Cross Border And Domestic Mergers And Acquisitions Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2768 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? In todays globalised economy, mergers and acquisitions are being increasingly used in the world over for improving competitiveness, of companies through gaining greater market share, broadening the portfolio to reduce business risk and for entering new markets and geographies and achieving economies of scale. The Purpose of the research paper is to examine the reason why a firm is more likely to be a foreign target than a domestic target with respect to India. This paper examines the characteristics of a firm like technology, market share, size etc which make it attractive to foreign investors or domestic investors. The paper directly compares the characteristics of the cross border targets and domestic targets Indian firms over the period 2000-2006. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Cross Border And Domestic Mergers And Acquisitions Finance Essay" essay for you Create order The economic liberalization and reforms initiated in 1991 have served to trigger corporate restructuring through MA. The increased competition prompted the Indian companies to opt for mergers and acquisitions as a strategic corporate choice. The trends of mergers and acquisitions in india have changed over years. Favourable government policy, additional liquidity in the corporate sector, optimism in the economic growth and dynamic and motivated attitudes of Indian entrepreneurs are the key factors behind the changing trends in the pattern of mergers and acquisitions in India. Also, the effects of mergers and acquisitions have been diverse across various sectors of the Indian economy. Among the different Indian sectors that have resorted to mergers and acquisitions in recent times- Telecom, FMCG,finance automobile industry, and steel industry and real estate are worth mentioning. India is now one of the leading nations in the world in terms of mergers and acquisitions. Research Objectives- Characteristics of firms that become potential MA targets Risks and opportunities associated with domestic MA Risks and opportunities associated with cross-border MA Firms objectives guiding domestic or cross-border MA Domestic MA vis a vis Cross border MA in being able to fulfil a firms desired objectives The premerger and post merger performance of acquirer firms: Domestic and Foreign LITERATURE REVIEW Mergers and acquisitions as a subject has been a topic of interest amongst the circles of financial research. In recent history numerous literature and papers have been researched on the impact of MA on corporate consolidation and several theories have been proposed to understand the empirical evaluation of such impacts. USA and Several European markets were researched by several researchers to evaluate the corporate performance of the organizations followed by mergers and acquisitions. Several such researchers have showed that the main reason for the better performance of the acquiring firms have been due to several operational and technical synergies between the acquiring firm and the acquired firm. Hall(1988), stated that higher the RD expenditures, greater is the probability of being acquired with respect to U.S firms. According to Jensen(1983), and acquirers motives have been classified into four categories: Distribution Costs Gain market power Financial motivations Eliminate inefificient Target Management(acquiring firms intent) Lubatkin(1983) has identified three possible sources of strategic relation between the target firms and the acquiring firms , that could be treated as motives for mergers Pecuniary economies (achieved through dictating prices i.e lower prices for inputs in large quantities by exerting market power) technical economies (scale economies through improving process efficiencies) diversification economies (improving a firms performance by managing the existing portfolio of business). Palepu (1986) employs logit analysis to investigate the usefulness of six acquisition hypothesis in predicting targets likely to be acquired and found clear support for size hypothesis. The six dimensions were growth resource imbalance,inefficient management, asset undervaluation, price earning ratio and industry distuyance size 3.1Research on Post merger performance in India India has been a breeding ground for many deals in MA since the liberlasation in 1991.However the studies on MA activity in India have been so far limited. Beena(2004) observed the pre merger and post merger performance of a sample of 115 acquiring firms in the manufacturing sector in India between 1995-2000 using a set of financial ratios and t test. There was no improvement analysed in the financial ratios after the mergers. Kaur(2002) compared the pre merger and the post merger performance of 20 firms between 1997-2000 by making use of a set of eight financial ratios during a three year period before and after the merger, usint the t-test. It was observed that both the efficiency and profitability of the targeted companies declined in the post merger period and there was no change in the post takeover performance. Reasons of Indian companies entering into domestic MA activity- There are companies with sick subsidiaries and the only way out is to merge the sick unit with the parent company(Kumar and Rajib 2007) There are companies who seek to consolidate their core business activities to attain balance sheet size and net worth, in order to mount strategic takeovers of companies in similar business activities. Achieve synergy on theory operations(Kumar and Rajib 2007) Reasons of Foreign companies investing in India via MA- India is an emerging economy with booming population and growing middle class. The MNCs are ready to pay a premium to acquire existing businesses instead of setting up new companies. Thus, gaining quick access to Indian market. (Kumar and Rajib 2007) Market entry strategy by getting access to local knowledge and using local means to create and deliver the products and services. The above reasons can very well be explained by Dunnings Eclectic Theory of Framerwork which distinguishes four types of FDI- Resource seeking investment- relating to exploitation of cheap labour and mineral resources Market seeking investment- made to promote new or defend the existing markets Efficiency seeking investment- aims at rationalizing gains by optimizing intra division of laour and specialising existing portfolio of domestic and foreign assets Stategic Asset seeking investment=Augment the exisiting assets via mergers and acquisitions. According to Dunning: FDI =O+L+I The Ownership Advantages explain that the firms go abroad mainly to exploit specific advantages which are internal to the firm and it allows the firms to overcome the transaction and production costs in a foreign location (Griffin and Pustay, n.d.) The Location Advantages explain that MNEs choose the location by comparing each countrys attractiveness in terms of cultural, economic and social advantages(Griffin and Pustay, n.d.) The Internalization advantages explain the mode of entry of a firm in the foreign country. The MNE can either adopt licensing method or enter by having a wholly owned subsidiary and then determine how to successfully expand their operations over time (Griffin and Pustay,n.d.) 3.2 The characteristics of firms that make it an attractive MA target:- 1-Location hypothesis Apart from the firm specific characteristics that make it attractive, the fact that these firms are Indian- also plays a significant contributor to their being a coveted investment target. India being an attractive destination to invest in, lends profitability to the act of targeting Indian firms. (Georgopoulos,2008) 2-Market structure hypothesis Market share-market share bears a positive effect in explaining the likelihood of foreign acquisition(Georgopoulos,2008) Product differentiation- Non price competition through product differentiation based on advertising,attractive brand names and trademarks offers attractive opportunities to foreign players and thus cross border deals. Competitive industries with more homogeneous products report greater share of domestic acquisitions. Concentration- In a highly concentrated industry, market entry is more likely to be via international acquisitions, whereas in industries with low concentration, entry would be more likely by domestic acquisition. (Georgopoulos,2008) 3- Technology transfer hypothesis Technology transfer is regarded as a major motivation for foreign acquisitions (Harris and Ravenscraft(1991). Higher the RD expenditures, greater the possibility of being acquired by a foreign company rather than a domestic company. Also, market knowledge and local knowledge embedded in the operations of a firm are very valuable resources that an acquiring firm wishes to obtain. (Georgopoulos,2008) 4- Export orientation of targets Foreign investors search for export oriented targerts. Greenaway (1992) argued that dismantling of the non tariff barriers will stimulate FDI in specific locations elected to serve the foreign markets via exports. (Georgopoulos,2008) 5- Competitive nature of target Foreign firms are more likely to go for targets having both high competitiveness in industry and division of labor. (Georgopoulos,2008) 6- Import penetration of industry Foreign targets will penetrate in branches open international trade, showing high penetration index compared to domestic acquisitions. (Georgopoulos,2008) 7- Anti competition effects They are probably greater for domestic MA since there is more direct competition between merging firms. Since geographical proximity removes some barriers to trade, thus an incentive for anti competing measures. (Georgopoulos,2008) 8- Wages India offers cheap skilled labour. This attracts foreign investments in India. (Georgopoulos,2008) Apart from these general characteristics that guide acquisitions and investment , there are some very important theories that predominantly make a firm a potential acquisition target. 9-Inefficent management hypothesis- Chances of acquisition of an inefficiently managed or an underperforming firm is directly a function of potential gain that will accrue to the acquirer once the inefficient management is replaced. (Kumar and Rajib 2007) 10-Growth Resources Mismatch Hypothesis- Some firms have high growth, huge resources and low market valuation. This offers a golden opportunity to the acquiring firm who is correctly able to identify this mismatch. (Kumar and Rajib 2007) 11-Price earnings ratio Firms having higher price earnings ratio will purchase a firm with low price earnings ratio. This will increase earnings per share post merger even though there has been no real increase in earnings of assets. . (Kumar and Rajib 2007) 12- Management Hypothesis It states that the acquisitions will lead to improved performance if managers are able to maximize the value of corporate assets. i.e. the acquiring firms should have superior accounting and market performance compared to target firms. The yearly average stock returns are used as a basis of measuring the management performance. . (Kumar and Rajib 2007) 13- Size hypothesis- Larger Firms are less likely to become a takeover target since there are larger costs associated with incorporating it in the acquirer firms organizational and managerial structure. . (Kumar and Rajib 2007) 14- Asset Undervaluation hypothesis-(most imp) Merger motives can be attributed to the undervaluation of target companies. This hypothesis states that firms with low market to book ratio are undervalued and more likely to become takeover targets. Firms with low market-to-book ratios are viewed as undervalued and are potential takeover targets. The market-to book ratio is represented by P/B. . (Kumar and Rajib 2007) The research on MA activity in India has been limited. I will throw light on the driving forces behind international acquisitions and their interdependence with domestic acquisitions and the difference in the characteristics of a foreign and a domestic takeover target.I will also analyse the post merger performance of the Foreign and domestic acquirers and compare their post merger performance. Research Question Do cross border acquisitions of Indian target firms differ from that of domestic takeover targets? Does post merger performace of foreign acquirer firms differ from that of domestic performance? 4.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY According to Nicholas Steneck, research is a systematic investigation including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. When a research is conducted, it involves processes like planning, examining, and implementing the objectives to derive results. (Ghauri Gronhaug, 2005). A good research should have the apt logical reasoning and analysis in it. This wholly depends on the researcher. (Ghauri,2005). The methodology used in this thesis will explain the performance of the companies engaging in MA under both domestic and cross border scenario. This section of the thesis will first explain the research approach and strategy and then move towards explaining the data collection methods. Quantitative research encompasses measures to which a feature is present. It is often denoted by percentages, means, medians, standard deviations, chi square and other statistical figures. (Kirk and Miller 1986). 4.1 Sampling Identifying the target companies Sample size 130 companies will be taken for data analysis Sampling units -Target companies: Cross Border Deals in India and domestic deals in India. Sampling extent and time the time frame is post 2000. Sampling Classification- Since the size of Foreign and Domestic companies are substantially different , so to avoid the impact of their respective sizes on their post merger performance, a specific price range will be taken into account and only those samples which fall under this category from both foreign and domestic companies will be considered. 4.2 Methodology The research of this topic will be conducted using secondary data by quantitative method of research. Secondary data is a valuable source as it has a number of benefits. Primarily it saves both money and time, as well as it helps the researcher to better understand the research problem and broaden the basis for the conclusions.(Ghauri and Gronhaug 2002) To meet the desired objectives of this research, an empirical approach will be adopted whereby the post MA performance of firms both under domestic as well as cross border scenario will be analysed. To capture the relevance of current times, the analysis will be based on domestic and cross border acquisition post the year 2000. Mergers and Acquisitions are a fairly recent trend in India and have been resorted by corporate only after the rationalisation of policy reforms post 1991. There is negligible amount of Data in the early 1990s and hence there is a dearth of a data in that time frame. A representative sample of significant acquisitions will be taken from all the sectors of the Indian Economy. An equal number of cases will be taken from each sector under each scenario.Total number of samples assumed to be taken by the researcher are 130. The research is subjected to flexibility and with further research the samples might increase. Having arrived at our sample set, an analysis of post acquisition will be conducted. The analysis will be based on the listed companys financial data available. A comparative analysis of both scenarios will be done using paired t-test. Our null hypothesis will be a statement that there is no significant difference in post acquisition performance of domestic and cross border deals. Financial Ratios will also be used to arrive at the objective- Quick Ratio Current Ratio Total liabilities to shareholders Total assets Return on equity Return on Assets Torbins Q ratio Annual Growth to sales(GS) Annual Growth on assets(GA) OLCF- operating loss carry forward to total assets. According to Altman (1968), financial ratios were used to identify financially distressed firms. These ratios were characterisitics of firms and established their relationship to important dimensions such as liquidity, profitability and size. Harris, et al; (1982) examined two types of variables: financial and product, to capture the characteristics of a firm that determine whether the firm is being acquired or not and it was in the time period1974-1977. The study indicates that financial variables have statistical significance while product market variables have very little explanatory power. The study signifies that firms with lower price-earnings ratio and smaller size are more likely to be takeover targets. DATA COLLECTION: The secondary data will be collected from magazines, newspapers, journals and databases like Prowess Databases of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy(CMIE), web sites of Securities and Exchange Board of India and Capitaline. DATA ANALYSIS: SPSS Software will be used to analyze the results from the data collected which will also help sample set which is not the entire population.providing insight into the post merger performance of the acquirer firms. EHTICAL PERSPECTIVES: As the obligation of a researcher, the data acquired shall not be tampered with. LIMITATIONS There are issues of relevance and accuracy of secondary data. The research uses secondary data that has been collected at a different point in time with a different objective and level of accuracy. The objectives, nature and methods used to collect secondary data may be subject to random errors. The learnings from the research are a generalization from the trend observed via the CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE: The research paper will provide invaluable insights into mergers and acquisition as a potent tool used by several firms to achieve their desired objectives. A comparative analysis of the domestic and cross border scenario will give us a consolidated view of their respective ability and potential to positively impact the engaging firms. A macro level picture based on generalization from a sample set will delineate a picture of India s experience from domestic and cross-border MAs. Thus, the research paper even within its limitations will be able to reflect past performance and in turn give lessons for future decision making. Gantt Chart

