The Birth of the State: Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China

Petr Charvát

Karolinum

The Birth of the State

Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China

Petr Charvát

Reviewed by: Prof. PhDr. Jan Bouzek, DrSc.

Prof. PhDr. Jaroslav Malina, DrSc.

From the Czech original Zrození státu, published by Karolinum Press in 2011, translated by Daniel Morgan

Published by Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press

www.karolinum.cz

ebooks@karolinum.cz

Edited by Martin Janeček

Illustrations by Dagmar Hamsíková and Kateřina Řezáčová

First English edition

© Charles University in Prague, 2013

Text © Petr Charvát, 2013

Translation © Daniel Morgan, 2013

ISBN 978-80-246-2214-9

ISBN 978-80-246-2328-3 (pdf)

ISBN 978-80-246-3061-8 (ePub)

ISBN 978-80-246-3062-5 (Kindle)

CONTENTS

1. Cover Page

2. Title Page

3. Copyright Page

4. Contents

5. Preface

6. Acknowledgements

7. Ancient Egypt

1. The Natural Environment

2. The Roots and Origin of All Things: The Productive Economy In Egypt (Neolithic Age, ca. 5500–4500 BC)

3. The Chalcolithic Age or Building Inequality: The Badari Culture (4500–3800 BC)

4. Embryonic Signs of the State: Naqada I, II and III (4th millenium BC)

1. Economy

2. The embryos of cities

3. Social differentiation: the elite and the others

4. Egyptian society of the pre-state period in burial rituals

5. Lower Egypt: Between the Pharaoh and the Red Sea

1. Economy

2. Settlements

3. Burials

4. Beyond everyday borders: contact with Asia

6. Confronting the Enemy: Nubia

7. The Burial of the Famous and Powerful in the Northern Part of Upper Egypt: Abydos

8. Burial Grounds Of The Southern Kingdom of Upper Egypt: An Elite Burial Site In Hieraconpolis

9. “Simple” Egyptians

10. The Dawn Of The Egyptian Writing System

11. The Birth of the Egyptian State

12. Stabilization of the Early Egyptian State

13. Characteristics of the Early Egyptian State

8. Ancient Mesopotamia

1. The Natural Environment

2. The Dawn of a More Advanced Social Structure (the Halaf culture, 6000–5000 BC)

3. Early Historiography: Susa at the Close of the 5th Millenium BC

4. Mausoleum of Susa

5. Painted pottery of Susa: the people and their communities

6. Painted pottery of Susa: the people and their work

7. Painted pottery of Susa: deities

8. Painted pottery of Susa: why?

9. Susa at the Dawn of the Uruk Period: First Reports from the Creation of the State (early 4th millenium BC)

1. The sacral face of the age: activating fertility powers

2. The secular face of the age: building, protection, tradition

10. Sumer, the Southern Part of Mesopotamia: While This Was Happening

1. Activating the potential of fertility powers

2. Writing! Writing?

3. The enchantment of cylinder seals

4. “You will not be like gods”

11. Behold, Civilization: The Greater Community of the Late Periodof Uruk Culture (3500–3200 Bc) – En, Nin, Nameshda

1. Economy: redistribution prevails

2. Spiritual and political leaders: EN, NIN, NAMESHDA

3. Innovations at the dawn of the 3rd millenium BC: LUGAL, NIN, NAMESHDA

4. The wise Owl of Minerva flies at dusk: the crisis of the 27th century BC and what came of it – LUGAL, ENSI2, EN

12. “The End of the Beginning”: The Sumerian State at the Close Of The Early Dynastic Period (ca. 2500–2334 BC)

1. The king and his court

2. The powerful and revered

3. Careful and resourceful

4. “He who shackles slaves. . .”

