INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION (HIST 1000)

Literal meaning
-From Greek word historia (inquiry) a learning by inquiry
-To search for true information
-History is the systematic study of the past event in search for the truth
-History is not story telling or bed-time stories
-Criteria of history;
-TRUE / actual events
-CRITICAL / analytical thinking
-EVIDENCE
Meaning in Arabic
-In a arabic, history is called tarikh.
-From the root arkh which means recording the time of an event.
-Literally, tarikh is the time when a particular event took place.
Technical Meaning
-As a field of study, history refers to;
1. The study of what actually happened in the past (the truth). WHEN, WHERE, WHO, WHAT.
2. Interpretation of what happened in the past. HOW, WHY.
HISTORY
-The queen or mother of the social sciences.
-First being taught to man in schools.
-The basis of other social science subjects, economics, art and religion.
NATURE OF HISTORY
1. History is the study of man
2. History is concerned with man in time and space
3. History explains .
4. History is a dialogue between the events of the past and progressively emerging future ends
5. History is the story of the growth of human consciousness, both in its individual and collective aspects
6. Continuity and coherence are the necessary requisites of history
-History deals with interconnected and continuity human events
-No event is an isolated event - born out of vacuum. An event happens following previous events
-History sheds light on the continuity of human progress as it is passed down from generation to
generation.
-History gives mankind a legacy of civilization progress.
DEFINITION OF HISTORY
-Various definitions of history different scholars
-Burckhardt defines, history is the record what one age finds worthy of note in another
-Marc Bloch maintains that history is science of .
-H.G. Wells (Herbert George Wells), human history is in essence history of ideas
-E.H. Carr (Edward Hallett Carr), history is unending dialogue between the present and the past
-Western scholars, a study of living past, i.e. man + time
DEFINITION
A record of the past or at least a part of the past
Too simple definition

Indefinite period of time, not all past is history

History is a record of the human past

Written records only for 5000 years

Then, history is a record of human past from the point

1

when written records began to appear

The historian record
He must interpret his facts .

-History is the interpretive study of the recorded fact of the bygone human beings and societies, the
purpose of which study is to develop an understanding of human actions, not only in the past but for the
present as well.
DEFINITION OF HISTORY FROM ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE
Muslim Historiography
1. The Arab historians compiled more historical works than in any other language at that time (590 works
during the 1st millennium).
2. These works are of various types (dealing with history of certain tribes, city, province or singular events like
wars).
3. Introduced the practice of date-mark and chronology
4. They tried to use scientific treatment for significant events
5. These events were authenticated by the law of witness (isnad) and are complemented by their classical
poetry too.
Meaning of Tarikh in Islamic Historiography
1. Al-Kafiji, it is a branch of knowledge dealing with the chronology of events.
2. Abd al-Rahman al-Sakhawi, it is an art dealing with anecdotes according to the sequence
of their Chronology.
3. Classical Arab historiographers, it is knowledge pertaining to a country, customs and manners of a
people, remains of the people of yore, as well as an account of the actions of those alive.
4. In contemporary Western scholarship
5. Simple formula: Man + Time + Space = History
6. A study of living past, i.e. study and compilation of mans important works and ideas which leave their
impact on posterity too.
Subject Matter
1. Covers all aspects of human life or human activities.
2. From A Z. E.g. politics, economy, social systems, foreign policy, religion, individuals.
Time Frame
-Time factor is the essence of history
-Deals with a series of events and each event occurs at a particular time
-Time frame in studying history - from the earliest times to recent times
-E.g.: Pre-history, ancient / classical history, modern history
Historical Periodization
-Measuring time and giving names to particular periods
-How past is to be divided up when exactly a period starts and ends controversial and ambiguous
-Largely inherited from earlier generations
The Importance of Periodization
-To classify past events in a coherent and systematic manner
-To organize our thoughts about the past and to after readings and accounts of it
-To make historical research manageable
Yet, periodization tends to mistakenly shape our assumptions and interpretations of the past
E.g. ancient or classical period
2

Criteria of Periodization
-Rulers and dynasties (e.g. Ottoman, Victorian, Bourbon period, Maos China, Stalins Russia)
-Dominant groups (e.g. Viking, Saxon, Mongol period)
-Elected leaders (e.g. Churchill era, Thatcher period, Mahathir era)
-Key events; battles, revolutions, wars (e.g. First World War, French Revolution era, the fall of wall in Berlin)
-Time period (e.g. ancient, medieval, early modern, modern, contemporary, eighteenth-century, twentieth
century, sixties, eighties)
-Type of government (e.g. Communist China, Communist Russia / Tsarist Russia)
-Cultural style (e.g. Baroque)
-Other themes (e.g. Age of Anxiety, Age of Revolution, Age of Depression, golden age)
The commonly used historical periodization is primarily applied to Western history
1. Ancient / Classical Period (500 BC 500 CE)
2. Medieval Period / Dark Ages / Middle Ages (500 CE 1500 CE)
3. Modern Period (1500 CE present)
-BC or BCE before Christ / Common Era
-CE or AD - after Christ (the birth of Christ / Isa) or Anno Domini, a Latin word which means
In the Year of the Lord
-Different periodization for different civilizations
-In Islamic history, there is no medieval period
-E.g. pre-Islamic period, Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate, Ottoman Period
-Latin America, e.g. pre-Columbian and post-Columbian history or period
Fields of History
Thematic, period, geographical perspectives
Thematic e.g. political history, social history economic history, etc.
Period / chronology e.g. ancient history, modern history, etc.
Geographical e.g. European history, Malaysian history, Indian history, etc.
Major Fields of History
1. Political History: governments, kingdoms, political institutions, political practices, public policies,
politicians and their policies.
2. Diplomatic History: relations between and among states, foreign policies, conflicts between states
3. Economic History: economic theories, economic development of states or of companies, banking,
trade, industries.
4. Social History: demography, social class and structure, social organization and social behavior in the
past, living standard (urban and rural areas), the role of women.
5. Intellectual History: thoughts and ideas of prominent intellectual figures, philosophical and scientific
ideas, religious beliefs and political ideologies.
Minor fields of history e.g. cultural history (art, architecture, music, literature)
Pseudo-History
-Information about the past that appears to be historic, but is outside the mainstream of history
-Blends together facts and myths or legends
-Showed lacked of criticism and reliability
-E.g. Stories of Princess Gunung Ledang, of Hang Tuah, Mahsuri, Trojan War
-The past is not really simple, especially the distant past
-The past should not be taken for granted tend to be influenced by ones perceptions, worldviews,
or interests.
The Importance of History
-To know about past events what actually happened (the truth). (Sunni-Shiite rivalry; Christian-Islam
3

clash myths)
-To understand how people and societies behave and function complex social behaviors
-in return, enable to run our own lives
-To know own identity, culture, customs and heritage
-personal identity; genealogy and family history
-group identity; national consciousness or nationalism (national unity and national loyalty)
-History is recognized as a cementing force in building of identity (Jewish identity / American Blacks)
-Provides a fuller picture of matters under study since history touches on various issues; social, political,
cultural, etc.
-a storehouse of information or knowledge
-Helps to shape the future by providing the basis for informed judgments
-provides options, avenues in making decisions so as not to repeat past mistakes
-Good citizenship
-well-informed and responsible citizens (Nazi ex.)
-aware of national values, institutions, systems and problems and adopt responsible
public behavior as member or leader of the society
-Moral lessons
-to test ones moral sense (courage, patriotic, etc.)
-History teaching by example
-History explains the present
-The present evolved out of the past
-History could explain the changes from past to the present (how and why)
-Cannot understand current events without knowledge of the past
Significance of History in Islam
-Why Arabs paid so much attention to history?
1. They were proud of their old-aged customs and glorious achievements of their ancestors. This led to tendency
to recollect and preserve the works of their forefathers by the medium of oral transmission
2. The Quran provided with an impetus to obtain more details regarding the communities long exists, a
reference to whom is found in the Quran
3. The Prophet SAW was an ideal person for all Muslims in every respect. His all actions, sayings and character
was preserved in the seerah books
4. Muslim rulers of early centuries had developed their interest in learning the achievements of other Arab or
non-Arab rulers to understand their strategies and to be the best
-Writing of history had been seen as to obtain the pleasure of Allah
-Islam is a religion essentially history-conscious
Misconceptions of History
-History is a dead subject no lessons and value
-the past is a guide to present and future actions
-History deals with dead people, ancient kingdoms and societies
-history also deals with contemporary events and living people
-History is bedtime stories
-history is neither fictions nor imaginations
-historical events are true events, involves critical thinking and evidences
-History is just memorization of names and dates
-history provides better understanding of past events by looking at various issues rather
than just names and dates
-History repeats itself
-history does not repeat itself. Yet, patterns of history may be repeated
-History is a study of the non-human past
-history is a study of human past
4

-History is a about pre-literate societies

-not much to do with hunting, nomads, or pastoral people
-except for the sake of observation from afar due to lack of records / written documents
-e.g. cowboys of Wild West
-exception; pre-literate people who conquered a civilization of cities and established great kingdoms.
E.g. Huns and Tatars (Mongols)
Problems in the study of History
1. Cause-and-effect relationships
-causes are very difficult to access;
-logical and systematical evaluation is required
Objectivity and tolerance in studying of History
Objectivity in the study and interpretation of
historical data involves the use of historical
facts without personal bias or prejudice

Tolerance means giving a full and impartial

hearing to an opposing view and respecting that
view, provided it is derived honestly

Objectivity and tolerance

-Historian must admit that there might be various logical and valid interpretations of the same event
-History is always interpreted by the present (fresh interpretation is always required)
-Value system of that particular society should be respected: Bygone man must be interpreted in terms of his
own, not the interpreting historians value structure.
EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF HISTORY AS A DISCIPLINE
History of History
Was developed as a discipline during ancient Greek civilization in Greece
Was a minor discipline
Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides
Al-Zuhri, Ibn Ishaq, Al-Tabari, Ibn Khaldun
Leopold Von Ranke
Homer
-Homeros, a famous Greek poet 8th century before Christ.
-Wrote famous Greek epics/poems, Iliad and Odyssey.
-Iliad about Trojan War (13th and 12th century before Christ).
-Controversies while ancient Greeks believed the event was real, too many people, it was a Greek
myth or legend.
-Iliad is not really historical work emphasis on Gods interventions in the Trojan War.
-Controversies whether Homer really existed and whether he was one person.
-Nothing is known about Homers identity or life no concrete evidence that he existed.
-Theories the poems were composed by illiterate aoidoi (singer-poets) in the 8th or 7th century BC.
-Homeros from the name of a society of poets called Homeridae (hostages).
Herodotus
-A Greek scholar (484 - 425 BC).
-Known as the father of history and worlds first historian.
-Works; The Histories on Greco-Persian wars.
-Also on various places and peoples which he encountered during his journey.
-Accounts on Peloponnesian war (431 BC) Athens versus Sparta.
-His interpretations of recorded events are acceptable to the standard of modern history.
-He gave unbiased, scientific, abstract and concentrated history.
-Moved away from Greek myths (Gods or divine intervention).
5

-Stressed on human motivations for their actions: introduced humanism.

