Chapter 3. The history of ancient states 3.1. Ancient Greece ( III millennium BC - 30 BC)

• Ancient Greece: the Cretan-Mycenaean period; Dark Ages; classic period.

• Ancient Rome: the royal period; Republic period; period of the Empire.

The history of ancient states is the history of ancient Greece and ancient Rome.

Ancient Greek history experts divide into several conditional periods:

- - Crete-Mycenaean and the Dark Ages (3000-1100 BC. - 1100-800 BC.);

- - Archaic period 800-500 BC.;

- - classical period (500-336 BC);

- - the Hellenistic era (336-30 BC).

The history of ancient Rome can be divided into the following periods:

- - royal period - 753-510 years. BC.;

- - Republic period - 510-31 BC.;

- - the period of the Empire - 31 BC. 476 AD

Antique states played a prominent role in world history: for the first time in the field of economics, politics, social relations, the state, law, culture, such relations developed and developed, such concepts, concepts, ideas were formed that formed the basis of European civilization and which generally prepared for life in world history and culture.

3.1. Ancient Greece ( III millennium BC - 30 BC)

Crete-Mycenaean period and the Dark Ages. Modern Greece occupies an area of ​​the mainland, deeply extending into the northeastern part of the Mediterranean, as well as adjacent islands. The Greeks call their country Hellas, and themselves - Hellenes by the name of the legendary hero Ellin, who, according to legend, was the progenitor of the Greek family. About three millennia BC The ancient Greeks learned to melt bronze from copper and tin and use it to make tools and weapons. Farming has become more productive, surplus products have appeared, exchange and crafts have arisen. Whole families producing pottery and jewelry, as well as tools and weapons began to be engaged in crafts. People have become richer, especially in the southern islands of the Aegean Sea. The population increased, there were cities.

The first great European civilization originated on the island of Crete, where by 2000 BC there was a developed economy and trade around several large palaces. English archaeologist Arthur Evans (1851-1941), who discovered this civilization in 1894, gave it the name of "Minoan" by the name of the mythical Cretan king Minos. The Minoans traveled beyond Crete. On land, they used the wagons, mastered the sea routes, created a fleet, and, according to the words of the Greek historian of the 5th century. BC. Thucydides (c. 460–400 BC), the king of Crete was also the master of the sea. The Minoans built their cities on the coast, each of them sprang up around the palace. The first palaces, built around 2000 BC, 300 years later were destroyed by an earthquake. Built in their place more luxurious palaces discovered by archaeologists. The Minoans knew writing - the so-called linear syllable letter A, although it has not yet been deciphered. Most of the settlements and palaces in Crete died around 1450 BC. as a result of a volcanic eruption.

The natural disaster was not the only cause of the death of the Cretan civilization: by 1450 BC on about. Crete from the mainland of Greece was invaded by warlike tribes, who were called Mykene, or Achaeans. Mycenaeans lived in small states, the center of which was the fortified city - the acropolis (the upper city, the Kremlin). Since the XVI century. BC. they were engaged in trade exchange, competing with the Minoans and gradually expanding their trade relations in the Eastern Mediterranean, in the major cities of Asia Minor and Lebanon. They adopted writing from the Minoans and adapted it to convey their language (the so-called linear syllable letter B). Records in Greek were made on clay tablets and were deciphered by the English scientist M. Ventris in 1953.

Approximately by 1200 BC Mycenaean world began to disintegrate. Egyptian manuscripts show that in the second half of the 13th century. BC. several consecutive years of poor harvest reduced trade, as the work of artisans was paid for with agricultural products, without which the entire economic system and life itself were endangered.

By 1100 BC Cretan-Mycenaean civilization disappeared completely. With the disappearance of the Mycenaean civilization, the art of writing was forgotten, and historians do not have written sources from the period 1100–800. BC, so it is called the Dark Ages. During this period, the Greeks had little contact with other peoples, and therefore there are few references to Greeks in foreign sources. In Greece, the population declined sharply, and there was a decline in pottery and jewelry.