13. Conclusion

9. Ancient India

1. The Natural Environment

2. Prehistoric Beginnings

3. The Preparatory Period

4. The Proto-Indian Culture (2500–1900 BC)

1. Economy

2. City life

3. Mohenjo-daro

4. Harappa

5. Towns and cities

6. Rural life

7. A state organism?

8. The spiritual culture

5. The Demise of Proto-Indian Culture

10. Ancient China

1. The Natural Environment

2. Prehistoric Beginnings: “Mesolithic-Neolithic” – Hunters, Gatherers And Farmers

1. The Neolithic Period in southern China

3. The Chalcolithic Period (We Are No Longer All Equal)

1. China’s Northern Regions during the Chalcolithic Period

4. The Beginnings of the State

1. The Traditional Interpretation of Chinese History

2. The Erlitou Culture

3. In the cities and peripheral areas of the first state

4. Zhengzhou

5. Anyang

6. Western Zhou

5. The Economy of the First Chinese State

6. Society

1. Characteristics of the Oldest Chinese State

2. A state arises from kinship

3. What followed?

4. What the elite took with them on their journey to the next world

5. The spiritual world

11. How Then Is a State Born?

1. First, a Brief Review

2. Subsistence

1. Agriculture

2. Craft

3. Trading

4. Settlements

5. Burials

3. Society

1. Organizational centers of the Chalcolithic societies and their facilities

2. Courtiers of the first rulers: clever, resolute and foresighted

3. Courtiers of the first rulers: those who speak with the gods

1. Egypt

2. Sumer and Akkad

3. What was the deification of the Mesopotamian rulers like?

4. India and China

4. Three social estates and the birth of the state

4. Metaphysics

1. The human world, space, time and their nature

2. The non-human world

3. Is the world around us composed of the elements?

4. Powers of the overworld

5. Art

5. Conclusion

12. Appendix: the State in Trouble

1. Egypt

2. Mesopotamia

3. India

4. China

13. Bibliography

14. Index

Preface

Acknowledgements

ANCIENT EGYPT

The Natural Environment

The Roots and Origin of All Things: The Productive Economy In Egypt (Neolithic Age, ca. 5500–4500 BC)

The Chalcolithic Age or Building Inequality: The Badari Culture (4500–3800 BC)

Embryonic Signs of the State: Naqada I, II and III (4th millenium BC)

Economy

The embryos of cities

Social differentiation: the elite and the others

Egyptian society of the pre-state period in burial rituals

Lower Egypt: Between the Pharaoh and the Red Sea

Economy

Settlements

Burials

Beyond everyday borders: contact with Asia

Confronting the Enemy: Nubia

The Burial of the Famous and Powerful in the Northern Part of Upper Egypt: Abydos

Burial Grounds Of The Southern Kingdom of Upper Egypt: An Elite Burial Site In Hieraconpolis

“Simple” Egyptians

The Dawn Of The Egyptian Writing System

The Birth of the Egyptian State

Stabilization of the Early Egyptian State

Characteristics of the Early Egyptian State

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA

The Natural Environment

The Dawn of a More Advanced Social Structure (the Halaf culture, 6000–5000 BC)

Early Historiography: Susa at the Close of the 5th Millenium BC

Mausoleum of Susa

Painted pottery of Susa: the people and their communities

Painted pottery of Susa: the people and their work

Painted pottery of Susa: deities

Painted pottery of Susa: Why?

Susa at the Dawn of the Uruk Period: First Reports from the Creation of the State (early 4th millenium BC)

The sacral face of the age: activating fertility powers

The secular face of the age: building, protection, tradition

Sumer, the Southern Part of Mesopotamia: While This Was Happening

Activating the potential of fertility powers

Writing! Writing?

The enchantment of cylinder seals

“You will not be like gods”

Behold, Civilization: the Greater Community of the Late Periodof Uruk Culture (3500–3200 Bc) – En, Nin, Nameshda

Economy: redistribution prevails

Spiritual and political leaders: EN, NIN, NAMESHDA

Innovations at the dawn of the 3rd millenium BC: LUGAL, NIN, NAMESHDA

The wise Owl of Minerva flies at dusk: the crisis of the 27th century BC and what came of it – LUGAL, ENSI[2], EN

“The End of the Beginning”: The Sumerian State at the Close Of The Early Dynastic Period (ca. 2500–2334 BC)

The king and his court

The powerful and revered

Careful and resourceful

“He who shackles slaves. . .”