-Accuracy and evidence.
Thucydides
-A Greek scholar (460 - 395 BC).
-Works; History of the Peloponnesian War.
-Next step towards making history a science: Carefully recorded the war events; strict standard of gathering
evidence.
-Analyzed different reasons behind human actions cause and effect why.
-Rejected gods intervention in past events and human affairs.
-Less interpretative than Herodotus yet, more realistic and reliable.
-Eye-witness testimony, interviews and consulted related documents first hand evidences.
Al-Zuhri
-Muhammad b. Muslim b. Shihab al-Zuhri (50 124 AH / 8th cent CE).
-Also known as Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri.
-A great Muslim muhaddith, faqih and historian of Medina school.
-Wrote about the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w one of the earliest historical documents (sirah).
-Based mainly on hadith and emphasized on sanad (unbroken chains).
-Begins with pre-Islamic history (Qisas al-Anbia), Prophets period in Makkah and Medina, Prophets death,
ends with the selection of Abu Bakr as the 1st Caliph.
-Emphasis on the significance of these events to the Ummah.
-Observed the chronological sequence of events.
-Witnessed almost all important events in the early days of Islam.
-Accurate and detailed accounts free from exaggeration.
-The first Muslim scholar to compile and write historical works in a systematic way.
-None of his works survive in their original forms, yet, their extracts were found in the works of Ibn Ishaq and
Al-Tabari.
-Other works; the genealogy (nasab) of Quraish.
-Contributed to the development of early Muslim historiography; the system of collective chains (al-Isnad alJamai ).
Ibn Ishaq
-Muhammad Ibn Ishaq Ibn Yasar 8th cent. CE.
-Arab Muslim historian.
-His work; Sirat Rasul Allah (Life of Allahs Messenger) among the first biography of Prophet Muhammad.
-His collection of hadith of Prophet Muhammad survives in the extracts of Ibn Hisham and Al-Tabari.
-Wrote several other works, none survive.
Al-Tabari
-Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (838 923 CE).
-A famous muhaddith, mufassir and historian.
-Laid the foundations for both Quranic and historical sciences.
-Major works; Tafsir al-Tabari (Quran Commentary) and Tarikh al-Tabari or Tarikh ar-Rasul wa al-Muluk
(History of Prophets and Kings).
-A student of Ibn Hanbal.
-Tarikh ar-Rasul wa al-Muluk on the creation of universe, prophets and previous rulers, period of the Prophet
Muhammad, the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate.
-Sources; works of Medina scholar, genealogy, poetry and tribal works.
-Theoretical criterion for reports: it should originate from an eyewitness or a contemporary informant.
-For him, history was the divine will teaching by example.
-Knowledge of the past cannot be deduced or inferred; it can only be transmitted.
6

-Tabari sought to place history in the category of science of naqliyyah (transmitted) and not under the aqliyyah
(rational).
Ibn Khaldun
-Abu Zayd Abdul Rahman b. Muhammad b. Khaldun al-Hadrami (732 808 AH / 1332 1406 CE).
-A historian and historiographer.
-Known as the father of historiography.
-Major work Muqaddimah (1377), the preface of his work on world history Kitab al-Ibar.
-Kitab al-Ibar a universal history of the Arabs and Berbers (7 books).
-Muqaddimah basic principles of historiography and common errors committed by Arab Muslim historians
-Three major parts (4 volumes):
1. An account of historiography; its basic principles together with basic illustrations of typical errors
committed by early Arab Muslim historians.
2. An account ofumran (ilm al umran al bashari or the science of human culture) the basis of historical
understanding.
A study of the nature of society and social change (laws of social change):
Basic social formations (nomadic, sedentary)
The rise and fall of state and kingdom
The laws (sunan) that regulates society
3. An account of Islamic institutions and sciences as they had evolved up to his own days in the 14th
century.
-His basic philosophy of history: it was an endless cycle of flowering and decay, with no evolution or
progress except for that from primitive to civilized society.
-Every human society is subject to a cycle of youth, maturity and old age, frequently compared to the
biological life cycle of living organisms (civilization: rise, decline, fall).
-Man is the product, not of his ancestry but of his social customs, his approach often is defined as secular.
-The final mover of history is not the mysterious ways of God but the laws of human society.
-E.g. the concept of asabiyyah (social cohesion) and the rise and decline of a society or kingdom (cycle of
social change).
-Knowledge of umran or human culture could avoid error in historical reports.
-A particular event must be understood against its social context.
-Cause of events a greater event is likely to have major and many causes.
-In Kitab al-Ibar also on the evolution of Islamic institutions and sciences up till 14th cent. CE.
-Also known as father of economics and sociology. 18th
-General sociology; politics, urban life, economics and knowledge.
DEVELOPMENT in Western Scholarship
Historical Event: Divine Plan
th century: Study of Man
18th

Impact of Progress on the Development of

History: Ranke

Leopold von Ranke

-A famous German historian (1795-1886 CE).
-Known as the founder of scientific history.
-Works; History of the Latin and Teutonic Nations from 1494 to 1514.
-Narrative history, especially international politics.
7

-Emphasis on primary sources.

-Wide variety of sources; government and personal documents, eye-witness accounts, etc.
-History should be studied scientifically and objectively.
-The task of historians is to gather all the evidence and let the readers make their own conclusions.
-The principle of show what actually happened.
-Every period of history is unique and must be understood in its own context
every age is next to God.
-All periods are equal rejected teleological approach to history (every period is inferior to that period that
follows).
-Different not inferior to or superior than.
-Other works; History of the Popes, their Church and state 16th cent. papacy.
Late 19th & 20th Century
-Objective of history: the teaching of historical events in their rigid chronological sequence without
discriminating one from the other.
-Whole history into a single scheme.
-Early 20th century: history became to be considered as a true science of society and the science of sciences.
-Marxian impact: a shift from the political to the economic and social aspects of history.
At present:
-The scope of the subject expanded both vertically and horizontally.
-As a result: Modern history is not only concerned with the political happenings in the life of a nation; it is also
concerned with the economic, social, cultural and religious aspects of life.
History and other sciences
-History is often said the queen or mother of the social sciences.
-It has been taught in schools or academic centers long before the others.
-It is the basis of all subjects of social sciences (philosophy, politics, art and religion).
-Other sciences study certain aspects of human society to understand the contemporary world.
-History studies all aspects; politics, social, economy, foreign policy, ideas, etc.
-Interconnection between history and other sciences for everything there is history.
-E.g. accountants deal with past financial records to find ways and means to prevent loss.
-Lawyers refer to past legal records and cases to draw judgments.
-Sociologists / psychologists refer to past records/ patient records/ case studies to draw conclusions.
-Political scientists refer to past treaties, political events and developments, political issues to predict the
future political scenario.
-No other discipline is so closely affiliated with so many other fields of knowledge.
-Historians work closely with specialists in virtually all fields to explain the past and its relationship to the
present.
HOW HISTORIANS WORK | Basic Methodologies of History
Sources / Evidences
History is about evidence interpretation of evidence.
No evidence no history.
The surviving evidence must be infallible or reliable.
The nature or forms of evidence various forms.
The changing nature of evidence throughout times, e.g. from letters to tapes / recording.
Reliability of historical account depends on how much evidence.
Lots of evidence reliable historical account.
Too little evidence less reliable historical account.
Availability of evidence too much or too little evidence.
Too much evidence especially for modern or early modern period events.
8

Too little evidence for ancient periods.

Historical Sources:
Prim
ary source
Primary
Secondary source

Primary Sources
First hand evidence by eyewitness accounts comes from people who saw or participated in the historical events
that are being analyzed.
Various forms of primary sources.
2 main criteria of primary sources; 1. Authentic/original 2. Contemporary (of the time under study).
Forms of Primary Sources
Physical
Visual
Artifacts:
Images:
such as
such as
tools,
photograp
weapons,
h,
machines,
film,
toys,
video,
uniforms,
paintings,
tombstones
sculpture,
, etc.
cave
drawings,
maps, etc.

Oral and
audio
evidence:
such as live
interviews
and audio
recordings,
songs,
poems, etc.

Statistics:
such as
census data,
figures on
the
economy,
land
surveys,
account
books, etc.

Printed text
documents:
such as
cookbooks,
travelers
reports,
advertisements,
memoirs,
government
publication, etc.

Manuscript
(handwritten)
documents: such
as diaries,
journals, letters,
etc.

Primary Sources
Second-hand evidence, provided by persons not present during the historical time under discussion.
Most of books we read are secondary sources.
Good historians combine a wide range of primary sources with a careful reading of the ideas of other scholars
in secondary sources.
Among secondary sources, we prefer scholarly sources.
Scholarly books and articles use footnotes or endnotes to show where the information comes from.
Reliability of Primary Sources
Does it accurately reflect the historical past?
To determine that we need to apply the tests of reliability.
1. Authenticity of the sources.
Is the evidence what it appears to be or is it possibly a fraud or forgery.
How to determine it?
Depends on the type of evidence.
E.g. written documents scientific proof of the age of the antique documents & the use of language.
i.
Test the age of document scientific test, e.g. radio carbon-dating analysis.
ii.
Analyze the language structure e.g. by linguists.
2. Identity of the author/source.
Is the author or source clearly identified? His/her position? Title?
Historians do not rely on anonymous sources or hearsay.
3. Reliability of the author/source.
Is the source qualified to provide this evidence?
9

Sources may be qualified by training/education or by experience with the topic of the evidence. Compare in
Ilm hadith, Ilm Al-Rijal.
4. Bias.
Does the author have a vested interest in the topic of the evidence that might distort the evidence?
5. External consistency.
Is the evidence consistent with outside qualified sources?
Problems in Historical Analysis / Writing History
Historians not being critical or objective.
Influenced by own ideologies, views, beliefs, etc.
Biased information or sources.
Through ages, the truth had often been manipulated or covered especially by past rulers or politicians for their
own interests. Forged evidence.
Difficulty to record on the lives of general masses.
The available accounts are mainly concerned with rulers, aristocrats, kings, politics and systems of government.
Lack of information on common people, peasants, slaves, etc.
What skills does a student of history develop? Page 32.
The ability to assess evidence
Learning how to interpret; to distinguish objective sources; to combine different sources, evidences
The ability to assess conflicting interpretations
Sorting; learning how to identify conflicting interpretations and evaluate them
Experience in assessing past examples of change
Developing some capacity for determining the magnitude and significance of change.
ISLAMIC INTERPRETATIONS OF HISTORY
Meaning of Tarikh
From the root arkh which means recording the time of an event
Tarikh is the time when a particular event took place
Khabar narration
Akhbariyun narrators
Historical consciousness among Muslims
Oral transmission of age-old customs and glorious achievements (battle-day narratives e.g. Ayyam al-Arab
- Arab proud of their heritage the institution of narrators (akhbariyun).
Quranic accounts on the communities long extinct.
Prophet Muhammad as a perfect ideal for Muslims in every respect (hadith and sirah).
- Muhaddithun collected and compiled historical data.
Political factions and tribal factions of the Arab society (until the 1st century of Hijra) were linked up with
religious ideas and history.
- Used history as weapons against political rivals and medium of propagation of various political ideologies.
E.g. concept of Ahl-Bayt.
Quranic concept of History
The information contained in the Quran is genuine revelations from Allah to Prophet Muhammad (not
universally accepted method).
The narration of the past of mankind (history) in the Quran.
The range and scope generally covers the whole of mankind from beginning of mans life on earth until
doomsday.
Starting with Prophet Adam a continuous line of prophet hood and human history.
About the rise and fall of society or political authority bygone nations and extinct civilizations.
The revealed information (historical knowledge) as a means to know the history of mankind and as
lessons and moral exhortations to the believers.
10