Conflicts And Conflict Resolution Process - 1671 Words

Conflicts are inevitable in any human s’ interaction which makes their occurrence normal in the workplace. Conflict can be caused by imbalance of power and communication barriers that arise from the social structure or individual interpersonal’ perceptions, assumptions and expectations. The interpersonal conflict has a huge impact on the individual himself and extends to the workplace. The Human Resources (HR) role comes in light to attempt to help in the conflict resolution process. Human resources professionals take an integral part in facilitating and settling conflict situations. They consider the work environment and personal differences that have led to the conflict to arise. In the workplace, gender influences and permeates the†¦show more content†¦When the 3rd party is contacted, it means that the problem is recognized and one of the parties has made the initial move to seek conflict resolution (McNamara, 2003). The role of HR professional as a third pa rt is extensive. 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International Engineering Management †Free Samples for Students

Question: Explain International Engineering Management? Answer: Introduction TNA Pty. Ltd is the international leader in the food processing and packaging industry, which supplies solutions as well as a single system to all their customers worldwide. TNA business emphasizes on developing the innovative equipment for packaging. The consumer packaging industry is increasing or growing all over the world at the rapid pace, as economies of many countries have strengthened their buying power (Gillespie, Jeannet, and Hennessey 2009). Organized retail design and convenience packs will set the company apart. As the company is planning to expand in the various Asian market, it is important to analyse the market. To do so, five countries are selected such as India, China, Singapore, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Benefits and challenges in these countries will be analysed so that it become easier for TNA to expand their business in these market. TNA had faced various challenges when they grew their business in different countries, which relates to lack of technical compatibility among the system of TNA and snack food packaging industry (Gillespie, Jeannet, Hennessey 2009). In this report, the best market will be selected for TNA, and by that recommendation will be provided, that relates to enhancing sales and marketing in these regions. Preliminary analysis Packing for the convenience- Big opportunities that have increased through the convenience trend is rapidly used in case of ready meals. Huge organizations having the technological strength like Uflex Ltd, retort purchase, MTR Foods, has created the high position in Indian market. The different technological development towards the ready meals in India has resulted in the development of shelf ready packs of the meal (Gillespie, Jeannet, Hennessey 2009). It is referred as the milestone of sorts, by applying the facility of the cold chain within the retail stores are again less. Through this increasing trend, the process of packaging is expected to increase through the technology ladder, like hot filling methods, a form-fill seal within the flexible packaging, and aseptic packaging. Managed retail design- through the shift in the old-fashioned retailing at small-scale to get organized at large stores, product manufacturers have tried to modernize the packs. For example, milk has changed from loosely sold towards the flexible plastic pillow packs, and currently, used as the premium liquid cartons (Gillespie, Jeannet, Hennessey 2009). Exploiting the flexibility- As the huge chunk of the Indian consumers, hold less purchasing power has continued to increase the demand for the less unit price; therefore, the small sized pack's prevalence are in the form of 1 to 10-gram sachets. It is noted that in India flexible packaging has successfully exploited on this trend, which gives them low cost (ADVANTAGE INDIA - CONSUMER GOODS PACKAGING TRENDS 2011). Disadvantages Import dependence- Around 80% of the material is mainly used in the packaging of cold type blister, and its imported. The requirement of new technology- In India, around 40% of the floriculture and horticulture is mainly wasted, due to the lack of cold chains and logistics. Nevertheless, the proper packaging can help in addressing the innovation through enhancing the shelf life of these items by modified atmosphere packaging. Mismatch of standards- BIS standards that are mainly used by the Indian packaging industry is not up to the standards set by the developed nations (ADVANTAGE INDIA - CONSUMER GOODS PACKAGING TRENDS 2011). Loss of export- Due to the relevant technology and mismatch of standard in food packaging, the export industry has suffered a lot. For instance, in the Middle East, the export of raw meat fail in earning the potential revenue, due to the lack of the services of value addition to packaging and processing (ADVANTAGE INDIA - CONSUMER GOODS PACKAGING TRENDS 2011). Malaysia Local players that continuously lead the sale of packaging- local companies hold the firm presence within the area. Packaging firms manufacture various pack types for the different categories, having few local manufacturers offering services like packaging, moulding, and labelling, to stay competitive (Malaysian Association of Standard Users 2013). The innovation of product by emphasizing over close improvement- in the year 2015, the product innovation has emphasized over close improvement. It is mainly prevalent in personal care and home care, in which enhanced closure is used for offering consumers with the safety features as well as added convenience. Demands of customers for the consistent product often drive the sales of massive pack format size are attaining momentum in the ongoing packaged food as well as beauty and personal care, in which sale hit through the sensitivity of consumer cost (Malaysian Association of Standard Users 2013). This trend was, later on, introduce around 6% of the goods and service tax in the year 2015, which drive the demand for the affordable items, Disadvantages As per the Malaysian investment development authority of 2012, the sector is highly dominated by the small and medium sized companies. Despite the key percentage as compared with the large-scale companies, they are highly insufficient in producing the logical volume of results and also face challenges in complying with the standards of food and hygiene (Talib, Ali and Idris 2013). Other emerging problems that has increased the concern is related to the food processing sector is highly efficient through the increase in overhead cost. Steps were taken for resolving the issues, food small and medium size companies primarily tend to react over the unplanned cutting of cost and even fail in viewing the significance of applying the sustainability acts in operation (Talib, Ali and Idris 2013). Failure in organizing the sustainability components like water and energy can potentially lead towards the increased overhead price of SME and come up with a negative effect on social and environment. The problems related to food hygiene as well as a lack of sustainability could be explored in the core design of the food industry. Surrounded by various issues, SME often tends towards overlooking or either ignoring the significance of referring the sustainability and hygiene at the time of designing (Talib, Ali and Idris 2013). Failure in making consideration helps in producing the factory design like various errors, which emerge as manufacturing issue, once the factory is constructed. Singapore Advantages The popularity of American convenience, as well as fast foods in the Singapore, favours the application of these existing chain system of procurement that can source the food ingredients from America. The food procedure of America are considered as the reliable source of huge volume and even hold consistent quality food items in the key food processors. American items are modern and correctly presented in the key supermarkets (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel 2010). American products are also considered as high quality. Singapore is the key regional hub for the agriculture and food re-export, mainly the processed food (Dong 2016). Disadvantages There is an increasing and ongoing trend in Singapore for the healthy eating. Whether it is justified or not, but the fast food is often related to the eating empty calories as well as junk food. In the case of meat processed food item, Singapore market face TBT, and SPS issues (Dong 2016). American food items are referred as costly, as compared with the similar type of products, from both the traditional and regional food supplying countries, such as European Union, Australia, and New Zealand. Singapore is price sensitive when the case comes to purchasing food items. The price sensitivity is offered by ASEAN countries and China for enhancing the Singapore market share (Dong 2016). The ASEAN Economic community was started in the year 2015; the primary goal is to transform the ASEAN in the single market as well as production base market for promoting the free trade movement and capital among the member state of ASEAN (Dong 2016). Singapore is the most competitive market. Competitive items are not so costly and are equally used as American products. Food ingredients coming from the regions has less cost, due to the free trade area of ASEAN (Dong 2016). The AFTA also cover common effective preferential tariff provision, for initiating the free flow of goods among member state. Japan Advantages It is predicted that the packaged food sale will continue to increase in the market of Japan, as customer continue to seek for the convenient food solutions amidst lifestyle and demographic changes. Along with this, manufacturers will also contribute towards sustaining the reduction in the category of the mature staple. Regarding sale, the largest packaged type of food in Japan is the chilled processed foods, such as chilled meats and chilled ready meals (Packaged Food Sales in Japan 2015). It also includes bakery products and dried processed foods, including instant noodle and rice. With the spread of eating habits of West among the customers, staples such as rice have continuously reduced in term of sale. It has negatively impacted the highest category within the dried processed food (Packaged Food Sales in Japan 2015). On the other side, ready to eat a meal, along with innovative, portable as well as convenient foods are creating headway. Disadvantages Japan is the third largest economy in the world after America and China. It is also considered as the important market for various global packaged food manufacturers. Along with that, Japan is considered as the fourth largest food importer of the world, which depends on other countries, for its 60% of the food (Packaged Food Sales in Japan 2015). At one side, the traditional taste and menu, primarily guide the average consumption habit of Japan, other Asian and western countries ethnic cuisine is making headway in the Japanese market. Nevertheless, high-end food, as well as beverage market of Japan, continues to come across many significant issues, which results from lasting anaemic growth of the economy and aging population (Packaged Food Sales in Japan 2015). These factors have accentuated the trends, which goes towards the healthy, functional, nutritious, as well as value for money items. Despite all these issues, consumers in Japan are interested in accepting the increased cost o f quality, convenience, and safety. The key supermarket chain within Japan is coming up with a large private label that is offering new as well as innovative food products (Packaged Food Sales in Japan 2015). Saudi Arabia Advantages The packed food market in Saudi Arabia is expected to increase by 2022, from the present position (Lee and Okos 2011). Factors that had contributed to the growth are, increase in the consumer convenience, an increase in the disposable consumer income, and change in consumer behaviour. Packaged food plays a significant role in the international food market (Saudi Arabia Canned Food Packaging Market 2017). Packaged food can be easily preserved for the months in a similar way to the actual form. Packaged food also continues to trend towards the little options in case of frozen meat and chilled food. While providing the benefits related with long shelf life as well as low price, packed food suffers from the poor perception of consumers about its quality and healthiness (Saudi Arabia Canned Food Packaging Market 2017). The food packaged at Saudi Arabia market is highly segmented according to the core material, like plastic, glass, metal and paper, and forms of the food product, like fruit s, readymade meals, seafood, and vegetables. Disadvantages Easy to use closures going good- in the context of increasing demand for the convenience, closures are providing easy resealing, closing as well as dispensing are viewing the excellent performance in Saudi Arabia. The rate of recycling is small- Due to little consumer awareness about the environmental problems in Saudi Arabia, the system of recycling is underdeveloped (Saudi Arabia Canned Food Packaging Market 2017). Huge range of pack and sizes are provided- there is a growing focus towards addressing the needs of consumers and demands in various areas of food packaging goods, and due to that consumers have become quite demanding (Aly and Baker 2013). There is an increasing emphasis on the packaging for the retailers shelf differentiation (Saudi Arabia Canned Food Packaging Market 2017). The same has resulted in various diverse trends of packaging, along with polarization of pack size that can be seen in areas like cat and dog food. Recommendation on which of these markets would provide the best option for TNA It is recommended that India and Singapore can prove to be the best market of TNA to expand its business. Below are the reasons for selecting these countries: India The Indian packaging industry is rapidly changing in the past three few years. From the time, when the items were sold mostly in losing packets, and pack closure is usually a struggle, the packaged and processing food industry has transformed, and rapidly shifted from losing towards the packaged food, and has even seen tremendous improvement in the quality of pack (Alam 2010). The increase in the income of consumers is also considered as the primary enabler, that has helped in empowering afford, as too costly, but with the high quality of the products. India has 393 billion containers, and the packaging market is also huge, which is calculated to present around 10% of the international market, in the context of unit volume (Heneghan 2016). It is also considered as one of the highest growing markets all over the world, which has increased by 11% between the years 2005-2010. India also enjoys flexible packaging, which is followed by the great packs of rigid plastic, paper, and glass. L iquid cartons and metals are relatively in less quantity and have viewed a rapid growth in past few years (Zain, Anas, Hassan, Lehar and Shamsuddin 2012). Singapore The retail sale value for the packaged food has increased up to 3% in 2016 that has also slightly reduced as compared with the average review period. Even the slowdown is attributed towards the growing maturity of packaged food goods in Singapore. However, the wellness and healthy packaged food have to continue towards the robust present value growth, and these efforts are made by health promotion board for initiating the healthy lifestyle and healthy eating. These efforts include the suggestions for consumers to minimize the intake of sugar (Shamsudin, Yodfiatfinda, Mohamed, Yusop and Radam 2011). Food packed market has also come up with reduced fat packaged items, and the same will reduce the fat milk, with around 47% of the value share in the year 2016. Providing semi skimmed and fat-free milk, Singapore is quite famous for offering health food packaged. Even there is a high awareness about food packaging, and high-quality products are provided to the customers. These products are available in the major supermarkets as well as hypermarkets (Smith 2011). TNA has an advantage in these markets, as they can even offer attractive offers to the customers. These factors have also increased the retail sales value in Singapore (McDonald 2012). It is expected that the packaged food will increase up to 3% CAGR in 2017, and it is forecasted that the sales will increase in 2021. In both the markets, the growth will be stable. The synergy among the health promotional board yearly campaign for promoting a healthy lifestyle and the drive from producers to continue to achieve symbol of healthier choice will make sure that stable growth is attained in all categories of food packaging industry (Shankar, Carpenter and Farley 2012). Actions for improving sales and marketing in those countries Singapore The marketing strategy of TNA helps the company in providing information about the ongoing changes happening in different components of companys business environment (Schermerhorn 2009). It also facilitates, the organization in entering the market of Singapore, which will support in attaining the goals of the company in both effective as well as efficient way. The marketing strategy of TNA will cover up few important features like: The new variety of the products will aim towards providing high quality as well as low-fat items so that customers can experience the high level of energy. TNA will also enhance the product and service sales by 10% in the coming years, by mainly emphasizing over working professionals, who are between the ages of 24-35 years (Russell 2010). TNA will also develop the focused customer plan in the next few months, for the purpose of increasing the brand image and increase the margin of sale. TNA will also spread the awareness about its products by health advertisements along with the active promotion (Russell 2010). TNA will also create the schemes and strategies, which could be implemented for improving the profit margin in the Singapore emerging market by 7% in the coming years. TNA will also enhance the acceptance of packaged products for female customers, which can make the energetic and enthusiastic (Russell 2010). India The food packaged marketing world in healthy and sanitized. Various brands like Real, Saint, Minute Maid, etc. has taken the western code like breakfast, purity, physical fitness and compensation. TNA in India will target the westernized, affluent audiences, for whom healthy lifestyle is essential (Reid and Bojanic 2009). Risk associated with these two potential markets In India huge part of floriculture and horticulture is mainly wasted, due to the lack of cold chains and logistics. Nevertheless, the proper packaging can help in addressing the innovation through enhancing the shelf life of these items by modified atmosphere packaging. BIS standards that are mainly used by the Indian packaging industry is not up to the standards set by the developed nations. Due to the relevant technology and mismatch of standard in food packaging, the export industry has suffered a lot. There is an increasing and ongoing trend in Singapore for the healthy eating (Peng 2012). Whether it is justified or not, but the fast food is often related to the eating empty calories as well as junk food. Singapore is price sensitive when the case comes to purchasing food items. Singapore is the most competitive market. Competitive items are not so costly and are equally used as American products. Food ingredients coming from the regions has less cost, due to the free trade area of ASEAN (Marich 2009). The AFTA also cover common effective preferential tariff provision, for initiating the free flow of goods among member state (Martinez and Wolverton 2009). Conclusion Benefits and challenges related to five Asian countries is analysed in the report, so that it become easier for TNA to expand their business in these market. TNA had faced various challenges when they grew their business in different countries, which relates to lack of technical compatibility among the system of TNA and snack food packaging industry. In this report recommendation is provided, that relates to enhancing sales and marketing in these regions. References ADVANTAGE INDIA - CONSUMER GOODS PACKAGING TRENDS. 2011. [Online]. Available at: https://www.iom3.org/packaging-professional-magazine/news/2011/may/22/advantage-india-consumer-goods-packaging-trends [Accessed on: 13th May 2017]. Alam, S. S. 2010. Assessing Barriers of Growth of Food Processing SMIs in Malaysia: A Factor Analysis. International Business Research, 4(1), pp. 252-259. Aly, A.A., and Baker, C.G.J. 2013. Productivity Issues: Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, in Handbook of Food factory Design. In: Baker, C.G.J. (Ed.). New York: Springer Dong, J. 2016. Singapore Food Processing Ingredients. [Online]. Available at: https://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/Food%20Processing%20Ingredients_Singapore_Singapore_12-9-2016.pdf [Accessed on: 13th May 2017] Gillespie, Jeannet, Hennessey. 2009. Global Marketing, 2009 Ed. Wiley India Pvt. Limited. Heneghan, C. 2016. 8 major challenges facing the food and beverage industry in 2016. [Online]. Available at: https://www.fooddive.com/news/8-major-challenges-facing-the-food-and-beverage-industry-in-2016/411408/ [Accessed on: 13th May 2017] Lamb, C.W., Hair, J.F. and McDaniel, C.D. 2010. Essentials of Marketing. Cengage Learning. Lee, W., and Okos, M. R. 2011. Sustainable Food Processing Systems-path to a Zero Discharge: Reduction of Water, Waste and Energy. Procedia Food Science, 1, pp. 1768-1777. Malaysian Association of Standard Users. 2013. Consumer Complaints- Feedback to Improve Food Safety Standards. Standard Users, 1(1), pp. 24 Marich, R. 2009. Marketing to Moviegoers: A Handbook of Strategies and Tactics. SIU Press. Martinez, M. and Wolverton, M. 2009. Innovative strategy making in higher education. IAP. McDonald, M. 2012. Market Segmentation: How to Do It and How to Profit from It. John Wiley Sons. Packaged Food Sales in Japan. 2015. [Online]. Available at: https://www5.agr.gc.ca/resources/prod/Internet-Internet/MISB-DGSIM/ATS-SEA/PDF/6609-eng.pdf [Accessed on: 13th May 2017] Peng, M.W. 2012. Global Strategy. Cengage Learning. Reid, R.D. and Bojanic, D.C. 2009. Hospitality marketing management. New Jersey: John Wiley Sons Russell, E. 2010. The Fundamentals of Marketing. AVA Publishing. Saudi Arabia Canned Food Packaging Market. 2017. [Online]. Available at: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/saudi-arabia-canned-food-packaging-market [Accessed on: 13th May 2017] Schermerhorn, J.R. 2009. Exploring Management. John Wiley Sons. Shamsudin, M.N., Yodfiatfinda, Mohamed, Z.A., Yusop, Z., and Radam, A. 2011. Evaluation of Market Competitiveness of SMEs in the Malaysian Food Processing Industry. Journal of Agribusiness Marketing, 4, pp. 1-20. Shankar, V., Carpenter, G.S. and Farley, J. 2012. Handbook of Marketing Strategy. Edward Elgar Publishing. Smith, T. 2011. Pricing strategy: setting price levels, managing price discounts and establishing price structures. USA: Cengage Learning. Talib, H.H.A., Ali, K.A.M., and Idris, F. 2013. Quality Management Framework for the SME's Food Processing Industry in Malaysia. International Food Research Journal, 20(1), pp. 147-164 Zain, Z.M., Anas, Y., Hassan, F.H., Lehar, H., and Shamsuddin, S. 2012. Challenges, Opportunities and Performance of Bumiputera Smes in the Food Industry: A Malaysian Perspective. IEEE Innovation Management and Technology Research International Conference 722-726.

