Spring Benchmark Review

1.What happened to cause the Neolithic Revolution?

2.Where did early man originate and where did they migrate?

3.What is culture?

Neolithic EraWhat happened to cause the Neolithic Revolution? What technologies are associated with each era?

What is culture? • Neolithic Period, also called New Stone Age,• It was characterized by stone tools shaped by polishing or grinding, dependence on

domesticated plants or animals, settlement in permanent villages, and the appearance of such crafts as pottery and weaving.

• During this time, humans learned to raise crops and keep domestic livestock, and were thus no longer dependent on hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants.

• Neolithic cultures made more useful stone tools by grinding and polishing relatively hard rocks, rather than merely chipping softer ones down to the desired shape.

• The cultivation of cereal grains enabled Neolithic peoples to build permanent dwellings and congregate in villages, and the release from nomadism and a hunting-gathering economy gave them the time to pursue specialized crafts.

• Neolithic technologies also spread eastward to the Indus River valley of India and to the Huang Ho (Yellow River) valley of China.

• Corn (maize), beans, and squash were gradually domesticated in Mexico and Central America from 6500 bc on, though sedentary village life did not commence there until much later, at about 2000 bc.

• All of these events created a cohesive Culture or a collected group of rituals, traditions, ideas and technologies created over time.

1.Why did the river valleys nurture civilization?2.What are the five characteristics of

civilization?3.What is cultural diffusion?

Early River Valley CivilizationsWhy did the river valleys nurture civilization?

What are the five characteristics of civilization?

• Approximately 5000 years ago the first complex, politically centralized civilizations began to appear independently along a number of river valleys throughout the southern half of Asia and northern Africa .

• Why did the first complex, politically centralized civilizations materialize along rivers? Because the rivers supplied a continuous flow and supply of water for farming and drinking.

• These rivers along with climate, vegetation and geography shaped the development of these early river valley civilizations.

• Between 3000 and 2000 B.C.E. such river valley civilizations formed independently of each other along the Indus, the Nile, the Tigris and Euphrates, and the Yellow Rivers. These civilizations shared certain characteristics that distinguished them from the collections of Neolithic communities that preceded them.

Civilizations must have cities that are centers of trade for large areas

Civilizations must have technologies that make their lives easier

Civilizations must have writing in order to keep records of taxes, laws, or trade

Civilizations must have specialized workers that create a class system

Civilizations must have complex institutions like government & religion to keep order

Cultural DiffusionWhat is cultural diffusion?

• All civilizations expand and contract.• As they grow, their cultural practices are

exported to other cultures and they absorb others’ cultures.

• This is called cultural diffusion and is the way that civilization and the triumph of Homo Sapiens has been accomplished.

1.What role does the Nile play in the early Egyptian civilization?

2.What is the Fertile Crescent?3.What distinguishes the Code of Hammurabi? 4.What are the major characteristics of

Judaism?

Nile Valley CivilizationWhat was the governmental structure?

• The Nile River was the axis of two early African civilizations, Egyptian and Nubian . The Nile River shaped the development of both civilizations, providing a reliable source of water for farming and linking them to sub-Saharan Africa and the Mediterranean Sea .

• The Nile gave them limited access to various Bantu peoples to the south and various Mediterranean peoples to the north.

• Although both civilizations crystallized along the Nile , they developed along different lines.

• Egypt unified politically earlier and more effectively than Nubia . The ruler-conqueror first united Egypt about 3100 B.C.E. The idea of the pharaoh as a deified ruler developed during a period known as the Archaic Period(3100-2660 B.C.E.).

• This created the first Monarchy or rule by kings

Nile ValleyWhat role does the Nile play in the early Egyptian civilization?

How did geography aid the Egyptians?

• Geography is destiny. This was particularly true for the Nile River Valley Civilization.  

• The Nile would flood each year starting in July and lasting until November.  This flood would provide new, rich soil for the Egyptians and would wash away waste.  

• The seas and the desert that surrounded the Nile Valley served as a barrier against conquest and disease.

Mesopotamia means “land between the rivers” & is

often called the “Fertile Crescent” or as the “Cradle of Civilization”

The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flooded once per year, leaving

behind fertile soil ideal for farming

MesopotamiaWhat is the Fertile Crescent?

Why were the Sumerians vulnerable to invasions?

• Mesopotamia is a Greek word that means “land between the rivers”, referring to the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers.

• This area is also called the Fertile Crescent• These two rivers were the axes of one of the most

influential ancient civilizations in history. With the development of irrigation around 6000 B.C.E. farming villages appeared and grew into larger communities and then cities along these rivers.

• Because they had no geographic barriers protecting them, they were prone to invasion.

Lasting Contributions • Government:

– Babylonian King Hammurabi created the first legal code

– Hammurabi’s Code had 282 laws based on justice & retaliation (an eye for an eye)

– The code had different punishments for the various levels of society

JudaismWhat are the roots of Judaism?

What are the major characteristics of Judaism?What set Judaism apart from other religions of the era?

• Judaism claims a historical continuity spanning more than 3,000 years.

• It is one of the oldest monotheistic religions,and the oldest to survive into the present day.

