Who was emperor before Caesar. Gaius Julius Caesar - Roman politician and general

Slavery in ancient Greece had a military origin, there was no bonded slavery, and there was a production use of slaves. The economy of ancient states is the economy of cities of states (polises). Ancient Greece had a military nature of the reproduction of labor force, the political system was a military democracy. That is, people served in the kind of troops in which prosperity allowed. The bulk - middle-class people - served in the infantry; the rich - in the cavalry (or equipped ships); the poor, armed with what was at their disposal (darts, stones) participated in hostilities, a citizen of the policy and the owner of a plot of land could only be wars.

The Athenian type of economy, common in ancient Greece, is characterized as handicraft.

The total participation of all citizens in hostilities gradually led to changes in economic life. The ancient military system (phalanx) ensured ancient reproduction, but at the same time this system absorbed the free peasantry. Peasants who could not cultivate their land went bankrupt and left for the city.

In ancient Greece, in Athens, the use of slaves in handicraft production prevailed, since the land was not suitable enough for agriculture. Bad roads and a lack of food led to the development of foreign trade. Since the population was regulated in the policies, the surplus population had to immigrate. This process was carried out in three directions: to the south (North Africa), to the east (the Black Sea region), to the west (to Spain). This process is called the great Greek colonization.

In Greece, the money-changing business developed, since each policy had its own coin. The changers were called refectories, and the offices of the exchange of meals themselves. Meals are the prototype of a bank, since in addition to the exchange, they also paid for goods, accepted deposits, and issued loans. In general, commodity-money relations in Ancient Greece depended on the influx of slaves, and when the flow began to decline, an economic crisis began.

8. The development of the economy of Ancient Rome: the main features and features

The periodization of the history of Ancient Rome is based on the forms of government, which in turn reflected the socio-political situation: from royal rule at the beginning of history to an empire-dominance at its end.

Periods of the history of Ancient Rome:

8th-6th c. BC e. royal Rome;

6-1 c. BC e. republic;

1 in. BC e. - 1 in. n. e. empire;

395 AD e. the collapse of the Roman Empire into western and eastern (the latter existed until 1453).

Tsarist period: there was no monarchical state. Roman "kings" are military leaders. The social system of Rome of this period is a military democracy.

In the VI century. BC e. the state emerges. The period of the republic begins. Rome of this period is a city-state, similar to the Greek policy. During the wars of conquest, Rome subjugated other Italian states. The defeated peoples recognized their dependence on Rome, but were not included in the Roman policy.

The Roman Republic was aristocratic - power remained in the hands of the tribal aristocracy. With economic development, urban economy, craft and trade appeared, and with them the “new rich”, who sought to share power with the old Roman nobility, to get into its ranks. Separate parts of Italy are gradually merging into one state. However, political and property rights remain in the hands of citizens only of the Roman polis - Quirites -> social tension and political conflicts.

The decisive force is the army. Warlords seize power in the country and turn into emperors. In the 1st century BC e. The Roman Republic is replaced by an empire that lasted until the 5th century. n. e.

The leading branch of the economy is agriculture. Fertile soils and mild climate provided high yields. The rapid rise of agriculture in the II-I centuries. BC e. can be explained by three reasons:

widespread introduction of slavery,

the development of simple commodity production,

the transition from small-scale farming to large-scale production.

The dominant type of economy is a large slave-owning estate, carrying out commodity production and subsistence farming at the same time. Also, the distribution of land in small plots for rent to landless and land-poor free tenants - columns.

The concentration of land, the spread of private property, the development of crafts, trade, money circulation, the emergence of a commodity economy required cheap labor. It was difficult to force a free small proprietor to work, who sought equality and was endowed with a plot of land. Such a labor force could be a slave deprived of all rights and property, received from outside. This explains the aggressiveness of Rome, its endless wars, mass robbery and enslavement of the conquered population. Successful wars contributed to an abundant influx of slaves, the growth and introduction of slavery.

The use of slave labor destroyed the subsistence economy. In II-I centuries. BC e. landowners and artisans sought not only to obtain a larger surplus product, but also to sell it in cash. All this caused an increase in the exploitation of slaves, who turned into the main commodity producer.

As a result, the number of slaves constantly increased. They became the most numerous class of Roman society. Slavery spread in agriculture, mining, metallurgy, and construction. The labor of free or semi-independent workers was still used, but played a subordinate role.

In II-III centuries. n. e. came the crisis of the slave system.

9. "Antique" model of economic development: main features and peculiarities.

The ancient model is a model in which personally free individuals independently carry out economic activities, bear full responsibility for the results of this activity, and have the opportunity to exchange these results on the market with minimal state intervention.

Peculiarities:

· The ancient city-state (polis) arose as a result of the fact that society split into full-fledged citizens and everyone else (including slaves). An early form of the state emerged.

· New social relations were formed, in which the state is an instrument in the hands of its citizens. The main thing is the rights of a citizen, they are not subject to doubt and are sacred, including the right to private property.

