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Displacing Indigenous People class 11 Notes History  chapter 10

SNIPPETS FROM THE CHAPTER

Sources

• Oral History of natives
• Historical and fiction work written by natives
• Galleries and Museums of native art
• Why Weren’t We Told? by Henry Reynolds

EUROPEAN IMPARTATION 

• The American empires of Spain and Portugal did not expand after the seventeenth century.
• During that time other countries like France, Holland and Britain began to extend trade activities and establish colonies in America, Africa and Asia.
• Ireland also was virtually a colony of England, as the landowners there were mostly English settlers.
• Prospect of profit drove people to establish colonies.
• Nature of the control on the colonies varied.
• Trading companies became political power in South Asia, defeated rulers, retained administrative system.
• Collected taxes and built railway to make trade easier, excavated mines and established big plantation.
• Africa was divided as colonies among Europeans.

Settlers & Natives

The word ‘Settler‘ is used for Dutch in South Africa, the British in Ireland. New Zealand and Australia and Europeans in America.
The native people led a simple life. They did not clam their rights over land.

NORTH AMERICA: The Native Peoples

• The inhabitants might have come from Asia through a land bridge across the Bering straits, 30000 years before.
• They used to live in groups along river valley before the advent of Europeans.
• They ate fish and meat, and cultivated vegetables and maize.
•  Goods were obtained not by buying, but by gifts. They believed in subsistence economy.
• They spoke numerous language but those are not available in written form.
• They were friendly and welcoming to Europeans.
• The Europeans gave the them blankets, iron vessels, guns, which was a useful supplement for bows and arrows to kill animals, and alcohol in exchange of local products.
• The natives had not known alcohol earlier, and they became addicted to it, which suited the Europeans, because it enabled them to dictate terms of trade. (The Europeans acquired from the natives an addiction to tobacco.)

Comparative Study between American natives and Europeans

(a) Natives

• They were uncivilized ‘noble savage’.
• To the natives, the goods they exchanged with the Europeans were gifts, given in friendship.
• They were not aware of the market.
• They were not happy with the greed of the Europeans.
• The natives were afraid that the animals would take revenge for this destruction as  the Europeans slaughtered hundreds of beavers for fur.
• They identified forest tracks invisible to the Europeans.
• Accounts of historical anecdotes were recorded by each tribe.

(b) Europeans

• They were civilized in terms of literacy, an organised religion and urbanism.
• Gift, were commodities which they would sell for a profit.
• They assessed everything with the value in the market.
• To get furs, they had slaughtered hundreds of beavers.
• They killed wild animals to protect farms.
• European imagined the forest to be converted into green cornfields.

THE GOLD RUSH AND GROWTH OF INDUSTRIES

• In the 1840s, traces of gold were found in the USA, in California. This led to the ‘Gold Rush’, when thousands of eager Europeans hurried to America in the hope of making a quick fortune.
• This led to building of railway lines across the continent.
• Industries developed to manufacture railway equipment.
• To produce machinery which would make large-scale farming easier
• Employment generation led to growth of towns and factories.
• In 1860, the USA was an undeveloped economy, but within 30 years, in 1890 it was the leading industrial power in the world.

 Natives Constitutional Rights in North America

**British colonies in America declared a war against England in 1776 to gain independence.The War of Independence of the colonies continued till 1783.

• Democratic Rights: The ‘democratic spirit’ which had been the rallying cry of the settlers in their fight for independence in the 1770s, came to define the identity of the USA against the monarchies and aristocracies of the Old World. The natives were denied the democratic rights (the right to vote for representatives to Congress and for the President), because it was only for white men.
• Right to Property: The concept of private property emerged and people wanted that their constitution included the individual’s ‘right to property’, which the state could not override. But this right was exclusive only to the Whites.

Winds of change

• From 1920s, things began to improve for the native peoples of the USA and Canada.
• White Americans felt sympathy for the natives. In the USA, the Indian Reorganisation Act of 1934, which gave natives in reservations the right to buy land and take loans.
• In the 1950s and 1960s, the US and Canadian governments thought of ending all special provisions for the natives in the hope that they would ‘join the mainstream’.
• In 1954, in the ‘Declaration of Indian Rights’ prepared by them, a number of native peoples accepted citizenship of the USA.
• In Canada, the Constitution Act of 1982 accepted the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the natives.
• American President Abraham LIncoln played a key role in the abolition of the slavery.

AUSTRALIA

Backgroud:

• Dutch explorer Williem Jansz reached Australia in 1606.
• A.J Tasman followed the route of Jansz and found New Zealand. The Tasmanian islands are named after him.
•  British explorer, James Cook, reached the island of Botany Bay in 1770 and named it New South Wales.
• The ‘aborigines’ (a general name given to a number of different societies) began to arrive from New Guinea, which was connected to Australia by a land-bridge on the continent, over 40,000 years ago.
• In the late eighteenth century, there were between 350 and 750 native communities in Australia each with its own language.
• There is another large group of indigenous people living in the north, called the Torres Strait Islanders. The term ‘Aborigine’ is not used for these as they are believed to have migrated from elsewhere and belong to a different race.

Early Settlers:

• Early settlers were convicts deported from England.
• When their jail term ended, were allowed to live as free people in Australia on condition that they did not return to Britain.
• Since they had no other alternative but to stay there, they felt no hesitation about ejecting natives from land they took over for cultivation.
• Natives were employed in farms under conditions of work so harsh that it was little different from slavery.
• Later, Chinese immigrants provided cheap labour but they did not want to depend on non-whites for they banned Chinese immigration.
• Till 1974, such was the popular fear that ‘dark’ people from South Asia or Southeast Asia might migrate to Australia in large numbers that there was a government policy to keep ‘non-white’ people out.

Things changed

• In 1968, people were electrified by a lecture by the anthropologist W.E.H. Stanner, entitled ‘The Great Australian Silence’ – the silence of historians about the aborigines.
• From 1974, White Australia’ policy ends, Asian immigrants allowed entry. Since then a ‘multiculturalism’ has been official policy in Australia, which gave equal respect to native cultures and to the different cultures of the immigrants from Europe and Asia
• In 1992,  the Australian High Court declares that terra nullius was legally invalid, and recognised native claims to land from before 1770
• In 1995, the National Enquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families.
• Agitations led to a public apology for the injustice done to children in an attempt to keep ‘white’ and ‘coloured’ people apart. On 26 May, 1999  ‘a National Sorry Day’ was observed as an apology for the children ‘lost’ from the 1820s to the 1970s.

chapter 9 Industrial Revolution class 11 Notes History

Meaning & Background

• The term ‘Industrial Revolution’ was used by European scholars – George Michelet in France and Friedrich Engles in Germany.
• It refers to the great change in the field of industries when the production of goods by hand in the houses were replaced with the help of machines in factories.
• The transformation of industry and the economy in Britain between the 1780s and the 1850s is called the ‘first industrial revolution’.
• It was used for the first time in English by the philosopher and economist Arnold Toynbee (1852-83), to describe the changes that occurred in British industrial development between 1760 and 1820. These dates coincided with those of the reign of George III.
• It revolutionised the techniques and organisation of production in the later half of the eighteenth century.

CAUSES

(i) Economic – There was remarkable economic growth from the 1780s to 1820 in the cotton and iron industries, in coal mining, in the building of roads and canals and in foreign trade.

(ii) Political – The series of incidents occurred in British industrial development between 1760 and 1820. These dates coincided with those of the reign of George III.

** Why Britain?:

It had been politically stable since the seventeenth century, with England, Wales and Scotland unified under a monarchy. This meant that the kingdom had common laws, a single currency and a market that was not fragmented by local authorities. Besides, England had great domestic and international market under its control which helped in the growth of Industrial Revolution.

• Towns – From the eighteenth century, many towns in Europe were growing in area and in population. Population of most of the European cities doubled between 1750 and 1800. The largest of them was London, which served as the hub of the country’s markets, with the next largest ones located close to it. London had also acquired a global significance.
• Finance – The Bank of England was founded in 1694.
• Coal & Iron – Coal and Iron ore were important raw materials. Abraham Darby invented the blast furnace in 1709. World’s first iron bridge was built during this period
• Agricultural Revolution – In the eighteenth century, England had been through a major economic change, later described as the ‘agricultural revolution’. This was the process by which bigger landlords had bought up small farms near their own properties and enclosed the village common lands. The agricultural revolution laid down the foundation of the Industrial Revolution.

