Stairs. Entry group. Materials. Doors. Locks. Design

The history of the peoples of Africa goes back to ancient times. In the 60-80s. 20th century On the territory of Southern and Eastern Africa, scientists found the remains of human ancestors - Australopithecus monkeys, which allowed them to suggest that Africa could be the ancestral home of humanity (see The Formation of Humanity). In the north of the continent, about 4 thousand years ago, one of the most ancient civilizations arose - ancient Egyptian, which left numerous archaeological and written monuments (see. The Ancient East). One of the most populated areas Ancient Africa There was a Sahara with abundant vegetation and a varied animal life.

Starting from the 3rd century. BC e. There was an active process of migration of Negroid tribes to the south of the continent, associated with the advance of the desert into the Sahara. In the 8th century. BC e. - 4th century n. e. in northeast Africa there were the states of Kush and Meroe, associated in many ways with culture Ancient Egypt. Ancient Greek geographers and historians called Africa Libya. The name "Africa" ​​appeared at the end of the 4th century. BC e. from the Romans. After the fall of Carthage, the Romans founded the province of Africa on the territory adjacent to Carthage, then this name spread to the entire continent. North Africa met the early Middle Ages under the rule of barbarians (Berbers, Goths, Vandals). In 533-534 it was conquered by the Byzantines (see Byzantium). In the 7th century. they were replaced by Arabs, which led to the Arabization of the population, the spread of Islam, the formation of new state and social relations, and the creation of new cultural values.

Left: the head of the "Queen Mother". Benin. 1515-1550.

In ancient times and early middle ages In West Africa, three large states arose, replacing each other. Their formation is associated with the expansion of intercity trade in the Niger River basin, pastoral agriculture, and the widespread use of iron.

Written sources about the first of them - the state of Ghana - appear in the 8th century. with the arrival of the Arabs in sub-Saharan Africa, and oral traditions date back to the 4th century. Its heyday dates back to the 8th-11th centuries. Arab travelers called Ghana the country of gold: it was the largest supplier of gold to the Maghreb countries. Here, crossing the Sahara, caravan routes passed to the north and south. By its nature, it was an early class state, whose rulers controlled the transit trade in gold and salt and imposed high duties on it. In 1076, the capital of Ghana, the city of Kumbi-Sale, was captured by newcomers from Morocco - the Almoravids, who laid the foundation for the spread of Islam. In 1240, King Malinke from the state of Mali Sundiata subjugated Ghana.

In the 14th century (the time of its greatest prosperity), the huge state of Mali stretched from the Sahara to the edge of the forest in the south of Western Sudan and from the Atlantic Ocean to the city of Gao; its ethnic basis was the Malinke people. The cities of Timbuktu, Djenne, and Gao became important centers of Muslim culture. Early feudal forms of exploitation spread within Malian society. The well-being of the state was based on income from caravan trade, agriculture along the banks of the Niger, and cattle breeding in the savannah. Mali was repeatedly invaded by nomads and neighboring peoples; dynastic feuds led to its demise.

The state of Songhai (the capital of Gao), which came to the fore in this part of Africa after the fall of Mali, continued the development of the civilization of Western Sudan. Its main population was the Songhai people, who still live along the banks of the middle reaches of the Niger River. By the 2nd half of the 16th century. an early feudal society developed in Songhai; at the end of the 16th century. it was captured by the Moroccans.

In the Lake Chad region in the early Middle Ages there were the states of Kanem and Bbrnu (9th-18th centuries). The normal development of the states of Western Sudan was put an end to the European slave trade (see Slavery, Slave Trade). Meroe and Aksum - the most significant states of North-East Africa in the period between the 4th century. BC e. and 6th century n. e. The kingdoms of Kush (Napata) and Meroe were located in the north of modern Sudan, the state of Aksum was on the Ethiopian Highlands. Kush and Meroe represented the late phase of ancient Eastern society.

Few archaeological sites have survived to this day. In temples and on steles near Napata, several inscriptions in Egyptian have been preserved, which make it possible to judge the political life of the state. The tombs of the rulers of Napata and Meroe were built in the form of pyramids, although they were significantly smaller in size than the Egyptian ones (see Seven Wonders of the World). The transfer of the capital from Napata to Meroe (Meroe was located about 160 km north of modern Khartoum) was obviously associated with the need to reduce the danger from invasions by the Egyptians and Persians. Meroe was an important center of trade between Egypt, the Red Sea states and Ethiopia. A center for processing iron ore arose near Meroe; iron from Meroe was exported to many African countries.

The heyday of Meroe spans Sv. BC. - 1st century n. e. Slavery here, as in Egypt, was not the main thing in the system of exploitation; the main hardships were borne by village community members - plowmen and cattle breeders. The community paid taxes and supplied labor to build the pyramids and irrigation systems. The Meroe civilization remains insufficiently explored - we still know little about the daily life of the state, its connections with the outside world.

The state religion followed Egyptian models: Amon, Isis, Osiris - the gods of the Egyptians - were also gods of the Meroites, but along with this, purely Meroitic cults arose. The Meroites had their own written language, the alphabet contained 23 letters, and although its study began in 1910, the Meroe language still remains difficult to access, making it impossible to decipher the surviving written monuments. In the middle of the 4th century. King Ezana of Aksum inflicted a decisive defeat on the Meroitic state.

