Classical Civilizations: Greece, Rome, Persia, India, China 1000BC-500AD Flashcards
Where is the Tigris river?
Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq)
What two rivers define Mesopotamia?
Euphrates and Tigris
Where was the Assyrian empire located?
Upper Tigris river
When was the Assyrian empire?
~700 BC - 612 BC
Why were the Assyrians successful at conquering others?
They had a large, well organized army, and was the first large army equipped with iron weapons.
The Chaldean king Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt which city as the center of his empire?
Babylon
What sustained the Persian empire?
An efficient communication system with well-maintained roads
What led to the fall of the Persian empire?
Struggles over taxes weakened the monarchy
Bloody struggle for the throne
Conquest by the Greek Alexander the Great 330s BC
What was the Persian religion?
Zoroastrianism
What were the Persian satraps responsible for?
Ruled each province, collected taxes, provided justice, recruited soldiers
What are the two rivers in India?
Ganges in the east, Indus in the west
What is the religious text of Hinduism?
The Vedas
Who are the three chief gods of Hinduism?
Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, Shiva the destroyer
Principles of Hinduism
Reincarnation, karma, and Dharma
Who was the founder of Buddhism?
Siddartha Gautama (Buddha)
Principles of Buddhism
Denied the reality of the material world - achieving nirvana
Did Alexander the Great conquer India?
No, his soldiers refused to keep fighting and he left almost immediately
Characteristics of Mauryan Empire
Highly centralized
King divided his empire into provinces ruled by governors
Flourished during the reign of Asoka, who converted to Buddhism
Under his rule India’s role in commerce expanded
324 BC- 183 BC
Kushan Empire
Modern day Afghanistan
Prospered due to trade passing along Silk Road (arose between 200 bc and 100 AD)
Where was the Silk Road?
China across central Asia 10 Mesopotamia
ended in Antioch in Syria
Not a network, basically one lone
Empire of the Guptas
Became the dominant political force throughout northern India actively engaged in trade
Began 320 AD
Invasions from Huns in fifth century AD reduced power of empire
Collapsed 7th century AD
India’s great epics
Mahabharata and Ramayana
When was The Zhou Dynasty?
1045 to 256 BC
Mandate of Heaven
Claimed by Zhou dynasty who believed that heaven kept order in the universe through the king
the king was the link between heaven and earth
King was expected to keep Dao, could be overthrown if he didn’t: right of revolution
What was the period of the warring states?
Civil War beginning in 403BC in China
Zhou accomplishments
Farming methods: increase in population
Growth of trade and manufacturing (silk)
Chinese written language
What are the three major schools of thought in Chinese philosophy
Confucianism Daoism and legalism
What is the confucian view of the Doa?
Duty: people had to submit their own interests to the broader needs of the community
Humanity: compassion and empathy for others
Development of meritocratic rule
Idea from Confucius
Daoist belief
Way to follow the will of heaven is through inaction
Legalism
Humans evil by nature, need a system of impersonal laws and a strong ruler
Who began building the Great Wall?
The Qin dynasty
What was the ideology of the Qin dynasty?
Legalism
What were the three parts of the central bureaucracy of the Qin dynasty
The civil division the military division and the censorate
What was the ideology of the Han dynasty?
Confucianism
Which dynasty introduced the civil service examination in China?
The Han
What caused the fall of the Han empire?
Wars, intrigue at court, and peasant uprisings
When did the Han empire collapse?
220 AD
Polis
Greek city-state, center of Greek life
Hoplites
Heavily armed infantry soldiers, basis of Greek military system by around 700 BC
Organized in rectangular formation known as a phalanx
Greek tyrants
Seized control of city states in 7th and 6th centuries BC from aristocrats
Traders/merchants and poor peasants supported the tyrants
Led to democracy in some city states
Sparta
Military city state, lives were highly controlled between 800-600 BC. Males spent 10 years in the army, at 30 were allowed to vote in the assembly and live at home, but stayed in army until age 60
Spartan government
Oligarch headed by two kings
Group of five men (ephors) responsive for education of youth and citizen conduct
Council of elders (2 kings and 28 men over age 60) decided on the issues to present to the assembly of male citizens
Spartan citizens discouraged from studying philosophy, literature, and the arts, not allowed to travel abroad
Solon
Reform-minded aristocrat gained power of Athens in 594 BC. Cancelled all land debts, led to tyranny
Cleisthenes
Created council of 500 in Athens, gave the assembly of male citizens final authority to pass laws, creating the foundations for Athenian democracy
Classical Greece
500 BC - 338 BC, the conquest of Greece by the Macedonian king Philip II
Marked by high culture and the Peloponnesian war
The battle of marathon
490 BC Athenians defeated Persians
Xerxes Persian monarch
Lead massive invasion of Greece, defeated in 479BC
Pericles
Political leader in Athens from 461 BC to 429 BC. Expanded Athenian democracy, as famously enumerated in his funeral oration
Differences between Athenian and American democracy
Athenian participation was direct, American participation is representative.
