Ancient Worlds: A Meeting of East and West
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- Опубликовано: 14 сен 2016
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Filmed at the Royal Institution of Great Britain on 5th July 2016.
There’s a new school of history that’s revolutionising the way we look at the past. For centuries, our history has been taught in separate chunks, with the classical, European world divided from China and the East. This traditional, somewhat lazy history of civilisation, zeroing in on the Western Mediterranean, drastically restricts our understanding of the world - and the crucial ideas and problems that have affected human civilisation as a whole; from politics to religion; from war to money. The ‘ancient world’ has been confined in the West to Greece and Rome, when, of course, it encompassed the whole globe. By crashing through these boundaries, of time and geography, we can connect the strands of our human story and develop a more sophisticated sense of why the world looks like it does today - a global history for global times.
This is nothing less than a new historical movement that completely changes the prism through which we see the past and explain the present. And on July 5th Intelligence Squared staged an unprecedented chance to see these new ideas developing over the course of a thrilling evening.
Dr Michael Scott, the BBC’s charismatic young classics presenter, aired his ground-breaking view of interconnected history. His forthcoming book, 'Ancient Worlds: An Epic History of East and West', reveals how closely the world’s civilisations have engaged with each other, from the ancient era right up until today. Spinning through 1,000 years, and travelling from Spain to China - via the Mediterranean, Africa, western Asia, central Asia and India - Scott dramatically joined together the dots of world history. He was joined in conversation with the distinguished classicist and BBC presenter Bettany Hughes. Hughes has also been leading the field in the new, globalised approach to ancient and modern history. In her 2015 BBC Four series, Genius of the Ancient World, she drew together the worlds of Socrates, Confucius and the Buddha. All three thinkers were active between the sixth and fifth century BC - a brief spell of unparalleled intellectual advance that revolutionised our perception of ourselves, then and now. Hughes is currently working on a major new history of Istanbul, the city which was the bridge between East and West for centuries.
A fascinating time to listen to two people who know a lot about their subject and with plenty of ideas to think about. Very inspiring. Thank you.
The moderator had some comments that were just as insightful as anything the guest had to say.
What a surprise to get Bettany Hughes in this. She's the supermodel of archaeology and history buffs.
Thank you so much for sharing!
This is a great channel.
WHAT ROMAN COINS? You forgot about Alexander the Great,and the Graeco-Indian Kingdoms?The History of the Indo-Greek Kingdom covers a period from the 2nd century BCE to the beginning of the 1st century CE in northern and northwestern India. There were over 30 Indo-Greek kings, often in competition on different territories. Many of them are only known through their coins,where the Indians step rather on them,and not in the Roman ones ...
Also there are many Indian ancient writers that wrote about their Country...
It seems you answered your own question. Coins are great. However, very limited compared to any text. You seem to know this. Also they are on a bit of a time crunch and I can understand why the great Indian histories are saved to be added in at a later time. Imagine how detailed they would have to be which honestly would fly over many people's heads. Seems to me this is more of an 'intro' to this type of discourse as far as topics. I still truly appreciate your point.
He didn't forget, he's talking about first contact before all that. I'm pretty sure they know.
Maybe he didn't really understand even the literal meaning of those ancient Chinese historical materials. One example is that Qin Shi Huang didn't ban the pronoun "I", he just invented another new word to refer to "I" and claimed that only himself can use this new word.
I am also gonna make the same point. To be more specific, Qin Shi Huang didn't invent a new "I", what he did was choosing one particular "I" among several words that all refer to "I" without significant difference, and made the usage of that word excluded to the emperor. This "holly I", Zhen in Chinese, was often used by Chinese poets before Qin Shi Huang, but had only been used by emperors since him.
This man is a great speaker , but because he was being asked to cover many different subjects and questions he made a few factual errors ,but admirable intellect none the less
An excellent talk.
the invasion of Bactria is not the 'meeting' of histories but the 'joining' in a now joined world
the world has been internetted from the outset of time. we have evolved through the discovery of its various functions and laws. the human family scattered throughout the earth from the beginning and it has in this last centuries reunited itself back again.
If have seen this kind of thoght battles when I was I young student of History!
I’m in American. We don’t even teach our own history very well. So anything like this would be a good start even if it’s still very biased to the west.
Thats all there is "in American" is the west they dont include any other history in revisionist history classes at college here in North America
I'm trying to figure out how the neolithic "amazon store" would have been configured... I don't think the elephant tusk ended up in Spain because an order was placed or put to a trader "next time you are in India, please don't forget to purchase one of those shiny pieces of ivory for me"... That tusk would rather have an adventurous story to tell about its journey.
Assuming you are from the west and you go to a store in both places Spain and India and you are ordering as they do there at the same time because you really want the scrimsaw or whatever for a nice paperweight or what have you you then ask them what it is like to procure manufacture sell and display the item as it is designed to be taken away and started anew with another one. What they basically say is one way or the other the inhabitant of the same kingdom on earth they share together was gifted to them this important gift to you to use and make into what you see as of how to do things and things into what it is thats believed to be most of value in the world.
