Download Geoffrey Dougherty

Geoffrey Dougherty
AP World History
Chapter 10 & 11 Vocab and Questions
Persian Wars - from 500-479 B.C.E., this was long conflict between the Greeks and the
Persian empire
Peloponnesian War - civil conflict between Sparta and Athens, which was triggered by
the Athens taking money from the Delian league to their own benefit
Socrates - Athenian man that had a powerful urge to understand human beings and
human affairs in all their complexity
Plato - Socrates' disciple who explained his thoughts through dialogue, and also
elaborated a systematic philosophy of great subtlety
Plebians - group of the common people in Ancient Rome
Patricians - group of the wealthy classes in Ancient Rome
Pax Romana - era known as "Roman peace", this was led by Augustus and laster from
the first to the middle of the third century
Latifundia - pieces of property that cover large amounts of land
Stoicism - probavly the most prominent school in all of Hellenistic Greece
Christianity - monotheistic religion that revolves around the teachings of Jesus Christ, as
explained in the New Testament
Julius Caesar - leader of the Roman Empire, he was popular for his spending on public
entertainment and his military victories. He was then assassinated by members of an elite
Roman class that thought he had become a tyrant
Augustus Caesar - a.k.a. Octavian, he was the successor of Julius Caesar that had put
together an imperial government for Rome and would stay in tact for the next three
centuries
Aristotle - former disciple of Plato, he believed that philosophers like himself should rely
on their senses to sort out problems instead of Plato and Socrates' way of Forms or Ideas
of justice
Alexander of Macedon - a.k.a. Alexander the Great, this young man was an inspired
leader and fantastic strategist, which led to the control of Ionia, Anatolia, Syria, Palestine,
and Egypt
Pericles - statesman who was the most popular leader of Athens for his achievements of
giving government jobs to the common classes, his building programs for thousands of
laborers and contruction workers, and also his work on making the community people
have special jobs like scientists, philosophers, poets, artists, etc.
1. The Greek society originated in the Greek peninsula. At an indeterminate date,
humans started inhabiting the peninsula and built societies influenced by
Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Phoenicians and others. The societies then spread to
islands such as Crete, but still located in the same general area as the Greek
peninsula. The government the Greek society chose was city-states. They created
these mini societies that offered refuge during war, and sometimes created
individual laws. However, even though they created some of their own laws, citystates are under the control of the major government. The culture became mixed
throughout time in Greek society because of the amount of commerce they had. In
time, the majority of city-states became booming commerce centers that attracted
increasing populations. In the markets they exchanged goods like wine, wool,
textiles, and manufactured goods. This amount of commerce not only helped their
economy, it brought a variety of cultures together in one place.
2. A city-state, also known as a polis, is a citadel or fortified site that offered refuge
for local communities during times of war or other emergencies. City-states were
very popular during this time, therefore attracting large populations. The more
people that came in, the more the commerce in these city-states increased.
Marketplaces became the center of attention where people traded and bought
goods they had manufactured themselves. The small governments of these citystates would levy taxes and extend authority over neighboring regions. For a
small government, their influence was great. Two popular city-states were Sparta
and Athens. These were two Greek city-states with opposite views. Sparta was a
very war-driven, aggressive city-state, whereas Athens focused on literacy and not
as much on war and dominance. Sparta’s claim was that they were free and all
were equal, where in Athens they were under rule of the government and the
wealthy were considered better than the poor, and male dominance was evident.
Athens is also known for their artistic influence on Greek society. They produced
more painters, writers, and philosophers than most other city-states.
