Lecture in

Asian Studies
• Half of the world lies in Asia east of Afghanistan and
south of the former USSR
• The oldest civilizations of China and India are found
in Asia
• India and China developed sophisticated cultures
and technologies long before Europe and led the
world for more than 2,000 years, economically,
politically, culturally and technologically
• The study of the major civilizations in Asia provides
a rich and varied record of human experience, in
literature, philosophy, and the arts, in statecraft and
empire building, and in the varied lives of the
people
Geography
 Asia is the largest of the earth’s seven
continents, it lies almost entirely in the
Northern Hemisphere
 It covers an estimated 44,391,000 [Link]
(17,139,000 [Link]) or about 30 percent of the
world’s total land area
 Its peoples account for three-fifths of the
world’s population
 Most geographers regard Asia as bounded on
the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by
the Bering Strait and the Pacific Ocean, on the
south by the Indian Ocean, and on the
southwest by the Reds Sea and the
Mediterranean Sea
 On the west, the conventional boundary
between Europe and Asia is drawn at the Ural
river to the Caspian Sea, then the west along
the Caucasus Mountains to the Black Sea
 The continental mainland stretches from the
southern end of the Malay Peninsula to Cape
Chelyuskin in Siberia
 Westernmost point is Capa Baba in
northwestern Turkey and easternmost point is
Cape Dezhnyov in northeastern Siberia
 Lowest point in the whole world can be found
in the Dead Sea 1,340 ft below sea level
 Highest point is Mt. Everest at 29,035 ft above
sea level
 EVOLUTION OF EARLY
MAN IN ASIA

Paleolithic to Neolithic Age to the

Rise of Civilizations
 PALEOLITHIC AGE
• From two separate Greek word:
“paleo” – means old
and “lithos” – means stone
OLD STONE AGE
The first phase of Pre-history covers the
longest period of time among all levels of
civilizations.
Era of crude stone tools and weapons.
 EXISTENCE and DEVELOPMENT of
the ANCESTORS of MAN
• HOMINIDS – humans and other creature
that walk upright on two feet
 AUSTROLOPITHECUS
• The first Hominids, they are thought to
have emerged in East Africa in the Great
Rift Valley between 3-4 million years ago
 HOMO HABILIS
• Latin for “handy man”
• Lived in eastern Africa spread north to Asia.
• Fossilized human bones found with stone tools
and animal fossils
• Skulls – humans had a flatter head with a brain
only 2/3 size; approximately 1.5 m tall
• Built shelters of branches and collected bird
eggs and wild berries for food; hunted wild pigs
• Tools / weapons: rocks, branches, sharp stones
• No clothes
• Did not know how to use fire
 HOMO ERECTUS
• Latin for “upright man”
• Discoveries of “Java Man” (Indonesia) and “Peking Man”
(China)”
• Lived in Africa, South Europe, Asia
• Skulls- humans had long, flat and sharply angled at back
(between ape and human head)
• Thighbone- identical to modern humans walk upright
• Charred animals bones found = they used fire to cook
• Belief that homo erectus was a descendant of homo
habilis
• Make fire= first by coals or volcanic ash; later by friction=
made life easier as they could survive in colder climates
• Tools / weapons= bones, rocks, blades for carving,
spears.
 Java
Short, squat,
and Man
powerfully
built and Found in
powerful Indonesian
jaws with
sharply island of
receding Java
chins.
 PEKING
MAN
Low foreheads Found in a cave
with heavy near Peking,
eyebrow ridges. China
 HOMO SAPIENS
• Latin for “reasoning man”
• A biological species of man.
• Is the species to which all modern day
people belong.
• Their skeletal remains, with more or less
human characteristics have been found in
Java, China, Palestine and Africa.
HOMO SAPIENS SAPIENS
• Believed to have appeared in Africa between
150,000-200,000 years ago
• Began to migrate outside of Africa 100,000
years ago.
• Believed by many to have replaced the
Neanderthals by 30,000 B.C..
• By 10,000 B.C. Homo Sapiens Sapiens could
be found throughout the world due to
migration
 TWO THEORIES FOR THE
MIGRATION OF EARLY MEN
• One is the “Out of Africa” model which
states that homo sapiens sapiens migrated
out of Africa and slowly replaced other
groups they encountered throughout the
world.
• The other theory is the multiregional
model, which states that development
from earlier hominids to modern humans
occurred in different locations in Africa,
Asia, and Europe at different times
 WAYS OF LIVING
• Major development of this period was that the human had learned
to control the fire which they used for cooking and heating their
caves and also for protection from the wild animals.
• The role of men was to do the hunting.
• The role of women was gathering and caring for children.
• They did not know to farm and raise crops.
• Lived on picking up vegetables, fruit and on hunting.
• Nomad people
• Dwelling was in rocky areas, under big rocks and in caves.
• Made easy and primitive shelters in caves or out of wood.
• Started making simple stone tools for hunting and protection
purposes.
 Religion & Art in Paleolithic Age

