Welcome back in the last class, we were discussing
this speculative philosophy as we founded
in classical Greece.
We found considerable foundations of scientific
thoughtlaid out in that period leading to
what we might call modernity these days.Now,
from there to the modern we are talking of
in time chronologically a movement from aroundthe
fifth century BC to something like16 century AD
So, we are talking about 2100 years.This 2100
years is a period during which very little
seem to have happened by way of scientific
speculative thinking.
There was a lot of theology as Christianity
set up routs constituted itself into church
and later churches there was lot of theology,
there was a lot of mystical thinking too among
certain monastic orders in Christianity.
But there was very littleflowering of scientific
thinking as you found in the times of Pythagorasand100
years or so after him.So, we shall walk through
these1600 years or 2000 years.
Actually we shall walk through this 2000 year
period in today’s sessions and leaders lead
ourselves onto modernity.
What happened to Greece towards the end of
the fifth century and then afterwards BC?We
know that the periodfrom around 550to around
410BC was a truly protective golden period,
not only in Greece of the time but also in
the very history of Europe.
We saw bits and pieces of this as for as we
could in terms of mysticalphilosophical thinking
and speculative philosophical thinking too
in the last couple of classes.
But all of this ends in the third century
BCdramatically and then comes a big interregnumfrom
around third century BC to about fifth century
AD.
And after that from the sixth century AD the
whole of Europe seems to go into a period
of big darkness is called the dark age till
about the 13th century AD.
So, the questions we shall be asking today
and trying to answer are what happened to
Greece towards the closing 50 years of the
fifth century BC.
And then what happened to Greece afterwards
till finally, there is very little of Greece
left envelope totally in what came to be known
as theRoman Empire.And then subsequently even
the Roman Empire by the sixth century becomes
a Christian Empire.
So, the western worldbecomes a world of Christianity
by that from then on.If you want to know what
happened in Greece in the second half of the
fifth century BC,we have to start earlier
on we had two great wars between 490 and 470BC
with the Persians.
Garious,Jucksestwo great Persian Emperors
defeated by a federation of Greekcities under
the leadership of Ethan’sby the time it
is 470BCthe Persian incursion and the threats
it imposed are becoming memory, from there
on becomes a great period in the history of
Greece again led by Athens.You see what happens
is this federation of cities against the Persians
against is kind of constituted under duress
of war, under duress under threat of being
extinguished.
The Greek cities had to come together to fight
the Persians andAthens does a tremendous job
trying to bring these cities together.In the
process gradually Athens assumes leadership
of Greeceand becomes virtually the political
headquarters of Greece.Much to the resentment
of other cities especially Sparta with which
Athens has a running dispute not just because
Sparta’s in independent city on it is own
very proud, very militant, very aggressive.But
the fact also remains that the cultures of
Athens and Sparta are dramatically different.So,
from around 14 from around 450BC onwards begins
increasing conflicts between Sparta and Athens,
increasingly for about 30 years, increasingly
costly to both the economies and toGreece
as a whole.
Till finally, a huge epidemic of plague were
wipes out most of Athens population and along
with it the great ruler of Athens;and that
is virtually the end of Athens because Athens
looses out to Sparta and the war and from
there on the Greek civilization starts declining.You
see the victory of Sparta is a victory of
what might be called the more boorish section
of Greek population Athens was the home of
culture Sparta was not.But Spartans were great
fighters and far more conservative then Athenians
use to be whatever with the rise of with the
conquest of Athens by Sparta begins the decline
of the Greek civilization.And the next centuryis
the century of Macedonians, who are the Macedonians?
Sharanyatake a short.
Macedoniabut other then that I am not sure.
Ok can you.
Alexander is
Oh my god that is tremendous they are Macedonians
but there were many other Macedonianstoobut
still that is right.The Macedonian the word
Macedonian brings into mind Philip and Alexander,
it is said that Alexander engineer the death
of Philips.Butwe do not think of it now, because
they are all Macedonians right Alexander quit
an extraordinary phenomenon of all times in
human history.