(iii) Geographical –

• In the seventeenth century, Wales and Scotland were unified. London was the largest city as well as a city of global trade. England had a number of colonies in Asia, Africa and Europe. These helped in obtaining the raw material for industries.
• By the eighteenth century, the centre of global trade had shifted from the Mediterranean ports of Italy and France to the Atlantic ports of Holland and Britain.

CONSEQUENCES

(i) Positive Effects

The onset of textile industry also helped in the emergence of Industrial Revolution.

(a) Invention of Machines in Cotton Industry:

•  The flying shuttle loom invented by John Kay in 1733 revolutionsed the textile industry.
•  The spinning jenny
•  The water frame
•  The mule
•  Powerloom

Road Map of Industrial Revolution

(b) Increase in Production

(c) Introduction of Railways & Canals

Railways took the industrialization to the second stage.

• Thomas Savery built a model steam engine the Miner’s Friend in 1698.
• Another steam engine was built by Thomas Newcomen in 1712. The steam engine had been used only in coal mines until James Watt developed a perfect steam engine in 1769 and established the Soho Foundry in Birmingham.
• James Brindley built the First English Canal in 1761. The ‘canal mania’ prevailed from 1788 to 1796.
• The first steam locomotive, Stephenson’s Rocket, appeared in 1814.
• Richard Trevithick devised an engine – the ‘Puffing Devil’ in 1801 and a locomotive – ‘The Blutcher’ in 1814.
• The First railway line ran between Stockton and Darlington..
• The ‘little railway mania’ prevailed from 1833 to 1837 and the bigger ‘mania’ from 1844 to 1847.

Advantages and Disadvantages  – In the 1830s, the use of canals revealed several problems. The congestion of vessels made movement slow on certain stretches of canals, and frost, flood or drought limited the time of their use. The railways now appeared as a convenient alternative. About 6,000 miles of railway was opened in Britain between 1830 and 1850, most of it in two short bursts. During the ‘little railway mania’ of 1833-37, 1400 miles of line was built, and during the bigger ‘mania’ of 1844-47, another 9,500 miles of line was sanctioned.

(d) Changed life

• Profits: Some rich individuals who took risks and invested money in industries in the hope that profits could be made, and that their money would ‘multiply’. In most cases this money – capital – did multiply. Wealth, in the form of goods, incomes, services, knowledge and productive efficiency, did increase dramatically.
• Huge population: The number of cities in England with a population of over 50,000 grew from two in 1750 to 29 in 1850. This pace of growth was not matched with the provision of adequate housing, sanitation or clean water for the rapidly growing urban population.

(ii) Negative Effects

(a) Condition of workers: There was, at the same time, a massive negative human cost. This was evident in broken families, new addresses, degraded cities and appalling working conditions in factories. The condition of workers was quite miserable. They became victims of restlessness, epidemics and diseases.

(b) Employment of Women and Children in industries: The Industrial Revolution was a time of important changes in the way that children and women worked. The earnings of women and children were necessary to supplement men’s meagre wages. Factory managers considered child labour to be important training for future factory work

(c) Protest Movement

• Meaning: Industrialisation led to greater prosperity for some, but in the initial stages it was linked with poor living and working conditions of millions of people, including women and children. This sparked off protests, which forced the government to enact laws for regulating conditions of work.
• Luddism – Luddism (1811-17) fought for the workers affected by new machines. It was led by the charismatic General Ned Ludd. Its participants demanded a minimum wage, control over the labour of women and children, work for those who had lost their jobs because of the coming of machinery, and the right to form trade unions so that they could legally present these demands.
• Result: The government reacted by repression and by new laws that denied people the right to protest. For this reason they passed two Combination Acts and supported Corn Laws. Through the Act of 1833 more children were put to work in coal mines.

Reform laws

• Laws were passed in 1819 prohibiting the employment of children under the age of nine in factories and limiting the hours of work of those between the ages of nine and sixteen to 12 hours a day
• The Mines and Collieries Act of 1842 banned children under 10 and women from working underground.
• The Ten Hours’ Bill was introduced in 1847, after more than 30 years of agitation. It limited the hours of work for women and young people, and secured a 10-hour day for male workers.
• Fielder’s Factory Act in 1847 prohibited children and women from working more than 10 hours a day.
• In eighteenth century, England witnessed the “Agricultural Revolution and the process of ‘enclosure’.

THE DEBATE

• Until the 1970s, historians used the term ‘industrial revolution’ for the changes that occurred in Britain from the 1780s to the 1820s. From then, it was challenged, on various grounds. Industrialisation had actually been too gradual to be considered a ‘revolution’. It carried processes that already existed towards new levels. England had changed in a regional manner, prominently around the cities of London, Manchester, Birmingham or Newcastle, rather than throughout the country.
• Indicators of economic change occurring before and after 1815-20 suggest that sustained industrialisation was to be seen after rather than before these dates.
• The word ‘industrial’ used with the word ‘revolution’ is too limited. The transformation extended beyond the economic or industrial sphere and into society and gave prominence to two classes: the bourgeoisie and the new class of proletarian labourers in towns and in the countryside

Confrontation of Cultures class 11 Notes History

SNIPPETS FROM THE CHAPTER:

It reflects the encounters between European and the people of the America between fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. The fifteenth century was the age of geographical discoveries mainly influenced by new scientific inventions, travellers’ accounts, political and religious motives, etc.

Reasons:

• In 1942, a Spanish sailor Christopher Columbus discovered America. Later on, Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci came to South America in 1499 and called it a New World.
• Economic motives spurred the European voyages and discoveries.
• The invention of compass in 1380 helped the sailors to sail independently in different directions.
• Astrolabe was invented which helped the sailors to look beyond the normal vision and helped them to avoid the marine danger.
• The Americas are home to many native tribes; the world’s largest river – the Amazon flows here. There were communities of the natives such as the Arawakian Lucayos and the Caribs.

1. Native American Culture

(a) Small Subsistence Economies

(i) Arawaks (Bahamas)

(b) Developed Culture

(i) Aztecs (Mexico)

(ii) Mayas (Central America)

(iii) Incas (West Coast & South America)

THE ARAWAKS (BAHAMAS)

The Arawakian Lucayos lived on a cluster of hundreds of small islands in the Caribbean Sea, today known as the Bahamas, and the Greater Antilles.

Economic activities of Arawaks (Bahamas)

(a) They produced food collectively to feed everyone in the community.
(b) They had self-sufficient economy.
(c) They were skilled boat-buildiers, they sailed the o.pen sea in dugout canoes (canoes made from hollow tree trunks).
(d) They lived by hunting, fishing and agriculture
(e) They grew food products like- corn, sweet potatoes, tubers and cassava.

Religious & social life of Arawaks (Bahamas)

(a) Polygamy was common in their society.
(b) They were animist (they believe that even objects regarded by modern science as ‘inanimate’ may have life or a soul).
(c) Shamans played an important role as healers and intermediaries between this world and that of the supernatural
(d) They were superstitions.

Cultural & Features of Arawaks (Bahamas)

(a) They preferred negotiations to conflict.
(b)  They were very generous host.
(c) The art of weaving was highly developed – the hammock was one of their specialties.

** People called the Tupinamba lived on the east coast of South America, and in villages in the forests (the name ‘Brazil’ is derived from the brazilwood tree).

Political Features of Arawaks (Bahamas)

(a) They were governed by oligarchy as they were organised under clan elders.
(b)  They had no army.
(c) There existed no religious institution.

THE AZTECS (of Mexico)

In the twelfth century, the Aztecs had migrated from the north into the central valley of Mexico (named after their god Mexitli).

Social life of Aztecs

(a) They had hierarchical society.
(b) Nobility was dominant as the nobles chose from among them a supreme leader who ruled until his death.
(c) The king was regarded as the representative of the sun on earth.
(d) Warriors, priests and nobles were the most respected groups, but traders also enjoyed many privileges and often served the government as ambassadors and spies.
(e) They engaged in war.
(f) Aztec women were given special status in the society.

 Economic Activities of Aztecs

(a) The Aztecs undertook reclamations. They made chinampas, artificial islands, in Lake Mexico.
(b) They made canals between fertile lands.
(c) They cultivated food products like – Corns, beans, pumpkin, potatoes, etc.
(d) They had agrarian economy. Land was owned not by individuals but by clans.