 The Paleolithic Age (Cro-Magnon) was the first to develop fine

art as drawings
 CAVE PAINTINGS of deer, horses, buffalo, bulls, cows, & stick-
figure people which are now extinct.
 Main colors were red & black, with a little yellow, maroon &
violet.
–Paint was made out of materials ground into animal fats.
 Cultural explosion in art as more tools, jewelry, and sculptures/
figurines of clay, ivory and stone emerged.
 More advanced spiritual practices with graves found jewelry and
spears made of mammoth tusks buried with bodies = this
suggests a ritual burial with a view of an afterlife.
 MESOLITHIC AGE
• From two separate Greek word:
“meso” – means middle
and “lithos” – means stone
MIDDLE STONE AGE
A transition stage between Paleolithic and
Neolithic age.
 MESOLITHIC AGE
There was a gradual shift from the old food-
gathering and hunting economy to a food-
producing one.
 There was also a gradual taming of animals,
these changes led to a new period, the
Neolithic age.
 NEOLITHIC AGE
• From two separate Greek word:
“neo” – means new
and “lithos” – means stone
NEW STONE AGE
A period of the beginning of human
technology.
The last part of stone age.
AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION
 NEOLITHIC AGE
Humans begin to slowly domesticate plant
and animal stocks in Southwest Asia.
Agriculture requires nomadic peoples to
become SEDENTARY.
Populations begin to rise
 NEOLITHIC AGE
• The Consequences: The agricultural revolution changed
the way people obtained their food. Long-term
changes:

• End of the nomadic lifestyle

• Construction of permanent communities
• The beginning of private property
• Development of specialized occupations
• Increase in food supply
• Population growth
 COSTS & ADVANTAGES OF
AGRICULTURE
Advantages
• Steady food supplies
• Greater populations
• Leads to organized societies capable of supporting
additional vocations (soldiers, managers, etc.)
Costs
• Heavily dependent on certain food crops (failure =
starvation)
• Disease from close contact with animals, humans, & waste
• Can’t easily leave sites
 SOCIAL STRUCTURE
• Increasing knowledge = more control of food supply

• End of Ice Age = better for agriculture

• As population grew, so did the competition for land.

• Shift from semi-nomadic to permanent towns and cities (first

city was Jericho, in Mesopotamia between 8000 – 7000 BCE)
and more occupations.

• Trade by barter system (obsidian – most valued traded

material traded for farm produce)

• Development of hierarchical class system

 BRONZE AGE
• Bronze was invented when people mixed
copper and tin. It was tougher than copper.
• A period of time which began when people
started making things from iron.
IRON AGE
• A period of time which began when people
started making things from iron.
 CRADLES OF
CIVILIZATION
• CIVILIZATION – is a human society with
its own social organization and culture.
 TEN CRITERIA (CLASSIFYING
SOCIETIES AS CIVILIZED
• - Effective technology - Presence of writing
• - Big population centers - Religion
• - Possession of - Public
monuments
predictive sciences
• - Existence of - System of government
highly developed art and Laws
• - Foreign trade - Art of Warfare
 FOUR GREAT REGIONS

 Tigris and Euphrates Valley

 Nile River Valley
 Indus River Valley
 Yellow River Valley
Civilizations and Empires in Southwest Asia
 Why is it important for people (especially
farmers) to settle near rivers & streams?
• Farmers need their villages near water
because they need it for their crops.

