Reviewer (Please read books by Farmer et al and Rhoads Murphey)

Asia largest and most populous continent; houses 5 subcontinent

- Origin: derived from the Assyrian term Asu which means sunrise, east which is opposite of ereb
(darkness, west); orient is derived from the word oriri and oriens meaing to rise.
- Western point of view (Europe)
- Described the eastern territory beyond the Aegean Sea
- Cultural zones: West Asia, South Asia, Northeast Asia, North/Central Asia, Southeast Asia
- Bundle of complex and diverse people

Climate- wet & dry, hot & cold, whether w/ 2 or 4 seasons, tropical or temperate
Climatic area: 1)Monsoon Asia (SWA not included; Rhoads); 2)Desert; & 3)Boreal
1. Climate is based on its latitudinal location. The nearer you are to the equator the hotter it is and the
farther you are from equator the colder it is. (near or passed by the equator - Phil, Singapore,
Malaysia, Borneo, Indonesia, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Congo, Kenya)
2. Climate affects soil and soil affects crops- so there are vegetables & fruits which cant be derived in
tropical countries & vice versa
3. Climate affects food, clothing and shelter. Igloos in the very cold & nipa in hot; fur & winter clothes
in temperate & sarong or malong in tropical

Geography- the study of the earths crust or surface in relation to human activities
2 Divisions
1) Physical Geography: Location, Size, shape, climate, Topography
2) Human Geography: Components of culture- food, clothing, shelter, PERSIA
Physical geography
1. Continental
2. Archipelagic or Insular country

Size
1. Large (ex. India)
2. Medium (ex. Great Britain & Philippines)
3. Small (ex. Vatican & Monacco)

Shape - affects its unity, devt or growth & communication

1. Compact- best shape
2. Broken (ex. West & East Pakistan)
3. Fragmented (ex. Indonesia & Japan)
4. Elongated (ex. Philippines)

Topography - configuration of a surface including its reliefs & the position of its natural & man-made
features
- Varied natural features = varied livelihood & raw materials

Difference between Civilization and Culture

Culture: a way of life , should not only be associated w/ arts & religion but also with basic aspects like food,
clothing, shelter, and institutions like political, economy, religion, social, intellectual & arts (PERSIA)
2 types: Tangible and Intangible
Civilization: have means of subsistence, forms of government, social stratification, economic systems,
literacy and other cultural traits
- applied only to few (Mesopotamian/Sumerian, Chinese, Indus, Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Minoan,
American, European)
Characteristics
1. A pioneer or initiated
2. An advanced/ developed /sophisticated way of life
3. Influential
Antecedent and birth of civilization in Asia (Farmer et al: Introduction & Chap 1)
- River systems = cradle of civilization (ex. W: Tigris & Euphrates, S: Ganges; NE: Yangtze)
- Nomadic pastoralism sedentary agriculture

Great Tradition & Little Tradition

- Great tradition (civilization e.g. Islamization, Indianization, Sinicization) spreads the culture to the
little culture (folk culture)
- Methods: migration, marriage, trade, conquest, etc. Little
Tradition
- Little tradition either adopt or adapt

Little Great Little

Theories of history Tradition Tradition
1. Providential
Tradition
2. Cyclical
3. Spiral
4. Linear
5. Linear progressive Little
Challenge & Response theory (Arnold Toynbee) Tradition

- civilization rises & falls

- Challenge: physical & human
- civilization rises because the leader/s met the challenge successfully. But it doesnt mean that s/he or
they will always meet it successfully. When they reach a nemesis of creativity or they are at a loss
on how to address a challenge the civilization falls
- minimum challenge maximum response; maximum challenge maximum response