The Great Gatsby Creative Writing Essay Example

The Great Gatsby Creative Writing Paper It was a warm summers night and a slight breeze blew over the freshly mown grass. The air rushed through the open window, causing the velvety curtains to billow. Voices could be heard from inside, two deep male voices, and two slightly shrill female ones, they were obviously enjoying themselves lustfully. Their laughter echoed out onto porch and beyond into the garden. Then two shadows slowly emerged from the light of the house, the shadows were followed by two woman. One walked majestically, like an orchid her slender body obvious beneath the white dress. The other looked both sad and lovely, she looked beautiful at first site but there was a sadness beneath the white dress she wore. They were both dressed in white, and their appearance seemed to reflect the light cast upon them. Behind them walked two men, the first a straw haired sturdy man, his arrogance obvious as he trailed behind the two girls and eyed them as if seeing his possessions, his haughty swank made him look like a boat in a storm as he rocked from side to side. The second man was completely different, in his eyes there was honesty and not a trace of arrogance, he walked slowly but steadily and displayed no effeminate swank. We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby Creative Writing specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby Creative Writing specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby Creative Writing specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Their voices were loud and shrill and their laughter echoed through the night sky. As they sauntered across the soft grass I stood on the table waiting, ready to be acquainted with Toms rough hands. Next to me were four candles, their flames dancing around on the wax. The charming looking girl then said Why candles? In two days it will be the longest day of the year She walked over to where I was standing and put out the candles, she and the other three sat down. I was still standing there and still no-one made the effort to take off the cork and drink a glass of wine. Then the girl that had put out the candles said Look eyeing her little finger, which was green and blue, You did it she chided the complacent straw-haired man Thats what I get for marrying a brute of a man, a great, big, hulking physical specimen of a He retorted that he never wanted to be called hulking again. They went on arguing, while the evening sun slowly began to descend from the sky and the moon bright and cr ystal white rose up into the the heavens. The grass glowed a pearly colour in the light of the moon and the stars began to appear between the small shards of cloud. The demure man sitting between the arguing couple watched the argument attentively, while the woman who was obviously called Jordan, or so I thought Id apperceived stared blankly into nothingness, her facial features were somewhat less attractive than usual as she yawned again with obvious boredom at what was going on. Suddenly Toms hand jerked out and grabbed me, he violently pulled the cork off the top and poured everyone a glass of wine. Few minutes later conversations were going normally again, Daisy had been appeased, and now she and Jordan spoke simultaneously as their high-pitched chatter and laughing broke the silence of the night. Then suddenly the man who had been silent for most of the time said You make me feel so uncivilized, Daisy This remark was greeted by the haughty man who I had gathered was called Tom spurting out Civilizations going to pieces and he talked on, his eyes gleaming as though he had just said something extremely intelligent and he felt like an erudite professor who knew something arcane and clandestine the others did not. Have you read The Rise of the Colored Empires by this man Goddard?

COMP 2 Essays - A Rose For Emily, Emily, Fiction,

COMP 2 DISCUSSION 1 A. Brooks and Warren suggest that "A Rose for Emily" is "a story of horror" where "we have a decaying mansion in which the protagonist, shut away from the world, grows into something monstrous." Brooks and Warren go on to ask the question, "Is the horror meaningful?" If the horror of "A Rose for Emily" is meaningful, what does it mean? A. William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" is a story of the decaying southern morals and the negligence of an image obsessed society attempting to hide the unthinkable to hinder their inevitable downfall. The prevalent horror is that the town will no longer be the same due to the sinful acts of Emily, decaying the towns outward appearance. As stated by Cleanth Brooks Jr. and Robert Penn Warren, "Just as the horror of her deed lies outside the ordinary life of the community, so the magnificence of her independence lies outside their ordinary virtues." If the problem is not addressed, then the problem will not be an issue, and the town will remain in the monotony they have grown accustom to. Likewise, another horror that is evident in "A Rose for Emily" is the incentive that has captured the town to ignore the murder that has occurred in order to try to keep the last fragments of their town from being destroyed, just like the south during this post-civil war time period. The meaning of thi s horror is that a society can become so twisted into preserving the image they meticulously hand crafted, that they will ignore and cover twisted acts, such as Emily's murder of Homer, in order to preserve that image because the thought of the unknown consequences to the towns image petrifies them. Emily's past is also a horror story due to her condemning father that manipulated her every action. Emily was victim of lack of control, lashing out in an attempt to have a sliver of control in order to understand her situation. Emily was a victim to patriarchal control and by killing homer, she not only killed the monopolizing patriarchal image of the town, but now controls them, even in death, through the murder. She lingers on their minds every day and now has the town hiding what she has done. The town may think Emily lacks intelligence and self-discipline because of her actions, but in reality, she, the matriarchy, has taken victory to the patriarchy town, just like the North took v ictory to the South; it is the changing of societal norms that also occurred with the decaying south. The final horror in "A Rose For Emily" is that Emily was striving for control her whole life and in that strife for power, her happiness was depleted until she found control through killing Homer, a metaphor for her home. Once she killed homer, a reference to her home, her past trials and tribulations where lifted, thus allowing her to finally achieve happiness and subsequently freedom. As stated by Yona Kifer, Daniel Heller, Wei Qi Elaine Perunovic, Adam D. Galinsky, "Although striving for power lowers well-being, these results demonstrate the pervasive positive psychological effects of having power, and indicate the importance of spreading power to enhance collective well-being.", which is what occurred to Emily when she murdered Homer, the feeling of freedom. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797612450891

