Calendar of Events for the month of:
All presenters will speak during the midday break for ariston (lunch).
This month we begin a three month series on travel. We will start with tales of travel to the distant east.
Day 1: Datuvahya of Susa, who entertained us with his description of the Persian Sacaea festival in December, returns this month to talk about the lands of the Persians and the Parthians. The first Persian kings traced their ancestry to Haxamanish or Achaemenes. The Persians first appeared in official records when they were mentioned by the Neo-Assyrians in the ninth century BC. At that time, they were not as important as the larger group known as the Medes. Cyrus II later overthrew the Median Empire and established the Persian Empire in 550 BC. Cyrus next defeated Lydia, Ionia, and Babylon. Later kings controlled (at various times) Egypt, Thrace, Macedonia, and other areas. Trade between the Mediteranean and Bactria on the eastern border of the Persian world existed since the 6th century B.C. The Persian Empire was a mix of languages and cultures. There were four royal cities in the Persian Empire. Susa, located at the foot of the Zagros Mountains, was the ancient capital of the Elamites. Elam was much sought after as a gateway to overland trade with India. The Elamite language was used administratively in Susa and Persepolis. Ecbatana or Hagmatana, the summer capital, was the former capital of the Medes. Ecbatana (Aramaic Achmetha) was located high in the Zagros Mountains. Cyrus II (the Great) defeated the Medes in 550 B.C. and absorbed the Median Empire into the Persian Empire. The third royal city, Pasargadae, was the first Persian capital. Cyrus the Great established the capital at Pasargadae to commemorate his victory over Astyages, the Mede. Darius I moved the capital to Persepolis, the fourth royal city. Persepolis was located in a rugged and remote area. Darius also built a residence at Susa. The Persian Empire held sway until 330 B.C., when Darius III was killed and Alexander the Great took control of the former Persian lands. (1, 4, 5)
The Parthians have ruled the area since 247 B.C. The Parthians were originally an Iranian-speaking tribe called the Parni who lived along the northeastern border of Seleucid territory. The Parni were related to the well-known Saka or Scythian tribes. By the 3rd century B.C., the Parni settled in the province of Parthava. The Parthian Arshak (who is better known as Arsaces to the Romans and the Greeks), took control from the Seleucid governor and founded the Parthian government. Parthian control expanded over time. (1)
In 115 B.C., Parthians encountered a visitor from further east. Zhang Qian of China journeyed to Ferghana in Parthian territory in search of Parthian horses and allies against the Xiongnu (Huns), who were threatening China. Zhang Qian returned to China with the fabled horses, alfalfa, and grape vines. His visit began a period of regular contact with distant China. China was a great mystery before that time. Alexander the Great did not know of the existence of China. Datuvahya will talk about Persia's initial knowledge of China and Parthia's eastern territories, as well as Zhang Qian's visit to Parthia and recent contact with China. (1)
Day 8: Taxiles of Kabul will talk about the meeting ground of Greece, India, and China, the kingdom of Bactria. Bactria was at the eastern end of the Persian and Greek worlds and at the western end of India. The people of China sought mighty horses from the people of Bactria. Alexander the Great first conquered and then put down a rebellion in northern Bactria and Sogdia. To maintain the peace, Alexander married Roxanne, the daughter of a Sogdian noble named Oxyartes. Roxanne gave birth to a son of Alexander, but the son did not live long enough to rule his famous father's empire. The house of Seleucus ultimately ruled Syria and the eastern end of Alexander's former empire. The Seleucids later lost some of their eastern territory to Chandragupta of Inda. (1)
Bactria and Sogdiana continued to be ruled by Greek kings but became independent of Seleucid power in 239 B.C.. At that time Diodotus, who first ruled Bactria as a Seleucid satrapy, founded the independent kingdom of Bactria. The Parthians also set up their own kingdom out of Seleucid territory. The Parthians later lost territory to the Bactrian kings Euthydemus and his son, Demetrius. These kings conquered neighboring areas and expanded into Gandhara (the Punjab). Demetrius' son-in-law even besieged Pataliputra. The Sunga then moved their capital from Pataliputra to Vidisa. Demetrius' rival, Eucratides, also held parts of India. Later, the Parthian king Mithridates (ruled 171 to 136 B.C.) conquered Bactria. (1)
