Western Government : The Governments Of Western Civilization

This paper will compare and contrast these two civilizations concerning two of the major elements of society: government and religion. These two areas are important when examining the impact of a particular civilization, because they provide two different perspectives on a particular culture. While the examination of politics allows the power and influence of culture to be understood, the analysis of religion allows the cultural influence of people to be traced. In this paper, the similarities and differences between the governments and religions of Ancient Greece and Rome will be examined, as well as the impact that these civilizations had on one another. Finally, this paper will discuss the impact that these civilizations have had on

The Mayan political system was divided into city-states, where each had their own government, similarly to Ancient Greece. During the rise of the civilization, a social hierarchy was created, with religious figures and priests at the top granting them political power. This allowed for society to be dominated by religion, and for political figures to use religion to monopolize power and support. The Mayans expanded their civilization to gain more human sacrifices, or in the name of their religion, opposed to the Romans who expanded for political power. However, the Romans had very centralized systems of government. During the rise of the Republic, the new ideology of democracy and the defeat of the Persian Empire in the Persian War allowed for a societal belief in a strong government to rise. The Roman people believed that they have a strong centralized government, and people became increasingly greedy for power. Change occurred in Roman political power during the rise of the Empire. When Alexander the Great expanded the Roman Empire to the height of its political control by conquering nations throughout Europe and Asia, the greed for power is evident. The centralization of the Roman government allowed for expansion of the Empire through economic and religious growth, monopolizing control of trade throughout its territory and spreading religious ideology through the enforced religious unity and the Hellenistic

Government in Mesopotamia was similar to modern democracies. The Sumerians in Mesopotamia elected an assembly of individuals similar to the ancient Greeks to operate the government. The kings in Sumer were elected by the assembly and as time proceeded the Lugals considered themselves to be godlike. They

Southern Mesopotamia had no government. The people of Southern Mesopotamia needed a ruler, someone to lead them through tough times as the population grew. Hammurabi started as their ruler, and then appointed himself King. The King also had people who worked for him, because he wouldn’t have been able to do all the jobs himself. He had people who built temples, settled disputes, maintained the complicated system of canals, and irrigated farms. He was also the lead priest at Ziggurat, the main temple. He had lots of rules that everyone in Mesopotamia had to follow. For example, “If a judge try a case, reach a decision, and present his judgment in writing; if later error shall appear in his decision, and it be through his own fault, then he shall pay twelve times the fine set by him in the case, and he shall be publicly removed from the judge's bench, and never again shall he sit there to render judgment.” (Hammurabi Codes 5) This just on example of how detailed the 282 rules could be. This shows us that Hammurabi was very strict and liked rules.

The lack of centralized government can lead to political, social, and economic changes as people seek other sources of stability and protection. This statement is true because a lack of centralized government can send a civilization into chaos. A few examples of this would be how changes to political systems impact economic activities, how society is influenced by changes in political and economical systems, and what the political changes were in the Medieval Kingdoms in Europe. These three reasons support the idea that a lack of centralized government can lead to political, social, and economic changes as people seek other sources of stability and protection. Stability and protection is a necessity in modern times, and it was also a necessity in Medieval Kingdoms in Europe. However, without a good centralized government, political stability and protection can not be provided.

The past centuries saw a clear distinction between the Western civilization and the non-western culture. The western civilization composed of Greece, Romans, Byzantine Empire, and the European while the non-western civilizations included East Asia, Egypt, Persian Empire, Sassanid Empire, African Societies and Kingdoms, Incas, Mayans, Aztecs, and Mongols. For a long period, the western civilizations prevailed around the world. They influenced, lead and controlled others in various sectors such as medicine, clothing, business orientations, religion, and government. In this paper, I will be affirming my conviction that the western civilizations had unique attributes that made them more powerful than the non-western civilizations. I will also show how the western cultures were influenced by the spread of Christianity, and how the western cultures have maintained their great influence and power over the other societies even in the modern era.

I have spent the last two years studying world history with an emphasis on western civilization, and I will attempt to give a conspectus of what I have learned during that time. I have learned about a myriad of topics ranging from early Sumerian agricultural techniques to the U.S. intervention in Kosovo, therefore I will focus my efforts on an abbreviated overview of my studies. I will primarily focus on the governments of the major civilizations

An interesting question to ask oneself about ancient civilizations is “How did the various governments keep their respective populations under control?” By taking a look at some of the literature and forms of art, one can get an idea of the crafty techniques used by leaders to control the populace. The concept of social control has been around as long as civilizations have been. This can be seen in the Roman stoic ideals portrayed in the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, the Four Noble Truth’s teachings in India, and the emphasis on harmony in China with the Chinese Bronze Bell. It’s interesting to see the ways works of art and even religious texts were used to control the common people.

