(Mesopotamia) Greek means the land between two rivers.

The original meaning is "Hejian area", also known as "two river basins". Broadly speaking, it refers to the middle and lower reaches of the Tigris River and the Euphrates River, east to Zagros Mountain, west to Syrian desert, south to Persian Gulf and north to Toros Mountain. It is mountainous in the north, passes through the grasslands and plains in the south, and reaches the swamp and river delta in the south. Mesopotamia is one of the oldest cradles of human culture, and irrigated agriculture is the main foundation of its cultural development. The Babylonian and Assyrian empires appeared. Later it was ruled by Persia, Macedonia, Rome and the Ottoman Empire. After World War I, their main part became independent Iraq. In a narrow sense, it only refers to the area between the two rivers.

One of the earliest civilizations in the world-Mesopotamia (also known as the Two Rivers Civilization) originated in the Sumerian region (middle and lower reaches) between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. Mesopotamia is the seat of Babylon, in today's Iraq.

From 4000 BC to 2250 BC, the civilization of the two rivers reached its peak, which was called "the land of Shinar" in the Old Testament. Due to the flooding of the river, fertile soil has accumulated on both sides of the two rivers, which is called "fertile crescent zone" in history (the area with the same name as the "Golden Triangle" in South America is called "sinful crescent zone"). Because these two rivers do not flood regularly like the Nile, it is necessary to observe the astronomical phenomena to determine the time. Sumerians living downstream invented the lunar calendar, divided a year into 12 months and * * 354 days according to the moon's profit and loss, and invented the leap month, which is 1 1 day different from the solar calendar. An hour is divided into 60 minutes and 7 days is a week. The 10 decimal method and the 16 decimal method were invented. They divided the circle into 360 degrees until π was close to 3. They even calculated the areas of irregular polygons and the volumes of some cones.

In 4000 BC, Su first invented hieroglyphics with ideographic symbols and signifier symbols. Because most of these characters are engraved on bricks, stones or black basalt and clay tablets, they are "heavy from the pen, with deep impressions" and are wedge-shaped, so they are called cuneiform characters.

A famous example is the New Babylon Wall, one of the "Seven Wonders of the World". The walls are bright blue and white; A yellow lion; Cow dragon patterns are all over the city wall, orderly up and down, strutting and lifelike, and are called "hanging gardens" by later generations.

Later, the Nile civilization and the Indus civilization developed under the impetus of the two river civilizations, from which the Greeks learned mathematics, physics and philosophy. Jews learned theology from there and spread it all over the world; Arabs learned architecture from there and educated the whole barbaric Europe in the Middle Ages.

Around 2000 BC, the Amorites established the Kingdom of Babylon, with the city of Babylon as its capital. In BC 1792, Hammurabi ascended the throne, conquered Sumerians and Akkadians, unified the Mesopotamian plain and promulgated the code of hammurabi, which was the first relatively complete written code in the world, but it was not the earliest. The earliest one is called "The".

In 689 BC, the kingdom of Babylon was destroyed by Assyria. In 605 BC, the new kingdom of Babylon destroyed Assyria. Later, the Temple came to power and was finally wiped out by Persia in the Iranian plateau in 538 BC. The ancient civilizations in the two river basins ended as an independent whole.

Egyptian Nile civilization:

Astronomy and mathematics

Agricultural production in ancient Egypt needs to know the exact date of the Nile flooding, so it is very important to determine the season according to the astronomical phenomena, and astronomical knowledge is constantly accumulated and enriched. The ancient Egyptians founded the earliest solar calendar in human history in 2787 BC. The formulation method is to set the day when Sirius and the sun rise on the horizon at the same time (when the Nile begins to flood) as the beginning of a year, with three seasons *** 12 months. 30 days a month, plus 5 days at the end of the year * * * 365 days a year. This calendar only has a difference of 1/4 days every year, which is the original basis of the Gregorian calendar in the world today. Because the Nile floods every year, it is necessary to re-measure and demarcate the land. After years of work, the ancient Egyptians did more practical exercises in geometry than any other nation at that time, and accumulated a lot of mathematical knowledge. They built water conservancy facilities, temples and pyramids. These mathematical knowledge have been applied and further enriched and developed. The ancient Egyptians used the counting system of 10 to calculate the area of rectangle, triangle, trapezoid and circle, as well as the volume of regular cylinder and truncated square cone. They use pi = 3.1605. Algebraically, the ancient Egyptians could solve a linear equation with one yuan and some simple quadratic equations with one yuan.