Young leading is to across the worldcomes
rights up to Punjaband then sets up his branches
from Punjab throughTigrisand Uteri’s, Uteri’s
valleys all the way up Syria onto Egypt and
you name it he has the world in spam.
So, the MacedonianEmpire speaks of the second
epoch in the history of the Greeksthe first
epoch of course, is a epoch when they are
all classical.We are not talking of the pre
classical Greeks here it is all beginning
there.The second epoch is the conquest by
Macedonians when there were subservience and
no peace for the Greeks.In the classical epoch
there was no subservience there were free
and they had no peace for themselves because
they fought each other all the time.And aroundapproximately
211BC, I think the Romans conquer Egypt and
that heralds the end of Macedonian Empire.Where
a Rhome come from suddenly out of the blue
well you see Rhome was another city the public
as it were as all the Greek cities use to be
If you recall we have talked up about Greek
cities in Ionia in the Northern side then
in the mainland Greece and then the Islands
of Greece around Greece and most importantly
in Southern Italy.And we have also said the
cities Greek cities of Southern Italy and
the Islands were usually homes were a lot
ofMysticism,Orphism that sort of thing grew.Faith
religion that approach to the universal where
as the Ionians were people who brought in
a lot of thinking brought in a lot of philosophybring
who brought in lot of you know scientific
outlook.Who are the ones who brought a lot
of knowledge from Babylonia and Egypt onto
Egypt I am sorry onto Greece.
Now, in the period when Roman annexation takes
over the third period of the Greek history
you had complete conquest of Greeks no political
independence total subservience and no peace.In
other words it is an extension of the Macedonian
rule but on a permanent basis becauseby this
time the eminents of the Greekcivilization
are vanishing.Now, the RomanEmpire as I said
grew out of the growth of the city state of
Rhome gradually into eminent and leadership
as Athens had in the fifth century.By about
the end of the third century Romans had concurred
all of NorthAfrica,Syria and all the way down
up to Babylonia, the estuaries of TigrisandUfretis.They
had concurred all of France as it is known
today they had concurred a large part of GreatBritain.
So, the Roman Empire extended all the wayfrom
thegranumein the East in Europe to the Thames
in London.And then it extended all the way
from the courts of the boltiksy in the North
all the way down to the valleys of Tigris
and Ufretis deep down in the Arabic world
or rather in the in the middle eastern world,Arabic
world came later.Roman Empire too hadit is
nemesis and this nemesis largely it is own
growth see at its peak the political leadership
in Rhome had created provincial governments
across the Empire,which had considerable autonomy,
which had considerable sets of obligations
and rights vissevy Rhome.
An excellent system of law and an outstanding
army, and more importantly a tremendous capacity
for public works road making, bridges, all
of which were responsible for the rapid movement
of the Roman army;and the legionaries across
Europe, is this expansion which gradually
led to the demise.On the one hand as more
and more wars were fought the cost of fighting
more and more wars had to be distributed more
and more across the provinces.So, the provinces
had to bear the physical burden of the war
increasingly at one point, the burden of the
war became so, intense that prefix of township.
Where the Romans ruleduse to free because
the penalty for not collecting enough taxes
and paying it to Rhome was Sevier.
So, the law was made that prefix should not
run away they should stay in the townships.So,
gradually the magnificent orderliness of Roman
legal system political and bureaucratic system
became more and more and more repressive.About
this time the army suddenly realizes that
it is the most powerful institution in the
whole of Roman Empire.So, army takes it into
its head that it should become the kind maker
of the Romans.So, army takes it privilege
to assassinate a Sesseror it might through
somebody out and put somebody else in its
place in other words army become central in
deciding political leadership in Roman Empire.
