A Little History of the World No.8
In July 1908 archeologists discovered something in the ruins of a Minoan temple on the island of Crete. A circular clay disc about 6.5 inches in diameter, that completely overturns our ideas of ancient technology.
A Little History of the World no.7
1700 BCE and the world was full of many gods from Osis to Baal to Osiris. Then a small tribe of farmers and shepherds came up with a different approach to religion: they believed in just one God. They were the Jews. It would take a while to catch on but it was an idea that would define the course of history.
A Little History of the World No.6
1750 BCE. Law, and presumably lawyers, have been around a lot longer than you think. As early as 2100 BCE rulers were writing down laws of the land to keep order. The earliest surviving law book is what we now call the Code of Hummurabi, in 1750 BCE. Carved in stone, it sets down 300 laws, 30 of which were punishable by death. Many of its strict laws, including ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’ found their way into the Jewish Torah and later the Old Testament.
A Little History of the World No.5.
Ever wondered why Monday is called Monday or Saturday is called Saturday? Well, that was decided by the Babylonians more than 4,000 years ago. And the answer is right above your head.
Watch more episodes from this series at delve.tv
A Little History Of The World No.4
Egypt wasn’t the only great civilisation around this time. The Mayans in Mexico, the Indus Valley civilisation in modern day Pakistan and the Xia Dynasty in China all emerged too.
We are publishing a short-fire history of the world throughout April and possibly beyond, inspired by EH Gombrich’s classic book “A Little History of the World”.
Find out more on our website.
A Little History Of The World No3
The Egyptian civilisation, of pharaohs and pyramids, lasted nearly 3000 years from 3150 BCE to its decline around 550 BCE. Even then it was still an important kingdom for another 500 or so years until 30 BCE.
It was stable, strict and mostly peaceful. Its ending was sudden and unexpected (we’ll get to that soon), but still no empire or civilisation has even come close to such a reign.
A Little History of the World No.2:
Humans were once hunter-gatherers, covering hundreds of miles in searching food. Suddenly we settled down into villages, towns and then cities. What made humans settle down? A great river.
Bonus fact: the Nile flooded so regularly it allowed people to create the first calendars.
It’s the start of a brand new series!
Inspired by the classic book ‘A Little History of the World’ by E.H. Gombrich, we are taking you on a tour of world history over the last 5500 years. Every day throughout April a new chapter will be posted.
When did history start?
We start by asking when did history start? Did you know that the dinosaurs are not part of history and neither are cavemen. In fact, history didn’t start until around 3150 BCE when humans started thinking differently about their existence…
"The line of demarcation between prehistoric and historical times is crossed when people cease to live only in the present, and become consciously interested both in their past and in their future. History begins with the handing down of tradition; and tradition means the carrying of the habits and lessons of the past into the future. Records of the past begin to be kept for the benefit of future generations."
— A great definition from historian E.H.Carr in What is History?