 Have they not travelled in the land to see the nature of the consequence for those who disbelieved before
them? They were mightier than these in power and (in the) traces (which they) left behind them in the earth.
Yet, Allah seized them for their sins and they had no protector from Allah (al-Rum 30: 9)
The idea of the Will of Allah does not work blindly or arbitrarily.
There are certain historical reasons leading to every change (Sunna of Allah).
Related to faith and mans behavior, his acceptance or denial of the message sent down by Allah through the
prophets (moral and spiritual).
When a nation disobeys Allah, there would be natural calamities as signs of warning from Allah or
destruction of the people.
E.g. destruction of Bani Ad and Thamud.
If man upholds Allahs will, good conduct, Allah would grant victory, glory and greatness.
The continuous renewal of values through the emergence of prophets and reformers (mujaddids) to remind
man.
Continuous conflicts between good and evil (nafs)
Material prosperity and wealth does not indicate real peace and prosperity.
Social change does not affect values.
Ultimate victory depends on mans faith and sincerity.
Man is created with the purpose of worship.
Modern image of History
First man: primitive creature; intellectual stunted; and culturally and ethically blind (a product of
biological process).
His mind as well as morality grow and develop and his values change.
Aim of historians and archeologists: pure materialistic analysis (for Muslims: to find Divine purpose in the
rise and fall of nations).
Muslim Historians
Their concern with history begins with the advent of Islam.
No interest in the Jahiliyya (pre-Islamic) period of Arab history.
Or the history of neighboring Byzantines and Persians.
History of Muslims began with the first Hijr year.
Early Muslim historians were mainly jurists and muhaddithun.
Mainly interested in the preservation of the original wording of the Quran transmitted by those who
received it directly from the Prophet.
Also to preserve authentic hadith.
Quran and hadith are important sources of Islamic Sharia.
Led to the system of isnad (unbroken chain transmitters) and rawi (transmitter).
Reliable method of collecting historical material.
Resulted in Islamic sciences on methods of criticism; Usul al-Hadith and Asma al-Rijal
(Narrators Whos Who)
Later, Muslim historians gradually adopt universal outlook.
With the expansion of Islam, the concern broadened to include nation (ummah).
Hadith
All doings and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as those of his Companions.
The most important source of early Islamic society.
Contains the basic teachings of Islam, treaties, judgments, rules regarding the status of non-Muslims, etc.
Every single hadith has undergone a through scrutiny and investigation.
Sirah
Sirah literature biographical details of the Prophet Muhammad, his actions, sayings and practices.
Written in chapters
Authors of Medina School and Iraqi School (Kufa and Basra).
Aban b. Uthman, Urwa b. al-Zubair b. al Awwam, Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, Ibn Ishaq, Zayyat al-Bakkai.
11

Al-Maqrizi
Taqiud-Din Maqrizi (766-845AH; 1364-1442).
His work Kitab al- Mawaiz wal-Iktibar bi Dhikr al-Khitat wal-Athar.
A person should study history and ponder over its exhortations.
..How shameful it would be if a man claims have knowledge and wisdom but on being asked about
those Prophets of Allah, he should simply repeat their names without knowing details of their lives and
personalities.
SCHOOLS OF HISTORY Page 65
Marxist School
Marxist historians.
E.g. Max Weber (1864-1920), German Professor of Economics at Freiburg in the 1890s.
It is the past that is governed by the present and not the other way around.
Stages of history: antique, feudal and modern bourgeois.
Emphasized on economic structure and economic factors in each stage.
E.g. modes of production, exchange of commodities, class struggle.
Human ideals are products of material economic environments.
The change and development is driven by class struggle in the economic structure of society.
The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle.
The result of the class struggle is social revolution.
E.g. there was a social revolution when feudalism was replaced by capitalism.
The influence of Marxism on the development of the discipline of history was not great.
However, Marxism made important contributions in drawing attentions to the importance of economic, social
classes, technology, work and workplace.
The possible relationships between art, literature, ideas, politics and economics.
School of Annales
Annales a journal founded in France in 1929.
Marc Bloc, Lucien Febvre and Fernand Braudel.
Promoted the history of society, of all society total society (histoire totale).
To aim of historian to recapture human life in all its variety.
Inter-disciplinary method bringing together history, geography, economics, psychology and anthropology
Also beyond the restrictions of periodization and geographical boundaries.
Rejected the narrative history of states, of politics and of events.
Annales have a strong influence in France received government backing.
Braudels work; The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Phillip (1947).
Nevertheless, it was intensely French interested in French identity and French social history.
Although the Annales is against limitations, it mainly deals with early modern history and to some extent
medieval history.
Very little on the 19th century and nothing on the 20th century.
Also left the history of Germany and United States well alone.
American Schools of History
Progressive School
Dominated professional thought and writing during the first half of the 20th century.
The past as conflict between various groups.
Influenced by the American reform movements of late 19th and early 20th century.
Optimistic about the future.
Consensus School
Emerged after World War .
Sometimes known as neo-conservative.
Disagreed with the progressive school did not see American history as a story of conflict.
Class conflict or other major divisions did not exist.
12

 Nearly all Americans shared common values and goals, only disagreements in methods to achieve the goals
Shared values and goals because all came from the same liberal and democratic background.
Also believed in the same future.
The areas of agreement in the American past were much more significant than the areas of disagreement.
The New Left School
Emerged in the 1960s.
Study the past with an emphasis on finding conflicts in American history.
They disagreed with the consensus school found struggle/conflict in the American past.
Influenced by turmoil situations in the 1960s; civil rights, women rights, Vietnam War.
Took pessimistic view of the future.
School of Social History
The most recent school of history.
history from the bottom up.
Believed that we have relied too long on studying the actions and ideas of the elite.
So, now it is the time to study about ordinary Americans.
Social historians gave important new information.
Unfortunately, ordinary citizens did not leave abundant records like the elites.
Criticism making obscure people representatives of larger society without convincing evidence.
HEGEL
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831), a German philosopher.
The founder of Hegelianism a new form of thinking and logic.
Every main period in history of social culture represents a unity (political, economic social, moral, religious
and intellectual aspects.
He explained that change happens in history as a result of the clash of opposing ideas (Dialectic theory).
Hegel was also known as a cultural/intellectual historian.
His attempts to explain world history using concepts like mind, spirit, culture and the idea of
freedom.
SPENGLER
Oswald Arnold Gottfried Spengler (1880-1936).
German philosopher and historian.
Culture is the basis of civilization and civilization is an expression of culture.
Every culture has a spirit of its own, yet sometimes there are similarities between the cultures.
The spirit can become weak but cannot die.
His works; The Decline of the West (1918) on a cyclical theory of the rise and decline of civilizations.
Civilizations rise and fall according to a natural and inevitable cycle.
Prussianism and Socialism, Hour of Decision.
Influenced many 20th century writers and scholars, e.g. Samuel Huntington.
TOYNBEE
Arnold Joseph Toynbee (1889-1975).
British historian.
Major work; A Study of History, 1934-1961, a twelve volumes synthesis of world history and analysis of
rise and fall of civilizations.
Historical units are societies.
Societies; primitive societies and civilized societies (civilizations).
21 civilizations.
A civilization contains a number of communities called nations.
Each nation is a part of a civilization.
The history of a nation cannot be understandable if it is cut off from the civilization.
He opposes the idea of taking nations as units or topics for historical study.
Rather, civilizations for historical study.
The history of a civilization is self-explanatory - to explain events and changes.
13

 Different phases of the life of a civilization its genesis, growth, breakdown and fall.
Presented history of civilizations in terms of challenge and response.
Civilizations arose in response to some set of challenges of extreme difficulty.
Challenges and responses were physical of social.
When a civilization responds to challenges, it grows.
When it fails to respond to a challenge, it declines.
WHAT IS CIVILIZATION
Meaning of Civilization
From Latin words civilize (relating to a citizen or a state.
The idea of civilization was developed by French scholars 18th cent. A.D
To differentiate between civilized & uncivilized society; barbarians, infidels, savages, pagans, primitive
people
The natives lacked modern systems of governments, modern economic system, illiterate, etc. uncivilized.
Extensively used by 19th cent. A.D. following European overseas expansion to Africa and Asia.
To justify European imperialistic ambitions or subjugation of non-European societies.
Western civilization as a yardstick or a standard to judge the colonized natives (non-European societies).
Orientalism an idea of Western or European superiority over non-European societies.
19th century scholars were influenced by theories of biological and social evolution developed by Charles
Darwin and Herbert Spencer.
In Darwins Origin of Species (1859) - it was only the fittest animals and plants that survived the process
of natural selection.
Darwins theory was also applied on human societies.
In 20th century, scholars described civilization as urbanized, state-level societies.
Recognized the existence of pre-industrial civilizations.
E.g. Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Indus, Chinese, etc.
Different definitions of a civilization not conclusive.
Generally defined as a developed or advanced state of human society.
Civilization refers to the overall way of life of the people that involve values, norms, institutions and mode
of thinking to which successive generations in a society have attached primary importance.
Civilization is the product of a particular process of cultural creativity which is the work of a particular
people.
Ibn Khaldun did not provide a clear definition of a civilization.
Ibn Khalduns concept or idea of umran, mentioned in the Muqaddimah.
Centered on human beings and cooperation, which is a result of social organization.
What Constitutes a Civilization?
Different views.
Ibn Khaldun in order to achieve umran, there should be social organization of the society, just leaders, just
governments and the feeling of assabiyyah among the people as a group.
Robert M. Adams

14

 Collection of money (tax system)

Towns and cities
Writing system
Monumental architecture
Based agriculture and Agricultural techniques
Legal system
Complex religious beliefs and system
Arts and crafts
Metallurgy
Inventions and Innovations
Primary features (cities and states, specialization of labor, surplus, class-structured society)
Secondary features (monumental public works, trade, writing, sciences)
Sometimes the definitions not fair to simple tribal society, e.g: pre-Islamic Arabia.
Not all of these attributes may be found in a civilization. E.g: Inca of Andes had no writing system.
The criteria not applicable to all as they refer mainly to societies of modern industrialized period.
Nature of Civilizations
The inter-connection between civilization and culture.
Culture elements; religion, language, history, customs, institutions.
Civilizations are comprehensive. All aspect of the society/people; political life, social life, religious life, etc.
Civilization has no clear-cut boundaries and no specific beginnings and endings. Overlapping cultural
elements and time.
Civilizations could fall yet are long-lived. In comparison to empires, dynasties, kingdoms, governments.
Civilizations evolved. Different phases or stages of civilizations.
Civilizations are cultural not political entities. Political units existed in a civilization varied e.g. kingdoms,
city-states, federation of states, etc.
Stages of Civilizations
Some scholars believed in cyclical patterns in the history of civilizations the existence of life cycles for any
civilization.
To explain the rise and fall of civilizations.
Some others disagree civilizations did not go through cycles.
Arnold Toynbee: 4 stages in his theory of cyclical change.

