HTST 203 UofC, exam 2 (chap. 5,6,8)

Flashcards for HTST 203 UofC, exam 2 (chap. 5,6,8). Includes flashcards for C.5 Peoples and World Empires of Eurasia , C.6 The Unification of Western Eurasia

What is the classical or axial age?

Pivotal period of intellectual and 
foundation developments relevant to 
the modern period 

What was a major contributing cause to the religious ferment in India 500 BCE-500 CE?

Vedic cast system challenged due to cognitive dissonance. Lower caste and middle caste people engaged in craftsmanship and trade along the silk road – amassing wealth but not social status (limiting marriage alliances and social engagement)  

Who was Vardhamana Mahavira and what was he called?

Founder of Jainism.

• Became an ascetic (wandering holy man) 

• Achieved Moksha (liberation from samsara)  

• Became a completed soul or conqueror (Jina)  

What is Dharma in Jainism, Bhuddism, and Hinduism?

in Jainism: moral virtue

in Buddhism: the teachings of the Buddha

in Hinduism: duty

What are some of the practices of Jainism?

• All entities have a living soul trapped in matter due to Karma – including inanimate objects. Soul as something light and without mass.  

• Ahimsa (non-violence), non – attachment, self-discipline and multi-perspective truth (there is more than one truth and it depends on your karma)-- becoming ascetic 

• Dharma is moral behavior 

• Teachings of Mahavira recorded in agams – translated 

• Most Jains are vegans, will avoid killing insects,  

• extreme ascetism (starving oneself to death) 

• Minority religion but foundational for the other rising religions  

Who was Siddhartha Gautama?

Aka Shakyamuni 

(563-480 BCE) 

• Shifted from prince (warrior caste) to ascetic due to human reality of disease, old age, and death (he had been sheltered from these things) - human existence is suffering 

Became the Buddha and preached the Middle path – not full ascetism not full engagement with the world  

What are the 4 noble truths of Buddhism?

1. Existence is suffering 

2. The cause of suffering is desire 

3. Desire can be eliminated  

4. This is done through the eightfold path 

Through this one gains nirvana – Buddhism focuses on nirvana over Moksha. Non-attachment, no ego,  

What is the eightfold path in Buddhism?

right  belief, resolve, speech 
behavior, occupation, 
effort, contemplation and 
mediation. 

What are the 3 jewels of Buddhism?

teacher; 
the Buddhist dharma 
(Teaching) and the 
community (sangha) 

What was a major appeal of Buddhism in India?

Ignores the caste system (Jainism removes you from caste system). Buddhism is a more accessible seperation from the caste system than the extreme ascetisim of Jainism.

What 5 factors contributed to the spread of Buddhism?

1. Willingness to use vernacular language 

2. Middle path – be a part of society and a family, not entirely separate, more accessible  

3. Adoption of local traditions - Confucianism, Daoism (can worship these gods and be Buddhist)  

4. Chinese bookmaking – adoption of technology distribution system  

5. Period of support from Ashoka (Indian king – advocates for Buddhism) 

• Splits into 2 major centers (Mahayana = more adaptable and widespread)(Theravada = more traditional and less practiced)  

What are some of the practices of Hinduism?

• Term coined by 11th c Muslims  

• Develops different ways of understanding brahman = atman 

• One way is devotion or bhakti towards the various gods, i.e. Vishnu. Numerous expressions : temple offerings, prayers, dance, art  

  • Easier to remain part of society and family, accommodating to life  

• Dharma as duty – duty to caste and the gods  

• Balance between devotion and worldly life – hallmark of Hinduism  

• Bhagavad Gita – arjuna and Krisna – 2 sides of family warring, dharma to wage war against family for the greater good  

• Emphasis on the individual within the caste system. But proper behavior could free any individual from the cycle of reincarnation  

List an 8 point timeline of the first ruler of the Mauryan Empire (322-185 BCE)  

1. Establishment of kingdoms that 
warred with each other. 
2. One emerges and begins conquest 
of others 
3. Then a decline due to internal 
conflict, dynastic upheaval, 
migrations, invasions or over 
extension of resources. 

5. Into mix, arrives 
Alexandra the Great( 
(332) which destabilizes 
situation permitting the 
emergence of 
Chandragupta 
6. Chandragupta Purchases land from 
Seleucids and conquers 
rest 

7. Kautilya – Arthasastra 
“Treatise on Material Gain” – 
iron-grip rule, centralized state, 
citizen welfare is a matter of 
political requirement for 
success.
8. Chandragupta abdicated the 
throne in 297 BCE, became a 
Jain monk and starved to death 

What were some of the major points of the Arthasastra 
“Treatise on Material Gain”

iron-grip rule, centralized state, 
citizen welfare is a matter of 
political requirement for 
success. 1st political treatises. Alliances with the enemy of your enemy, attacking when the enemies are weak or struggling, economic prosperity as a way of maintaining power, surplus goes to center of state, no moral restriction on exploitation – political feasibility is the only hold up.  

List 4 or more points about Chandragupta’s successor

Mauryan Empire:

Ashoka, Chandragupta's grandson who takes the throne after him.  

1. Converts to Buddhism (this has been brought into doubt, maybe just advocated for it) 

2. Encourages humane treatment, 
   general welfare, etc., as recorded on his 
   various edicts – Ashoka was part of a violent conquest war that caused him to change his perspective  

3. Promoted Buddhism - a spread of Buddhism  

4. Mauryan declined after his death  

• Puts fruit trees along roads, funds monasteries builds trade stations . a non-violent and generous ruler.

