The Worlds of the Indian Ocean: A Global History. Vol. 1. From the Fourth Millennium BCE to the Sixth Century CE 1

A revised and updated translation. Written and translated by Philippe Beaujard. Translation edited by Tamara Loring, Frances Meadows, and Andromeda Tait. Originally published in France as: 'Les mondes de l’océan indien. Volume 1: De la formation de l’Etat au premier système-monde afro-eurasien (4e millénaire av. J.-C – 6e siècle ap. J.-C.)', 2012. Europe's place in history is re-assessed in this first comprehensive history of the ancient world, centering on the Indian Ocean and its role in pre-modern globalization. Philippe Beaujard presents an ambitious and comprehensive global history of the Indian Ocean world, from the earliest state formations to 1500 CE. Supported by a wealth of empirical data, full color maps, plates, and figures, he shows how Asia and Africa dominated the economic and cultural landscape and the flow of ideas in the pre-modern world. This led to a trans-regional division of labor and an Afro-Eurasian world economy. Beaujard questions the origins of capitalism and hints at how this world-system may evolve in the future. The result is a reorienting of world history, taking the Indian Ocean, rather than Europe, as the point of departure. Volume I provides in-depth coverage of the period from the fourth millennium BCE to the sixth century CE. List of Maps and Charts (in Color Plates) List of Illustrations (in Color Plates) List of Figures List of Tables List of Abbreviations Preface Acknowledgments Prologue Introduction: The Geography of the Indian Ocean and Its Navigation The Indian Ocean Wind Patterns The Currents Madagascar Navigation of the Indian Ocean Part I. The Ancient Routes of Trade and Cultural Exchanges and the First States (Sixth–Second Millennium BCE) Introduction 1. The Birth of the State The Neolithic Center of the Fertile Crescent ‘Ubaid, a Proto-State Phase The Urban Revolution and the Development of the State in Mesopotamia The First Half of the Fourth Millennium BCE The Urukian Expansion during the Second Half of the Fourth Millennium BCE The State in Egypt: Formation of the First Kingdoms The Predynastic Period 'Dynasty 0' at Abydos Egypt, the Interior of Africa, and the Indian Ocean Central Asia and Southern Asia 2. Early Bronze Age I in Western Asia and Egypt (c. 3000–2700 BCE) Mesopotamia at the Beginning of the Third Millennium: The Opening to the Persian Gulf The Proto-Elamite Sphere (3100–2800 BCE) The Pre-Harappan Civilization of the Indus Egypt during the Thinite Period (First and Second Dynasties, 3100–2700 BCE) 3. Early Bronze Age II (c. 2700–1950 BCE) Urban Bloom and the Emergence of Kingship in Mesopotamia during the Early Dynastic II (2750–2600 BCE) Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley: The First Globalized Area of the Indian Ocean (2500–1950 BCE) From the Sumerian City-States to the Akkadian Empire The Indus Valley and the Indian Subcontinent The Persian Gulf, a Central Corridor between Mesopotamia and the Indus Region Turmoil along the Terrestrial Routes during the Twenty-Third and Twenty-Second Centuries BCE (Mesopotamia, Iran, and Central Asia) The Third Dynasty of Ur (2112–2004 BCE) Egypt of the Old Kingdom (c. 2700–2180 BCE) 4. The New Spaces of the Middle Bronze Age in Asia and Egypt (c. 2000–1750 BCE) Egypt of the Middle Kingdom (c. 2040–1730 BCE) Western Asia: The Growth of the Private Sector in the Exchange Networks From Central Asia to South Asia: The Expansion of the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) Dislocations and Regional Restructuring from the Eighteenth Century BCE The Old Babylonian Period (1800–1595 BCE [MC]) Post-Harappan India (1800–1300 BCE) 5. The Late Bronze Age (c. 1600–1100 BCE), an Area Unified around the Eastern Mediterranean Western Asia and the Mediterranean Region Egypt of the New Kingdom (1539–1070 BCE) The Cataclysmic Collapse of the Late Bronze Age World Central Asia and South Asia 6. East Asia: From Villages to States (c. 5000–1027 BCE) The Neolithic Cultures of East Asia: Local Developments and First Contacts with Central Asia Transformations at the Beginning of the Second Millennium BCE The Early Bronze Age of China: The Erlitou Phase (1800–1600 BCE) The Shang State (1600–1027 BCE): Wider Control over Resources and Long-Distance Exchanges 7. The Emergence of Intermediary Spaces Arabia, an Interface between Continents The First 'Incense Roads' The Movements of Cultivated Plants and Domesticated Animals between Africa and Asia Southern China, Southeast Asia, and the Eastern Indian Ocean: Developments and First Contacts Between China, India and Central Asia: Ancient “Silk Roads” Conclusion: Were there World-Systems during the Bronze Age? The World-Systems of Western Asia, Northern Africa, and the Eastern