Part II: Chapters 4-7

Chapters 4-7

What is an empire?  For most people, this question would most likely bring to mind the Roman Empire or maybe even the British Empire.  In this week’s readings, it was refreshing to learn that there were many other civilizations that achieved this status as well.  Like the Greeks, the Han Dynasty of China, and the Persians.  There were also the larger civilizations that flirted with becoming an empire like the Axum of Africa or the Maya of Mesoamerica.  Then there were those large civilizations that perhaps could have become empires had they the desire to, such as the Jenne-Jeno or the Bantu of Africa, and many of the civilizations from India and China.  It makes me wonder why more civilizations were not like the Jenne-Jeno, coexisting in peace without the need to dominate one another.  It was curious and almost silly how many of the diverse civilizations found ways to justify the inequalities be they gender, race, religion or caste.  Even the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle, found it in his heart to explain why women were inferior human beings.  He said that women were infertile males because they could not produce sperm which fuels life.  In Athens were equated to domesticated animals.  Wow, really?

Something I found interesting was how wide spread slavery was and how differently the many civilizations treated their slaves.  It was almost comical to read that in some civilizations even slaves had slaves and it was all to show status.  So I would supposed, that the slave of a slave would be at the bottom of the totem pole so to speak.  The majority of slaves seem to have been prisoners of war who were used mostly to work in construction or doing the dirty jobs of maintaining sewers or, working in mines.  Many others worked as household attendants or as concubines.  Many civilizations permitted their slaves some freedoms of property and wealth and could eventually earn their freedom.  After being freed, in some civilizations, slaves could eventually be granted citizenship but not in others.  I don’t recall reading that any of the civilization allowed their slaves to marry, although, many lived as if they were.  Whether they were born slaves or if their children were born free or not, all the different intricacies of slavery was fascinating

In India slaves were part of their caste system and so only death could free you… assuming you had good karma of course.  The clear cut rules of Varna and its subclass, Jati, was also fascinating.  Caste as ordained by the gods determines your social class at birth.  The only way to escape this is through incarnation and rebirth.  It is then of utmost importance to live an exceptional life so that with good karma you could move up in caste when you are reborn.  China’s caste system with its possibility of upward mobility is definitely preferable.  In these caste systems, similar to slaves in most of these Classical Era civilizations, women are/were still relegated to low man on the totem pole, perhaps not the very bottom, but close enough.  I am definitely glad to be a woman in the twenty first century!