And the prices heavy for that because what
happens is different fractions of the army
start supporting different leading political
mummeries in Rhome.And the price expected
is not only rewards as salary by thesoldiersbut
also bonuses in the form of trophy after the
victories one against the other Roman who
we are fighting and finally, land grands.The
victorious soldiers who fought for the winning
person who became the king of Rhome or the
ruler of Romans demanded an acquired grands
of landso;a new lead of aristocracy was growing
in Roman Empire.And this is very destructive
process because what one general could do
with his troughs another general could, what
one aspiring politician could do another could.
So, the resources for these came from agriculture
from the whatever manufacture that existed
in short from economic activities.More and
more of resources were taxed away from productive
economic activity on to the wastefulness of
war.And or more importantly onto the incredible
corruption that grew out of it of some kind
of war lordship which the generals and the
troughs had.So, this goes on were quite a
while till about two three hundred years till
about 250 years I think after Christ.When
a Sesser or Augustus comes into power and
there is a period of great peace after which
of course, things started rewriting slowly.
But by this time as this the deterioration
occurs there is yet another force which is
operating in Europe, which is started operating
actually arounda150 years after Christ.
Which is the holds from the east called the
Huns there pressing in on EasternEurope there
coming in waves and pressing in on EasternEurope.And
who is in Eastern Europe, people known as
the barbarian, tribes, the vandals,the gouts,
the ostogouts, the vissigouts, the franks
these people are under pressure from the East
and they start moving inonto the Roman Empireexert
in their pressure.So, eventually the Roman
Empire comes under threat from the raiding
arms of various groups of so, called Barbarians.
By this time to the great Empire as split
into two the Eastern and Western Empire, the
Western Empire located in Rhome and Eastern
Empire located in Byzantium which today is
known as Istanbul.But in those days became
known as Constantinople after the great emperor
Constantine.Who was a great Eastern Empire
leader, is the Eastern Empire which becomes
officially Christian first.King Constantine
makesChristianity the official religion of
the Romans state at least of the Eastern wing
and the reason is very clear.One a miracle
is promise to him in a war and if the miracle
happens he should get into the Christian faith,
it is said that the miracle happened and Constantine
became a Christian.
But most important more than two thirds of
the army of the Constantine were already Christians.So,
in order to be a popular leader he had to
make a nation Christian nation.So, by the
time of ConstantineChristianity became the
officialreligion of the Roman Empire as I
said originally in the Eastern half and later
on in the Western half in Rhome.While that
is the case the fact that Rhome was a kind
of a cultural headquarters of the Christians
became evident long before.Because both SaintPaul
and Saint Peter had attain their Mart Adam
in Rhome and therefore, Rhome was scientified.And
at least 300 years of repression and harassment
of Christians happened in Rhome.
You heard of the catacombs of the Rhome where
large number of Christian believers uses to
hide from persecution and the persecution
as we have seen earlierwas quiet intensive.So,
eventually when the leadership of Christian
religious group happened to find a centre
it was naturally Rhome.And it became the headquarters
of the Christian world ruled by the Christian
ruler called Pope;the Pope became the head
the ecclesiastic headof Europe by that time.Well
done the vandals, the gouts, the vissigouts,
the ostogouts, they attack and raid the Roman
Empire by 14.
I think the year 461 if I am not mistaken
is the year when at last the gouts sack the
city of Rhome.
With that the victory of the Barbarians is
more or less taken for granted.Does this mean
that the Roman Empire became a Barbarian Empire
or does it became does it mean Barbarians
replace Rhome forever?No,it is a trade off.For
nearly 100150 years this you know the gouts
and ostrogouts, franks and people are you
know pressing in on the RomanEmpire and making
in roads taking territory.And most important
in the process becoming Christians;so eventually
the political victory of the gouts in the
sack of Rhome and eventually the victory of
the Lombard’s in the capture of the cities
in the North of the Italian Peninsula.