Cultural Activities of Aztecs 

(a) They gave special attention the schooling of their children.
(b) Children of the nobility attended the calmecac and were trained to become military and religious leaders.
(c) Others went to the tepochcalli in their neighbourhood, which was the center of learning.

 Political Activity of Aztecs 

(a) In 1325 the capital city Tenochtitlan was built.
(b) The king was their sole leader.
(c) The made conquests and reclaimed territories as land was limited.
(d) They conquered people.
(e) In the early sixteenth century, the Aztec empire was showing signs of strain due to discontent among recently conquered peoples.

THE MAYAS (of Central America)

The Mayan culture of Mexico developed remarkably between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries, but in the sixteenth century they had less political power than the Aztecs. The important Mayan civilisation were Mexico, Honduras, EI-Slavador and Guatemala.

Social life of Mayas 

(a) Their religious ceremonies were based on agriculture.
(b) Their social relation was based on agrarian system.

Economic Activities of Mayas 

(a) They were engaged in corn cultivation.
(b) Efficient agricultural production generated surplus, which helped the ruling classes, priests and chiefs to invest in architecture and in the development of astronomy and mathematics
(c) This surplus helped ruling classes priests and chiefs to invest in architecture and in the development of astronomy and mathematics.

Cultural Activities of Mayas

(a) Made significant development of architecture.
(b) They progressed of astronomy and mathematics.
(c) They devised a pictographic form of writing.
(d) They made Maya Calendar

 Political Activity of Mayas

(a) They had less political power.
(b) Their ruling class was strong.

The Incas were also known as the Quechuas. The capital city – Cuzco was established by the first Inca emperor, Manco Capac in the twelfth century. They spoke Quechan language. The Aztecs and the Incas shared some common feature, e.g, hierarchical societies with no private ownership of resources, and were very different from European culture.

VOYAGES AND EXPLORATION (by Europeans)

• The voyages of discovery were pioneered by explorers from Spain and Portugal.
• The magnetic compass was used by Europeans for the voyages.
• The printed version of Ptolemy’s Geography was available in 1477.
• The Vikings of Norway had reached North America in the eleventh century.
• Portugal gained independence from Spain in 1139.
• Christopher Columbus had reached South America. He also reached the Guanahani Island in the Bahamas in 1492. The two continents were named after Amerigo Vespucci, a geographer from Florence.
• Francisco Pizarro captured the Inca emperor from the ruler, Atahualpa in 1532.
• Brazil was occupied by the Portuguese under command of Pedro Alvares Cabral. They exploited Brazilwood. In 1601, King Philip II of Spain publicly banned forced labour.

Conquest, Colonies and the Slave-Trade

• The uncertain voyages had a lasting consequences for Europe, the Americas and Africa. From the fifteenth century, European maritime projects produced knowledge of continuous sea passages from ocean to ocean. Before this, most of these passages had been unknown to Europeans. In the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, all these feats were accomplished.
• For Europe, the ‘discovery’ of the Americas had consequences for others besides the initial voyagers. Europe became familiar with new crops from America, notably potatoes and chillies. These were then taken by Europeans to other countries like India.
• For the native people of the Americas, the immediate consequences were the physical decimation of local populations, the destruction of their way of life and their enslavement in mines, plantations and mills.
• The sudden destruction of the two major civilisations – those of the Aztecs and the Incas – in America highlights the contrasts between the two cultures in combat. Both with the Aztecs and the Incas, the nature of warfare played a crucial role in terrorizing local inhabitants psychologically and physically.
• The enslavement of the population was a sharp reminder of the brutality of the encounter. Slavery was not a new idea, but the South American experience was new in that it accompanied the emerging capitalist system of production. Working conditions were horrific, but the Spanish regarded the exploitation as essential to their economic gain.

Conclusion

In the early nineteenth century, European settlers in the South American colonies were to rebel against Spain and Portugal and become independent countries, just as in 1776 the thirteen North American colonies rebelled against Britain and formed the United States of America.

Latin America:  South America today is also called ‘Latin America’. This is because Spanish and Portuguese, two of the main languages of the continent, are part of the Latin family of languages. The inhabitants are mostly native European (called Creole), European, and African by origin. Most of them are Catholics. Their culture has many elements of native traditions mixed with European ones.

Class 11 History Notes Chapter 7 Changing Cultural Traditions

• Many significant changes took place in cultural traditions of Europe between 14th to 17th centuries.
• The church mainly influenced the life of people a lot. ‘
• Renaissance is a French word.
• Fall of feudalism, the religious wars between Christians and Muslims, commercial properties, etc. were the main reasons for the rise of Renaissance in Europe.
• Renaissance at first started in Italy. Then it started in Rome, Venice and Florence.
• In 1455, printing press was invented by Gutenberg.
• First printing press was set up by Caxton in 1477 in Europe.
• The invention of printing press increased the volume of books. It also helped in the spread of education.
• Milan, Naples, Venice and Florence gained the status of trade centers because of flourishing of trades.
• Humanism was one of the movements that started in Italy in 14th century.
• Petrarch is known as the ‘Father of Humanism’. He vehemently criticized the superstitions and lifestyle of clergy.
• Dante was an eminent poet and philosopher of Italy.
• Dante is known for his classics, The Divine Comedy.
• William Tyndale (1494-1536) translated the Bible into English in 1506.
• Boccaccio was the greatest writer and humanist.
• Decameron is a classic work of Giovanni Boccaccio. It is the collection of 180 stories.
• Leonardo-da-Vinci was one of the greatest painters. He was born in Florence in the year 1452.
• Mona Lisa’ and ‘The Last Supper’ were the most famous paintings of Leonardo-da-Vinci.
• Michelangelo was another great painter. His greatest painting was ‘The Last Judgement’.
• Nicholas Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Issac Newton were well-known scientists of the Renaissance period.
• The theory of the earth as a part of the sun centered system was made popular by Kepler’s Cosmographical Mystery.
• The revolution in science reached at its climax with Newton’s theory of gravitation.
• Aristocratic families dominated the way of life during 14th century medieval Europe.
• Social, political and economic life of people were deeply affected by Renaissance.
• Renaissance aroused the spirit of equality among the people and attacked on the superstitions and rituals prevailing in the society.
• Literature of Renaissance period brought about a great change in political thinking of the people.
• Reformation movement was a protest movement that took place in the 16th century against the church and the pope.
• Martin Luther wrote Ninety-Five Theses challenging the authority of the church.
• Nation-state received new power and vigour from Reformation.
• The Society of Jesus was founded by Ignatius Loyala in 1540. It made an attempt to combat Protestantism.

Important terms:

• Renaissance: A French word meaning rebirth.
• Renaissance man: A person with many interests and skills.
• Document of Indulgences: A document issued by the church which guaranteed a written promise to absolve the holder of all his sins.
• Humanism: A movement which gave priority to present life rather than life thereafter.

Timeline
The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries
1300	Humanism taught at Padua University in Italy
1341	Petrarch given title of ‘Poet Laureate’ in Rome
1349	University established in Florence
1390	Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales published
1436	Brunelleschi designs the Duomo in Florence
1453	Ottoman Turks defeat the Byzantine ruler of Constantinople
1454	Gutenberg prints the Bible with movable type
1484	Portuguese mathematicians calculate latitude by observing the sun
1492	Columbus reaches America
1495	Leonardo da Vinci paints The Last Supper
1512	Michelangelo paints the Sistine Chapel ceiling
The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
1516	Thomas More’s Utopia published
1517	Martin Luther writes the Ninety-Five Theses
1522	Luther translates the Bible into German
1525	Peasant uprising in Germany
1543	Andreas Vesalius writes On Anatomy
1559	Anglican Church established in England, with the king/queen as its head
1569	Gerhardus Mercator prepares cylindrical map of the earth
1582	Gregorian calendar introduced by Pope Gregory XIII
1628	William Harvey links the heart with blood circulation
1673	Academy of Sciences set up in Paris
1687	Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica published

