World Civilization: Ancient civilizations -

Ancient societies are viewed as simple. How should we view them instead?

They are more complex than we give them credit. They didn’t just care about survival, but also about life and asking deep questions

What are the two major revolutions in ancient civilizations?

Agricultural and state and urban revolutions

What are two ways that ancient civilizations domesticated things to help them live in one place

Domestication of plants and domestication of animals

What does domestication of plants mean?

Figuring out how to grow plants. How close, best type of soil, good plants to plant with it

What does domestication of animals mean?

Figuring out the best animals to do a job, also animals are good companions

How did domestication of plants and animals help ancient civilizations?

It allowed them go from hunting and gathering to more permanent residences

What are three differences between hunting and gather and early civilizations?

1. Mobility

2. 30-50 people

3. Rough egalitarianism (basically the same social status/standing between men and women)

DIFFERENCES

1. Permanence

2. 1,000-10,000 people

3. Patriarchal

What are some characteristics of the state and urban revolution?

1. Protection, companionship, common beliefs, workforce, economic specialization, issues of justice, religion, justice

2. Women being able to bear and nourish children led to less leading roles for women

3. Having access to education was a privilege

4. The “elite” mainly inherited their wealth

Who did people band together?

Protection/safety, companionship/beliefs, worship, larger workforce, economic specialization, justice system

What are the characteristics of civilizations?

Presence of an organized state with boundaries and political institutions that enforce laws, distinctive social classes: ruling/elite, free class, enslaved class (not a defining feature, but important: military), economic specialization, and conscious development of the arts and intellectual pursuit of oral stories, poetry, history, and visual arts

What is the importance of Mesopotamia?

In between the Tigris and Euphrates so it was a very fertile land, believed to be one of the first civilizations, and the climate/opportunities made people want to congregate there

Who were the first people to dominate most of Mesopotamia and what were they known for?

The Sumerians first dominated most of Mesopotamia and they had a very good understanding of mathematics and were more sophisticated overall. They contributed to the architecture, calendars, economics/trace, and the writing system of Cuneiform which was used as a system of accounting and to communicate over large areas

Who took over Mesopotamia after the Sumerians and what were they known for?

The Babylonians overtook Mesopotamia after the Sumerians and they were known for their military dominance, economic dominance, made Babylonian ideas prevalent, the belief that gods gave humans the right to rule

What are some key characteristics of Hammurabi’s Code of Laws and what does it say about who wrote it?

Distinct social classes, communal responsibilities, and written law defined life for an ever-growing civilization, which was both clever and harsh. God is a big part of their identity, very harsh on crimes, equal trade, change of rules between social classes (no equality), if you commit fraud, higher class=harsher punishment, superstition, communal responsibilities.

Declaring speciality, uniqueness, warrants power (divine right)

What are some key contributions of the Babylonians?

Law - Hammurabi’s Law, oral stories

Literature- Epic of Gilgamesh, stories were meant to answer questions or for entertainment, also a fascinating way to communicate messages

What are the three historical flashpoints of Egyptian civilization?

1. Basic economic activities, the Nile being the most important for water and transportation

2. Foreign influence largely disappears and a more defined culture emerges

   1. Emergence of Egyptian hieroglyphics mean that laws can be written down and consistent. Hieroglyphics were thought to have come from the gods and were regarded as sacred.

What are four characteristics of Egyptian culture?

1. Conservative, unquestioning society. Conformity was the expectation

2. Very religious, meaning that it was always present

3. Pharaoh’s rule was absolute, Pharaoh was seen as a god, and it was a type of theocracy

   1. Physical geography played a key role in shaping all aspects of Egyptian life

What are the central elements of Egyptian life?

The Pharaoh: an absolute “god-king”, religion, and a hierarchal society

Explain how Pharoah being an absolute “god-king” affected the Egyptian way of life?