Aksum is the forerunner of the Ethiopian state; its history shows the beginning of the struggle waged by the peoples of the Ethiopian Highlands to preserve their independence, religion and culture in a hostile environment. The emergence of the Aksumite kingdom dates back to the end of the 1st century. BC e., and its heyday - by the 4th-6th centuries. In the 4th century. Christianity became the state religion; Monasteries arose throughout the country, exerting great economic and political influence. The population of Aksum led a sedentary lifestyle, engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. The most important crop was wheat. Irrigation and terrace farming developed successfully. Aksum was important shopping center, connecting Africa with the Arabian Peninsula, where in 517-572. South Yemen belonged to him, but the powerful Persian power ousted Aksum from the south of Arabia. In the 4th century. Aksum established connections with Byzantium and controlled the caravan routes from Adulis along the Atbara River to the middle reaches of the Nile. The Aksumite civilization has brought cultural monuments to this day - the remains of palaces, epigraphic monuments, steles, the largest of which reached a height of 23 m.

In the 7th century. n. e., with the beginning of the Arab conquests in Asia and Africa, Aksum lost its power. Period from 8th to 13th centuries. characterized by the deep isolation of the Christian state, and only in 1270 did its new rise begin. At this time, Aksum loses its significance as the political center of the country, and the city of Gondar (north of Lake Tana) becomes it. Simultaneously with the strengthening of the central government, the role of the Christian Church increased; monasteries concentrated large land holdings in their hands. Slave labor began to be widely used in the country's economy; Corvee labor and natural supplies are being developed.

Leader statue. Ife culture. 12-15

The rise also affected the cultural life of the country. Such monuments are being created as chronicles of the lives of kings and church history; the works of Copts (Egyptians professing Christianity) on the history of Christianity and world history are translated. One of the outstanding Ethiopian emperors, Zera-Yakob (1434 - 1468), is known as the author of works on theology and ethics. He advocated strengthening ties with the Pope, and in 1439 the Ethiopian delegation took part in the Council of Florence. In the 15th century The embassy of the King of Portugal visited Ethiopia. Portuguese at the beginning of the 16th century. assisted the Ethiopians in the fight against the Muslim Sultan Adal, hoping to then penetrate the country and capture it, but failed.

In the 16th century The decline of the medieval Ethiopian state began, torn apart by feudal contradictions and subjected to raids by nomads. A serious obstacle to the successful development of Ethiopia was its isolation from the centers of trade relations on the Red Sea. The process of centralization of the Ethiopian state began only in the 19th century. On the east coast of Africa, the trading city-states of Kilwa, Mombasa, and Mogadishu grew in the Middle Ages. They had extensive connections with the states of the Arabian Peninsula, Western Asia and India.

The Swahili civilization arose here, absorbing African and Arabic culture. Since the 10th century. Arabs played an increasingly important role in the connections of the east coast of Africa with a large number of Muslim states in the Middle East and South Asia. The appearance of the Portuguese at the end of the 15th century. disrupted the traditional ties of the east coast of Africa: a period of long struggle of African peoples against European conquerors began. The history of the interior of this region of Africa is not well known due to the lack historical sources. Arabic sources of the 10th century. reported that between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers there was a large state that had a large number of gold mines. The Zimbabwean civilization (its heyday dates back to the early 15th century) is best known during the period of the Monomotapa state; Numerous public and religious buildings have survived to this day, indicating a high level of construction culture. The collapse of the Monomotapa empire occurred at the end of the 17th century. due to the expansion of the Portuguese slave trade.

In the Middle Ages (12th-17th centuries) in the south West Africa there was a developed culture of the Yoruba city-states - Ife, Oyo, Benin, etc. Crafts, agriculture, and trade reached a high level of development in them. In the 16th-18th centuries. these states took part in the European slave trade, which led to their decline at the end of the 18th century.

The major state of the Gold Coast was the confederation of Amanti states. This is the most developed feudal formation in West Africa in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the Congo River basin in the 13th-16th centuries. there were early class states of Congo, Lunda, Luba, Bushongo, etc. However, with the advent of the 16th century. Their development was also interrupted by the Portuguese. There are practically no historical documents about the early period of development of these states.

Africa in antiquity and the Middle Ages Warriors in national clothes. Burundi. Modern photo.

Madagascar in the 1st-10th centuries. developed in isolation from the mainland. The Malagasy people who inhabited it were formed as a result of the mixing of newcomers from Southeast Asia and Negroid peoples; the island's population consisted of several ethnic groups- gelding, sokalava, betzimisaraka. In the Middle Ages, the kingdom of Imerina arose in the mountains of Madagascar. The development of medieval Tropical Africa, due to natural and demographic conditions, as well as due to its relative isolation, lagged behind North Africa.

Penetration of Europeans at the end of the 15th century. became the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade, which, like the Arab slave trade on the east coast, delayed the development of the peoples of Tropical Africa and caused them irreparable moral and material damage. On the threshold of modern times, Tropical Africa found itself defenseless against the colonial conquests of Europeans.

TYPES OF MP STANDARDS.

Based on the nature of the regulations contained in the MP norms, the following can be distinguished:
- norms-principles,

Norms-definitions,

Rules of authority,

Norms-obligations,

Prohibition norms.

Norms and principles establish the foundations of the international legal order, international peace and cooperation. Rules of authority provide their addressees with certain subjective rights. Prohibition norms record the prohibition of the behavior specified in them: “no one shall be kept in slavery; slavery and the slave trade are prohibited in all their forms” (Article 8 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966).