• The period between empires referred to as India’s Dark Ages – foreign invasions  

List at least 4 points about the Gupta empire (320-540 CE) 

1. King Took the name of Chandra Gupta to 
recall previous empire (320-540 CE) 
2. Expanded through marriage then 
conquest 
3. Template for medieval Indian Empires. 
- Eliminate earlier rulers in core 
- Direct administration through 
officers in core 
- Border kings trained in court. 
4. Viewed as gods on earth. 

•  idea is incorporated with Hinduism. Hinduism and court are the same. This creates a Period of growth for Hinduism  

• One Ideal Leader as a great warrior, poet and artist. Held empire through heroic prowess and cultural establishment. Samudra Gupta (Chandra's son)  

• They wrote Literature on how to be a good elite  

• Empire is not as large as the previous empire, but has a lot of cultural impact into modern day  

 

India is reffered to as a crossroads of trade. What does this mean and why is it important for the Indian civilizations?

• India was the center of an 
international trading 
system 
• China, Southeast Asia, 
East Africa, Mediterranean 
world 
• Merchants, artisans, rulers 
accumulated wealth 
• Silk Road spread ideas as 
well as goods 

• India remains prosperous  

• Center of the silk road  

• Romans using sea routes – stopping in India  

• Ideas travel along trade routes  

What were some aspects of Literary and scientific flowering in India?

• Gupta empire is India's golden age.  

• Recording of the Vedas  

• Inspired writing in Sanskrit  

• Mahabharata and 
  Ramayana 

• Indian mathematicians invented the concept of zero, numeral system – passed along to Islam  

• Delhi’s Iron pillar – chemically pure, doesn't rust.  Indication of advanced science. probably build around 400CE

What was the silk road?

The caravan route with various branches that connected china in the east to the mediterranean sea in the west, passing through regions such as south and southwest asia. name is misleading as it was neither a single road nor was silk the main product transported over it. 4000 miles through many different landscapes. the name derives from the chinese monopoly on silk, which was highly valued all throughout eurasia.

What pressures led to the philosophical and intellectual social reform in Qin and Han dynasties?

1. Spring/Autumn 700-481 BCE 
is a period of warring states. 
2. This situation increases. 
3. Resulting in the period of 
Warring States 480 – 221 BCE. 

Several centuries of political upheaval, chaos, violence, economic trouble, migrations  

Concerns over how to resolve wars , violence, political chaos = the lens through how these religions/philosophy develop  

What were the Key ideas of Confucius? (551-479BCE)

1. Self-cultivation within the context 
of society. leading through example 
2. Done by practicing rituals and 
respecting the mutual 
responsibilities required to sustain 
relationships: 
1. Father-son 
2. Ruler-subject 
3. Husband-wife 
4. Older brother – younger brother 
5. Friend – friend. 

Reciprocal relationships.  Not always equal relationships. Prominent role of individuals in creating a good social order. Oblige all followers regardless of status to self-cultivation as the first step of Dao 

3. Provide models for harmony to 
family, community and empire. 
4. So, everyone engages in self- 
cultivation in the pursuit of the 
Way (Dao) 

What were the ideals surrounding the King/Emperor in the post Warring-States period?

1. Should be a junzi (learned moral 
person) so to be a moral example 
to others 
2. Should surround himself by moral 
elite 
3. Should possess inner virtue (de) so 
people submit due to moral 
authority. 

• Head of moral society that must lead as a moral model of all  

• Inner virtue is a spiritual and ethical power over others  

• Re-do society to eliminate chaos and violence – needs moral ruler to lead by example  

• Influenced by the mandate of heaven – now he must maintain internal order. Can now criticize the character of the emperor not just their policy

Who was Mencius (372-289 BCE) ?

1. Key Confucian scholar 

2. Philosophy was that Man is born with a nature that is oriented towards goodness – if needs are not met a person may do bad things because they have no other choice, but they are not inherently evil.  

3. Can only do so once basic material needs are met – food, shelter, security (early ideas of human rights)  

   • These things are the responsibility of the emperor – basic needs of society  

• Basic goodness, compassion, and empathy  

List 4 points about Daoism. Who is attributed to founding daoism?

Laozi is attributed as founder, but it was likely the work of many philosphers compiled under his name at a later date.

1. People should lead simple honest lives by withdrawing from society, let the natural world determine it's course. Not full-fledged ascetism, but humans as an element of nature. Not andro-centric  

2. Human life is only part of the process of nature, or the Dao.  

3. Violence is the result of ignorance of the Dao 

4. Best is wu-wei or non-action (this is applied in terms of government) - not disturbing the flow of a situation, what the flow of a situation is and being part of it 

List 6 points about legalism

1. Adopted by Lord Shang Yang (390- 
338 BCE) 
2. Focused on ruler, social hierarchy 
and practical aspects of 
government. Government power centralized on emperor & court exclusively 
3. Need for rigorous laws; people 
must fear ruler and law. 
4. People chosen on merit  and merit alone 
5. Compulsory Military Service and 
Collective responsibility. ex. Extended family may be charged w/ treason 
6. Used by Qin Dynasty. 

What are four major points of social and politcal change post Warring States period that are collectively reflected in the different philosophies of the time?

