The ancient East is where humanity's first states, writing systems, laws and religions were born. Almost all of them arose in the valleys of great rivers: the Nile, the Tigris and Euphrates, the Indus and Ganges, the Yellow River and the Yangtze. Exams often ask you to match a civilisation with its achievement, a ruler with an event, and to count years between BC dates.
§1. Why did the first states appear in river valleys?
River floods brought fertile silt, allowing large harvests.
But controlling floods and building canals and dams required the joint labour of thousands of people.
Organising such work created an administrative apparatus — officials, scribes, a tax system, an army.
Surplus produce divided society into rich and poor: the ruler, priests, farmers and slaves.
That is why ancient Eastern states were usually headed by a ruler with unlimited power (a despot), regarded as the gods' representative or as a god himself.
§2. Ancient Egypt
About 3000 BC — Upper and Lower Egypt united into one state (by tradition, under King Menes)
Egyptian history is divided into the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. The pyramids were built in the Old Kingdom; the largest is the pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) at Giza.
The pharaoh was a god-king; the state was run by a vizier and many scribes; the main taxpayers were farmers.
In the New Kingdom Egypt reached its greatest extent: the campaigns of Thutmose III, Ramesses II and the Battle of Kadesh against the Hittites. Pharaoh Akhenaten tried to introduce the cult of the single sun god Aten.
Culture: hieroglyphs, papyrus, a 365-day solar calendar, mummification, knowledge of medicine and geometry.
§3. Mesopotamia and the Near East
Mesopotamia ("between the rivers") is the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates.
The Sumerians created one of the oldest writing systems — cuneiform (on clay tablets), the wheel, the potter's wheel and base-60 counting (60 minutes in an hour and 360° in a circle come from here).
Babylon: King Hammurabi (18th century BC) united Mesopotamia; the Code of Hammurabi used the "eye for an eye" principle, and punishments depended on social status.
Assyria was a powerful military state (cavalry, iron weapons, siege engines); its capital Nineveh held the library of Ashurbanipal. In 612 BC Nineveh was destroyed by Babylonian and Median armies.
Neo-Babylonian kingdom: under Nebuchadnezzar II the "Hanging Gardens" (one of the Seven Wonders) were created. In 539 BC Babylon was taken by the Persian king Cyrus II.
Other peoples of the Near East:
The Phoenicians were sailors and traders; they created a 22-letter alphabet, the ancestor of the Greek and Latin alphabets, and founded Carthage.
The ancient Hebrews developed monotheism; their sacred books became the basis of the Bible.
The Achaemenid Empire (Cyrus II, Darius I) was the first "world empire", from Egypt to India: satrapies, the Royal Road, a single coinage. Transoxiana and Khwarazm were also part of it.
§4. Ancient India and China
India:
In the 3rd–2nd millennia BC the Indus valley had the cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, with straight streets and drainage.
After the arrival of the Aryans society was divided into four varnas: Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (farmers, merchants), Shudras (servants). Later the varnas split into many castes.
Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) in the 6th–5th centuries BC; he rejected varna inequality and taught a path of release from suffering. In the Maurya Empire King Ashoka (3rd century BC) supported Buddhism.
Science: the decimal system and zero (reaching Europe via the Arabs as "Arabic numerals"), an early form of chess.
China:
The first states arose in the Yellow River valley. Confucius (6th–5th centuries BC) taught respect for elders, proper conduct and loyalty to the state.
221 BC — Qin Shi Huang united the warring kingdoms: a single script, weights and measures, coinage; construction of the Great Wall was extended
The Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220): the Great Silk Road opened (the envoy Zhang Qian travelled west, including to Fergana), paper was invented (early 2nd century AD), early compasses and a seismograph appeared.
§5. Ancient Iran and the peoples of Central Asia
The history of the ancient East is not only Egypt and Mesopotamia. Our own land also saw early state formations, farming oases and a distinctive religion.
The ancient historical and cultural regions of Central Asia: Bactria (the upper Amu Darya), Sogdiana (the Zarafshan and Kashkadarya oases), Khorezm (the lower Amu Darya), Parthia, and the nomadic Saka and Massagetae of the steppes.
Zoroastrianism was the religion of the ancient peoples of Iran and Central Asia; its holy book is the Avesta. It presents the world as a struggle between the god of good, Ahura Mazda, and the spirit of evil, Ahriman; people should side with good through "good thoughts, good words, good deeds". Fire was revered as a symbol of purity.
The Achaemenids tried to subdue Central Asia and met fierce resistance. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the Persian king Cyrus II was killed in battle against Tomyris, queen of the Massagetae (530 BC).
530 BC — Cyrus II was killed in battle with the Massagetae
According to a story told by the Greek author Polyaenus, the Saka shepherd Shiraq led the Persian army into a waterless desert at the cost of his own life; he is studied as a symbol of patriotism.
Under Darius I, Bactria, Sogdiana, Khorezm and the Saka lands paid tribute as satrapies; they are named among the Achaemenid lands in the inscription on the Behistun rock.
Why does it matter? This section is a bridge to later topics: Alexander’s campaign in Central Asia, the Greco-Bactrian and Kushan states, and links with China along the Great Silk Road (Zhang Qian’s arrival in Fergana) all unfolded on this foundation.
Worked example
"Match: 1) Phoenicia; 2) Sumer; 3) Egypt; 4) China. a) cuneiform; b) hieroglyphs and papyrus; c) a 22-letter alphabet; d) paper."
Recall each civilisation's "signature" achievement.
Phoenicia — alphabet (c); Sumer — cuneiform (a); Egypt — hieroglyphs (b); China — paper (d).
Answer: 1c, 2a, 3b, 4d. Careful: China also uses characters, but papyrus is uniquely Egyptian, so "b" belongs to Egypt.
Worked example
"How many years passed between the destruction of Assyria's capital and the Persian capture of Babylon?"
Nineveh — 612 BC, Babylon — 539 BC.
Both are BC, so subtract the smaller from the larger: 612 − 539 = 73 years.
Worked example
"How many years passed between the unification of China and the end of the Han dynasty?"
Unification — 221 BC; end of the Han dynasty — AD 220.
The dates are in different eras, so add them and subtract 1, because there is no year zero.
221 + 220 − 1 = 440 years.
Check yourself
Why did the ancient Eastern states arise in river valleys?
Which state did Hammurabi rule and what is he famous for?
Which alphabet did the Greek and Latin alphabets come from?
Which pharaoh is known for an attempt at monotheism?
Who united China, and when?
Which social order did Buddhism oppose?
What is the holy book of Zoroastrianism called?
According to Herodotus, against whom was the Persian king Cyrus II killed in battle?
Common mistakes
Crediting the alphabet to the Egyptians or Sumerians (alphabet — Phoenicia; Egypt — hieroglyphs; Sumer — cuneiform).
Calling Hammurabi an Assyrian king (he ruled Babylon).
Linking the Great Silk Road to the Qin dynasty (it opened under the Han).
Adding two BC dates when finding a difference (if both are BC, subtract).
Placing the Hanging Gardens in Hammurabi's time (Nebuchadnezzar II, Neo-Babylonian kingdom).