The Mental Floss History Of The World Part 6

number of kingdoms incorporated into the Persian empire 14,560.

annual revenue of Persian empire under King Darius, according to Herodotus, in Euboean silver talents 366,912.

the same amount of silver, in kilograms 404.5.

the same amount of silver, in tons 200,000.

number of helots working under Spartan domination 10,000.

number of Spartan citizens they worked for 35,000.

number of Athenian male citizens 19,000.

miles sailed by Phoenician fleet to circ.u.mnavigate Africa in 600 BCE

ATHENS, ALEXANDER, AND ALL THAT.

(500 BCE0 BCE)

IN A NUTSh.e.l.l.

Out of the ashes of the ancient "Dark Ages," a s.h.i.+ning new world emerged between the years 500 BCE and 0: legendary leaders created huge empires that have never been equaled since. These mega-states were ruled from capitals that were the biggest cities the world had ever seen. It all began with a major s.h.i.+ft in the balance of power, as the world's first global empire, Persia, declined and new contenders arose in Europe.

Persia's decay began with the stunning defeat of King Xerxes by the Greeks, who were able to triumph against overwhelming odds by trying something new: working together. But their victory didn't mean smooth sailing. At the moment of their greatest triumph, they threw it all away in an incredibly destructive civil war that brought their Golden Age cras.h.i.+ng to a close.

It took new management under a young king from north of Greece, Alexander of Macedon, to unite the Greeks again in a common purpose. And what purpose was that? Revenge (of course)! The Persians may have tried to forget Greece, but the Greeks weren't going to forget them. And Alexander the Great was just the leader they needed to settle the score.

Alexander did a bit more than settle the score: he conquered the whole Persian Empire. But like all rock stars, he was fated to die young, and his empire didn't outlast him. Nonetheless, by spreading Greek culture, he created a new international community, and paved the way for the most successful empire in history: Rome (perhaps you've heard of it).

Rome was truly remarkable, but it had some stiff compet.i.tion half a world away, in Asia, where a similar process of consolidation created the first Chinese empire: the Han Dynasty. Like the West, China had a couple of false starts, including an insanely ambitious conqueror named Qin s.h.i.+ Huang who grabbed it all-and lost it all-with breathtaking speed.

Meanwhile, an Indian prince named Chandragupta Maurya took advantage of regional instability to create his own huge empire. Covering most of India and modern-day Pakistan, the empire took his family name, Maurya.

And a few letters away, the Maya hit fast-forward in Central America, leaping ahead of their Olmec ancestors as they built societies of unprecedented complexity in what is now Guatemala and Mexico.

All in all, this period was an incredible recovery from the chaos that went before, and with its orderly empires, grand cities, cultural achievements, and rampant conquering, it is still considered one of the high points of human civilization.

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WHAT HAPPENED WHEN.

509 BCE BCE.

Roman republic founded.

492 BCE BCE.

Greek colonies in the Persian Empire rebel but are defeated.

490 BCE BCE.

Darius invades Greece.

480 BCE BCE.

Darius's successor, Xerxes, invades Greece.

479 BCE BCE.

United Greeks defeat Persians at Platea.

475 BCE BCE.

"Warring States" period begins in China.

433 BCE BCE.

Athens and Sparta go to war against each other.

415 BCE BCE.

Alcibiades leads Athenian invasion of Sicily.

405 BCE BCE.

Sparta defeats Athens.

399 BCE BCE.

Socrates is forced to commit suicide for corrupting Athenian youth.

359 BCE BCE.

Philip II becomes king of Macedon.

334 BCE BCE-326 BCE BCE.

Philip's son Alexander the Great conquers Persian Empire.

300 BCE BCE.

Chandragupta unites India, founds Maurya Dynasty.

221 BCE BCE.

Qin s.h.i.+ Huang unites China in short-lived Qin Dynasty.

218 BCE BCE.

Hannibal attacks Rome.

206 BCE BCE.

Chinese peasant general Liu Bang founds Han Dynasty.

202 BCE BCE.

Hannibal is defeated.

146 BCE BCE.

Romans destroy Carthage.

88 BCE BCE.

First Roman civil war.

58 BCE BCE.

Julius Caesar invades Gaul.

44 BCE BCE.

Julius Caesar is elected dictator for life, but is then a.s.sa.s.sinated.

31 BCE BCE.

Caesar's adopted son, Octavian, defeats Antony and Cleopatra.

27 BCE BCE.

Octavian becomes first emperor of Rome.

SPINNING THE GLOBE.

China Takes It on the Qin

(Then Gets Everything in Han)

China's Zhou Dynasty didn't so much collapse as fade away, with the kings of Zhou drifting off into secluded irrelevance as the rest of the country descended into civil war. The chaos that followed from 475 to 221 BCE is known as the "Warring States" period, and the name pretty much sums it up: six main contenders and a bunch of smaller also-rans duked it out in b.l.o.o.d.y wars until a surprise late entry-a "barbarian" kingdom in northwest China called Qin (p.r.o.nounced Chin)-suddenly rose to power.

SOMETIMES YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU...

Qin s.h.i.+ Huang's burial included an army of 8,099 life-size clay soldiers, horses, and chariots, which would fight for him in the afterlife. Still on display near his capital city, Xi'an, his "terra-cotta army" was a.s.sumed to be legendary until 1974, when Chinese farmers digging a well discovered it. The soldiers range in height from five feet, eight inches to six-two. Every face was sculpted individually, possibly using real soldiers as models. The clay soldiers were probably symbolic subst.i.tutes for human sacrifices common during earlier periods.

Like Alexander the Great, the leader of Qin, Qin s.h.i.+ Huang, was a talented outsider who conquered a huge amount of territory in the "civilized" world. And as with Alexander, Qin s.h.i.+ Huang's empire didn't last, but it did lay the groundwork for the Han Dynasty, which united China around the same time Rome united the Mediterranean world. The English word China China comes from "Qin." comes from "Qin."

Qin s.h.i.+ Huang was incredibly brutal. He had thousands of prisoners of war executed, burned most of China's books, and worked to death hundreds of thousands of peasants in giant projects. Some of these projects were good for China-its first national road system, for example-but the Great Wall proved fairly useless, and his extravagant tomb was pure vanity.

Qin s.h.i.+ Huang's most lasting accomplishment was abolis.h.i.+ng China's feudal system. Helped by his prime minister, Li Si, he broke the power of the independent n.o.bility who brought down the Zhou Dynasty. Qin s.h.i.+ Huang replaced them with civilian administrators and military commanders, separating responsibilities so no official could become too powerful. Although the feudal system slowly returned, the central administration allowed later Chinese emperors to reestablish order even after b.l.o.o.d.y civil wars.

Happily, the first b.l.o.o.d.y civil war wasn't long in coming. After Qin s.h.i.+ Huang died, in 210 BCE, his incompetent son Huhai survived only four years on the throne before his own prime minister forced him to commit suicide. But thanks to Qin s.h.i.+ Huang, this period of disorder didn't last long. In 206 BCE, a charismatic general from Jiangsu province, Liu Bang, reunited Qin s.h.i.+ Huang's empire. Even though he was born a peasant, Liu Bang proclaimed a new dynasty, called the Han.

THE QUOTABLE LAO TZU.

"In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present. When you are content to simply be yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.""When the Master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists.""Governing a large country is like frying a small fish. You spoil it with too much poking."(from the Tao Te Ching, Tao Te Ching, trans. by Stephen Mitch.e.l.l trans. by Stephen Mitch.e.l.l)