1. Focus on political organization And knowledge expertise for the political bureaucracy 

2. Meritocracy rather than accident of birth 

3. Performance of tasks based on social status – obligations that need to be fulfilled  

4. Political and cultural unity need for social stability – national identity  

What were some innovations in the Qin dynasty?

• Shift from bronze to iron weapons – mass production = easier to arm infantry  

  • No bronze age collapse, gradual shift  

• Chariots (aristocrats) replaced by infantry (peasants) - more integration of peasants in collective culture 

Who was Shi Huangdi? What does this name mean?

name means ‘First August Emperor”

Began unification campaign in 237 
BCE. 
• Name reflects the legacy of the 
Shang and Zhou dynasties 
• This is the first empire in the Chinese 
tradition. 
• Centralized bureaucracy 

• Adopts legalism  

• Campaign to unite provinces – 15 yrs. later he has 2/3rds of modern China 

What were some notable features of the Tomb of Shi Huangdi?

• 7,300 life size Terracotta soldiers 

• Unique facial features, different ranks (seen through detail in uniform)  

• Buried w/ servants – human sacrifice – terracotta figures as a substitute for sacrificing an entire army

• Were originally colored, include using chemical reactions to create pigments not found in nature 

• Status symbol – cult of ancestors – going afterlife as dynastic emperor where he would continue his rule

 

What were some of the pros and cons of Shi Huangdi’s rule?

1. Elimination of dissent & diversity – legalism – attacks on Confucius scholars and other texts (con)

2. Standardization of Chinese scripts (pro)  

3. Single system of weights measures and coinage (pro). Indicates economic focus 

• Bronze coins for everyday use – spread throughout of all of society – not limited to government   

4. Infrastructure in terms of irritation systems roads and defense works – monopolies  

list three points about the rise of the Han empire.

1. Liu Bang, rebel leader 
overthrew Shi Huangdi’s 
government in 210 BCE. 
2. Establishes basic outline 
of political bureaucracy. Used into the 1900s  
3. Triumph of 
Confucianism 

What was the government structure of the Han empire?

1. Policy-making group with Chancellor – most powerful figure, an imperial counselor – oversaw 
bureaucracy, a supreme commander – military 
• 2. Elaborate bureaucracy with 
agencies, superintendents, etc. 
• 3. System of checks and balances 
created issues.  (no ministry can overpower another) - everything become locked up in red tape  

 Chancellor is most powerful because he has access to the emperor and can act in his stead. Politics and bureaucracy  triumphs over military – military under civilian control.  

What was the civil service exam in 193 BCE ?

1. application of meritocracy  

2. Trained in the classical texts associated with Confucius along w/ history and poetry. Scholarly elite culture. Mannered and cultured, able to think in the abstract (poetry), learning from the past, idea of moral refinement & self-cultivation is the standard throughout the society  

3. This is how most bureaucrats are chosen. At first is still the elite writing the exam because they can afford to be tutored, though some peasants will be sponsored by their village to take the exam and get a political voice in the system. Same thing w/ merchants and traders  

What were the social changes and stressors that prompted the Axial age in Greece 500-30BCE ?

1. Persian – Greek Wars 494-449 BCE 
2. Peloponnesian Wars between Sparta 
and Athens 431-404 
3. Conquest of Greece by Alexander the 
Greek and the emergence of Greek 
Empire. 

How did democracy contribute to Athens’s golden age (500-400BCE)?

Under the leadership of Pericles (443-429). he sought to have all athenian citizens (keep in mind that this was a small, reistricted group compared to the actual population of athens. Only 1/6 or 1/8th of Athenians have political rights  ) take an active role in government by providing a daily stipend for democratic duties so citizens could afford to participate. Oral debate and the art of rhetoric (public speaking) rose to high importance. Leading to the new field of philosophy (literally “a love of wisdom”).

• Sophists (wise men) or rhetoricians – the need for persuasion in terms of political debate  

• Persuasion of a thesis supported by evidence throughout society  

• Aristotle – the art of rhetoric (how to debate) - a book 

What was a sophist?

in the ancient greek world: someone who teaches rhetoric. In the modern day, it is someone who convinces through false argument.

What are four major points about ancient greek philosophy?

• Key pursuit: how to live a good life in terms of contributing and shaping a good society  

  • Coming out of a time of political violence, disintegration of some Greek states, societal upheaval  

  • How to live a good life as a social creature  

• Human beings are social animals, therefore, one needs to understand society, government, history, ethics, and the world in which one resides  

Who was Socrates?

• Ancient greek philosopher, teacher of Plato.

• 470-399 BCE

• developed a mode of questioning designed to separate truth from assumption. (Socratic method). humans are rational and need to discover knowledge from discovery and inquiry - how to think 

• sought to find justice, which he equated to truth.

• our knowledge of his philosophy comes from the dialogues of Plato, making it hard to differentiate between Plato’s own philosophy and Socrates’s teaching.

Who was Plato?

Ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle. (428-348 BCE)

• developed the notion of universal ideals. perfect spiritual realm of ideas

• distinction between the physical (imperfect) and the spiritual (perfect).

• Questioned democracy and proposed a hierarchy of guardians (wise and well-educated), auxiliaries (provide protection), and producers (provide food and manufactured goods)

Who was Aristotle?

Ancient greek philosopher, student of Plato and tutor to Alexander the great. (384-322BCE)

• focused on observing particulars and deriving general conclusions from logical induction.