1. Seemingly efficient

2. There were suck ups to the Pharaoh who were not too good at their job and were just there to please the Pharaoh

3. Not democratic

4. Kings (or pharaohs) evoke the gods and say that the gods have given them this position

5. Egyptian Pharaohs started as messengers for the gods then moved to being gods themselves

6. “ma’at” (right ways, a divinely ordered way of life) why the Egyptians did not rebel against Pharaoh because it would have been seen as going against a god and that is not how life worked 

7. If they did something bad, they thought the gods would punish them which is another reason the people did not rebel because they did not want the god’s wrath

8. Shaped religion, government, and the hierarchal structure

How did religion affect the Egyptian way of life?

1. Polytheistic system 

2. They thought that if the physical body were preserved, their spirit and body would join in the afterlife 

3. Pyramids were built as monuments to the Pharaohs 

4. The Pyramids of Giza, the most well-known is the Great Pyramid, which was built to honor Khufu/Cheops

5. Mainly enslaved workers and some artesians built the pyramids 

6. The Pyramids are a monument to the Egyptians strength, relition, and permanence

Explain how a hierarchal society affected Egyptian life (Memphis and Thebes)?

1. Most Egyptians’ status was decided at birth 

2. Most Egyptians were poor and worked on farms 

3. The wealthy lived in walled cities and had free time to develop the arts. They also lived up to physical ideals 

4. No real social mobility 

5. Pretty good security in whichever class you were born in, but you can’t change the status 

6. Not everyone had equal opportunities

What is the importance of the Hebrews?

Most important group of the middle east. Not only in their politics or writings, but in their belife in God (ethical monotheism- the belief of one God and corporate community)

What are the major Jewish beliefs?

A firm belief in one God who is the creator and sustainer of the universe and who loves His people

1. Anthropometric - giving God human characteristics

2. Intentionality of God

3. Old Testament shows how people fail to live up to God’s standards (worshipping God incorrectly or worshipping other gods, mistreatment of the poor, and a call to live up to God’s standards)

What is the difference between the Jewish belief and the worldly standards?

The world believes that god is a god of justice who demands his people to follow worldly standards

What is the most significant thing about Judaism?

Its influence on Christianity

Why is China so unique in its development?

The physical geography was unique in that there were a lot of cultures spread out over a large area so they were not as unified until later on

What did the early village developments in China look like?

1. Yellow River and Yangtze River; land in between was thought to be uninhabitable, but good for hunting (why China develops later, geography) area dried up (North-wide plains for wheat, South-marshy, good for rice)

2. No singular community or way of thinking so it takes longer than middle eastern societies to develop

   1. Chinese communities wanted to be know by leadership and virtue and this was known by telling oral tales - Yao (king) wants to do the right thing, his sons aren’t worthy to rule, so he identifies Shun (a peasant who has wisdom, virtue, and leadership) becomes king and does the same that Yao did when passing off the kingdom.

Quick summary of the founding of the Shang Dynasty

Jia, a corrupt ruler, a tyrant, lived in his pleasure, didn’t care for his people, drafted young men to serve in his army. People didn’t revolt because of the “mandate of heave” (the gods chose Jia to rule so it was immoral to push back.) Tang believes Jia lost the “mandate of heaven”, so Tang went to leaders and gathers people to fight Jia and his men at the battle of Mingtaio. Jia flees and then buys his way to live in a different community. Tang needs to figure out how to rule. Continues the draft, but not as many and fewer years to serve. Uses taxes to invest in community. Establishes policies to help people. Policy to buy back children who were sold to make it through a hard year. 

What things helped with the rise and development of China?