Archaic period

Archaic period . AT Archaic period 1 (VIII-VI centuries. BC) there is an intensive development of ancient society. The population grew, its living standard rose. It was a period of progress in the foundry industry, success in the manufacture of pottery. At this time, lively centers of artistic and industrial production of tableware appear (first Corinth and Megara, then Athens), where the famous way of pointing black figures to a brilliant reddish background, achieved by mixing iron oxide, was developed.

A characteristic feature of the economy of this period in the history of Hellas is the presence of a fairly well-developed exchange, which is associated with the process of colonization and the departure of the masses of the population to the colonies, with the importation of products from the colony to the metropolis, the development of crafts in the metropolis and the export of their products to the colonies. The development of such forms of the economy as mediation in trade, transportation and transportation of goods becomes the source of livelihood of entire communities. Such, for example, was Aegina, whose role was particularly significant in transit trade, mediation, since its population delivered products to various sides of ancient Greece.

The most important indicator of the development of exchange in the era of colonial expansion of Hellas can be the emergence and spread of coins in the Greek world . At the same time, the Greeks used the experience of ancient Eastern countries - the weight and monetary units adopted by them reproduce the Babylonian eastern names.

With the development of productive forces and the exchange of new workers appear - imported slaves. Slave labor is used in mines, in handicrafts, in port and ship works. Ownership of slaves, their purchase become an important way of expanding production and enrichment.

With the use of mass labor, the size of enterprises and the volume of production changed. Enterprises expanded and assumed the character of craft workshops. Craft separated from agriculture.

New groups of the population appear - shipowners, owners of craft workshops (ergasteria), which over time more and more determine not only the economic but also the political character of the city-states- policies that emerged in the VIII-VI centuries. BC. in Greece as a result of the struggle of new social groups and forces against the aristocracy.

The policy included the city and the surrounding rural area and was considered an independent state. The largest policy was Athens, occupying a territory of 2500 square meters. km Other policies were much smaller, their territory did not exceed 350 square meters. km Even the largest cities had no more than a few thousand inhabitants.

By the beginning of the archaic period, most of the policies were governed by aristocrats, and the system of government was oligarchy (the power of a few), but as trade expanded, the middle class of merchants, artisans and bankers began to grow and flourish. Deprived of political rights, it begins to seek participation in decision-making. Riots arise in the country, and the Greeks choose one ruler to restore peace, giving him full authority. Such a ruler was called a tyrant. The appearance in Greece of such rulers is attributed to 650 BC. Generally, starting from 750 BC. the real power of Greece belonged to the Areopagus (council), whose policy was carried out by three senior officials - archons, who consulted with the meeting of elders in their activities , i.e. outstanding members of the aristocratic family. In 621 BC The Athenians, dissatisfied with the system of government and the laws of the city, appointed Draco, who created the first written and very rigid set of laws in the history of Greece, to the position of tyrant. Dracont introduced a public court so that people could see the results of justice. He based his reforms on the already existing oral laws, but he wrote them down and tightened them up, he introduced the death penalty for many offenses, even such minor ones as the theft of food. That is why to this day tough measures and laws are called draconian.

In the VI. BC. The draconian code of laws was substantially reworked by the archon Solon (640-635-ca. 559 BC), which offered the Athenians a number of very popular measures: it prevented the sale of grain abroad, freed all citizens from land debts, ceased the practice of selling debtors slavery. The Athenians sold abroad were bought out by the state. Reformed Solon also the system of government, as a result of which representatives of the middle strata could occupy administrative posts, even poor citizens were given the right to vote in the national assembly.

The reforms of Solon, being progressive, were at the same time an attempt to reconcile the social groups opposed to each other, an attempt to compromise. For this, as he himself writes in his elegies, he attempted to intelligently combine legality with violence.

The struggle of democracy and aristocracy in policies in the VIII-VI centuries. BC. contributed to the development of a number of important democratic principles, one of which was local government.