All thisis merely institutionalization of
a new era in that part of the world what is
happening in this new era is that the Barbarian
has become politically supreme, militarily
supreme.At least in the western part of the
Roman Empirethe eastern part is still holding
on with Constantinople has its headquarters,
but the western part is seemingly taken over
by the Barbarians.So, yes they have taken
over politically they have taken over militarilybut
the Barbarians were endlessly envious of the
Romans for their culture, their laws, their
rules, regulations, their political organization.So,
over a period of time you find the Barbarian
rulers trying to become more Roman than Romans.
So, this is what is happening here by the
fourth or fifth century Christianity is come
to hold itself strong, in both Eastern and
Western Empires see official religion.Not
only that it is religion of all the conquerors
of the Rhomethe Barbarians.So, by the fifth
century you can say ChristianEurope comes
into existence in a full fledge form.Do you
have any questions at this point?You do not
have questions; I will ask you a question.
Have you heard of SaintAmbrose, have you heard
ofSaintAugustine,tell me about SaintAugustine?Adithi.
If you look at western philosophyGreekclassification,Greek
philosophythe medieval philosophy is social
rules Saint Augustine andsome that more Christian based religions.Very true and what did you have
to say.
SaintAugustineand Thomus
Much laterThomus
peace scholastic?
No,Saint Augustine was peace scholastic and
Saint ThomasAquenous was end of scholastics.Between
them is almost a period of 900 years,SaintAugustine
spelt the end of one era of Christianity.Where
it is known as the four great doctors of Christianitycame
into existence Saint Gerome,SaintAugustine,SaintAmbrose
and then Pope Gragery the great.Their preoccupations
are entirely theological you do not have the
Greek type of philosophical speculation, which
is already rejected and thrown out as Pagan
philosophy.What has to be taken from the Pagans
has been taken from Plato by the time people
like SaintAugustine or writing a little bit
of substantial bit of Plato’s absorbed into
Christian theology.
More importantly the idea of the Mart Adam
of the religious leader which you find in
the Orphism at this becomes translated into
the Mart Adam of JesusChristin Christianity.There
is continuous belief systems out there which
ends up with the Mart Adam of JesusChrist.But
other than all these things Saint Gerome,SaintAugustine,
Saint Ambrose these are great figures in the
history of the church probably very great
figures at that time in the western world
their work was entirely theological.There
was no scientific work, interact all knowledge
by that time became the monopoly of ecclesiastical
institutions church and its organizations.
And all non ecclesiastic learning was discouraged
including Saint Ambrose was very strongly
against non ecclesiastic learning in other
words learning should be done by Church and
only through the Church.So, already the ground
was set for a long period of hibernation in
faith so, from the sixth century begins a
long period in philosophical terms till the
16th century or at least the 14th century.When
Europe seems to go to sleep and a long hibernation,
often times the period from the fifth century
on to the 12th centuries specifically is known
as the dark ages.There is some activity in
the 12th century, when the Pope suddenly realizes
that he must build more political capital for
himself.
And he institutesa series of activities called
Crusades, which is basically on the face of
it attempts to recover the Wholly Grale from
the Muslim hands in Jerusalem.But it is different
ways in which Pope tries to consolidate their
own political power across Europe.
Can you tell me can somebody tell me something
about the Crusadeshas somebody readan old
and probably out of fashion English writer
called Sir VoltasScottno, have you heard ofnames
like King Richard the lion heart, in England
does it seem familiar.
No.
No, have you heard of a name called Selidane,these
are all names out of the times of the Crusades.You
see by the time of the Crusades there is a
division of the Church which is virtually
an armed division of the Church their nights
they use to be known as nights Templers.These
were people who had sort ofdedicated themselves
to celibacy,dedicated themselves to rightist
living by the Christians standards and to
fight martially for Christianity wherever
such a fighting was needed.So, there were
the nights in the errand of god Isuppose to
nights who were errand of kings so, nights
Templers they became the central focus around
which the Crusades began.Different parts they
were several Crusades first, second, third
and fourth Crusade over a period of 150-180
years.
