Ancient Britain

Administration

Emperor Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus

Administration

• The governor represented the emperor, exercising supreme military as well as civil jurisdiction.
• The finances were in the hands of the provincial procurator, whose staff supervised imperial domains and the revenues of mines in addition to normal taxation.
• In the early 3rd century Britain was divided into two provinces in order to reduce the power of its governor to rebel: Britannia Superior with its capital at London and a Britannia Inferior, with its capital at York.
• Local administration: The chartered towns: By the year 98 Lincoln and Gloucester had joined Camulodunum as "coloniae", and by 237 York had become a fourth.
• Coloniae of Roman citizens enjoyed autonomy with a constitution based on that of republican Rome.
• The rest of the provinces ranked as "peregrini" (subjects). In military districts control was in the hands of fort prefects responsible to legionary commanders; but by the late 1st century local self-government, was granted to "civitates peregrinae".
• In the 1st century there were also client kingdoms whose rulers were allied to Rome; Cogidubnus, Verica’s successor.

Governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola

Economy

Roman taxation

Economy

• The basis of the economy was agriculture, and the conquest greatly stimulated production because of the requirements of the army.
• A Roman gold mine is known in Wales, but its yield was not outstanding.
• Iron was worked in many places but only for local needs; silver, obtained from lead.
• A profit could, nonetheless, be won from the land because of the increasing demand from the towns.
• At the same time the development of a system of large estates (villas) relieved the ancient Celtic farming system.
• By the 3rd century some landowners were finding great profit in wool.
• The profits of developing industries went similarly at first to foreign capitalists. This is clearly seen in the exploitation of silver-lead ore and even in the pottery industry.
• The Mendip lead field was being worked under military control, but under Nero (54–68) both there and in Flintshire, freedmen—the representatives of Roman capital—were at work.
• Roman citizens, who must in the context be freedmen, are also found organizing the pottery industry in the late 1st century. Large profits were made by continental businessmen in the first two centuries.
• A large market existed among the military, and the Britons.
• Importance of Roman army in the economic development of the frontier regions: Cereal production was encouraged in regions where it had been rare, and large settlements grew up in which many of the inhabitants.

The Mayan Empire

• The Mayan empire came into its own between 250 AD and 900 AD.
• The Maya Empire, centered in the tropical lowlands of what is now Guatemala, reached the peak of its power and influence around the sixth century A.D.
• They were pioneers in agriculture, pottery, hieroglyph writing, calendar-making and mathematics.

The Mayan Empire

Maya Arts & Culture

• The Maya built their temples and palaces in a stepped pyramid shape and decorated them with reliefs and inscriptions.
• They made significant advances in mathematics and astronomy such as the zero and the Long Count Calendar designed to last over 5,0000 years.
• Their architecture and art included stone carvings and inscriptions on the buildings and monuments.
• They also made paper from tree bark and wrote books with that paper, known as codices.

Maya art

Maya Religion

Maya Calendar

• Mayan religion was based on a pantheon of nature gods including those of the Sun, the Moon, rain, and corn.
• Torture and human sacrifice were fundamental religious rituals of Mayan society to guarantee fertility, demonstrate piety, and propitiate the gods

Maya Calendar:

• The Maya developed a system of writing by using glyptic symbols which were inscribed on buildings, stele, artifacts and books.
• The calendar consisted of 18 20-day months plus a set of five days.
• The calendar included a “long-count” which kept track of time using different units that range in length from a single day to millions of years.

Maya Universe:

• The ancient Maya believed that everything was impregnated to different degrees with “k’uh” meaning divine or sacredness.
• The Maya universe included “kab” or Earth, “kan” or the sky above and “xibalba” or the watery underworld below.
• Caves had a special role in Maya religion since they were seen as entranceways to the underworld.
• Their most central deity was Itzamnaaj who was the lord over the most fundamental opposing forces in the universe.

Human sacrifices:

• Human sacrifices were made on special occasions such as the inauguration of a new ruler, the designation of a new heir to the throne, or the dedication of an important new temple or ball court.
• The victims were often prisoners of war and they would be painted blue which honored the god Chaak.

Human Sacrifice

The Aztec Empire

• In 1428 the Aztecs along with the Texcocans and the Tacubans conquered the capital of the Tepanec, Azcapotzalco.
• Early 16th century: Azctecs ruled over up to 500 small states and 5 to 6 million people.
• Tenochtitlán had more than 140,000 inhabitants being the most densely populated city that ever existed in Mesoamerica.
• They were highly developed in social, intellectual and artistic aspects.
• It was a highly structured society: they had a strict caste system: Nobles were at the top and then came serfs, servants and slaves.

The Aztec Empire

Aztec religion

• Aztec religion was syncretistic since it shared many aspects with other Mesoamerican religions.
• They shared cosmological beliefs with the Maya such as the earth occupied a position in a system of 13 heavens and 9 underworlds.
• They believe in the rite of human sacrifice in which they offered a heart to Tonatiuh who was the god of the sun.
• Main gods: Tlaloc, god of rain, Tonatiuh, god of sun, Huitzilopochtli, god of war and Quetzalcoatl the feathered serpent.
• The Aztec calendar consisted of a solar year having 365 days and a sacred year with 260 days. The two cycles running in parallel produced a larger cycle of 52 years.

Aztec sacrifice

The Inca Empire

Inca Empire

• The Inca Empire was a vast empire that flourished in the Andean region of South America from the early 15th century A.D. up until its conquest by the Spanish in the 1530s.
• Their empire was called Tawantinsuyu or the "Land of the Four Corners"
• It eventually extended across western South America from Quito in the north to Santiago in the south, making it the largest empire ever seen in the Americas.
• It stretched from modern-day Argentina to southern Columbia, and was divided up into four “suyu,” which intersected at the capital, Cuzco. These suyu in turn were divided into provinces.

The Inca Empire

Government & administration

Government and administration

• The Sapa Inca was the absolute ruler.
• The Incas kept lists of their kings (Sapa Inca). These are some important names: Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (reign c. 1438-63 CE), Thupa Inca Yupanqui (reign c. 1471-93 CE), and Wayna Qhapaq (the last pre-Hispanic ruler, reign c. 1493-1525 CE).
• At the top was the ruler and ten kindred groups of nobles called “panaqa”. Next in line came ten more kindred groups, more distantly related to the king and then, a third group of nobles not of Inca blood but made Incas as a privilege.
• At the bottom of the state were locally recruited administrators and the smallest Andean population unit the “ayllu”, which was a collection of households.
• Local administrators reported to over 80 regional-level administrators.
• For tax purposes censuses were taken and populations divided up into groups based on multiples of ten.
• Taxes were paid in kind - usually foodstuffs, precious metals, textiles, exotic feathers, dyes, but also in labourers were taken to the empire to be used where they were most needed, known as mit'a service.
• The ruler was looked after following his death, as the Inca mummified them. Stored in the Coricancha temple in Cuzco.

Inca Army

Religion

• The Inca had great reverence for two earlier civilizations who had occupied much the same territory: the Wari and Tiwanaku.
• Two shrines were built to Inti the Sun god and supreme Inca deity, and the moon goddess Mama Kilya.
• The religion of the Inca was mainly interested in controlling the natural world and avoiding such disasters as earthquakes, floods, and drought.
• Religious ceremonies took place according to the astronomical calendar, especially the movements of the sun, moon, and Milky Way (Mayu).
• The most sacred Inca site was Pachacamac, a temple city built in honor of the god with the same name, who created humans, plants, and was responsible for earthquakes.
• Inca religious rituals involved ancestor worship and human or animal sacrifices.

Inca Religion