The Axial Age Explained: China, India, Persia, Canaan & Greece

20th September 2025

ancient-philosophy, axial-age, buddha-and-socrates, canaanite-religion, chinese-philosophy, comparative-religion, greek-philosophy, history-of-civilizations, history-of-ideas, indian-philosophy, karl-jaspers, spiritual-history, zoroastrianism

Introduction

The Axial Age refers to the time period between 800 – 200 BCE, which was coined by the German Philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883 – 1969). During that time, philosophical and theological shifts occurred in various parts of the world, namely China, India, Persia, Canaan, and Greece. From Confucius to Socrates, and from Buddha to Zarathustra, almost all of the Ancient Philosophers were born during the same time period. This blog deals with the development in the philosophy and the theology of the above-mentioned places, and also mentions the great individuals as well as texts linked with the axial age.

Chapter 1: China

China, during the axial age, saw the formation and development of various philosophical schools, including Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, and Legalism. Confucius or Kongzi was a 6th-century philosopher whose thoughts formed the basis of Confucianism – a philosophy dealing with ethics and filial piety. His work, The Analects, is still considered the backbone of Chinese society. Another famous philosophical school that sprang up was that of Taoism, the school of natural harmony and complementary behaviors. Famous philosophers of this school include Laozi and Zhuangzi, known all around the world for their masterpieces- Dao De Jing and the Book of Zhuangzi. Other famous schools also came up in the axial age in China were those of Mohism and Legalism, the former dealing with universal love and meritocracy, and the latter dealing with the rule of law and strict governance.

Chapter 2: India

In India, during that period, the Vedic ritualistic worship was beginning to be complemented by the philosophical richness of the texts, such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. Upanishads deal with philosophical and metaphysical questions like why the universe was created, what life is, and how to lead a proper life honestly and dutifully. There are about 108 Upanishads, out of which 13 are considered principal ones. The Bhagavad Gita is a part of the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, which can be considered a gist or abridged version of the Principal Upanishads. Around the 6th century BCE, two philosophical giants with the names of Vardhamana Mahabhira and Siddhartha Gautama were born, who challenged the Orthodox Hindu philosophy and cosmology, and formed their own philosophies of Jainism and Buddhism.

Chapter 3: Persia

Persia was the ancient name of Iran. Before the axial age, the Iranians followed a form of polytheistic proto-Indo-Iranian religion. But around the 7th century BCE, a prophet cum philosopher with the name of Zarathustra took birth (though some records show he was born much earlier, around 1500 BCE, but most agree with the 7th century BCE). He created a dualistic philosophy where the world was a battlefield of good and evil in the form of Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu, which later came to be known as Zoroastrianism. The Persians soon developed religious and philosophical texts like the Avesta and the Gathas. The Avesta is the sacred Zoroastrian scripture, written in the Avestan language, which contains liturgical texts and codes of ritual laws. The Gathas are the texts that primarily deal with religious hymns, especially those by Zarathustra himself.

Chapter 4: Canaan

Ancient Canaan was the region consisting of the modern nations of Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and parts of Syria. It was the region from which the core theology, cosmology, and philosophy of the Abrahamic faiths came. During the Axial Age, the earliest forms of Judaism were developing. The idea of Yahweh being the moral, transcendent God probably came around this time. Also, the emphasis on social justice and the formation of covenant ethics also came up during the period. Various prophets and thinkers like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, and Ezekiel were born during the Axial age, who formed the foundations of the Abrahamic philosophies. It was also that time when the Hebrew Bible, or the Tanakh, was compiled.

Chapter 5: Greece

The philosophical development around the Greek Civilization during the Axial age is perhaps the most popular in the modern world in general, compared to the other ones discussed above. The Greeks developed a way of rational inquiry and logic in philosophical dialogue and questioning, which are still studied and implemented in modern arguments and debates. The three greatest philosophers who were born during that time were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, who, through their works, including Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Politics, made the Greek Civilization immortal, even millennia after their complete eradication by the Abrahamic philosophies. Even today, people following Abrahamic, Dharmic, or Chinese theologies still refer to Greek ideas and thoughts in their daily life.

Conclusion

Although the axial age ended around the 2nd century BCE, its impact can be seen within each and every modern civilization. The later philosophers of the common era took inspiration from the axial age to form their own school of philosophy, whether in China, India, Persia, Arabia, Canaan, Greece, Rome, or even Africa. No other age, except the age of the scientific revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries CE, has had more impact in human history than that of the Axial Age for the last 5000 years. That is all for this blog. This is perhaps the shortest blog ever written on this site. Hope you enjoyed it and learned something. Please like, comment and share. Thank you.