15

 Carroll Quigley: 7 stages

Encounters between civilizations

Civilizations were separated by time and space.
They were also separated geographically.
The movement of ideas and technology from civilization to civilization.
The subjugation of one civilization by another civilization.
World civilizations
12 major world civilizations:
Mesopotamian
Egyptian
Cretan (Minoan & Mycenaean
Classical (Greco-Roma)
Byzantine
Middle American (Olmec, Mayan, Aztec)
Andean (Inka)
Indian
Chinese
Japanese
Islamic
Orthodox Russian
Latin American
African
MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION (3500 B.C 539 B.C)
Origin
Mesopotamia from Greek words, mesos (between) and potamol (rivers). Land between the rivers.
The area between the Euphrates and Tigris known as the Cradle of civilization.
Bayn Nahrain, Fertile Crescent.
Now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria and southern Turkey.
Not a political entity and no definite boundaries.
The worlds oldest civilization; the first civilized societies (Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians)
The first literate society Sumerians.
Transformed the land into agricultural land and the city states.
Sumerians founded the earliest cities in Sumer in 3500 B.C. (southernmost area of the Tigris and
Euphrates valley).
Sumerians their origin unknown.
16

 Sumer fertile area, good climate and irrigation system (geography).

Collective work on irrigation projects led to social organization and emergence of cities.
Engaged in trade.
Sumerian culture the foundation of Mesopotamian civilization adopted by Akkadians, Babylonians,
Kassites, etc.
Government
No unified centralized government.
12 independent city states.
E.g. Ur, Uruk, Babylon, Akad, Lagash, etc.
Divine kingship most kings were thought to be chosen by god, be a son of a god, or be a god himself.
Famous kings; Gilgamesh, Sargon, Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar.
Shared a common culture (Sumerian) & beliefs yet, in constant warfare for water rights, land & power.
E.g. in 1763 B.C. Amorites conquered all of Sumer established Babylonian Empire (old).
City of Babylon in Akkad as a capital.
The founder Hammurabi, the greatest Amorite ruler.
Later, Chaldeans established New Babylonian Empire; capital Babylon.
King Nebuchadnezzar the greatest empire in western Asia.
City of Babylon extensive size; Ishtar Gate and Hanging Gardens.
Later, defeated by Persians ended Mesopotamian civilization.
Society
Sumerian society; (4 categories)
1. Nobles (king & family, chief priests, high court officials and prominent warriors).
2. Clients (free men dependent on nobility).
3. Commoners (free citizens).
4. Slaves (prisoners of war, foreigners & criminals).
Women had rights could own property and if they had good reason, get a divorce.
Slavery was a common feature in Mesopotamian society.
Slaves possessed some privileges; able to hold property, participate in business, marry free men or women and
purchase their freedom.
Religion
Very important in the peoples life sought to please gods due to vulnerability to natural disasters river
flooding.
Polytheism (worship of many gods). E.g. An (Anu), Ki, Enlil, Marduk, Nabu, etc.
Ziggurat terraced temples built to worship the gods run by traditional priesthood.
Built on huge platforms slabs and bricks from sun-dried clay.
The temple owned lands provided revenue.
Also engaged in trade and business.
Intermarriages between rulers and families of prominent priests.
Priesthood influential (at times acted a as cities rulers).
The temples as states within the states.
Language and writing
Sumerian language dominant language.
Also as medium of instruction for commercial transactions in western Asia.
Later, replaced by Akkadian.
Yet, Sumerian language was retained for administrative, religious, literary and scientific purposes.
Then, Aramaic (Persian).
The worlds earliest writing system Sumerian.
Developed through stages (1000 years).
Pictographic (based on pictures) ideogram (signs) cuneiform (symbols for syllables).
Initially carved pictures on stones.
17

 Priests used standardized schematic pictures to preserve records of temple property, business transactions.
Later, cuneiform written on clay tablets.
Cuneiform wedged shaped characters (500 characters).
Difficult to learn; multiple meanings.
For 2000 years, cuneiform as the sole writing system in Mesopotamia.
Administrative records, business records and literature.
Invented cylinder seals made of stone or ivory carved with pictures.
Sumerian schools the earliest known schools in human history.
For priests and administrators.
Literature Epic of Gilgamesh.
Sumerian Babylonian poem.
Technology
Metalworking among the first Bronze Age people in the world.
Early on used copper, bronze and gold and later iron.
Glassmaking and textile weaving.
Water control, storage and irrigation construction of dams and aqueducts.
Among the first people to make beer and wine.
Greatest invention wheels.
Wheeled transport; two-wheeled chariots and four-wheeled carts.
Mathematics
Devised a sexagesimal numeral system a number system based on 60.
The basis of the current division of the day into two sets of twelve hours, 60 minute-hour, 60 second- minute,
24 hours-day, and 360 degree-circle.
Used the process of multiplication and division.
Displayed arithmetical and algebraic concepts.
Geometry utilized e.g. for building projects and mapmaking.
Astronomy
Studied the stars and sky, predicted eclipses and solstices related to religion and omens.
Sumerian calendar 7 days a week.
Lunar (moon) calendar based on twelve lunar months.
Nisannu, Ajaru, Simanu, Tamuzu, Abu, Ululu, Tashritu, Arahsamnu, Kissilimu, Tebetu, Shabatu, Addaru.
Useful in determining the planting and harvesting of crops.
Studied the movement of planets led to astrology.
Predictions about floods, famines, fortunes and fate of nations.
Contributed to todays constellations or horoscopes (Leo, Taurus, Scorpios, Gemini, Capricorn, Sagittarius.
Records of astronomical works.
Hammurabi Code
Enacted by King Hammurabi the law maker.
The oldest systematic collection of laws.
282 laws; criminal offence, marriage and family, slavery, land use and irrigation, commercial activity, etc.
Principles an eye for an eye and let the buyer beware to prevent mischief or fight.
Penalties for criminal offenses severe and varied according to the social class of the offenders & victims.
Slaves had no rights and subjected to severe punishments if committed offence. Written on pillars of stone
erected throughout cities.
Stern punishment for burglary.
If a robber is caught stealing, he will be killed.
If a person stole goods belonging to the temples or the state, he was put to death and so was the person
receiving the stolen goods.
18

EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION (3000 B.C 30 B.C)

Origin
One of the worlds longest civilizations in history.
A river civilization like Mesopotamian.
Concentrated along the middle and lower reaches of the Nile River.
At different times, extended to the southern Levant, the Eastern desert, the Red Sea coastline, the Sinai
Peninsula and the Western desert.
The importance of the Nile Egypt is known as the gift of the Nile.
The regular annual flooding of the Nile fertile Nile valley.
The Nile also a unifying factor in Egyptian history.
As a major means for transportation and communication.
Ancient Egyptians descendants of north and East African as well as Southwest Asian peoples.
Originated from Punt or Ta Neteru (Land of the Gods) Eritrea and Ethiopian Highlands.
Originally populated by tribes led by tribal chieftains.
Government
Geographically, Egypt was divided into two:
1. Upper Egypt (Ta Shemau) - or southern.
2. Lower Egypt (Ta Mehu) - or northern.
The history of ancient Egypt proper started around 3100 BC Egypt as a unified state.
Before that different rulers ruled upper and lower Egypt.
By 3100 BC centralized system of government.
Menes or Narmer, unified Upper and Lower Egypt, was the first king.
Successive dynasties.
Compared to Mesopotamia, Egyptians experienced long peaceful periods.
Due to fertile soil of the Nile regular flooding.
Also due to surrounding deserts and Red Sea protected Egypt from foreign invasion.
3 major peaceful periods in Egyptian history:
1. Old Kingdom (2770 2200 BC)
2. Middle Kingdom
(2050 1786 BC)
3. New Kingdom
(1560 1087 BC)
These were periods of long term stability, strong, monarchical authority, competent bureaucracy,
freedom of invasion, building projects and intellectual and cultural activity.
In between these periods, intermediate periods.
Political chaos, foreign invasions and a decline in building activity.
The Old Kingdom the age of prosperity and splendor.
Capital at Memphis.
The construction of greatest and largest pyramids in Egyptian history.
The Middle Kingdom.
Capital at Thebes.
Advances in social justice and much intellectual achievement.
Public works; extensive drainage and irrigation projects.
Known as Egypts classical or golden age
The New Kingdom.
Egypt was the most powerful state in the ancient Near East.
Aggressive military campaigns Palestine, Syria.
Egypt military power.
19

 Ended with foreign invasions.

The title of Egyptian king pharaoh (great house or great palace) was the most common.
All Egyptian kings, considered themselves as King of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Kingship divine institution.
The pharaoh as son of the sun god.
No separation of religious and political life.
The pharaoh was chief priest and his chief subordinates were priests.
King had absolute power, yet to rule according to a set of principles Maat.
Maat a spiritual concept; the idea of truth and justice, right order and harmony,
Egypts status vis a vis foreigners.
The pharaoh to maintain the order and harmony.
Pharaoh Zoser, Ahmose I, Thutmosis III, Amenhotep, Amenhotep III, Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton),
Tutankhamon, Rameses II.
Centralized administration the pharaoh ruled with massive bureaucracy (e.g. vizier).
Egypt was divided into nomes (provinces), ruled by nomarch (governors).
Collection of taxes.
Scribes to keep records. Craftsmen royal palaces / royal ceremonies.
State-controlled workers daily rations of food and work.

Society

Middle class scribes, merchants, artisans and wealthy farmers.

Peasants the bulk of the population.
New class the professional soldiers ranked after the nobles.
Lowest class slaves (captives of war).
The position of the various ranks shifted from time to time.
Women equal legal rights with men.
Their property and inheritance remained in their hands after marriage.
Could engage in business.
Upper class women as priestesses and a few queens as pharaoh.
E.g. Sobeknofru and Hatshepsut (addressed as His Majesty).
Religion
Polytheism the worship of gods and goddesses.
20

 Respected and revered animals. E.g. cats (miw).

