Contemporary World Civilizations Dersi 1. Ünite Sorularla Öğrenelim

How can you define Africa and its civilizations?

Africa is the second largest continent in the world. It is a home to thousands of different languages, millions of tribes and ethnicities, hundreds of traditional and deistic religions, the location for the largest deserts in the world, indigenous home to thousands of wildlife animals, the longest river in the world, and home and origin to the family of man. There are 54 sovereign states whose peoples are inheritors of a tapestry of mosaic cultural heritages, having direct claim to ancient civilizations. In the annals of history, Africa is an ancient continent, but its history has not been told on its own merit, that is, aside from the colonial perspectives. For this reason, the broad sweeps of history have bypassed Africa without establishing a uniting episodic or regional record.

What are the reasons of not emphasizing African Civilization as a holistic and robust civilization?

First, a singular historical perspective, representing tangible historical records that can stand out as clearer markers of a singular African Civilization, has not been institutionalized. Second, African Civilization is analyzed by scholars from the point of view of material and structural perspectives. Material and structural ways of articulating civilizations underemphasize the essential roles of historical and cultural traditions. Third, Africa, over the centuries, was exposed first to slavery, then to colonialism. Both slavery and colonialism are negative interrelationships of humans.

How was African landscape formed?

Some 10,000 years ago, the African landscape was transformed by environmental change. The Sahara Desert became a marked dryland whereas the region south of the Sahara formed a savannah and tropical forest. North of the Sahara was the moderate North African region. The northeastern part of Africa, beginning from southeastern Egypt to the tip of the Horn of Africa, including the regions across the Red Sea. Western and southwestern Arabia shared identical topographical features, marked by hilly and mountainous, rainy deciduous forests and grassy lands. This region linking Arabia and Eastern African includes the topographical characteristics of the Rift Valley in its eastern section, and the Nile Valley on its western edges.

What makes this region so important?

This region can be singled out as the origin of man, the origin of the Nile, and the origin of the three monotheistic faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The civilizations that originated in the Rift and the Nile Valleys were heavily influenced by two things: the ancient Egyptian Civilization and the three monotheistic faiths mentioned above.

What are the reasons that affected the region?

First, Egyptian Civilization springing from the Nile Valley spread to the adjacent regions in Africa and the Middle East. It can be said that Egyptian Civilization is an aspect of African Civilization to which the countries in the Middle East and southern Europe can affirm that they were partakers. Second, the foundations of Judaism and Christianity, in chronological order, were first laid down in Egypt, Africa. The ancient Hebrews were sheltered in Egypt during the 18th Dynasty. Third, when the Prophet Mohammed started preaching the faith of Islam in Arabia, he was faced with persecution by the Meccans. As he battled his adversaries, he sent some of his most faithful followers, including his daughter, to seek shelter in Abyssinia. Finally, we see that Erman affirms that the ancient Egyptians were “natives of their own country, children of their own soil.” In the remotest era of the Egyptian civilization, the Egyptians were insular to Africa only.

What observation did Wilson make reflecting on the contrast between ancient African and Egyptian cultures as compared to ancient Asian cultures?

The broad fields of the Delta opened out to Libya, to the Mediterranean, and to Asia, whereas the long trough of Upper Egypt was hemmed in by blighted deserts. The agricultural richness of middle Egypt contrasted sharply with the poverty of southernmost Egypt. The two factors of insulation from strong outside influence and of wide internal variety helped explain the tolerant flexibility and genial sophistication. Certainly, the self-assurance, and the active sense of gaiety stood in contrast to an austerity which marked the Asiatic culture.

What implications can we draw out of Wilson’s observation?

It is not about superiority or inferiority of cultures. It is about how environmental elements mold cultures, which in effect plant roots for the germination, growth, and flowering of civilizations. The quote also indicates the adaptability of societies to socio-cultural norms that nurture their civilizations.

What was the scenario that Axumite Empire experienced like other great empires?

Major historical events are culminations of events occurring sequentially or in a “cycle of history” (Schlesinger, 1986). The birth, maturity, and decline of states is hypothesized as a cogent proof that great nations will rise, experience greatness, but somehow, they expire in inglorious decline. This “cycle” greatness of nations begins with the rise of great empires. They reach maturity and then dissipate their energies, unable to defeat the weakest adversary. The Axumite Empire experienced similar scenarios. It rose up in the highlands of northern Ethiopia and the highlands of the State of Eritrea. Its capital was the village of Axum where ancient landmark and monuments are still standing, and its seaport was the port of Adulis at the Red Sea. Axum controlled the southern part of the Red Sea. The rise of the Persian Empire in the 4th century CE introduced a big threat to the Roman Empire. In 533 CE, Emperor Justinian, sensing the need for alliance, sent a letter to the Axumite Emperor urging him to block Persian silk trade through the Red Sea. The Persian Empire’s formidable power defeated the Axumite forces in Southern Arabia. The Axumite Empire that ruled over northeast Africa and Arabia did not recover from this defeat.