Conclusion

ANCIENT INDIA

The Natural Environment

Prehistoric Beginnings

The Preparatory Period

The Proto-Indian Culture (2500–1900 BC)

Economy

City life

Mohenjo-daro

Harappa

Towns and cities

Rural life

A state organism?

The spiritual culture

The Demise of Proto-Indian Culture

ANCIENT CHINA

The Natural Environment

Prehistoric Beginnings: “Mesolithic-Neolithic” – Hunters, Gatherers And Farmers

The Neolithic Period in southern China

The Chalcolithic Period (We Are No Longer All Equal)

China’s Northern Regions during the Chalcolithic Period

The Beginnings of the State

The Traditional Interpretation of Chinese History

The Erlitou Culture

In the cities and peripheral areas of the first state

Zhengzhou

Anyang

Western Zhou

The Economy of the First Chinese State

Society

Characteristics of the Oldest Chinese State

A state arises from kinship

What followed?

What the elite took with them on their journey to the next world

The spiritual world

HOW THEN IS A STATE BORN?

First, a Brief Review

Subsistence

Agriculture

Craft

Trading

Settlements

Burials

Society

Organizational centers of the Chalcolithic societies and their facilities

Courtiers of the first rulers: clever, resolute and foresighted

Courtiers of the first rulers: those who speak with the gods

Egypt

Sumer and Akkad

What was the deification of the Mesopotamian rulers like?

India and China

Three social estates and the birth of the state

Metaphysics

The human world, space, time and their nature

The non-human world

Is the world around us composed of the elements?

Powers of the overworld

Art

Conclusion

Appendix: the State in Trouble

Egypt

Mesopotamia

India

China

Bibliography

Index

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3. 5

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1. Cover Page

2. Begin Reading

3. Copyright Page

4. Contents

5. Preface

6. Acknowledgments

7. Appendix

8. Bibliography

9. Index

PREFACE

This book features much of my research on the state and on statehood in the ancient Near East. Although I focused mainly on prehistoric and ancient Near East, I always made sure that my findings and observations also took into consideration the development of all other early state centers.

I gradually amassed considerable findings on the creation and development of early statehood in Egypt – for which I still feel an affection, as it was in this area that I had commenced my career as a researcher – in the Near East, in India and in China. This body of knowledge helped me in preparing introductory university courses on the history and culture of civilizations predating antiquity that I have taught since 1993 at universities in Prague and Plzeň.

I was also given the chance by the LIBRI publishing house to write on earlier periods of the ancient development of the centers of civilization in an encyclopedia-type series. All those readers understanding Czech are therefore welcome to delve into these books as well.[1]

The creation of the book that lies before you was not, however, that easy. Following the publication of my previous book[2] by the Karolinum publishing house, its director, Jaroslav Jirsa, invited my to present the results of my more broadly focused research to the public and kindly showed interest in publishing this work. I am sincerely grateful to him for this. In time, I realized that it really would be beneficial for my students and other readers to be presented with this kind of treatise, so I decided to begin writing it.

Those leafing through this book might feel that the writing is dry and tedious, full of archaeological information, descriptions of objects and excavations. I am afraid that this is how it works with modern historical sciences and archaeology in particular. Yet my interpretation has two objectives: Above all, I hope to present a summarized account of present-day knowledge and understanding of the oldest statehood of the Old World, but also of that which preceded it. Achieving this requires nothing less than a laborious analysis of the pages and “strange volumes of this age-old and precious science,” of the folios of archeological reports. On the other hand, there is clearly a need for a comprehensive assessment of the finds presented and for a review of the social process that led to the creation of the state in all its complexities. I attempt this in the fifth chapter, where I include passages from ancient texts, whose authors attested to everything that afflicted them and their nations in times of trouble.

I cannot conceal the fact that, especially in those areas that are not found within my own expertise as a cuneiformist and archaeologist, I relied on the advice and assistance of treasured friends, who provided me with significant help at various points in my research. I am extremely indebted to them for this.

