One of the most persistent sources of conflict over the past 5,000 years has been the struggle between civilization (or city builders) and barbarism (or nomads). Throughout human history, from the Bronze Age to the early 20th century, the rise and fall of great civilizations can be traced to this social duality. People living in the more developed and “civilized” towns often had to find ways to protect themselves from nomadic and “barbaric” invaders. And the main method they used was to build cities and fortifications for defense.
The split began about 12,000 years ago when humans figured out how to domesticate animals and crops. One group becomes farmers and takes care of crops and grains. Needing to be close to the crops, they evolved into city builders and slowly built around the farm. Another group became herders, keeping livestock and constantly traveling in search of (literally) better/greener pastures.
Because of this nomadic lifestyle, shepherds were more exposed to danger in the wild, and they learned to defend themselves with weapons rather than walls. They often return to farming areas and take whatever they want, and farmers are easy prey because they cannot escape. To prevent future attacks, they began building walls.
These walls not only protected but also facilitated the rise of cities and even states and empires. One of the earliest walls of these imperial structures was built around 2000 BC. The Sumerian king Shulgi was eventually overrun by nomadic tribes. The Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar II also built a huge wall to keep out the nomads, which were then destroyed by the nomads. Other walls were built by the Greeks, Persians, and even the Roman Hadrian’s Wall in Britain.
Many Chinese emperors followed the construction of the Great Wall of China, primarily to fend off the Huns, and later the Mongol tribes, who occupied the vast 5,000-mile steppe to the north known as the Eurasian Steppe. What is clear, however, is that all those walls, no matter how strong and strong, are eventually broken down.
Life behind walls often makes the populace complacent, less vigilant, and less belligerent. This makes it easier for hardened outsiders or barbaric invaders to overcome those within the walls. Advances in warfare tactics and weapons technology have also made it possible to break down these walls. One of the more dramatic examples is the use of cannonballs at the Battle of Constantinople in 1453. The walls that stood for thousands of years suddenly collapsed and were smashed by new weapons, cannons and gunpowder, which were then considered new technologies.
As the world entered the 20th century, the once aggressive and pillaging barbarians slowly became irrelevant. Today, many nomadic tribes still live freely in the world. They embrace modernity in their own way and are part of society as a whole. When one tries to keep people out, to keep oneself out, walls keep building.
Directed by: Pete Kelly