What transformations became the part of African mode of living and thinking?

African belief systems; social organizations; religious rituals; rules of leadership recruitment; the enthronement and dethronement of royalties; the limits of authority and community power, all reveal linear similarities at their most formative levels. In other words, those organizational means and rituals of leadership and worship that seem to have governed Nubian communities radiated to the northern, southern, eastern, and western part of their neighbors. The Red Sea hills, the Abyssinian plateau from where the waters of the Blue Nile originate, created the formative elements of Nubian and Egyptian civilizations. These transformations have, over the centuries, become part of the African mode of thinking and living.

Why was Africa called “the dark continent”?

The interior of Africa was shrouded behind thick forests and jungles, making it not so easy for outside contact with Europe. For this reason, Africa was often referred to as the “Dark Continent,” indicating the ignorance of Europeans regarding Africa. More knowledgeable and effective carriers of knowledge, trade, and inter-African and North African relations thrived before the capture of Egypt by the Ptolemies in 332 BCE.

Which dominant group was both a warrior and tradesmen?

North and West Africa trade relations were long lasting and legendary in their orderly and technical management. Barters of gold, salt, ivory, incense, grain, animal skin, precious minerals were exchanged with finished goods such as silk, jewelry, and household implements. The kingdoms of Maghreb, Fezzan, and Libya were important powers, commanding trade and military presence extending to southwest and central Africa. The dominant national group with proven warrior attributes were the Berber.  In addition to their warrior skills, the Berber of North Africa were intrepid traders. Prominent kings of the Berber who ruled around 135 BCE were Syphax, king of Mauritania, and Massinissa who ruled over the Kingdom of Numidia, a territory covering parts of Tunisia and Algeria. They interacted and allied with Carthage in a subordinate role, but they also showed indomitable spirit and enterprising aptitude for trade.

What happened after Islam reached Africa?

In 641 CE, Islam reached North Africa when Alexandria fell under the mighty arm of Islamic warriors. North Africa began to experience new religious activity with irresistible secular and sacred commitments to spread the faith of Islam. Great Islamic centers of Islamic learning, such as Timbuktu, thrived in uniting the central and western parts of Africa. The traditional contact with interior Africa continued to flourish in trade, this time with Islam as the driving force for intensified trade in African goods. Arab traders relying on camel, horse, mule, and donkey caravans braved the formidable challenges of the Sahara Desert, and traded with interior Africa. This began in the 8th and 9th centuries when the fervency of Islamic spirit was dynamic, enthusiastic, and inspired with the foresight to spread the faith to Africa. It was followed by European colonialism.

When did the first Islamization of Africa begin?

The first phase of the Islamization of Africa began after North Africa was Islamized, beginning with the conquest of Egypt by Arab forces around 639-641 CE. These historical developments were an aspect of the eruption of the global Islamic revolution, when Islam was on a march of conquest. Thus, new concepts of faith and politics rooted in the Quranic declarations that were promulgated in Medina and Mecca, declared by the Prophet, were embraced and enthusiastically implemented by the First Rashidun, successors of the Prophet, who swept over Arabia, the Middle East, and North Africa. Subsequent years saw the complete integration of the entire North African region into the Islamic world. The region became called the “Maghreb” by the Arabs.

When did Islam become the dominant faith in West Africa?

As early as 800 CE, Islam became the dominant faith in West Africa, as well. Muslim traders and religious ambassadors of the faith charted the trade paths of West Africa, where the Ghanaian, the Mali, and the Songhai empires were mighty powers. They embraced Islam and became suppliers of African goods to North Africa and Europe. Ghana was the golden empire that mixed African traditional cultural and anthropological foundations with the strictures of Islam.

What is the term “Europeanism” used for?

The term “Europeanism” is used here to explain the analytical framework of Europeans in their study, description, and conclusions of Africa, its people, and its cultural values. Africa, its people, and its cultural values are the bedrock of African Civilization. The mental image embedded in Europeans adventurers, explorers, and colonialists was formed by the purpose and objective of slavery, colonialism, and postcolonial monopoly capitalism. Africa was stripped of its precious resources, and the indignity of being dominated does not enable its victims to confidently extol or glory in their civilizations. The objective study of civilizations, irrespective of their current political or economic status, reveals societies of celebrated histories and civilizations.