According to their role in the mechanism of international legal regulation, they are distinguished:

Regulatory and

Protective norms of MP.

Regulatory norms provide subjects with the right to take the positive actions provided for in them. Protective norms perform the function of protecting the international legal order from violations, establishing measures of responsibility and sanctions in relation to violators.

Material and

Procedural.

Material norms fix the rights and obligations of subjects, their legal status, etc. Procedural rules regulate the procedure for implementing substantive rules.

According to the scope of action there are:

Universal,

Regional and

Local norms of MP. Universal norms cover most of the world's states. These are, for example, the UN Charter, norms on non-proliferation nuclear weapons etc. Regional norms of international business operate within the countries of one region (the law of the European Union, acts of CIS bodies). Local norms regulate the relationship between two or more subjects of the MP (for example, the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China on the extradition of criminals of 1995).

The rules of international law are also divided into IMPERATIVE (ius cogens) And DISPOSITIVE. A peremptory norm is a norm that is accepted and recognized by the international community of states as a whole as a norm, deviation from which is unacceptable and which can only be changed by a subsequent norm of general international law of the same nature.

There are much more dispositive norms in the MP; derogation from them is possible by agreement of the subjects of the MP.

Development of MP in antiquity and the Middle Ages.

The literature identifies four main stages in the development of international law: slave, feudal, bourgeois and modern.

The emergence and development of MP is associated with the emergence of the state. The MP arose during the period of the slave system. Perhaps one of the oldest international treaties that has reached us is the agreement between the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II and the Hittite king Hattushil III, concluded in 1278 BC. This agreement restored friendly relations between the two states after a long war, concluded defensive and offensive alliances, provided for assistance in the event of internal unrest and the mutual surrender of defectors. This treaty served as a model for many international agreements. The Laws of Manu (1st century AD) can also be considered a unique monument to the MP, which regulated in sufficient detail the issues of ambassadorial law, as well as the rules of warfare. The ancient Greek city-states carried out very intensive diplomatic activity, exchanging numerous embassies and concluding agreements on military assistance. The institution of protection of foreigners (proxenia) has been developed. Disputes regarding violations of international treaties were considered by arbitration commissions; violators of the treaty were subject to a large fine, which, in case of non-payment, was collected with the help of the armed forces. IN ancient Rome(during the republic) ambassadors were elected by the Senate and were required to give a report on their activities. During the period of empire, the formation of the “law of peoples” (jus gentium) as a special legal system took place. During this same period, a distinction was already beginning to be made between just and unjust wars. The principle of compliance with contracts arises, and the violation of a contract was considered as a violation of divine law.

From the ruins of the Roman Empire in Europe, several feudal states arose (Franks, Germans, Saxons, etc.). The development of MP has slowed down somewhat, because A characteristic feature of the era of feudalism was “fist law”. War was recognized as a fair form of resolving international disputes. During this period, mainly treaties on military alliances and peace agreements were concluded. Trading cities entered into alliances (the Hanseatic League) to protect trade and trading citizens. Collections that codify the norms and customs of maritime law and served as a justification for the principle of freedom of the high seas have received international recognition. Some regulation of the “laws and customs of war” is noted, and consular law begins to take shape. The church played an active role in international relations. Councils held periodically played the role of codifiers of the usual norms of the MP. Thus, at the Council of Carthage (438) one of the essential principles MP is the principle of conscientious fulfillment of international obligations (pacta sunt servanda).

“I don’t intend to apologize for my, as you put it, “homies,” the sorcerer calmly answered. “I understand them, because I, like them, had to work hard to master the art of the warlock. Even as a young boy, when my peers were running through the fields with bows, fishing or playing even and odd, I pored over manuscripts.
Andrzej Sapkowski "The Witcher"

In fantasy worlds we meet priests whose incomparable wisdom is expressed in the fact that they put on armor before battle. And magicians, whose high intelligence tells them that it will be easier to run away from monsters while carrying light clothes. Both of them are endowed with great powers, but for some reason they do not occupy a dominant position in society. While their real prototypes, even without knowing how to cast spells, enjoy enormous influence. Probably because their work brings much more benefits than is commonly believed.

Spirit Speakers

If the power of the priest is not in the patronage of deities, then what? Mainly - in knowledge and the ability to use it. Education is not as trivial a phenomenon as it seems. In old times a common person As a rule, not only did he not learn anything, but he also did not understand how one could learn and why it was required. After all, he already knew everything and could do everything.

If a man could ride, plow or hunt with a bow, then he acquired these skills in childhood, playing and watching his elders. Learning occurred without conscious effort and was perceived as an inevitable consequence of growing up. The list of skills was the same for everyone and allowed variations only by gender. In particular, women at certain stages of development acquired the ability to give birth to children, but men did not.

The only people on whom this principle showed a visible failure were shamans. Almost every man knew how to break the heads of his enemies. But banging on a tambourine and simulating an epileptic fit... This obviously involved the intervention of spirits.

The shaman, of course, also had all the “natural” human skills. After all, he did not receive payment for the “concerts” and had to take care of feeding his family on a general basis. The shaman communicated with spirits in his free time, but this additional load gave him real and almost unlimited power.

Man in primitive society did not enjoy complete freedom, as is sometimes believed. Almost any of his actions was subject to petty regulation by countless rules and customs - sometimes wise, based on the experience of generations, sometimes absurd. The elders were experts in these “principles of existence.” They ensured their strict observance. But since the taboos themselves supposedly reflected the will of the spirits, the last word remained with the one who could personally talk with representatives of the “upper world” - the shaman.

