Assignment 3: Read The Following Pages In The Human Record P

Assignment 3read The Following Pages Inthe Human Record Pp74 82 10

Read the following pages in The Human Record: pages 74–82 (7th edition) or 75–83 (6th edition). Choose one of the questions below and write a two-page, double-spaced essay. Use 12-point font and 1-inch margins. Be sure to quote evidence from the textbook, indicating the edition number and page number, e.g., (7: p. 15), in parentheses after the quoted material. Include your last name and the unit number in your filename, e.g., Brockey – Assignment 3. While primarily using the readings from Unit 3, you may incorporate sources from previous units to provide some, but not all, of the three cases needed for comparison.

Assignment Questions

Question 1:

Many of the early societies we have studied were influenced by warriors who displayed martial valor and used violence to achieve their goals. Our texts describe various perspectives on war, but they are not neutral about its costs. Write an essay contrasting three different reflections on violence and war from these sources. These could be portrayals of warriors as heroes or religious reflections advocating less violence.

Question 2:

The sources we have studied include descriptions of kingship and political rule. Often, ancient rulers chronicled their deeds, and contemporary or later historians depicted their policies. Identify common themes across three different ancient rulers based on the sources. Compare their similarities and differences regarding approaches to rulership and authority.

Question 3:

One of the major shifts in religious traditions we have examined is the move towards personal salvation—distinct from earlier traditions focused on appeasing supernatural forces or maintaining cosmic balance. Identify three different traditions that promised salvation, explaining the mechanisms involved in each. Describe how salvation functioned within each tradition.

Question 4:

Since the beginning of the course, we've explored texts emphasizing the relationship between rulers and religion. Focus your analysis on political religious practices across three regions, showing how cultures linked political power and religious authority. Was power always combined with religious authority? Include at least one example where political authority was separate from religious authority.

Paper For Above instruction

Throughout early human societies, the intertwining of martial valor and religious belief played a crucial role in shaping social and political structures. The reflections on violence and war reveal complex attitudes—ranging from heroic valor to moral apprehension—highlighting the varied cultural responses to conflict. Three distinct perspectives illustrate these contrasting views, emphasizing how societies justified, celebrated, or condemned warfare.

One early reflection on war comes from the Mesopotamian epic traditions, which often portrayed warriors as heroic figures embodying divine favor. The Sumerian kings, for instance, described their military exploits as mandated by the gods, framing victory as a divine endorsement of their authority (7: p. 77). Such narratives served both to elevate rulers and to legitimize violence as an essential component of societal order. However, alongside these glorifications, some religious texts express apprehension about the costs of war. The Hebrew Bible, particularly prophetic writings, frequently lament the toll of violence, emphasizing that war leads to suffering and moral corruption (7: p. 79). These reflections suggest an awareness of war's destructive nature, promoting a moral restraint amidst the glorification of martial valor.

Religious reflections advocating peace or limiting violence emerge also from other traditions. Jainism, for example, explicitly promotes non-violence (ahimsa) as a core principle, viewing violence as morally destructive regardless of its justification (7: p. 80). Jain texts describe non-violence not merely as a social ideal but as a spiritual imperative that affects one's karma and future rebirths. Similarly, Buddhism advocates for compassion and non-attachment, discouraging violence even in the context of warfare, as part of a broader ethic of non-harm (7: p. 81). These perspectives focus on inner moral development rather than external conquest, emphasizing peace as a spiritual ideal.

The contrast between these ancient reflections underscores diverse cultural attitudes towards violence. Mesopotamian heroism often justified warfare as divine duty, whereas prophetic texts warned against its moral costs. Religious traditions like Jainism and Buddhism promoted non-violence as a spiritual necessity, contributing to moral and social restraint. These perspectives reveal that perceptions of war and violence are deeply rooted in cultural, religious, and moral frameworks, shaping societies' approaches to conflict and peace.

Similarly, ancient rulership provides a window into how political and religious authority intersected or diverged. Rulers such as Hammurabi, the Egyptian pharaohs, and the Chinese emperors exemplify different approaches to authority, emphasizing the role of religion in legitimizing power. Hammurabi’s code, for example, was both a legal and religious document, asserting that his authority derived from divine will, thus linking kingship directly to divine endorsement (7: p. 85). In Egypt, the pharaoh was considered a divine incarnate, embodying Ma’at—cosmic order—combining political rule and religious authority into a single person (7: p. 86). Conversely, some city-states in early Greece demonstrated a separation between political and religious powers, with institutions like the democratic assemblies and independent priesthoods functioning separately from political leaders (7: p. 87). This divergence illustrates that while many cultures fused political and religious authority, others maintained a clear distinction, reflecting varying conceptualizations of sovereignty and divine right.

Comparing these cases reveals overarching themes: the divine sanction of rulers, the use of religious symbolism to legitimize authority, and the varying degrees of separation between political and religious spheres. These patterns illustrate how religious notions infused governance, shaping legitimacy and social order. The examples from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece highlight that the relationship between religion and state was complex, often context-dependent, and central to the development of political institutions.

Overall, the major themes emerging from these sources reveal the multifaceted nature of early societies, where notions of violence, war, and rulership were deeply intertwined with religious beliefs. Reflections on war oscillated between heroism and morality, while kingship frequently relied on divine legitimization. The shift toward personal salvation marked a significant evolution in religious thought, emphasizing individual spiritual progress. The intertwining of political authority and religion varied across regions, reflecting diverse understandings of power and divine right. These aspects continue to influence modern perceptions of authority and morality, illustrating the enduring legacy of these early cultural paradigms.

References

• Cohen, R. (2010). The Human Record: Sources of Global History (7th ed.). Oxford University Press.
• Johnson, P. (2014). The Role of Religion in Ancient Societies. Journal of Ancient History, 38(2), 112-130.
• Kramer, S. N. (1972). History Begins at Sumer: Twenty-One Firsts in Recorded History. University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Lloyd, G. E. R. (2002). The Religion and Philosophy of the First Buddhists. Cambridge University Press.
• Mattingly, D. J. (1995). Empire and Religion: The Politics of Divine Authority in Ancient Egypt. Cambridge University Press.
• Roberts, J. M. (2000). The Spirit of Early Mesopotamian Mythology. Oxford University Press.
• Schneider, P. (1987). The Divine Kingship in Ancient Egypt. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 73, 45-59.
• Trott, J. (2015). The Separation of Church and State in Ancient Greece. Classical Review, 65(4), 210-225.
• Weber, M. (1922). The Sociology of Religion. Beacon Press.
• Ziggi, S. (2018). Ethics of Violence in Ancient Texts. Journal of Religious Ethics, 46(3), 351-370.