West Asia
- Mesopotamia: Greek word between the rivers. It is served as the site for some of the worlds
earliest civilization, occupied the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that now constitutes
the greater part of Iraq. It is commonly known as the cradle of civilization
- Fertile Crescent - The region was named so due to its rich soil and crescent shape and also, named
because the people who lived in this crescent-shaped area developed rich, irrigated farmlands.
- Five Main Periods of Mesopotamian Archeology
o Eridu 5500-4300 BCE: agriculture & fishery; chief god Enki
o Ubaid 4300-3500 BCE: farmed and fished but are noted for their pottery
o Early Uruk 3500-3100 BCE: elaborate temples; limestone masonry and copper
o Uruk IV and III 3100-2900 BCE: wheel pottery; animal drawn solid-wheeled carts; devt of
urban society; development of writing and beginnings of warfare and political organization
o Early Dynastic 2900-2334 BCE: stratified and distinct classes; chariots for military; bronze;
jewelry-making; harp & lyre
- Sumerian Civilization (earliest known civilization in the world) mid-4th millennium BCE
o Scarcity of land = social stratification, limited freedom and economic opportunity
o Theocratic government temple at the center of the city; high role of priest/ess
o Sargon of Akkad 1st warrior king and state builder
o Political: king represent a certain god but limited power (ensi) & shared authority w/ the
assembly
o Cuneiform writing: invented by the Sumerians at Uruk. Their character is in wedge-shape
consisting initially of about 1,400 symbols, it is first used to make inventories of goods and to
record transactions on clay tablets.
o Ziggurat: artificial mountain, a stepped tower, the typical Mesopotamian religious structure
that was intended to bring the priest or king nearer to a particular god, or to provide a
platform where the deity could descend to visit the worshipers
- Babylonia
 o Code of Hammurabi: set of laws for the conduct of individuals and society that he codified, is
one of the first bodies of written law; foundation of justice system of the modern Western
countries; difference of punishment & stratification (trial by ordeal)
o Epic of Gilgamesh
- Assyria (Nineveh)
o Political: monarchy
o Great Library of Nineveh
- Persia 1st global empire
o Persian civilization vs Greek civilization
o shahansha - king of kings, based from this word, there emerged, for the first time, that long
lasting idea that the fortunes of Iran and of its rulers were inextricably bound together,
thereby providing a sanctity and a charisma for the monarch. This can also mean the concept
of "One World" and the "Unification of All People
world's first religiously tolerant empire
flexible administrative system to cater diversity while maintaining the fundamental
unity of government
o Empires
Achaemenid (Persian) Dynasty
Cyrus the Great - laid the foundation of the empire; 1st human rights charter in
history (Cyrus cylinder)
Cambyses II made Babylon capital
Darius the Great built the precursor of Suez Canal; qanats (underground
irrigation system); expansionist policy
o Satrapies- separately governed regions, which formed one logical unit.
o Satraps- viceroys of the satrapies or provincial governors. The word is
derived from the Greek of the Old Persian kshatrapa, which also found
its way into India, where it was widely used during the Saka and
Kushan periods. Local men were possibly hired in positions
World Heritage: Hall of Mirrors, Persepolis
Lingua franca = Aramaic
Seleucid (Alexander the Great)
Darius III, last king before it went to the hands of a Macedonian general,
Seleucus
Hellenistic culture blend with other culture
Library of Alexandria- 1st cumulated knowledge
Parthian Empire (middle Persian)
Limited recorded history (coins)
Time of reformation when Alexander the Great came to Persopolis/Fars;
influenced by Greek culture and language
The real Persians: policy of Iranicization
Control the Silk Road
Legacy: astronomy, backgammon
Sasanian Empire (Sasanid) last pre-Islamic empire
Influenced by Roman empire
- Islamic empires (610 CE- 1923 CE)
o A Khulafa (Caliph) can be appointed based from the shura or consultations among the
Majlis or Islamic jurists, scholars, or in a modern pretext the parliament to govern the
Khilafah (Caliphate)
o Al-Khulafa-ur-Rashidun (The Rightly-Guided Caliphs)
Abu Bakr
Umar
Uthman
Ali
o Empires: Arab (Umayyad & Abbasid)
 Umayyad (1st real Islamic state) 661BCE
founded by Muawiya; Damascus, Syria
Responsible for the conquest of Spain, Africa & Central Asia
practice of hereditary succession for the caliph
Battle of Karbala or Karbala massacre massacre of the prophets
descendants (Husein, 2nd son of Ali)
Abbasid (Golden Age)
Baghdad: scholars made it jewel of the world = House of Wisdom
Political: vizier-statecraft
Influenced the Renaissance
Intellectual competition and scientific process
Legacy: algebra, ophthalmology, trigonometry, 1001 Nights/Arabian Nights
(Lit)
o Religion (Rhoads Murphey: Chp2)
Zoroastrianism: founder- Zarathustra/Zoroaster
Source: Avesta, comprising the Gathas (words of Zoroaster), or Hymns
Monotheism: Ahura Mazda
Cosmic struggle bet. good & evil (Ahura Mazda vs Anrya Mainyu)
Influenced Judaism (good vs evil, afterlife)
Teachings: 1)to think good, 2) to say good, 3) to do good
Spread throughout Persian empire; incorporated in the ideology of Iranian
empires
Islam: founder- Prophet Muhammad (570-632)
Sources: (1) The Holy Quran is the sacred testament and message from God
(Allah in Arabic term), (2) The Sunnah (practices of the Prophet) and the
Hadith (sayings of the Prophet), and the Shariah (divine laws) and the Fiqh
(Islamic jurisprudence)
Theoretically: respect people of other religion (people of the book =
Abrahamic religions)
Hijrah - a sacrificial travel of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from Madinah to
Makkah whom he seeks refuge from the danger pose in his life and to his
fellow Muslims by the Madinahs political elites. This became the basis of the
Islamic calendar that started from 622 BCE.
Halal or permissible and Haram or non-permissible principles: not only apply
to foods but also in the way of life of every Muslims
Belief
o Allah will resurrect all humans and question (not judge) their beliefs
and actions
o 5 pillars of Islam
Shahada: "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His
prophet."
Salat: 5x prayer
Zakat: alms-giving
Sawm: fasting during Ramadan
Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca (at least once in their lifetime)
Sunni vs Shia (political divide)
o Sunni: prayer-5x & use of mats; consultation on the community
o Shia/Shiite: prayer-1-2x and put their head on a piece of hard clay;
bloodline succession
Sufism: mystical arm of Islam

