Towards The City States Author: Rumana Reza
"Science calls it "Pangaea Proxima". You might prefer to call it the Next Big Thing. A supercontinent is on its way that incorporates all of Earth's major landmasses, meaning you could walk from Australia to Alaska, or Patagonia to Scandinavia. But it will be about 250 million years in the making." [Chris Baraniu,1 August 2016 http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160729-in-250-million-years- earth-might-only-have-one-continent ]
Credit:www.curriki.org Years after years, we have been being taught that the earth is 4.543 billion years old. Pangea formed 300 million years ago.The periods of oldest ancient civilizations is not more than 8000 BC.
I wish I could agree with them! It's time to be honest and say loud that we all are giving our opinions based on our own imagination only;not based on any reliable evidence. Dear Readers,no more killing times , no pretend to be 'Darwin type' wise.Here is my simple analysis on planet Earth's history,its evolution and the next world order, with a simple imaginative heart ;)
Every civilization takes approximately 2500 years to rise and collapse.So do the continental drifts.With present eyes, the whole process might seem as long term process;but if it means,a huge change could happen without any notice! (If any of you wanna challenge me, well then; but do back here with proper evidence, including your equipments to measure the time frame.)
Geography, human psychology, social structure, polity and civilization are strongly connected with each other. Here I will show it to you gradually.
Though the scientists now believe in 4 patterns of continental drifts, basically only two of them are the main terms; rests are just a process.
1.Primitive (Baby) stage / Society :
After the collapse of a civilization through the breaking of Pangaea, primitive stage starts.
Woman Gives Birth To 7 Kids At One Time:www.youtube.com This is like a newborn baby who is just separated from its mother. (In case of multiple births of continents, brings more living bodies through this separation process.) During this period, people feel so insecure. They are backward as they have lost all the technological achievements of their ancestors. Therefore,they tend to live all together to survive well.
This period is divided into two levels: a. Kid's level / Society :
Roman Empire : https://en.wikipedia.org John Plamenatz summarizes Karl Marx's view of the state like this: "...that the state arises when society divides into classes,that the state is an instrument of class rule,and that when society becomes classless there will be no need for a state."(Don Martindale: The nature and types of Sociological Theory. p- 141)
Byzantine Empire :https://en.wikipedia.org Though,I don't agree with this concept completely, it is a bit helpful to describe the kid's level. At this level, people are categorized under the various groups with different social status. Cultural influence from their mother civilization still exists. Ultimately, the formation of State becomes necessary.Then the State system reestablishes and group system is declined.But this State concept is quite different from today's States.Rather it should be called as empirical State which includes city-states.
Islamic Caliphates http://guides.library.iit.edu
b.Teen level /Society:
Today's world is standing on a teen level of continental drifts. Therefore, now our society is unstable like a teenager. Extended families are broken and become nuclear. Moreover, single mother concept is rising. In near future, moral values will be diminished. Instead of genus, clan system will be practiced.
Re-rising of City States:
Credit: Bengt Nyman
City-state concept of medieval period is almost over. Nation State is dominating the world. Very few countries like Singapore, Monaco, Kuwait etc. are existing now as modern city states.
List of Medieval Great Powers:
• 1 Medieval Middle and Near East
o 1.1 Byzantine Empire
o 1.2 Great Seljuk Empire o 1.3 Islamic Caliphates o 1.4 Rashidun Caliphate o 1.5 Umayyad Caliphate o 1.6 Abbasid Caliphate o 1.7 Al-Andalus o 1.8 Fatimid Caliphate o 1.9 Ayyubid Sultanate o 1.10 Bahri Mamluks Empire o 1.11 Bulgaria o 1.12 Ghaznavid Empire
o 1.13 Timurid Empire
• 2 Medieval China
o 2.1 Sui Empire
o 2.2 Tang Empire
o 2.3 Song Empire
o 2.4 Yuan Dynasty
o 2.5 Ming Empire
• 3 Medieval Inner Asia and Mongolia
o 3.1 Turkic Khaganate
o 3.2 Uyghur Khaganate
o 3.3 Mongol Empire
• 4 Medieval Europe
o 4.1 Frankish Empire
o 4.2 Norwegian Empire
o 4.3 Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation
o 4.4 Kievan Rus'
o 4.5 Medieval Kingdom of Hungary
o 4.6 Jagiellon dynasty o 4.7 Normans o 4.8 Papacy o 4.9 Kingdom of Sicily o 4.10 Republic of Genoa o 4.11 Medieval Venetian Republic o 4.12 Capetian Kingdom of France o 4.13 Angevin Empire o 4.14 Crown of Aragon o 4.15 Kingdom of Castile o 4.16 Kalmar Union
• 5 Medieval Africa
o 5.1 Ghana Empire
o 5.2 Mali Empire
o 5.3 Songhai Empire
o 5.4 Ajuran Empire
o 5.5 Ethiopian Empire
o 5.6 Kingdom of Zimbabwe
• 6 Medieval India
o 6.1 Chalukya Empire o 6.2 Rashtrakuta Empire
o 6.3 Pala Empire
o 6.4 Chola Empire
• 7 Medieval Southeast Asia
o 7.1 Khmer Empire
o 7.2 Srivijaya On the other hand, according to the
membership of the United Nations, at
present, the number of sovereign states is 206.That means; people are now more detached due to their increasing ability to survive alone. Therefore, they like to stay free in every sector of life like personal, social, political, whatever...
Thus the concept of city state is back again. And already we have observed the demo of it through the falls of former Soviet Union, establishment of East Timor. In India ,Telengana acquired its identity as the separate statehood on 2 June 2014.Now Scotland is struggling to become an Independent sovereign State.
Photo:Collected After the successful journey of EU, some think tanks dreamt of one Europe as an empire. But that dream has broken too early by "BREXIT".
2.Civilized (Adult)stage/ Society:
Hanging Garden of Babylon :sites.google.com
This is the mother or final stage when continental drifts turns into Pangaea /super continent. During this era, not only the lands are tied with, but also the humans. They would realize the negative sides of extreme freedom. Bitter experience of 'teen level' inspires them to call back the empire system.
Maya Civilization : www.ancient.eu
And this time they become more united, a true 'nation state'. Though they don't get back their 'kid's level' innocence, they achieve all the criteria of a perfect civilization. After all they are adult now! And then this civilization dies like the previous one. Thus, a generation of earth crust and a human society -both ends.
Ancient Greek city states. Credit:simplebooklet.com This is neither the first time of continent drifting, nor the second times for pangaea. Supercontinent created and broke million times already. Our time is passing the teen level. No chances to see the adulthood. Therefore, now our concentration should be kept on city states; rather than the empirical one. We have to prepare ourselves to face the upcoming changes. Era of Plato, Aristotle is coming back soon!
Copyright © 2016 by Rumana Reza