· The emergence of complex systems of ideas and institutions, the legal registration of the rights and obligations of citizens. Society and the economy, based on the personal initiative of a prosperous owner, began to develop rapidly. A free and administratively unregulated market put forward its own demands, provided new opportunities for enterprising people.

Features:

· Geographical area: Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome (profitable EGP).

· Fundamentals of the economy: Agriculture, cattle breeding, crafts. The property of the slave owners in the slave, in the product of his labor.

· Nature of the economy: Subsistence economy. Significant development of simple commodity production and market relations (especially external ones).

· Main productive force: Slave. The peasant community is preserved. The craft is predominantly in the cities.

· Nature of slavery: Antique slavery. The high proportion of slaves in the total population. Slave labor - in all spheres of the economy and management.

10. The crisis of the "ancient" model of economic development: causes, essence and consequences.

1. Dominance in the economy of small private farms

2. Formation of a special group of feudally dependent peasants

3. Class struggle

4. Economic and political fragmentation

5. Activation of the barbarians

6. New religions that helped strengthen the power of the new land magnates

Essence:

1. Poor community productivity

2. The decline of state farms

3. Difficulties in expanding the production of small farms and independent policies

4. Insufficient political protection in international relations

5. Excessive centralization of power

Effects:

1. Gradual relocation of private slave farms to cities

2. Nationalization of most of the rural territory

3. Emergence of self-governing farms within large states

4. Economic decline

5. Development of land ownership independent of the community

6. Decomposition of the community

7. The decline of the cities-centers of commodity slave farms

1. The economic development of the Greek lands in the III-II millennium BC. e.

Socio-economic structure

2. Economic development in the XI-VI centuries. BC e.

Sectoral structure of the economy

Land property. Organization of production

Money relations

3. Greek economy of the classical period (V-IV centuries BC)

Sectoral structure of the economy

Organization of production

Money relations

The role of the state in economic life

New phenomena in the economy of Greece IV century. BC.

4. Economic development in the era of Hellenism (late IV-I centuries BC)

Introduction:

About five thousand years ago, in the south of the Balkan Peninsula and its surrounding islands in the eastern Mediterranean, a culture was born that was destined to play the greatest role in the history of mankind - the culture of the ancient Greeks, or Hellenes. Greece never aspired to dominance in the world, its inhabitants took part in only a few historical battles, and few of the Greek generals managed to gain great fame. For more than the last two millennia, this people has been under the rule of foreign conquerors, and only a century and a half ago Greece regained its independence and appeared on the map as an independent state.

It would seem that Greece in the past was no different from its neighbors - neither a special political role, nor any exceptional natural conditions. However, it was here that two and a half millennia ago culture reached such a flowering that for many centuries seemed unattainable.

This country played a special role on the political and economic map of that time. Its internal economic system and external economic relations deserve detailed study and may be of interest from the point of view of modern economics.

Economic development of the Greek lands inIII- IIthousand BC e.

III-II millennium BC e. in Greece is commonly referred to as the Bronze Age. During this period, bronze tools spread both on the islands of the Aegean Sea and on the mainland, contributing to the acceleration of economic development and the creation of the first states. During the III millennium BC. e. the most developed were the Cyclades, located in the southern part of the Aegean Sea. From the beginning of the II millennium BC. e. the island of Crete, located at the crossroads of ancient sea routes, becomes the most influential among others. The Cretan (or Minoan) civilization reached its peak around the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e.

The development of mainland Greece in the III millennium BC. e. went not so fast, however, in some coastal areas, already in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. e. evolved cultures.

Sectoral structure of the economy

During the III millennium BC. e. significant progress is achieved by metallurgy and ceramic production, where from about the 23rd century. BC e. the potter's wheel began to be used. In agriculture, the leading position is occupied by the so-called Mediterranean triad: cereals (especially barley), grapes, olives.

Most active in the III and the first half of the II millennium BC. e. the Greek islands developed, on which maritime crafts, trade, crafts, including art, are of particular importance. Cycladic sailors maintained contact with the lands located in the basins of the Aegean and Adriatic Seas, reached the shores of Spain and the Danube.

The basis of the economy of Crete and the Achaean states was agriculture, the leading industry of which was agriculture, however, animal husbandry (especially sheep breeding) played an important role. Among the crafts, metallurgy and ceramic production were of primary importance. Crete and the Achaean states maintained foreign trade relations with Egypt, Cyprus, the Eastern Mediterranean; Raw materials and some luxury items were mainly imported from these regions, mainly ceramics, metal products, including weapons, were exported. In addition, the Achaeans developed trade with the peoples who inhabited the north of the Balkan Peninsula, with Italy, Sicily, and also with the western coast of Asia Minor.

Socio-economic structure

The basis of the socio-economic structure of Crete and the Achaean states were palaces - huge complexes that included residential and religious premises, many storerooms and workshops. It is difficult to judge land relations in Crete due to the lack of sources, however, most likely, the lands were in communal and state ownership. In addition, it can be assumed that temple and private farms also existed on state land. In the Achaean states, the palaces disposed of all land, which was divided into two main categories: public land (partially owned by territorial communities, partly allocated for the performance of any work) and land owned by individuals. Both categories of land were quite actively leased out, including to slaves, but a slave could not become the owner of the land. Slaves, as in Crete, were relatively few, most belonged to the palace, and, in addition, to private individuals and temples. Free community members were mainly employed in production.