The life of the tribe rolled smoothly along the rails of eternal and inviolable customs. And so that it wouldn’t roll too far, the shaman gave the system the necessary flexibility. After all, it was possible to change the orders given from above only by relying on the authority of higher powers.

The shaman's tasks were quite varied. In addition to beating the tambourine, he was engaged in literary creativity, that is, he composed ancient myths and legends. He made sacrifices to the shadows of his ancestors and the spirits of nature, ensuring his fellow tribesmen good luck in the hunt. He treated the wounded after an unsuccessful hunt. He explained why, despite his efforts, the hunt was unsuccessful, and the treatment did not help at all. He ran away. I treated myself.

Sages and Barbarians

Society developed and stratified, and priesthood and military affairs gradually turned into professions. But the general attitude towards knowledge remained the same. A certain set of skills was considered “natural”, automatically inherent in every real person. Accordingly, deviations from the norm were viewed either as something unnatural or as supernatural.

There was a difference between the first and second interpretations. Barbarians of the brutal type, like the Dorians or Germans - powerful, barely covered in the wrong places with scanty skins, respecting only strength and courage - preferred the first option. That is, for the word “interpretation” they were killed immediately. As well as for other pretentious expressions. Because the unnatural is worthy only of contempt and disgust. In some, albeit rare cases, such a point of view even pushed the barbarians to destroy objects whose purpose and manufacturing technology were unknown to them. Everything that was not understood was, by definition, magical, and therefore disgusting.

Naturally, the shamans had a hard time in such company. The leaders quickly seized power, reducing the role of the intelligentsia to a minimum. There were often no priests at all. Simple rituals designed to appease the spirits were performed by the elders. Even the healing function, which gave them a dangerous social weight, was “removed” from sorcerers. In fact, they turned into only keepers of legends. Singers - skalds.

Nevertheless, skalds remained intermediaries between people and gods. After all, the gods existed only in their songs. However, the celestials themselves, in the eyes of the stern barbarians, were not overlords, but only role models.

The rules of skaldic poetry not only assumed widest application metaphors, but also allowed arbitrary rearrangement of words in a sentence to maintain size and rhyme. All this turned the poem into a mysterious rebus. After listening to the visa, the Viking fell into a stupor, unable to understand whether the skald glorified him or defamed him, and, accordingly, he should give him a gift or, so to speak, goods. The victim of art made the decision based mainly on the physical characteristics of the writer, so the people who went to skalds were not timid or petty. Even berserkers immediately gave money to the greatest of the Scandinavian poets - Egil the son of Bald Grim.

Refined barbarians like the Celts, on the contrary, saw in all wisdom a delightful and awe-inspiring manifestation of the supernatural. In their midst, the priesthood flourished, gained weight, pushing the military class into the background, and acquired new specializations. From the Druids, who focused on sacred rites, prophecies and healing, and also regularly acted as advisers and mentors to kings, separated the Fenian fighters and bards, whose functions were close to the skalds. Some of the bards, in turn, turned into philids - experts not so much in legends and ballads, but in history, laws, genealogies and topography. The lack of writing among the Celts led to the fact that all information about the hereditary rights of the nobility and the boundaries of the “kingdoms” was stored exclusively in the memory of the filiids. It is easy to imagine the power this gave them.

Kings and temples

The transition to intensive irrigation agriculture and the emergence of states forced the priests to take on functions that were unexpected and previously unusual for them. The clergy had to master the specialties of engineers and economists. The tsar could have driven the mob to build a canal, but he didn’t know where to dig - someone smarter was needed to supervise the work

The states of the Neolithic era were predominantly priestly. Formally, the pharaoh headed both the temple and military hierarchies. But the importance of the clergy was much higher: the templars completely controlled not only the spiritual sphere, but also the economy of the country. They formed the royal office, kept records of expenses, taxes and supplies. The construction of canals and dams, the operation of an irrigation system stretching over hundreds of kilometers, required knowledge of geometry, physics, engineering, which only the priests possessed. In the Middle Ages, when they disappeared, the area of ​​irrigated land in Egypt decreased several times. The country's population returned to its previous level only at the end of the 18th century.

In the temples they taught not only how to build and count. There were also schools here that trained sculptors and painters. Many industries were often concentrated in palaces and temples. First of all - metallurgy. Usually there were pottery and weaving workshops. Centralization allowed the use of complex equipment, division of labor, and virtually free unskilled labor.

It’s no wonder that with such a load, the priests had no time for the gods. Even for those of them who believed in gods, and, as far as one can judge, this was not typical for priests in the old days. The clergy finally turned into courtiers, officials, clerks, artists, doctors, and engineers. Sometimes the connection with religion disappeared completely. This picture was observed in China, where for almost a thousand years the Hanlin Academy actually ruled, combining the functions of a university, a school of painting and calligraphy, a library and the state apparatus.

Religion gave way to ideology. Only a scientist who passed an exam on knowledge of classical Confucian treatises could apply for the position. The better the result, the higher the post could be. Almost the Unified State Exam, don’t you think?

As a rule, people who were seated at the desk were noble people or those who had already proven themselves to be capable administrators. The teachings of Confucius explained: a noble man knows everything from birth, and the book only helps him remember the wisdom given by heaven; The mob doesn’t know anything, so it’s useless to teach them.