• Judaism is the religion, philosophy and way of life of the Jewish people.

• It is a monotheistic religion originating in the Hebrew Bible

• Judaism is considered by Jews to be the expression of the covenant God established with the Children of Israel

1.What are the major characteristics of Confucianism?

2.What was the social result of Confucianism?3.What are the Vedas and Upanishads?

Lasting Contributions• Government:

– China was also ruled by the ethical system, Confucianism

– Confucianism focused on filial piety (respect for elders)

– Confucius taught social order through 5 key relationships:1) ruler-subject 2) father-son 3) husband-wife 4) brother- brother & 5) friend-friend

– These ideas were written down in The Analects

1.What is Jainism?2.Who was Siddhartha Gautama?3.Buddhism and Hinduism come from the same

background and culture. What do they have in common and what are their differences?

4.How did Asoka spread Buddhism in India?5.What were two Indian advances in

Mathematics?

Mahavira• In 500 BC, a Hindu teacher

named Mahavira developed an offshoot of Hinduism called Jainism.

• Jainism emphasizes meditation, self denial and Ahimsa or nonviolence.

• This was developed because Mahavira did not believe that the Hindu priests had an exclusive franchise on attaining Moksha. He believed people could do it themselves.

• The Jainists are so nonviolence, they will not even kill insects.

Gautama Buddha: the Enlightened One

• Siddhartha Gautama founded the religion of Buddhism• He was a child of wealth, born in what is now India in 566 BC. It

was predicted that he would become a wandering holy man, so his father essentially kept him prisoner in the palace. He lived there for a large part of his life.

• One day, in a single day, he saw a sick man, a dead man and an old person for the first time. This made him aware of suffering in the world.

• He was raised a Hindu, but he Hindu doctrines did not satisfy his need to understand why suffering was universal and unfair.

• He sat beneath a Baoboth tree, meditating and fasting for 48 days. During this time was tempted by evil spirits. At the end of his fast he understood the causes of suffering and became the Enlightened One or Buddha.

• The resemblance of Buddha’s quest to the experiences of other founders of the major religions of the world is obvious.

Asoka: the Buddhist

• Asoka used missionaries to spread the religion of Buddhism. He sent them into all of India and to Sri Lanka.

• Asoka outlawed animal sacrifices in his kingdom in line with the Buddhist respect for all life

• He became a vegetarian as an example to his people.

Gupta Golden Age• The Gupta Golden Age was

the result of a period of peace and wealth.

• All advances in society are usually based on changes in education. The Indian schools were religious schools that started teaching something other than religion.

• Mathematics: the use of Arabic numerals was perfected in India, along with the creation of the concept of zero (which is a very bizaare concept to begin with) and the creation of the decimal system.

1.What is filial piety and why is it so important in Chinese society?

2.What areas were linked by the Silk Road?3.Why did the Han emperors use civil service

tests?

The Five Relationships

• According to Confucius, everyone had responsibilities in all relationships.

• In all relationships there were Superiors and Inferiors. The Superiors should care and guide their inferiors and set a good example. In return, the inferior owed loyalty and obedience to their superiors.

• The most important duty of all, by either Superiors or Inferiors was filial piety or respect for elders.

• The elders are always the superiors.

Wudi

• One of the most important innovations of Wudi was sponsoring the Silk Road.

• Silk had become very popular in India and farther to the west as far as Imperial Rome.

• Wudi had the route surveyed and sponsored expeditions. Pretty soon the Silk Road was very busy and new foods like figs and cucumbers were coming from Mesopatamia and silk was going to the west. This guaranteed that China could not stay isolated forever.

Confucian Government

• Confucius believed that the government should set a good example. The Ruler had to provide good government.

• He also believed that those in government should be well educated which meant that to become a government official, you had to pass a test for each job.

• The Chinese used this method starting about 530 BC. The U.S. did not use it until the 1880’s.

• One of the problems of Confucian government is that there is really nothing anyone can do if the government is bad. People continue to obey.

1.What effect did geography and climate have on creation of Greek city states?

2.How are Sparta and Athens mirror images of human nature?

3.What was the result of the Battle of Marathon and Salamis?

4.What was the Golden Age of Pericles?5.What prompted the Peloponnesian War?

What was the result of the Peloponnesian War?

6.What was the legacy of Alexander?

Factors in the creation of Classical Greece - Geography

• The geography of Greece is a primary factor, if not the pre-eminent feature of the culture and lives of the ancient populations who lived there.

• Inhabiting an area that is ninety percent mountains with little arable land forced the Greeks into ways of life which did not center strictly around farming and agriculture.

• They were, for the most part, driven to go to sea to make ends meet. No place in Greece is further than fifty miles from the sea,

• In some ways the ancient Greeks were generally friendlier with people across the sea than their own neighbors, because the landscape made foreign nations seem "closer" than many cities on the Greek mainland.

• Overall, their geographical situation forced the ancient Greeks from early on to look outward from their immediate locality and internationalize their interests. This broadened their horizons and exposed them like few other civilizations to foreign ideas and ways of living.