All categories of the free population (nobility, community members, etc.) were in varying degrees dependent on the palace. The king was at the head of the state, but the real control was in the hands of the palace administration.

Almost all groups of the population and, above all, territorial communities were taxed on various types of products. Some social groups were exempted from paying taxes, mainly playing a special role in the existence of the state (blacksmiths, rowers, warriors).

Foreign economic activity was probably controlled by the kings, in Crete, special attention was paid to the security of trade, the fight against pirates.

Conclusion:

Thus, the basis of economic life in this period was the palace economy. The lands were palace, private and communal. The agricultural population was subject to natural and labor duties in favor of the palaces.

The palace thus performed universal functions. It was both an administrative and religious center, the main granary, workshop and trading post. In more advanced societies, cities played such a role.

So, in a different and independent way from the countries of the Ancient East, class society and the state were formed in the ancient world. The slave-owning system that developed in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome differed significantly from ancient Eastern slavery both in a relatively higher level of development of productive forces and in more mature slave-owning production relations.

Since Ancient Greece was not a single state, we give the following periodization of the economic history of Ancient Greece:

Crete-Mycenaean period (XIX-XII centuries BC);
the Homeric period (XII-VIII centuries BC);
the era of colonization and the formation of slave-owning states (VIII-VI centuries BC);
the heyday of ancient Greece (VI-IV centuries BC);
Hellenistic period (III-II centuries BC).

The basis of the economy of Crete was agriculture. In Crete at the beginning of the III millennium BC. e. used a plow, grew wheat, barley, beans, lentils, peas, flax, saffron. The Cretans were even then good gardeners and were famous for their harvests of olives and grapes, figs and dates. Cattle breeding was also developed in Crete (large and small cattle, pigs, poultry). The main occupation of most of the Cretans was fishing.

The Cretans carried on a lively trade with many countries and regions of the Mediterranean: Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Sicily, Cyprus, the Black Sea regions, southern France and Italy.

Starting from the XV century. BC e. the decline of the Cretan slave society. Slavery in the Mycenaean era had not yet acquired much development. Slaves were not yet a class.

Under the influence of property stratification, clans began to break up into large patriarchal families with hereditary private land ownership, which later grew into private land ownership.

The communities of the Homeric period settled in fortified cities, the economy of which was based on agriculture and cattle breeding (horse breeding, pig breeding), cattle breeding. The handicraft had not yet separated from agriculture, and the exchange of products was still in its infancy (the exchange of surpluses).

Slavery was patriarchal. There was no contempt for work: even tribal leaders grazed cattle and plowed. Slave labor was little used. In general, this is a period of gradual formation of economic prerequisites for the formation of classes and the state.

The positions of the leader of the tribe - the basileus (king), the elders of the clans and their associations from elected ones turned into hereditary ones, although the functions of these persons were limited only to military and judicial power.

In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. the first slave-owning city-states (polises) began to form.

At this time, the craft finally separated from agriculture. Mining, blacksmithing, foundry, shipbuilding, ceramic production, trade began to develop, and minted coins appeared. Under the influence of the development of productive forces and trade, the ancient Greeks began the conquest and colonization of new lands, which were carried out in three main directions:

to the northeast, i.e. to the Black Sea;
to the west, to Sicily and the south of the Apennine Peninsula;
south to Egypt and the coast of North Africa.

As a result, the so-called Greek world was created, in which the colonial outskirts played the role of suppliers of slaves and food for the metropolises - the ancient Greek states. Of all the Greek states, Athens and Sparta were the most powerful.

The occupation of the Spartans was the war, and in peacetime - continuous and tireless preparation for it. Physical labor was considered humiliating. The perieks were engaged in craft and trade, paying taxes to the Spartan state.

In terms of economic development, Sparta was one of the most backward states of ancient Greece. The main branches of the economy were primitive agriculture and cattle breeding. The labor force was slaves who cultivated grapes, olives, barley, wheat and other crops. Craft and trade were in their infancy. Sparta is characterized by a complete underdevelopment of exchange and monetary circulation: the Spartans used iron plates instead of money, which were not accepted in neighboring regions.

Agriculture in Athens was undeveloped due to the infertility of the soil. Food was bought in exchange for handicrafts. In the middle of the 5th century BC e. Athens, exploiting other Greek states, reached its highest peak. They became the political and economic center of all Greece, turning into a trading city of world importance. The Athenian port of Piraeus dominated the trade of the entire Mediterranean. Through Piraeus, the products of Greek cities were exported - wines, olive oil, various handicrafts, metals.

Goods from many countries arrived in Piraeus: iron and copper - from Italy, bread - from Sicily and the Black Sea region, ivory - from Africa, spices and luxury goods - from the countries of the East. The grain trade was under the control of the state. Slaves were a major import item. The main means of replenishing the labor force for the Greek policies at that time was the slave trade.