Age of Philosophers

The onset of the “Greek stage” of the development of world civilization was marked by the expansion of education beyond the walls of religious buildings. The priests tried to hold on to the knowledge, but it literally flowed between their fingers. In particular, because the country’s introduction to civilization occurred rapidly and under external influence. Phoenician traders, who had just been considered despicable creatures for the fact that they exchanged goods and did not take them by force, as befits heroes and athletes, suddenly became role models. Their writing, previously revered by the family itself black magic, was improved and became widespread in everyday life.

The servants of the Greek gods retained their wealth (offerings still filled the bins of the temples), but lost power and influence on minds. Even Zeus himself would not meddle in the politics of the poleis. There they didn’t even eat them on the vine.

The hour of philosophers has struck. It should be noted that philosophy in Greek means “love of wisdom.” And demagoguery is “leading the people.” And the word “democracy” was used by the Greeks in those days to mean approximately the same thing that we use now. Accordingly, in order to lead the demos by the nose, the demagogue needed to be able to speak beautifully and convincingly. Politicians needed public speaking teachers who knew how to speak and loved them.

At first, the speakers only competed in endurance (the one who cursed longer and louder won). Then the people became bored with the monotony of expressions, and an extensive vocabulary, erudition and wit began to be in demand. Finally, it became clear that in a polemical duel one cannot neglect even such a seemingly insignificant advantage as the ability to understand the essence of the issue under discussion.

Competitiveness prompted philosophers to abandon ready-made explanations given by mythology and to comprehend the essence of things on their own. Wisdom in Greece began to be considered not a gift from the gods, but a personal achievement. Outstanding thinkers gathered crowds of students around them, mainly from among young people who connected their future with public politics.

Middle Ages

Starting from the 5th century, literacy in Europe again became the lot of priests. But now not everyone is. At first, most priests did not need to know how to read: books became such a rarity that not every parish had its own copy of the Scriptures. At best - fragments. Often the cleric had to rely only on his memory.

But even the pitiful remnants of knowledge still gave power. The place of the druid under the king was taken by the confessor, and the place of the philid by the notary (“scribe”). The confessor gently pointed out where the illiterate king should put a cross, and the clerk, if the sovereign insisted, could read out what His Majesty was pleased to sign. In this unlikely event, the recording was made in Latin, which the autocrat did not understand.

Naturally, the clerk also studied at a church school. Usually he belonged to the lower clergy (secretaries) and thus served two masters - the king and the church. This state of affairs has long been considered quite normal. Only in the 13th century did rulers themselves begin to learn to read and acquire advisers independent of Rome.

The Church was not delighted with this, but to say that it fought against knowledge, of course, would be completely wrong. Rather, she was fighting for knowledge. In the sense: for monopoly possession of it. Intellectuals in cassocks followed the path trodden by the Egyptians. After all, the fierce slogan “Don’t leave the witches alive!” (like many others) the Jews carried it out of Egypt, where the priesthood mercilessly persecuted competitors: “worldly” fortune-tellers and healers.

It happened that ancient manuscripts were burned by fanatics, ancient parchments were re-polished and covered with lines from the Bible, but in the end the heritage of the enlightened pagans was collected and preserved in monastery libraries. Particularly dangerous, ideologically harmful literature, subject to immediate destruction, was deposited (and studied) in the closed repositories of the Holy Inquisition. It happened that church hierarchs themselves wrote magical treatises.

But knowledge still went into the “world”, and power slipped away. From the very beginning, the church made several strategic miscalculations, refusing to perform a number of important public functions, and then was no longer able to take on them. Thus, temples have always played the role of banks, accepting valuables for storage and lending (in Egypt, an urgent meeting between the defaulter and the deceived gods was ensured by the sau - hand-to-hand priests). But during the period of Christianization in Europe, monetary circulation almost ceased, and Rome declared usury a sinful activity.

The Egyptian priests, while pursuing the healers, at the same time performed operations themselves, treated with herbs, and cast horoscopes. Yes, much more expensive. But also better quality. Although the patient, of course, still died. The clergy, condemning surgeons who “shed blood,” nevertheless resorted to their services when ill.

Reviving Europe (including Rome itself) needed specialists: engineers, lawyers, doctors. The clergy did not intend to take on these responsibilities, but it was they who had to take charge of teaching students. Including to “take away the clientele” from Arab professors. The first universities arose at the largest cathedrals, and only in the 14th century did “royal” universities begin to spread.

The idea that, for the convenience of students, teachers and manuscripts should be collected in one building, oddly enough, did not occur to anyone in the ancient world. The university was first created in the 5th century in Byzantium. In part, perhaps, because in difficult times transition from paganism to monotheism, such a concentration of learning made it possible, if necessary, to burn it all at once.

After education ceased to be the exclusive prerogative of clergy, new colorful characters appeared at the courts of kings: a doctor and an astrologer. More often, however, it was the same person. Usually the doctor also practiced magic and alchemy - in deep secrecy (the Inquisition is not asleep!), but so that everyone knew about it. Scientists who did not practice warlocks were not taken seriously.

Centuries passed, eras changed. Highbrow theorists debated whether it was permissible to count the legs of a fly, given that there were hardly eight of them, as the blind Aristotle counted.

