Ancient states and the seven wonders

A state is an organization that governs the people living in a certain territory by the force of law. Laws are rules that everyone must obey. As farming and crafts grew and cities developed, a power was needed to manage people and settle disputes over water, land and trade. One of the earliest states appeared at the end of the 4th millennium BCE along the Nile, in Egypt: first there were small city-states (“nomes”), then they joined into one state whose ruler was called the pharaoh and whose capital was Memphis. The land between the Euphrates and the Tigris was called Mesopotamia; its soil was fertile, so many people settled there. The Babylonian king Hammurabi (18th century BCE) united all of Mesopotamia and had a collection of laws written down. In China, states arose along the Yellow River; the king of Qin, Qin Shi Huang, united the country in 221 BCE. The historian Sima Qian (“Historical Records”) wrote down China’s history; the Chinese grew tea and invented the compass. In India, Ashoka united most of the country in the 3rd century BCE, and Indians came up with using the ten digits from zero to nine.