As I said this ostensible purpose of Crusades
was religious to recover the relics from the
sacred land which were thought to beproperty
of Christiansbecause it was a home of Christ.
It was also an attempt at a kind of a global
militarism
because the Arab world was immensely politically
powerful.By the time the Crusades came the
Eastern Empire which also use to be known
as Byzantine Empire because it was based on
Byzantium or Constantinople was tottering
the Western Empire had already become non
Roman.But Christian, the Eastern Empire was
tottering.And there was you know there is
lot of political economic opportunistic interplaneall
these things I shall just let you a know littleevent
of this type.
So, when the Crusades being were being organized
the Lombardiancities that is the cities say
Northern Europe which had been occupied by
Lombard’s.
And which were prospering, which were full
of trade then activity these Lombardian cities
were looking to opportunity and the Pope saysnow
go fight the Crusades.The Christianarmies
will embark and seal towards the holy land
and fight there fantastic, people of Vinnitsa
the opportunity were themselves here when
it is of course, being one of the principle
of Lombardian cities and the great port city.So,
they made a following presentation they said
well you know if you really want tosend the
holly army to Jerusalemand capture it.
They have to land at some port like Haifa
or Accava on theMiddle East and mainland on
the Israeli mainland as it were.And that is
a problem because that whole area is controlled
by Muslims and the best thing is to have a
gateway to Jerusalem much closer to Jerusalem.The
best thing is to capture is to Constantinople
and thereby you have the gateway to Jerusalem
wide open and you could build big war and
so forth.Now, everybody knew that the venetians
were trying to make good business out of this.
But nobody had a choice because most of the
ships seemsseem to belong venetians and you
need ships to transport all the ships and
horses and cargo I am sorry the troughs and
horses and the nightsTemplers.
So, eventuallyyou know there was an axe to
grand across a place that is what I was trying
to say is much more complex full of little
in trigs here and there and therefore, a lot
more complicated then a simple religious war.And
if you read the stories of WalterScott you
were find how in England the coming of the
Crusades makes tremendous internal political
transformations within England.So, lots of
things were happening in Europe, is what I
am trying to say in the Crusades come, two
things that happen, when the Crusades are
tremendously important.One growth of business
lot of prosperity so, business groups are
very prosperous because you know Crusades
they self things to go to people war for the
holly purpose butthere was good business in
that.
Secondlot of internal political transformations
occurs across Europe, because it is a big
political way which is sweeping across Europe.And
lots of little ways happen following it there
by changing political power structure with
every Crusade across different countries of
Europe.But two other things happen which are
not often mentioned; one is there is an incredibly
aggressive violence unleash against all the
Zeus in Europe.Zeus till the first Crusade
control virtually all business in Europe,
the entire transaction of business from the
East towards Europe was controlled and organized
and regulated by the Zeusfor centuries.
But with the coming of the Crusades one thing
that happen was incredible unlashing of violence
towards the Zeus they were large numbers and
vast quantities of Zeusproperty was annex
by the Christians.So, by the end of the second
Crusade most of European business had gone
from the hands of the Zeus on to the hands
of the Christians.So, it is a big political
economic shift for which religion is an ostensible
reason, but it is merely a predatory activitywill
take a little aside at this point.Because
time and time again religion has cropped up
in the world involving vast passions, vastviolence and more importantly enormous economic loss
And every time it is happened, there is always
a little opportunism somewhere which uses
a religion as a proxy.What happened in the
Crusades?Is one thing that you seein 1939
there was a man who fought against the world
from Germany, who is entire ideology was that
the Zeus are the enemy of the world we should
destroy them.They are controlling us, killing
us you should wiped them out and do what take
their wealth, take their resources.So, here
it was done not in the name of Christianity,
but in the name of national socialism so,
you see ideology once again comes in as a
proxy for opportunism.So, where did the resources
of the Zeus go to, the resources were Zeus
went to the existing Christian German business.