The inquisitors convinced Galileo that the Earth did not revolve around the Sun. Well, if it’s impossible otherwise, then let her do it quietly and so that no one knows. And Abbot Marriott at that time was already exploring the properties ideal gas. The hereditary sorcerer and astrologer Johannes Kepler sought and found not a mystical, but a physical explanation for the movement of the stars. Despite all the measures taken, by the end of the 17th century the number of legs of a fly was reduced to six.

The first Korean state formations were formed during the 7th-5th centuries BC. The earliest of these formations is considered to be Ancient Joseon. The question of the time of origin and the exact location of Ancient Joseon is controversial: most likely, it was located in the northwestern part of the Korean Peninsula and the territory of southern Manchuria and existed already in the 7th century BC. According to the legend about the founder of the kingdom of Ancient Joseon - Tangun, the founding date of Ancient Joseon is generally considered to be 2333 BC (based on Korean medieval literary monuments). It is known about the existence of hereditary monarchical power in Joseon and, apparently, at the same time the prototype of the state apparatus began to form, generally characteristic of early state formations (there was no clear system of positions and division of branches of power).

Ancient Joseon was an independent state before the unification of China under the Qin and Han dynasties. The rulers of Joseon acted as a kind of intermediaries between China and the northeastern lands inhabited by numerous tribes. However, attempts by Chinese rulers to seize part of the territory of Ancient Joseon led to aggravation of relations, and by the end of the 2nd century BC. Ancient Joseon was conquered by the Chinese (108 BC). Four Chinese districts were formed on its territory.

In the 1st century BC, three states were formed on the territory of the Korean Peninsula: Goguryeo (in the north), Baekje (in the southwest) and Silla (in the southeast).

The state organization was subject to strong influence from the Chinese political culture. The internal organization of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla was typical of early state formations. Supreme power belonged to the van (king). The citizens included the clan nobility, warriors and officials, as well as personally free communal peasants who paid taxes to the state treasury; There was also a category of slaves (nobi) - both private and state. The land was in state ownership, although officials could be granted private land (feed district - sigyp). A system for training government officials (taehak) appeared, and a system of official ranks emerged (in Baekje - 16 ranks, in Goguryeo - 12 ranks, in the Silla state - 18 ranks).

The Chinese experience had a great influence on the development and formation of political institutions, and Confucianism, which became the main ideological doctrine for all three states, contributed to the strengthening of this influence. Confucianism and Buddhism entered Goguryeo and Baekje from China in the 4th century AD, and in the 6th century Buddhism became the official religion of the Silla state.

The Silla state, which flourished more than late period Compared to Goguryeo and Baekje, it became a leader in the struggle for hegemony on the peninsula. In the mid-7th century, the Silla rulers, in alliance with the Chinese Tang dynasty, waged intense wars with Goguryeo and Baekje, as a result of which they weakened, and the Silla state united a large part of the Korean Peninsula under its rule. In 660, Silla troops, in alliance with Tang troops, defeated the Baekje army, and in 668, Goguryeo. Relations between the united kingdom of Silla and China were subsequently peaceful: Silla formally recognized itself as a vassal of China.

In the united state of Silla, state ownership of land dominated, and grants of land into private ownership for services to the state were practiced. There was both rent in the form of goods and public service in the form of public works and military service. A clearly structured system of the state apparatus was formed, there was a system of central government bodies (ministries and departments subordinate to them); government officials were divided into 18 ranks, according to which they could occupy certain government positions. The administrative division of the state was organized according to the Chinese model (regions, districts, counties).

As a result of the unification of the Korean states under the rule of Silla, differences in language, customs and social institutions. Buddhism became widespread and became the state religion (528). Confucianism and Buddhism coexisted peacefully. Confucianism influenced the political structure of the state, bringing with it numerous elements of Chinese political culture. The preparation of government officials for service was carried out on the basis of the study of Chinese Confucian literature. The country used Chinese writing (to represent Korean words).

Since the 9th century, there has been a crisis of central power. A period of fragmentation began that lasted almost 150 years. By the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th century, the state of Silla lost a significant part of its territory as a result of the struggle between rulers who were no longer subordinate to the central authority. One of them was Wang Gon, who founded the state of Koryo in the north of the country in 918, giving it a name consonant with the once existing Goguryeo in order to justify the legitimacy of the new state entity. Many members of the Silla aristocracy entered Wang Gon's service. In 935, the last ruler of Silla, Wang Kyongsun, abdicated the throne, and the state came under the rule of Goryeo.

In 949, Wang Gwangjong became the ruler of Goryeo and carried out a series of reforms aimed at centralizing state power. In particular, the law on the emancipation of slaves (nobi) was passed, the purpose of which was to increase the number of taxpayers and gain support from the lower strata of society. Many officials at that time came from lower classes. The system of examinations for filling official positions contributed to the formation of a new class of civil bureaucracy (free peasants also had the right to take the exams). The social structure of Goryeo implied the possibility of overcoming class barriers: representatives of the lower classes had the opportunity to move up the career ladder and occupy higher positions. The structure of the government apparatus underwent changes several times during the existence of Goryeo, approaching the structure of government that existed in China during the Yuan Dynasty (for example, the six ministries).

At the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century, the state of Koryo was forced to repel attacks by the Khitans (the Ayao Empire, which conquered Northern China). Subsequently, there was a complication in relations with other nomadic tribes. IN beginning of XII century Goryeo clashed with the Jurchen tribes, and at the beginning of the 13th century with the Mongol tribes, who imposed a vassalage agreement on Goryeo and forced the Goryeo rulers to pay tribute (1259). The period of dependence on the Mongols (more precisely, the Yuan Empire they formed in China) was very difficult for the political and economic life of the country. Korea served as a springboard for the preparation of the invasion of Japan: the Koreans provided the construction of ships and the procurement of food.

