World History TAKS Review

BC vs. AD• B.C. is Before Christ–Politically correct term is B.C.E. – before the common

era• Done so in hopes that people wouldn’t be offended

using Christian terminology

• A.D. is Anno Domini (year of our lord)– referring to year of Christ’s birth, year 1–Again the political correct term is now A.C.E- after

the common era– no year 0

• Years preceding 1 ACE, you count backwards–1BCE-1,000,00 BCE 1 ACE-2012 ACE

• Prehistory – time before writing was invented–Written history did not exist yet–Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic

• Sumerians create cuneiform, earliest known written language–Pictographic language, notphonetic

Western Civilization Empires

• Egyptians• Sumerians• Indus Valley • Kush• Olmec• Qin Dynasty-China

Western Civilization• Began w/ Greeks, culture is

foundation–Many contributions: philosophy,

government, architecture, etc.•Athenian Democracy – rule by the many

–Spread culture through conquest, Alex. The Great/Hellenistic Period

Western Civilization (cont)

• Rome continues spread of Western Civilization• Spoke Latin (basis of all Romantic languages:

Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian)• Roman Republic – rule by certain group of

people (male citizens w/ land)– 1st emperor – Octavian aka Augustus–Codification of law by Emp. Justinian

• Responsible for spread of Christianity into Europe (Constantine made it legal, Theodosius made it the official Roman religion in 313 AD)

Major World Religions• Polytheistic – more than 1 god• Monotheistic – only 1 god• Judaism – 1st monotheistic religion, follow

the Torah (history of the Israelites), • Christianity – stems from Judaism w/ birth of

the prophesied savior/god Jesus• Islam – began by Muhammad c. 632AD,

prophet of Allah–Follow the Quran, accept prophets of

Judaism and Christianity

Major World Religions• Buddhism – Buddha/Siddhartha

Gautama, began out of northern India in 6th cent BC–Follow Eightfold Path, goal is to reach

nirvana• Hinduism – oldest known organized

religion (c. 1500BC in India)–Basis for caste system in India

Impact of:• Bubonic Plague aka The Plague aka

Black Plague–Came from Asia on merchant ships via

rats/fleas (bacteria)–Killed off 1/3 of the population of

Europe–Caused economic collapse and began

the end of the feudal system

Impact of:• Invention of the printing press by

Johannes Gutenberg–First to be printed was the Bible–Main reason Martin Luther was so

successful in developing the first Protestant religion–Helped spread the ideas of the

Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution• Lessened the hold of the Catholic Church on

the people