c. 600 BCE to c. 600 CE

PERIOD 2: ORGANIZATION AND REORGANIZATION OF HUMAN SOCIETIES

Key Concept 2.1. The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions

As states and empires increased in size and contacts between regions multiplied, religious and cultural systems were transformed. Religions and belief systems provided a bond among the people and an ethical code to live by. These shared beliefs also influenced and reinforced political, economic, and occupational stratification. Religious and political authority often merged as rulers (some of whom were considered divine) used religion, along with military and legal structures, to justify their rule and ensure its continuation. Religions and belief systems could also generate conflict, partly because beliefs and practices varied greatly within and among societies.

Do Now We saw the effects of symbolic writing during the first unit on the earliest civilizations. Using this knowledge, along with your own thinking, predict what sort of effects writing will have on religious traditions.

I. Codifications and further developments of existing religious traditions provided a bond among the people and an ethical code to live by.

A. The association of monotheism with Judaism was further developed with the codification of the Hebrew Scriptures, which also reflected the influence of Mesopotamian cultural and legal traditions.

The Assyrian, Babylonian, and Roman empires conquered various Jewish states at different points in time. These conquests contributed to the growth of Jewish diasporic communities around the Mediterranean and Middle East.

Origins of Judaism and Abrahamic Religions

Judaea

Jewish DiasporaThe diaspora began with the 6th century BCE conquest of the ancient Kingdom of Judah by Babylon, the destruction of the First Temple (c. 586 BCE), and the expulsion of the population.

The Babylonian ruler, Nebuchadnezzar, allowed the Jews to remain in a unified community in Babylon. Another group of Jews fled to Egypt, where they settled in the Nile delta. From 597 BCE onwards, there were three distinct groups of Hebrews: a group in Babylon and other parts of the Middle East, a group in Judaea, and another group in Egypt.

Babylonian depiction of the Jewish Diaspora.

B. The core beliefs outlined in the Sanskrit scriptures formed the basis of the Vedic religions — later known as Hinduism — which contributed to the development of the social and political roles of a caste system and in the importance of multiple manifestations of Brahma to promote teachings about reincarnation.

Origins of Hinduism and Dharmic Religions

Northern India

Independent – Hinduism OverviewIn order to develop a stronger understanding of Hinduism, please read the article below and complete the attached thinking questions

Hinduism Overview

Collaborative ActivityWith your trio groups, please use the resources below to create a compare-contrast poster, comparing Abrahamic religions (in this presentation represented by Judaism) and the Dharmic religions (in this presentation represented by Hinduism).

You must use the guiding questions for the assignment to help guide your thinking.