Iron tools for agriculture and weapons, bronze age-stronger tools and weapons, writing system for a means of accounting, stories and history, is logographic-each word is represented by a symbol, writing becomes the staple of communication between different dialects

Describe the fall of Shang

1. Chou, the last emperor was mainly blamed for the fall

2. Both historical facts as well as stories

3. Chou had every opportunity to be a good ruler, seemed a perfect fit, intelligent, charisma, articulate, but very corrupt

4. Created a world of privilege where he took advantage, taxes were just for himself, threw a lot of parties for himself which shows how he is corrupt

5. Shows how a skilled king, was so corrupt that the dynasty fell

6. Regional rulers, if they showed defiance, would be arrested and tortured or put to death

7. Chou went after Wen, a regional ruler liked by his people, got in trouble with the king, went to prison, his people sent gifts to Chou to have WEn set free

8. Wen started to raise up an army, but died. Wu his son, continues in his father’s steps

9. The armies meet at Muye, the slaves at the front of the imperial army decide to join Wu

10. Chou flees to his palace to hide, puts on a jade suit of armor, Wu’s men set the palace on fire and Chou dies

11. Corruption burns everything and out of the ashes, a new dynasty arises

What happened during the Zhou kings’ rule?

1. Kings didn’t want to rule with a heavy hand, but distributed power to regional chieftains who reported to the king 

2. Regional areas started to pass down ruler through family, king becomes less prominent, but local rulers become the people’s identity 

3. At the end, a decentralized government

What is the general conclusion society thinks of the Greeks?

Most people think that the Greeks had it all right and every other culture was wrong. Thye had some good aspects, but also some bad ones

Who were the Greeks

Indo-Europeans/Minoans

1. Migrated from Europe, mainly in Crete

2. Good at architecture

3. Had a big navy

4. Cared about the arts and cultural elements

Dorians then came along and conquered the Minoans

Who made up the Greeks?

We think of the Minoans and Dorians as the Greeks, collectively, but they saw themselves as two separate groups

What was the physical geography of Greece?

A lot of islands, mountains, valleys, created separation like the USA where they are connected to a particular region

What is an overview of the Polus?

1. A secular government, not a theocracy, whose power is shared by at least a portion of the citizens

2. Greek loyalty and identity belonged to the city-state: examples: Athenian, Corinthian, etc.

3. City-state=20-30,000 people

4. Functions like a small town, with no privacy. Unlike modern small towns

5. Public virtue-how you treat others; for the most part, if you are corrupt, you wouldn’t be able to hold office because they knew you

6. Marketplaces were a center of identity, but also where classes would be held, outdoor government meetings, and more.

7. Enslaved people had rights .

8. Immigrants had certain rights

9. Women didn’t have rights, but sometimes they had class rights

What are two examples of a city-state?

Athens and Sparta

What are the defining features of Athens?

Basically 100% representation of citizens

Education, philosophers

Arts and architecture, visual, performative

Schools of thought

Brutality, ruthlessness

Largest and most powerful of the city-states, population wise

Largest and most powerful navy

What are the defining features of Sparta?

Were taught to lie and steal, so the soldiers when captured would mislead 

Tested by soldiers being dropped off in the middle of nowhere with nothing and had to find their way back or else they weren’t worthy 

Fought battles as a team 

What are the events that lead up to/happen in the first Persian War?

In 540 BC, the Greeks started to expand 

540 BC, the Persians decide they want all of Asia Minor, and the Greeks are chill 

500 BC, Greeks are tired of paying taxes, so there are scattered uprisings 

494 BC uprisings are put down 

The Athenians started to ship supplies to the Greeks in Asia Minor, because they would get more trade routes.

Darius saw this as an act of war (king of the Persians) 

When Darius attacks, he doesn’t have enough forces because he is arrogant, still a sizeable force

What happens at the Battle of Marathon?

Greeks win

Servant ran to say Greeks won and he dies

Major battle that ends the war and seals the win for the Greeks

Xerxes takes over when Darius dies and gets a bigger army

How does the second Persian War start?

Persians are arrogant and think that they will win 

Sparta joins this time 

Persians dominate first

What happens at the Battle of Salamis?

Mainly a naval battle

Salamis is a narrow straight of water

Persians had larger ships

Greeks had Persians chase them since they had smaller ships and then turned and rammed the boats

Persians couldn’t swim so the Greeks whack-a-moled them in the water

Persians retreated

Persians couldn’t supply their soldiers because the Greeks controlled the waters

Greeks rallied themselves

What happened after the second Persian War?

