is that all living beings have a soul and are
Your Turn 2
subject to the laws of karma, cycles of rebirth, and individual duty (dharma).
Beyond ahimsa, ideas permeate all aspects of Indian society including the arts,
clothing, food, and philosophy.
Food varies according to a hierarchy related to caste and class, although tastes
are changing as India becomes more global and fast food national. Traditionally,
according to the Vedas, meals could be divided into three groups. Sattvic or
ascending foods were meant for those of higher castes and were equivalent to
their stage of spiritual development. Such foods consisted of fruits, vegetables,
and grains, and they were thought to promote transcendence associated with
Brahmins. Next were the middle castes. They might consume onions, garlic,
mushrooms, fish and eggs which were considered less spiritual; these foods
would encourage intellect and passion at the expense of meditation. Finally,
there were foods for the lower castes called tamasic, which Included meat and
fermented alcohol, both apparently linked to dullness and inertia.

Discuss how architecture reflects Hindu values.

Hinduism and Buddhism have similar temple styles, as seen in the

photographs. The stupa is a monument typical of Buddhist architecture, with
structures surrounded by brick and stone; the style began in the first century
BCE. Later, a revived Hinduism developed elaborate temple structures based
originally on the stupa and constructed as part of a large complex, such as
at Angkor Wat. The difference between Hindu temples and earlier stupas is
Your Turn 3 the elaborate sculpture of deities, devils, and in a few cases, explicit examples
from the Kama Sutra as at Kurajaho. In the former instance, the sculpture is
often accompanied by painting of parts in vivid colors. The Buddhist design
often put the stupa at the center of a large temple complex as at Borobudur.
Today, examples of the use of temples built into rock abound as in Ajanta for
Buddhist murals and the Ellora caves which have both Buddhist and Hindu
shrines. The Buddhist tendency to be syncretic is evident in architecture as it
exists today in the pagodas of Japan and China.

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Hindu and Buddhist Civilizations

Discuss the contributions of Buddhism to world culture?

The heritage that Hinduism and Buddhism are identified with on a global
Suggested Answers for “Your Turn”

basis includes meditation which seeks to clear an individual’s mind to induce

relaxation and reduce stress. In Hinduism and Buddhism, the goal is to assist
the soul of the practitioner or atman to identify with the universal soul or
brahman. The Hindu term for this union, which results in release, is moksha;
the Buddhist equivalent is nirvana. Practices and exercise that are used to
attain this end are called yoga. In Hinduism, the purpose is not only spiritual
Your Turn 4 sustenance but control of the mind to an exalted end; at the highest level,
this can result in union with the creator spirit. Buddhism does not maintain
that there is one single spirit or Supreme God as opposed to a collection of
spirits, but rather it argues that one can attain ultimate salvation through self-
realization, nirvana, freedom through nothingness and the absence of worldly
desires.
Hindu meditation requires complicated techniques often attained through
years of study. Buddhist techniques, especially through its Zen school, are
simpler and in the Zen case open even to non-Buddhists.

What is the present and future status of Buddhism and

Hinduism in terms of their global contributions?

Hinduism and Buddhism are ranked as two of the four major world religions.
The only officially Hindu countries are Nepal, which abolished Hinduism
as a state religion in 1974, and India where over 90% of Hindus live. India
has a secular constitution, but over the years there has been a reaction against
it as many Hindus equate Indian national identity with Hinduism. Some
traditionalists also objected to statutes favoring lower castes.
The cultural contributions of both Hinduism and Buddhism lie in meditation
Your Turn 5 and stress reduction both of which are now universally recognized as keys to
mental, emotional, and even physical health and well-being. Zen Buddhism
has gained universal acceptance and has been influential in literature, especially
in the West.
The intellectual attainments of both civilizations, especially the Hindu
origination of the concept of zero, the use of numerals, and accounting /
booking practices are permanent additions to world civilization, as is the
current expertise of Indian computer specialists.

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Contemporary World Civilizations

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 Chapter 4 The Western Civilization
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

1 2
Learning Outcomes

Characterize the society of the Western

Recount the origin of the Western Civilization Civilization

3 4
Summarize how the infrastructure of the
Characterize the common culture of the Western civilization contributes to the
Western Civilization development of world civilizations.

5 Recognize the major events of the Western

civilization.

Chapter Outline Key Terms

Introduction • Classical Civilization • Inquisition
The Origin of the Western Civilization • Hebrews • Schism
The Civilizing Society of the Western Civilization • Greeks • Reformation
The Civilizing Common Culture of the Western • Romans • Renaissance
• Fall of Rome • Enlightenment
Civilization
• Dark Ages • American Revolution
The Civilizing Infrastructure of the Western • Holy Roman Empire • French Revolution
Civilization • Judaism • Industrial Revolution
Major Trends of the Western Civilization and A • Christianity
Timeline

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INTRODUCTION Regardless of the value that the Western

Western civilization is an impressive but sad drama. Civilization has given to reason and freedom, it has
shown a frightening capacity for foolish behavior,
The West has developed instruments of reason appeals to violence and ridiculous ideologies, and
(independent thinking based on the quest for truth) it has eagerly sacrificed liberty for security or
that allows for: national grandeur. The world wars and totalitarian
• Good understanding of physical nature movements of the 20th century have proven
and human culture through scientific that Western civilization, despite its amazing
knowledge and advanced practices, achievements, is fragile and perishable.
including sending humans to the Moon, However, the Western Civilization’s biggest
• Successful implementation of the idea motivation is relentless pursuit of progress, change,
of political freedom and democracy (free and rebuilding. This is reflected in the Italian
elections, free press, human and civil Renaissance (15th century); the Enlightenment
rights) practiced by about one billion (18th century); the English Revolution (17th
people or 13% of the world population, century), French Revolution (18th century), and
• Strong recognition of the value of the American Revolution (18th century); the Industrial
individual versus subordination to Revolution (18th and 19th centuries); the Scientific
the collective, releasing the power of and Technological Revolution (20th century); and
innovation and the growth of wealth, the Information and Virtualization Waves (21st
• Impressive development of self- century). Eventually it has led to the rise of the
perpetuating advanced communication developed nations of Europe, America, Australia,
and transportation systems, leading to and New Zealand, where the level of education,
globalization and the free flow of ideas, industrialization, service, governance, and living is
capital, the economy (goods and services), among the highest in the world.
and people (with some limits of the latter).
But the modern West has been less successful at
finding: THE ORIGIN OF THE WESTERN
• Lasting and balanced solutions to social CIVILIZATION
conflict among nations, even within the Western civilization began in Europe and is a
same civilization. Economic systems such merger of two cultural zones that arose in the ancient
as capitalism, socialism, and communism world: the Judeo-Christian and the Greco-Roman.
have reached their capacities and do not By declaring that God was one, autonomous,
serve the unsustainable world civilization superior, and motivated for social justice, the
well as the latter deals with inequality, Hebrews provoked a religious revolution that
overpopulation, ecological deterioration, disconnected them from the world-views of the
and the depletion of strategic resources. neighboring Mesopotamian and Egyptian peoples.
• The ability to regulate science and The new view of divinity led to an awareness of the
technology, which are not only improving value of the individual.
conditions of life but also producing This was based on the following contributions:
weapons of mass destruction and
The Hebrews: In agreeing to a contractual
leading to an economy where robots and
relationship with God, the Hebrews developed an
automation will make humans useless.
awareness of the self, or I. The individual became
• Mechanisms to avoid the development of
aware of his or her moral independence and personal
totalitarian (Nazism), semi-totalitarian
value. Hence, the Hebrews created the idea of moral
(Fascism), and populist regimes which
freedom, that everyone is responsible for his or her
have trampled on individual freedoms
own actions, and the centrality of justice and ethical
and human dignity, practicing brutal
behavior. Inherited by Christianity, this idea of moral
racism. These regimes brought on world
autonomy is central to the Western civilization.
war in the 20th century and resulted in the
death of about 150 million people plus The Greeks: These individuals understood
millions more wounded and displaced, in that community problems were caused by human
addition to the destroyed infrastructure. beings and required human solutions. They

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perceived law as an achievement of the rational selectively incorporated elements of the legal codes
mind rather than as a proclamation imposed by and traditions of many nations into Roman law.
divinities. In the process, they also developed the Thus, Roman law was defined by the universal
idea of political freedom and the possibility of principles of common rationality and humanity, a
democratic and other political institutions. Their great achievement of Roman rule.
philosophers argued that nature is not controlled In addition, gradually the Romans acquired
by blind chance. There are some general rules of knowledge of scientific thought, philosophy, and
nature which can be comprehended by human logic from Greece. This process led them to the
minds. This led to the search for truth, the appreciation of human intelligence and eloquent,
collection of data, and the generation of theoretical graceful prose, and oratory (particularly as practiced
explanations. Thus, a distinction between medicine by the senators). When Augustus (63 BCE-14 CE)
and magic was recognized. The quest for truth became the ruler of the Roman Empire, fully 200
was also associated for the admiration of beauty, years of peace called Pax Romana commenced.
exemplified in architecture, sculptures, pottery, The Romans built networks of good roads and
and clothes. Still today, these Greek achievements aqueducts for supplying water. Unfortunately, in
constitute a basis for Western civilization. the third century CE the ordered civilization of
The Romans: By 146 BCE Rome had become the Pax Romana ended. The Roman Empire was
the dominant power in the Mediterranean world. plunged into military anarchy. German tribesmen
From their origins in the market city-state of Rome, from Vistula river broke through the deteriorating
the Romans conquered the Hellenistic states of border defenses to raid, loot, and destroy.
the eastern Mediterranean, bringing Romans into Economic problems caused the decline of the
close contact with the Hellenistic civilization. They Roman Empire. In 476 the Roman Empire ended
learned the role of law in the acquired new states, – although part of it continued and evolved as
allowing Roman jurists to demonstrate the virtues the Byzantine Civilization – and the Dark Ages
of pragmatism and common sense. Being open to in Europe began, lasting almost to the Italian
other people and their experiences, the Romans Renaissance of the 15th century.

Figure 4.1 The Roman aqueduct at Rome in Italy.

Early Christianity. When the Roman Empire was in decline, a new religion, Christianity, began to
reach out across the Mediterranean world. Christianity was based on the life, death, resurrection, and
teachings of Jesus, a Jew who was executed by the Roman authorities. He taught the need for people to
ask forgiveness for their sins – to convert themselves morally to enter God’s eternal kingdom. People must
love God and their fellow human beings, the Christian religion maintained.

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Soon, Christianity triumphed throughout altogether. The ruling Germans were culturally
Europe and the establishment of Germanic unprepared to build new life on the foundations
kingdoms (particularly, the Holy Roman Empire) of the Classical Greco-Roman civilization. One
on once-Roman lands instituted a new phase in German people, the Franks, built a viable kingdom
Western history -- the end of ancient world and with major centers in France and the Rhine Valley
the beginning of the Middle Ages. The heartland of Germany.
of medieval civilization shifted to the north, to On 25 December 800, Pope Leo crowned
regions of Europe that the classical Greco-Roman Charlemagne the “Emperor of the West” in St.
civilization had scarcely infiltrated. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. In this way Charlemagne
During the early Middle Ages (500 to 1050 CE), and Leo attempted to revive the glories of the
Western Civilization evolved with Christianity at Roman Empire and found what would later came
the center, Rome as the spiritual capital, and Latin to be known as the Holy Roman Empire, which
as the language of spiritual life; nonetheless, the survived from 1254 to 1806. This empire reflected
German tradition was included into the rising new the desire to merge the formerly barbaric Germans
civilization, as well. with Christian and Roman elements into a rising
With the fall of Rome in 476, social and new civilization, Western Civilization. A distinct
intellectual life declined. Trade, city life, central Western (read European) civilization took root,
authority, and learning deteriorated or disappeared but it was centuries away from its maturation.

Figure 4.2 Holy Roman Empire in 1500 CE

Source: www.google.com

By the 13th century, as a separate and practical entity, Western (European) civilization began to advance,
arising from the worst excesses of the Dark Ages. Many of basic institutions and ideas, such as universities,
and representative assemblies, were worked out in the 12th and 13th centuries.
But this Western (European) civilization was restricted to a very small area. Its center was in the North,
in a triangle between Paris, Cologne, and London. The exterior countries such as Spain, Ireland, Norway,
Sweden, Poland, Bohemia (Czech Republic), and Italy – did not share in all the manifestations of this
civilization; nevertheless, they accepted its basic ideas as Christianity.
Furthermore, beyond these countries the impact of this new civilization dropped off sharply. It had
little effect on the Moslem world or on the peoples of Africa and Asia who lived beyond the Moslem areas.
It had some influence on Byzantium, but not enough to erase the variances that separated Byzantium from
the West. The Mongol conquest of the 13th century weakened the ties that the Russians had with the West
and forced them to face the East for two centuries.

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Great voyages of exploration and significant a fourth continent, Africa, was dominated by them
mechanical inventions both began in the 15th (later to be colonized by European countries). Asia
century, enabling Western (European) civilization to was profoundly influenced, mostly by the British,
emerge from its narrow corner and spread throughout Portuguese, and Dutch.
much of the world. Eastern Europe gradually For the first time, many of the peoples of the world
accepted much of the civilization of the West. were brought into contact with a single civilization.
Three new continents – North America (principally Eventually, in the 21st century, Western Civilization
colonized by the British, French, Spanish, and transformed into Global Civilization with a layer of
Dutch), South America (principally colonized the Virtual Civilization (Targowski, 2015).
Portuguese and the Spanish), and Australia (with
The complex of Western civilization in the 21st
New Zealand) – were occupied by Europeans, and
century is shown in Figure 4.3.

WESTERN
CIVILIZATION

Western-West Western-Central Western-Latin Western-Jewish

Civilization Civilization Civilization Civilization

Scandinavian Baltic culture

(Estonian, Latvian, Latin culture Ashkenazi culture
culture Lithuanian)

Anglo-Saxon Western Slavic Southern culture

(Chilean, Uruguayan, Sephardic culture
culture culture
(British, German, Dutch) Argentinian)
(Polish, Czech, Slovak)

Aboriginal culture
Latin culture Hungarian culture (Incas, Aztec, Mayan)
(Italian, French, Spanish,
Portuguese)
Southern Slavic
culture
American culture (Slovenian, Croatian)

Greek culture

Figure 4.3 The complex of Western civilization in the 21st century

Source: Targowski, 2015:42
There are two exceptions in this structure of Western Civilization.
• The first one is with Greece, which is Christian but Orthodox and for that reason is oc-
casionally assigned to the Eastern civilization. However, due to its role as a pillar of
the Greco-Roman Classical civilization, this country provided much of the founda-
tion for the Western civilization development. Therefore, it belongs to this civilization.
• The Jews belong to Western-Jewish civilization even though they are not Christians. But then
again, for nearly 2000 years they were spread across Western civilization in a diaspora, where
they contributed tremendously to the development of Western civilization. These contri-
butions are in the scope of science, music, medicine, technology, and many other fields.

Western-Jewish Civilization
There are many ways one can identify as a Jew. One may see being Jewish in ethnic terms, as a descendant
(or convert) of the people who were expelled from their homeland by the Romans two thousand years ago;
in political terms, as a supporter of the State of Israel; in a cultural light, as one who participates in the
culture, language, theater, or literature of the Jewish people; as a social Jew, that is, one who intermarries

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or otherwise associates principally with Jews; or as in the twentieth century, Reconstructionism,

a religious Jew, one who attends Jewish religious Mordecai M. Kaplan, authored a great work of
services or is learned in the religious history and modern Jewish thought entitled Judaism as a
follows Jewish law, and in other ways. These Civilization. To Rabbi Kaplan, the Jews as a nation
modes of identification vary as the times and or, in the Hebrew language, “Knesset Yisrael” (he
circumstances do. translates it as the ecclesia of Israel, meaning the
Are the Jews an autonomous civilization? Or, does gathering of the faithful of Israel), constitute a
contemporary Jewish civilization form a segment of civilization.
the Western civilization? But, among the many scholarly opponents
From the Bible, one ascertains that the of the Jews stands Arnold Toynbee, a founder
progenitor of the Jewish people was a migrant of the discipline of the comparative study of
named Abraham, who moved from Ur of the civilizations. To him, the Jews do not compose a
Chaldees to Canaan, and who began the Hebrew long-lasting civilization but rather a “fossilized
people via his sons Isaac and Jacob, and their relic” of the Syriac society now extinct, people still
progeny. Others might date the Jewish nation far from complete in terms of moral emancipation
from the Exodus of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt, (Toynbee, 1947:8).
led by the lawgiver Moses, in roughly 1280 BCE; Do the Jews have a civilization? Are they a
others perhaps around 1100 BCE, a century or so fossil of a dead civilization? The authoritative
before the rise of the Israelite kingdoms. Encyclopedia Judaica traces the complex history
The great German sociologist Max Weber saw of a related issue: Jewish identity. In the Biblical
the Jews entering history as a tribal confederacy of period Jewish identity meant belonging to the
peasants and husbandmen in quest of land. From Jewish community as a “religio-national entity.”
there, the Jews went on to become hegemonic Then, during the Babylonian Exile, the Jewish
leaders in Canaan, create a series of kingdoms, and people were reborn as a community not nationally
write The Bible, a foundational work for Western sovereign, with identity pegged to religion. With
Civilization. Then, they evolved again and became, the fall of Judea to Roman legions, the Jews became
according to Weber, a “pariah people,” a group that “an organically developing historic community.”
journeyed, as the late Benjamin Nelson described it, The racist school after Gobineau in the nineteenth
from “tribal brotherhood to universal otherhood.” century described the Jews as a biologically alien
race, and the Nazis persecuted them as such. In
some countries, the Jews were characterized as
those who opted for a religious group, thus, Danes
of the Mosaic Persuasion.
And then, beginning in 1948, all Jews became
entitled to refuge in the state of Israel. Because the
definitional issues are so complex, there have been
constant debates in Israel over the “Who is a Jew”
question. In general, individuals in Israel are Jewish
if they characterize themselves as such, are born of
at least some Jewish ancestry (often as identified
by others), or are converts, and do not subscribe to
Figure 4.4 Writing the Torah another religion.
Some scholars characterize the Jewish transit A civilization is defined in Chapter One of the
through these more than three millennia as a Introduction to World Civilizations textbook as a
single civilization – that is, one flow of mankind’s complex living societal organization. Although
progeny transiting through history and bringing to many definitions follow, in paragraph two appears
the West, and to the world, the ideas of individual the following: civilization, in brief, is an active
conscience, social justice, and universal peace. The complex societal organism which is characterized
founder of a major stream of religious thought by society, culture (including religion), and

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infrastructure living in a larger space and time. and travel for the Europeans (enabling Genoa
Thus, we may say that the Jewish civilization and Venice to reach their economic peak); they
has existed as such for several thousand years in reinforced the collective identity of the Roman
a variety of manifestations, is present today in a Catholic Church under papal control; and they
diaspora worldwide and in Israel, and forms one established a source and standards for recognitions
part of the wider Western civilization. of heroism, gallantry, and devotion that stimulated
Indeed, one of the world’s leading comparative medieval romance, philosophy, and literature. The
civilizationalists, Prof. S.N. Eisenstadt has written Crusades also strengthened the linking between
in Jewish Civilization: The Jewish Historical Western Christendom, feudalism, and militarism
Experience in a Comparative Perspective that the and involved the mass murder of Jews in Europe
best way to understand the Jewish historical as well as Islamic defenders of the regions attacked.
experience is to look at Jewish people not merely The Inquisition - a judicial institution that
as a religious or ethnic group or nation or “people,” was organized in the 13th century by the papacy
but as bearers of civilization. This approach helps and sometimes by secular governments, officially
to explain the greatest riddle of Jewish civilization, to contest heresy. It took place first in France
namely, its continuity despite destruction, exile, (12th century), but later in Spain, Portugal and
and loss of political independence. in their colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Americas
(exemplified by the Peruvian and Mexican
inquisitions). The Spanish and Portuguese
The Rise of Christianity inquisitions sought both the conversion of Jews
Saint Paul (5 CE to 67 CE) had been the most and Muslims to Catholicism, and their murder,
important figure of the Apostolic Age. In the 30s due to the supposition that they had clandestinely
-50s CE, he created numerous Christian churches. returned to their prior religions. Many Jews and
As a Jew and Roman citizen, he could easily address Muslims were forced to flee Iberia and elsewhere.
the Jewish and Roman audiences, and the result was The Inquisition was ended at the beginning of the
that Christianity grew into a separate, universalistic 19th century, after the Napoleonic Wars in Europe
faith that could appeal to all. With the arrival of the and after the wars of independence in the Americas.
Middle Ages, Christianity assumed the dominant
Schism – in the 11th century the Papacy was
position in intellectual thought and civilizational
weak and a break between Rome (Rome I) and
formation in Europe. By the 21st century the
Constantinople, Byzantium (Rome II) took place.
various branches of the Christian churches had
These two branches of the Church spoke different
agreed on the following principles:
languages (Latin in the west and Greek in the east).
• Creed: Love God and each human being There was a political struggle for domination between
(love your neighbor). the Latin Pope and the Greek Patriarch, and there
• Observe the Ten Commandments. were also certain doctrinal differences. The latter
• Follow the teaching of the Bible, both the including disagreement over the unity of the Trinity --
Old and the New Testaments. Father, Son and the Holy Spirit in the western church
The ascent of Christianity was marked by many and minimization of the role of the Holy Spirit in the
significant events. Four were particularly important: eastern church, as well as the fact that priestly celibacy
The Crusades - a sequence of religious wars was observed by Rome and rejected by Byzantium.
authorized by the Roman Catholic Church in the In 1054, the quarrel gained so much intensity
period of 11th – 18th centuries. The major goal was that a great Schism took place. Christianity was
to capture the Eastern Mediterranean and other divided between (a) the Roman Catholic Church
regions from Islamic rule. The wars were conducted (its theology was based on Roman laws) whose
for a variation of motives including defeating influence spread from Spain to Poland, and (b) the
paganism and heresy, fixing conflicts among rival Greek Orthodox Church (its theology was based on
Roman Catholic clusters, and for political and land Greek philosophy and the power of reason) whose
gain. The Crusades had a deep influence on Western dominance spread over the Byzantine Empire and
civilization, as well as on Islamic civilization: they Russia. The division remains.
opened the Mediterranean Sea once again to trade

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Reformation – The revival of learning from the Martin Luther, nailed his famous “95 Theses” -- a
14th to the 17th century is known as the Renaissance. protest of the sale of indulgences (pardons for sins)
It is viewed as the cultural link between the Middle -- to the door of a church in Wittenberg. Then,
Ages and modernity. Scholars who had studied Switzerland, Scandinavia, Scotland, and several
philosophy began to question the Roman Catholic German states soon adapted the new religion,
Church’s teaching and the administration of the called Protestantism. In England, the break with
Church by its leaders. Intellectually, there was an Rome came when Pope Clement VII refused to
appeal for more reliance on Bible teachings – now allow King Henry VIII to divorce his wife, and this
increasingly available because of the printing press led to the organization of the Anglican Church.
– and simplicity of worship. The Roman Catholic Church replied to the
As a result, the Protestant Reformation began Reformation with its own Counter-Reformation,
in Germany in 1517, when an Augustinian monk, which began in 1560 and introduced reforms.
Reformation
16th Century WEST

Schism PROTESTANTISM
Paul 11th Century
Chirist
CHRISTIANITY ROMAN-CATHOLICISM
State Religion ORTHODOXY
4th Century
EAST
Roman Empire Inquisition
Crusades

33 500 1000 1500 2000

Figure 4.5 The timeline of the main events of Christianity in the CE. (The Targowski Model)

The major differences that remain between the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Churches are as
follows:
• The Roman Catholic Church is ruled by semi-divine Popes and clergy composed of the
hierarchy of cardinals, bishops, priests, and deacons. It is one integrated world-wide organization
with its capital in the Vatican City (Rome, Italy).
• The Protestant Churches, by contrast, have many different,
theology-oriented branches (Evangelical, Methodist, Reformed, 1
Lutheran, Pentecostal, Baptist, Mormon, Anglican, Presbyterian,
Unitarian, and numerous others), most of which are independent Can you specify in what way
and many, but not all, ruled by flat management structures. the Hebrews impacted the
• The theological difference between these two churches is in character of Greco-Romans
the complexity of liturgy. The Protestant churches generally and later Westerners?
follow a simpler liturgy than does the Catholic Church.

THE CIVILIZING SOCIETY OF THE WESTERN CIVILIZATION

Civilizations are made up of societies. These societies circumscribe the lives of the members, directing
them in various ways, encouraging certain actions and restraining others. Let us look at the nature of the
Western Civilization and the constituent elements of it in the social realm.

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People France, the Netherlands) had been extending their

The roots of Western civilization are in Europe, rule overseas. Violent competition developed, and
where since the 15th century, a series of revolutionary European militaries found themselves fighting
changes shaped society. Trade grew, towns were each other in North America, the Caribbean, the
raised, printing originated, and information was coast of northern Africa, and the Far East.
disseminated; knowledge and gunpowder-equipped The American Revolution (1775-83)
armies prompted local feudal supremacy structures transformed a colonized society into a fully
to give way to centralized, absolute, well-managed functioning independent nation. Many among
monarchies. The Italian Renaissance (14th century– the colonists had decided to determine their
17th century) directed attention to new scholarship own destiny, and that, coupled with British
and increased curiosity for beauty and innovations. parliamentary intransigence, led to the war for
During this period, a rigorous way of seeing at the independence. By the end, a vast new republic,
world, which today we label “science,” rose. This the United States of America, had appeared on the
drove unmatched technological development, and world stage.
with it, economic progress. The French Revolution of 1789, arguably the
At the same time, pioneer sailors from Portugal, most significant event in thousands of years, was
Spain, Holland, and Italy began discovering the a powerful impetus to evaluation of hereditary
coasts of the oceans and invading lands previously monarchical governments. Soon this revolution
mysterious to Europeans. Where voyagers went, shook the entire continent of Europe. Its main
traders, military and settlers followed. Globe- idea was expressed in its motto: liberté, égalité,
oriented trade paths took huge wealth (gold, silver, fraternité, or “liberty, equality, fraternity.” The rise
and slave trade) back to Europe, positively shifting of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), one of the
its economy and society. all-time most dazzling generals, guaranteed that
While this wealth was arriving from colonies, Revolutionary France conquered much of Europe,
Europe was splitting itself with religious fights, diffusing as it went not only the ideals of the French
as the Reformation divided the Christian world Revolution, such as the rights of man, but also more
of western Europe into two hostile camps. efficient and equalitarian governments and societies
Protestantism prevailed in most of northern across the continent. In the end, the English beat
Europe, whereas the Roman Catholic Church kept Napoleon’s forces at the battle of Waterloo, in
its grip in southern Europe. Protestants advocated 1815; but Europeans had in the process perceived a
a new, simpler style of Christianity, based on an new form of government, and it became a model for
individual relationship with the divine, and its rule throughout Western civilization.
emphasis on individual spirituality unlocked the
way to more personal choice in other aspects of Education
life. This became a crucial feature of Western In its broadest sense, this means any act or
civilization, and among other effects it yielded the experience that has a formative effect on the mind,
rise of the contemporary Western secular society. character, or physical ability of an individual. In its
The growth of secularism produced enormous technical sense, education is the process by which a
improvement in reasoning, first via the intellectuals society transmits its values and wisdom, its learning
of the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century. and its worldviews, to subsequent generations.
Everything (religion, society, government, the The Industrial Revolution in England triggered
material world) was examined in an innovative the rapid development of education in Western
way: causes and consequences engrained in the civilization. The applications of machines required
material world were pursued, and conventionally skillful engineers and workers. Also, machines
acknowledged notions of divine wisdom were shortened the length of working day and people,
downgraded to the margins. A result was the freed from agricultural toil and serfdom, had more
extensive development of scientific knowledge. time to spend on education. Education became a
From the time of the Renaissance, some route to social mobility and, especially, professional
European countries (Portugal, Spain, England, careers.

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To synthesize the historic perspective of education with large-scale international migration,

one can draw the following conclusions (Targowski, which destabilizes local labor forces.
2016:240): • The financial integration of the world. This
1. Education was considered as a very leads to a huge wealth concentration in the
important value by almost all emerging hands of a small number of people under
modern nations since the Renaissance. the flag of the Managerial Revolution.
2. The first education curricula were religion- • A declining morale and deteriorating sense of
oriented, mostly defined and organized ethics among the business elite of the world.
for the preparation of future clergy. Later • Globalization, which threatens localization,
this evolved into liberal arts education and which triggers supranational versus
in Western and Eastern Civilizations. subnational problems and challenges.
3. With the advent of the Industrial • A rising demand for
Revolution, education became more political and human rights.
specialized and categorized by different • The clash of civilizations.
kinds of professions; however, some • The recognition that the limits of
elements of liberal arts education have capitalism, socialism, and communism
remained central, as a form of general as effective and socially acceptable world-
education, in most profession curricula. systems have been reached, coupled
4. The trend of ever deepening professional with the lack of new economic ideas.
education in the second part of the • The fast demise of world
20th century created so-called silos reserves of strategic resources.
of education, preparing narrowly- • A diminishing natural environment due
oriented specialists. Whether this will to overpopulation and industrialization
continue to prevail is problematic. and the lack of effective national
5. In some countries with dictatorial or and international counter-measures.
authoritarian governments, education was • The idealistic spread of democracy, which
a subject of censorship, particularly with is powerless to solve all these problems.
respect to humanities and social sciences. In 1996, participants at an American Council on
As the result, particularistic, one-sided International Intercultural Education conference
information was conveyed to the youth, adopted a framework for global education. The
resulting in dangerous consequences. conferees created a list of developmental stages that
The rapid development of globalization, triggered by “represent a continuum germane throughout all
the Internet, global transportation systems, and businesses levels of education”:
has generated numerous implications for education in A. Recognition of global systems and
the 21st century (Targowski, 2016: 241): their connectedness, including personal
• Profound innovations in technology which awareness and openness to other cultures,
change the modus operandi of civilized values, and attitudes at home and abroad.
life, transforming society from real to B. Intercultural skills and direct experiences.
virtual. This generates a new political C. General knowledge of history and world
elite of 100 million mostly young people events -- politics, economics, geography.
who are in touch and informed instantly D. Detailed area studies specialization --
and who live in all corners of the world. expertise in another language, culture, or
• The rapid spread of knowledge from country.
advanced to developing nations. In effect, Nine competencies were selected as the
China became the World Factory and most important among the fifty generated by
India became the World Laboratory, the participants. Thus, the globally competent
and developed nations are losing their learner is: empowered by the experience of global
middle classes and their purchasing power. education to help make a difference in society;
• The growth of the world population committed to lifelong, global learning; aware of
and its concentration in cities, coupled diversity, commonalities, and interdependence;

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recognizes the geopolitical and economic One measure of the level of education in
interdependence of the world; appreciates the advanced countries (mostly belonging to the
impact of other cultures on national life; accepts Western Civilization, with some exceptions) at
the importance of all peoples; can work in the high school level is shown in Table 4.1. This
diverse teams; understands the non-universality provides a measure of educational achievement as
of culture, religion, and values; and accepts the Program for International Student Assessment
responsibility for global citizenship. (PISA), a triennial survey of 15-year-old students.

Table 4.1 Scores for 15-Year-Old Students in Advanced Countries (OECD)

Source: OECD PISA 2009 Database. Illustration Paul Scruton for the Guardian.

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Another well-known educational index is the Academic Ranking of World Universities. Table 4.2. provides
the list of the top twenty universities in the world, according to this independent organization. Note that
of the top universities in the world, according to this organization, 19 belong to Western civilization and
one to the Japanese civilization.

Table 4.2 The top 20 Universities in the World

Source: Shanghai Ranking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) 2017

In Western civilization, the literacy rate is close to 100%, and the high school graduation rate ranges
from 96% in Portugal downward. The number of tertiary education graduates among 25 to 34-year-olds
ranges from 59% for Canada downward.

Government
The legacy of the French Revolution and the subsequent wars was a wish for better democracy and for
more national self-determination. Italy, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Balkans were under control of
multinational Empires (the Austrian, Russian, and Ottoman), and the various diverse nationalities within
these empires typically sought either self-rule or independence. In Germany and Italy, two nationalities
fragmented among numerous small states, many wanted to unite these nations and let them rule themselves.
These struggles occupied center stage and resulted in two big new European states, Germany and Italy.

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Simultaneously, several countries were taking both found themselves in the empire of the Franks,
great steps toward installing mature parliamentary so perhaps this situation could be imitated. A French
systems of democracy (including free elections and diplomat, Jean Monnet, and Józef Retinger, a Polish
independent press). This was true in both continental émigré-diplomat and founder of the Bilderberg
states and in Britain, with its long-standing practice of Group in 1954, a club of very influential active and
parliamentary rule. It may well be maintained that in former politicians, inspired the formation of the
the 19th century, European mass-party politics took European Coal and Steel Community in 1951.
political leadership away from the limited aristocracy- This drew together the chief continental Western
oriented politics that had dominated. consumers and producers of coal and steel, the two
After World War I the Great Depression materials most essential for the rebuilding of Western
struck Western Civilization. This led to the rise of European civilization. It members were France, West
Fascism in Portugal, Spain and Italy, and Nazism Germany, Luxemburg, Belgium, Holland, and Italy.
in Germany. Those developments culminated These six countries thus became the core
eventually in World War II (1939-45). In World countries of the coming Western European unity.
War II about 100 million civilians and military Their project was to place the German industrial
personnel died, including the Chinese victims and complex, the center of German industrial power,
the Holocaust of the Jews. Europe then split into under international control and at the same
the political West (Western Civilization without time promote cooperation, reconciliation, and
Central Europe) and the political East (Soviet economic strength.
Union and its satellites). Following this successful beginning for Western
The Cold War began in 1945 between the European integration, a series of similar steps
West, which promoted democracy and capitalism, were taken, and new organizations formed: the
and the East, which practiced state communism European Atomic Energy Community and then,
and central planning. The Polish Revolution, the European Economic Community, formed in
from 1980 to 1989, led by the workers movement 1957. These organizations themselves became the
called “Solidarity,” was followed by the fall of the launching pad for the further integration of Western
Berlin Wall in 1989 (which had physically divided Europe. Could a united Europe compete with the
Germany into Western and Eastern republics), and United States and generate once again the prosperity
of the Soviet Union in 1991. and power that Europe had held in the 19th century?
In 1973 the original six were joined by Great
Britain, Ireland, and Denmark. These nine lands
now began calling themselves the European
Community. By 1986 Spain, Portugal, and Greece
were admitted, after three years of preparation.
In 1993 the European Union was created, with a
common currency (among 17 nations only), law,
and a restructured European Parliament, European
Commission, European Council, and Court of
Justice. Thus, the European Union was set to follow
the classic three branches of government, originally
formulated in Europe during the 18th century by
Figure 4.6 Berlin, Germany - People walking along the the French philosopher Baron de Montesquieu.
east side gallery, remains of the Berlin Wall. Through the next process of acquiring new
members from political Eastern Europe, the
European Union expanded to embrace 28 countries
European Union and 600 million consumers. It constitutes today
It was the desire of France, after engaging in the largest single trading entity, conducting one
devastating wars three times with Germany (1871, fourth of the world’s commerce, and it has become
1914-18, and 1940-45), to curtail any further the strongest common market in the world as
hostilities with Germany; the two countries had once measured by purchasing power.

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Military
In 1949 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was
formed. It was to be an alliance of national military forces spearheaded by
such democratic Western allies as the United States, the United Kingdom,
France and Canada. In response, the Warsaw Pact was signed in 1955; it
was to be a Soviet-led alliance of Eastern Europe’s military forces and its
target was Western Europe during the period of the Cold War between the
West and East.
The Cold War focused on boundless technological innovations. As an
unanticipated consequence of developments in military aviation, civilians
could develop high volume air travel and mass tourism.
A space race, triggered by the American and Russian efforts to expand
arsenals of long-range nuclear missiles, concluded with the Americans
transporting a man to the moon in 1969. It also led to the placement of
many satellites in orbit around the globe, laying the foundations for historic
progress in civilian communications, navigation, and land surveying
through such technology as the Global Positioning System.
Military enmity also resulted in astonishing developments in
Figure 4.7 American
electronics, miniaturization, and computing, laying the foundations for
intercontinental missiles can
a revolution in automation and informatization in the workplace in the
reach every corner of the world
1980s. Simultaneously, there was the emergence of an entire new online
with atomic bombs
entertainment industry, including movies delivered to home screens.

Economy
The index showing annual income per capita of Gross Domestic Product in parity purchasing power
(products in a daily basket in local currency), displayed in Figure 4.8, reveals for countries of the Western-
West Civilization about $50,000, for Western-Central about $20,000 to $35,000, and for Western-Latin
America about $10,000 to $35,000. It is the highest income among all civilizations with the exception to
some oil-rich Arab nations.

GDP per capita-PPP in

International U.S. Dollar
50,000 $+
35,000 $-50,000 $
20,000 $-35,000 $
10,000 $-20,000 $
5,000 $-10,000 $
2,000 $-5,000 $
<2,000 $

Figure 4.8 The Countries by Gross Domestic Product in ppp (U.S. dollars)
Source: World Economic Outlook Database, April 2016, International Monetary Fund.

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The Western Civilization

Quality of Life Among the interesting findings of that report werea

The Cold War years from 1945 to 1991, as follows:
unexpectedly, saw vast economic advances, • Jews have high levels of educational
especially for the Western Civilization. The United attainment. Most Jews are college
States provided or lent money on an immense scale graduates (58%), including 28% who say
(the Marshall Plan of 1948) to get European states, they have earned a post-graduate degree.
plus Japan, back on their feet after World War II By comparison, 29% of U.S. adults say
and to stop the dissemination of communism. The they graduated from college, including
standard of living grew intensely in the West, with 10% who have a post-graduate degree.
millions of owned households becoming furnished • Fully one-quarter of Jews say they have a
with televisions, refrigerators, electric cookers, and household income exceeding $150,000,
other home appliances, including cars. compared with 8% of adults generally.
At the same time, 20% of American
Jews report household incomes of less
than $30,000 per year; about six-in-
ten Jews of this low-income category
are either under age 30 or 65 or older.
From a demographic and sociological
perspective, among the important recent
developments are the huge rise in the rate of
intermarriage among American Jews and the
diminution of persecution of Jews but a slight
uptick in incidents of prejudice in the U.S.
Figure 4.9 A residential area of individual homes in the U.S.

Jewish Society Today 2

Overall, it is estimated that there were roughly Can you tell what was the
14.3 million Jews in the world as of 2015. In Israel, purpose of the Enlightenment
the Jewish population today exceeds 6.2 million. in the 18th century?
In the United States, it is estimated that there are
roughly 5.7 million Jews. In the decades since
1945, the Jewish population in Europe has fallen. THE CIVILIZING COMMON
Today, there are about 1.4 million European Jews: CULTURE OF THE WESTERN
just 10% of the world’s Jewish population, and CIVILIZATION
0.2% of Europe’s total population. Overall, 83%
The culture of the Western Civilization in
of all Jews in the world live in one of two countries,
Europe from the 8th to the present century has
either Israel or the United States. The presidents
been characterized variously by power and creeds
and prime ministers of Israel have all been Jewish.
and by a line of scientific, artistic, social, economic,
In recent years roughly one tenth of the United
technological, and military ferment full of wars
States Senate has consisted of Jews, as has a slightly
and revolutions.
smaller percentage of members of the U.S. House
of Representatives.
A 2013 survey of American Jews by the Pew The Legacies of Western Culture
Research Center asked what it means to be Jewish. • The Legacy of Classical (Greco-
The most frequent responses, in order, were: Roman) culture (5th B.C.E. – 5th C.E.)
remembering the Holocaust; leading an ethical and - Greek culture:
moral life; working for justice and equality; being 1. A shift from aristocratic governance
intellectually curious, and caring about Israel. to democracy

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2. The power of reasoning in daily (1783), and French (1789) Revolutions.

life and abstract problem solving This ideology was a critique of the rising
3. The importance of ideas and per- wave of conservatism in imperial Europe
fecting one’s own personality in the 19th century. It rejected the notions,
4. The first stages of science and medicine common at the time, of hereditary privilege,
5. The importance to see beauty in state religion, absolute monarchy, and the
life, which led to high art, par- Divine Right of Kings. Liberals opposed
ticularly sculpture and poetry traditional conservatism and sought to
6. A spreading out of monetary- replace absolutism in government with
based trade among distance parties representative democracy and the rule of law.
7. The accumulation of wealth The primary intellectual influences on 19th
at upper strata of the society century liberal trends were those of Adam Smith and
8. The development of colonial cities the classical economists; and Jeremy Bentham (1748-
1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). Adam
- Roman culture: Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776,
1. A centralized state of a multi- provided many of the ideas of economics, at least
ethnic complex of territories until the publication of J. S. Mill’s Principles in 1848,
2. A “check and balance” driven where he argued for laissez-faire. Jeremy Bentham
government of 3 branches: thought that public policy should provide “the
executive, legislative and judicial, greatest happiness of the greatest number.” It could be
supported by hierarchy of interpreted as a justification for state action to reduce
assemblies, magistrates and census poverty in times of Darwinian economic relations.
3. Law defining civility of • The Legacy of Soviet, Fascist, and Nazi
habitants and government cultures in the 20th century: the twentieth
4. Imperialist expansion as far as century is the deadliest century in the
possible beyond its own borders 6,000-year long history of civilization.
5. A large and disciplined Due to the Bolshevik Revolution (1917)
army ready to fight and grab and the two world wars (1914-1918 and
6. Industrial, commercial 1934-1945), about 200 million were killed,
and trade policies largely caused by the Germans (who waged
7. Expansion of the road network two wars) and the Russians and Chinese
for effective transportation (who wanted to spread State Communism).
8. Elite luxury, corruption, and 1. State communism promoting
decadence (which led to the egalitarianism and class struggle
fall of Western Roman Empire) under the form of terror-driven
• The Legacy of the Italian Renaissance: Leninism-Stalinism was discredited as
The culture-oriented modernizing force of an inhuman and ineffective doctrine.
Western Civilization- Renaissance means It was, in fact, the dictatorship of a
“rebirth”, and it denotes the attempts by one-party state; its legacy is seen in
artists and thinkers to recuperate and relate North Korea today. That legacy is de
again the ancient understanding and ideals facto Red Fascism (Targowski, 1982).
of Greece and Rome. This movement was 2. Fascism practiced in Italy, Spain and
born in the city-states of northern Italy Portugal in the 1930s was the politics
and spread to the rest of Europe in the of law and order. The idea was that
years 1350-1600. In those times the rest Europeans, raised on liberal values,
of Europe was still contained within the could be ruled by an ideology-less
scholastic boundaries of thinking and acting. dictatorship which abuses power
• The Legacy of Liberal European culture by police dominance and neglects
(English, French): liberty and equality as economic conditions and national
proclaimed by the English (1688), American culture. That idea crashed down.

