The development of the civilization of the East in the Middle Ages. General features of the development of the countries of the East in the Middle Ages

India

China

Japan

8.5 Arab Caliphate

Features of the development of the countries of the East in the Middle Ages

The term "Middle Ages" is used to designate the period of history of the countries of the East in the first seventeen centuries of the new era. The natural upper boundary of the period is considered to be the 16th - early 17th centuries, when the East becomes the object of European trade and colonial expansion, which interrupted the course of development characteristic of Asian and North African countries. Geographically, the Medieval East covers the territory of North Africa, the Near and Middle East, Central and Central Asia, India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and the Far East.

The transition to the Middle Ages in the East in some cases was carried out on the basis of already existing political formations (for example, Byzantium, Sassanian Iran, Kushan-Gupta India), in others, it was accompanied by social upheavals, as it was in China, and almost everywhere the processes were accelerated thanks to participation of "barbarian" nomadic tribes in them. In the historical arena during this period, such hitherto unknown peoples as the Arabs, Seljuk Turks, and Mongols appeared and ascended. New religions were born and civilizations arose on their basis.

The countries of the East in the Middle Ages were associated with Europe. Byzantium remained the bearer of the traditions of Greco-Roman culture. The Arab conquest of Spain and the campaigns of the Crusaders to the East contributed to the interaction of cultures. However, for the countries of South Asia and the Far East, acquaintance with the Europeans took place only in the XVXVI centuries.

Among the factors that determine the "lag" of Eastern societies, the following stand out: the preservation, along with the feudal system, of the extremely slowly decaying primitive communal and slaveholding relations; the stability of communal forms of community life, which held back the differentiation of the peasantry; the predominance of state property and power over private land ownership and private power of feudal lords; the undivided power of the feudal lords over the city, weakening the anti-feudal aspirations of the townspeople.

Periodization of the history of the medieval East. Taking into account these features and based on the idea of the degree of maturity of feudal relations in the history of the East, the following stages are distinguished:

I-VI c. AD - the transitional period of the emergence of feudalism;

VII-X centuries. - the period of early feudal relations with the inherent process of naturalization of the economy and the decline of ancient cities;

XI-XII centuries - the pre-Mongol period, the beginning of the flourishing of feudalism, the formation of the estate-corporate system of life, cultural takeoff;

XIII centuries - the time of the Mongol conquest, which interrupted the development of feudal society and reversed some of them;

XIV-XVI centuries - the post-Mongol period, which is characterized by a slowdown in social development, the conservation of a despotic form of power.

Eastern civilizations. A variegated picture was presented by the Medieval East and in a civilizational sense, which also distinguished it from Europe. Some civilizations in the East originated in antiquity; Buddhist and Hindu - on the Indian subcontinent, Taoist-Confucian - in China. Others were born in the Middle Ages: Muslim civilization in the Near and Middle East, Indo-Muslim in India, Hindu and Muslim in Southeast Asia, Buddhist in Japan and Southeast Asia, Confucian in Japan and Korea.

India (VII - XVIII centuries)

Rajput period (VII-XII centuries). In the IV-VI centuries. AD on the territory of modern India, a powerful Gupta empire was formed. The era of the Guptas, perceived as the golden age of India, was replaced in the 7th-12th centuries. a period of feudal fragmentation. At this stage, however, the isolation of the country's regions and the decline of culture did not occur due to the development of port trade. The tribes of the conquerors of the Huns-Hephthalites who came from Central Asia settled in the north-west of the country, and the Gujarats that appeared with them settled in Punjab, Sindh, Rajputan and Malwa. As a result of the merger of the newcomers with the local population, a compact ethnic community of the Rajputs arose, which in the VIII century. began from Rajputana expansion into the rich regions of the Ganges Valley and Central India. The most famous was the Gurjara-Pratikhara clan, which formed a state in Malwa. Here the most striking type of feudal relations with a developed hierarchy and vassal psychology took shape.

In the VI-VII centuries. in India, a system of stable political centers is developing, fighting with each other under the banner of different dynasties - North India, Bengal, Deccan and the Far South. The canvas of political events of the VIII-X centuries. the struggle for the Doab (between the Djamna and the Ganges) began. In the X century. the leading powers of the country fell into decay, divided into independent principalities. The political fragmentation of the country turned out to be especially tragic for Northern India, which suffered in the XI century. regular raids by the troops of Mahmud Ghaznavid (998-1030), the ruler of a vast empire that included the territories of the modern states of Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, as well as Punjab and Sindh.

The socio-economic development of India in the Rajput era was characterized by the growth of feudal possessions. The richest among the feudal lords, along with the rulers, were Hindu temples and monasteries. If initially they were complained only of uncultivated land and with the indispensable consent of the community that owned them, then from the VIII century. more and more often, not only land is transferred, but also villages, the inhabitants of which were obliged to bear in-kind duty in favor of the recipient. However, at this time, the Indian community was still relatively independent, large in size and self-governing. The full-fledged commune member inherited his own field, although trade operations with land were certainly controlled by the communal administration.

Urban life, which stood still after the 6th century, began to revive only towards the end of the Rajput period. Old port centers developed faster. New cities arose near the castles of the feudal lords, where artisans settled, serving the needs of the court and the troops of the landowner. The development of urban life was facilitated by the increased exchange between cities and the emergence of groups of artisans by caste. Just as in Western Europe, in the Indian city, the development of crafts and trade was accompanied by the struggle of citizens against the feudal lords, who imposed new taxes on artisans and merchants. Moreover, the lower the status of the castes, to which the artisans and merchants belonged, the higher the tax was.

At the stage of feudal fragmentation, Hinduism finally prevailed over Buddhism, defeating it by the power of its amorphousness, which corresponded perfectly to the political system of the era.

The era of the Muslim conquest of India. Delhi Sultanate (XIII - early XVI centuries) In the XIII century. in the north of India, a large Muslim state, the Delhi Sultanate, was established, and the domination of Muslim military leaders from the Central Asian Turks was finally formalized. Sunni Islam became the state religion, Persian became the official language. Accompanied by bloody strife, the dynasties of Gulyams, Khilji, Tughlakids were successively replaced in Delhi. The troops of the sultans made conquest campaigns in Central and South India, and the conquered rulers were forced to recognize themselves as vassals of Delhi and pay the Sultan an annual tribute.

A turning point in the history of the Delhi Sultanate was the invasion of North India in 1398 by the troops of the Central Asian ruler Timur (another name is Tamerlane, 1336-1405). The Sultan fled to Gujarat. An epidemic and famine began in the country. Abandoned by the conqueror as the governor of the Punjab, Khizrkhan Sayyid seized Delhi in 1441 and founded a new dynasty of Sayyids. Representatives of this and the Lodi dynasty that followed it ruled already as governors of the Timurids. One of the last Lodi, Ibrahim, seeking to exalt his power, entered into an irreconcilable struggle with the feudal nobility and Afghan military leaders. Ibrahim's opponents appealed to the ruler of Kabul, Timurid Babur, with a request to save them from the tyranny of the Sultan. In 1526, Babur defeated Ibrahim at the Battle of Panipat, thus laying the foundation for the Mughal Empire, which existed for almost 200 years.

The system of economic relations is undergoing some, albeit not radical, changes in the Muslim era. The state land fund is significantly increasing due to the possessions of the conquered Indian feudal families. The main part of it was distributed in a conditional service award - ikta (small areas) and mukta (large "feeding"). The Iktadars and Muktadars collected taxes from the villages granted to them in favor of the treasury, some of which went to support the family of the holder, who supplied a soldier to the state army. Mosques, owners of property for charitable purposes, keepers of the tombs of sheikhs, poets, officials, and merchants were the private landowners who disposed of the estate without government intervention. The rural community has survived as a convenient fiscal unit, however, the payment of the poll tax (jiziyah) fell on the peasants, most of them Hinduism, a heavy burden.

During the reign of the Delhi Sultanate, the penetration of Europeans into India began. In 1498, under the leadership of Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese first reached Calicata on the Malabar coast of western India. As a result of subsequent military expeditions - Cabral (1500), Vasco de Gama (1502), d "Albuquerque (1510-1511) - the Portuguese seize the Bijapur island of Goa, which became the mainstay of their possessions in the East. The Portuguese monopoly on sea trade undermined India's trade relations with countries of the East, isolated the deep regions of the country and delayed their development. To the same led wars and the destruction of the population of Malabar. , but all the fullness of real power belonged to the state council, the chief minister, to whom the governors of the provinces were directly subordinate. villages, and the community members increasingly began to turn into unequal tenant sharecroppers. In the cities, the authorities began to give the collection of duties at the mercy of the feudal lords, thereby strengthening their undivided domination here.

With the establishment of the power of the Delhi Sultanate, in which Islam was a forcibly implanted religion, India was drawn into the cultural orbit of the Muslim world. However, despite the fierce struggle between Hindus and Muslims, long-term cohabitation led to the mutual penetration of ideas and customs.

India in the era of the Mughal and the empire (XVI-XVIII centuries) 1 The final stage of the medieval history of India was the rise in its north at the beginning of the XVI century. new powerful Muslim Mughal Empire, which in the XVII century. managed to subjugate a significant part of South India. The founder of the state was Timurid Babur (1483-1530). The power of the Mughals in India was strengthened during the half-century reign of Akbar (1452-1605), who transferred the capital to the city of Agra on the Jamnah River, which conquered Gujarat and Bengal, and with them access to the sea. True, the Mughals had to come to terms with the rule of the Portuguese here.

In the Mughal era, India entered the stage of developed feudal relations, the flowering of which went parallel to the strengthening of the central power of the state. The importance of the main financial department of the empire (divan), which was obliged to monitor the use of all suitable lands, increased in importance. A third of the harvest was declared the state's share. In the central regions of the country under Akbar, the peasants were transferred to a monetary tax, which forced them to be included in market relations in advance. All the conquered territories entered the state land fund (khalisa). From it, jagirs were distributed - conditional military awards, which continued to be considered state property. The Jagirdars usually owned several tens of thousands of hectares of land and were obliged to support military detachments - the backbone of the imperial army - with these incomes. Akbar's attempt to liquidate the jagir system in 1574 ended in failure. Also in the state there was a private land property of the zamindar feudal lords from among the conquered princes who paid tribute, and small private estates of Sufi sheikhs and Muslim theologians, inherited, and free from taxes - suyurgal or mulk.

During this period, the handicraft reached a high flourishing, especially the production of fabrics, which were valued throughout the East, and in the region of the southern seas, Indian textiles acted as a kind of universal equivalent of trade. The process of merging the upper merchant stratum with the ruling class begins. Money people could become jagirdars, and the latter - the owners of caravanserais and merchant ships. Merchant castes are formed, playing the role of companies. Surat, the country's main port in the 16th century, becomes the birthplace of a stratum of comprador merchants (i.e., associated with foreigners).

In the XVII century. the importance of the economic center passes to Bengal. Here the production of fine fabrics, saltpeter and tobacco is developing in Dhaka and Patna. Shipbuilding continues to flourish in Gujarat. A new large textile center, Madras, is emerging in the south. Thus, in India, XVI-XVII centuries. the emergence of capitalist relations is already being observed, but the socio-economic system of the Mughal Empire, based on state ownership of land, did not contribute to their rapid growth.

