Tang Dynasty Of China

The Tang dynasty(618 - 907 CE) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui dynasty(a short-lived dynasty of China of pivotal significance) and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It is generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization, and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Its territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han dynasty, and the Tang capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an) was the most populous city in the world.

Tang Dynasty China

The dynasty was founded by the Lǐ family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was briefly interrupted when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, proclaiming the Second Zhou dynasty (690–705 CE) and becoming the only Chinese empress regnant. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population by number of registered households at about 50 million people.

Empress Wu Zetian

Yet, even when the central government was breaking down and unable to compile an accurate census of the population in the 9th century, it is estimated that the population had grown by then to about 80 million people. With its large population base, the dynasty was able to raise professional and conscripted armies of hundreds of thousands of troops to contend with nomadic powers in dominating Inner Asia and the lucrative trade routes along the Silk Road. 

Various kingdoms and states paid tribute to the Tang court, while the Tang also conquered or subdued several regions which it indirectly controlled through a protectorate system. Besides political hegemony, the Tang also exerted a powerful cultural influence over neighboring states such as those in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

Tang Dynasty, 700 CE

The Tang dynasty was largely a period of progress and stability in the first half of the dynasty's rule, until the An Lushan Rebellion and the decline of central authority in the later half of the dynasty. The rebellion overtly began on 16 December 755, when general An Lushan declared himself emperor in Northern China, thus establishing a rival Yan Dynasty, and ended when Yan fell on 17 February 763 (although the effects lasted past this).

An Lushan

Like the previous Sui dynasty, the Tang dynasty maintained a civil service system by recruiting scholar-officials through standardized examinations and recommendations to office. This civil order was undermined by the rise of regional military governors known as jiedushi during the 9th century. The adoption of the title Tängri Qaghan by the Tang Emperor Taizong in addition to his title as emperor was eastern Asia's first "simultaneous kingship".

Written calligraphy of Emperor Taizong on a Tang stele

Chinese culture flourished and further matured during the Tang era; it is considered the greatest age for Chinese poetry. Two of China's most famous poets, Li Bai and Du Fu, belonged to this age, as did many famous painters such as Han Gan, Zhang Xuan, and Zhou Fang. There was a rich variety of historical literature compiled by scholars, as well as encyclopedias and geographical works.

Li Bai

Buddhism became a major influence in Chinese culture, with native Chinese sects gaining prominence. However, Buddhism would later be persecuted by the state, subsequently declining in influence. 

The Large Buddha at Leshan

Although the dynasty and central government were in decline by the 9th century, art and culture continued to flourish. The weakened central government largely withdrew from managing the economy, though the country's mercantile affairs stayed intact and commercial trade continued to thrive regardless, at least until agrarian rebellions in the latter half of the 9th century brought the dynasty to its knees, resulting in damaging atrocities such as the Guangzhou Massacre.

Guangzhou Massacre

Egypt In Late Antiquity

Egypt was a district of the later Roman Empire (from 395 the Eastern Roman Empire), incorporating the provinces of Egypt and Cyrenaica(eastern coastal region of Libya). It's capital was at Alexandria, and its governor had the unique title of praefectus augustalis ("Augustal Prefect") instead of the ordinary vicarius.

Sphinx at Giza Cairo, Egypt With pharaoh Khafre Pyramid Behind.

The reign of Constantine the Great also saw the founding of Constantinople as a new capital for the Roman Empire, and in the course of the 4th century the Empire was divided in two, with Egypt finding itself in the Eastern Empire with its capital at Constantinople. During the 5th and 6th centuries the empire, today known as the Byzantine Empire, gradually transformed itself into a thoroughly Christian state whose culture differed significantly from its pagan past.

The fall of the Western Empire in the 5th century further isolated the Egyptian Romans from Rome's culture and hastened the growth of Christianity. The triumph of Christianity led to a virtual abandonment of pharaonic traditions: with the disappearance of the Egyptian priests and priestesses who officiated at the temples, no-one could read the hieroglyphs of Pharaonic Egypt, and its temples were converted to churches or abandoned to the desert.