The temple the center of Egyptian settlements; as town hall, college, library, for religious functions.
- Primary gods:
Aton / Atum / Amun / Amon (Re) the sun god, creator of universe. The pharaoh was the son of Re.
Anubis (Anpu), Bastet (Bast), Sekhmet, Horus, Isis, Osiris, Hathor, Nephythes, Khepri, Selkis, Edjo, etc.
Influential priesthood Re (Heliapolis), Ptah (Memphis) and Amon Re (Thebes)
Influential priests, magical charms and Book of the Dead.
Led to religious reform by Amenhotep IV the worship of Aton, god of the sun as the chief god.
Changed name to Akhenaton, closed temples of other gods and expelled priests from temples.
He moved the capital from Thebes to El-Amarna.
The reform failed abandoned after his death.
Ritualism and the practice of magic prevailed.
Language and Writing
An-independent branch of the Afro-Asiatic language closely related to Berber and Semitic languages.
Six stages:
1. Archaic Egyptian (before 3000 BC)
2. Old Egyptian (3000 2000 BC)
3. Middle Egyptian (2000 1300 BC)
4. Late Egyptian (1300 700 BC)
5. Demotic Egyptian (700 BC 400 AD)
6. Coptic (300 1800 AD)
Hieroglyphs the worlds earliest known writing system (partly syllabic and partly ideographic).
Hieratic a cursive form of hieroglyphs.
Demotic of the late Egyptian stage.
Hieroglyphs coined by Greeks to mean priest-carvings or sacred writing.
Usually found in temples and tombs part of the religious functions and rituals.
Carved on stone, wooden tablets, written on papyrus.
Criteria of hieroglyphs, pictographic, syllabic and alphabetic.
2700 BC, Egyptians used pictograms to represent vocal sounds (vowel & consonant)
By 2000 BC, had 26 pictograms to represent 24 main vocal sounds predecessor of the worlds oldest known
alphabet (invented by Phoenicians).
Ancient Egyptian literature, Wisdom Text sound advice based on traditions and worldly experience.
Mathematics
Calculated numbers based on the power of 10.
Used simple arithmetic of addition and subtraction, multiplication and division.
Used fractions and special signs for two-thirds, three-quarters, four-fifths and five-sixths.
Geometry.
Used the skills to outline pyramid bases.
360 degrees for a circle and pi ratio for circles diameters.
Astronomy
Devised ways to avoid imprecision in the lunar calendar.
Best ancient calendar based on lunar months 365 days a year, 12 months a year, 30 days a month, and three
seasons.
The three seasons corresponded to the cycle of the Nile River and crop harvest.
Could foretell the coming of Niles floods.
Medicine
Had a highly advanced medical practice for their time.
Diseases due to natural causes not supernatural causes.
21

 Physicians took patients pulse and listened to heart beats.

Knowledge of anatomy and human body surgery, mummification and setting of bones.
The first to use splints, bandages, compresses and other surgical appliances.
Had knowledge of pharmacopoeia; herbs e.g. aloe vera, garlic and honey.
Therapeutics treatments.
Engineering
Pyramids, mastabas, sphinx, temples, palaces and obelisk.
Pyramids began during the Old Kingdom.
The first pyramid by King Zoser.
The Great Pyramid of Cheops the largest of the three at Giza.
As tombs for deceased kings to aid the spirit (ka) to ascend to heaven.
Mastabas tombs surround the pyramids for deceased courtiers and families of the kings.
Temples e.g. Karnak and Luxor Temples.
Sculpture statues of pharaohs and sphinx.
Symbols of power and strength.
Technology
Invented hydraulic cement.
Brick-making mixture of mud, sand, straw and water.
Papyrus writing material.
Al-Fayyum Irrigation the use of the natural lake of the Fayyum as a reservoir to store surpluses of water.
Glass-making glass beads, jars, ornaments, etc.
INDUS VALLEY AND VEDIC CIVILIZATIONS

Indus civilization (2600 1900 BC)

Origin
Centered on the Indus River Valley
Also known as Harappan Civilization and Saraswati-Sindhu Civilization.
The first farming culture in South Asia started in the hills of Baluchistan (Mehrgarh).
Later migrated to the fertile Indus valley the emergence of urban centers.
E.g. Mohenjo Daro and Harappa.
Over 1000 cities and settlements.
Covered about 500,000 sq. (square) miles the modern day Pakistan and northwest India.
The Indus people their origin is unknown.
A theory Dravidians (Dasyus).
The people were believed to have been inspired by the rise of Mesopotamian civilization.
The end of the Indus civilization rather mysterious:
Aryans invasion.
Mass killings or destruction (e.g. civil war).
Diseases malaria.
Climatic change (e.g. flooding)
Yet, some cultural, social and religious elements of Indus civilization survived manifested in the later Indian
civilization.
Government
Remains a mystery.
So far, no evidence of kings, priesthood, state, armies, palaces or temples.
No evidence of centralized government, city states or kingdoms.
22

 Also no evidence of slaves or forced labor.

Instead, evidence of a vast middle class society; traders and artisans.
Society
Little is known of Indus social organization.
Agriculture and trade.
Middle class merchants and officials, artisans, priests, farmers and laborers.
A theory rulers might be from merchant class or ritual specialist or wealthy people who owned large areas of
land.
Religion
Little is known of Indus religious beliefs.
Worshipped gods and goddesses in the form of statues and figurines.
Associated animals with gods.
Contributed to later religion; Hinduism.
Writing System
Indus scripts of symbols.
Exquisitely tiny scripts and short sentence (normally 4 or 5 characters in length).
No meanings till now.
Some argued the Indus writing is one of non-linguistic sign system.
Invented seals to imprint symbols on wet clay.
Science
Achieved great accuracy in measuring length mass and time.
Among the first to develop a system of uniform weights and measures extremely precise.
Division the smallest division (1.704 mm).
Weight units 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, etc. (each unit weighing 28 grams).
Invented instruments to study tides, waves and currents.
Had knowledge of medicine and dentistry.
Technology
Invented new techniques in metallurgy produced copper, bronze, lead and tin.
Metal works knives, razors and chisels.
Bead making, waxing method, pottery making.
Transport technology bullock driven cart sailing bots and sea-going vessels.
Engineering skills building docks, warehouse, brick platforms and protective walls around cities.
Town planning sophisticated and advanced urban culture.
The houses were protected from noise, odor, and thieves.
Houses many two stories and some three stories tall, inner courtyards.
Streets straight and wide (3 10 meters).
The worlds first urban sanitation systems, system of sewage and drainage, toilets, bathroom, public baths.
The drains connected each house to municipal drains located under major streets.
Efficient municipal authorities.
Irrigation and flood control used fired and baked bricks.
Trade
Important contributed to the rise of the Indus civilization.
Facilitated by transport technology.
Extensive maritime trading network with the Mesopotamian civilization.
Also with others Iranians, Persian Gulf states Afghans and southern India.
Food, cotton, cotton cloth, ivory, furniture, copper, gold, silver, etc.
Also inland trade; lowlands and highlands trade routes.
Even maintained small colonies in Afghanistan near to sources of raw materials.
At its peak, the Indus civilization formed part of a much wider economic world.
23

 The trade routes persist till today.

Vedic civilization (1500 500 BC)
Origin
A civilization or culture associated with the Vedas centered in the Ganges river valley.
Named after the Vedas.
1500 500 BC known as the Vedic period or the Vedic Age.
Ended with Persian invasion.
Succeeded by the golden age of Hinduism and classical Sanskrit literature as the Vedic culture
transformed into classical Hinduism.
The Aryans nomadic people from northwest (steppes of Central Asia esp. the region between the
Caspian and Black Seas.
Migrated eastward first settled in Punjab and then Ganges valley.
An Indo-European race, spoke Indo European language; Sanskrit.
Took many basic physical, cultural and religious elements of the Indus civilization.
Founded the city of Delhi.
Government
At the beginning, the emergence of small ancient Indian kingdoms.
Later, the rise of the Mahajanapadas or great kingdoms (e.g. Magadha Empire).
The rashta (state) ruled by a rajan (king).
Aided by purohita (chaplain) senani (army chief) and sena (army).
Employed spasa (spies) and duta (messengers).
The state was divided into jana (provinces), vis (district) and grama (village).
Society
Nomadic lifestyle; cattle rearing and agriculture.
Cattle and cows were held in high esteem religion and as standard unit of barter.
Milk important part of diet.
Families were patrilineal and people prayed for abundance of sons.
Caste system
Society was strictly organized in a system of caste.
Originated in the class system of the Aryans.
To distinguish themselves from the local Indians and to mark descent.
The root of Hindu caste system.
Caste system is a hereditary class of social equals who share the same religion, pursue specific trade or
occupation, and avoid extensive social contact with members of different castes.
The four major classes: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra.
The outcasts (pariah).
Language and Writing
The use of Vedic Sanskrit language until the 6th cent. BC.
The evolution of Vedic Sanskrit language; e.g. Rigveda, Mantra, Samhita, Brahmana, Sutra, Epic and
Paininian Sanskrit.
Writing system used Sanskrit scripts.
Classical Vedic Sanskrit literature. E.g. Ramayana and Mahabharata epics.
A collection of religious hymns and various myths and stories.
Religion
24

 Vedic religious practices (Vedas) the predecessor and root of Hinduism.