For the first time, this principle was enshrined in the Constitution of Cleisthenes (VI century BC) and in its reform, according to which the smallest social units, demes (communes), were given self-government. In 508 BC Klisphen from the Alkmeonid family, who, as a result of the civil war at the head of Athens, introduced a new system of government, which he called democracy.

Wanting to attract the masses to broad political participation, Cleedphen introduced the Council of 500, which became the permanent commission of the national assembly and, together with officials, was in charge of finances and external affairs and prepared the decisions of the national assembly.

History connects the name of Klisfen with the appearance of political custom in Athens - otrakism, which consisted in the fact that every year, at the time of the spring meeting, people were asked whether a ruling should be issued in a given year to expel a person suspected of tyrannical plans. The poll was held in secret by a written vote-giving, and in the case of an affirmative answer, a special meeting was convened for ostracization, in which at least 6,000 citizens should participate. The convict for the time being lost only his political, but not civil rights and went into exile.

Classical period and the Hellenistic era

The classical period and the era of Hellenism . At the beginning of the 6th century BC The Greek world , widely spread along the shores of the Mediterranean, experienced a severe crisis — a clash with the great Persian power and its ally in the West, Carthage.

Greco-Persian War. At the end of VI and the beginning of V centuries. BC. The Persian government develops extensive plans of conquest, for which it had the largest financial means. A large place in these plans was given to the conquest of Greece. Greece was fragmented, there was a fragmentation of interests between individual policies and communities: Sparta and Argos, Athens and Aegina, the Boetian cities and Thebes were in conflict, there was no national organization, and although there was a temporary alliance for fighting the Persians, it was weak, and some policies such as Argos, Thessaly, Thebes, remained neutral towards him.

31 policies joined the union. At the head of it stood Sparta, the most powerful militia. For general needs, the Allies collected money and transferred it to the Spartans as a war tax.

The founders of Sparta in the tenth century. BC. there were Dorians who invaded the region of southern Greece (Laconia) and conquered in the 8th century. BC. neighboring, rich and fertile, region of Messinia, which made Sparta one of the largest Greek states. By the beginning of the archaic period, the Spartans traded with other Greek states and imported the best goods from abroad. Spartan artisans made beautiful metal products, the artists painted vases.

Events VII. BC. (defeat in the war against Argos, which lasted for 20 years, the uprising of the Messenians against Sparta) convinced the Spartans of the need to strengthen the army. The Spartans created a system for educating ideal warriors. By the beginning of the classical period, Sparta became the most militarily powerful state in Greece, its soldiers were famous for their discipline and bravery.

In 490 BC Persian troops landed from ships 40 km from Athens in the town of Marathon. The Greeks attacked the Persians and defeated them without suffering heavy losses. But soon the new Persian king Xerxes gathered a large army and navy and invaded Greece from land and sea. In 480 BC the Persians crossed the Dardanelles by a floating bridge built from ships. In order to prevent the Persians from entering the Middle Greece, a squad of Greeks under the command of the Spartan king Leonid (508 / 507-480 BC) occupied a narrow Fermopilsky passage between the sea and the mountains, but was surrounded and died. The Persians captured all Attica, destroyed Athens, abandoned by the inhabitants. It was obvious that on land the Greeks could not defeat the Persians. Then the Athenian strategist Themistocles (c. 525 - c. 460 BC) gathered the entire Greek fleet off the island of Salamis and fought a huge Persian fleet there. In 479 BC in the battle of Plateia, the Greeks were able to defeat the Persians and on land. After that, the remnants of the Persian army left Greece and did not attack Hellas.

The victory of the Greeks over the Persians was largely made possible by the maritime and financial reforms of Themistocles. In 483 BC The Greek people agreed to the structure of a large military fleet, which required financial reform, which marked the beginning of the existence of the Athenian budget.

During the rule of Themistocles, Athens received a large income from the silver mines. According to the old type of distribution of production, this amount was to be jointly “projected”, i.e. distributed among the citizens. Themistocles invited the people to abandon this distribution and transfer these funds to state needs without remuneration.

