Unit ii:Lesson Concepts:
2.1 The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions 2.2 The Development of States and Empires 2.3 Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange Unit Learning Goals:
Compare & analyze the Classical civilizations and their influences; Persia, Greece, Rome, China, and India including other cultures (the Huns, Meroe, West African Kingdoms)
Understand the development of the major belief systems of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Confucianism, and Daoism Study the expansion of interregional trade networks and the rise of universal religions 1. All of the major religions (except for Islam) take hold during this time, which begins with the rise of the Classical civilizations
2. 3 major classical civilizations: Rome, India, & China, much of what happens during this time period centers on these three locations. 3. It's important to know how these three civilizations rose and fell (common theme, get used to it) 4. Along with the establishments of religions & civili- zations, trade also begins to become the major force & focus during this time period. 5. Religions will grow, spread, and change during this time period; especially Buddhism and Christianity |
Unit II spice chartAreas of focusUnit 2 introductionOut of the ashes of the ancient “Dark Ages,” a shining new world emerged between the years 600 BCE & 600 CE: legendary leaders created huge empires that have never been equaled since. These mega-states were ruled from capitals that were the biggest cities the world had ever seen. It all began with a major shift in the balance of power, as the world’s first global empire, Persia, declined and new contenders arose in Europe.
The Persians may have tried to forget Greece, but the Greeks weren’t going to forget them. And Alexander the Great was just the leader they needed to settle the score. Alexander did a bit more than settle the score: he conquered the whole Persian Empire. But like all rock stars, he was fated to die young, and his empire didn’t outlast him. Nonetheless, by spreading Greek culture, he created a new international community, and paved the way for the most successful empire in history: Rome (perhaps you’ve heard of it).
Meanwhile, an Indian prince named Chandragupta Maurya took advantage of regional instability to create his own huge empire. Covering most of India and modern-day Pakistan, the empire took his family name, Maurya.
And a few letters away, the Maya hit fast-forward in Central America, leaping ahead of their Olmec ancestors as they built societies of unprecedented complexity in what is now Guatemala and Mexico. All in all, this period was an incredible recovery from the chaos that went before, and with its orderly empires, grand cities, cultural achievements, and rampant conquering, it is still considered one of the high points of human civilization. That is why this period is called the classical period. |
What did this mean?
Well, for the first time, most people were the subjects, citizens, or slaves of large governmental entities. In fact, about half of the world’s estimated population of 250 million lived under the auspices of just three empires: Rome, Parthian/ Sassanid Persia, and Han China. These empires were put together and defended by massive armies. They were organized and operated by massive bureaucracies, paid for by massive tax systems and fed by massive groups of forced laborers. |
In addition to the Big Three, other empires and city-states grew, flourished, and, in most cases, collapsed. By the middle of this period, Berber traders were using camels to establish trade routes across North Africa.
One of the largest cities in the world was at Teotihuacán (pictured right), in what is now Mexico. On the nearby Yucatan Peninsula, Mayans were becoming the first fully literate culture in the Americas. Several city-states developed distinctive cultures in what is now Peru.
The period also saw the birth and growth of Christianity. It was just one of scores of novel belief systems and curious religions that sprang up and faded out of fashion—only, this one hung on,
and profoundly changed not only the way hundreds of millions of people worshipped, but how entire nations were governed. |
There were individual and group achievements that would be enviable in any era. In China, they came up with paper. The Romans’ use of the arch, borrowed from the earlier Etruscan culture, enabled engineers to construct huge buildings and other structures. In medicine, physicians in several countries increasingly began looking inside the human body for links among various organs, common maladies, and possible cures. And in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, a Greek named Diophantus was writing thirteen books on variable equations that became key to the development of modern algebra.
PEOPLE TO KNOW
Chronological timeline |
BY THE NUMBERS |
*509 BCE Roman republic founded.