Along with trade, usury developed, which was carried out by the owners of change shops - refectories.

With the variety of coins circulating in the Greek world, the exchange of money was important for trade. Trapezit also carried out transfer operations and took money for safekeeping. Large usurious operations were carried out by temples.

The victory of Greece in the Greco-Persian wars (500-449 BC) contributed to the final establishment of the slave system in Athens and other Greek policies. The capture of huge booty and a mass of prisoners strengthened the economic position of Athens. It was from this period that the widespread displacement of free labor by cheaper labor of slaves began. Ancient Greece entered the heyday of the slave-owning society.

In the 5th century BC e. The development of the Greek economy was characterized by significant unevenness. Craft and trade developed relatively early only in part of the Greek policies, while in the remaining areas (Boeotia, Thessaly, Laconia, or Sparta, Argolis) primitive agriculture and cattle breeding dominated.

Among the implements of agricultural production appear a harrow with wooden teeth, a threshing board and a roller. The beginnings of ancient agronomy appear as a systematic generalization of the practical experience of ancient agriculture (the agronomic treatise of Theophrastus).

In the most fertile regions of Greece, agriculture developed with a predominance of grain crops: wheat, barley, spelled. Orchards, vineyards, and olive groves were cultivated in the marginal areas of European Greece. The islands of Chios, Lesvos, Rhodes and Thasos were the birthplace of the best wines in Greece. The population of Boeotia, Etolia, Arcadia and other areas was engaged in cattle breeding (cattle, horses, donkeys, mules, goats, sheep, pigs were bred).

In agriculture, the labor of slaves, as well as the conquered population, was widely used.

The main organizational unit of handicraft production in Greece was a small slave-owning workshop - er-gasterium, where slave owners sometimes worked along with slaves. The tool was primitive, there were no elements of the technical division of labor.

Slave labor was widely used in mining and construction. The most important branch of the Athenian craft was the production of pottery, which was one of the export goods.

The growth of the military and political power of Athens contributed to the development of shipbuilding. The construction of the navy was led by the state.

After the Greco-Persian wars, the development of commodity production and commodity circulation accelerated. The Greek states gained freedom of trade and navigation in a large area of the Mediterranean basin. The Greek cities with a high level of handicraft production - Miletus, Corinth, Chalkis, as well as the island of Aegina - became the centers of maritime trade. In the middle of the 5th century BC e. The largest trading harbor on the Aegean was the Athenian port of Piraeus, whose trade was mainly of an intermediary nature: goods were resold here and sent to their destination.

During great festivities, special fairs were held at the temples. The fairs at the Greek Temple of Apollo at Delphi were very popular.

Usury was engaged in the owners of change shops (meals) - refectory. The role of bankers in the financial transactions of the Greek world was played by temples, where huge amounts of money flowed in the form of gifts and donations. The temples carried out lending operations, lending not only to private individuals, but also to entire Greek policies.

Formative approach

According to the formational approach, which was represented by K. Marx, F. Engels, V.I. Lenin and others, society in its development passes through certain successive stages - socio-economic formations - primitive communal, slave-owning, feudal, capitalist and communist. Socio-economic formation is a historical type of society based on a certain mode of production. Mode of production includes productive forces and production relations. To productive forces include the means of production and people with their knowledge and practical experience in the field of economics. Means of production, in turn, include objects of labor(what is processed in the labor process - land, raw materials, materials) and means of labor(that with which the objects of labor are processed - tools, equipment, machinery, production facilities). Relations of production- these are relations that arise in the process of production and depend on the form of ownership of the means of production.

The formational approach proceeds from the fact that the development of society, various countries and peoples goes through certain stages: the primitive communal system, the slave system, feudalism, capitalism and communism. This process is based on the changes taking place in the sphere of production. Supporters of the formational approach believe that the leading role in social development is played by historical patterns, objective laws, within which a person acts. Society is steadily moving along the path of progress, since each subsequent socio-economic formation is more progressive than the previous one. Progress is associated with the improvement of the productive forces and production relations.

Civilization approach

Among them, two main varieties can be distinguished.

Theories of the staged development of civilization(K. Jaspers, P. Sorokin, W. Rostow, O. Toffler and others) consider civilization as a single process of the progressive development of mankind, in which certain stages (stages) are distinguished.

Rostow created the theory of stages of economic growth:

1) Traditional society. Agrarian societies with primitive technology, the predominance of agriculture in the economy, the class structure and the power of large landowners.

2) Transitional society. Agricultural production is growing, a new type of activity is emerging - entrepreneurship and a new type of enterprising people. Centralized states are being formed, national self-consciousness is being strengthened.

3) The “shift” stage. Industrial revolutions are taking place, followed by socio-economic and political transformations.

4) Stage of "maturity". A scientific and technological revolution is underway, the importance of cities and the size of the urban population are growing.

5) The era of "high mass consumption". There is a significant growth in the service sector, the production of consumer goods and their transformation into the main sector of the economy.