• Mesopotamia
• The region between the Tigris River and the
Euphrates River is known as Mesopotamia.
• One of the first villages to emerge was Sumer.
The villagers were called Sumerians
Sumer was neither a city nor a country. Rather, it was a
collection of separate cities with a common way of life.
They shared a common culture
Five Traits that are Essential for a Civilization
1. The Growth of Cities
• Not Just Population growth, but also a center of trade emerges
for a larger area. Farmers, Merchants, Traders bring goods to
market in the cities. What defines the term
“Civilization?”
2. Specialized Workers
• Workers became skilled in one particular job.
– Ex. Artisans: Workers who made goods by hand.
– Farmers were able to produce more than what was needed for
themselves. They had a surplus of crops and were able to trade
their extra goods for a different good or service. (An end to
subsistence farming.)
3. Record Keeping/Writing
• Enables people to make records of data. Merchants needed
accounts of debts and payments.
– The Sumerians created Cuneiform, which is a system of writing
with wedge-shaped symbols. (Around 3,000 B.C.)

4. Advanced Technology
• The Sumerians were skilled in science & technology.
– Ex. Invention of the wheel, plow, sailboat.
– Use of bronze (mixture of copper & tin).—”Bronze Age”
5. Complex Institutions
• Having an organizational system to run a city. (This is a key trait
that is essential for a civilization.)
– Government is an example of a complex institution.
 Polytheism- A belief in many gods
• The Sumerians were polytheists. They believed that
their gods were a lot like them except they were
immortal and all-powerful.
– Anu- “God of Heaven”
– Enlil- “God of Clouds & Air”
– Ea- “God of Water & Floods.
• Afterlife: Sumerians believed that their souls went to
“the land of no return,” a gloomy place between the
earth’s crust & the ancient sea.
 Who ruled Sumer?
• Priests & Kings
– Priests had power because they “knew how
to please the gods” and keep the city safe.
– Sumerians began by choosing a strong
warrior to lead them into battle. These
leaders eventually became kings. Kingship
became a hereditary position.
 Social Classes in Sumer
• 1. Priests and Kings
• 2. Wealthy Merchants
• 3. Artisans and farmers
• 4. Slaves