Until now, most of my professional work has been conducted in two institutions of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, which later became the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic: the Institute of Archaeology and the Oriental Institute. The Institute of Archaeology provided me with a position at the very beginning of my research career, and I am grateful for the many suggestions and role models in the creative and friendly atmosphere that prevailed there. I also benefited from advice, information, assistance and support from many people at the Oriental Institute.

I should also mention my alma mater, which prepared me for my research work – Charles University in Prague. My research career began in the university’s Institute of Egyptology and the memories from these years will never fade.

I would often travel to Brno University for guidance, assistance and friendly advice. I am indebted to its staff, especially to my colleague Inna Mateiciucová.

A great deal of gratitude is owed to my colleagues and friends from various foreign institutions. Worthy of special recognition are Jean-Louis Huot and his dear wife, Serge Cleuziou, Jean-Marie Durand, Béatrice André-Salvini and Françoise Demange, Jean-Daniel Forest, Régis Vallet, Jean-Jacques Glassner and his kind wife, my longtime friend Erle Leichty, Barry Eichler, Steve Tinney and Philip Jones, Holly Pittman, Gregory Possehl, Mitchell Rothman, Shannon White, Richard Zettler, Charles Maisels, Dieter Schlingloff and especially Walther Sallaberger.

I acknowledge my debt of gratitude to my learned colleagues Svetoslav Kostič, Jiří Prosecký and Břetislav Vachala for help with English-language editions of the ancient texts.

This book would certainly never have been written without the full support and help of my family. My wife, Kateřina Charvátová, deserves my utmost gratitude for her understanding and support, and a special thanks goes to Jan, Lenka, Ondřej and Eva. Little Toníček Charvát has brought great joy into my life. If it were not for all of you, my dear family, this book would not have been written.

[1] Petr Charvát, Václav Marek, Pavel Oliva: Encyklopedie dìjin starovìku (Encyclopaedia of ancient history, in Czech), Prague: LIBRI 2008.

[2] Petr Charvát, The Iconography of Pristine Statehood – Painted Pottery and Seal Impressions from Susa, Southwestern Iran, Prague: Karolinum Press 2005.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research for this book was made possible by the generous support of a few munificent sponsors of scientific research. In 2003–2004, I received a Fulbright grant for a residency in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2005, the American Philosophical Society, also based in Philadelphia (Franklin Grant 2005), awarded me with a research grant. In 2008, my residency in Paris was supported by the Section des Sciences Historiques et Philologiques of the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes. It was thanks to the efforts of my learned friend and colleague Ludvik Kalus that I received this grant. My research has also been supported by the grant agency of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, which previously awarded me grant no. A8021401, and in 2008–2010 assisted my research with grant no. A8000 20804.

Prague, 20th of July 2013

Petr Charvát

ANCIENT EGYPT

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

A key geographic factor contributing to the historical complexion of Egypt is the Nile River, which over the millions of years of its existence has carved out its riverbed in the North African bedrock. Totaling 6,695 km in length, its upper part consists of two tributaries – the Blue Nile and White Nile. While the Blue Nile’s source is Lake Tana in Ethiopia, the White Nile originates with Lake Victoria and Lake Albert in Uganda. The Nile Valley cuts south to north through Egypt, stretching 1,360 km from the first cataract (cascades, rapids) near the city of Aswan. There are six cataracts in the Nile riverbed: the first near Aswan and, moving southward, the last near the Sudanese city of Khartoum. From Aswan to the mouth at the sea, the Nile Valley’s gradient is 85 meters. The river runs to the Mediterranean Sea through a vast delta now demarcated by two main distributaries, the Rosetta (west) and Damietta (east). In ancient times, the Nile Delta had one more main distributary, meaning that there were three distributaries at the time.

The Nile Valley possesses a surprisingly diverse topography. Ten kilometers wide on average, it spans a maximum width of 17 kilometers at the segment south of the Faiyum Oasis. Including its delta, the Nile Valley covers a total area of 37,540 km^2. The river’s bottom is composed of sand and rock sediment covered by layers of clay deposits.