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The Western Civilization

3. Nazism - political and economic doctrines held and put into effect by Adolf Hitler
in Germany from 1933 to 1945 included the totalitarian principle of government,
predominance of Germanic ethnic groups, an assumption of racial superiority, and
supremacy of the Führer. This ideology was discredited as a criminal regime which
broke with Christian values and applied barbarian values, leading to the Holocaust
and massive killings of Jews, Gypsies, Poles, Ukrainians, Russians, and others.
• The Legacy of German culture is strong in literature, poetry, philosophy, military habits and in
substantial food.
• The Legacy of North American culture includes advanced science and technology
and, also, American food. Tasty fast-food offerings such as hamburgers and French
fries are unhealthy but have conquered the world’s palate, apparently. More recently,
however, there is a countervailing trend to eat healthier, organic foods of low calories.

Figure 4.10 The American food: the food culture of the United States is based on a hamburger.

• The Legacy of Latin American culture is best reflected in dance. This culture has contributed a dance,
the tango, which is performed with great involvement and dynamism and is widely adapted to the world.

Figure 4.11 Enjoying dancing the tango.

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Contemporary World Civilizations

• The Legacy of Slavic culture (Central 1. Christian religion - inspirational and

European culture) – This is found in organizational power, regardless of
the scope of folklore which is rich in its schism, divisions, inquisition, and
costumes and dances. Folklore has a institutional problems.
strong and long tradition in Western 2. The Scientific Revolution – open minds
and truth about the universe and this
culture. Each country in the Western
planet’s nature.
civilization has its own specific patterns 3. The Italian Renaissance – humanity and
and styles, very colorful and dynamic. beauty in art and architecture.
4. High Culture – good taste, the aspirational
levels in music, paintings, and theatre.
5. The Enlightenment – socially progressive
ideas inspiring revolutions.
6. The English, the American, the French
Revolutions and the American Civil
War (1861-65) - parliament, democracy,
citizenship, and equality.
7. The bourgeois society - triggered by the
Industrial Revolution – engine, electricity,
capital, factory, products, labor, class conflicts.
8. Bureaucracy, technocracy and meritocracy
- developed by industrialization (20th
Figure 4.12 The Central European (Polish) culture is century) and the spread of manufacturing.
based on enjoying the active life in dancing. 9. Capitalist mind - due to the development
of the free market, entrepreneurship,
competition, efficiency, effectiveness, and
• The Legacy of Scandinavian culture - inequality.
Scandinavia has long been the home of 10. Socialist mind – socially-oriented
outstanding interior design and classic distribution of wealth, political equality.
fashion brands. Scandinavian home design 11. Progress-oriented mind - triggered by the
has an eye on balancing elegant simplicity and Scientific and Technological Revolutions, as
seen in the car, airplane, medications, landing
minimalism with inviting homeliness and
on the Moon, computer, the Internet.
warmth, or hygge, and inspirational pictures. 12. Mobility – ease of engine-driven movement
of people and material.
13. Education – enhancement of knowledge
base, judgment and choices, and attitudes
of society.
14. Nationalism – ethnic pride, belonging,
and sacrifice.
15. Humanity won – in its struggle with
modern barbarism experienced through
World War I (1914-18) and World War II
(1939-1945).
16. Independence-oriented politics – the end
of colonialism.
Figure 4.13 The Scandinavian interior culture-balancing 17. Science race – the foundation for
elegant simplicity and warmth. advancement in civilizational development.
18. Technology race – the technology
society and its effect on culture.
One can distinguish the following key strategic 19. Rise of a Hegemon – the growth of the United
indicia, all of which have contributed, gradually, States as a superpower in the 20th century, a
to defining the civilizing culture of the Western world hegemon controlling the world order.
civilization in Europe and beyond from the 8th to 20. Ideology-oriented war – The Cold War
21st century (Targowski, 2015: 11): (1945-1991) and its result in economics,
with capitalism disqualifying communism.

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21. Democracy won – dissemination around What could not be destroyed by Roman legions
the world as the best political system. was the Jewish ideas of brotherhood, the practice of
22. Pop Culture – vulgarization and counter- resting on the sabbath, the religious calendar, the
activation of society. dietary laws, and other cultural habits which to this
23. Europeanization and the European day mark Jewish life and have spread throughout
Union – common market, currency (17 Western civilization.
countries), laws, and peace.
24. Internetization – free flow of ideas, capital,
products world-wide.
25. Information Wave – communicating and
more empowered individuals. 3
26. Civilizational clashes (20th and 21st
centuries) – values-driven conflicts and a Can you tell what the role of
possible war between civilizations. the bourgeois society was in
27. Globalization – free flow of ideas, capital, the 19th century?
products, services.
28. Global civilization – super-consumerism,
turbo-capitalism, and huge inequality. THE CIVILIZING
29. Super-consumerism – “more is better”
implies a necessary depletion of strategic INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE
resources. WESTERN CIVILIZATION
30. Virtual civilization – active life beyond The Scientific Revolution of the 15th to 17th
reality and common intelligence and a virtual- centuries replaced the motionless earth with a
common mind composed of contributions by “mechanized” one. The universe has ever since
two billion users of social networks. been understood as giant machine functioning
31. Virtuality - unlimited freedom and social
according to natural and universal laws that could
chaos, losing skills as a result.
32. Liquid times – uncertainty about today be formulated with mathematical precision. This
and tomorrow. new worldview inspired the belief that nature could
be mastered. In fact, there may be some truth to
Western sports have included the rise of new
this claim as space travel, including landing on the
types of activities. Thus, youths enjoy surfing
Moon and Mars, has shown.
which came from far-away Australia to Northern
America and Europe. Gradually Newtonian science has become
the science of Western Civilization as well as the
Western culture has some Jewish roots.
whole world, and its mechanistic paradigm has
The Jews have spoken many languages over the
led to the development of technology in the form
centuries, mirroring the lands of their residence.
of water pumps, engines, automobiles, railroads,
Many Jewish languages have been based on local
and factory systems which characterize the coming
languages. Nonetheless, the principal language of
Enlightenment (in terms of social mechanisms) and
the Jews has been Hebrew. At first, they spoke a
the Industrial Revolution (in terms of mechanical
form of Aramaic. Before the end of the Second
products and processes).
Temple period, Jews tended to speak Greek,
and then Latin; the latter language gave birth to The term “Industrial Revolution” symbolized
fully six Jewish languages. One, Ladino (Jewish the shift from an agrarian, handicraft, labor-
Spanish) has played an especially important part in intensive economy to one dominated by machine-
Jewish culture, as has Yiddish (a Jewish adaptation driven manufacturing, specialization of tasks (at the
of Middle High German). For many centuries Jews shop-floor and in the office where bureaucracy was
in the Middle East tended to speak Arabic. In other born), a free flow of capital, and the concentration
regions, they spoke Judeo-Persian, a wide variety of of people in the cities of the emerging Industrial
Arabic-based languages, and Gruzinic. The official Society.
languages of Israel today are Hebrew and Arabic, The following legacies of the Industrial
but English, French, Polish, and Russian are also Revolution can be perceived from a 200 year-
widely spoken in that country, as well. long perspective (Targowski, 2015:109):

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1. Factory system and bureaucracy: the landscape of those towns. Most of

technological progress in the cotton the world’s population now lives in cities.
and iron industries created a factory 7. Bourgeoisie versus proletariat: a new
system based on the engine, which social structure emerged in the West.
provided centralized power to machines. According to Marxist theory, this
2. Railroads: transportation rapidly could be characterized as composed of
grew as workers from the countryside affluent people who are conventional,
had to be taken to the factories in conservative, or materialistic in outlook
cities via a network of railroads. and who own the means of producing
3. Steamboats: transportation through seas wealth, and of the exploited working
and oceans was developing fast as the class. The former has organized itself into
colonies needed products and services, political parties to defend its economic
and Europe could provide them but status, while the latter has organized
at the same time needed raw materials itself frequently into political parties and
and free labor (slaves and immigrants). international workers organizations to
4. Post office and telegraph: communication protect its work opportunities and income.
of information was necessary to control 8. Per capita income: Since 1820 world
the rapid flow of material, products, and industrializing development has been
services. Royal couriers were found in much more dynamic, and more intensive,
Ancient Egypt in 2400 BCE. The oldest than in the millennium before. Per capita
post office in the world still functioning income rose faster than the growing
was opened in England in 1712, and the population; by 1998, it was 8.5 times as
first telegraphic message was sent from high as in 1820 (Maddison, 2000:27).
Baltimore/Maryland to Washington D.C. This growth created discretionary income
in 1844. Very soon, in 1851, a cable was that fueled the further development of
laid down under the English Channel industrialization and population growth.
connecting England with continental 9. Population growth: once industry could
Europe, and in 1866 the transatlantic provide large quantities of products,
cable allowed electric communication customers were needed. From 1820
between the United States and Europe. to 1998 the population expanded 5.6
5. Financial system: The West developed a times faster than in the years from
form of stocks for investment in companies 1000 to 1819 (Maddison, 2000: 27).
with some controlled liability, which
allowed for a more effective concentration
of capital for savings and investments.
6. Urbanization: concentration of industrial 4
businesses in cities led to their rapid growth.
What was the role of the factory
Before industrialization, most workers
could grow their own food; however, in system in the development of
cramped towns they had to rely on all Western civilization?
sorts of services, which were developing

Figure 4.14 Western civilization’s inventions: Working robots and flying robots (drones).
These will compete for work with humans. Will they move civilization towards a labor-less economy?

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MAJOR TRENDS OF THE WESTERN CIVILIZATION

AND A TIMELINE
Let us now consider the essence of Western Civilization, which is based on three ancient societies and
much wider in scope today. What are the Main Trends? What is the Timeline of this civilization?

Main Trends
1. The development of science, technology, and education as continuous processes in a world-wide setting.
2. The development of mass-produced consumer and industrial goods for the world market.
3. The development of instruments of social justice in terms of freedom and equality; the rights to
life, liberty and happiness; and the protection of universal rights, including human rights, civil
rights, women’s rights, religious rights, freedom of speech or expression, and minority rights.
4. The development of capitalism and its positives, including encouragement of competences,
competitiveness, effectiveness, productivity, wealth, along with its negatives, including strong
economic and social inequality, consumerism, the digital divide (with some poverty), and
depletion of strategic resources, including water and clean air, fossil fuels, oceans, and ice shelves.
5. The development of Industrial, Information, and Virtualization Waves world-wide, leading
to the inevitable modernization of all contemporary civilizations (Targowski, 2015).
6. The development of the Globalization Wave and its civilizational ramifications, now embracing
almost all contemporary civilizations, and facing some resistance
given older traditions and value systems (Targowski, 2014).
7. The development of the awareness of the necessity
5
for the sustainable development of world civilization.
8. The contribution to the war of civilizations (21st What is the trigger of the rise
century) due to the past colonialism and the clash of of the Virtualization Wave ?
Westernization versus Modernization (Huntington, 1996).

Timeline of Western Civilization

0 Jesus Christ’s birth (in fact it was in 4 BCE)
33 CE Jesus Christ crucified.
79 The destruction of Pompeii by Vesuvius volcano
392 Roman Emperor Theodosius-I makes Christianity a state religion
476 Fall of the (Western) Roman Empire.
476 to 15th century Dark Ages
800 Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III, perhaps a beginning
of modern Western civilization
880 Byzantine Emperor Basil recovers Italy for Christianity
900 Alfonso III of Castile begins reconquest of Spain for Christianity
1054 Schism of Christianity; split into Roman Catholicism and Orthodox
1215 Magna Carta in England provides limitations of king’s powers; protection for
church rights; access to rapid justice, and restrictions on feudal payments to the
Crown
1337 to 1453 The Hundred Years’ War – English kings claim the rights to the French throne
1410 Polish king Wladyslaw Jagiello defeats the Teutonic Knights; Poland becomes the
biggest country in Europe
1378 to 1417 Rival popes elected; papacy moves from Rome to Avignon, France
1440 Johannes Gutenberg perfects printing from movable characters
1453 Ottoman Turks conquer Constantinople; the end of the Byzantine Empire (Rome
II) and the Middle Ages
1453 The Renaissance begins of the modern period of history; a rebirth of learning
following centuries of intellectual darkness

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1456 Ottoman Turks conquer Athens.

1492 Columbus discovers America.
1517 The Reformation of Christianity begins, led by Martin Luther
1534 Henry VIII declared supreme head of the Church in England
1562 to 1598 Religious wars in France between the Huguenots (French Protestants) and Roman
Catholics
1574 Ottoman Empire regains Tunis from Spain
1588 English fleet defeats Spanish armada
1618 Thirty Years’ War (to 1648) over religion
1620 The Mayflower brings Pilgrims seeking freedom to the New World
1648 Treaty of Westphalia ends war, creates state sovereignty system
1683 Siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Turks
1688 “Glorious Revolution” in Britain provides some voting rights
1775 to 1781 The American War of Independence
1789 to 1799 The French Revolution: “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity”
1815 Napoleon loses at Battle of Waterloo
1830 Industrial Revolution well underway in England
1848 Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
1865 U.S. Civil War ends; slavery abolished
1871 German Empire formed; Italian unification completed
1917 Revolutions in Russia
1914 to 1918 World War I
1922 Turkey defeats Greece
1929 Great Depression begins
1933 The New Deal begins in the United States.
1933 Hitler named Chancellor of Germany, introduces Nazism and Lebensraum (quest
for the more land in the East) program.
1936 The Spanish Civil War; ends in 1939 with Republican loss.
1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact; invasion of Poland begins September 1
1939 to 1945 World War II.
1945 Atomic bombs dropped on Japan; Japanese surrender
1945 to 1991 The Cold War
1947 The Iron Curtain falls in Europe; India granted independence
1949 NATO formed
1955 Warsaw Pact formed
1957 Treaty of Rome begins the unification of Europe.
1969 The Americans land on the Moon
1980 to 1989 Polish Revolution, “Solidarity”
1989 Berlin Wall falls
1991 Soviet Union dissolved
1993 “European Union” is created
2001 The World Trade Center in New York destroyed in terrorist attack and the “War
of Civilizations” intensifies
2015 Migrants from Middle East and Africa reach Europe in numbers

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Further Reading

Cole, J and C. Symes. (2015). Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. London:
Norton, Co.
Esolen, A. (2008). The Political Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization. Washington, DC.: Regnery
Publishing.
Spielvogel, J.J. (2014). Western Civilization. Stamford, CT.: Cengage Learning.

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Contemporary World Civilizations

LO 1 Recount the origin of the modern

Western Civilization

Although it rests upon three smaller ancient cultures – Israel, Greece and Rome -- the Western
Civilization fell into desuetude after the Fall of the Roman Empire in 476 CE. It began to
re-emerge in 800 CE and there was a steady but slow rebirth of art, architecture, music, and
education culminating in the Renaissance. Ever since, the rise of Western civilization has
been strong, and it has extended through Europe, Americas, and Oceania (Australia and New
Zealand).

Summary
Characterize the society of the
LO 2 Western Civilization.

Western society since the Enlightenment tried to apply reason as it sought to understand
mankind’s fate, which was not so good. The lifespan of ordinary people at the beginning of the
modern era was short, about 25 to 30 years. Hence, Western intellectuals, mostly philosophers,
provided a rational basis for understanding social change and educated leaders of future
revolutions such as the American (1776), the French (1789), the Industrial (culminating at
about 1830), the Mexican (1910), the Bolshevik (1917), and the Polish (1980-1989). Each
such revolution introduced changes into Western Civilization. While the Bolshevik Revolution
took place in the Eastern civilization, it had an indirect impact on the Western civilization.

Characterize the common culture

LO 3 of the Western Civilization

The Western culture confronted the fruits of the Industrial Revolution and generated a set
of competing ideologies that were applied by rulers to control society. Capitalism was an
economic argument for rational economic man and effectiveness and wealth development,
Socialism, by distinction, emphasized the need for societal justice and limiting inequality.
Communism stood for utopian equality. Since their introduction, each economic ideology has
shown its strengths and weaknesses.
Western culture has also brought forth Fascism and Nazism. These ideologies wanted to
improve society by limiting economic benefits to a few. The Nazis based their philosophy on
racism and the superiority of their nation, while the fascists advocated glorification of the state
and abolition of economics except as determined by the state. These ideologies culminated in
the killing of about 100 million people in World War II.
The Western civilization has developed an extensive corpus of high culture for the elite and a
vast popular culture for the masses. Due to the progress of smartphones, tablets, computers
and the Internet, both elite and popular cultures have been subject to vulgarization in the 21st
century.

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The Western Civilization

Summarize how the infrastructure of the Western

LO 4 civilization contributes to the development of
world civilizations.

Western infrastructure has made the life easier, first because of the factory system that can
deliver enormous amounts of goods for the consumers and organizations. Electrical power has
extended hours for work and learning and saved greatly on the human physical effort. Trains,
cars, and airplanes enabled almost completely mobility, while computers and their networks,
including the Internet and social networks, have vastly expanded the ability to communicate
and be well informed. All these infrastructural systems have made people better off but not
necessarily wiser. Among the negative impacts of Western Civilization’s infrastructure has been
Summary

an increasingly labor-free economy, which threatens to replace people with robots.

Recognize the major events of the Western

LO 5 civilization.

Among the most important events of Western Civilization, one must recognize the end of the
flowering of Ancient Greek culture, the generation of morality and ethics by Hebrew prophets
and writers, and the fall of the Roman Empire and its classic civilization, all providing a
foundation for the rise of another civilization. Modern Western Civilization depends on these
antecedents plus the preeminence of Christianity and its applicability to Western morals,
thought and society; the English, American, French, and Industrial Revolutions; and the
recent beginning of the Information and Virtualization Waves.

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1 Which important step forward for Western 6 Which of the following made it possible to
Civilization occurred in the 15th century? examine everything (religion, society, government,
a. the French Revolution the material world) in an innovative way?
b. the American Revolution a. PISA
c. the Meiji Restoration b. The Battle of Waterloo

Test Yourself
d. the opening of the Suez Canal c. Schism
e. the Renaissance d. The inquisition
e. The Age of Enlightenment
2 By which year did Rome become the domi-
nant power in the Mediterranean world? 7 Given the Shanghai Rankings 2017, which
a. 333 BCE of the following does not have an educational
b. 146 BCE institution among the top 20 universities in the
c. 79 CE world?
d. 476 CE a. France
e. 1054 CE b. Japan
c. Great Britain
3 Which of the following is a judicial instituti- d. Switzerland
on that sought the conversion and murder of Mus- e. United States of America
lims?
a. Schism 8 Which of the following is the legacy of Libe-
b. Ten Commandments ral European (English and French) culture?
c. The inquisition a. Renaissance
d. Reformation b. Liberty and equality
e. Renaissance c. Law defining civility of habitants and govern-
ment
4 What is Pax Romana? d. A shift from aristocratic government to democ-
racy
a. 200 years of peace
e. State communism
b. The alliance among city states
c. War between the Romans and slaves
d. The uprising by slaves under the leadership of
9 Which of the following is not one of the le-
gacies of the Industrial revolution?
Spartacus
e. The truce between the empire and the papacy a. Factory system and bureaucracy
b. Financial system
c. Post office and telegram
5 On Christmas Day in 800 CE------------?
d. Yiddish
a. Rome fell. e. Urbanization
b. Pope Leo ascended to the papacy.
c. The battle of Tours against the Arabs was won 10 When did the Iron Curtain fall in Europe?
by Charles Martel.
d. Pope Leo crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the a. 1914
Romans, later called the Holy Roman Emperor. b. 1939
e. the Spanish Armada was defeated. c. 1947
d. 1979
e. 2001

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The Western Civilization

If your answer is incorrect, review

1. e If your answer is incorrect, review 6. e
“The Civilizing Society of the Western
“Introduction”.
Civilization”.

If your answer is incorrect, review

2. b If your answer is incorrect, review “The 7. a
“The Civilizing Society of the Western
Origin of the Western Civilization”.
Civilization”.
Answer Key for “Test Yourself”

If your answer is incorrect, review “The

3. c If your answer is incorrect, review “The 8. b
Civilizing Common Culture of the Western
Origin of the Western Civilization”.
Civilization”.

If your answer is incorrect, review “The

4. a If your answer is incorrect, review “The 9. d
Civilizing Infrastructure of the Western
Origin of the Western Civilization”.
Civilization”.

If your answer is incorrect, review “Major

5. d If your answer is incorrect, review “The 10. c
Trends of the Western Civilization and
Origin of the Western Civilization”.
Atimeline”.

Can you specify in what way the Hebrews impacted the

character of Greco-Romans and later Westerners?
Suggested Answers for “Your Turn”

The Hebrews contributed to the character of Greco-Romans and Westerners the

ideas of social justice, a contract with God based on morality, and the concept of
myself or I. This ideal is strongly embedded in the character of the Westerners.
Your Turn 1 Ever since, social competition (like economic and status-oriented) among
people led to the development of Capitalism which is steadily spreading around
the world, not only in Western civilization.

Can you tell what was the purpose of the Enlightenment in the
18th century?

Everything – such as religion, society, government, the material world – was examined
innovatively, based on growing knowledge through the last several centuries. Causes
and consequences deep-rooted in the material world were critically analyzed, and
Your Turn 2 conventionally acknowledged notions of reliance on divine wisdom were made
marginal. Since rational thinking is based on educated reasoning, thinkers of the
Englightenment replaced or minimized superstition and myth-oriented bases of
acting and improved the processes of decision-making greatly.

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Can you tell what the role of the bourgeois society was in the 19th
century?

The role of the new rising bourgeoisie in the 19th century was to support the

Suggested Answers for “Your Turn”

Industrial Revolution and accumulate capital for the development of business
and wealth. Eventually, the better off bourgeoisie replaced the aristocracy at the
top of the societal ladder. The less financially successful bourgeoisie created the
Your Turn 3 middle class of businessmen and professionals.In the 21st century, as Big Business
was outsourcing manufacturing of computer chips to Asian and East European
countries, the Western middle class began to decline and the gap between the top
and lower classes grew rapidly, threatening an unacceptable level of inequality.

What was the role of the factory system in the development

of Western civilization?

The role of the factory system was to develop the mass production of consumer
and industrial goods for a broadening world market. This system converted
agriculture workers into factory workers who left the countryside and moved
to cities. It was made especially feasible by the development of railroads. The
factory system mechanized human-based labor, which ever since has had more
Your Turn 4 time for education. Eventually, more educated workers led to the development
of advanced science and technology which in the 21st century replaced
mechanization by automation and robotization. In such a way productivity
grew, and mass production is ready to support super-consumerism. In effect,
it leads to population growth and to the depletion of such strategic resources
as fresh water, fresh air, oil, gas, and some metals.

What is the trigger of the rise of the Virtualization Wave?

The Western Civilization’s biggest motivation is the relentless pursuit of progress,

change, and rebuilding. This is reflected in the Italian Renaissance (15th century);
the Enlightenment (18th century); the English (17th century), French (18th
century), and American (18th century) Revolutions; the Industrial Revolution
Your Turn 5 (18th and 19th centuries); the Scientific and Technological Revolution (20th
century), and the Information and Virtualization Waves (21st century). The
Virtualization Wave was triggered in the 21st century by the overwhelming
presence of social networks and smartphones.

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The Western Civilization

References
Berkovits, E. (1956). Judaism: Fossil or Targowski, A. (1982). Red Fascism. Lawrenceville, VR:
Ferment? Philosophical Library. editors@ Brunswick Publishing Co.
philosophicallibrary.com.
Targowski, A. (2014). Global Civilization in the 21st
Huntington, S. P. (1996). The Clash of Civilizations Century. New York: NOVA Science Publishers.
and the Remaking of World Order. New York:
Targowski, A. (2015). Western Civilization in the 21st
Simon & Schuster.
Century. New York: NOVA Science Publishers.
Maddison, A. (2001). The World Economy: A Millennial
Targowski, A. (2016). Informing and Civilization.
Perspective. Paris: OECD.
Santa Rosa, CA: Informing Science Institute.
Samuel, M. (1956). The Professor and the Fossil: Some
Toynbee, A. (1947). A Study of History. New York:
Observations on Arnold J. Toynbee’s Study of History.
Oxford University Press.
New York: Alfred A Knopf.

Online References
http://www.sunypress.edu/p-1422-jewish-civilization.aspx.
http://www.jewishdatabank.org/Studies/details.cfm?StudyID=803.
https://www.thoughtco.com/impressive-jewish-accomplishments-2076052.
http://www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/jewish-american-beliefs-attitudes-culture-survey.

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119
 Chapter 5 The Eastern Civilization
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
Analyze the succession of societies within the

1
Characterize the evolution of the Russia and
Learning Outcomes

2
Eastern Civilization during the Agricultural the USSR during the Industrial Period, as well
Period: Kievan Rus, Moscovy, and the as contemplate the future of the Eastern
Czardom of Russia. Civilization in its Post-Industrial stage.

3 4
Locate the place of Ukraine in the Eastern Appraise the evolution of religious beliefs
Civilization and reflect on its development within the Eastern Civilization through the
trajectory. awges.

5 Assess the development of other cultural

practices within the realm of the Eastern
Civilization.

Chapter Outline Key Terms

Introduction • East Slavs • Time of Troubles
The Eastern Civilization During the Agricultural • Kievan Rus • Russian Empire
• Orthodox Christianity • Patriotic War of 1812
Period: The Succession and the Geographical • Mongol Yoke • The Russian Revolution
Boundaries of Societies • Novgorod Republic • USSR
• Grand • Russian Federation
The Evolution of the Eastern Civilization During the • Principality of Moscow • The Ukrainian
Industrial Period: the Russian Empire and the USSR • Czardom of Russia • Revolution
Ukraine: A Stage of the Eastern Civilization
With a Different Fate?
The Evolution of Religious Beliefs Within the
Eastern Civilization through the Ages
Development of Other Cultural Practices
Within the Realm of the Eastern Civilization

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INTRODUCTION East Slavic principalities, which flourished under the

Winston Churchill once said, referring to Russia: reign of the Rurik dynasty from the late 9th to the
“It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” mid-13th century CE. The evolution of Kievan Rus
ended with the Mongol invasion. This devastating
In fact, there is nothing mystifying about the history
onslaught, expedited by the beginning of the
of Russia if we would consider its past, present, and
feudal breakup of the Kievan state, had multiple
future in the context of evolution of its civilization.
consequences, including the division of the East
Therefore, this chapter is dedicated to the Slavic people into contemporary Russia, Ukraine,
Eastern Civilization, which may be already familiar and Belarus. The Rurik dynasty, however, survived
to you as the Eurasian, the Orthodox Slavic, the and ruled the East Slav successor states until 1610.
Eastern European, the Eastern Orthodox, or even
The Industrial Period had two iterations -
the Russian Civilization. Just like the Western
the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The
Civilization, the Eastern Civilization is a descendant
Russian Empire existed under the rule of the
of the Greco-Roman Civilization, more specifically,
Romanovs from 1721 to 1917. Both the Rurik and
of its Byzantine part. The Eastern Civilization was
the Romanov dynasties were closely tied to, and
born around mid-9th century CE, and, according
intermarried with, the ruling elites of their time.
to most scholars of civilization, it still exists today.
The successor state of the Russian Empire was the
To better understand the evolution of the Eastern
Soviet Union which existed from 1922 to 1991.
Civilization, we will turn to the legacy of Alvin
Toffler, the American philosopher of historical and Unable to compete with riding the Third
societal development, who describes three types of Wave and therefore faster advancing Western
societies, based on the concept of Civilizational Civilization, the Soviet Union, with its base in
Waves. Marxist-Leninist ideology and an international
system of state satellites, collapsed in 1991 as a
He depicts the First Wave (Agrarian) as the society
result of the wave of Revolutions of 1989. These
after the Agrarian Revolution, which gradually replaced
commenced in Poland, one of the satellite countries
nomadic tribes. Agrarian societies have been the most
at the time. This phenomenon became known as
common form of socio-economic organization for
“the implosion of the Soviet Union.”
most of recorded human history. The Second Wave
(Industrial) brought with it the Industrial Revolution, Presently, the Eastern Civilization is undergoing
and it lasted from late 17th century through the the Post-Industrial Period, and it is represented by
mid-20th century. The Second Wave society was the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and Belarus,
based on industrial-scale production, distribution, as well as other predominantly Slavic Eastern
consumption, education, media, recreation, Orthodox countries and diasporas in Europe and
entertainment, and weaponry.These features were throughout the world.
combined with standardization, centralization,
concentration, and synchronization, and they were in THE EASTERN CIVILIZATION
a style of organization called bureaucracy. The Third
Wave (Informational) describes the modern, post-
DURING THE AGRICULTURAL
industrial society, which began in the late 1950s, and PERIOD: THE SUCCESSION
which is distinguished by the high-tech, individualized AND THE GEOGRAPHICAL
modes of production, distribution, and consumption, BOUNDARIES OF SOCIETIES
combined with greatly increased speed of computer- Since the creation of the The Primary Chronicle
based communication and transportation. Applying (or, the Tale of Bygone Years) in 1113 CE, the
this concept, caned easily distinguish three main traditional explanation of the origin of the first
periods in the development of the Eastern Civilization: East Slavic state is that the Slavs simply “invited”
the Agricultural Period, the Industrial Period, and the the Scandinavians to rule over them since even
present Post-Industrial Period. though their “whole land is great and rich, there
The Agricultural Period coincides with life- is no order in it.” However, there may have been
careers of Kievan Rus and its successors – the more compelling reasons for these peaceful
Grand Principality of Moscow, and the Czardom agricultural tribes to willingly submit to their
of Russia. Kievan Rus was a loose federation of the fierce Northern neighbors.

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The Origin of the Eastern Civilization

The East Slavs appeared in European history between the 3rd and 8th centuries CE. Their initial habitats
could have been in the area between the Vistula and Dnieper rivers. Their tribes on the river Dnieper were
often attacked by invaders, most of whom initially came from the East. Their successive waves had followed
one another across the steppes of what is now southern Russia and Ukraine – Scythians, Sarmatians, Goths,
Huns, Turkic Bulgars, Avars, and Khazars, among others. The predominantly agricultural tribes of East
Slavs then found help and protection in an alliance with the Scandinavian warrior-traders. Known as the
Vikings, they established routes from the north along the rivers Dnieper, Don, and Volga to Byzantium,
Arabia, and the Orient as early as in the sixth and seventh centuries CE. After allying with the East Slavs,
the Scandinavian newcomers had founded a state, called Kievan Rus, in the 9th century with its center at
Kiev.

Kievan Rus
This was a powerful and prosperous East Slavic state which thrived under the reign of the Ruriks from
the 9th to the 13th century. The contemporary nations of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus perceive Kievan Rus
as their cultural forerunner.
According to a legend, the founder of the ruling family was the Viking Rurik of Scandinavia. The
state was established on the backbone of the trade route from the Vikings to the Greeks – medieval water
routes that connected Scandinavia and
the Byzantine Empire along the river
Dnieper, as well as other waterways.
One of the Rurik’s descendants – Prince
Vladimir (958-1015) – converted his
subjects into the Orthodox Christian
faith in 988.
Although Vladimir’s son, Yaroslav
the Wise (978-1054), waged frequent
military campaigns, he also perceived
dynastic marriages as a preferred way
to maintain good relationships with
other European countries. Three of his
daughters became queens of Western
European states (France, Norway, and
Hungary). Of his sons, three married
German princesses and the other one
a Byzantine princess, while he himself
was the son-in-law of the King of
Sweden, and brother-in-law to the
King of Poland. The UK historian
Ronald Hingley dryly notes that for
equally intricate Russian dynastic
involvements with western Europe,
one has to wait for the nineteenth-
century Romanov emperors. Upon
Yaroslav’s death in 1054, however, his
sons divided the state into warring Figure 5.1 Map of the Kievan Rus.
factions, and the city of Kiev lost its Source: www.britannica.com
preeminence.

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After the 12th century, the Kievan principality declined even further due to succession disputes,
conflicts between regional princes, invasions from Asia along with the collapse of commercial ties between
Byzantium and Europe via the Dnieper. During the 12th century, the Crusades opened new trade routes
from Europe to the Orient through the Crusader states of the Middle East. However, the decisive blow
to this first stage of the Eastern Civilization was the Mongol invasion in the first half of the 13th century.

The Mongol Invasion and the Demise of the Kievan Rus

The forces of the nomadic Mongol Empire overran Kievan Rus in the 13th century, devastating
many cities, including Kiev itself. Excellent organization, mobility, numerical superiority, and fighting
innovations such as the use of stirrups made the Mongol army the greatest war machine of its time.
The principalities of Rus had to submit to the Mongol Empire and to become part of what was called the
Golden Horde. The remaining vestiges of Kievan Rus in the west were absorbed by Poland and Lithuania.
The only region that retained autonomy was the Republic of Novgorod. The indigenous aristocracy
continued to exist while intensely intermarrying, this time with the elites of the nomads. Among other
important consequences, the invasion precipitated the rise of the Grand Principality of Moscow.

Figure 5.2 Expansion of the Mongol Empire in the 13 century.

Source: www.en.wikipedia.org

Novgorod Republic
Among the successor states to Kievan Rus has been the Novgorod Republic as well as the Principality
of Vladimir-Suzdal. The last one became a foundation for the Great Principality of Moscovy, and, later
for the Czardom of Russia. If Kiev is called “the mother of Russian cities,” the city of Veliky Novgorod
certainly deserves the name of “the father.” Extending from the Baltic Sea to the Ural mountains, the
Novgorod Republic flourished between the 12th and 15th centuries CE.
Novgorod was a successful port on the eastern side of the Hanseatic League trade network, and its
citizens reverently referred to their city-state as “Lord Novgorod the Great.” Until Novgorod was subsumed

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by the Grand Principality of Moscow in 1478, it was governed by the veche – an early democratic institution
of East Slavs. The veche had been an ancient instrument of self-governance originating from the tribal
gatherings in the region.

The Grand Principality of Moscow

The Grand Principality of Moscow originated within the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal when Prince
Daniel I inherited a tiny timber citadel called Moscow in the mid-13th century. After eclipsing its parent
state by the 1320s, it then absorbed the Novgorod Republic in 1478, and the Grand Principality of Tver in
1485. At the end of the 15th century, Moscovy became capable not only to control other East Slavs lands,
but also to gain independence from the Golden Horde.
Ivan III (the Great) further consolidated the state during his 43-year reign. He campaigned against the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania and by 1503 tripled the territory of his realm. By way of marrying the niece
of the last Byzantine emperor, he symbolically established Muscovy as the successor state of the Byzantine
Empire - the “Third Rome.” With this vision in mind, the new Russian caesar (Czar) charged the finest
Italian architects with raising monuments to God’s glory (cathedrals) and the rising Moscow’s power
(Kremlin).

Figure 5.3 The Moscow Kremlin. Its towering cathedrals, as well as imposing walls and towers, were constructed by
Italian masters in 15-16 centuries CE.

Ivan’s successor Vasily III obtained Smolensk the demise of Feodor, the last Czar of the Rurik
from Lithuania in 1512, and he pushed Muscovy’s dynasty, in 1598 and the accession to the throne of
borders to the Dnieper River. Muscovy consolidated Michael Romanov in 1613 even receives a special
all East Slavic lands in the 16th century and name – the Time of Troubles.
continued its expansion even further. The sons of Czar Ivan IV died one after the other,
thus ending the Rurik dynasty. This crisis led to
The Czardom of Russia civil war, famine, epidemics, and other calamities.
Just between the years 1601 and 1603, famine
The Czardom of Russia existed between the
claimed about two million people, one-third of
accession to the throne of Czar Ivan IV (later
the population. Then, during the Polish–Russian
known as the Ivan the Terrible) in 1547 and the
War (1605–18), Russia was occupied by the Polish-
establishment of the Russian Empire by Peter I in
Lithuanian Commonwealth and suffered even
1721.
further from civil uprisings, usurpers, and impostors.
The end of the 16th and especially the beginning
In 1610, the king of Poland stood poised to claim
of the 17th century was an era of major social
the throne of the Czar, and this at last triggered the
upheavals within the Eastern Civilization. Those
nationwide movement of liberation. Prince Dmitry
include the shift from the Rurik to the Romanov
Pozharsky and merchant Kuzma Minin gathered a
dynasty, a lengthy war with the Polish- Lithuanian
volunteer army and expeled foreign invaders from
Commonwealth, as well as the beginning of the
Moscow, thus terminating the Time of Troubles in
Russian exploration of Siberia. The period between
1612.

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THE EVOLUTION OF THE

EASTERN CIVILIZATION
DURING THE INDUSTRIAL
PERIOD: THE RUSSIAN
EMPIRE AND THE USSR
As we already know, starting in 16th century,
the territory of the Eastern Civilization had
significantly expanded. From 1551 to 1700,
Russia annually added land about the size of the
Netherlands. During the reign of Czar Ivan IV, the
Russian Czardom already spanned an area twice as
Figure 5.4 Czar Cannon – an oversized exemplar of the large as England, France, and Spain combined -
late 16 century Russian artillery casting art (1586). The from the headwaters of the Dnieper and the Volga
gun’s barrel’s weight is about 40 tons; its length is 5, 34 m. rivers to the Ural Mountains.
There were several reasons for Russia’s expansion.
First of all, the landlocked nation needed access to
the sea. Secondly, the ruling class of Russia was a
land-rich aristocracy, which profits from territorial
1 expansion. Sometimes, the expansion may have had
ideological underpinnings, for example, the idea of
What was the name of the first state of
Third Rome, Pan-Slavism, or later, Communism.
the Eastern Civilization? Who founded it
And finally, the empire may have continued to
and when? What was the state based upon
expand almost accidentally - by the need to bridge
economically and along which route? already conquered territories, by the sheer whim
of the monarch or even of the colonizing generals.
The vehicle for the expansion was industrialization.
If previously the most effective combat weapon
in this vast region had been the nomadic cavalry,
now industrially produced firearms proved to be a
decisive factor in the Russian colonization of the
immense expanses of Eurasia.

Figure 5.5 Borders of Russia in the years of 1598, 1725, and 1801.
Source: www.google.com
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The first (or early) Period of Industrialization in institutions still trace their origins to his reign. Peter
the realm of the Eastern Civilization commenced was not a religious keeper of the status quo, as the
with the accession to the throne of a young and Muscovite Czars were, but an enlightened, skillful,
energetic Romanov scion – Peter I, also known and hard-working leader-reformer.
as Peter the Great (1682–1725). Born in the Born in Germany, Catherine II (the Great)
medieval and backward environment of 17th continued with the policy of Western-style
century Moscovy, the young man was captivated modernization. The country expanded swiftly by
by modern realities emanating from the West – conquest, colonization, and diplomacy, thereby
people, ideas, tools, and even clothes. achieving the status of a great European power.
Catherine ruled nearly thirty million subjects with
a firm hand. However, army draft and the state
economy continued to depend on the existence
of serfdom, and the heavy-handed demands of
the state and private landlords led to a number
of insurrections, including the massive Pugachev
Rebellion. Serfs were unfree peasants who had been
reduced to various degrees of servitude since the
times of the Kievan Rus.

Figure 5.6 “The Bronze Horseman” – a symbolic name

of the equestrian statue of Peter the Great in Saint
Petersburg.

Peter understood that the alternative to Figure 5.7 The Bargain by Nikolai V. Nevrev (1866).
Westernization for Russia was to be run over by its The well-known painting depicts a sale of serfs by two
European neighbors. The six-feet eight-inch (203 landlords before the abolition of serfdom in Russia on
cm) tall Czar energetically started to deal with the March 3, 1861.
xenophobia and religiosity of the old Moscovy
A significant challenge to the Romanov dynasty
by trimming long beards and coats of his boyars.
and their empire also came in the form of the
Russia had to become just like the West in all ways,
French invasion, known in Russia as the Patriotic
even looks, however with one major exception – no
War of 1812. Napoleon hoped to compel Czar
parliamentary rule.
Alexander I to cease trading with Britain. Another
In a single generation, Peter the Great forcefully contentious issue for both leaders was domination
and at times ruthlessly transformed his ancient over Europe as well as Poland since each wanted a
land from an isolated, landlocked kingdom into semi-independent Poland.
a modern, global power of its time. He initiated After a ferocious but indecisive battle at Borodino
a vast expansion in mining and manufacturing, on September 7, Napoleon entered Moscow, which
particularly of weapons. As a result of several mostly the retreating Russians famously set ablaze. However,
successful wars, he expanded the Czardom into Alexander I rejected the offer to negotiate, and
a much larger empire, the rise of which occurred Napoleon was forced to begin his infamous retreat.
simultaneously with the descent of the competing In the process, his army was virtually annihilated by
neighbors: the Swedish Empire, the Polish- the combined effects of the heroism of the Russian
Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Ottoman Empire, people and the severe winter conditions. Napoleon
and Persia. Peter’s reforms made a lasting impact barely escaped with his life, and his domination of
on Russia, and its many political and cultural Europe was effectively at an end.