St. Catherine's Monastery, Egypt

St. Cyril, the patriarch of Alexandria, convinced the city's governor to expel the Jews from the city in 415 CE with the aid of the mob, in response to the Jews' alleged nighttime massacre of many Christians. The murder of the philosopher Hypatia in March 415 CE marked the final end of classical Hellenic culture in Egypt.

St. Cyril of Alexandria

Another schism in the Church produced a prolonged civil war and alienated Egypt from the Empire. The new religious controversy was over the nature of Jesus of Nazareth. The issue was whether he had two natures, human and divine, or a combined one (from His humanity and divinity). This may seem an arcane distinction, but in an intensely religious age it was enough to divide an empire.

The Miaphysite controversy arose after the First Council of Constantinople in 381 and continued until the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The Church of Alexandria split from the Churches of Rome and Constantinople over this issue, creating what would become the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, which remains a major force in Egyptian religious life today.  Egypt and Syria remained hotbeds of Miaphysite sentiment, and organised resistance to the Chalcedonian view was not suppressed until the 570s.

Council of Chalcedon

Egypt nevertheless continued to be an important economic center for the Empire supplying much of its agriculture and manufacturing needs as well as continuing to be an important center of scholarship. It would supply the needs of Byzantine Empire and the Mediterranean as a whole. The reign of Justinian (482 CE –565 CE) saw the Empire recapture Rome and much of Italy from the barbarians, but these successes left the empire's eastern flank exposed. The Empire's "bread basket" now lacked for protection.

Justinian I

The Persian conquest of Egypt, beginning in AD 619 or 618, was one of the last Sassanid triumphs in the Roman-Persian Wars against Byzantium. From 619 - 628, they incorporated Egypt once again within their territories, the previous (much longer) time being under the Achaemenids. Khosrow II Parvêz had begun this war in retaliation for the assassination of Emperor Maurice (582–602) and had achieved a series of early successes, culminating in the conquests of Jerusalem (614) and Alexandria (619).

Roman-Persian War

The Persian conquest allowed Miaphysitism to resurface in the open in Egypt, and when imperial rule was restored by Emperor Heraclius in 629, the Miaphysites were persecuted and their patriarch expelled. Egypt was thus in a state of both religious and political alienation from the Empire when a new invader appeared.

An army of 4,000 Arabs led by Amr Ibn Al-Aas was sent by the Caliph Umar, successor to Muhammad, to spread Islamic rule to the west. Arabs crossed into Egypt from Palestine in December 639, and advanced rapidly into the Nile Delta. The Imperial garrisons retreated into the walled towns, where they successfully held out for a year or more.

Mosque of Amr Ibn Al-Aas, Egypt

The Arabs sent for reinforcements, and in April 641 they besieged and captured Alexandria. The permanent loss of Egypt meant a loss of a huge amount of Byzantium's food and money. The loss of Egypt and Syria, followed later by the invasion of the Exarchate of Africa also meant that the Mediterranean, long referred to as the "Roman lake", was now contested between two powers: the Muslim Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire. 

An attempt was made in the year 645 to regain Alexandria for the Byzantine Empire, but it was retaken by 'Amr in 646. In 654 an invasion fleet sent by Constans II was repulsed. From that time no serious effort was made by the Byzantines to regain possession of the country. Thus ended 975 years of Græco-Roman rule over Egypt.

Khmer Empire Of Combodia

The Khmer Empire, officially the Angkor Empire, the predecessor state to modern Cambodia ("Kampuchea" or "Srok Khmer" to the Khmer people), was a powerful Hindu-Buddhist empire in Southeast Asia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, which was the site of the capital city during the empire's zenith. The majestic monuments of Angkor—such as Angkor Wat and Bayon—bear testimony to the Khmer Empire's immense power and wealth, impressive art and culture, architectural technique and aesthetics achievements, as well as the variety of belief systems that it patronised over time.

Bayon Temple

Jayavarman II (802-835) is widely regarded as a king who set the foundations of the Angkor period in Cambodian history, beginning with a grandiose consecration ritual that he conducted in 802 on the sacred Mount Mahendraparvata, now known as Phnom Kulen, to celebrate the independence of Kambuja from Javanese dominion. In the following years he extended his territory and eventually, later in his reign, established his new capital of Hariharalaya. He thereby laid the foundation of Angkor, which was to arise some 15 km to the northwest. 