*Women had more rights than women in many

later civilizations
 Sumer’s Downfall
• For 1,000 years (3,000-2,000 B.C.) the city-
states of Sumer were at war with one another.
– All the fighting weakened the city-states so
much that they could no longer ward off
attacks from outsiders (nomads).
– 2,000 B.C. Nomadic raiders swept through
Ur, leaving it in ruins, thus ending the last of
the great city-states.
 Purpose of Hammurabi’s Code
• To cause justice to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked &
evil, and to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak…to
enlighten the land and to further the welfare of the people.”
• There are 282 specific laws.
– 88 Laws deal with marriage, family, property.
• 3 Fundamental Principles:
– 1. Principle of Retaliation to punish crimes. (Eye for an Eye)
– 2. Principle of Punishment (Double Standards existed
between social classes).
– 3. Principle that the Government had a responsibility for
what occurred in society.
 Turning Point In History: “Hammurabi’s
Code”
• Around 2,000 B.C. a group of nomadic warriors known as the
Amorites invaded Mesopotamia.
– The Amorites established Babylon as their capital city.
• Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.) was a powerful and influential
king.
– Babylon’s civilization was becoming so complex that there
was a need for written laws to help resolve disputes.
– Hammurabi established a collection of laws that became
known as “Hammurabi’s Code.”
 Phoenicians
• Around 1100 B.C. the Phoenicians were the most
powerful traders around the Mediterranean Sea.
– 300 Phoenician cities sprouted up around Africa’s
Mediterranean Sea
– The highly prized purple dye for which the
Phoenicians were renowned was extracted from a
gland of the murex snail. Each snail yielded only a
drop of yellow liquid which darkened on exposure
to light. Processing required slow simmering for
about two weeks. Up to 60,000 snails were
needed for each pound of dye.
• Phoenician Contribution: Around 900 B.C. the
Phoenicians developed a writing system with
22 symbols (versus the 600 symbols in
Cuneiform).
• The alphabet is born!!
 Jews & Monotheism
• Monontheist: A person who worships one god.
• The Jews were one of the smallest groups in the ancient
Fertile Crescent, but their influence on history was far-
reaching.
• Moses & Ten Commandments
– By the laws set forth to Moses, God demanded a high standard of
moral conduct from human beings. This emphasis on justice ,
morality, and an individual relationship with God set Judaism apart.
– These ideas marked the birth of a set of religious traditions, the
impact of which has lasted for thousands of years.
• Capable Kings:
– Saul, David, Solomon – Their kingdom…Israel.
 Hittites
• The Hittites (People living in Asia Minor) gradually learned
the complicated process of smelting iron (this takes place
over the 1500 to 1200 B.C.).
• Assyrian Empire Rises and Falls
(850-612 B.C.)
Iron Age enable the Assyrians to conquer and rule a large
empire.
– Iron Swords and Iron Pointed Spears which made for well
equipped warriors.
– The Assyrians were known for their military tactics because they
were the most disciplined army to date.
– The Assyrians had shown that it was possible to build an empire
based on fear and harsh government.
• The Persian Empire was a giant empire that arose in
Southwest Asia that was built upon tolerance and
wise government. (Unlike the Assyrians)
• In 550 B.C., Persian King Cyrus defeated several
neighboring kingdom to mark the beginning of the
Persian Empire.
– In 11 years (550-539 B.C.) Cyrus conquered all of
the Fertile Crescent and most of Asia minor.
– Cyrus believed that when his army marched into a
defeated city, that there would be no looting or
destroying of any buildings/temples.
– Cyrus believed that it was wise leave local customs
and religions alone.
• King Cyrus was killed in 530 B.C. and then his son,
Cambyses, took over for 8 years. Cambyses died of a
wound suffered by a sword.
• Cambyses successor was Darius who governed the
fragile empire by using absolute power.
– Darius used two important tools to hold the
empire together.
• Excellent Road System called the “Royal Road
System”
• Standardized Coinage.—The whole empire had
a universal money system to trade with.
 Classical Age
• Hellenistic world
(323 B.C. to 146 B.C)

After Alexander the Great’s conquest in

331 BC, the Greeks became the dominant
force in the region and produced the new
Hellenistic culture, a fusion of Greek and
Asian cultures. Alexander, however, did not
live long enough to consolidate his
conquests.
Classical Greece entered the Hellenistic
period with the rise of Macedon and the
conquests of Alexander the Great. Greek
becomes the lingua franca far beyond
Greece itself, and Hellenistic culture
interacts with the cultures of Persia,
Central Asia, India and Egypt.
The Hellenistic period ended with the
rise of the Roman Republic to a super-
regional power in the 2nd century BC and
the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC.
ECONOMY

The basic economic activity is agriculture.

The introduction of modern techniques and
animals saw improvement in commerce and
industry. The main centers of this activity were
Corinth, Rhodes, Antioch, Seleucia in
Mesopotamia, and Alexandria. From these
points, trade routes radiated out by land and
sea. The Mediterranean and Middle East were
being drawn together in an economic unit based
on Greek standards of coinage and business.
 RELIGION
• In many regions, majority of population
continued in long accustomed ways, with the
worship of their own gods, and speaking in their
own tongues. In Iran, there was much Greek
influence. Yet, Zoroastrian Mazdaism had its
adherents especially among the princess of Fars.
In Palestine, the Hebrews resisted vigorously.
Seleucid attempts to enforce Jewish worship of
Greek gods were unsuccessful and served only
to strengthen anti-Greek feeling and the Jews
religious and racial isolation. The cosmopolitan
character of Hellenistic civilization remained
foreign to the greater part of the population of
Western Asia.
 Islamic Civilization
Unity, Discipline, Organization
THE ARABS: During ancient times, the Arabs inhabited much of
the area from the Arabian peninsula to the Euphrates River.

• POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS FEATURES:

The Arab world in the early 7th century had
no stable, large-scale political entities. People
belonged to close-knit clans, or extended
families, that formed tribes. Most Arabs were
pagans, but small minorities were Jewish and
Christian.
• ECONOMIC COMPONENTS:
– Bedouins (nomadic pastoralists)
– Farmers
– Traders
• MECCA was the most important trade center
in Arabia. It was dominated by the powerful
tribe of the Quraysh (KOOR-aysh).
 THE KAABA: Mecca was also the location of the shrine known
as the Kaaba, founded according to Arab tradition by Abraham.
For centuries people from all over Arabia had made pilgrimages
to Mecca to visit the Kaaba, site of a huge black meteorite.
 Muhammad (570-632)
EARLY LIFE: Muhammad was born in 570 to a
respectable though not wealthy or powerful clan
of the Quraysh tribe. His father died before he
was born, his mother shortly afterward, leaving
Muhammad under the care of his grandparents
and uncle.
• CARAVAN TRADE: Like many young Meccans,
he entered the caravan trade. By the time he
was 30, he had a reputation for competence
and honesty, and so became financial adviser
to a wealthy Quraysh widow, Kahdija (KAH-
dee-ah
 THE REVELATIONS:

• A man of spiritual insight, Muhammad

received in 610 the first of many revelations
that commanded him to teach all people a
new faith that called for:
– An unquestioned belief in one God, Allah
– A deep commitment to social justice
Mecca- he started his Islamic teachings in this
place
 The Five Pillars of Islam
1. Faith
2. Prayer
3. Alms-giving
4. Fasting
5. Pilgrimage
 Civilization in South Asia
Political Institutions
• Kingdom of Magadha
this is the most stable and prosperous kingdom on the Ganghes River.
• Mauryan Empire
In 322 B.C., shortly after Alexander's death, a new era
began in [Link] that year Chandragupta Maurya seized
the state of Magadha in the Ganges [Link] the next
twenty-four years Chandragupta conquered northern
India and founded the Maurya Dynasty, which endured
until about 185 B.C. At its height the empire included all
the subcontinent except the extreme south.
 Asoka’s Empire
• Chandragupta's grandson Ashoka (269-232
B.C.), the most renowned of all Indian rulers,
was more committed to peace than to war.
His first military campaign was also his last;
the cruelty of the campaign horrified him,
and he resolved never again to permit such
acts of butchery. Soon thereafter he was
converted to Buddhism, whose teachings
increased his aversion to warfare.
 Gupta Empire

• Gupta rule gave classical India its greatest

period of political stability, though the Gupta
did not administer as large territory as the
Mauryan kings had done. The Guptas Empire
was overturned in 535 C.E. by the new
invasion of nomadic warriors, the Huns.
 SOCIAL
STRATIFICATION- CASTE SYSTEM
 Caste System
o The Rajas were the people who ruled the city and
would give the Priests gifts so that they would teach
them the Vedas.
o The Noblemen were the people who were sent by the
Rajas to guard the city.
The merchants and peasants were the farmers and
the craftsmen and the landowners. These were the
people who supplied the people with food clothing
and other goods.
Then came the servants. These were the people that
served and did the jobs that nobody else wanted to.
 Religious and Philosophical Beliefs
Brahmanism- founded by Aryans
- was an early religion in the Indian sub-continent that was based on Vedic writing. It is considered an
early form of Hinduism

Hinduism
-is the indigenous religion of India. It is the faith of the large majority of Indians, as well as many people of East
Pakistan and Sri Lanka and those of Indian descent in subtropical Asia.

