Changes During The Axial Age

The Axial Age is most known as being a turning point in history. This is when ancient traditions and ideologies gave way to modern views and beliefs. This period began around the middle centuries of the first millennium BCE and consisted of four main components. The first being the change from the first societies which included; Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Persian Empire, Vedic India, and Shang/early Zhou China to Greek city-states that consisted of; Hellenistic, Roman, and Mauryan empires and Han dynasty China. During this time, there was also a shift when it came to who was influencing members of society. In the beginning, priests and political rulers had a significant impact on ideas and worldviews, however, during the Axial Age, the torch was

During the warring states period, which lasted from 481 - 221 BCE, China continued to prosper when it came to agriculture and economic success. Farming production steadily increased as well as the population which jumped up to 20 million by 221 BCE. During the Spring and Autumn Period, which lasted from 551 - 479 BCE, Confucius emerged and began to spread his new ideas. Confucius believed in a few major principles. He believed that ethical behavior was not only motivated by the desire for more but by the need to avoid punishment and thought of it as being a part of human nature. Confucianism also believed that government should reflect the familial structure, meaning subjects and rulers each have their own responsibilities to uphold and they also have their own role to play in society. People who followed the teachings of Confucius valued the importance of education. Unlike other religions, Confucianism viewed education with the utmost importance and believed that it should be available for anyone who seeks it. With that being said, he also believed that only the educated should have the right to govern

The Mauryan Empire was connected by cultural and religious practices instead of centralized political control. Chandragupta Maurya was born in 321 BCE to a family that was a part of the vaishya class. Although he was a commoner, he took the throne of Magadha Kingdom in the Gangnes River Valley soon after Alexander’s departure. He did this by launching a military conquest against states in northern India and made use of natural resources surrounding the Deccan plateau. He was also notable because he began to use elephants as military weapons. This empire was considered the first empire on the Indian subcontinent and lasted from 321 - 184 BCE. It was later used as an example when it came to the creation of later empires. He was able to defeat the seleucid emperor, Nicator, which was a major win because he gained territories we now know as Afghanistan. Although he conquered their area, he was able to establish peaceful relations with the empire