*492 BCE Greek colonies in the Persian Empire rebel but are defeated. *490 BCE Darius invades Greece. *480 BCE Darius’s successor, Xerxes, invades Greece. *479 BCE United Greeks defeat Persians at Platea. *475 BCE “Warring States” period begins in China. *433 BCE Athens and Sparta go to war against each other. *415 BCE Alcibiades leads Athenian invasion of Sicily. *405 BCE Sparta defeats Athens. *399 BCE Socrates is forced to commit suicide for corrupting Athenian youth. *359 BCE Philip II becomes king of Macedon. *334 BCE-326 BCE Philip’s son Alexander the Great conquers Persian Empire. *300 BCE Chandragupta unites India, founds Maurya Dynasty. *221 BCE Qin Shi Huang unites China in short-lived Qin Dynasty. *218 BCE Hannibal attacks Rome. *206 BCE Chinese peasant general Liu Bang founds Han Dynasty. *202 BCE Hannibal is defeated. *146 BCE Romans destroy Carthage. *88 BCE First Roman civil war. *58 BCE Julius Caesar invades Gaul. *44 BCE Julius Caesar is elected dictator for life, but is then assassinated. *31 BCE Caesar’s adopted son, Octavian, defeats Antony & Cleopatra. *27 BCE Octavian becomes first emperor of Rome. *14 CE Caesar Augustus, Rome’s first true emperor, dies at the end of a forty-one-year reign. *~30 Jesus of Nazareth is crucified by Roman soldiers at Jerusalem. *70 Roman soldiers burn the Temple at Jerusalem and largely destroy the city, after a nine-month siege. *79 Mount Vesuvius erupts, destroying Pompeii and the resort town of Herculaneum. *91 The Han Empire defeats the neighboring Xiongu, or “Mongols,” forcing them to move west into Central Asia. * 100 The first Chinese dictionary is published. *117 The Roman Empire reaches its greatest geographic extent. *~200 The Bantu tribes migrate into Central and South Africa and begin to dominate much of the area. *220 After four hundred years, China’s Han Dynasty collapses. *224 The Sassanid Dynasty in Persia is founded by Ardashir I, who overthrows the Parthian Empire. *320 The Gupta Empire begins with the accession of Chandra Gupta I to the throne of a small northern Indian kingdom. *350 The Huns invade Persia. *391 A North African named Augustine becomes a Christian priest, in the city of Hippo, in what is now Algeria. *391 The Roman emperor Theodosius I makes Christianity the official religion of the empire. *395 The Eastern and Western Roman empires are formally split by a codicil in the will of Theodosius I. *400 What is now Afghanistan is invaded and its Buddhist culture destroyed by the Hephthalites, or “White Huns.” *410 The Visigoths, under Alaric I, enter Rome and help themselves to the city’s goodies. *439 The North African city of Carthage falls to the Vandals. *476 The Western Roman Empire formally ends. *480 The Hephthalites begin overrunning the Gupta Dynasty in India. |
*29 length, in years, of the Peloponnesian War
*4,500 weight, in pounds, of golden goblets captured by Alexander the Great from the Persian king Darius III after the Battle of Issus *329 number of Persian concubines captured by Alexander after the same battle *277 number of Persian caterers captured *17 number of Persian bartenders captured *40,000 number of silver talents captured by Alexander from the Persian capital at Susa *1,111 weight, in tons, of this amount of silver *6,600 number of rebels crucified by the Romans along the Appian Way after the failed slave revolt led by Spartacus *52,000 miles of roads built by the Romans *46,837 total length, in miles, of U.S. Interstate Highway system in 2004 *9,000 number of war elephants employed by the Indian emperor Ashoka *120,000 number of Chinese nobles moved by Qin Shi Huang to Xi’an, his capital, so he could keep an eye on them *6,000 miles of roads built by order of Qin Shi Huang *1,000 miles of canals built by his order *2,500 length, in miles, of the Great Wall built at his order *25 height, in feet, of the wall in most places *14 depth, in feet, of the wall at the top *1,000,000 number of Chinese peasants said to have died building the Great Wall *22 area, in square miles, of Qin Shi Huang’s tomb *0 number of women who ruled Rome from 1 CE to 500 CE *0 number of women who ruled China during the same period *3 average length, in years, of a Roman emperor’s reign in the third century *40 average life expectancy, in years, of citizens of the Roman Empire *41 reign, in years, of Octavian Augustus Caesar *7 number of years between 1 CE and 500 CE that the doors of the temple of Janus were closed, signifying that the city of Rome was at peace *26 number of contemporary nations absorbed into the Roman Empire *122 height, in feet, of Colossus Neronis, the bronze statue of himself that the emperor Nero erected in Rome in the first century CE *123 number of days the celebration lasted for a Roman military victory in 107 CE *11,000 number of exotic animals killed in the arena as part of the celebration *177 number of annual official Roman holidays by the fourth century *1,000,000 estimated population of Rome at the time of Christ *250,000 seating capacity of Rome’s Circus Maximus arena by the fifth century *50,000 estimated population of Rome after final sack by Visigoths in 476 CE *547,000 area, in square feet, of the base of the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacán *5,500 number of pounds of gold paid by Roman citizens to the Visigoths in 410 CE to prevent destruction of the city *3,000 number of pounds of pepper paid in same ransom *6,000 number of men in a Roman legion *4,000 length, in miles, of the Silk Road, linking China to the West |