Some basic tenets of Hinduism are:

 Reincarnation
 Karma-
 Moksha- union with the universal spirit
 Nirvana- release from birth and rebirth
me basic tenets of Hinduism are:

• Reincarnation
• Karma
• Moksha
• Nirvana
was an early religion in the Indian sub-continent that was based on Vedic writing. It is considered an early form of Hinduism
 SaSacred Textscred Texts
 Rig-Veda - is the oldest and most sacred of
Hindu scriptures
 Upanishads- c contain five passages
teaching the unity of individual soul (Atman)
and the cosmic soul (Brahman(Brahman
 Bhagavad-Gita-is is the most influential
sacred text of Hinduism in 20th century.
 the most influential sacred text of Hinduism in
20th century.
 The Hindu Gods
• Brahma
• Vishnu
• Shiva
Avatars are the manifestations of God on Earth
Ganesha Saravasti
Hanuman Manasa
Lakshmi Sitala
 Buddhism
• founded by Siddharta Gautama is derived from the Sanskrit word
Buddha, which means “the enlightened” or “awakened

• The Four Noble Truths:

 To live is to suffer
 The cause of suffering is self-centered desire & attachments
 The solution is to eliminate desire and attachment, thus
achieving Nirvana (“extinction”)
 The way to Nirvana is through the “Eight-Fold Path”

• live is to suffer
• The cause of suffering is self-centered desire & attachments
• The solution is to eliminate desire and attachment, thus achieving Nirvana
(“extinction”)
• The way to Nirvana is through the “Eight-Fold Path”
 Eight-Fold Path
Wisdom: Mental discipline:
 Right effort
 Right mindfulness
 Right meditation
 Right understanding
 Right motivation

Moral discipline:
 Right speech
 Right action
 Right livelihood
 Civilization in East Asia
Paleolithic period
Beginning in about 10,000 BC, ,humans in
China began developing agriculture, possibly
influenced by developments in Southeast Asia. By
5000 BC there were Neolithic village settlements
in several regions of China. On the fine, wind-
blown loess soils of the north and northwest, the
primary crop was millet, while villages along the
lower Yangtze river in Central China were rice
centered on rice production in paddy fields,
supplemented by fish and aquatic plants.
 Bronze Age

In this age legendary rulers, like the Yellow Lord ( Huang Di ),

who invented the key features of civilization – agriculture,
the family, silk, boats, carts, bows and arrows and the
calendar. The last of these kings was Yu, descendants of Yu
created the Hsia dynasty ( 2205 – 1570 BC ), which said to
have lasted 14 generations.
Between 2000 and 1600 BC a more complex Bronze
Age civilization emerged out of the diverse Neolithic
culture. This civilization was marked by writing,
metalwork, domestication of horses, a class system, and a
stable political and religious hierarchy.
In 1766 BC, the Hsia Dynasty was overthrown by a
revolutionary hero called Tang, the lord of Shang.
 Shang Dynasty

Tang founded a new dynasty which endured

from 1776 to 1122 BC. Emperor Tang ruled
only 12 years.
He ruled through dynastic alliances;
divination; royal journeys, hunts, and military
campaigns that took him to outlying areas
 Chou Dynasty

Wu Wang founded the famous Chou Dynasty

( 1222 – 249 BC ), the longest in China’s history.
It is the first dynasty about which definite
historical information is available.
Divided in two namely the Western Chou
and Eastern Chou.
• Chou developed the crossbow and methods of
siege warfare, and adopted cavalry warfare
from nomads to the north.
 Five relationships followed emphasized by
Chou dynasty
• Parent and child
• Husband and wife
• Ruler and subject
• Older brother and younger brother
• Friend and friend
 Philosophy
• Confucianism- Confucius exalted virtues such as
filial piety, humanity, integrity, and a sense of duty.
Set the “Golden Rule”
• Taoism-Created by Lao Tze, Was also renowned
scholar and teacher.
• Lao Tze’s teaching, central feature is the Tao, the
Way of Heaven or The Word of God
• He believed that to achieve happiness, men should
bring themselves into harmony with the Tao.
 Form of Government
• Imperial government-from a feudal type of
government, Chinese leaders adopted an
imperial form of government to bring order as
well as to perpetuate themselves in power
 Japan
 Feudalistic society
 Social classes
- Samurai
- Farmer
- Artisan
- merchant
 CIVILIZATION IN
NORTH ASIA
• Ottoman Turks Empire-The Muslim
Ottoman Turks had conquered regions that
surrounded the Mediterranean Sea, including parts
of Europe, by the end of the 16th century. A series of
wars with Russia, Austria, and Poland in the 17th and
18th centuries reduced and weakened the empire,
which was finally dissolved at the end of World War I.
The Ottoman Turks fought the Mongols and
ended the Byzantine Empire with the capture
of Constantinople in 1453.
Constantinople to Istanbul.
 Tamerlane and his Achievements

