The European Barbarians
lived a totally different life compared to how we live now. More than three
thousand years up to the Persian Empire time, civilization spread from its
homelands in Sumer and Egypt right to Southwest Asia and Northeast Africa. It also
spread and opened up in China, India, and the Western Hemisphere. Other than
that though, people were still living in pretty prehistoric villages and areas.
They earliest Europeans farming and spreading more village life around the
continent by 4000 B.C. When that happened people were becoming richer and
started populating more of the area. Then, by 3500 B.C. people were becoming
smart and strong enough to build megaliths, which are huge stone structures
such as the Stonehenge, which was built by religious farmers, and traders in
the West of England. The plow was then first used when archeologists found some
furrows in the soils right where the megaliths were. The Stonehenge itself was
finally finished being built in 2000 B.C. by 160 huge boulders that weighed up
to 50 tons each which is equal to 100,000 pounds, yet they had no fancy tools
to pull it for them. We still don’t know exactly how they did it, but it’s
crazy and is still standing today. Indo European people started moving into
Asia Minor, and Persia. Once they were comfortable with where they were they
started making ethnic groups who combined their traditions and the traditions
of the Indo-Europeans! Some of the Europeans were violent and warlike and
others were peaceful and calm. Either way, they all have the same main
business; farming. They lived in villages with several other families that were
on big farms so they could work and eat right at their house. These groups of
families then formed tribes. The tribes made little agreements under their
warrior kings or queens of very powerful tribes with their friends. The tribes
often fought over metal, slaves and other things that helped civilization grow
for them! Tribes frequently fell apart because of disagreements on who has the
victory. After that, Europe had many new skilled farmers, metalworkers,
organized people who had no cities, written records, or fixed structures of
government. These people were known as the European Barbarians. (The word
barbarian comes from the Greek word “barbarous” which first meant “non Greek”).
In today’s world and language we use barbarian or barbaric to label someone who
isn’t quite as smart as we are, or who isn’t sophisticated enough.
Intellectuals use the word to describe tribes and the new European lifestyle as
of 2500 B.C. Slowly but surely, from 2000 B.C. to 1000 B.C., the Europeans
started to see civilization form. Then the Greeks, who were the first Europeans
to notice civilization, barbarians started getting used to the civilization
life. Because of them interacting with the people South and East of them from
2000 B.C. forward, the Greeks came up with their own civilization and made it
the first to come about in Europe, and the first that counts as “Western”.
PS: (In the picture are Barbarians)
No comments:
Post a Comment