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There is, however, another important and unanticipated consequence of the Napoleonic Wars –
modernity knocked on the door for Russia once again. Young Russian officers, who visited Europe during
the war, encountered the existence of modern constitutional forms of government. Upon return to Russia,
they formed secret societies, and on December 14, 1825, they rebelled, demanding a constitution for
Russia. The new Czar, Nicholas I (1796-1855) turned his guns against the Decembrists and declared that
democracy or a constitution was out of question The secret police enforced the emperor’s will by executions
and exile of dissidents.
In the years that followed, Russia fell behind again, as its humiliating defeat in the Crimean War (1853-
56) made abundantly clear. It was a war between an alliance of European powers, such as Great Britain,
France and others on one side and Russia on the other, for the control of the territorial and spiritual
domains of the Ottoman Empire. Change was obviously needed and Czar Alexander II (1855–1881)
embraced the challenge. He pardoned the Decembrists, abolished corporal punishment, instituted trial
by jury, relaxed censorship, chartered new industries, and commissioned a railway to the Black Sea. In the
last years of his reign, he even supported the idea of a parliamentary rule. Among numerous reforms of his
reign, the most noticeable was the emancipation of 23 million serfs in 1861.
In the meantime, the enlargement of the empire continued unabated, mainly into Siberia and Central
Asia. The protection of Orthodox Christians chafing under the auspices of the Ottoman Empire became
one of the empire’s important policies in Eastern Europe. This later triggered the Russian involvement in
World War I in 1914.

Figure 5.8 The expansion of the Russian Empire. 1613-1914.

Source: www.google.com

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Economically speaking, the empire was still largely an agricultural nation. The peasantry comprised
about 85 percent of the population, and large estates, plowed by serfs (until 1861), had a low productivity
level. The economy gradually industrialized, with the assistance of foreign investments into various
industries, such as textile factories, oil and mining facilities, and railways. Politically, the empire operated
as an absolute monarchy until the Revolution of 1905, when for a brief period it finally assumed trappings
of a constitutional monarchy. The empire collapsed in the midst of World War I, partly as a result of its
woeful lack of preparedness for the challenges of the modern warfare.

Figure 5.9 Russian Social Pyramid circa 1900.

Source: www.google.com

The Russian Revolution and the Creation of the USSR

According to the American historian Crane Brinton, a major social revolution may have some
discernible periods. These include, for example, The Old Regime, a Moderate Phase, a Radical Phase, and
a reactionary time called Thermidor.

The Old Regime: Before 1905

At the start of the 20th century Russia was rapidly industrializing. The working class was ruthlessly
exploited and the peasantry, despite the recent abolition of serfdom, notoriously oppressed.
An impatient intelligentsia, motivated by the western European example, desired rapid political change.
The Czarist government opposed it while encouraging the country’s industrialization. This explosive
combination ensures that driven by the irresistible forces of modernization, the cumbersome juggernaut
of the empire is now hurtling toward self-destruction.

Moderate Phase: 1905-1917

The 1905 “Bloody Sunday” massacre of a peaceful demonstration in Saint-Petersburg triggered
nationwide strikes, which paralyzed the economy. The emerging political forces organized a common

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front against the government, making demands Radical Phase: 1917-1921

for the establishment of a constitution and a This period, which coincided with the whole
legislature. However, with the czar’s government duration of the Civil War in Russia, began with
controlling the electoral rules and assuring that an the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks, and it
obedient legislature would be created, the country involved an armed power struggle between the
missed a chance to develop a more representative Bolsheviks and several rival groups. The war effort
political system. against Germany collapsed, and the new Soviet
Next, World War I created a crisis of such government was forced to accept the terms of the
proportions that the monarchy could not meet humiliating Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The country
the challenge. Massive demonstrations and then faced three years of devastating civil war as the
strikes led to efforts by the Duma to form a “Reds” defend themselves against several “White”
Provisional Government, which intended to armies. The civil war was accompanied by foreign
govern until a Constituent Assembly could intervention by several outside powers, including
be elected. In the meantime, the Soviets were American, French, and British troops in the
formed, now constituting a separate governing northern and the western parts of Russia. In the
body from that of the Duma (“dual power”). end, although the Russian economy was disrupted
Since the Provisional Government and the and the Russian people faced a massive famine, the
Soviets represented different social forces, their Bolsheviks held power with ruthless determination,
decisions often contradicted one another. In the establishing a one-party dictatorship.
meantime, peasants began to seize the land, while
soldiers, most of whom were peasants, began to
desert the army in increasing numbers.
In February 1917, Nicholas II abdicated,
ending the 300-year rule of the Romanov dynasty.
In April, Lenin armed a radical faction of the Social
Democratic Party, the Bolsheviks, with a consistent
plan of action to which they adhered unremittingly.
The effort by the Provisional Government to
continue the war effort steadily eroded its support.
Using this vacuum of power, the Bolsheviks
carried out a successful revolt in November, 1917.
Figure 5.11 Cruiser Aurora. A shot from the forecastle
Following the coup, they consolidated their control
gun of this ship triggered the October Revolution.
over the Soviets, and, since the Bolsheviks were
in the minority in the newly elected Constituent
Assembly, the Red Guard dissolved it by force. Thermidor: 1921-1982
Crane Brinton notes: “Thermidor in Russia
has been complicated and prolonged.” Perhaps,
it would be logical to divide the long “Russian
Thermidor” into several stages, such as “Stalin’s
phase” (1924-1953), “Khrushchev’s phase” (1953-
1964), and the “Brezhnev’s phase” (1964-1982).

The Soviet Union

The Soviet Union existed from 1922 to 1991.
After Lenin’s death in 1924, dictatorial powers
were assumed by his successor Joseph Stalin. The
Figure 5.10 A Soviet postage stamp with portrait of ruthless and calculating dictator suppressed his
Lenin. political opponents, introduced his own crude
version of Marxism-Leninism, and launched

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a centrally planned, dubiously financed, and

forcefully executed command economy.
The nation underwent a period of rapid
industrialization which was accompanied by the
brutal collectivization of peasants into factory-like
communes called kolkhozy and sovkhozy between
1928 and 1940. From its very beginning, the
Soviet state featured wide disparities between the
lifestyles of the elite and those of ordinary citizens.
While the political and cultural upper-classes
resided in palatial quarters, most of the Soviet Figure 5.12 A Soviet Tank T-34, which is considered to
urban population huddled in low-cost, concrete- be the best tank of the Second World War.
paneled or brick buildings three- to five-stories Under the guidance of Nikita Khrushchev and
high, known as khrushchyovkas. his successors, a half-century period of relative
Stalin also initiated the Great Purge, somewhat liberalization and stabilization then occurred. At
analogous to the Reign of Terror during the French its zenith, the Soviet Empire consisted of 15 Soviet
Revolution. As a result, hundreds of thousands republics and 16 countries outside of the USSR
were sentenced to hard labor in “correctional” labor proper. However, the Post-Industrial Wave emerged
camps (gulags) or to death. Nevertheless, despite in the West in the late 1950s. The failure of the
being bled dry by the turmoil of the Revolution, outdated Marxism-Leninism ideology to cope with
the Civil War, and the Great Purge, the Russian mounting pressures of the rapidly change along
people and other ethnic groups of the empire the lines of Post-Industrialization world created
showed a great deal of heroism and ingenuity powerful sociocultural strains. Starting in Poland,
during World War II. the wave of the Revolutions of 1989 removed the
Soviet Union, with its basis in communist doctrine
and its huge international system, from the arena
of history by the end of 1991.

Figure 5.13 The map of the Soviet Union.

Source: www.google.com

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The Chernobyl Disaster The Old Order: Before 2004

Among other seminal events and processes Ukraine is a historic land with a unique and
that eventually led to the fall of the Soviet Union rich culture, one which displays influences of
certainly was the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown. many civilizations. Not even mentioning Ancient
The episode embodies in itself a number of the Greece, Ancient Rome, Byzantine, and the Vikings,
systemic shortcomings of the Soviet “command various parts of the country have been provinces
economy” such as design flaws, low quality of of the Polish-Lithuanian, the Russian, the Austro-
equipment, personnel incompetence, “storming” Hungarian, the Prussian, and the Ottoman empires,
to meet unwarranted deadlines, negligence of safety and subsequently the Soviet Union. Despite the
and security, as well as the state’s misinforming the ever-present pressure of the cultural conversion from
public and unwillingness to admit the truth. various colonial powers, the Ukrainian culture, art,
and literary language underwent a process of rapid
development and refinement, especially during the
19 and the 20 century.
The first attempt to gain a status of an
independent state arrived in 1917 when the
Declaration of Independence on 23 June 1917
led to the appearance from 1917 to 1921 of the
predecessor of modern Ukraine - the Ukrainian
People’s Republic (Ukrainian National Republic).
Subsequently, a civil war and a foreign invasion by
the foreign powers followed. In 1921 most of what
is now Ukraine was annexed by the Soviet Union.
On 24 August 1991, the Act of the Declaration
Figure 5.14 A classroom in the abandoned city of of Independence of Ukraine was adopted by the
Pripyat after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament). It re-
established Ukraine as an independent state;
however, things did not go smoothly. While
the corrupt and inept government balanced
2 precariously between the lure of Europe and the
Russian policy of “carrots and sticks,” Ukraine
What is serfdom? When was it abolished? descended to the level of the second poorest
During the reign of which monarch? country in Europe. The nation’s GDP, which had
What famous painting depicts a typical been roughly equivalent to that of Poland in the
scene from the time of serfdom? 1980s, now was reported to be one fourth of that
of its western neighbor.

UKRAINE: A STAGE OF THE Moderate Phase: November

EASTERN CIVILIZATION WITH 2004 - February 2014
A DIFFERENT FATE? The “Orange Revolution” erupted between late
Unlike Russia, other Orthodox countries November 2004 and January 2005. It was a series
have embraced Western values. Greece, Southern of protests and political events that took place in the
Cyprus, Bulgaria, and Romania are part of the aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian
European Union. Orthodox Serbia, Georgia, presidential election, which had been marred by
Moldova, and Ukraine would like to belong to the corruption, intimidation, and fraud. The results
EU and the accession of Montenegro to the North of the “Orange Revolution,” however, were largely
Atlantic Treaty Organization, completed in 2017, canceled by a subsequent ten years of infighting
shows the West’s desire to keep these nations to out between the moderates of various political brands.
of the geopolitical sphere of Russia. The economy was paralyzed by the oligarchs’ warfare,
permeating corruption and internal discord.

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On the night of 21 November 2013, the

“Euromaidan” burst into existence. It was a wave of
demonstrations and civil unrest which surged first 3
in Kiev and then in other cities. This stage of the
Ukrainian Revolution began with public demands What was the name of the capital city of
for closer integration with Europe, which rapidly the Kievan Rus? Why this city is known
evolved into demands for better government and a as the “mother of Russian cities”? What
fight against corruption. modern sovereign nation is this city the
capital of today?

Radical Phase: February

2014 - Present
The “Euromaidan” protests turn bloody with over
THE EVOLUTION OF
100 protesters sacrificing their lives in February of RELIGIOUS BELIEFS WITHIN
2014. Following the sudden departure of the corrupt THE EASTERN CIVILIZATION
and inept President Victor Yanukovych, Verkhovna THROUGH THE AGES
Rada moved to seal the deal with the EU. Almost The evolution of religious beliefs within the
immediately, the country faced the prospect of civil Eastern Civilization has been gradual and has passed
war as well as a foreign invasion. Crimea (which was through several periods. As we already know, the East
part of the Russian empire between 1783 and 1954) Slavic old religious beliefs were animistic. Animism
was swiftly annexed by the northern giant’s pursuit
perceives all things, for example, animals, plants,
of its resurgent geopolitical interests.
rocks, and rivers, as animated and alive. Gradually,
The Western-leaning interim government dealt however, the Eastern Civilization formed its identity
simultaneously with counter-revolutionary forces around a mystical faith called Orthodox Christianity,
(Russia and the ethnic Russians in the eastern and which arrived from the Byzantine Empire. Other
southern regions of the country) as well as with the religions such as Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism
“radicals” (“The Right Sector”), and the country proved essential in Russian history as well.
faced the threat of an internal as well as external
war. The interim leaders succeeded in swiftly
securing loans and assurances of support from the Beliefs of the East Slavs
West. However, separatist movements in the south- The Primary Chronicle mentions seven pagan
east of the country plus Russian troop buildup on divinities: Perun, Volos, Khors, Dazhbog, Stribog,
the eastern border as well as heavy-handed tactics of Simargl, and Mokosh. According to this early
manipulating energy prices by Russia all indicated historical work, the Great Prince Vladimir I tried to
uneasy decisions ahead. unify those beliefs into one pantheon. As we already
Starting in April 2014, a wave of the pro- know, Vladimir’s pantheon was short-lived, for in
Russian demonstrations surged in a dozen eastern 988 CE Christianity became the state religion.
and southern Ukrainian cities. Those soon
escalated into a siege of the government buildings
and calls for seceding from Ukraine and joining The Orthodox Branch of
Russia. Diplomatic talks between Ukraine, Russia, Christianity
the US, and the European Union in Geneva failed Perhaps keeping in mind the political advantages
to achieve any meaningful results. However, they of an alliance with the Byzantines, Vladimir chose
resumed in Minsk (Belarus) in 2014 and 2015. Orthodox Christianity. The Great Prince converted
With the pressing concern of an armed rebellion his own family and the people of Kiev in 988, and
in the south-east of the country, Kyiv launched a those events have since been referred to as the
“counter-terrorism” offensive. Next, two eastern Baptism of Rus. Religious services were conducted
regions announced their independence. All this in the Old Church Slavonic language, which had
signaled a new phase in an ongoing geopolitical been introduced by the Byzantine missionaries
battle between the West and Russia. Saints Cyril and Methodius in the 9th century.

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DEVELOPMENT OF OTHER
CULTURAL PRACTICES WITHIN
THE REALM OF THE EASTERN
CIVILIZATION
Being a core country of the Eastern Civilization,
Russia has a rich and distinguished, even if at
times a tormented, history of accomplishments in
many fields of culture, particularly in politics and
philosophy, literature and cinema, classical music
and ballet, architecture and painting.
The country also has an impressive material
culture and a long-standing tradition in science
Figure 5.15 Cathedral of St. Sophia, Kiev, Ukraine (11
and technology. The conversion of Kievan Rus to
century CE).
Orthodox Christianity in 988 CE largely defined
the culture of the Eastern Civilization in the next
Historically, the Eastern Orthodox Church is millennium as the synthesis of Slavic and Byzantine
the second largest Christian church and one of the traditions.
oldest religious institutions in the world. At different points in its history, the Eastern
Civilization was also strongly influenced by the
Religion in the Soviet Union and culture of the Western Civilization. The processes
of cultural evolution in Russia inevitably reflected
Russia those dynamics, receiving expression in two great
The USSR was the first state which attempted a perennial conflicts of the Russian culture: one
complete switch to atheism, and churches were not between the creative artist and the authorities, the
built during the seventy years of the atheistic Soviet other between the Westernizers and the Slavophils.
era. However, presently the Orthodox Christianity
is undergoing a religious revival. Metropolitan
Hilarion says: “Today, we have 35,000 churches. Cultural Legacy of the Eastern
That means that we have opened 29,000 churches Civilization
over twenty-eight years, opening more than 1,000 In the 17th century, Russia and its culture were
churches per year or three per day. Earlier we had still backward and medieval. The nation had not
three theological seminaries or academies, and experienced the Renaissance and the Scientific
today there are over fifty.” Revolution of the 17th century as European
countries did. Peter the Great dreamed about a
westernized Russia, the land of order, progress, and
power and an empire inspired by and inextricably
4 connected to Europe. His new capital, the city of
Saint Petersburg, was now not only the center of
What faith did Vladimir I choose for the new Russian Empire but also a foundation of
his subjects? What were the reasons for a new, modern society. To visually dramatize the
choosing that faith? When and where transformation of his realm, Peter erected a gilded
did the conversion occur? What was the showcase just outside of the city – the summer
process of the conversion of the East Slavs retreat Peterhof, now affectionately known as the
called? “Russian Versailles.”

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philosophical and religious themes. The thinker

sees in the phenomenon of Western capitalism a
specter of the coming disintegration of society as
a result of the loss of its chief basis - the union of
individuals for the advantage of all.
Leo N. Tolstoy shows us the same processes
from the viewpoint of land-owners and peasants.
The thinker creates his own religious and ethical
school of thought about the world, humanity,
purpose of life, and the needed reorganization of
Figure 5.16 The Peterhof Palace. society – the Tolstoyan movement. During this
same period Ivan Turgenev led the liberal, western
The Czar-reformer also gave a powerful camp and Fyodor Dostoyevsky the Slavophiles.
impetus to the evolution of science, scholarship,
However, this remarkable period was stifled by
and innovation by establishing Saint Petersburg
the absolutist nature of the regime. While toying
University and the Academy of Sciences. His work
from time to time with liberal ideas, the Romanovs
was then continued by the founder of Moscow
continued to keep their oppressive grip on the
University Mikhail Lomonosov, chemist Dmitri
Russian people. The arts in the country were under
Mendeleev, physiologist Ivan Pavlov, mathematician
the almost complete control of Nicholas II, who
Sofia Kovalevskaya, geneticist Nikolay Vavilov,
often encouraged and even sponsored “politically
physicists Pyotr Kapitsa and Andrei Sakharov, rocket
engineer and spacecraft designer Sergey Korolev, correct” artistic works. That is why the official credo
and many others. of the time is expressed in the triad: “Orthodoxy,
Autocracy, and Nationality.”
If the lust for power of Empress Catherine the
Great (1729-1796) was legendary, equally great
was her desire for knowledge. In 1764, she started Westernizers and the Slavophils
decorating her main palace, the Hermitage in Saint The second great conflict in Russian culture
Petersburg, thus laying the foundation for one of the was between the Westernizers and the Slavophils.
greatest public museums of all time. Encouraging Slavophilia was an intellectual movement
education, she chartered schools and universities. originating in the 19 century; it sought the
Catherine introduced public participation in development of values and institutions in Russian
government and thereby laid the foundations for society derived from its early history. In the mid-
what is called today civil society. Like her great 19th century, Russia began to absorb the ideas and
predecessor Peter I, she encouraged the Russian culture of Western Europe at an accelerated pace,
elite to challenge tradition and in so doing lit the which promptly created an unstable sociocultural
fuse for revolutionary change in Russia. and socioeconomic climate. There was a tremendous
The era of Czar-reformer Alexander II is the growth in revolutionary activity accompanying a
Golden Age of the Russian literature. In a short span general restructuring of Czardom, where liberal
of twenty years Lev Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, reforms which were enacted by an unwieldy
Ivan Turgenev, and Ivan Goncharov created the autocracy induced a sense of tension in both
genre of a Russian novel, Alexander Ostrovsky – politics and civil society. That is why Slavophiles
Russian drama, Nikolay Nekrasov – folk poems, vigorously opposed the dissemination of Western
and Nikolai Leskov – folk stories. values and institutions in Russia. Not surprisingly,
Dostoyevsky’s works analyze rapid changes Slavophiles usually supported the official doctrine
during the initial stages of capitalism through the “Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality.”
eyes of lower- and middle-class city dwellers. The In fact, out of objective necessity (to
writer explores human psychology in the troubled modernize or under pressure from below, for
political, social, and spiritual atmosphere of 19th- example), the Romanov monarchy constantly
century Russia, and engages with a variety of fluctuated between extremes. For example, Peter

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the Great, Catherine the Great, Alexander I, triad is inherently unbalanced in favor of centralized
and Alexander II were (to a degree, of course) autocracy. The idea is derived from the Byzantine
“westernizers” and “progressives,” while Nicholas Empire’s tradition of Caesaropapism; thus, the
I, Alexander III, and Nicholas II - “conservatives” Russian Orthodox Church is incapable of being
and “retrogrades.” After all, both the Westernizers an independent political force. As to Nationality,
and the Slavophils were ideologues. Russian rulers it does not mean any true empowerment of the
had to deal with issues of real importance in real people, and therefore, it is simply another version
life, and therefore they tended to fluctuate as a of the Potemkin village, i.e. a fiction.
dynasty from side to side: from liberal reforms to Contemporary Russia has not escaped the
reaction, and then back again. During the rule of dilemma of excessive centralization and an imperial
Alexander III, the imperial autocracy finally sided mentality. The American sociologist Johannes F.
with the Slavophiles – this time until the very end Linn warns that Russia’s political system has been
of the Romanov dynasty in February 1917. recently turning into a so-called “super-presidential”
Were the liberals influential? The answer is, form of leadership. While super-presidential systems
most probably, yes. After all, fresh editions of the promise political stability, efficient government and
first Russian censorship-free newspaper Kolokol, high economic growth, they lack essential elements
published by Alexander Herzen (1812-1870) in of legitimacy, exert excessive control, and yield a
London, were read avidly by Czar Alexander II, perennial problem of undemocratic succession.
and the literary works of Ivan Turgenev (1818-
1883) are said to have hastened the abolition of
serfdom in Russia in 1861.

5
Political Ideology and Social
Institutions of the Eastern What are the main characteristics which
the Eastern Civilization may have inherited
Civilization
from the Byzantine Civilization regarding
The dominant ideological doctrine of the political ideology and social organization?
Russian empire was formulated during the reign of In which two great conflicts of the Russian
Czar Nicholas I in the first half of the 19th century. It culture have they found their expression?
was known as “Official Nationality” and expressed
in a triad: Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality.
Obviously, the key word here is Autocracy, since the

Further Reading

Billington, J. (1998). The Face of Russia: Ryazanovsky, N. (1984). A History of Russia.

Anguish, Aspiration, and Achievement in Russian Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Culture. New York: TV Books. Subtelny, O. (1994) Ukraine: A History.
Custine, A. (1989) Empire of the Czar: Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
A Journey Through Eternal Russia. New York: Vernadsky, G. (1957). A History of Russia.
Doubleday. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Figes, O. (2002). Natasha’s Dance: A Cultural
History of Russia. New York: Picador.

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Timeline of Main Events – The Eastern Civilization

The beginning of the reign of Rurik 862
Kievan Rus 882–1240
Baptism of Rus 988
Novgorod Republic 1136–1478
The Grand Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal 1157–1331
Mongol Yoke 1237–1480
Foundation of the Grand Principality of Moscow 1283
Battle of the Neva 1240
Battle of Kulikovo 1380
The fall of the Mongol Yoke 1480
Ivan IV (the Terrible) establishes the Czardom of Russia 1547
The establishment of the patriarchate in Russia 1589
“The Time of Troubles” 1598-1613
The first Romanov accedes to the throne 1613
The Treaty of Pereyaslav 1654
The Stepan Razin uprising 1670–1671
Peter I (the Great) reigns 1682–1725
The Great Northern War 1700–1721
Founding of St. Petersburg 1703
Founding of the Russian Empire 1721
Founding of Moscow University 1755
The reign of Catherine II (the Great) 1762–1796
Pugachev’s Rebellion 1773–1775
Patriotic War of 1812 1812–1813
Decembrist revolt 1825
Abolition of serfdom 1861
1905 Russian Revolution 1905–1907
Russia’s entry into the First World War 1914
February Revolution. The end of the monarchy 1917
October Revolution 1917
Russian Civil War 1918–1920
Founding of the USSR 1922
The Great Patriotic War 1941–1945
Launching of Sputnik 1 into space 1957
First manned spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin 1961
Chernobyl nuclear disaster 1986
Dissolution of the Soviet Union. Declaration of Independence
by Ukraine, Belarus, and other former Soviet republics.
Russian Federation becomes the successor of the Soviet Union 1991
The Ukrainian Revolution 2004-Present

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Analyze the succession of societies, such as Kievan

Rus, Moscovy, and the Czardom of Russia, within
LO 1 the Eastern Civilization during the Agricultural
Period and observe their geographical boundaries.

We can easily distinguish three main periods in the development

of the Eastern Civilization: the Agricultural Period, the
Industrial Period, and the present Post-Industrial Period. The
Agricultural Period coincided with life-careers of the Kievan
Rus and its successors – the Grand Principality of Moscow,
and the Czardom of Russia. Kievan Rus was a loose federation

Summary
of the East Slavic principalities, which flourished under the
reign of the Rurik dynasty from the late 9th to the mid-13th
century CE. The evolution of the Kievan Rus ended with the
Mongol invasion. This devastating onslaught, facilitated by the
beginning of the feudal breakup of Kievan Rus, had multiple
consequences for the history of Eastern Europe, including the
division of the East Slavic people into three separate nations:
modern-day Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. The Rurik dynasty,
however, survived and ruled the East Slavic successor states
until 1610.

Characterize the evolution of the

Eastern Civilization during the Industrial
LO 2 Period: the Russian Empire and the
USSR. “What’s Past is Prologue”?

The Industrial Period had two iterations - the Russian Empire

and the Soviet Union. The Russian Empire existed under the
rule of the Romanovs from 1721 to 1917. Both the Rurik and
the Romanov dynasties intermarried with the ruling elites of
their time. The successor state of the Russian Empire was the
Soviet Union, which existed from 1922 to 1991. Unable to
compete with the riding of the Third Wave and therefore faster
advancing Western Civilization, the Soviet Union, based on
the Marxism-Leninism ideology and an international system of
satellite states, collapsed as a result of the Revolutions of 1989.
This phenomenon became known as the “implosion of the
Soviet Union.” Will history define the future of the Eastern
Civilization in its Post-Industrial stage?

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LO 3 Appreciate the place of Ukraine in the

Eastern Civilization and reflect on its future.

Unlike Russia, other Orthodox countries have embraced

Western values. Greece, Southern Cyprus, Bulgaria, and
Romania are part of the EU. Orthodox Serbia, Georgia,
Moldova, and Ukraine would like to belong, and Montenegro
joined NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in
2017. Ukraine is a historic land with a unique and rich culture,
Summary

one which displays the influence of many civilizations. Not even

mentioning Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Byzantine, and
the Vikings, various parts of the country have been provinces
of the Polish-Lithuanian, the Russian, the Austro-Hungarian,
the Prussian, and the Ottoman empires, and, subsequently,
of the Soviet Union. Despite the ever present pressure of
cultural conversion from various colonial powers, Ukrainian
culture, art, and literary language underwent a process of rapid
development and refinement, especially during the 19th and
the 20th centuries. Ukraine is a pivotal state and a “meeting
place” for a dialogue between the world’s civilizations.

LO 4 Consider the evolution of religious beliefs within

the Eastern Civilization through the ages.

The evolution of religious beliefs within the Eastern Civilization

has been gradual and has passed through a number of periods.
The East Slavic early religious beliefs were animistic. Animism
perceives all things, for example, animals, plants, rocks, and
rivers, as animated and alive. Gradually, however, the Eastern
Civilization formed its identity around a mystical faith that
arrived from the Byzantine Empire, today called Orthodox
Christianity. Presently, Russian Orthodoxy is undergoing a
religious revival. Other religions, such as Islam, Buddhism, and
Judaism, are important in Russian history as well.

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Assess the development of other cultural systems

LO 5 within the realm of the Eastern Civilization.

Being a core country of the Eastern Civilization, Russia has a

rich and distinguished, even if at times a tormented, history
of accomplishments in many fields of culture, particularly in
politics and philosophy, literature and cinema, classical music
and ballet, architecture and painting. The country also has
an impressive material culture and a long-standing tradition

Summary
in science and technology. The conversion of Kievan Rus to
Orthodox Christianity in 988 largely defined the Eastern
Civilization’s culture for the next millennium as the synthesis
of Slavic and Byzantine traditions.
At different points in its history, the Eastern Civilization has
also been strongly influenced by the culture of the Western
Civilization. The processes of cultural evolution in Russia
inevitably have reflected those dynamics. They received
expression in two great perennial conflicts of the Russian
culture: one between the creative artist and the authorities, the
other between the Westernizers and the Slavophils.

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1 What famous book tells us about the origins 6 What military tactic helped the Russians to
of Kievan Rus? defeat the Mongols and create a great empire of
a. The Odyssey their own?
b. War and Peace a. Underwater warfare
c. The Iliad b. Frontal assault
Test Yourself

d. The Primary Chronicle (The Tale of Bygone Years) c. Preemptive war

e. On the Origin of Species d. Airborne operations
e. Use of firearms
2 What accomplishment were St. Cyril and St.
Methodius responsible for? 7 The new capital of the Russian Empire du-
a. Solution to the iconoclastic controversy ring the reign of Peter the Great was---?
b. Creation of a written script for the Slavic language a. Rome
c. Conversion of Poland to Orthodox Christianity b. Saint Petersburg
d. Conversion of what is now the Czech Republic c. Kiev
to Roman Catholicism
d. Minsk
e. Abolition of serfdom in Russia
e. Moscow

3 In what state was veche the highest legislative 8 Where did the French emperor Napoleon
and judicial authority until 1478?
lose almost all of his army?
a. Novgorod Republic
b. Moscovy a. China
c. Czardom of Russia b. Brazil
d. Russian Empire c. India
e. USSR e. Russia
e. Egypt
4 Use of which technological breakthrough al-
lowed the Mongols to conquer great distances and 9 What was the percentage of peasantry in the
to fight with unprecedented effectiveness? pre-revolutionary Russia?
a. Artillery a. 1%
b. Siege weapons b. 10%
c. Trojan horse c. 50%
d. Fire weapons d. 85%
e. Stirrup e. 100%

5 How did the Mongol conquest of Kievan Rus 10 Who was the last emperor of the Romanov
shape East Slavic history? dynasty?
a. It extinguished Orthodox Christianity within a. Alexander I
Eastern Civilization b. Alexander II
b. It helped to develop an elaborate education c. Alexander III
system
d. Nicholas I
c. It precipitated the division of the East Slavic pe-
ople into three separate nations e. Nicholas II
d. It led to the destruction of the Russian nobility
e. It sparked a flourishing period in Russian literature

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1. d If your answer is incorrect, review “Analyze 6. e If your answer is incorrect, review “The
The Succession of Societies within the
Evolution of the Eastern Civilization
Eastern Civilization during the Agricultural
during the Industrial Period: The Russian
Period: Kievan Rus, Moscovy, and the
Empire and the USSR.”
Czardom of Russia.”

Answers Key for “Test Yourself”

If your answer is incorrect, review
2. b If your answer is incorrect, review “The 7. b “Development of Other Cultural
Evolution of Religious Beliefs within the
Eastern Civilization through the Ages.” Systems Within the Realm of the Eastern
Civilization.”

3. a If your answer is incorrect, review “Analyze 8. d If your answer is incorrect, review “The
the Succession of Societies within the
Evolution of the Eastern Civilization
Eastern Civilization during the Agricultural
during the Industrial Period: The Russian
Period: Kievan Rus, Moscovy, and the
Empire and the USSR.”
Czardom of Russia.”

4. e If your answer is incorrect, review “Analyze 9. d If your answer is incorrect, review “The
The Succession of Societies within the
Evolution of the Eastern Civilization
Eastern Civilization during the Agricultural
during the Industrial Period: The Russian
Period: Kievan Rus, Moscovy, and the
Empire and the USSR.”
Czardom of Russia.”

5. c If your answer is incorrect, review “Analyze 10. e If your answer is incorrect, review “The
The Succession of Societies within the
Evolution of the Eastern Civilization
Eastern Civilization during the Agricultural
during the Industrial Period: The Russian
Period: Kievan Rus, Moscovy, and the
Empire and the USSR.”
Czardom of Russia.”

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The Eastern Civilization

What was the name of the first state of the Eastern

Civilization? Who founded it and when? What was the state
based upon economically and along which route?
Suggested Answers for “Your Turn”

The name of the first state of the Eastern Civilization was Kievan Rus. It was
your turn 1 founded by the Scandinavian Vikings in the 9th century CE. The state was
established on the backbone of trade routes from the lands of the Vikings to the
Greeks along the river Dnieper and other waterways.

What is serfdom? When was it abolished? During the reign

of which monarch? What famous painting depicts a typical
scene from the time of serfdom?

The term serf means an unfree peasant of the Russian Empire. Serfdom was
abolished during the reign of Czar Alexander II. The painting The Bargain by
your turn 2 Nikolai V. Nevrev (1866) depicts a sale of serfs before the abolition of this system of
slavery in 1861.

What was the name of the capital city of the Kievan Rus?
Why this city is known as the “mother of Russian cities”?
What modern sovereign nation is this city the capital of
today?

The city of Kiev was the capital of Kievan Rus. It is called the “mother of Russian
your turn 3 cities” because Kievan Rus was the birthplace of three modern nations: Russia,
Ukraine, and Belarus. Presently, Kiev is the capital city of Ukraine.

What faith did Vladimir I choose for his subjects? What

were the reasons for choosing that faith? When and where
did the conversion occur? What was the process of the
conversion of the East Slavs called?

Prince Vladimir I sought greater power so he could reign as a God-given ruler.

Impressed by the beauty and grandeur of the Orthodox religious ceremonies, and
your turn 4 perhaps with potential political gains from a Byzantine alliance also playing a role,
he chose Orthodox Christianity. The great prince converted his family and people
in Kiev in 988. The latter events are traditionally referred to as the Baptism of Rus.

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What are the main characteristics which the Eastern

Civilization may have inherited from the Byzantine
Civilization regarding political ideology and social
organization? In which two great conflicts of the Russian
culture have they found their expression?

Suggested Answers for “Your Turn”

The American historian Dennis J. Dunn thinks that both political ideology and
social organization of the Eastern Civilization inherited the most conspicuous
features of the Byzantine civilization. Among those the scholar names: Autocracy
and Absolutism, Caesaropapism, State-Managed Economy, Law as Synonymous
your turn 5 with Ruler’s Will, ‘Sobornost’, Service Oligarchy, Subjugation of Cities and Towns to
Central Government, Messianism, and Theological Mysticism.
The processes of cultural evolution in Russia inevitably reflected those inherent
characteristics. The fullest expression they may have received were manifest in
two great conflicts of the Russian culture: one between the creative artist and the
authorities, the other between the Westernizers and the Slavophils.

References
Brinton, C. (1965) The Anatomy of Revolution. New York: Vintage Books.
Campbell, J. (1988). The Power of Myth. New York: Doubleday.
Cross, S., Sherbowitz-Wetzor, O., Ed-s. (2012). The Russian Primary Chronicle. Medieval Academy of America.
Dvornik, F. (1956) The Slavs: Their Early History and Civilization. Boston: American Academy of Arts and
Sciences.
Dvornik, F. (1962). The Slavs in European History and Civilization. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University
Press.
Dunn, D. J. (2016). A History of Orthodox, Islamic and Western Christian Political Values. Palgrave McMillan.
2016
Hingley, R. (1991). Russia: A Concise History. London: Thames and Hudson.
Mises, L. (1981) Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis. Indianapolis: Liberty Classics.
Smith, K. (2017). Moscow 1956: The Silenced Spring. Harvard University Press.
Toffler, A. (1984). The Third Wave. New York: Bantam.
Volkov, S. (2011). Romanov Riches: Russian Writers and Artists under the Czars. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Electronic Sources
Linn, J. (2006). Super-Presidential Risks and Opportunities in Russia. Thursday, January 26, 2006. https://www.
brookings.edu/opinions/super-presidential-risks-and-opportunities-in-russia/

143
 Chapter 6 The Islamic Civilization
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

1 2
Learning Outcomes

Comprehend the origin of the Islamic Appreciate the important features of the Islamic
Civilization. Civilization.

3 Identify important developments in the timeline

of the Islamic Civilization. 4 Discuss the contributions of the Islamic
Civilization to knowledge and science.

Chapter Outline Key Terms

Introduction • Allah • Constitution of
• Islam Medina
Important Features of Islamic Civilization
• Prophet Mohammed • Truce of Hudaybiyyah
Important Developments in the Timeline of the • Revelations • Farewell Pilgrimage
Islamic Civilization • The Qur’an • the Rightly Guided
Contributions of the Islamic Civilization to • Muslim Caliphs
Knowledge and Science • Ka’aba • Manzikert
• Surah • Al-Azhar University
• Sunnah • University of
• Hijrah al-Qarawiyyin
• Medina • Ibn Sina, Jabir
• Mecca • Ibn Battuta
• Caliphate

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INTRODUCTION
“Thus we have made you a just (and the best) nation, that you be witnesses over mankind”
(Quran, 2: 143).

Islam was destined to be a world religion and a civilization, stretched from one end of the globe to the
other. The early Muslim caliphates (empires), first the Arabs, then the Persians and later the Turks set about
to create classical Islamic civilization. In the 13th century, both Africa and India became great centers of
Islamic civilization. Soon after, Muslim kingdoms were established in the Malay-Indonesian world, while
Muslims flourished equally in China. Islamic civilization is committed to two basic principles: oneness
of Allah and oneness of humanity. Islam does not allow any racial, linguistic or ethnic discrimination; it
stands for universal humanism. Besides, Islam has some peculiar features that distinguish it from other
cotemporary civilizations.
The Prophet Mohammed was a member of a modest clan, the Hashim, which was part of a successful
tribe, the Quraysh, in Mecca. He received a message from Allah, through the Angel Gabriel (Cebrail). As he
told the message to others in Mecca he found many followers. However, before long, the Prophet Mohammed
was fighting with the power structure in Mecca, and his life was threatened. Luckily he was able to migrate to
nearby Yathrib, soon to be renamed Medina, and start a new life there.
important
For over a decade Hz. Mohammed helped the people of Medina organize
as a society. His influence brought peace and success to a town that had been
struggling with disunity. Finally, after more than ten years, Hz. Mohammed Hazret (Hz.): is a title given
returned to Mecca with 1,500 of his followers. Almost immediately and with to sacred persons in Islam.
virtually no fighting, Hz. Mohammed became the spiritual and political Therefore, in the chapter,
leader of Mecca. His presence was so powerful that average citizens were the Prophet Mohammed is
generally referred to as “Hz.
converted to Islam in large groups.
Mohammed”.
After Hz. Mohammed died, the Islamic Empire expanded rapidly. Large
empires from the west and the east were both in the final stages of decline at
the time of Hz. Mohammed, so there was an opportunity for a new unifying force to take control. The
timing of the birth of Islam was ideal. The Islamic Civilization was able to quickly become an empire that
stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to just east of China, and from the Persian and Indian Oceans to north
of the Black Sea in less than 100 years.
Possibly the most lasting influence on the Islamic Civilization was from the region now known as
Istanbul. As Istanbul still stands as the gateway to the “Orient,” Islam and the Islamic Civilization actually
brought the cultures of China and the vast steppe, desert, and mountains of Central Asia, as well as the
colors and flavors of India to Africa and Europe. Today we hear about how the world is shrinking because
of air travel and trans-oceanic shipping. The real story started nearly 1,400 years ago with the Islamic
Civilization, geographically situated at the real crossroads of civilization - the spot between the people
of Europe and Africa and those of India and China. It was Islam, not Greece, nor Rome, nor the later
maritime empires of Portugal, Spain, England or France, which facilitated global trade by connecting the
cultures of the “Silk Road” with those of the West.
Modern civilization owes more to Islam than most people realize. Let’s find out more about what Islam
has given to the world.

THE ORIGIN OF THE ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION

Islamic empire grew out of a small city, in a region that was mostly desert, where the population had
been almost entirely nomadic until shortly before the birth of the Prophet. To the east and the west of the
Arab lands, at the time of the Prophet Mohammed’s birth, there were two of the greatest empires the world
had ever seen. Within 100 years of his death, they would both be gone. The timing was perfect for the
development of a new superpower that could rule the lands of the decaying Byzantine and Sasanian Empires.

