4.1 Global Political Systems The development of civilizations 1000-500 BCE

Similarities and Differences As landed aristocrats became increasingly powerful, they began to fight with each other Political competition was defined by centralized authority v. decentralized authority

East Asia Politically, China was a feudal system based upon land To stabilize the empire and protect land from nomadic invasions, the emperor parceled out more land This made more aristocrats and expanded the court, but diluted the power of the emperor Some aristocrats used their land to build local power As aristocrats became more influential, wealthier, and powerful they would challenge the emperor By 500 BCE the Zhou Dynasty would plunge into civil war

South and Southeast Asia Towards the end of the Formative Period (1500-500 BCE), the last great Vedic Epics were being finished Indo-Aryan’s had by this time largely assimilated into the indigenous population They had conquered most of the Indo-Gangetic Plain and established regional rulers Roughly 16 independent states would emerge, each as a republic of hereditary or elected rulers Southeast Asia would begin to be influenced by Chinese and Hindu cultures

The Near East The Neo-Babylonians would conquer Palestine, bringing the Jews to Mesopotamia (Babylonian Captivity) The Assyrians would bring Mesopotamian and Nile civilizations together All these cultures, and these two civilizations, would be brought together by the Persians Cyrus the Great’s policy of toleration and autonomy allowed for a hugely successful imperial system The “King of Kings”: armies and tribute in exchange for autonomy and loyalty

Africa North Africa was divided between Phoenician, Greek, and Persian political systems Nubia, south of Egypt, remained independent of the Persian Empire South of the Sahara Desert, pastoralist societies began to emerge in the Sahel region of Africa Some would begin to settle along the Niger River

Europe Due to its mountainous geography, Greece was divided into various city-states, independent from each other City-states would have varying types of political systems but were mostly variations of oligarchies, where a few ruled Athens would begin to develop democracy by 508 BCE but it would be extremely limited By 509 BCE Rome, a city-state in Italy dominated by Etruscans, would overthrow its monarchy and become a Republic In both cases, citizenship defined those able to have access to political rights and it was limited to a percentage of males The Phoenician colony of Carthage in North Africa would establish a power trading oligarchy

The Americas Olmec civilization became foundational to Mesoamerica Maya civilization would adopt many Olmec traditions and settled on the Yucatan Peninsula They established large agricultural city centers with massive public buildings Although little is known for certain due to the Spanish destruction of Maya history, we know that Belize and Guatemala were regions first settled by the Maya