1. T h e A m e r i c a n U n i v e r s i t y o f R o m e HSM 201 - Survey of Western Civilization I Session 4 Building the Classical World: Hebrews, Persians, and Greeks. Peoples of the Mediterranean: traditions, cultural uniqueness, interaction and influences… Wars, conquests and new systems

2. Q of chapter 2 for the students to discuss In what ways did New Kingdom Egypt differ from the Old and Middle Kingdoms? What were the principal features of the Late Bronze Age international system? Why did Phoenician cities prosper during the Early Iron Age? This development would occur a bit later…900-800 BC What were the foundations of Assyrian imperial power? In what ways did the Persian empire differ from its Near East predecessors? How would you account for those differences? What developments marked the Hebrew transition from polytheism to monotheism? Its political consequences. The importance of the Old testament, common grounds…

4. The New Empires…in rapid succession A list of Mesopotamian empires and states… > Summerians (Ubaid + Uruk) 6000-2500 BC > Akkadians 2300-2000 BC  Indo-European invasions: the Bronze age innovations; Hittites in Anatolia, Mitannis in Syria, Kassites in Babylonian… Hyksos in Egypt.. > Ammorites and the Old Babylonian Kingdom > Assyrian Kingdom 1300-880 BC > Neo-Assyrian Empire 880-600 BC …Egypt  New Babylonian Empire… Nabucodonossor > Persian Empire.

5. The International Bronze Age What is the character of international relations in the Ancient World? 1900-1450 Minoan C. >1628Eruption of Thera –Santorini 1600-1200 Mycenaean C. + Near East I.S. + New K Egypt Basis of Greek Pol.Org / Gods 1200 Collapse - The Sea Peoples Mycenaean collapse with reverberations in the region

6. The birth of the Classical World The birth of our Western Civilization? 900-800 Phoenician alphabet / Commercial shipping 800 Renewal (migrations) and growth of Greek populations 800From Demos to Polis and birth of the City State

7. Q of chapter 3 on the birth of the Greek Classical World What cultural changes marked the end of the dark Age of Greece? How did the emergence of hoplite tactics affect Greek political norms? How and why did the Athenian, Spartan, and Milesian poleis differ from each other? How were the Greek armies able to defeat the much larger Persian forces? To what extent was the culture of Athens in the Golden Age the product of Athenian Democracy? How did the Peloponnesian War influence Greek philosophy?