Download Old World Geography

Old World Geography
(The study of the land’s surface and it’s
climate.)
There are many natural boundaries in the Old World
(mountains, deserts, bodies of water).
Conquering armies needed to be close to supplies of
water and food so they avoided places where they
couldn’t survive.
Conquerors wanted:
• Fertile land
• Fresh water
• Ports to dock their ships (Trade Centers=$$)
• Control of the Seas
( Trade Routes)
• Control of the Rivers
(Traders and armies always
stay close to the supply of
fresh water AND
boats carry more than
horses or camels.)
We need to think like Medieval
Traders and Conquerors.
• Economic Facts: (Economic- How they traded
and how they got and spent their $$$.)
• Those who control the trade get the most power
and money.
• They don’t give up this economic superiority
easily. (They will fight over it.)
• Think of medieval trade routes like the internet.
Trade routes were the only way to transfer
information from area to area. ( Info: Religion,
new technology.)
We need to quickly look at the fall
of one empire and the rise of
another.
Romans
700 BC- 476 AD
Islamic Empire
632 AD- 1500s
Think of the Mediterranean Sea as the hole in a
donut!
A Political and Religious Timeline:
Both the Romans and the Islamic leaders (Caliphs) controlled
the area around the Mediterranean sea.
Roman Empire
49
Islamic Empire
180
750
1250
Key
Christianity Begins
Islam Begins
Barbarian Invasions
312
900
1312
509
Islam->West Africa
<---------------------476-
610
--------------------------
1000 I 600 I 200 0 200 I 600 I 1000 I 1200 I 1600 I 2000
BCE
CE
Rome Had A Strong Military BUT
THE BARBARIANS CAME IN FOR
YEARS AND YEARS. (Page 476)
No empire can maintain a strong
military for that long without
hurting the empire economically.
At the same time Rome had all
kinds of political problems.
Political: Things that relate to the getting
and keeping of power.
They can disagree over territory (borders) or
over who should become the next leader.
Anything that has to do with the government is
put under the category of Political.
In the beginning Rome was run by
kings. 753 BC
(They were a monarchy).
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•
•
•
•
•
•
Monarchy: a land ruled by one man.
They can be called Kings
Emperors
Dictators
Monarchs
Caliphs (Islam)
509 BC
• They overthrew the kings and began to elect
people to represent them. (The Republic)
• It was not a perfect system but there was an
orderly way to vote leaders in and out of
office.
• The
Roman
Senate
Then came along a head strong
guy named Julius Caesar. He went
up and conquered Gaul.
The people loved him and let him
declare himself dictator for life.
His nephew Augustus ruled for a
very long time . He was an
efficient ruler so having a
monarch seemed to work.
After that, his relatives inherited
the right to rule.
Eventually, his last relative
committed suicide.(Nero was
absolutely crazy.)
Different generals/leaders fought to be
emperor.
The armies were loyal to their generals.
So , one general would wage war against
another.(Civil War)
Once in awhile, they would get a wiser
emperor. There were two emperors in
the 300’s who made decisions that
kept the Roman ways alive.
• Diocletian
Constantine
• Diocletian (293) saw that the empire was too
big for one person to run on his own.
• He split it in two.
• They called it the Western Empire and the
Eastern Empire.
•
Constantine saw that A city called
Byzantium had a lot of great features:
1. The city was located on a peninsula on
the European side of the Bosporus Strait.
2.This made it a perfect trade center for
things passing from Asia to Europe.
It had natural boundaries to help
protect it from invasion.
He renamed it “Constantinople”.
By the middle of the 300’s Roman
power was shifted from Rome to
to the East (Constantinople).
And most importantly, Constantine declared
that Christianity was the official religion of the
Roman Empire. This kept the religion alive as
the barbarians (Goths)moved in!
Only the Eastern portion remained.
A Political and Religious Timeline:
Both the Romans and the Islamic leaders (Caliphs) controlled
the area around the Mediterranean sea.
Roman Empire
49
Islamic Empire
180
750
1250
Key
Christianity Begins
Islam Begins
Barbarian Invasions
312
900
1312
509
Islam->West Africa
<---------------------476-
610
--------------------------
1000 I 600 I 200 0 200 I 600 I 1000 I 1200 I 1600 I 2000
BCE
CE