Art in the Modern World essays

Art in the Modern World essays Confusion or Understanding ...That All Depends Modern art can either bring unity and coherence into a fragmented modern world by introducing something that other human institutions fail to do, or it can present tragedy and suffering in an unforgiving light, adding more confusion to the situation. Modernist writers like W.H. Auden seemed to try to uphold the idea that works of art can and should provide unity, coherence, and meaning. Yet, with the evolvement of modernism in the 1930s and 1940s, Dylan Thomas tended to present tragic situations in his poems, often giving way to more disjoint and uncertainty. As major figures in the progressive modernization of literature, both Auden and Thomas moved away from apparent objectivity, a theme once standardized by previous literary figures, and toward subjectivity. While other writers of the era conveyed modern ideas in form and style, such as William Faulkners multiple narrators and stream-of-consciousness format displayed in The Sound and Fury, Thomas and Auden radiated modern tho ught through their ideas and subject matter. Both Thomass The Hunchback in the Park and Audens Musee des Beaux Arts send a clear message to the reader that art can exist in the modern world; however, for each poet, it exists in two entirely different manners. For Thomas, modern art moves away from plain objectivity and towards impressionism and subjectivity, often leaving the reader engrossed in confusion and disjoint. In contrast, Audens idea of art in the modern world surfaces as an attempt to bring unity and coherence into an otherwise fragmented, suffering modern world. It is all too common for modern literary works from the 1930s and 1940s to exude human suffering, and Thomass The Hunchback in the Park is no different. Thomas opens a window into one mans world, letting the reader get a glimpse of a hunchbacks daily life li...

Characters on the road Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Characters on the road - Assignment Example In my opinion, the director of the film brought about the disbandment and related it to success to show that in most instances, the crowd is bound to fail as compared to the minority. At the beginning of the search, Martin is hopeful the search will bear fruits, but as their progress, hope starts diminishing an analogy of human behavior in relation to the challenges they face. Edwards is portrayed as unsympathetic character, and this portrayed by the songs during his act. Martha has a featureless silhouette, which brings contrast between her interior behavior and what people her to be, and color is used to highlight this attribute. Interior shots are used to give the audience the preferred Ethan’s appearance considering human have varying faces. At the beginning, Ethan character of being a racist is shown; however, with time, the character of being seductive and even interacting with children is highlighted. These alterations in Ethan, show people have the ability to change their characters and behaviors. The director of the film, searches highlights a society, whose movements are conservative, and there are traces of disharmony. The film captures different angles such as geographical and temporally angles. Ethan and Martin show how some individuals are unable to stick at one locate, considering that life without progress is unsatisfying. Later in the film, Ethan is shown as a knowledgeable and with an attractive

Argument Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Argument Analysis - Essay Example In order to build an excellent and convincing argumentative essay it is necessary for the writer to take in account various aspects that are involved in the construction of a good essay. This includes the tone, style of writing, use of statistical data and the art of building an essay on the basis of the data collected, targeting and securing an audience for his essay etc. similarly the author of this article is also observed to be using such techniques as a result of which his essay provides the readers with a lot of a variety of aspects to be explored. The approach used in depicting this essay is explicit because the article deals with a critical topic that can have hazardous affects if remedies are not taken. This essay reflects the writers concern for his environment as well as the health of his fellow beings because he tries to convince the readers about the adverse effects of using fossil fuels in contrast to the benefits of nuclear power plant. ... Yet at the same time analogies and facts are used to compare and contrast the state of his country with other governments without confining the comparison to a particular country. As mentioned in the article, ‘other governments are enthusiastically embracing nuclear power as a way to lessen their greenhouse emissions and their dependence on imported oil. Hence the writer’s point of view depicted in this article is not only acceptable but also gives the readers food for thought and consequently results in convincing them. The article very tactfully states all the pros and cons of starting a new power plant. The essay strategically first talks about the importance and the benefits of nuclear power plants and gradually moves towards the amount of risk and finance involved in this essay. So this gradual descend from the glory to the risk is a good strategy on the writer’s part. As states, ‘†¦with advanced designs, new construction techniques and strong over sight should be even safer†¦ The tab for a new reactor can run as high as $7 billion to $8 billion, and overruns can add more. There is a long lead time before a plant starts selling power and paying returns. The target audience of the writer appears to be the investors of the private sector as well as the government officials who are responsible for providing assistance to the citizens of the country in beginning a new venture. The tone of the essay is formal since the target audience is also the group of investors and the government officials. The use of formal tone helps in enhancing the over all impact of this article on the readers since the purpose of this article is to attract the citizens of

Relationship Marketing Through a Number of Pathways Research Paper

Relationship Marketing Through a Number of Pathways - Research Paper Example Citigroup’s relationship managers have realized that the Company met all these three aspects. First of all, the Company offers both investment and commercial services which means that clients have a lot of services at their disposal. Some of them include; Mortgages, priority banking for high net worth clients, loans, investment banking, telephone banking and card products. Secondly, clients in the banking sector are in continuous need of these services. Lastly, those customers who decide to do business with the Company normally select one service or product. In the case of Citigroup, some customers strictly come to obtain loans, some would like to save their money there but access it conveniently when the need arises (commercial services and care facilities). The organization has implemented relationship marketing through consumer tracking. Since Citigroup is B2B backed, then it was able to use a comprehensive database to analyze what consumer tastes and preferences are. It ha s been a leader in business communication with the client. Citigroup has been asking its clients about their thoughts on the institution. It found that certain services were preferred over others. It also realized that consumer kept coming back for certain products during definite seasons. It was able to establish a pattern and focused its energies on products that gave them maximum returns. This was also topped up by improving services that clients were dissatisfied with. One such service was the provision of housing loans. The Company found out that many clients were happy with their rate of loan processing.

The Advantages Of Renewable Energy Resources Environmental Sciences Essay

The Advantages Of Renewable Energy Resources Environmental Sciences Essay The rapid growth of the world population leads to energy demand on a rise especially in developing countries. In addition, due to the limited ability to supply of non-renewable there are a number of huge challenges that are posed to the population of the world. This situation leads to the risk of depletion of cheap fossil energy and environmental pollution as well as climate change. According to Loir, there will probably be sufficient oil and gas for this century, and coal for 2 or more (Loir .N 2007, p.843). Or Edwin Cartlidge reports the annual total consumption of energy sources by the world population is about 1.41017 kWh, of which the proportion of the fossil energy has accounted for 90% of the energy sources used (Physics World 7/2007). Therefore, researchers around the world have been constantly trying to find solutions to diversify energy sources and reduce harmful emissions and greenhouse emissions into the environment and renewable energy sources have taken the spotlight. T hus, what is the renewable energy? The Oxford Dictionary () defines renewable energy as natural energy that can be used again and again and will never run out. There are four major types of renewable energy: solar, hydro, wind and geothermal energy. This paper will discuss advantages and disadvantages that renewable energy resource (RES) brings, as well as analysis the importance of RES to the worlds future. 2. Discussion of findings 2.1 Advantages of renewable energy resources (RES) The use of renewable energy has many potential benefits, including human beings and environment. Firstly, one of the most important  advantages of renewable energy  is that it is renewable. Essence of RES is derivation from natural processes so the energy is sustainable and never run out. Truly, renewable energy is really important and necessary to human beings when fossil fuels are more and more exhausted. With the never-ending supply of renewables, we would feel secure when having abundant supply of energy to last our planet, our human race and our economies, for generations and ever. Khemani (2011) says: As long as human life is there, there will be earth, sun, wind and water, and the energy from these sources will also be available as long as they are there. With the abundance from many renewable resources and development of science and technology, he strongly believes that renewable energy can meet the worlds energy needs today and tomorrow. Secondly, another benefit of renewable energy technologies is that ability of providing a measure of assurance of continued electricity supply at times when it otherwise might be threatened. In some circumstances, renewable energy technologies can be more reliable than other forms of electricity. For example, solar electricity systems can be used after storms for response and recovery. Renewable energy technologies such as generators powered by photovoltaics (PV) can supply electricity if the grid fails. Often the sun comes out in the immediate aftermath of a devastating storm. It can take weeks to repair the electricity grid and restore power to all customers. If battery storage is added to the system, it can supply electricity even after the sun goes down or through several cloudy or stormy days. Energy is needed to provide lighting, heating, air conditioning, cooking, transport and to  power  all the technologies in the family home or business premises (Parker 2010) Moreover, renewable energy not only is regarded as an unlimited resource but also plays an important role to regional development. Renewable energy and energy efficiency can help revitalize rural communities. For example, Wind turbines and solar panel systems can provide energy and provide rural communities with new tax revenue. Farmers on windy lands can lease space to wind developers, earning thousands of dollars for each turbine every year. One of the greatest alternative energy benefits is that it is so much better for environment than the use of  fossil fuels that contribute heavily to issues such as acid rain, smog and global warming. On the contrary, renewable energy has little or no waste products such as carbon dioxide or other chemical pollutants. Renewable energy systems produce much lower carbon dioxide emissions as opposed to carbon-intensive fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas while they are being used only a small amount of fuel during the manufacturing of equipment (Walser 2012). With renewable energies, energy is usually converted from one form to another without the creation of pollutants. Chandler (2006) takes solar energy as example, light energy from the sun can be converted directly to electricity using photovoltaic without the production of any pollutants like carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gasses. Similarly, wind power energy relies on moving air and converts it into electricity wit hout polluting the environment. Therefore, it is obvious that the non-pollution or minimal impacts on environment are the positive advantages of renewable energy. 2.2 Disadvantages of renewable energy resources (RES) Although it is obvious to recognize the human as well as environmental advantages of utilizing renewable forms of energy, we must also consider some limiting sides from the energy. The biggest disadvantage of renewable energy is that the cost of the energy is relatively higher than non-renewable energy. The initial costs of renewable energy still make many people ignore it completely when comparing it with fossil fuel on two aspects: total cost and over the same time period. For example, installation of solar energy water heater costs many times in comparison with a heater, so they decided to buy heaters for hot water solution. According Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) (2008) reported that turbine installation costs $ 47.5 billion; by contrast, we only have to spend a much smaller amount of money to build thermal power station about $ 2,25 billion (Shah 2011). He also pointed that other incidental costs such as maintenance costs and production costs cause price increasing. Generally, it is price that the reason has prevented approaching and using clean energy as compared to the fossil fuel sources of energy. Another distinct disadvantage is relying too much on weather conditions and geographic locations to create energy (Sinclair 2011). Each types of renewable sources is just better suited to some places. This means that you cannot use each of these renewable sources in all locations. For instance, when using geo-thermal energy, you must be in a location that provides the environment for geo-thermal energy to be produced. Likewise, we cannot generate hydro-electric power without having a fast-flowing water source, such as a river or waterfall. In addition, the energy also brings some inconvenient problems. Take solar energy water heater as an example, it is inefficient because in summer ambient temperature are high and the use of hot water is not needed; however, in the winter we could not have hot water due to low light of the sun. Shah (2011) claimed that despite the fact that most renewable energy sources are more environmentally friendly they may still have a negative impact on the environment. He stated that hydroelectricity projects can cause a dramatic change in the development of wildlife and ecosystem along the river and flood risks. 2.3 Can renewable energy supply the Worlds energy needs? With the significant benefits from renewable energy, we cant deny that roles of it are more and more important. Nowadays, by advances and achievements of science and technology scientists are having every confidence in bright future of renewable energy. According to the report of The  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2011, renewable sources occupied about 13 percent of the worlds energy in 2008 and the proportion likely to have risen. The report also point out that within four decades renewable energy  could account for almost 80% of the worlds  energy supply. The statistics are completely appeared in the near future if we combine four main alternative resources and use hydroelectric to fill in gaps, which makes easier to match demand. The most important thing is to combine renewable energy sources into a bundle (cited in BERGERON 2011). Particularly, in research (Edenhofer et al. 2011) shows that by 2050, geothermal energy could meet more than 3 percent of global electricity demand and about 5 percent of the global heat demand, hydropower will contribute about 30 percent of worldwide electricity supply, wind power will grow to more than 20 percent and solar energy becomes one of the major sources of energy supply with about 15 percent.

