406 empires and dynasties: Europe first king was Onjo (r 18 b.c.e.–28 c.e.) Paekche was heavily influenced by China, which had trading colonies in it The kingdom sometimes needed help defending itself against Koguryo, and it was aided by the Japanese and sometimes by Silla The first 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 Confucianism to Koguryo Buddhism’s influence spread to the other two kingdoms, and the monarchs of the three kingdoms 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 Japan, perhaps in the late 300s c.e JAPAN Very little is known about the rulers of ancient Japan Although 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 first ruler of Japan because he is named in Japanese mythology, but he did not exist The first ruler for whom there is any evidence is Queen Himiko She is found in several 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 after 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 The 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 The extensive road building that would connect the island of Honshu, north and south, probably began during their era, and they probably introduced Chinese building techniques for public buildings CEYLON (SRI LANKA) It was probably the first 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 Buddha’s teachings of modesty and compassion They 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 Thus, 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 hereditary 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 after 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 Europe 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 Sometimes a history of the ancient world will try to come to terms with the problem: Ancient Europeans were illiterate until the conquest by the Romans from 58 to 50 c.e., meaning that they left no written histories of themselves What little is known of names of people and places comes from foreigners, mostly Greeks, who visited them Thus, 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 modern 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 centurieslong exploration of the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Europe They brought back home silver, tin, exotic foods, and other goods as well as information about the geography of European coasts In about 670 b.c.e literacy returned to Greece following a dark age after the collapse of the Mycenaean culture in about 1250 b.c.e The 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 history 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 There were other cultures that developed written languages, notably the Etruscans and the Romans, but most of Europe remained illiterate until conquered by Rome, and therefore much of what is known about European kingdoms and rulers comes secondhand, often from very biased Greek and Roman writers looking at other Europeans from the outside