A Comparison of the Values of Classical India, China, and Persia
During the era known as the time of the classical civilizations, there were numerous noticeable changes occurring in many civilizations and city-states around the world. In India, China, and Persia in particular, one could see the influence of religion and philosophy on the political and social structure of the time.
In India, the religion of Hinduism in particular, provides two sources of support in regards to the social structure of the era. These sources are the Vedas and the Upanishads. According to The Rig Veda when Purusha’s body was divided “his mouth became the brāhman; his two arms were made into the rajanya; his two thighs the vaishyas; from his two feet the shūdra was born (Reilly, 92).” By splitting up the body in this way, there was a justification for the creation of the varna or caste system. The highest class or Brahmin’s were the priest class, who were also known as the most pure. In this role, they were the connecting figures between Purusha and his people, which is reflective of them being his mouth. The next upper division class was the Ksatriya or warrior/leader class. In the class, the role was to do the fighting which was reflective of them being Purusha’s arms. The artisan/farmer or middle class was known as the vaisyas. In this class, members represented the role of the thighs of Purusha, who were responsible for doing the brunt or tougher jobs in society. The nethermost social class was the sudra, who were serfs and servants. They represented the feet of Pursha, which is reflective of their status as the lowest class. Along with the Vedas, the Upanishads served as a written guideline for the varna. These works urged the concept of doin...
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...o the practice of other religions throughout his empire because his religion allowed for him to be a more moral and upright leader. However, Darius was a firm believer in the punishment of evil-doers. This can be seen by the inscription on the relief above the Royal Road, which stated that “The Lie made them rebellious, so that these [men] deceived the people. Afterwards Ahuramazda put them into my hand; as was my desire, so I did unto them (Primary Source, 131).” This supports the idea that Zoroastrianism, created benevolent yet firm political dignitaries.
In conclusion, while there were many changes occurring throughout the world during the time of the classical era, the most prevalent changes took place in India, China and Persia. These changes involved religion and philosophy being a means for justifying the class, gender, and political roles of citizens.
Two of the most powerful powers in the post-classical period were the Arabian and Byzantine empires. Each had different political, religious, and economic differences that defined their respective cultures, and managing to create vast empires that greatly rivaled each other.
The caste system played a great part in religion and philosophies as well. As shown in the graphic organizer, Father>son, older brother>younger brother. This supports the evidence of a caste system in china, not as strict as the caste system in Ancient India. The caste systems were separated by power, a father being more powerful than his son, and wife. His older son will have more power over the younger son, but the father has the power to control all of his sons. This was similar to the Indian caste system. Brahmins had more power over
There are four main castes and one in which they consider to be the outcastes. The four main castes are the Brahmin, the next is the Kshatriya, the third is the Vaishya, and the fourth is the Shudra. The outcastes are in the group called Dalits. Each caste has a purpose in life, the Brahmin are considered to be the priestly caste in which they are teach the Veda, and are to “sacrifice for others and receive alms” (Institutes of Vishnu 5-10, pg. 44). The Kshatriya is considered the warriors or the ruler caste, they have constant practice in battles, and they are to protect the world from harm. The Vaishya are to be the merchants and the farmers, they tend to the cattle, they, “engage in farming, keeps cows, trades, lends money at interest, and grows seeds” (Institutes of Vishnu 5-10, pg. 44). The Shudra are the manual laborers who according to the Institutes of Vishnu under the Four Castes, are to serve the twice born men who are to sacrifice and to study the Veda, the Shudra also engage in all the different duties of craftsmanship (5-10, pg.44). In case of a crisis, each caste is allowed to follow the occupation of the caste that is below them in rank. The duties in which all four of these castes, whatever gender or stage of life, are to follow and hav...
Imperial Rome and Han China were significant classical empires which have influenced history. Although Imperial Rome and Han China shared centralized governments, infrastructure, and military control of large governments, they differed in their particular methods and values that supported the development of their empires.