World Civilization Notes

HUM 1000: WORLD CIVILIZATIONS NOTES THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF CIVILIZATION IN AFRICA Definition of key terms As we begin this course, it is crucial to first discuss our understanding of the concept ‘civilization’. This is a comparative term which is usually applied in comparison to such words as ‘barbarian’ ‘savage’ and ‘primitive’. In classical antiquity the Europeans used the word ‘barbarian’ to refer to a foreigner who was regarded as inferior (Ogutu and Kenyanchui, An Introduction To African History, 1991 p33). Do you think this is still the way we use the word barbarian?The Latin speakers referred to hunters, food-gatherers as savage. In the 17th century this term ‘savage’ referred to a person without art, literacy, or society who lived in fear of existence and death. ‘Primitive’ on the other hand, in Latin meant ‘the first or original’. Europeans used these words interchangeab ly when referring to non-Europeans while the word civilization was preserved to describe historical developments of European people (ibid). Now the term civilization is no longer confined to the above development but also extends reference to non-European communities.Attributes of civilization includes observance to law, belonging to an organized society, having a society of literate people with advanced developments in urbanization, agriculture, commerce, arts and technology. The French thinkers of the 18th century referred to a person of the arts and literature as cultured. But at the present the term is used to cover more fields than just the arts and literature. Sometimes, therefore the words ‘civilization’ and ‘culture’ are interchangeably applied. In this unit, however, more use is confined to the word ‘civilization’ especially in reference to human developments over time and in all continents.Another term that requires discussion at this stage is ‘prehistory’. Just like ‘civilization’,’prehistory’ is used in comparative terms especially in relation to history. Both terms refer to the past human activities. But whereas history as used by historians refers to the inquiry, investigation or research into a totality of human past experience, prehistory is rather confined to an inquiry or research into a totality of human past experience before the invention of writing. In our course-text (Anthony Esler, The Human Venture vol 1, 2004) this prehistoric period stretches between 5000 and 3500 BC.This period is also known as Stone Age period. Archeology plays a vital part in enabling us learn more about this prehistoric period. Through excavation and dating , a lot of prehistoric information is obtained. The Prehistoric or Stone Age Period There are two versions which explain the origins of human species. These are creation and biological explanation. The creation version exists in the Judaeo-Christian: Old Testament and its African counterpart. This Judaeo-Christian Old Testament is captured in the book of Genesis 2:6-7 in which it is written ‘But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. There is more detail about the whole sequence of creation in Genesis 1. Indeed it is written that human beings were the last to be created specific in God’s own image. This is best explained in Genesis 1:27: ‘So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them’. This creation story is vividly portrayed by Michelangelo on the ceiling of Sistine chapel in the Vatican at Rome .The pictures showing muscled, hugely bearded figure of Jehovah dividing light from darkness with a gesture rolling the sun and the moon into being, extending his powerful right hand to bestow upon Adam the ultimate gift of life attracts numerous tourists to the Vatican. There are various aspects of creation explanations in Africa. However we use the version in The Human Venture vol. 1 (p 7). According to this version, Doondari made humankind out of the five elements; fire, water, air, iron, and stone.The oldest of all creation stories, that of the Minnite Theology carved in stone at Memphis on the Nile almost five thousand years ago, calls the creator Ptah and says that he made the first sentient beings with weapons in their hands. Similar creation myths are found among other communities. This is because human beings are always concerned with understanding ‘first things’ and how they led to more complex ones. Such myths are reinforced by science which intimates that our earth developed from ‘a ring of glowing gases cooled and solidified into planets.Around the planet earth was water which spread over much of the world and above the earth was the atmosphere. HUM 1000: WORLD CIVILIZATIONS NOTES THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF CIVILIZATION IN AFRICA Definition of key terms As we begin this course, it is crucial to first discuss our understanding of the concept ‘civilization’. This is a comparative term which is usually applied in comparison to such words as ‘barbarian’ ‘savage’ and ‘primitive’. In classical antiquity the Europeans used the word ‘barbarian’ to refer to a foreigner who was regarded as inferior (Ogutu and Kenyanchui, An Introduction To African History, 1991 p33).Do you think this is still the way we use the word barbarian? The Latin speakers referred to hunters, food-gatherers as savage. In the 17th century this term ‘savage’ referred to a person without art, literacy, or society who lived in fear of existence and death. ‘Primitive’ on the other hand, in Latin meant ‘the first or original’. Eu ropeans used these words interchangeably when referring to non-Europeans while the word civilization was preserved to describe historical developments of European people (ibid).Now the term civilization is no longer confined to the above development but also extends reference to non-European communities. Attributes of civilization includes observance to law, belonging to an organized society, having a society of literate people with advanced developments in urbanization, agriculture, commerce, arts and technology. The French thinkers of the 18th century referred to a person of the arts and literature as cultured. But at the present the term is used to cover more fields than just the arts and literature. Sometimes, therefore the words ‘civilization’ and ‘culture’ are interchangeably applied.In this unit, however, more use is confined to the word ‘civilization’ especially in reference to human developments over time and in all continents. Another term that requires discussion at this stage is ‘prehistory’. Just like ‘civilization’,’prehistory’ is used in comparative terms especially in relation to history. Both terms refer to the past human activities. But whereas history as used by historians refers to the inquiry, investigation or research into a totality of human past experience, prehistory is rather confined to an inquiry or research into a totality of human past experience before the invention of writing.In our course-text (Anthony Esler, The Human Venture vol 1, 2004) this prehistoric period stretches between 5000 and 3500 BC. This period is also known as Stone Age period. Archeology plays a vital part in enabling us learn more about this prehistoric period. Through excavation and dating , a lot of prehistoric information is obtained. The Prehistoric or Stone Age Period There are two versions which explain the origins of human species. These are creation and biological explanati on. The creation version exists in the Judaeo-Christian: Old Testament and its African counterpart.This Judaeo-Christian Old Testament is captured in the book of Genesis 2:6-7 in which it is written ‘But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. ’ And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. There is more detail about the whole sequence of creation in Genesis 1. Indeed it is written that human beings were the last to be created specific in God’s own image. This is best explained in Genesis 1:27: ‘So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them’.This creation story is vividly portrayed by Michelangelo on the ceiling of Sistine chapel in the Vatican at Rome . The pictures showing muscled, hugely bearded figure of Jehovah dividing light from darkness with a gesture rolling the sun and the moon into being, extending his powerful right hand to bestow upon Adam the ultimate gift of life attracts numerous tourists to the Vatican. There are various aspects of creation explanations in Africa. However we use the version in The Human Venture vol. 1 (p 7). According to this version, Doondari made humankind out of the five elements; fire, water, air, iron, and stone.The oldest of all creation stories, that of the Minnite Theology carved in stone at Memphis on the Nile almost five thousand years ago, calls the creator Ptah and says that he made the first sentient beings with weapons in their hands. Similar creation myths are found among other communities. This is because human beings are always concerned with understanding ‘first things’ and how they led to more complex ones. Such myths are reinforced by science which intimates that our earth developed from ‘a ring of glowing gases cooled and solidified into planets.Around the planet earth was water which spread over much of the world and above the earth was the atmosphere. From these basic settings, life emerged from single-celled bacteria and gradually evolved into bigger creatures in the sea. And even continued evolving outside the sea. Such creatures outside the sea include birds and other beasts. Besides vegetations also developed from the moss and horsetails to such bigger plants like trees. All this took place before the hominids emerged. Herein lies the biological or evolution explanation.The evolution process which continued resulted in great geographical features such as grassland, forest, desert among others. More than two thirds of the earth was covered with water. The protruded expanse of dry land formed the seven continents. They included Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North and South America and Antarctica. Each continent and the islands that lay between them had a range of climate and topography which provided a variety of human beings. Human Developmen t Through the excavations of Mary and Louis Leakey at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, it was established that Africa is the origin of human species.The skeleton of Don Johansson’s Lucy found scattered over a hillside in Ethiopia pushed prehuman origin back several years. Hominids or hominid like bones from more recent times include those of Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal type first found in France and Germany and their kin Peking Man and Java Man discovered in Asia. Together with theses finds were also crude stone tools, later pots, pictures and bits of clothing were unearthed. The discovery of the ‘ice man’ an intact human corpse, discovered frozen in the alpine ice in 1991came complete with deerskin coat, fur hat, stone dagger, bow and arrows and a crude copper axe.The biological evolution of human beings dates back to tens of millions of years when small fury creatures with huge eyes and long tail lived in forests, balanced on high branches and snatched at insects. Fro m these there developed primates from who emerged as long as five million years ago the line of development known as hominids of which the humans are the only surviving descendants. There were various changes that the human ancestors underwent to adapt to the environment. For instance eyes of the tree dwellers changed and developed stereoscopic (depth) vision and color sightedness, very useful capacities for leaping from branch to branch.When these ancestors moved from forests to open grassland five million years ago more changes followed. Their legs and feet changed to permit erect bipedal walking on the African savanna. The posture in turn freed the hands for carrying game and foraged nuts and berries back to the family circle. The hands developed producing the most efficient thumb for the manipulation of any primate’s. The hominid brain grew, doubling and tripling in size and evolving a capacity that enabled human beings develop culture. Gradually, a number of hominid spec ies developed, flourished for a time then died out.The Australopithecines of three and a half million years ago were perhaps four feet tall and had brain about a third of modern human’s. Hominids of the Neanderthal line were closer to us. Hominids who survived made stone tools, buried their dead with ceremony and decorated the walls of their caves with paintings of the animals they hunted. These survivors who emerged approximately thirty-five thousand years ago were the Cro-Magnon people, a subspecies of the hominid family called Homo sapiens (wise people). They were the last of the hominid line and biologically indistinguishable from us. Prehistoric MigrationsAs is established the homeland of human beings is in Africa. Around two million years ago, the ancestors began migrating to other continents of Europe and Asia. A skull found in China indicates that these ancestors reached East Asia two hundred thousand years ago. Between 70,000 and 40,000 BC human beings reached Austra lia between 40,000 and 20,000 BC they reached the Americas. Thus in about half a million years, prehistoric ancestors spread around the world. They evolved various cultures and ways of life which kept improving through the various ages. It is to these civilizations that we now turn. The Ancient Civilization of EgyptIn this topic we will look at the factors behind the rise of the ancient Egyptian civilization, the growth of the Egyptian Kingdom and its contribution to the ancient world. The Factors for the Rise of Ancient Egyptian Civilization Its appropriate to state that ancient Egypt was directly linked to the rest of Africa. Unlike at present, the Sahara desert had not developed. Hence movement between the northern and the southern parts of Africa were possible. This fact is true because some African communities in both East and West Africa argue that their ancestral homelands were in Misri which roughly refers to Egypt. 