Sparta• The prehistory of Sparta is difficult to reconstruct because the

literary evidence is far removed in time from the events it describes and is also distorted by oral tradition

• The legendary period of Spartan history is believed to fall into the Dark Age. It treats the mythic heroes such as the Heraclids and the Perseids, offering a view of the occupation of the Peloponnesus that contains both fantastic and possibly historical elements.

• Between the 8th and 7th centuries BC the Spartans experienced a period of lawlessness and civil strife

• As a result they carried out a series of political and social reforms of their own society which they later attributed to a semi-mythical lawgiver, Lycurgus.

• These reforms mark the beginning of the history of Classical Sparta.

Sparta• Sparta was unique in ancient Greece for its social

system and constitution, which completely focused on military training and excellence.

• Its inhabitants were classified as Spartiates (Spartan citizens, who enjoyed full rights), Mothakes (non-Spartan free men raised as Spartans), Perioikoi (freedmen), and Helots (state-owned serfs, enslaved non-Spartan local population).

• Spartiates underwent the rigorous agoge training and education regimen, and Spartan phalanges were widely considered to be among the best in battle.

• Spartan women enjoyed considerably more rights and equality to men than elsewhere in the classical world.

Sparta

• Sparta fought a war with Messenia to the west and subjugated the entire population of Messenia, reducing them to slaves or helots.

• These helots were no more than serfs and worked the land for the Spartans. • Because the helots vastly outnumbered them, the Spartans had to create a

society that would protect them not just from external enemies but from a revolt  from within.

• Men lived in barracks and male children were taken from their mothers at a young age to learn how to serve the state, meaning the art of warfare.

• Unhealthy children were killed or left to die. • Life had one purpose. To defend the state. • The Spartan model has been the ideal state for many nations and has

proven to be short-lived in all examples. • The Spartans were considered the greatest land warriors of Ancient Greece.

They employed the phalanx as their method of fighting. A phalanx is a massive formation of armored soldiers with overlapping shields. The phalanx was considered the greatest of all military strategies until the Romans introduced the Legions.

Results of the Persian Wars

• The victory at Marathon and Salamis made Athens the most important city state in Greece.

• Athens formed the Delian League as an alliance to protect Greece from any more invasions. Members of the alliance had to contribute men or money.

• Athens was supposed to be just a member of the League, but ended up running it for their own advantage.

• This angered the other members and led to the Peloponnesian War.

• The victory at Marathon also ushered in the Golden Age of Athens

Golden Age of Greece

• With the threat from the east gone Athens begins a fifty year period under the brilliant statesman Pericles (495-429 BC) during which time the Parthenon was built on the Acropolis and the city becomes the artistic, cultural and intellectual as well as commercial center of the Hellenic world, attracting all sorts of smart and interesting people and taking command of the other Greek states. Continuing their war against the Persians they liberate the Ionian Greek cities of Asia Minor and the Aegean islands.

•

Golden Age of Athens• In 478 the Delian League is formed by Athens and its allies on the

island of Delos, the sacred island of Apollo. • After swearing an oath, these Greek city-states, some who were

forced to join by threats, begin to rid the land of the last remaining Persians and free the seas of piracy.

• But as enemies became fewer and members of the league want to devote their resources to peaceful endeavors, Athens is becoming more powerful and forces other members do what is best for Athens.

• This takes the form of payments, supposedly for the maintenance of the fleet, from the other members. The flow of money is used to build the temples and monuments of the city of Athens.

• When the island of Thassos rebels against this payment they are attacked by Athens. In 454 the treasury of Delos is moved to the Acropolis for 'safe-keeping'.

Golden Age - Socrates• Among the dwellers of Athens during its Golden Age is the

philosopher Socrates. • Though he left no writings of his own, he is mostly known through

the work of his student Plato in the form of written dialogues which are conversations with other learned and un-learned men on a variety of topics.

• The 'Socratic method' consists of asking questions until you arrive at the essence of a subject, where the better hypotheses are found by identifying and eliminating the ones that lead to contradictions.

• His philosophy begins with the belief that he knows nothing and that life is not for attaining riches but a process of knowing oneself.

• He believed that virtue was the most valuable of all possessions and that the job of a philosopher was to point out to people how little they actually knew.

• He was executed by the state, forced to drink Hemlock, for corrupting the youth of the city.

Golden Age - Plato• Plato became an opponent of the Athenian-style democracy,

probably because any society that would condemn someone like Socrates to death had to be insane.  

• He believed that society should be governed by governor kings, or benevolent dictators, educated and trained from the beginning of life for this purpose.

• He went on to open the world's first university, the Saturday, the ruins of which can still be seen in Athens.

• Plato was an idealist. He believed in a higher reality of which the material world is just a manifestation.

• It is said that all philosophy is just a footnote to Plato. His student and then fellow philosopher Aristotle was more of a materialist and he believed in putting everything in categories and was the inventor of logic. He opened his own school the Lyceum and went on to become the tutor of Alexander The Great. He is considered the father of European thought though some of his scientific observations were simply wrong.

Golden Age - Aristotle

• Plato’s student and then fellow philosopher Aristotle was more of a materialist.

• He believed in putting everything in categories and was the inventor of logic.

