Old Age

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What is the Ancient Age?

The period of history known as the Ancient Age, or antiquity, is the time of the emergence of the first societies and
civilizations in the world.
It is the period between the invention of writing, around 4000 BC, and the year 476 AD, the date of the fall of the
Western Roman Empire and the beginning of the Middle Ages, where the great civilizations and empires of the past
emerged.

Ancient Age Division


Ancient East
Cover the geographical area formed by North Africa and Asia, where societies emerged: the Egyptian civilization,
the Mesopotamian civilization, but also the Hebrews, Phoenicians and Persians.

Classical antiquity or the west


Which has the participation of Greeks and Romans.

Characteristics
Invention of writing
Emergence and development of urban life.
Centralized political power in the hands of kings.
Society marked by social stratification.
Development of organized religions (mostly polytheistic).
Militarization and constant occurrences of wars between peoples.
Development and strengthening of trade.
Development of the tax collection system and social obligations.
Creation of legal systems (laws).
Cultural and artistic development.

What is the Middle Ages?


It is a historical period located between the ancient age and the modern age, therefore, an intermediate
age, which was in the middle, which is why the concept of the Middle Ages was born. . . A dark era that
lasted from the 5th century to the 15th century.
What does Middle Ages mean?
The name was given by Renaissance humanists as a derogatory term, since they considered it a dark age
between two moments of cultural splendor (ancient and modern ages).
For many, the medieval age is seen as a dark stage between the Ancient Age, recognized by the Greco-
Roman art, culture and civilization of classical antiquity and the cultural renewal of the Modern Age
(Humanism and Renaissance). . .
Thus, it would be a stage of cultural, social and economic decline and numbness.
What were the Stages?
It was divided into two stages, the low middle age and the high middle age,
Characteristics of the Middle Ages
The economy
Economically, the slave production model was replaced by the feudal production model. . . Consisting of a
feudal society, the king granted large tracts of land called fiefs to nobles and bishops.
And these in turn put the peasants to work on the land, doing agricultural work on the fiefs.
They planted and harvested crops and gave most of the production to the landowner or feudal lord.
• In exchange for their work, they were allowed to live on the land.

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• They were also promised protection in case of enemy invasion.
• In this way everything began to be managed on an economic level, in this way something called
Feudalism was created (See everything about Feudalism there).
The Social Organization
Socially, it was characterized by inequality in this aspect since society was divided into classes, and
certain groups had more privileges than others.
The society at this time was divided into:
The nobility, the clergy and the peasant population. . .
Religiously, the Catholic Church became the most powerful institution, and Christianity was born.
Kings, queens, and other leaders derive much of their power from their alliances with the protection of the
Church.
The education
During the course of medieval society, a large part of the population did not have access to knowledge. .
Not even the basics of reading and writing, and I had no prospect in life of retaining such knowledge.

Roman Age
The Roman civilization emerged as a very small community whose main activity was agriculture.
Rome was founded on the Italian peninsula in the current city of Rome in 753 BC on a commercial
crossing point called the “Tiber Pass”. Rome's economy was based on slave exploitation and the wealth of
its provinces.
Below, as a summary of Roman civilization, we present its history and its main characteristics.
Stages of Roman civilization
For its study this civilization is divided into 3 parts:
 Monarchy (from the 8th century BC to the 6th century BC). It is a period where there is still a
great Etruscan influence. From there emerged the new Roman state and a political system that
gave way to the republic. During this period the Roman and Etruscan kings exercised power.
 Republic (from the 6th century BC to the 1st century AD). The expansion begins and it is a time
of great struggles and conquests. During this period the famous Punic Wars took place between
Rome and Carthage during 264 BC and 146 BC.
 Empire (from the 1st century AD to the 5th century AD). With the death of Mark Antony and with
Octavian in power, he occupies the figure of princeps (first citizen ) and Augustus was named god
and head of religion and imperator (chief of the army). This is the period of greatest splendor for
Rome and turns it into a powerful and refined metropolis.
Economy of Roman civilization
 Rome's economy was based on slave exploitation and the wealth of its provinces.
 They also had land cultivated with vines, wheat and olive trees.
 They exploited the salt that was used to preserve food and its subsequent commercialization.
 They also practiced livestock farming of cows, sheep and pigs.

Roman civilization trade


Coins were the method of exchange used in Roman trade.
Trade was another of the economic bases of Roman civilization. Since they had control of the maritime
fleet , they could sell their products and crafts in distant places and obtain profits from it. The method
of exchange was Roman coins that circulated throughout the empire.

Modern Age – Characteristics, Summary and Important Facts

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The modern age is the period from the 15th to the 18th century and is between the Middle Ages and the
Contemporary Age.
The Modern era began, according to some historians, on May 29, 1453, the date that records the Turkish
conquest of Constantinople, but it does not represent a consensus among historians.

Characterized by a period of great changes, revolutions and changes in the Western mind, these
economic, scientific, social and religious changes gave rise to the capitalist system.

Therefore, the main events of the modern era were the following:

 The first major explorations


 The Renaissance
 The Religious Reform
 Absolutism
 Illustration
 The arrival of Christopher Columbus to America
 French Revolution
 Characteristics of the Modern Age
 It was a period of transition from Feudalism to Capitalism.
 Strengthening European national monarchies.
 Prevalence of a political regime characterized, mainly, by the centralization of power in the hands of
the monarch (king).
 Period of maritime discoveries made by Europe (especially Portugal and Spain) and the
colonization and exploitation of the discovered lands (mainly in America and Africa).
 Maritime trade as the main factor in the economic development of nations.
 Strengthening the European commercial bourgeoisie.
 Emergence of movements of disagreement with the power of the Catholic Church (Religious
Reform) and formation of new churches (Lutheran, Calvinist and Anglican).
 Development of the plastic arts and culture under a new perspective (humanism), mainly with the
Cultural Renaissance.
 Extensive scientific development (Astronomy, Engineering, Mathematics, Anatomy, Biology, etc.) in
the context of the Scientific Renaissance.
 Accumulation of wealth in Europe, the result of the exploitation of the colonies in America.
 Beginning of the Industrial Revolution at the end of this era.
 Disagreement, mainly with the Enlightenment, of the Absolutist regime and crisis of this system of
government at the end of the Modern Age.

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