Chapters 2,3,4,&5
Economic
You need to consider the following
• Economics will not play as large a role in
Classical Civilization as in others. Why?
• Do you think economics is going to look very
different in the three different civilizations?
• What do you think economics means during this
era?
• Agricultural Society
▫ Major gaps between upper-class and the masses
 Land holding gentry 2% and peasants
 Slavery is not part of their economic systems
▫ North wheat growing
▫ South rice growing
▫ Mean people below peasants
 Unskilled jobs
• Government played an active role in the
economy
▫ Standardized currency
▫ Maintained a surplus in order to control prices
• Trade was focused on luxury items
▫ India
▫ Silks, jewelry, leather, furniture
• High tax
• Merchants are not looked upon favorably
▫ Confucius: Learning over money making
• Agricultural based society
 Grew Rice, Pepper, Wheat, Barley, Mustard, Sugar Cane,
Medicinal Roots
• Increased trade by uniting India
• India traded silk, cotton, and spices to
Mesopotamia, China, Egypt and Rome
• Economy was good in Classical India
• Most of the manufacturing was done by artist
guilds
▫ Sold the goods from their shops
• Caste system assigned your occupation
▫ Assigned your occupation
▫ Merchants were high up
• Agricultural
• Most people were farmers
• Commercial farming develops
• In order to get the crops they needed
• Grain trade
• Estate Agriculture
• Slavery was needed
• Usually made up of conquered people
• Merchants and trading were considered to be
important
• Better than China BUT not as good as India
• Large artisan population
• Made luxury goods
Trade
• Trade routes have been developing throughout
the Classical Era:
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Silk Road
Indian Ocean trade
Saharan Trade
Sub-Saharan Trade
Silk Road
• Eurasia
• Overland from China to the Mediterranean
▫ Possible because of Camels
▫ Not just one line of trade
• Who: Central Asian Nomads most important
Trade
West to East: Horses, Alfalfa, grapes, melons,
walnuts
East to West: Silk, Peaches, Apricots, Spices,
Pottery, Paper
Cultural Chariots, Horse stirrups, Buddhism, Christianity
Diffusion
Indian Ocean Trade
• Ocean Trade: Canton, SE Asia, India Africa and
Middle East
• Arabs very important
Trade
Pigments, pearls, spices, tropical
fruits
Cultural Lateen Sail
Diffusion
Saharan Trade
• Overland from the West Africa to Mediterranean
▫ Cairo very important
• Berbers very important
Trade
Salt from South and West Sahara
Gold from West Africa
Wheat and Olives from Italy
Cultural Camel Saddle
Diffusion
Sub-Saharan Trade
• Connected Africa South and East of the Sahara
to other states
• Bantu people very important
Trade
Agricultural products, Iron weapons
and later religion
Cultural Bantu Language
Diffusion
What is Sub-Saharan Africa
• Such as:
▫ Kush: took over Egypt for awhile
▫ Axum: Contact with Eastern Mediterranean
▫ Ethiopia: Will become a Christian Civilization
Herding People
• As you can see herding people in Central
Asia, Middle East and Africa are very
important to the trading of stuff.
▫ Technology, ideas, cultural diffusion
• This will continue to grow in importance
as the eras change
Chinese advances
• China was the tops
▫ Helped to improve agricultural output
 Plow, collar, iron tools, water powered mill
▫ Did not turn China away from agriculture
 Most was done to make output better
Indian advances
• On par with China
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New canals and irrigation
renovated major roads
built towns for spinning & weaving
uniform system of currency
weights and measures
Greek and Roman Advances
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Farming
Shipbuilding
Navigation
Roads