son of the chief of a Mongolian Tribe in Central

Asia.
“Timur” he was generally called “Timur the
Lame”
“Tamerlane”
He determined to make himself master of all the
countries in Central Asia.
He conquered Persia in command of a splendid
army. All the rich country belonging to Persia,
from the Tigris to the Euphrates, submitted to the
Mongolian conqueror.
 Russia
• During the 1400’s, Moscow became the center
of a unified Russian state.
• Ivan III took the title “czar” the Russian word
for Caesar. The czar (tsar) gained absolute
power over both the government and the
church.
Ivan IV ruled from 1533 to 1584, he exercised
the absolute power.
He was called “Ivan the Terrible” for his cruelty
and madness.
 The Romanov Dynasty in Russia
In 1613, the nobles elected 17 years old
Michael Romanov as czar.
During the 1600’s, the Romanov expanded
their territories eastward. By the end of the
century, Russia had acquired an empire
stretching to the Pacific Ocean.
Peter I became czar in 1682.
Between 1689 and 1725, his reforms
transformed Russia and earned him the title of
“Peter the Great.”
 Reforms under Peter the Great
In his return to Russia in 1698, Peter was
determined to westernize his nation.
He hired over 700 Europeans engineers,
shipbuilders, and mathematicians. He gave
them high salaries to teach their skills to the
Russians.
 Catherine the Great:

• is a German married to a Romanov heir

• Catherine earned the title “the Great” for her
aggressive foreign policy.
• In 1772, she joined Prussia and Austria in
dividing Poland among them, in which Poland
lost a third of its land and half of its
population. Catherine died in 1796.
 The Huns or Hsiung nus
• The Mongols- Genghis Khan 1162? –
August 1227), born Temujin, was the founder
and Great Khan (emperor) of the Mongol
Empire, which became the largest contiguous
empire in history after his demise.
 Civilization in Southeast Asia
Monarchy -is a form of government in which the sovereignty is
actually or nominally embodied in a single individual (the monarch).
Two types of monarchy
1. Constitutional monarchy or limited monarchy
-is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of
state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a
written, unmodified, or blended constitution.
2. Absolute monarchy
- is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch
exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of
government, his or her powers are not limited by a constitution or
by the law.
Sultanate is a sultan's domain, the territory ruled by a
sultan, just as a kingdom is a territory ruled by a king.
Sultan is the name for an Islamic sovereign.
• Example- Cambodian Empire
- Annamese Empire (Vietnam)
- Burmese Empire
- Kingdom of Siam
- Sri-Vijaya
- Madjapahit
 The Moslem influences
• The Mohammedan religion (islam) was
introduced to Malaysia by Arab missionaries
early in the 14th century.
• Mohammedanism was firmly established in
the city state of Malacca, which was the
religious and commercial center of Malaysia.
• Malacca had expanded into an empire and was
the center of Mohammedanism of Malaysia.
• In 1478, the Malaccan empire gained complete
supremacy by conquering the Madjapahit
empire.
• By this time, Mohammedanism was firmly
entrenched in the Philippines.
• In Mindanao, Abu Bakr became the first Moslem sultan of Jolo.
Islam was introduced by Sarip Kabungsuan, a Mohammedan
Malay leader from Johore, who landed at Cotabato in 1478. he
married another native princess, Tunina and became the first
sultan of Mindanao.