After the weakening of the Mongol power in China, a split occurred in Korea between supporters of the Mongol Yuan dynasty and the new Ming dynasty. In 1356, adherents of the Ming dynasty, led by Wang Conming, managed to liberate the country from Mongol troops. In 1388, with the help of the Ming dynasty, which came to power in China, General Li Song Ge forced the pro-Mongol government to capitulate. In 1392, he was proclaimed the founder of the Ly dynasty, which ruled Korea until 1910.

• • Korea in Antiquity and the Middle Ages

The first states on Indian territory arose in the 11th millennium BC. in the Ganges valley and in the areas adjacent to it from the south and southwest. From this period, the tribal administration bodies gradually turned into state bodies. Occupying senior positions in the state administration was the privilege of the slave-owning nobility. The royal priest (purohita), who was also an astrologer and advisor to the king, is becoming increasingly important. The tribal squad gradually grew into a standing army led by a chief (senani, senapati).

A special place in the history of India is occupied by the Magadh-Mauri period (IV-III centuries BC), marked by the creation (for the first time in the history of India) of a unified state. Indian civilization began in the Indus Valley, where around 2500 BC. a highly developed urbanized culture has emerged, the most famous cities, which Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa and Lothal. It is with III millennium BC. civilization - if by civilization we mean an organized system of government over a relatively large territory - began to develop in the Indus Valley.

The ancient civilization of India differs from the civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece in that its traditions have been continuously preserved to this day. In fact, India is a country with the oldest continuous cultural traditions in the world.

Education Varna. The emergence of classes - Varna - is associated with the decomposition of the primitive communal system and the development of social and property inequality. Gradually, all previously equal free people began to be divided into groups unequal in their social status, rights and responsibilities. Over time, the Varna estates became increasingly closed. Strict endogamy is affirmed (marriages between representatives of the same Varna); a certain, hereditarily assigned profession, thus, over time, the Varnas underwent some qualitative changes, turning into extremely closed forms (castes). Various social, economic and ideological factors contributed to the strengthening and preservation of such a unique social organization in India.

Indian sources, in particular the Laws of Manu, give a description of Indian Varnas. The first Varnas were privileged: the brahmans - Varna, which included noble priestly families, and the kshatriyas - Varna, which included military nobility. These two Varnas were opposed by the bulk of free community members, who made up the third Varna - the Vaishyas. Increasing frequency of wars and increasing property and social inequality led to the emergence of large quantity people who were not members of the communities. These people were called sudras. Even if strangers were accepted into the community, they did not receive equal rights with free community members. They were not allowed to decide public affairs, did not participate in the tribal meeting; they did not undergo the “second birth” initiation rite, to which only free members of the community, called “twice-born,” were entitled. The Shudras, who made up the fourth, lower Varna, were “once born”.

With the final formation of the slave state, the division of all free people into four Varnas was declared an eternally existing order and sanctified by religion. According to the most common theological version, God is the creator of everything that exists - Brahma created the Brahmans from his mouth, the Kshatriyas from his hands, the Vaishyas from the thighs and the Shudras from his feet. For each Varna its own dharma was formulated, i.e. law of lifestyle.

Rural community. One of the most important components of the social, social and economic system in the Mauryan period was the community. The community united a significant part of the population - free farmers. The most common form of community was rural, although primitive tribal communities still existed in the backward regions of the empire.

The process of property differentiation had already penetrated deeply into the community: along with the community members who themselves worked on their plots, an elite emerged that exploited both slaves and hired workers.

The community still retained the features of a single collective and old community traditions. The community was, to a certain extent, independent in its internal affairs. For a long time, communities were isolated from each other, although gradually this limitation and isolation was broken.

Slavery in Ancient India. The ancient Indian state arose as a slave-owning state, however, in law there is no clear opposition between free and slaves. Castes obscure classes. This is expressed in the fact that collections of laws speak much more clearly about the relations between castes than between classes, since it is the division of society into castes that is proclaimed by ancient Indian legislation as the main division of people that has existed from time immemorial, and it is the statement of the rights and duties of castes that is the main content of ancient Indian collections of laws .

Slave labor did not play a significant role in the decisive sectors of the economy of Ancient India. An essential feature of ancient Indian slavery was the presence of state legislation aimed at limiting the arbitrariness of the owner in relation to slaves. For example, it was forbidden to sell child slaves without parents; When using the labor of a slave, the owner was obliged to take into account his caste status. A feature of ancient Indian slavery is its underdevelopment; along with slave relations, significant remnants of the primitive communal system continued to persist.

Despite the peculiarities of slavery in Ancient India, in its main features it was similar to slavery in Greece and Rome. The most characteristic - a common feature that distinguishes the slave from other exploited people - is the lack of the right to his personality: he was a thing in the form of a person, completely under the power of another. In ancient India, as well as in ancient countries, the owner’s right to control the life and death of a slave was taken for granted.