Adult male citizens versus all citizens eligible to participate
DELIAN league
Defensive alliance formed by Athenians against Persians in 478 BC
headquarters on the island of Delos
Pursued attack against Persian empire eventually liberating virtually all of the Greek states in the Aegean from Persian control
In 454BC Athenians moved the treasury of the league to Athens creating an empire
Direct democracy in Athens
Assembly met every 10 days on the acropolis passed all laws elected public officials and made decisions concerning war and foreign policy
Ostracism
Practice to protect against ambitious politicians- assembly could vote to ban people from the city for 10 years
Athens population
By 5th century BC, Athens had the largest population of the Greek city-states
Most residents of Athens were not citizens. Who were they?
Foreigners and slaves
Slavery in Greece
Most Athenians owned at least one slave. Most often employed in the fields or in the home as cooks and maids
Athenian economy
Based on farming and trade
Athenian land wasn’t fertile enough to provide grain for everyone - 50-80% of its grain was imported- why trade was so important
Women citizens
could take part in religious festivals but were otherwise excluded from public life, expected to stay at home
Family’s role in Athens
Producing new citizens by having children
Causes of the Great Peloponnesian War (431 BC)
Athens and Sparta had built two very different kinds of societies, neither state was able to tolerate the other’s system.
Sparta & allies feared growing Athenian empire
Strategies in Peloponnesian War
Athens: planned to remain behind the city’s protective walls and receive supplies from their colonies and navy
Sparta: surround Athens, hope Athenians would send out their army to fight beyond the walls
Outcomes of Peloponnesian war
Athenian empire destroyed
Weakened major Greek states and eliminated possibility of cooperation between them
Sparta, Athens, and Thebes struggled for domination for next 66 years, ignoring growing power of Macedonia
Sophists
Traveling teachers, goal was to argue effectively, not to promote particular beliefs or ideas
Socrates
Critic of the Sophists, taught ethics
Convicted of corrupting the youth of Athens, sentenced to die by drinking hemlock
Philip II
King of Macedonia beginning 359 BC
Gained control of all of Greece, was assassinated, left throne to Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great
Worked to fulfill his father’s aim to invade the Persian Empire, motivated by glory and empire and also revenge for Persian burning of Athens in 480 BC
Died in 323 BC (32 years old) from wounds, fever, and too much alcohol
Alexandria
Built by Alexander the Great as the Greek capital of Egypt
Legacy of Alexander the Great
Military commander and leadership skills, enormous empire
Cultural legacy: spread of Greek language, arts, literature, etc to Southwest Asia, Central Asia, and parts of North Africa
Hellenistic Era
“to imitate Greeks”: period of expansion of Greek ideas and language to the non-Greek world
Hellenistic kingdoms
Macedonia, Syria, Pergamum, and Egypt: all eventually conquered by the Romans
Relied on Greeks and Macedonians to form the ruling class
Epicureanism
Means to happiness was the pursuit of pleasure, the only true good
not about physical pleasure- meant freedom from emotional turmoil, free themselves from public activity
Stoicisim
Wanted to find happiness, thought it could only be found by living in harmony with the will of God. Public service was regarded as noble.
Greek colonization of Italy
750-550 BC - had a large influence on the people of Rome
Etruscans
Biggest influence on early development of Rome. Located north of Rome, Came to control Rome and most of Latium after 650 BC
Geography and Roman development
smaller mountains, didn’t divide the country.
more land for farming, able to support a larger population than Greece
Central location on Mediterranean
Rome’s location on the Tiber River was especially favorable: defendable
Founding of Roman Republic
509 BC - Romans overthrew the last Etruscan king
Next 200 years - city engaged in almost continuous conflict
by 264 BC, Romans had overcome the Greeks and completed their conquest of southern Italy.
Rome had conquered virtually all of Italy
Roman Confederation system
Allowed some people - especially Latins - to have full Roman citizenship. Most of the remaining communities were made allies. Free to run their local affairs, required to provide soldiers for Rome
Loyal allies could become Roman citizens
What made Rome successful?