Documents 1 and 2 refer to the Persian and Greek governments. Though both did have a major religious system, they acquired and exerted their power through more secularist methods. Persia relied on military conquest to rule, being defined as a barbaric and violent race that striked fear into its enemies. Greece, though famed for the gods and goddesses of its religion, was the birthplace of democracy, where loyalty to country and equality, at least

Documents 3, 4, and 5 all show that their cultures incorporated their values into their respective laws, governments, and methods of exerting political power. Clearly, all of these documents incorporated their respective cultures’ values into their governments and methods for asserting their political power. Despite this common trait, these documents can be grouped by their cultures’ differences in government. Documents 2, 5, and 6 show that their cultures had very liberal governments while documents 3 and 4 show that their cultures had strict governments. The Greeks had a very lenient form of government, a democracy, while the Confucian Chinese believed that humans were naturally inclined towards being good. Finally, the Romans had a liberal government which allowed almost anyone to become citizens, even people who weren’t Romans. In contrast with these lenient governments, the Legalist Chinese and the Indians under King Ashoka’s rule had strict laws which firmly controlled the citizens. The Legalists believed their ruler should govern his people by giving out strict punishments or rewards while King Ashoka passed strict edicts which firmly controlled the people through officials who reported back to the

Systems of government have a major influence on the development and success of a civilization and culture. This can be said about Athens during its Golden Age and about China during the Han dynasty. Han China was ruled by an imperial bureaucracy based upon the teachings of Confucius which allowed only a tiny part of its population to participate in government. In contrast, 5th Century Athens was a direct democracy which allowed a greater number of its inhabitants to take part in governing. These civilizations differed greatly in geography, population and size which influenced their development. They also held contrasting beliefs regarding the source of political authority and how it was maintained. However, these civilizations also shared

Governments of the past were based largely on religious beliefs. Be that as it may, the theologies of a governed locale today may be so diverse that the very notion of having a government on top a religious foundation seems ridiculous. Instead, we judge others based on the lowest expectations of moral regulation and while these laws are primarily influenced by religion it is not the sole attribution. Yet, as I expound this there are still governments that are heavily built on religion, much like those of the past. Though, in spite of the respect held for such governments, these governmental bodies can be seen as less globalized, modernized, and in some cases, civilized. Some governments today, in retrospect, would be called taboo in the

Government is an administration defined by the Constitution, but is also a constantly adjusting foundation by the efforts of its citizens. By Litherland (2014), government is defined as policies set in order to lead a body of people (p. 395). Over the span of time, the idea of government has been stretched, changed, and applied to various communities throughout both the nation and the world. Whether it was back in the eighteenth century, current, or in the very near future—government has existed and will continue to exist for its people and the nation it has built its foundation upon. With the use of multiple authors, those of: “Difference between Direct and Representative Democracy” (n.d.), “Federalism - Dividing Power between States and the

The government has significantly impacted today’s civilization, not only ours, but everybody’s around the world. People may think that we created our government, but in reality all of our ideas of government came from the Romans. For example, the ideas of veto, balance of powers, and representation all came from Rome. Our Senate here in the United States was named after the Senate of Rome. Not only did the Roman people influence our government, they also massively impacted our laws. “Legal ideas like trial by jury, civil rights, contracts, personal property, legal wills, and corporations all were

In the readings, there are many trends regarding ancient concepts of law, government, and social structure. The code of Hammurabi played a significant role in Mesopotamian law, while the Nile River had a large part in the development of Egyptian civilization. In addition, the Hebrews moved toward pure monotheism and the Persians enhanced the Near Eastern model of monarchical government. “The evidence reveals that on the one hand, peoples then living in the Near East, Africa, and the Mediterranean developed their own distinctive beliefs, mythologies, customs, and sense of identity. On the other they shared many attributes such as large populations, the use of writing, devotion to religion, and economies based on trade and agriculture.” (Lualdi, 15) Overall, each society had similarities and differences in their way of life, but some are key to showing the maturation of the area as a whole.