In the Mughal era, religious disputes become more active, on the basis of which wide popular movements are born, the state's religious policy undergoes major turns. So, in the XV century. in Gujarat, among the Muslim cities of trade and craft circles, the Mahdist movement arose. In the XVI century. the ruler's fanatical adherence to orthodox Sunni Islam turned into lawlessness for the Hindus and the persecution of Shiite Muslims. In the XVII century. the oppression of the Shiites, the destruction of all Hindu temples and the use of their stones for the construction of mosques by Aurangzeb (1618-1707) caused a popular uprising, an anti-Mogol movement.

So, medieval India personifies the synthesis of the most diverse socio-political foundations, religious traditions. ethnic cultures. Having melted all this many beginnings inside herself, by the end of the era she appeared before amazed Europeans as a country of fabulous splendor, attracting to itself with wealth, exoticism, secrets. Within it, however, began processes similar to the European ones, inherent in the modern era. The internal market was formed, international relations developed, social contradictions deepened. But for India, a typical Asian power, a despotic state was a strong deterrent to capitalization. With its weakening, the country becomes an easy prey for European colonialists, whose activities interrupted the natural course of the country's historical development for many years.

China (III - XVII centuries)

The era of fragmentation (III-VI centuries). With the fall of the Han Empire at the turn of the II-III centuries. in China there is a change of eras: the ancient period of the country's history ends and the Middle Ages begins. The first stage of early feudalism went down in history as the time of the Three Kingdoms (220-280). On the territory of the country there were three states (Wayna in the north, Shuv in the central part and Una in the south), the power in which was close to a military dictatorship.

But already at the end of the III century. political stability in China is again being lost, and it becomes an easy prey for the nomadic tribes who poured in here, mainly settling in the northwestern regions of the country. From that moment, for two and a half centuries, China was divided into northern and southern parts, which affected its subsequent development. The consolidation of centralized power takes place in the 20s of the 5th century. in the south after the founding of the Southern Song empire here and in the 30s of the 5th century. - in the north, where the Northern Wei empire is strengthening, in which the desire to restore a unified Chinese statehood was expressed more strongly. In 581, a coup d'etat took place in the north: the commander Yang Jian removed the emperor from power and changed the name of the state Sui. In 589 he subdued the southern state to his power and for the first time after 400 years of fragmentation restored the political unity of the country.

Political changes in China III-VI centuries. are closely associated with cardinal shifts in ethnic development. Although foreigners penetrated before, but it was the IV century. becomes a time of massive invasions, comparable to the Great Migration of Nations in Europe. The tribes of the Xiongnu, Sanbi, Qiang, Jie, Di who came from the central regions of Asia settled not only in the northern and western outskirts, but also in the Central Plain, mixing with the indigenous Chinese population. In the south, the processes of assimilation of the non-Chinese population (yue, miao, li, i, man and yao) proceeded faster and less dramatically, leaving significant areas un colonized. This was reflected in the mutual isolation of the parties, and also in the language there were two main dialects of the Chinese language. The northerners called themselves the inhabitants of the middle state, that is, the Chinese, only themselves, and the southerners called the people of W.

The period of political fragmentation was accompanied by a noticeable naturalization of economic life, the decline of cities and a reduction in money circulation. Grain and silk became the measure of value. The allotment system of land use (zhan tian) was introduced, which affected the type of organization of society and the way of managing it. Its essence consisted in securing for each worker, attributed to the class of personally free commoners, the rights to receive a plot of land of a certain size and the establishment of fixed taxes on it.

The allotment system was opposed by the growth of private land plots of the so-called "strong houses" ("da jia"), which was accompanied by the ruin and enslavement of the peasantry. The introduction of the state allotment system, the struggle of the authorities against the expansion of large private landownership lasted throughout the medieval history of China and affected the design of the country's unique agrarian and social system.

The process of official differentiation proceeded on the basis of the disintegration and degeneration of the community. This found expression in the formal amalgamation of peasant farms into five-yard and twenty-five-yard buildings, which were encouraged by the authorities for tax benefits. All the unequal strata in the state were collectively called "vile people" (jianren) and opposed to the "good people" (liangmin). The growing role of the aristocracy was a striking manifestation of social shifts. Nobility was determined by belonging to the old clans. Gentility was consolidated in the lists of noble families, the first general register of which was compiled in the 3rd century. Another distinctive feature of social life of the III-VI centuries. there was a strengthening of personal relationships. The principle of personal duty of the younger to the elder has taken a leading place among moral values.

The imperial period (late 6th-13th centuries) During this period, the imperial order was revived in China, the political unification of the country took place, the nature of the supreme power changed, the centralization of government increased, the role of the bureaucratic apparatus increased. During the reign of the Tang dynasty (618-907), the classical Chinese type of imperial government was formed. In the country there were rebellions of military governors, the peasant war of 874-883, a long struggle with the Tibetans, Uighurs and Tanguts in the north of the country, a military confrontation with the southern Chinese state of Nanzhao. All this led to the agony of the Tang regime.

In the middle of the X century. from the chaos the state was born Later Zhou, which became the new nucleus of the political unification of the country. The reunification of the lands was completed in 960 by the founder of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuanying, with the capital of Kaifeng. In the same century, the state of Liao appears on the political map of northeastern China. In 1038, the Western Xia Tangut Empire was proclaimed on the northwestern borders of the Song Empire. From the middle of the XI century. between Song, Liao and Xia, an approximate balance of power is maintained, which at the beginning of the XII century. was broken with the emergence of a new rapidly growing state of the Jurchens (one of the branches of the Tungus tribes), which formed in Manchuria and proclaimed itself in 1115 the Jin Empire. It soon conquered the state of Liao, captured the capital Song along with the emperor. However, the brother of the captured emperor managed to create the Southern Song empire with its capital in Lingan (Hangzhou), which extended its influence to the southern regions of the country.

Thus, on the eve of the Mongol invasion, China was again split into two parts, the northern one, including the Jin Empire, and the southern territory of the Southern Song Empire.

The process of ethnic consolidation of the Chinese, which began in the 7th century, already at the beginning of the 13th century. leads to the formation of the Chinese people. Ethnic self-awareness manifests itself in the isolation of the Chinese state, opposing foreign countries, in the spread of the universal self-name "han ren" (people of han). The population of the country in the X-XIII centuries. was 80-100 million people.

In the Tang and Song empires, administrative systems that were perfect for their time were formed, which were copied by other states. Since 963, the country's military formations began to report directly to the emperor, and local military ranks were appointed from among the civil servants of the capital. This strengthened the power of the emperor. The bureaucratic apparatus has grown to 25 thousand. The highest government agency was the Department of Departments, which headed the six leading executive bodies of the country: Officials, Taxes, Rituals, Military, Judicial and Public Works. Along with them, the Imperial Secretariat and the Imperial Chancellery were established. The power of the head of state, officially called the Son of Heaven and Emperor, was hereditary and legally unlimited.

Economy of China VII-XII centuries. was based on agricultural production. The allotment system, which reached its apogee in the 6th-8th centuries, by the end of the 10th century. disappeared. In Song China, the land use system already included a state land fund with imperial estates, large and medium private landholdings, small peasant land ownership, and estates of state land holders. The taxation procedure can be called total. The main one was the land two-time tax in kind, amounting to 20% of the harvest, supplemented by trade tax and labor work. To keep track of taxpayers, household registers were compiled every three years.

The unification of the country led to a gradual increase in the role of cities. If in the VIII century. there were 25 of them with a population of about 500 thousand people, then in the X-XII centuries, during the period of urbanization, the urban population began to make up 10% of the total number of the country.

Urbanization was closely related to the growth of handicraft production. Such areas of government craft as silk weaving, ceramic production, woodworking, papermaking and dyeing were especially developed in the cities. The family workshop was a form of private craft, the rise of which was restrained by the powerful competition of government production and the comprehensive control of the imperial power over the urban economy. Trade and craft organizations, as well as shops, constituted the main part of the city's craft. The technique of the craft was gradually improved, its organization changed, large workshops appeared, equipped with machines and using hired labor.

The development of trade was facilitated by the introduction at the end of the 6th century. standards of measures and weights and the release of a copper coin of a specified weight. Trade tax revenue has become a tangible item of government revenue. The increase in metal mining allowed the Song government to issue the largest amount of hard currency in the entire history of the Chinese Middle Ages. The intensification of foreign trade fell on the VII-VIII centuries. The center of maritime trade was the port of Guangzhou, which connected China with Korea, Japan and coastal India. Overland trade went along the Great Silk Road through the territory of Central Asia, along which caravanserais were arranged.

In the Chinese medieval society of the pre-Mongol era, the demarcation went along the line of aristocrats and non-aristocrats, the service class and commoners, free and dependent. The peak of the influence of aristocratic clans falls on the 7th-8th centuries. The first genealogical list of 637 recorded 293 surnames and 1654 families. But by the beginning of the XI century. the power of the aristocracy is weakening and the process of merging it with the bureaucratic bureaucracy begins.

The "golden age" of bureaucracy was the time of the Song. The service pyramid consisted of 9 ranks and 30 degrees, and belonging to it opened the way to enrichment. The main channel of penetration into the environment of officials was state exams, which contributed to the expansion of the social base of service people.

About 60% of the population were peasants who legally retained their rights to land, but in fact did not have the opportunity to freely dispose of it, leave it uncultivated or abandoned. From the IX century. there was a process of disappearance of the personally unequal estates (jianren): state serfs (guanhu), state artisans (gong) and musicians (yue), private and dependent landless workers (butsoi). A special stratum of society was made up of members of Buddhist and Taoist monasteries, numbering in the 20s of the XI century. 400 thousand people.

Cities in which the Lumpen layer appears become centers of anti-government uprisings. The largest movement against the arbitrariness of the authorities was the uprising led by Fang La in the southeastern region of China in 1120-1122. On the territory of the Jin Empire until its fall in the XIII century. there were national liberation detachments of "red jackets" and "black banner".

In medieval China, there were three religious doctrines: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. In the Tang era, the government encouraged Taoism: in 666, the sanctity of the author of the ancient Chinese treatise - the canonical work of Taoism Laozi (I-VIII centuries BC) was officially recognized, in the first half of the VIII century. the Taoist Academy was established. At the same time, the persecution of Buddhism intensified and neo-Confucianism was established, which claimed the role of the only ideology that substantiated the social hierarchy and correlated it with the concept of personal duty.

So, by the beginning of the XIII century. in Chinese society, many features and institutions acquire a complete form and are consolidated, which subsequently will undergo only partial changes. The political, economic and social systems are approaching the classical models, changes in ideology lead to the highlighting of neo-Confucianism.

China in the era of Mongol rule. Yuan Empire (1271-1367) The Mongol conquest of China stretched for almost 70 years. In 1215 it was taken. Beijing, and in 1280 China was completely at the mercy of the Mongols. With the accession to the throne of Kublai Khan (1215-1294), the Great Khan's headquarters was moved to Beijing. Along with it, Karakorum and Shandong were considered equal capitals. In 1271, all the possessions of the great khan were declared the Yuan Empire on the Chinese model. Mongol domination in the main part of China lasted a little over a century and was noted by Chinese sources as the most difficult time for the country.

Despite its military might, the Yuan empire was not distinguished by internal strength, it was shaken by civil strife, as well as the resistance of the local Chinese population, the uprising of the secret Buddhist society "White Lotus".

A characteristic feature of the social structure was the division of the country into four categories of unequal rights. The Chinese of the north and the inhabitants of the south of the country were considered, respectively, people of the third and fourth grade after the Mongols themselves and immigrants from the Islamic countries of western and central Asia. Thus, the ethnic situation of the era was characterized not only by national oppression by the Mongols, but also by the legalized opposition of northern and southern Chinese.