Victory over the Persians filled the Greeks with a pride in their way of life, it ushered in a Greek way of civilization, and also ushers in the next conflict

Give a summary of the Golden Age and the Peloponnesian War.

1. Peloponnesian war was mainly smaller civil wars

2. Athenians, banded together to make the Delian league

3. Main offices-admiral and treasurer, everyone gets a voice, but they have to be Athenian

4. Athenians use the Delian league to control the waters

5. Delian league was made up of multiple areas, but Athenians took over

6. 454 BC Spartan and Corinthians form their own Peloponnesian league

7. From 454-431 BC tension is growing between the Delian and Polynesian league and in 431 BC war is declared

8. Often took breaks to farm if the army was mainly farmers

9. 431-404 BC, Athenians start off strong but Sparta forces Athens to surrender

   1. Peloponnesian War depletes the Greek way of life

Explain what Philip of Macedon did during his rule.

1. 50-60 years after the Peloponnesian War

2. Philip became king through the military

3. Not the most intelligent, but thought about things differently

4. Wanted to build THE empire

5. Macedonia starts to invade the Greeks

6. Used the rivalry among the Greeks to have them fight against each other

7. 338 BC Philip has conquered most of the Greek city-states

8. Alexander, Philip’s son starts to take over

9. Philip gets assassinated

What events lead up to Philip’s assassination?

1. Philip gets a fourth wife who was very young, beautiful, and the daughter of an important general who is Macedonian

2. During the reception, the father of the bride makes a toast, calling Alexander not a proper heir.

3. Alexander doesn’t like this, Philip gets up to reprimand Alexander, but is drunk and falls on his face.

4. Alexander flees, then later on they make up

5. Philip’s fourth wife has a son

6. Another wedding happens, and Philip is stabbed by a young man who was likely sexually assaulted by the court and when he went to the king for justice, the king dismissed it, so he killed the king

7. Alexander’s men track down the assassin

8. Alexander is now king

What did Alexander the Great do in his rule?

1. Alexander is 20 years old and a king, well-educated 

2. Alexander the Great put his father’s fourth wife and son to death 

3. Alexander pauses the invasion of Greece

4. Alexander gets on the good side of the generals 

5. They begin the invasion again ,and they win 

6. Take all of Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and the rest of the old Persian empire. 

7. Keeps trying to extend his empire 

8. Believes that Greek culture is the best, but sees benefits in other cultures 

9. Dies in 323 BC 

10. Empire is divided between generals 

11. The spread of Greek culture was significant (theatre, religion, philosophy…)

12. Importance of the Greek language 

13. Most of the NT was written in Koine Greek. It was the language of the common ma.n 

What was the religious culture in Greek culture?

Polytheistic, their gods were to help them understand human nature, and the city-states have their chief god

Why was Homer one of the best known poets in Greek culture?

Gave stability to stories like the Odyssey and the Iliad around 800 BC and around 600 BC they were written down

The Iliad and the Odyssey were called epics

Epics-time and space was shrunk down to the hero’s time, often living by a code of honor, corrupt, typically the hero dies epically in the end

Iliad about Trojans and the Trojan war

Odyssey about sailing across the sea

What were Sophocles and Aristophanes dramas about?

Brilliance of the writing in tragedies and comedies

Guilt, expiation-what happens to humans when they don’t know the limits the gods have put on them

Sophocles - tragedies - Oedipus Rex

Aristophanes - comedies, ironic, sarcastic - Lysistrata

Very entertaining but meaningful

Who is known as the father of history and what did he record?

Herodotus is known as the father of history and the most critical person early on for recording history

1. History of the Persian Wars

2. Does research, travels, and interviews Persian citizens, soldiers 

3. Gives background information and context 

4. Tells a good story, weaves the events into a narrative 

5. Also known as the father of lies 

6. Athenian bias makes them look great 

7. makes the gods actors 

8. Adds mythology 

   1. Writes of people born with feet of goats

   2. cyclops

   3. Uses this to flavor the story

What is Thucydides known for?