This reform had important military and political consequences. She doubled the military strength of Athens. Along with the old classes of the predominantly rural population, whom the constitution of Cleisthenes put forward, thanks to the development of maritime relations and relations, new ones grew. Themistokles attached great importance to the strengthening of Athens as a fortress and the strengthening of the new military harbor of Piraeus. The Delian alliance was created, and Athens became a maritime state. To create an efficient, powerful fleet, members of the union made contributions to the general treasury in the form of their ships and money; their first meeting in 478 BC occurred on the island of Delos, where the general treasury of the union was subsequently kept.

After the Persian war, the time of the rise and power of Athens came. It is called the "golden age". During this period (479-431 BC), thanks to the trade of Athens, they became very rich. As a major cultural center, Athens attracted the best sculptors, potters, architects, playwrights, historians and philosophers.

During this period, a democratic system was finally formed in Athens, of which Pericles was an outstanding representative (c. 490-429 BC). A talented, well-educated, brilliant orator, he knew how to convince listeners that he was right, by the power of eloquence. He strengthened the economy and the military-political power of Athens, turned the city into the center of education of Hellas, into the cultural capital of Greece.

Under Pericles, all spheres of the economy of Athens were developed - construction, crafts, trade, shipbuilding and shipping, textile production. This made it possible to increase employment of the population, to increase its participation in work and earnings .

All this required large expenditures, and Pericles put the state on a new financial basis. The enormous expenditures on fortifying and decorating Athens were covered from the monetary reserves of the temple treasures, formed from revenues from the sacred lands, from the shares of military production and from private contributions and donations. According to the reform of Pericles, these treasures ceased to be an emergency reserve. In addition, the military budget was used, which included Allied revenues, because Pericles believed that since the main city fulfilled its responsibilities towards the Allies, it has the right to spend the surplus on facilities that will bring him eternal glory and give citizens good earnings.

Peloponnesian War. The well-being and prosperity of Athens disrupted with the beginning of the Peloponnesian War. She was led for domination in Greece between democratic Athens and oligarchic Sparta. It lasted 27 years (431-404 BC). Over the years, masses of people died in executions and exile. The Spartan army repeatedly invaded the most densely populated area, Attica, as a result of which its population decreased by half. The hostilities affected the economy of Athens. In addition, an epidemic broke out in Athens, in which Pericles also perished. Discord began among the Athenians. At the request of the Spartan winners, democracy in Athens was replaced by aristocracy. Later, democracy was restored in Athens, but Athens was no longer able to become a general Greek leader.

In the middle of the 4th c. BC.Macedonia was elevated in the north of Greece . In 340, the Macedonian king Philip II (about 382-336 BC) demanded that the Greeks recognize his authority and, under his leadership, go to war with Persia. The Thebans and the Athenians who refused to obey were defeated in a battle with the Macedonians in 338 BC. with heronea. In this battle, the distinguished 18-year-old son of Philip Alexander (356-323 BC), who after two years became king of Macedonia and leader of the whole of Hellas. His tutor was Aristotle (384-322 BC). At 20 he came to the throne and took power in Macedonia. Alexander intended to strengthen his domination in Greece and expand his tenure in Asia. He immediately embarked on the path of military conquest, which resulted in a huge empire and titleAlexander the Great. His military campaign differed audacity and strategic art. He was a military genius, possessed of extraordinary energy and courage, his comrades-in-arms and troops were infinitely loyal to him.

In 323 BC. Alexander, nicknamed Macedonian, died of fever, and his military leaders divided the empire among themselves, which led to territorial wars, which lasted from 323 to 281 BC. However, for several hundred years after Alexander’s death, Greek culture and Greek ideas played a decisive role in the countries of his empire.

The period from 336 to 30 years. BC.called the era of Hellenism. The Romans who sought to increase their territory from the 3rd century BC. BC. first threatened the Greek colonies in Italy, and then as a result of three wars with Macedonia and after the uprising in Macedonia in 147-146. BC. turned Macedonia and Greece into the provinces of their state.