The rock terraces over the Nile Valley previously provided quality types of building stone, lime, sandstone, granite and basalt. To both the west and the east of the river, these terraces gradually turn into a plain now covered by desert. In ancient times, the edges of the valley consisted of a grassy steppe that contained metal deposits (including copper and gold) as well as gemstones – agate, amethyst, carnelian, chalcedony, almandine, jasper, onyx, crystal and the legendary turquoise from the Sinai Peninsula.

Yet there is more to Egypt than just the Nile. Vast oases, of which the Faiyum basin is the largest, extend west of the river. This low ground covers a total area of 12,000 km^2 with an altitude of –44 m with Lake Birket Qarun (in ancient times it was called Moeris) forming its center. We also find the Siwa, Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga oases in the western desert. Furthest west by the Libyan border lies the Kufra Oasis. With its annual flooding, the Nile ensured the fertility of Egyptian fields up until the first Aswan Dam was built in 1907. The floods usually began in early June and culminated in mid August. The optimum rise in the Nile’s water level was considered 16 cubits (8.36 m). With the water level beginning to drop in September, field work could be commenced in October.

The Egyptian climate is characterized by four seasons: winter (December–February), spring (March–May), summer (June–August) and autumn (September–November). It usually rains in Egypt from November to April with most of the precipitation coming in December and January. Plowing and cereal sowing usually began in October after the Nile stopped flooding. We do not know for sure to what extent, if at all, Egyptian farmers cultivated spring cereals.

The original flora and fauna were much more abundant than they are today. Various species of palm, sycamore, fig and willow trees, as well as acacia and tamarisk grew in the river valley, whose banks were covered with reeds. The Nile’s banks were once frequented by elephants, rhinoceros, giraffes, lions, leopards, hippos and crocodiles. Herds of antelopes and gazelles grazed in the steppe above the river valley. The waters of the Nile were brimming with fish and various species of birds nested there.

THE ROOTS AND ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS: THE PRODUCTIVE ECONOMY IN EGYPT (Neolithic Age, ca. 5500–4500 BC)[3]

The people of prehistoric Egypt farmed arable soil whose total area is estimated at 34,440 km^2 [1].[4]

The onset of a productive economy and the people’s own food production came about in quite specific terms in prehistoric Egypt. Archeologists have always admired two unique traits of Egypt during the Neolithic Age: First and foremost, the Neolithic Age in the land above the Nile is relatively recent, probably not dating back earlier than 5500 BC. This differs significantly from the Near East, whose Neolithic dawn is thought to have occurred around 10,000 BC. Secondly, the “Black Land” has produced a surprisingly low number of sites yielding Neolithic findings. These essentially consist of Faiyum, Merimda Beni Salama, El Omari and Maadi in the northern part of the country, predominantly in the Nile Delta region.

What is the reason for this? We probably need to seek the cause in Egypt’s distinctive natural conditions. Over the last ten thousand years of human history, the Sahara Desert was far more hospitable than it is today. It was teeming with springs, enjoyed a favorable precipitation cycle and featured abundant flora and, consequently, bountiful fauna. It therefore can be assumed that its human inhabitants, who left behind monuments of ancient art (recently brought to the general public’s attention by the film The English Patient), led the kind of life that could be called “clustered and scattered”. At the more perilous times of the year – most likely during the hot and exhaustive summer – they probably moved in smaller groups to protected and shaded position next to running water, where they could better survive the summer heat.

When the climate was more hospitable – probably mainly in winter – they concentrated on the open steppe in camps numbering dozens and often even hundreds. There, on the migration paths of animals moving from summer to winter grazing lands, they hunted the weaker stragglers from the passing herds. In Egypt, we could examine the traces around the settlement of smallish sub-groups that wandered here, weighed down with the kill from winter hunts, so that in tolerable climate conditions they could harvest occasional crops from lands watered predominantly by the regularly flooding Nile.

