Chapter 3: Nomads, Territorial States, and Micro-Societies, 2000-1200 BCE
Research Topics
Despite being separated by thousands of miles, societies in West and East Asia underwent broadly similar changes in the first millennium. Climate change and nomadic incursions fostered the emergence of stronger states in each region. Nevertheless, new leaders linked themselves to past cultures as a means of legitimizing their rule. These sources explore the Babylonian kingdom in Mesopotamia, the Middle kingdom in Egypt, and the Shang dynasty in East Asia during the first millennium. As you examine them, in light of what you have learned in Chapter 3 about each region, consider the following questions. How did these rulers fashion their image? How did they wish their subjects to view them? Considering material covered in Chapter 2, how did they link themselves to older cultures in each region? What cultural ideas and expressions did they borrow from the past to promote their legitimacy?
Featured Documents
- ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE VIEWS AND AMBITIONS OF EGYPTIAN KINGS (2000 BCE)
- Brick pyramid of Hawara, built by Pharaoh Amenemhat III (1842–1797 BCE)
- Section of the autobiography of Sinuhe, a royal official under Amenemhet I. Hieroglyphic text written in the hieratic cursive style.
- Excerpts from Hammurabi´s Code, eighteenth century BCE
- Ko axe with bronze handle and jade blade, incised with designs including an animal mask. Shang dynasty, c. thirteenth
- Basin (pan) with dragon-and-fish design. Late Shang dynasty (thirteenth–eleventh century BCE).
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