• He opened his own school the Lyceum and went on to become the tutor of Alexander The Great.

• He is considered the father of European thought though some of his scientific observations were simply wrong.

Golden Age - Drama

• The greatest contribution of the Greeks to art was in the field of theatre.

• The orginal actor was a poet named Thespis that acted out his poetry and set the stage (pun) for the creation of theatre.

• The greatest authors of Greek tragedy were Aeschuylus, Sophocles and Euripides.

• The Greatest author of Greek Comedy was Aristophanes

Peloponnesian War

• It was the Peloponnesian war which finally brought down Athens and the historian Thucydides has written an eye-witness account that goes into great detail and is a fascinating window on what the ancient Greeks said, and thought and how and why they fought.

• Thucydides and Herodotus are considered the first historians.

• The war itself was fought over a period of 30 years.

Peloponnesian War• The cause of the Peloponnesian War (from 431 to 404

BC) had to do mainly with Sparta's fear of the expansion of Athens.

• The Spartans were masters of the Phalanx and the Athenians were masters of the sea. They both conducted the war according to their advantage.

• The Athenians withdrew behind their walls and let the Spartans run wild and destroy the Athenian fields and orchards.

• While this was going on the Athenians continued to trade and bring in food and supplies by sea. Their strategy was to simply wait out the Spartans.

• This strategy might have worked if they had been able to maintain it, but they couldn’t

Peloponnesian War

• The inability to maintain order behind the walls and the plague finally brought down Athens.

• Athenian arrogance also played a huge role in the downfall of Athens. Excessive pride is called Hubris by the Greeks.

• The Athenians believed that nothing could defeat them, so they never really prepared for the war.

• Incompetent politicians played a major role also, particularly after the death of Pericles in 430 and the rise to power of the next generation of Athenian leaders who were unscrupulous and hungry for power. .

Peloponnesian War• It is the ill-fated invasion of Sicily in 415 that finally brings down the

Athenians. • Alcibiadis claims passionately that they can easily defeat the enemy

and that they will be welcomed as liberators by the Sicilians. • The Athenians are convinced that this is an opportunity to defeat the

Spartans and their allies and rally to the cause. • But they are victims of poor intelligence or perhaps over-zealous

leadership and find themselves with fewer allies and a larger and more organized enemy then they had planned on.

• It is a disaster.• The Athenian fleet is destroyed. Athenian troops watch in horror

realizing their escape is cut off.• They are then defeated and sold into slavery. With the Athenian

army and navy gone the Spartans are able to march right into Athens, suspend the democracy and install a pro-Spartan oligarchy known as 'The Thirty'.

1.What were the social classes of the Republic?2.What is a Republic? 3.Why did the Roman constitution allow for a

Dictator?4.What were the 12 Tables

Structure of the Republic

• Republic means “thing of the people”. In this, people elect representatives to vote for them. This is different from a direct democracy

• A Republic was seen as the easiest way to prevent the seizure of power by one person again.

Social Structure of the Republic• There were 2 social classes • 1) Patricians – upper/ruling class – 1/10 of pop.• * Patricians were supported by “clients” • * Clients were wealthy plebeians who were dependent on

patricians for their wealth and position. • * The clients were wealthy enough to afford arms and some

armies. • * They then had a vested interest in preserving the Status Quo. • 2) Plebeians – everyone else• *could not marry patricians• *could not hold important offices• *could not perform religious rituals• *often burdened with heavy public debts and held little land• Because they weren’t allowed to do any of these things, they could not

hold high political office

The Republic

• The Roman constitution allowed for the use of Dictators from time to time.

• If conditions were bad enough, a Dictator could be appointed to take care of a specific problem, such as a war that endangered the Republic.

• When he was appointed, he could not meddle in anything except what he was appointed for and his term was for 6 months.

• Cincinnatus was the most famous of the early dictators• The US Constitution allows for the President to suspend

habeas corpus during times of national emergency and thus becoming a dictator.

The Twelve Tables• The Twelve Tables were the laws of Rome inscribed on stone and

posted, originally in the center of Rome. Later, they were posted throughout the Republic.

• This limited the power of government by making access to the laws available to everyone.

• The Tables were a document of slave owners, so don’t think that they were very lenient. Slaves, women and children did not come under the document because they were not people.

• They provided for harsh penalties, but the Tables did allow the local rulers or judges to make lenient interpretations of the law.

• The Tables included laws governing witchcraft.• The Tables served as models for later European justice systems.

1.Who were the Proletariat and why were they a problem?

2. How did Caesar come to power?3.What was the Pax Romana?

Imperialism• By committing to a policy of basing their economy and government

on conquest, the Romans became officially imperialistic.• The land was divided up by the Senate into Latifundia or huge

estates. These farms were kept by members of the Senate and worked by slaves.

• The problem here is twofold:• The army, made up mostly of Plebeians is angry that they didn’t get

anything for their efforts.• The second problem was that these latifundia were so profitable

because of the slaves, that they put other Roman farmers out of business.

• This created enormous wealth for the upper classes and led to corruption and decadence.

• It also created a huge gap between the rich and poor.