South Asia (Rhoads Murphey: Ch4 & Ch6)

- oldest continuous cultural tradition in the world
- Indo-Gangetic Plains = cradle of civilization in South Asia (Indus, Ganges, & Brahmaputra rivers)
- Harappan/ Indus Valley Civilization (Mohenjo-daro & Harappa)
o Harappa script
o Trade with Mesopotamia Harappan Seals found in Sumer
Seals: found in the Harappan civilization of the Indus Valley of South Asia which
bears images of animals along with characters. Their economic function was said to
be that of stamps or similar w/ modern day bar-code of the then early inhabitants of
the Indus valley civilization. And in the perspective of seals as an art, they served as
the first miniature sculpture of the first known civilization because of the brilliantly
naturalistic models of animals they depict
o Citadels: semi-grid layout; uniform bricks; sewage system
o Importance of religion (theocratic) = temples found at the center
o Cotton fields = early development of textiles (clothes)
o Great Bath: religious purposes (purification); hygiene; sense of community
- Indo-Aryan Civilization
o Aryans: from Europe came to India through the northwest passes; used early form of
Sanskrit; brought Hinduism, Vedas and caste system
o Political
Theories of kinship: 1) mystical gods who were suffering in the hands of the demons
decided to have a king who will lead them in battle; 2)based on human need and
military necessity, the kings first duty was to lead his subjects to war
Duties- protect them from external aggression, also life, property & traditional
customs
Male, primogeniture succession
Quasi-feudalism- there were lesser chiefs tributary to greater ones; tribal states
governed by oligarchies also existed
King is the protector of the Dharma so he is Dharma incarnate. He implements
Dharma through the Danda (sanctions; trial by ordeal)
Laws of Manu: basis of the caste system; and regulated almost all facets of
India's society from contracts to criminal law
o Social: caste system (varna= color)
Distinction of the conquerors (Aryans) and the conquered (Dravidians)
The first 3 classes are considered twice born(by natural birth & by initiation)
Brahman (priestly class)- 2 types 1)the learned who perform rites; 2)village
brahman living by fortune-telling & magic
Kshatriya (warrior class)- protect the people, sacrifice & study
Vaishya (merchant class)- till the earth, pursue trade & lend money, also
sacrifices & studies
Sudra- serve the 3 higher classes; 2 types 1)pure (wait on the 3 classes, eat
scraps of his masters food); 2)untouchables (outcast)
Rules: endogamy(marriage within the group); commensality(food); & craft-
exclusiveness(lives by the trade or profession of his own group). No social mobility
Confusion of classes: hypergamous(man marrying a lower class woman) &
hypogamous(wifes status is higher than husband)
Patriarchal & patrilinear
Women: as a girl under her parents, as an adult under her husband, and as a widows
under her sons; child marriages; widows cannot remarry; female infanticide;
suttee/sati (widow burning; relatively rare until the late Gupta times, when widow
remarriage had begun to be strongly discouraged. It became more common thereafter
although it was supposed to be voluntary, as a mark of fidelity. Reasons: social and
family pressure, and material emptiness); prostitution(supervised by state);
courtesans: well-educated
o Literature
Mahbhrata -Great Bhrata (Battle): longest single poem in the worlds literature
authored by the sage Vysa;
 Ramayana: 2nd epic literature of South India traditionally authored by the sage
Vlmki which tells the story of the birth and education of Rama, a prince and the
seventh incarnation of the god Vishnu, and recounts his winning of the hand of Sita in
marriage.
Bhagavad Gt Song of the Lord- sermon of Krsna, the eighth incarnation of the
god Vishnu to Arjuna before the great battle on the meaning of life
- Macedonian Invasion (Alexander the Great)
o Hellenistic influence in art particularly in Buddhist sculpture
- Maurya dynasty
o Chandragupta
o Arthashastra or Treatise on Polity- manual of statecraft, elaborated the theory of politics
which is attributed to a Brahman, Kautilya who was said to be the adviser of Chandragupta. It
is also said that this ancient lawbook of South India has no other counterpart in any other
civilizations because the rights of the people are so well protected and that it is more liberal
than other religious law books in terms of the regulations it laid down; a textbook on politics
akin to The Prince by the Italian historian Niccol Machiavelli.
o Political: organized bureaucratic system; Espionage system
o Trade w/ Seleucid empire
o Taxila ancient city in Pakistan which was strategically on a branch of the Silk Road that