Mediterranean The State Sector, Communities, and the Private Sector China’s World-Systems and Contacts with the West The End of the Late Bronze Age: A Systemic Collapse Part II. The Birth of the Afro-Eurasian World-System (First Millennium BCE – Sixth Century CE) Introduction The Iron Age: From Three World-Systems to a Single World-System The Western and Eastern World-Systems: The First Connections (1000–750 BCE) The Development of Three Interconnected World-Systems (750–350/300 BCE) The Western World-System from the Eighth to the Sixth Century BCE The Formation of an Indian World-System during the Seventh Century BCE The Eastern World-System during the 'Spring and Autumn' Period The Restructuring of the Western World-System during the Second Half of the Seventh Century BCE The Key Period of the Sixth and Fifth Centuries BCE The Western World-System (Sixth and Fifth Centuries BCE) An Indian World-System Connected to the West The Eastern World-System during the Fifth and Fourth Centuries BCE The Recession of the Late Fifth and Early Fourth Centuries BCE Growing Interactions among the Three World-Systems (c. 350–1 BCE) Toward the Unification of the Western World-System with the Indian World-System The Western World-System in Crisis during the Second Century BCE The Ascent of an Eastern World-System Centered on China Conclusion The Birth of the Afro-Eurasian World-System The First Phase of Integration of the World-System The World-System Recedes (Third–Sixth Century) 8. The Beginnings of the Iron Age The Assyrian Hegemony The Neo-Babylonian Empire Achaemenid Persia: The First 'Universal Empire' Egypt, between Political Fragmentation and Foreign Dominance: An Independence under Threat 9. The Roads to the Orient The Europeans in Asia and in Egypt The Greeks in the Footsteps of Alexander the Great Rome and Indian Ocean Trade: The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea Spices and Aromatics Parthians and Sassanids: The Occident of the Silk Roads 10. India: The Birth of a New Core The Emergence of Empires: Buddhist Networks and the Rise of Trade Relations between India and Southeast Asia People from Southeast Asia on the Coasts of India? Indian Trade in Southeast Asia 11. Southeast Asia, an Interface between Two Oceans The Emergence of Complex Societies during the First Millennium BCE The Integration of Southeast Asia into the Afro-Eurasian World-System Funan The States of the Thai–Malay Peninsula Champa and Jiaozhi Insular Southeast Asia: State Development during the Fifth and Sixth Centuries Changes during the Sixth and Seventh Centuries 12. China: From Kingdoms to Unification From the Zhou Dynasty to the Warring Kingdoms (1027–221 BCE) The Unification of China under the Qin (221–207 BCE), the Western Han (206 BCE – 23 CE), and the Eastern Han (25–220 CE) 13. Arabia: Maritime Cultures and the Rise of the Caravan Trade Eastern Arabia Western Arabia and the Horn of Africa 14. East Africa: The Emergence of a Pre-Swahili Culture on the Azanian Coast 15. The Austronesian Expansion and the First Malagasy Cultures Austronesians in the Western Indian Ocean Archaeological and Genetic Data The Ancient Texts What Does Anthropology Teach Us? Madagascar: A Periphery of the World-System Takes Shape Age and Diversity of the First Austronesian Arrivals: A Linguistic Approach The Place of Malagasy among Austronesian Languages Dating the First Arrivals: How Linguists See It The Archaeological Data Comparative Anthropology The Ternary System: Cosmic and Social Dualism Agriculture A Phantasmic “Bantu Substrate” Bibliography Index of Geographical Names Name Index Subject Index Volume I provides in-depth coverage of the period from the fourth millennium BCE to the sixth century CE, re-assessing Europe's place in history in the ancient world. This volume centers on the Indian Ocean and its role in pre-modern globalization. It presents a global history of the Indian Ocean world, from the earliest state formations to 1500 CE. Supported by a wealth of empirical data, full color maps, plates, and figures, the auhtor shows how Asia and Africa dominated the economic and cultural landscape and the flow of ideas in the pre-modern world. This led to a trans-regional division of labor and an Afro-Eurasian world economy. The author questions the origins of capitalism and hints at how this world-system may evolve in the future. The result is a reorienting of world history, taking the Indian Ocean, rather than Europe, as the point of departure "Europe's place in history is reassessed in this first comprehensive history of the ancient world, centering on the Indian Ocean and its role in pre-modern globalization. Philippe Beaujard presents an ambitious and comprehensive global history of the Indian Ocean world, from the earliest state formations to 1500 C.E."-- Provided by publisher