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The Islamic Civilization

The World Before Islam

In the time just before the Prophet Mohammed, the Arabian Peninsula was populated with polytheistic
Semitic people. The Arabs of the region believed in the same stories of Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses,
but they had become interested in others’ gods over the years. People were living mostly in towns by now,
but many were still nomadic, taking goods from the coast across the deserts to exchange. Hz. Mohammed
was a city-dweller in Mecca.
By the time Hz. Mohammed was born, Mecca had long been a popular destination for pilgrimage. The
Ka’aba, and its Black Stone, was in Mecca, according to the teachings of Islam, from the time of Abraham.
Actually, it is taught
that the Ka’aba was
actually built by
Abraham. By the time
of Hz. Mohammed’s
birth there were 360
idols in the Ka’aba,
each representing a
different deity. This
made Mecca a popular
tourist destination,
attracting people from
all over the region.
This is why Hz.
Mohammed, besides
being a member of a
successful family in a
large city, he was also
constantly exposed
to people of different
tribes and cultures,
each with different Figure 6.1 Ka’aba (Mecca/Saudi Arabia)
ideas about life and
religion.
Two main empires controlled the world to the east and the west of Mecca. In the west the Byzantine
Empire, (330 CE - 1453 CE) was based in Constantinople and was the final version of the mighty Roman
Empire. Until fairly recently this empire was actually referred to as the Roman Empire, and would have
called itself the same.
The empire to the east of Mecca was the Sasanian Empire, or Persian Empire. There were actually
a series of Persian Empires, stretching back to before the time of Rome. The first Persian Empire, or
Achaemenid Empire, ended in 330 BCE, when Alexander the Great defeated Darius III. Several leaders
of the Achaemenid Empire were not only King of Persia, but also Pharaoh of Egypt. Darius the Great was
the most notable leader who was both King and Pharaoh.
After the Greek conquest of the Achaemenid Empire, there was a brief period of chaos followed by the
Parthian Empire. The Parthian Empire lasted from 247 BCE to 224 CE. Greek culture, installed in Persia
after Alexander’s conquest, continued to play an important role in politics and commerce. This influence was
passed on from the Parthian Empire to the Sasanian Empire, which ruled Persia from 224 CE to 651 CE.
By 620 CE, the Sasanian Empire had seemed much like the final days of the First Persian Empire when
it was about to be conquered by Alexander the Great. It was very large, the greatest size it ever attained.
It was, as a result of its size, over-extended. Military and administrative resources were spread thin, and
the Empire was exhausted from many years of war with the Roman Empire or the Byzantine Empire. The

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Sasanian Empire included the territory that is now After the Omayyad Khalifate another descendant of
Egypt, as well as most of the shoreline of modern Hz. Mohammed’s Hashim clan, the Banu Abbas,
Saudi Arabia, nearly all of modern day Turkey, and established the Abbasid Caliphate, which would rule
the entire region of the Caucasus. The Sasanian until the time of the Ottoman Empire.
Empire lasted for over 400 years on the eastern
border of the Byzantine Empire, and was able to
take over much of the territory west of Greece
when it collapsed. This gave the Sasanian Empire
its greatest size just before the beginning of Islam.
It also meant that the Empire was extended to its
farthest reaches.
To the west of what is now Saudi Arabia was the
Byzantine Empire, known to itself and the rest of
the world at the time as simply the Roman Empire,
since it was actually the final form of the ancient
Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire reached
its height about 100 years before the Prophet was Figure 6.2 Patio at Alhambra, Grenada/Andalusia-Spain.
born. With the capital in Constantinople, modern
day Istanbul, the Byzantine Empire continued
the regional dominance of the Roman Empire in
the name of Christianity. It continued to rule a What is Islam? The term Islam derives from the
constantly changing territory until finally falling three-letter Arabic root s-l-m, which generates words
to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. In the years with interrelated meanings, including “surrender”,
shortly before the Prophet was born, the Byzantine “submission”, “commitment” and “peace.”
Emperor reorganized all military and administrative Commonly, Islam refers to the monotheistic religion
functions and made Greek the official language; a revealed to Prophet Mohammed b. (son of) Abdullah
major change from the Latin that had been in place in 610 CE. The name Islam was instituted by the
since the Roman Empire. This simple change helped Qur’an, the sacred scripture revealed to Mohammed.
the expansion of the early Islamic Empire since there For believers, Islam is not a new religion. Rather,
was such a significant Greek influence in Persia. it represents the last reiteration of the primordial
message of Allah’s Oneness, a theme found in
The Byzantine and Sasanian Empires fought
earlier monotheistic religious traditions. [From this
for many years. The last of their conflicts was the
perspective] Islam is the religion of all the Prophets
Byzantine-Sasanian war of 602-628. By the end of
with which Allah sent them for the guidance of His
this conflict, fought mostly at the distant borders
servants (Düzgün and Sağlık, 2005: 37).
of both empires, both sides were exhausted. They
were running out of money and people. This
The Quraysh had been nomadic until not long
26-year-long war led to the collapse of the Sasanian
before Hz. Mohammed was born, but in a short
Empire in 651.
time they were able to establish themselves in
Meccan society. Sadly only a few months before
The Prophet Mohammed Hz. Mohammed was born, his father died. Then,
Hz. Mohammed was born in 571. His clan, Hz. Mohammed’s mother died when he was only
or family, was Hashim, which was one of the less six. At that time in Mecca an Arabian child in his
influential families in the powerful Quraysh tribe. situation would normally have been sent to live with
A different clan of the same tribe, the Abd Shams, the nomadic Bedouin, but his grandfather claimed
became important a few decades after the Prophet’s responsibility for the young boy. Again, tragedy
death. Their descendants would lead the Omayyad struck only two years later when Hz. Mohammed’s
Caliphate in one form or another, for several hundred grandfather died. Finally, his uncle, Abu Talib,
years, ensuring the success of the initial expansion of adopted Hz. Mohammed. This difficult early life had
the Islamic Empire after the death of the Prophet. a lifelong impact on Hz. Mohammed’s thoughts.

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Abu Talib taught Hz. Mohammed the trading

business. He often travelled with his uncle on
journeys that lasted several months. He learned
everything; from driving the camels, to managing
the finances. Over time, thanks to his hard work
and honest nature, Hz. Mohammed earned the
title al-Amin, or “trusted one.” This was a title not
given to everyone. With age and experience Hz.
Mohammed developed the most important skill
he would use as the future leader of the Islamic
Civilization: diplomacy. More and more people
came to him to settle disputes, to act as a judge. It
Figure 6.3 The Qur’an.
was when he was approaching his “mid-life crisis”
age that Mohammed felt the need for more.
Remembering his difficult childhood, and The product of the divine Revelations is the
the good fortune that he experienced from the Qur’an. The messages in the Qur’an came to the
generosity of his grandfather and uncle, he wondered Prophet Mohammad gradually over the course of
how there could be so many who lived alone with many years. During this time, he would take the
their hardships, pain, and suffering. He worried messages back to his community, and his followers
about fighting among tribes, social injustice, and would memorize them and write them down,
discrimination against women. A common practice eventually forming them into the Qur’an.
at the time of Hz. Mohammed was to kill young The 114 chapters (Surahs) of the Qur’an
girls if food or water was hard to find. The Qur’an contain more than six thousand verses. Muslims
specifically says this is wrong. Hz. Mohammed saw believe that the verses themselves, when recited
the need for social rules to promise women the right in Arabic, are holy. And the book itself, written
of inheritance, and rights within marriage including in Arabic calligraphy, is an artistic expression
the ability to start a divorce action. He believed that of Allah. The influence of these verses was so
women were citizens and should have the right to significant that the language used in the writing
have businesses and to own property. These were the of the Qur’an, although it was a regional language
issues that Hz. Mohammed wanted to work on in his specific to Mecca, became the basis for classical
community. So he began to travel to a nearby cave at written and spoken Arabic.
Hira to meditate on these challenges. The cave was
close enough to Mecca that he could see the Ka’aba
from the cave while he was praying. On more than Who suggested the compilation of the Qur’an?
one occasion the Angel Gabriel (Cebrail) visited Hz. Each and every word of the Qur’an was recorded
Mohammed at the cave. as soon as it was revealed by Allah to the Prophet
The Prophet’s experience in the cave at Hira began through Angel Gabriel . The Prophet’s secretary Zaid
a miraculous journey. Because at Hira, the words of bin Thabit and others used to record them exactly as
Allah were delivered to the Prophet by Gabriel (Jibrail the Prophet told them. He continued reading it back
/ Cebrail). These is called the divine Revelations to the Prophet until 632 (CE). Shortly after the death
(Wahy-Vahiy). The visits to Hira, which often lasted of the Prophet in 632 (CE) Omar (May Allah be
several days, changed Hz. Mohammed from a hard pleased with him) suggested to caliph Abu Bakr (may
working, trusted leader who was often looked to by Allah be pleased with him) that the Qur’an should be
his community to help settle disputes, into a teacher compiled in one volume. Up to then, the Qur’an was
of spirituality who was the direct messenger of Allah. written down in pieces in order as they were revealed.
His reputation, and now his inspiration, enabled him A Committee was formed under Zaid bin Thabit to
to step into the role he was born to play, political and gather the scattered material of the Qur’an into one
moral leader of a civilization that would spread across volume. And Abu Bakr ordered the compilation of
the entire planet. the Qur’an (Düzgün and Sağlık, 2005: 29).

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During the time of Hz. Mohammed, the visible in his preaching. He spoke loudly in public
Khalifate expanded to include nearly all of modern- about the shortcomings of idolatry and declared
day Saudi Arabia. By the end of the Rashidun the oneness of Allah.
Khalifate, less than 30 years after the death of Open hostility toward the followers of Islam in
Hz. Mohammed, the territory included the land Mecca led Hz. Mohammed to instruct his followers
between Eastern Turkey and Afghanistan on the to take refuge in Ethiopia. Around 80 people were
western and eastern borders, and the Caucuses and able to travel to what was then Abyssinia in 614.
Egypt and Libya on the northern and southern This successful exodus was an insult to the leaders
borders. By 750 CE, at the end of the Omayyad who were unhappy with Hz. Mohammed. The
Khalifate, the empire stretched from Pakistan and Meccan leaders sent a message to the Abyssinian
Kyrgyzstan in the east to Morocco and Portugal king demanding that the Muslims be sent back to
in the west and included all of the Saudi Arabian Mecca. The Prophet Mohammed and his followers
Peninsula, most of Turkey, and everything in discussed their religion with the king who then
between. agreed to shelter them.
An important point to consider is that Hz. The Qurayshi leaders announced a boycott of
Mohammed was a respected man in his community. the Hashim clan unless they would turn against
He was someone who was able to bring people with Hz. Mohammed. The announcement was written
differences together to find solutions. His trips to down and placed in the Ka’aba to make it clear
Hira were admired and the revelations he brought that it was an official statement by the leadership
back were memorized and written down to form that protected their power and way of life. For
the holy Qur’an. Why then, did Hz. Mohammed three years all interaction with the Prophet and
leave Mecca? his family was banned, and the Hashim family
At first, Hz. Mohammed preached the members were all placed under arrest in their home
Revelations to his family and friends. His wife area just outside the city.
Khadija (Hatice) was the first woman to embrace Finally, some of the Qurayshi leaders felt that
Islam. His cousin Ali, who would later become his this ban was wrong. They went to the Ka’aba to get
son-in-law and one of the most important leaders in the document that banned the Hashim, but insects
the history of Islam, was the first child to embrace had eaten most of it. All that remained were the
Islam. Abu Bakr (Ebu Bekir), his friend, was the words: “In thy name, Oh, Allah”. The leaders were
first man to do so. At first the Revelations were moved by the apparent religious significance of this
about the faithful individual living in accordance statement and immediately lifted the ban against
with Allah. Then the message to condemn idolatry the Hashim. Hz. Mohammed and his family were
came to Hz. Mohammed and most things changed. again able to interact in Mecca.
The Meccan leaders, from the same Quraysh tribe During the time that the Hashim were banished,
that Mohammed’s clan came from, recognized the arguments against Islam had grown in intensity.
Muslims as a fringe group. But now with his direct Hz. Mohammed was struggling to let more people
attacks on the main religion of the city, a religion that hear the call from Allah. Around this time, he met
attracted many pilgrims, and their money, combined a group from Medina. This group was happy to
with the fact that Hz. Mohammed’s teachings were listen to Mohammed, partly because their town was
attracting larger numbers of financially and socially a place with no leadership and little peace. Medina
needy people; the city leaders began to see Hz. was a difficult place to live. Somehow they knew
Mohammed as a threat. that Hz. Mohammed, and his message from Allah,
As the Revelations continued, specific attacks was going to be able to bring peace and prosperity
on the Meccan power structure began. Hz. to their struggling town. Soon after that meeting,
Mohammed disclosed the greediness of the in 621, a group came from Medina to speak with
Meccan leaders and drew attention to the fact that Hz. Mohammed about their difficulties. This led to
they failed to care for those in need. Finally, after the First Pledge of Aqaba, which was the promise
three years of Revelations, Hz. Mohammed was of those who came to see the Prophet Mohammed
commanded by Allah to become more publicly to embrace Islam, and to introduce their family

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members to the call of Islam. Hz. Mohammed sent

a teacher back with them to Medina to help them.
Five Pillars of Islam: Islam has five basic-duties
By 622, most families in Medina were Muslim. which Muslims must perform. They are known as
The visit that year from Medina to Mecca included the five Pillars of Islam (Arkân al-Islam). These pillars
75 Muslims. They met with Hz. Mohammed, are mentioned in the following Hadith (a saying of
again at Aqaba, and pledged loyalty to Islam. This Prophet Mohammed): “Islam is based on five things;
was the critical first step that would lead to the declaring that there is no god but Allah and that
Islamic empire. Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah, performance
The Hijrah (Hicret), took place in 622 and was of Salah, payment of Zakah, Hajj (Pilgrimage),
the second exodus of the Muslim community from Savm in the month of Ramadan.” The Five Pillars
Mecca. This time it was to Medina. This event as mentioned in the Hadith are; a) Shahadah:
strengthened Hz. Mohammed’s transition from (Declaration of faith) b) Salah : (Five compulsory
preacher to leader. He had practice when he led daily prayers) c) Zakah : (Welfare-contribution) d)
his people to Abyssinia, but this was a much bigger Hajj : (Pilgrimage to Mecca) e) Sawm : (Fasting
mission. during Ramadan) (Düzgün and Sağlık, 2005: 41).

Before the mosques prayer had been a personal

experience. With the introduction of mosques
prayer became a social function, where worshippers
no longer had to hide. The call to prayer (ezan)
became an important symbol of the freedom to
assemble and worship. The mosque also served as
a school, a function in Islamic society that would
be central to the success of Islam. The mosque also
served as a shared meeting place and as an office
for the administration of the local society. All of
these functions are the foundational aspects of
Figure 6.4 Nabawi Mosque, Medina/Saudi Arabia.
a civilization, and Hz. Mohammed was able to
bring them to life through the construction of the
The leaders of Mecca understood the growing mosques.
threat in Medina. The political climate in Mecca, Now that the Hijrah was completed it was
however, still favored Hz. Mohammed, or at least decided that September 23rd, 622 would be the
dictated that no one single person could take beginning date for the Muslim calendar. Starting
responsibility for killing a member of the Quraysh. on this day the name of Yathrib was changed to
One of them came up with the plan that several Madinat-un-Nabi, or the city of the Prophet;
men from different clans should all attack Hz. Medina. The transformation of Yathrib, and
Mohammed together, so that the Hashim would the construction of the mosque, are examples of
not try to avenge Hz. Mohammed’s death against how Hz. Mohammed transformed from preacher
just one clan, starting a civil conflict. to leader. He was welcomed to come to Medina
To enable his Hijrah, Hz. Mohammed’s cousin to provide stability and the guiding principles of
Ali pretended to be Mohammed in his bed. He was Islam. Now that he had arrived, and settled, the
disguised and wearing protection to save him from real work of spreading Islam’s call could begin.
an attack. While Hz. Mohammed escaped, the The Constitution of Medina, written in 622,
assassins were fooled and Ali was protected. Hz. listed the shared responsibilities of the tribes of
Mohammed and the others travelled for several Medina to maintain peace. It allowed anyone to
days and finally arrived at Qubaa, a small town practice any religion without persecution. It also
near Medina, where Hz. Mohammed built the first detailed how negotiations were to be handled,
mosque. When he arrived at Medina, he began including who needed to be present to ensure
work on the second mosque immediately.

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fairness. It talked about women’s rights, taxation, their approach in an attempt to defend themselves.
and even the specifics about relationships among It was time for Hz. Mohammed and his followers
Muslims as well as those between Muslims and to fight for their beliefs.
non-Muslims. The most important feature of the Hearing of the advancing Meccan army Hz.
Constitution of Medina was that it stated that ties Mohammed called his followers to battle. There
of religion are stronger than those of family. This were around 1,000 Meccan soldiers against the
enabled the creation of the Islamic Ummah, or approximately 300 Medians. This meeting came
community, with a reduced risk of resistance by a to be known as the Day of Discrimination. This
particular tribe. All Muslims were considered equal was the fight of good versus evil, or simply right
because they were Muslims first, then members versus wrong. According to historians there were
of their individual families. Prior to this, family few causalities but, remarkably, the Muslims from
relationships were always the most important. Medina were victorious.
This community strength is a key to the success of the
In Mecca the dominant figure in the city
Islamic Civilization.
leadership was Abu Sufyan. He understood that
this victory for Hz. Mohammed’s army could not
be allowed to go unanswered. He knew that the
Constitution of Medina: Document from early
Bedouin tribes were beginning to show signs of
Islamic history based upon two agreements concluded
allegiance to Hz. Mohammed and Allah’s message
between the clans of Medina and the Prophet
and that Medina was becoming more Muslim
Mohammed soon after the Hijrah, or emigration,
each day. Sufyan was forced to send messengers to
to Medina in ad 622. The agreements established
Medina to establish a truce.
the muhājirūn, i.e., the early Muslims who followed
Mohammed, on a par with the eight clans of Medina After some negotiation, the Truce of
(called the anşār, or “helpers”); collectively, the nine Hudaybiyyah was signed. This treaty proclaimed
tribes formed the first Muslim community (ummah). that there would be no fighting between Mecca
The agreements also regulated the relations of the and Medina for 10 years. It also said that Hz.
Muslims with the Jews of Medina. (www.britannica. Mohammed could visit Mecca immediately, and
com/topic/Constitution-of-Medina). that in the following year he would be allowed to
bring his people on pilgrimage to the Ka’aba.
The Constitution detailed the rights of non- Conflict had driven the faithful Muslims and
Muslims. This was important for the future of the rest of their society apart, but now, with peace
the Islamic Empire. Medina was home to a large established, everyone was free to interact, and
number of Jewish families. There was a critical Islam spread rapidly. In the two years after the
need to incorporate their existence into the signing of the truce the number of Muslims more
Constitution. Having to work with this “outside” than doubled.
culture at such an early stage in the development The Quraysh broke the truce by attacking a
of Islam gave Hz. Mohammed a chance to explain tribe that was in alliance with the Prophet and
how Muslims would treat “outsiders” as the empire killing them all in the sanctuary at Mecca. Abu
grew. For the next several hundred years, Jews Sufyan immediately travelled to Medina, hoping
would thrive under Muslim rule. The Omayyad to get there before the news of the slaughter. He
and the Abbasid Khalifates even allowed Jews to planned to ask for the existing treaty to be renewed.
serve in the ranks of the political elite. Unfortunately for Mecca, and fortunately for the
However, all of Hz. Mohammed’s progress future of the Islamic Civilization, Abu Sufyan was
in Medina led to more persecution of Muslims too late.
back in Mecca. The leaders of Mecca grew more When he heard the news of the killing of the
and more enraged at Hz. Mohammed’s success faithful in Mecca, Hz. Mohammed called upon
and committed themselves to killing him. It had all physically able Muslims in Medina. When Hz.
been 13 years since the first Revelations in the cave Mohammed traveled to Hudaybiyyah his army
and during this time Mohammed had preached numbered 1400. Two years later he marched
pacifism. The Muslims were forced now to change against the Meccans, who had broken the truce,

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with 10,000 men. The Quraysh were overwhelmed. The great size of the Islamic army made the victory
swift and nearly bloodless. The people of Mecca were in fear for their lives but the Prophet Mohammed
immediately declared peace and amnesty. This merciful gesture encouraged nearly all of the population of
Mecca to embrace Islam on the spot. Hz. Mohammed’s first public statement in Mecca was to declare that
“truth had arrived and darkness had been defeated.” He made it safe for the call to prayer to be heard across
Mecca with his victory.
As we read earlier Mecca was a site of pilgrimage for many polytheistic religions. After the victory in
Mecca, the Prophet Mohammed had all of the idolaters’ objects removed from the inside of the Ka’aba.
The Declaration of
Immunity, delivered
in the same year as
the victory in Mecca,
said that in the next
year only Muslims
would be allowed to
make the pilgrimage
to the Ka’aba, with
an exception for any
non-Muslims who
had a treaty with the
Muslims and had never
supported anyone
who fought against
those same treaties.
Once those treaties
ended, pilgrimage to
the Ka’aba became Figure 6.5 Name of Allah with Arabic calligraphy on the wall of Old Mosque (Eski Camii)
an event only for the in Edirne/Republic of Turkey.
Muslim faithful.
In the tenth year of the Muslim calendar the Prophet
Mohammed set off from Medina with tens of thousands of
Muslims to perform the pilgrimage. This trip was his last and
is referred to as the “Pilgrimage of Farewell.” Near Mecca 1
Hz. Mohammed preached to a huge gathering of pilgrims. Think about the challenges to the early
He reminded them of the duties of a good Muslim. He also Islamic Civilization from a geographic
reminded them that one day they would meet Allah, who standpoint. How did the geographic reality
would judge each of them based on how they had lived of the location of Mecca and Medina
their lives.  The Prophet Mohammed asked them if he had contribute to the rapid spread of Islam?
succeeded in his efforts to convey the word of Allah and the
crowd that only a few months earlier had been mostly non-
Muslims replied that he had.

IMPORTANT FEATURES OF ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION

There are five main characteristics that distinguish Islamic civilization from other civilizations:
• Islamic Civilization is based on the monotheistic Islamic faith that believes in the oneness of the
Almighty Allah, the Creator of this universe. It is characterized by submission to the will of Allah
and service to humankind. It is a socio-moral and metaphysical view of the world.
• It is a civilization with a universal dimension. It is not associated with a particular geographic
region, race or historical era. It is based on the idea that man comes before the rest of the crea-

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tures of Allah. All human activities should Contributions in medicine, pharmacy,

lead to the happiness and welfare of man. chemistry, mathematics, physics and philosophy
Any action intended to serve this goal is a helped bring the Renaissance with its revival of
blessed action indeed. sciences.
• It is an open civilization. Islamic Islamic civilization dominated much of the
Civilization has happily incorporated good southern and western hemisphere between 10th and
parts of other civilizations, as long as they 16th centuries. With the rise of industrial age and
are not against the spirit of Islam (Iqbal, the beginnings of colonialism, Islamic civilization
2003: 10). Islam is the most pluralist suffered a serious setback. Muslims were influenced
religion; it coexists with other religions, by Western culture and civilization.
allowing full religious autonomy.
Islam as a religion remained an important
• It is a well-balanced civilization. It insists
global force. It is the second largest religion in the
on a balance between the material and
world, is currently the fastest growing religion in
the spiritual life. This moderation is the
the world, and it is dominant in Asia, Africa, and
essence of Islamic thought and civilization.
the Middle East (Brohi, 1982).
It permits no excess, no neglect, no
extremism and no recklessness.
• It will last as long as Islam exists. So Islam: Social Engineering Genius
long as it embodies the principles of While Europe was struggling with the Dark Ages,
Islam, the Almighty Allah will preserve and a feudal system that failed to develop wealth
it. This unique civilization will never for any but the most privileged families regardless
wither away because it is not a national of merit, the Abbasid Khalifate expanded the iqta
or a racial civilization, nor does it run system of reward for military leaders in a way that
counter to human nature. Islam should dramatically increased agricultural production,
not be identified with Muslims. Individual while encouraging innovation, rewarding effort,
Muslims may become weak or strong, and requiring respectful treatment of those who
but Islam would remain an everlasting would spend their lives working the land.
guidance to humankind.
The iqta system encouraged these soldier/
landowners to maximize the productivity of their
Islam: An Enlightened Influence land. The Empire owned the land but it was granted
The global civilization created by Islam activated to soldiers who had been successful. It could be
the minds and thoughts of its populations. As a taken back if these soldiers did a bad job of working
result, the Arabs became leaders in science and the land, or even if they were unfair or cruel to their
learning. The Persian civilization became strong workers. Very importantly, these grants of land
again after joining Islam. This change in Persia were not hereditary, although they could be bought
contributed to the growth of science and art. The and sold. All of this meant that the existing land of
same can be said of Turks and other nations. the Islamic world would be used more efficiently,
For nearly one thousand years Arabic was the yielding larger harvests, all while ensuring that
official language of scholarly work throughout citizens working the land were treated with respect.
the Islamic Civilization. Between the 7th and 12th This was a feat of social engineering that has never
centuries, Islam became the center of a brilliant been equaled, even today.
civilization and of a great scientific, philosophic,
and artistic culture. Islam added its culture to the
heritage of Greece, Rome, Judaism, Christianity 2
and the Near East.
Why did Allah send prophets and
Muslims respected religious minorities within the messengers to every nation at different
areas they conquered. Of course, these minorities were times, and why do we need guidance
required to recognize Islamic political rule, pay taxes (prophethood) from Allah?
and refrain from conspiracies against the Muslims.

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IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS
IN THE TIMELINE OF THE
ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION
The history of Islamic Civilization spans
centuries. For 1292 years cultures from China
to the Atlantic Ocean, from India, Indonesia,
Malaysia to Central Asia and the Caucus region
changes in the size of the Islamic Civilization, and
cultural innovations happened throughout the
1292 years. Studying some of the many landmarks
throughout the region can help to explain the Figure 6.6 Medina, Saudi Arabia
growth and progress of the Islamic Civilization.

Period of Righteous Caliphs

Medina: Capital of the First Islamic
The first four leaders who followed Hz.
State Mohammed are known as the Rightly Guided
The Islamic movement inherited an Arab society Caliphs. They were Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman
that had not gone beyond the city-state structure. and Ali. Some important facts about the Rightly
There had been no written law, no constitution. Guided Caliphs are:
Particularly in Medina there was no governing
• They assumed office only with the consent
authority either hereditary or elected. There was no
of the people and never imposed themselves
financial system nor any police or army. There was
through force and fraud;
no concept of territorial governance or defense.
• They governed the people through ‘shura’
After his arrival in Medina, Hz. Mohammed (consultation) and were not inclined toward
invited the elders of various religious groups and tyranny, oppression, and dictatorship;
tribes and suggested establishment of a city-state. • The state and its functionaries were
All Muslims, Christians, Arabs, and Jews then committed to the establishment of a just
ratified the Constitution of Medina. The pact moral order.
transformed Medina into a small but the first ever • They were committed to the rule of law
Muslim State in the world’s history. A common and constitutional order. They called on the
governance system was that crossed cultural people to help them in with the running of
boundaries. All religious communities were free to the government.
follow their own law and traditions. Using religion • They made it clear that the people were
to force people to change their way of life ended. individually responsible and that if they
Hz. Mohammed was the only official leader of the somehow departed from the Qur’an and
newly founded group. Defense of Medina became the Sunnah, they would be judged and
the shared responsibility of the community. punished by the community.
The Constitution of Medina is the first written • They acknowledged the judiciary, or judges
civil and political law spelling out the religious and laws, and even took their own cases to
autonomy and freedom. Tribal chiefs were allowed the courts.
to settle their intra-tribal disputes. The Prophet, • They respected the treasury and never used
however, was to be the judge for disputes. The it for themselves.
new constitution explained the responsibilities and • The dignity and divinity of man was the
rights of both the citizens and local leaders. basis of the socio-political and moral order.
Briefly, the Constitution laid down the These leaders had the benefit of living with Hz.
principles of defense and foreign policy; organized Mohammed. At the same time, after becoming
a system of social insurance (called ‘Ma’aqil’); leaders they had to try to live up to that image.
recognized Hz. Mohammad as the judge; and This was not easy for the Righteous Caliphs but
complete religious freedom was allowed. they tried their best to follow in the path of Hz.

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Mohammed. Unfortunately, some rulers who The Crusades were very important for Islamic
followed the Righteous Caliphs failed to maintain Civilization’s relationship with the West. The purpose
these standards. Islamic Civilization witnessed of these Crusades was to recapture the region, especially
some dynasties and dictatorships, causing great Jerusalem, for Christianity. These battles went on for
harm to the Muslim state and society. centuries. They began with groups of peasants and
even children but quickly became more professional.
After initial success, European military towns were set
The Umayyad Dynasty 661 CE - up in parts of Syria and Palestine, but the Muslims
750 CE finally prevailed. In 1187 CE, Saladin [Salahuddin]
The Umayyad Caliphate was established in Ayubi, the great Muslim leader, recaptured Jerusalem
661 CE and lasted for about one hundred years. and defeated the Crusaders.
The capital moved from Mecca to Damascus. Not
only did Islamic conquests continue during this
dynasty, through North Africa to Spain and France The Seljuk Empire: 1037 CE - 1194
in the West and to Sind, Central Asia in the East, CE
but also the new social and legal institutions of the The Seljuks originated from the Oghuz Turks,
Civilization became more advanced. who in the 9th century lived at the edge of the
Muslim world on the Kazakh Steppe. When Seljuk,
the leader of the his clan, had a falling out with the
The Abbasids Dynasty 750 CE - leader of the Oghuz tribe, he left the Oghuz tribal
1517 CE lands and set up on the west bank of the Syr Darya
The Abbasids, who followed the Umayyads, river. Around 985 CE, Seljuk converted to Islam.
moved the capital to Baghdad. The seat of the
powerful Abbasid dynasty, Baghdad was also the
center of arts and sciences for the entire world. It
contained two of the world’s oldest and greatest
universities, the Nizamiyah and the Mustansiriyah,
which enriched Muslim civilization, and benefited
the whole world.
A sophisticated banking system was established
during the Abbasid dynasty with branches as far
away as China. An efficient postal service, a water-
supply system, a sewage system, and a large and
powerful military were all developed at this time.
Countless libraries and bookstores were also Figure 6.7 Ince Minare Medrese, Konya/Turkey,
established.
an example of Seljuk architecture
While the Abbasids ruled in Baghdad a number
of powerful dynasties, such as the Fatimids,
Ayyubids and Mamluks, held power in Egypt, The Seljuks expanded rapidly, raiding towns
Syria, and Palestine. throughout Persia. They finally faced a decisive battle
in 1040 CE where they were victorious and became
Abbasids ruled for over 500 years, the
the regional power for Persia and Central Asia in the
longest lasting caliphate in the history of Islamic
Abbasid Khalifate. Within a few years the Seljuk
Civilization. When Hulagu (Halaku Khan), the
leader had expanded his control to Baghdad, where
Mongol ruler, captured Baghdad, in 1258 CE, the
he greatly impressed the Abbasid leaders and was
Abbasid Caliphate ended. His armies of archers
brought into an alliance with their Khalifate to replace
on horseback destroyed the city, including the
the Buyid’s as the local governmental apparatus. It
valuable libraries.
was at this time that the Seljuk leader was granted the
title of Sultan by the Abbasid Khalifa.

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The Islamic Civilization

By 1071 CE the Seljuk Empire had expanded Islamic power ended in Spain with the defeat
across Anatolia. The Battle of Manzikert of the last Islamic dynasty in Granada in 1492 CE,
(Malazgirt) was another critical event in the history ending nearly 800 years of Muslim rule.
of both the Islamic and Turkish Civilizations. The
clear victory of the Seljuks over the Byzantine
Empire on August 26, 1071 CE was the first major
After The Mongol Invasion
step for Anatolia to become Turkish. The Mongols conquered the eastern lands of
Islam and ruled from the Sinai Desert to India
By the middle of the 12th century the Seljuks
for a century. In 1258 CE the Mongols destroyed
were losing control of their Empire. The Battle of
Baghdad. This is the date that many historians say
Katwan, a city between Bukhara and Samarkand
was the end of the Golden Age of Islam. Of course,
in what is now Uzbekistan, was the site of the
this was a short-lived victory for the Mongols, since
final loss for the Seljuks in Central Asia. In 1153
they soon converted to Islam and were called the
the Oghuz tribe stepped back into the story and
Il-Khanids. They were a Central Asian dynasty.
captured the Seljuk leader Ahmed Sanjar. By 1194
The Timurids replaced the Il-Khanids and ruled
the Empire had collapsed and became no more
the area from the capital, Samarqand, from 1369
than a collection of self-governing states called
to 1500 CE. This dynasty slowed the expansion of
beyliks. The happy ending to this story is that
the Ottoman Empire.
one of these beyliks eventually developed into the
mighty Ottoman Empire.

North Africa and Spain

When the Abbasids captured Damascus, one of
the Umayyad princes went to Spain and established
an Umayyad princedom, beginning the golden age
of Islam in Spain. Cordoba became the capital and
Europe’s greatest city at the time, for population
and culture.

Figure 6.9 The Tomb of Hoca Ahmed Yesevi: an

example of Timurid buildings
Source: www.google.com.tr

The Ottoman Empire 1453 CE -

1923 CE
The Turks rose to power and ruled over the
whole of Anatolia and parts of Europe. In 1453
CE, Mehmed II (the Conqueror) captured
Figure 6.8 Mihrab, Great Mosque at Cordoba Constantinople, putting an end to the Byzantine
Empire. The Ottomans conquered much of
Source: www.khanacademy.org
Eastern Europe and nearly the whole of the Arab
world with only Morocco, Mauritania, Yemen and
In North Africa various local dynasties held the parts of the Arabian peninsula left outside the
power until two powerful Berber dynasties united new empire.
much of North Africa with Spain in the 12th and Their power peaked with Suleyman (Kanuni)
13th centuries. The Sharifids, who still rule today, ‘the Magnificent’. From the 17th century onward,
followed the Berbers in the 13th century. with the rise of western European and later

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Russian powers, the influence of the Ottoman empire, which provided rulers like Akbar, Jahangir
Empire began to shrink. Even with this decline and Shah Jahan. It ended with the concentration of
the Ottoman Empire remained a powerful force the British power in India in 1857 CE.
in the area until the First World War, when it was
defeated. In 1923 CE Kemal Ataturk gained power
and declared Turkey a secular Republic, ending six
centuries of Ottoman rule.

Figure 6.11 Taj Mahal, built in Agra between 1631 and

1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan

Figure 6.10 Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey Malaysia and Indonesia

Farther east in the Malay world, Islam began
Persia to spread in the 12th century in northern Sumatra.
While the Ottomans were concerned mostly Muslim kingdoms were established in Java, Sumatra,
with the western front of their empire, in Persia and the mainland Malaysia. Islam spread in the area
to the east the Safavid dynasty came to power in covering today’s Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern
1502 CE. The Safavid state was very successful and Philippines, and southern Thailand. It is still a
lasted more than two centuries. Art and literature dominating force in these island nations.
blossomed during this period. Isfahan, the capital,
became one of the most beautiful cities with its Africa
blue tiled mosques and beautiful houses.
Islam entered eastern Africa early in the Islamic
The Afghan invasion of 1736 CE ended Safavid period, but remained confined to the coast for
rule, and set up Afghanistan for independence, some times. Only Sudan and Somaliland became
which actually happened in the 19th century. Persia Arabized and Islamized.
itself fell into turmoil until Nadir Shah reunited
West Africa felt the presence of Islam through
the country. He was to conquer India later. His
north African traders who traveled south of the
rule was brief. The Zand dynasty soon took over,
Sahara. By the 14th century, there were already
but was then overthrown by the Qajars in 1779
Muslim princedoms in such areas as Mali and
CE. They ruled from Tehran until 1921 when the
Timbuktu in western Africa. Harare in eastern
Pahlavis took control.
Africa became centers of Islamic learning.
Gradually, Islam moved inland and south. The
India expansion of the Islamic Civilization into Africa did
In India Islam entered to the east of the Indus not stop during the colonial period, and continues
River peacefully. Gradually, Muslims gained political today. Most Africans are now Muslims.
power beginning in the early 13th century. But this
period, which marked the expansion of both Islam
and Islamic culture, came to an end with the conquest
3
of much of India in 1526 CE by Babur, one of the
Timurid princes. He established a powerful Mogul What is iqta and how was it useful for the
Islamic Civilization?

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CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE translation reached its peak with the establishment

ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION TO of the ‘House of Wisdom’ (Bayt al-Hikmah) by
Caliph al-Ma’mun in the early 9th century.
KNOWLEDGE AND SCIENCE
The reason for this huge effort was to enable
The search for knowledge in Islam began with
the Islamic world to understand and use the
Hz. Mohammed himself. His prayer was: “Allah
philosophies and sciences of ancient times in its
grant me knowledge of ultimate nature of things”
own community. Important philosophical and
(Iqbal, 2003: 10).
scientific works of Aristotle, Plato, the Pythagorean
Islam lays equal stress on scientific and school, Greek astronomy, mathematics and
philosophical knowledge. Islam is a religion based medicine were all translated into Arabic. Important
upon knowledge for it is ultimately knowledge works of astronomy, mathematics and medicine
of the Oneness of Allah, combined with faith. were translated from Sanskrit (Mazhar-ul-Haq,
The Qur’an is calling on man to use intellect, to 2001: 445). As a result, Arabic became the most
think, to investigate and to discover the truth. The important scientific language of the world for
truth according to the Qur’an is none other than many centuries and the depository of much of the
worshipping Allah. wisdom and the sciences of ancient times.
The Sunnah also shows the importance of and Muslims did not translate these scientific and
emphasis on knowledge: “Seek knowledge even philosophical works for political gain, but instead
if you have to go to China;” “Seek knowledge it was because of the high value placed on learning
from the cradle to the grave;” “Verily the men of in Islam. These philosophies and sciences were
knowledge are the inheritors of the prophets.” This studied from the perspective, or worldview, of
is why every traditional Muslim city had public and Islam.
private libraries and some cities like Cordoba and
Baghdad had libraries with over 400,000 books.
Scholars were held in the highest esteem in Islamic Muslims’ Contributions
society. The great power of the intellectual
As Islam spread northward into Syria, Egypt contributions of the Islamic Civilization can be
and the Persian Empire, it learned of the sciences seen by looking at their activities and considering
of ancient times. Alexandria, in Egypt, had been a the impact they had on Europe’s struggle to break
major center of science and learning for centuries. the cult of barbarism— the Dark Ages. As Prof.
These intellectual riches were transferred to Briffault states, “Science is the most momentous
Antioch and farther east to such cities as Edessa contribution of Arab civilization to the modern
by eastern Christians. The Persian King Shapur I world” (Briffault, 1919).
had established Jundishapur in Persia as a second
great center of learning matching Antioch. Indian
Medical Science
physicians and mathematicians as well as Christian
scholars were courted. Since medicine is so important to human
welfare, it has developed continuously since ancient
Once Muslims established the new Islamic
times. The contributions of Islamic Civilization
order, during the Umayyad period, they turned
to this progress are very important. The Islamic
their attention to the preservation of the centers
Civilization collected all the available knowledge
of knowledge. The philosophical and scientific
of the Greeks, Persians, and Egyptians and other
works were translated not only from Greek and
cultures, had them all translated into Arabic, and
Syriac (the language of eastern Christian scholars)
redistributed the knowledge around the Islamic
but Pahlavi (the scholarly language of pre-Islamic
world for all to use. In normal Islamic society
Persia) and Sanskrit. Hunayn ibn Ishaq, an
physicians became highly regarded social elites.
Arab-Christian physician, and Ibn Muqaffa, the
inventors of a new Arabic prose style useful for The science of medicine was close to the study
philosophical and scientific writings, were the of philosophy, which was a very popular subject.
most famous translators. The great movement of Arabian scientists made progress in the art of

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healing, especially in the use of curative drugs. They in ancient times. The Muslims, picking up the
established hospitals and even provided advanced applied science from the Alexandrians, learned all
medical care to prisoners. They made careful studies that they could about the chemistry of the ancient
of diseases and did creative work in the optics, or eye Egyptians, and then build on that knowledge. The
care. Possibly the greatest contribution of Islamic Arabic word for this science was al-chemr which
Civilization to the medical world of the Middle the medieval scientists of Europe knew as alchemy.
Ages was in the writing of medical text books. Al Until the Renaissance, alchemy and chemistry
Razi (865-925 CE.), from Persia, wrote one of these were considered to be the same science. The most
books. It contains all of the medical knowledge of important discoveries in the field of chemistry
the Arabs in the 10th century. It was translated and were those made by the alchemist in his search for
published in Sicily, Italy, in 1279 CE a formula for converting baser metals into gold.
The greatest of the medical books was by Ibn In this search for the magical creation of gold and
Sina (Avicenna in Europe: 980-1037 CE). One in their research in all types of medicine, Islamic
of the world’s great intellects, Ibn Sina had a chemists developed formulas for making three
photographic memory. By the age of twenty-one chief mineral acids—nitric acid, sulphuric acid,
he had read and absorbed all of the books in the and hydrochloric acid—all used in the modern
Royal Library of the Sultan of Bukhara. Ibn Sina’s world.
book was eventually translated into Latin in the The father of Arabic chemistry and its
12th century and became the most important medical greatest genius was Jabir (Geber). He made great
book of the middle-ages in all of Europe. From the progress in the theory and practice of his science.
12th to 17th centuries, it was the main medical Translations of his works into Latin had a strong
book in the West and it is still in occasional use in influence in Europe and help start the modern
the Muslim East. study of chemistry.

Astronomy, Geography and

Navigation
The Islamic Civilization collected all the
astronomical, geographical, and navigational
science and skill of the ancient world as well.
Muslim scholars believed the Greek idea that the
earth was round. They calculated the distance
around the earth, and accurately divided the earth
Figure 6.12 Commemorative medal issued by the UNESCO into the 360-degree sections, establishing latitude
in 1980 to mark the 1000th birth anniversary of Ibn Sina. and longitude and a method to calculate position.
Source: www.portal.unesco.org Navigation at the time of the Islamic
Civilization was based on stars. This worked for
As the Renaissance brought attention to learning, the Mediterranean Sea but something more was
Europe, which had been inspired by contacts with needed for navigation in the Atlantic Ocean.
the Islamic culture, developed its own desire to Islamic Civilization used the compass, which
increase knowledge in the medical area. Much of the came from Chinese, and the Greek Astrolabe, an
progress we see today is a result of the inspiration instrument used for mapping the position of stars.
that came from the Islamic Civilization long before Prince Henry, the Navigator, learned his skills
Europe came out of the Dark Ages. from the Islamic Civilization. He claimed Portugal,
and their sailors became the masters of their day at
sea, with the most exact instruments on earth at
Chemistry the time. It was in with this navy that Christopher
Alexandria was conquered by the Islamic Columbus studied navigation.
Empire in 642 The Egyptians had done much in Ibn Battuta was the greatest Muslim explorer,
the development of what is now called chemistry travelling around 120,000 kilometers from

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Morocco to North Africa, Egypt, Arabia, Yemen, Asia Minor, Crimea, Central Asia, Byzantium, Bulgaria,
Persia, to India, China, Ceylon and Sumatra back to Spain via Syria and Morocco in 1349 CE (Mazhur-
ul-Haq, 2001: 429).
Columbus might never have ventured forth over the Atlantic without advanced sailing skills or the
concept of a round earth, both brought to Europe by the Muslims (Chejne, 1974: 407).