2. Anatomy and Medicine

The ancient Egyptians believed that people could continue to live in another world after death, so they painted the anatomy of the dead into mummies. As a result, they have accumulated a lot of knowledge about human physiology and anatomy, which is undoubtedly beneficial to their medical development. Doctors in ancient Egypt could perform operations to treat eye diseases, toothache, diarrhea, lung diseases and many gynecological diseases. They use all kinds of plants, animals and minerals to make medicines. Medicine in ancient Egypt was the most advanced in the world at that time, and this knowledge was later passed down by the ancient Greeks.

3. Handicraft technology

Egypt's handicraft industry has also developed to a considerable extent. As early as 2700 BC, the ancient Egyptians built a ship 47 meters long. In 1600 BC, the technology of making glass was invented, and the manufacturing technology of pottery, linen fabric, leather, papyrus (used for writing) and jewelry also reached a high level. Before and after the construction of 1500 BC, the ancient Egyptians learned bronze smelting technology.

4. Building technology

Building technology is a comprehensive technology, which can largely reflect the overall technical level of a society. This is especially true in ancient times. The most remarkable technological achievements in ancient Egypt in human history are the huge pyramids and temples built with stones. The pyramids are the tombs of ancient Egyptian pharaohs (kings). The largest of the more than 70 existing pyramids is pyramid of khufu, which was built in 2600 BC. The height of the tower 146.5 meters, and the bottom is a square with a long meter. The whole culture consists of polished boulders, each with an average weight of 2. * * * There are about 2.3 million boulders. The stones were not bonded with plaster, and the joints were tight. The ancient Egyptian temple architecture is also very amazing. For example, the existing Karnak Temple on the Nile was built in14th century BC. Its main hall covers an area of about 5000 square meters, and stands 134 huge circular stone pillars, the largest of which is 12, with a diameter of 3.6 meters. You can see how spectacular it is. Under the condition of using stone tools and bronzes three or four thousand years ago, the ancient Egyptians actually built such magnificent buildings as pyramids and temples, which is really a miracle of human history.

5. hieroglyphics

6. Papyrus literature

Egyptian hieroglyphics became one of the earliest characters in the world. With writing, the Egyptians learned to immerse reeds in smoke and ink mixed with glue and write on a papyrus, thus leaving the earliest papyrus literature in the world.

Indus valley civilization:

The ancient civilization of India was discovered in 1922. Because its site was first excavated in Halaba, India, it is often called "Halaba culture". Because these sites are mainly concentrated in the Indus Valley, they are also called "Indus Civilization". The age of Halaba culture is about 2300 BC to 1750 BC.

Halaba culture is the culture of bronze age in ancient India. It represents an urban civilization. Judging from the excavated urban sites, the planning and architecture of the city are quite high. For example, Yinghao City in Mohenjo, with an area of 260 hectares, is divided into 12 blocks, with clean and wide streets and good drainage system. Some houses are exquisite and spacious, and have begun to enter the threshold of civilization. This civilization lasted for hundreds of years, and then gradually declined. It died in18th century BC. After the decline of Halaba culture, the Aryans, a nomadic people who invaded from northwest India, established a more lasting civilization in India. Aryans appeared in northwest India around 2000 BC and gradually expanded to the south. By the early 6th century BC, it was said that India had formed 16 countries. After a long war of annexation, Israel was founded in the Ganges River valley in the south in the 4th century BC.

During this period, the Indus Valley in northwest India was invaded by the Persian Empire. Persians ruled the Indus Valley for nearly two centuries, and it was not until the late 4th century BC that they were conquered by Alexander of Macedonia. Chandragupta led the anti-Macedonian uprising, unified northern India after expelling the invaders, and quickly overthrew the Nantuo dynasty in the state of Mojietuo, thus establishing the most powerful peacock dynasty in ancient India.

Peacock dynasty reached its heyday in Ashoka's time. After years of war, it expanded the territory of the dynasty to the whole South Asian subcontinent except the southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh today. This huge empire was established by military conquest, so Ashoka fell into division shortly after his death. The last king of the Peacock Dynasty was overthrown in BC 187. Since then, the Indian Peninsula has never been unified.

Ancient India is one of the cradles of human civilization and has made original contributions to human civilization in literature, philosophy and natural science. In literature, it created the immortal epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. Philosophically, it established "Karma Theory", which is equivalent to today's logic. In natural science, the most outstanding contribution is to invent the current general counting method and create the following.

Yangtze river civilization:

The Yangtze River civilization is the general name of the regional civilization in the Yangtze River basin, and ranks as the two major sources of Chinese civilization along with the Yellow River civilization. The Yangtze River civilization is the largest in the world in terms of its vast area, numerous cultural sites and high density. The Yangtze River civilization, especially the "rice civilization" in the Yangtze River civilization, has had a great influence on East Asia and the world. China's ancient civilizations, such as the Yangtze River civilization and the Yellow River civilization, have long influenced and merged with each other and become Chinese civilization.