Julius Caesar

Caesar seizes power

• Julius Caesar seized power in 48 BC.• Rubicon River• Veni Vidi Vici• He was a brilliant general and even better

emperor.

Caesars Reforms

• He reformed the government and economy

• He started a public works program to employ the poor (like Pisistratus and the Guptan Emperors)

• He gave public land to the poor• He granted citizenship to the provinces• He reformed the calendar and it was used

until the Late Middle Ages

Assassination

• Caesar was assassinated during the Ides of March of 44 BC.

• It is said that the Senate feared Caesar and that was the reason he was assassinated.

• The truth was that the Senate was afraid of losing power and their were other contenders for the throne in Antony, Pompey and Crassus.

Augustus• The death of Caesar prompted another civil war.• Octavian, Caesars 18 year grandson (not really, we’ll talk

later) eventually defeated all of the other contenders and became the Emperor

• When he ascended to the throne, he took the name Caesar Augustus and was very careful not to refer to himself as either king or emperor, but rather as Primer interPares (First Among Equals).

• He still had absolute power and became the greatest of all supreme rulers

• He ruled from 31 BC to 14 AD and created an empire that lasted for 200 years, the Pax Romana (Roman Peace).

1.What were the major contributions of the Romans to technology?

2.What was the Roman governments’ policy toward differing religions?

3.What happened as a result of the Jewish rebellion in Judea in 66 AD?

Roman Contributions to Art and Technology

• Like everything else, the Romans stole most of their artistic ideas from the Greeks and the people of Asia Minor.

• But, being Romans, they only stole the best and actually improved on some of them

• Mosaics, pictures made from chips or stones, was a particularly adept Roman adaptation

Religious Toleration

• Because they were polytheistic, the Romans did not suppress other religions.

• When they conquered a country, they simply took on those gods also.

• Judaism was the only monotheistic religion that was not suppressed, primarily because it was so ancient. The Romans had enormous respect for the past and if something was very old, they preserved it.

Diaspora• In 66 AD, the Jews in Judea

revolted against Roman rule. • The most famous of the battles

of this Roman/Jewish War was Masada.

• As a result of Masada, the Jews were exiled all over the empire.

• The Romans thought this would end the problem.

• In a very real way they guaranteed the survival of Judaism by doing this. They inadvertently planted Jewish colonies all over the empire the survive to this day.

1.Who and what were the apostles?2.Who were the disciples?3.Understand the importance of Paul4.What was the general attitude of the Romans

to Christianity?5.How did Paul change some the initial ideas of

Christianity?6.Who was Augustine and what were his

accomplishments?

Jesus

• The approximate date of the birth of Christ is about 4 BC in Bethlehem, near Jerusalem.

• At the age of 30, he started preaching in the area around the Sea of Galilee.

• His preaching attracted apostles, or followers that helped him in his mission. Chief among these men was Peter

The Early Church

• The Apostles and Disciples spread the teachings of Jesus, primarily in the Jewish community.

• As the sect grew it was still a part of Judaism.

• The Apostles were also interested in spreading their message outside of Judea.

• Peter established Christianity in Rome

Paul

• Paul of Tarsus was a Jew from Asia Minor that had persecuted early Christians.

• Paul had a conversion experience and became the single most important of all the Apostles of early Christianity.

• A tireless traveler and teacher, Paul established churches in all areas of the Roman Empire and basically kept the church from failing in its early days.

Paul

• Paul’s great contribution to the early church was, to some extent, political.

• An early argument was whether the Gentiles, or non-Jews, should be allowed.

• Christianity at this time was simply a sect of Judaism.

• Paul is the one that said that all should be proselytized and the church started to expand.

St. Augustine• Augustine of Hippo was bishop of Hippo Regius (present-day Annaba,

Algeria). • He was a theologian and is generally considered as one of the greatest

Christian thinkers of all times. His writings were very influential in the development of Western Christianity.

• He believed that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, and he framed the concepts of original sin and just war.

• When the Western Roman Empire was starting to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Catholic Church as a spiritual City of God

• His thoughts profoundly influenced the medieval worldview. Augustine's City of God was closely identified with the Church, the community that worshiped the Trinity.

• In the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion • Many Protestants consider him to be one of the theological fathers of the

Protestant Reformation due to his teaching on salvation and divine grace.

1.What were the major military, political, economic and social causes of the end of the Roman Empire?

2.What effect did the fall of the Roman Empire have on Western Europe?

Factors in the Decline

• The death of Aurelius in 180 AD set off a cycle that was repeated until the very end of the empire in 476 AD.

• This cycle led to the long slow decline of the empire.

• To a large extent, what happened to the Roman Empire was that after the split into East and West Kingdoms, the West became poorer and poorer while the East became richer and richer.

1. Struggles for Power

• Emperors came and went quickly. The crown became something that generals of different armies fought for.

• In 193 AD there was the year of the Five Emperors and in 238 the year of the Six Emperors.

• What this means is that there was no stability in the government

• It most importantly meant that the people in charge saw the empire as a prize for their personal use, not something to be served

2. Economic Problems

• The empire was based on two things: conquest and consumption.

• The army was huge and it paid for itself when the empire was expanding in loot, territory and slaves. When the empire hit the Danube River in the north and stopped expanding, the army became a dead weight that couldn’t support itself.