Four sacred Vedic religious texts.
The Rigveda the oldest Vedic religious text.
Vedic rites to help adheres to transform through sacrifices.
The mode of worship performance of sacrifices and chanting of verses (hymns).
The priests helped the common people in performing rituals.
Primary gods: Indra, Agni (fire), Soma, Varuna (sky), Surya (sun), Mitra and Vayu (wind).
Primary goddesses: Ushas, Prithvi (earth), Aditai (the mother of gods / cow) and Saraswati.
Traces of Indo-Iranian religion; the fire worship.
Goddesses were often compared to cows and gods to bulls (Nandi-Shivas bull).
Cow can be sacrificed according to Rigveda but later Hinduism makes cow as a sacred animal.
Led to the practice of vegetarianism (prohibited of eating all animals).
The practice of Hindu asceticism / yoga.
Hinduism
Hinduism is not only religious thoughts and ideas but also a social structure and custom (caste system).
One of the worlds oldest religion (currently on of the worlds large followers).
Rooted in the classical Vedas.
The goal of Hinduism to reach brahma (the supreme principle of life).
In doing so, a person has to observe dharma (a moral and natural law).
Once Brahma is achieved, the society and people with live happily.
The concept of karma (actions), samsara (reincarnation), moksha (salvation) and yoga.
Powerful gods e.g. Siva, Vishnu, Kali-Ma, etc.
Gods are manifestations of Brahma.
Bhagavad Gita a famous Hindu sacred hymns and a spiritual guide (the story of Arjuna and Krishna).
CHINESE CIVILIZATION
Origin
One of the oldest and continuous world civilizations.
Began around 1500 BC in the Yellow River Valley known as the Yellow River Civilization.
3 main rivers in China:
1. Yellow River (Huang He)
2. Yangtze (Chang Jiang)
3. Pearl River (Zhu Jiang)
Yellow River the site of Chinas earliest agricultural civilization.
Construction of dykes to prevent flooding led to the emergence of a huge population in the
northern plain.
For many centuries, esp. 7th 14th cent. AD China was the worlds most advanced civilization.
Adopted by many other societies.
The Shang people the first civilized Chinese society.
Made use of bronze from Mesopotamia (bronze-aged people).
Left a number of written records on oracle bones.
Once believed to be a myth by Western historians.
Government
Shang Dynasty (1600 1050 BC)
Tang Dynasty (618 907 AD)
Zhou/Chou Dynasty (1050 256 BC)
Song/Sung Dynasty (960 1279 AD)
Qin Dynasty (221 207 BC)
Yuan Dynasty (1279 1368 AD)
Han Dynasty (206 220 BC)
Ming Dynasty (1368 1681 AD)
Sui Dynasty (589 618 BC)
Qing/Ching Dynasty (1681 1912 AD)
Throughout most of the eras centralized system of administration (court, emperors, bureaucracy).
At the beginning, Shang ruled in city states, which were ruled over by a capital city.
25

 The capital headed by a king, who was also a head priest, military commander and in charge of
the economy.
Warfare very common among Shang cities.
The Chou adopted Shang system of government.
Invented a new system of authority to legitimate their power, tien ming (Mandate of Heaven).
Became an integral aspect of Chinese theories of authority.
Tien ming concept kingship as an intermediary position between heaven and earth.
The king was appointed by heaven to see to the welfare of the people.
If the king failed to carry out his duty, heaven will withdraw its mandate and invest it in another.
During Qin era, the establishment of a central government in China unification of provinces.
Developed emperor system continued by later dynasties.
The emperor a divine position; descendant of gods and goddesses.
Chin Shih, a Qin leader became Emperor Huang Ti.
Society
During early period, a simple class structure:
Ruling class: Aristocrats headed by king.
Government, officials, nobles (warriors and military)
Owned slaves and land.
Common people
Performed various economic activities.
Peasants, artisans, merchants.
Dependent on nobles.
Slaves.
During later period, especially from Han era, Confucian class system.
Based on Confucianism, which was adopted as state / official policy by the Han government.
Ruling class and scholars:
Emperor and family.
Aristocrats, nobles, learned man.
Language and Writing
Language various Chinese dialects.
Yet shared the same writing system.
The Chinese writing system developed later than Sumerian and Indian, but highly developed and
more sophisticated.
Shang invented thousands of symbols written on bronze and oracle bones.
Deeply rooted in Shang religion.
Originally pictographic (words and characters were represented by pictures).
Later developed into a more complex ideographic writing.
During Qin period unified the writing system.
Difficulty to master Chinese writing only for learned elites (received scholarship, government posts
and respect).
The unified writing system important for the rise and continuity of Chinese civilization.
Important for political, social and cultural stability.
Used by ruling governments for record-keeping, effective administration, centralization & communication.
Spread to Korea and Japan.
Religion
At the beginning, the Shang worshipped Shang Ti (Supreme God).
Shang Ti ruled over lesser gods, e.g. god of the sun, the moon, the wind, the rain and of other natural forces
and places.
Shang Ti also regulated human affairs as well as ruling over the universe.
Ancestor worship developed during the Shang era.
The Shang believed that their ancestors dwelled in heaven after their deaths and continued to show
26

interest in their family and descendants.

The obligations within the family to respect and worship ancestors, who were intermediaries between them
and Shang Ti.
Failing to do so, could bring disasters on the family.
Initially a practice among Shang kings family members later extended to common people.
Performed sacrifices, involved humans.
Chou period the emergence of various schools of ideas and thoughts.
The One Hundred Schools period (551 233 BC).
Chinese thinkers and philosophers; Kung Fu-tzu, Lao Tze, Chuang Tzu, Mo Tzu, Xunzi.
Only 3 schools survived; Confucianism, Daoism / Taoism and Legalism.
Confucianism
Founded by Kung Fu-tzu of Confucius.
A minor official turned into philosopher and teacher.
Did not put his thought into writing.
Established an ethical philosophy / personal morality more interested in orderly and stable human
relationships than in theology or religious matters.
Discussed the virtues of a gentleman.
There is a universal law that governs the universe human beings should live according to this law.
The state exists for the benefit of the people and a rule should govern primarily by moral example
rather than by force.
His ideas spread throughout China, yet was stopped during the Chin / Qin dynasty (preferred Legalism as state
policy).
During Han era, Confucianism became the official state philosophy and policy.
Taoism
Or Daoism from the word Tao (The Way) or (The Road).
Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu.
To live according to the Way or Tao of Heaven and harmonize with the Tao become one with the
cosmos and nature.
Political authority cannot bestow peace and order if it restricts itself to the rules and customs of society.
The only way to achieve peace and order is to follow the Way of Nature.
People could only be happy if they abandoned the world and reverted to nature, living a simple life
and alone.
Who followed the Way had no further need of human society.
Will be happiest if they remain uneducated and materially satisfied.
Legalism
An off-shoot of Confucianism.
Founded by Fei Tzu and Li Szu former Confucians who had been heavily influenced by Taoism.
Believed that human were basically evil and selfish.
The state should possess as much power as possible and extend it relentlessly.
The best government would be the government that best contributed to the welfare of the people by
suppressing evil human instincts authoritarian government.
A good ruler should suppress all intellectual, political and social dissent must keep the people in check.
Rule by law ruled by strict and harsh laws, severe and swift punishments.
Technology
Silk started during Shang era.
Cultivated silkworms silken threads woven into silk cloth later became Chinas prime export.
Silk Trade Route.
The Chou sophisticated masters of bronze; also horse-drawn chariots and crossbow.
27

 Other inventions; porcelain, printing, paper, paper money, gunpowder, fireworks, hot air balloons and
parachutes.
GREEK CIVILIZATIONS (1000 BC 323 BC)
Origin
Refers to areas of Hellenic culture that were settled by ancient Greeks; Greek peninsula, Cyprus, Aegean
coast of Turkey (Ionia), Sicily and southern Italy (Magna Graecia.
Started in 1000 BC and ended in 323 BC (the death of Alexander the Great).
Succeeded by Hellenistic Greece / culture / period the integration of ancient Greek into Roman Empire.
Ancient Greek culture and civilization influenced the later Roman civilization and was the foundation of
Western civilization (language, politics, philosophy, art and architecture).
The ancient Greeks an Indo-European race.
Migrated southward from the region of lower Danube River after 2000 BC to Greek peninsula, which was
called Hellas.
The settled Greek people called Hellenes.
By 8th century BC the emergence of self-governing communities or city states.
Later, the expansion of Greek colonies; Aegean, coast of Asia Minor, Cyprus, Balkans, Sicily, Southern Italy,
south coast of France, northeastern Spain, Egypt and Libya.
Government
The city polis the basic unit of Greek government.
Acropolis from akros (top) and polis (city) means a big city.
By 6th century BC dominant Greek cities; Athens, Sparta, Corinth and Thebes.
The most famous, Acropolis of Athens.
Each had a control over the surrounding rural areas and smaller towns.
Athens and Corinth major maritime and mercantile powers.
Athens naval power and practiced political democracy.
The dominance of Athens after the Persian Wars (late 5th century BC).
By mid-5th century BC the establishment of an Athenian Empire.
Athenian culture flourished, especially during the Golden Age of Athens under the rule of Pericles the Age
of Pericles (460 430 BC).
Following the reform of laws (by Solon, Cleisthenes) the establishment of an assembly of adult male
citizens; vote of majority.
Adopted by many other Greek cities.
The Laws of Athens spelled out state laws and rights of citizens.
Athens versus Sparta.
Sparta military power; the best army in ancient Greece.
Military regime under a dual monarchy checked each others influence.
The rise of Sparta after the Peloponnesian War Athens versus Sparta and its allies.
Ended the Athenian Empire Sparta became the new dominant Greek power.
Later, the dominance of Thebes.
Followed by the invasion of Greek cities by Macedonia; King Philip II and his son, Alexander.
Driven by the desire to free Greek cities from Persian influence.
Alexanders empire Persia, Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The establishment of Greek speaking kingdoms in Egypt, Syria and Persia practiced Hellenistic culture.
Society
Two striking features in ancient Greek society: Free men and slaves.
Only free men could be citizens of a city-state and entitled to full protection of the law.
In Athens, the free men were divided into four social classes based on wealth.
Could change classes if made more money.
28

 In Sparta given the title of equal if they finished their education.

Slaves had no power or status.
Had no right to have a family, own property, and did not have legal and political rights.
Many slaves from non-Greek people.
Ordinary Spartans were soldiers, trained to become soldiers from their early life.
Emphasis on military fitness and training.
Prohibited by law from trade, commerce or crafts.
Religion
Greek mythology.
Legendary stories of Greek gods by Greek poets; e.g. Homer and Hesiod.
Gods and goddesses and ancient religious festivals. E.g. Panathenaea and Olympic Games.
Zeus (father of the gods), Hera (Argos), Poseidon (sea and Corinth), Hades (under-world), Athena (Athens),
Aphrodite (Corinth and Cythera, beauty and love), Apollo (sun, poetry, music, art and manly grace), etc.
Gods intervention into human affairs; wars and conflicts seen as punishments by gods for evil doings of the
people (divine punishments).
Opposed by Greek moralists and philosophers.
Insisted that there was a higher power of justice (moral order).
School of Hellas
Athens as the centre of learning, art, architecture, Greek literature and philosophy.
Famous philosophers; Socrates, Plato, Aristotle.
Historians Herodotus, Thucydides, etc.
Athens as the School of Hellas.
Philosophy
Greek words philo (love) and sophia (wisdom). Philosophy means love of knowledge.
As a response to Greek mythology rejected popular nature myths natural calamities as results of
gods actions.
Took analytical and rational view e.g. on the composition of the physical universe.
Early philosophers, e.g. Thales, Democritus, Hippocrates, Parmenides and Heraclitus.
The Sophists, e.g. Protagoras and Aristippus known for the idea of relative truth the truth is different for
each individual.
There is no absolute truth about nature or morals.
Also equated morality with success or pleasure.
Socrates
Opposed the Sophists view.
Believed in the existence of a higher truth and that humans possess virtues (philosophical and
intellectual virtues).
Using a technique of careful questioning to obtain the truth the Socratic / Dialectical Method of inquiry.
The Father of Moral Philosophy.
Emphasized on morality, good and justice.
Virtues as the most valuable possessions the ideal life were spent in search of the Good.
The best way to live is to focus on self-development rather than the pursuit of material wealth,
concentrate on friendships and a sense of true community.
Plato
The pupil of Socrates and founder of the Academy (Athens) the most important intellectual center in the
ancient world.
Shared Socrates ideas of human virtues.
29

 Unlike Socrates, he wrote many books using Socratic dialogues.

