months, each thirty days in length, with five extra days at the end of the year. This calendar was taken over by the Romans,1 who added the system of leap years. The Babylonians made noteworthy progress in some branches of astronomy. They were able to trace the course of the sun through the twelve constellations of the zodiac and to distinguish five of the planets from the fixed stars. The successful prediction of eclipses formed another Babylonian achievement. Such astronomical discoveries must have required much patient and accurate observation. Geography Geographical ideas for a long time were very crude. An ancient map, scratched on clay, indicates that about eight centuries before Christ the Babylonians had gained some knowledge, not only of their own. land, but even of regions beyond the Mediterranean. chief increase in man's knowledge of the world in ancient times was due to the Phoenicians.2 The The skill of Oriental peoples as mechanics and engineers is proved by their success as builders. The great Practical pyramids exactly face the points of the compass. The principle of the round arch was known in Babylonia 1 See page 186, note 2. sciences * See page 48. at a remote period. The transportation of colossal stone monuments exhibits a knowledge of the lever, pulley, and inclined plane.1 Babylonian inventions were the sundial and the water clock, the one to register the passage of the hours by day, the other by night. The Egyptians and Babylonians also made some progress in the practice of medicine. The schools, in both Egypt and Babylonia, A BABYLONIAN MAP OF THE WORLD A tablet of dark brown clay, much injured, dating from the 8th or 7th century B.C. The two large concentric cir cles indicate the ocean, or, as it is called in the cuneiform writing between the circles, the "Briny Flood." Beyond the ocean are seven successive projections of lant, represented by triangles. Perhaps they refer to the countries existing beyond the Black Sea and the Red Sea. two parallel lines within the inner circle represent the Euphrates. The little rings stand for the Babylonian cities in this region. The to the temples and were conducted by the priests. Writing was the chief subject of instruction. It took many years of patient study to master the cuneiform symbols or the even more difficult hieroglyphics. "He who would excel in the school of the scribes," ran an ancient maxim, "must rise with the dawn." Writing was learned by imitating the examples supplied in copy-books. Some of the model letters studied by Egyptian boys of the twentieth century B.C. have come down to us. Reading, too, was an art not easy to learn. Dictionaries and 1 See the illustration, page 46. grammars were written to aid the beginner. A little instruction was also provided in counting and calculating. Having learned to read and write, the pupil was ready to enter on the coveted career of a scribe. In a community where nearly every one was illiterate, the The scribes scribes naturally held an honorable place. They conducted the correspondence of the time. When a man wished to send a letter, he had a scribe write it, signing it himself by affixing his seal. When he received a letter, he usually employed a scribe to read it to him. The scribes were also kept busy copying books on the papyrus paper or AN EGYPTIAN SCRIBE Louvre, Paris clay tablets which served as writing materials. Every large city of Babylonia possessed a collection of books. Several of the larger libraries have been discovered. Nippur, in Babylonia, thirty thousand clay tablets The temple were found. Another great collection of books library was unearthed in a royal palace at Nineveh. This Assyrian library seems to have been open for the general use of the king's subjects. The Egyptians also had their libraries, usually as adjuncts to the temples, and hence under priestly control. Widespread popular igno rance Learning and education were so closely limited to a few individuals that the mass of the people were sunk in deepest ignorance. Men could not pursue knowledge for themselves, but had to accept everything on authority. Hence the inhabitants of Oriental lands remained a conservative folk, slow to abandon their timehonored beliefs and very unwilling to adopt a new custom even when clearly better than the old. This absence of popular education, more than anything else, made Oriental civilization unprogressive. Nippur was the ancient "Calneh in the land of Shinar " (Genesis, x, 10). Excavations here were conducted by the University of Pennsylvania during 1889-1900 A.D. The city contained an imposing temple, a library, a school, and even a little museum of antiquities. Studies 4. 1. What was the origin of the "divine right" of kings? 2. Explain what is meant by despotism; by autocracy. 3. What European state comes nearest to being a pure despotism? What European monarch styles himself as an autocrat? What do the illustrations on pages 38, 43 tell about the pomp of Oriental kings? 5. Why did the existence of numerous slaves in Egypt and Babylonia tend to keep low the wages of free workmen? Why is it true that civilization may be said to have begun "with the cracking of the slave whip"? 6. What light is thrown on the beginnings of money in ancient Egypt by the illustration on page 47? 7. Name some objects which, in place of the metals, are used by primitive peoples as money. 8. Interest in Babylonia was usually at the rate of 20% a year. Why is it so much lower in modern countries? 9. On the map, page 48, indicate the trade routes between eastern and western Asia which met in Mesopotamia. 10. The Phoenicians have been called "the English of antiquity." Can you give any reason for this characterization? 11. Why should the Phoenicians have been called the "colossal peddlers" of the ancient world? 12. What books of the Bible contain the laws of Israel? 13. What reasons can you suggest for the universal worship of the sun? 14. Define polytheism and monotheism, giving examples of each. 15. Describe the Egyptian conception of the judgment of the dead (illustration, page 56). 16. How many "books" are there in the Old Testament? 17. What is the Apocrypha? 18. How are the pyramids proof of an advanced civilization among the Egyptians? 19. What is a bas-relief? Select some examples from the illustrations. 20. From what Oriental peoples do we get the oldest true arch? the first coined money? the earliest legal code? the most ancient book? 21. Enumerate the most important contributions to civilization made in Oriental antiquity. CHAPTER IV THE LANDS OF THE WEST AND THE RISE OF 20. Physical Europe of Asia THE continent of Asia, projecting its huge bulk southwestward between the seas, gradually narrows into the smaller continent of Europe. The boundary between the Europe a two regions is not well defined. Ancient geogra- peninsula phers found a convenient dividing line north of the Black Sea in the course of the river Don. Modern map makers usually place the division at the Ural Mountains, the Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus. Each of these boundaries is more or less arbitrary. In a geographical sense Europe is only the largest of the great Asiatic peninsulas. Physical features of Europe But in physical features the two continents disclose the most striking contrasts. The sea, which washes only the remote edges of Asia, penetrates deeply into Europe and forms an extremely irregular coast line with numerous bays and harbors. The mountains of Europe, seldom very high and provided with easy passes, present no such barriers to intercourse as the mightier ranges of Asia. We miss in Europe the extensive deserts and barren table-lands which form such a feature of Asiatic geography. With the exception of Russia the surface, generally, is distributed into plains, hills, and valleys of moderate size. Instead of a few large rivers, such as are found in Asia, Europe is well supplied with numerous streams that make it possible to travel readily from one district to another. The almost unbroken mountain chain formed by the Pyrenees, 1 Webster, Readings in Ancient History, chapter iii, "Early Greek Society as Pictured in the Homeric Poems"; chapter iv, "Stories from Greek Mythology"; chapter v, "Some Greek Tyrants"; chapter vi, "Spartan Education and Life." |