Routes of Ibn Battutah

1325-27 1332-46
1330-32 1349-53
Note: Dashed lines indicade routes 0 500 1000 mi
Ibn Battutah may have followed
0 800 1600 km

Figure 6.13 Ibn Battuta’s voyages.

Source: www.britannica.com

The Decimal System

The Islamic scholars brought the idea of a number zero from the India and used it in the decimal
system, which has helped progress in science. Indian philosophers first conceived the idea that nothing,
represented by zero, could have any mathematical value. They said that the value of less than nothing could
be indicated algebraically as negative quantities. Arab numerals are an adaptation of the ten Hindu digits,
which gradually displaced the clumsy Greek symbols and Roman numerals.
The seven centuries beginning with 800 A.D. saw the development of computational mathematics
with the Islamic intellectual and logical community, surpassing achievements of the past. About 1400 CE
al-Kashi invented decimal fractions, a century and a half before Stevin began the use of them in Europe.
He computed 2 ᴨ (Pi) to equal 6.281,185,107,179,580.5 The use of the decimal system spread gradually
into Europe through the work of Leonardo of Pisa, a Latin Christian lived for years in North Africa, where
he picked up the Arabic system of numerals and the use of decimals. It took Europe hundreds of years,
however, to fully accept the use of the decimal system.

Algebra
The science of algebra owes much to the Islamic Civilization. “Algebra” is derived from Arabic al-gebr
(binding together). Though of Greek origin, algebra was greatly expanded by Muslim mathematicians.
From about 800 to 1200 CE, the Arabs evolved a more critical study of equations giving them for the first
time some element of scientific treatment. Algebra was then further handed on to Europe via Spain and
Sicily.

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Paper as early as 1300 CE. No connection has yet been

The introduction of paper into the Muslim and traced between the invention and development
European world was made possible when Arab of light weaponry in Spain and the invention and
conquerors overran Asia and Africa in the eighth development of the cannon. If the hand-held gun
century. In 751 CE, Chinese attacked the Arabs originated in Spain during the Islamic period, it is
in Samarkand. The Chinese were beaten back and reasonable to guess that it was inspired by the use
the local Islamic leadership found expert in paper of gunpowder as an explosive by the Arabs.
making among them. These skilled paper makers
were sent to Persia and Egypt to teach their craft. Textiles
This intense interest in papermaking was Clothing worn by Europeans during the Dark
possibly influenced by knowledge of Egyptian Ages and most of the medieval period was crude.
‘papyrus’ that displaced the use of costly parchments The Crusaders brought back stories of the rich
for manuscripts and books. The methods used to fabrics of the East. Soon these fabrics became a
make paper and papyrus were somewhat similar, part of the trade between the cities of Italy and the
but paper was better for printing. Near East. The Muslims working in Spain and Italy
Papermaking was introduced into Spain in the taught the Europeans their skills in textiles and the
12th century. From Toledo it spread to the Christian cultivation of the silkworms (sericulture) for the
kingdoms of Spain. Similarly, the Muslims in Sicily production of silk.
taught papermaking to the Italians. The earliest
recorded European document on paper was the
order of King Roger of Sicily, 1102 CE. Paper mills Agricultural Products
were first set up at Fabriano, Italy, in 1276 CE. This The diet of medieval Europe was poor. It was
prepared Europe for the soon-to-arrive printing mostly meat and bread, leeks, garlic, onions,
press of Guttenberg that would revolutionize the cabbage and a few root vegetables. The Crusaders
spread of information in Europe and for begining were impressed by the variety: rice cooked in many
the process of social change that has shaped the ways, lamb or chicken; lentils and other vegetables
modern political world. cooked in olive oil, and delicious sweetmeats
and fruit. Rice was an important addition to the
European diet. The Islamic Civilization also taught
Gunpowder the growing techniques for cherries, peaches,
The Arabs also learned about gunpowder from apricots, and gooseberries.
the Chinese. The Islamic Civilization was able to Coffee is another Muslim addition to the diet
take this Chinese invention and use it in a new way. of Europe. Coffee was introduced in Vienna in
They utilized the explosive power of gunpowder to the 17th century from Yemen, its place of origin.
shoot a missile from a tube. The first cannon was Soon famous coffee houses sprang up all over in
made in Egypt sometime in the 12th century CE. It Europe. The Dutch managed to smuggle the coffee
was made of wood, bound with bands of metal, and plant to Java where it was extensively cultivated.
it discharged stone balls. By the middle of the 15th British entrepreneurs made fortunes by raising it
century CE, the cannon had been improved and in Jamaica.
was even used in the conquest of Constantinople
Sugar, which originated in India early in
(Istanbul).
the first millennium CE, was so popular that it
The origin of hand-held guns is unclear. One of soon spread to China and Persia. Learning sugar
the earliest known uses was in Cortez’s conquest of production from the Persians in the 10th century
Mexico, 1519-20 CE. In Europe the Spanish used CE, the Muslims then made it in Syria, Spain, and
them in the Italian wars of 1522 CE. Sicily. The Crusaders developed a taste for sugar
It seems possible that hand held guns were while in Islamic territory and then introduced it to
invented in Spain. Some historians claim it was Europe when they returned home.

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The Seminaries: The Culture of Slavery was prevalent and the ancient world felt
University no need for laborsaving devices. Also, it can be
The Islamic Civilization started to build said that the Greek mentality was more interested
universities in the 9th century. They built them in in the theory than the practical use of science. In
Baghdad, Cairo, Fez, Cordova and other cities. The 641 CE the Islamic Civilization conquered Egypt.
University of al-Qarawiyyin in Morocco founded Alexandria contained much of what was left behind
in 859 CE boasts of being the oldest existing by the Greek culture. The Arabs made translations
university in the world. Al-Azhar University in of ‘Mechanics’ and applied its principles to two
Cairo was founded in 972 CE. The University important inventions—watermills and windmills.
of Cordova and the University of Toledo were The watermill of the Islamic Civilization was an
well known to Europeans, and their hospitals were improvement over the Roman waterwheel and was
the best at the time. The first medical schools of used widely in Spain and North Africa. Its success
Europe were the result of Islamic influence. there led to its use in medieval Europe where it was
known by the Latin name ‘noria’, derived from the
Arabic ‘naurah’.
The first windmill known to history was built
around 640 CE by order of the Caliph Omar. A
few centuries later, a Muslim geographer reported
that the windmill had been used widely in Persia
to pump water for irrigation. From Persia and
Afghanistan the windmill spread throughout the
Islamic world. It ground wheat, crushed sugarcane,
and pumped water. Later on, it came into use in
Europe by way of Morocco and Spain.

Assessing Muslims’ Contributions

Figure 6.14 Library of al-Qarawiyyin University Islam, a superior civilization, attracted gifted
Source: www.moroccoworldnews.com individuals to its focus of opportunity. Beginning
with the eighth century, it was the Muslim culture
that became the focal center of world progress,
The first university of Europe, Salerno in Sicily, attracting Jews, Persians, Christians, and Turks to
may have started as a medical school, although this its fold.
is unclear to historians. A Latin, a Greek, a Jew
When there was no scientific activity in the
and a Muslim started it in the 9th century CE. Its
world, Muslims picked up the threads of ancient
textbooks were translated from Arabic works that
science and technology and turned it into a definite
were partly original and partly translated from the
pattern of progress. They salvaged the science of the
Greeks.
classic world and developed it for centuries. They
enlarged the boundaries of all the technologies
Machinery then known. But they were more than mere
Around the third century BCE, Archimedes encyclopedists. They made practical application of
discovered the lever, the pulley and the screw. this knowledge to the needs of the times. It was
Hero, another Greek mechanical genius, developed no accident that Muslims attained such widespread
the gear and the crank and summed up all the prosperity and felicity.
mechanical knowledge in ‘Mechanics’, a three- In pursuit of these progressive goals the Muslim
volume textbook. scientists attained an experimental objectivity
Nothing of importance was lacking for the that the Greeks had disdained. They introduced
begining of the machine age, except the will to science and scientific outlook to the advancement
produce it. This was totally lacking in the Greeks. of human mind and put into practice the vision

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of modern science that Bacon later formulated as: “by experimentation to discover the truth and by the
application of this truth to advance human progress.”
This Islamic science and technology, reaching Europe via Sicily and Spain awoke it from the Dark
Ages in which it was slumbering. The detailed elaboration of the actual routes by which this transference
took place have only recently been outlined by historians.
A hundred years ago a statement of the full influence of
the Arabic culture on Europe would have been incredible.
4 However, modern research has firmly established its
incontestability. The Oxford History of Technology sums it
Do some research on and discuss what the up as follows: “There are few major technological innovations
Qur’an says about mountains. between 500 CE and 1500 that do not show some traces of
the Islamic culture.”

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LO 1 Comprehend the origin of the

Islamic civilization.

The Angel Cebrail appeared to Hz. Mohammed with the Revelations at the cave of Hira. Hz. Mohammad
presented these revelations to anyone who would listen. It was Mohammed’s personal connection to the
word of Allah that convinced people to follow him. The reality is that the revelations were so appealing
to so many people that the religion spread incredibly rapidly after the death of the Prophet. Once the
religion had spread so far, it became necessary for an administrative mechanism to develop to help
ensure that the faithful understood the Revelations, and that they were following the teachings of Allah.
It was the development of this administration, and the appealing nature of the Revelations, that inspired
Summary

the rapid creation of the Islamic Civilization.

LO 2 Appreciate the important features

of the Islamic civilization.

After the death of the Prophet the Islamic world expanded rapidly. For the next 1292 years, until the
end of the Ottoman Khalifate in 1924, the Islamic Empire covered most of the land between Eastern
Europe and Southeast Asia at one time or another. This included all of Africa the north of the Sahara
desert, most of India, the Levant, Egypt, Anatolia, the Caucus region, Central Asia, Persia (Iran), and
the Arabian Peninsula. Single leaders sometimes ruled the remarkably large Empire, but more often it
was controlled by a Khalifate that used affiliated smaller Dynasties to control local regions. The power
of the message of Islam, combined with innovative social and economic solutions that were introduced
across the vast region, enabled this remarkable geographic spread. Islam has now spread around the
world and is present in over 200 countries, has nearly two billion followers, and is, today, the fastest
growing religion in the world.

LO 3 Identify important developments in

the timeline of the Islamic Civilization.

The history of Islamic Civilization spans centuries. For 1292 years, cultures from China to the Atlantic
Ocean, from India, Indonesia, Malaysia to Central Asia and the Caucus region changed in the size of
the Islamic Civilization, and cultural innovations happened throughout the 1292 years.

LO 4 Discuss the contributions of the Islamic

Civilization to knowledge and science.

Islam lays equal stress on scientific and philosophical knowledge. Islam is a religion based upon
knowledge for it is ultimately the knowledge of the Oneness of Allah, combined with faith. The Qur’an
is calling on man to use this intellect, to think, to investigate and to discover the truth. Truth according
to the Qur’an is none other than worshipping Allah. The Sunnah also shows the importance of and
insistence on knowledge: “Seek knowledge even if you have to go to China;” “Seek knowledge from the
cradle to the grave;” “Verily the men of knowledge are the inheritors of the prophets.” This is why every
traditional Muslim city had public and private libraries and some cities like Cordoba and Baghdad had
libraries with over 400,000 books. Scholars were held in the highest esteem in Islamic society.

164
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Contemporary World Civilizations

1 Which of the following is the fastest growing 6 Which of the following is not correct about
religion today? the Islamic Civilization?
a. Judaism a. It is based on the monotheistic Islamic faith.
b. Taoism b. It is a civilization with a universal dimension.

Test Yourself
c. Islam c. It is an open civilization.
d. Christianity d. It is a national and a racial civilization.
e. Buddhism e. It is a well-balanced civilization.

2 Which of the following was Hz. Mohammed’s 7 Which of the following served as the capital
tribe? of the first Islamic state?
a. Quraysh a. Mecca
b. Hashim b. Medina
c. Banu Abbas c. Harare
d. Omayyad d. Damascus
e. Abbasid e. Cordova

3 Who suggested the compilation of the 8 The Byzantine empire was defeated at the
Qur’an? Battle of Manzikert by ------?
a. Zaid bin Thabit a. The Seljuks
b. Omar b. The Mongols
c. Uthman c. The Abbasids
d. Ali d. The Umayyads
e. Abu Bakr e. The Ilkhanids

4 In which year did the “Pilgrimage of Farewell” 9 What happened in 1453 CE?
take place?
a. Mongols attacked Baghdad.
a. 571 b. The Oghuz Turks captured the Byzantine emperor.
b. 610 c. Constantinople was conquered by Mehmed II.
c. 621 d. Christopher Columbus discovered America.
d. 622 e. Muslims conquered Spain.
e. 632
10 Who was Ibn Battuah?
5 Which of the following did the Abbasid
Khalifate expand as a system of reward for military a. The greatest Muslim explorer.
leaders in a way that dramatically increased b. The father of Arabic chemistry.
agricultural production? c. A scientist who contributed to the study of
Algebra.
a. Hereditary peerage
d. A scientist who invented decimal fractions.
b. iqta
e. A mathematician who came up with the idea of
c. Serfdom
a number zero.
d. Lordship
e. Head tax

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The Islamic Civilization

1. c If your answer is incorrect, review “The 6. d If your answer is incorrect, review

Origin of The Islamic Civilization”. “Important Features of Islamic Civilization”.

If your answer is incorrect, review

Answer Key for “Test Yourself”

2. a If your answer is incorrect, review “The 7. b

“Important Developments in The Timeline
Origin of The Islamic Civilization”.
of The Islamic Civilization”.

If your answer is incorrect, review

3. e If your answer is incorrect, review “The 8. a
“Important Developments in The Timeline
Origin of The Islamic Civilization”.
of The Islamic Civilization”.

If your answer is incorrect, review

4. e If your answer is incorrect, review “The 9. c
“Important Developments in The Timeline
Origin of The Islamic Civilization”.
of The Islamic Civilization”.

If your answer is incorrect, review

5. b If your answer is incorrect, review 10. a
“Contributions of The Islamic Civilization
“Important Features of Islamic Civilization”.
to Knowledge and Science”.

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Think about the challenges to the early Islamic Civilization from a

geographic standpoint. How did the geographic reality of the location
of Mecca and Medina contribute to the rapid spread of Islam?

Mecca and Medina are both on the western coast of what is now Saudi Arabia.

Suggested Answers for “Your Turn”

At the time of Mohammed’s birth, the people of this region, who had always
been nomadic, started to become city dwellers. This meant that Mohammed’s
followers were regional, or even long-distance travelers, who were well aware of
other cultures. Being experts in trade made the people of Mecca ideally suited
your turn 1 for the development and management of an empire that would require long-
distance lines of communication. Since these cities were also in the middle of
the trade routes between China and India and Europe and Africa, Mecca was
the best location geographically from which to control the entire area. Although
the capital of the Islamic Civilization did move frequently, it was often near
the original center, and Mecca has always been and continues to be the most
important site of pilgrimage for Muslims from all over the world.

Why did Allah send prophets and messengers to every

nation at different times, and why do we need guidance
(prophethood) from Allah?

“Throughout the history, humans have gone astray and begun torturing one
another. They distorted the truth that would guide them. Eventually, both
they and others have suffered much from this distortion. Thus, it was necessary
to send prophets at different times to bring forgetful human beings back to
the Right-Path (Sirât al-Mustakîm). Since the beginning of the Creation,
your turn 2 Allah has sent His guidance for mankind through His selected people. These
chosen people are called prophets or messengers. We human beings are weak
and frail. We have no knowledge of the future and the knowledge we have is
limited. Also we are not perfect. This is the reason why Allah has blessed us
with guidance through prophets and messengers” (Düzgün and Sağlık, 2005:
31-32).

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What is iqta and how was it useful for the

Islamic Civilization?

While Europe was struggling with the Dark Ages, and a feudal system that failed
to develop wealth for any but the most privileged families regardless of merit,
the Abbasid Khalifate expanded the iqta system of reward for military leaders
Suggested Answers for “Your Turn”

in a way that dramatically increased agricultural production, while encouraging

innovation, rewarding effort, and requiring respectful treatment of those who
would spend their lives working the land. The iqta system encouraged these
your turn 3 soldiers/landowners to maximize the productivity of their land. The Empire
owned the land but it was granted to soldiers who had been successful. It could be
taken back if these soldiers did a bad job of working the land, or even if they were
unfair or cruel to their workers. Very importantly, these grants of land were not
hereditary, although they could be bought and sold. This meant that the existing
land of the Islamic world would be used more efficiently, yielding larger harvests,
all while ensuring that citizens working the land were treated with respect. This
was a feat of social engineering that has never been equaled, even today.

Do some research on and discuss what

the Qur’an says about mountains.

“It is known that mountains have underlying roots. These roots are deeply
embedded in the ground, thus, mountains are like pegs. This is how the Quran has
described mountains: “Have We not made the earth as a bed, and the mountains
as pegs?” (Naba’ 78: 6-7). Mountains also play an important role in stabilizing the
crust of the earth. They hinder the shaking of the earth. Likewise, the modern
theory of plate tectonics holds that mountains work as stabilizers for the earth.
your turn 4 This knowledge about the role of mountains as stabilizers for the earth has just
begun to be understood in the framework of plate tectonics since the late 1960’s.
Could anyone during the time of the Prophet Mohammed have known of the
true shape of mountains? Could anyone imagine that the solid massive mountain
which he sees before him actually extends deep into the earth and has a root, as
scientists assert? A large number of books of geology, when discussing mountains,
only describe that part which is above the surface of the earth. This is because
these books were not written by specialists in geology. However, modern geology
has confirmed the truth of the Quranic verses” (Düzgün and Sağlık, 2005: 131).

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References
Ansary, Tamim (2009). Destiny Disrupted: A History Ibn Khaldûn (2015). The Muqaddimah. Translated
of the Ismamic World Throught Islamic Eyes. and introduced by Franz Rosenthal. Princeton:
Philadelphia: Public Affairs. Princeton University Press.
Briffault, Robert (1919). The Making of Humanity. Iqbal, Allama Mohammed (2003). The Reconstruction
London, G. Allen & Unwin, Ltd. of Religious Thought in Islam. Lahore: Ilm-o-Irfan
Publishers.
Brohi, Allahbukhsh K. (1982). “The Qur’an and
Its Impact on Human History”, from Kurshid Lapidus, Ira M. (2002). A History of Islamic Societies.
Ahmad (ed), “Islam: Its Meaning and Message”, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
London: The Islamic Foundation. Mackintosh-Smith, Tim (2002). (Ed.) The Travels of
Chejne, Anwar G. (1974). Muslim Spain: Its History and Ibn Battutah. London: Picador.
Culture. St. Paul: University of Minnesota Press. Mazhar-ul-Haq (2001). A Short History of Muslim
Chris Horrie, and Peter Chippindale (1998). What is Spain. Lahore: Bookland.
Islam. London: Virgin. Schimmel, Annemarie (1992). Islam: An Introduction.
Düzgün, Şaban Ali and Eşref Sağlık (2005). Uncovering Albany: The State University of New York Press.
Islam. Ankara: Republic of Turkey, The Presidency Starr, S. Frederick (2015). Lost Enlightenment: Central
of Religious Affairs. Asia’s Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to
Frankopan, Peter (2015). The Silk Roads: A New Tamerlane. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
History of the World. New York: Vintage Books.
Hourani, Albert (2002). A History of the Arab Peoples.
Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of
Harvard University Press.

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 Chapter 7 The Turkish Civilization
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

1 2
Learning Outcomes

Recognize the major events of the Turkish

Articulate the origin of the Turkish Civilization. Civilization.

3 4
Identify the Turkish culture and traditions to Describe the social, economic and military
evaluate their impact on the creation of various relationships within the Turkish civilizing
states and empires. society.

Chapter Outline Key Terms

Introduction
• Anatolia • Kyrgyz • Turkish
The Origin of the Turkish Civilization • Avar • Nomad • Turkistan
• Azerbaijan • Ottoman • Turkmen
Major Events in the Turkish Civilization and • Central Asia • Pecheneg • Uighur
Timeline • Hun • Seljuk • Uzbek
• Karluk • Steppe • Xinjiang
The Culture of the Turkish Civilization • Kazakh • Turk • Xiongnu
• Khazar • Turkey
Society in the Turkish Civilization • Kipchak • Turkic

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INTRODUCTION Turkish also refers to the citizens of modern

What is Turk? What is Turkish? What is Turkic? Republic of Turkey. A majority of the population
Any keen observer looking at the index of an atlas (about 99 percent) is Muslim. There are also
of world history or a timeline of history book will Christian minorities as well as Jews, descendants
notice these words listed along with related terms, of those exiled by the Spanish inquisition in the
including but not limited to Turkistan, Turkey, fifteenth century.
Turkmen, Turko-Mongol, Xiongnu, Oghuz, Turkic is generally used to characterize the five
Kirghiz, Mamluk, Ottoman, Karakhanid, Seljuk, Central Asian countries that were formed following
and Uighur. These are all people, places, and states the collapse of the Soviet Union, namely Kazakhstan,
associated with Turks. Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and
Turk refers to a people that originated in the Azerbaijan. However, it also refers to the language,
harsh north Central Asian steppes and moved culture, and traditions of all people of Turkish origin.
mainly to the south and west for various reasons The area that roughly covers these five countries has
over the centuries. Like other nomads, Turks were been historically called Western Turkistan whereas
comprised of various tribes with similar customs, Xinjiang, a province of China with a predominant
traditions, and beliefs. They may have had different Uighur population, has been referred to as Eastern
names and, because of dynamic alliances, fought Turkistan. Tajikistan is sometimes also grouped
each other for control over lands they were sharing. together with these Turkic countries; however, Tajiks
They interacted with Mongols and other nomadic are descendants of the Persian-speaking peoples of
peoples. They interacted with the Chinese and Transoxiana and hence are ethnically and linguistically
the Persian-speaking people of south Central more Persian than Turkic.
Asia. As they moved further west into Caucasia, The language spoken in Azerbaijan is called
Anatolia, and the Black Sea region, and as the Azeri Turkish as it is very similar to the Turkish
Ottoman Empire expanded into the Balkans, spoken in Turkey. The same can be argued about the
they interacted with the Russians, other Slavs, the language in Turkmenistan. These three languages
Arabs, the Greeks, the Armenians, the Bulgars, the belong to the Oghuz Turkic family. The Turkic
Macedons, the Albanians, the Serbs, the Croatians, languages spoken in Uzbekistan and by Uighurs in
the Bosnians and the Hungarians. Xinjiang are in the Karluk Turkic family.
Turkish refers to the language that the Turks Finally, Kazakh and Kyrgyz fall into the
speak, especially in Turkey and other lands that were Kipchak Turkic family. The latter two Turkic
ruled by the Ottoman Empire. It has been influenced families have been influenced by Mongolian. All
by the languages of all peoples mentioned in the these Turkic languages except Uighur have also
previous paragraph. Arabic has had a significant been influenced by Russian since the Russian
influence, as the Turks borrowed many words since Empire started expanding into Central Asia in the
they were introduced to Islam and became adherents. sixteenth century. These Turkic peoples – Azeris,
However, Persian has had the heaviest influence on Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbek and Turkmen – were
Turkish, since Central Asia for the longest time was Russian subjects until the Bolshevik Revolution in
a dual-language realm. Turks as nomads in vast north 1917 at which point they were incorporated into
Central Asia may have spoken only Turkish, but once the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
they settled in cities, speaking Persian as well became
almost a necessity. That said, Turks had a name for THE ORIGIN OF THE TURKISH
other Turks who had become too Persianized. They
CIVILIZATION
called them “Tajik.” Likewise, they called Turks that
had been assimilated too much into the Chinese Written history is a luxury possessed by settled
culture Tabgach. Later, starting with the eighteenth cultures. Nomads in the vast and tough Central
century, as the Ottomans tried to reform themselves Asian steppes were more worried about survival
to catch up with the European powers, they borrowed than writing about themselves. As such, there is not
many scientific and related words from Western much that can be presented with relative certainty
languages, especially from French. about the nomadic peoples until they become
known to a settled culture that wrote about them.

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In the case of Turks, this settled culture was Chinese kingdoms began building northern
the Chinese. Historians believe that the Xiongnu, frontier fortifications that were elementary and
identified by the Chinese in third century BCE, is sporadic.
the precursor of the Turks: The first notable leader of the Xiongnu was
“The Xiongnu (Hongnu in Old Chinese, Xwn in Touman (Teoman). He fought not only the
Soghdian, probably Old Turkic Qun), also known Chinese to the south, but also the Yuezhi people to
as the Asiatic Huns, were one of the nomadic the west. Around 215 BCE, China started unifying
peoples of Ancient Central Asia. They are thought and it completed the Great Wall to keep territory
to have descended from various Turkic peoples recently conquered and to advance further north
known as Xianyun, Xunyu and Hongyu, yet all and west. Touman’s son Modun became the leader
the knowledge we have come from Chinese sources in 209 BCE. He was successful in subduing many
written centuries later” (www.allempires.com). other nomadic peoples to the north including the
The Chinese describe the Xiongnu as wearing Tung-nu and Dingling, and Donghu to the east in
a loose robe to the calf, a short fur cape, a fur cap, Manchuria. He then invaded China and laid siege
wide trousers, and leather shoes. They only ate to the capital Taiyuan.
meat – this was shocking to the Chinese, who ate The Chinese Emperor Kao-ti, founder of the
vegetables as well. They slept on furs and camped Han Dynasty, was desperate to negotiate peace
in felt tents. According to the Chinese sources, the with Modun. In 198 BCE, Modun signed a peace
Xiongnu formed a strong, united nation. treaty with China and was recognized as having
equal status with the Chinese emperor. To preserve
peace, China had to send many royal princesses and
gifts such as silk and other textiles over the years.
By 176 BCE, Modun had decimated the Yuezhi
and declared himself the leader of all nomads.
The Great Wall served as the border between the
Xiongnu Empire to the north and the Chinese
Middle Kingdom to the south.

Figure 7.1 The great and powerful Xiongnu

Source: www.ancient-origins.net

The leader of the Xiongnu was called Cheng-

li (Chinese transcription of Tengri) Kut-u (holy)
Shan-yu (emperor). Two kings of east and west
served under the emperor and were called “tu-chi”,
which is related to “doghri”, meaning straight and
faithful to the shanyu. The hierarchy continued
down with the “ku-li” kings of left and right,
the army commanders of left and right, the great Figure 7.2 The Great Wall of China
governors of left and right and so on all the way
down to the military commanders of units as small After Modun’s death in 174 BCE, his successors
as ten soldiers. expanded the Empire by conquering Xinjiang
Chinese kingdoms had a hard time defending (East Turkistan) to the southwest. Starting around
against the Xiongnu, who rode on horses, had 130 BCE with Emperor Wu-ti, China had the
impeccable archery skills, and used heavy wheeled upper hand, pushing the Xiongnu back north
forces. Thus, they formed their own cavalry and and securing control of large portions of Central
copied many clothing items including trousers and Asia, including the Tarim Basin. This also helped
belt buckles. To defend themselves better, various establish a more stable Silk Road and Chinese silk

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now made its way to the west, all the way to the River in 374 CE and the Don River by 375 CE
Roman Empire, more easily. under their leader Balamir. They first defeated the
By 59 BCE, Xiongnu divided into two and the Alans, then the Ostrogoths. Next, the Visigoths
northern half started moving further north and ran for their lives, crossed the Danube River and
west, away from China; this followed its defeat invaded Roman territory. Following that, the Huns
by the Xien-pi, a Mongolic-speaking people. The invaded Pannonia and subjugated Gepidae.
southern Xiongnu settled in northern China, just Around 425 CE, Huns were ruled by three
south of the Great Wall and they for centuries served brothers: Ruas, Mundzuk, and Oktar. Mundzuk’s
as the defenders of China from attacks of people to sons Bleda and Attila assumed power around 434.
the north. When the Han dynasty fell in China, By 441, Attila had gotten rid of his brother and he
the Xiongnu leader took advantage of civil war declared war on the Eastern Roman Empire, the
conditions; he established a Northern Han dynasty Byzantines. He conquered major cities south of
in the capital Taiyuan and he assumed the Chinese the Danube River and came all the way down to
name Emperor Liu Yuan in 304 CE. However, this Arcadiopolis (Luleburgaz). The Byzantium Empire
dynasty was ended by the Tibetan General Pu Hung, was forced to make peace with the Huns, who
who started his own dynasty in 350 CE. exacted heavy terms -- including the surrender of
most lands conquered by Attila.
Then Attila turned his attention to the West. He
allied with some Germanic peoples and attacked
the Roman Gaul in June of 451. The Romans were
able to convince the Visigoths to fight on their side
and Attila lost, but not without fighting very hard.
Next year, his army regrouped, and he conquered
Northern Italy and started going south for the
ultimate target: Rome.

Figure 7.3 Map of Silk Road

The last Turkic Kingdom to rule Northern

China was the Tabgach. Under their first leader,
named Toba Kuei, they captured many cities
starting in 386 CE and established Pingcheng as
their capital. Tabgach defeated the Mongol Ruan-
Ruan to the north in 425 and completed the
unification of Northern China under one kingdom
by 439. Tabgach had combined their nomadic Figure 7.4 Attila the Hun
military superiority with the organizational skills
of the Chinese to have the upper hand over all The fall of the Western Roman Empire was
other nomads and settled people alike. However, imminent. For some reason, still puzzling to
eventually Tabgach kings became completely historians, Attila decided not to sack Rome at
Sinicized and lost their edge. The last strong Tabgach the request of the Bishop of Rome, Saint Leo the
leader was Queen Hu, who ruled energetically Great. Rome had to pay a large tribute and Attila
from 515 to 528. The Tabgach Kingdom of China took a Roman princess, Honoria, as bride. When
split into two in 534 and both branches were run Attila died in 453 CE, the European Hun Empire
over by Chinese dynasties by 581. extended from north of the Caspian Sea to the
The northern Xiongnu tribes would later be Adriatic Sea. Despite having stopped Attila, the
called the Huns. Western Roman Empire was able to survive only
This historically important group drifted west for another 23 years before the last emperor was
in late fourth century CE, crossing the lower Volga deposed in 476.

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After Attila’s death, the Huns were defeated MAJOR EVENTS IN TURKISH
by the Ostrogoths and the Gepidae. Under the CIVILIZATION AND TIMELINE
leadership of Attila’s son Dengizich, the Huns had
As with other civilizations, Turkish Civilization
to withdraw to the northeast of the Black Sea. So,
has gone through stages. We must trust Chinese
the European Huns regrouped one last time. They
and Persian sources mainly for the pre-Islamic
crossed the Danube River and attacked the Eastern
period as there are few written documents by Turks
Roman Empire, only to be defeated decisively.
from that period. Once settled, Turks produced
As a result, the Huns left the Balkans for good.
their own records of history.
Two remaining Hun clans, the Kutrigurs and the
Utrigurs, lived near the Sea of Azov until the end of
the sixth century when they were overrun by Avar Main Trends
Turks, who had been running from other Turks. In recorded history, Turks started as nomads in
This latter group were starting the first Turkish North Central Asia in the last millennium before
Empire with the Turkish name in it: The Kok Turk the Common Era. They shared the vast steppes
(Göktürk) Empire. with the Mongols, a similar people. From their
The first mention of Turks in the Chinese pastoral homelands, they spread in all directions
sources is by Tujue in the sixth century CE. Tujue is over the centuries. Some moved east and south
the Chinese transcription for the Mongolian word east and had interactions with the Chinese. Others
Turkut, plural of Turk, which literally means strong. moved south and interacted with Iranian-speaking
These Turks, under the leadership of Bumin Khagan peoples of South Central Asia. Yet others moved
(Kaan /Kagan) and his brother Istemi Khagan from west over the Caspian and Black Seas to change
the Ashina clan, founded the Kok Turk Empire in the history of Europe. Some of them also moved
the middle of the sixth century. Kok (Gök) not only north, forming the indigenous Turkic peoples of
meant blue and sky but also east, implying that this Siberia.
was the Empire of the Turks of the East. Turks were introduced to Islam around the
There are several myths recorded in Chinese eighth century and became Muslims at an increasing
sources as to the origins of the Turks. According to rate by the eleventh century. Using their nomadic
the widely known Ergenekon, Turks, having been warrior skills and aptitude in state formation, the
saved by a she-wolf, emerge out of captivity from Turks established control over Islamic lands, in
a grassy plain inside a mountain. They manage to some cases by the invitation and encouragement of
melt the mountain, as they are skillful ironsmiths. local peoples. The rise of the Mongolians shook and
The Xiongnu Empire, the European Hun Empire, dispersed the Turks a bit, but that was short-lived
and the Kok Turk Empire were only the beginning. and the Turks re-established authority in Muslim
Turks would establish many more states and empires lands and expanded their authority into Christian
over the centuries, ruling at different times over a lands, ultimately reaching Central Europe by the
large land mass extending from Hungary in the sixteenth century.
northwest, to Algeria in the southwest, to Yemen The twentieth century has seen the creation
in the south, to India in the southeast, to Xinjiang of the Republic of Turkey, Azerbaijan, and
in the east, and to Siberia in the north. As Renee the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan,
Grousset puts it at the end of the introduction of his Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
book, The Empire of the Steppes, “Governing races, These countries claim the rich cultural heritage
imperial nations, are few. Turko-Mongols, like the that we call Turkish Civilization, but they will
Romans, are of their number.” also contribute to it in the upcoming centuries.
Of course, they will be assisted by the millions
of Turks that are living as minorities in other
1 countries all over the world.

What parallels can you identify between

Modun’s relationship with the Chinese
and Attila’s relationship with the Romans?

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Severe snowstorms and frosts resulted in

widespread famine in the 620s. The new and strong
Tang Dynasty in China took advantage of this by
conspiring to stir the affairs of the Ashina clan to
bring on an era of feuding. The Eastern Kok Turk
Empire could not last longer and it fell in 630.
At the same time, the Western Kok Turk Empire
continued its expansion south, all the way to
southern Afghanistan. However, internal fighting
escalated, and the Western Kok Turk Empire also
fell to the Chinese in 659.
Figure 7.5 Secretary-General of the Cooperation It took the Turks five decades of struggle to
Council of the Turkic Speaking States, Ambassador revive the Eastern Kok Turk Empire under Ilterish
Ramil Hasanov is delivering a speech, Ankara, 22 Kutlugh Khagan with his chief advisor Tonyukuk
February 2017. in 682. His sons Bilge Khagan and Kul Tegin, and
Source: www.turkkon.org their uncle Qapaghan Khagan, worked successfully
to bring back the old days of glory. The second
Eastern Kok Turk Empire lasted until 744 when it
The Periods of Turkish History collapsed due to infighting and by the emergence
Following the footsteps of the Xiongnu Empire of another Turkic Empire, the Uighurs.
and the successes of the Huns in Europe, Kok By this time, Arab armies had conquered Iran
Turks established a strong state after crushing the and were making incursions into Transoxiana.
Tieles and destroying the Avar Empire in 552 CE. China was pressing from the East and the Sogdians,
The founder, Bumin Khagan from the Ashina the Turks and even the Tibetans were all fighting
clan, passed away soon after, but his brother Istemi and/or making alliances for the control of Central
Khagan -- along with Bumin’s sons Issik, Muqan, Asia. For a short while, amazingly, the Western Kok
and Taspar -- formed an empire that extended Turk Empire had a second life under the Turgesh
from Manchuria to the Black Sea. This was the first tribe led by Sulu Khagan. However, Sulu was
empire that covered the Eurasian steppes and linked defeated -- first by the Chinese, then by the Arabs,
East Asia with Europe; its reach was unprecedented. and then by fellow tribe-member Bagha Tarqan
The Kok Turks formed alliances at different times Kul Chur, who assassinated him. The Turgesh tribe
with the Sasanids in Iran or the Byzantine Empire, never recovered.
enlisting their help in defeating the Hephthalites
(Ak Hunlar) and further chasing the Avars. With the Uighurs established a large empire centered
help of the Sogdians in Transoxiana, they became in Xinjiang and Mongolia and extending into
the major traffickers of silk and more importantly, Siberia, China, and Transoxiana. The founder
the sole masters of the Silk Road. Qutlugh Bilge Kul Khagan was supported by a
tribal confederation called Toquz Oghuz. The Tang
Dynasty was no match for Uighur strength and
basically submitted to all demands by the Uighur
Empire. The Uighurs were different from the Kok
Turks in that they built cities, including their
capital Ordu Baliq in 757. Bezeklik in present-
day Xinjiang and Kok Ordung in present-day
Mongolia are two of the other cities built by the
Uighurs. They built some of these cities before they
became an empire.
The Uighur Empire lasted almost a century
and ended after long wars with the Tibetans and
Figure 7.6 The flags of sixteen historical Turkish states the Kyrgyz. The last blow came from the Kyrgyz,
Source: www.google.com.tr

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The Turkish Civilization

who conquered Ordu Baliq in 840 after defeating Another Turkic empire was the Khazar
a weak Uighur army. Disease and famine in the Khanate, which ruled North Caucasia, the Ukraine,
steppes, combined with internecine royal struggles, and southern Russia in the Volga region around the
were contributing factors. Caspian Sea.
Around the time the Uighur Empire replaced It arose from the ashes of the Western Kok Turk
the Eastern Kok Turk Empire on the eastern side of Empire around the 640s. In addition to fighting for
Central Asia, the Qarluqs declared independence a long time with the Arabs, the Khazars defeated the
from the Uighurs, moved west, and assumed Bulgars in the Ukraine steppes and pushed them
rulership over the former Western Kok Turk into the Balkans around 680. Thus, there is some
Empire lands. In the inevitable clash between the evidence that Bulgars, who formed the present-day
Chinese on the East and the Arabs on the West, the Bulgarians by mixing with the native Slavs, were of
Qarluqs first allied with the Chinese. However, at Turkic descent. Around the beginning of the ninth
a dramatic turning point for Islam in Central Asia century, the Khazar Khanate and its ruling tribes
-- and among Turks – the Qarluqs switched sides converted to Judaism. However, there was no state
during the Battle of Talas in 751. This propelled religion, as many others chose to stay as shamanists
the Arabs to a decisive victory over the Chinese. or become Christians or Muslims.
Following the Qarluqs, the Oghuz tribes became It is worth mentioning that tenth and eleventh
dominant in Transoxiana. This occurred when they centuries saw the rise of Mongolic Qitans, who
pushed the Pechenegs west, to the north shores of established an empire in Manchuria and Mongolia.
the Black Sea. In turn, the Pechenegs elbowed the Due to various reasons -- including the way they
Hungarians into Central Europe. To the north and ruled their subjects and how they taxed them --
east of the Oghuz were the Kimeks, who formed a many Turkic tribes started migrating west, out of
khanate in Western Siberia. The ruling tribes were what we now call Mongolia.
mainly Turk and Tatar. They were later dismantled Because of these migrations, Mongolia, for the
by the Qipchaks, who extended the khanate all the first time in history, had a majority Mongolian-
way to the Danube River. speaking population. However, at the same time,
The Kyrgyz Empire was centered around the this movement of people also paved the way for
Yenisei river as opposed to the Orkhon and Selenge the accelerated Turkification of the western part
river areas previously occupied. Having ended the of Central Asia. Slowly but surely Turkic peoples
Uighur Empire, the Kyrgyz state focused more on and Turkic languages replaced Iranian peoples and
commercial trading, less on making their empire Iranian languages.
larger. They controlled the trade routes not only One of these Turkic peoples was the
between China and the Middle East, but also Qarakhanids, who appeared in the late tenth
from Siberia, which was a source of furs, musk and century, defeated the Samanids and ruled the area
different kinds of wood from the vast Siberian forests. from the Caspian Sea to Xinjiang for more than
The Kyrgyz Empire lasted until around 900 CE. two centuries.
Saltuq Bughra Khan was also the first Turkic
leader to convert to Islam and a majority of the
population in his realm followed his decision.
This led to the first Muslim Turkic empire. There
also commenced a Turko-Islamic culture. Thus,
Kutadgu Bilig and Divan-i Lughat al-Turk were
written during the Qarakhanid era.
A second Muslim Turkic empire was started
around the same time by Alp Tigin in Ghazni. His
son Sebuk Tigin and grandson Mahmud turned it
into an empire ruling Eastern Iran, Afghanistan and
northern India. Amu Darya was the border between
Figure 7.7 Mehmet Başbuğ’s painting of Turks the Ghaznavids, the first Muslims to use elephants
Source: Nejat Doğan’s archive.

