Ancient Civilisations of the World
Domain focus
Ancient Civilisations of the World tests comparison of Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, Greece and Rome: environment, political organisation, writing, law, religion and legacy. Expect questions on river-valley origins and on city-state and imperial forms.
Core concepts
- Mesopotamia: Tigris-Euphrates; Sumerian city-states; cuneiform on clay; ziggurats; Hammurabi law code; Babylon and Assyria.
- Egypt: Nile flood agriculture; pharaoh as divine king; hieroglyphs and papyrus; pyramids and temples; Old, Middle and New Kingdoms.
- China: Yellow River; Shang oracle bones; Zhou mandate of heaven; writing and bronze ritual vessels.
- Greece: polis; Athens limited democracy; Sparta; Persian Wars; Hellenistic spread after Alexander.
- Rome: republic with Senate and consuls; Twelve Tables; empire; Latin, law and roads.
Worked example
A question asks which civilisation produced cuneiform law. Reasoning: cuneiform belongs to Mesopotamia; Hammurabi stele is Babylonian, so the answer is Mesopotamia, not Egypt. Egyptian writing is hieroglyphic, and Roman law was transmitted in Latin.
Traps
Democracy in Athens excluded women, slaves and foreigners. Not every ancient civilisation was river-valley based: Greece and Rome were Mediterranean. Do not collapse Mesopotamia and Egypt into one culture; scripts and political ideas differ. Keep BC and BCE order correct. Do not confuse Hammurabi with a pharaoh.