With what parameter of wholesome civilization do we judge the character of a society?

Civilized societies are civilized in their own cultural and societal traditions and experiences. Even though societies are civilized in their own ways, they all share one expectation: that there is an intrinsic expectation that their civilization is edifying, wholesome, characterized by peace, tranquility, and a high level of aesthetic and artistic expressions. In other words, civilizations are portraits of good societies. It is this one parameter of wholesome civilization with which we judge the character of societies.

Are the values that come from Western Civilization transferable in ways that respect the cultural, historical, religious, and societal values of other societies in far better ways than the civilization of non-Western civilization could deliver?

First, the concept of liberalism is regarded as an ultimate value of civilized societies. However, exclusion, disfranchisement, and grievous violations of human rights remain prevalent in liberal systems in measures like those regarded as illiberal and uncivilized. The Apartheid system of earlier South Africa, where democratic pluralism was good for selected citizens while perpetrating savage cruelties against most South African citizens, reveals that the “civilized” democratic system of the West falls short of becoming wholesome, because it has not matured to the highest of civilized culture as it tolerates gross injustice within its societies and outside its own societies. Second, if the Western societies make congratulatory claims for their civilizations, the ruins and devastations that they left in their wake, and the civilizational values of pathological defects, such as racism, inequalities, and capitalist excesses bordering on genocidal criminalities as they extract precious resources from defenseless societies without remedial investment, must be elements of Western Civilization also. Third, Western liberalism takes pride in its civilization, because its democratic systems rooted in Western civilization have resulted in scientific modernization and participatory democratization. While these are indeed worthy claims, the advocates of Western civilization have failed in demonstrating the universal applicability of scientific modernization or democratic pluralism outside the West, Japan, and South Korea being the exception. Fourth, the spirit of Western democratization was adapted from practical applications of the Greek and Roman civilizations. The Greeks refined the arts of rhetorical debates about democracy; the Romans favored law and the principles of oligarchic republicanism, shifting between authoritarian monarchism and soft republicanism. The intellectual inertia of the earlier centuries came to serve as political foundations upon which the modern liberal system was constructed. Fifth, in the immediate years after the Second World War, the decolonization campaigns, in tandem with the Leninist-Stalinist and Maoist revolutionary rhetoric, reverberated in the liberal capitalist countries such Great Britain and the United States. The post-World War II global environment gave rise to attitudinal expression in the guise of ideological conservatism. Finally, conservative intellectuals coalesced their energies into rightwing reactionary thought, reviving the classical variety of liberalism. Classical liberalists trace their ideological birth to ancient Greece. They regard any other thoughts and ideologies as radical anti-West. The Greek variety of democracy and selectively used elements of Roman Laws gave the basis to the forms of liberalism that had evolved and became institutional guidelines for administrative and political applications.

What is Zoroastrianism?

Zoroastrianism was a sophisticated religious belief with seamlessly woven rationalizations for adaptive political frameworks, but its geographical reach and religious exegeses, like Judaism, were too circumscribed to a region or a people to command universal attention. G. E. Von Grunebaum, gave a description of the lack of cultural and traditional commitment Persian Civilization faced. He noted Zoroastrianism’s incapacity to provide cultural groundings and the extent to which civilizations can be arrested to oblivion when their edification and inspiring values do not complement each other.

What does African Civilization reflect?

African Civilization reflects the African peoples’ cultural heritages and the components of their soil and environmental habitat. The peoples of Africa, in themselves, represent a mural or multifaceted tapestry covering the entire continent by shades of skin color ranging from dark, brown, and light brown. It is most likely that the ancient Egyptian population was a microcosm of that tapestry, consisting of people of dark, brown and light brown shades of skin.

What do stong civilizations like Egypt do to other civilizations?

Strong civilizations such as that of ancient Egypt can affect geographical overlap where the components of the civilization, such as architectural, linguistic, and religious features are embraced by those with whom they came in contact. The extent to which linguistic characteristics of ancient Egypt are cognate to Greek, Latin, Nubian, Yoruba or Ethiopic languages tell us the anthropological relationship of the ancient Egyptians and their neighbors.

How can indicators of anthropological and sociological characteristics become visible?

Indicators of anthropological and sociological characteristics become visible in the societal manners of survival, family formation, and manners of expression, such as songs, arts, dances, and linguistic patterns. Patterns of age recruitment, division of gender roles, and manners of worship are important indicators. The Egyptian Civilization, in its initial phase, at the time it first sprouted roots, began by nurturing its roots in the African soil, receiving its nourishments by the waters of the Nile and the African sunshine

What factors give the anthropological charactersitics of civilizations?