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in the army, and the Qarakhanids. Mahmud’s son but pardoned him. He subjugated the Mirdasids
Masud lost the Battle of Dandanaqan against the in Aleppo in 1070 and did not lose any time to
Seljuks in 1040, retreated from Khorasan back into move north into Anatolia. In the fateful Battle
Afghanistan and the Ghaznavid Empire collapsed of Manzikert (Malazgirt) in 1071, he not only
soon after. defeated the Byzantines but also took Emperor
During the second quarter of the tenth century, Romanus Diogenes as prisoner.
Oghuz tribesmen started moving south because of Alp Arslan later released the emperor, but the
harassment by the Kipchaks. Some of these Oghuz, Byzantine Empire had lost control of most of
called Ouzoi (Uz) by the Byzantines, decided to Anatolia for good and there was no obstacle left
turn west. Traveling north of the Black Sea, they to prevent the conquest and settlement of Anatolia
invaded the Balkans, but they were crushed by the by the Turks. As savvy as he was when it came to
Byzantines in 1065. Yet other Oghuz kept going leading his armies and fighting its enemies, Alp
south, taking the Caspian Sea to their right. Arslan obtained great help administering the vast
Hailing from the Qiniq tribe of the Oghuz, empire from Nizam al-Mulk, his chief minister of
Seljuk and his sons Mikail, Israil, Musa and Yunus Persian descent. Seljuks in general left the Arabo-
initially occupied Jand on the Syr Darya River. The Persian bureaucracy intact, as it has been only a few
area was contested by the Samanids in Persia and generations since they were nomads and they did
the Qarakhanids to the East and the Ghaznavids to not yet have enough administrative experience.
the South. Seljuk and his tribe sided briefly with Alp Arslan’s son Malikshah (Malik is Arabic
the Samanids only to see that dynasty collapse. and Shah is Persian, both mean king) ascended
Then, under Arslan Yabgu they were loyal to the to the throne in 1072 and soon after established
Qarakhanids, only to switch loyalty to Mahmoud authority over the Qarakhanids to the northeast.
the Ghaznavid. As soon as Mahmoud died, the The Great Seljuk Empire now ruled most of
Seljuks rebelled against his son Masud. the lands in the Middle East and Central Asia.
Seljuk’s grandsons from his son Mikail, Tughrul Malikshah had to deal with two rebellions, just like
and Chaghri, moved to Khorasan and conquered his father. He defeated and killed an uncle. Next,
Nishapur in 1038. Upon entering Nishapur, he subdued his brother Takash, who had revolted
Tughrul had the khutba pronounced in his name. in Balkh twice. The westward migration of Turkic
With the help of other Oghuz tribes, the two peoples, especially the Oghuz tribes, accelerated
brothers defeated the Ghaznavids near Merv in further, with many of them settling in Khorasan,
1040 and turned their attention west after this Northwestern Iran, Mesopotamia, Transcaucasia,
unprecedented victory. and Anatolia. This laid the foundations for the
present-day Azeris of Azerbaijan and Iran, Turks
In a very short time, they were ruling an empire
of Turkey and Turkmens all over the Middle East,
that stretched from Khwarazm (captured by
including Syria, Iran, and Iraq.
Chaghri in 1042) to Transcaucasia, including most
of Iran (Isfahan-1051), Tebriz and Ganja (1054). Following Malikshah’s death in 1092, his son
Moving swiftly, they filled the power vacuum Barkiyaruk faced rebellions in all corners of the
in Abbasid lands by getting rid of the remnants empire by pretty much all members of the extended
of the Persian Buyids that had ruled there since Seljuk dynasty. He killed his uncle Tutush near Rai
932. Seljuks now found themselves the rulers of in 1095, but Tutush’s sons still maintained control
the Islamic world. The Abbasid Caliph Al-Qaim of Syria. He had to share Persia with his brothers
invited Tughrul to Baghdad in 1055 and recognized and lost control of Anatolia permanently. Later
him as Sultan, King of East and West. Tughrul next Sultans dealt with the revolt of Arab Caliphate
had to deal with a rebellion by his cousin Ibrahim and endless civil strife with those in control of
ibn-Inal before passing away in 1063. Azerbaijan, Mosul and other parts of the empire.
Tughrul III re-established some authority only to
Tughrul’s successor, Chaghri’s son Alp
be run over by the Khwarazmian Turks in 1194.
Arslan, dealt with two rebellions as soon as he
assumed power. He defeated and killed his cousin The Khwarazmian dynasty was started by Atsiz
Qutalmish, and then defeated his uncle Qawurd around 1127. He was mostly unsuccessful against

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the Seljuk Prince Sanjar until 1141. That year Mongolic-speaking Qara-Khitai moved into Transoxiana.
However, this new state, along with their Qarakhanid neighbors to the east, soon started feeling a new
pressure exerting itself from further east. As the thirteenth century opened, Temujin had unified all
Mongolian tribes under one flag. He was declared Genghis Khan in a quriltai in 1206. In quick succession,
he defeated or forced submission by Tatars, Kyrgyz, Oirats, Onggut Turks, Tanguts, and Uighurs. By
1215, Mongolian armies entered Beijing.
Genghis Khan next turned his attention to the West. He conquered West Turkistan by eliminating the
Kwarazmshahs and Qara-Khitai. Turning north, he defeated the Qipchaqs, the Rus and the Volga Bulgars.
Mongol conquests continued during the reigns of Genghis’s sons and grandsons. The result was the largest
land empire in history. The Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate fell victim to the Mongol Army in Kosedag in
1243. Fifteen years later Baghdad fell, ending the Abbasid Caliphate. Mongolians tasted defeat for the
first the time in Ain Jalud at the hands of the Mamluks in 1260, saving the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt.
Mamluks were another Turkic state with mostly Qipchaq soldiers ruling in Egypt and Syria.
Mongolian control over Eurasia lasted until mid-1300s. Gradually, Mongols were assimilated into the
societies they were ruling. Across Central Asia many Mongol tribes mixed with the local Turks and became
Turkified.
Tamerlane was born into such a tribe, one called the Barlas. Once he established his authority in his
native Transoxiana region, he set out to conquer cities as geographically diverse as Saray in the north,
Baghdad in the southwest, and Delhi in the south. He defeated and took prisoner the Ottoman Sultan
Bayezid I at the Battle of Ankara in 1402.

Figure 7.8 The advance of Seljuqs

Source: www.google.com.tr

An offshoot of the Great Seljuk Empire was started by Malikshah’s distant cousin, Suleiman, son of
Qutalmish, who had been killed by Alp Arslan.
Suleiman took Nicaea and Nicomedia from the Byzantines and established Nicaea as his capital in
1077. He was killed near Aleppo in 1086 fighting Alp Arslan’s other son Tutush. Suleiman’s son Kilij

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Arslan conquered Konya in 1092 and made it the capital of the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate. His namesake
Kilij Arslan II defeated the Byzantines at the Battle of Myriokephalon in 1176, ending any Byzantine
contest for the control of Anatolia for good.
With the fall of the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate and loose Mongolian control, various Turk statelets were
formed across Anatolia. One such statelet was headed by Osman Beg at the northwest side of Anatolia
bordering the remaining Byzantine lands surrounding its capital Constantinople. Osman Beg, and later
his son Orhan Beg, took advantage of the weak position of the Byzantine state and enlarged their statelet
by conquering almost all Byzantine land other than Constantinople
(Istanbul) itself. Now a sizable state with a significant population and
a loyal army getting ever stronger, the Ottomans were ready to expand
both in Asia and Europe.
One by one all the statelets in Anatolia fell to the Ottomans or
pledged loyalty. In the Balkans, many peoples -- such as the Bulgarians,
the Greeks, the Albanians, the Macedonians, and the Romanians -- all
became Ottoman subjects. European countries sent armies to stop the
advance of the Turks, but they were unsuccessful each time: twice at
Kosovo (1389 and 1448), Nicopolis (1396) and Varna (1444), among
others.
The Ottomans had a real setback when Tamerlane defeated Bayezid
II at the Battle of Ankara in 1402 and took him prisoner. Bayezid died
in captivity and his sons took part in a struggle for the throne that
turned into a civil war. The Ottomans did recover eventually, but this
defeat postponed the conquest of Constantinople.
That dramatic event finally happened in 1453 with Mehmed II, The Figure 7.9 A postage stamp
Conqueror, as the young Ottoman Sultan. This was a major turning commemorating the quincentenary
point. Not only did the Ottoman state gain legitimacy in Europe, but of the Turkish conquest of Istanbul.
also the Turks gained a permanent foothold in that continent.
Mehmed II subdued both the Serbs and the Bosnians, then eliminated a threat on the East by defeating
the Akkoyunlu leader Uzun Hasan at the Battle of Otlukbeli in 1473. The Akkoyunlu State was a Turkmen
tribal confederation that had ruled in southeastern Anatolia, Azerbaijan and northern Iraq starting in the
late fourteenth century. The confederation got stronger after the defeat of the Ottomans by the Timurids
in 1402. They reached their greatest glory under Uzun Hasan, who conquered southern Iraq and most of
Iran after defeating the Karakoyunlu army in 1467 and the Timurid army in 1468. Karakoyunlu State had
ruled the southern Caucasus in addition to the lands ruled by the Akkoyunlu since around 1375. They
were also a Turkmen tribal confederation.
The Ottoman Empire reached its peak for power and supremacy during the sixteenth century.
• First, Selim I turned his attention to the East and South. In swift succession, he defeated the
Safavids at the Battle of Chaldiran (1512) and then the Mamluks at the Battles of Marj Dabiq
(1516) and Ridaniya (1517). Safavids were pushed back and the Mamluk Empire collapsed.
• Ottomans now had control of Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and the Arabian Peninsula including the Islamic
holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Selim I’s son Suleiman solidified control in the Middle East
and expanded the Empire in Europe by conquering Hungary after the Battle of Mohacs (1526).
• Working together with the Crimean Tatars, he brought the entire area surrounding the Black Sea
under Ottoman control.
• The Ottoman Navy was very successful in the Mediterranean and was the most crucial factor in
making sure that the Ottomans controlled the entire North African shore all the way to Morocco.
• The Navy under the command of Hayreddin Barbarossa won a decisive victory against a much
larger European fleet under the command of Andrea Doria that included forces from the Papacy,
the Knights of Malta, Venice, Genoa, Portugal, and Spain at Preveza in 1538.

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Even though the (Shi’a) Safavids ruling Iran (1501-1722) were adversaries of the (Sunni) Ottomans
-- both because of sectarian differences and competition for regional influence -- they were a family of
Turkish origin. They were started as a religious order by Sheikh Safi in the 1250s and Ismail I turned it
into a state after defeating the Akkoyunlu army in 1501.
Further to the east was yet another Turkic state, the Moghul Empire of India (1526-1858). Its founder,
Babur, was a descendant of Tamerlane on his father’s side and Genghis Khan on his mother’s side. Fleeing
the Uzbeks in Transoxiana, he defeated the Lodi Sultans of Delhi and established control. His son Humayun
expanded the empire and consolidated his control over the northern half of the Indian subcontinent.
Between the mid-sixteenth century and the mid-eighteenth century, a traveler starting at the outskirts
of Vienna would have passed through numerous lands and meet various peoples ruled by these three
Turkish Empires as he made his way to the Bay of Bengal. Ottomans and Safavids fought intermittently for
150 years until the Peace Treaty of Qasr-i Shirin, which gave Yerevan to Iran in exchange for all present-day
Iraq going to the Ottomans, pretty much in the spirit of the Peace Treaty of Amasya in 1555.
Thus, the current borders of
Turkey and Iraq with Iran were
drawn in this treaty of 1639.
Ottomans entered the
seventeenth century with some
economic problems including
inflationary pressures and
the ballooning military costs,
but they were able to address
these challenges and the
empire continued to be strong
economically and militarily.
Historians no longer
characterize the seventeenth
century as a period of stagnation
for the Ottoman Empire. The
Ottomans continued to win
victories, but the expansion of Figure 7.10 The Ottoman Empire
the territories under the control Source: www.google.com.tr
of the empire slowed down.
Ottoman territory at the end of that century included most of Southeast Europe; parts of Central Europe
and Eastern Europe including the Caucasus; Western Asia including most of the Middle East; North
Africa other than Morocco, and the Horn of Africa.
But ominous clouds appeared in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They spelled trouble for the
supremacy of the Ottomans. What were they?
1. Russia grew stronger, threatening the Ottoman vassal state, the Crimean Khanate, and other
Ottoman territories in the Balkans.
2. Portugal started colonizing India and fighting the Ottomans for the control of the Red Sea, the
Persian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean.
3. Other European kingdoms of Britain, France and Spain were soon establishing empires by
colonizing the Americas.
4. There were some intermittent military failures that shattered the image of the invincible Turk in
the European eyes, including the two failed Sieges of Vienna (1533, 1683), the failed Siege of
Malta (1565) and the lost sea battle at Lepanto (1571).
5. Coupled with losses against the Safavids and the Jelali revolts in Anatolia (1590-1610), these
challenges appeared to mean that the Ottomans were losing the upper hand, at least militarily

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power. However, under the Grand Viziers recognized as sovereign states during the nineteenth
of the Koprulu family from 1656 to 1703, and early twentieth centuries.
the Ottomans completed the conquest World War I (1914-1918) resulted in losing
of Crete, re-established authority in control of the Middle East. The invasion of
Transylvania and expanded further north Anatolia and the occupation of Istanbul by the
into regions of southern Ukraine that allied powers (United Kingdom, France, Italy) and
belonged to Poland. later Greece, followed.
Soon, losses outside Vienna (1683) followed
Yet, the Turks united under the leadership of
by another loss at Zenta (1695) culminated in the
Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) and they won the War
Treaty of Karlowitz (1699), which was a major
of Independence (1919-1922), establishing the
blow to the Ottoman Empire.
Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923. That
The eighteenth century started with victory same year, Ataturk was elected as the first president.
against Russia in the Pruth River Campaign,
waged in present-day Moldovia in 1711, although
the Ottomans failed to take full advantage of this
victory. The Austrians were soon on the offensive.
They invaded Serbia and forced the Ottomans
to sign the Passarowitz Treaty in 1718, which
confirmed and worsened the terms of the Karlowitz
Treaty: Banat, Serbia and Little Wallachia were
ceded to Austria.
In the next round of campaigns, the Ottomans
found themselves fighting against the Austrians
and the Russians at the same time. Thanks to some
military successes against the Austrians, strong
alliances with Poland and Sweden, and an outbreak
of plague devastating the Russian troops, the
Ottomans signed peace treaties at Nis and Belgrade
(1739). Thus, they reversed some of the losses of
Passarowitz. Austria and Russia left the Ottomans
alone for a while, as they had to deal with a new
rising power: Prussia.
Yet, starting with the late eighteenth century, Figure 7.11 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
the Ottomans had an increasingly harder time
Source: www.google.com.tr
keeping up with the industrial and military
progress in Europe. This was undoubtedly proven
in losses against the Russians, which culminated Atatürk instituted reforms to modernize
in the Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarca in present-day Turkey. He had abolished the office of sultan in
Bulgaria in 1774. What did this do? In addition to 1922 and did away with the caliphate, the post
losing the Crimean Tatar Khanate, the Ottomans of Sheikh-ul-Islam and Islamic religious courts in
had to give Russians the authority to interfere in 1924. That same year, the Unification of Education
their internal affairs with the Christian Orthodox Law passed, and the Turkish Constitution was
subjects of the empire. ratified, and two years later, in 1926, more civil
Because of the moves of the European powers and commercial changes were made in accord with
and the nationalistic aspirations of the peoples popular Western ideals. To that end, the Swiss civil
under Ottoman rule, the Empire gradually lost code and the Italian penal code were adopted. This
almost all the lands it held in Europe and Africa. included giving men and women equal rights in all
One by one they fell. Either they were invaded, circumstances apart from voting, which was given
or they gained independence after first being to women in 1930.

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In 1928, the script was changed from the Arabic Republican People’s Party, founded by Ataturk and
alphabet to a modified version of Latin, taking out led by Ismet Inonu, won the first democratic-style
some letters such as ‘q’, ‘x’ and ‘w’ and adding ‘ç’, election by participation of the two main political
‘ğ’, ‘ı’, ‘ö’, ‘ş’, and ‘ü’. The Turkish Historical Society parties with Celal Bayar in charge of the opposition
was established in 1931 and Turkish Language Democratic Party. In the rematch four years later,
Society was founded in 1932. Bayar and his party claimed victory, changing the
Also in 1932, statism was implemented, leadership from the republican-style for the first
with huge public investments, especially in time since the creation of the country. Turkish
transportation and communication. Statism was democracy experienced military coups in 1960,
one of Ataturk’s guiding principles; the other 1971, and 1980. The Turkish Army took control
five were republicanism, nationalism, populism, of state affairs when there was a perceived threat on
secularism, and reformism. republican principles and /or peace and stability. 
Then, in 1928, the Constitution was changed, Around the late sixties and early seventies,
and the designation of Islam as the official religion tension arose with one of Turkey’s neighboring
of the Republic was partially taken out. Nine years countries, Greece. On the island of Cyprus, a
later, it was fully taken out, with Turkey adopting a coup took place in 1974 that was backed by the
secular government structure. Greeks. To provide security to the Cypriot Turks,
the Turkish army landed the northern part of the
Mustafa Kemal, who received the last name
island. Around a decade later, tensions increased
Atatürk in 1934, passed away on November 10,
between the Turks and Greeks. As a result, Cypriot
1938. His comrade from the War of Independence
Turks under the leadership of Rauf Denktash
and his prime minister for years, Ismet Inonu,
established the Turkish Republic of Northern
became the president. Inonu continued with the
Cyprus on November 15, 1983.
reforms amid the pressures put on by the Second
World War (1939-1945). He succeeded in keeping Turkey is attempting to join the European
Turkey out of the war, following Ataturk’s motto Union. It is a charter member of the United
“Peace at home, peace in the world”. The borders Nations and an early member of North Atlantic
of the Turkish Republic were finalized when the Treaty Organization, the World Bank, and the
Hatay region joined Turkey in 1939. International Monetary Fund. It is also a founding
member of Organization for Economic Co-
Advancements in politics continued after
operation and Development and the Group of 20
Atatürk’s passing; for example, in 1946 the multi-
(G-20).
party system was introduced permanently. The

Timeline
215 BCE The construction of the Great Wall of China intensifies
209 BCE Touman’s son Modun becomes the leader of Xiongnu
59 BCE Xiongnu Empire divides into two
375 CE Huns cross the Volga River and cause a major migration and resettlement of peoples across
Europe.
552 Kok Turk Empire is formed
744 The beginning of the Uighur Empire
751 Battle of Talas between the Arabs and the Chinese
992 Foundation of the first Muslim Turkic Empire: The Qarakhanids
1040 Battle of Dandanaqan between the Ghaznavids and the Seljuks
1071 Battle of Manzikert between the Byzantines and the Seljuks
1243 Battle of Kosedag between the Ilkhanids and the Anatolian Seljuks
1260 Battle of Ain Jalut between the Ilkhanids and the Mamluks (first ever Mongolian defeat)

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1299 Formation of the Ottoman Statelet in Sogut

1354 Ottomans cross into Europe
1389 First Battle of Kosovo
1396 Battle of Nicopolis
1402 Battle of Ankara between the Ottomans and the Timurids
1444 Battle of Varna
1448 Second Battle of Kosovo
1453 Conquest of Constantinople (Istanbul) by the Ottomans
1473 Battle of Otlukbeli between Ottomans and Akkoyunlu State
1501 Turk Safavid dynasty starts ruling Iran
1517 Ottomans defeat Mamluks and gain control of Egypt and Islamic holy cities
1526 Turkic Mughal Empire is founded in India
1526 Battle of Mohacs between Ottomans and Hungarians
1529 First Siege of Vienna
1538 Preveza Sea Victory by Hayreddin Barbarossa
1555 Treaty of Amasya between Ottomans and Safavids
1565 Siege of Malta
1570 Ottoman conquest of Cyprus
1571 Lepanto Sea Battle
1590-1610 Jelali Revolts in Anatolia
1639 Treaty of Qasr-i Shirin between Ottomans and Safavids
1656-1703 Koprulu family, exclusive holder of the Grand Vizier post
1683 Second Siege of Vienna
1699 Ottoman Empire at its peak
1699 Treaty of Karlowitz
1711 Pruth River Campaign
1718 Treaty of Passarowitz
1739 Treaties of Nis and Belgrade
1774 Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarca
1783 Annexation of the Crimean Tatar Khanate by Russian Empire
1792 Treaty of Jassy
1798 Napoleon Bonaparte invades Egypt
1804-1817 Serbian uprisings
1812 Treaty of Bucharest
1829 Treaty of Adrianople: Greek state formed
1830 France invades Algeria
1853-1856 Crimean War
1862 Independent Romania formed
1877-1878 Russo-Ottoman War
1878 Britain leases Cyprus
1881 France invades Tunisia

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1882 Britain takes control of Egypt and Sudan

1908 Bulgaria declares independence and annexes Eastern Rumelia
1912 Libya and Rhodes lost to Italy
1913 Macedonia and Albania are lost
1914-1918 World War I, Ottomans side with Germans and Austro-Hungarians
1920 Treaty of Sevres: division of the Ottoman lands by the allied powers; it is rejected by
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and other leaders of the Anatolian movement.
1919-1922 Turkish War of Independence
1922 Office of Sultan abolished
1923 Treaty of Lausanne recognizes the new Turkish state and its borders
1923 Declaration of the Republic of Turkey
1924 Office of Caliph abolished
1928 The new Turkish alphabet adopted
1934 Turkish women get the right to vote
1939 Hatay region joins Turkey; current borders are finalized
1939-1945 World War II, Turkey stays neutral
1946 Successful introduction of the multi-party system
1961, 1971,
1980 Military coups by the Turkish armed forces
1974 Turkish troops lands North Cyprus to protect the Cypriot Turks
1983 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is founded
1991 Turkic Republics in Central Asia gain independence
2005 Turkey officially starts European Union accession negotiations
2009 The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council) was established to
promote cooperation among Turkic Speaking States.

What are the four most important points

in Turkish history?

THE CULTURE OF THE TURKISH CIVILIZATION

Turks over the centuries – Ottomans, in particular -- absorbed many of the traditions and institutions of
cultures in the regions they conquered, and they also modified them by adding new dimensions. Numerous
cultural traditions including literature, architecture, cuisine, music, other arts, leisure, and government were
adopted by the Ottoman Turks, who molded them into new forms, coming up with a distinctively Ottoman
cultural identity. Throughout the years of the past century, while forming a stable government and military,
the new Republic of Turkey has picked up and modernized its own unique Eurasian culture.
The modern Turkish culture is a blend of Europe and Asia, old and new. While the dynasties and the
elite of the Great Seljuk Empire, the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate, and the Ottoman Empire were heavily
influenced by the Persians in terms of culture, customs, habits and language, the Republic of Turkey, on
the other hand, has emphasized the Turkish identity in its quest to form a nation-state.

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Language
Turkic languages are divided into three main groups: Turkish, Turkmen, and Azeri in the southwest;
Tatar, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Karakalpak in the northwest; and Uighur and Uzbek in the east. Stories told across
the entire Turkic world over the centuries not only have shared underlying themes, but they also have
utilized similar words and expressions, leaving no doubt about the common origin of these languages.
There are “devler” (giants) and “periler” (fairies).
Kazakh stories begin with “Erte, erte, ertede” (long,
long ago), whereas Kirghiz ones go “Ilgeri, ilgeri”
(once upon a time).

Alphabet
Starting with the Kok Turks, the Orkhon script was
used by many Turks until around the tenth century.
Uighurs used the Aramaeo-Syriac script (related to
the Hebrew and Arabic alphabets) that they had
learned from the Sogdians (Golden, 2011: 47). This
script was later borrowed by the Mongolians, who
still use it in Inner Mongolia, China. After becoming
Muslims, Turks started using the Arabic alphabet.
In modern Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan variations of the Latin script are used,
whereas Kazakhs and Kyrgyz still use variations of
the Cyrillic script that the Russians imposed on them
during the Stalinist era.

Literature Figure 7.12 Orkhon inscriptions

Poetry and Song

Turks, like other Central Asian nomads, have a rich tradition of oral poetry, songs, and music. One
instrument that Kazakh and Kirghiz still play today, the kopuz, is said by some researchers to be the
ancestor of the violin and other stringed instruments.
This instrument used to be played by shamans during
healing ceremonies.
The first well-known Muslim Turkish poet was
Yunus Emre, who was active in Anatolia in the late
thirteenth century. His contemporary Rumi, of
course, was writing his poems in Persian. The influence
of Persian in cultural and government spheres in the
Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate was nothing new to Turkic
states, which were ruled by Turkic nomads but run by
Persian-speaking government officers. The language
used in government offices and courts was also Persian,
which meant that a non-Persian speaking Turk had
to hire someone fluent in Persian for government
business or representation in courts. This, surely, must
have bothered Mehmed Bey of Karaman so much that
Figure 7.13 Kopuz Figure 7.14 The statue of
he declared Turkish as the official language in Konya Yunus Emre
Source: www.ges.gov.tr/tr and forbade other languages in 1277. Source: Anadolu
University’s archive.

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Ottomans had a rich literary tradition called the Divan style. Prominent examples include Leyla and
Majnun of Fuzuli, and Husn-u Ask of Sheyh Galib. On the other hand, Turkish folk literature included the
following poets from the fourteenth century through the twentieth century: Haci Bayram Veli, Kaygusuz
Abdal, Pir Sultan Abdal, Koroglu, Karacaoglan, Gevheri, Dertli, Dadaloglu, and Asik Veysel.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, during the Tanzimat Period, Terkib-i Bent by Ziya Pasa
and Makber by Abdulhak Hamit Tarhan are great examples. After Tanzimat, Gol Saatleri by Ahmet Hasim
and Kendi Gok Kubbemiz by Yahya Kemal (Beyatli) are noteworthy.
Just before the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the Bes Hececiler group wrote poems in the daily
language. Its members were Halit Fahri Ozansoy, Enis Behiç Koryürek, Yusuf Ziya Ortaç, Orhan Seyfi
Orhon and Faruz Nafiz Çamlibel.
Turkish Republican era poets include Ziya Osman Saba, Orhan Veli Kanik, Melih Cevdet Anday,
Oktay Rifat Horozcu, Edip Cansever, Cemal Sureya, and Ece Ayhan.

Prose
The earliest surviving Turkic texts
have been found near the Orkhon
River in present-day Mongolia. These
Orkhon inscriptions were carved on
stone pillars and written in honor
of two Kok Turk princes Kul Tegin
and Bilge Khagan. They describe the
origins of Turks, the great days of
the Kok Turk Empire, the suffering
after defeat by the Chinese and the
struggle for independence under the
two brothers. Erected around 726
by the chief adviser to their father
Ilterish Khagan, Tonyukuk, these
inscriptions have eternal advice Figure 7.15 Bilge Khagan Inscription
for Turks, warning them not to Source: www.google.com.tr
abandon the ways of their ancestors
and beware of the deceitful words and alluring presents of enemies.
The first Turko-Islamic texts were written during the Qarakhanid Empire. Kutadgu Bilig, written by
Yusuf Has Hajib in 1069 in Turkic, is full of advice for aspiring rulers. Divan-i Lughat al-Turk, written by
Mahmud Al-Kashghari a couple of years later, is a dictionary of the different Turkic dialects of the time
and acts as a guide to the Turkic culture.
Once Turks took control of Anatolia, the Book of Dede Korkut assumed its final form, re-telling old
heroic Oghuz stories. Battal-name and Danishmend-name are other popular folktales of the era.
In Central Asia, the Chaghatay Turkic literature started with Ali Shir Nava’i towards the end of the
fifteenth century. Seljuk and Ottoman literary circles were influenced by Persian, but for centuries Central
Asia had witnessed Turko-Persian bilingualism. Given this background, Ali Shir Nava’i’ compared Turkic
with Persian in his book Muhakemat al-Lughateyn and concluded that Turkic was the superior language.
He criticized his contemporaries for writing in Persian and encouraged them to write in Chaghatay Turkic.
The founder of the Mughal Empire in India, Babur, seems to have taken heed of this advice as he wrote his
autobiography, Baburname, in Chaghatay Turkic.
Ottoman literature had almost no prose for centuries, with no stories of fiction to speak of until the
nineteenth century. Prominent Divan authors include Evliya Celebi, Sinan Pasa, Mercimek Ahmet, Naima,
and Katip Celebi. Giritli Ali Aziz Efendi wrote Muhayyelat in 1796, but it was not published until 1867.

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The first published novel was entitled Akabi Hikayesi, written by Vartan Pasha. He wrote it in Turkish
with Armenian script and it was published in 1851. Works published in the Tanzimat Period depict clear
French influence due to close ties with France. There are unmistakable signs of Romanticism, Symbolism
and Naturalism. Some examples are:
• Intibah by Namik Kemal
• Vatan Yahut Silistre by Namik Kemal,
• Sair Evlenmesi by Ibrahim Sinasi,
• Hasan Mellah- by Ahmet Mithat Efendi, and
• Araba Sevdasi by Recaizade Mahmut Ekrem.
Other important literary pieces of the Ottoman era include:
• Rubab-i Sikeste by Tevfik Fikret,
• Ask-i Memnu by Halit Ziya Usakligil,
• Eylul by Mehmet Rauf,
• Safahat by Mehmet Akif Ersoy,
• Kuyruklu Yildiz Altinda Bir Izdivac by Huseyin Rahmi Gurpinar,
• Ilk Dusen Ak by Omer Seyfettin,
• Turk Medeniyeti Tarihi by Ziya Gokalp,
• Vurun Kahpeye by Halide Edip Adivar,
• Calikusu by Resat Nuri Guntekin, and
• Kiralik Konak by Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoglu.
Starting with the Tanzimat Period, two themes emerged and stayed dominant through the collapse of
the Ottoman Empire and into the Turkish Republican era: (1) The author should write to educate the
people and affect social change, and (2) Turkish needs to be cleansed of foreign words, especially those
borrowed from Arabic and Persian.
The most prominent authors of the Republican era include Kemal Tahir, Orhan Kemal, Yasar Kemal,
Fakir Baykurt, Cevdet Sakir Kabaagacli, Haldun Taner, Tarik Bugra, Oktay Akbal, Selim Ileri, Furuzan,
Orhan Pamuk, Turgut Ozakman, Cevat Fehmi Baskut, Nurullah Atac, and Suut Kemal Yetkin.

Architecture
Most cities in Central Asia were originally built by Iranian-speaking peoples, especially by the Sogdians
and Tokharians. Later, Turkic-speaking peoples settled in these cities. They originally used two words for
city: “baliq” and “ordu”. Interestingly,
Uighurs built their capital city on
the Orkhon River in the Otuken
Mountains north of the Gobi Desert
and called it Ordu Baliq. “Ordu” had
several meanings, including army and
the encampment of the ruler. The
English word “horde” comes from
“ordu”. The name of the language
“Urdu” widely spoken in the Indian
subcontinent also derives from “ordu,”
since the Turkic-speaking Mughal
Empire ruled the northern part of the
subcontinent for several centuries.
Once settled in cities, Turks
produced many works of architecture.
Beautiful mosques can be found across Figure 7.17 Cifte Minareli Medrese,
Figure 7.16 Yivli Minare, Antalya
Sivas

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Anatolia from the Anatolian Seljuk

Sultanate times. Yivli Minare in
Antalya and Cifte Minareli Medrese in
Sivas are great examples. The Seljuks
were masters at stone cutting and
carving.
The Taj Mahal in Agra, India,
completed in 1653, is a great example
of Turkish architecture. It was built in
the Mughal Empire during the rule
of Shah Jahan in memory of his wife
Mumtaz Mahal.
Ottoman architecture was based
on Seljuk architecture and influenced
by Persian, Byzantine, and Islamic Figure 7.18 Topkapi Palace, Istanbul
architecture. Topkapi Palace, for
example, was constructed during
Mehmet II’s reign, following the
conquest of Istanbul; it served the
Ottoman Sultans for four centuries
until Abdulmecit I moved to
Dolmabahce Palace in 1856.
Ottoman architecture reached a
peak with Mimar Sinan as the chief
architect during the time of Suleiman I
and Selim II. Two great mosques from
that era are Suleimaniye in Istanbul
and Selimiye in Edirne.
Another great example of the
architect Mimar Sinan’s work is the Figure 7.19 Selimiye Mosque, Edirne
Mehmet Pasha Sokolovic Bridge in
present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Later examples of Ottoman
architecture include the Sultan Ahmet
Mosque (the Blue Mosque) next to
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, completed
in 1616; Ishak Pasha Palace in Agri,
completed in 1784; and Ciragan
Palace by the Bosphorus in Istanbul,
completed in 1872.

Art
Xiongnu art presented itself on
belt, mount, hook or stud plaques, was
made of bronze and featured animal Figure 7.20 Blue Mosque, Istanbul
motifs. After the Xiongnu, the most
prominent examples of pre-Islamic Turkish art can be found in caves near the Uighur city, Bezeklik. These
caves can be visited near present-day Turfan in Xinjiang, China. There are many paintings from the fifth

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through the ninth centuries with

significant Sogdian, Chinese,
and Indian influences.
Seljuk art involved luster-
painted or overglaze-painted
tiles along with wood and
metal creations. These artisans
excelled in ceramics and textiles
as well. Seljuks used steel from
Damascus, glass from Iraq,
and velvets from Byzantium.
Ottoman art included
miniatures, illumination,
calligraphy, bookbinding, and
paper marbling. Beautiful
miniatures were also painted on
tiles.

Carpets
Turks have been weaving Figure 7.22 The Tortoise Trainer, by
carpets since they first appeared Figure 7.21 Turkish tiles Osman Hamdi
in history as nomadic tribes Source: www.peramuseum.org
roaming Central Asia. Their
carpets have had unique motifs and patterns such
as bird, eye, running water, the snake, and stars.
The Turks prefer wool over cotton with occasional
silk rug. In addition to carpets, Turks have woven
flat woven rugs (kilims) and prayer rugs. Many
carpets from the Seljuk era have survived to this
day – often, they are found under other carpets in
mosques across Anatolia. Turks not only place their
carpets and kilims on the floors but also hang them
on walls and doorways for additional insulation,
especially when, as in the past, living in tents as
nomads.
Figure 7.23 Turkish kilims

Entertainment for the Masses

Horse riding and shooting arrows were favorite activities of the nomad warriors of Central Asia at war
and during peacetime. Turks in ancient days would entertain by gathering to watch not only horse races
but also games that involved shooting arrows at targets while riding horses. Over the centuries, guresh
(upright wrestling) has been a popular sport and it is now the national sport in Turkey and Uzbekistan.
Visiting the present-day Kyrgyzstan, one can observe games such as chelik-chomak, jirid oyunu and
oglak tartish, which Turks in Turkey may have either played growing up or heard about.
An important aspect of life in contemporary Turkey is sports. Although many European sports
are played around the country, football has taken the gold medal when it comes to popularity. There
are hundreds of football teams that play in Turkey in various leagues, usually representing their city
and/or district. Some of the main teams in the country are Besiktas, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, and
Trabzonspor.

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In fact, football is pretty much a way of life the right to claim the heavenly mandate (kut) to
in today’s Turkey, and most of the population govern.
who can watch a game will choose to do so over Turks viewed the state as belonging to the
any other activity, given the sport’s immense ruling clan or tribe. Other than the main east /
popularity. Galatasaray won the UEFA Football west division, there were territorial grants to nobles
Championship and the UEFA Super Cup in 2000 called ikta as payment for serving the state. Later,
and the Turkish National Football Team won third in the Ottoman Empire a similar timar system
place in the 2002 World Cup. was introduced, which was also influenced by
the Byzantine system. The Ottoman Empire used
two venues for education: Madrasas were utilized
to educate Muslim boys according to Islamic
3 tradition and the devshirme process was employed
Which other cultures have had the to educate foreign boys in the Enderun school to
greatest influence on the cultures of the serve the Sultan in the administration of the state.
present-day Turks and Turkic peoples? The Ottoman Empire was an absolute monarchy
during most of its time, although towards the
very end there were two attempts at democratic
transformation, introducing constitutional
SOCIETY IN THE TURKISH monarchy and a representative parliament.
CIVILIZATION
From pastoral nomads in the steppes of Upper Religion
Central Asia to city-dwellers of today, the society In the beginning, Turks practiced shamanism
of the Turks has transformed immensely. Starting in Inner Asia. Their practice had cultic elements
with Turko-Mongol roots in the tough terrain and emphasized Tengri (God), Umay (Fertility
touching the Siberian forests, picking up assorted Goddess), Yer (Earth), and Su (Water). They
traditions of settled peoples such as the Chinese believed in heaven and hell. During the first
and the Arabo-Persians, and finally adding some millennium CE, some small groups of Turks
finishing touches from Western Europe or Russia, converted to Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism,
each Turkic society has gone through its own or Zoroastrianism. Some Uighurs also converted
processes of Islamization, adopting to settled life to Manichaeism. However, as their westward
and modernization. movement accelerated in the tenth century CE,
Turks became Muslims in large numbers and today
State and Administration Islam is the predominant religion in the Turkic
world.
Turkish state structure has been complex, to say
the least. Turks, starting with the Kok Turk Empire,
administered their state by dividing it into two
parts: East and West. East would be ruled by the
more senior khagan. To prevent succession wars,
which resulted in the weakening and destruction
of so many Central Asian states of nomadic origin,
Turks came up with a system whereby brothers
would serve in age order. When the youngest of
the brothers died, it would be the turn of the sons
of the oldest brother. However, this system was
never successful in totally preventing struggles for
accession to the throne, given the abundance of
princes who were just too impatient. At the end
of the day, any member of the ruling clan had Figure 7.24 The Enderun school, Topkapi Palace /Istanbul.
Source: Vikipedi.

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Starting with Murad I, the Ottoman Sultans the late nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire
exercised the claim to be the caliph, i.e., being entered World War I with a very weak navy.
designated as the Leader of Islam. With the success
of Selim I against the Safavids and his conquest of
the Holy Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina, these
claims came to fruition. Selim I was the undisputed
Caliph of the Islamic world after defeating the
Mamluks and conquering Syria, Arabia, and
Northeast Africa in 1517.
Despite being the Caliphs, the Ottoman Sultans
delegated religious decisions and regulations to the
Office of the Sheik-ul-Islam. The last Caliph was
Abdulmecid II, who had to leave Turkey for France
after the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
abolished the Caliphate in 1924.

Military
As nomads, Turks were not only masterful
horseback riders but also experts in shooting
arrows forwards and backwards while riding their
horses very fast. Along with other fighting skills,
this gave them a distinctive edge in warfare. A
common battle strategy employed by Turks was Figure 7.25 Mahmut II.
to pretend to lose and withdraw from the middle
Source: Vikipedi.
in an organized manner while surrounding the
unaware enemy from all sides and destroying it. Today, the Turkish military is still powerful. It is
This has been called the “crescent tactic.” the tenth strongest in the world, with a significant
Starting with the Xiongnu, Turks organized budget and many active frontline personnel
their armies in decimal units of 10, 100, and (around half a million). All male citizens of Turkey
1000. Each of these units was commanded by must serve in the army. Since 1945, the Turkish
officers titled, respectively, “onbasi”, “yuzbasi”, and Army has taken part in several military campaigns
“binbasi”. A unit of 10,000 was called “tumen”. and peace missions including the Korean War
Chinese sources also mention that the Uighur and the wars in Afghanistan, Bosnia, the Horn of
Empire’s army had women warriors on horseback Africa, Iraq, Somalia, and Syria.
who were very skillful at archery. In addition to taking part in peacekeeping
The Ottoman army corps included the missions, Turkey is known for absorbing refugees
Janissaries, the Cavalry, the Mehteran and the from war-torn countries. Currently, there are over
Akinci. Possessing one of the most powerful armies three million Syrian refugees, out of the five million
of its time, the Ottomans were ahead of most other total, inside the borders of Turkey and seeking
countries in utilizing muskets and cannons while asylum. In the 1990s, Turkey welcomed around
in military campaigns. Blaming the Janissaries for half a million refugees from Iraq. The Turkish state
military losses and lack of commitment, Mahmud has been dealing with refugees for a long time,
II abolished and replaced them with the Nizam-i often without much help from other countries.
Cedid in 1826.
From its heyday, when it was the supreme power Science
in the Mediterranean, the Ottoman Navy fell into
The Ottomans built large libraries with books
decline, starting in the seventeenth century, and
from all over the empire and abroad. Starting
despite revival attempts by Sultan Abdulaziz in
especially with Mehmed II, Istanbul became a

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center for scientists from all over the Islamic world Republican Turkey has produced many brilliant
and beyond. Ali Kuscu, a mathematician, physicist scientists including the 2015 Nobel Chemistry
and astronomer, came to Istanbul in 1470 from Prize winner Aziz Sancar. TUBITAK is the leading
the Timurid Empire and in addition to serving government agency for science and technology in
Mehmed II, he affected the transformation of modern Turkey.
the Ottoman scientific community despite an
untimely death.
• Other noteworthy scientists included:
• Takiyuddin (physics, mechanical
technology),
• Meshur Sheyh Dede (watchmaking),
• Ibrahim Efendi (astronomy),
• Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi (aviation),
• Piri Reis (geography),
• Serafeddin Sabuncuoglu (medicine),
• Georgios Amiroutzes (geography).
One of the reasons put forward to explain why
the Ottomans did not participate more actively in
the scientific revolution in Europe is the late arrival
of printing press, almost 250 years after its invention
by Gutenberg in 1492. Ibrahim Muteferrika was
able to publish the first book, a religious one, in
the Ottoman Empire in 1729 after convincing the
Grand Vizier Nevsehirli Damat Ibrahim Pasha.
Later, Sultan Ahmed III gave him the permission Figure 7.27 Aziz Sancar
to publish non-religious books as well.
Source: www.nobelprize.org

Economy
Pastoral nomadism was the mainstay of the
economy of Turks throughout most of their
history. Thus, horses and sheep were the most
valuable possessions. Goats were not valued quite
so much. Over the centuries, Turks participated in
the Silk Road trade, at times controlling the flow
of goods such as silk from China, spices from India
and melons and peaches from Transoxiana.
As they formed states and empires ruling other
peoples over large swathes of territory, their revenues
emanated from trade, tributes by subject peoples,
and products that were raised or manufactured in
the conquered lands.
Other than continuing the state traditions
of the Persians and the Byzantines, Ottomans
made sure that their capital cities Bursa, Edirne,
and Istanbul became major commercial centers
inhabited by many merchants and artisans. They
also encouraged the commercial and artisanal
Figure 7.26 Map of Piri Reis activities of their Christian subjects by giving them
relative freedoms and protections.

