Ways of the World Fourth Edition Strayer Chapter 3

Persian Empire

550 BC (Founded by Cyrus the Great)

Area around Middle East. Conquered Babylon, Media, Syria, Libya, modern Afghanistan and Pakistan.

35-50 million subjects

Significance: Pragmatic administrative style, great king, satraps, coinage, taxes, trades infrastructure, religious tolerance, cultural assimilation

Athenian democracy

6th century BC (developed around)

Athenians had lots of people. A least 30,000 citizens, land owning males descendants.

Direct democracy.

Only high class aristocracy could hold positions of political power.

Significance: Ahead of its time, one of the first forms of democracy

Greco-Persian Wars

499-49 BC

Ionian Revolt (499-93) Persians destroy Ionians

First Persian War (490)- Persians didn't like how Athenians helped Ionians, Battle of Marathon- Athenians win even though outnumbered

Second Persian War(480-78)- Battles of Thermopylae (like Alamo), Salamis, Plataea. Greeks win again.

Significance: Effective phalanx helped them win

Peloponnesian War

431-4 BC

Athens vs. Sparta

Competition between states, raiding & ravaging = stalemate

Sicilian expedition (415-13)- Alcibiades statesman traitor

Persian involvement

after war 70 years of king of the hill

Significance: Athens lost. Greeks exhausted themselves and led to eventual take down by Macedonia

Alexander the Great

356-323 BC, Macedonian King son of Philip II

Conquest of Persia including Granicus, Issus, and Gaugamela

Empire from Greece to India

Used advanced Macedonian phalnx

Significance: Decisive victories gives rise to gigantic empire. With no successor Alexander's empire gets divided among generals who fight against each other

Hellenistic era

323-30 BC

Hellenism (to act like a Greek)

Successor kingdoms

large, cosmopolitan empires, generally tolerant to different cultures and religions

Significance: Elements of the Hellenistic era present in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India

Alexandria

331 BC (first founded)

Several cities resulting from Alexander the Great's conquests. At least 17 of them.

Largest in Egypt, half a million people

Significance: Cosmopolitan center, spread Greek culture and learning

Augustus

63 BC - 14 AD, Julius Caesar's Nephew first Octavian then Augustus

princeps, became monarchy without seeming like one, "prince"

republican monarchy

Had Julius Casesar deified to add to claim to throne

Significance: First true emperor of Rome, Rome becomes an empire

pax Romana

1st and 2nd centuries CE

"Roman Peace"

Generally good conditions the Roman Empire places over those they conquer

Trade, infrastructure, protection, relative autonomy, language, Romanness

Significance: Widespread, unmatched prosperity

Qin Shihuangdi

221-206 BC, Emperor of Qin Empire

Legalism (harsh punishment), merciless expansion

Great Wall, Terracotta Army

death (mercury poisoning) and succession, his son Qin Er Shi failed

Significance: Unified China and built the Great Wall of China

Han dynasty

206 BC - 220 AD

Established by anti-Qin rebels

Moderation of Qin policies

Adoption of Confucianism with elaborate administrative infrastructure

Cultural assimilation, suck people in and become "Chinese"

Significance: Consolidated China's imperial state and established the political patterns that lasted into the 20th century

Maruyan Empire

3rd-2nd century BC (326-184)

Thought to occurred due to Alexander the Great

Ruled up to 50 million subjects

Significance: Impressive political structure equivalent to the Persian, Chinese, and Roman empires but not as long lasting

Ashoka

3rd century BC (268-232)

King of Mauryan Empire

Ashoka pillars with laws and edicts on them

Believed ethical and moral men should rule (Like Confucianism)

Significance: Legacy of moral accord in government associated with Hindu and Buddhist teachings

Gupta Empire

320-550 AD

Strong infrastructure, general prosperity

Central Asian invasions and extreme diversity cause empires to collapse

Significance: Indian commerce stretched from China to Rome, cultural diversity maintained through tight caste system

Cyrus the Great

600-530 BC

The founder of the first Persian Empire

Significance: Created the largest empire the world had yet seen, Recognized for his achievements in human rights, politics, and military strategy, as well as his influence on both Eastern and Western civilizations

The Greeks

800-146 BC

People of the Mediterranean

Greeks have greatly influenced and contributed to culture, visual arts, exploration, theatre, literature, philosophy, politics, architecture, music, mathematics, medicine, science, technology, commerce, cuisine and sports.

Athens

3000-338 BC

City in Mediterranean

Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece, with its cultural achievements laying the foundations for Western civilization

Sparta

900-192 BC

City in Mediterranean

Sparta was unique in ancient Greece for its social system and constitution, which configured its entire society to maximize military proficiency at all costs, focusing all social institutions on military training and physical development.

The Roman Republic

509-27 BC

the Republic was in a state of quasi-perpetual war

It was during this period that Rome's control expanded from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world.

Julius Caesar

100-44 BC

Was a populist Roman dictator, politician, and military general who played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.

Mandate of Heaven

1046 BC

The idea that there could be only one legitimate ruler of China at a time, and that this ruler had the blessing of the gods. They used this Mandate to justify their overthrow of the Shang, and their subsequent rule