Ancient Civilizations Information: We explain the ancient civilizations in China, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Phoenicia, and Asia, among others. Please read other MTV articles for more information. If you share it, it will be of little help to us.
What were ancient civilizations?
Ancient civilizations are the societies that inhabited different parts of the world during the Ancient Age (between 3000 BC and 476 AD). Specialists have identified more than one hundred civilizations with varying levels of social, political, and cultural complexity. Each has its own characteristics and history.
The term civilization is used to refer to human societies that developed a complex social organization and created urban centers with administrative structures and a division of labor. In ancient times, some of these communities had a state-like organization: power was concentrated in a group that enjoyed privileges and a life distinct from the rest of society.
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Among the oldest civilizations are Ancient Egypt in North Africa and Sumer in Mesopotamia, Asia. Also in Asia, the ancient civilizations of China and the Indus Valley developed. Later, the Greek civilization inhabited the coasts and islands of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and Ancient Rome came to occupy the entire region surrounding that sea.
The ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica were the Olmec culture, which inhabited the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, the Teotihuacan culture in the Valley of Mexico, and the Mayan culture on the Yucatan Peninsula. In South America, the most important was the Andean Chavín culture.
Characteristics of Ancient Civilizations
Each civilization of the Ancient Age had its own history and culture. However, some common characteristics can be identified:
Surplus Production
Ancient civilizations had a productive economy. With the development of agriculture, surpluses (produced goods that exceeded subsistence needs) were stored. This allowed for the accumulation of goods, trade, and the provision of resources for emergencies.
Urban Centers
Ancient civilizations created cities with homes and buildings dedicated to the storage of surplus production and the management of resources. Life in urban centers was distinct from rural areas, which were dedicated to agricultural and livestock production.
Monumental Architecture
Ancient civilizations built large-scale architectural works that required enormous expenditures of accumulated resources. Some of these were necessary for the survival of the community (such as canals and dikes for irrigation or defensive walls), while others had religious or administrative uses (such as temples and palaces, respectively).
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State Organization
Ancient civilizations were the first to develop states with centralized power. A privileged social group was responsible for establishing laws, maintaining social order, and managing the community’s resources (i.e., collecting taxes and redistributing wealth).
Hierarchical Social Division
The social group that controlled political power was differentiated from the rest of the population. In most cases, it was a social caste of priests or warriors. Artisans and peasants produced goods and paid tribute in exchange for security and protection.
Administrative Structure
Ancient civilizations created writing systems of varying complexity, depending on the case, to record the payment of taxes and manage property. These societies had a high level of organization that required the work of officials specifically dedicated to this task.
Art
Each ancient civilization was characterized by the development of its own artistic style (with greater or lesser influence from other societies). These styles were evident in their ceramic and utensil production, architecture, and sculpture.
Ancient China
The Chinese civilization inhabited the Yellow and Blue River basins in present-day central-eastern China. The oldest urban settlements date back to 3000 BC, and the first state organization is believed to have emerged around 2000 BC, under the rule of the Xia Dynasty.
Since then, Chinese history has been marked by the rise and fall of different dynasties and by a social division with very marked hierarchies. It is known for the ideas of thinkers such as Confucius and Lao Tzu, and for its unique architectural style based on symmetry and the incorporation of symbols in construction. It is also notable for the invention of gunpowder, the compass, and silkworm breeding.
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Ancient Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia was a territory located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in western Asia. It was inhabited by several important ancient civilizations, including the Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, and Babylonians.
Sumerians
Beginning around 3500 BC, the Sumerian civilization developed complex agricultural techniques with large canals to control the flow of water. Furthermore, the Sumerians founded dozens of urban centers called “city-states.” Each Sumerian city had its own government, its own laws, and worshipped a different god. The most important were Ur, Uruk, Eridu, and Kish.
The Sumerians created the first writing system (called cuneiform) to record the administration of their cities. Another notable feature of their culture was the construction of ziggurats, which were temples in the shape of stepped pyramids. Furthermore, the myth of the Great Flood, which is present in the epic tale The Epic of Gilgamesh, comes from their culture.
Akkadians
The Akkadians were a Semitic people who lived in Mesopotamia and, beginning in 2350 BC, managed to subdue the various cities in the area. King Sargon I centralized power and unified the region under a single kingdom, which, with successive conquests of neighboring territories, became one of the most important empires of the time.
For more than a century, the Akkadians spread their language and culture. However, around 2150 BC, they failed to maintain control, and the Sumerian city-states regained their independence.
Assyrians
The Assyrians were another people of Semitic origin who inhabited Mesopotamia. From the middle of the third millennium BC, some Assyrian city-states were unified under a centralized government. However, it was not until the 8th and 7th centuries BC that the Assyrians expanded their power and built an empire by conquering several regions of Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Syria, and the Levant. The decline of their power was a consequence of internal and external political conflicts.
The Assyrians were known for their military prowess and advanced warfare tactics. They were also characterized by a highly developed written culture and their architectural art, with highly detailed reliefs of battle and religious scenes.
Babylonians
The Babylonians were another Semitic people who inhabited Mesopotamia. In 1792 BC, their king Hammurabi I conquered the Sumerian cities and founded the first Babylonian Empire. However, over the following centuries, the region was invaded by peoples of different origins (Hittites, Kassites, and Assyrians).
Around the 7th century BC, the Babylonians regained control of the region and, under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, they also occupied Phoenicia and Palestine and founded the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which remained in force until the Persian invasion in 539 BC.