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The immigration of the Jews from Spain and The transition of Turks from nomadic to settled
other parts of Europe where they were persecuted life took centuries. Early on, some Turkic tribes
was enabled by the policies of Mehmed II and settled in cities like Kashgar in East Turkistan or
Bayezid II with the same foresight about their Tashkent in West Turkistan. Uighurs built new
potential contributions to the economy. Ottoman cities and settled in large numbers, especially after
trade revenues and the general economy suffered the collapse of their empire. Yet others waited
starting in the sixteenth century as the Europeans until the eleventh and twelfth centuries to settle
switched from the traditional land routes to sea in Iran or Anatolia. Other tribes, who are mainly
routes going around Africa and as new resource Turkmen, never fully settled down and they still
markets opened, i.e., Sub-Saharan Africa, the live a semi-nomadic life. Example: the Yoruks in
Americas, and the Far East. the Taurus Mountains of Turkey.
With almost no capital accumulation, an Nomad or settled, Turks in Turkey and Central
illiterate and unskilled workforce, and a population Asia have many dishes in common. Stuffed vine
devastated by decades of wars, the Republic of leaves, cabbage rolls, kazan kebab, laghman soup,
Turkey had very humble economic beginnings. manti, chorek, qutab on saj, shashlik (shish kebab)
Following Ataturk’s principle of statism, the Turkish and dimlama are some popular examples. Lavash,
economy started with significant state investments a thin unleavened bread, is not only consumed in
and ownership across difference industries with Turkey, but it also very common in all countries
minimal private enterprise. This continued until surrounding the Caspian Sea. Pairing fruits with
after the 1980 coup when Turgut Ozal, the then meat is very common in Central Asia and it was
prime minister, instituted many reforms to open well represented in the Ottoman palace cuisine,
the economy. Letting the exchange rates float, but unfortunately it is rarely seen in a regular
encouraging exports and privatizing state-owned Turkish kitchen.
enterprises have resulted in an emerging economy Eggplants are the king of vegetables in Turkey
with free markets. and are equally popular in Central Asia as well.
Turks make their fries, dolmas, even jams from it.
Turkish Cuisine It can be argued that eggplant puree is the crucial
part of Sultan’s Delight. The other component,
Turks led a pure nomadic life in the Central
lamb, has been popular among all Turks since the
Asian steppes. Together with other nomads, these
very beginning, but goat, for example, would be
Central Asians not only rode their horses but also
looked down on widely since the early days in
ate horsemeat and drank fermented mare milk
the Central Asian steppes. All these dishes can be
(kimiz). Kimiz is still consumed in Central Asia
accompanied with some kompot, hosaf or sherbet
and horse meat is considered a delicacy, especially
followed by Turkish Delight (lokum), halva,
in Kazakhstan. Kazakh children are fed horsemeat
pashmak (pismaniye), or many other milk-based,
sausage every day to boost their immune systems.
fruit-based or nut-based sweets and desserts.
Turks are credited not only with inventing
The cuisine of the Turkish Republic is inherited
yogurt, but also with the technique of thinning
from the Ottoman cuisine, with many dishes first
the yogurt with water to make ayran. When the
invented in the Ottoman palace kitchens, and with
Tang Dynasty took over in China in the seventh
chefs, ideas and ingredients coming from different
century CE, ayran replaced tea as the official
parts of the empire. Regular Turks, however, can
drink in northern Chinese courts. Yogurt is now
be satisfied with simple pleasures such as bulgur
consumed all over the world. Frozen yogurt has
wheat and beans, sometimes called the national
become a serious competitor to ice cream. Strained
meal. Borek is a popular dish that is like lasagna
yogurt is known as Greek yogurt in Europe and
in the way that it is layered and spread in a baking
North America. In Central Asia, a variation is
dish. It uses layers of filo dough, a very fragile and
consumed as yogurt cheese. In Turkey, they mix
thin dough, an egg wash, and a filling of either
strained yogurt with cucumbers and herbs to
spinach and cheese, meat, or potatoes.
make tzatziki.

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Law
Laws of the Turkic states before Islam had
nomadic origins arising from the steppes of Central
Asia. With the Mongolian influence a powerful
one, especially during the reign of Genghis Khan,
his sons and grandsons, a Turko-Mongol code of
governance and laws emerged. Turks merged these
with Islamic elements as they observed the Persian
bureaucracy and applied such a legal system in
their future governance practices in the Great
Seljuk Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid
Figure 7.28 Borek Empire, and the Moghul Empire.
Tea continues to be a very popular part of Some clear Turko-Mongol words relevant to
Turkish culture because of its ubiquitous nature. this discussion are ulus (nation), yasa (law) and tore
In Turkey, tea is a conversation starter, and it can (tradition). In the Ottoman society, non-Muslims
be drunk at any time of the day. There are even utilized their own religious courts, and Muslims
whole parks called “cay bahceleri,” which literally the Islamic courts. There were also secular courts
translates to “Tea Gardens.” However, tea is not the run by Qanun and separate trade courts.
only large part of the Turkish food industry. One
of Turkey’s main exports is hazelnut, and Turkey
produces around 70 percent of the world’s supply.
4
Apart from Nutella, there are many popular
hazelnut spreads like Cokokrem and Hazelle. These With which other societies are the
spreads on bread not only go very well with tea but present-day societies of Turks and Turkic
also can be consumed at any time throughout the peoples most similar?
day, much like tea.

Further Reading

Mango, A. (2004). The Turks Today. Woodstock & New York: The Overlook Press, Peter Mayer
Publishers, Inc.
Meyer, K.E. (2003). The Dust of Empire: The Race for Mastery in the Asian Heartland. Cambridge,
MA: Perseus Books Group.

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LO 1 Articulate the origin of the

Turkish Civilization.

Turks appeared in written history in Chinese sources as Xiongnu

in third century BCE. Fierce nomadic warriors on horseback
hailing from the North Central Asian steppes, Xiongnu
fought with the Chinese, who built the Great Wall to defend
themselves. Later Xiongnu khagans conquered Northern
China and ruled there for centuries. The descendants of the

Summary
Xiongnu, Huns, ruled Eastern Europe and caused the collapse
of the Western Roman Empire by starting the movement of
peoples across Europe. The first state with a Turkic name in
it was the Kok Turk Empire, founded in the sixth century CE
over the same lands that the Xiongnu had ruled before them.

LO 2 Recognize the major events of

the Turkish Civilization.

Turks entered written history in third century BCE by establishing an empire in Central Asia
threatening to the Chinese, who called them Xiongnu. Later, they established an empire in Eastern
Europe threatening the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, who called them Huns.
The first time they were called Turks was in the sixth century CE after establishing another empire
in Central Asia. They were introduced to Islam in the eighth century and by the eleventh century
the Turkish peoples had mostly become Muslims and started ruling almost all the Islamic lands.
Turks entered Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert in late eleventh century. Exactly 1000 years after
Attila the Hun passed on the opportunity to end the Western Roman Empire, Sultan Mehmed the
Conqueror ended the Eastern Roman Empire. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Turks or
Turkic dynasties ruled over the entire Islamic domain in addition to Eastern Europe, stretching from
Poland to Morocco to Kenya to Myanmar. Starting with the late nineteenth century and accelerating
in the twentieth century, modernization and reform movements took hold in all lands inhabited by
Turks.
Here are some of the states and empires founded and ruled by Turks in the past 2500 years: Xiongnu,
Hun, Kok Turk, Avar, Tabgach, Turgesh, Uighur, Khazar, Qarluq, Qipchak, Qarakhanid, Ghaznavid,
Great Seljuk, Anatolian Seljuk, Khwarazmshah, Karakoyunlu, Akkoyunlu, Mamluk, Golden Horde,
Timurid, Safavid, Mughal, Ottoman, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan,
Republic of Turkey, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

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LO 3 Identify the Turkish culture and traditions to evaluate

their impact on the creation of various states and empires.

Turkish culture and traditions were rooted in the Central Asian

nomadic lifestyle, thus very similar to Mongolian culture and
traditions in origin. Whereas most Turks embraced Islam, most
Mongols chose Tibetan Buddhism, which led to a different
path in terms of cultural evolution. This nomadic lifestyle and
the certain skill set that came with it – including unrivaled
horseback riding and exceptional arrow shooting – enabled the
Summary

Turks to establish not only numerous states but also significant

empires to rule over other peoples. As a governing nation, they
not only tolerated other cultures but also learned from their
subjects. The culture and tradition of today’s Turks around
the world reflect this learning based on where they live and to
which other cultures and traditions they have been exposed.

LO 4 Describe the social, economic and military

relationships within the Turkish civilizing society.

Each Turkic society has gone through its own processes of Islamization, adopting to settled life and
modernization. Turks have long viewed the state as belonging to the ruling clan or tribe. Other than the
main east / west division, there were territorial grants to nobles called ikta as payment for serving the
state. Later, in the Ottoman Empire a similar timar system was introduced, which was also influenced
by the Byzantine system. Like other nomadic societies, Turks were not only masterful horse riders, but
also experts in shooting arrows forwards and backwards while riding their horses very fast. Along with
other fighting skills, this gave them a distinctive edge in warfare.
Ottomans built large libraries with books from all over the empire and abroad. Starting especially
with Mehmed II, Istanbul became a center for scientists from all over the Islamic world and beyond.
Pastoral nomadism long was the mainstay of the economy of Turks. Horses and sheep were the most
valuable possessions, and goats somewhat less so. Over the centuries, Turks participated in the Silk
Road trade, at times controlling the flow of goods such as silk from China, spices from India, and
melons and peaches from Transoxiana. Turks had a purely nomadic life in the Central Asian steppes.
Together with other nomads, they as Central Asians not only rode their horses but also ate horsemeat
and drank fermented mare milk.
Laws of the Turkic states before Islam had nomadic origins from the steppes of Central Asia. Given
the Mongolian influence, especially during the reign of Genghis Khan, his sons and grandsons, a
Turko-Mongol code of governance and laws emerged. Some clear Turko-Mongol words relevant to this
discussion are ulus (nation), yasa (law) and tore (tradition).

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1 Why did the Chinese start building the Great 6 Which of the following was not an Ottoman
Wall? scientist?

Test Yourself
a. To establish a common market among the a. Ibrahim Muteferrika
various parts of China b. Takiyuddin
b. To protect themselves from wild animals c. Ibrahim Efendi
c. To defend themselves against Xiongnu attacks d. Serafeddin Sabuncuoglu
d. To exert more control over the Silk Road e. Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi
e. To connect inner China to the Pacific Ocean via
the Yellow Sea 7 Law and order in the Ottoman Empire
would bear the least resemblance to which code of
2 Which of the following is not an achievement governance?
of the Huns under Attila?
a. Byzantine
a. Made alliances with some Germanic peoples b. Chinese
against the Romans and the Visigoths c. Islamic
b. Captured lands south of the Danube River d. Mongolian
c. Defeated the Eastern Roman Empire and forced e. Persian
them to accept a harsh peace treaty
d. Forced the Western Roman Empire to pay a
heavy tribute
8 Which of the following major battles did not
e. Invaded the Roman Gaul successfully have Turks as the major fighting force on either
side?
3 Which of the following pairs of Turkic states a. Ain Jalud
does not use a variation of the Latin alphabet? b. Dandanaqan
c. Kosedag
a. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan
d. Manzikert
b. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
e. Talas
c. Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan
d. Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan
e. Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan
9 The Ottoman army was not victorious in the
Battle of __________.
4 Which of the following is not a Turkish folk a. Ankara
poet? b. Kosovo
c. Nicopolis
a. Asik Veysel
d. Otlukbeli
b. Gevheri
e. Varna
c. Karacaoglan
d. Koroglu
e. Suleyman Celebi
10 The Ottoman Empire reached its peak
size in the late seventeenth century before losses
against the Austrians resulted in the Treaty of
5 Which of the following Turkic book-author __________.
pairings is not correct?
a. Bucharest
a. Kutadgu Bilig, Yusuf Has Hajib b. Jassy
b. Divan-i Lughat al-Turk, Mahmud Al-Kashghari c. Karlowitz
c. Muhakemat al-Lughateyn, Ali Shir Nava’i d. Kucuk Kaynarca
d. Book of Dede Korkut, Oghuz Khagan
e. Passarowitz
e. Baburname, Babur Shah

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1. c If your answer is incorrect, review “The 6. a If your answer is incorrect, review “The
Origin Of The Turkish Civilization” Society Of The Turkish Civilization”

2. e If your answer is incorrect, review “The 7. b If your answer is incorrect, review “The
Origin Of The Turkish Civilization” Society Of The Turkish Civilization”
Answer Key for “Test Yourself”

If your answer is incorrect, review “The

3. b If your answer is incorrect, review “The 8. e
Major Events In Turkish Civilization And
Culture Of The Turkish Civilization”
Timeline”

If your answer is incorrect, review “The

4. e If your answer is incorrect, review “The 9. a
Major Events In Turkish Civilization And
Culture Of The Turkish Civilization”
Timeline”

If your answer is incorrect, review “The

5. d If your answer is incorrect, review “The 10. c
Major Events In Turkish Civilization And
Culture Of The Turkish Civilization”
Timeline”
Suggested answers for “Your Turn”

What parallels can you identify between Modun’s relationship with

the Chinese and Attila’s relationship with the Romans?

Xiongnu won military victories against the Chinese, forcing them to accept
Modun as equal to the Chinese emperor, pay a heavy tribute and send princesses
as royal brides. The Chinese meddled in the internal affairs of the Xiongnu to
instigate infighting and weaken them. However, it can be argued that the Xi-
ongnu never posed an existential threat to the Chinese in that they would prefer
a tribute-paying China to a destroyed China.
your turn 1 Huns won military victories against the Eastern Romans, forcing them to ac-
cept Attila as equal to the Byzantine emperor and pay a heavy tribute. Western
Romans had to send Princess Honoria as part of the truce that stopped Attila
from sacking Rome. The Byzantines meddled in the internal affairs of the Huns
to instigate infighting and weaken them. However, it can again be argued that
the Huns never posed an existential threat to the Eastern or Western Romans in
that they would prefer a tribute-paying Rome or Constantinople to a destroyed
Roman Empire.

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What are the four most important points in Turkish history?

Suggested answers for “Your Turn”

The first important point in Turkish history is the foundation of the Kok Turk
Empire in the sixth century CE. This empire, stretching from China to the
Caspian Sea, not only established the military supremacy of the Turks all over
Asia but also the name Turk was recorded universally from the Chinese sources
in the east to the Byzantine sources in the west.
The second important point is the acceptance of Islam by the Turks from the
eighth through the tenth centuries. As a result, Turks not only became the ru-
lers of Islamic lands but also flag bearers, defending and spreading Islam for
your turn 2 centuries.
The third important point is the foundation of the Ottoman Empire in late
thirteenth century and its unprecedented success. Building on the experiences
of previous Turkish states and empires, Ottoman Turks put together a military
force and a system of administration like none other and became one the stron-
gest empires in the entire world for more than six centuries.
The fourth important point in Turkish history is the recognition by all Turks
and Turkic peoples of the need to modernize so that they can build on this rich
legacy and reassert themselves as important players on the world stage.

Which other cultures have had the greatest influence on the

cultures of the present-day Turks and Turkic peoples?

It can be argued that the Uighur culture has been influenced by the Tibetan and
Chinese cultures the most. The culture of the peoples in Central Asian Turkic
your turn 3 states has been influenced by Persian and Russian cultures the most. The culture
of the Turks in Turkey has been influenced by Arabo-Persian culture the most,
and by the Western culture to some extent.

With which other societies are the present-day societies of

Turks and Turkic peoples most similar?

The Yoruks in Turkey, the Turkmen nomads and the Kazakh nomads have
much in common with each other as well as with the Mongol nomads. An
Uighur in Kashgar, an Uzbek in Tashkent and a Turk in Ankara also have some
your turn 4 commonalities with each other, but in other aspects the Uighur may act more
like a Mongol; the Uzbek more like a Tajik, Persian or Russian; and the Turk
more like an Arab.

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The Turkish Civilization

References
Eden, C. and Ford. E. (2016). Samarkand: Recipes and Inalcik, H. (2017). The Ottoman Empire and Its Place
Stories from Central Asia and the Caucasus. Kyle in European History. İstanbul: Kronik Kitap.
Books & National Book Network.
McCarthy, J. and McCarthy, C. (2003). Who are the
Findley, C.V. (2005). The Turks in World History. Turks? The American Forum for Global Education.
Oxford University Press.
Ogden, P.B. (2011). Central Asia in World History.
Golden, Peter B. (2011). Central Asia in World History. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Teeple, J.B. (2002). Timelines of World History.
Grousset, R. (1970). The Empire of the Steppes. Rutgers London: Dorling Kindersley.
University, The State University of New Jersey:
Quinn & Boden Company, Inc.
Haywood, J., Catchpole, B., Hall, S., and Barratt, E.
(2005). Atlas of World History. New York: Barnes
and Noble, 3rd Edition.

Websites
http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=The_Xiong_Nu_Empire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ain_Jalut (accessed on September 19, 2017)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara_Koyunlu (accessed on September 28, 2017)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkhon_inscriptions (accessed on August 15, 2017)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire (accessed on November 2, 2017)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey (accessed on November 7, 2017)
http://lyricstranslate.com/en/naz%C9%99nde-s%C9%99vgilim-nazende-sevgilim.html (accessed on October
30, 2017)
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ak-Koyunlu (accessed on September 28, 2017)
https://www.smule.com/song/kazah-kazak%C4%B1m-oy-karaoke-lyrics/4255764_4255764/arrangement
(accessed on October 30, 2017)

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 Civilization in the
Chapter 8 21st Century
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

1 2
Learning Outcomes

Recount the centrally arising civilizations of the Identify the state of world civilization in the 21st
world in the 21st century. century.

Apply knowledge of the Global and Virtual

3
Characterize the dynamics of the Global and
Virtual societies of world civilization in the 21st
century.
4 cultures to comprehend their impact on the
overall performance of the world civilization
today.

5 6
Summarize how the Global and Virtual
infrastructures contribute to the development Recognize the major trends and main events of
of world civilization in the 21st century. today’s world civilization.

Chapter Outline Key Terms

Introduction • Global Civilization • Representative
Centrally Arising Civilizations in the Twenty- • Virtual Civilization Democracy
Fırst Century • The Internet • Common Intelligence
The State of the World Civilization Today • Social Networks • Middle Class
• Facebook • Outsourcing
The Civilizing Society of World Civilization in • Twitter • Labor-Free Economy
the Transformation in the 21st Century
• Smartphones • Migration Wave
The Civilizing Culture of the Western Civilization • Direct Democracy • Flat World
The Civilizing Infrastructure of the Western
Civilization in the 21st Century
Major Trends of the Global and Virtual
Civilizations and a Timeline of the Future

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Contemporary World Civilizations

INTRODUCTION civilizational shift of all will be the one that

Typically, the development and elaboration of eventually transforms human beings into hybrids.
civilizations take a long time, and paradigmatic Are you ready? Would you like this to occur? If the
shifts between civilizations rarely occur. The answer is “No!” consider what traditional humans
Chinese civilization lasted 6,000 years; even the can do now to prevent such a future.
relatively young Western civilization has flourished
for 1,200 years. But now, in the 21st century, we CENTRALLY ARISING
are confronting the rise of two new civilizations: CIVILIZATIONS IN THE
Global and Virtual. These civilizations are driven TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
by rapidly developing information technology,
The world today encounters four extreme
with computer networks and smartphones
challenges:
supporting global commerce and social networking.
Simultaneously, these two new civilizations are • The transformation from Western
penetrating other extant civilizations, adding layers Civilization to Global Civilization
of existence and new meanings to them. • The development of Virtual Civilization
• A new great crisis, especially seen in the
Meanwhile, the speed of computing is
Western and the Eastern Civilizations
accelerating. By about 2045, artificial intelligence
• The possible Clash of Civilizations
or machine intelligence probably will equal or
exceed human intelligence. This may bring on Globalization in our lifetimes was initiated by a
singularity, a Big Bang for humanity, as hybrid political platform that arose when a new world order
organisms replace our human one and we evolve emerged following the fall of the Soviet Empire
into Homo cyborg, human machines. in 1991. Almost immediately, Europeanization
Will Homo cyborg be wiser than we are? took off, providing the world with new markets in
Intelligence is the ability to do something and Central and Eastern Europe.
wisdom means appropriate judgment and right • Funds from the United States and the
choice. Some very intelligent people are not so European Union -- as well as from private
wise. Why is the futurologist Ray Kurzweil eager stateless capital and business -- supported
to be a cyborg and Steve Wozniak, coding expert the new markets that had been opened for
and technology leader, ready to be the pet of a direct investment while, simultaneously,
robot? Perhaps wiser is Bill Gates, co-founder of there began the outsourcing of Western
Microsoft, who says, “first you lose your job, then manufacturing to areas of the world
it gets scary.” Or Stephen Hawking, the theoretical with low labor costs. German, English,
physicist, while not afraid of black holes, who states and French capital was entering the new
categorically that “Artificial Intelligence could be markets as soon as political barriers fell, and
the worst event in the history of our civilization.” soon American money found opportunities
Scientists who understand the potential of in this region.
artificial intelligence have a significant fear: killer However, American capital and business
robots, autonomous weapons. In August of 2017 from the West Coast of the United States
many technology leaders, including Tesla’s Chief looked to the shorter distance to China and
Executive Officer Elon Musk, signed an open letter Asia. China, in particular, was approached
calling on the United Nations to bar the progress with the possibility of taking on the new
and use of artificially intelligent weaponry. Musk business of outsourcing manufacturing.
has twittered that a global arms competition for This was warmly accepted by the Chinese
artificial intelligence could bring on the third World Communist Party and its government
War. Today, American drones fight in Yemen, since it was implementing Deng Xiaoping’s
steered by pilots in Nevada; they use computer (1904-1997) strategy of market socialism
games-oriented skills for efficient killings. with a Chinese character.
Clearly, new and digitally-driven civilizations • Information systems utilizing the
are taking the lead today. But the most significant underground press substantially impacted

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8
the fall of the Soviet Empire in 1991. Simultaneously, the Internet (a product of the now-ended
Cold War) became the central potent global information system and this intensified globalization.
Today, if the Internet were to stop operations, likely the global economy would stop as well, since
that computer net is so embedded in today’s world economy.
At the end of the 20th century, the Internet (active since 1983 but far more visible during the 1990s
when user-friendly browsers became widespread) was pushing the development of the Globalization Wave.
This wave led to the advance of the Global economy, then to the free flow of information and capital, and
in many cases, to the cross-border movement of experienced workers and executives.
Due to the almost instant success of the Internet, this Globalization Wave has been transforming into
a Global Civilization, one which penetrates almost every other contemporary civilization, as is shown in
Figure 8.1. While the scope of this penetration differs from civilization to civilization, its highest presence
is in the Western Civilization.
Why is the Globalization Wave transforming into the Global Civilization? Because it has developed its
own forms of religion, society, culture, and infrastructure. These elements of the Global Civilization will
be characterized in the following sections.

Global Infrastructure
Global Religion

Global Culture

Global Society

Western Civilization

Japanese Civilization
GLOBAL CIVILIZATION

AUTONOMOUS CIVILIZATION

Eastern Civilization

Chinese Civilization

Islamic Civilization

Hindu Civilization

Buddhist Civilization

African Civilization

WORLD CIVILIZATION

Figure 8.1 The Global Civilization Penetration of Other Contemporary Civilizations

Source: Targowski, 2014: 62.

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From Virtual Wave to Virtual Civilization. When the word “virtual” was first introduced in
information technology, it applied to memory simulated by computer; that is, memory not actually built
into a processor’s main memory but, rather, located in online magnetic disks. More recently, the term has
been applied to entities such as things, organizations, processes, and people that exist but are simulated
using information technology. For example, virtual conversations are conversations that take place over
computer networks, and virtual communities are some social groups that assemble around the use of
e-mail, web pages, and other networked, digital resources.
Thus, a digital library would be any library that applies information technology, whether as a brick-
and-mortar library operated with networked computers or as a library that occurs solely in the electronic
domain, while a virtual library could only be the latter of these (The American Heritage® Dictionary of
the English Language, Fourth Edition).
The expansion of the Global Economy and the rise of the information infrastructure globally have led
to a boom in the development of social networks. The links of networks now cover vast areas. One estimate
is that about 500 large social networking sites offer services for roughly 3.3 billion users (Table 8.1). The
networks allow for the exchange of information about facts, events, feelings, situations, activities, pictures,
videos, and opinions faster and more frequently than they could otherwise.

Table 8.1 The Ranking of the Largest Nations by its Citizenships/Memberships in 2016

Ranking Nation Population Global Virtual Society

1 China 1.360 M
2 India 1.234 M
3 Facebook (2017) 1,600 M
4 Instagram 400 M
5 Twitter 320 M
6 Google 300 M
7 United States 317 M
8 Indonesia 238 M
9 Brazil 201 M
10 Pakistan 184 M
11 Russia 144 M
12 Bangladesh 153 M
13 Nigeria 174 M
14 Japan 127 M
15 Twitter 124 M 200 M
16 Mexico 118 M
17 LinkedIn 100 M
18 Pinterest 100 M
19 Vietnam 89 M
20 Other Social Networks Estimation 300 M
TOTAL 4.28 B 3.32 B
Source: Kerby, J. (2016).

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8
These emerging social networks have led to the birth of collective “mindspheres” of intelligence,
knowledge, and wisdom at global and national levels.
Figure 8.2 illustrates the architecture of these new collective mindspheres. They can multiply at all
levels of the nation, for example at the level of the village, town, township, city, county, and state. It will
take time before such mindspheres become organized. Of course, this new set of mindspheres will not
happen everywhere, but they will emerge where there are synergies of
human will and organizational might.
This collective brain, or rather mind, can multiply our social
1 and cognitive potential. With such a powerful tool, humanity’s
consciousness can become broader, deeper, and more sophisticated,
When do you think that a new,
and perhaps the world will be able to solve problems that are currently
“national virtual citizen” will
unsolvable. The massive, increasingly dominant use of smartphones
arise and who will activate such
and all sorts of virtual storages leads to the rise of Virtual Civilization
an innovation?
with its own forms of religion, society, culture, and infrastructure, all of
which will be characterized in the following sections.

Global Mindphere of Collective Intelligence,

Knowledge and Wisdom
Global Consciousness and Awareness

Global Virtual Global Virtual

Government Citizens
National Consciousness

National Mindsphere of Collective

and Awareness

Intelligence, Knowledge and Wisdom

National National
Virtual Virtual
Government Citizens
Virtual Nation

e-Real e-Real
Government Government

e-Real Real
Citizens Citizens

e-Nation Reel Nation

Nation

Figure 8.2 The Architecture of Emerging Collective Mindspheres at the Global and National Levels in the 21st Century.
Source: Targowski, 2015:19.

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THE STATE OF THE WORLD in developed countries has moved to Asia, with
CIVILIZATION TODAY mother companies having subsidiaries and branches
overseas.
In the past, a great crisis of civilization followed
the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE. The Internet has resulted in economic
The reason why Rome fell is debated but many globalization, but this is lowering the standard
argue it was because of the excessive wealth of the of living in developed countries and increasing it
ruling classes and their dwindling sense of morality in the developing world. Global corporations are
and responsibility for the society as a whole. reaping huge profits by expanding markets into
Asia and Eastern Europe, but they are impacting
Today, the modern world enters a second
their home countries negatively, as demonstrated
great crisis of civilization. The fall of Rome
by the 99% vs. 1% “Occupy” movement in the
directly resulted from the invasion by the so-
United States.
called barbarians of Central Europe (including the
Vandals coming from the lands on the Vistula). The Super-capacity Crisis - The great financial
invaders served in the Roman legions operating in success of the 1% elite, as well as the new power
the periphery of the empire, rebelled and invaded of Internet companies set up by young people,
the capital of Rome I. The present, second crisis considerably affects imagination, particularly when
of civilization is going to occur beause of the political leaders claim that “the sky is the limit.”
transformation of the Western Civilization into a However, the real world sees high unemployment,
Global Civilization, and this will generate internal reaching 10 per cent, with as many as every third
crises in almost all dimensions of society. young individual jobless (half of all potential
workers in Spain). Engineers are advised to seek
The paradox of this second great crisis of
qualifications as nurses, and college graduates are
civilization is that it is invisible at first sight. There
offered unpaid internships, even in wealthy firms
is no global war, no major epidemics or a grand
on Wall Street which could easily afford to pay
planetary climate catastrophe. Yet, there is the
these young university graduates.
fantastic development of the Internet, which had
led to a fast and vast information flow between Global Business Crisis - This is occurring in
masses of people representing all possible tribes, the sphere of business’s role, its ethics, and novel
nations, and societies. This information traffic strategies. The great success of global corporations
has reinforced the knowledge and argumentation in the development of their income, which in the
potential of every individual, but it has also case of the Apple Corporation means about $145
led to chaos and disinformation, radicalism billion in reserves, is astounding. Is society supposed
and populism. Thus, wisdom is atrophying. As to serve business, or should it be the other way
opposed to the results of the introduction of the around, as has been believed heretofore? In ethics,
printing press, which resulted in less confusion in business applies the criterion of making a profit at
knowledge, information, and socio-political life, all costs. Greed is the primary driver of operations,
the reverse is occurring in our time. with CEOs intercepting shareholder dividends by
way of huge bonuses and stock options.
Crisis of Religion - One observes the inability
Major Crises to oppose the religion of business, as some major
There are many aspects to the major crises religions have themselves become businesses and
which together cause the second great crisis of divided the market cake among themselves. Also,
civilization (Targowski, 2014:25): organized religions have become implicated in
Over-communication Crisis - The development their own moral and ethical crises, as seen in the
of the Internet has made “distance dead” many lawsuits filed against the Roman Catholic
(Cairncross, 1997). Communication is instant, no Church in the United States and Western Europe,
respecter of distance as it spreads with the speed with high compensations being paid out to victims.
of the electromagnetic wave, used by computer There is a clash of organized religions worldwide.
networks and smartphones. This e-communication Population Crisis - In 2016, the global
has benefitted business; production formerly found population was at 7.4 billion. If the present trend

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of population growth is maintained, by 2050 there India, requires an increased output of feed
will be between nine and eleven billion people. (seven or eight kilos of high-quality feed is
But our ecosystem can sustain only up to eight needed per each kilo of meat) such as corn
billion human lives at one time. Only China and and soybeans.
Japan have installed policies designed to limit their • Deregulating foreign food trade (towards
populations. Many of the remaining countries the end of the 20th century) meant the
see their population growth out of control, and destabilization of production, reserves, and
many churches in the West oppose any population the consumption of food in most countries.
control. • The monopolization of food production
Ecological Crisis - One result of overpopulation is practiced by American companies, with
is the degradation of the natural environment four corporations dominating most farming
and the climate change it entails. Water shortages business and bringing local farmers to
spur a particular kind of crisis. It is estimated that bankruptcies; small farms produce healthy
every third inhabitant of the planet Earth has not and tasty produce whereas those giants offer
enough drinking water, with one in five living in unhealthy and tasteless food.
areas affected by drinking water shortages. Only The crisis of food caused social unrest in 2007-
2.5% of water on Earth is suitable for drinking, out 2012 in countries such as Argentina, Mexico,
of which only 1% is available to people. The rest India, Italy, Bangladesh, Egypt, Somalia, Tunisia,
of the drinking water can be found in Greenland Algeria, and Morocco. Amidst, and because of
and the Arctic. The excessive CO2 emissions from economic development, the numbers of starving
burning fuels drive civilizations to contribute to people grew from 800 million to one billion in
global warming and swaying the water balance on 2009. The question arises: will there will be enough
Earth. The melting of snow and ice in the Arctic food for all if there are from nine to eleven billion
and in Antarctica brings up ocean levels and people in 2050?
changes the water balance, to the detriment of
man. A lot of water evaporates because of global Crisis of Technology - At the beginning of the
warming, which results in arable land becoming 21st century, the primary emphasis in technology
sterile and irrigation systems needing increasing involves the development of computers and the
amounts of water. digitization of searching for and making available
information such as e-zines and e-books and in
Crisis of Natural Resources - Currently, the the digitization of production of written material.
strategy of many countries is to secure a three About one half of paper magazines in the United
per cent economic growth rate annually to make States (once at about 13,000) has been replaced by
sure there are jobs for their growing population. e-zines, to the dissatisfaction of readership.
The goal is a growing supply of goods to foster
employment and to stimulate more births. Publicly In addition, technology has given absolute
available estimates are that civilization can function priority to replacing human labor with mechanical
for 40 more years; until then, it will have adequate systems. It is overlooked that the asserted high
resources of oil, with enough gas for 50 years, but cost of human work is a significant achievement
the uranium to power nuclear power plants will of civilization, as labor is what enriches men and
run out within 40 years. One traditional source of takes them out of poverty.
energy – coal – might last until 2300. Clearly, the Crisis of Science - The most severe crisis can be
people of Earth need a new sociopolitical system found in the science of economics, which has yet
to survive. to develop a theory adapted to the global economy.
Food Crisis - Such a crisis stems from four This itself causes social and political disturbances
main causes: (unemployment, bad decision-making on
development, and general dissatisfaction).
• The production of biofuels takes over land
for growing corn and sugar cane. The theory of the “invisible hand” of the free
• The increasing consumption of meat in the market does not match the situation at present
developed countries, as well as in China and where monopolies are growing in importance
rather than subsiding social amelioration.

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Social sciences – sociology in particular – hardly Further, we have witnessed the development of
speak of the effects of globalization, such as the Mafia states, where criminal circles not only bribe
disappearance of the middle classes and a rise of politicians but also are appointed to positions in
poverty in the developed world. Multiculturalism the administration. These states include Bulgaria,
is completely misunderstood by social sciences Guinea-Bissau, Montenegro, Myanmar (Burma),
as the necessary diversification of societies as Ukraine and Venezuela. In Mexico, the federal
they undergo the processes of globalization. This government is tough on drug cartels, but locally, at
process leads to the transformation of nations into the level of states and towns, various types of Mafia
political societies, organized into ethnic ghettos, rule and secure the loyalty of the police.
where parties are predominantly interested in their War Crisis - In the 21st century, civilization
interests rather than the benefit of the entire polity. started practicing yet another category of conflict:
In philosophy, a positive development can be seen cyber warfare. This modality of fighting makes
in ethics, where thinking has been revitalized, use of computers and the Internet as well as other
particularly in trade and business. means of storing and disseminating information
In the natural sciences, the 20th century was for the sake of making assaults against enemy
the age of physics; the 21st century looks poised information systems. It is different from the
to become the age of biology. We have yet to classic warfare in its battlefield – communications
discover in detail how the cell operates through networks and systems. In this kind of warfare,
nanotechnology and information technology. with little investment, the attacker can largely
Mastering fast DNA sequencing as well as the paralyze vital infrastructure or the economy of the
application of efficient microscopes make one enemy state to the degree that these structures are
hopeful that the functioning of the cell will be based on computer systems. Cyber warfare is an
ever more deeply explored and will contribute to asymmetrical assault, enabling weaker countries to
improved medical treatments. wage wars on stronger enemies, and that leads to
Administration Crisis – Given the ideological new forms of warfare based on cyber terror. Cyber
issues involved, there is a worldwide clash taking warfare is a specialty of countries such as China,
place between the concepts of big and small Russia, and the United States.
government. This discussion is found in the United Media Crisis - There is a growing media
States, the United Kingdom, and the rest of the G8 dependence on business and commercials. The
(Japan, Germany, Canada, Italy, France and Russia). media, therefore, avoids touching issues that are
Regarding the budget deficit, we find that ultimately inconvenient for business. The media conducts
it results from the structural economic crisis that a discussion on topics that are peripheral and
started in 2008, which means that revenue from unnecessary for the society. As a result, the various
business is going down as business is in recession. forms of the media have ceased to serve as feedback
As to the disregard of costs no matter which on the political system, which has thus lost its fully
party is in power in a democracy, corruption has democratic nature.
evolved from public procurement. It is estimated Political Crisis - Government is characterized
that about three per cent of the aggregate income by solutions suitable for the 19th rather than the
of the world’s nations ends up in the pockets of 21st century; the policy of constant economic
corrupt politicians. Further, in a bid to make the growth to secure new jobs for the expanding
management of public services more efficient, population which is growing owing to this policy,
public administration privatizes the operation of leading to overpopulation, creates thus a vicious
schools, prisons, communications, parks, water circle and the self-destruction of the population.
supply, and waste disposal, to name a few services, This plight of civilization is reflected in the policies
and access becomes limited to those who can of the establishment parties, either ruling or in
afford to pay the fees. This kind of privatization active opposition in both the developed and
is about how the society is becoming more and developing countries. It was until recently taken
more commercialized; common good is replaced for granted that in democratic systems, politics
by limited access. leads to rational solutions that benefit societies.

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 Civilization in the 21st Century
8
In the 21st century there are 196 countries in the and public administration. The former gave rise
world, out of which 85%, that is, 167 countries, to high unemployment, which in turn meant
practice the democratic system. that government gets less money from taxpayers
Culture and Trust Crises - Culture is the and is forced to reduce budgets of schools and
values and symbols that control the role models for state universities. In consequence, the numbers
society. Culture is expressed in language, television, of teachers and academics employed are reduced
media, tourism, sports, arts, fashion, music, and and so are programs in education. This has a
film. Mass access to media, the Internet, cinemas significant worsening impact on the quality of
and music events has transformed the 19th-century education. Further consequences of the crisis in
elitist culture into the 21st century mass culture business are no jobs for graduates; they thus feel
(pop culture). From the standpoint of the access to anxiety about leaving college for fear of becoming
culture, this is a beneficial process, but thanks to unemployed. This fear worsens the motivation
mass scale, culture has been lowered in quality to to learn, with learning becoming too expensive
cater to and satisfy the basest of tastes. Culture has for the not-so-well-to-do or the children of the
become a great business, particularly concerning unemployed. Colleges raise tuition each year
film making, music (including singing), sports, because the government cutting subsidies. Can
and fashion. To win a broad public, the level of the graduates of such a crisis-generating education
films and music has drastically plunged; in fact, possibly solve the mentioned 16 major (and others
it adjusts to the mass taste of the youths who are not mentioned here for the lack of space) crises of
fascinated by crime stories, catastrophic movies, civilization?
and science fiction. Clash of Civilizations - After the fall of the
Music is dominated by videos of half-naked Soviet Empire in 1991 the world order switched
soloists, singing rather poorly but presenting from the Cold War (between the political West
excellent convulsive body language. Fashion and East) to the clash of civilizations and to the
promotes clothes or, rather, the lack of clothes, war carried on at the level of radicalism/terrorism
particularly in male fashion, where an unbuttoned and cyber conflict. This has involved aspects of the
shirt without a tie is a rule. Regarding language, Western Civilization and of the Islamic Civilization.
it is beneficial to use English as the international Huntington (1996: 211) has argued that
language, which facilitates global communication.
Unfortunately, this language is also becoming • without the common threat of communism,
degraded, particularly among the young, who civilizations now tend to perceive each
can communicate with clusters of a few words, other as enemies, and
particularly such ones as good, exciting, cool, fun. • increased communication and interaction
The development of mass culture (violence) is between civilizations has actually
growing, and no signs show that rock musicians exaggerated perceived differences.
or scandalizing actors are to cease being key role Migration crisis: Recently, millions of refugees
models. from war-active states such as Syria, Iraq and from
Intellectuals, writers, professors, prominent ethnic-conflict countries such as Myanmar and
engineers, doctors – people of knowledge and the Sudan have migrated to Turkey, the European
wisdom – are ignored in this type of culture. Sure, Union members, and other receptor states. This
nobody takes rock celebrities, politicians who may destabilize existing social balances in the
emulate them or Hollywood stars seriously. Who host lands. This presents a complex challenge for
then is a rank and file citizen supposed to trust? contemporary societies and their leaders.
Education Crisis - The most prominent cause
of the crisis in education is the crisis of business

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Contemporary World Civilizations

Figure 8.3 The Terrorist Attack on New York’s World Trade Center Towers on September 9, 2001
Source: www.google.com

Effects of Transition and Transformation in World Civilization in the

Twenty-First Century
As the world transitions from the older set of civilizations to the new and emerging ones, there are
bound to be conflicts. When we analyze the rise of new civilizations, we should apply Arnold Toynbee’s
criteria for definitions of civilizations. One criterion is the faith of a civilization. The new civilizations are
bringing with them secular beliefs, and the older civilizations are oftentimes secularizing the beliefs they
do have.

Secularism and Global Civilization

According to the Oxford Dictionary, religion is “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling
power, especially God or gods.” But, also secular religion can be found: they advance ideas, theories or
philosophies which involve no spiritual component yet possess qualities similar to those of religion. Such
conditions include a system of indoctrination, the prescription of an absolute code of conduct, designated
enemies, unquestioning devotion to a higher authority and an ideologically simple creation story and
millenarian narrative.
One such faith within Global Civilization is found in spiritual commitment to the tenets of its secular
business regime. This can be characterized as follows (Targowski, 2015:72):

• Beliefs in Business - While the belief in gods and goddesses was once important, today the most
successful mortals--inclusive of America’s 400 mega-billionaires--take on this role to a certain
extent.  A business doctrine is composed of the following:
- Business Faith emphasizes markets know best, “the sky is the limit,” with permanent growth and
expanding market share.
- Business Knowledge is taught at business colleges. These institutions serve as for-profit seminaries
at which the business faith is taught by business faculty who act as business priests and monks/
nuns.
- Business Liturgy involves endless business meetings and conferences and is covered by the media,
all of which feature information convenient for the Business Doctrine.