Theories of local civilizations(N.Ya. Danilevsky, A. Toynbee):

Civilization is a closed society, characterized by a set of defining features (the selection criteria are religion, the form of its organization and a territorial feature), each civilization has a certain cultural and creative core, around which the forms of spiritual life, socio-political and economic organization inherent in this civilization are built.

Toynbee believed that the driving forces of civilization were: a challenge thrown to civilization from the outside (unfavorable geographical position, lagging behind other civilizations, military aggression); response of civilization as a whole to this challenge; activities of great people, talented individuals.

There is a creative minority that leads the inert majority to respond to the challenges posed by civilization. At the same time, the inert majority tends to “extinguish”, to absorb the energy of the minority. This leads to the cessation of development, stagnation. Thus, each civilization goes through certain stages: the birth, growth, breakdown and disintegration, culminating in death and the complete disappearance of civilization.

Toynbee identifies 21 civilizations: Egyptian, Andean, Chinese, Minoan, Sumerian, Mayan, Indian, Hellenic, Western, Orthodox Christian (in Russia), Far Eastern (in Korea and Japan), Iranian, Arabic, Hindu, Mexican, Yucatan and Babylonian.

Variants of periodization of economic history

There are three theories of periodization of economic history:

1) The theory of historical circulation. It proceeds from the fact that the history of mankind is in a constant cycle. Peoples first rise, then return to a barbaric state. (Represented by Giacombatisto Vico)

2) The theory of civilizations. Representatives of Toynbee and Danilevsky believed that the history of mankind is a set of isolated civilizations, each of which goes through the same stages: emergence, growth, decay and death.

3) Karl Marx. Formation theory of Marx. He identifies five socio-economic formations that almost every country in the world went through: primitive communal, slave-owning, feudal, capitalist, communist.

3. Primitive communal model of economic development: the main stages of formation and features.

signs:

Low level of development of productive forces and their slow improvement

Collective appropriation of natural resources and production results

Equal distribution, social equality

Absence of private property, exploitation, classes and state

Low rates of development of society.

Stages:

Paleolithic (ancient stone age) - 3 million - 12 thousand years BC

Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) - 12 - 8 thousand years BC

Neolithic (new stone age) - 8 - 3 thousand years BC.

1-Early Paleolithic (before 100 thousand years BC). Pithecanthropus, Sinanthropus, Neanderthals - gathering, fishing and driven hunting.

2-Middle Paleolithic (ended 40 thousand years ago). Cro-Magnon man along with Neanderthals. articulate speech. Getting fire. Stone technology.

3-Late Paleolithic (ended in the XII millennium BC). Matriarchy. public bans. A simple appropriating economy is hunting, fishing and gathering. The level of stone technology has increased. Labor as simple cooperation without division. Everything is collectively owned. Labor distribution of prey. Exchange between communities.

4-Mesolithic (XII-VIII thousand BC). Individual hunting. Improving weapons, the appearance of the bow. New methods in fishing. Lightening the weight and reducing the volume of stone tools. Appropriating economy of lower hunters, gatherers and fishermen. The principle of collectivization. Boat use. Exploration of new lands. Several of the closest clans began to unite into a tribe. Patriarchy.

5-Neolithic (VIII-IV millennium BC). The first social division of labor into agricultural and pastoral. Then the second social division of labor - the separation of craft from agriculture - the individualization of labor, the emergence and development of private property. The first craft is pottery. "Neolithic Revolution" - the emergence of new technology, forms of production and lifestyle, the development of new territories and their effective use. The origin of the exchange - because. there were surpluses of agricultural and handicraft industries. Transition to a sedentary lifestyle.

6-Eneolithic (4-3 thousand BC). The appearance of metal - copper, gold, bronze. The system of irrigated and plow farming, increasing property inequality.

4. "Neolithic Revolution": causes, essence and consequences.

Essence:

The emergence of new technology, forms of production, the development of new territories by man and their more efficient use were of a radical nature. This is the Neolithic revolution - the transition of mankind from existence through hunting and gathering to life through agriculture.

Causes:

A sharp rise in temperature on the planet between the 11th and 9th millennium BC. e. –> decrease in the number of animals -> a person had to learn how to cultivate cereals and raise livestock in captivity, which brought much more benefits with less labor. As a result, an increase in the population.

Effects:

Improvement of productive forces (use of metal at the end of the Eneolithic), commodity production, social division of labor. Its individualization. The emergence of surplus production, the emergence of exchange, the formation of market relations. The emergence of private property.

5. "Eastern" model of economic development: main features and features.

"Asian mode of production" - a term introduced by K. Marx, characterizes the essence of the socio-economic development of Eastern (non-European) societies.

The Asian mode of production was the basis of the first class socio-economic formation that arose for the first time in the East at the end of the 4th millennium BC. and existed there until the end of the second millennium AD.

The Eastern (Asian) model of economic development is characterized by the following traits:

1. Slaves did not constitute the main productive force of society, i.e. the production of material goods in agriculture and crafts was carried out by people who were considered free.

2. The land was not in private, but in state or state-communal ownership.

3. Between the state and the community-farmers, relations of servitude have developed - the absence of rights with the unconditional performance of duties in favor of the state.