• disapproved of both tyranny and democracy and proposed a middle road with an assembly directed by able experts.

• thought that slavery was a natural condtion for some people

• ethically, warned against extremes and advised that people should strive for balance.

Why did Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle have such influence on later intellectual history?

They were popular in the hellenistic world, and inspired philosphers in Alexandria for centuries. When Islam and christianity emerged, their intellectual foundations were formed from a merging of Greek philosphical ideas with biblical concepts. the works of plato and aristotle were widely translated - allowing for their spread and preservation.

List 4 other ancient greek intellectuals (not the big three)

• Historians such as Herodotus (Persian wars)
  and Thucydides (Peloponnisian wars) –political and moral questions 
  • Playwrights such as Aeschylus, 
  Sophocles and Euripides 
  reflecting on society - human 
  behavior & morality 

  •  antiwar play: the Trojan women. Trojan war from the perspective of the women  

 

What 2 conquests caused the rise of the Hellenistic empires?

(starting 336 BCE)  

1. Conquest of Greece by Phillip II of 
Macedonia 
2. Conquest of Alexander the Great 
extends the beyond the boundaries 
of the Persian empire from Greece 
to the Indus Valley incorporating 
Egypt. Merging Greek culture with other cultures – Greek oriented with other aspects adopted. Imitating Persian Empire.  

 

What were the Hellenistic kingdoms? What caused their formation out of the Hellenistic Empire?

Seleucid Empire centered in Syria 
Ptolemaic controls Egypt and the Libyan coast 
Thracian Empire – part of Greece 
Macedonian 
They continue the Persian ways of the 
blending cultures. This blending is 
Greek with local cultures producing 
Hellenistic culture. 

after the death of alexander the great, his generals divided up his territory in to the above kingdoms. They did not get along.

What are 3 major points about Alexandria?

Hellenistic cities 

1. Used to establish dominance and 
control; but many, like Alexandria 
Egypt became cosmopolitan 
centers of intellectual exchange. 
2. Evident in the Library of Alexandria 
and the Museum 
3. Support blending of science and philosophy. 

• Alexandrian library has a mandate to get copies of all literature in Mediterranean world. At one point may have held up to 490,000 volumes.  

•  Attached to museum – more of a research museum with poets and scientific researchers from all over the greek speaking world  

What were the 3 schools of Hellenistic Philosophy?

 

• Epicureans - enjoy every moment in persuit of simple pleasures and a quiet life.

• Cynics - rejection of social norms and conventional behavior, oft living as beggers without physical comfort

• Stoics- most influential, encouraged intellectual inquiry to provide moral guidance - eliminating the anxieties of daily life and desire.   

the overall concern is still on how to function well as a member of society  

What were 3 characteristics of Hellenistic Religon

1. Blending: Osiris combined with 
Zeus 
2. Adoption of other 
deities: Isis, an egyptian goddess who saw widespread popularity accross the hellenistic world.
3. Blending of ideas 

List 2 points about the kingdoms of Israel and Judah

1. Initially a group of people known as Israelites in Canaan  

2. Develop into a kingdom which eventually splits into kingdoms of Israel and Judah  

• Stuck between Egyptian and Persian territory, literally in a battlefield constantly  

What historical events contributed to the writing of the Hebrew bible and development of a unique monotheistic religion?

 

1. Assyrians in 722 BCE conquer Kingdom of Israel and Assyrians deport 10 tribes of Israel. Judah remains and attempts to revolt against Nebuchadnezzar II 

2. Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II in 587 BCE and  Nebuchadnezzar II takes Israel elite to Babylon – called the Babylonian exile (500bce,  probably timing of first writing of  some of the books of the Hebrew bible, written to explain why their people are exiled are in Babylon ) 

3. Persians under Cyrus the Great sends the jewish people back home and support the building of the temple – Cyrus is referred to as a messiah in Hebrew bible  

How did the response of the Israelites to their exile potentially lead to the development of monotheism?

1. Reinterpretation of history in terms of relationship between the Israelites and their god Yahweh/Adonai 
- Monotheism  – people have been uprooted in Babylonian exile, experiencing a lack of control leading to a development of one god that has total control; unlike the pantheons of other regions where different gods have different domains. Prior to exile they were henotheistic (devotion to a single primary god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities) or polytheistic – perhaps including deities such as Bhaal or Ashtar (Ishtar?) 
- Jerusalem Temple 
- Tanakh or Hebrew Bible– started as oral tradition – oldest sections are likely the poetic sections  
- Torah/Nevi’im or Prophets/ Ketuvim or Writings - Fluid shape, in flux at this time 
2. Impacted by Hellenistic Kingdoms. 

Who were Romulus and Remus? What is the significance of their story?

• Twin brothers born to war god 
  Mars and Rhea Silvia, a 
  descendant of a hero of the 
  Trojan War (Aeneas) 
  Raised by a she-wolf. 
  Decided to built a city, during 
  quarrel Romulus killed Remus 
  Kingship over Rome established. 
  Last three kings were Etruscans 
  with last one overthrown
  This is the regal period: 753-509 
  BCE. 

• Linking pedigree of Rome to the Greek heroes  

• Etiological myth -  a myth intended to explain the origins of cult practices, natural phenomena, proper names and the like.