As far as agriculture is concerned, Neolithic Egypt in no way differed from the Neolithic farming of other cultures and continents. Crop farming mainly consisted here of the cultivation of cereals, mainly barley and wheat, but also flax. Knowledge of garden and orchard farming still had not been developed; this was primarily due to the regular migration of groups subsisting on shifting cultivation. Egyptian livestock farmers, just as those from other lands, raised herds of sheep, goats and cattle, as well as lithe and nimble pigs. Domesticated dogs apparently helped them in their work, and donkeys may have also been used as beasts of burden. The hunting of game remained a constant subsistence custom for the people of the Neolithic Age in Egypt. Such game included large animals such as elephants, hippos, crocodiles, antelope and cervids. The sea, the Nile and some lakes were fished, and gathering techniques were used for other game (e.g. turtles).

Prehistoric Egyptians mastered working with natural materials without much difficulty. In addition to everyday domestic necessities, they used clay to created handmade pottery, painting the surfaces shades of red, brown or black. Pottery adorned with engraved patterns has been found at other sites. Stones were used for smaller cutting tasks and served as common household tools – blades, sickle blades, knives, peelers, chisels, arrowheads and the likes – as well as for making heavier and cruder grinding tools such as plant and vegetable grinders, sharp-edged axes and even hoes. Owing to its abundance and fissility, bone was often used in tools such as spikes, bodkins, needles and harpoons. Larger bones could also be used as trowels, forming tools or spatulas. Seashells or ostrich eggshells were used in a similar manner to make spoons and other utensils. Galenite finds indicated that they may have already at that time attempted to use metals. Organic materials were used to make a broad spectrum of objects during the Neolithic Age in Egypt. Wood was used to make dwellings and functional parts of tools (e.g. scythe handles were made out of tamarisk), as well as flails for threshing grains. Tanned hides were used to make clothes (shoes) accessories and for coverings and carrying aids (bags, sacks, pouches, packs). Delicate linen was woven from harvested flax, while sheep wool was used to make coarser cloth. Plant tissue of all kinds – from reeds or twigs – served a wide range of purposes: It could be used for light structures or shelters, but was also undoubtedly used for bed matting, for packaging goods and for making all kinds of baskets. Prehistoric Egyptians clearly used organic materials to build canoe-like vessels with upright bows and sterns used to navigate the Nile.

Only faint traces were left of the settlements of Egypt’s Neolithic people. They probably lived in light, above-ground dwellings made from woven sticks, packed clay and timber poles that were easily built and could be freely abandoned without much loss. We know nothing of their furniture, of which there was probably very little. The settlements featured fireplaces and open-air furnaces offering better visibility for work. There were also a number of pits or large containers and baskets set into holes dug out of the ground that probably served as storage, depositories or caches. It is interesting that these pits were generally concentrated in a single place or within one confined area in the settlement. This leads us to believe that every family did not have its own pantry; instead, the entire community kept its reserves together in one place. This attests to the rather strong group solitary of these early Egyptians, who most likely arrived here already organized into communities bound by blood or quasi-blood relations. Some finds provide testimony of dwellings on elevated places, among which the aforementioned supply pits were concentrated at less elevated sites. In most cases, these were seasonal settlements occupied at the end of spring and early summer.

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Table of Contents

Cover Page

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Ancient Egypt

The Natural Environment

The Roots and Origin of All Things: The Productive Economy In Egypt (Neolithic Age, ca. 5500–4500 BC)

Embryonic Signs of the State: Naqada I, II and III (4th millenium BC)

Lower Egypt: Between the Pharaoh and the Red Sea

Ancient Mesopotamia

Susa at the Dawn of the Uruk Period: First Reports from the Creation of the State (early 4th millenium BC)

Sumer, the Southern Part of Mesopotamia: While This Was Happening

Behold, Civilization: The Greater Community of the Late Periodof Uruk Culture (3500–3200 Bc) – En, Nin, Nameshda

“The End of the Beginning”: The Sumerian State at the Close Of The Early Dynastic Period (ca. 2500–2334 BC)

Ancient India

The Proto-Indian Culture (2500–1900 BC)

Ancient China

Prehistoric Beginnings: “Mesolithic-Neolithic” – Hunters, Gatherers And Farmers

The Chalcolithic Period (We Are No Longer All Equal)

The Beginnings of the State

Society

How Then Is a State Born?

Subsistence

Society

Courtiers of the first rulers: those who speak with the gods

Metaphysics

Appendix: the State in Trouble