Class 11 History Notes Chapter 6 The Three Orders

• Western European society was divided into three orders between the ninth and the sixteenth centuries.
• The three orders of the western society include:
  • The Clergy
  • The Nobility and
  • The Peasantry.
• Clergy enjoyed special status. They were exempted from paying taxes.
• The nobility also enjoyed a respectable position in the society. People belonging to the nobility were appointed on higher posts in administration, army and the church. They were also exempted from paying certain taxes.
• The peasantry had to pay heavy taxes and had to work very hard to meet their both ends.
• The most important characteristics of the middle age Western European society was the emergence of feudalism.
• Two sections of the third order were:
  • Free Peasants
  • Serfs.
• Free peasants had to deposit a fixed land revenue to the lords.
• Most of the Western European society belonged to the serfs. A lot of restrictions were imposed on them while the peasants were free from such restrictions.
• Serfs were denied to offer prayers in the church. They were ill-treated and forced to work nearly 12 to 16 hours a day.• Feudalism is a German word. It stands for land or an estate. It was regarded as the main the pillar of the Medieval European society.
• Under feudalism, lords were granted their land in exchange for military services and personal loyalty.
• Feudalism originated in France. Later on it spread over to many other countries of Europe like England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, etc.
• The church played a major role in influencing the Medieval European society.
• Pope was the supreme authority in the church’s institution.
• Some of the famous towns that came into prominence were Venice, Florence, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Milan, Amsterdam, etc.
• The word ‘monastery’ is derived from the Greek word ‘monos’ that means someone who lives alone.
• The drawbacks of the barter system were solved by the use of money.
• St. Benedict Monastery was established in 529 CE in Italy. St. Benedict laid the foundation of this monastery.
• Decline of feudalism in the 16 century paved the way for the rise of nation-state in Europe. French, German and Russian Revolutions occurred in 1789, 1848 and 1917 CE respectively. These revolutions inspired the people of the world also and gave a new way to the world.

Important terms:

• Tithe: A kind of tax collected by the church from the peasants in France. It was l/10th of the total produce.
• Manor: Dwelling area of the landlord.
• Fief: The land given by the lord to the knight.
• Pope: The supreme authority of the church
•  Friars: A group of monks who moved from place to place, preaching to the people and living on charity.

Timeline: Early History of France
481	Clovis becomes king of the Franks.
486	Clovis and the Franks begin the conquest of northern Gaul.
496	Clovis and the Franks convert to Christianity.
714	Charles Martel becomes Mayor of the palace.
751	Martel’s son Pepin deposes the Frankish ruler, becomes king and establishes a dynasty. Wars of conquest double the size of his kingdom.
768	Pepin succeeded by his son Charlemagne \ Charles the Great.
800	Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor.
840 on wards	Raids by Vikings from Norway.
Eleventh to Fourteenth Centuries
1066	Normans defeat Anglo-Saxons and conquer England
1100 on wards	Cathedrals being built in France
1315-17	Great famine in Europe
1347-50	Black Death
1338-1461	Hundred Years War between England and France
1381	Peasants’ revolts
The New Monarchies
1461-1559	New monarchs in France
1474-1556	New monarchs in Spain
1485-1547	New monarchs in England

Nomadic Empires class 11 Notes History

Nomadic Empires can be said to be an imperial formation constructed by nomadic groups. The Mongols, under the leadership of Genghis Khan, established a transcontinental empire straddling Europe and Asia during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

Sources: 

• The steppe dwellers themselves usually produced no literature, so our knowledge of nomadic societies comes mainly from chronicles, travelogues and documents produced by city-based litterateurs. These authors often produced extremely ignorant and biased reports of nomadic life.
• The imperial success of the Mongols attracted many travelers. These individuals came from a variety of backgrounds – Buddhist,Confucian, Christian, Turkish and Muslim. Many of them produced sympathetic accounts and others hostile.
• The most outstanding sources of Mongols are Igor de Rachewiltz’s ‘The Secret History of Mongol’ and ‘the Travelogues of Marco Polo’.

Rise of Mongol tribe: 

In the early decades of the thirteenth century the great empires of the Euro-Asian continent realised the dangers posed to them by the arrival of a new political power in the steppes of Central Asia: Genghis Khan (d. 1227) had united the Mongol people.

Background:

• The Mongols were a diverse body of tribal people, spoke similar languages.
• Some of the Mongols were pastoralists while others were hunter-gatherers.The pastoralists tended horses, sheep and cattle, goats and camels.
• They lived nomadic life in the steppes of Central Asia in a tract of land in the area of the modern state of Mongolia. This was a majestic landscape with wide horizons, rolling plains, ringed by the snow-capped mountains, Gobi desert and drained by rivers and springs.
• Agriculture was possible in the pastoral regions but the Mongols did not take to agriculture.The Mongols lived in tents and travelled with their herds from their winter to summer pasture lands.
• These groups were constantly engaged in war with each other.
• Mongol society was patriarchal in nature.

Life and Career of Genghis Khan:

• Genghis Khan was born in 1162 CE, near the Onon Riverin the north of present-day Mongolia.
• His original name was Temujin, he was the son of Yesugei, the chieftain of the Kiyat clan.
• His father was murdered by a tribe at an early age and his mother, Oelun-eke, raised Temujin, his brothers and step-brothers in great hardship.
• Genghis Khan faced many problems in his childhood. Temujin was captured and enslaved for many years.
• Soon after his marriage, his wife, Borte, was kidnapped, and he had to fight to recover her.
• During these years of hardship he also managed to make important friends. The young Boghurchu was his first ally and remained a trusted friend; Jamuqa,his blood-brother was another.
• Temujin became the dominant personality in the politics of the steppe lands, a position that was recognised at an assembly of Mongol chieftains, where he was proclaimed the ‘Great Khan of the Mongols’ with the title Genghis Khan, the ‘Oceanic Khan’or ‘Universal Ruler’.

His conquests: China, Transoxiana, Khwarazm, Samarqand, Herat, Azerbaijan Russia between 1219 to 1222 CE

• The first of his concerns was to conquer China, divided at this time into three realms:the Hsi Hsia dynasty in the north-western provinces,Chin dynasty ruled north China and the Sung dynasty in south China.
• By 1209, the Hsi Hsia were defeated, the ‘Great Wall of China’ was breached in 1213 and long drawn-out battles against the Chin continued until 1234 but Genghis Khan was satisfied enough with the progress of his campaigns to return to his Mongolia
•  Sultan Muhammad, the ruler of Khwarazm, executed Mongol envoys worried of Mongol invasion. In the campaigns between 1219 and 1221 the great cities – Otrar, Bukhara, Samarqand, Balkh, Gurganj, Merv, Nishapur and Herat – surrendered to the Mongol forces.
•  Towns that resisted were devastated by Mongols. A Mongol prince was killed during the siege operation at Nishapur.
• Mongol forces in pursuit of Sultan Muhammad pushed into Azerbaijan and defeated Russian forces. Another wing followed the Sultan’s son, Jalaluddin, into Afghanistan and the Sindh province.

Why did Genghis Khan return to Mongolia without touching India?

At the banks of the Indus, Genghis Khan considered returning to Mongolia through North India and Assam, but the heat, the natural habitat and the ill portents reported by his Shaman soothsayer made him change his mind.

Genghis Khan died in 1227.

His Achievements:

His ability to innovate and transform different aspects of steppe combat into extremely effective military strategies was the most important reason behind his astounding success.

• Organised the army: He made great efforts to organise the army. Strict discipline was maintained in the army. He improved and restructured the army to blend the typical skills of the tribe with the army. The horse-riding skills of the Mongols and the Turks provided speed and mobility to the army. Their abilities as rapid-shooting archers from horseback were further perfected during regular hunting expeditions which doubled chance of victory over the enemies.
• Rigorous training & prepartion:  The steppe cavalry had always travelled light and moved quickly, but now it brought all its knowledge of the terrain. They carried out campaigns in the depths of winter, treating frozen rivers as highways to enemy cities and camps.. He learnt the importance of siege. His engineers prepared light portable equipment, which was used against opponents with devastating effect.

The Mongols after Genghis Khan

The Mongol expansion after Genghis Khan’s death can be divided into two distinct phases –

(i) The first which spanned the years 1236-42 when the major gains were in the Russian steppes, Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary.

(ii) The second phase including the years 1255-1300 led to the conquest of all of China, Iran, Iraq and Syria.

The Mongol military forces met with few reversals in the decades after the 1260s the original impetus of campaigns could not be sustained in the West.

Social, Political and Military Organisation

Social Organisation

• Among the Mongols all the able-bodied, adult males of the tribe bore arms: they constituted the armed forces when the occasion demanded.
• The unification of the different Mongol tribes and subsequent campaigns against diverse people introduced new members into Genghis Khan’s army. It included groups like theTurks, Chinese and Arabs who had accepted his authority willingly.
• The society included groups like the Turkic Uighurs, the defeated people like – the Kereyits. It was a body of heterogeneous mass of people.