• Sextus Tarquinis (son of the last king of Rome) and the rape of Lucretia – the fall of the monarchy in 510 BC  

  • Hand over from Etruscan power to roman power – exile of the Etruscan kings and conflict with the Etruscans 

List 4 basic points about the Roman Republic

509-27 BCE 

• This is the golden period of the senate and republic  

• Kingship is replaced with a 
  republic. 

• There is an assembly known as 
  the Senate 

• Executive power is in hands of 
  two consuls who oversee 
  military, state business and 
  financial affairs. 

  • Consuls have imperium – the right to command 

  • Annual elections – 1 year terms for magistrates 

What is the compositon and structure of the Roman family?

The family (domus) 
which includes extended 
family, clients and slaves 
are under the authority 
of the male head or 
paterfamilias. 
• Paterfamilias has control 
over finances and 
children. 

What was the role and name for the wife in a Roman Family?

• Matrona or Domina 

• Stayed out of public life but had enormous influence in power struggle  

• Wives were to remain virtuous and loyal to husbands 

• Advisory role within the family  

• Elite woman always had power – especially  if her husband was away from the house hold for a period of time 

What was the role of children in the roman family?

Under mothers care until 8-12ish years, then educated  

• Both boys and girls were tutored – women have a pivotal role in running the household and need to be educated  

• Boys attended school  

List 5 points about slaves in Rome

• acquired through conquest 

• Could be tutors, artists, manage homes and villas, etc. Could accumulate domestic power as a domestic slave  

• Slavery is due to misfortune (as the Romans put it), does not have a racial component 

• Can be freed (good service, death of masters, etc.) would often become a client of their former masters and family, adopting masters surname, would often stay within the domo while running independent business  

• There were slave revolts such as Spartacus, 73-71 BCE 

Explain the practice of Roman ancestor worship.

Ancestors/household gods (Numa)  

• Protectors of the family  

• Ancestor worship  - emphasis on the importance of family and lineage  

• Shrines within the household – death masks  

  • Occasionally a family pedigree can be traced back to an actual god 

• More complicated religion than just borrowing Greek gods under Latin name 

• End up with a cult of emperors, merging of gods with dynasty, the basis was the earlier cult of the ancestors  

• In house shrines/ancestor worship = private religion 

• Temples – sacrifice = public religion  

• Necropolis – shaped like houses ( old italic tradition from the Etruscans). Constructed to interr several members of the family  

What was the patronage system of the Roman Republic?

• Patron-client 

• Interconnect system of patronage – a reciprocal relationship, unequal power dynamic but still reciprocal  

• This is seen in the patronage that 
  produced infrastructure, 
  sponsorship of games, festivals to 
  simple domestic relationships. 

• Patron provides networking, protection, support – client would provide services and aid in political campaigning  

• The aristocrats (patricians) are patrons – they have responsibility to the roman society. How the society functions well – both sides have obligations not just benefits 

• The emperor as a patron with responsibilities  

What does SPQR stand for in the Roman context?

Politics summed up in the phrase 
“senatus populusque Romanus” – 
the Senate and the People
Phrase stands for the beliefs, 
customs and laws of the republic

What are 3 major points about Roman republican government?

• Based on citizenship. Only roman citizens could vote and hold office.  

• Even Plebs had certain guaranteed  treatments under roman law  

• Political power starts off exclusively in the hands of the patricians (the aristocracy) 

  • They had positions in the Senate 

  • Were originally the only ones who held offices in the course of offices (magistrate, consul and 
    praetors) 

• A voice in discussion and debate, common culture, political experience – Patrician government officials spread out to the provinces in order to help Romanize them  

Who were the Plebeians?

• They were free citizens, who 
  voted and formed the foundation 
  of the military. could vote in the assembly of centuries, which had inequal voting power that heavily favored the Roman elite (patricians)   
  • Did not feel recognized, veterans 
  without support and loss of lands 
  • Refused to serve (Plebian succession) 493 BC 

• Office of Tribune formed 

What are the laws of the 12 tables?

The Laws of the Twelve Tables  

• 12 tablets of laws that the plebians were agitating for, a selected group of individuals from the patricians were selected to create these law.  

• Laws about property and agriculture, meetings, allowing intermarriage to the patricians (banned, this indicates the patrician perspective on these laws) 

• these laws opened doors for a class of wealthy elite plebians  
  • Equestrians – wealthy Plebians 

What were the negative effects of Roman expansion in the Late Republic?

• Long absences of soldiers (20-25yrs) - creates a well-honed military 

  • Loss of farms, concentration of wealth through the wealthy creating estates from the empty farms. Called latifundia – acquired by purchasing land  

• The slaves take the labor from the roman citizens who are not on campaign 

• You need to own land to be a soldier; and people are losing land. This reduces the amount of available soldiers  

• Attempts made at reform – land distribution, reduced grain price, promise of land for service  

  • Politicans trying to enact reforms were regularly assasinated  

  • Senate refusing to honor promise of reformers – decline in loyalty to senate and loyalty is switched to the generals – who can provide for their soldiers out of their own funds  

  • Julius Ceasar was one of the reformers  

 

What were 3 positive aspects of the roman senate?

1. Stability 

2. Continuity across the empire 

3. Law  

What were the 3 types of roman law?

• Roman civil law “ius civile” which regulated 
  the lives of citizens. marriage, property rights, etc. 