Famous works e.g. Doctrine of Ideas and Republic.
Platos idea of philosopher-kings to achieve social justice and order.
Platos social class system: Rulers of the state (philosophers)
Guardians (soldiers)
Producers (workers common citizens)
The role of the hereditary and environment on human intelligence and personality (the modern theory of
nature versus nurture).
Dichotomy between knowledge and opinion (the modern distinction between objective and subjective).
Wrote the story of the lost Atlantis in his Timaeus and Critias.
Aristotle
A student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.
The founder of Lyceum (Athens).
Wrote many works on various subjects; physics, astronomy, psychology, politics, zoology, geography, logic,
biology, poetry, economics, literature, poetry, etc.
Nicomachean Ethics a person should continually behave virtuously.
Aristonian Logic logic is the important key to truth and happiness. Developed systematic rules for
logical thinking.
Described as an encyclopedia of Greek knowledge.
Language and Writing
Latin language and Latin alphabet the root of Roman language and alphabet.
Invented five vowels (a,e,i,o,u).
History
Herodotus, the Father of History.
His work Historia (investigation) based on his extensive travel.
Discussed the life, customs, history and politics of the Middle Eastern and Aegean region.
Separated facts from legends and wrote based on direct observation and evidence.
Thucydides wrote on the Peloponnesian War using primary sources.
Emphasized on the complexity of human motivations.
Medicine
Hippocrates established the first school of physician.
Diseases and sickness were not due supernatural or magical reason.
Recorded on classified symptoms and retail observation of ill patients.
Hippocratic Oath.
Literature
The Greeks loved stories and tales.
Poet Homer wrote famous Greek epics, Iliad and Odyssey.
Poet Hesiod wrote about Greek gods and goddesses.
Epic poetry and lyric poetry.
Drama and theater; tragedy and comedy.
Inspired later Western writers, e.g. William Shakespeare.
Influenced the later Western dramas and theatres.
Architecture
Temples and shrines, e.g. The Parthenon.
30

 Architectural designs (Ionic, Corinthian and Doric).

Statues images of gods and men.
Adopted by later Roman and Western civilization.

ROMAN CIVILIZATION (800 BC 500 AD)

Origin
Started in Rome, Italy.
8th century BC -5th century AD (the beginning of the Middle Ages in Europe).
Often grouped with ancient Greek civilization Greco-Roman civilization or period.
Adopted Greek law, art, literature, language, architecture, ideas, etc.
European definition of classical antiquity.
Roman Empire Italian peninsula, Western Europe & the entire area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.
The master of Mediterranean Sea.
Tiber River the first settlements of the city of Rome in 9th century BC.
2 Italian tribes Latins and Sabines.
Roman legend Rome was founded in 753 BC by a twin, Romulus and Remus.
Government
From monarchy oligarchic republic Roman Empire.
Monarchy 7 kings of Rome.
The first king Romulus.
The last king Tarquin the Proud.
510 BC, Roman republic a system of annually elected magistrates / consuls / assemblies.
Senate patricians.
Consuls (two) patricians and plebeians.
Council of Plebs plebeians.
st
1 Triumvirate Julius Caesar, Pompey and Crassus.
2nd Triumvirate Augustus Caesar, Mark Anthony and Lepidus.
Augustus Caesar the 1st emperor.
Maintained the republican system of government, yet the emperor had absolute power.
The expansion of Roman Empire.
Pax Romana Roman Peace (27 BC 180 AD).
A long period of relative peace experienced by the Roman Empire.
Five Good Emperors (Vespasian, Titus, Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius).
No major civil wars or serious invasions, and flourishing Roman trade.
Due to enforcement of Roman legal system.
3rd century AD, the decline of the empire.
Diocletian divided the empire into four parts with two emperors (co-emperors).
330 AD Emperor Constantine I made Constantinople a new capital.
Permanent division of the Roman Empire;
1. Eastern Byzantium (Constantinople) lasted till 13th century AD
2. Western Roman Empire (Rome) invaded by German tribes 410 AD.
Society
Strictly hierarchical.

31

 Free citizens sub-divided into 3 groups: Patricians (ruling class / aristocrats).

- Senators, army commanders, governors, high priests.
- Hereditary posts.
Knights.
Plebeians (commoners).
- Soldiers.
Plebeians vs. patricians.
Reduction of the power of the patricians by 5th century BC.
Religion
Influenced by Greek mythology Roman gods associated with Greek gods.
Jupiter (king of gods), Neptune (sea), Pluto (underworld), Venus (love), Apollo (sun), Diana (moon),
Cupid (love), Mars (war).
Yet, unlike Greek mythology, Roman gods were sacred spirits (numina).
Every person, place or thing had its own guardian spirit.
A strict system of priestly offices; Pontifex Maximus.
Foreign cults; Egyptian and Persian religions.
2nd century AD, the spread of Christianity.
Became official state religion under Constantine I.
Prohibition of all religions except Christianity by 391 AD.
Language and Writing
The native language Latin (Vulgar Latin and Classical Latin).
Latin alphabets based on Greek alphabets.
23 alphabets (except J, U, W).
Well educated elite spoke Greek language and studied Greek literature.
The expansion of Roman Empire the spread of Latin throughout Europe.
The evolution of Vulgar Latin into different Roman languages.
Latin as lingua franca in Western Europe during European middle ages and early modern period.
Academic and diplomatic language.
Replaced by French (19th century) and English (20th century).
Latin however, continues to be used in religious, legal and scientific terminology.
Roman law
Rooted in the law of the twelve tablets (from 449 BC) until the codification of law by Emperor
Justinian I (530 AD).
Known as Justinian codes 3 groups of law.
Jus Civile (Citizen Law) common laws applied to Roman citizens.
Jus Gentium (Law of Nations) common laws applied to foreigners.
Jus Naturale (Natural Law) laws that were considered common to all beings.
Became the foundation of the legal practices in the Byzantium Empire and Western Europe until 18th cent.
32

Engineering and Architecture

Roads, bridges, fortifications, walls, aqueducts, baths, theaters and arenas.
Monuments e.g. the Collosseum, Pont du Gard and Pantheon.
Roman architecture influenced by Greek architecture.
Developed concrete, a powerful cement Chief Roman building material.
Efficient and durable travel network.
Innovation
Advancement in sanitation.
Public baths hygienic and social purposes.
Flush toilets and indoor plumbing and a complex sewer system.
Roman abacus.
ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION
Rise and expansion if Islam
570 C.E. the birth of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.
610 C.E. the first revelation.
622 C.E. the Hijra to Madinah the beginning of the expansion of Islam.
The unification of Arabian Peninsula under Islam.
The expansion of Islam to North Africa, Andalusia, Central Asia, Asia Minor, Balkans and later to African
continent, Indian sub-continent, Southeast Asia.
Islamic civilization dominated the world of science and learning for nearly 600 years.
The Abbasid Caliphate (750 1258 C.E.) and Muslim rule in Spain (755 1492 C.E.) the golden age of
Islamic civilization.
Learning centers, e.g. Baghdad, Toledo, Seville for Muslims and non-Muslims.
House of Wisdom in Baghdad a huge academic center, library and translation center.
In Toledo, Muslim works were translated from Arabic into Latin.
Quranic inducements to study and explore
Quran stimulates research, discovery, development and improvement of the quality of life.
E.g. It is Allah alternates the Night and the Day: verily in these things is an instructive example for those who
have vision! (Surah an-Nur: 44)
The very first word of the Quran revealed to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. was Iqra, literally reads:
Proclaim! (or Read), in the name of your Lord and Cherisher Who created. (96: 1)
The Quran considers it a sin not to use sense and reason as legitimate means of searching for truth.
It admonishes those who make claims that are not based on knowledge and those who blindly imitates their
ancestors.
E.g.For the worst beasts in the sight of Allah are the deaf & the dumb, those who understand not. (8:22)
Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. on the attitude towards learning.
E.g. Seeking knowledge is a mandatory duty on every Muslim.
The priority of a scholar over a worshipper [without understanding] is like the superiority of the moon over
other stars.
Scholars are the heirs of Prophets.

Islamic educational institutions

Mosque the first school for Muslims.
Students learned how to read and write, learned Quran, Shariah, Arabic grammar, etc.
Later, elementary schools (Katatib, kuttab) attached to the mosques or built separately.
33

 Taught by teachers (Muallim) paid by the community or endowments.

Numerous schools established in every town and village.
Free education for all people.
Secondary schools built next to the mosques and kuttab.
Higher learning institutions, e.g. Baytul Hikmah (House of Wisdom) Caliph Al-Mamun.
Fields of specializations; Ilm al-Kalam or Tauhid (Theology), Logic, Philosophy, Chemistry, Mathematics,
Medicine and Astronomy.
There were departments of library, translation, also a hospital and an observatory.
Other educational institutions; Al-Qarawiyyin (Fez), Zaytunah (Tunisia), Al-Azhar (Cairo).
Also in Andalusia; Cordova, Seville, Malaga and Granada.
Al-Nizamiyyah Schools (Madrasah) financed by states endowments.
A model for later learning institutions.
Certain aspects of the schools copied by early European universities.
Al-Mustansiriyah Schools.
Misconceptions
The common expression The Dark Ages should be re-defined as the European Dark Ages, at least in the
period coinciding with the emergence of Islamic civilization (7th to 13th century C.E.).
The common notion that Roger Bacon was the father of experimental method is not accurate.
-Born in 1214 C.E. Bacon came nearly 6 centuries after the Quran clearly called for this approach in learning
The claim that Muslims merely restored Greek classics.
H. G. Wells their [the Greeks] knowledge was based on rudimentary speculations and [they] were poor in
experimental apparatus.
N. Whitehead the Greeks were over-theoretical and that for them, science was an offshoot of philosophy
Unlike Muslims contributions, the Greek and Roman contributions were not based upon experimentation.
Muslim contributions to western civilization
The European Renaissance was influenced by Islamic civilization.
Europeans came to study at Muslim universities especially in Muslims Spain.
Arabic the language of scientific research and advancement.
Muslim science reached Europe before the 14th century (the beginning of Renaissance) as early as 12th
century C.E.
Led to establishment of universities in Europe.
Islamic civilization reached the West through Andalusia and Greater Syria (Syria and Palestine).
Muslims works, e.g. by Al-Razi (Rhases) and Ibn Sina (Avicenna) on medicine became primary medical
reference in Europe for 600 years.
Medicine, surgery, eye problems, mental illness, psychological therapy (e.g. music), symptoms of diseases,
digestion problem, etc.
Superiority of Muslim medicine over Western medicine (because of religious restrictions).
Astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, chemistry, etc.
Libraries, hospitals, observatories.
Often times, Muslim discoveries were translated by Europeans who attributed such discoveries to
themselves or incorporated them in their works without due credit.
Muslim contributions
In various disciplines.
Related to Islamic teachings; devotional acts such as prayers and pilgrimage; emphasis on hygiene and
cleanliness; the finding of kiblat.
It is unfortunate that most of the rich and voluminous works of Muslim scholars was lost or ruined during the
assaults on the Muslim world.
34