• Taxes became very heavy to pay for the army, but the government was in a bad situation, if you don’t pay the army, they will kill you. So taxes soared.

2. Economic Problems• The Roman economy was not a modern market economy. A market

economy produces products that are traded for in exchange for other products which are then sold. This is how a global economy works.

• The Roman economy simply consumed. Italy itself did not produce much more than wine, olives and legions.

• Eventually this is going to have an impact and the impact was inflation. • Another impact of inflation and high taxes was that it put what few small

farmers left out of business. • They couldn’t maintain their farms and couldn’t protect themselves from

barbarian invasions, so they basically enslaved themselves to local landowners that could protect them.

• In return for protection, they were allowed to farm small plots for vegetables and had to till the estates of the rich. They weren’t allowed to leave the land and if the land changed hands among the rich, the poor farmers came with the land.

• This is the root of European serfdom.

3. Military Causes

• The Germanic invasions were the most obvious effect.

• When the Huns invaded northern Europe they frightened the German tribes that they fled into the Empire for protection.

• The empire took advantage of these immigrants by taking what possessions they had and taxing them.

• This angered the Germans and when the Huns turned south, the tribes did not aid the Empire in fighting them.

3. Military Causes

• By the time you get to the Germanic invasions, the legions are in a shambles.

• The legions are not manned by people that care about their nation and the discipline is lax, the training is worse.

• To meet their manpower needs, the Romans started to rely exclusively on mercenaries to defend the empire.

4. Political Causes

• As the government became more inefficient and corrupt, it became more authoritarian and oppressive.

• This produced nothing for the common people to be loyal to.

• The upper classes who were the richest and best educated and who benefited the most from the Empire, simply didn’t care, they concerned themselves with their own selfish desires.

5. Social Causes

• The influx of barbarians were seen as a dilution of the Roman “blood”, but in reality it provided the only new and energetic leadership in the empire.

• The real social problem in the Empire was that no one cared anymore.

• The mass of common people only wanted more bread and circuses and the upper classes were selfish and didn’t lead.

1.What does “Islam” mean?2.What are the similarities between Judaism,

Christianity and Islam3.What is the Sharia?

1.Be able to describe the Investiture Controversy and its importance.

2.Be able to define and describe feudalism

Similarities Among the Religions of the Book

• Like Judaism and Christianity, Islam is monotheistic

• Very much like Christianity, Muslims are responsible for their own actions.

• Like both Judaism and Christianity, there will be a Judgment Day when all will have to face God and answer for their sins.

• Islam believes in both the Old and New Testament, except for the divinity of Christ.

Differences Among Children of the Book

• Islam rejects the divinity of Jesus. They believe him to be prophet.

• There are no formal priests or churches in Islam. There is nothing that can get between God and man.

• There is a requirement for pilgrimage which is present in neither Judaism or Christianity.

Sharia

• The body of law created from the Quran is called the Sharia.

• Much like the Jews, a Muslim is required to follow the law of the Sharia.

• The law of the Sharia is also applied to civil and criminal law and is the foundation of fundamental Islamic government.

• There is no separation of church and state in Islam.

Investiture

• When Charlemagne went to Rome to receive the blessing of the Pope, he thought that was all he was getting.

• As he knelt before the altar, Pope Leo III placed the crown on his head without warning.

• Leo wanted to crown, or invest, Charlemagne. This would show that the Church (and the Pope) was higher than kings and be more powerful.

• This infuriated Charlemagne. Later, when Charlemagne was old, he crowned his son with his own hand on purpose.

Christmas Day, 800 AD

1.How is a manor economy different from a capitalist economy?

2.What were some of the problems of the Medieval Church?

3.What is Papal Supremacy? 4.What caused the Commercial Revolution?

Manorialism: Medieval Economic System

Feudalism concerned the rights powers and lifestyles of the military elite

Manorialism involved the services and obligations of the peasantry

Since the economic power of the elite rested on the estates worked upon by the peasants, feudalism and manorialism were inevitably linked

Manorialism: Medieval Economic System

During the great invasions, peasants needed protection

The nobles demanded something in return Thus, free peasants surrendered themselves

and their land to the lords’ jurisdiction (authority)

The land was then given back to them, but the peasants were then tied to the land by various obligations (payments and services)

Manorialism: Medieval Economic System

Local custom determined what those services were, but everywhere peasants became part of the lord’s permanent labor force

They were obliged to turn over to him a portion of their harvest (usually produce, sometimes cash)

Thus, free peasants lost status and became servile, or serfs. A great loss of personal freedom.

They were subject to the lord’s jurisdiction and could not leave the land without his permission

Feudalism & the Manor Economy

• Feudalism is a loose system of rule in which lords give lesser lords land in exchange for military service

• The emergence of feudalism was for the basic need for protection.

• The continual invasions of Europe by the Vikings, Magyars and Muslims created so much chaos that order had to be reestablished on a military basis first, which led to a social, political and economic order

FEUDAL CONTRACT

• Lord grants a vassal a fief (an estate), which included land, peasants & towns. (Chart - p. 188)

In return, the vassal gives the lord a pledge of loyalty & 40 days of military service each year.