It was trade that brought us together, and ideology will drive us apart
It's much better listening to her talk about historical theory than him.
Bettany Hughes is superb in English - best English I ever heard.
"Beware the venom of the cobra, the teeth of the tiger, and the Afghans.". Alexander the Great
If I were from Afghanistan I would say the above statement from Alexander the Great is very biased in a negative way toward the Afghan people. The irony of it all was that Alexander the Great and his armies captured many lands making a vast Greek empire, whereas Afghanistan has no history of colonialism. In my opinion the Afghan people have shown great resistance and resilience against supposed super power that have attempted to colonize them. The exception being fundamental Islam, which in my opinion is shame.
So was there an Axial age?
He mentions it @18:15, but I didn't get it either; was there one or not? And when would one come in the future?
Iam 3 years late, but whatever. In my understanding the Axial age is more a construct to describe a period in history when many religions and philosophies were founded. It is sort of a tool to summaries a prolific time of great ideas.
I suggest reading up on this in Karl Jaspers: Origin and Goal of History.
The "Silk Road " made East meet West. 🥰🥰
I could be wrong, but I think she said "the very incarnation of his (Soccertees's) philosophical story of a good life is when men and WOMEN get in a room together and debate big ideas". Correct if I'm wrong but it seems that women didn't figure much into Greek philosophy, poetry, politics, not to mention having sex for fun within three generations of the Grand Socrates, father of Almighty Plato, who in their turns gave us the 12 original commandments. She's berry beautifuls tho
In Plato's Republic, women are equals. But I don't think women in any society had opportunities save matriarchal or Amazonian ones, which never held influential sway in the grand picture of history, more myth....
@@susanmcdonald9088 Plate belonged to the school of Athens and they were all men. Later there were a few maybe some scholars who were women but that was after the Greek Empire was already done. The point is the school was like how Socrates said a fly on the rump of the herd attempting to control or annoy in any possible to little if no important affect in general. Today in the west we are amaze by Colin Farrel or Rosario Dawson in Alexander or better Evanrachel Wood in Dreamers or 300 but then there was a few different ways of looking at things there was a Mycenean traditon of Patriachy that came after the Minoan civilzation collapsed and then set up systems of supremacy and revisionist archetypes to control the area but there were other traditions in or as they say near of prior to that influenced or stayed to these ones we chear or root for in the modern day like the Collossus of Rhodes or like a better example might be the Bull from the Sea where preistesses live in a volcano and worship a giant snake just to name a few.
reading these comments, no one will ever say this stuff about Prof Mary Beard because well the woman knows what she is doing, and that is not sprouting YA attempts in classical subjects with the awful propaganda.
Dr. Scott always seems to focus on classical Greece as the start of the modern world. But what about the Minoans and the Myceni on Crete that were an organzied civilization thousands of years before Greece was unified or even emerged? Sir Arthur Evans was responsible for discovering this most ancient civilization.
Fayde Dnamron hmmm, was the beginnings of our civilisation based on a forgotten people or a geographic region and time were we borrow the art, politics, philosophy, heroes, stories and language.
Obviously the latter seems to be true.
Minoans and Mycenaeans were Greeks too...The Minoan civilization was a Greek Bronze Age civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean islands which flourished from about 2600 to 1100 BC.
Mycenaean Greece was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece (c. 1600-1100 BC). It represents the advanced civilization in mainland Greece, with its palatial states, urban organization, works of art and writing system. Notable cities were those of Pylos, Tiryns, Midea in the Peloponnese, Orchomenos, Thebes, Athens in Central Greece and Iolcos in Thessaly. The most prominent site was Mycenae, in Argolid, to which the culture of this era owes its name. Mycenaean and Mycenaean-influenced settlements also appeared in Epirus, Macedonia on islands in the Aegean Sea, on the coast of Asia Minor, the Levant, Cyprus and Italy ...
Before all these there was the Μinyan civilization more than 3000 BC...
The Pelasgians,the forefathers of all the Greeks...who go back more than 6-7000 B.C
The minoan civilzation ended and more or less they didnt have contact with mycenae. More or less the greeks had dynastic rulers or hereditary ones. The minoan language isnt decipherable but if they or like or similar to what became ancient greece they basically say an earthquake destroyed everything there and what was left was described as being made by giants other mythologies to do with what was goning on before the people disapeared or left are not exactly copacetic with the accepted dogma of ancient greece so it in general was a big deal whatever it was then it got destroyed and when ancient greece got around to pointing out things live navy fleets that were a must or a giant city wall that had to be built in a day then these stories about it back then became relevant but only in an indirect way.
@@nixter888 In Oedipus there is the example of herditary and dynastic rulers sequentially dating back to before the fall of Minoan civilization on the island of crete what is before that is debatable but they were not the same as the myceneans they are said to have conquered and invaded the area from the north more or less like an Aryan invasion or descibed like one to this day. There were ingeneral migrations in the bronze age but the settlements didnt leave much evidence besides as they have always said it in the academic historical account or written record that they traveled a lot.
I'm gutted quite frankly. So dissapointed. FS Bettany.
P.S. Not Istanbul but history of Constantinople: there was no Istambul.
