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Overview of early Judaism part 2 World History Khan Academy.m4a | So this is a picture here of Jerusalem and maybe as equally important, that first Temple of Solomon being destroyed and the Jewish people being taken into captivity, where they are taken from Jerusalem, where they are taken from Jerusalem to Babylon. And they're held in captivity. A significant fraction of them are held in captivity in Babylon from this period, from around 597, 586 BCE, until Babylon is conquered by Cyrus the Great, conquered by the Achaemenid Persians that we talk about in another video. And so once again, the end of the captivity is really a side effect of larger battles and conquests going on. But Cyrus the Great, he frees the Jewish people in 538 BCE, this is the end of the Babylonian captivity, and he resettles them back in Jerusalem, and he also assists, and his successors assist in the rebuilding of the temple. And so then you have the Second Temple of Jerusalem. And you often will hear Second Temple Judaism, because this is a period now where the Jewish people are resettled in Jerusalem. |
Overview of early Judaism part 2 World History Khan Academy.m4a | And so once again, the end of the captivity is really a side effect of larger battles and conquests going on. But Cyrus the Great, he frees the Jewish people in 538 BCE, this is the end of the Babylonian captivity, and he resettles them back in Jerusalem, and he also assists, and his successors assist in the rebuilding of the temple. And so then you have the Second Temple of Jerusalem. And you often will hear Second Temple Judaism, because this is a period now where the Jewish people are resettled in Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that Second Temple that a lot of the Old Testament takes its modern form. Now this is going to last for several hundred years. As I mentioned, the Kingdom of Judea is a client state of all of these various empires, and it eventually becomes a client state of the Roman Empire as we get into the end of the first millennium BCE. |
Overview of early Judaism part 2 World History Khan Academy.m4a | And you often will hear Second Temple Judaism, because this is a period now where the Jewish people are resettled in Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that Second Temple that a lot of the Old Testament takes its modern form. Now this is going to last for several hundred years. As I mentioned, the Kingdom of Judea is a client state of all of these various empires, and it eventually becomes a client state of the Roman Empire as we get into the end of the first millennium BCE. And as we get to 70 CE, so this is shortly after the time of Jesus, you have the first Jewish-Roman War, sometimes referred to as the Jewish Revolt, and in that, the Romans destroy the Second Temple. And this is really significant. The Second Temple, which as we mentioned, it starts getting rebuilt at the end of the captivity, and famously gets really nicely constructed as we get into the first century BCE. |
Overview of early Judaism part 2 World History Khan Academy.m4a | As I mentioned, the Kingdom of Judea is a client state of all of these various empires, and it eventually becomes a client state of the Roman Empire as we get into the end of the first millennium BCE. And as we get to 70 CE, so this is shortly after the time of Jesus, you have the first Jewish-Roman War, sometimes referred to as the Jewish Revolt, and in that, the Romans destroy the Second Temple. And this is really significant. The Second Temple, which as we mentioned, it starts getting rebuilt at the end of the captivity, and famously gets really nicely constructed as we get into the first century BCE. But then in 70 CE, Jerusalem is destroyed again, this time by the Romans. And this begins the beginning, or this is the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora, where they are exiled for now we're talking thousands of years, from Rome, and they spread through the Roman Empire and other empires, and we talk more about that in other videos. And this is a significant thing because now the Jewish people are, for the most part, dispersed. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Mr. Green! Mr. Green! I don't have time for you today, me from the past. B, when we study history, we tend to study unified polities that we can label, like the Roman Empire, or China, or Beliebers. And this emphasis on unity tends to C, lead to labels that mask a lot of historical difference, like for instance Europe, which is such a weird and nebulous word that we don't even know what it means. Plus D, no offense Europe, but there are not many histories more complex than India. And E, a lot of what we know about Indian history comes from British historians who both used and embodied the phrase historical bias. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | B, when we study history, we tend to study unified polities that we can label, like the Roman Empire, or China, or Beliebers. And this emphasis on unity tends to C, lead to labels that mask a lot of historical difference, like for instance Europe, which is such a weird and nebulous word that we don't even know what it means. Plus D, no offense Europe, but there are not many histories more complex than India. And E, a lot of what we know about Indian history comes from British historians who both used and embodied the phrase historical bias. All of which F, makes it very unfortunate that we only have ten minutes, but we will do our best. Okay, we're going to make this like Voldemort's soul and split it up into eight parts. Part One, the Vedas. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | And E, a lot of what we know about Indian history comes from British historians who both used and embodied the phrase historical bias. All of which F, makes it very unfortunate that we only have ten minutes, but we will do our best. Okay, we're going to make this like Voldemort's soul and split it up into eight parts. Part One, the Vedas. So as you no doubt remember, the Indus River Valley was one of the earliest cradles of civilization. But that original civilization basically disappeared sometime after 1750 BCE. Then there was a long period of Aryan migration, and by Aryans we do not mean like prehistoric Nazis, we mean people from the caucuses who migrated down to the Indogagagag... Can you...? |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Part One, the Vedas. So as you no doubt remember, the Indus River Valley was one of the earliest cradles of civilization. But that original civilization basically disappeared sometime after 1750 BCE. Then there was a long period of Aryan migration, and by Aryans we do not mean like prehistoric Nazis, we mean people from the caucuses who migrated down to the Indogagagag... Can you...? Stan, can you just spell it for me? Thank you. We know about these Aryans primarily because they left behind religious texts, the earliest of which is called the Vedas. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Then there was a long period of Aryan migration, and by Aryans we do not mean like prehistoric Nazis, we mean people from the caucuses who migrated down to the Indogagagag... Can you...? Stan, can you just spell it for me? Thank you. We know about these Aryans primarily because they left behind religious texts, the earliest of which is called the Vedas. The Vedas are also the earliest text of what will come to be known as Hinduism, although it wasn't known as Hinduism then. And they're responsible for tons of stuff, but we only have ten minutes, so let's just cut to Part 2, the caste system. The caste system is one of India's most enduring and fascinating institutions. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | We know about these Aryans primarily because they left behind religious texts, the earliest of which is called the Vedas. The Vedas are also the earliest text of what will come to be known as Hinduism, although it wasn't known as Hinduism then. And they're responsible for tons of stuff, but we only have ten minutes, so let's just cut to Part 2, the caste system. The caste system is one of India's most enduring and fascinating institutions. Let us read from one of the Vedas about Purusha, the universe-pervading spirit. When they divided Purusha, in how many different portions did they arrange him? What became of his mouth? |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | The caste system is one of India's most enduring and fascinating institutions. Let us read from one of the Vedas about Purusha, the universe-pervading spirit. When they divided Purusha, in how many different portions did they arrange him? What became of his mouth? What of his two arms? What were his two thighs and his two feet called? His mouth became the Brahmin, his two arms were made into the Kshatriya, his two thighs the Vaishyas, from his two feet the Shudra was born. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | What became of his mouth? What of his two arms? What were his two thighs and his two feet called? His mouth became the Brahmin, his two arms were made into the Kshatriya, his two thighs the Vaishyas, from his two feet the Shudra was born. So this section gives a divine explanation for the caste system. Brahmins, who as Purusha's mouth, speak to the gods, were at the top. Kshatriyas, from Purusha's arm, became the warriors, as you no doubt know, if you've ever attended my gun show. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | His mouth became the Brahmin, his two arms were made into the Kshatriya, his two thighs the Vaishyas, from his two feet the Shudra was born. So this section gives a divine explanation for the caste system. Brahmins, who as Purusha's mouth, speak to the gods, were at the top. Kshatriyas, from Purusha's arm, became the warriors, as you no doubt know, if you've ever attended my gun show. Vaishyas, the merchants and artisans who provide money for the priests and the warriors, came from Purusha's thighs. Because everybody knows the thighs are the money makers and the Shudras are at the bottom. They're the feet, the laborers and the farmers, who are the foundation of the social order. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Kshatriyas, from Purusha's arm, became the warriors, as you no doubt know, if you've ever attended my gun show. Vaishyas, the merchants and artisans who provide money for the priests and the warriors, came from Purusha's thighs. Because everybody knows the thighs are the money makers and the Shudras are at the bottom. They're the feet, the laborers and the farmers, who are the foundation of the social order. Also, the rest of us stand on them. The caste system becomes much more complicated than this, but that basic division into four classes remains throughout much of Indian history. In spite of the efforts of many reformers we'll be meeting in future episodes of Crash Course, the caste system is the foundation for another big concept in Hinduism, Part Three, Dharma. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | They're the feet, the laborers and the farmers, who are the foundation of the social order. Also, the rest of us stand on them. The caste system becomes much more complicated than this, but that basic division into four classes remains throughout much of Indian history. In spite of the efforts of many reformers we'll be meeting in future episodes of Crash Course, the caste system is the foundation for another big concept in Hinduism, Part Three, Dharma. Dharma is basically one's role in life and society, and it is defined primarily by birth and by caste. This whole idea is explained nicely in this passage from the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna is talking to the warrior Arjuna. "...having regard to your own duty also, you ought not to falter. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | In spite of the efforts of many reformers we'll be meeting in future episodes of Crash Course, the caste system is the foundation for another big concept in Hinduism, Part Three, Dharma. Dharma is basically one's role in life and society, and it is defined primarily by birth and by caste. This whole idea is explained nicely in this passage from the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna is talking to the warrior Arjuna. "...having regard to your own duty also, you ought not to falter. For there is nothing better for a Kshatriya than a righteous battle." The Bhagavad Gita is a section of a much larger epic poem called the Mahabharata, which basically tells the complicated and long story of a war between two kingdoms. And we can really see how important Dharma is in this passage, because Krishna is basically telling Arjuna that because he is a warrior, a Kshatriya, he must fight. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | "...having regard to your own duty also, you ought not to falter. For there is nothing better for a Kshatriya than a righteous battle." The Bhagavad Gita is a section of a much larger epic poem called the Mahabharata, which basically tells the complicated and long story of a war between two kingdoms. And we can really see how important Dharma is in this passage, because Krishna is basically telling Arjuna that because he is a warrior, a Kshatriya, he must fight. Even if he's bad at it, like for instance if he gets killed, it's still preferable to not living his Dharma. It's better to be a bad warrior if you're a Kshatriya than to be the world's best baker. Basically, you're better off fulfilling your own Dharma poorly than doing someone else's well. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | And we can really see how important Dharma is in this passage, because Krishna is basically telling Arjuna that because he is a warrior, a Kshatriya, he must fight. Even if he's bad at it, like for instance if he gets killed, it's still preferable to not living his Dharma. It's better to be a bad warrior if you're a Kshatriya than to be the world's best baker. Basically, you're better off fulfilling your own Dharma poorly than doing someone else's well. That leads us to Part Four, Samsara, Moksha, and Karma. There are both personal and social reasons for doing your Dharma. But right, the social reason is obvious. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Basically, you're better off fulfilling your own Dharma poorly than doing someone else's well. That leads us to Part Four, Samsara, Moksha, and Karma. There are both personal and social reasons for doing your Dharma. But right, the social reason is obvious. Dharma and caste combine for excellent social cohesion. You get the exact right number of bakers and the exact right number of warriors. We could stand to implement this system in the United States, actually, where everyone knows we suffer from a shortage of electrical engineers and a surplus of people who want to be on reality TV shows. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | But right, the social reason is obvious. Dharma and caste combine for excellent social cohesion. You get the exact right number of bakers and the exact right number of warriors. We could stand to implement this system in the United States, actually, where everyone knows we suffer from a shortage of electrical engineers and a surplus of people who want to be on reality TV shows. That would never happen in ancient India. But say that your Dharma is to scoop animal dung your entire life. Why do you keep doing that when you see other lives that at least appear to be far more fulfilling? |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | We could stand to implement this system in the United States, actually, where everyone knows we suffer from a shortage of electrical engineers and a surplus of people who want to be on reality TV shows. That would never happen in ancient India. But say that your Dharma is to scoop animal dung your entire life. Why do you keep doing that when you see other lives that at least appear to be far more fulfilling? That leads us to the concept of Samsara, or the cycle of rebirth, often called reincarnation. The basic idea is that when you die, your soul is transferred to another living thing as it is being born. And if you fulfill your Dharma, things improve and you get reborn into a higher being. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Why do you keep doing that when you see other lives that at least appear to be far more fulfilling? That leads us to the concept of Samsara, or the cycle of rebirth, often called reincarnation. The basic idea is that when you die, your soul is transferred to another living thing as it is being born. And if you fulfill your Dharma, things improve and you get reborn into a higher being. You don't have to scoop elephant dung anymore. But the ultimate goal is not to be reborn as a Brahmin. The ultimate goal is to be released from the merry-go-round altogether. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | And if you fulfill your Dharma, things improve and you get reborn into a higher being. You don't have to scoop elephant dung anymore. But the ultimate goal is not to be reborn as a Brahmin. The ultimate goal is to be released from the merry-go-round altogether. And that release is called Moksha. The law that holds all this together is Karma, which is summarized really nicely in the Aranyaka Upanishad. The doer of good becomes good. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | The ultimate goal is to be released from the merry-go-round altogether. And that release is called Moksha. The law that holds all this together is Karma, which is summarized really nicely in the Aranyaka Upanishad. The doer of good becomes good. The doer of evil becomes evil. One becomes virtuous by virtuous action, bad by bad action. The Upanishads, by the way, are later religious texts that began as commentaries on the Vedas but later became sacred writings in their own right. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | The doer of good becomes good. The doer of evil becomes evil. One becomes virtuous by virtuous action, bad by bad action. The Upanishads, by the way, are later religious texts that began as commentaries on the Vedas but later became sacred writings in their own right. This is a really great way to organize a social order from top to bottom. Everyone has a role, and because their role has a religious dimension, society stays in balance. But as a religion, Hinduism has a problem, at least if you want to start an empire. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | The Upanishads, by the way, are later religious texts that began as commentaries on the Vedas but later became sacred writings in their own right. This is a really great way to organize a social order from top to bottom. Everyone has a role, and because their role has a religious dimension, society stays in balance. But as a religion, Hinduism has a problem, at least if you want to start an empire. Everyone's path to salvation is individual. The original Brahmins tried to set themselves up as political leaders, but Hinduism doesn't really place a premium on worshippers obeying their leaders. And if you are a leader trying to make your subjects listen to you, that's kind of a bummer. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | But as a religion, Hinduism has a problem, at least if you want to start an empire. Everyone's path to salvation is individual. The original Brahmins tried to set themselves up as political leaders, but Hinduism doesn't really place a premium on worshippers obeying their leaders. And if you are a leader trying to make your subjects listen to you, that's kind of a bummer. Which brings us to part five, Buddhism. We can't establish this historically, but according to traditional biographies, our story begins in the 6th century BCE. Let's go to the Thought Bubble. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | And if you are a leader trying to make your subjects listen to you, that's kind of a bummer. Which brings us to part five, Buddhism. We can't establish this historically, but according to traditional biographies, our story begins in the 6th century BCE. Let's go to the Thought Bubble. So there was this prince at Harta Gautama whose father kept him locked away in a palace because a prophecy foretold that the family would lose the kingdom if he ever left. But as house arrests go, this was a good one. Siddhartha had great food, great entertainment, a hot cousin for a wife, etc. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Let's go to the Thought Bubble. So there was this prince at Harta Gautama whose father kept him locked away in a palace because a prophecy foretold that the family would lose the kingdom if he ever left. But as house arrests go, this was a good one. Siddhartha had great food, great entertainment, a hot cousin for a wife, etc. But he suspected that there was more to life, so he snuck out of the palace a few times. On these travels, he encountered an old man, a sick man, and finally a corpse. Having realized the ubiquity of suffering, Siddhartha left the palace, renounced the crown, and sought out the holiest men to try to find how it could be possible that life would come to such a terrible end. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Siddhartha had great food, great entertainment, a hot cousin for a wife, etc. But he suspected that there was more to life, so he snuck out of the palace a few times. On these travels, he encountered an old man, a sick man, and finally a corpse. Having realized the ubiquity of suffering, Siddhartha left the palace, renounced the crown, and sought out the holiest men to try to find how it could be possible that life would come to such a terrible end. Eventually Gautama became an ascetic, fasting and meditating for days at a time, hoping to find enlightenment. And finally, after meditating for about a month under a tree, it came to him. Nirvana. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Having realized the ubiquity of suffering, Siddhartha left the palace, renounced the crown, and sought out the holiest men to try to find how it could be possible that life would come to such a terrible end. Eventually Gautama became an ascetic, fasting and meditating for days at a time, hoping to find enlightenment. And finally, after meditating for about a month under a tree, it came to him. Nirvana. No, not that one. Yes, that one. He finally understood the meaning of life and began teaching it to people who would become his disciples. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Nirvana. No, not that one. Yes, that one. He finally understood the meaning of life and began teaching it to people who would become his disciples. He had become the Buddha, which means teacher. And he taught the four noble truths, which are 1. All life is suffering. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | He finally understood the meaning of life and began teaching it to people who would become his disciples. He had become the Buddha, which means teacher. And he taught the four noble truths, which are 1. All life is suffering. 2. The source of suffering is desire. Not just sexual desire, but all-wanting of stuff and prestige. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | All life is suffering. 2. The source of suffering is desire. Not just sexual desire, but all-wanting of stuff and prestige. 3. To stop suffering, you must rid yourself of desire. This sounds simple enough, but if you've ever been dumped by someone, you know that it is not that easy to just stop desiring. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Not just sexual desire, but all-wanting of stuff and prestige. 3. To stop suffering, you must rid yourself of desire. This sounds simple enough, but if you've ever been dumped by someone, you know that it is not that easy to just stop desiring. 4. So how do you do it? By following the Eightfold Path, which, as you may suspect, is a set of eight prescriptions on how to live that we don't have time to talk about because oh wait, look, Thought Bubble! |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | This sounds simple enough, but if you've ever been dumped by someone, you know that it is not that easy to just stop desiring. 4. So how do you do it? By following the Eightfold Path, which, as you may suspect, is a set of eight prescriptions on how to live that we don't have time to talk about because oh wait, look, Thought Bubble! You put some learning in our learning so we can learn while we learn! Thanks, Thought Bubble. So as a religion, Buddhism involves a lot of meditating and moderation, and there aren't that many fun rituals, and if you're a Buddhist monk, you don't get to have power like most holy people do. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | By following the Eightfold Path, which, as you may suspect, is a set of eight prescriptions on how to live that we don't have time to talk about because oh wait, look, Thought Bubble! You put some learning in our learning so we can learn while we learn! Thanks, Thought Bubble. So as a religion, Buddhism involves a lot of meditating and moderation, and there aren't that many fun rituals, and if you're a Buddhist monk, you don't get to have power like most holy people do. You have to renounce everything, including your hair. And yes, some of them get to be Kung Fu monks, but only in China, where Buddhism eventually migrated and became a religion with fun rituals and all kinds of great stuff that Siddhartha Gautama probably wouldn't have even recognized. But we're not talking about fun, populist religion. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | So as a religion, Buddhism involves a lot of meditating and moderation, and there aren't that many fun rituals, and if you're a Buddhist monk, you don't get to have power like most holy people do. You have to renounce everything, including your hair. And yes, some of them get to be Kung Fu monks, but only in China, where Buddhism eventually migrated and became a religion with fun rituals and all kinds of great stuff that Siddhartha Gautama probably wouldn't have even recognized. But we're not talking about fun, populist religion. We're talking about old-school, ascetic Buddhism. Sure, you might be happy and fulfilled if you follow the Eightfold Path, but from everything we've learned so far, it would appear that humans don't want to be happy and fulfilled, or else they never would have stopped foraging. But Buddhism was very attractive if you were a low-caste Hindu, because there was no caste system. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | But we're not talking about fun, populist religion. We're talking about old-school, ascetic Buddhism. Sure, you might be happy and fulfilled if you follow the Eightfold Path, but from everything we've learned so far, it would appear that humans don't want to be happy and fulfilled, or else they never would have stopped foraging. But Buddhism was very attractive if you were a low-caste Hindu, because there was no caste system. In theory, anyone who follows the Eightfold Path and renounces desire can be freed from suffering and achieve nirvana, maybe even in this life, instead of having to get reborn for maybe millennia and knowing that each time there is only a tiny chance that you will end up something awesome, like a honey badger. By the way, totally tangential part six. Did you know the game Chutes and Ladders has its origins in ancient India? |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | But Buddhism was very attractive if you were a low-caste Hindu, because there was no caste system. In theory, anyone who follows the Eightfold Path and renounces desire can be freed from suffering and achieve nirvana, maybe even in this life, instead of having to get reborn for maybe millennia and knowing that each time there is only a tiny chance that you will end up something awesome, like a honey badger. By the way, totally tangential part six. Did you know the game Chutes and Ladders has its origins in ancient India? They call it Snakes and Ladders. The ladders are steps forward on the path to moksha, and the snakes take you away from it. Which reminds me, it's time for the open letter. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Did you know the game Chutes and Ladders has its origins in ancient India? They call it Snakes and Ladders. The ladders are steps forward on the path to moksha, and the snakes take you away from it. Which reminds me, it's time for the open letter. That is very close to my head. Wow. But first, let's see what's in the secret compartment. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Which reminds me, it's time for the open letter. That is very close to my head. Wow. But first, let's see what's in the secret compartment. Oh, look! It's a golf club! Must be so I can play disco golf! |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | But first, let's see what's in the secret compartment. Oh, look! It's a golf club! Must be so I can play disco golf! An open letter to Chutes and Ladders. Dear Chutes and Ladders, this is disco golf. It's a game of skill. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Must be so I can play disco golf! An open letter to Chutes and Ladders. Dear Chutes and Ladders, this is disco golf. It's a game of skill. My success at disco golf is entirely dependent on whether I am good at disco golf. Now listen, Chutes and Ladders, I remember your game being awesome when I was a kid, but I have a two-year-old son myself, and I recently bought him Chutes and Ladders. And you know what happened the first time we played? |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | It's a game of skill. My success at disco golf is entirely dependent on whether I am good at disco golf. Now listen, Chutes and Ladders, I remember your game being awesome when I was a kid, but I have a two-year-old son myself, and I recently bought him Chutes and Ladders. And you know what happened the first time we played? He beat me! Chutes and Ladders, this is a child who regularly refers to helicopters as heliflopters. I don't want to say that he's not my intellectual equal, but I'm potty trained. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | And you know what happened the first time we played? He beat me! Chutes and Ladders, this is a child who regularly refers to helicopters as heliflopters. I don't want to say that he's not my intellectual equal, but I'm potty trained. You know why he beat me? Because there is no skill involved in Chutes and Ladders at all. It is completely random and capricious and arbitrary and cold, just like the universe. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | I don't want to say that he's not my intellectual equal, but I'm potty trained. You know why he beat me? Because there is no skill involved in Chutes and Ladders at all. It is completely random and capricious and arbitrary and cold, just like the universe. I don't want to play games that are like the universe. I want to play games so I can forget what the universe is like. Best wishes, John Green. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | It is completely random and capricious and arbitrary and cold, just like the universe. I don't want to play games that are like the universe. I want to play games so I can forget what the universe is like. Best wishes, John Green. Okay, part seven, Ashoka. Remember that for most of Indian history, India was not one unified place. It was tons of different principalities and city-states and everything else. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Best wishes, John Green. Okay, part seven, Ashoka. Remember that for most of Indian history, India was not one unified place. It was tons of different principalities and city-states and everything else. But India did experience indigenous political unity twice, first under the Mauryan dynasty in the 3rd century BCE, and then again in the Gupta dynasty from the 300s to the 500s CE, but we're not going to talk about that because it bores me. Right now we're interested in one particular leader from the Mauryan dynasty, Ashoka. Because Ashoka attempted to rule through quasi-Buddhist principles. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | It was tons of different principalities and city-states and everything else. But India did experience indigenous political unity twice, first under the Mauryan dynasty in the 3rd century BCE, and then again in the Gupta dynasty from the 300s to the 500s CE, but we're not going to talk about that because it bores me. Right now we're interested in one particular leader from the Mauryan dynasty, Ashoka. Because Ashoka attempted to rule through quasi-Buddhist principles. So Ashoka was initially a warrior who ended up expanding the empire that his grandfather started, and Ashoka experienced this conversion to Buddhism after he saw his own army devastate the kingdom of Kalinga, something I bring up primarily so that I can say kingdom of Kalinga. Stan, is there any way we could write a song about that? Like, kingdom of Kalinga. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Because Ashoka attempted to rule through quasi-Buddhist principles. So Ashoka was initially a warrior who ended up expanding the empire that his grandfather started, and Ashoka experienced this conversion to Buddhism after he saw his own army devastate the kingdom of Kalinga, something I bring up primarily so that I can say kingdom of Kalinga. Stan, is there any way we could write a song about that? Like, kingdom of Kalinga. Sorry, you got destroyed. So Ashoka built stupas. Stupas? |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Like, kingdom of Kalinga. Sorry, you got destroyed. So Ashoka built stupas. Stupas? Hold on. Stupa. Could he have said that any more pretentiously? |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Stupas? Hold on. Stupa. Could he have said that any more pretentiously? Stupas. So Ashoka built stupas, these mound-like monuments to the Buddha, all over his kingdom to show his devotion. And he also put up pillars all throughout his empire that proclaimed his benevolent rule and said he was going to rule through something he called dhamma, which according to one of the pillars went like this, proper behavior towards servants and employees, respect for mother and father, generosity to friends, companions, relations, brahmins and ascetics, and not killing living beings. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Could he have said that any more pretentiously? Stupas. So Ashoka built stupas, these mound-like monuments to the Buddha, all over his kingdom to show his devotion. And he also put up pillars all throughout his empire that proclaimed his benevolent rule and said he was going to rule through something he called dhamma, which according to one of the pillars went like this, proper behavior towards servants and employees, respect for mother and father, generosity to friends, companions, relations, brahmins and ascetics, and not killing living beings. So those are not individualistic goals like we see in Hinduism. They're relational goals like we're going to see next week when we study Confucianism. And that's one of the reasons why Ashoka's empire wasn't actually very Buddhist, because ultimately Buddhism isn't that concerned with the order of the world. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | And he also put up pillars all throughout his empire that proclaimed his benevolent rule and said he was going to rule through something he called dhamma, which according to one of the pillars went like this, proper behavior towards servants and employees, respect for mother and father, generosity to friends, companions, relations, brahmins and ascetics, and not killing living beings. So those are not individualistic goals like we see in Hinduism. They're relational goals like we're going to see next week when we study Confucianism. And that's one of the reasons why Ashoka's empire wasn't actually very Buddhist, because ultimately Buddhism isn't that concerned with the order of the world. Buddhism argues that the fulfillment of the self will lead to the order of the world. In the end, Ashoka's empire didn't outlast him by much, and soon enough Buddhism declined in India, almost to the point of extinction. Part 8, the big finish. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | And that's one of the reasons why Ashoka's empire wasn't actually very Buddhist, because ultimately Buddhism isn't that concerned with the order of the world. Buddhism argues that the fulfillment of the self will lead to the order of the world. In the end, Ashoka's empire didn't outlast him by much, and soon enough Buddhism declined in India, almost to the point of extinction. Part 8, the big finish. So as anyone who's ever practiced yoga knows, Hinduism is the most flexible of all the world religions, which is part of the reason it's often described as polytheistic. The belief that gods can take many forms makes it easy for Hinduism to assimilate other religious traditions, which is exactly what happened with Buddhism. In time, the Buddha came to be worshipped as another incarnation of one of the Hindu gods and not as a mortal teacher. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Part 8, the big finish. So as anyone who's ever practiced yoga knows, Hinduism is the most flexible of all the world religions, which is part of the reason it's often described as polytheistic. The belief that gods can take many forms makes it easy for Hinduism to assimilate other religious traditions, which is exactly what happened with Buddhism. In time, the Buddha came to be worshipped as another incarnation of one of the Hindu gods and not as a mortal teacher. So in the end, Hinduism, rather than purging the Buddha, enveloped him. So all this means that while Hinduism has a tremendous amount of variety and flexibility, its core tenets of samsara, karma, and the caste system have provided a remarkable amount of cultural and social unity to the Indian subcontinent for millennia. Fortunately for the Buddha, his teachings migrated east to China. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | In time, the Buddha came to be worshipped as another incarnation of one of the Hindu gods and not as a mortal teacher. So in the end, Hinduism, rather than purging the Buddha, enveloped him. So all this means that while Hinduism has a tremendous amount of variety and flexibility, its core tenets of samsara, karma, and the caste system have provided a remarkable amount of cultural and social unity to the Indian subcontinent for millennia. Fortunately for the Buddha, his teachings migrated east to China. We're going to make that same journey next week. I'll see you then. Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Fortunately for the Buddha, his teachings migrated east to China. We're going to make that same journey next week. I'll see you then. Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller. Our script supervisor is Danica Johnson. The show is written by my high school history teacher Raoul Meyer and myself. And our graphics team is Thought Bubble. |
Buddha and Ashoka Crash Course World History #6.m4a | Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller. Our script supervisor is Danica Johnson. The show is written by my high school history teacher Raoul Meyer and myself. And our graphics team is Thought Bubble. Last week's Phrase of the Week was right here in River City. If you want to guess at this week's Phrase of the Week or suggest future ones, you can do so in comments. Also in comments, please leave your questions and our team will endeavor to answer them. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | This is an excerpt of the US Declaration of Independence. And the United States goes on with its Constitution, which gets ratified in 1789, to articulate a Bill of Rights. And many will point to the Enlightenment as the inspiration for these ideas. Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, cited figures like Locke as some of mankind's best thinkers. So at this early date, nations were at least writing these types of words into their Declarations of Independence, into their Constitutions. But despite that, the 20th century is one of the bloodiest centuries in human history. You have World War I, where roughly 17 million people die. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, cited figures like Locke as some of mankind's best thinkers. So at this early date, nations were at least writing these types of words into their Declarations of Independence, into their Constitutions. But despite that, the 20th century is one of the bloodiest centuries in human history. You have World War I, where roughly 17 million people die. In World War II, 50 to 80 million people die, some directly because of the conflict, but many because of lack of access to food and famine. The Chinese are particularly hit. Over 15 million died during the Japanese occupation of China. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | You have World War I, where roughly 17 million people die. In World War II, 50 to 80 million people die, some directly because of the conflict, but many because of lack of access to food and famine. The Chinese are particularly hit. Over 15 million died during the Japanese occupation of China. This idea of genocide comes about. First, with the Armenian Genocide in the declining Ottoman Empire, where over a million people are believed to have been killed. And then in World War II, you have the Holocaust, where six to 11 million people were killed, roughly 2 1⁄3 of the Jewish population in Europe and many others. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | Over 15 million died during the Japanese occupation of China. This idea of genocide comes about. First, with the Armenian Genocide in the declining Ottoman Empire, where over a million people are believed to have been killed. And then in World War II, you have the Holocaust, where six to 11 million people were killed, roughly 2 1⁄3 of the Jewish population in Europe and many others. The Russian Empire and eventually the Soviet Union gets especially hit hard in the first half of the 20th century. In World War I alone, three million Russians die. Shortly after the war, you have a significant Russian famine that kills five million people. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | And then in World War II, you have the Holocaust, where six to 11 million people were killed, roughly 2 1⁄3 of the Jewish population in Europe and many others. The Russian Empire and eventually the Soviet Union gets especially hit hard in the first half of the 20th century. In World War I alone, three million Russians die. Shortly after the war, you have a significant Russian famine that kills five million people. Then in the early 30s, you have the Soviet famine, five to seven million people. This is believed to have occurred because of Stalin's attempts to make agriculture collectivized. In the late 30s, you have Stalin's purge, where he goes after political opponents, and it's believed that he killed as many as three million people. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | Shortly after the war, you have a significant Russian famine that kills five million people. Then in the early 30s, you have the Soviet famine, five to seven million people. This is believed to have occurred because of Stalin's attempts to make agriculture collectivized. In the late 30s, you have Stalin's purge, where he goes after political opponents, and it's believed that he killed as many as three million people. These things were so shocking to the planet that they made attempts to prevent them in the future. In 1920, out of the trauma of World War I, the League of Nations was founded. It was an attempt to prevent things like this in the future, for nations to talk to each other and to coordinate so they don't go to war, especially at the scale seen in World War I. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | In the late 30s, you have Stalin's purge, where he goes after political opponents, and it's believed that he killed as many as three million people. These things were so shocking to the planet that they made attempts to prevent them in the future. In 1920, out of the trauma of World War I, the League of Nations was founded. It was an attempt to prevent things like this in the future, for nations to talk to each other and to coordinate so they don't go to war, especially at the scale seen in World War I. But clearly, that was unsuccessful, and we have World War II, where even more people die. After which, the slightly stronger United Nations gets founded, once again, with the charter of fostering dialogue between nations so that we can prevent these types of trauma for the planet. Early on in the newly founded UN agenda was this idea of revisiting the ideas of the Enlightenment, this idea of human rights, and trying to codify them in international law. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | It was an attempt to prevent things like this in the future, for nations to talk to each other and to coordinate so they don't go to war, especially at the scale seen in World War I. But clearly, that was unsuccessful, and we have World War II, where even more people die. After which, the slightly stronger United Nations gets founded, once again, with the charter of fostering dialogue between nations so that we can prevent these types of trauma for the planet. Early on in the newly founded UN agenda was this idea of revisiting the ideas of the Enlightenment, this idea of human rights, and trying to codify them in international law. In 1948, you have the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that's drafted by the United Nations, and it was an attempt to make a universal declaration of these rights that all humans on the planet have access to. I'm going to give excerpts of it, and keep a lookout for things that feel awfully close to ideas in the United States Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, or ideas from the Enlightenment. This is part of the preamble. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | Early on in the newly founded UN agenda was this idea of revisiting the ideas of the Enlightenment, this idea of human rights, and trying to codify them in international law. In 1948, you have the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that's drafted by the United Nations, and it was an attempt to make a universal declaration of these rights that all humans on the planet have access to. I'm going to give excerpts of it, and keep a lookout for things that feel awfully close to ideas in the United States Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, or ideas from the Enlightenment. This is part of the preamble. Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world. Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, remember, World War II just happened, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want as has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people. Now, therefore, the General Assembly proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | This is part of the preamble. Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world. Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, remember, World War II just happened, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want as has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people. Now, therefore, the General Assembly proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. You might be thinking, why do they even have to write this? Well, think about it. Things like the constitutions of various countries, especially the United States, these only applied to those countries. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | Now, therefore, the General Assembly proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. You might be thinking, why do they even have to write this? Well, think about it. Things like the constitutions of various countries, especially the United States, these only applied to those countries. But now there was an attempt to write down, to codify something that would apply to all human beings, to the entire planet. And here's just some of the 30 articles to that declaration, to that Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | Things like the constitutions of various countries, especially the United States, these only applied to those countries. But now there was an attempt to write down, to codify something that would apply to all human beings, to the entire planet. And here's just some of the 30 articles to that declaration, to that Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. This really feels similar to some of the ideas of Locke in the Enlightenment that we talk about in other videos. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this declaration without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political, or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. This really feels similar to some of the ideas of Locke in the Enlightenment that we talk about in other videos. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this declaration without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political, or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status. So this is interesting because even though I start this video with the United States Declaration of Independence and a discussion of the Constitution, slavery in the United States would last for another 80 plus years after the Declaration of Independence was written. Women didn't even have the right to vote until the early 20th century. So beyond this being a universal declaration for the entire planet, the attempt is also to make it clear that it needs to apply to everyone. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this declaration without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political, or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status. So this is interesting because even though I start this video with the United States Declaration of Independence and a discussion of the Constitution, slavery in the United States would last for another 80 plus years after the Declaration of Independence was written. Women didn't even have the right to vote until the early 20th century. So beyond this being a universal declaration for the entire planet, the attempt is also to make it clear that it needs to apply to everyone. Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | So beyond this being a universal declaration for the entire planet, the attempt is also to make it clear that it needs to apply to everyone. Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty. Once again, ideas that seem very similar to what we see in constitutions like that of the United States. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty. Once again, ideas that seem very similar to what we see in constitutions like that of the United States. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, very similar to the First Amendment in the US Constitution. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. No one may be compelled to belong to an association. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, very similar to the First Amendment in the US Constitution. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. No one may be compelled to belong to an association. And Article 21 is especially interesting. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country directly or through freely chosen representatives. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | No one may be compelled to belong to an association. And Article 21 is especially interesting. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country directly or through freely chosen representatives. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government. So this is a big statement. It's taking a stand, saying that everyone on the planet should be able to live in a democracy and participate in a democracy. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government. So this is a big statement. It's taking a stand, saying that everyone on the planet should be able to live in a democracy and participate in a democracy. The commission that drafted this declaration was chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of Franklin Roosevelt. This is a map of who voted for this declaration, and these are the countries in green. Who abstained, they just decided not to vote, for the declaration, those are the countries in orange. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | It's taking a stand, saying that everyone on the planet should be able to live in a democracy and participate in a democracy. The commission that drafted this declaration was chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of Franklin Roosevelt. This is a map of who voted for this declaration, and these are the countries in green. Who abstained, they just decided not to vote, for the declaration, those are the countries in orange. And then you have a few that voted against it. In gray are the countries that weren't part of the United Nations at the time. An interesting question, looking at this map, is to think about why certain countries were willing to vote for it, and why other countries decided to abstain at the time. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | Who abstained, they just decided not to vote, for the declaration, those are the countries in orange. And then you have a few that voted against it. In gray are the countries that weren't part of the United Nations at the time. An interesting question, looking at this map, is to think about why certain countries were willing to vote for it, and why other countries decided to abstain at the time. These articles are talking about people having the right to participate in a democracy, the right to be equal, that all people are equal. And in many of these countries, people did not have equal rights. You had severe discrimination in places like South Africa. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | An interesting question, looking at this map, is to think about why certain countries were willing to vote for it, and why other countries decided to abstain at the time. These articles are talking about people having the right to participate in a democracy, the right to be equal, that all people are equal. And in many of these countries, people did not have equal rights. You had severe discrimination in places like South Africa. In many of these countries, you did not have a democracy. But there's a broader question here. It's nice to be able to write these fairly idealistic ideas, but to what degree does it have an effect? |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | You had severe discrimination in places like South Africa. In many of these countries, you did not have a democracy. But there's a broader question here. It's nice to be able to write these fairly idealistic ideas, but to what degree does it have an effect? And to what degree can it actually be enforced? You might cite things like the American Civil Rights Movement, which did echo some of these ideas that were made in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Maybe they helped the Civil Rights Movement, or maybe the Civil Rights Movement would have happened regardless of what the UN did. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | It's nice to be able to write these fairly idealistic ideas, but to what degree does it have an effect? And to what degree can it actually be enforced? You might cite things like the American Civil Rights Movement, which did echo some of these ideas that were made in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Maybe they helped the Civil Rights Movement, or maybe the Civil Rights Movement would have happened regardless of what the UN did. But at the same time, you have ideas like apartheid. You had racism and discrimination in South Africa from the beginning of colonial rule, but it was actually at the exact same time as this declaration that the official policy of apartheid, of government-sanctioned discrimination, of government-sanctioned segregation, preventing racial mingling, came into effect and lasted all the way until 1991. And so one could make an argument, maybe things would have been worse without the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or maybe the Universal Declaration of Human Rights really wasn't in a situation to actually affect things like this. |
International Human Rights 1450 - Present World History Khan Academy.m4a | Maybe they helped the Civil Rights Movement, or maybe the Civil Rights Movement would have happened regardless of what the UN did. But at the same time, you have ideas like apartheid. You had racism and discrimination in South Africa from the beginning of colonial rule, but it was actually at the exact same time as this declaration that the official policy of apartheid, of government-sanctioned discrimination, of government-sanctioned segregation, preventing racial mingling, came into effect and lasted all the way until 1991. And so one could make an argument, maybe things would have been worse without the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or maybe the Universal Declaration of Human Rights really wasn't in a situation to actually affect things like this. In many of the countries around the world, not just the orange ones, but often in many of the green ones as well, you continue to see things that go against those ideas of universal human rights. Even if the UN passes something, and if one country doesn't want to abide by it, what action can the other countries take? Economic action, maybe sanctions, maybe military action, and to what degree are people actually willing to do that? |
Roman social and political structures World History Khan Academy.m4a | It existed for over a thousand years from its founding as a kingdom, if you believe the founding myth founded by Romulus in 753 BCE. Most historians don't accept that founding myth. But then it became, they overthrew their last king in 509 BCE, Tarkin the Proud, and then they established the Roman Republic, which was eventually then turned into an empire by Julius Caesar and Augustus. And so whenever you have something this long lasting, you can imagine the social and the political structures evolved over time. But let's begin with the period when it was a kingdom. Because even then, there were some things that were noteworthy, and some social and political structures that continued into the Republic period and even when it was an empire. So one interesting thing is that when we typically think of kings, we think of it as being dynastic, that if I am king, then my oldest son, or maybe in certain cultures, my oldest daughter might become king or queen. |
Roman social and political structures World History Khan Academy.m4a | And so whenever you have something this long lasting, you can imagine the social and the political structures evolved over time. But let's begin with the period when it was a kingdom. Because even then, there were some things that were noteworthy, and some social and political structures that continued into the Republic period and even when it was an empire. So one interesting thing is that when we typically think of kings, we think of it as being dynastic, that if I am king, then my oldest son, or maybe in certain cultures, my oldest daughter might become king or queen. But it turns out that many of the, especially the early kings of the Roman kingdom, were actually elected. They had a lot of power. All the power resided in them. |
Roman social and political structures World History Khan Academy.m4a | So one interesting thing is that when we typically think of kings, we think of it as being dynastic, that if I am king, then my oldest son, or maybe in certain cultures, my oldest daughter might become king or queen. But it turns out that many of the, especially the early kings of the Roman kingdom, were actually elected. They had a lot of power. All the power resided in them. They were the executive, the legislative, they were the judicial, they even had religious power. But it's interesting to think of the idea of elected kings. Now all of them weren't elected. |
Roman social and political structures World History Khan Academy.m4a | All the power resided in them. They were the executive, the legislative, they were the judicial, they even had religious power. But it's interesting to think of the idea of elected kings. Now all of them weren't elected. Several of them were dynastic, but it is an interesting idea. Now another idea that emerged during the Roman kingdom is this idea of citizenship. Now it's important to realize today, in a lot of countries, we think of, oh, everyone who's a formal resident of that country, you can view them as a citizen, or most of the people, you can think of citizen, especially maybe people born in a country, but that was not the case in Rome. |
Roman social and political structures World History Khan Academy.m4a | Now all of them weren't elected. Several of them were dynastic, but it is an interesting idea. Now another idea that emerged during the Roman kingdom is this idea of citizenship. Now it's important to realize today, in a lot of countries, we think of, oh, everyone who's a formal resident of that country, you can view them as a citizen, or most of the people, you can think of citizen, especially maybe people born in a country, but that was not the case in Rome. And when we go into this Roman kingdom, I'll remind, and I do this in many videos, we're not thinking about this sprawling Roman empire that we'll see several hundred years later. At that time, Rome was really just in control of Rome, and over time, especially during the Republic period, it starts to expand and eventually have hegemony or dominant power over the Mediterranean and the Middle East, or parts of the Middle East, I should say, and in Southern Europe. But let's go back to this kingdom period, and what I'm about to draw actually stays true through most of Roman civilization. |