Military Organisation

• Genghis Khan worked to systematically erase the old tribal identities of the different groups who joined his confederacy. His army was organised according to the old steppe system of decimal units. Any individual who tried to move from his allotted group without permission received harsh punishment.
• He divided the army into four units and they were required to serve under his four sons and specially chosen captains of his army units called noyan.
•  The soldiers who had served Genghis Khan loyally through grave adversity for many years were publicly honoured some of these individuals as his ‘blood brothers’ and  others were given special ranking as his bondsmen, a title that marked their close relationship with their master.

Political Organisation

The civil system was based on Ulus system. Genghis Khan assigned the responsibility of governing the newly-conquered people to his four sons. These comprised the four ulus.

• The eldest son, Jochi, received the Russian steppes and it extended as far west as his horses could roam.
• The second son, Chaghatai, was given the Transoxanian steppe and lands north of the Pamir Mountain adjacent to those of his brother.
• Genghis Khan had indicated that his third son, Ogodei, would succeed him as the Great Khan and on accession the Prince established his capital at Karakorum.
• The youngest son, Toluy, received the ancestral lands of Mongolia. Genghis Khan envisaged that his sons would rule the empire collectively, and to underline this point, military contingents of the individual princes were placed in each ulus.
• The sense of a dominion shared by the members of the family was underlined at the assembly of chieftains, quriltais, where all decisions relating to the family or the state for the forthcoming season campaigns, distribution of plunder, pasture lands and succession were collectively taken.

Development in Trade & communication in Mongolia

• Yam:  Genghis Khan had already fashioned a rapid courier system called yam that connected the distant areas of his regime.
• Qubcur tax: For the maintenance of this communication systemthe Mongol nomads contributed a tenth of their herd – either horses or livestock – as provisions. This was called the qubcur tax, a levy that the nomads paid willingly for the multiple benefits that it brought.
• Territory linking: Once the campaigns had settled, Europe and China were territorially linked with Mongolia. Commerce and travel along the Silk Route reached its peak under the Mongols but, the trade route extended up to Mongolia.
• Baj tax:  Communication and ease of travel was vital to retain the coherence of the Mongol regime and travellers were given a pass for safe conduct. Traders paid the baj tax for the same purpose, all acknowledging thereby the authority of the Mongol Khan.
• Pressure groups: Mongols waged their successful wars against China, Persia, Russia etc there was a strong pressure group within the Mongol leadership that advocated the massacre of all peasantry and the conversion of their fields into pasture lands.

But by the 1270s, Genghis Khan’s grandson, Qubilai Khan appeared as the protector of the peasants and the cities.

The legal code of law – Yasa

• Genghis Khan promulgated Yasa (the code of law) at the Assembly of Mongol Chieftains (quriltai) of 1206. It has elaborated on the complex ways in which the memory of the Great Khan was fashioned by his successors.
• In its earliest formulation the term was written as yasa which meant ‘law’,‘decree’ or ‘order’. Yasa concern administrative regulations: the organisation of the hunt,the army and the postal system.

By the middle of the thirteenth century the Mongols had emerged as a unified people and just created the largest empire the world had ever seen. They ruled over very sophisticated urban societies, with their respective histories, cultures and laws. Although the Mongols dominated the region politically, they were a numerical minority. The one way in which they could protect their identity and distinctiveness was through a claim to a sacred law given to them by their ancestor. The yasa was in all probability a compilation of the customary traditions of the Mongol tribes but in referring to it as Genghis Khan’s code of law.

Conclusion

• For the Mongols, Genghis Khan was the greatest leader of all time: he united the Mongol people. He freed them from interminable tribal wars and Chinese exploitation.He brought them prosperity, fashioned a grand transcontinental empire and restored trade routes and markets that attracted distant travelers and traders.
• Genghis Khan ruled the diverse body of people and faiths.  Although the Mongol Khans themselves belonged to a variety of different faiths – Shaman, Buddhist, Christian and eventually Islam, they never let their personal beliefs dictate public policy.
• The Mongol administration was a multi-ethnic,multilingual, multi-religious regime that did not feel threatened by its pluralistic constitution.
• Today, after decades of Soviet control, the country of Mongolia is recreating its identity as an independent nation. Genghis Khan appeared as an iconic figure for the Mongol People, mobilising memories of a great past in the forging of national identity that can carry the nation into the future.
•  Comparison with the Mongol Empire.Mongols provided ideological models for the Mughals of India.Timur, another monarch who aspired to universal dominion, hesitated to declare himself monarch because he was not of Genghis Khanid descent.

Class 11 History Notes Chapter 4 The Central Islamic Lands

• Prior to the rise of Islam, Arabia was quite backward socially, politically, economically and religiously in the 7th century.
• Before the rise of Islam, Arabia was dominated by the Bedouins, a nomadic tribe.
• Family was the basic unit of the Arabian society. Patriarchal family system was prevalent in which the head of the family was the eldest male member.
• The position of the women in the society was very deplorable.
• Date-palm and milk were the main constituents of their food items.
• Institution of slavery was also prevalent in the society. The slaves were treated ruthlesslyand were severely punished if broke the social norms. k
• Prior to the rise of Islam, the trade was not much developed. It was because Bedouins Iwere always indulged in loot and plunder and trade routes were not safe.
• The principle of‘Might is right’ prevailed in the society prior to the rise of Islam, because there was lack of a central authority.
• Prophet Muhammad is regarded as one of the greatest personalities in the world history. He was born at Mecca in 570.
• Reciting Raima, Namaz, Rauja, Zakat and Hajj are five pillars of Islam.
• Islam laid special stress on the principle of equality and believed that all men are the descendants of Allah.
• Islam strongly opposed idol worship.
• The successors of Prophet Muhammad were called Khalifas (Caliphs).
• The main duties of the Khalifas were to safeguard and spread Islam.
• The Umayyad dynasty was founded by Muawiya in 661. The rule of this dynasty continued till 750.
• The Abbasids came to power in 750. The foundation of Abbasids dynasty was laid down by Abu-ol-Abbas in 750.
• 9th century witnessed the downfall of the Abbasid empire. Taking the advantage of this, several sultanates emerged.
• The economic condition of Islamic world, during the medieval period was very prosperous.
• During medieval period, a new sect arose among the people having faith in Islamic doctrines, known as sufi sect.
• The Sufis were liberal in their thought and they dedicated their lives for the service of humanity and propagation of Islam.
• Ibn Sina was a great philosopher and a medical practitioner from Arabia. He was also known as Avicenna in Europe.

Important terms:

• Bedouins: The nomadic tribe of Arabia.
• Umma: The society founded by Prophet Muhammad.
• Hizrat: The event of Prophet Muhammad’s emigration from Mecca to Medina.
• Zakat: A religious tax collected from Muslims.
• Jaziya: A tax imposed upon the non-Muslims.
• Dhimmis: They were the protected people who paid tax to the government for the protection of their life and property.
• Synagogues: Places of worship for the Jews.

Timeline
595	Muhammad marries Khadija, a wealthy Meccan trader who later supports Islam
610-12	Muhammad has first revelation; first public preaching of Islam (612)
621	First agreement at Aqaba with Medinan converts
622	Migration from Mecca to Medina. Arab tribes of Medina (ansar) shelter Meccan migrants (muhajir)
632-61	Early caliphate; conquests of Syria, Iraq, Iran and Egypt; civil wars
661-750	Umayyad rule; Damascus becomes the capital
750-945	Abbasid rule; Baghdad becomes the capital
945	Buyids capture Baghdad; literary and cultural efflorescence
1063-1092	Rule of Nizamul mulk, the powerful Saljuq wazir who established a string of madrasas called Nizamiyya; killed by Hashishayn (Assassins)
1095-1291	Crusades; contacts between Muslims and Christians
1111	Death of Ghazali, the influential Iranian scholar who opposed rationalism
1258	Mongols capture Baghdad

Class 11 History Revision Notes for An Empire Across Three Continents of Chapter 3

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SNIPPETS FROM THE CHAPTER

Sources: There is a rich collection of sources to study Roman history, like – texts, documents and material remains. 
1. Archaeological : a) Amphitheater, b) Amphorae, c) Colosseum, d) Statues, e) Aqueducts
2. (Literary) Written : (A) Texts –  Histories written by Contemporary Historians (B) Documents
3. Aerial Photographs

Documentary sources include mainly inscriptions and papyri. Inscriptions were usually cuton stone, so a large number survive, in both Greek and Latin.

