Download Ancient Greece to Feudal Europe

Ancient Greece to Feudal Europe
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I. The Greek heritage
A. The Ancient Greeks
1. Europe’s first great historians, poets, writers, and philosophers
2. They observed plants, animals, and the human body
3. They invented today’s scientific way of gathering knowledge
4. They invented democracy—people govern themselves
B. Power of democracies
1. There were over 100 city-states in Greece.
a. A city-state was both a city and an independent nation
b. Many of these city-states were democracies
c. The most famous city-state was Athens
d. Every male citizen voted on laws and governmental policies.
e. The Greek idea was that citizens should have a voice in their government
C. Greek ideas spread
1. The ruler, Alexander the Great, spread Greek ideas outside of the city-states.
2. At age 20 he became King of Macedonia
3. In 334 he set out to conquer the world
4. He conquered an empire almost as big as the U.S. An empire is a collection of
lands ruled by a single government
5. In his new lands, Alexander established Greek ideas, Greek language, and Greek cities
II. Ancient Rome
A. The Roman Empire ruled a huge area and built magnificent cities and structures
B. Roman cities
1. They were linked by roads
a. About 50,000 miles of hard-surfaced highways
b. One of the most outstanding transportation networks ever built.
c. Constructed 2,000 years ago, some roads are still used today
2. Romans also built aqueducts, or canals that carried water
C. Pax Romana
1. Romans built their empire after the death of Alexander the Great.
2. 1st emperor of Rome was Augustus, in the year 27 B.C.
3. Pax Romana means Roman Peace
4. It lasted 200 years.
D. Roman Law
1. Greatest gift to the world was the system of written laws
2. Laws were no longer passed on by word of mouth, instead they wrote them down.
3. Judges based their decisions on written laws.
4. The judge’s decision was also put into writing
5. Roman Laws protected all citizens
E. Decline of Rome
1. 100’s of year of warfare followed the Pax Romana
2. The empire needed more soldiers for protection
3. To pay for wars the government raised taxes
4. The empire grew too big for one person to govern, so it was divided
5. The laws no longer protected people
6. The empire was divided into the East and West.
III. The Middle Ages
A. Cathedral- a great church
1. Many cathedrals were built in Europe during the Middle Ages
2. Many took as long as 100 years to construct a single cathedral
3. Strong religious faith was a key part of life during the Middle Ages
B. Christian Faith
1. Came out of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ
2. After his death, his followers spread his teachings
3. They taught that he was the son of God.
4. One Christian was the Roman emperor named Constantine- spread Christianity through the Empire.
5. Later, the empire collapsed, law and order and trade broke down, but Christianity remained.
6. People drew strength from Christianity
C. Feudalism
1. A way to organize society when there is no central government
2. Leaders called lords ruled the land
3. Lords swore an oath of allegiance to a king
4. The lords owned a piece of land called a manor or fief
a. The lord owned all the land
b. He received the income from the land
c. He collected taxes
d. Maintained order and enforced the laws
e. He protected the serfs- people who lived on the land and farmed it.
1. Serfs were not slaves but had to have the lord’s permission to leave.
2. They owned no land
3. Depended on the lord or king for protection