Ancient Age

We explain what the old age is and what are its characteristic elements. In addition, the main cultures of this era.

What was the old age?

The ancient age is the period of history that begins with the invention of writing, towards 3000 a. C. And ends with the fall of the Roman Empire of the West, in 476 d. C. During the old age the first great civilizations arose as the ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and ancient Rome.

During this period the first centralized states appeared, writing was invented, different political systems were developed that follow existed until today (such as the monarchy and democracy), The currency was created as a fundamental element for trade and hundreds of technical advances that allowed the economic and cultural developed of humanity were devised.

Characteristics of the old age

Among the main characteristics of the old age, it can be noted that:

• It is temporarily located between 3000 a. C. and 476 a. C., from the invention of writing to the fall of the Roman Empire of the West.
• During this period, the first civilizations that formed centralized states, with social hierarchy, taxation of taxes and appropriation of production surpluses.
• Among its most important civilizations are ancient Egypt, Sumerian cities-states, Greek culture, Hellenism and Roman civilization.
• Geographically, the nuclear areas of the old age were the East and the territories of the Mediterranean Sea Basin.
• During this period, Jewish and Christian religion emerged and expanded.

The ancient age in history

In the 18th century, the German historian Cristóbal Celarius proposed to observe the changes and continuities throughout the history of mankind. Established a classification of historical ages whose beginning focuses on the invention of writing . From this perspective, everything that happened before, corresponds to the “prehistory”, and what happened after the invention of writing, corresponds to the “history.”

From this historiographic perspective, the ancient age would be the first of the ages of history, followed by the Middle Ages, the Modern Age and the contemporary age.

However, this historiographic perspective is especially focused on studies on the past of European cultures . With the development of historical studies, this temporary division was nuanced and specific periodizations were created, more appropriate to study the different societies of the history of mankind.

Main cultures of the old age

During the old age, different societies left that left a great political and cultural legacy. The concentration of power and centralization of resources allowed them to become powerful among the different society of the time.

Among the most important civilizations of the old age, are:

• Sumerian civilization (3500-1750 BC) . Throughout their history, the Sumerians founded dozens of cities-stated on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Through various centralized policies, they organized agricultural production and commerce, ordered the construction of large works, established law systems and formed armies. The Sumerians are recognized for invented one of the first writing systems and having composed the Gilgamesh poemthe first version of the myth of the universal flood.
• Egyptian civilization (3300-332 BC) . The Egyptians inhabited the Nile River Valley, north of Africa. In the history of the kingdom of Egypt, moments of political and social crisis are interspersed, with periods of unity and centralization of power. In the state boom periods, the kingdom of Egypt was unified under the command of a pharaoh whose power was legitimized through religious beliefs. The Egyptians invented the hieroglyphic writing and built large pyramids, tombs with rich mouths and monumental temples.
• Greek civilization (1200-146 BC) . The Greeks occupied the Aegean Sea, their islands and the lands that surround it. They developed an organized society around small cities-states independent of each other, but shared a common culture and identity. Greek culture strongly influenced posterior Roman civilization, and both are considered the cradle of Western culture.
• Roman civilization (753 BC.-476 AD) . From the Foundation of Rome, the Romans conquered other neighboring territories and kingdoms, to build an empire that covered much of Europe, North Africa and the next East. Roman culture and politics were constituted as a fundamental basis of Western culture.

Characteristic elements of the old age

There are different characteristic elements that shared the societies of the old age.

Writing

The invention of writing is the fundamental fact that historians use to mark, in general, the beginning of the old age. Its importance lies in The possibility of knowing more depth to the societies of the past .

The written sources allow historians to know how the states of antiquity were administered, how their laws were, what their myths and/or religious beliefs were or, for example, how were the relations between the elites of power and the rest of the population.

The oldest writing systems were created by the Sumerians and the Egyptians . It is believed that these systems were created independently; That is, they were autonomous technological developments of each of these societies.

Political organization in the old age

One of the main characteristics of the old age is The appearance of the State as a predominant form of political and social organization . Although there are older records of societies with a hierarchical power, during ancient times the first centralized states appeared, with an elite that monopolized the surpluses of agricultural production and administered them for the construction of large works and the well -being of the whole of society.

The states of the old age took different forms: small cities-state (such as those of the Sumerians, the Phoenicians or the Greek polis) kingdoms (such as Egypt or Assur) and empires (such as the Hellenistic Empire of Alexander the Great or the Roman Empire).