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8
• Business Rules as Dogma are what keeps West’s development was based on colonialism,
business as faith.  It is demanded by Chief slavery, and Darwinian capitalism. Perhaps this
Executive Officers of Big Business who opinion is valid. However, the West’s high growth
act as Business Clerics. For example, in the is mostly driven by the benefits of the French and
2010s there are the following rules: American, Industrial, and Scientific-Technological
- Rule 1: The elimination of governmental revolutions.
regulations is necessarily beneficial since
it encourages growth.
- Rule 2: Lowering the taxation of
Beliefs in Virtual Civilization
wealthy taxpayers creates new jobs. Since according to Arnold Toynbee (1995),
- Rule 3: The removal of safety nets for religion – what is called here faith -- characterizes
displaced workers is justified because each civilization, let us now describe the faith of
it minimizes business costs, enabling Virtual Civilization, a new, emerging, powerful
companies to be more competitive civilization.
globally.
- Rule 4: The offshore outsourcing of • Beliefs of the Virtual Civilization entails
manufacturing products saves costs and the following (Targowski, 2015):
therefore is good for consumers. - Virtuality itself. This faith emphasizes
- Rule 5: Unemployed workers do unlimited freedom in cyberspace,
not have the right skills, so it is their and progress supported by collective
obligation to seek the appropriate job intelligence - to secure common
training to find employment elsewhere. good in an alternative virtual world
- Rule 6: As much as possible, loyal since the “real” one is going in a
employees need to avoid taking these wrong direction in the 21st century.
and other such issues into consideration. E-members can be in e-touch. The
They should concentrate on their jobs Virtual Civilization actually expands
without concerning themselves with worldwide e-membership and bottom-
supposedly irrelevant matters. line opinions.
- Virtuality’s Knowledge should be free and
From the societal point of view, these rules should replace traditional education and
are highly debatable. In the 21st century, the real classrooms. The present curriculum
extraordinary faith in business eagerly transforms is wrong because it was created for the
Western Civilization from an industrial to a Industrial Revolution, which is a time
service economy that cannot sustain the American passé. The virtual curriculum should
Dream.  The emerging service economy does not be based on online education: anytime,
provide a healthy future for those in the Western anywhere. It should contain only
Civilization. Big Business advocates the idea of a knowledge which should be limited
service economy as a replacement for the industrial to a few essentials and mostly should
economy, but this is simply not feasible.  It might emphasize skills relating to how to live
be difficult for some to understand, but what is in the virtual society.
good for banks and for corporate profits might - Virtuality Liturgy involves endless
sometimes be harmful to the economy, just as e-meetings and conferences, and these
what is good for General Motors, contrary to what are held via the web-based media, all of
Charles Wilson once proposed, is not what’s good which features information convenient
for the American nation. for the Virtual Doctrine. The point is
On the other hand, Friedman (2015) argues to keep citizens as active members and
that the world is “flat,” because the developing faithful believers in unlimited freedom
nations are going economically up and developed and in Fun Society’s simple lifestyle,
countries are going economically down. Some even one rooted in the continued application
argue that this constitutes historic justice since the of computer games.

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• A Virtuality Doctrine is what keeps If intellectual contributions won’t be protected,

Virtuality as a religion.  It is practiced as Rule 2 advocates, then will their production
currently by billion or more devotees eventually stop, and will nothing be left to share?
and offers the world some gurus, among Rule 3 in some cases can be applied, but the most
them billionaires who are owners of social valid information is usually found in face-to-face
networks. These men and women act as communication. Often, body language, cultural
the high priests of Virtuality. They are the sensitivity, and communication on impulse secure
virtual society’s top elite and they define for the highest level of information richness.
all the vision, goals, strategies, principles, Rule 4 is promoted by Big Business to secure
and rules of current global opinion in the higher income. For example, Amazon.com waged
Virtual Civilization. As such these clerics war against publishers of paper-based books since
are presenting an organized set of ideas; it would like to be a sole distributor of e-books
they later become the basis for the creed and e-book readers. Similarly, Google would like
adopted by most e-smart executives and to possess all books in a digital form to sell access
managers of global organizations. to them. After long negotiations, Google agreed to
In the early decades of the current century, pay some minimal royalties to authors.
the tenets of this doctrine have become
Rule 5 is practiced by students and other
clear. They are based on the following rules:
younger people today who are in communication
- Rule 1: The elimination of governmental
with “friends” from far away but these same students
regulations is necessarily beneficial since
do not know first names of colleagues seating in
that encourages freedom of speech.
the same row at the elbow-to-elbow distance. This
- Rule 2: Intellectual property is an old
rule kills much of what made up humanity and
concept which should be eliminated.
civilization as we used to know it to be.
- Rule 3: Most of the extant face-to-face
meetings, particularly international Despite such negative attacks on the faith
conferences, should be replaced by of the Virtual Civilization and on the virtuality
virtual conferences to lower costs and rules, they are intensively practiced worldwide by
broaden participation. younger generations, which become addicted to
- Rule 4: Printed books, journals, them. In a broad and future sense, regardless of
gazettes, and magazines should be the outcome, faith in the Virtual Civilization in
replaced by e-publications to increase its present formulation should be enhanced and
readership and decrease costs. corrected not to serve only virtuality users but the
- Rule 5: Face-to-face communication is real-world habitants too.
too personal.
These five rules of the faith of the emerging
Virtual Civilization are subject to debate from
adherents of the older civilizations. Some will say, 2
for example, that freedom is not free, as is known
through centuries-long experience. Can you specify in what way
the Clash of Civilizations has
Others will argue that the fact that humanity impacted the new world order
tends to be civilized today mostly means that that arose after the fall of Soviet
speech must be “civilized.” It is maintained by communism?
them, therefore, that we cannot say whatever we
wish, since it can be against our cultural tradition
and against our security, including that of our
nations, too.

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8
THE CIVILIZING SOCIETY OF hold a globalist perspective and not contribute to
WORLD CIVILIZATION IN THE the economic growth of their country of origin. The
global elite may hide trillions of pounds, dollars or
TRANSFORMATION IN THE
Swiss francs inside off-shore havens like the Cayman
21ST CENTURY Islands and Switzerland through the help of privately
Today, our world is composed not only of owned banks and unique financial services.
societies that are part of actual civilizations, such
Through positions in corporations or on
as the Western, the Eastern, the Chinese, the
corporate boards, and influence over the policy-
Japanese, Islamic, Buddhist, the Hindu, and the
planning networks through financial support
African civilizations but also, we are enriched by
of foundations or positions with think tanks or
the emergence of a new kind of society. The new,
policy-discussion groups, members of the single
emerging societies include the Global society and
global society can exert significant power over the
the Virtual society. These societies are developing
policy decisions of corporations and governments
out of traditional societies, providing new ways
(Burnham 1960). A good example of this can be
of cross-cultural communication and political
found in the Forbes Magazine’s article published
criticism. They are also laying the foundations of a
every year, entitled “The World’s Most Powerful
new set of civilizations.
People,” in which Forbes purports to list about 70
of the most influential individuals in the world7.
Global Society The global elite stands in opposition to
Global Elite. The founders of Global pluralism and often implies that democracy is a
Civilization belong to the single global society; it utopian ideal. It also stands in opposition to state
is composed of an international elite group of the autonomy. Therefore, it expects that the state
richest and most powerful people in the world. should serve the single global society, the elite,
Among them are politicians, central bankers, chief because it alone can work successfully and provide
executives of global corporations and those who jobs for the poor (Bottomore ,1993).
gather at the annual World Economic Forum in Global Citizenship. The single global society
Davos, Switzerland, traditionally held near the end needs Globalization-oriented workers who will
of January. have the right knowledge sets, wisdom and skills
This single global society is partly defined to work in ever-changing international settings. At
by wealth, featuring the world’s millionaires the same time, locally-oriented workers are afraid
and billionaires. Some of them work for large that they have obsolete knowledge sets or wisdom
financial corporations such as Goldman Sachs skills and if they do not adapt to the globalization
and J.P. Morgan Chase. Others include successful challenge, they will be unemployed and deleted
entrepreneurs in the emerging markets of India, from the opportunities for better professional
the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Poland, careers. To thrive economically, to survive in the
Turkey and other lands. Some of them may form a global economy, they need to transform from local
“transnational leisure class,” sometimes depicted as to global citizenship and be ready to work almost
“the beautiful people,” or “the jet set society” whose everywhere since they must be globally mobile.
influence transcends the boundaries of nations to In general parlance, the term Global Citizen may
form a worldwide social group based on an elite have much the same meaning as World Citizen or
trinity of glamor, wealth, and power. The members Cosmopolitan, but it also has additional, specialized
of this single global society usually send their meanings in differing contexts. Knowing to think
children to boarding schools in Switzerland and and act beyond national borders is the essence of
the United Kingdom. global citizenship. In a Global Civilization, there
The emerging global society of super-rich is an assumption and reality (like in the European
business people are practically becoming a nation Union) that borders are disappearing, that we from
composed of stateless citizens, buying houses different nations are moving beyond the nation-
outside their country of primary residence, for state, and that we live in an interconnected world
example. Members of the single global society may with many transnational dimensions.

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Global Mind. Humanity is entering the Third Millennium in communication with almost the
entire world, thanks to computer networks that connect increasingly accessible realms of information
and knowledge. Thus, man becomes better informed and realizes that he is not alone. The ability to
communicate with other people from another part of the globe forces people to act locally and think
globally. In other words, the big picture works its way into the way of thinking of an individual who no
longer considers himself alone against dominant ideas of the age. The individual becomes a part of – rather
than apart from – the big picture. We can call this way of life a connected and layered existence.
Changes in the architecture of existence in the Second and Third Millennia are shown in Figure 8.4.

2000
II Millennium III Millennium

INDUSTRIAL WAVE INFORMATION AND GLOBAL

WAVES

Big Picture
Big Picture
PARADIGM SHIFT

Small Picture
of an Individual

Disconnected-Flat Connected-Layered
Existence Existence

Figure 8.4 The Paradigm Shift of Human Life in the 21st Century
Source: Targowski, 2009: 86.

The Global Mind is guided by the principle “think globally, act locally.” In practice, the power of
global corporations defeats local effort, which is too weak to face the challenges posed by global capital.
To a degree, this previously dominating principle works well only in France, where the petit bourgeoisie
defends its small businesses against the invasion of global chains such as Walmart. The Global Mind
operates in cyberspace and reaches all the places which function on the Internet. The paradox of this mind
is that its neighborhood bonds diminish in favor of acquaintances with people who are thousands of miles
away.
Thus, the Global Mind is still developing, and its development continuously fails to arrive at a saturation
point; it never stops expanding and becomes ever more in-depth, ever greater regarding being informed
and widening its knowledge and wisdom.

Virtual Society
• Virtual Society is based on Social Networking, that is on any site that allows people a place on
the Internet from which to make connections, to create relationships, to communicate with
participants, to build followings and to form networks of virtually connected people. Engaging
in social networking activities has become a regular part of life for most Americans and a sizable
portion of the world’s population (Razi 2015:30).

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8
• Social Media is the media content (blog, video, e-book, slideshow, podcast, white paper, and so forth) that
one uploads on the Internet for others to see, to respond to and to comment upon (Burke 2013). Social
networks are a great way to preventing one’s competence from becoming stale (Murillo 2008).
Behind all content, and confronting those not so pleased and reluctant users, are large business-oriented
social networks like Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and others which are competing for coverage and profits.
The influence of social media on individual and family life, industry, education, sports, globalization,
governmental, and political systems is enormous.

The Movement from Online Communities to Virtual Society

Societies have been bound in the past by mostly geographical territories, cultural influences, racial
make-ups, and religious beliefs. The emergence of the Internet and World Wide Web has eliminated the
boundaries of traditional societies and opened the opportunity for the creation of networks of virtual
societies leading to a new virtual civilization.
One of the earliest known online communities was the WELL (Whole Earth Lectronic Link) started by
Stewart Brand and Larry Brilliant in 1985. WELL started as a dial-up bulletin board and email exchange
system (Rheingold 2000). Table 8.2 provides selected statistics of several popular social network sites (SNS).

Table 8.2 Statistics for Selected Prominent Social Networking Sites (SNS)

Site All Users Popular Among Market Valuation When Launched

$184 billion
Facebook 1.31 Billion All groups of people 2004 (February)
(Feb 2014)
227 million
LinkedIn 45 – 54 years old $24 billion 2003

Young (18 – 31 years 2006 (March)

Twitter 646 million $12.8 billion
old)
Women (25-35 years
Pinterest 70 million $3.8 billion 2010 (March)
old)
Instagram 150 million active Young (14 – 34 years N/A (Facebook
2010 (October)
users old) owns Instagram)
More than 1 billion Young (18 – 34 years N/A (Google owns
YouTube 2005 (February)
active users old) YouTube)
540 million active N/A (Google owns
Google+ Older, working people 2011 (September)
users Google+)
216 million monthly Young (13 – 35 years N/A (Yahoo owns
Tumblr 2007 (February)
users old) Tumblr)

Source: Razi, 2015:30.

The Architecture of Virtual Societies (Solar Model)

The appetite for reaching and communicating with like-minded people, sports fans, consumers,
patients, students, individuals with the same or similar interests, citizens of another country, etc. has
led to the creation of social networks having many different orientations (domains). As shown in Figure
8.5, at the core of the virtual society are social networking sites with their various orientations such as
social, professional, educational, and sports. All directions share some common elements; however, each
orientation has its distinct features as well.

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In a nutshell, the virtual social structure mostly follows a millennia-

old societal structure dictated by race, ethnicity, religion, language, and
3 culture. If we carefully follow the communication, conversion, and
What is the difference between adherence patterns by members of social networks, it quickly becomes
an online community and the evident that most members communicate with other members of the
virtual society? same ethnic, religious, or cultural background.

Influence

Culture
Reach

Language Global Religion

Orientation

Social

Educational Professional

Healthcare VIRTUAL Commercial

Region National Regional Ethnic
SOCIETY

Political Sports

Govermental Non-Profit

Other
Passion Hobby
Local

Goverment Friends/peers

Figure 8.5 The Solar Model: The Architecture of Today’s Emerging Virtual Society
Source: Razi, 2015: 31.

THE CIVILIZING CULTURE OF THE WESTERN CIVILIZATION

Culture is that set of values and symbols which controls patterns of human behavior. The new cultures
of the 21st century (including the now emerging Global and Virtual Civilizations) have tremendous
impact upon the traditional cultures, those which dominated our past centuries. People with one cultural
orientation are now learning global and virtual cultures as they seek to fit into the main stream of society.
For example, they are becoming fluent in the English language and learning to apply the use of the
smartphone, thus adapting to the new and essential patterns of expected behavior.

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Global Culture
Global Civilization is mostly a derivative of Western Civilization. Hence it is well diversified, that is, it
has become even more complex due to its international interactions. It embraces most of the globe’s nations,
civilizations, and cultures. However, as global culture is mostly steered by the new set of international
financiers, who look for bigger market places and, thus, for profits but do not care much about citizens,
the mass of individuals are reduced to a labor force as a commodity (Targowski, 2009).
Universal Global Culture. It is Westernized behavior and based on the Western dress code, on CNN,
the Wall Street Journal, MacDonald’s-style fast foods, and so forth.
Diversity and Multiculturalism Compared in the 21st Century. The state of diversity and
multiculturalism in current civilizations in the 21st century are compared in Table 8-3.

Table 8-3 A Comparison of How Diversity and Multiculturalism are Practiced in Civilizations in the 21st Century

DEGREE OF ROLE OF IMPACT ON IMPACT ON WORLD

CIVILIZATION
DIVERSITY MULTICULTURALISM CIVILIZATION CIVILIZATION
Negative-disintegrating Positive-right
Western High Practiced
nation tendency in general
Negative - hostile Negative-spreading
Eastern Low Not practiced toward other ethnic xenophobic
minorities attitudes

Positive-strengthening Negative-isolating
Japanese Low Not practiced
sense of own nation from others

Positive-easy
Moderate, Positive-rights to coexist assimilation/
Chinese Practiced
(hierarchical) for minorities cooperation with/
within other nations
Positive-easy
Moderate, Positive-rights to coexist assimilation/
Hindu Practiced
(castes) for minorities cooperation with/
within other nations
Mostly mono- Positive-helps in game
Buddhist Low No much impact
culturalism is practiced of survival
Positive-helps in game
African Low Practiced Positive
of survival
Global High Practiced Positive Positive

Source: Targowski, 2014.

What might lessons of diversity and multiculturalism be learned from their state in the 21st century?
Here are some examples:
1. Diversity is established well only in the Western and Global Civilizations (the latter is a derivative
of the former). Other civilizations may practice low or moderate social complexity and enjoy it but
eventually they give up the quest for progress in economic and technological innovations, leaving
it to Western Civilization.
2. Multiculturalism is practiced in Western Civilization but ultimately it leads to the development
of a backlash among those elements of the population unable or unwilling to see the transition
of a nation to a new stage of development. It is also practiced in the Hindu Civilization. This

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Contemporary World Civilizations

policy is practiced in Chinese and African Virtual culture is not only about the electric
Civilizations not as a political doctrine, transmission of words and images or pushing
but as modus operandi in the struggle for down messages via the mass media (“mass
survival. Multiculturalism is not practiced communications”), but it also invites men and
in Eastern Civilization due to xenophobic women “to enlarge the human conversation by
and superior attitudes towards others. comprehending what others are saying” (Carey
Further, Japanese Civilization also does not 1992). Carey also noticed that “citizens now suffer
practice multiculturalism but that is mostly in many areas from overloads of communication
due to that nation’s profoundly closed self- and overdoses of participation.” Therefore, in the
concept. new virtual (electronic) world, we should be able to
3. It appears that none of the contemporary focus on meaningful communication and important
civilizations may provide the optimal issues. Otherwise, the created new information
example of how diversity and chaos will make us deaf, blind, and insensitive.
multiculturalism should be approached. The virtual (electronic) information process
The quest for such a solution is very urgent has triggered new values. These new values include
since the state of civilization in the 21st connected-expected feedback patterns, rhythm,
century is troubled. productivity, velocity, patience-less, technoism,
4. Multiculturalism is accepted by most cyber ethics, informed optimization, big-picture
sophisticated, educated individuals and seen vision versus small picture sight, global awareness,
as positive in theory. In practice, however, and new forms of self-consciousness. The physical
many others within existing countries oppose world is being affected by new ways of computer-
a significant influx of foreigners, as significant aided development and by the creation and
migration may challenge established customs subsequent implementation of such technologies
and beliefs. In Europe, large-scale migration as e-communication, distance learning, e-office,
has caused the rise of populism, hostility to telecommuting, digital knowledge, artificial
foreigners in Austria, Germany, Hungary, intelligence, digital capital, e-commerce, precision
Poland and elsewhere. In the United States farming, mass customization, precision targeting,
such hostility was used as the springboard information warfare, net entertainment, e-art,
to election by previously unrecognized cyber dating, and cyber crime.
or insignificant right-wing elements.
Of course, such a massive infusion of new
Immigration from Eastern Europe has
cultural patterns arising from e-technologies also
also led to the exit of the United Kingdom
generates among people (netizens) new “electronic
from the European Union. These negative
behavior.” It is identified by such attributes as
reactions on the part of some amongst
the following: net-centric any time, anywhere
Western nations to significant demographic
approach; the “death of distance;” no-middleman
changes were predictable and will pass.
economics and business; more intense curiosity
and discovery; cyber elitism; the digital divide;
Virtual Culture information wealth; and the poverty of attention.
The term “virtual culture” means the These attributes create what is called “digital
electronization of the emerging information capital.” This, according to Tapscott, Ticoll, and
culture in computer network storage sites (in what Lowy (2000), is a set of new rules of engagement
is today called “the cloud” - rented cyberspace) in the Global Economy. Virtual (electronic)
which has been rapidly developing in the 21st culture defines a virtual mindsphere, virtual global
century. In the last 500 years, information culture consciousness, and eventually the global-universal
was developed by such media as print, telegraph, society, which acts in its e-borderless world, mostly
telephone, telecommunications, recorded sound in a cyberspace but by the nature of “Click and
(records and CDs), movies, radio, television, and Brick” in the physical world, too. Figure 8.6
so forth. In the last 50 years new media such as illustrates components and relationships of this
computers (software) and the Internet electronized emerging electronic culture.
and virtualized information culture.

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220
VIRTUAL SHARED CONSCIOUSNESS

Virtual Society
ACTION

E-Communication

Distance Learning
Computer-aided E-Office
VIRTUAL CULTURE Development
and Telecommuting
MINDSPHERE
Digital Knowledge
VIRTUAL VALUES
Connected VIRTUAL BEHAVIVOR Artificial Intelligence
Netizens

cultures?
Expected Feedback Net-centric
Digital Capital
Rhyhm, Productivity, Velodty Anytime, Anywhere
Impatlence, Techno-centrism “Death” of Discovery E-Commerce
Cyber-Ethics Cyber-Elite
informed, Optimization Digital Dİvide Precision Framing

4
PHYSICAL WORLD

Big Picture vs. Small Picture Information Wealth

Poverty of Attention Mass Customization
Homo Global Awareness
electronicus Self-Consciousness Precision Framing

Source: Targowski, 2009: 306.

the global and the virtual

What is the difference between
Information Warfare
Computer-aided
Creation/ Net Entertainment
Implementation Digital Art

Cyber-Dating

Cybercrime

Figure 8.6 The Relations Which Activate Virtual (Electronic) and Physical Cultures.
Other

Virtual Information Infrastructure (Cyberspace, Infosphere, Mediasphere)

“CLICK” and BRICK”

Civilization in the 21st Century
 8
Contemporary World Civilizations

THE CIVILIZING INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE WESTERN

CIVILIZATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY
New and emerging forms of electronic infrastructure have enabled the new, rising Global and Virtual
Civilizations, since their infrastructures are strongly oriented to technology. Among the implications
for modern mankind is the enormous conquest of human culture now occurring. Through the 20th
century, the civilizing infrastructure only supported human culture. That is, newspapers were mainly
local in orientation and were printed on paper with the support of information technology. Today, with
the emergence of Global Civilization, newspapers are not even printed on paper any more, but now
distributed electronically via the Internet. Readership of printed forms of media has fallen, and these
newspapers of the past are no longer the glue holding together local communities. Instead, “local” now is
an adjunct of “global.” Connections are universal in nature. In the face of emergency, however, the global
connectivity cannot help.

Global Infrastructure
The rising global infrastructure is changing the world civilization significantly in the 21st century. First,
it now provides digital services which are in fact on-line. These services aid commerce and governments
with e-documents, e-news, and e-books for worldwide dissemination. Furthermore, some regulatory
agencies are active like the World Trade Organization or the G20, composed of the political leaders of the
20 top countries in the world.
Below, Figure 8.7 illustrates the now extant set of the global infrastructure platforms and services.

Global
Infrastructure
Gl

Global Authority Global Knowledge Global Information Global Transportation

Infrastructure Infrastructure Infrastructure Infrastructure
GAI GKI GlI GTI
UN Digital Libraries Internet of People Global Airline Network
UNESCO Digital Bookstores Internet of Things Global Shipping Network
World Bank Online Colleges Private GAN Other
IMF CNN Other
WTO BBC
G 20 Other
ISO
Other

Figure 8.7 The Emerging Global Infrastructure

Source: Targowski 2014:104.

The most important global infrastructure is the Internet of People since it coordinates all other global
infrastructures. Figure 8.8 illustrated its development since 1962 when it was invented by Paul Baran
(Polish-born).
Baran was asked to develop a nation-wide telecommunication system for the United States just after
the potential of an atomic attack from communist Cuba became possible, that is, following the installation
of tactical atomic bombs, all capable of reaching deep into the United States, by about 10,000 Soviet
“advisors.”

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 Civilization in the 21st Century
8
But the Internet was operated as a classified project called the Arpanet, which was officially split into
the Milinet and the Internet in 1983. Ever since the Internet has arisen as the public, global information
infrastructure. Subsequently, the invention of browsers became the global information utility.

21”
Internet of Things 2013 Century

Cloud Computing 2008

e - Book Kindle 2007

Twitter&
Wikileaks 2006

Youtube 2005

Facebook 2004

e- Enterprise 2003

e- Republic, Google 2001

“Dot Com” Crisis 2000

New Economy 1998

e- Commerce
Amazon, Bezeso 1989

Mosaic Browser Information Superhighway

M. Andresen 1994 Gore - 1990

World Wide Web

CERN Berere - Lee 1989

MILINET - 1983 Internet - 1983

Minitel
TCP / IP France 1982
Cerf & Kahn - 1974

Network Control INFOSTRADA

15 Computers in
Program Poland
NCP Network 1972
UCLA - Kleinrock 1972 Targowski - 1972

IMP Hardware & Software

BBN - Heart and Khan 1969

Interface Message Processors

IMP
Roberta - 1967

Distributed Pocket Switching Survival Network

RAND - Baran - 1959 - 1964
20”
Century

Figure 8.8 The Global Information Infrastructure is Provided by the Internet. Its Development Reminds one of a
Gigantic, Globally-Reaching Cathedral Which is Built by Many Artists. No Longer is Communication Merely Local in
Nature.
Source: Targowski, 2016: 34.

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Contemporary World Civilizations

Also important for global infrastructure has been the development of a new method of shipping goods
across the oceans. This has involved the building of containers which easily fit together and may be stacked
onto ships. Combined with airliners that crisscross the planet, goods and services may easily reach most
human beings.

Virtual Infrastructure
The virtual infrastructure is composed of a grid of online-digital platforms and services with unlimited
cyberspace, all organized in the cloud by service-providing vendors. Unfortunately, these cloud-oriented
online services are very unreliable, and customers typically have only a vague idea where their information
is being processed. Figure 8.9 illustrates a grid of the virtual infrastructure.

Cyberspace

Internet of People and Things

Info Virtual
Digital
cognition Services School
Knowledge
University

consumers-customers
Global Economy

Virtual

Virtual Society

Mindsphere
Info Info Enterprise

citizens
Policy Systems
Online
Government
Info-
Digital Comm Virtual
energy
Money Systems Global Citizen

Infosphere

Telecities Virtual Nation

Mediasphere

Virtual Culture Global Virtual Consciousness

Figure 8.9 The Emerging Virtual Infrastructure

Source: Targowski, 2009: 293.

Finally, the Internet of Things is a new big business, one which

will create new billionaires. It presents the world with the possibility
that everything may be connected electronically. However, unless the
5
idea can be improved upon, the Internet of Things may also create
What triggered the rise of the those who lose by emphasizing this network too strongly, for it will
Virtualization Wave? be relatively insecure, capable of being hacked into by hucksters who
operate locally, nationally, and from abroad.

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MAJOR TRENDS OF THE 4. The Internet allowed for the development
GLOBAL AND VIRTUAL of online communities which eventually
evolved in the major social networks like
CIVILIZATIONS AND A
Facebook and Twitter. Their users created
TIMELINE OF THE FUTURE a virtual world community of about 100
million mostly young people who are
Main Trends developing virtual, commonly-shared
1. The invention of the Internet (1962-83) intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom which
triggered the Wave of Globalization which impact the real world.
eventually led to the Global Economy and 5. The future of the world civilization is not
the rise of a new form of secularism, the as predictable as it once was. It ‘s hard to
faith of business. This led to the birth of project what this future might bring. The
Global Civilization with its own forms of development of the Internet of Things will
religion, society, culture, and infrastructure. put society at huge risk, with the possibility
2. The global economy via the Internet resulted of hackers as terrorists, malefactors who can
in the rapid growth, on a vast scale, of the stop civilization in its tracks.
outsourcing of manufacturing to countries 6. Virtuality has led to the rise of what may
offering cheap labor. Eventually, it led to be labelled the Virtual Common Mind, one
the minimization of the middle class in shared among the e-information world elite.
Western Civilization and a structural crisis It enhances, shares and applies common
in North America (2008) and Europe (the intelligence, information, knowledge and
Euro-crisis of 2015). One of the results of wisdom. This mind is outside of human
the globalization has been the regress in the heads, since it is located in cyberspace but
quality of democracy, for democracy is not humans access it and make use of it.
able to solve such complex new social and It took millions of years for the human brain,
economic problems as worldwide inequality and its mind, to evolve. But the virtual common
and challenges to national security. Hence, mind has just now become active, present in
there has been a surge in nationalism and the 21st century for the first time. It gives a
populism, perhaps even authoritarianism, huge advantage to those who know how to use
in some countries of world civilizations. it. Previously, the mind has been organized by
3. The end of the Cold War (1945-1991) universities, by accumulated wisdom recorded in
triggered the quest for a new world order, publications stored in libraries. Access to facts, to
one which led to a Clash of Civilizations. mankind’s accumulated wisdom, was possible but
It resulted in a long war against terrorists in very limited, due to the time needed for searching
Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Europe as well it out. Mostly it was available to experts acquainted
as it prompted a wave of migration wave with the particular language of specialties.
from these countries and others, especially
Now, however, this has changed. Only the
in Africa, to Europe, destabilizing these
future will tell the results of this new virtual
countries and putting in question the value
mind’s contribution to mankind and its
of globalization. Large-scale migration
civilization (Figure 8.10).
has challenged, especially, the notion of
multiculturalism, a bedrock of American
culture and, to some extent, European ideas
of tolerance.

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Virtual Common Mind

Cyberspace

A user of the Virtual

Common Mind which is a
network of other users’
minds.
Figure 8.10 The Virtual Common Mind Which is Developing for the First Time in the 21st Century
Source: Targowski 2017: 86-87.

Timeline of Main Events: The Arrival of the Global Civilization and the
Virtual Civilization
1961 Paul Baran (at RAND, an American Think Tank) invented the packet-switching network, the
Arpanet, to sustain nation-wide communications that could follow an atomic attack by the
Cubans and the Soviets.
1971 The World Economic Forum was organized to bring together about 2,500 world business
and political leaders to annual meetings at Davos in Switzerland. Davos attendees continue to
this day to influence the global economy through informal agreements among members who
manage segments of the economy in daily practice.
1983 The Arpanet was split into the Milinet and the Internet.
1985 WELL (Whole Earth Lectronic Link) started by Stewart Brand and Larry Brilliant was the
first online community.
1989 Tim Berner Lee (knighted by Queen Elizabeth), an English computer scientist working at
CERN in Geneva, invented the world wide web (www). This allowed the development of
user-friendly web sites worldwide.
1991 The end of the Cold War between the political West and East was followed by a new world
order as an international paradigm (eventually defined as the Clash of Civilizations).
1993 American Vice President Al Gore promoted the application of the Information Superhighway
as the paradigm for the rising New Economy. This was in part a translation of the idea of the
INFOSTRADA, invented in 1972 in Poland by Andrew Targowski.
1994 The North American Free Trade Agreement was put into place, providing for free trade among
the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
1995 The World Trade Organization was established to regulate the global economy.
1998 Internet browsers such as Netscape, Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome began to tremendously
facilitate the use of the Internet worldwide.
2000 The new millennium’s arrival saw a new worldwide economy emerging, with almost unlimited
options for e-commerce, e-learning, and even an e-republic.

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2001 The terrorist attack on New York’s World Trade Center Towers led to major wars in
Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, sparking a huge migration wave that continues to challenge
globalization-oriented multiculturalism.
2001 With distances now irrelevant, Western civilization began massive outsourcing of
manufacturing and such services as customer assistance to countries with cheap labor, limiting
the Western middle class and putting its economy into a structural crisis.
2001 Wikipedia, an encyclopedia that anyone can edit, was launched.
2003 LinkedIn, a business-related social networking site, arose, used by professionals from its
inception.
2004 Facebook launched.
2004 Google began Gmail.
2005 YouTube, a video-sharing website, went live.
2006 Twitter, for mini-blogging and social networking, began.
2006 WikiLeaks, which publishes submissions from anonymous sources, started operations.
2007 The e-book reader Kindle was begun by Amazon
2008 Cloud computing commenced.
2010 Lady Gaga became the first living person to have 10 million friends on Facebook. The singer
Michael Jackson had 14 million friends on Facebook.
2011 Egypt closed all Internet access to stop the organizing of political protests.
2011 A new Missouri state law prevented teachers from communicating with students through non-
work-related websites.
2011 The British Parliament after investigating whether it is correct to censor social networking
in England, decided not to do so.
2013 The “Internet of Things” arose.
2016 Roughly 3.3 billion people used social media worldwide.
2015 The Euro-driven crisis in Europe resulted from political conflict between manufacturing
powerful countries and tourism-oriented countries.
2016 A massive wave of migration from war and poverty-affected nations to the European Union
and Turkey began.
2016 The Trans-Pacific Partnership was established to support free trade among Pacific-oriented
countries.
2016 Brexit. The British voted to leave the European Union,
motivated in great part by the hostility to migration. This 6
exit challenges the idea of the free flow of people in Europe.
What will be the result of
2017 Newly-elected American president Donald Trump
the emergence of Global and
challenged many international treaties (or Globalization)
Virtual Civilizations in the 21st
and announced that he wanted to bring outsourced
Century?
manufacturing and jobs back to the United States. He won,
in part, by emphasizing xenophobia and bigotry.Fernatur,
quate am ut faccum quam as volupis intia volupitas
ditempo rehendit odita isinctecti doluptaqui vollupit dissimus rem fuga. Namuscil ium

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Further Reading

Davis, G. (1961). My Country is the World: The Adventures of a World Citizen. New York: Putnam.
Friedman, T. L. (2005). The World Is Flat. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
Giddens, A. (2003). Runaway World. New York: Routledge.
Grossman, L. (1995). The Electronic Republic. New York, NY: Viking.
Hiltz, S. R. and Turoff, M. (1978, 1999). The Network Nation. Addison-Wesley.
Lévy, P. (1997). Collective Intelligence. Plenum Trade: New York & London.
Prensky, M. (2001). “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.” Horizon, vol. 9(3) :1-6.
Roudometof, V. (2005). “Transnationalism, Cosmopolitanism, and Glocalization”. Current Sociology,
53 (1): 113–135.
Sassen, S. (2003). Towards Post-national and Denationalized Citizenship. New York: Sage.

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 Civilization in the 21st Century
8
LO 1 Recount the centrally arising civilizations of the world
in the 21st century

In the 21st century, the Internet triggered the rise of Global and
Virtual Civilizations which are characterized by new secular faiths
(of Global it is business, of Virtual it is common intelligence) and
their associated societies, cultures, and infrastructures. Global
Civilization has almost replaced Western Civilization. Virtual
Civilization has connected the young generation worldwide,
from all contemporary civilizations -- including Western, Eastern,
Summary

Chinese, Japanese, Pacific Island, Buddhist, Hindu, African and

Global.

LO 2 Identify the state of world civilization in the 21st

century.

The state of the World Civilization in the 21st century is

characterized by roughly 16 outbursts indicating a clash of
civilizations and by a massive wave of migration from war and
poverty-affected nations, especially to the European Union.
These processes have destabilized several European countries. The
United Kingdom voted to exit the European Union and several
other European nations have indicated reluctance to admit more
migrants.

LO 3 Characterize the dynamics of the Global and Virtual

societies of world civilization in the 21st century.

The Global society is composed of the global elite (financial and

interconnected executive group) and global citizens who come
from the local level and want to acquire knowledge and skills
which could allow them to be employable in the new global
economy. The Virtual society is composed of about 100 million
mostly young people who e-communicate and who share their
knowledge, experience, and wisdom to improve the real world.

Apply knowledge of the Global and Virtual cultures to

LO 4 comprehend their impact on the overall performance of the
world civilization today.

Global culture is reflected in a common dress code, the Wall Street

Journal, CNN and so forth. Virtual culture is characterized by
being connected, instant feedback, no intermediaries, a lack of
patience, and an orientation to technology. This causes among
other results, the addiction to smart phones among young people.

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Summarize how the Global and Virtual infrastructures

LO 5 contribute to the development of world civilization in the
21st century.

The infrastructure of these Global and Virtual civilizations is

composed of the Internet, computer storages of individual and
shared (in the cloud) installations, and a variety of input/output
devices such as smartphones, tablets, and digital watches. Since
this infrastructure is of a digital character it makes waging a cyber
war very easy and hackers’ attacks commonplace.

Summary
On the rise is the Internet of Things, which connects
manufactured products, thus exposing the society further to
disruption. The reason is that it will be relatively easy to do so as
external enemies and hackers obtain access to super-computers
capable of breaking any ID or password.

Recognize the major trends and main events of

LO 6 today’s world civilization.

The most significant trends in world civilization now include the

development of Global and Virtual civilizations and the massive
wave of immigration coming from war and poverty in the Middle
East and Africa to Europe and North America. This triggers the
rise of xenophobia, bigotry, and right-wing parties and leaders in
much of Europe and America. A positive trend is the rise of the
Virtual Common Mind, a major innovation in the development
of mankind.

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 Civilization in the 21st Century
8

1 Which of the following factors supports the 6 Which of the following groups composes the
development of Global Civilization? Virtual Society?
a. International agreements a. Literature fans
b. The Wide Area Network b. The younger generation
c. Low-price airline tickets c. College graduates only
Test Yourself

d. The Internet d. Doctors without Borders

e. Believers in the religion of Christianity and e. Office workers
Buddhism
7 Which of the following attributes characterizes
2 Which of the following groups compose the the Virtual Culture?
Global Society?
a. Be connected
a. The members of a local Chamber of Commerce b. Always seek critical feedback
b. The members of a national Chamber of c. Have no patience
Commerce d. Cyber warfare
c. The stateless elite of capital e. Cyber crime
d. English and Chinese speaking nations
e. Arabic speaking nations 8 Which of the following technologies provides
the foundation for the Virtual Civilization?
3 Which of the following attributes characteri- a. Military technology
zes Global Culture? b. Farm technology
a. The Chinese dress codes c. The Internet of Things
b. CNN d. Social networks
c. Main Street Journal e. Desktop computers
d. Spanish language in business
e. College graduates as a community 9 Which of the following factors challenges
Global Civilization?
4 Which of the following technologies provide a. A migration wave that touches the European
the foundation for Global Civilization? Union and Turkey
a. Autonomously driving cars b. Diminution of the middle class in developed
b. Microsoft Word nations
c. The rapidly rising Chinese economy
c. The Internet
d. The growing role of business lobbyists in politics
d. worldwide publishing houses
e. The resistance to Westernization by other
e. Global Positioning Systems
civilizations

5 Which of the following factors support the 10 Which of the following factors challenges
development of Virtual Civilization? Virtual Civilization?
a. Soccer clubs a. The clash between progress and regress
b. Golf clubs b. The addiction of young people to smartphones
c. Social networks c. The rise of consumer prices
d. Underground criminals d. The rise of underground crime networks
e. The users of mainframe computers e. The growth of storage “in the cloud”

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1. d If your answer is in correct, review the 6. b If your answer is in correct, review the
section on “Global Infrastructure” section on “Virtual Society”

2. c If your answer is in correct, review the 7. a If your answer is in correct, review the
section on “Global Society” section on “Virtual Culture”

Answer Key for “Test Yourself”

3. b If your answer is in correct, review the 8. d If your answer is in correct, review the
section on “Global Infrastructure” section on “Virtual Society”

4. c If your answer is in correct, review the 9. b If your answer is in correct, review the
section on “Global Infrastructure” section on “Introduction”

If your answer is in correct, review the

5. c 10. b If your answer is in correct, review the
section on “From Virtual Wave to Virtual
section on “Virtual Society”
Civilization”

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8
When do you think that a new, “national virtual citizen” will
arise and who will activate such an innovation?

A virtual national citizen eventually will be activated by a virtual national

government which will be composed of all branches of government but
operating in cyberspace. Such a government can be born on such platforms as
Your Turn 1 Facebook or Twitter. Even currency can become virtual, such as bitcoin today,
Suggested Answers for “Your Turn”

which works worldwide without a central repository or single administrator.

What would be a role of such virtual national citizens? They could vote and pass
a virtual bill which could later be enforced, put into practice, by those with a
dual citizenship; real and virtual.

Can you specify in what way the Clash of Civilizations has

impacted the new world order that arose after the fall of Soviet
communism?

One result of the Clash of Civilization is the war with radicalism that has
undermined world peace. This clash is most intensive now between elements of
Islam and those of the Western and Eastern Civilizations. While Iraq and Syria
have retaken territory from ISIS in the Middle East in 2017, one can expect that
the clash of civilizations will transform into a cyber war; national territory will
Your Turn 2 now include networked electronic storage of data and systems of governments
and organizations. The destruction of these electronic systems may stop the
functioning of an attacked country. The invention of the Internet in 1962 was
motivated by establishing a nationwide telecommunication system for “a day
after” an anticipated atomic attack of the United States from Cuba. Today, the
Internet can have a reverse purpose, to facilitate enemy attacks.

What is the difference between an online community and

the virtual society?

The difference between online communities and the virtual society is in the size
of their memberships. The online communities usually are local and smaller
while the virtual society is rather global with many more members. The virtual
Your Turn 3 society is exemplified at its maximum today by Facebook and Twitter and others
which together put about 3.3 billion members into intensive communication.
The result may threaten the activities in the real world, in politics and, especially,
in elections.

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What is the difference between the global and the virtual

cultures?

The difference between global and virtual cultures is in their environments.

The former acts in reality (being visible) and the latter acts in virtuality (being

Suggested Answers for “Your Turn”

invisible). In the long term, the virtual culture will dominate the global
Your Turn 4 culture and other ones too, since it triggers an addiction to smartphones and
e-communication anytime, anywhere.

What triggered the rise of the Virtualization Wave?

The prompt of the Virtual Civilization is the grid of the social networks and the
rapid dissemination of all sorts of smartphones among about 3.3 billion people
worldwide. These people are mostly of the younger generation, individuals who
Your Turn 5 develop and apply commonly shared intelligence as well as knowledge and
wisdom in solving real life’s issues and problems. These young people constitute
the virtual elite of the world, and they possess the ability to impact the real
world, whether for improving the world or worsening it, only time can tell.

What will be the result of the emergence of Global and

Virtual Civilizations in the 21st Century?

The result of the activities of the Global and Virtual Civilizations in the 21st
century is the misleading hope that technology can solve all societal problems.
The truth may be that, in fact, technology brings on new societal problems,
ones of great complexity. These problems include the diminution and perhaps
Your Turn 6 disappearance of a middle class in the industrialized world. Eventually, even a
labor-free economy may arise in the world, coinciding with rapid growth of the
world population. These people will need jobs to pay bills and support families,
not to be impressed by the intellectual abilities of robots and the effectiveness
of automation.

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