World History

Fall of Rome, Rise of Byzantine, Creation of Russia, and THE MONGOLS

Name______

Hour______

Date______

Directions: Answer the following questions using your textbook.
The Fall of Rome: Open to page 177 in your text and read sources A-D

  1. Compare the reasons for the fall of Rome given in Sources A and B. How might they be considered similar?
  2. What became of Rome according to Source C? Do you agree or disagree with that conclusion?
  3. Source D is different from the other sources. How?

Turn back to page 176 and read “An Empire No More”

  1. Did Rome’s cultural influence end when it politically collapsed? How do you know?
  1. The book states that the “western half of the empire had disappeared”. What happened to the eastern half? (Hint…we’ve mentioned this place before!)

Byzantine’s importance: Flip forward to page 306 and read “Byzantine Missionaries…”

  1. What two religions were competing for new converts (people to adopt that religion)?
  2. Who are the Slavs and where did they live?
  3. How did the Cyrillic alphabet originate (who created it and why?)

Russia and Byzantine connect: Look to p. 307 and begin at “Setting the Stage”

  1. How was Russian culture eventually produced?
  2. Describe the geography of Russia’s first unified territory
  3. How did people likely travel across this area?
  4. Describe the people who lived here.
  5. Why do you think Kiev was chosen as an important city? (why was it useful?)
  6. What two ethnic groups combined over time to create “Russian” culture?
  7. Where did a member of Kievan nobility convert to Christianity?
  8. Briefly describe how Vladimir chose to become a member of the Byzantine Christian church.
  9. Once Vladimir chose a religion, what did he order of his subjects? How did it happen?
  10. In what two ways were the citizens of Kiev and the Byzantine empire now connected?

Kiev’s Power and Decline

  1. What did Yaroslav the Wise do to increase trade alliances with Europe?
  2. What were two other achievements of Yaroslav in Kiev?
  3. Why does the book suppose that Kiev declined significantly after Yaroslav’s death?

The Mongols: skip ahead to p. 330 and begin at “setting the stage”

  1. On what four things did the Mongols pride themselves?
  2. How did their desire for wealth and glory affect Eurasia?
  3. What is the predominant geographical feature of this area of Eurasia? Briefly describe this feature.
  1. This geography made it advantageous for Mongols to live what type of life? (hint: did they stay in one place in farm, or did they move around and do something else?)
  1. Why were their animals so important to the Mongols?
  1. Who is Genghis Khan? Name three important characteristics about this man (more on page 332).

The Mongols in Russia: now…skip back to p. 309 and read about the “Mongol Invasions”

  1. In 1240, how did the Mongols interact with the citizens of Kiev?
  2. For how long did the Mongols rule southern Russia?
  3. Describe the Mongols as rulers. Could the Russians still practice their traditions?
  4. What two things did the Mongols demand of the Russians?
  5. Why was the new city of Moscow such an important location?
  6. How did Ivan and the Russians finally break away from the Mongols? (you will need to read the rest of the section to be able to summarize this)