1. History of the Polynesian War

2. Seen as not as interesting a writer 

3. Better historian 

4. Talks about why the wars take place 

5. Writes history as human stories 

6. Argues that human beings can learn from history

Who were the mythical founders of Rome and what is brief summary of their life?

Rome was founded in 753 BC by the twins Romulus and Remus.

1. Numitor, the king of Alba Longa, was overthrown by his younger brother, Amulius. Amulius forced his niece (Numitor’s daught, Rhea Silvia) to be a vesta virgin so that she would not have a son to possibly take over the thrown

2. Mars, the god of war, noticed Rhea Silvia and impregnated her with twins who were named Romulus and Remus

3. Amulius wanted to drown the twins so put them in a trough and sent it down the Tiber River, but survived

4. A she-wolf and a woodpecker took care of the twins

5. A woodsman found the boys and took them home and raised them as his own children

6. The twins grew up restless, convinced that they did not really belong to the family or the community that had raised them

7. The boys discovered their true identity and went back to Alba Longa and killed amulius and put their grandfather back on the throne, Numitor

8. They returned to the fig three where the wolf and woodpecker found them and built a town

9. Romulus wanted to be the supreme leader so he killed Remus

10. Romulus named the city after himself

What is the actual history of Rome?

1. founded by a tribal people who had moved from Central Europe to the Italian peninsula

2. Established along the Tiber River because the river provided water for farming and helps protect against invasions

3. Despite the river meant to protect against invasions, Rome was conquered by the Etruscans

4. Under Etruscan rule, Rome had their first form of government ruled by an elected king, however the king had Etruscan and he had absolute power. They did have a Senate which mainly differentiated between the two major classes of Romans. Patricians (socially elite) and the Plebians (mostly farmers, small landowners, and artisans)

How did the Romans regain control of their city?

1. The patricians lead a revolt against the Etruscan king around 509 BC and they set up a republic in which they held the reins of power

2. The republic was led by an executive branch made up of 2 counsels that were elected annually from the patrician class by all the citizens. (Not everyone was a citizen, so not everyone had the right to vote)

3. The Senate had a lot of authority

4. Some historians see the early republic as an oligarchy (a rule by an elite) because only the elite could govern

How did the Roman Republic change?

From 500-300 BC, the Plebians succeeded in breaking down some of the privileged position of the patricians

How did the Plebians bring a recognition of their fundamental civil rights into government?

1. The establishment of the Twelve Tablets, the written basic laws of Rome, made the laws consistent and could not be easily changed by patricians who manipulated the law to benefit themselves

2. The office of the Tribune was supposed to watch over all of the people’s interests, but it ruled in a way that benefited the plebians. However the Tribune was given the power to veto laws passed by the Senate that were seen as violating hte laws and/or the rights of the plebians.

What is the second major change in Roman life?

When the Plebians obtained the right to serve in all political offices, it seemed as if everyone was equal, but since you did not get paid in Senate, so only the rich plebians coud afford to serve in Senate.

What were Rome’s imperial ambitions?

1. Between 509-270 BC the Romans crushed all resistance to their rule on the Italian peninsula

2. The Romans were not content with what they had and they wanted to dominate the Mediterranean world

   1. Carthage also wanted to rule the Mediterranean world so they clashed

What were the highlights of the First Punic War?

1. Much of the focus was over control of the island of Sicily because it would igve the victor control of the shipping lands in and out of the Mediterranean world

2. Since most of the early fighting took place on the water, Carthage had the advantage because Rome had no real navy

3. Rome’s solution create the corvus which allowed them to board other ships and defeat them in hand-to-hand combat

4. Rome eventually won the First Punic War

What were the highlights of the Second Punic War?