The croups and the you name it the Bensons
and so on and so forth I am not saying that
there need be a value judgment in this matter.But
I am saying certainly that the Crusadesis
a clear illustration to us that there is a
long history of opportunism of political maneuvering
and economic pragmatism.All of them underlying
major ideological disputes, the Crusades is
one example that is an aside.Equally important
this was one first phase of growth in European
economy at the time of Crusades.Because not
only is business happening because a war is
being foughtbut because precisely of that
is lot of going and coming in trade.
Especially the Lombard cities are making hay
they are really growing during this period
twelfth thirteen century they grow very fast.
And therefore, the break happens along with
the Crusades out of the dark ages, almost
unwillingly Europeit breaks out of a long
period of slumber into something positive,
something aggressive,something economicallypurposive.While
this is happening, while the cities are growing,
while trade is growing at this time something
has else is on this eclipse.What is on the
eclipse isthe way in the rural society had
got itself organized in Europe for the previous
seven eight hundred years.That is going through
enormous stress;there is a little breakdown
of that social order.And there is a literal
renewal of rural energies,which starts around
the time of Crusades and completes itself
around the sixteenth or seventeenth century.
So, this period is a very crucial period,
not only for the rise of towns, but for a
change in the rural social and economical
and political order in Europe.
But in order to understand this rural economical
political and social order which was transformed
we must go back in time again to the Romans.The
routes of the political economic and social
system which came into existence in the dark
ages in Europe lay also during the time of
the Roman Empire.If you remember I was telling
you that, the great involvement of the army
in king making in the Roman Empire became
tremendously expensive.And the expenses came
out of the tax payer and the tax payer not
sitting mainly in Rhome, but he was sitting
in the rural areas.
So, by that time the rural the face of rural
Roman Empire had also changed, there was enormous
wealth coming in, enormous prosperity coming
in, with victory after victory, conquest of
a conquest Empire growing.And the money mostly
went into the hands of nobility in Rhome.And
basically nobility of the Empire, formally
the Europe the Roman Empire was politically
organized in a kind of a democracy.There was
representation forthe common man in political
power, but the affairs of the state were run
by the Sonnet which was almost totally controlled
by the aristocracy.So, with these trims and
victories and prosperity coming into Rhome,
it is the Aristocracy that grows bigger and
bigger and stronger.
And when eventually the price had to be paid
king making, for paying the army to fight
other peoples wars is the aristocracy which
had to pay.So, in number of cases landlords
were trying to go away from their estates
because it was becoming too expensive.You
cannot maintain an a state paying so muchfor
the armies and the government taxing you all
the time.So, came the first of the regulations
of that time, if you remember already I told
you that the prefix of towns were ban from
living the townthen the next the landlords
were prohibited from living their estates.Or
more importantly the workers the farmers and
the peasants, who had become you see, what
happened was the with the growth of the power
of the Aristocrats.
All small farm holdings were integrated and
taken over by the Aristocrats and agriculture
in those part turns from small present agriculture
to big estate agriculture which was controlled
by Aristocrats.So, the peasants became the
workers and these workers were banned from
shifting from their location by these new
regulations.Because if there are no workers
there is no agriculture, if there is no agriculture
there is no revenue for the government.So,
here comes a regulation very quietly which
was to affect all of Europe in thecenturies
to come.Regulation which bansthe mobility
free mobility of rural labor force fromone
area to another, which means islabor force
cannot anymore offer itself even for wages
to anybody.
That it wanted to offer it was tight to land,
you are in this estate you belong in this
estate this is where you stay.So, here comes
a tradition which lasted centuries a tradition
where labor was locked up in the estate, could
not offer itself offer its labor power for
sale anywhere in the market.This goes back
as I said to the days of the political anarchy
in Roman Empire, will take a break at this
point and then resume, I guessafter the break.Now,
you have any questions we have a minute or
so.
No, you do not will take a break.