4. The state in the East acquired the form of "oriental despotism", i.e. complete lack of rights of subjects in the face of the state. That is why this type of society is called the "society of eastern slavery".,

5. The communities were resilient, which was due to the need to create and maintain an irrigation system for agriculture.

6. The economy was conservative, which led society to stagnation.

Peculiarities:

In the Ancient East, before the rest of the world, a rather high material culture began to flourish (favorable climatic conditions), it was possible to obtain a significant surplus product with a low level of agricultural technology and the expenditure of small human resources. As a result, people have free time and the opportunity to devote themselves not only to obtaining food. There is a division of society into classes.

The state in Eastern society owns everything, effective centralized control over society is exercised. Involvement in power gives privileges.

The Asiatic mode of production is built, in contrast to the slave-owning one, on the exploitation not of slaves, but of community members. The number of slaves is very small, they are used not in large-scale commodity production, but as servants. There are also few artisans and merchants, and besides, trade is less developed compared to the slave system.

Under the Asiatic mode of production, two most important classes can be distinguished: the peasantry and the bureaucracy. The peasantry is formally free, but the impossibility of selling land and certain duties in favor of the state resemble feudal dependence.

The vast majority of inhabitants of the states of the Ancient East were employed in the structure of agriculture. But land without water was of no value. Irrigation systems were the property of the state. Work on the creation of such systems required large human resources. Communal labor service soon turned into a state one. Thus, the state subjugated the communal farmers, and they practically ceased to be free. They were used in the creation of complex irrigation systems, in the construction of temples and other cyclopean structures. Unlike slaves, this was a gratuitous labor force that did not have to be fed and clothed. Their labor could be used very wastefully.

Economically, these countries almost did not develop. This is called eastern stagnation. The main reason for stagnation was that the interests of the individual were subordinated to the public. The interests of the community, caste, state. Any entrepreneurial initiative was suppressed, which is impossible without the free disposal of property.

The main features of the economic development of Ancient Greece.

The Athenian type of economy, common in ancient Greece, is characterized as handicraft.

7. The development of the economy of Ancient Rome: the main features and features.

Periods of the history of Ancient Rome:

8th-6th c. BC e. royal Rome;

6-1 c. BC e. republic;

1 in. BC e. - 1 in. n. e. empire;

395 AD e. the collapse of the Roman Empire into western and eastern (the latter existed until 1453).

Tsarist period: there was no monarchical state. Roman "kings" are military leaders. The social system of Rome of this period is a military democracy.

The leading branch of the economy is agriculture. Fertile soils and mild climate provided high yields. The rapid rise of agriculture in the II-I centuries. BC e. can be explained by three reasons:

widespread introduction of slavery,

the development of simple commodity production,

the transition from small-scale farming to large-scale production.

In II-III centuries. n. e. came the crisis of the slave system.

8. The crisis of the "antique" model of economic development: causes, essence and consequences.

1. Dominance in the economy of small private farms

2. Formation of a special group of feudally dependent peasants

3. Class struggle

4. Economic and political fragmentation

5. Activation of the barbarians

6. New religions that helped strengthen the power of the new land magnates

Essence:

1. Poor community productivity

2. The decline of state farms

3. Difficulties in expanding the production of small farms and independent policies

4. Insufficient political protection in international relations

5. Excessive centralization of power

Effects:

1. Gradual relocation of private slave farms to cities

2. Nationalization of most of the rural territory

3. Emergence of self-governing farms within large states

4. Economic decline

5. Development of land ownership independent of the community

6. Decomposition of the community

7. The decline of the cities-centers of the commodity slave economy

9. The main types and features of the feudal economic model.

The main moments in the birth of the feudal mode of production were the transformation of free producers of material goods and slaves into feudally dependent peasants and the formation of large feudal land ownership. These processes were prepared by feudal tendencies that arose in the process of the decomposition of the primitive communal system and ancient society.

The feudal system was formed on the following principles:

· the dominance of large landed property and the monopoly of the feudal lords;

direct producer - a peasant leads an independent individual farm on land received from the feudal lord for temporary or hereditary use;

non-economic coercion, which is a form of dependence of the direct commodity producer on the feudal lord;

rent relations, in-kind form of payments - corvée, dues;

· class incomplete rights of peasants (dependencies);

Dominance of subsistence farming and small-scale production; the predominance of the agricultural sector of the economy;

primitive level of technology used in production (individual production skills are of particular importance);

class character of society;

the hierarchical structure of the feudal estate;

corporate relations.

Feudal systems evolved unevenly in different parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The process of development of feudalism in each country had significant regional characteristics, which allows us to speak of different types of feudal systems.

Main types of feudal systems:

· European feudalism;

eastern feudalism.

European feudalism is the result of the implementation of three types of development of feudalism:

· Birth directly from the primitive communal system of barbarians, bypassing the stage of a developed slave-owning society. In Europe, an example of this option is England, Scandinavia, Zareinskaya Germany, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic.

· Emergence on the basis of feudal relations maturing within the slave-owning society, formed at the last stage of the development of the primitive communal system of the barbarians. This type of genesis of feudalism found its embodiment in Northern Gaul, among a number of South Slavic peoples.