Each society of antiquity had its own system of laws. In most cases, what could be done and what could not be done was linked to religious beliefs and dictated by the cultural tradition itself. In other cases, the states developed more complex political systems, which crossed changes and faced the different political forces within society.

They existed autocratic and centralized government systems in one person ; For example, in ancient Egypt, Pharaoh was the cusp of the political and religious power of the State. Oligarchic systems were also developed, with different levels of participation of aristocratic families. And, during the old age, the first democratic system was created; Athenian citizens ruled their polis through assemblies and a complex system of magistrates.

Social organization during the old age

The appearance of centralized states was hand in hand with social hierarchy. Within the communities, Religious and civil leaders appeared who dealt with resource management produced by the population as a whole.

With the appearance of cities, The population dedicated to agricultural production began to have a life different from the urban population dedicated to manufacturing, trade and administration tasks. This separation of roles encouraged the formation of social groups of the community in relation to their work.

The differentiation and hierarchy of social groups was different in each culture. However, the existence of these groups in the different societies of the ancient age can be characterized in general:

• Elite . In each society, a group monopolized the functions of management and administration of state assets and the direction of civil affairs. In most cases, the elite was also linked to the exercise of military power and the exercise of religious functions. This class belonged to the monarch or king, aristocratic families and state officials.
• Priestly class . Each society had its own belief system that, through myths and stories, legitimized the established political and social organization. The priestly class had privileges, administered the temples and organized the cult and offerings of the population.
• Military class . With the development of territorial states, the specialized warriors occupied a fundamental place in society. In most societies, the bulk of the armies was composed of peasants who took arms before the state call. However, those who occupied the highest ranges within the military organization had privileges and formed part of the elite of each society.
• Merchants . The growth of the population and cities led to the appearance of people dedicated exclusively to the purchase and sale of goods, which were established in the markets of the cities or traveled among the villages to carry and bring different merchandise. Over time, commercial routes were developed that crossed entire states and regions. For their fundamental role in obtaining valuable resources for elites and states, commercials always enjoyed some privileges in different societies.
• Specialized workers . In cities, workers specialized in different types of manufactures lived what they produced and, in many cases, were associated with the State. This class was made up of all those who were dedicated to the specialized production of some type of manufacturing: carpenters, potters, weavers, masons, scribes, etc.
• Peasants . In all the great societies of antiquity, the bulk of the population was composed of peasants dedicated to agricultural and livestock production. In some cases they were owners of the land that worked and paid taxes and taxes to the State that, in turn, contributed to the construction of irrigation, security and protection works.
• Slaves . Most old societies had slaves. Slaves used to be prisoners of war or, in some cases, people who could not pay their debts. Slaves were by definition, non-books, who had to obey the command of their owner and could be bought and sold.

The ages of history

• Ancient age . It begins with the invention of writing in the east and in Egypt towards 3000 a. C., and ends with the fall of the Roman Empire of the West. During this period, the first great civilizations of humanity emerged, which formed great empires with economies based on the exploitation of resources and slavery. The main areas of cultural expansion were those of the Near East, North Africa and the south of the European continent.
• Middle Ages . It extends from the fall of the Roman Empire of the West to the conquest of America, in 1492, although some historians place the end of the period with the fall of the Roman Empire of the East, in 1953. The Middle Ages is characterized by the fragmentation of political power in Europe, the development of the feudal economy and the hegemony of Christianity in public and private affairs of society.
• Modern Age . It extends to the French Revolution, in 1789. It is characterized by the apogee of centralized monarchies, the reappearance of great empires and cities, the expansion of European kingdoms over the rest of the continents and the appearance of the bourgeoisie, as a new social class.
• Contemporary age . It is the one that reaches the present. It is characterized by industrialization, the imposition of capitalism as a dominant socio-economic system, the advancement of technology and the globalization process. Politically, it is the period of defense of human rights, political participation and large organizations worldwide.

References

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• Pilar, FU (2014). Ancient Universal II History. The Greek world. UNED Editorial.
• Grimal, P. (ed.). (1990). The Mediterranean world in the ancient age. III. Hellenism and the rise of Rome (Vol. 2). 21st century of Spain editors.
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• Plácido Suárez, D. (1993). Introduction to the ancient world: theoretical and methodological problems. Ancient history collection, 1.