In 115 B.C., Zhang Qian of China journeyed west in search of "fire-breathing horses" and allies against the enemies of China. His search ended in Ferghana in Parthian Bactria. There he found the fabled horses as well as grape vines and alfalfa. Zhang Qian returned to China with his treasure and began improved communication and trade between China and the west. (1)
The power of the Greeks in Bactria and India was ultimately broken around 50 B.C. by the Da Yuezhi, Sakas (Scythians), and Pahlavas (Scythian Parthians). The Da Yuezhi (also called the Kusanas after one of their clans) were a Central Asian people pushed westward by the Xiongnu. The displaced Da Yuezhi/Kusanas pushed the Sakas into Bactria and then Gandhara. The Sakas were followed by the Parthians. The Parthians briefly ruled Gandhara. Later, the Da Yuezhi ruled the Hindu Kush. Sogdian and Bactrian traders continued to ply their trade under the Da Yuezhi rulers. Links with India, West Asia, and then China made their trade profitable. One of the Da Yuezhi clans, the Kusana, gained control over northwestern India and linked Taxila and the Punjab with Bactria. The Da Yuezhi were powerful enough to divert the Chinese silk trade to go through their territory in India. One Kusana king even asked to marry the daughter of the Han emperor. He was refused. (1)
Day 15: Cai Xian of Chang'an and his friend, Chang Cheng, will talk about the wonders of China. China has a very ancient culture. According to tradition, the first T'ang king overthrew the previous dynasty, the Hsia dynasty, in 1766 B.C. The Bronze Age Shang rulers moved their capital nine times. One capital was Po at Erh-li-t'ou on the Yellow River. This capital had a palace on an earthen platform, houses, storage pits, wells, and kilns. Ancestor worship dates to this time. The last Shang capital was at Anyang. The writing that appeared there evolved from ownership marks on neolithic pottery from earlier Shang and Hsia dynasty times. Shang astronomers also noted eclipses and novas. The Shang kings were eventually overthrown by the Chou dynasty (1027 - 256 B.C.). The Chou were not as advanced as the Shang but they quickly learned. Their rule was seen as a lost golden age by many noted Chinese scholars, including Confucius (551 - 479 B.C.). The Chinese were already great scientists. Chinese astronomers noted the arrival of Halley's Comet in 613 B.C. The precession of the equinoxes was discovered by Yu Hoi in the 4th century B.C. (5)
The changes that occurred during the Chou dynasty set the stage for China to become a united country. Ch'in Shih-huang-ti, the first Ch'in emperor, united a mighty country and founded the Ch'in dynasty (221 - 207 B.C.). The Ch'in rulers ordered the construction of the famous Great Wall in 214 B.C. Folk songs record the misery brought by the construction of the Great Wall. Thousands of workers toiled in the cold mountains and barren deserts of the north to build a string of fortresses that were designed to keep out the Hsiung Nu. No doubt future generations will continue to add to this mighty wall. Chinese society went through many changes during that time. One change was the addition of surnames. The general discontent led to a new dynasty, the mighty Han. Liu Pang, a self-made man, founded the first Han dynasty, called the Former Han (207 B.C. - 9 A.D.). The early Han rulers were very wise. They founded the Imperial University, Poh Shih Kuan, in 124 B.C. This university had a separate department for each great book written by the Chinese. These books were the I Ching (Book of Changes), Shu Ching (Book of Documents), Shih Ching (Book of Odes), Ch'un Ch'iu (Spring and Autumn Annals), Li Chi (Book of Rites), Chou Li (Book of Ceremonial Usage), and the I Li (Book of Ceremonies). The Han Chinese loved history. They have written many famous histories, including the Shih Chi (Records of the Historian). There continued to be trouble with the Hsiung Nu. The Great Wall was not containing them. So Han Wu-ti sent an envoy to the west to find allies against the Hsiung Nu. When the envoy returned, he reported amazing news: there was another civilization there, the Graeco-Buddhist kingdom of Bactria (in Afghanistan). The people of Bactria had horses that were much stronger than the small Mongolian ponies of the Hsiung Nu. The Han sent further expeditions to the west. By 102 B.C., the Han had enough strong horses to subdue the western regions of China. The north would continue to be a problem. Han rule was briefly interrupted by the Hsin dynasty (9 - 23 A.D.). The Later Han have ruled since 24 A.D. They will certainly rule for a few hundred more years. (1, 5)
At the conclusion of his presentation, a young man named Chang Cheng will talk briefly about Chinese inventions. The Chinese have used paper since the 1st century B.C. Some use paper to wrap objects. Others even use it for writing material. Chang Cheng will also talk about an invention he is developing. He calls it a "seismoscope". It will measure the amount the earth moves during an earthquake. (5)