Civilizations are inseparable from the geographical location in which they are born and from where they progressed. The environment of their geographical location, the topography, the air, the waters, the plants, and the animal kingdom in their surroundings formulate their components, images, and artistic and aesthetic features.

Why does taking the holistic approach seems appropriate?

Africa in its demographic aspects is the home of those Africans in Africa, including in Egypt. Of the numerous methodological options and research tools that can be used to develop best approaches to the topic, the holistic approach -- where the entire Continent of African is taken as a unit of analysis -- seems appropriate. A realistic synthesis tailored to touch on the fundamentals of African civilizations at the macro level can appreciably succeed in casting Africa as a home-base for the emergence and development of those civilizations that have impacted Africa and Africans.

What are the uniting featıres of African Civilization?

• The river valleys where small communities thrived, inspired by their geographical environment to plant the seeds of stellar civilizations. 
• The Egyptian Civilization emerged around 3100 BCE, interacting with its geographical orientations. 
• Nubia, Libya, and Kush exchanged leadership and custodial authorities over each of these civilizations. 
• Libya, during the Twelfth Dynasty, was the dominant ruler of Egypt, its authority reached as far as Palestine on the northeast and the entire Maghreb expanse of and West Africa. 
• At the time when the Twenty-fifth Nubian Dynasty was at the seat of the Egyptian throne, its trade, diplomatic, and military outreaches covered East Africa, the Middle East through the Red Sea, and conquered Palestine/Israel. The Nile Valley on the eastern part of Africa, and the western and northwestern part of Africa adjoining the Maghreb in the north related to Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia and Arabia and southern Europe in trade exchanges and regional conflagrations. 
• Other African civilizations such as the Ghanaian, the Mali and the Songhai empires, in their varying eras, exhibit linguistic, cultural, life styles, family structures, age-transition rituals, and community hierarchies like the Egyptian civilization. 
• The rise of Islam provided another uniting foundation of belief, but it was interrupted before it could take on the firm foundations of Islamic civilization with an African character. 
• West Africa, from ancient times to today, possesses massive natural riches in the form of gold, diamonds, ivory, animal skins, grains, incense, palm oil, dates, and hard wood. During the Fourth Dynasty, West Africa and Egypt had trade relations.

How many sovereign states are there in Africa?

There are 54 sovereign states whose peoples are inheritors of a tapestry of mosaic cultural heritages, having direct claim to ancient civilizations.

Why is African Civilization not regarded as a holistic and robust civilization?

Several reasons can be presented for not emphasizing African Civilization as a holistic and robust civilization. First, a singular historical perspective, representing tangible historical records that can stand out as clearer markers of a singular African Civilization, has not been institutionalized. Second, African Civilization is analyzed by scholars from the point of view of material and structural perspectives. Material and structural ways of articulating civilizations underemphasize the essential roles of historical and cultural traditions. Third, Africa, over the centuries, was exposed first to slavery, then to colonialism. Both slavery and colonialism are negative interrelationships of humans. 

What were the civilizations that originated in the Rift and the Nile Valleys heavily influenced by?

The civilizations that originated in the Rift and the Nile Valleys were heavily influenced by two things: the ancient Egyptian Civilization and the three monotheistic faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

How was the Rift and the Nile valley region influenced by Africa?

The Rift and the Nile valley region is undeniably influenced by Africa for the following reasons:

First, Egyptian Civilization springing from the Nile Valley spread to the adjacent regions in Africa and the Middle East.

Second, the foundations of Judaism and Christianity, in chronological order, were first laid down in Egypt, Africa.

Third, when the Prophet Mohammed started preaching the faith of Islam in Arabia, he was faced with persecution by the Meccans. As he battled his adversaries, he sent some of his most faithful followers, including his daughter, to seek shelter in Abyssinia. He told them they would face hospitality and security there. He also instructed them to preserve the faith, advance its teachings if he and his followers were exterminated by those who were persecuting them.

Who are believed to be the unmodified representatives of the predynastic Egyptians today?

Trimingham states that the Nubians and the Beja of Eastern Sudan and northern Eritrea are the unmodified representatives of the predynastic Egyptians. They share linguistic and lifestyle practices with the ancient founders of the Egyptian civilization. 

What were the contrasts between ancient African and Egyptian cultures as compared to ancient Asian cultures?