Since the Qin Dynasty unified China, the civilization in the Yangtze River valley was further integrated with that in other parts of China, and the integration of civilizations in various parts of China gradually produced Chinese civilization.

Yellow river civilization:

The Yellow River is the birthplace of the Chinese nation. 654.38+05,000 years ago, the Western Houdu ape-man appeared in Ruicheng County near the Yellow River in Shanxi Province. /kloc-Lantian ape-man 0/10,000 years ago and Dali ape-man 300,000 years ago were fishing and hunting on the banks of the Yellow River. Early Homo sapiens appeared in Ding Cun, Xiangfen, Shanxi 70,000 years ago; Late Homo sapiens appeared in Dagouwan, Uxin Banner, Inner Mongolia 30,000 years ago. The sites of microlithic culture from 10000 to 7000 years ago, Neolithic culture from 7000 to 3700 years ago, bronze culture from 3700 to 2700 years ago and iron culture from 770 BC are almost all over the Yellow River basin. Since the Middle Stone Age, the Yellow River Basin has become the development center of ancient culture in China.

The formation period of the Yellow River civilization was roughly between 4000 BC and 2000 BC, which lasted for two thousand years. During this period, many regional civilizations such as Chengdu Plain Civilization, Jianghan Civilization and Taihu Civilization in the Yangtze River Basin appeared in China, and their representative archaeological cultures include Daxi Culture, Qujialing Culture, Shijiahe Culture, Songze Culture and Liangzhu Culture. In the Yellow River valley, there is Gan Qing civilization. Its representative archaeological cultures include Yangshao culture, Zhongyuan Longshan culture, Dawenkou culture, Shandong Longshan culture and Majiayao culture. In the northeast, there is Yanshan regional civilization, and its representative archaeological culture is mainly Hongshan Culture. All the regional civilizations have developed to a fairly high level, which is highly praised by the academic circles, but later some civilizations were interrupted and some went to the bottom. Only the Yellow River civilization is like a mainstay and full of vitality. It has absorbed and integrated the essence of civilizations in various regions and developed to a higher level. Corresponding to the above archaeological culture are the Five Emperors in China's history, namely the Yellow Emperor, Zhuan Xu, Di Ku, Tang Yao, Yu Shun, Tai Hao and Shao Hao in Haidai. According to documents, their ethnic groups mainly multiplied, lived and developed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, creating a splendid early civilization of the Yellow River. At this time, the society is full of nationalities. There are battlements, socialization of agricultural production, specialization of handicrafts, standardization of etiquette, polarization between the rich and the poor, emergence of classes, and considerable development of culture and art. At this time, the Yellow River civilization is in the formation period of great integration, which can be called the primary stage of national civilization or Chinese civilization.

The development period of the Yellow River civilization is its sublimation stage. In terms of time, it was mainly in the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties. At this time, the Yellow River civilization was mainly concentrated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, with today's Henan Province as the core. Great Central Plains culture is the center of Yellow River civilization. The culture of Heluo area in the Great Central Plains (with Luoyang-Dengfeng line in Henan as the core) is the core of the Yellow River civilization. Heluo area generally includes the inner included angle mainland and the outer included angle mainland at the intersection of the Yellow River and Luohe River, as well as Jinnan and Yubei on the north bank of the Yellow River. Heluo cultural circle can reach the customs in western and eastern Henan. In the Heluo cultural circle, there are not only rich legends and relics of the Five Emperors. In addition, there is the capital of Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Archaeological findings show that the capitals of past dynasties include Wang Chenggang Ancient City in Dengfeng, Zhengzhou, Henan Province (the former site of Sifang), Xinmixinzhai Ancient City in Zhengzhou, Erlitou City Site in Yanshi, Zhengzhou Shopping Mall, Yanshi Shegou Shopping Mall in Luoyang, Yinxu in Anyang, Huanbei Shopping Mall in Anyang, and the capital sites of Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou discovered in Shaanxi and Luoyang. The capitals of Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties are all in Heluo area. Heluo culture is not only a regional culture, but also a Wang Du culture that has lasted for more than 2,000 years and is the core carrier of the Yellow River civilization. At this historical stage, a political power system has emerged, a relatively mature state institution has been formed, a relatively complete system of rites and music has been formulated, and a relatively standardized text has emerged. Science and technology, agriculture, handicrafts and commercial trade have developed rapidly. The epoch-making bronze culture is famous at home and abroad. There are Bashu culture, Wuyue culture, Chu culture, Yanzhao culture and Qilu culture around Heluo culture. Through communication, absorption and integration, Heluo culture has been injected with vitality and become more active on the historical stage. During this period, many immortal works appeared, such as China's earliest collection of poems, The Book of Songs and The Book of Changes, which are full of philosophy. Schools such as Taoism, Confucianism, Mohism, Legalism, Military strategists and famous artists that have influenced China for thousands of years have mushroomed in Heluo area, creating a golden age of academic contention in China. Heluo culture has enriched the connotation of Yellow River civilization and imported fresh blood. The light of civilization not only illuminates the East of Asia.