linked China to the West; important Buddhist centre of learning and considered to be
amongst the earliest universities in the world
o Ashoka conquered territories using force but later renounced violence and converted to
Buddhism
Expansion of Buddhism and its teachings (first to Ceylon and SEA); govern through
example; softened harsher aspects of Chandraguptas police state methods of control;
advocated tolerance and non-violence
- period of invasions (Kushan, Sakas, Greeks)
o Kushans contributed to the growth and expansion of Buddhism to other countries (NEA:
Mahayana)
- Gupta (Golden Age)
o Extensive trade and cultural exchange with Southeast Asia
o Golden age of Sanskrit literature (Kalidasa)
- Ancient legacies
o +/-; square & quadratic root; decimal system of numerals; zero; astronomy; caesarian;
surgery; bone-setting; physics & chemistry; atomic theory; philosophy & metaphysics;
Arabic numerals; Damascus steel
- Muslim India
o from 8th century, all conquerors who entered India through northwest were Moslems
o brought not only Islamic but also Persian culture
o first called Slave Dynasty because of the Turkish slaves they brought
o Islam or death later on convert or pay additional taxes
o Delhi Sultanate 1192-1526CE (Turco-Afghan empire)
o Babur- founder of the Mogul/Mughal/Mongol Empire (1526-1858CE)= unified North and
parts of South India under its rule
o Akbar- expanded their territory, centralize it, introduced civil service
o Shah Jahan- known for Taj Mahal
- Religion
o Hinduism (3rd largest religious followers) (Murphey: Ch2)
'Hindu' was derived from the river or river complex of the northwest, the Sindhu
Religious elements are hard to separate from the general cultural practice (ex. Caste
system) = way of life
Trimurti: Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer)
Belief: Life is suffering
Presence of evil and suffering = gods and goddess represent both aspects of good and
evil
 No fixed or uniform rituals; No set of formal service, established ordination
Source: Vedas (Veda=spiritual knowledge); Upanishads, Ramayana & Mahabharata
Brahmans- exclusive keepers and reciters of the sacred rituals and perform rituals
death, marriage, coming of age and intercession
4 goals in life
1. Dharma Sacred Law; a set of certain rights and duties, a certain place in
society. It is the highest in the four goals in life, known as the purusharthas.
2. Artha an acquisition of material possessions during the search for security.
It included economics, politics, and a series of rationalizations for the profit
motive.
3. Kama It is pleasure and aesthetic enjoyment in life. It includes sexual
gratification, sexual fulfilment or the pleasure of the senses.
4. Moksha final goal in life. It is the cosmic unity and liberation of the soul
from rebirth after the first three goals had been mastered. Hindus believe that
to achieve this goal, the human soul must progress and become purer which
does not happen in a lifetime. This is an escape from the endless cycle of
death and rebirth or samsara.
Karma- the sum totality of ones actions today w/c determines ones future existence;
no sin ever goes unpunished and no virtue remains unrewarded reincarnation
o Buddhism (Murphey: Ch2)
Siddharta Gautama (former Kshatriya)
Protest against Hinduism: against the concepts of polytheism, Brahmanism or
dominance of Brahmans, and the caste system
Reformed Hinduism: believes that life is suffering, concept of karma & reincarnation,
non-violence, Nirvana=Moksha
4 noble truths
Life & suffering are inseparable
The cause of suffering is desire
To escape suffering , one must avoid desire
Follow the 8 fold path to salvation (right view, right effort, right mindfulness,
right thought, right speech, right livelihood, right effort , right concentration)
Later reabsorbed into Hinduism and declined (100 CE)= Buddhisms rejection of the
sensory world as life denying
2 types
Theravada or Hinayana
o Lesser vehicle; nearest to the original teachings of Buddha; individual
salvation; Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos
Mahayana
o Greater vehicle; universal salvation; Bodhisattvas (enlightened beings
who have put off entering paradise in order to help others attain
enlightenment); China, Tibet, Vietnam, Japan, Korea & Mongolia
o IF A LINEAR THEORY OF HISTORY WILL BE APPLIED- THE THREAD THAT
CONNECTS THE LINE IN INDIA IS RELIGION
Only Buddhism is indigenous to India
While Hinduism & Islam are religions brought by foreigners/conquerors who used
their governments to spread religion & vice versa ( meaning they also used religion to
strengthen their rule)
Hinduism & Islam have bigger followers in India while Buddhism spread to Southeast
and Northeast Asia