The domination of the Yuan Empire rested on the strength of the army. Each city contained a garrison of at least 1000 people, and in Beijing there was a khan's guard of 12 thousand people. Tibet and Koryo (Korea) were in vassal dependence on the Yuan palace. Attempts to invade Japan, Burma, Vietnam and Java, undertaken in the 70-80s of the XIII century, did not bring success to the Mongols. For the first time, Yuan China was visited by merchants and missionaries from Europe, who left notes about their travels: Marco Polo (circa 1254-1324), Arnold from Cologne and others.

Mongol rulers, interested in receiving income from the conquered lands, from the second half of the XII century. more and more began to adopt traditional Chinese methods of exploiting the population. Initially, the taxation system was streamlined and centralized. Tax collection was removed from the hands of local authorities, a general census of the population was carried out, tax registers were compiled, the capitation and land grain taxes and the household tax levied on silk and silver were introduced.

The current laws determined the system of land relations, within the framework of which private land, state land, land for public use and specific allotments were allocated. A stable trend in agriculture since the beginning of the XIV century. there is an increase in private land holdings and an expansion of lease relations. The surplus of the enslaved population and prisoners of war made it possible to widely use their labor on state lands and on the lands of soldiers in military settlements. Along with slaves, state land was cultivated by state tenants. Temple land tenure was widespread as never before, replenished both through government donations and through purchases and direct seizure of fields. Such land was considered an eternal possession and was cultivated by brothers and tenants.

Urban life began to revive only towards the end of the 13th century. The register lists of 1279 numbered about 420 thousand craftsmen. Following the example of the Chinese, the Mongols established the treasury's monopoly on the disposal of salt, iron, metal, tea, wine and vinegar, and established a trade tax in the amount of one-thirtieth of the value of the goods. Due to the inflation of paper money at the end of the XIII century. natural exchange began to dominate in trade, the role of precious metals increased, and usury flourished.

From the middle of the XIII century. Lamaism, the Tibetan variety of Buddhism, becomes the official religion of the Mongol court. A characteristic feature of the period was the emergence of secret religious sects. The previous leading position of Confuncianism was not restored, although the opening in 1287 of the Academy of the Sons of the Fatherland, the forge of the highest Confucian cadres, testified to the adoption of the imperial Confucian doctrine by Khan Khubilai.

Minsk China (1368-1644). Ming China was born and died in the crucible of the great peasant wars, the events of which were invisibly directed by secret religious societies such as the "White Lotus". In this era, Mongol domination was finally eliminated and the foundations of an economic and political system that corresponded to traditional Chinese ideas of ideal statehood were laid. The peak of the Ming empire's power was in the first third of the 15th century, but by the end of the century negative phenomena began to grow. The entire second half of the dynastic cycle (16th - first half of the 17th centuries) was characterized by a protracted crisis, which by the end of the era acquired a general and comprehensive character. The crisis that began with changes in the economy and social structure manifested itself most visibly in the field of domestic politics.

The first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1398), began to pursue a far-sighted agrarian and financial policy. He increased the share of peasant households in the land wedge, strengthened control over the distribution of state land, stimulated military settlements sponsored by the treasury, resettled peasants to empty land, introduced a fixed taxation, and provided benefits to poor households. His son Zhu Di toughened the police functions of power: a special department was established, subordinate only to the emperor - Brocade robes, and denunciation was encouraged. In the XV century. two more punitive-detective institutions appeared.

The central foreign policy task of the Minsk state in the XIV-XV centuries. was preventing the possibility of a new Mongol attack. Not without military clashes. And although peace was concluded with Mongolia in 1488, the raids continued in the 16th century. From the invasion of the country by the troops of Tamerlane, which began in 1405, China was saved by the death of the conqueror.

In the XV century. the southern direction of foreign policy is becoming more active. China is interfering in Vietnamese affairs and seizing a number of areas of Burma. From 1405 to 1433 seven grandiose expeditions of the Chinese fleet under the leadership of Zheng He (1371 - about 1434) are made to the countries of Southeast Asia, India, Arabia and Africa. In different campaigns, he led from 48 to 62 only large ships. These voyages were aimed at establishing trade and diplomatic relations with overseas countries, although all foreign trade was reduced to the exchange of tribute and gifts with foreign embassies, and the strictest prohibition was imposed on private foreign trade activities. The caravan trade also took on the character of ambassadorial missions.

Government policies on domestic trade were not consistent. Private trading activity was recognized as legal and profitable for the treasury, but public opinion considered it unworthy of respect and required systematic control by the authorities. The state itself pursued an active internal trade policy. The treasury forcibly bought goods at low prices and distributed the products of state crafts, sold licenses for trade activities, maintained a system of monopoly goods, maintained the imperial shops and established state "trading settlements".

During this period, bank notes and small copper coins remained the basis of the country's monetary system. Although the ban on the use of gold and silver in trade was weakened, it was, however, rather slowly. The economic specialization of the regions and the trend towards the expansion of state crafts and trades are indicated more clearly than in the previous era. Handicraft associations during this period gradually begin to acquire the character of guild organizations. Written statutes appear within them, a wealthy stratum appears.

Since the XVI century. the penetration of Europeans into the country begins. As in India, the Portuguese were in the lead. Macau (Aomen) became their first possession on one of the South Chinese islands. From the second half of the 17th century. the country is flooded with the Dutch and the British, who assisted the Manchus in conquering China. At the end of the 17th century. in the suburbs of Guangzhou, the British founded one of the first continental trading posts, which became the center for the distribution of British goods.

Taking into account these features and based on the idea of the degree of maturity of feudal relations in the history of the East, the following stages are distinguished:

I-VI c. AD - the transitional period of the emergence of feudalism;

VII-X centuries. - the period of early feudal relations with the inherent process of naturalization of the economy and the decline of ancient cities;

XI-XII centuries - the pre-Mongol period, the beginning of the flourishing of feudalism, the formation of the estate-corporate system of life, cultural takeoff;

XIII centuries - the time of the Mongol conquest, which interrupted the development of feudal society and reversed some of them;

XIV-XVI centuries - the post-Mongol period, which is characterized by a slowdown in social development, the conservation of a despotic form of power.

A variegated picture was presented by the Medieval East and in a civilizational sense, which also distinguished it from Europe. Some civilizations in the East originated in antiquity; Buddhist and Hindu - on the Indian subcontinent, Taoist-Confucian - in China. Others were born in the Middle Ages: Muslim civilization in the Near and Middle East, Indo-Muslim in India, Hindu and Muslim in Southeast Asia, Buddhist in Japan and Southeast Asia, Confucian in Japan and Korea.

India. In the VII-XII centuries. a period of feudal fragmentation began in India. At this stage, however, the isolation of the country's regions and the decline of culture did not occur due to the development of port trade. In the VI-VII centuries. in India, a system of stable political centers is developing, fighting with each other under the banner of different dynasties - North India, Bengal, Deccan and the Far South. In the X century. the leading powers of the country fell into decay, divided into independent principalities. The political fragmentation of the country turned out to be especially tragic for Northern India, which suffered in the XI century. regular raids by the troops of Mahmud Ghaznavid, the ruler of a vast empire that included the territories of the modern states of Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, as well as Punjab and Sindh.

The socio-economic development of India in the Rajput era was characterized by the growth of feudal possessions. The richest among the feudal lords, along with the rulers, were Hindu temples and monasteries. The Indian community was still relatively independent, large in size and self-governing. The full-fledged commune member inherited his own field, although trade operations with land were certainly controlled by the communal administration.

At the stage of feudal fragmentation, Hinduism finally prevailed over Buddhism, defeating it by the power of its amorphousness, which corresponded perfectly to the political system of the era.

In the XIII century. in the north of India, a large Muslim state, the Delhi Sultanate, was established, the domination of Muslim military leaders from the Central Asian Turks was finally formed. Sunni Islam became the state religion, Persian became the official language. Accompanied by bloody strife, the dynasties of Gulyams, Khilji, Tughlakids were successively replaced in Delhi. The troops of the sultans made conquest campaigns in Central and South India, and the conquered rulers were forced to recognize themselves as vassals of Delhi and pay the Sultan an annual tribute.

A turning point in the history of the Delhi Sultanate was the invasion of North India in 1398 by the troops of the Central Asian ruler Timur. In 1526 Babur laid the foundation for the Mughal Empire, which existed for almost 200 years. In the Mughal era, India entered the stage of developed feudal relations, the flowering of which went parallel to the strengthening of the central power of the state. The importance of the main financial department of the empire (divan) increased; in the central regions of the country, peasants were transferred to a monetary tax, which forced them to be included in market relations in advance.

During this period, the handicraft reached a high flourishing, especially the production of fabrics, which were valued throughout the East, and in the region of the southern seas, Indian textiles acted as a kind of universal equivalent of trade. The process of merging the upper merchant stratum with the ruling class begins. In the XVII century. the importance of the economic center passes to Bengal. The production of fine fabrics, saltpeter and tobacco is developing here. Shipbuilding continues to flourish in Gujarat. A new large textile center, Madras, is emerging in the south. Thus, in India, XVI-XVII centuries. the emergence of capitalist relations is already being observed, but the socio-economic system of the Mughal Empire, based on state ownership of land, did not contribute to their rapid growth.

China. At the end of the III century. China becomes an easy prey for the nomadic tribes who poured here, mainly settling in the north-western regions of the country. From that moment, for two and a half centuries, China was divided into northern and southern parts, which affected its subsequent development. In the VI century. the political unity of the country was restored.

Political changes in China III-VI centuries. are closely associated with cardinal shifts in ethnic development. Although foreigners penetrated into China before, but it was in the IV century. became the time of massive invasions, comparable to the Great Migration of Nations in Europe. In the south, the processes of assimilation of the non-Chinese population (yue, miao, li, i, man and yao) proceeded faster and less dramatically, leaving significant areas un colonized. This was reflected in the mutual isolation of the parties, and also in the language there were two main dialects of the Chinese language. The northerners called themselves the inhabitants of the middle state, that is, the Chinese, only themselves, and the southerners called the people of W.

The period of political fragmentation was accompanied by a noticeable naturalization of economic life, the decline of cities and a reduction in money circulation. Grain and silk became the measure of value. The allotment system of land use was introduced, which affected the type of organization of society and the way it was managed. Its essence consisted in securing for each worker, attributed to the class of personally free commoners, the rights to receive a plot of land of a certain size and the establishment of fixed taxes on it.

The allotment system was opposed by the growth of private land plots of the so-called "strong houses", which was accompanied by the ruin and enslavement of the peasantry. The introduction of the state allotment system, the struggle of the authorities against the expansion of large private landownership lasted throughout the medieval history of China and affected the design of the country's unique agrarian and social system.

The process of official differentiation proceeded on the basis of the disintegration and degeneration of the community. All the unequal strata in the state were collectively called "vile people" and were opposed to the "good people". The growing role of the aristocracy was a striking manifestation of social shifts. Nobility was determined by belonging to the old clans. Another hallmark of social life was the strengthening of personal relationships. The principle of personal duty of the younger to the elder has taken a leading place among moral values. The process of ethnic consolidation of the Chinese leads to the formation of the Chinese people.

