Unit One Outline Notes

Alex Wukovits

Unit One Outline Notes

F. The Classical Civilizations: India and China (300 B.C.E. to 550 C.E.)

i) Information from review book

(1) India: The Mauryan Empire (321 to 180 B.C.E.)

(a) Founded by Chandragupta Maurya through the unification of smaller Aryan kingdoms, his grandson Ashoka Maurya vastly grows the empire

(b) Spread from the Indus River Valley east to the Ganges River Valley and south through the Deccan Plateau

(d) Rock and Pillar Edicts: posted around the empire, they reminded Mauryans to live generous and morally right lives

(2) India: The Gupta Empire (320 to 550 C.E.)

(a) Chandra Gupta the Great (and later Chandra Gupta II) finds the Gupta Empire as a revival of the Mauryan Empire

(b) Enjoyed relative peace and advances in science and art:

(i) Gupta mathematics develops the concepts of pi and zero (0)

(ii) A decimal system was formed using 0-9 (originally dubbed Hindi numerals, Europeans named them Arabic numerals)

(i) More rigid social structure

(ii) Less rights for women (cannot own property or participate in certain religious rituals)

(iii) Young arranged marriages due to property and inheritance

(3) China: The Qin Dynasty (221 to 209 B.C.E.)

(a) First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (or Qin Shihuango) groups back together parts of the Zhou Dynasty

(b) Connected fortification walls in the north of China that eventually form the Great Wall of China

(d) Patriarchal society (male-dominant)

(e) Revolts begin shortly after the First Emperor’s death as peasants opposed his harsh and oppressive ways, ruining the empire only a year after the Qin’s death

(4) China: The Han Dynasty (200 B.C.E. to 460s C.E.)

(a) The Xiongnu (nomadic group of northern Asia) descended upon China and across to Eastern Europe

(b) Trade (and Buddhism) flourished along the Silk Road to the Mediterranean

(i) Paper, sundials (very accurate), calendars

(ii) Navigational aids, such as the rudder and compass

(iii) Metallurgy (i.e.- Iron)

(d) Developed a civil service exam as the Han wanted highly skilled/educated and good communicators in government; mostly wealthy could prepare for the days long test

(i) This allowed for a relatively stable government which would in turn last for centuries

ii) Information from textbook

(1) India: The Mauryan Empire (321 to 180 B.C.E.)

(a) The Mauryan Empire filled the void left by the Kingdom of Magadha

(b) Chandragupta developed a sophisticated government that oversaw taxation, trade, foreign relations, war, and maintaining order

(c) After a bloody war in taking over the region of Kalinga (east India on the Bay of Bengal), emperor Ashoka converts to Buddhism

(i) Ashoka preached nonviolence and his practice of Buddhism diffused to other areas (i.e.- along the silk road)

(d) Ashoka had irrigation systems formed and highways/roads constructed, which helped to stabilize the government and economy by providing communication and transportation

(e) Ashoka dies in 232 B.C.E. and the empire begins to collapse due to financial and economic difficulties, disappearing by 185 B.C.E

(2) India: The Gupta Empire (320 to 550 C.E.)

(a) The empire was smaller that he Mauryan Empire (not as much in the Deccan Plateau) and allowed for more self control by the states

(b) Enjoyed relative peace and advances in science and art:

(i) Physicians develop technique of plastic surgery

(ii) Astronomers note earth is a sphere on an axis, 365.35 day year

(c) White Hun invasions from the north are prevented at great cost until the empire is weakened financially; loosely bound together by name and regional rule for a century, the empire vanishes by mid-sixth century C.E.

(3) China: The Qin Dynasty (221 to 209 B.C.E.)

(a) Qin Shi Huang strived for a surviving dynasty:

(i) Drafted 100,000s of laborers to construct fortification walls (predecessor to The Great Wall)

(ii) Destroyed possible revolt points for civilians, disarmed the military (he refused to tolerate dissent)

(iii) Built 4,000+ miles of road for transport and communication

(iv) Burned books and killed scholars for being critical of him

(v) Centralized measurement, monetary, laws, and writing systems

(b) Qin Shi Huang dies in 210 B.C.E. and is buried in the lavish “Tomb of the First Emperor” with thousands of terra cotta people to protect him

(i) sacrifices were given

(ii) belief in a parallel world/universe where the dead would go existed

(4) China: The Han Dynasty (200 B.C.E. to 460s C.E.)