Day 22: Aryabhata of Pataliputra will talk about early contact with India and the wonders of India. The people of Mesopotamia have had contact with the people of India since the time of the Sumerians and Babylonians. Sea trade with India between 2200 and 2400 B.C. Sargon of Akkade, who lived around that time and who founded one of the world's first empires, claimed that trading vessels from Meluhha (northwestern India), Magan (around the Gulf of Oman), and Tilmun (perhaps Bahrein) came to his capital city. Elam (southwestern Iran) became a client state. This state was an important link to overland trade with India and the lapis lazuli of Afghanistan. A land-based trading route for Indian carnelian went through the Zagros Mountains. The Sumerians traded for Indian cotton and wool. The people of the Indus Valley were the first to spin cotton into yarn and then weave the yarn into cloth. They developed this technique around 2000 B.C. Like later people in India, the people of the Indus Valley worshipped the bull and the mother goddess and used water for purification. In time, floods caused the society to collapse. The barbarian Arya (Indo-European Aryans) came from the north and brought a new language, a new chariot, and the use of the horse. They wrote religious texts such as the Rig Veda, and epic poems, such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The Arya fought the Dasas, an earlier people, and enslaved them. The Dasas may have been the descendants of the Indus Valley Civilization. (2, 3)
Later, Darius I of Persia invaded northwestern India and made the Gandharan area into one of Persia's 20 provinces. India was said to be the richest of the provinces. The people of India paid 360 talents of gold dust as tribute every year. The great conqueror, Alexander the Great, set his eyes on India. After passing through the mountains of the Hindu Kush and crossing the Indus river, Alexander faced the people of India. While most fought Alexander, the ruler of Taxila, the capital of the Gandhara area, welcomed him. Alexander wanted to reach the wealthy kingdom of Magadha in northern India but his weary men made him turn around and head home. Alexander left Makedonian colonies in Afghanistan and northwestern India, but these colonies did not last long. Soon, Chandragupta Maurya overthrew the Magadha and founded the the Maurya dynasty. He ruled in the former Magadha capital, Pataliputra (modern Patna), which sat near the Ganges. In time, he ruled most of the Indian subcontinent, including areas formerly held by Seleucus Nicator and the Greeks. The Greeks called Chandragupta "Sandracottus". His grandson, Asoka, introduced Buddhism to Indian government. During his lifetime, stone began to replace wood as the major material for construction. Asoka's wooden palace was covered in gold, silver, and inlaid sculptures. Six centuries later, the Chinese visitor, Fa-hsien, would describe it as the fabulous work of spirits. Asoka's empire was so huge that it would later be described as covering the land of four nations (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan). Only the Dravidian kingdoms of Kerala, Chola (southeastern India), and Pandya (southern India) were outside Asoka's rule. Generations later, the mighty power of the Mauryas faded and India broke up into many small kingdoms. In time, another ruler may rise up like Chandragupta and unite India. Trade with India is now very common. The growing Roman settlement of Arikamedu along the Chola coast (southern India) has helped improve communication and trade with India. The Tamil of India call the Romans the "Yavanas". (1, 2)
Aryabhata will bring examples of the fine textiles and sculpture made by the people of India. You may also see examples of jewelry made out of carnelian and lapis lazuli. A selection of authentic foods will be available in the courtyard.
See Indian Names for later Indian history.
Sources: (1) The Penguin Encyclopedia of Classical Civilizations, Arthur Cotterell (ed.), New York: Penguin Books, 1993, 1995.
(2) A Traveller's History of India, Sinharaja Tammita-Delgoda, New York: Interlink Publishing Group, Inc., 1995.
(3) Babylonians: People of the Past, H. W. F. Saggs, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2000.
(4) Concise Bible Atlas: A Geographical Survey of Bible History, J. Carl Laney, Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1988, 1999.
(5) The Penguin Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations, Arthur Cotterell (ed.), New York: Penguin Books, 1980, 1988.
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