Unit 02: Classical Civilizations & Religions, 500BC-600A

Unit Summary     The classical civilizations era gave birth to the rise of empires in Persia, Greece, Rome, China, and India.  Much of Western civilization has its foundations in early Greece and the Roman Republic. Remarkable advances in philosophy, science, mathematics, medicine, and astronomy dramatically changed the way people thought about the world around them. These achievements molded ideas about the physical universe and influenced global civilization for centuries.

Big Ideas The Persians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and Indians made significant political, artistic, social, and economic contributions to modern day society. The Greco-Roman governmental system formed the basis of western democratic republics. Classical civilizations made significant technological innovations utilizing mathematics and the sciences. The development of major religious and philosophical traditions in both the East and West spread through cultural diffusion.

Greece The polis, or city-states, were the first forms of government. The city-states were natural to Greece’s geography. City-states had different governments - from oligarchies, monarchies, aristocracies, and democracy

Greece Athens known for limited democracy, Sparta for a combination oligarchy-monarchy The Persian Wars saw the city states join together to fight back against the Persian invaders. This brought about the creation of the Delian League, led by Athens, which brought about the Golden Age.

Greece Pericles, in Athens, helped lead the Golden Age, which is marked by the building of the Acropolis and the Parthenon, and scholars such as Herodotus,Thucydides, Sophocles, Hippocrates, and Socrates.  Greek art and drama flourished. The civil war between Sparta and Athens helps bring about the end of the Golden Age, in the Peloponnesian War. Won by Sparta, Greece declined.

Greece Alexander the Great’s Empire (336 BC - 323 BC): Alexander the Great’s father, Philip II of Macedonia, conquered much of Greece. When he was assassinated, his son Alexander rose to power. Alexander was taught philosophy by Aristotle. Alexander went on to conquer the rest of Greece, the Persian Empire, Egypt, and extended into India. His conquests ended the independent city-states of Greece and ushered in the Hellenistic Age.

Greece The Hellenistic Age Melded together the eastern culture with that of Greece Age where advancements were made in art, astronomy, math, philosophy, and trade. Centered around Alexandria in Egypt - Alexander’s established city

Rome Established along the Tiber River approximately 750 BC - legend of Romulus and Remus - Rome began as a kingdom The religious and cultural ideals were borrowed from the Etruscans and the Greeks. The Roman Republic was established in 509 BC - where all free men could vote

Rome The class system was that of the patricians, or aristocracy, and the plebeians, or the farmers and artisans. Established the Twelve Tables as part of the rule of law By 100 BC, the republic had leaders deteriorated to where military to direct the city. Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus created the First Triumvirate to lead Rome.

Rome Caesar’s power grew to being dictatorial, and he was assassinated for taking power away from the Senate. The Second Triumvirate was formed to hunt down those who killed Caesar. Octavian and Mark Antony fought for power, with Octavian defeating Antony and Cleopatra.

Rome Octavian, Caesar’s nephew, would take imperial power and renamed himself Caesar Augustus. He began the Roman Empire (27 BC). The Roman Empire lasted from 27 BC to 476 AD in the West, and to 1453 in the East. It was split into the East and West in 285 under Diocletian, and emphasized under  Constantine who built a second capital city of Constantinople (modern day Istanbul). Constantine declared Christianity as the  official religion of Rome.

Persia Founded by Cyrus the Great in 559 BC Emperor Darius organized the empire into provinces and had the satraps govern them. These provinces had conquered groups that had their own laws, but answered to the Persian Empire.  Darius also built Persepolis. The Royal Road connected the Persian Empire. Darius also introduced gold and silver coins to be used for trade, unifying the empire.

India (Maurya and Gupta) Mauryan Empire under Chandragupta and Asoka (302 BC – 232 BC) created a bureaucratic government improved the road system spread Buddhism

Gupta Empire (300 AD) – Chandra Gupta I India’s Golden Age of learning: achievements in literature, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics Mahabarata decimal system plastic surgery smallpox vaccines

China (Zhou, Qin, and Han) Zhou Dynasty (1027 BC – 256 BC) – Mandate of Heaven justifies royal authority and establishes dynastic cycles Qin Dynasty (256 BC – 202 BC) – Ruled by Shi Huangdi, who uses Legalist ideas to unify China through autocracy Centralized system of highway and irrigation networks Great Wall of China built

Han Dynasty (202 BC – 9 AD) – Centralized government, complex bureaucracy, civil service jobs Promoted Confucianism Invention of paper

Development of Major World Religions Budhism Developed in India as an outgrowth of Hinduism. Early followers were merchants. Spread to China with the Silk Road trade.

Christianity Developed in Roman controlled Palestine. Jesus preached salvation for sins and eternal life after death. Rejected by Jews as messiah and crucified. Considered a Jewish sect in its early beginnings. Spread easily along the extensive network of Roman roads and fostered by the Pax Romana. Early missionaries were Peter and Paul.

Appealing to the large Roman slave populations. Focus of much Roman persecution, but eventually became the official religion of Rome. (Edict of Milan - 312 AD) During the Middle Ages, the Church became the centralizing force of Western culture.

HOW MAJOR RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS INFLUENCED THE DEVELOPMENT OF CLASSICAL CIVILIZATIONS created the structures for centralized government and organization codified and articulated law codes established social classes built monumental architecture religious traditions

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FOLLOWING POLITICAL SYSTEMS Democracy (Ancient Athens) – Citizens control the government directly, not by electing representatives, but by voting on legislation and executive bills as a body of involved citizens. Republic (Roman Republic, United States) – Citizens elect leaders to run the state and representatives to pass laws and executive bills. Oligarchy (Greek city-states)  – Rule by a few. Generally rulers are the elites, especially when rule is based on wealth and/or ownership of property.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RULE OF LAW FROM ANCIENT TO MODERN TIMES Defined as influence and authority of law within a society.  Laws are codified and apply to all levels of society, including rulers and the elites. Roman rule of law - Twelve tables Based on the tradition of codified rule of law such as Hammurabi’s Code and the Ten Commandments Foundation for future legal codes, such as the Constitution of the United States of America Han Chinese rule of law Based on Confucian legal tradition

THE INFLUENCE OF IDEAS Trial by a jury of your peers Greece – a jury of peers Rome – judges were selected for one year terms to resolve disputes; tribunals where civilian judges who acted in the place of a jury

Innocent until proven guilty Judeo ­Christian – The Bible describes that two or three witnesses could provide testimony. Greece – included in the laws of Sparta and Athens Rome – Twelve Tables – “charges cannot be brought unless they can be proven by proper witnesses or by conclusive documents.”

Equality before the law Judeo ­Christian – universal God to whom all people are equally his children Greece – equal justice for all citizens Rome – Twelve Tables designed as rule of law applied to all under the government of Rome.