The ‘papyrus’ was a reed-like plant that grew along the banks of the Nile in Egypt and was processed to produce a writing material that was very widely used in everyday life.

Thousands of contracts, accounts, letters and official documents survive ‘on papyrus’ and have been published by scholars who are called ‘papyrologists.

Boundaries of Roman Empire

• The ancient Roman empire which was spread across the three continents namely – Europe, Asia and Africa.
• To the North, the boundaries of the empire were formed by two great rivers – the Rhine and the Danube.
• To the South, by the huge expanse of desert called the Sahara.
• To the East river Euphrates and to the West Atlantic Ocean.
• This vast stretch of territory was the Roman Empire. That is why Roman Empire is called an Empire across Three Continents.
• The Mediterranean Sea is called the heart of Rome’s empire.

Division of Roman Empire: 

• The Roman Empire can broadly be divided into two phases, ‘early’ and‘late’, divided by the third century as a sort of historical watershed between them.
• In other words, the whole period from the beginning of Roman Empire to the main part of the third century can be called the ‘early empire’, and the period from the third century to the end called the ‘late empire’ or ‘late antiquity’.

THE EARLY EMPIRE

Administration: i. The Army – ii. The Senate – iii. the Aristocracy – iv. The Emperor – v. Republic – vi. Provincial Territory – vii. Taxation

• Many languages were spoken in the empire, but for the officially Latin and Greek were the most widely used.
• The regime established by Augustus, the first emperor, in 27 BCE was called the ‘Principate’ (which means he was ‘leading citizen’, ‘Princeps‘ in Latin, not the absolute ruler). He ruled till 14 BCE and brought to an end the chaotic condition prevailing in Roman empire.
• The Principate was advised by the Senate, which had existed in Rome for centuries. This body which had controlled Rome earlier, in the days when it was a Republic, and remained a body representing the aristocracy, that is, the wealthiest families of Roman and, later, Italian descent, mainly landowners.
• Next to the emperor and the Senate, the other key institution of imperial rule was the army. Rome had professional conscripted army, which was forcibly recruited. Military service was compulsory for certain groups or categories of the population for a minimum of 25 years.
• The emperor, the aristocracy and the army were the three main ‘players’ in the political history of the empire. The success of individual emperors depended on their control of the army, and when the armies were divided, the result usually was civil war. Except for one notorious year (69 CE), when four emperors mounted the throne in quick succession.

Emperors:  a) Nero, b) Julius Caesar, c) Octavian Augustus, d) Tiberius, e) Trajan

• Roman empire made unprecedented growth in the field of literature during Augustan age. Augustus played a significant role in expansion of Roman empire.
• The ‘Augustan age’ is remembered for the peace it ushered in after decades of internal strife and centuries of military conquest.
• Augustus appointed Tiberius, his adopted son, as his successor who ruled from 14-37 CE. The empire he was already so vast that further expansion was felt to be unnecessary.
• Trajan was a famous Roman emperor who ruled from 98-117 CE. He made an immense contribution in expanding Roman empire. The only major campaign of expansion in the early empire was Trajan’s fruitless occupation of territory across the Euphrates, in the years 113-17 CE abandoned by his successors.

Territories: The Roman Empire had two types of territories – dependent kingdoms and provincial territory. The Near East was full of dependent kingdoms but they disappeared and were swallowed up by Rome. These kingdoms were exceedingly wealthy, for example Herod’s kingdom yielded 5.4million denarii per year, equal to over 125,000 kg of gold per year.
A city in the Roman Empire was an urban centre with its own magistrates, city council and a ‘territory’ containing villages which were under its jurisdiction. Thus, one city could not be in the territory of another city, but villages almost always were included.

THE THIRD CENTURY CRISIS:  The first two centuries were free fromcivil war,therefore, it was known as period of peace, prosperity and economic expansion. External warfare was also much less common in the first two centuries. But the third century brought in the first sign of internal conflict.

• From the 230s, the Roman Empire found itself fighting on several fronts simultaneously. An aggressive dynasty called the ‘Sasanians’,  emerged in 225 which expanded rapidly just within 15 years in the direction of the Euphrates. Shapur I, the Iranian ruler, claimed he had crushed Roman army of 60,000 and even captured the eastern capital of Antioch.
•  Simultaneously, a whole series of Germanic tribes or rather tribal confederacies began to move against the Rhine and Danube frontiers, and the  entire period from 233 to 280 saw repeated invasions of a whole lone of provinces that stretched from the Black Sea to the Alps and Southern Germany. The Romans were forced to abandon much of the territory beyond the Danube.
• There was a rapid succession of emperors in this century (25 emperors in 47 years!) is an obvious symptom of the strains faced by the empire in this period.

Gender, Literacy, Culture

• The system of nuclear family in the Roman society was one of its modern feature. The family used to be patriarchal in nature. Slaves were included in the family.
•  Marriages were generally arranged, and there is no doubt that women were often subject to domination by their husbands.
• The literacy rate was casual and varied greatly between different parts of the empire.
• The cultural diversity of the empire was reflected in many ways. Numerous languages that were spoken in Roman Empire were – Aramaic, Coptic,Punic, Berber and Celtic. But many of these linguistic cultures were purely oral, at least until a script was invented for them.  Among the above mentioned languages Armenian began to be written as late as the fifth century.

A. Sources of Entertainment

• Colosseum – Huge place where gladiators fought with beast. It could accommodate 60,000 people.
• Amphitheatre – It was used for military drill and for staging entertainments for the soldiers.
• Urban populations also enjoyed a much higher level of entertainment, for example, one calendar tells us that spectacula (shows) filled no less than 176 days of the year!

B. CRAFT & INDUSTRY

• Minting
• Mining
• Amphorae
• Making Papyrus scrolls
• Public baths were a striking feature of Roman urban life

Economic expansion

•  The empire had a substantial economic infrastructure of harbours, mines, quarries, brickyards, olive oil factories, etc. Wheat, wine and olive-oil were traded and consumed in huge quantities, and they came mainly from Spain, the Gallic provinces, North Africa, Egypt and, to a lesser extent, Italy, where conditions were best for these crops.
• Liquids like wine and olive oil were transported in containers called ‘amphorae’.Spanish producers succeeded in capturing markets for olive oil from their Italian counterparts. This would only have happened if Spanish producers supplied better quality oil at lower prices.
• The Spanish olive oil of this period was mainly carried in a container called ‘Dressel 20’.
• The empire included many regions that had a reputation for exceptional fertility. Italy, Sicily, Egypt and southern Spain were all among the most densely settled or wealthiest parts of the empire. The best kinds of wine, wheat and olive oil came mainly from numerous estates of these territories.
• Diversified applications of waterpower around the Mediterranean as well as advances in water-powered milling technology, the use of hydraulic mining techniques in the Spanish gold and silver mines and the gigantic industrial scale on which those mines were worked.
• The existence of well-organized commercial and banking networks and the widespread use of money are all indications of Roman economy.
• A strong tradition of Roman law had emerged by the fourth century, and this acted as a brake on even the most fearsome emperors.

WORKERS:

• Slavery was an institution deeply rooted in the ancient world, both in the Mediterranean and in the Near East, and and not even Christianity when it emerged and triumphed as the state religion (in the fourth century) seriously challenged this institution. Under Augustus there were still 3 million slaves in a total Italian population of 7.5 million.
• With establishment of peace in the first century, the supply of slaves tended to decline and the users of slave labour had to turn either to slave breeding or to cheaper substitutes.
• The Roman agricultural writers paid a great deal of attention to the management of labour. Columella, a first-century writer who came from the south of Spain, recommended that landowners should keep a reserve stock of implements and tools, twice as many as they needed, so that production could be continuous, ‘for the loss in slave labour time exceeds the cost of such items’.
• The position of slave in Roman Empire was miserable as they were forced to work on the estate for 10 to 18 hours.

