World Civ1 Midterm

• Persian king
• In 500 B.C. conquered the first Persian satrapy (province).
• Conquest resulted Iranian unification
• Two major goals:
• Conquer the west (Anatolia) gain ports of the Mediterranean
• Secure eastern Iran from nomadic invaders

• Conquered Babylon in
• 539 B.C.

Satraps appointed over each province

As conquerors:

• Used forced to conquer
• and diplomacy to rule
• Usually respected
• subjects and allowed them to practice their native customs and religions
• Provide political unity
• and cultural diversity
• Allowed Greeks to live
• according to their customs thus Greek culture spread further east
• Allowed exiled Jews to
• return home with sacred objects to rebuild temple
• Conquered peoples regard
• him as their legitimate ruler

The Hellenistic Kingdoms

Four Hellenistic kingdoms emerged

• Macedonia under the Antigonid dynasty
• Syria and the east under the Seleucids
• Attalid kingdom of Pergamum in western Asia Minor
• Egypt under the Ptolemies

• Greeks and Macedonians formed the new ruling class
• Hellenizing an urban phenomenon
• Greeks and Macedonians colonists provided a pool for civilian administrators and workers

Hellenistic World

Three of Alexander generals founded dynasties of significance

• Ptolemy I: founder of the 31st Dynasty in Egypt
• Ptolemy Dynasty would last until 30 BC (Cleopatra’s death)

Seleucus I: founder of the Seleucid Dynasty in Mesopotamia

• Antigonus I: founder of the Antigonid Dynasty in Asia
• Minor and Macedon

The Spread of Hellenism

Hellenistic Age:

• Blending of Hellenism and Near Eastern cultures
• No comparable sharing of cultures had occurred here since the days of the Mesopotamians

Cities and Kingdoms

• Hellenistic kings combined the concepts of monarchy and polis (city-state)
• Kingdom became dominant in political affairs
• Polis, now only a city, served as the administrative and cultural capital

• Hellenistic cities had theaters, temples, and libraries
• Hellenistic cities served as the economic center of the kingdom (trade and manufacturing)

Yet its “citizens” had no real political power since the king was the only sovereign

Romanization of Europe

• During the height of the Roman Empire the Roman army changed from a mobile unit to a defensive force
• Frontiers became firmly fixed and were defended by a system of forts
• Areas where legions were stationed became Romanized
• Retired legionaries often settled where they served and took up a trade they had learned in the army.

Roman Provences

Britain and Belgium became prime grain producers

Wool production also began in Britain

• Southern Gaul produced wine in huge quantities
• Romans introduced the olive to southern Spain and North Africa

Olive oil was strongest in Syria

• Egypt produced wheat that fed most of the empire
• Gaul and Germany soon took over the bulk of the pottery industry, glassmaking, and the manufacturing of bronze and brass
• Europe and western Asia had entered fully into a united economic, political, and cultural world

• Filial piety was written by Confucius and is considered to be one of the greatest virtues that must be shown towards the living and the dead,
• It is a display of respect in 5 different relational scenarios called the 5 bonds.
• From the:

• Ruler to the ruled
• Father to son
• Husband to wife
• Elder brother to younger
• brother
• Friend to friend

When these rules are carried out properly people and society also function much better and prosper.

• Author of The Iliad &The Odyssey
• Lived in either 8thor 9th century B.C.
• Assessment of Homer
• He did not so muchrecord history as make it
• Yet, Greeks regarded TheIliad & The Odyssey as authentic history
• Homer gave Greeks anideal past by writing the tales of the legendary age of heroes
• Writing used as standardtext for education of generations of Greeks males

Origins

• Discovered in 1920s in modern Pakistan
• Agricultural settlements dating back 6000 years
• Ethnic and linguistic similarities to Dravidian people
• Two major cities: Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro

Cities: Harappa

• Center of power and commerce of Harappa Civilization
• Its heyday was in 3000 BC
• 80,000 inhabitants at its peak
• Architecture and city layout featured heavy use of squares and rectangles and was surrounded by a 40-foot thick, 31-mile stone wall

Cities: Mohenjo-Daro

• Divided into large walled neighborhoods
• City featured advanced drainage systems
• Slums
• Three-storied houses

Culture

• Written language has not been deciphered, so much is unknown about political structures
• Was not controlled by a single city
• A confederation of 1500 towns connected by trade

What happened to the Harappan Civilization?

• Did it end?
• Did it move?
• Are you part of it?
• Is it really Atlantis?
• Skeletons found in running and hiding positions.
• Aryans?

Even though each Polis is unique there are the very badge of Greekness

The Polis(city-state)

• Unique and fundamental institution of Greek society
• “Small autonomous political unit in which all major political, social, and religious activities were carried out at one central location.”
• Polis was a community
• Citizens with and w/o political rights and noncitizens
• All citizens possessed fundamental rights

• Polis focused on a central point for assembly
• Example: the Acropolisin Athens

Governing a Polis

• Monarchy
• Greek for “the rue of one man”
• King represented the community, reigned according to law, respected each individual citizen
• Tyranny

Rule by a man who seized power by extra-legal means

Aristocracy

Greek for “power in the hands of the best”

Oligarchy

• Greek for “the rule of a few”
• Small group of wealthy citizens (not necessarily aristocrats) ruled

Democracy

• Rule by the people
• All Greeks citizens, regardless of birth, or wealth, administered the workings of government

• Greek Federalism:
• Although each polis was guarded its independence they would band together to form leagues of city-states
• Yet since the Greeks were rarely willing to unite into large political bodies the result was nearly constant warfare

A polis could dominate for a time (Athens) but unlike Rome it could not incorporate other cities

Ended the period of chaos

Under Diocletian the emperor became “lord” and claimed he was the “elect of god” ruling with divine favor

Both Diocletian and Constantine adopted court ceremonies of the Persian Empire

This was all in an effort to reassert the power of the emperor and thus empire itself

Diocletian recognized the empire had become too great for one man to handle

Divided empire into western and eastern haves

Diocletian assumed control of the east

Rome became a regional capital

Although a new “augustus” was appointed in the west it was Diocletian who had the final say

Yet, throughout the 4th century the eastern and western sections drifted apart