The heyday of the Yellow River civilization is a historical stage of entering the feudal imperial civilization. From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Northern Song Dynasty, Heluo region was at the core for more than a thousand years. The culture of Imperial Capital has promoted the great progress of national science and culture. Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, abolished feudalism, established counties and inherited the Qin system, which further standardized, improved and popularized this great civilization creation. Confucianism, Taoism and other theories existed in the pre-Qin period, and they have been inherited and carried forward in all previous dynasties. Sinology is an important school founded by scholars in the Han Dynasty, with a long history and great influence. Their achievements in Confucian classics have always been regarded as classics by later scholars. Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty played an important role in shaping the character of the Chinese nation. Imperial academy, the earliest institution of higher learning in China, is located in Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty (now Luoyang, Henan Province), with a maximum of more than 30,000 students. A large number of talents have been trained for all parts of the country, and many outstanding figures have emerged. Astronomical calendar, agronomy, geoscience, medicine, water conservancy, machinery, architecture, smelting, ceramics, brewing, textile, paper making, movable type printing and other technologies have all created historical miracles; Han Fu, Tang Poetry, Song Poetry, Calligraphy, Painting, Sculpture, etc. They all climbed to the peak of culture and art; There are countless historical books handed down to later generations, which record the history of the rise and fall of dynasties and social development from ancient times to the present. The famous Silk Road started from Xi 'an in the Western Han Dynasty and Luoyang from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Xi and Luoyang were international metropolises for foreign cultural exchange and commercial trade. Therefore, the Han and Tang civilizations in the history of China are world-renowned. This fully shows that the Yellow River civilization has indeed developed into a new historical stage. This highly prosperous Yellow River civilization, its

The main body of Chinese civilization is the Yellow River civilization, the center of which is in the Central Plains, and the core of which is in the Heluo cultural circle. The biggest characteristics of Heluo culture are: first, the culture of the capital is continuous. During the Five Emperors period when the Yellow River civilization was formed, the Yellow Emperor had Xiong (now xinzheng city, Henan Province), Dudiqiu, Zhuan Xu (now Puyang, Henan Province), Pingyang, Du Yao (now Linfen, Shanxi Province) and Puban, Shundu (Shundu). During the development of the Yellow River civilization and the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the capital cities of Xia were Yangcheng (now xinzheng city, Henan Province), Yangzhai (now Yuzhou, Henan Province), Zhenzan (now yanshi city, Henan Province, namely Erlitou), Laoqiu (now Kaifeng, Henan Province), Shangdubo (now Shangqiu, Henan Province), Yi (now Zhengzhou Mall Site, Henan Province) and Yin. In the imperial era of the heyday of the Yellow River civilization, Xi 'an, Luoyang and Kaifeng were successively established from the Western Han Dynasty to the Northern Song Dynasty. All of the above are in the Heluo cultural circle. Thousands of years' history of establishing the capital has formed a national capital culture with great influence. This is the most prominent feature of Heluo culture. Second, the deep-rooted root culture is another feature of Heluo culture, and the source of many civilizations is in this area. For example, the earliest countries are all here. In recent years, the four key points identified by the civilization traceability project are Taosi in Linfen, Gucheng Village in Zhengzhou, Xinzhai Village and Wang Chenggang, and Chinese characters such as Hetu, Luoshu and Yijing, which are regarded as the source of traditional culture, are also produced here, namely Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Yinxu in Anyang, Henan. Due to various historical reasons, the population of the Central Plains migrated in all directions, and even emigrated overseas. Among the hundreds of surnames in China, more than 70 surnames have their roots in the Central Plains. Nowadays, overseas Chinese, in particular, call themselves "Heluolang" and come to worship their ancestors. Heluo area has become a sacred place for cultural roots and surnames. Thirdly, the idea of great unification is deeply rooted and forms traditional national genes. The national character of being good at absorption, tolerance, openness and cohesion is fully reflected in Heluo culture. But the most prominent thing is the unified national gene. For thousands of years, people have waged unremitting struggles and made brilliant achievements in safeguarding national unity and strength and opposing separatism. This excellent tradition has now become the rock-solid cohesion and soul of the whole Chinese nation.