Summary- FEATURES OF DIFFERENT WORLD CIVILIZATIONS

MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION

1. Situated in the valley of two rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris. J.H Breasted described the area as the “fertile crescent”.
2. Different groups like the Sumerians, the Amorites, the Assyrians and the Chaldeans ruled.
3. The form of writing was cunie form.
4. Epic of Gilgamesh was famous. The code of Hammurabi is the first written code of laws to history.
5. They were polytheistic in the religion. They worshipped Entil, Shamash, Ishtar, Venus, Marduk, Saturn etc.,
6. The tower of Babel is one of the wonders of the ancient world. The hanging gardens of Babylon were also another wonder of the ancient world.
7. The contributions in the field of Astronomy, Medicine and Geometry were noteworthy. The Ziggurat served as an observatory. The Astronomers Nabu and Kidinnu were famous.

EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION

1. Situated in the valley of Nile. Described as the “Gift of Nile” or the “Daughter of the Nile".
2. Monarchs known as Pharaohs ruled.
3. The form of writing was Hieroglyphics.
4. Egyptians were first to make paper from a plant called papyrus.
5. They were worshippers of Nature. Ra, Osiris, iris and Horus were their god and goddesses. The embalmed dead body known as Mummy was famous.
6. The Pyramids and the Sphinx were the most beautiful and wonderful specimens of Egyptian art and architecture. The most famous and the largest of pyramid is found in Giza. The temple of Karnak and Abu Simbel were fine monuments of the Egyptian temple architecture.
7. The contribution in the field of mathematics was astonishing.
8. The cycle of Zodiac is a gift of Egyptians to the science of Astronomy and Astrologers.

CHINESE CIVILIZATION

1. Developed on the banks of two rivers the Yangtse and the Howang- Ho.
2. Described as “Yellow River” and also referred as the “River of Sorrow”.
3. System of Monarchy was followed.
4. The teaching of Confucius was very popular and important.
5. The hot beverage “Tea” is a gift to modern world.
6. “The great wall of China” measured about 2880 km in length, is considered as one of the wonders of the ancient world. It was built by the Chinese Emperor Chin-Shi -Hung-Ti.
7. The Chinese Scholars have also contributed to the Astronomical Science. They could also foretell the Eclipse correctly.

GREEK CIVILIZATION

1. The land of Greece lies in the region of the Balkan peninsula.
2. The land juts into the Mediterranean Sea.
3. Different groups as Achaeans, lonians and Dorian's settled in Greece.
4. The most famous philosophers were Socrates, Plato, Aristotle.
5. Iliad and Odyssey were the great epics. The language was of Indo European origin.
6. The Greeks were masters in Epic, Drama, Poetry and History.
7. Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides were dramatists.
8. Herodotus, Thucydides and Plutarch were historians and Biographers.
9. Science and Philosophy are the two sides of the same coin. Euclid was an eminent mathematician Hippocrates is the father of modern medicine.
10. The best architecture of Greece is the temple dedicated to Goddess Athena in pantheon. Myron and Phidias were the famous Sculptors of ancient Greece.

ROMAN CIVILIZATION

1. Italy was the centre of the early Roman Civilization. River Tiber runs through the centre of Italy.
2. Oligarchy was the form of government and the idea of republicanism was their contribution.
3. “Vesta” the goddess of the earth was worshipped. Jupiter, Mars, Juno and Mercury were the other gods.
4. Romans developed their own Alphabet and Latin became their language.
5. Cicero, Marcus and Aurelius were the most famous Philosophers of Rome. Horace and Virgil were famous Poets.
6. The Romans contribution to architecture is the Arch and the Dome.
7. The Romans improved the Medical Science by giving medicines freely to the poor. The significant contribution of Romans is their calendar.

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