Overview of World History Highlights

Jan 13, 2025

Quick Review of World History

Neolithic Revolution

  • Discovery of agriculture led to permanent settlements.
  • Use of slash and burn farming.
  • Domestication of animals.
  • Emergence of traditional economies and barter systems.

Early Civilizations

  • Mesopotamia: Fertile Crescent, Sumerians, cuneiform writing, ziggurats.
  • Babylon: Hammurabi's Code - "eye for an eye" law.
  • Egypt: Nile River for farming and trade, pharaohs, theocratic rule.
  • China: Early civilizations near Yangtze and Huanghe rivers, dynasties, Great Wall expansion.
  • India: Advanced cities in the Indus Valley (Harappa and Mahenjo-daro).

Chinese Dynasties

  • Tang and Song dynasties' contributions: porcelain, paper currency, movable type.
  • Dynastic cycle and mandate of heaven.

Mongol Empire

  • Largest empire under Genghis and Kublai Khan.
  • Failure to conquer Japan, protected by samurai and Bushido code.

Religions and Philosophies

  • Hinduism: Reincarnation, caste system, karma, dharma.
  • Buddhism: Enlightenment, Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, nirvana.
  • Confucianism: Harmony, good conduct, relationships.
  • Taoism: Following nature.
  • Shintoism: Animism in Japan.
  • Islam: Five Pillars, spread through Umayyad and Abbasid empires.

Greece and Rome

  • Greek city-states: Athens (culture, democracy), Sparta (military).
  • Greek contributions: architecture, literature, Olympics.
  • Philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle.
  • Alexander the Great: Hellenistic cultural diffusion.
  • Roman Empire: Senate, 12 tables of law, architecture, aqueducts.
  • Byzantine Empire: Justinian's Code, Eastern Orthodox Church.

Middle Ages

  • Feudalism: Land for military service, chivalry.
  • Crusades: Conflict and cultural diffusion.
  • Black Plague and Renaissance.

Exploration and Colonization

  • African trade, Mansa Musa.
  • Native American civilizations (Mayans, Aztecs, Incas) and European conquest.
  • Columbian Exchange, mercantilism, slave trade.

Revolutions and Nation-States

  • Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther.
  • Absolute Monarchy: Louis XIV, Peter the Great.
  • Enlightenment: Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu.
  • Revolutions: French, Latin American.

Industrial Revolution

  • Began in England, spread globally.
  • Urbanization, capitalism, socialism (Marx), social Darwinism.

Imperialism and WWI

  • European imperialism in Africa and Asia.
  • Alliances and militarism lead to WWI.
  • Treaty of Versailles and rise of fascism (Hitler).

WWII and the Cold War

  • Axis vs. Allies.
  • Holocaust and human rights violations.
  • US and USSR superpowers, Cold War tensions.

Modern Conflicts and Developments

  • Fall of communism, reunification of Germany.
  • Apartheid in South Africa, Middle East conflicts.
  • Globalization, technological advancements (Internet).

Conclusion

  • Nations are interconnected and dependent on one another.

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