· The emergence on the basis of the synthesis of elements of late antique society with feudal relations that were formed in barbarian societies, with a clear predominance of ancient principles. This path was characteristic of Byzantium, Italy, Southern Gaul, Visigothic Spain.

Eastern feudalism developed on the basis of the Asiatic mode of production. Its main features:

the predominance of state feudal land ownership;

· Preservation of specific forms of communal organization of the peasantry;

special forms of organization of the feudal estate;

a high degree of state centralization.

10. Formation and development of the feudal economy in Western Europe: stages and main directions.

The feudal society of the Middle Ages in its development passed three main steps:

· Early Middle Ages (V-X centuries). During this period, the first shoots of feudalism appeared: the land was concentrated in the upper strata of society; formed a layer of dependent peasantry

· Developed feudalism (XI-XV centuries) - the period of maturity of the feudal economy. Characterized by the formation of feudal cities, the development of the domestic market, commodity production.

· Late Middle Ages (late XV-mid XVIII centuries) - the era of the decomposition of feudal society, a market economy is emerging.

Features of the eastern slave-owning mode of production

Features of the ancient Eastern slavery should be considered on the example of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Babylon, India, China. Using the example of the development of the economy of these states, their social system and culture, it is possible to generalize the features of the eastern slave-owning mode of production, which led to the extreme slowness and comparative stagnation in the development of the economy:

1. Slavery was patriarchal, domestic in nature, and slaves were not the main productive force of society.

2. The number of slaves is small, they belonged mainly to the state. The main sources of replenishment of slaves were wars, debt bondage, the patriarchal family and piracy.

3. The community peasants remained the main productive force of society, and the rural community was the main production unit in agriculture.

4. The form of production relations can be defined as semi-slave, semi-patriarchal.

5. Commodity production is just beginning to appear.

6. Trade was primitive, barter due to the dominance of subsistence farming.

7. The form of the ancient Eastern states is a typical despotism, the material basis of which is the supreme ownership of the land.

8. Long-term preservation of the survivals of the primitive communal system, that is, the system of closed communities, economically isolated from each other.

9. Weak development of the institution of private property (the community was the original owner of the land and slaves).

10. Obligations towards the community become a form of exploitation of community members by the state.

Topic: Ancient slave societies

Class society and the state in the ancient world were formed in a different and independent way from the countries of the Ancient East. The slave-owning system that developed in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome differed significantly from ancient Eastern slavery both in a relatively higher level of development of productive forces and in more mature slave-owning production relations.

Since Ancient Greece was not a single state, the generally accepted periodization of its history is not entirely acceptable for this course. In this case, we give the following periodization of the economic history of Ancient Greece:

Crete-Mycenaean period (XIX-XII centuries BC);

Homeric period (XII-VIII centuries BC);

The era of colonization and the formation of slave states (VIII-VI centuries BC);

The heyday of ancient Greece (VI-IV centuries BC);

Hellenistic period (III-II centuries BC).

Crete was famous for its artisans who made products from ivory, clay, faience, wood and produced various types of weapons. Bronze was used to make household items and craft tools. From gold and silver, Cretan artisans made luxury items, religious accessories for kings, nobility and priesthood. The Cretans carried on a lively trade with many countries and regions of the Mediterranean: Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Sicily, Cyprus, the Black Sea regions, southern France and Italy.

Starting from the XV century. BC e. the decline of the Cretan slave society. Slavery in the Mycenaean era had not yet acquired much development. Slaves were not yet a class.

The Homeric period in the history of ancient Greece is a transitional period - the decomposition of the primitive communal system and the formation of a slave-owning society (XII-VIII centuries BC). This period was characterized by the presence of tribal communities,
within which there was inequality. Under the influence of property stratification, clans began to break up into large patriarchal families with hereditary private land ownership, which later grew into private land ownership. The communities of the Homeric period settled in fortified cities, the economy of which was based on agriculture and cattle breeding (horse breeding, pig breeding), cattle breeding. The handicraft had not yet separated from agriculture, and the exchange of products was still in its infancy (the exchange of surpluses). Slavery was patriarchal. There was no contempt for work: even tribal leaders grazed cattle and plowed. Slave labor was little used. In general, this is a period of gradual formation of economic prerequisites for the formation of classes and the state. The positions of the leader of the tribe - the basileus (king), the elders of the clans and their associations from elected ones turned into hereditary ones, although the functions of these persons were limited only to military and judicial power.

In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. the first slave-owning city-states (polises) began to form. At this time, the craft finally separated from agriculture. Mining, blacksmithing, foundry, shipbuilding, ceramic production, trade began to develop, and minted coins appeared. Under the influence of the development of productive forces and trade, the ancient Greeks began the conquest and colonization of new lands. As a result, the so-called Greek world was created, in which the colonial outskirts played the role of suppliers of slaves and food for the metropolises - the ancient Greek states. Of all the Greek states, Athens and Sparta were the most powerful.