Jayavarman II

Jayavarman II died in the year 835 and he was succeeded by his son Jayavarman III. Jayavarman III died in 877 and was succeeded by Indravarman I(reigned 877 – 889). He managed to expand the kingdom without wars, and he began extensive building projects, thanks to the wealth gained through trade and agriculture. Foremost were the temple of Preah Ko and irrigation works. Indravarman I developed Hariharalaya further by constructing Bakong c.881. 

Preah Ko Temple

Indravarman I was followed by his son Yasovarman I (reigned 889 – 915), who established a new capital, Yasodharapura – the first city of Angkor. The city's central temple was built on Phnom Bakheng, a hill which rises around 60 m above the plain on which Angkor sits. 

Temple and mausoleum dedicated to King Yasovarman

Under Yasovarman I the East Baray was also created, a massive water reservoir of 7.1 by 1.7 km.

East Baray

At the beginning of the 10th century the kingdom split. Jayavarman IV established a new capital at Koh Ker, some 100 km northeast of Angkor, called Lingapura. Only with Rajendravarman II (reigned 944 – 968) was the royal palace returned to Yasodharapura. He took up again the extensive building schemes of the earlier kings and established a series of buildings in the Angkor area and several Buddhist temples, such as Pre Rup, and monasteries..

Pre Rup, Angkor

The son of Rajendravarman II, Jayavarman V, reigned from 968 to 1001. After he had established himself as the new king over the other princes, his rule was a largely peaceful period, marked by prosperity and a cultural flowering. He established a new capital slightly west of his father's and named it Jayendranagari; its state temple, Ta Keo, was to the south. At the court of Jayavarman V lived philosophers, scholars, and artists. New temples were also established: the most important of these are Banteay Srei.

Banteay Srei

A decade of conflict followed the death of Jayavarman V. Three kings reigned simultaneously as antagonists until Suryavarman I (reigned 1006 – 1050) gained the throne. Suryavarman I established diplomatic relations with the Chola dynasty of south India. Suryavarman I sent a chariot as a present to the Chola Emperor Rajaraja Chola I.  Suryavarman I's wife was Viralakshmi, and following his death in 1050, he was succeeded by Udayadityavarman II, who built the Baphuon and West Baray.

Baphuon Temple

Under Suryavarman II (reigned 1113–1150) the kingdom united internally and the largest temple of Angkor was built in a period of 37 years: Angkor Wat, dedicated to the god Vishnu. It has the largest religious complex in the world. He sent a mission to the Chola dynasty of south India and presented a precious stone to the Chola Emperor Kulothunga Chola I in 1114. 

Angkor Wat

King Jayavarman VII (reigned 1181–1219) was generally considered as Cambodia's greatest king. He had already been a military leader as a prince under previous kings. The new capital, now called Angkor Thom (literally: "Great City"), was built. In the centre, the king (himself a follower of Mahayana Buddhism) had constructed as the state temple the Bayon(above), with towers bearing faces of the boddhisattva Avalokiteshvara, each several metres high, carved out of stone.

Detail of Bayon Temple

After the death of Jayavarman VII, his son Indravarman II (reigned 1219–1243) ascended the throne. Like his father, he was a Buddhist, and he completed a series of temples begun under his father's rule. As a warrior he was less successful.

Portrait statue of Jayavarman VII 

Indravarman II was succeeded by Jayavarman VIII (reigned 1243–1295). In contrast to his predecessors, Jayavarman VIII was a devotee of the Hindu deity Shiva and an aggressive opponent of Buddhism, destroying many Buddha statues in the empire and converting Buddhist temples to Hindu temples.

Statue of Lord Shiva

Jayavarman VIII's rule ended in 1295 when he was deposed by his son-in-law Srindravarman (reigned 1295–1309). The new king was a follower of Theravada Buddhism, a school of Buddhism that had arrived in southeast Asia from Sri Lanka and subsequently spread through most of the region.

By the 14th century, the Khmer empire suffered a long, arduous, and steady decline. Historians have proposed different causes for the decline: the religious conversion from Vishnuite-Shivaite Hinduism to Theravada Buddhism that affected social and political systems, incessant internal power struggles among Khmer princes, vassal revolt, foreign invasion, plague, and ecological breakdown.