Mythological Olympian Religion

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By the 6th century B.C. more or less similar religious beliefs were held in common in all regions inhabited by the Greeks . These beliefs formed the basis of the Olympian religion , so called after Mount Olympus which was believed to be the home of the Gods , headed by Zeus . The Olympian religion was not connected with any organised religious body , dogma or ritual . The temples of the gods , though of definite significance in the religious lives of the people , did not , how ever , form a single system ; likewise , there was no special strata of religious attendants , no high priests . When necessary , persons chosen by the popular assembly carried out various religious functions . By making the gods human , the Olympian religion was able to penetrate deep into the masses and influence the working people . In time the cult of the Olympian gods became the official religion of the Greek polises , sanctifying the class suppression of the slaves and poor labourers . The masses , dissatisfied with their lack of civil rights , often coun tered the official religion by inaugurating cults of their own patron gods . Such , for instance , was the cult of Dionisius , patron of the tiller , in whose honour feasts and celebrations were held . This religious dissention can be considered the prototype of all later religious heresies .

The Development of Speech

Articulate human speech evolved in the processes of labour . Human thought and consciousness have the quality of abstract thinking , i.e. , a generalised reflection of reality in concepts , expressed in words . This capacity for abstract thought made it possible to express an idea , a sum of impressions in words , and with their aid man could inform other human beings of his impressions . However , this ability to communicate his thoughts to another human being through the aid of words was insufficient to stimulate speech . What was lacking was the necessity to communicate one’s thoughts to another . This necessity arose and developed in the process of man’s conscious labour . Labour was always a social activity . The work of a single human being was an integral part of the life of the human community . The unity of a commune of human beings in productive labour resulted in the fact that the individual in his mind , thoughts and actions regarded himself as a member of the commune , as subservient to it . That is why in the process of collective labour people felt the need to com municate with each other , to speak to each other . In the beginning , various shouts and cries used in the process of labour and arising from various actions were the sole means of communication . These cries gradually became established and remembered . This , in turn , brought about a change in the corresponding human organs . Under the in fluence of the pressing need to communicate in the process of common labour , the undeveloped throat was gradually transformed into an organ capable of producing articulate sounds . Thus , as a result of collective labour over a great period of time , articulate speech gradually evolved as a means of exchanging thoughts , as a means of human associa tion . Speech was of tremendous significance in the further development of society , since it helped to unite man’s efforts in labour as well as in organising collective labour ; speech made it possible for man to retain and pass on to coming generations his labour experience . Since the history of primitive society is a history of small , isolated human communities , the language of each such com munity developed independently and was unlike the language of other communities .

Feudalism on the Arabian Peninsula

The distinguishing feature of feudalism in Arabia was the fact that a religious community formed the core of the polit ical union . The founder of Islam was a merchant named Mohammed ( app . 570-632 ) from the Hashimite clan of the Meccan tribe Koreish . The nobility of Mecca feared that the dissemination the new religion would undermine the .cult of the Kaab shrine , the political influence and the commercial ties between Meccą and the Arab tribes . That is why they forced Mohammed and his followers to move to ‘ Medina in 622. This year was to mark the founding of a new Moslem calendar . In Medina the Moslems formed an alliance with the ruling clique of the Arab tribes . During the next eight years Moham med carried on a struggle against Mecca which ended in the victory of his followers , who then won over the Bedouin tribes . In 630 Mecca capitulated to the army of Mohammed without putting up a fight . The Koreish tribes adopted Islam ; Mecca and Kaab became the centre of Moslem faith , a place of yearly pilgrimage of Moslem believers . Mohammed was considered a prophet , Allah’s representative on earth . After Mohammed occupied Mecca a considerable part of Arabia came under Moslem rule . Mohammed , as the leader of the Moslem community , was the supreme religious , secular , judicial and military ruler . After Mohammed’s death Abu – Bekr became the first ” holy ” caliph ( deputy ) of the Prophet Mohammed . As head of the Moslem community he was both Imam ( spiritual leader ) and Emir ( secular ruler ) . Under Abu – Bekr ( 632-634 ) and the second caliph , Omar ( 634-644 ) , the unification of Arabia and its conversion to Islam were completed . At the same time , the Arabs began their conquest of the countries of the Mediterranean , Asia Minor and Central Asia . In 636 the Arab armies defeated the Byzantian army and established their rule in Syria and Palestine ; they invaded Iraq and won a series of victories over the Persians . They conquered Egypt in 641-645 and Iran within the next few years . By the beginning of the 8th century they had conquered Northern Africa and the greater part of Spain . The conquered countries became a part of the Arabian caliphate , ruled by the Omayyad dynasty ( 661-750 ) . The capital was moved

. from Mecca to Damascus . The Arabian caliphate was an early feudal state in which there were significant remnants of slave owning relations . As a rule , the conquerors took no part in social production in the Vanquished lands . The conquered people were forced to pay a land and per capita tax , both in kind and in cash , to the caliphate treasury . The conquerors canle under the influence of the more highly developed economy , culture and social relations of the con quered peoples . Developing feudal relations in the countries conquered by the Arabs were most clearly defined in the Baghdad caliphate during the reign of the Abbasid dynasty ( 750-1258 ) . The capital was now moved to Baghdad , found ed by Mansur in 762 on the Tigris River . The Arab nobility lost its privileged status in the Baghdad caliphate , having been supplanted by the Iranian feudal lords who had helped the Abbasids come to power . In the majority of caliphate countries feudal and state own ership was the rule . Some of the lands belonged to the caliph and his family . Some estates were in private hands , corres ponding to the European allod . A different type of feudal landownership quickly spread throughout the Arab state . Under its terms , a holding was given for life or temporary ownership in return for military allegiance . There were also the inalienable lands of the various Moslem religious institutions . Unlike Western Europe , commodity – money relations were highly developed in the Baghdad caliphate in the 11th century . This resulted ehiefly from the intensive trade carried on both at home and abroad , which fact was also responsible for the rapid growth of the towns as centres of crafts . The slave structure was an important part of life in the Baghdad caliphate . Slave labour was used for all the more difficult jobs : for digging irrigation canals , working on the cotton plantations , in the mines and quarries . As a rule , the slaves were of African descent . The burden of feudal exploitation resulted in mass upris ings . In the 9th century the Baghdad caliphate was shaken to its foundations by the peasant uprising led by Bābek ( 815-837 ) and the slave uprising of 869-883 . The resistance of the conquered peoples to Arab rule , the development of feudal relations and the increased power of the local feudal lords all combined to dissolve the Baghdad

caliphate in the early 10th century into a number of inde pendent states . The Abbasid caliphs , having lost their estates and political might , became Moslem religious leaders ( Imams ) . Egypt became an independent nåtion ruled by the Tulunid dynasty , which was later succeeded by the Fatimite dynasty . The northern part of Syria and the city of Antioch , which remained , as in Antiquity , one of the largest cities of the Eastern Mediterranean , were conquered by Byzantium in 969 . The independent state of Himdanid ( 929-1003 ) was formed , occupying part of Syria , the Lebanon and Palestine . It was conquered by Egypt under the : Fatimites . Other independent nations were established in Iran , Cen tral Asia and in other regions . The rulers of the Moslem coun tries accepted the Baghdad caliph as their spiritual leader only , as one who gave them the right to own land .