206 BC–220 AD Han Dynasty in China
A ruthless ruler of the Ch’in state achieved unification of China after 221 BC, but upon his death a new more moderate type of imperial rule emerged. Founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang (known as Emperor Gao) and spanning four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history. The first generations of Han China were mainly concerned with recovery from earlier civil wars. This changed with the ascendance of Emperor Wu (140–87 BC), who created an enduring bureaucracy and gave Confucians control of education and court politics. Wu also initiated an aggressive foreign policy, placing outposts in Central Asia and establishing a trade route (the Silk Road) that extended to the Roman Empire. After an interruption of 16 years, the Han dynasty returned to power after 25 AD, its rule now characterized by growing individual and regional independence. It was during the second Han period that Buddhism first gained widespread acceptance in China, achieving a popularity that would last several centuries.
Figure 4. The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
shafts commemorating important dates, pyramids and platforms grouped around large courts, and monumental sculpture. The cities were not urban in our sense of the word but rather ceremonial centers occupied by a priesthood and ruling class. Religion was the most important factor in Mayan life, founded on an appreciation of orderliness and moderation. The Mayans were far ahead of other new world cultures in hieroglyphic writing. They led both old world and new in astronomy. Then, astonishingly, between 800 and 900 AD, the great cities of Yucatan and Guatemala were gradually abandoned. Among the explanations scholars have offered are soil exhaustion and disease, but the most probable explanation is that the common people revolted and drove out or massacred the priest-rulers. Lacking leadership, the peasant population reverted to a simpler life. 312 AD Constantine Converts to Christianity For almost 300 years, as Christians struggled to define their beliefs, they were confronted with persecution on the part of the Roman public and state. Twice in the third century successive emperors strove vigorously to stamp out the Christian faith. Early in the fourth century Diocletian initiated an extraordinarily sweeping persecution. All of this changed in 312 when the emperor Constantine, on the eve of a battle in which he established his political supremacy, had the vision to which he attributed his conversion to Christianity. In a development that proved to be a major turning point in European history, Constantine granted freedom of religion throughout the empire and encouraged the growth of the Christian church. In 325 he convened the Council of Nicea to formulate Christian doctrine and personally directed much of its work. In 337 he chose to be baptized on his deathbed in his new capital, Constantinople. Christianity’s status had been transformed.
CA 4 BC–26 AD Jesus of Nazareth
Scholars estimate that Jesus of Nazareth was born several years before the beginning of the Christian era (the calendar was erroneously calculated much later) and entered upon his ministry at about age 30. He grew up in Galilee in northern Palestine, where he preached, taught, and healed. Jesus’ beliefs had much in common with the ethical teachings of earlier Jews. He asserted that he had not come to set aside the Law and Prophets, but to fulfill their promise. Insisting that the Kingdom of God was at hand, he called for repentance and new emphasis on love of God and neighbor. He ran afoul of the religious leaders of his day, and when he dared to challenge them in Jerusalem, they had him executed by the Romans. Within days, however, his followers became convinced Jesus had risen from the dead. In succeeding years, belief in his divinity spread widely. Ardent missionaries such as the apostle Paul conveyed his gospel throughout the Roman Empire. SEE FIGURE 4 300–900 AD Mayan Civilization in Central America Following the collapse of early Guatemalan and Mexican kingdoms in the third century, the region witnessed the emergence of an impressive Mayan civilization. A number of cities appeared that shared three architectural features — stone
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