SOCIAL DIVISION
(A) Presbyterian
(i) The Aristocratic class
(ii) Second Class
(B) Plebeian
(i) The lower Class
(ii) Slaves

• The social structures of the empire as follows: Senators, Equites (horse men and knights), the respectable section of the people (middle class), lower class and finally the slaves.
• In the early third century when the Senate numbered roughly 1,000, approximately half of all senators still came from Italian families. By the late empire,the senators and the Equites had merged into a unified and expanded aristocracy.
• The ‘middle’ class now consisted of the considerable mass of persons connected with imperial service in the bureaucracy. Below them were the vast mass of the lower classes known collectively ashumiliores (literally- ‘Lower’).They comprised a rural labour force.
• The late Roman bureaucracy, both the higher and middle echelons, was a comparatively affluent group because it drew the bulk of its salary in gold and invested much of this in buying up assets like land.  There was a great deal of corruption, especially in the judicial system and in the administration of military supplies.

JEWISH WAR 

• Roman people were polytheists and used to worship several gods and goddesses. Their popular deities were Jupiter, Mars, Juno, Minerva and Isis.
• One of the most important religious sects practiced in the Roman Empire from about the first to the fourth century was Mithraism.
• The other great religious tradition in the empire was Judaism. It considered Jehova as the creator of the universe.
• But Judaism was not a monolith either, and there was a great deal of diversity within the Jewish communities of late antiquity. Thus, the ‘Christianisation’ of the empire in the fourth and fifth centuries was a gradual and complex process.
• Polytheism did not disappear overnight, especially in the western provinces, where the Christian bishops waged a running battle against beliefs and practices they condemned more than the Christian laity (the ordinary members of a religious community as opposed to the priests or clergy who have official positions within the community) did.
• The boundaries between religious communities were much more fluid in the fourth century than they would become thanks to the repeated efforts of religious leaders, the powerful bishops who now led the Church, to rein in their followers and enforce a more rigid set of beliefs and practices.

LATE ANTIQUITY 
‘Late antiquity’ is the term now used to describe the final, fascinating period in the evolution and break-up of the Roman Empire and refers broadly to the fourth to seventh centuries. The fourth century itself was one of considerable ferment, both cultural and economic.

Cultural features of the Roman world from the Fourth to Seventh Centuries: 

Emperors and their Achievements
I. Constantine’s Achievements

a. Overexpansion of the Empire: 
b. Capital at Constantinople:  The other area of innovation was division of Roman Empire into east and west and the creation of a second capital at Constantinople (at the site of modern Istanbul in Turkey, and previously called Byzantium), surrounded on three sides by the sea.
c. Christianity was made official religion:  At the cultural level, the period saw momentous developments in religious life, with the emperor Constantine deciding to make Christianity the official religion, and with the rise of Islam in the seventh century.
d. Monetary sphere: Constantine founded the new monetary system on gold and there were vast amounts of this in circulation. Constantine’s chief innovations were in the monetary sphere, where he introduced a new denomination, the solidus, a coin of 4½ gm of pure gold that would in fact outlast the Roman Empire itself. Solidi were minted on a very large scale and their circulation ran into millions.
II. Diocletian’s Achievements
a. Abandons territories of little economic and strategic importance: Overexpansion had led Diocletian to ‘cut back’ by abandoning territories with little strategic or economic value.
b. Duces: Diocletian also fortified the frontiers, reorganised provincial boundaries, and separated civilian from military functions, granting greater autonomy to the military commanders (duces), who now became a more powerful group.
III. Justinian’s Achievements: 
a. Justinian Code
b. Expansion of Empire: The reign of Justinian is the highwater mark of prosperity and imperial ambition. Justinian recaptured Africa from the Vandals (in 533) but his recovery of Italy (from the Ostrogoths) left that country devastated and paved the way for the Lombard invasion.
c. Monetary Sphere:  Monetary stability and an expanding population stimulated economic growth. Egypt contributed taxes of over 2½ million solidi a year (roughly 35,000 lbs of gold) in the reign of Justinian in the sixth century.
i. Glass factories established
ii. Introduction of Solidus
iii. Urban Prosperity
DOWNFALL OF THE EMPIRE

• The general prosperity was especially marked in the East where population was still expanding till the sixth century, despite the impact of the plague which affected the Mediterranean in the 540s.
• In the West, by contrast, the empire fragmented politically as Germanic groups from the North (Goths, Vandals, Lombards, etc.) took over all the major provinces and established kingdoms that are best described as ‘post-Roman’
• The Visigoths in Spain was destroyed by the Arabs between 711 and 720, that of the Franks in Gaul (c.511-687) and that of the Lombards in Italy (568-774). These kingdoms foreshadowed the beginnings of a different kind of world that is usually called ‘medieval’
• By the early seventh century, the war between Eastern Rome and Iran had flared up again, and the Sasanians who had ruled Iran since the third century launched a wholesale invasion of all the major eastern provinces (including Egypt).
• Roman and Sasanian empires had fallen to the Arabs in a series of stunning confrontations.
• Those conquests, extended up to Spain, Sind and Central Asia, began, in fact, with the subjection of the Arab tribes by the emerging Islam state.

Timeline: Refer to Page No. 75 of the chapter/ Theme  of the Text book
Key Words: Civil War, Republic, Senate,  Dressel 20/ Amphorae, Draconian
Transhumance: Herdsman’s regular annual movement between higher mountain regions and low lying ground in search of Pasture..

Class 11 History Revision Notes for Writing and City Life of Chapter 2

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SNIPPETS FROM THE CHAPTER
I. Ancient Mesopotamia 
Geography: 

• City life began in Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia is derived from the Greek words ‘mesos’, meaning middle, and ‘potamos’, meaning river.)
• It is a flat land between the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers that is now part of the Republic of Iraq.
• In the north, there is a stretch of upland called a steppe, where animal herding offers people a better livelihood than agriculture
• Agriculture began between 7000 and 6000 BCE.
• Soil was very fertile here but agriculture was threatened because of natural causes.
• Ur, Lagash, Kish, Uruk and Mari were some of its important cities.
• The excavation work started 150 years ago.

Urbanisation

• Mesopotamian civilization was based on definite plan. 
• Cities and towns are develop when an economy develops in spheres other than food production that it becomes an advantage for people to cluster in towns.
• Urban economies comprise besides food production, trade, manufactures and services.
•  There is social organisation in place
• Helpful for the city manufacturers.
• The division of labour is a mark of urban life.

Movement of Goods into cities

• 

II. Mesopotamian & Writing  Modern Writing
1. Mesopotamian Writing:

• The first Mesopotamian tablets, written around 3200 BCE, contained picture-like signs and numbers.
• Writing began when society needed to keep records of transactions – because in city life transactions occurred at different times, and involved many people and a variety of goods
• Mesopotamians wrote on tablets of clay.

2. Modern Writing: The greatest legacy of Mesopotamia to the world is its scholarly tradition of time reckoning and mathematics, calender.
III. Political Factors

• From about 1100 BCE, when the Assyrians established their kingdom in the north, the region became known as Assyria. The first known language of the land was Sumerian.
• Writing was used not only for keeping records, but also for making dictionaries, giving legal validity to land transfers, narrating the deeds of kings, and announcing the changes a king had made in the customary laws of the land.
• It can be inferred that in Mesopotamian understanding it was kingship that organised trade and writing.

Religious Factors

• Early settlers (their origins are unknown) began to build and rebuild temples at selected spots in their villages. The earliest known temple was a small shrine made of unbaked bricks. Temples were the residences of various gods.
• Temples were centres of religious activities. They were dedicated to different gods and goddess.

(5000 BCE – Settlements began to develop in southern Mesopotamia)

IV. Social Factors
1. Life in the City – Mesopotamian society the nuclear family was the norm, although a married son and his family often resided with his parents. The father was the head of the family.