Ancient Egypt
The civilization of Ancient Egypt was established in the Nile River Valley in North Africa. It is estimated that the first dynasty was founded around 3000 BC, led by Pharaoh Nemes. Under a single government, there were different cities connected by the Nile River.
The history of the Egyptians spans more than three thousand years and is marked by the rise and fall of different dynasties. The pharaoh was believed to be sacred because he connected society with the gods.
The Egyptian civilization developed different writing systems, such as hieroglyphics, and is known for the construction of great pyramids.
Ancient Greece
Greek civilization inhabited the region south of the Balkans (southeastern Europe), the islands of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and the coasts of Asia Minor. It founded dozens of city-states called polis, which were independent political and territorial units. Among the most important were Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, and Miletus.
Greek civilization is known for the great influence of its cultural and political development on other societies, both contemporary and subsequent. Its great buildings (such as the Parthenon temple in Athens), its mythology (the stories of the pantheon of gods such as Zeus and Hercules and of heroes such as Odysseus and Achilles), and its philosophers (such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle) stand out. It is also distinguished for having created democracy as a political system.
Ancient Rome
Roman civilization arose around the city of Rome, which was founded in the 8th century BC on the Italian Peninsula. It expanded to occupy most of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Throughout its history, it had three types of political organization: monarchy (753 BC–509 BC), republic (509 BC–27 BC), and empire (27 BC–476 AD).
It was one of the most important and influential civilizations of the Ancient Age. By conquering territories, the Romans expanded their culture, built cities, and imposed some of their customs (such as the use of Latin, which gave rise to the entire family of Romance languages: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Romanian, Galician, Catalan, among others). Around the 4th century AD, the imperial government adopted Christianity as its official religion.
In 476 AD, the fall of the empire to the invasion of Germanic peoples marked the end of the Ancient Age and the beginning of the Middle Ages.
Phoenicians
The Phoenician or Phoenician-Punic civilization was a Semitic people who inhabited the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, in the Levant region. Between the 10th and 6th centuries BC, the Phoenician culture occupied parts of what is now Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel.
The Phoenicians were especially known for their maritime trade, which connected different cities and colonies throughout the Mediterranean. Their political organization was based on city-states, the most important of which were Byblos, Tyre, and Sidon.
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire was another of the largest empires of antiquity. The Achaemenid Persians were a tribe of Indo-European origin that inhabited the Iranian plateau.
In 550 BC, In 300 BC, King Cyrus II, nicknamed the Great, unified the various Persian tribes and defeated the Median Empire that ruled the region. He then set about expanding his dominions and conquering neighboring kingdoms, including Babylon, Judea, Syria, and other territories in Asia Minor.
The Achaemenid Empire reached its peak around 500 BC and fell to the troops of Alexander the Great in 330 BC, when King Darius III was defeated. The Greeks were its greatest rivals, and it clashed with them during the Persian Wars (490–449 BC).
Its main city was Persepolis (founded between 518 and 516 BC), and it was connected to the different corners of the empire by an extensive network of roads called the “Royal Road.”
The Persians spoke an ancient Persian dialect that initially had no written language, although it coexisted with many different languages in society. After the conquest of Mesopotamia, Aramaic became a lingua franca between the various parts of the territory.
Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization inhabited parts of present-day Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India between 3300 BC and 1300 BC. Its most important cities were Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.
Scholars believe that the Indus Valley Civilization had a complex administrative organization, as it built urban centers with distinct dwellings and ceremonial centers. However, it did not form a monarchical caste with a monopoly on political power.
This civilization is notable for its production of terracotta figurines with stylized female forms. They also had a writing system with symbols and seals, which has not yet been deciphered.
Olmec Civilization
The Olmec civilization is one of the oldest in the Americas. It inhabited the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico between 1500 BC and 400 BC. Their most important centers were San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Tres Zapotes. They had a hierarchical social and political organization, with power in the hands of a caste of priests.
The Olmecs were the first to create a writing system in the Americas and had a religious pantheon that was later adopted by other Mesoamerican cultures. They also created a religious ritual calendar based on the 260-day lunar movement.
Teotihuacán Civilization
The Teotihuacán civilization occupied the northwest of the Valley of Mexico between 200 AD and 550 AD. This city was the first large urban center in the region and was distinguished by its immense palaces and pyramids.
Characteristic of this civilization are the ceramic vessels with drawings depicting events from the mythology of their gods and the murals that adorned the pyramid-shaped religious temples.
Chavín Civilization
The Chavín civilization was an Andean culture that inhabited the Marañón River basin between 1200 BC and 400 BC. It built religious centers and inhabited different ecosystems in the Andes. It was a civilization that united diverse populations under a single system of religious beliefs, but it is not known for certain whether it led to the creation of a unified state.
This civilization had an artistic and architectural style that influenced other populations in the region, such as the Kotosh and Kuntur Wasi. It is notable for the construction of temples decorated with religious motifs, human figures, and fantastic scenes.
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References
All the information we offer is supported by authoritative and up-to-date bibliographic sources, which ensure reliable content in line with our editorial principles.
- Ackermann, M. (2008). Prehistoric Eras to 600 BC. Encyclopedia of World History, Vol. I: The Ancient World. Prehistoric Eras to 600 C.E. Facts on File.
- Marquez, M., & Cassano, K. (2010). The Early Societies of Antiquity; Ancient States and Empires; States and Civilizations of the Americas. Social Sciences 1. Manioc.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020). List of Ancient Civilizations. Encyclopedia Britannica. britannica.com