• Roman law of the peoples “ius gentium” for 
  peace treaties, treatment of prisoners and 
  exchange of diplomats. for example, govern the relationship between Rome and Egypt.  

• The concept of natural law “ius naturale” – 
  the idea that rule for human behaviour could 
  be developed through the application of 
  reason. (not on religion, tradition, custom)  

What were were the events and responses that led Rome to try to aquire Carthage?

• In 387 BCE, the celts (Gauls – the Senone Tribe) sack Rome  

• Leads to military and foreign policy reforms and roman legions  

• Gauls bought off with 1k pounds of gold 

• Reform military and subdue most of Italy (an alliance called the Latin league) by 265 BCE 

• Italian expansion brought 
  Rome to the island of Sicily 
  and the mercantile empire of 
  Carthage. 

What are some notable points about the 1st Punic war?

• (264-241 BCE), 
  Romans built a navy and claim 
  Sicily as their first province. 

• Rome has to become a naval power  

  • Capture and take apart a Carthaginian ship – built ships like Lego with numbered pieces (anyone could put the ship together) - allowing the romans to develop their ships  

What are some notable points about the 2nd Punic war?

(218-201 BCE) 
included the success of the 
Carthaginian Hannibal who moved 
into Spain and then across the Alps 
and devasted Italy 

• Roman general Scipio 
  Africanus took Spain and 
  then moved on Carthage. 
  • Scipio Africanus and 
  Hannibal met at the 
  Battle of Zama in 202 
  BCE, which Rome wins. 
  

What are some notable points about the 3rd Punic war?

• (149-146  BCE) Carthage is wiped 
  off the map. 1 year of total destruction by the roman legions. Salted the earth – an example of what Rome does to those who stand against them  

 

What are some other notable factors about later roman republic expansion?

the Antigonid Empire 
(Greece) then the Seleucids (Syria) 
• However, “Captive Greece captures her rude 
conqueror” - the romans were very inspired by Greek culture and philosophy  
• Ptolemies (Egypt) cooperate with Roman trade policy – Cleopatra was a Ptolemaic queen 
• Mediterranean is now mare nostrum “our sea” 

Part of Romes fall was the lack of Bureaucracy– didn't have the scaffolding to hold the functioning state through weak rule or chaotic periods.  

What individuals made up the First Triumvirate?

• Julius Caesar – 
  successful commander 
  and popular with the 
  people – controlled Gaul 
  • Pompey – successful 
  commander and consul. Controlled Spain  
  • Crassus – ambitious 
  politician and wealthiest 
  man in Rome - doesn’t want to change the status quo through reform because the current system serves him well  

Why does Julius Caesar emerge on top of the politcal power struggle of his time?

His victories in Spain and Gaul 
• Took his army across the 
Rubicon River

Issued laws about debt, 
collection of taxes, distribution 
of grain and land, founded 
new colonies populated by 
poor and veterans 

What was the significance of crossing the Rubicon?

it was illegal to bring an army that close to Rome, the Rubicon was the border of this law. now seen as military stepping in to help the people, or a turn of phrase meaning a decision that can't be taken back.  

How did Julius Caesar die and what significant events followed his death?

Assassinated in 44 BCE 
• Consequence is a civil war 
between supporters of Julius 
Caesar and his murders. 
• Out of the war emerges 
Octavian, Julius Caesar’s 
adopted son and heir 

• Defeated Marc Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of 
  Actium (31 BCE) 

What are 6 points about Octavian ?

• Octavian is Agustus, an honorable name/title awarded to him 

• Rebuild effective government, paid army (professional army), addressed danger on Roman boarders  

• Claimed to restore the republic – morality or principles of republic, but not the governance  

• Concentrated powers by claiming numerous positions; consul (patricians), tribune (plebians), imperator, pontifex maximus (chief priest of the roman empire – merger of the emperors cult) oversees public religion  

• Senate names him Princeps civitas – first citizen as the state  

• Starts being depicted as Jove/Jupiter holding scepter and globe – early associations of the emperors with gods 

 

What were some significant points Pax Romana (100-200CE) 

• Golden period of roman empire 

• Military shift from conquering force to defensive force  

• More non roman citizen troops  

  • Offering citizenship for 20-25yers of service, a way of elevating status  

• Established a system of forts and walls  

• Increased network of roads – similar to Persia  

  • Trade, increased economy, Exhange of ideas and peoples across empire  

What did Augustus do during Pax Romana period?

• Augustus further professionalizes the army, grants frontier lands to veterans encouraged self-government and development of cities, and improved provincial administration.  

  • Doing reforms that Ceasar wasn't able to do 

  • Understands that admiration is needed for the survival of Rome 

• Encourages the cult of Roma et Augustus  

• Senate posthumously makes him a god 

List some points about the culture of the Roman Empire

With the spoils of war, Rome 
becomes a great city with 
theatres, stadiums, and other 
places of entertainment 
• This new urban culture is 
heavily influenced by Greek 
culture. 
• Greek remains the common 
language until around 400 CE 
• Adoption of Greek art, 
architecture and culture. 

• Places of culture, theaters, stadiums, amusement, entertainment. More time spent in leisure pursuits – highly influenced by Greek culture 

• Gymnasiums, snack bars, taverns, public baths (originally Greek)  

What were some effects of the expansion of the Roman empire on the City of Rome?

City of Rome now has a population of over 1mil – largest city in the world at that time?  