Astronomy
One of the earliest sciences that attracted the Muslims attention.
Discovered the suns apogee (the points farthest form the earth in the orbit of the moon).
Drew catalogues maps of visible stars (gave the Arabic names).
Corrected the sun and moon table.
Fixed the length of the year.
The first to use pendulum to measure time.
The first to build observatories.
Fakhr Al-Din Al-Razi (13th century) a theory of the movement of stars.
Ibn Younus (11th century) invented the sun dial (predicts sun spots, eclipses and appearance of comets.
Chemistry
Jabir (8th century) discovered Nitric Acid and described the operations of distillation, sublimation, filtration,
coagulation and crystallization.
Abu Bakar Al-Razi (Rhases) (9th century) the first to describe the properties of Sulphuric Acid.
Abu-Musa Al-Kufi (8th century) his works translated into Latin and French, some as late as the 17th cent.
English terms in chemistry originated from Arabic terms; champor, alcohol, elixir, syrup.
Mathematics
While the numerals are believed to have originated in India, it was popularized by Muslims.
Muhammad bin Musa Al-Khawarizmi (9th century) introduced system of symbols representing nine
numbers and invented the concept of zero (sifr) 300 years before it was known in Europe (13th century).
Also the founder of Algebra (from Arabic word Al-Jabr).
Muslims combined and re-organized numbers into Arabic numerals.
The first to develop trigonometry in its post-Greek modern form.
Introduced the use of the Sine and Co-sine.
Invented the symbol to express any unknown quantity ( ).
Physics
Al-Hassan Ibn Al-Haytham (Alhazen) (11th century) greatest Muslim physicist (optics), wrote AlManazir The science of optics and the inventions of microscopes, telescopes and cameras are indebted to
him.
Muslims invention of compass for navigation.
Abdul-Rahman Al-Khozaini (9th century) in Mizan ul-Hikmah investigated on hydrostatics and
improvements in the use of water wheels (e.g. gravities of liquids and solids).
Medicine
Fakh-Al-Deen Al-Razi (Rhases) (9th century) wrote an immense medical reference in Europe for 600 years
gynecology, obstetrics and surgery.
Ibn Sina or Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Sina (Avicenna) (11th century).
A physician, poet and philosopher from Bukhara.
Produced over 200 works on medicine, philosophy, geometry, astronomy, theology, philology, art.
Wrote 5 volume work, Canon (or Precepts) of Medicine physiology, hygiene, pathology, therapeutics, etc
Kitab al-Shifa (Book of Healing).
Translated into Latin and became the text-book for medical education in Europe (from 12th 17th cent. CE)
Abul Qasim (late 11th and early 12th century) and Ibn Rushd works on surgery.
Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar) works on bronchotomy, dislocations, fractures and treatment of skin diseases.
Mobile and permanent hospitals.
Hospitalization was free and universally available.
35

History
Al-Tabari (9th century), Al-Masoodi (10th century), Ibn Al-Atheer (13th century), Ibn Khaldun (14th century).
Al-Muqaddima.
Geography
Al-Idrisi (12th century) the theory of earth is round.
Caliph al-Mamun (9th century) ordered the drawing of a large map of the world.
The work of Ibn Rushd (Aventuez) partly led to the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus.
Al-Masoodi (10th century) wrote an encyclopedia arranged by geographical order.
Political Science
Al-Farabi (10th century) wrote about a model city.
Al-Mawardi (late 10th and early 11th century) wrote Al-Ahkam Al-Sultaniyyah (Book of the Rules of Power).
Art and Architecture
Diverse due to the fusion of various cultures which came under Muslim rule. Yet, there are some elements of
unity based on Islamic teachings.
The influence of Muslim calligraphy, Islamic-style mosaic.
Alhambra and the Cordova Mosque in Spain.
Agriculture
Al-Awwam (12th century) described 585 plants and explained the cultivation of several fruits.
Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati studied plants.
Improved the methods of irrigation, used organic fertilizers and improved the breeds of cattle.
Introduced peaches, apricots, cotton, rice, banana, sugarcane to the West.
Industry
Advancements in the manufacturing of fabrics (silk, cotton, wood), leather, glass, steel.
Applied chemistry in making drugs and perfumes.

WESTERN CIVILIZATION
Origin
Began in Europe based on the Greco-Roman civilization.
One of the existing world civilizations.
Started either in 8th century AD / 16th century AD; after end of European Middle Ages (5th 16th cent AD).
Overlapping terms; West or Western, Modern and European.
Different definitions based on different criteria.
Regions (Europe, America)
European descendants
Caucasian race
Western ideologies
Western culture
Christianity
Advanced / Industrialized European states Periods (ancient Greco-Roman / Modern)
Generally, Western civilization is defined as having these criteria:
European descendants
Western ideologies
Developed / Industrialized state
Christianity
In consistent with the general perception of what people view of the West today.
Religion was not the driving force behind the Western civilization.
In fact, religion was viewed as an obstacle towards progress.
Separation of church and state.
The rise of Western civilization followed a series of events in Europe.
European History
36

 Middle / Dark / Medieval Ages

The Age of Reformation
Scientific Revolution
The Age of French Revolution
Romanticism

The Age of Renaissance

The Age of Discovery and Expansion
The Age of Enlightenment
Industrial Revolution
The Age of Nationalism

European Middle Age

5th 16th century AD (500 1500 AD).
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
Characterized by intellectual stagnation, famines, economic depression, plagues (Black Death), wars (The
Hundred Years War), the Crusades.
The Black Death killed 25% - 50% of European population.
The Hundred Years War, England vs. France.
Supremacy of the church.
Roman Catholic Church as spiritual head of Christendom & had authority overall European secular rulers.
Feudal systems.
Inequalities, injustices, suppression of the poor, slavery and serfdom.
Feudal society:
1. Clergy
2. Nobility
3. Commoners
The Age of Renaissance
1350 1550 AD (14th 15th AD).
In Italy Italian Renaissance.
The Age of Rebirth a rebirth of antiquity or Greco-Roman civilization.
The Age of Recovery from the disaster of the 14th century.
A period of significant political, economic, artistic and intellectual change.
The Age of Reformation
16th century AD began in Germany.
Martin Luther, a German professor of theology.
A religious movement, known as Protestant movement.
Challenged the authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
Resulted in the division of Western Christendom.
Luther unsatisfied with Catholic traditional practice of confession.
The Bible as the sole authority in religious affairs no need for traditions and decrees of the Church.
A hierarchical priesthood was unnecessary since all Christians who followed the word of God were their own
priests.
Spread to other Europeans states; England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Scandinavian states.
Lutheranism, Zwinglianism, Calvinism, Anabaptists.
Organized reformed churches.
The use of music to teach the Bible.
Abolished monasticism and clerical celibacy.
Rejected veneration of relics and saints, and pilgrimages.
Replaced with individual prayer, family worship and collective prayer and worship on Sunday.
Important impact on education in Europe education for the public.
Established Protestant secondary schools and universities.
The Age of Discovery and Expansion
Began in late 15th century.
A transition of Europe from agrarian economy to a commercial and industrial capitalistic system.
Reasons for expansion:
Economic reason
Religious reason (Portugal and Spain)
37

 Achieved a level of wealth and technology (maps, weapons and vessels).

Glory and prestige.
Portugal and Spain, followed by Netherlands, France and England.
Impact on Europe new land, riches and social advancement.
The increase of European trade led to a new era of commercial capitalism and world economy.
Reinforced Christians Europes belief in the inherent superiority of European civilization.
Also increased rivalries among European states.
Impact on the conquered people the establishment of European institutions, religion, language and culture
(especially on Native American civilization).
Introduction by Europeans of animals (horses and sheep) and crops (wheat).
Scientific Revolution
16th and 17th century. (Conflict between science and religion).
Led to secular, rational and materialistic perspectives that characterized the modern Western mentality.
Challenged traditional Christian views of the universe.
E.g. a shift from an-earth centered to a sun-centered cosmos.
Nicolaus Copernicus sun-centered theory.
Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe solar system.
Galileo Galilei confirmed Copernican theory using a telescope.
Isaac Newton universal law of gravitation.
Francis Bacon correct scientific methods (systematic experiments and observations).
Rene Descartes scientific technology.
By 17th century, the spread of scientific knowledge in European universities.
Royal and princely patronage of individual scientists.
The emergence of scientific societies.
The Age of Enlightenment
18th century.
Enlightenment accepting new philosophical ideas based on the discoveries of the Scientific Revolution.
Also means rejection of traditional Christianity.
The emergence of secularism.
A movement by philosophers and intellectuals advocating the application of scientific methods to the
understanding all life.
The use of reason (rational and scientific way of thinking).
Natural law, hope and progress.
Had a widespread impact on European society.
Immanuel Kant reason
Montesquieu natural law
Voltaire criticism of traditional religion and religious toleration
Denis Diderot criticism of Christianity
David Hume science of man
Rousseau social contract
The Age of French Revolution
Late 18th and 19th century.
1789 in Paris the attack on Bastille led to the French Revolution.
A turning point in European political and social history.
The abolition of old regime and institutions and the establishment of a new order in Europe.
Individual rights, representative institutions and loyalty to nation.
In line with the French revolution slogan Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
Inspired by the American Revolution (War of Independence) Bill of Rights.
Also due to inequality of rights in French society, and economic/financial problems.
Ended with the abolition of French monarchy.
38

 The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1879).

Men are born and remain free and equal in rights; the governments must protect these natural rights, and that
political power is derived from the people.
The ideas were disseminated by Napoleon Bonaparte through his European expansion (1799 1815).
He sought acceptance everywhere of certain revolutionary principles, including legal equality, religious
toleration and economic freedom.
The Industrial Revolution
Late 18th and early 19th century.
Began in Britain, spread to European continent and the New World (America).
Transformed the economic and social structure of Europe.
From a traditional, labor-intensive economy based on farming and handicrafts to capital-intensive
economy, based on manufacturing.
Witnessed a quantum leap in industrial production due to new sources of energy and power (coal and
steam); power machinery; factories; overseas markets.
Mass movements of people from countryside to urban areas.
Led to a search for new sources of raw materials and new markets.
A revolution in transportation; railroads and locomotives.
The creation of a wealthy industrial middle class and a huge industrial working class (proletariat).
Negative effects.
Romanticism
Literary arts; poetry was the direct expression of ones soul.
Visual arts, music.
Believed that states and societies evolved through time and that each people had a spirit (Geist) that made him
unique.
Some emphasized greatly on nature identifying the forces of nature with God.
Joseph Malford William Turner
Eugene Delacroix
Beethoven.

39