1)Egyptian civilization owes its origin and development lar gely to the water from River Nile whose Source is in the South especially in Lake Victoria. In addition, the Blue Nile which is a tributary of the White Nile flows from the Ethiopian Highlands. The heart of the land was that part of the river from the first cataract at Aswan to the fan shaped delta where it flowed into the Mediterranean Sea. The river winds six hundred miles from the cataracts to the delta. The Nile Valley is hardly more than a few miles wide, but for the last hundred miles the valley opens up into the flat triangular delta spread along the sea.It is because of this river that Egypt was described as ‘the gift of the Nile’. The river’s annual rise and fall were crucial for the life of Egypt. On its way from the south, the Nile on reaching Upper Egypt overflowed its banks and deposited over the narrow valley a layer of rich black mud, alluvium picked up along its way from the south. (2)The human resource was yet another factor. Perhaps as early as the fifth millennium BC the hunters and nomadic pastoralists who had moved to the Nile Valley realized the agricultural potential of the fertile valley. They settled into agricultural villages and planted wheat and flax for clothing.They organized themselves into clans having animal totems such as crocodile or the hippopotamus. Sometime between 3500BC and 3000BC cooperative economic effort appeared as the Egyptians began to attempt at controlling the Nile with dikes and catch basins. Copper was used more widely. The population grew. (3)There was influence from outside, for instance, there were the Mesopotamian style cylinder seals found in Egypt. Besides Sumerian pictograms appear among the earliest Egyptian hieroglyphics. In the growth of the Egyptian civilization, there was an intermediate stage rom the villages to the centralized Monarchial state. After the villages, there were the two lands of upper and Lower Egypt. The vulture of the goddess Nekhbet was sacred in Upper Egypt wh ile the cobra of Wadjet sacred in Lower Egypt. The kings of the upper valley wore white crown while those of the delta a red one. People in the upper and Lower Egypt often fought each other. The Old Kingdom This area covered approximately ten thousand square miles. In 3000 BC, this Old Kingdom was the largest or most centralized state in the world. The Pharaoh was officially the king of upper and Lower Egypt. The Lord of the two lands’ and as such was crowned and symbolically buried in each of the two lands. There were separate treasures for the two halves of his kingdom and much duplication of officials. The tendency toward fragmentation embodied in the nomes, the provinces of pharaonic Egypt posed challenge to the unity of the state. Independent totemic communities or clans prior to unification, the nomes could become centers of disunity under ambitious governors. To hold the nation together, the early pharaohs forged a powerful alliance with the temples and the priests.Thi s is because the pharaohs claimed that they themselves were incarnations of divinity. The pharaoh was believed to be the son of the sun god Re. The reigning pharaoh was also Horus, the sky god-symbolized by falcon. On his death, the Falcon flew to the horizon, and the dead pharaoh became Osiris, King of the Underworld. Therefore the Pharaoh among the ancient Egyptians was semi-divine. Every year the pharaoh performed religious ceremonies that guaranteed the rising of the river. He and his officials ruled the land in the spirit of Ma’at, a combination of truth, justice and order that was for the Egyptians the highest of virtues.In the underworld, the souls of the dead were weighed against Ma’at. In this world the pharaoh himself was its living embodiment and the guarantee that the land would be ruled in its spirit. The Egyptians developed an elaborate administrative system. The chief administrative officer under the pharaoh was the vizier whose roles included chief judg e, superintendent of public works and right hand to the king. Under the vizier were such offices as those of treasuries, agriculture, officials in charge of irrigation systems and a secretariat. There was also a provincial administration charged with governing the nomes.The rulers of these provinces, the nomarchs exercised considerable local authority. They controlled the local militia, the source of most of the military strength of the kings of Upper and Lower Egypt. The Egyptian bureaucracy was staffed by scribes . Scribes conducted census of land and people, estimated size of the harvest and calculated taxes in kind. They supervised the vital irrigation system, organized the care and feeding of the pharaohs and the building of the royal tombs. Old kingdom Egypt was an ordered state and the society was organized hierarchically .At the top was the pharaoh while at the bottom were the slaves . See the diagram on the next page. Pharaoh v Pharaonic family, Relatives and Courtiers v Th e vizier (PM) and his circle v The Priests v The Scribes v Soldiers v Workers v Peasants v Foreigners v Slaves Source: Ogutu & Kenyanchui, An Introduction To African history,1991 p. 35 The hierarchy was symbolized most massively by the pyramid tombs of the pharaohs of the fourth dynasty; the dynasty of Khufu (also known as Cheops) builder of the great pyramid at Giza, around 2550 B. C The Middle KingdomThis period which stretches from around 2200 BC to the emergence of the New Kingdom about 1550 BC is considered as a transition period between the two worlds. The period was characterized by political turbulence, famine and the invasion of marauding desert Bedouin in the delta. Egyptians longed for a return to the immemorial order of past centuries. What they got, however, was not a return to the past but a dynamic new direction to national life . Ambitious dynasts from Thebes City in Upper Egypt snatched the kingdom from the last royal house to rule in Memphis.During the twentieth an d nineteenth centuries BC, the powerful 12th dynasty restored prosperity and order along the Nile. Pharaohs during this period expanded their kingdom and trade . Egyptian merchants traded with Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia and Minoan Crete. Egyptian military pushed south along the Nile into Nubia and on into The Sudan . Egypt for the first time became involved in a large scale with regions in North-East Africa and the Near East However the pharaohs who succeeded those in the 12th dynasty were weak and did not continue the firm hold on the expanded kingdom .Before 1700 BC the Hyksos, an Asiatic speaking group seized power . Because they were less sophisticated than the ancient Egyptians ,the Hyksos were culturally assimilated ,adopted Egyptian names , worshipped Egyptian gods and followed other traditional royal rites.. The Hyksos introduced the use of bronze instead of softer copper . In addition they also introduced the two wheeled horse-drawn war chariot. After about one and a hal f centuries their rule was ended and more powerful pharaohs from Lower Egypt took over and established the New Kingdom. The New KingdomKing Ahmose was hailed by posterity as the father of the new kingdom and the founder of the eighteenth dynasty (Abu Bakri, ‘Pharaonic Egypt’ in G . Mokhtar, ed General History of Africa vol 2(Abridged Edition) 1990, 73) Around 1550 BC Ahmose attacked, defeated and expelled the Hyksos from Egypt to Palestine . He even followed them there and destroyed their base . Back at home he put down the rebellious nobility and Nubian princess who collaborated with Hyksos. All the loot from Ahmose’s victories, he heaped them at the feet of Amon, the sun god of Thebes .The priesthood of Amon thus became the most powerful in Egypt and Thebes the new capital. Pharaoh Hatshepsut (1490-1468BC) who married each of her half brothers in turn was, however, in her fifth year powerful enough to declare herself supreme ruler of the country. She declared h erself the child of Re; and the god’s designated ruler, had herself crowned with double crown and seated herself on the golden throne of pharaohs. The two peaceful decades of her reign were prosperous for Egypt . She concentrated her attention upon the country’s internal affairs and upon building enterprises, mainly her magnificent temple at Western Thebes .The two achievements of which she was most proud were:- 1. The expedition to punt where the Egyptian fleet obtained ebony and ivory perfumes and spices, apes ,monkeys ,leopard skins, slaves and thirty-one live myrrh trees which were ceremoniously replanted at the queen’s temple at Deir el Bahari. 2. The raising of two great obelisks at the temple of Karnak. At her death/ Thutmose the 3rd (1486-1436 BC) took over. He was a skilled archer and charioteer. The militaristic elements among the aristocracy who longed for more aggressive foreign policy loved him. He fought seventeen campaigns gainst a coalition of ci ty states of Palestine-Syria-Lebanon/region. The coalition had been plotting at Megiddo to revolt against Egypt’s domination. Consequently, the whole country as far as the southern Lebanon came under Egyptian control. Egypt was therefore firmly established as a world power with a far reaching empire (A. Abu Bakr/1990, 73). It stretched over much of the ancient Fertile Crescent, from the Euphrates to the forth cataract of the Nile. Thutmose the 3rd had well equipped army supplied with the latest swords, bows and amour of the late Bronze Age. The army also used well constructed chariots.He established garrison towns, local governors and a sophisticated system of puppet kings to control what he had conquered. He raised obelisks as far south as the fourth cataract to signify his imperial expanse. These obelisks were looted and are found in Rome, Istanbul, London and New York’s Central Park. Another outstanding pharaoh was Akhenaton (Amenhotep the 4th/ 1364-1347 BC) who was also described as heretic pharaoh, a religious visionary or the doom of his dynasty(Esler A, The Human Venture, 2004, 54). He was physically weak with a frail effeminate body with hardly the makings of soldier or statesman.He was mostly concerned with matters of the mind and spirit. In his youthful fascination, Akhenaton instituted a radical change of policy which led to the direct attack on the priesthood of Amon. Initially he continued to live at Thebes where he had a great temple to Aton (the sun disk erected east of Amon†s temple at Karnak. Later, because of resistance to his reform in Thebes Akhenaton withdrew from the city. He founded a new residence at El-Amarna in Middle Egypt which he called Akhetaton (the horizon of Aton) where he lived until his death.It was here that he changed his name from Amenhotep (Amon is satisfied to Akhenaton (He who is serviceable to Aton or spirit of Aton). Akhenaton proclaimed Aton as the sole true god to be worshipped throughout Egypt. He launched campaigns to destroy all the other cults and replaced them with the worship of Aton. Hence Akhenaton was the first ruler to advocate for monotheism thirteen and a half centuries before Christ. Aton was represented not in human form like other gods but simply by the solar disk. Rays spread down from it and at the ends of the rays there were hands.Temples of Aton were built without roofs so that the worshipper might commune directly with the god and feel his power in the sky above. The Atonist revolution did not survive the death of Akhenaton. His second successor Tutankhamun returned to the faith of his ancestors and became a worshipper of Amon. However it was not until the reign of Horemheb as the last king of the Eighteenth Dynasty that the persecution of Aton began with the same persistence that had formerly applied to Amon (Abu-Bakr, 1990, 75). The Decline of Ancient EgyptIts decline could be attributed to the following factors; 1. The empire had grown so big that it was not easy to hold it together against external attacks. The Hittites and the sea people (biblical philistines) constantly attacked the delta. 2. The weak kings undermined the state especially in the face of invaders. During the thousand years that followed the end of the New kingdom in the eleventh century/ Theban priests, Libyan mercenaries, Nubian kings, Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians and Romans ruled Egypt in turns. The Art, Thought and Achievements in Ancient EgyptSome of the art, thought and achievements are already discussed under the previous topics. For instance the roles of art and religion as well as the establishment of empire have been discussed. Perhaps what follows is to briefly itemize others; 1. The discovery of the art of writing in Egypt began as picture writing i. e. hieroglyphics carved with reed pens on papyrus. As a working script therefore, hieroglyphic writing evolved over centuries into a cursive script called hieratic. The latter looked more like moder n Arabic. 2. Scientific knowledge; Astronomy, Egyptians divided the night sky into eparate constellations, compiled detailed records of the nightly positions of some heavenly bodies and constructed on this basis a calendar that is close to the solar one in use today. Mathematics: Ancient Egyptians used mathematics to survey and re-establish boundary lines after the annual inundation had washed out the line markers up and down the Nile. They also used measurement and calculation for architecture and engineering, for predicting harvests and totaling royal tax receipts. Medicine: Ancient Egyptian medicine operated on the basis of experience and rules of the thumb.Egyptian doctors indeed showed genuine clinical concern with symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Some of the prescribed remedies include drugs, such as castor oil that may even have done the patient some good. 3. Construction; Ancient Egyptians were great builders. They built in stone. The old kingdom pyramids still stand out a s some of the wonders of the world. The forty five hundred years and the two and a half million cubic yards of solid stone in the great pyramid of Khufu is one example of human engineering feats. Obelisks were another Egyptian architectural specialist.They often stood almost a hundred feet high. Their hieroglyphic inscriptions described the achievements of the pharaohs who erected them i. e. Hatshepsut or Thutmose the 3rd. Other architectural feats include temples, tombs and sarcophaguses (stone coffins) 4. Polytheistic Religion; The sources of religion include ancient Egyptians need for supernatural help to ensure a supply of game, growing herds or desire for human support when dealing with life transition and with specific afflictions i. e. wars, pestilence, famine and oppression. 5. To express the inexpressible religious leaders turn to metaphor.This experience has brought religious discourse from the historically conditioned realities of a particular time and place i. e. the sun god sails down a celestial Nile in the mind of the Egyptian. 