1. Carthage increased its presence in Spain and built up its trade

2. Rome became annoyed with Carthage’s success

3. Rome declared war on Carthage, and Hnnimal took his army across the Pyrenees Mountains into southern France and then into Italy by way of the Alps. It was unexpected by the Romans because it was in the dead of winter

4. Hannibal won against Rome’s armies for 15 years. His biggest triumph came at Cannae where Rome sent 80,000 troops whiel Carthage only had 45,000 troops. Carthage won by tricking the Romans into thinking they had the advantage, then surrounding them and slaughtering them. Rome lost 50-60,000 soldiers and another 10,000 taken prison while Hannibal only lost 4,500 troops. Most of the Romans died from a slit hamstring that took three days for them to die because of shock, exposure, and deydration

5. One of the Roman survivors of Cannae was Scipio who became the most effective champion of the Roman military

6. Once Scipio conquered Spain, he went to Africa to attack Carthage which forced Hannibal to return to Africa. They faced in the battle of Zama where Scipio used Rome’s calvary to win. (Hannibal was not taken on that day, but eventually committed suicide before the Roman army captured him 

7. Carthage surrendered and was forced to destroy its navy and pay all of the Roman war debt

What happened in the collapse of the Roman Republic?

1. As the Romans moved toward dominance and expanison, thye abandoned practices that had helped to maintain the Republic

2. They lost the ability to compromise and accommodate

3. The did not have leaders who could work together. For example the Gracchi brothers. Both the Gracchi brothers wanted to give unused land from the rich to the poor. However the Senate (who was mostly made up of these rich landowners) went to violence and killed them instead of compromise

4. The rise of the professional army also signaled the end of the Republic

5. Generals would rise up and challenge the authority of the Senate to establish one-man rule in Rome

6. Julius Caesar finally succeeded by crossing the Rubicon River therefore breaking Roman law and being guilty of treason. Declared a public enemy by the Senate when he did not disband his army. A civil war broke out and Julius Caesar won and was named dictator for life. The people liked Julius Caesar, but the Senate disliked him and assassinated him on the Ides of March in 44 BC

7. Mark Antony and Octavian emerged after Julius Caesar’s death and they were powerful together until Mark Antony married Octavian’s sister, became infatuated with Cleopatra, divorced Octavian’s sister, married Cleopatra. Fighting happened and Octavian won. Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide instead of being taken prisoner

8. The defeat of Antony ended a century of civil war in the Roman world. Octavian was now in control and had none to challenge his authority and the Republic was now an Empire

Describe Rome’s Golden Age

1. Octavian was the ruler of an empire

2. The Senate gave the title of “Augustus” to Octavian which was used for the gods as well as for a man, so Octavian was to be looked upon in awe and reverence. Thus, to oppose Caesar Augustus was both politically inexpedient and immoral

3. Octavian wanted to strengthen his standing with the Roman people so he 1. restored internal stability-had all legions take an oath of loyalty to him rather than the specific generals 2. brought about an external peace to the empire 3. Overcame the deficiencies of the Roman administrative system- allowed local authorities like Herod in Judea to rule int he name of Rome

4. Since Octavian ruled for nearly 45 years brought stability to the newly formed empire

Describe Rome’s Age of Decline

1. The emperors who followed Octavian were some of the worst rules in Rome’s history 

   1. Caligula-insane and the army assassinated him

   2. Nero-a curel and ineffective rules

2. The quality of Rome’s leaders improved

3. Then the empire became plagued by several problems: a depletion of military recources because of constantly fighting in wars, economic weakenss because of the increased military expenditures, and political instability because from CE 235-284, 26 different men served as emperor (4 died in battle, 3 died of natural causes, 18 were assassinated)

Describe Rome’s last hurrah

1. Diocletian revived Rome by keeping most of the army on his side by increasing the size of the army and moving his official residence ot the frontier. Established a univorm currency and price controls throughout the empire and established a system of orderly succession 

2. Constantine was one out of six men who wanted to be emperor when Diocletian resigned, came to power after the Battle of Milvian Bridge, Moved the Roman capital to the East to the city of Byzantium, which would be renamed Constantinople after Constantine’s death and issued the Edict of Milan