Shrewd diplomats, excelled in military matters, brilliant strategies, practical in law and politics - created political institutions to respond to problems as they arose.
Patricians and plebeians
Roman political structure divided into two groups: patricians and plebeians Patricians: wealthy landowners, ruling class Plebeians: less wealthy landowners, small farmers, craftspeople, merchants Both citizens and able to vote, but only patricians could be elected to office
Consuls and Praetors
Chief executive officers of Roman Republic
Two consuls, chosen each year, ran the government and led the army in battle
Praetor was in charge of civil law, another one added to judge cases involving noncitizens
Roman senate
select group of about 300 patricians who served for life. At first it was only advisory, by third century BC, it had the force of law.
Centuriate assembly
elected chief officials and passed laws
Struggle of the orders
Children of patricians and plebeians were forbidden to mary each other, which Plebeians resented. Thought they deserved political and social equality with the patricians
In 4th century, plebeians allowed to marry patricians.
Council of the plebs
Created 471 BC as a result of the struggle between orders
In 287 BC, received the right to pass laws for all Romans - theoretical equality for all male Roman citizens, but in reality a few families formed a new senatorial ruling class
Twelve tables
First Roman code of laws, adopted 450 BC - simple farming society - first set of written laws publicly displayed in Rome
Law of Nations
Body of law the romans identified with natural law - establish standards of justice that applied to all people, including: innocent until proven guilty, right to defend themselves before a judge
First Punic war
Rome’s first war with Carthage, begin 264 BC
Presents of Carthaginians in Sicily made romans fearful
Romans built a navy, defeated Carthaginian navy
in 241 BC, Carthage gave up all rights to Sicily, Sicily became the first Roman province
Second Punic war
Hannibal decided to invade Rome, Romans suffered serious defeat in 216 BC
Rome pushed Carthaginians out of Spain, in 202 BC defeated Hannibal, Spain became a Roman province, Rome had become the dominant power in the western Mediterranean.
Third Punic War
Total destruction of Carthage, became a Roman province called Africa
End of Roman Republic
Political and social unrest led to civil wars, ending the Republic
The First Triumvirate
In 60 BC, Caesar joined with Crassus and Pompey to form the First Triumvirate (government by three people with equal power)
Caesar
After Crassus was killed, senators decided Pompey alone would be to their benefit. Caesar refused to step down. Kept his army, illegally crossed the Rubicon, defeated Pompey
Officially made dictator in 45 BC, usually a temporary position
Many senators thought he had plans to continue in dictator, assassinated him in 44 BC
The Second Triumvirate
Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus formed second triumvirate
Octavian (east) and Antony (west) divided Roman world
Soon came into conflict - Antony allied himself with Cleopatra VII, both fled to Egypt after Battle of Actium in Greece, committed suicide, left Octavian in charge of Roman world
Age of Augustus (31 BC - 14 AD)
In 27 BC - Octavian declared restoration of Roman Republic, gave some power to Senate, but became the first Roman emperor. Octavian was awarded title of Augustus by the Senate - title of imperator
Began new system of governing colonies: appointed deputies to govern them
The early empire (14AD-180 AD)
Emperor’s selected from their family (natural or adopted). Emperors grew more powerful, many became more corrupt
Pax Romana
27 BC - 180 AD - a period of peace and prosperity in Rome
Expansion of Roman Empire
Hadrian’s wall - became clear how difficult it would be to defend empire
Roman Empire government
Depended greatly on cities and town. Local officials performed many government duties, especially taxation
Early empire: economy
High levels of trade because of internal peace
Farming remained the underlying basis of Roman prosperity, large landed estates in southern and central Italy
Vast divide between rich and poor
Paterfamilias
Head of roman social structure, the dominant male
Spartacus
Slave revolt 73 BC, involved 70,000 slaves. Was trapped and killed in 71 BC
Roman religion
Worship of a number of gods and goddesses, and emperors were often officially made gods by the Roman senate
Tolerant of other religions
Edict of Milan
Issued by Constantine in 313 AD, proclaimed official tolerance of Christianity
Late Roman Empire
New gov structure under Diocletian and Constantine. Enlarged army and civil service, which drained public funds
Theories about decline and fall of the Roman Empire
Christianity undermined Roman emphasis on military virtue
Traditional Roman values as non-Italians gained prominence
Lead poisoning caused mental decline in population
Plague wiped out one-tenth of population
Rome failed to advance technologically due to slavery
Rome could not create a workable political system
Fall of Western Roman Empire
476 AD - Romulus Augustulus deposed by the Germanic head of the army