Roman social and political structures World History Khan Academy.m4a | Now it's important to realize today, in a lot of countries, we think of, oh, everyone who's a formal resident of that country, you can view them as a citizen, or most of the people, you can think of citizen, especially maybe people born in a country, but that was not the case in Rome. And when we go into this Roman kingdom, I'll remind, and I do this in many videos, we're not thinking about this sprawling Roman empire that we'll see several hundred years later. At that time, Rome was really just in control of Rome, and over time, especially during the Republic period, it starts to expand and eventually have hegemony or dominant power over the Mediterranean and the Middle East, or parts of the Middle East, I should say, and in Southern Europe. But let's go back to this kingdom period, and what I'm about to draw actually stays true through most of Roman civilization. If this white circle are the people who lived under Roman rule, only a subset were citizens. So this were the citizens. These were male landowners, citizens, right over here. |
Roman social and political structures World History Khan Academy.m4a | But let's go back to this kingdom period, and what I'm about to draw actually stays true through most of Roman civilization. If this white circle are the people who lived under Roman rule, only a subset were citizens. So this were the citizens. These were male landowners, citizens, right over here. And within the citizens, they were further divided between patricians, and you could think of them as the nobility. These were people, and they became patrician based on what family they were born into, and it's based on this idea, and the word literally comes from this idea that you are descended from the founding fathers of Rome. And then all the other citizens were the plebeians. |
Roman social and political structures World History Khan Academy.m4a | These were male landowners, citizens, right over here. And within the citizens, they were further divided between patricians, and you could think of them as the nobility. These were people, and they became patrician based on what family they were born into, and it's based on this idea, and the word literally comes from this idea that you are descended from the founding fathers of Rome. And then all the other citizens were the plebeians. So all of the other ones were the plebeians, the plebeians right over here. And as we'll see, over the, the patricians held most of the power and most of the wealth for a significant amount of time, but as we go through the Republic period, the plebeians start to gain more and more and more power, and many plebeians also start to accrue wealth, and some patrician families do end up poor. But for the most part, the patricians, they're the nobility, they're associated with the aristocracy, but the plebeians, some of them become wealthy and powerful as well. |
Roman social and political structures World History Khan Academy.m4a | And then all the other citizens were the plebeians. So all of the other ones were the plebeians, the plebeians right over here. And as we'll see, over the, the patricians held most of the power and most of the wealth for a significant amount of time, but as we go through the Republic period, the plebeians start to gain more and more and more power, and many plebeians also start to accrue wealth, and some patrician families do end up poor. But for the most part, the patricians, they're the nobility, they're associated with the aristocracy, but the plebeians, some of them become wealthy and powerful as well. Now you're probably saying, what about all of these other people? Well, you can imagine non-landholding males, you can imagine women, you can imagine slaves, and even though we aggrandize Rome, and there were many very interesting things about Rome, one of the legacies that Rome had, which maybe is the, historians reflect a little bit more negatively on, is that Roman society was built on the idea of slaves. And most of the slaves were people that they subjugated, people that they conquered in other lands, they might have been people who, at least the authorities thought they committed a crime of some kind, but the society was built on slavery. |
Roman social and political structures World History Khan Academy.m4a | But for the most part, the patricians, they're the nobility, they're associated with the aristocracy, but the plebeians, some of them become wealthy and powerful as well. Now you're probably saying, what about all of these other people? Well, you can imagine non-landholding males, you can imagine women, you can imagine slaves, and even though we aggrandize Rome, and there were many very interesting things about Rome, one of the legacies that Rome had, which maybe is the, historians reflect a little bit more negatively on, is that Roman society was built on the idea of slaves. And most of the slaves were people that they subjugated, people that they conquered in other lands, they might have been people who, at least the authorities thought they committed a crime of some kind, but the society was built on slavery. So you had a large segment of the population that had no rights that were considered slaves. Later on, they start to gain some very, very basic rudimentary rights, but you can imagine as a slave, close to no rights whatsoever. Now other institutions that developed during the time of the Roman Kingdom, or an institution that developed at the time of the Roman Kingdom, was the Senate. |
Roman social and political structures World History Khan Academy.m4a | And most of the slaves were people that they subjugated, people that they conquered in other lands, they might have been people who, at least the authorities thought they committed a crime of some kind, but the society was built on slavery. So you had a large segment of the population that had no rights that were considered slaves. Later on, they start to gain some very, very basic rudimentary rights, but you can imagine as a slave, close to no rights whatsoever. Now other institutions that developed during the time of the Roman Kingdom, or an institution that developed at the time of the Roman Kingdom, was the Senate. Was the Roman Senate. And under the king, the king had most of the power, but once the Roman Republic gets established, it's actually the Senate where most of the power resides. Now this right over here is a depiction that came much later of the Roman Senate. |
Roman social and political structures World History Khan Academy.m4a | Now other institutions that developed during the time of the Roman Kingdom, or an institution that developed at the time of the Roman Kingdom, was the Senate. Was the Roman Senate. And under the king, the king had most of the power, but once the Roman Republic gets established, it's actually the Senate where most of the power resides. Now this right over here is a depiction that came much later of the Roman Senate. And it's important to realize that the Senate was not the only institution or the only position within the Roman Republic. The consuls were there. And you could view the consuls as the executives, or if you think of a system like the United States, the executive power resides in the president. |
Roman social and political structures World History Khan Academy.m4a | Now this right over here is a depiction that came much later of the Roman Senate. And it's important to realize that the Senate was not the only institution or the only position within the Roman Republic. The consuls were there. And you could view the consuls as the executives, or if you think of a system like the United States, the executive power resides in the president. So it's analogous to the president. They are running the government. They're also commander in chief of the military. |
Roman social and political structures World History Khan Academy.m4a | And you could view the consuls as the executives, or if you think of a system like the United States, the executive power resides in the president. So it's analogous to the president. They are running the government. They're also commander in chief of the military. Now consuls, even though it was considered a very high title, their power was very limited. There was two of them at any given time. So I just drew the two consuls. |
Roman social and political structures World History Khan Academy.m4a | They're also commander in chief of the military. Now consuls, even though it was considered a very high title, their power was very limited. There was two of them at any given time. So I just drew the two consuls. They could veto each other at any given time to keep any one consul from getting too powerful. And they only had a one-year term. And during that one year, they would alternate on a monthly basis on who was the more senior consul. |