The word civilized in the meaning enlightened and peaceful is a great misnomer, since civilization is the cause of war, human sacrifice, slavery, genocide, religious fanatism, terrorism, dictatorship, secret police and prostitution, among other things. I think the word enlightened is better for referring to periods and geopgrahical locations where a decent behavior is exhibited by the populace and leaders because the people at large have realized that evilness only results in worthless short term gains and undermined security at best.