The world’s history has numerous civilizations ranges from weak to strong and by level of influential. These civilizations contributed things that have significantly influenced the world as it is known today. Examples of such civilizations include the Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire, which made big changes to the social-economic landscape of the globe. Despite both civilizations having great influences, there are various differences and similarities in the social and economic scenarios of the two civilizations. Therefore it is necessary to differentiate these scenarios in order to appreciate the extent of influence facilitated by these civilizations.
Classical civilization was the period centered on the Mediterranean Sea, relevant to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
The two prominent empires, the Roman Empire in the west and the Han Dynasty in the east ruled over large sections of the world population. The significance of these empires on
Both Imperial Rome and China placed a great divide between two groups – the wealthy and the poor. In Rome the poor mans vote did not count as much as the wealthy mans vote did.10 The merchant class or lower class in China was viewed with suspicion and blamed for economic ills.11 They were given harsh punishments under the Legalist method – which saw humans as inherently evil by nature and in need of strict leadership.12 In Rome some citizens fought against this class system, but citizens also had greater chance for social mobility since the expansion of Rome brought in the need for new jobs related to increasing trade routes.13 In China some of the citizens adopted Buddhism, which challenged the social structure and went completely against the dominant Confucian
The classical period was a time of major economic growth, and for the first time we saw a miniature type of globalization, at least in the eastern hemisphere. The expanding governments built farther and stronger roads to help develop long-distance trade. The merchants carrying the goods carried with them their religious background. They found converts of all types in all places, and spiritual thought became one of the most important themes of the time. These Religions would remain in place as powerful institutions, and the economic strategies developed would only be expanded on until this very present day.
Along the coasts of Asia, pirates raided countless ships; within Palestine and Jerusalem, armies fought holy wars; on the steppes of the Mongols, the Great Khans expanded their already massive empire. Conflict and war in ancient Asia drove important changes in technology, trade, and religion.
The caste system is a type of social inequality that exists mainly in the Indian Sub-continent, which was said to have been introduced by the Aryans, who categorised the different kinds of people as Brahmins (Nobles), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (Merchants), sudras (servants) and the untouchables who were not allowed to mingle with the other higher sections of the society or to do the work other than those which were ...
So what is the Classical era? The Classical Greece era dates back to 500-323 BCE and was considered to be the period of maturity, discovery and achievement. During this era Athens was governed by a democratic government, there came a more rational approach to exploring and explaining the world and the Greeks took art to a more realistic and humanistic approach for the first time. (Sakoulas, 2002) During the Classical era the culture was based on a blend of their old culture and the new. The old being based upon religious beliefs while the new happen largely in part due to trade routes. Trade routes helped to bring men from different areas and cultures into Athens. This allowed Athens to become a sort of “melting pot” and allowed for great economic growth. From this sprouted things like the production of dramas, comedies, plays and artists. As stated by Steven Kreis “The Athenian d...
The classical periods of many of the great world civilizations were the golden ages of those civilizations. However, just because a civilization’s classical age has passed does not mean that the ideas, institutions, and art have passed as well. On the contrary, the effect from the classical periods of many great civilizations is still with the present civilization. The ideas, institutions, and art that has endured from these civilizations is no accident; the ideas, institutions, and art have had an influence on civilizations up to and including the present day.
The contributions of the civilizations of Mesopotamia in the Fertile Crescent, classical China, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire laid the foundations for living in the modern world. Breakthroughs in a multitude of fields, including art, architecture, math, science, philosophy, law, government and others are crucial to the way people live all over the world. Although these ancient civilizations may seem primitive today, they shaped the progress of the world for many centuries.
The Varna Theory of Caste, the first mention of which is found in Purusha Sukta, a hymn in Rig Veda, suggests that the four varnas originated from different body parts of Brahma- Brahmans from the head, Kshatriyas from the arms, Vaishyas from the thighs and Shudras from the feet. Although not explicitly mentioned in the hymn, the body parts are interpreted to denote the status of the four Varnas. The existence of much more than four castes is said to be a result of intermarriages. Several concepts like endogamy, Karma and Dharma, caste based occupation and commensality have come to be associated and viewed as central to the caste system. The Brahman centric view of the society was upheld even though there was not much overlap between the prescribed