In the Tang and Song empires, administrative systems that were perfect for their time were formed, which were copied by other states. All military units of the country began to report directly to the emperor, and local military ranks were appointed from among the civil servants of the capital. This strengthened the power of the emperor. The bureaucratic apparatus has grown. The highest government agency was the Department of Departments, which headed the six leading executive bodies of the country: Officials, Taxes, Rituals, Military, Judicial and Public Works. Along with them, the Imperial Secretariat and the Imperial Chancellery were established. The power of the head of state, officially called the Son of Heaven and Emperor, was hereditary and legally unlimited.

Economy of China VII-XII centuries. was based on agricultural production. The land use system already included the state land fund with imperial estates, large and medium-sized private landholdings, small-peasant land ownership and estates of state land holders. The taxation procedure can be called total. The main one was the land two-time tax in kind, amounting to 20% of the harvest, supplemented by trade tax and labor work. To keep track of taxpayers, household registers were compiled every three years.

The unification of the country led to a gradual increase in the role of cities. Urbanization was closely related to the growth of handicraft production. Such areas of government craft as silk weaving, ceramic production, woodworking, papermaking and dyeing were especially developed in the cities. The family workshop was a form of private craft, the rise of which was restrained by the powerful competition of government production and the comprehensive control of the imperial power over the urban economy. Trade and craft organizations, as well as shops, constituted the main part of the city's craft. The technique of the craft was gradually improved, its organization changed, large workshops appeared, equipped with machines and using hired labor.

In medieval China, there were three religious doctrines: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.

The Mongol conquest of China stretched out for almost 70 years. In 1271, all the possessions of the great khan were declared the Yuan Empire on the Chinese model. Mongol domination in the main part of China lasted a little over a century and was noted by Chinese sources as the most difficult time for the country.

Ming China was born and died in the crucible of the great peasant wars, the events of which were invisibly directed by secret religious societies such as the "White Lotus". In this era, Mongol domination was finally eliminated and the foundations of an economic and political system that corresponded to traditional Chinese ideas of ideal statehood were laid. The peak of the Ming empire's power was in the first third of the 15th century, but by the end of the century negative phenomena began to grow. 16th - first half of the 17th centuries characterized by a protracted crisis, which acquired a general and comprehensive character by the end of the era.

Since the XVI century. the penetration of Europeans into the country begins. As in India, the Portuguese were in the lead.

Arab Caliphate... On the territory of the Arabian Peninsula already in the II millennium BC. lived Arab tribes that were part of the Semitic group of peoples. In the V-VI centuries. AD Arab tribes prevailed in the Arabian Peninsula. Part of the population of this peninsula lived in cities, oases, was engaged in handicrafts and trade. Another part wandered in deserts and steppes, was engaged in cattle breeding. Trade caravan routes between Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Judea passed through the Arabian Peninsula. The intersection of these paths was the Meccan oasis near the Red Sea. In addition, Mecca became the religious center of Western Arabia. The ancient pre-Islamic temple of the Kaaba was located here. According to legend, this temple was erected by the biblical patriarch Abraham (Ibrahim) with his son Ismail. This temple is associated with a sacred stone that has fallen to the ground, which has been worshiped since ancient times, and with the cult of the god of the tribe Quraish Allah (from Arab. Ilah - master).

In the VI century. n, e. in Arabia, due to the movement of trade routes to Iran, the importance of trade is declining. The population, having lost income from the caravan trade, was forced to look for sources of livelihood in agriculture. But there were few land suitable for agriculture. They had to be conquered. For this, forces were needed and, consequently, the unification of fragmented tribes, who, moreover, worshiped different gods. The need for the introduction of monotheism and the rallying on this basis of the Arab tribes was increasingly determined.

This idea was preached by adherents of the Hanif sect, one of whom was Muhammad, who became the founder of a new religion for the Arabs - Islam. This religion is based on the dogmas of Judaism and Christianity: belief in one God and his prophet, the Last Judgment, the afterlife retribution, unconditional obedience to the will of God (Arabic Islam-obedience). The names of prophets and other biblical characters common to these religions testify to the Jewish and Christian roots of Islam: the biblical Abraham (Islamic Ibrahim), Aaron (Harun), David (Daoud), Isaac (Ishak), Solomon (Suleiman), Ilya (Ilyas), Jacob (Yakub), Christian Jesus (Isa), Mary (Maryam), etc. Islam has common customs and prohibitions with Judaism. Both religions prescribe circumcision of boys, forbid depicting God and living beings, eating pork, drinking wine, etc.

After the death of Muhammad, his sermons and sayings were collected in a single book of the Koran (translated from Arabic means reading), which became sacred for Muslims. The book includes 114 suras (chapters), which set out the main tenets of Islam, prescriptions and prohibitions. Later Islamic religious literature is called Sunnah. It contains legends about Muhammad. Muslims who recognized the Koran and Sunnah began to be called Sunnis, and those who recognized only one Koran - Shiites. Shiites recognize only his relatives as legitimate caliphs (governors, deputies) of Muhammad, spiritual and secular heads of Muslims.

The economic crisis of Western Arabia in the 7th century, caused by the movement of trade routes, the lack of suitable agricultural land and high population growth, pushed the leaders of the Arab tribes to seek a way out of the crisis by seizing foreign lands. This is reflected in the Koran, which says that Islam should be the religion of all peoples, but for this it is necessary to fight the infidels, exterminate them and take away their property.

Guided by this specific task and the ideology of Islam, the successors of Muhammad, the caliphs, began a series of campaigns of conquest. They conquered Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia. Already in 638 they captured Jerusalem. Until the end of the VII century. under the rule of the Arabs were the countries of the Middle East, Persia, the Caucasus, Egypt and Tunisia. In the VIII century. Central Asia, Afghanistan, Western India, Northwest Africa were captured. In 711, the Arab troops sailed from Africa to the Iberian Peninsula, quickly conquered the Iberian lands and rushed to Gaul. However, in 732, at the Battle of Poitiers, they were defeated by King Charles Martell of the Franks. By the middle of the IX century. the Arabs captured Sicily, Sardinia, the southern regions of Italy, the island of Crete. This stopped the Arab conquests, but a long-term war with the Byzantine Empire was fought. The Arabs twice besieged Constantinople.

The victories of the Arabs, their capture of vast territories were facilitated by the long-term war between Byzantium and Persia, disunity and constant enmity between other states that were attacked by the Arabs. It should also be noted that the population of the countries occupied by the Arabs, suffering from the oppression of Byzantium and Persia, saw the Arabs as liberators who reduced the tax burden primarily to those who converted to Islam.

The unification of many former scattered and warring states into a single state contributed to the development of economic and cultural communication between the peoples of Asia, Africa and Europe. Crafts, trade developed, cities grew. Within the Arab Caliphate, a culture developed rapidly, absorbing the Greco-Roman, Iranian and Indian heritage. Through the Arabs, Europe got acquainted with the cultural achievements of the Eastern peoples, primarily with the achievements in the field of exact sciences - mathematics, astronomy, geography, etc.

In the VIII century. the division of the Arab Caliphate into two parts was the beginning of the creation of smaller Arab states, the heads of which were the rulers of the provinces - the emirs.

The Caliphate as an institution for the spiritual leadership of the Arabs by all Muslims continued to exist until 1517, when this function was transferred to the Turkish Sultan, who conquered Egypt, where the last Caliphate lived - the spiritual head of all Muslims.

Features of the development of the countries of the East in the Middle Ages The term "Middle Ages" is used to designate the period of history of the countries of the East in the first seventeen centuries of the new era. The natural upper boundary of the period is considered to be the 16th - early 17th centuries. when the East becomes the object of European trade and colonial expansion, which interrupted the course of development characteristic of Asian and North African countries.

Geographically, the Medieval East covers the territory of North Africa, the Near and Middle East, Central and Central Asia, India, Sri Lanka, and the South. East Asia and the Far East.

The transition to the Middle Ages in the East in some cases was carried out on the basis of already existing political formations (for example, Byzantium, Sassanian Iran, Kushano, Gupta India), in others it was accompanied by social upheavals, as it was in China, and almost everywhere the processes were accelerated thanks to participation of "barbarian" nomadic tribes in them.

In the historical arena during this period, such hitherto unknown peoples as the Arabs, Seljuk Turks, and Mongols appeared and ascended. New religions were born and civilizations arose on their basis. The countries of the East in the Middle Ages were associated with Europe.

Byzantium remained the bearer of the traditions of the Greco-Roman culture. The Arab conquest of Spain and the campaigns of the Crusaders to the East contributed to the interaction of cultures. However, for the countries of South Asia and the Far East, acquaintance with the Europeans took place only in the XVXVI centuries.

The formation of medieval societies in the East was characterized by the growth of productive forces - iron implements spread, artificial irrigation expanded and irrigation technology improved, the leading trend in the historical process both in the East and in Europe was the establishment of feudal relations. Different results of development in the East and West by the end of the XX century. due to the lesser degree of its dynamism. Among the factors that determine the "lag" of Eastern societies, the following stand out: the preservation, along with the feudal system, of the extremely slowly decaying primitive communal and slaveholding relations; the stability of communal forms of community life, which held back the differentiation of the peasantry; the predominance of state property and power over private land ownership and private power of feudal lords; the undivided power of the feudal lords over the city, weakening the anti-feudal aspirations of the townspeople. Remodification of the history of the medieval East. Taking into account these features and based on the idea of the degree of maturity of feudal relations in the history of the East, the following stages are distinguished:

I-VI c. n. NS. - the transitional period of the emergence of feudalism; VII-X centuries. - the period of early feudal relations with the inherent process of naturalization of the economy and the decline of ancient cities; XI-XII centuries - the pre-Mongol period, the beginning of the heyday of feudalism, the formation of the estate-based corporate system of life, cultural takeoff; XIII centuries - the time of the Mongol conquest, which interrupted the development of feudal society and reversed some of them; XIV-XVI centuries - the post-Mongol period, which is characterized by a slowdown in social development, the conservation of a despotic form of power. Eastern civilizations. A variegated picture was presented by the Medieval East and in a civilizational sense, which also distinguished it from Europe. Some civilizations in the East originated in antiquity; Buddhist and Hindu - on the Indian subcontinent, Taoist-Confucian - in China. Others were born in the Middle Ages: Muslim civilization in the Near and Middle East, Indo-Muslim in India, Hindu and Muslim in Southeast Asia, Buddhist in Japan and Southeast Asia, Confucian in Japan and Korea.

India (VII-XVIII centuries) Rajput period (VII-XII centuries). As shown in Ch. 2, in the IVVI centuries. n. NS. on the territory of modern India, a powerful Gupta empire was formed. The era of the Guptas, perceived as the golden age of India, was replaced in the 7th-12th centuries. a period of feudal fragmentation. At this stage, however, the isolation of the country's regions and the decline of culture did not occur due to the development of port trade. The tribes of the conquerors of the Huns, who came from Central Asia, settled in the northwest of the country, and the Gujarats that appeared with them settled in Punjab, Sindh, Rajputan and Malwa. As a result of the merger of the newcomers with the local population, a compact ethnic community of the Rajputs arose, which in the VIII century. began from Rajputana expansion into the rich regions of the Ganges Valley and Central India. The most famous was the Gurjara-Pratikhara clan, which formed a state in Malwa. Here the most striking type of feudal relations with a developed hierarchy and vassal psychology took shape.