Sparta arose 200 years earlier than Athens and was a vivid example of an aristocratic slave state. The population of Sparta was divided into three main groups: Spartans (full-fledged community members), perieks (personally free, but politically disenfranchised) and helots (dependent rural population, slaves of the entire Spartan community). The occupation of the Spartans was the war, and in peacetime - continuous and tireless preparation for it. Physical labor was considered humiliating. The perieks were engaged in craft and trade, paying taxes to the Spartan state.

The rise of Athens (the main city of Attica) began in the 7th century. BC e., which was facilitated by both favorable natural conditions and the significant development of trade relations, the presence of silver and building materials. Agriculture in Athens was undeveloped due to the infertility of the soil. Food was bought in exchange for handicrafts. In the middle of the 5th century BC e. Athens, exploiting other Greek states, reached its highest peak. They became the political and economic center of all Greece, turning into a trading city of world importance. The Athenian port of Piraeus dominated the trade of the entire Mediterranean. Through Piraeus, the products of Greek cities were exported - wines, olive oil, various handicrafts, metals. Goods from many countries arrived in Piraeus: iron and copper - from Italy, bread - from Sicily and the Black Sea region, ivory - from Africa, spices and luxury goods - from the countries of the East. The grain trade was under the control of the state. Slaves were a major import item. The main means of replenishing the labor force for the Greek policies at that time was the slave trade.

Along with trade, usury developed, which was carried out by the owners of change shops - refectories. With the variety of coins circulating in the Greek world, the exchange of money was important for trade. Trapezit also carried out transfer operations and took money for safekeeping. Large usurious operations were carried out by temples.

The content of agrarian relations in almost all Greek cities is the struggle between large and small landownership. In the IV century. BC e. a three-field system is partially introduced in agriculture, fertilizers are applied. Among the implements of agricultural production appear a harrow with wooden teeth, a threshing board and a roller. The beginnings of ancient agronomy appear as a systematic generalization of the practical experience of ancient agriculture (the agronomic treatise of Theophrastus).

In agriculture, the labor of slaves, as well as the conquered population, was widely used.
The main organizational unit of handicraft production in Greece was a small slave-owning workshop - er-gasterium, where slave owners sometimes worked along with slaves. The tool was primitive, there were no elements of the technical division of labor.

An important place in the Greek economy was occupied by the mining and processing of metals. Of great importance in metallurgy were the production of coins, the manufacture of utensils and ornaments from non-ferrous metals. Slave labor was widely used in mining and construction. The most important branch of the Athenian craft was the production of pottery, which was one of the export goods.

Spinning and weaving in Greece in the 5th century. BC e. did not stand out as an independent craft and remained mainly branches of home production. However, in Athens there were special fuller workshops. The growth of the military and political power of Athens contributed to the development of shipbuilding. The construction of the navy was led by the state.

The internal trade of Ancient Greece was very limited due to the mountainous nature of the terrain, the poor condition of the roads, the almost complete absence of navigable rivers, and the constant wars between the Greek policies. Domestic trade was carried on mainly by small dealers and peddlers. During great festivities, special fairs were held at the temples. The fairs at the Greek Temple of Apollo at Delphi were very popular.

Money in the ancient Greek economy, on the one hand, was an intermediary of commercial transactions, and on the other hand, they themselves served as an object of trade. Trade in money (usury) was widespread in Greece in the 5th-4th centuries. BC e. Usury was engaged in the owners of change shops (meals) - refectory. The role of bankers in the financial transactions of the Greek world was played by temples, where huge amounts of money flowed in the form of gifts and donations. The temples carried out lending operations, lending not only to private individuals, but also to entire Greek policies.

So, the economy of ancient Greece was characterized by a relatively developed commodity production and commodity circulation. The basis of the ancient Greek economy was the exploitation of slaves. However, the heyday of Ancient Greece was at the same time a period of maturation of deep and sharp internal contradictions generated by the slave system. The ruined small producers, who replenished the lumpen proletariat, demanded food. Internal contradictions were resolved through external conquests through wars. The clash between Athens and Sparta, which led to the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), weakened Athens and its allies. Macedonia took advantage of the defeat of Athens and the weakening of the Greek states.

In the IV century. BC e. the Greek states were conquered by Alexander the Great, who founded a huge empire with its capital in Babylon. Lacking a solid economic base, the empire of A. Macedon disintegrated after his death. Nevertheless, the wars of this period were of great historical significance: thanks to them, a certain synthesis took place, a fusion of ancient and eastern forms of slavery and cultures. Alexander the Great made an attempt to introduce a single monetary system, encouraged the restoration of irrigation agriculture in the East. Many new cities sprang up. Wars and the need to improve military technology, especially shipbuilding, gave impetus to the development of various new crafts, science, and agriculture. The rudimentary forms of the three-field crop rotation system appeared, the tools of agricultural labor were improved, and agronomic knowledge began to be widely applied. In the cities, water pipes and sewerage were built, streets were paved.
The natural nature of production, the lack of economic community and the internal contradictions of the slave system led to the collapse of the empire. In the II century. BC e. Rome made an attempt to create a world power.