Global History - Part II - Classical Civilizations

Archaic Period

• Greek Dark Ages

• 700-480 B.C.E.

• city-states with a god/goddess to look over it.

• The end of the Archaic period saw the Archaic Renaissance, which produced famous works of art such as Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey. 

polis

city-states

Classical Greece

• The Golden Age

• 480-323 B.C.E.

• launched by the Persian War

Persian War

Athens & Sparta, the Greeks, battled Persia for approximately 10 years

The Battle of Thermopylae

King Leonidas of Sparta was killed, marked a major defeat for the Greeks

Battle of Salamis

Greeks defeated Persia, ending the war

Demokratia

a system of self-governance where every adult male was able to join the Assembly

Ruler of Athens

The Assembly

2 Athens philosophers

Socrates

Hippocrates

The Peloponnesian War

• Sparta vs Athens

• Sparta emerged as the most powerful city-state in Greece

• the fall of Athenian democracy. 

Hellenistic Greece 

began with the death of Alexander the Great

lasted until the Romans conquered Greece

Hellenistic

to speak Greek or to identify as Greek

Ancient Rome

Republic

a representative, checks-and-balances government

Augustus I

The first emperor of Rome

Cesar’s nephew

First Triumvirate

a powerful political alliance that became more powerful than the Senate

The Punic Wars

• A series of 3 wars between Rome & Carthage

• ~ 100years

• expanded Roman Empire

Hannibal

• Carthaginian general

• marched huge army & elephants across the Alps to invade Rome

• 2nd Punic War

The result of the Punic Wars

Carthage surrendered to Rome

Rome defeated K. Phillip V in Macedonia & secured the entire Mediterranean Sea

Pax Ramona

Roman Peace time period

Innovations during Pax Ramona (3)

• aqueducts

• Coliseum

• roads throughout the Empire

The Fall of Rome

• Emperor Constantine moved the capital from Rome to Greece & renamed it Constantinople. 

• He declared the religion to be Christianity

• Constantine died

• Rome was divided

• East - Byzantine Empire

• West - Germanic tribes invaded

• Atilla the Hun invaded and all of Rome Fell

The Dark Ages

Fall of the Roman Empire

The Persian Empire

• aka Achaemenid Empire

• fell after Alexander the Great conquered

Cyrus the Great

• founded the Persian Empire

• famously took Babylon without a fight by diverting the Euphrates River, walking his troops along the dry riverbed straight into the city

The expansion of the Persian Empire is know for this: (4)

• military conquest

• cultural tolerance

• advanced infrastructure

• postal system

Zoroastrianism

• one of the world's oldest and first monotheistic religions.

• Founded in ancient Persia

• prophet Zoroaster

Xia Dynasty

• c 2070 - 1600 BCE

• 1st Chinese Dynasty

  • flood controlling system

Shang Dynasty

• c 1600-1050 BCE

• Ruled an area near the Yellow River

• Developed a calendar system

• Created an early form of modern Chinese using pictographs

  • Developed bronze technology

Zhou Dynasty

• c. 1046-256 BCE

• Longest ruling dynasty (800 years)

• Developed a writing system

• Coined Money

• invented Chopsticks

• Taoism

Qin dynasty

• 221-206 BCE

• 1st Chinese Emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi

• unified China after warring states

• Created the Great Wall of China

• Created the Terracotta Warriors

• Ruthless punishment

Han Dynasty

• 206 BCE - 220 CE

• highly centralized bureaucratic system based on Confucian principles.

• The emperor was the supreme authority, & he appointed officials based on merit through the civil service examination system.

• Under Emperor Wu (r. 141-87 BCE), the Han Dynasty underwent significant territorial expansion and opened the Silk Road to the West.

• Buddhism was also established in China

• invented paper & porcelain

• created the gunpowder formula

Six Dynasties Period

• (220-589 C.E.) after the fall of the Han dynasty

• 6 Han-ruled dynasties

• China’s Dark Ages

• Split of the kingdom into the Northern and Southern kingdoms

Sui Dynasty

• 581 - 618 CE

• Reunified China

• Chinese literature flourished

• Legend of Hua Mulan

• Expanded the Great Wall

Tang Dynasty

• 618 - 906 CE

• Golden Age of Chinese history

• Implemented a centralized bureaucracy, civil service exams, and a legal code,

• fostering political stability & cultural achievements like poetry and art.

• Known for its peace and prosperity

• The only female monarch in the history of China – Empress Wu Zetian

• The largest and most populous country in the world at the time

• Books were printed for the first time in China

Song Dynasty

• 960 - 1279 CE

• Reunification of China

• advancements in agriculture, trade, and manufacturing

• urbanization

• Gunpowder, printing, paper money, and the compass were invented

• The use of paper money and the development of market towns contributed to the revolution.

• Fell with the invasion of the Mongols

Yuan Dynasty

• 1279 - 1368 CE

• The first Mongol Empire was ruled by Kublai Khan - Genghis Khan grandson

• China, at this time, was part of the very large Mongolian Empire

Ming Dynasty

• 1368 - 1644 CE

• Great Wall completed

• The Forbidden City was established

• Known for its blue & white Ming porcelain

• Fell to the invasions of the Manchus

• In 1644, Li Zicheng led a peasant rebellion & captured the Ming capital, Beijing.

• The last Ming emperor, Chongzhen, committed suicide.

Qing Dynasty

• 1644 - 1912 CE

• In 1644, the Manchu forces captured Beijing, and Hong Taiji's successor, Emperor Shunzhi, declared the beginning of the Qing Dynasty.

• Last imperial dynasty

• Ethnic Manchus

• In 1683, the unification of China was completed under this dynasty. 

• The Opium Wars occurred during this dynasty

• Hong Kong ceded to the British

• Taiping Rebellion

• The last emperor abdicated and, therefore, established the Socialist Republic of China.

Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864)

• civil war btw ruling Qing Dynasty (Manchu) & a radical millenarian movement (Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Christian fundamentalists)

• rebels seized the city of Nanjing for 11 years.

• The deadly rebellion claimed the lives of approximately 20 million people.

• bloodiest civil war in human history

Mauryan Empire

• Indian

• some of the earliest written records of Indian history

Gupta Empire

• 320 - 550 CE

• golden age of Indian civilization

• expanded cultural traditions

• Supported the development of Sanskrit literature, which produced some of the greatest works of Indian literature, such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. 

Brahmanism

an ancient religious and philosophical system that predates the emergence of Hinduism

• based on Vedic texts

• described as the universal soul or cosmic principle that connects all existence.

• Yajnas - Rituals and sacrifices

• Caste System

• introduced reincarnation (samsara) & karma

Atman

concept of individual soul/self

Ghana Empire

• Ghana served as an intermediary between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, benefiting from the gold-salt trade.

• a blend of Islamic & traditional African religious practices.

• Islam spread gradually

Mali Empire

• along the Niger River - agriculture & trade

• famously ruled by Mansa Musa

Mansa Musa

known for his pilgrimage to Mecca

1312-1337 ce

considered the wealthiest individual in human history

made Timbuktu a center for Islamic-learning

Songhai Empire

• largest African Empire

• conquered Mali empire

• The empire was a center of Islamic learning, with Timbuktu being a renowned hub

Swahili Empire

• Eastern coast of Africa

• city-states

• trade across Indian Ocean

• blend of Arab & indigenous