In the VI-VII centuries. in India, a system of stable political centers is developing, fighting with each other under the banner of different dynasties - North India, Bengal, Deccan and the Far South. Canvas of political events of the 8th century. the struggle for the Doab (between the Djamna and the Ganges) began. In the X century. the leading powers of the country fell into decay, divided into independent principalities. The political fragmentation of the country turned out to be especially tragic for Northern India, which suffered in the XI century. regular raids by the troops of Mahmud Ghaznavid (9981030), the ruler of a vast empire that included the territories of the modern states of Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, as well as Punjab and Sindh.

City life, frozen after the 6th century. , began to revive only towards the end of the Rajput period. Old port centers developed faster. New cities arose near the castles of the feudal lords, where artisans settled, serving the needs of the court and the troops of the landowner. The development of urban life was facilitated by the increased exchange between cities and the emergence of groups of artisans by caste. Just as in Western Europe, in the Indian city, the development of crafts and trade was accompanied by the struggle of citizens against the feudal lords, who imposed new taxes on artisans and merchants. Moreover, the lower the status of the castes, to which the artisans and merchants belonged, the higher the tax was. At the stage of feudal fragmentation, Hinduism finally prevailed over Buddhism, defeating it by the power of its amorphousness, which corresponded perfectly to the political system of the era.

One of the last Lodi, Ibrahim, seeking to exalt his power, entered into an irreconcilable struggle with the feudal nobility and Afghan military leaders. Ibrahim's opponents appealed to the ruler of Kabul, Timurid Babur, with a request to save them from the tyranny of the Sultan. In 1526, Babur defeated Ibrahim at the Battle of Panipat, thus laying the foundation for the Mughal Empire, which existed for almost 200 years.

By the XIV century. historians attribute a new wave of urbanization in India. The cities became centers of crafts and trade. Domestic trade was mainly focused on the needs of the capital's court. The leading import item was the import of horses (the basis of the Delhi army is the cavalry), which were not bred in India due to the lack of pastures. Archaeologists find treasures of Delhi coins in Persia, Central Asia and on the Volga. During the reign of the Delhi Sultanate, the penetration of Europeans into India began. In 1498, under the leadership of Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese first reached Calicata on the Malabar coast of western India.

As a result of subsequent military expeditions - Cabral (1500), Vasco de Gama (1502), d "Albuquerque (1510-1511) - the Portuguese seize the Bijapur island of Goa, which became the mainstay of their possessions in the East. The Portuguese monopoly on sea trade undermined India's trade relations with countries of the East, isolated the deep regions of the country and delayed their development.

The wars and the destruction of the population of Malabar led to the same. Gujarat was also weakened. Only the Vijayanagar empire remained in the XIVXVI centuries. powerful and even more centralized than the former states of the south. The maharaja was considered its head, but all the full real power belonged to the state council, the chief minister, to whom the governors of the provinces were directly subordinate.

State lands were distributed in a conditional military award - amaram. A significant part of the villages were in the possession of brahmana collectives - sabhs. Large communities have disintegrated. Their holdings narrowed down to the lands of one village, and the commoners increasingly began to turn into unequal tenants-sharecroppers. In the cities, the authorities began to give the collection of duties at the mercy of the feudal lords, thereby strengthening their undivided domination here.

India in the era of the Mughal and impriy (XVI-XVIII centuries) 1 The final stage of the medieval history of India was the rise in its north at the beginning of the XVI century. new powerful Muslim Mughal Empire, which in the XVII century. managed to subjugate a significant part of South India. The founder of the state was Timurid Babur (1483-1530). The power of the Mughals in India was strengthened during the half-century reign of Akbar (1452-1605), who transferred the capital to the city of Agra on the Jamnah River, which conquered Gujarat and Bengal, and with them access to the sea. True, the Mughals had to come to terms with the rule of the Portuguese here.

All the conquered territories entered the state land fund (khalisa). From it, jagirs were distributed - conditional military awards, which continued to be considered state property. The Jagirdars usually owned several tens of thousands of hectares of land and were obliged to support military detachments - the backbone of the imperial army - with these incomes. Akbar's attempt to liquidate the jagir system in 1574 ended in failure.

Also in the state there was a private land property of feudal lords-zamindars from among the conquered princes who paid tribute, and small private estates of Sufi sheikhs and Muslim theologians, inherited, and free from taxes - suyurgal or mulk.

During this period, the handicraft reached a high flourishing, especially the production of fabrics, which were valued throughout the East, and in the region of the southern seas, Indian textiles acted as a kind of universal equivalent of trade. The process of merging the upper merchant stratum with the ruling class begins. Money people could become jagirdars, and the latter - the owners of caravanserais and merchant ships. Merchant castes are formed, playing the role of companies. Surat, the country's main port in the 16th century. , becomes a place where a stratum of merchant-compradors (that is, those associated with foreigners) emerges.

In the Mughal era, religious disputes become more active, on the basis of which wide popular movements are born, the state's religious policy undergoes major turns. So, in the XV century. In Gujarat, the Mahdist movement arose among the Muslim cities of trade and crafts circles. In the XVI century. the ruler's fanatical adherence to orthodox Sunni Islam turned into lawlessness for the Hindus and the persecution of Shia Muslims. In the XVII century. the oppression of the Shiites, the destruction of all Hindu temples and the use of their stones for the construction of mosques by Aurangzeb (1618 -1707) caused a popular uprising, an anti-Mogol movement.

Medieval India embodies the synthesis of the most diverse socio-political foundations and religious traditions. ethnic cultures. Having melted all this many beginnings inside herself, by the end of the era she appeared before amazed Europeans as a country of fabulous splendor, attracting to itself with wealth, exoticism, secrets. Within it, however, began processes similar to the European ones, inherent in the modern era.

The internal market was formed, international relations developed, social contradictions deepened. But for India, a typical Asian power, a despotic state was a strong deterrent to capitalization. With its weakening, the country becomes an easy prey for European colonialists, whose activities interrupted the natural course of the country's historical development for many years.

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States of the East in the Middle Ages

1 .

2 . India

2.1 The development of feudal relations in the VII-XII centuries.

2.2 Forms of feudal exploitation

2.3 The caste structure of Indian medieval society

2.4 Hinduism - the religion of the feudal society of India

2.5 Formation of the Delhi Sultanate

2.6 State system of the Delhi Sultanate

2.7 External and internal situation of the Delhi Sultanate during its heyday

2.8 Decline of the Delhi Sultanate

2.9 Power of the Great Mongol (XVI-XVII centuries). Shah Akbar's reforms

2.10 Organized Invasion of European Trading Companies

2.11 Indian culture

3 . China

3.1 Tang Empire

3.2 Peasant war in the 9th century

3.3 The Song Empire

3.4 Conquests of the Mongols

3.5 Liberation of China from Mongol rule

3.6 Features of the economic and economic development of medieval China

3.7 Culture

4 . Japan

4.1 The beginning of samurai rule

4.2 The Taira dictatorship

4.3 Shogunate and Kamakura Period

4.4 Culture of the Kamakura period

4.5 Development of samurai rule

4.6 Restoration of Kemmu and the War of the Two Dynasties

4.7 Second Shogunate and the Muromachi Period

4.8 Socio-economic development

4.9 Culture of the Muromachi period

4.10 Ours and foes in the civilization of Japan

5 . Arab Caliphate

5.1 Nature and occupation of the population of Arabia

5.2 Social order and beliefs of the Arabs

5.3 The Need for Arabs to Unite and the Role of Islam

5.4 The Rise of Islam and the Role of Muhammad

5.5 Basic duties of a Muslim

5.6 Arab conquests and reasons for their successes

5.7 The attitude of the Arabs towards the conquered peoples

5.8 Features of the feudal system in the Middle East

5.9 Governance of the Arab Caliphate

5.10 The disintegration of the Arab state and its causes

5.11 Culture of the Arab Caliphate

6 ... General characteristics of the civilization of the medieval East

Bibliography

1 . The main features of the development of the countries of the East in the Middle Ages

With the growth and development of the productive forces: iron tools, irrigation, feudal relations were strengthened. But this transition from primitive communal and slave-owning relations was slower than in Europe. State ownership of land limited the power of the feudal lords. The state organization arose here before the formation of private rights to land plots began. The state has become a hypertrophied general community. But such a huge community could not work on its head every day like an elder in a village. The patriarch distanced himself from the people and was forced to resort to the help of his servants. But such a patriarch was not limited by anything other than tradition. Surrounded by servants, distant and separated from the people, the patriarch was also distanced from tradition. The result is despotism. Private ownership of land, which nevertheless was formed from grants, thus formed only among those close to the authorities, that is, among the upper stratum of the ruling class. The property of the others was rare, incomplete, subject to arbitrariness, which negatively influenced the economic initiative and also led to stagnation.

In Europe, the Middle Ages is a synonym for "feudalism", it is the period between antiquity and capitalist relations. And in the East there was antiquity. Eastern civilization developed unevenly:

periods of prosperity alternated with periods of decline. Therefore, it is difficult to strictly define the boundaries of the Middle Ages in the East. The Middle Ages for the civilization of the East are considered to be the first 17 centuries of the new era.

The following stages are distinguished in the history of the East:

I-VI v. AD - the transitional period of the emergence of feudalism;

VII-X centuries - the period of early feudal relations, natural exchange and the decline of ancient cities;

XI-XII centuries - pre-Mongol period, the beginning of the flourishing of feudalism, the development of cultural

XIII centuries - the time of the Mongol conquest, which interrupted the development of feudal society;

XIV-XVI centuries - post-Mongolian period, slowdown of social development, despotic form of power.

Geographically Medieval East includes territories:

North Africa, the Near and Middle East, Central and Central Asia, India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and the Far East. east feudal sultanate samurai

The medieval East was also distinguished from Europe by the presence of different civilizations.

Some civilizations in the East originated in antiquity;

Buddhist and hindu I am on the Indian subcontinent,

Taoist-Confucian- in China.

Others were born in the Middle Ages:

muslim civilization in the Near and Middle East,

Indo-Muslim- in India,

hindu and muslim- in the countries of Southeast Asia,

Buddhist I am in Japan and Southeast Asia,

confucian- in Japan and Korea

The Medieval East was a symbol of wealth and luxury for Europeans. The living standard there, up to the end of the 18th century, was significantly higher than in the West; cities outnumbered European cities in terms of their numbers. In the large cities of the East, craft developed, reaching a very high level for the Middle Ages. Europe bought silk, porcelain, weapons, spices in the East.

Meanwhile, the life of the medieval East was turbulent.

Old empires collapsed, and new states arose in their place. Hordes of nomads destroyed ancient centers of culture, endangering the very existence of civilization. If Western Europe is already by the XII century. mainly freed from this danger, then in the East, a long time later, the struggle against nomads continued.

The East was by no means a single whole: a huge abyss separated nomadic tribes and sedentary cultures, the historical paths of ancient civilizations (Indian and Chinese) and younger ones that appeared by the 6th-7th centuries were different. n. NS. (Arabic and Japanese).

Before considering these civilizations separately, you can

highlight common characteristic features:

The state is the supreme owner of the land.

He who has power has property;

The basis of society and the state is the rural community;

Private property plays only an auxiliary role, and

the state is dominant;

The presence of large cities, which previously played the role of administrative,

religious centers, as well as centers of international trade.