(a) Liu Bang quickly reunified China after the Qin Dynasty by 206 B.C.E.

(b) Emperor Han Wudi ruled 141 to 87 B.C.E.

(i) Iron industry controlled by government (broadened use of metals)

(ii) Levied taxes on agriculture/trade/craft industries to build roads from trade and communication

(iii) Established imperial monopolies on iron and salt

(iv) Imperial expansion to North Vietnam and Korea

(v) Established an imperial university

(i) Buddhism introduced widely around 65 C.E.

(ii) People also made sacrifices in the forms of animals and food

(iii) The concept of the natural dualities of the yin and yang is followed (for example femininity and masculinity, dark and light)

(d) Silk and paper were amongst the largest industries during the Han Dynasty

(e) Emperor Wang Mang (around 10 C.E.) attempts a socialist reform that ultimately fails as he is overthrown

(f) Patriarchal families (male lead)

(g) Distinction between rich and poor grows (notable in clothes, food, housing)

(h) Internal weakness and rivaling factions lead to the demise of the empire, several large kingdoms form for the next centuries

Jacob MacDavid

H. Late Classical Period

From Review Book:

– Han China, Gupta Empire in India, Western part of the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean, and Maya all collapsed

– no one knows how Maya fell, but they most likely exhausted their resources and left their cities. It also may have been diseases, drought, or unrest.

– Wang Mang reigned (9-23 CE) in China after using Mandate of Heaven to oust the Han dynasty and create the Xin dynasty. Attempts at reform of land ownership and currency wounded local economy. War on the borders causes conscription and taxes. Famines and floods along the Yellow River fueled peasant uprisings. The Xin dynasty ended in 23 CE. The Han dynasty came back a few years later, but couldn't fix China, and the country collapses and was divided in 220 CE.

– Huns (not Attila, White Huns) invaded the Gupta Empire in India for the first half of the fifth century, until the empire, though not the culture, fell.

– Western Rome collapsed because it was over-sized, had poor leaders, and had internal and external pressure.

– 285 CE, Diocletion divides Rome with co-emperors

– 306 CE, Constantine reunites Rome, it was re-divided when he died

– Attila and his huns attacked Germanic people, who in turn attacked the Empire. Visigoths (Germans who had adopted Roman Law and Christianity) sacked Rome in 410 CE, and the Western half fell in 476 CE. The East became the Byzantine Empire.

– new trade routes (Silk Roads) brought the world closer

From textbook:

– like the Han and Roman empires, the Gupta dynasty came under sever pressure

– by the mid-sixth century, the Gupta state collapsed, and effective political authority quickly devolved to invaders, local allies of the Guptas, and independent regional power brokers

– from the end of the Gupta dynasty until the sixteenth century, when a Turkish people known as the Mughals extended their authority and their empire to most of the subcontinent, India remained a politically divided land

– in the first half of the seventh century, King Harsha unified Northern India, he provided free health care, was a tolerant Buddhist, and was well respected in and outside of his empire, which extended to several Himalayan states. However, local leaders had established themselves too securely for him to conquer Southern India before he was assassinated, leaving no heir to the throne, and an end to his empire.

– Maya went from 300- 1100 CE

– Wang Mang was originally a regent in the Han Dynasty, but, because he was considered by many to be more competent than the leaders, he took over the empire. His huge reforms (such as attempting to re-distribute the land) make him known by historians as the “socialist emperor”

– from 235 to 284 CE, there were twenty-six recognized “barracks” emperors in Rome. They were mostly generals who seized power and often died violently from the people the suppressed

– epidemics spread throughout the empire

Anthony Armitage

Neolithic Era/ Agricultural Revolution

Review

8000- 3000 BC

Nomads begin to settle – WHY??

Agriculture began

Domestication of animals – EXAMPLES???

Increased food supply allowed specialization of skills EXAMPLES???

Specialization led to development of early civilization

Small towns started – I – D??? government???

Beginning of primitive culture

Primitive stone tools made into farming implements

Pottery, basketry, wheels, and sails develop - II B/C????

Beginning of metal use

Metal weaponry

Bronze becomes common metal

Latter half of Neolithic era known as bronze age.