6. Egyptians worshipped many gods i. e. Amon-Ra, Osiris, Horus. The Origin of Civilization In The Rest Of Africa Since it is established that the earliest human species is in the land of the great lakes of East Africa, it becomes clear that the Egyptian civilization was not isolated from the areas where the earliest forms of human origins are situated. Hence there was a lot of interconnectedness between the north and the south.We use Kush and Nubia to illustrate this point. The Nubians supplied ancient Egypt with gold, ivory, ebony, ostrich, feathers and slaves. It also supplied cattle, grain, leopards (and their skins), giraffes (whose tails were used as fly whisks, oils and perfumes among others. During the Egyptian decline, Nubian army went into Egypt and even took control of the Egyptian throne. Between the 11th c. BC and the 4th c. AD, the Nubian territory constituted the state of Kush. This area generally stretches from the first cataract of the Nile and the confluence between the Blue Nile and the White Nile.The region is currently between Egypt’s Aswan Dam and the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. During around 1500 BC, the area fell under the expansionist New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. Egyptian Governors and garrisons, priests and artisans influenced Kush greatly. Sons of Kushite kings were educated at the Egyptian royal court at Thebes. Egyptian temples and gods royal rituals and hieroglyphics were all transplanted to the Sudan. The Egyptian religious complex at Napata in particular became a centre for the spread of the Egyptian culture among the Africans beyond the cataracts.During the decline of Egypt from around 1100 BC, the kingdom of Kush regained its independence and flourished, none the less; the Kushite kings still followed Egyptian ways and worshipped Egyptians gods. They recovered their deeds in hieroglyphics inscriptions and buried their dead under the pyramid like those of th e old kingdoms. Around 750 BC the Kushite kings Kashata and Piankhi marched north and liberated Egypt from Libyan rulers. For more than half a century later the Kushite pharaohs of the 25th Egyptian dynasty ruled a dual kingdom that stretched around 1400 miles from the Blue Nile to the shores of the Mediterranean.The Assyrians expelled the 25th dynasty and replaced the Kushite kings in Egypt. The golden age of Kushitic civilization was during Meroe’s ascendancy. Meroe built its cities in sun-dried bricks like Egyptians. Kushitic rulers’ succession was by consensus among the royal princes. The queen mother was uniquely powerful. Egyptian priesthoods i. e. the sun god was influential. But later it was replaced by the Kushite lion god Apedemek. The wealth of Kush lay in the location of its fertile land and its dynamic people. Kushite capital, Meroe was watered not only by the Nile but also by a significant annual rainfall.Hence there was expansive pasture and cropland. Th ere were such minerals as gold and iron. Kushite artisans exploited the iron ore so industriously that Meroe became one of the centers for the production of iron in Africa. Later Kush developed its own writing. The first centuries of Christian era witnessed the decline of Kush. Reasons could include limited land that ended up being overgrazed, the drying out of the land due to creeping of the Sahara southwards and the loss of its northern customers, Egypt. Trade in the east was taken over by Axum which destroyed the kingdom of Kush finally.THE ORIENTAL CIVILIZATION Introduction The oriental as an adjective derives from the ‘noun’ orient’ which refers to the ‘East’. The concept of ‘East as used in reference to countries in Asia was given by the Europeans. Therefore in our discussion, we will look at such civilization as those of Mesopotamia, Hebrew, Persia, India and China. THE ANCIENT CIVILIZATION OF MESOPOTAMIA Ancient Mesopotamia was situated between River Tigris and River Euphrates. Indeed it was because of these two rivers that the Greeks called the land Mesopotamia to mean land between the rivers. Between 3,500 and 539 B.C cities and temples emerged first in Sumeria in the delta at the head of the Persian Gulf. This was followed by more cities and temples in Akkladian, Babylon and climaxed in Assyria. All these constituted Mesopotamia. Gradual drying out of the sea covered delta at the mouths of the two rivers exposed the fertile side that may have attracted Neolithic farmers to migrate from the hilly areas and moved to settle in the villages at summer or Sumeria. These early inhabitants built reeds houses in the delta and hunted birds and speared fish. They were also farmers much as they hunted and gathered wild fruits.From this area, the ancient Sumerians built over centuries a type of civilization that was later emulated. The Sumerians first discovered how to tame the flooding waters of the Tigris and Euphrates. T hey constructed dykes, canals and irrigation ditches that converted the water from destructive actions to more productive uses like enabling the community to produce enough foods stuffs. The Sumerians planted barley and wheat. They cultivated date palm for fruit and palm wine. Sumerians reared sheep and goats from which wool and hair clothing was made.They used oxen to pull, plough, donkeys were beasts of burden, horses and camels were domesticated later. These latter animals were obtained during the Sumerian war encounters against their neighbouring foreigners. Mesopotamia developed such crafts as textiles, pottery and stone carving, smelting of copper and alloy of bronze. They also invented the wheel solid and spoked (The human venture vdl) P. 37) To go along with the wheel, the Sumerians invented the carts and wagons. It is assumed that they were the first to invent writing. However, their most important invention was city itself. The city became the centre of civilization.In Mes opotamia, cities had high and thick walls with special gateways. Inside the walls, the town was divided into four quarters by main streets that entered the city through four main gates. Dominant features in the city-state were king’s palace, the temple of gods, and large houses of leading citizens. Temples or Zigguarats were pyramidal, terraced towers visible from far beyond the city walls. Streets were mostly narrow and winding, crowded with shopkeepers, artisans, slaves, citizens and even priests. The city had the aristocrats who included royal officials, members of the royal family and the chief priest of the major temples.The middle class included textile manufacturers, metal work manufacturers in copper and bronze, and merchants. In the fields outside the walls were peasant, serfs and slaves. Among this lower cadre of society, very few peasants were free citizens. Most were tenant farmers holding their land in return for payment in kind to absentee landlords, serfs and s laves worked on land owned by the royal family and the chief gods of the city state. These cadres of lower members in society were subjected to strict rules enforced by supervisor who made sure that the workers irrigated farms to sustain city –life.The shadoof method was widely employed in irrigation. A shadoof was a long pivoted pole with a weight at one end and a bucket at the other. The tool was used to lift water from larger channels into the furrows where the seeds were planted. Other methods of irrigation included levees which were constantly strengthened, canals and ditches as irrigation methods were redredged to prevent silting up. Hence a good deal of cooperation was necessary for the success of the said group work. Mesopotamia women worked as weavers, pottery makers, farm workers and manual workers.In summer and Babylon, women could own property, sign legal contracts and engage in business themselves. Monarchies and cults of gods were central institutions in Sumeria n society. Temples came first. The pyramidal Ziggurats and broad temple complexes of gods and goddesses – Anu, Enhil, Enlil, Ninhursag and Imana (the last was also known as Ishtar) dominated the skyline of the Sumerian city. Each city had its own patron among the heavenly assembly, who was believed to bring rising rivers and rich harvests to keep misfortunes at bay and to maintain law and order.MESOPOTAMIAN EMPIRE An empire was the most common larger form of political organization beyond the city states. Several efforts were made at this empire building by such rulers as Sargon of Akkad, Hammurabi of Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar in the New Babylonian empire. However Persians reduced these efforts by making Mesopotamia as a Persian satrapy or province. Several factors frustrated the Mesopotamia efforts at uniting. They included i. Attacks from the outsiders who included Akkadians Gadians, Kassites and Persians. ii. The existence of fragmented feudal order in Mesopotamia.This led to division of power among land owning aristocracy. iii. The tendency of a number of regions to break up into middle sized states which enjoyed their own hegemonies and resisted efforts from outside that aimed at imposing larger order on the entire Mesopotamia. iv. Polarization among rival Mesopotamian city –states frustrated efforts by any that aimed at uniting Mesopotamia. v. The unity which occurred temporarily was due to successful confrontations accompanied by losses in human lives and destruction of property. The following are some of the successful attempts.Sargon of Akkad king of Sumerian founded a dynasty around 2300 BC His dynasty governed most of Mesopotamia for about a century. From a lesser Sumerian city – state, Sargon replaced his royal master on the throne, overthrew the dynasty of Uruk and conquered most of the Tigris and Euphrates valley. He garrisoned his conquests with Akkadian troops and built himself a new capital at Agade. Sargon’s son an d grandson ruled after him. However, a volcanic eruption may have brought drought to the region. The violent Gatians swept down from neighbouring hills destroyed Agade and its imperial Mesopotamian domain.Sargon is thus remembered as the world’s first empire builder. Hammurabi, also known as the lawgiver of Babylon (1792 -1750 BC) was born king of Babylon. The sixth in the line of Amorite rulers, Hammurabi governed Babylon for about thirty years before embarking on his expansionist venture into the rest of Mesopotamia. Employing shrewd statecraft, good timing and military force, Hammurabi expanded his empire far beyond the confines of his predecessors. For a brief [period, he and his successors had authority over all the people of Mesopotamia (Human Venture, 42)Hammurabi the law-giver introduced a code of laws covering a range of civil and criminal matters. They tackled family relations, land laws, business laws, personal injury, military service, matters touching on witchcra ft and taxes. Some of his laws are harsh seen from the present times. For instance, a principle of ‘an eye for an eye’ ‘a life for a life’ is cited for being extreme. But looked at with knowledge about our present judicial system, would you consider them strange? Hammurabi’s code observed some social hierarchy. There were laws for slaves and laws for their masters.For example, a noble was punished more harshly for the same offence than his social inferiors. Here one gets the impression that ‘might is not always right’ Does it operate in our society? At his death, Hammurabi had built so expensive an empire that his successors were unable to hold together. Attacks from enemies like Kassites, from the east weakened the empire. Within a century and a half, the empire had crumbled away. It took some time before other unifiers, this time from Assyria emerged. As the Babylonian empire declined, the Assyrians emerged as a military power right fr om the fourteenth century BC.By the later part of the eighth century BC, they were incorporating their victims into a large and growing empire. In the seventh century BC under Sennacherib and Assurbanipal, Assyrians conquered Egypt and most of Mesopotamia. Thus under Assurbanipal Assyrian empire briefly ran from the Nile valley to the Persian Gulf. However, in the last part of the seventh century BC, chaos bedeviled the Assyrian empire. In 612 BC, an allied force of Chaldeans from Babylon and Medes from the eastern mountains attacked Assyria, defeated it and destroyed its city Nineveh.One lasting legacy the Assyrians were known for was savage brutality. The Assyrian decline prepared room for the rise of New Babylonian Empire. During the New Babylonian empire, Nebuchadnezzar II (605 -562) was a dominant figure. Soon after the fall of Nineveh, while still prince of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar commanded the Babylonian army which had defeated the Egyptian forces at (carchemish in 605 BC. As king, he repeatedly attacked Palestine, destroyed Jerusalem and forced Judeans into exile At its peak, the new Babylonian empire compared in size with the Assyrian empire at its climax.It thus stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea during the sixth century BC. Nebuchadnezzar II was a great builder of canals and caravan roads as well as temples and palaces. He raised huge new walls around his capital, eleven miles long and very wide. He opened the broad processional way through the heart of the city to the Ishtar gate. He built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, towering Ziggurat featuring terraces planted with trees and exotic plants. It is said he did this to please his Median wife who missed the hills of her mountains home.Nebuchadnezzar’s successors were not able to keep the huge empire safe from external attacks. Hence in 539 BC, the Persian conqueror, also known as ‘Cyrus the Great defeated the rulers of the New Babylon Empire and ushered in a new e ra. THE HEBREW CIVILISATION Introduction In this section, we look at the Hebrew (or Jews) as a people, their efforts at establishing their Jewish Kingdom and the lasting legacy to posterity. It is at their legacy that the aspect of monotheism is critically discussed. It is also worthy noting that Hebrew history is intertwined with the Old Testament story.. The Hebrew peopleAt the beginning of the second millennium BC the Hebrews were part of the nomadic population of Semitic speakers who wandered and settled along the shores of the Arabian Desert between Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations. Abraham, the founder or patriarch of the Hebrew community moved from Ur with his wives and children, servants, shepherds and flocks around him and settled for a time in Palestine (Canaan) situated around Jordan River. A section of the community moved into Egypt where tradition states they were oppressed in the New Kingdom of Egypt. Hence in the thirteenth century BC, these Hebrews resumed the ir wanderings.Their liberator, Moses held them together for forty years in the wilderness of Sinai. Moses rallied them behind a single God, Yaweh. Hence by the 1200’s BC, the Hebrews had become monotheists (The Human Venture, Vol. 1, p. 67) and promised to obey his commandments. It is believed, God’s messenger to the Hebrews, Moses wrote the Torah, also known as Pentateuch. These were the first five books of the Bible. Thus, through these books, Moses the liberator and law giver became a world historical figure. The Hebrews had some of their sections also known as Yehudim which when translated into English became Jews.Hence the genesis of the name that mostly refers to the present descendants of the Hebrews. The Hebrew Kingdom When the Hebrews ultimately settled at Palestine, all the twelve ethnic groups evolved into a kingdom. Earlier, before making this decision, the Hebrew communities were divided and disunited along clan and ethnic lines. Their leaders were called judges. At times they were also guided by charismatic prophets. Shortly before 1000 BC, however, all the twelve ethnic groups resolved to follow a single king who was to be also a war leader capable of winning wars against their enemies.Saul, David and Solomon were some of the first kings of the Hebrews. David (1010-960 BC) a gifted military leader defeated the Philistines and completed the conquest of Canaan. He cemented the political unity of the twelve ethnic groups, established a Hebrew state and began to build a Hebrew capital at Jerusalem. Generally regarded as the strongest of Hebrew rulers, David is reputed for founding a centralised kingdom of Israel in the tenth century BC. Indeed Soul, the first ruler made effort but could not score definitive victory against enemies of the Hebrews. Hence when he fell in battle, he was replaced by David.David was later succeeded by Solomon (960-920 BC), his son, reputed for his wisdom. Solomon was a shrewd diplomat and a great builder. He married many wives and kept many concubines, he built a magnificent palace for himself