BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA City 125
City-State
Almost every modern city is part of a
country. In ancient times and in the
Middle Ages, however, there were cities
that were independent. They are known
as city-states. Each city-state governed
only itself and the surrounding countryside.
City-states date back to the earliest years
ofWestern civilization. Between 5000
BC and 2500 BC about a dozen citystates
arose in Mesopotamia (modernday
Iraq). After 2300 BC, however, these
city-states lost their independence and
were forced to become part of the Akkadian
Empire.
City-states developed again in ancient
Greece, where mountains separated
communities from each other. The
Greek city-states tried many kinds of
government. Athens is considered to be
the birthplace of democracy. Sparta was
a military stronghold ruled by kings.
Without lasting alliances, however, the
Greek city-states were too weak to resist
invaders. The Macedonians and later the
Romans conquered Greece, and most
city-states fell into ruin. Athens survives
today as a modern city.
City-states emerged again in Europe
during the Middle Ages. Venice, Florence,
Genoa, Amalfi, and other citystates
dominated the culture of what is
now Italy from the 1000s to the 1400s.
City-states also developed in what are
now northern Germany and Belgium.
They prospered from trade until they
lost their independence to larger kingdoms.
One modern country that is considered
a city-state is Singapore, which broke off
from Malaysia in 1965. Its unique
geography—a large island containing
one major city—allowed it to develop as
a self-governing city-state.
#More to explore
City • Greece, Ancient • Mesopotamia
• Singapore
Civilization
A civilization is a large group of people
who share certain advanced ways of living
and working. Civilizations came
about as humans started living in cities.
City people developed advanced forms
of culture and government. Eventually,
Venice and Genoa, now both in
Italy, were important city-states
during the Middle Ages. Sailors
used charts called portolans to
find these cities and others on
the Mediterranean Sea.
126 City-State BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
this advanced lifestyle spread to people
in large regions around cities.
How Civilizations Developed
The first civilizations developed in
regions where farmers grew enough food
to feed themselves and others. The
people who did not farm began to live
in larger villages, which grew into cities.
These people practiced arts and crafts
that they could trade for food. They
developed writing systems to keep track
of trade. They started transportation
networks to carry goods between farm
and city. City people also created governments
and laws. They developed
advanced religious practices as well.
Early Civilizations
The earliest civilizations developed in
river valleys because the land there was
good for farming. The world’s first civilization
formed in Mesopotamia. This
land was between the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers in what is now Iraq. People
first started settling there in about 4500
BC. The world’s second civilization
developed along the Nile River in about
2925 BC. It is now known as ancient
Egypt.
By about 2500 BC another ancient civilization
had formed in the valley of the
Indus River. This was located around
what is now the border between India
and Pakistan. Ancient Chinese civilization
developed by about the 1700s BC
around the Huang He, or Yellow River.
Later Civilizations
Since these beginnings many great civilizations
have risen and fallen. The
ancient Greeks and Romans built civilizations
in Europe. The Maya, Aztec, and
Inca formed civilizations in the Americas.
African peoples developed civilizations
centered around such cities as
Aksum and Great Zimbabwe. Arabs
created an Islamic civilization in the
Middle East and North Africa.
Today most people in the world belong
to a civilization. European and American
civilization is often calledWestern
civilization. African, Asian (or Eastern),
and other civilizations are sometimes
known as non-Western civilizations.
#More to explore
City • Culture • Egypt, Ancient
• Government • Indus Valley
Civilization • Mesopotamia
The word
civilization
comes from
the Latin word
civis, which
means “city
dweller.” Latin
was the language
of
ancient Rome.
A carving shows Hammurabi
(left), a king of Babylon. Babylon
was a part of the ancient civilization
that developed in Mesopotamia,
in what is now Iraq.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Civilization 127
Civil Rights
All people have certain rights. These are
often divided into human rights and
civil rights. Human rights include the
right to live as a free person, the right to
have shelter and food, and the right not
to be mistreated. These rights belong to
all humans just because they are human.
Civil rights are rights that are granted to
citizens by a government. For example,
governments may decide who can vote,
who can buy property, or who can be
educated.
The Development of Civil
Rights
The idea that governments should give
people certain rights is a modern one.
Before the 1700s groups of people sometimes
fought for better treatment from a
