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UNIT 2 TESTPersia

Ancient GreeceAlexander the Great

Ancient Rome

Greece’s lack of natural resources and location on the Mediterranean Sea encouraged

Greek trade with neighboring societies

The Greeks were skilled sailors, which linked the various Greek

states with neighboring countries

Mountains covered about 75% of Greece; these barriers divided the Greek people into separate mountain valleys and made unifying

Greece nearly impossible

The Greek people were divided into independent

city-states (called polis) within each

valley and its surrounding mountains

Greek city-states had an agora (a massive marketplace) that was the center for trade and government

City-states had an acropolis, a temple on a hill dedicated to one of the sacred gods or goddesses

Differences Among Greek City-StatesSome polis like Athens had a

direct democracy, a government ruled by citizens

who vote on decisions

GREEK DEMOCRACYThe foundation of

America’s democratic republic began with

Athens’ direct democracy

Athenian citizens participated in

government decisions by voting

Ancient Greek ballots

Athenian society focused on wealth & culture

Philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle questioned assumptions, quested for knowledge,

and used logic to find answers to questions

The Greek cultural contributions

(especially from Athens) to

philosophy, art, entertainment,

literature, architecture,

science, education, and democracy

formed the foundation of

Western civilization

GREEK PHILOSOPHYAristotle was a student of

Plato and became a brilliant teacher of the sciences

Aristotle created the basis for the scientific method: every truth is followed by

other logical truth

Together with the work of Socrates and Plato,

Aristotle’s work provided a basis of Western civilization

The society of Sparta focused on military

strength, not freedom, art, and

learning (like Athens)

The Spartans showed their strength during the wars with Persia

King Darius’ army was defeated by several Greek city-states when some Greeks living in

the Persian Empire’s territory revolted

Persia’s next king, Xerxes, never forgot this defeat and decided to teach Greece a lesson; he led his massive forces in an invasion of Greece

The war between Sparta and Athens

was called the Peloponnesian War

(named after the southern part of

Greece, where Sparta was located)

Sparta won, but the war left all of Greece

weakened

In 338 B.C.E., King Philip II of Macedonia attacked and conquered the Greeks, but he was assassinated soon

after this (possibly arranged by his wife)

King Alexander of Macedonia Alexander was only

20 years old when he became king

The well-educated Alexander was just as ambitious as he was brilliant at military

strategyOnce he cemented his power, he began

to expand his empire

Alexander set his sights on the Persian Empire and began his attack by conquering

Egypt; Egyptians viewed Alexander as a liberator, freeing them

from the Persians

In 331 B.C., Alexander attacked and defeated the mighty Persian army led

by King Darius III

Alexander destroyed the Persian capital of

Persepolis

When Alexander died without an heir, his empire was divided among his top

generals, who fought each otherAlexander's empire was the largest of the Classical Era, but it was short-lived (only

13 years) and was never fully unified

Alexander brought Greek colonists and culture to Persia and parts of Asia, blending the cultures

together; this created a new culture called Hellenism

The term “Hellenism” comes from the sun goddess Helen, which the Greeks thought themselves the children of; they called Greek culture “Hellenism”

Alexandria in Egypt was the most significant of these cities and best represented Hellenism (the spread and blending of Greek culture)

Alexandria became the center for Hellenistic culture and trade for the Mediterranean world

The Culture of Ancient RomeRoman religion was

polytheistic and based on the Greek gods (usually only

the names changed)

Roman LanguageRoman conquest spread their language, Latin, through much of Europe; over time, different regions in Europe

developed their own languages based in Latin

Languages based in Latin are known as

the Romance

languages

The Culture of Ancient RomeLike Greek agoras, Roman cities had a forum

for markets and public gatherings

Ancient Roman SocietyRoman society was divided into three major groups

At the top were the nobles (called patricians); they controlled most of the land and held key

military and government positions

Ancient Roman Society

Most Roman people were commoners (called plebeians); they were farmers,

shopkeepers, or peasants

The Government of Ancient Rome

A republic is a form of

government in which citizens

have the power to elect their

leaders

The Government of Ancient Rome In 451 BCE, government

officials wrote down Rome’s laws onto the Twelve Tables, which

were hung in the forum for all citizens to see

The Twelve Tables were based on the idea that

all citizens of Rome had a right to the protection

of the law

The Roman Army was made up of full-time professional soldiers; the highly organized command

structure ensured that legions could be rapidly deployed against the enemy

Advances in military technology (such as catapults) enabled the professional Roman

soldiers to not only defend the Romans’ territory, but to expand it

With Carthage’s defeat, the Romans were then the most dominant power in the Mediterranean,

carving out an enormous empire

THE PUNIC WARS

JULIUS CAESARFrom the turmoil within the Roman Republic, a new political leader

emerged: a general named Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar partnered with two other Roman

politicians to take control of Rome (they formed a

triumvirate)

Julius was extremely popular with the Roman people, due to his great

military victories

Determined to fix the problems of the Roman Republic, he

reduced the Senate’s power, named himself dictator-for-life,

and forced enactment of his reform programs

Fearing that he was becoming too powerful, members of the Roman

Senate conspired to assassinate Caesar

FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE

Julius Caesar’s death changed Rome; the people no longer trusted the Senate to

rule the Roman Republic

FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE

Octavian exacted revenge on the Senators who assassinated Julius

Octavian soon became undisputed ruler of Rome,

renaming himself Augustus Caesar

“Augustus” means “exalted one”; Julius

Caesar’s last name became the title for “emperor”

FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE

Augustus did away with the Senators’ power, eventually ending the representative government of Rome and

becoming Rome’s first emperor

The Senate still met, but the emperor had all of

the real power

THE PAX ROMANA

Pax Romana

Augustus’ 41 year reign marked the beginning of a 207-year era of peace, wealth, and

expansion called “Pax Romana” (the “Roman Peace”) from 27 BCE to 180 CE

The Empire was over 3

million square miles in size

and contained about 80

million people

ROME: AN EMPIRE OF INNOVATIONRome’s location on the

Mediterranean Sea allowed for trade and cultural diffusion

(blending of cultures) with other people and nations

ROME: AN EMPIRE OF INNOVATION

Through the cultural diffusion, the Romans were able to borrow the best ideas from other civilizations (especially the

Greeks) and improve upon them

Roman Engineering: Roads

At first, the roads were built to move soldiers quickly, but eventually the roads served many people for

many purposes, especially as trade routes

Roman Engineering: AqueductsOne of the Romans’ greatest engineering feats was

channeling water to their cities throughout the Empire

Roman engineers built the aqueducts to move the cold, clear water from springs to towns; sometimes they would

be up to 250 miles long

The Roman CalendarThis new

calendar (called the “Julian

Calendar” after Julius Caesar) had 365 days and one extra

day every fourth year

July was named after Julius because it

included his birthday

Roman Government

They elected a Senate, made up of

300 men, that made laws; they also elected two

consuls, men who commanded the army and ran the

day-to-day affairs of Rome

Roman ArchitectureThe Romans

were tremendously

skilled builders; they

improved upon Greek designs with

two new architectural

features: arches and

domes

The Romans built great structures such as the

Pantheon and the Coliseum

The Influence of the Greeks and RomansThe influence that the Greeks and later on

the Romans had on Western civilization cannot be overstated

Many facets of modern American life can be traced back to the innovations of the Greeks

and Romans: things like government, language, religion, law, education, entertainment, literature, art, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, science, buildings, customs,

traditions, sports, philosophy and medicine all can trace their roots back to Greece and Rome

Rome would have a wide range of different

emperors over the years

ROMAN EMPERORS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE

UGLY

In 63 BCE, the Romans conquered the Hebrew kingdom of Judea and allowed “Romanized

Jews” (who showed respect to Roman gods and obeyed Roman laws) to govern Judea

But, the Jews were monotheistic and many refused to pay respect

to the Roman gods

Many Hebrews began to resist Roman rule; they believed that God would send the Messiah to restore the kingdom to the Jews

Jesus did good works, performed

miracles, and delivered his

religious teachings

Jesus preached a religion based on the

Jewish belief in a single God (monotheism)

Jesus proclaimed there would be eternal

life in Heaven for those who

repent their sins

He based much of his good works and teachings on the Hebrews’ Ten Commandments

In the year 29 CE, Jesus was arrested on charges of blasphemy against the Jewish

religion and defying Roman authority

Christianity spread quickly due to roads, numerous trade routes, and common language

throughout the Roman Empire; the peaceful time of Pax Romana made travel safe for those

spreading Jesus’ teachings

Persecution of Jews and ChristiansChristians and Jews were persecuted by the Romans; many were crucified, exiled, or killed during gladiator

events (such as by being fed to lions)

ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Teachings that the Christians believed in (Jesus’ teachings as well as some of Judaism) were

collected into one official text called the Bible

CHRISTIANITY BECOMES RECOGNIZED

Despite Roman efforts to suppress it, Christianity spread throughout the

Roman Empire and gained popularity In the year 312 CE,

Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal

after recognizing that the Christian religion was

becoming the dominant one in his empire

The Decline of the Roman EmpireThe decline and fall of the Roman Empire

happened gradually, in three stages

FIRST STAGE: internal problems with politics, the economy, and the military began an era of decline

SECOND STAGE: there was a brief period of revival as Emperors Diocletian and Constantine enacted

reforms; however, some of these reforms would help bring about the Empire’s end

THIRD STAGE: repeated invasions by Germanic “barbarian” tribes would lead to the conquest of

Rome, bringing the Roman Empire to an end

Rome’s Internal ProblemsPOLITICAL and SOCIAL

The empire was too large for one emperor to control

Rome’s Internal ProblemsECONOMIC

The government raised taxes and

minted new coins which led to inflation

The economic decline left many Romans

very poor

Rome had a trade imbalance (they

bought more than they produced)

Rome’s Internal ProblemsMILITARY

The Roman military was growing ineffective due to poor leadership: generals

had their own interests and were challenging the authority of the emperors

Rome’s Internal ProblemsMILITARY

Germanic tribes from Northern Europe, outside of the Roman Empire, were gaining strength

Byzantium, the new capital

Rome, the old capitalByzantium was perfectly

located to be the center of trade between East and West

Given its location on the Bosporus Strait, the city was also in a more easily defensible position from

Northern invaders than Rome was

The Fall of the Roman Empire

A marauding barbarian tribe from Central Asia called the Huns began the

invasions

The Huns swept into Northern Europe, conquering all in

their path

The Fall of the Roman Empire

To avoid the Huns, the Germanic tribes moved south into the Western Roman Empire’s territory; the Germans attacked and

eventually conquered the Western Roman Empire

UNIT 2 REVIEW COMPLETE

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GREECE AND ANCIENT ROME