Text

Peoples of southwest Asia farm wheat and barley; raise goats, pigs, cattle, sheep

Yangtze River people raise rice 6000 BC

Meso-America develops agriculture independently

early agriculture use slash and burn technique

forests were cut and burned to clear land and make fertile soil

first town Jericho

specialization

most are farmers or herdsmen

some still hunt and gather

metal workers, potters, and textile makers

Çatal Hüyük, Anatolia 7250-5400 BC

pottery, basketry, textile, metal tools, wood carving, carpet, beads, jewellery

5000 BC copper commonly used in moulds to make wide array of tools

6000BC textiles common development

Ashley Alessandra AP World

The Classical Civilizations: The Mediterranean- Rome

509 BC-476CE

Review Book-

Representative Republic with a senate and assembly

Twelve Tables (innocent until proven guilty)

Pater familias eldest male runs the family, women are treated as inferiors

Slaves make up 1/3 of Rome’s population. Most slaves are taken from conquered lands.

Carthage is Rome’s first enemy. 1st Punic War (264-241BC)-Rome gains control of Sicily. 2nd Punic War (218-201BC)- Carthage launches a surprise attack on the Romans from the north, much of Rome is destroyed. 3rd Punic War (149-146BC) Rome invades Carthage and burns it to the ground. Rome is now free to expand.

Rome becomes unsettled: too many slaves, small farmers move to cities, no jobs there.

Senate weakens- power transferred to first triumvirate, containing Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar. Caesar soon takes control and is declared emperor for life.

When Caesar dies, the second triumvirate takes power. This time Octavius takes control. (Augustus Caesar)

The republic is now over, Rome is now an empire.

Pax Romana- 200 years, growth of arts and science (Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Virgil’s Aeneid, the Parthenon and Colosseum are built)

Christianity emerges, but Rome sees the religion as a threat. Christians are persecuted. But in 313CE, Constantine issues the Edict of Milan and the persecution stops. In 391 CE, Christianity becomes the official religion of Rome.

Textbook-

The Etruscans dominated Italy from the 8th to the 5th century, but their society began to decline.

Rome was influenced by these early people but in 509, the nobility disposed of the last Etruscan king and established an aristocratic republic.

Patricians (landowners) and Plebians (freemen) –Patricians grant Plebians tribunes, these represent the plebian’s interests in government. However, Patricians continue to dominate Rome.

In 87 BC, General Marius, who recruited a personal army of landless rural and urban residents, marched on Rome and placed the city under military occupation. When he dies, Lucius Cornelius Sulla takes his place and he seizes Rome. He labels people as enemies of the state and kills them in a Reign of Terror, nearly 10,000 people die.

Caesar escapes the Reign of Terror because he wasn’t seen as a huge threat. He increases his power in government over the years. When he won a post in the republican government, conservatives urged him to step down. So in 49 BC, he turns his army on Rome and three years later names himself dictator. He places military and political functions under his control.

Caesar is killed in a failed attempt to restore the republic.

Augustus takes control and reigns for nearly 45 unopposed years. He rules a monarchy disguised as a republic.

Rome continues expanding and by Augustus’ reign, imperial holdings included much of Southeastern Europe, most of North Africa, and territories in Anatolia and Southwest Asia.

Roman engineers use concrete. Aqueducts are created. Rome builds an extensive road system to connect its empire, totaling more than 50,000 miles altogether.

The Mediterranean became a Roman lake. Rome becomes a wealthy city fueled by urban development. Temples, stadiums, fountains, and amphitheaters are created. Trade provides Rome with money to build these structures.

New classes of merchants, landowners, and constructionists emerge. However, poverty remains high and the unemployed riot to seek improved conditions. The government tries to appease them by offering “bread and circuses.”

In 73 BC, the slave, Spartacus, escapes and assembles an army of 70000 slaves. Rome dispatches troops to put down the revolt.

Sometimes, slaves may be released at age 30, but until then they were under the control of their masters.

Religions provide a purpose for people and hope for afterlife. Roman roads serve for missionaries looking for converts.

Mithraism- a cult dedicated to the Persian diety Mithras, who is associated with sun and light. Men only religion.

Cult of Isis-men and women, Egyptian goddess who nurtures and helps worshippers deal with stress.

Jews- strictly monotheistic. They will not worship the emperor as a god. Some Jews look for a leader who will help them worship without interference.

Jesus- Taught devotion to God and love for humans. His teaching of “the Kingdom of God” scared the Roman government. He is crucified in 30CE. However, the religion spreads and people devote themselves to God.

Paul of Tarsus- Spread Christianity and attracted the urban masses.