While Rome was falling, these powers were on the rise
From far-reaching empires to seminal religious texts and the growth of expansive trade routes, the fifth century ushered in many important events outside of Europe.
Rome, once the center of the known world, was in a steady state of decline by the fifth century. Plagues, economic and political unrest, and external threats from barbarian invasions stretched the empire’s resources to a breaking point.
But the fall of the Roman Empire wasn’t the fifth century’s only major event. Among other happenings spanning the globe: Pre-Hispanic metropolises were thriving, a Western African empire was taking root, goods and ideas were shooting along a major Central Asian trading route, and an important religious text was spreading in Asia. Here’s a closer peek at the extraordinary affairs going on beyond Rome’s purview.
(Blood and betrayal turned Rome from republic to empire.)
Chichén Itzá: Flourishing pre-Hispanic city
Mexico might not be your first guess when looking for a burgeoning urban center all those centuries ago, but the ancient city of Chichén Itzá, on the Yucatán Peninsula, thrived at the heart of Central America’s Maya empire. A major economic and political power founded in 455 known for its agricultural practices, the city’s inhabitants traded far and wide, obtaining such far-flung treasures as obsidian from central Mexico and gold from southern Central America. Its densely concentrated residential, commercial, and religious structures covered nearly two square miles.
The Temple of Kulkulkán stands out. The stunning step pyramid has 365 steps, one for each day of the year, showcasing the Maya’s astronomical savviness. (The Maya, remember, invented the 365-day calendar.) What’s especially striking is the shadowy shape of a serpent that appears as the sun sets, descending the steps to join a stone serpent head at the base of the great staircase up the pyramid’s side. The Maya predicted solar eclipses, and El Caracol, an extraordinary observatory structure remains today.
Chichén Itzá continued to grow and evolve beyond the fifth century. At its height in the ninth century, as many as 50,000 people lived here. Its decline is attributed to Christopher Columbus’s arrival in 1492.
(Who were the Maya? Decoding the ancient civilization's secrets.)
Teotihuacan: Ancient Mexican metropolis
Another Mexican superpower, Teotihuacan reached its height of sophistication and dominance in the early fourth century, and it was still was going strong in the fifth. Reigning as one of the Western Hemisphere’s first great cities, its more than 100,000 residents lived among an impressive array of pyramid-temples, palaces, plazas, and residential compounds along a gridded street system within 8 square miles. Religious life centered around two enormous pyramids: the Pyramid of the Sun, one of the world’s largest pyramids at more than 200 feet tall; and the Pyramid of the Moon, where ritual sacrifices of animals and humans are believed to have taken place.
The city left behind many mysteries—scholars aren’t sure who exactly the Teotihuacan were, where they came from, and what language they spoke. What’s known is that a variety of cultures lived here, including the Maya, Mixtec, and Zapotec, and one theory says an erupting volcano forced them into the Teotihuacan valley, and they either built or augmented an already existing city. Internal warfare and external pressures may have caused the population to decline in the eighth century. Today, remains of the civilization can be found in an archaeological complex near Mexico City.
(These 5 ancient cities once ruled North America—what happened to them?)
Wagadu Empire: Powerful African kingdom
Just as Rome was waning, the rich and powerful Wagadu Empire, also known as the Ghana Empire, emerged in the late fifth century in West Africa. The indigenous Soninke people established this thriving realm in what is today western Mali and the southeast of Mauratania (there is no connection to the Republic of Ghana), with the capital at Kumbi Saleh, a flourishing city with a large marketplace and impressive architecture. Perched on major routes of the Trans-Saharan trade network, the empire traded in ivory, salt, kola, and cloth—though its most important asset was gold. West African gold was in high demand throughout the Islamic world and the Mediterranean, and Wagadu, with a bounty located in its southern realm, was prime to deliver.
A king, or “ghana,” ruled the empire, overseeing a complex system of government and administration. A written language known as Mande was developed, used for record-keeping in the empire’s administration and governance.
The empire peaked around 1000 A.D., with a standing army of 200,000 soldiers armed with iron weapons. Eventually, Wagadu was incorporated into the Mali Empire.
(These four lost cities were jewels of ancient Africa. What happened to them?)
Silk Road: Important Asian trade route
During the fifth century, the Silk Road buzzed with traders as they traveled between China and the Mediterranean region. They carried a bounty of goods—notably Chinese silk, but also jade, porcelain, tea, and spices. From Europe came horses, glassware, textiles, and manufactured goods. Linking many distinct cultures and kingdoms, the route also conveyed ideas, culture, and religion. Towns along the route grew into multicultural cities. It also carried new diseases; some researchers believe the Black Death, which devastated Europe in the late 14th century, spread from Asia along the Silk Road.
Rather than being one major road, the Silk Road was a network of many paths expanding more than 4,000 miles across Central Asia’s formidable landscapes, including the Gobi Desert and Pamir Mountains. The Han Dynasty officially opened the route to the West in 130 B.C. The Silk Road continued to be an important trade route until the 15th century, when the opening of sea routes diminished its importance.
(This Chinese monk's epic travels on the Silk Road rival Marco Polo's.)
Bhagavad Gita: Influential Indian religious text
This sacred scripture of Hindu teaching recounts a conversation between the divine Krishna and his moral pupil, Arjuna, in which Krishna shares the basic principles of Hinduism to grant Arjuna wisdom to guide him through his moral dilemmas. Though less than 200 pages, the text is a genius work of Sanskrit poetry. Likely composed in India between the fifth and second centuries B.C., it continued to be a source of inspiration in the fifth century. At that time, it also became known beyond India’s borders, as scholars, traders, and missionaries spread Hinduism and its teachings to other parts of Asia. It went on to influence the development of Buddhism and Jainism.
(The world's biggest religious complex is sacred to Hinduism and Buddhism.)
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