• A ruling elite had emerged
• Had a major share of wealth
• Followed nuclear family system and  patriarchal system
• Condition of women
• System of marriages

2. Ur  – was a town, one of the earliest cities. It is often compared with Mohenjodaro
3.In Mesopotamian tradition, Uruk was the city par excellence, often known simply as The City.
V. Economic Factors

1. Urbanism
2. Trade
3. Record of transaction

• Writing began in Mesopotamia in 3200 BCE.
• Writing became as a records of transactions
• 2600 BCE the letters became cuneiform and language was Sumerian

VI. Cultural Factors
1. System of Writing:

• Writing was skilled craft
• It conveyed in visual form of system of sounds of a particular language

2. Literacy:

• Writing reflected the mode of speaking
• King and very few could read
• Official letter from a king could be read

3. Uses of Writing:

• Connections between city life trade and writing is brought out.
• It has brought out in a long Sumerian epic poem about Enmerkar (king)
• Kingship was able to organise trade and writing

4. Inter Mixture culture:

• Mesopotamian society and culture were open to different people and cultures.
• Thus the vitality of the civilisation was of course – an intermixture culture

Cuneiform Script
1. Meaning: It is a script of Mesopotamia. The word ‘Cuneiform’ is derived from the Latin words cuneus, meaning ‘wedge’ and forma, meaning ‘shape’. Cuneiform letters were wedge shaped, hence, like nails.
2. Uses: By 2600 BCE or so, the letters became cuneiform, and the language was Sumerian. Cuneiform writing in the Akkadian language continued in use until the first century CE, that is, for more than 2,000 years.
VII. Sources
i. Tables (Written around 32000 BCE)
ii. Bible (Old Testament)
iii. British Museum
iv. Texts
VIII. Greatest Legacy of Writing
1. Scholarly tradition of time reckoning
A. Calendar

• Division of years
• Division of Months
• Division of Weeks
• Division of Days
• Division of Hours
• Division of Minutes
• Division of Seconds

B. Recorder of Modern world Phenomenon past
C. Literature: Gilgamesh, which was written on twelve tablets, was the famous epic of Mesopotamia.  It was the work of Uruk who was the ruler of Mesopotamia in 2700 BCE.
2. Mathematical contribution

• Tables with multiplication and division
• Square
• Square route tables
• Tables of compound interest
• Problem regarding
• A field of area
• Volume of water

IX. Timeline – refer to the text book Page No.48
X. Key Words : Mesopotamia, Cuneiform, Syllable, Steles, Nuclear Family.

From the Beginning of Time

❇️ Human :-

🔹 56 lakh years ago such creatures appeared on the earth which we can call humans. Modern humans arose 160,000 years ago.

️❇️ Two theories of the emergence of modern man :-

🔹Regional Continuity Model Theory: – Humans originated at different places in many regions.

🔹 Theory of Substitution :- Humans originated in Africa and spread from there to different areas.

️❇️ Archaeologist :-

🔹It is the scientist who studies human history through the study of excavated remains.

❇️ The main sources of information about the history of primitive man :-

🔹 Fossils.

🔹 Stone tools.

🔹 There are paintings done by humans in caves.

️❇️ Genus :-

🔹 For this the word ‘Vansh’ is used in Hindi.

️❇️ Fossils :-

🔹 ‘Fossil’ is used to refer to the remains or impressions of an old plant, animal or human that have been transformed into a stone, often embedded in a rock and then lying in that form for millions of years.

️❇️ Species :-

🔹 Species is a group of organisms whose male and female can produce children together and their children are also capable of further reproduction i.e. to produce offspring.

️❇️ On the Origin of Species :-

🔹The book On the Origin of Species, written by Charles Darwin, was published on 24 November 1859, in which it was argued that humans evolved from animals. It has evolved gradually from animals and has come to its present form.

️❇️ Primate :-

🔹 Mammals are a much larger group of animals. This includes apes, langurs and humans.

️❇️ Homo :-

🔹 Is a Latin word which means “man”. It includes both men and women.

️ ❇️ Types of Homo :-

🔸Homo – Scientists have divided it into many species. 

🔹 Homo Hawillis: – equipment manufacturer.

🔹 Homo erectus – directly stand to walk on his feet.

🔹 Homo sapiens – Citnshil man.

️❇️ Australopithecus :-

🔹 It is derived from the Latin word ‘Austral’ meaning southern and Greek ‘Pithikus’ meaning ‘monkey’. This name was given because in the middle form of man, many features of his ape state remained intact.

️❇️ Features of Australopithecus :-

🔹 The brain of Australopithecus was larger than that of Homo.

🔹 Their jaws were heavy.

🔹 Their teeth were also big.

🔹 The efficiency of the hands was limited.

🔹 The ability to walk standing upright was not high.

🔹 He used to spend most of his time on the trees.

️❇️ Difference between Australopithecus and Homo :-

🔸Australopithecus :-

🔹 The brain of Australopithecus was larger than that of Homo.

🔹 Their jaws were heavy.

🔹 Their teeth were also big.

🔹 The efficiency of the hands was limited.

🔹 The ability to walk standing upright was not high.

🔹 He used to spend most of his time on the trees.

🔸Homo :-

🔹 Their brain was smaller than that of Australopithecus.

🔹 His jaws were light.

🔹 Their teeth were of small size.

🔹 They used to make good use of hands.

🔹 They had more ability to walk standing upright.

️❇️ Hominoid :-

🔹 They are different from monkeys in many ways, their body is bigger than monkeys and they do not have tail.

️❇️ Features of Hominoid :-

🔹 Hominoids differ from monkeys in many ways.

🔹 Their body is bigger than that of monkeys and they do not have a tail.

🔹 The period of evolution and dependence of hominids would have been much longer.

️❇️ Hominid :-

🔹’Hominid’ are members of the family called Hominidae, this family includes all forms of human beings. 

️❇️ Characteristics of Hominid :-

🔹 The size of his brain was big.

🔹 They had the ability to stand straight on their feet.

🔹 He used to walk on two legs.

🔹 Special ability in his hands by which he could make tools and use them.

❇️ Evidence of the emergence of hominids in Africa :-

🔸There are two proofs for this:

🔹 The group of African apes (apes) is closely related to hominids.

🔹The oldest hominid fossils, from the genus Australopithecus, have been found in East Africa. And the fossils found outside Africa are not that old.

️❇️ Difference between Hominid and Homo Nide :-

🔸Hominid :-

🔹 Their brain was smaller than that of Homonido.

🔹 He used to stand straight and walk on the last two legs. 

🔹 Their hands were of a special kind, with the help of which they could make weapons and use them.

🔹 Their origin is believed to be about 56 lakh years ago.

🔸Hominidae :-

🔹 Their brain is larger than that of hominids.

🔹 They were quadrupeds, that is, they walked on all four legs, but the front part of their body and both the front legs were flexible.

🔹 They had a different hand build and they did not learn to use tools.

🔹 Their origin is believed to be before the origin of hominids.

❇️ How did the primitive man take food?

🔹 Primitive humans used to consume food in different ways. 

🔹 Storage    

🔹 Hunting      

🔹 Fishing      

🔹 Erasure

️❇️ Eradication :-

🔹 It means cleaning or eating discarded things.

️❇️ Communication, Language and Art :-

🔹 There are many types of views on the development of language such as :-

🔹 Hominid language included gestures (gestures) or hand movements (shakes).

🔹 Before spoken language, oral or (a)-verbal communication such as singing or humming was used.

🔹 Man’s speech probably started with the action of invocations or calls, as is seen in male and apes. In the early stages, humans would use very few sounds in speaking. Gradually these sounds developed into language later on.

️❇️ Origin of spoken language :-

🔹 It is believed that Homo habilis had some characteristics in the brain that would have made it possible for him to speak. Language first evolved 20 million years ago. The development of vocal system took place about two lakh years ago. It is especially related to modern man.

️❇️ Hunter Collectors Society :-

🔹 These societies were engaged in hunting as well as economic activities, such as exchanging and trading small things found in the forests.

️❇️ Hadza crowd :-

🔹 It is a small group of hunters and gatherers, who live around the lake formed in the rift valley of “Lake Iasi” salt water. These people hunt all kinds of animals except elephants and eat their meat.

🔹 The Hadza people do not assert their rights over the land and its resources. Despite having unlimited amount of animals available for hunting, these people mainly depend on wild greens and vegetables for their food. Probably 80% of their food is vegetable.

❇️ Features of Altamira Cave :-

🔹 Altamira is a cave-site located in Spain. This cave is famous for its ceiling paintings. Some kind of paste has been used instead of color in its paintings. These paintings are very old, but they look modern in appearance, which even archaeologists are unable to believe.

️❇️ Beginning of Ice Age :-

🔹 The ice age started about 2.5 million years ago, with the polar glaciation. In this, large parts of the earth were covered with ice, due to which there were big changes in the condition of climate and vegetation. Due to the decrease in temperature and rainfall, forests were reduced and the area of ​​grasslands increased.

️❇️ End of Ice Age :-

🔹 The last ice age ended about thirteen thousand years ago. Due to which many changes came in humans.

🔹 For example, farming, animal husbandry etc