In all the states of the East, the economic system was organized according to the following scheme: those who worked the land were united into communities. Communities had the right to cultivate the land and use all the necessary resources for farming: water, forest, suburbs, etc. But the right to own and dispose of land and its resources was in the hands of the state apparatus. Therefore, the community paid tax to the state,

And the state built canals, roads, bridges, temples, etc. The state apparatus had access to the distribution of manufactured products and, accordingly, received their share in the property. The higher the position occupied by a person in the state apparatus, the greater the share he received. Therefore, we say that the feature of Eastern civilization was the presence of the power of property.

The more efficiently the state apparatus worked, the more regularly and in sufficient volume taxes were collected. The state was strong and powerful. Its power increased from the productivity of a peasant or artisan. But the life of the whole society was disrupted: an uprising, famine, the death of states, etc. Two main reasons ruined the state: when unreasonable rulers overestimated the amount of taxes, uprisings took place or raids of nomads destroyed the traditional system of life.

2. India

2.1 The development of feudal relations inVii- XIIcenturies

From the documents of the early Middle Ages it follows that Maharajas - princes distributed land belonging to rural communities to individuals, temples and priests - brahmanas. In addition, the land was given on condition of service. But still, in the initial period of the early Middle Ages, most of the land in India belonged to the princes themselves.

There were rural communities that consisted of a group of small and large patriarchal families. Each family possessed a hereditary share of arable land and conducted an independent economy on it.

Every rural community in India had artisans and community servants, blacksmiths, carpenters, potters, barbers, laundresses, watchmen, and a shepherd. They received from the community support in the form of a certain share of the crop. Some categories of artisans and servants, in addition, received small plots of land from the community and ran their own household on them.

The community was headed by the headman. He was both a judge and a military leader in the event of an attack. He and the clerk of the community had additional plots of land, larger farms, and they resorted to exploiting the labor of either their own community members or newcomers. This created the opportunity for the emergence of small feudal lords.

2.2 Forms of feudal exploitation

The dominant forms of feudal exploitation of peasants - communes were grocery rent and labor service(work on the construction of irrigation structures, fortresses, palaces, temples, bridges and roads). Feudal lords took special levies for livestock, for looms, for presses for squeezing out vegetable oil, for the right to build a house, for weddings and other family celebrations. Local authorities collected funds from peasants for the maintenance of public buildings, to pay for the local administrative and police apparatus, for religious festivals, etc. However, in the presence of irrigated agriculture, which provided at least two harvests per year, some of the peasants were able to have a surplus in excess of the necessary product, which was sold in the markets.

Despite the resistance of the peasants, in the economically developed regions of India, the bulk of the communes already in the 7th century. was feudal headandthis peasantry.

To satisfy their needs, the feudal lords settled artisans in the cities. Feudal lords especially encouraged the production of luxury goods, which they not only consumed themselves, but also sold. Craftsmen produced the finest cotton and silk fabrics, carpets, jewelry made of gold, silver and precious stones, art products made of ivory, lacquer and valuable species of Indian trees. Craftsmen also made weapons, leather goods, palanquins, decorations for horses and elephants, etc. The artisans were united in the professional castes of weavers, jewelers, shoemakers, gunsmiths, woodcarvers, etc.

Each caste was headed by a foreman and a caste council, who monitored the implementation of caste rules both in production and in everyday life, punishing their violators with fines and even expulsion from the caste. All these caste organizations were subject to feudal lords and were responsible for paying taxes on the basis of mutual responsibility.

2.3 Ind caste structureIi medieval society

In ancient times, there were four large groups - varna.

Brahmanas andkshatriyas- the supreme ruled and fought

Vaishyandsudras- the lower ones worked in the fields and in the workshops.

In the Middle Ages varns began to split up by profession or occupation.

Brahmanas- pharmacists, doctors, teachers, etc.

TOtentsand- soldiers, officials, etc.

Europeans named these groups castes... By the X century. the number of castes increased to several thousand. Each caste had its own special signs, rituals, decorations, rules of conduct. A bride or groom could be sought only in their own caste, and children could be raised only in accordance with the traditions and customs of the caste. Castes were divided into lower and higher. There was also a special caste of "untouchables".

Representatives of the higher castes could not even be near the lower ones, much less take food or water from their hands. It was believed that even the shadow of the "Untouchables" could "defile" the higher ones. Only representatives of the higher ones could read and listen to sacred texts. Those who violated these customs and traditions were severely punished.

Representatives of different castes united into communities that were the backbone of Indian society. They provided him with internal stability. There was an exchange of products and services between the various castes. The community decided all issues by itself: it chose the council, judges, payment of taxes, allocated people for public works. Those who violated the rules of life in the community could be punished - expelled from the community.

FromChinese Traveler's Notes Xuan Zang (VII century)

Butcher, fishermen, garbage collectors, medicine men, laundresses, wandering entertainers, gravediggers, executioners and the like live outside the mountains.OYes. On the streets, these people either do not appear at all, or keep to the left until they reach the right place. Their dwellings are surrounded by walls and are located outside the city.

2.4 Hinduism - the religion of the feudal society of India

There were several religions in medieval India. Based on drevher religion in the 1st millennium AD. Hinduism was formed. In the first place came the worship of three gods: Vishnu, Shiva and Brahmi. Temples were built in their honor and rich sacrifices were made. In honor of the gods Vishnu and Shiva, the princes erected magnificent temples, put their images there, and hundreds of brahmana priests served the gods as living earthly rulers. On special days, the priests organized festivities, which were attended by many thousands of people from all over the state.

The brahmanas created the doctrine that all other deities, in whatever form they worshiped, were only the embodiment of Vishnu and Shiva. As a result, the trend towards the development of a unified religious system resulted in a combination of various, often contradictory religious beliefs and rituals. the totality of which is called Hinduism.

Hindus believed in the transmigration of souls after death. If a person lived with dignity, then in the next life he could be reborn in a higher caste, otherwise he was reborn in a lower one or became an animal, plant, stone. Hindus deified animals. Especially the cows. It was forbidden to kill them. The Hindus also worshiped the sacred river Ganges.

India's second religion was Buddhism, which arose here in the VI century. BC. Buddha taught that the whole life of a person is suffering, and therefore his soul must free itself from everything earthly and strive for the highest peace. He urged to forget about riches, pleasures, speak only the truth and not kill living beings. From the V century. Buddhism in India is in decline, but rapidly spreading in China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, countries of Southeast Asia. Buddhism has become another world religion alongside Christianity and Islam.

With the arrival of the Muslim conquerors in India penetrated Islam... In addition to the religions mentioned, hundreds of local cults were spread in India.

2.5 Formation of the Delhi Sultanate

in India under the Gupta dynasty in the IV-VI centuries there was a Gupta state. The reign of the Guptas entered the history of India as a golden age, when the main canons of national literature, fine arts, architecture and philosophy were developed. But

due to the raids of the Huns at the end of the VI century. it ceased to exist.

In the VII century. in India, there were about 70 principalities, the rulers of which were rajas and maharajas, who fought among themselves.

Neighbors - Muslims sought to subjugate India. The country has experienced many raids and looting. The invaders took out enormous wealth from India and took tens of thousands of Indians into slavery. Many cities have been turned into ruins. The richest temples of the country were completely plundered and destroyed.

The fragmented Indian principalities could not withstand these invasions, and gradually a large state headed by Muslim conquerors was established in the north of India, which received the name Delhithsky sultanate.

The beginning of the existence of the Delhi Sultanate was laid in 1206, when the commander of one of the Muslim rulers declared himself sultan, making the city of Delhi his capital. Gradually, the power of the sultans spread to all of North and Central India, and at times they also captured South India. Much of Indian land was distributed between Muslim warriors and mosques. Indian princes had to obey the Muslims. The supreme power in the state belonged to the sultan. Justice was administered by the Muslim clergy. The entire state apparatus, like the army, consisted of Muslims. Muslims were exempted from Taxes.

During the period of the Delhi Sultanate in India, the construction of Muslim religious buildings began - mosques, minarets, mausoleums and madrasahs. The existence of the Delhi Sultanate, the emergence of a ruling class of Muslim feudal lords, the long coexistence and mutual influence of Hindus and Muslims prepared the emergence of a new powerful Muslim empire in northern India - the empire of the Great Mughals.

2.6 State system of the Delhi Sultanate

To suppress the exploited peasantry, seize new territories, as well as to protect their possessions from external enemies in the Delhi Sultanate under Balban, strong state apparatus and a huge standing army of mercenaries. All power was concentrated in the hands of the Sultan. His closest assistant was the chief vizier. The territory of the Delhi Sultanate was divided into several regions, which were ruled by members of his family and the highest Muslim nobility.

They collected land tax and other levies and suppressed popular indignation with the help of a mercenary army. The governors disposed of the income from their regions, but sent tribute to the Sultan's treasury. They were actually independent rulers. Muslim feudal lords, in order to strengthen their positions, encouraged the conversion of Hindus to Islam.

They provided Muslims with special advantages in occupying high positions in the army and in the administrative apparatus, gave tax breaks and a number of other smaller privileges.

2.7 External and internal position of the Delhi Sultanate in the periodits heyday

The danger from the Mongol khans was so great in the second half of the 13th century that the Delhi sultans were forced to stop their offensive on the still unconquered territories of India. In addition to external enemies, the sultans had to fight all the time with large feudal lords. However, the maintenance of the mercenary army required large funds and depleted the Sultan's treasury.

To replenish the treasury of the sultan increased taxes taking half of the crop from the peasants. The Sultan reached the pinnacle of his power during these years. However, the excessive exploitation of the peasants led in the end to the fact that something began to flare up. peasant uprisings... During this turmoil, many of the conquered principalities fell away from Delhi. The peasants were driven to complete ruin. Famine began in the country, farmers threw land and fled to the forests.

2.8 Decline of the Delhi Sultanate

The policy of conquest undermined the internal power of the state, which began to fall apart. At the end of the XIV century. The Delhi Sultanate occupied a smaller territory than at the beginning of the 13th century. He already had to fight off the invasion of powerful neighbors that appeared after the collapse of the sultanate. Constant wars have weakened and ruined the sultanate and its neighbors. This was used Mongols who began to carry out systematic raids into Northern India, plundering cities and populations. In 1398 he sent his campaign to India Timur... The main goal of his campaign was robbery, not annexation of India to his possessions. Timur's 120,000-strong army marched through the cities of North India with fire and sword. Although Timur was a Muslim, he did not really understand who he came across on his way - a Hindu or a Muslim. The city of Delhi, which surrendered to the mercy of the victors, also became the target of robbery and murder. When Timur went back to Central Asia, he took with him a huge number of prisoners, especially artisans. The capital of Timur, Samarkand, was largely built up by the hands of captured Indians. The areas that this tough conqueror walked through were turned into a desert. Since 1413 the Delhi Sultanate has ceased to existOto act like a big and strong power... Northern India split into a number of principalities. Their rulers established many duties for their subjects. The peasants were obliged to hand over almost half of the harvest, to work on the construction of roads, bridges, temples, palaces and fortresses. They were obliged to keep an eye on canals, dams and reservoirs. In addition, peasants paid taxes on livestock, on looms, for squeezing out vegetable oil, for permission to build a hut, for a wedding party, and much more. Urban artisans were also subjected to no less brutal exploitation.

After Timur's campaigns and the internecine struggle between two dozen states that arose after the collapse of the Delhi Sultanate, India found itself weakened and unprotected against the threat of European penetration.

2.9 Power of the Great Mongol (Xvi- XVIIcenturies). Reforma shah akbar

In 1526 India in the Middle Ages became the power of the Great MOheads, which existed for about 200 years. India became the power of the Mughals thanks to Muhammad Babur, who came from the country of Mogolistan, respectively, all the inhabitants of this country were called Mughals.