Feudalism & the Manor Economy

NOBLESObligations

• Military service to the

lord.• Protected vassals

PEASANTSObligations

• Worked land for lord• Provided other services

& fees to lord.

Feudalism & the Manor Economy

NOBLESRights & Benefits

• Granted fiefs for

services to the lord.• Controlled peasants &

towns on fiefs.

PEASANTSRights & Benefits

• Protection from lord• Farmed part of fief for

themselves.

Feudalism & the Manor Economy

NOBLESLives• Constantly at war.• Lived in castles.• Boy - goal was to

become a knight.

PEASANTSLives• Serfs bound to land. They could not leave the manor.• Produced almost

everything they needed.• Ate black bread &

vegetables• All slept in the same hut, animals included.• Most lived to the age of 35.

Monasteries and Reform

• By 530 it was apparent that some form of reform for monasteries was needed.

• A major reason for this was the low level of education generally in Europe at this time.

• A parish priest was thought to be the most highly educated person in his village, but this rarely proved to be true.

Monasteries• Not much was required to

become either a priest or a monk at this time.

• Generally if you couldn’t make a living doing anything else, you became a priest.

• Priests were supposed to live a celibate life, but they rarely did and sired children on a regular basis. What to do with the children of priests became a big problem and the Church responded by making them priests also.

Monasteries

• They also weren’t very well educated. They were supposed to tend to the spiritual needs of their parish, but many couldn’t read and their presentation of the sacraments many times were haphazard.

• Some priests married, lived in luxury & treated priesthood as a family inheritance.

The Medieval Church

• Worldly power• Papal supremacy – Pope claimed

authority over secular rulers. (Kings, queens, monarchs, etc…)

• 59. What two important ideas took shape with the Magna Carta

• 60. What political and cultural events occurred to aid the Crusades?

• 61. What was the Reconquista?• 62. What effect did the Black Death have

on the economic life of Europe?

ROYAL POWER IN ENGLAND & FRANCE

• England• Magna Carta

–King John angered nobles with oppressive taxes and was forced to sign the Magna Carta. (p. 209)• A long list of feudal rights.• King could not raise taxes without first consulting his Great Council. (Taxation

without representation)• Formed the basis of “due process of law”.• It stated that nobles had certain rights, later extended to all citizens.• Made it clear that the monarch must obey the law.

THE CRUSADES

• Reconquista in Spain – long effort to drive Muslims (Moors) from Spain.• Started in 700, Christians slowly pushed the

Muslims south. By 1300, the Christians controlled the entire Iberian Peninsula except for Granada.

• In 1492, Isabella & Ferdinand were able to capture Granada & the Reconquista was complete. (Read bottom p. 219)

A TIME OF CRISES• The Black Death - 1348• A global epidemic• The bubonic Plague came from fleas on

rats from Asia.• One in three people died.• In China, the disease killed over 35 million

people.• At its peak in Egypt the disease killed

7,000 a day.

A TIME OF CRISES• The Black Death - 1348• Some Christians saw it as God’s

punishment• The Church lost credibility & confidence of

the people.• Priest fled rather than giving last rights to

the dying.• Inflation soared, lack of workers.• Page 227

A TIME OF CRISES• New Heresies• With the Church’s authority weakened, it

faced more problems.• Popular preachers challenged its power.• John Wycliff attacked Church corruption.

– He insisted that the Bible, not the Church, was the source of all Christian truth.

– Began translating the Bible into English so that people could read it themselves instead of relying on the Church.

– The Church persecuted Wycliff & his followers.

• What was the importance of the Bantu migrations? Why did they occur?

• 64. What role did the Silk Road and the African Gold/Salt trade play in the spread of ideas

• 65. Describe two ways in which African societies preserved their histories and values.

• 66. How did Ethiopia differ from the other African kingdoms in later development?

Early CivilizationsThe Sahara Desert has not always been as extensive as today. In the Neolithic Era, it was forests and steppes. About 2500 BC, desertification took place.This forced the migrations of many people, most notably the Bantu.These migrations took place over thousands of years and spread the culture and language of the Bantu over almost all of Africa.Bantu is the root language of almost all West African people. To a large extent, this was how Africa was settled. The mass migration of people because of climatic and geographic change is repeated throughout history: the Irish, the movement of Muslims and Hindus, etc.

Bantu Migrations

Approximately 5000 years ago, the Sahara Desert was a forest with rivers and lakes. Climate change altered this. About 2500 BC the process of desertification started to create what is one of the world’s largest deserts. This process continues today and is one of the world’s great unheard of problems.Desertification was one of many forms of climate change that forced early peoples to migrate.One group that migrated were the Bantus, a group that migrated into most of SubSaharan Africa (below the Sahara).The Bantu language is the basis of a large part of all African languages. Along with their language, the Bantus also carried along their culture and technology, most importantly, iron working.

Trade Networks

The trade networks of Africa go both North to South and East to West.The Saharan Trade Network moved from the Middle East to the West African coast.Two commodities dominated the Saharan Trade, Gold and Salt.This great trade of gold led directly to the creation of the kingdom of Ghana in 800 AD by the Soninke people.