East n West connected by Ancient " Silk Road"
Difficult as this t
so many factual errors and fallacious inferences! 👏
looks like just west
I wish someone had asked about how the biased & political media would affect the recording of history in the current days...?
midia is a big tool in wrong hands
It is of course this lecture specifically directed at a eurocentric view of world history. No one could possibly assume that you could have a truly world-centric view given that the two people are both from a British university system. However that taken as a given view it is an attempt to expand the basis of history as it is taught in our British school curriculum it is not intended as a view for world education ! It is all so of course a book signing and promotion of Micheal Scott`s book !.
budha was hindu and all ideas he propagate is in hindu #Dharma except there is Atma is essence of all being.
@Mars Dunes india is a civilizational nation. Throughout history, people knew it is one country, despite being divided into several principalities. They called India "jambu dweep",an island,which it's own distinct high culture, surrounded by Himalayas in north,hindukush in west and ocean in South. So there is no explanation for your statement except hatred and prejudice.
@@knightf8648 there were great kingdoms not principalities. Sadly, they only became principalities under the British empire.
its so funny, during the Q & A, ONLY INDIANS AND CHINESE Will focus of racial "Superiority" & "Inferiority" Both the Indian man and the Chinese woman asked about the subject of racial superiority. It is a coincident then that these two races with very distinct physical recognition talk about racial superiority? (which questions were totally ignored by the speakers because they didn't catch it, since, as white people, were fortunately, and pleasantly oblivious of this low inferiority complex struggle of these minority two)
@@Regard1ess this is such a fantastic comment, thank u omg
Socratic dialogue? Bettany, your leader Boris really deals in that eh? c'mon.
Oh and Christianity is not a religion for the 668,471st time. Christianity is just a term to describe a person Christ-like oh and it has no affiliation with Buddhism that was the most viable piece of rubbish
Yes avoid talking about exchanging ideas between civilizations and avoids the inconvenient fact that the major Eastern super-power (China) and another totalitarian regime (North Korea) have extreme limitations on speech on the internet and in general. How are we not going to clash because of their global ambitions. China wants to become the new global hegemon and make the west knell before their authority. We cannot exchange ideas with a culture that its people are not free to express themselves truthfully unless they genuinely support the government in Beijing or in Pyongyang.
These two don't really understand that much about the ancient world outside of their Graeco-Roman bubble that's been marginally extended by superficial knowledge about India and China. They talk about the world in the second half of the first millenium BC as if it was the first time in human history that cities and complex societies have existed. There have been cities with tens of thousands of inhabitants in the middle east since round about 3000 BC and they talk about the 'rise of the city' about 2500(!) years after that. Quite embarrassing for historians.
Also the trade routes which later became the silk roads (there was more than one) have already been used for thousands of years for lapislazuli and other goods. But no, western and central Asia only exist on their map from the moment Alexander and his army put his foot on it and that way they've proven just how biased the classic education in western societies is.
Of course there were big cities in the East before the Greek polis but there were centers of larger
monolithic empires. The difference is that the Greek polis were for the first time autonomous political
entities with citizens taking part in the running of the city.
No cities were greater than that of the grand PAKISTAN which gave birth to the FATHER OF TRUTHS SOCCERTEES
Dimitris Nikandros Really? So, how were those many other places run? In any village you go anywhere, there has been a system of running things on the basis of consensus for thousands of years.Its just propaganda.
Black Moon That was because it was invaded by Alexander. If Macedonia was such a great place why didn't Alexander go back there? Why did he choose to wear fine Persian clothes instead of the rags he had been wearing, and generally adopt the Eastern cultures?
It seems you cannot comprehend what the "West" is, or became, you.
Buddha statues in Afghanistan itself were much older than recorded by the west, there shere sizes were not achieved in the west then.
Buddha statues in greek style belong to Gandhara period, long before there were Buddha statues nothing to do with any greek influence.
It is rather disappointing scholars like these still pandering to western superiority stance by quoting and picking selectively but deliberately avoiding the reality in historical sense just like they have written crusades, slavery and now modern day war of Iraq and international war crimes. Really disappointing such young scholars show their inability to be objective and free from this geopolitical cultural bias even in this 21st century. They only mean globalisation as good to spread the same old mantra and conquer economic powers over other nations without giving any due credit to those "other". Such meanness is shameless and intellectually abhorrent to watch. Very sorry.
Blah blah blah. Get over it.
@@susanmcdonald9088 you get over your lies and deceit duplicity trickery 😃👺
The harsh number strikingly snatch because brown cytogenetically play next a adhesive organization. dangerous, likeable debtor
horse sacrifice was symbolic and not real killing happened in india.
गरुड़ध्वज Archealogical Facts say contrary! it was real
गरुड़ध्वज dasaswamedh ghat in Varanasi is testament to this.
My God.What an asinine presentation.
And a worse comment.
This was absolute rubbish. Search for the truth in life you’ll be given it when the time is right
Wow. Inspiring.
@@susanmcdonald9088 it’s too bad I don’t have the time to elaborate but that comment even at face value could not have a greater one..