and a great temple for Yaweh. Solomon further strengthened and equipped his army with chariots and new iron-age weapons. Furthermore, he built, rebuilt and fortified a number of cities. Solomon also constructed ships and traded with the Phoenicians and even down the Red Sea. Hence, Solomon in a way symbolized the governmental ideals of wisdom and power in the service of the people.In his effort to ensure that the Hebrew Kingdom remained powerful in the region, Solomon employed huge amounts of labour and money. He used oppressive taxation, forced labour and other harsh measures that made him unpopular among his people. Differences among the urban and commercial northerners and the pastoral, agricultural and more religious southerners of his kingdom weakened the monarchy. The emerging rebellion split the kingdom after Solomon’s death. The Fall of the Hebrew Kingdom The split of the Hebrew Ki ngdom into Judah in the South and ruled from Jerusalem and Israel in the North marked the fall of the kingdom.The nation of Judah was made up of two of the Hebrew communities while Israel had ten of the original twelve ethnic groups. Neither of the two could withstand attacks from more powerful enemies who included the Assyrians and Babylonians. Hence in the eighth century BC, Israel was conquered by the Assyrians while Nebuchadnezzar II of New Babylonian empire defeated Judah in the sixth century (586) BC. Jerusalem and Solomon’s great temple were destroyed. Many Hebrews were held captive in Babylon. Others fled to Egypt and beyond, beginning the diaspora or dispersal of the Jewish people.Some captives escaped and returned to rebuild the temple of their Lord, Yaweh, before the end of the sixth century BC. But such short-lived Jewish states as what emerged in later periods could not withstand attacks from Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Arabs and Turks. It was not until 1948 t hat a new nation of Israel, approximating the size of the one ruled over by David, was declared. That nation of Israel is still busy fending off attacks from Arabs. The Birth of Monotheism The earliest Hebrews were organised along family, clan and ethnic lines.As earlier argued, the twelve ethnic groups were believed to have descended from the twelve sons of Abraham. Within the family, patriarchy prevailed. Male heads of families had power over wives and children. Polygamy was allowed for men wealthy enough to support several wives. Only sons could inherit property because daughters could marry away from the families. A wife retained control of the dowry she brought with her to her marriage. But she had few other property rights. Divorce was easy for men but difficult for women to secure. How does this compare with our present circumstances?There were exceptions though. Some women stepped outside the family centred system entirely. Some exercised political power – as judges, or religious authority as prophetesses e. g. Deborah. Some like Judith who slew the commander of an invading host (The Human venture, Vol. 1, p. 71) were hailed as national heroes for their deeds. Religion played a central role in Hebrew life. In fact, the many ancient Hebrew laws recorded in the Old Testament had a deep religious touch much as they also reflected the traditional Hebrew values. One such law was the principle of ‘an eye for an eye’.Other Hebrew laws also prescribed kinds of foods to be eaten, persons and communities from which to marry or be married among, or what punishments to be given out against violations of these taboos. Hebrew prophets carried the words of their god, Yaweh, carved on two stone tablets in a chest as they preached to their people. They proclaimed their divinely ordained rule in a promised land in Palestine. Over a millennium and half between Abraham and the return to Jerusalem from Babylon, the Hebrews evolved a unique conception of divinity and of humanity’s relationship to it.During Abraham’s time, the Hebrew worshipped their own god without interfering with the other community’s way of worship. But by Moses’ time, Hebrew spiritual leaders began to insist that Yaweh demanded exclusive worship in return for his special patronage. The spiritual leaders further insisted that Yaweh was the only real God in the universe. During the second millennium BC, the Hebrew began believing that Yaweh demanded exclusive devotion from Hebrews. They believed that Yaweh was a jealous god and would tolerate no others. Over the centuries, Hebrews believed that Yaweh could not tolerate any images of himself.He thus remained a purely spiritual presence. He remained an incarnation of such superhuman qualities as all knowledge, absolute power and benevolent caring who had miraculously selected the ancient Hebrews as his chosen people. Yaweh’s prophets of the first millennium BC preached ethical mon otheism, stressing the moral dimension of the worship of one God. In sermons to the Hebrews, preachers like Samuel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah insisted that Yaweh demanded believers to obey the commandments that forbade murder, theft, lying, covetousness and many other sins.The prophets also preached that Yaweh demanded social justice from his people. The rich were not to oppress the poor, nor the mighty oppress the weak. The prophets preached that God had made a Special Covenant with the Hebrews. Whenever they sinned, God punished them severely i. e. by having them enslaved in Egypt or held captives in Babylon. But if they remained loyal to him alone and kept his commandments, they would get a promised land where they would have respect among nations. It is this monotheistic legacy that the Hebrews have bequeathed to posterity.For instance, in the first century AD, Jesus Christ, born and raised in the Jewish community of Northern Palestine, became the founder of the Christian faith, a fa ith that later spread around the world. In the Seventh Century AD, the Prophet Muhammad, an Arabian merchant conversant with both Judaism and Christianity, founded the third major world religion, Islam. Down through the centuries Hebrew leaders like Moses and Solomon would be honoured not only in later Judaism, but also in the Christian Old Testament and the Muslim Quran. ANCIENT PERSIA Ancient Persia is situated in the Middle East.A region known to have given rise to many civilizations including Mesopotamia. During the millennium of the Christian era, the broad diversified Middle Eastern region had intermittent unity under a series of Persian dynasties. Some of the leading Persian unifiers include the Achaenemids (550-331 BC). The Achaenemids are a royal house which was founded by Cyrus the Great. The Persians were Indo-European descendants who had migrated into the Iranian Plateau hundreds of years earlier. In the 6th C BC, Persians were still a war-like semi-pastoral people livin g in the mountains of what is present day Western Iran.There they were within easy reach of the Euphrates and Tigris valley. Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Shepherd was a self made emperor. He was merciful with defeated enemies, tolerant of all religions and very courageous. He was a brave fighter. By the middle of the 6th C, the Medes who had participated in the destruction of the Mesopotamian Empire were weak. This enabled Cyrus, a hereditary chief of the Persian people who were tributary to the Medes to rise. In 550BC, Cyrus invaded and overthrew the last Medean king of the Medes and crowned himself king of the Medes and Persians.For the next twenty years, Cyrus waged many victorious campaigns. Cyrus’ horse soldiers wore leather breeches and heavy felt boots, sat on their rugged mountainous ponies and were armed with compound bows. In his reign and that of his successors, Persia expanded to become the largest empire in the 6th century. About three years after sei zing control of the Median confederacy, Cyrus crossed the Taurus Mountains into present day Turkey and overthrew king Croesus of Lydia. Using the wealth acquired from Croesus, Cyrus marched eastwards subduing residents of present day Iran and Afghanistan.In the process of expanding Persian Empire, Cyrus also expanded his troops so that by the time he invaded the New Babylonian Empire, the weaker and disunited Babylonian leaders were no match for him. About 539 BC Cyrus easily occupied Babylon, bringing to an end the Mesopotamian independence. Persia became the greatest power in the Middle East. About nine years later, Cyrus was killed in war in eastern part of today’s Iran. Cambyses, his son succeeded him and conquered Egypt. Cambyses’ successor, Darius 1(522-486) further extended Persian Empire into northern India and Macedonia, on the northern frontier of Greece.Darius 1 also known as Darius the Great thus governed over a huge empire, from the Egyptians, Babylonians, Lydians, Greeks, Persians and Medes among others. To administer the expansive empire effectively, it was divided in provinces (satrapies). Each satrapy was under a Satrap (governor) who was often a member of the imperial family or a leading local nobleman. The satraps were granted political, military and financial autonomy on a large scale. As long as a satrapy paid its tribute on time and provided its share of recruits for the army, the province could be left on its own in local matters.But to avert any rebellious satrapies, garrisons of royal troops were strategically situated across the huge empire. In addition, there were also royal agents (the king’s eyes and ears) who monitored on the satraps and regularly briefed the rulers of the empire. Darius formulated a single imperial code of laws based on the Mesopotamian model. He also borrowed the idea of minted coinage from the Lydians and began minting gold and silver coins. Besides he established a common set of weights an d measures, a system of royal couriers and mail, a common calendar borrowed from Egypt and Aramaic, as a lingua franca.Aramaic was already widely used by business people in the general area. Darius was also a builder. He set up a network of hundred of miles of roads linking the far removed places of Persian Empire. Some ran from the capital at Susa to the Western City of Sardises Darius and his successors loved relaxing in gardens which they called ‘Paradises’ and in great palaces at Susa, Bablylon and Persepolis. From the fifth century B. C. some Satrops began revolting against the Persian rule. For instance, the Ionian Greek City-states revolted and were supported by Athens. Gradually palace intrigues undermined the power of the empire.Even women were ruthlessly conspiratorial and by the fourth century B. C. Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia attacked and destroyed Achaemenid Empire. Attempts to revive the empire by such groups as the Seleucids (323-250 B. C. ) an d the Parrthians (250 B. C. -224A. D. ) could not succeed. The two were not Persians and from 224 A. D. , the Sassanids, an Iranian group took over and ruled Persia until 641A. D. The four hundred year reign of the Sassanids is thus viewed as a restoration of the Achaemenid rule (Esler, A. , The Human Venture Vol. 1 p. 153). The Sassanids constructed an elaborate system of power.The bureaucracy, the Iranian barons and the Magi (Priests of Zoroaster) were most influential. The Grand Visier, was the King’s right hand man and operational head of the state. Other powerful officials included the chief priest, head scribe, and general of the armies. Iranian barons granted estates along the frontiers of the empire and provided a flexible border defense. While defending their own lands, the barons by the same means also protected the Sassanid Empire. The Magi collected the peasant land tax on which the government depended and also provided religious sanction for Sassanid imperial pow er.Indeed under the Sassanids, Persian Empire emerged to the expansiveness of the earlier Achaemenid Empire under Darius and Xerxes. During its greatest the empire reached today’s Pakistan in the east and Egypt in the west. In the north the empire reached Central Asia upto the suburbs of Constantinople. The expansion of the empire made it fall into conflict with such western powers as Ancient Rome and Medieval Byzantine Empire. At one time the struggle took on a religious overtone between Zoroastrianism (Persia) and Christianity (Rome and Byzantium).Finally the Sassanid Empire was overwhelmed by the Muslim conquerors. The Persian Society and Culture Ancient Persian Empire was a class based society. The classes included the aristocrats, officials, priests, merchants, artisans, peasants, workers and slaves. In terms of gender relations, it depended on regions. In Mesopotamia women worked in handicraft industries while in Egypt women enjoyed legal rights. For example, a marriage contract guaranteed the bride to return her dowry in the event of the marriages dissolution and also receive a third of the husband’s earnings. The Faith of ZoroasterInitially, Persians were polytheists. They worshipped Anahita, goddess of the life-giving waters and Mithra, god of the Sun. Sacrificial fire played a central part in the religion of the early Persians. But from the sixth century, Prophet Zoroaster founded a new religion, Zoroastrianism. Six hundred years before Christi, Zoroaster preached a faith that resembled present day Christianity. He preached belief in one god, Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, god of light, goodness and truth. Ahura Mazda was the creator of all things, the judge of all people, and the rewarder of virtue with spiritual blessings.Zoroastrianism proclaimed Liar as the prince of darkness. Liar was also known as Abriman. He preached that the universe was the battle ground between Ahura Mazda and his agent Mithra on the one hand against Abriman on t he other. Zoroaster urged all human beings to take a stand in the struggle between the two forces. He predicted victory for Ahura Mazda and his followers would enter paradise while those who served Liar (Abriman) will be cast into the bridge of judgment into a pit of darkness and torment. The faith became a faith of the royal family and nobility in Persia.Ahura Mazda was symbolized in a small human figure at persepolis. Zoroastrianism was largely a religion, therefore of the aristocrats given that Persians seldom sought converts to it. Nonetheless Zoroastrianism spread eastwards to India where the Parsi sect comprises the largest body of Zoroastrians in the world today (Elser, The Human Venture, p. 156). The cult of Mithra the sun god, champion of light against darkness spread westwards into Rome. Even Liar found a place in foreign pantheons such as Satan of the Christians. The Indian Civilization IntroductionIn this sub-topic we look at the general overview of the Indian subcontine nt, its earliest organization, and invasion from outside before eventually discussing the evolution of the empire. There after we will examine the major philosophical and religious contribution of India to the rest of humankind. The Indian Subcontinent Indian subcontinent is made up of raised areas such as the Hindu Kush and the Himalayas as well as the river valleys and coastal plains. It is in these valleys that the Indian civilization was born and later expanded to cover the entire sub continent.It is argued that the subcontinent is about two thousan