The Forest Kingdom of Benin

The Benin lived along the Guinea coast and were residents of the deep rainforests.They created the Kingdom of Benin in the 1300’s. They were led by an Oba or king that was both a political and religious leader.Benin is known for two great things: art and tragedy.The art are the incomparable Benin bronzes. These statues are amongst the most beautiful and complex art in Africa. The tragedy is that in about 1500, the statues started portraying bearded Portuguese soldiers and traders. This is the first substantial evidence of the arrival of Europeans in Africa and the start of the tragedy of the African Diaspora or slave trade.

ETHIOPIA

According to legend, the first ruler of Ethiopia was the son of King Solomon of Israel and the Queen of Sheba. The roots of this story are hard to trace, but it does point up the importance of Jewish and Christian traditions in Ethiopian history.While the rest of Africa became primarily Islamic, Ethiopia remained Christian and created the Coptic Christian Church.

• 67. What are the origins and major ideas of Eastern Orthodoxy?

• 68. Explain how geography influenced Eastern European history.

Religion in the Byzantine EmpireWestern Roman emperors were Catholic

and held that the Pope was the sole authority in Christianity

Eastern (Byzantine) emperors were crowned by the Orthodox patriarch

The churches tolerated each other, but several differences began to set them apartPapal authorityEucharistClerical celibacyVernacular language in church services

East-West Schism (aka Great Schism) of 1054 a must know dateUnable to resolve these differences,

Christianity had its first schism (split)Both the Pope and the Byzantine

Patriarch excommunicated each otherFrom this point on, the Orthodox

Christianity dominated the former Eastern Roman Empire and Roman Catholicism dominated the former Western Roman Empire

Map of World Religions (2003)

The Great Schism

Impact of OrthodoxyIn the 9th century, the Slavs of South and

Eastern Europe (including Europe) were converted to Eastern Orthodoxy by St. Cyril (827-869)

Created the Slavic alphabet (Cyrillic letters) still used today

Orthodoxy will have a great impact on the development of Russia and inherits the Byzantine tradition.So, while Western Europe will reform its

Christianity, Russia will not!Eastern Orthodox churches will regionalize

after the fall of the Byzantines (Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, etc.)

• 69. What were the three primary events preceding the 16th century that led to the first explorations?

• 70. What were the major obstacles to exploration?

• 71. What were the primary motivations for the voyages of discovery?

• 72. What were the technological innovations that led to the Age of Discovery?

Motives - Wealth

• The Age of Exploration was sparked by a number of motives, the most prevalent being profit. After the Ottoman Turks cut off the Silk Road, spices and goods from the east became very, very expensive.

Motives - Religion

• Many of these explorers had religious reasons. The Catholic Churches and the Protestant Churches were now competing for souls, so if an explorer could discover new lands, they could claim them for the Church.

• Many also wanted to continue the crusades against the Muslims

The Importance of the Ottoman Turks to the Age of Exploration

• the Age of Exploration, was a period starting in the early 15th century and continuing to the 17th century during which Europeans explored Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania.

• The Black Death and the breakup of the Mongol Empire disrupted trade along the Silk Road

• Since the Silk Road ended in Constantinople, most of the trade to Europe was controlled by Muslim and Italian Merchants. The Age of Exploration ended this monopoly.

• The last straw was the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the Ottoman Turks. This severed European trade links by land with Asia leading many to begin seeking routes east by sea and spurred the age of exploration

The Age of DiscoveryHistorians often refer to the 'Age of Discovery‘ as the first Portuguese and Spanish long-distance maritime travels in search of trade routes to "the East Indies", to get access to gold, silver and spices.

The contact between the Old and New Worlds produced the Columbian Exchange: a wide transfer of plants, animals, foods, human populations (including slaves), communicable diseases, and culture between the Eastern and Western hemispheres.

The Columbian Exchange is one of the most significant global events concerning ecology, agriculture, and culture in history.

Motives – Curiosity and Fame• Never underestimate the role

curiosity and vanity play in human affairs.

• Many of the people that went on these voyages of exploration went from sheer curiosity about different cultures.

• Also, since the feudal pyramid was crumbling, this was a way to move up in society. If you became a famous explorer, you could escape whatever social class you were born into. Also, usually if you discovered new markets, you got rich, which always helps you socially.

Technological Advances• Nothing is possible if you don’t have

the technology to exploit it. • One of the reasons sailors had not

ventured too far out into the Atlantic was because there was really no reliable way to navigate your way back.

• The invention of the Astrolabe by the Arabs and used by Europeans allowed sailors to chart reasonable courses.

• The Portuguese introduction of the Caravel, a multi-sail ship with a functional rudder, made it possible to sail against the wind. Also, the Caravel was large enough to carry supplies and weapons, which makes discovery and conquest much more enjoyable.

• 73. What was the main European advantage in forcing trade agreements in Asia?

• 74. Be able to describe the importance of Akbar the Great.

• 75. Why did the Japanese reopen contact with the west in 1853?

• 76. Who were the Conquistadores?• 77. What was principle product of the New

World for Spain and Portugal?