Political system. By the Mauryan era, the concept of a “chakravartin” had already taken shape - a single ruler whose power supposedly extended over vast territories. The Mauryan king stood at the head of the state apparatus and had legislative power. Edicts were issued in the name and by order of the king. The tsar himself appointed major government officials, was the head of the fixed administration, and the supreme judge. The Hindu political-religious concept of a godly king (devardmeya) prescribed him to perform special dharma (duties). One of the main responsibilities is to protect the genuine ones. “Everything the king does is right. This is the recognized law,” it is written in Narada, one of the religious and legal treatises of Ancient India. “After all, he is entrusted with the dharma of the world, and he protects it, based on power and mercy for all living things.” The king was also entrusted with the administration of justice with the help of experienced brahmanas. He, the guardian of all minors and widows, was supposed to lead the fight against natural disasters, hunger. Important function The kings were organizing public works and constructing irrigation structures.

Since conspiracies were often organized at court, special attention was paid to the protection of the king. Great importance assigned to the supervisory service. Not only officials, but also residents of cities and villages were under supervision.

A major role at court was played by the royal priest, who belonged to an influential Brahman family. The council of royal dignitaries - the parishad - played a major role in governing the state. It existed earlier, but it was during the Mauryan era that it acquired the functions of a political council. The Parishad was engaged in checking the entire system of government and carrying out the orders of the king. In addition to the parishad, there was a narrow secret council consisting of several especially trusted persons. In cases of extremely urgent matters, members of both councils could meet together.

The sabkha, in the past a wide-ranging assembly of nobility and representatives of the people that performed very important political functions, underwent a similar evolution. By the Mauryan era, the composition of the sabha became significantly narrower; it also acquired the character of a royal council of the raja sabha. True, compared to the parishad, the raja sabha was more representative body. It could also include some representatives of the urban and rural population. On a number of occasions the king had to turn to the Rajya Sabha for support.

Sources show that even during periods of particular strengthening of monarchical power, the institutions and traditions of the ancient political organization were preserved, which in a certain way limited the power of the king.

The territory of the state in the Mauryan era was divided into provinces, of which the four main provinces had a special status. At the head of these provinces were princes. The main provinces had considerable autonomy.

Along with the division into main provinces, there was a division into ordinary provinces (janapadas), regions (padeshas), districts (ahale). The janapadas were headed by major government officials - rajuks. Special officials for border protection occupied a high position.

The political history of the medieval period in Indian history is difficult to recount. States arose and disappeared, their borders were extremely unstable, the periods of political power of each of them were short and depended on the luck of individual princes. So, in the 11th century. There were about 40 ruling dynasties in India.

V--VII centuries as a conditional start line medieval history India is not associated with fundamental changes in the political structure of the country, with the emergence of large empires, such as the Mauryan Empire in ancient times. Medieval India was politically fragmented. Fragmentation was accompanied by endless internecine wars, the temporary emergence of large states, such as the Harsha Empire (VII century), which replaced the Gupta Empire (IV-V centuries) and lasted only 40 years.

India VI--XII centuries. was a collection of numerous states-principalities, economically unrelated to each other. In the early class, so-called tribal states, significant remnants of tribal relations were preserved. Such states include numerous territorial entities that arose as a result of the conquests of the Rajput clans, in which the power of the prince was based on the military strength of his fellow tribesmen, the Rajput warriors.

Traditional political fragmentation, the weakness of the central state apparatus - as a characteristic feature of medieval India - was compensated by the strength of the communal organization of Indian society, the stable existence and self-development of which depended little on the victories and defeats of one or another ruler striving for power.

The consequence of numerous wars was the redistribution of land, which directly affected the Varna-caste system. Ethnic and professional groups, clans of conquering warriors, religious sects, etc. became castes. Regardless of the initial origin of the castes, as the division of labor deepened, they “lined up” in the hierarchy of Varna society in accordance with the socio-economic status of their members, with their relationship to the land . The transformation of the Rajputs into the dominant Kshatriya caste was directly related to their acquisition of the right to rent-tax from the conquered population, to the actual disposal of the land.

IN early XVI V. The invasion of India by the Turkic-Afghan conquerors - the Mughals - begins. The Mughal Empire reached its peak at the end of the 16th and 17th centuries. The Mughals in India left a mark of themselves with magnificent buildings, of which the most famous is the Taj Mahal, built under Shah Jahan, as well as beautiful miniatures. Regarding the role of the Mughals in public administration Researchers' opinions vary. Thus, one author writes that “they created the first Indian administration, whose power extended from the northwest to Bengal in the east and from the Himalayas to the Konkan in the south. The managers (mansabs) came from the local nobility and established production and internal trade.” Another author notes that “Muslim rulers, including the Great Mughals, despite the powerful political potential of Islam, were unable to create either a strong statehood or an effectively functioning central apparatus in India.”

India was an agricultural country, and the fact that peasants had to give half of the produced product as taxes caused protests and riots, which in turn weakened the Mughal Empire in the 17th-18th centuries. By the 18th century it broke up into independent states such as Bengal, Avadh, Rajasthan, Hyderabad and Punjab.

So, the development of society in Ancient India had its own characteristics. They are associated with a strict class division into 4 Varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Shudras, Vaishyas), with its inherent special communal organization, characterized by a high degree of isolation and autonomy. Slavery relations here were closely intertwined with class-varna and caste relations. The traditional social humiliation of the lower castes, the almost complete lack of rights of those who were outside the Varna, created opportunities for semi-slave forms of exploitation of the population. In the Middle Ages, the old Varna system was preserved, but the Varnas themselves did not remain unchanged. They were transformed under the influence of the new caste division.