Babur did not rule for long. In 1530 he died and bequeathed all of medieval India to his son Humayun. But he did not rule for long - during one of the descents on the marble staircase in the palace, he fell and broke his neck. His 13-year-old son Akbar ascended the throne. Mughal possessions at the beginning of it almost half a century of rule(from 1556 to 1605) did not extend beyond the two rivers of the Ganges and Djamna. At the end of his reign, only the very south of the Indian subcontinent remained outside the borders of the Mughal state.

Akbar can rightfully be considered one of the most outstanding people of the Middle Ages. He expanded the borders of the state, improved the economy in the country, but his greatest achievement was the religious reform. Akbar was wise beyond his years and understood that in order to avoid unrest and uprisings, it was necessary to equalize all religious communities. He abolished the tax that was levied on all non-Muslims and built many houses of worship. During half a century of his reign, Akbar carried out a series of reforms with the aim of centralizing state power, strengthening the power of the empire and developing trade.

The population of the Mughal Empire was multilingual, was at different levels of social development, was divided by caste barriers. But most lived in the narrow world of the rural community. All rights and obligations were inherited from father to son. That's why the rural community was very resilient and formed the backbone of medieval Indian society.

However, India in the Middle Ages was famous not only for wars. At that time, art and aesthetics developed very seriously. One of Akbar's heirs was the famous Shah Jahan, who immortalized himself with his love for the beautiful wife Mumtaz-i-Mahal. Shah Jahan was very fond of his Persian beauty, and when she died in 1630, the Shah, heartbroken, ordered to build a tomb for his wife on the banks of the river, which he called the Taj Mahal - the Crown of the Palace.

In 1656, the emperor fell seriously ill, and another struggle for the throne began, and Aurangzeb ascended the throne, who was an adherent of Islam and fought in every possible way with other religions in Medieval India. He ordered the destruction of many Hindu temples, banned dance and music. Everything that Akbar erected with such efforts, Aurangzeb destroyed. Rebellions and wars began. Particularly noticeable in the history of Medieval India was the uprising of the Murathas - the indigenous population of India, professing Hinduism. They rose to free the country from the Great Mughals. They suddenly attacked the Mughal settlements and detachments, smashed them, took the prey and immediately disappeared.

In 1674, Shivaji, the ruler of the Marathas, founded his own independent state, crowned in the city of Pune.

The great Mogul Aurangzeb ruled on the throne for 49 years. All these years he was hated not only by Hindus, but also by his own entourage. Every day there were uprisings that had to be suppressed, every day someone's blood was shed, and only on his deathbed at 89 years old, Aurangzeb admitted that life was lived in vain.

After his death, the Mughal Empire also disintegrated. The next three rulers of Medieval India were puppets in the hands of wealthy feudal lords, the country was once again weakened by internecine wars. The time was approaching for the transformation of India into an English colony, but this is a completely different story.

2.10 Organized invasion of European trading companies

In the XVI century. The Mughal Empire was penetrated by European trading companies, which successfully established themselves in India. These companies were engaged not only in trade, but also in politics, which was the beginning of the colonial conquest of India. Especially zealous Englishmen with their West Indian compania.

Amsterdam merchants united at the beginning of the 17th century. V East India Company, which received from the hands of the queen a monopoly not only on all trade with the East, but also the right to conclude alliances and agreements, declare and wage wars, execute and pardon the local population.

Holland teamed up with England in the fight against colonial rule Spain and Portugal.

Driving out the Portuguese, dutch merchants established brutal control over trade. Forced low prices and the lack of rice supplies to the islands doomed the local population to starvation and extinction. In 1621, the uprising of the aboriginal island of Banda was suppressed by the Dutch. Of the 115,000 inhabitants, only 300 escaped. In fact, a whole nation has ceased to exist.

To organize the production of local agricultural products on the deserted islands, the Dutch even used plantation slavery. But only by the middle of the 17th century. the Dutch managed to finally gain a foothold in Indonesia and the adjacent islands.

Along the coast, there were a number of port cities, where merchants gathered with a wide variety of goods, of which the most valuable were gold, silver and horses. Cotton fabrics, spices, ivory, precious stones and valuable tree species were exported. In addition to handicrafts, rice, dyes and especially a lot of spices were exported from India. Overseas merchants paid generously for all goods in gold and silver. In India, reserves of these precious metals were formed.

2.11 Culture of india

The most famous cultural monuments of the early Middle Ages are located in Ajanin and Ellora, Ajania became famous mainly for the wall paintings of Buddhist monasteries. The temple complexes of Ellora are known for their sculpture, which has occupied a dominant place in the decoration of temples since the early Middle Ages.
In the south of India in the X -XII centuries. bronze sculpture is spreading. Among the statues and figurines of Hindu deities, the image of God occupies the main place Shiva. He appears in the form of the multi-armed Natarajan - the god of dance.

Since the beginning of our era, the decimal system has been used in India. Mathematicians used fractions, calculated the area and volume of figures. Aryabhata calculated the number Pi and suggested that the earth is a ball rotating on its axis. Physicians, having studied the internal structure of a person, could perform up to 200 operations.

The architecture of the country was remarkable for its amazing variety. At first xpawe were carved into the rocks... They were built over the centuries. Their walls were painted with frescoes. From the 7th century. Hindu temples began to be erected in the form of towers. Their walls were covered with reliefs, statues and stone carvings.

From the 13th century. in the art of India, Muslim motives appear - mausoleums, mosques, palaces are being built. They did not have statues, but these buildings were striking in their clarity of lines. The Taj Mahal in Agra is especially famous. Under the Mughals, painting reached its peak, especially the art of book miniatures.

The conquest of North India in the X-XII centuries. Muslims brought new to India cultural traditions of Central Asia, the Near and Middle East. In India, structures with arches, domes and vaults began to be built. New types of structures also appeared (mosques, minarets, mausoleums).

India's contribution to science is also great. So, the creation of the decimal number system became extremely important. Indian scientists have created a table to calculate the location of the planets. The scientist and astronomer Arnabhata expressed the idea that the Earth is a ball and rotates on its axis. Many astronomical works of Indian scientists have been translated into Arabic. Thanks to this, the ideas embodied in these works penetrated into other countries.

conclusions

The formation of Muslim states on the territory of India - the Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526) and the Mughal Empire (1526 - 18th century) - made changes in the socio-economic and political life of India. In this era, centralization increased, the bureaucratic apparatus became stronger, great opportunities opened up for the development of feudal relations, since a significant part of state land was given to soldiers and officials for service, the tax collection system became more perfect. However, the foundation of Indian civilization turned out to be quite solid: as soon as the Muslim states disintegrated, a return to the former forms of life began. And the Indian community played a significant role here, permeating the entire social structure of India (a kind of variation of the rural community was the professional corporations of merchants and artisans in the cities). Giving greater internal stability to civilization, the community remained a force that hindered and hindered the development of Indian society.

So, medieval India personifies the synthesis of the most diversebdifferent socio-political foundations, religious traditions. ethnice cultures. Having melted all this many beginnings inside herself, by the end of the era she appeared before the amazed Europeans with the country of sk aluscious splendor, which attracted wealth, exoticism, secrets.

Within it, however, began processes similar to the European ones, inherent in the modern era. The internal market was formed, international relations developed, social contradictions deepened.

But for India, a typical Asian power, a despotic state was a strong deterrent to capitalization. With its weakening, the country becomes an easy prey for European colonialists, whose activities interrupted the natural course of the country's historical development for many years.

It cannot be said that the East "froze" in the Middle Ages, stopped in its development. In many areas of the life of Eastern civilizations, changes took place: the tools of production were gradually improved, cities grew, trade relations grew stronger and expanded, new trends appeared in philosophy and literature. But on the whole, the pace of development in the East was slower than in the West. Historians explain this by the fact that Eastern civilizations were focused on repetition, on the constant reproduction of old, established forms of statehood, social relations, ideas. Tradition has set up solid barriers to change. The development of Eastern societies took place within the civilizational tradition. Therefore, Eastern civilizations are called traditional.

The collapse of the Mughal empire coincided with the beginning of thev Noah colonization by Europeans of India and the adjacent regions of Asia. Colonial expansion, which resulted in the breakdown of the traditional structure of Indian society, ended the era of Wed dtimeless in the history of India.

3. China

In 246 BC. all of China was united under. the rule of the only All-China empire Qin... The borders themselves, the names of the former kingdoms, were eliminated. To protect the country from nomadic raids, the emperor began building the Great Wall of China. it was built from rammed earth, bricks and stone blocks.

the great Wall of China stretched for thousands of kilometers (6 450 km). Height walls reached from 6.5 to 10 m, width 5.4 m, so that two oncoming chariots could disperse on it, there are viewing slots and loopholes in the wall. Every 2.5 km there were sentries towers. The warriors lived in the tower below, and on the upper floor they carried out their service. They had firewood at the ready. If the warriors noticed danger, they immediately kindled a fire. US O On the neighboring towers, when they saw this sign, they also set fire to brushwood. So the signal was received where a large detachment was in full combat readiness. He immediately rushed to p O power.

The extreme cruelty of Qin Shihuang-di made his name hated in the country. The patience of the people has come to an end. Armed with sticks and hoes, the people gathered in detachments. The frightened emperor committed suicide.

As a result of popular uprisings, the Dynasty came to power Han who ruled China from 207 BC before 220 A.D. The ruler made some concessions to the people: he canceled bloody laws, stopped great construction projects. Many people were freed and turned into slaves for debt. For peasants, the land tax was reduced by 20 times. The people were given the protected forests, parks and reservoirs of the Qin ruler.

As soon as the Hanjokrepla dynasty, its rulers began wars of conquest against the steppe nomads - the Huns, as well as against the hill tribes of Indochina. As a result, a path was paved from China through Central Asia and Persia to the Mediterranean Sea, which later received the name Great Shelwhich way... Silk, porcelain and other high quality handicrafts were brought from China to the West this way.

In the opposite direction, horses, woolen products, purple fabrics, glass, jewelry were brought in. Thanks to this route, alfalfa, beans, pomegranate, grapes, walnuts, and saffron were brought to China.

However, carrying out wide campaigns of conquest required a lot of funds. Taxes and duties have reached enormous proportions. In 184 A.D. a major peasant uprising broke out in China. The royal soldiers drowned him in blood. The division of power began between the winners. Their feuds ended with the death (collapse) of the Han Empire. B220 A.D. it split into three kingdoms.

With the fall of the Han Empire at the turn of the II-III centuries. in China there is a change of eras: the ancient period of the country's history ends and the Middle Ages begins.

On the territory of the country there were three states, the power in which, in type, approached a military dictatorship. But already at the end of the III century. political stability in China is again being lost, and it becomes an easy prey for the nomadic tribes who have flooded here.

From that moment on, for two and a half centuries, China was divided into north and south parts, which affected its subsequent development.

Its essence consisted in securing for each commoner, the rights to receive a plot of land of a certain size and the establishment of fixed taxes on it.

The allotment system was opposed by the growth of private land plots of the so-called "strong houses" ("da jia"), which was accompanied by the ruin and enslavement of the peasantry.

The decay and degeneration of the community took place. All the unequal strata in the state were collectively called "vile people" (jianren) and opposed to the "good people" (liangmin).

