I had never really looked at the civilization process in
waves. Strayer does a good job of
demonstrating the three waves, and yet giving existence to the still roaming
gathering/hunting communities in just a few words. Further, as the book points out, “Many
fluctuations, repetitive cycles, and minor changes characterize this long era
of agricultural civilizations, but no fundamental or revolutionary
transformations of social or economic life took place.” I find that statement interesting because
civilizations were constantly warring, new rulers emerged often, and there were
small advances in agriculture, but the idea of any real transformation was a
fallacy. As I continue to read Chapter
four, I am enjoying what Strayer has done.
He has shown the waves from a wide view, but as he zooms in he shows
that much has occurred in these waves, just not to a significant level when you
look at the big picture. Many advances
in technologies were spread, the rise of cultural and religious traditions were
circulating, and societies were starting to really intermingle.
I always thought the United States compared a little to the
Roman Empire. The multicultural society,
constantly draining and stretching ourselves economically and globally, to act
as the superpower and maintain “peace” throughout the world, but really to just
seize and hold control as “the undisputed master of the world,” as Strayer
explains. It was interesting to read
about the Persian King, being treated a God, allowing the Jews to return home
to build their temple. That right there
tells me, even when a man believed himself to be the most powerful in the
world, he understood the importance of needing support. Also, it was fascinating to have two empires
like the Persians and the Greeks to rule around the same time. Both very different in ruling styles, yet
co-existing, but not without clashes. I
was dumbfounded to learn that at the beginning of the Romans, they “were
reduced to kidnapping neighboring women in order to reproduce.” It seems absurd to think the Romans, who had
grown so powerful and vast, had to steal women to grow as a population. It is kind of interesting to view the
ideologies that were created throughout time.
Manly the Chinese dynasties that came and went, but could still hold up
even in times of disorder and chaos, due to an ideology like Confucianism.
I would have liked to know a little more about
Legalism. It seemed to have to have only
lasted a short while, but this being the first I have ever heard of it I found
myself interested. I do not know too
much about Daoism, but if I read it right, Laozi penned a short poetic volume,
the Daodejing, and then vanished? Seems
a little weird to me, was he a real person, or did someone just use his claims
to obtain marching orders? I understand
that chapter 5 is just going into more detail on the religious importance in
Asia, but it seemed that Strayer had already touched a bit on most of the text
in the previous chapter, so I felt it was a little repetitive. To shift a little, I like that Strayer makes
a point of demonstrating some if not many of the ideologies of these times are
still revered, studied, and in some ways still practiced today. I laughed when I read about Jesus, “began a
brief three-year career of teaching and miracle-working before he got in
trouble with local authorities and was executed.” A person viewed by many as the son of God,
being explained as simply getting in trouble and then executed seems too human
and I bet many people despise Strayer for his choice in explaining
history. However in Strayer’s
reflections on Religion and Historians, I think he explains it well, “religion
has always been a sensitive subject…Which is not accessible to historians or
other scholars, who depend on evidence available in this world. This situation has generated various tensions
or misunderstandings between historians and religious practitioners.”
Although much has been created in the name of God(s), The
Caste System is the most interesting to me.
Simply enough it appears to have been created to separate the rich from
the poor, the free men from the slaves, the rulers and warriors from the
peasants. It even took it a step further
by creating the untouchables, which really treated people as less then dogs,
matter of fact, the Sudra were probably treated more like a dog and the
untouchables were beneath the Sudra on the list. The vast inequalities are astonishing to me,
and the fact that it lasted so long and even exists today adds further
amazement.
With regards to all the reading, the belief that human
existence started in the African Continent had eluded me temporarily, and then
in reading chapter seven it was interesting to see that the population of
Africa in the Classical Era was so low in comparison to Eurasia. Further, I do find it interesting how many
different types of languages or dialects are in one region of Africa. I always assumed the development of a
sophisticated mathematical system that included the concept of zero having been
created in the Middle East area. I was
surprised to learn it was done so in the Maya civilization. As I write my reflections of the chapters I
am reading, I constantly wonder why Strayer covered something more than
another, assuming he found a topic necessary to be covered in many pages and
less important to be touched on but not expanded upon. Then, in his reflections on deciding what’s
important, he explains his choice and reasoning. Basically, I find Strayer to do an excellent
job in being objective and attempting to cover all aspects. Yet, I still find Strayer to be repetitive
and annoying at times.
