fi rst king was Onjo (r. 18 b.c.e.–28 c.e.). Paekche was heavily
infl uenced by China, which had trading colonies in it. Th e
kingdom sometimes needed help defending itself against
Koguryo, and it was aided by the Japanese and sometimes
by Silla. Th e fi rst king of Silla was Hyokkose (r. 57 b.c.e.–3
c.e.). For much of its early history Silla was the weaker of the
three kingdoms.
In 372 c.e. the Chinese introduced Buddhism and Con-
fucianism to Koguryo. Buddhism’s infl uence spread to the
other two kingdoms, and the monarchs of the three king-
doms encouraged its adoption by their people, hoping that
Buddhism would help their kingdoms prosper by making
their societies more harmonious, as well as by repelling evil
spirits. Scholars from Paekche brought Confucianism to Ja-
pan, perhaps in the late 300s c.e.
JAPAN
Very little is known about the rulers of ancient Japan. Al-
though there were lists created during the Middle Ages
of monarchs going back to 660 b.c.e., Japanese historians
proved these to be false in the 1600s c.e. Some historians cite
Jimmu as the fi rst ruler of Japan because he is named in Japa-
nese mythology, but he did not exist. Th e fi rst ruler for whom
there is any evidence is Queen Himiko. She is found in sev-
eral Chinese records of her era, which note how she lived and
her relationship to China. She was China’s only important
ally in northeastern Asia and was a valued ally of the Chinese
kingdom Wei aft er the fall of the Han Dynasty.
Her exact dates have not been established, but Chinese
records show her active for a long time; she was probably alive
from the late 100s to the late 200s c.e. In 247 c.e. Himiko
asked her Chinese allies for help during a period of unrest in
her kingdom, and an ambassador named Zheng Zhang was
sent. Th e Chinese record her being succeeded by a man who,
in turn, was replaced by a 12-year-old girl. Like Himiko, she
was a sorceress, but little else is known about the young queen.
Even her name is in dispute, though it was probably Ichiyo.
During the reigns of Himiko and Ichiyo Japan moved
from illiteracy toward literacy. Th e extensive road building
that would connect the island of Honshu, north and south,
probably began during their era, and they probably intro-
duced Chinese building techniques for public buildings.
CEYLON (SRI LANKA)
It was probably the fi rst king in Ceylon, Dutthagamani (r.
second century b.c.e.), who established the capital of ancient
Ceylon in the city of Anuradhapura in the northern part of
the island. He and his successors were Buddhists, and they
were expected by their subjects to rule according to the Bud-
dha’s teachings of modesty and compassion. Th ey endured
invasions from southern India and were ruled by southern
Indian Tamils from 104 to 89 b.c.e. and again from 433 to
459 c.e. During the rule of King Dhatusena (r. 459–477 c.e.)
Ceylon was famed for its large ports, huge warehouses, and
cosmopolitan life.
EUROPE
BY KIRK H. BEETZ
Empires and dynasties did not emerge until relatively late in
ancient Europe. An empire is a state that not only controls the
territory that surrounds its capital but also seeks to expand its
territory by colonization or military conquest. Th us, the leader
of an empire is not just the king of his own territory but also the
emperor of a much larger realm. A dynasty is a succession of he-
reditary rulers, a royal line. Typically in the ancient world, the
rulers of kingdoms and empires passed their positions to their
sons (occasionally, to their daughters) upon their deaths. In the
chiefdoms, kingdoms, and small states of the Bronze and Iron
Ages aft er about 2000 b.c.e., hereditary leadership was probably
practiced, but not until the emergence of Imperial Rome and
the smaller states that formed around its periphery did a true
major European empire develop with its own dynasties along
with the royal lines of the kingdoms that existed on its borders.
Our knowledge of empires and dynasties in ancient Eu-
rope is limited by the sources available to historians. Some
modern accounts of the ancient world just skip the history of
Europe outside Greece and Italy, covering most of the rest of
the world without hinting at why Europe is missing. Some-
times a history of the ancient world will try to come to terms
with the problem: Ancient Europeans were illiterate until the
conquest by t he Roma ns f rom 58 to 50 c.e., mea ni ng t hat t hey
left no written histories of themselves. What little is known of
names of people and places comes from foreigners, mostly
Greeks, who visited them. Th us, kingdoms may have risen
and fallen, and kings and queens may have accomplished
great deeds, but their names are lost to history. Archaeology
can help, but without even written names, it cannot tell mod-
ern readers what the ancients called themselves or the names
they had for the lands in which they lived, unless a Greek or
Roman recorded the names, and surviving Greek or Roman
records provide only a little of the oral history of the Celts,
Germans, Slavs, and others who existed in most of Europe.
In the 1100s b.c.e. the Phoenicians began their centuries-
long exploration of the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of
Europe. Th ey brought back home silver, tin, exotic foods, and
other goods as well as information about the geography of Eu-
ropean coasts. In about 670 b.c.e. literacy returned to Greece
following a dark age aft er the collapse of the Mycenaean cul-
ture in about 1250 b.c.e. Th e Greeks adapted the Phoenician
alphabet to their own language and seem almost immediately
to have begun writing down everything they could remember
about themselves, their politics, their religion, and their his-
tory as well as whatever they could learn about other peoples.
Most of these writings have been lost, but they are sometimes
quoted in later writings that have survived. Th ere were other
cultures that developed written languages, notably the Etrus-
cans and the Romans, but most of Europe remained illiter-
ate until conquered by Rome, and therefore much of what is
known about European kingdoms and rulers comes second-
hand, oft en from very biased Greek and Roman writers look-
ing at other Europeans from the outside.406 empires and dynasties: Europe