At the beginning of the IV century. hordes of nomads, including the Huns, poured into China from the north. The population fled from areas occupied by foreign barbarians, and in the north of the country many small states arose, created by invaders. They quickly became Sinicized, adopting the local culture, customs and management system.
In 581, a coup d'etat took place in the north: the commander Yang Jian removed the emperor from power, subjugated the southern state to his power, and for the first time after a 400-year period of fragmentation restored the country's political unity. The dynasty began to rule Sui... However, as a result of the peasant uprising, the dynasty Sui was overthrown.

3.1 Tang Empire

In 618, a dynasty came to power Tan, once again strengthened the central government. Its first rulers, Li Yuan and Li Shimin, pursued a sane enough policy that ensured China's prosperity. The new rulers carried out a redistribution of land. By the hard work of millions of peasants, the devastated lands turned into fertile fields, which brought great harvests. A well-thought-out tax system provided the state with significant profits.

The unification of China made it possible to expand its influence among its neighbors. Many nomads were pacified. The strengthening of the Great Wall of China was undertaken. The emperor, the "son of God", was assisted by an army of officials. The country was united, and the economy began to revive in it. China seized Korea, Vietnam, lands in the West and took possession of the Great Silk Road, but in 751 China ceded western lands to the Arabs. However, Chinese merchants continued to trade with Byzantium and Central Asia. The Chinese also traded in the Indian Ocean. By connecting the Huang He and the Yangtze, the Chinese irrigated vast territories. The land belonged to the emperor, and the peasants, having received the allotment, paid taxes and bore obligations - they participated in state works.

3.2 Peasant War in the late 9th century

From the second half of the VIII century. the decline of the state begins Tan... The proliferation of the administrative apparatus increased costs. The military system was disintegrating, the willfulness of the nobility grew. In the IX century. peasant uprisings begin. In 874, they developed into a grandiose peasant war. In 881, the peasant army captured the capital

Having occupied the city, Huang Chao proclaimed himself emperor, abolished taxes, distributed the property of the nobility to the poor. The former emperor invited nomads from the north and in 884 the rebels were defeated. Despite the defeat of the peasants, they managed to alleviate their fate.

Note:

The history of China is characterized by the presence of dynastic cycles. In China, it was a vicious circle. A new dynasty came, distributed land, but large private landownership (the so-called "strong houses") grew, treasury revenues fell: e chalked, ruined peasants became tenants from rich landowners a businessmen who tried to reduce the amount of taxes.

As a result, their power and influence in the provinces increased the arbitrariness of the and registration, the authority of the central government fell. And in response, a protest began from below - in the form of uprisings, the participants of which demanded the return of the land and revolted v the principle of equalization.

The newly created dynasty usually began its reign with reforms designed to establish social harmony. Therefore, reforms usually boiled down to gigantic O mu, within the framework of the entire Celestial Empire, redistribution of land - so that each tr at able-bodied peasant received his plot. Sometimes the government even went to the confiscation of land from wealthy landowners.

Thus, the system of "equal fields", which has always been considered an ideal in China, was restored again. Of course, despite these measures, it was impossible with O all to stop the growth of private land tenure and everything went on again on circle.

3.3 The Song Empire

In the end of the 9th century. Weakened by the peasant war, the Tang dynasty was overthrown.

After 50 years of struggle, China was unified in 960 under the rule of the dynasty Sung... Civil strife began in the country, and a dangerous enemy, the Jurcheni, appeared in the north. They created the Jin State and invaded China. The cavalry captured the capital, and the emperor was captured for 30 years.

3.4 Conquest mongols

After the signing of the peace, the Chinese again had an enemy, the Mongols.

The disintegration of China made it easier for the Mongols to conquer the country. At the beginning of the XIII century. Genghis Khan created a huge power, which included many conquered peoples. This power also included Northern China, the conquest of which began in 1211. Under the descendants of Genghis Khan, the southern Chinese state of Song was conquered (1279).

The dynasty of the Mongol emperors of China was named Yuan. China was under the rule of the Mongol dynasty for over a century.

In the Yuan Empire, four categories of subjects were distinguished: the Mongols had the greatest privileges, who were assigned not only command of the troops, but also the leadership of almost all administrative departments. The Chinese were allowed to serve only in secondary positions. As a result, the Mongols never succeeded in forming a strong and effective political regime in China. The entire territory was divided into provinces, the rulers of which enjoyed great independence. The Yuan rulers were also unable to create a regular tax system, while expensive military campaigns and the cost of maintaining the court devastated the treasury. The Mongol nobility, which possessed significant military forces and powers, also posed a threat to the central government.

3.5 FreeChina's expectations of Mongol rule

The brutal oppression and plundering of the population by the conquerors more than once provoked uprisings. In the XIV century. as a result of a powerful popular movement, the power of the Mongols was overthrown. The peasant Zhu Yuanzhang was the leader of the uprising. He was proclaimed the Son of Heaven. He founded a new dynasty Min, who ruled China until 1644. The capital of the new dynasty was first the city of Nanjing, and later it was transferred to the city of Dadu, which received the new official name Beijing.

Having ascended the throne, Zhu Yuanzhang did a lot to strengthen the central power and economy of the country. The distribution of land to the landless and land-poor has had a beneficial effect on the life of China. Taxes have been reduced.

The craft has achieved great success. Fabrics and porcelain were the main commodity in China's foreign trade with other countries.

As traders, most of China's artisans were united in workshops... Guild masters carefully kept secrets and passed them on from generation to generation. So, only two families owned the secret of making one of the varieties of silk. For three hundred years, they have been connected with each other by marriage, so that this secret does not go beyond their families.
Under the son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the army first expelled the remnants of the Mongols from China, and then conducted a series of successful campaigns against Vietnam. The Chinese fleet made several voyages to the countries of Southeast Asia, to India and even to the east coast of Africa. Foreign trade developed successfully. External trade relations were formalized in the form of the so-called tributary trade... The gifts of foreign rulers were perceived as the arrival of barbarians with tribute. In response, they rewarded those who arrived. The volume and value of awards and awards were to be as many times higher than the "tribute", as the prestige of the Son of Heaven was foamed by the Chinese above the prestige of the ruler who sent the "tribute."

3.6 Features of the economic and economic development of medieval China

The emergence of cotton growing led to the fact that cotton fabrics began to be made in the country along with canvas and silk. Tea was produced in large quantities. Salt mining took on a huge scale. The extraction of iron, silver, copper, and tin has greatly increased. The manufacture of metal tools, weapons, household items, in particular polished metal mirrors, which enjoyed great fame far beyond China's borders, expanded. The production of ceramics, especially porcelain, increased. Paper was produced in large quantities - from tree bark, rags, hemp - invented back in 105. This production for a long time remained a monopoly of China and was encouraged by the continuously growing demand for paper not only within the country, but also in neighboring states. From the VII century. printing began with boards (woodcut method).

Foreign trade has become widespread. It was conducted with various countries of Indo-China, the Malay Archipelago (modern Indonesia), with the countries of Central Asia, and through them - with the Persians and Arabs. Through the Persians and Arabs, China traded with Byzantium. Metal products, silk, paper, porcelain were exported from China. Ivory, some metals, spices and medicinal plants were imported into China. Medieval cities began to develop as centers of crafts and as centers of trade. Small towns also arose in the place of markets, periodically arranged in points located between villages. Port cities, through which foreign trade was carried out, received special development.

The largest city in China was the capital of the empire - Chang'an.

Of the trades, starting from the 11th century, mining was especially developed. The extraction of iron and silver has sharply increased. The need for iron increased in connection with the development of crafts, the spread of iron tools in agriculture, as well as in connection with the production of weapons. Silver was needed for the jewelry industry, for foreign trade, and also in order to pay off the conquerors. Salt mining has also grown.

All of these crafts, in their overwhelming part, developed through the creation of state-owned workshops. Such workshops were set up in the metallurgical industry, where up to 100 people worked in some smelters, as well as in the textile industry, where usually 60-70 people worked in the workshops. There is, however, information about workshops with 600-700 workers. (workshops for the manufacture of some types of silk fabrics and embroidery, ceramic workshops, workshops in the field of shipbuilding). An important point should be considered the partial use of hired workers in these workshops. This was observed in the enterprises for minting iron coins and for the production of weapons, as well as in winemaking. The payment was given in this case partly in kind, partly in money. Similar workshops existed in very few branches of industrial production; the overwhelming majority of the latter continued to develop as a guild craft production. However, the very fact of the appearance of such workshops in conjunction with the wide development of domestic trade and monetary circulation is assessed by some researchers of the history of China as the birth of conditions that opened the possibility of further development. cap elementsandtalism.

3. 7 Culture

During the Middle Ages, the culture of China was highly developed. She had a great influence on the culture of Korea, Indochina and Japan.

In China, the transition to the Middle Ages was not accompanied, as in many other countries, by oblivion and loss of the achievements of the period of antiquity. On the contrary, thanks to the perfect writing, scientists, painters, poets, architects were able to pass on their experience to descendants in various manuals and treatises. TOandThai writing- the oldest of those that people use to this day. The shape of the hieroglyphs changed. More than one hundred thousand monuments of Chinese writing have been found. The ability to write beautifully - calligraphy - was considered a high art in China. It was in China that isobretena paper, and was born typography.

The literature of medieval China is rich in talented works. A lot of literate people were needed to run a huge country. Only those who passed difficult exams could become officials and enter the special class of service nobles. Officials were trained in city and special schools.

The heyday of the Chinese architecture falls approximately in the 7th-13th centuries. - the time of the dynasties Tan and Sung... It was then that many magnificent palaces and temples, appeared in the cities libraries and theaters... At that time accelerated city building, as a rule, according to the same plan, developed in ancient times. The streets were straight, stretching from one end of the city to the other, intersecting with other, equally straight streets. Cities were surrounded by walls crowned with watchtowers. During this period, Chinese architecture appears pagoda- a Buddhist tower-like cult structure, which was erected in honor of the deeds of saints or famous pilgrims or important events. The pagodas were erected on heights, were visible from afar, personifying the aspiration to the higher world. Pagodas of steel symbol of Buddhism... They were built by the orders of emperors, nobility, monasteries. The shape of the pagoda is the result of the combination of the architecture of the Chinese watchtower and the Indian temple (where Buddhists originally sent their prayers). They were built from wood, brick, stone or metal. Often these were repositories of Buddhist relics. Torches were lit on the roadside pagodas at night.

Dynasty Sung- the heyday of the Chinese painting and calligraphy... Painters painted pictures with paints or ink on long silk or paper scrolls. In Chinese painting, perspective was used in such a way that the person who looked at the picture felt himself not as the center of the world, but as its smallest grain of sand. Therefore, there is no linear perspective in the paintings, there is no single compositional point where all the lines converge. Landscapes of the 7th - 8th centuries were written in rich blue, green and white paints, and around the edges were outlined with a golden outline.

Arts and crafts

China was famous for its production silks... Silk was used to sew clothes and sails, umbrellas and strings of musical instruments. The Chinese have learned to make porcelain from a mixture of special types of clay. Porcelain products were valued unusually expensively in all countries of the then world. The glory of medieval China was also brought products fromcarved varnish, ceramics, derewa, stone, bone, clay andresin. The Chinese were able to make bouquets, and therefore it was common to make vases from a variety of materials and different sizes. All medieval art, in one way or another, is associated with the religious beliefs of the Chinese and is distinguished by its unique originality.

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The development of the civilization of the East in the Middle Ages. General features of the development of the countries of the East in the Middle Ages

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