A city of marble and shanty towns – wooden buildings sometimes 6 stories high 

Fire and crime were perennial problems  

Sanitation was improved but still a problem  

Such a large population it becomes difficult to feed people. Citizens fed with free oil, wine and grain.  

Distracted with games – gladiator games  

 

What were some effects of peace on the roman outposts at the outskirts of the empire

Peace and stability meant the opening of Britain, Gaul and lands around the Danube to settlers  

Garrison towns become major cites – London and Paris  

What did Roman religion entail in the Empire?

• Honoring ancestors, king, and showing loyalty to Rome 

• Main goal to secure peace of the gods and harness  their power for projects 

  • many records of prayers for sailors 

• Religious rituals important way to 
  express civic values. 

• Latin blended with original indigenous languages resulting in romance languages, Spanish, Italian,  French, Portuguese and Romanian 

• Hybrid gods such as Isis (Egypt melded with Greek, very popular, almost monotheistic in terms of excessive domains) and Mithras (Iranian god associated with sun god, adopted by roman legions as patron ) 

• Tolerance of religion 

  • Exceptions:  

    • Outlaw druids – presumed human sacrifice 

    • Christianity – negative towards roman gods, presumed cannibalism  

What was Rome’s international trade network like?

Britain, Belgium and  Egypt for grain 
• Britain for wool 
• Italy and Gaul for wine 
• Introduction of olive to  southern Spain for oil 
• Lyons in Gaul and Cologne in Germany – glassmaking 
• Industry scale production of pottery. veteran towns mass producing pottery roofing tiles etc. 

What did Rome trade with India? What were some of the pitfalls of this relationship?

• Spices, Silk  

• Traces back to 3rd c BCE, trade across Red sea and Mediterranean sea 

• Driver of roman economy  

• Romans would export wine, glassware  

• Unsustainable system  

  • Rome was buying perishable consumables – no comparable product to recoup costs through export  

• Cultural exchange – port cities 

Who was Jesus? Why was he executed?

In the reign of Tiberius in the Roman
province of Judaea, a Jewish man by
the name of Jesus of Nazareth
attracted a following and was
executed on the order of the Roman
prefect Pontius Pilate in 30 CE.

• Executed due to actions in Jerusalem temple – provocative enough for execution as a traitor – took place during Passover (population In Jerusalem triples during that time, celebration of liberation and humiliation of a conqueror – romans on edge)  

• Note that this was a roman execution – crucifixion was a roman practice  
  

Why was the location of Judea significant in the development of Christianty and different expressions of Judaism?

The province of Judaea was effected 
by Alexander the Great, Ptolemies, 
Seleucids and Romans 

• Social, cultural, religious change for centuries  

• Result was a diversity of Jewish expression – trying to explain why this was happening to them – different Jewish sects  

• Jesus of Nazareth is part of this diverse expression  

What are the Gospels?

• Following Jesus's death, followers preserved teachings orally, wrote them down as gospels decades after his death  

  • Note that there is a Historical gap regarding Jesus  

• Jesus's morality and theology derive from Judaism – associated with the same sayings of rabbis at the time 

• Gospels depict Jesus as an agent of god, a messiah (similar to Cyrus the great) - known as Christus or Christ from the Greek for messiah  

• Stories about Jesus recorded in 
  Gospels, written in Greek (50-125 
  CE) 
  

How did translation and the Old Testament factor into the division between Christianity and Judaism?

• Gospels and Letters written by 
  various Christians and Revelation of 
  John form New Testament. They don't quote from Hebrew bible but from the Greek translation of it.  
  • Old Testament is the Greek 
  Translation of the Hebrew Bible 

  • Translation – brings in ideas of the language it was translated from (Greek) - creates a shift – this is part of the separation of Christianity and Judaism  

• Teachings transmitted outside of Judaism by apostles such as Paul of Tarsus (Hellenistic jew, Greek philosophy) - how to be a follower of Jesus without being Jewish 

• Paul produced letters advising the community that were recopied and 
  distributed. h

What are 4 major reasons people were attracted to Christianity

• Promise of afterlife w/ family – appeals to roman cult of ancestors  

• Morally provided for the support of vulnerable communities : poor, orphan, widowed, sick.  

  • Providing proper dignified burial for the poor (who would be cremated in mass graves, the rich had mausoleums)  

  • Isis was popular because her shrines oft had training centers for roman physicians, rudimentary public first aid stations for poor. Christians do the same 

• Women permitted more active roles – can be in charge of ritual, lead services, women deacons, priests, women bishops (possibly)

• Provided a kinship like community – Christian family 'brother and sister'  

  • Alterative social network to the patronage system of the romans  

What aided the spread of Christianity?

• Pax Romana infrastructure helps with the spread of Christianity  

• Spread more easily than Judaism because of the restrictions and identifiable features of Judaism. Also the Jewish people had an arrangement that meant they had to make an offering to the roman emperor  

• Christians were belligerent , did not negotiate with roman empire the way the Jewish people did  

• God – fearers – people who don't really practice Judaism beyond the social and moral teachings. Christianity appeals to this demographic  

Generally, Roman response to Christian religion was tolerant. What factors stopped the tolerance?

• Seen as subversive dissidents because did not practice traditional rituals and objected to the cult of the emperor  

• Some thought they practiced immoral and indecent rituals  (cannibalism – a misunderstand of the Eucharist)  

• Fear that the roman gods would abandon them  

• Destruction of the roman family  

How is the end of Roman tolerance of Christianity connected to Saints?

