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CHAPTER 4 NOTES
The Rise of the Persian Empire
Mineral resources: Copper, Tin, Iron , Gold and Silver
The first to achieve a complex level of political organization was the Medes
The Medes played a major role in the destruction of the Assyrian Empire
The Persians rulers were called Achaemenids because they traced their lineage back to
an ancestor named Achaemenes
The male head of the household had nearly absolute authority over family members.
Society was divided into three classes: warriors, priests, and peasants. The priests were
called Magi.
The King had a garden that symbolized what would away those who followed him.
King Cyrus (Founder of the Persian Empire) conquered Mesopatamia and respected
Babylonian traditions by making his son, Cambyses King. Cambyses set his sights on
Egypt. When Cambyses died, Darius I seized the throne. Darius created a new
organizational structure that was maintained throughout the next two centuries. He
made 20 provinces, each under the supervision of a Persian satrap, or governor. Each
province gave a certain amount of precious metal to the central treasury, most of which
was hoarded. An economic decline happened due to the price of gold and silver. Darius
created the “laws of the King”. He let his people live by their own traditions and
ordinances. He created a ceremonial capital at Persepolis. Darius and his successors
were Zoroastrians. It preached belief in one supreme deity, help humans to a high
ethical standard, and promised salvation.
Rise of the Greeks
They traded, because they were resource-poor. They relied entirely on rainfall to water
their crops. Greece began trading with Phoenicians and launched Greece into the
“Archaic” period. The Phoenicians created the first alphabet (Greeks reformed it). New
forms of literature, law codes, religious dedications, and epitaphs on gravestones.
Greece invented city-states (or polis) which consisted of an urban center and the rural
territory that it controlled. The Greeks developed a new kind of warfare, waged by
hoplites (heavily armored infantrymen who fought in a close formation). They also used
a Navy ship called a trireme. The invention of coins also spread throughout Greece and
beyond. They moved more towards democracy. They were polytheistic and believed in
gods that were anthropomorphic—that is, conceived as humanlike in appearance but
taller and more beautiful. They also practiced sacrifice. One distinctive feature of the
“Archaic” period was a growing emphasis on the individual. Athens and Sparta were two
preeminent Greek city-states.
Sparta
Took over Messenia and dominated the native population. They became a military
campt in a permanent state of preparedness. The professional Spartan soldier was the
best in Greece, and the Spartan army was superior to all others. Boys were taken at
age 7 to be trained as soldiers. No poets or artists during this period.
Athens
Much less war-like. They created a democracy and had a People’s court. (only for free
adult males) Citizens could speak to the issues of the day. Philosopher, Socrates was
condemned to death but his disciple Plato represented the first generation to be truly
literate. Aristotle was the tutor of Alexander the Great. When Alexander died he made
no plans for succession, thus launching Greece into a half-century of chaos. “Hellenistic
Age” Greece heavily influenced Africa and Asia.
Persian Wars
Greece vs. Persia. Greeks described themselves as “Hellenes” and non-Greeks as
“Barboi”. Most accepted Greek power, but others allied with Sparta to overtake them.
The three main wars were Pelopanisian, (Athens and Sparta) Persian (Persia and
Greece) and Ionian (also Athens and Sparta). The Athenians defeated Persia because
of their Hipolite warfare at Marathon (26 miles from Athens).
CHAPTER 5
Roman Empire
Roman Republic was not a democracy. The wealthy peoples votes counted for more
than the poor peoples. The real center of power was the Roman Senate. The sons of
the senate filled the senate. The elite people called patricians and the majority of the
population called plebeians. The basic unit of Roman society was the family. Fear
drove the Romans to expand their territory to buffer themselves from attack. Soon the
Roman Republic (not by blood) fell and was replaced by the Roman Empire (by blood)
was started by Ceaser Augustus. Romanization was the spread of the Latin language
and the Roman way of life. Aqueducts—carried water from a source to an urban center,
using gravity. “third-century crisis” refers to the period when political, military, and
economic problems nearly destroyed the Roman Empire. Diocletian gained power after
almost 20 men had claimed the throne. When he died, Constantine took over and
eventually moved the capitol to Constantinople (City of Constantine). The three main
generals Pompei, Crassus and Julius Ceaser. Julius becomes emperor and names
nephew as heir. Nero sets part of city on fire and Rome falls.
Han Empire (400 years)
The first ever Chinese Empire was called Qin (the word China is derived from that). Liu
Bang established a the Han Dynasty. It maintained much of the Quin’s structure and
Legalist ideology. But went more Confucist. They emperor was the “Son of Heaven” and
his word was law. China’s first capitol was Chang’an. China’s most important export
commodity was silk. Han was an educated Dynasty. Military and one month’s forced
labor each year required. Population tripped. Rome and Han start communication and
trade. Real paper developed in Han. Han fell in 220 A.D
CHAPTER 6
India is set off from the rest of Asia by the Himalayas. “Vendic Age” based off of the
religious texts called Vedas. Varna means “color” people were divided by their varna.
The four classes were Brahmin,(priests and scholors) Kshatriya, warriors and officials)
Vaishya, (merchants, artisans, and landowners) and Sundra. (Peasants and
laborers)also untouchables. The caste system—people lived with their specific group
and that caste was theirs for life. The caste system holds India back and does not
encourage interatction. They believed in karma and reincarnation.
Jainism
Starving themselves to death
Nudity
Strict non-violence
Hinduism
Polytheistic (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva) 80% was Hindu.
More personal religious devotion (could pick which deity to worship)
Buddhism
Goal: Enlightenment (to find the path)
Original Buddha—Siddartha Guatama
Nirvana is when you are released from eht cycle of birth, death, rebirth
Mauryan Empire
Founded by Chandragupta Maurya
Large army
Taxation was huge! (25% on farmers)
Buddhist
India’s first centralized government
Ashoka converted to Buddhism and practiced non-violence
Gupta Empire (Money/bribary)
All Hindu
They fall because they are broke and the Huns invade
The Classical period