ABSTRACT
This chapter explains both the age of the great classical civilizations – Persia, China, India, Greece/Rome but also the subsequent world history period marked by the spread of Buddhism and Christianity and the rise and rapid expansion of Islam. From the classical civilizations onward, there was increasing motivation to agree on divisions of daily time, a subject that was already frequently discussed in the early civilizations. For most people, the impact of Christianity on a daily sense of time was not too different from that of Islam. Like Islam, Christianity tried to promote a more active daily commitment to the worship of God, with a schedule attached. The specific timing varied, and the alerting devices differed – bells instead of tower-top calls. But the ideas were similar, and the impact on ordinary life might have been similar as well – though the Islamic appeals for participation were more urgent.