• Result was local and sporadic persecution of Christan's – put into the gladiatorial games, executed by the beasts (honorless death)  

• Seen as martyrs such as Perpetua - a reworking of reality, witness to the faith, showing same virtues of a gladiator  

• Resulting in saints, shrines, and relics  

  • Honored dead – able to intercede and petition god on the behalf of the worshipper  

Who was Diocletian?

(ruled prior to Constantine)  

• Control freak with a firm hand - had the ruling character needed to enforce the systems he created

• divided the  empire into Western and 
  Eastern section with an emperor in each with a sub-emperor to help. established a rule of four.  

  • After his death there was civil war. 
  

Who was Constantine?

• Ascension of Constantine as the roman emperor associated with spread of Christianity  

• Emerges after a period of civil war, invasion by northern Gaulish tribes and advancement of Sassanids of the eastern border 

• Roman empire has become too large to manage  

• Constantine would decide  to rule from the East from  the Byzantium; renamed 
  Constantinople. 

How is Constantine assoicated with Christianity?

• mother was Christian, as was some of his social circle  

• Edict of Milan in 313, which  permitted Christians to practice their faith openly 
  • Constantine said to support  Christianity due to the success at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312.  (romans – say he saw a sword, Christians- he saw a cross)  
  • Christianity declared official  religion of empire in 325 CE. 
  • Only religion in 380 CE  (this was ineffective) very slow conversion of the 'pagans"  

• Through his mother  Helena, arranged for 
  the building of  churches and shrines in province of Judaea and Rome 
  • Sponsored councils to  decide doctrine and creed such as Council of Nicaea. 

• Constantine creates the council of Nicaea to consolidate the beliefs of the  church

What were some of the different responses and understandings of Christianity?

• Major questions to be answered  such as the nature of Jesus –  known as the incarnation and how God can be father, son and holy spirit – known as the Trinity. 

• There were differing responses such as Arianism which viewed Jesus as the adopted son of God. 
  • These needed to be resolved for the sake of unity. 

• Son of god concept was easy to understand for roman and Greek context, in Jewish context that meant he was an agent of god, what does this mean in Christian context? 

• Leads to diversity of thought in Christianity  

What 8 points led to the collapse of the Roman Empire?

*note date of Rome’s ‘fall’ is much disputed. more of an evolution into something else.

1. The empire had become too large to manage. 
2. Movement to Constantinople resulted in a power vacuum in Rome 
3. Power vacuum filled by Christian bishops who had limited authority and resources. 

4. Constant pressures from barbarian tribes - Visigoths sack Rome in 410. (Augustine writes The City of God in response) - Attila the Hun in 451/452. 
5. Economic pressures due to strain of army 
6. Shift to large rural villas and abandonment of cities 
7. Restructuring of society for taxation purpose limited social mobility 
8. Odoacer in 476 CE forces abdication of Romulus Augustulus. 

 BYZANTINE EMPIRE LASTS UNTIL 1453 
EASTERN ORTHODOX 

Who were the Parthians?

(247 BCE – 224 CE) 
1. came from an ethnic group known as Parni forced from Caspian Sea to this area around 
300 BCE 
2. Spoke a dialect of Persian language 
3. Also known as Arsacids after the king Arsaces (r. 247-217 BCE) 
4. Followed many of the Persian religions and cultural conventions 

Parthians benefited from the “Silk Road” Funds used to support the army that had at is core the calvary armed with the bow 

List 6 points about the Sasanids?

(224 – 651 CE) 
1. Established by Ardeshir I, a Persian from the province of Fars. 
2. Hellenized, but began a process of Iranization

• re-established Zoroastrianism as religion of the court and elite 

• elaborate court ceremony the exalted the status of the king 
  3. Same economic policies as Parthians 
  4. Similar military. 

 5. Religious tolerance permitted the development of Manichaeanism 
- founder is Mani 
- teachers include Buddha, Zoroaster and Jesus 
- cosmos divided into a struggle between light and dark. 
- spread throughout Roman empire and into China 
- followed by Augustine for a time 
- existed in some form until 1200s 

 6. Most famous king was Shapur I who defeated the Roman army and captured the Roman Emperor Valerian. 

What are some things to note about this map?

These names? 
Made up, mostly by Romans.  

These lines?  

• Fluid, and do not represent the constant settling and moving these populations engaged in. 
  These were not unified peoples, nor were they early nations. They were diverse groups moving across vast distances, doing so in the safest way they knew how: in large numbers. Sometimes leads to collective identity  
  Many of the borders we see here were arbitrarily imposed by Romans, and may not have been recognized by the people living in those territories  

Migrations did happen, but the names are arbitrary  

• Ostra – east  

• Visi – west  

  • Names given by romans. The groups east and west from Rome 

• Germania and Gaul – arbitrary divisions by romans. Rhine as boarder because Rome couldn't conquer beyond it  

• . Migration causes – the Huns displacing people 

List the Centres of Christian Authority – The Pentarchy 

1.Patriarch of 
Constantinople 
2.Patriarch of Alexandria, 
Egypt 
3.Patriarch of Jerusalem 
4.Patriarch of Rome 
5.Patriarch of Antioch 

• Destabilization and decentralization of roman power  

• Claimed authority from St. Peter as apostletic leader of church, saw themselves as his successors