The broad fields of the Delta opened out to Libya, to the Mediterranean, and to Asia, whereas the long trough of Upper Egypt was hemmed in by blighted deserts. The agricultural richness of middle Egypt contrasted sharply with the poverty of southernmost Egypt. The two factors of insulation from strong outside influence and of wide internal variety helped explain the tolerant flexibility and genial sophistication. Certainly, the self-assurance, and the active sense of gaiety stood in contrast to an austerity which marked the Asiatic culture.

At the height of its global power, how far in Africa did the Axumite Empire dominate? 

The Axumite Empire, at the height of its global power, dominated the northeastern part of Africa up to the southern borders of Upper Egypt on the north and as far as Southern Arabia.

How did the cycle of The Axumite Empire's birth, maturity and decline appear?

The Axumite Empire rose up in the highlands of northern Ethiopia and the highlands of the State of Eritrea. Its capital was the village of Axum where ancient landmark and monuments are still standing, and its seaport was the port of Adulis at the Red Sea. Axum controlled the southern part of the Red Sea. The rise of the Persian Empire in the 4th century CE introduced a big threat to the Roman Empire. In 533 CE, Emperor Justinian, sensing the need for alliance, sent a letter to the Axumite Emperor urging him to block Persian silk trade through the Red Sea. The Persian Empire’s formidable power defeated the Axumite forces in Southern Arabia. The Axumite Empire that ruled over northeast Africa and Arabia did not recover from this defeat.

What put an end to the cultural, political, and social structures that connected Europe, Asia, and Africa?

The Persian Empire’s defeat by the Arabs put an end to the cultural, political, and social structures that connected Europe, Asia, and Africa. Islam rose from the deserts of Arabia with flaming zeal and unstoppable revolution. In the end, the Arabs transformed African societies by mixing the values of religious proselytizing, commerce, and trade.

Why was Africa often referred to as the “Dark Continent”?

The interior of Africa was shrouded behind thick forests and jungles, making it not so easy for outside contact with Europe. For this reason, Africa was often referred to as the “Dark Continent,” indicating the ignorance of Europeans regarding Africa.

Who were the prominent kings of the Berber who ruled around 135 BCE?

Prominent kings of the Berber who ruled around 135 BCE were Syphax, king of Mauritania, and Massinissa who ruled over the Kingdom of Numidia, a territory covering parts of Tunisia and Algeria.

When was the African region converted to Christianity? 

With the conquest of pharaonic Egypt by the Romans, the region converted to Christianity.

How did the first phase of the Islamization of Africa begin?

The first phase of the Islamization of Africa began after North Africa was Islamized, beginning with the conquest of Egypt by Arab forces around 639-641 CE. These historical developments were an aspect of the eruption of the global Islamic revolution, when Islam was on a march of conquest.

What does the term “Europeanism” refer to?

The term “Europeanism” is used here to explain the analytical framework of Europeans in their study, description, and conclusions of Africa, its people, and its cultural values. Africa, its people, and its cultural values are the bedrock of African Civilization. The mental image embedded in Europeans adventurers, explorers, and colonialists was formed by the purpose and objective of slavery, colonialism, and postcolonial monopoly capitalism. Africa was stripped of its precious resources, and the indignity of being dominated does not enable its victims to confidently extol or glory in their civilizations. 

Why is the riverine perspective of civilizations important?

The riverine perspective of civilizations is important, because it provides evidence of institutionalized means of communications among ancient peoples. It also reveals the direction of trades and commerce within Africa and overseas.

What factors give the anthropological characteristics of civilizations?

Civilizations are inseparable from the geographical location in which they are born and from where they progressed. The environment of their geographical location, the topography, the air, the waters, the plants, and the animal kingdom in their surroundings formulate their components, images, and artistic and aesthetic features. These factors give the anthropological characteristics of civilizations.

What is the region above tropical Africa called?

The region above tropical Africa is the Savanah; it is the connecting bridge between the northern and southern regions of the continent.

Which country was the dominant ruler of Egypt during the Twelfth Dynasty?

Libya, during the Twelfth Dynasty, was the dominant ruler of Egypt, its authority reached as far as Palestine on the northeast and the entire Maghreb expanse of and West Africa.

Before the arrival of colonialism, what direction did African trade follow?

Before the arrival of colonialism, the direction of African trade followed north-south caravan paths using camels, horses, mules, donkeys, and human portage. The interior cities in West Africa, such as Kumbi Salaaeh, Awdaghost, Timbuktu, Tidjikja and Ghadames, served as hub markets from where goods, such as gold, ivory, gums, animal skin, and cotton, were caravanned up North African ports.