3. At the young age of 20, Alexander of Macedon succeeded Phillip as ruler of
Macedon. If you were tell him then that he would become one of the most
effective expansionists in his time, he’d think you were crazy. Already expanding,
he took Macedon and pushed them through powerful societies such as Anatolia,
Mesopotamia, and Egypt. He was a very good military strategist and an inspiring
leader, capable of getting his people to support his every move. Perhaps his
greatest accomplishment was taking down the entire Persian Empire in less than a
year. In 331 BCE, he moved swiftly through Persia and burned down Achaemenid
palace at Persepolis and established himself as the new leader of Persia by 330
BCE. Only 3 years later, he continued his conquest across the Indus River and
into India, entering the Punjab. After bringing the Punjab rulers to their knees, he
was ready to move on until his troops refused to venture any farther from home.
They felt that they had conquered enough. Though it had ended, his conquest
changed the ancient world forever. It brought plentiful amounts of Greek and
Macedonian influence to regions normally out of range. It also opened the door
for new rulers to expand their empires, because Alexander showed it could be
done. Without his quest covering half the world, many other expansionists never
would have attempting to expand their empires.
4. After the last Etruscan king had been disposed of, the Roman nobility dropped the
monarchy with an aristocratic republic. Changes were made that gave two nobles
civil and military power. These two nobles were elected, unlike in the previous
system, and they could also be replaced every year. This made the system much
friendlier to the people, because they actually had a say. Rather then the
government being ruled by one family for decades, the power was spread out
among different individuals and the people. The Romans became very democratic
after this, inventing things such as the senate, that allow people to vote for what
they want, rather than just have a king and a queen decide for you. Also, corrupt
nobles and politicians could be dealt with and kicked out of office within a year,
where kings and queens could not be removed as easy. This worked well at first,
until the tension between the wealthy and common classes became overwhelming.
Eventually these conflicts made the plebeians threaten break away from Rome
and form a rival settlement. While these internal conflicts flamed, so did external
ones. The Etruscans and Gauls were two main threats to the Roman Republic.
During the 4th and 2nd centuries BCE, however, an enormous expansion
eliminated all possibilities of a takeover. Rome was now the most powerful
society in the world. They continued expanding until they found themselves in
conflict with Carthage. Between 264 and 146 BCE, Rome and Carthage fought
three devastating battles filled with strategy and bloodshed. In the end, the smaller
Carthaginians were destroyed by the Romans and completely erased. The conflict
came about because of conflicts that arose from economic competition between
the two societies.
5. The republic worked well until the point when Rome had expanded too far. When
tensions got higher between classes and an unequal distribution of power created
issues, the decision was made to switch to an empire that would allow for
expansion. This new government centralized things in Rome and brought the
growing state of the previous republic under control. With a centralized
government, more could be done to maintain the entire empire from one place.
Early on after the switch to an empire, Rome faced problems. One of the main
ones was latifundia. These latifundia were enormous plantations built by wealthy
families that got control of conquered lands. Latifundia were like ancient slave
plantations. Owners of latifundia hired slaves to work at lower costs to make them
more money. This caused high tensions in social classes between the wealthy and
poor, which was not good for overall society. This conflict along with others
eventually led to a civil war in 87 BCE. At this time, Marius marched into Rome
and placed the city under military occupation, while hunting down his political
enemies. After Marius died, Sulla took advantage and planned to take his place. In
83 BCE, Sulla seized control of Rome and listed the individuals he wanted
brought to him or killed. During his five year reign, it is estimated that some
10,000 of his “enemies” were killed by Roman citizens and his staff. During this
civil war, no pressure was put on social tension with latifundia and the fights
between upper and lower class, causing the problems to escalate out of control.
6. The Romans are responsible for many of the tools, beliefs, and government
systems we use in the present day. As engineers, they are most remembered for
their roads. Like some empires before them, the Romans built a system of
connecting roads used for transporting goods and people across the entire empire.
Because it was so big, the empire needed intricate roads that the Romans built
successfully. Without these roads they built, the Romans would have never
expanded as much as they did and would have collapsed much earlier. As
philosophers, the Romans gave us advancements in Catholicism and made its
beliefs much more popular. Roman Catholics are now found spread throughout
the whole world, mainly because of the Roman Empire’s influence. Finally,
perhaps the most important contribution they gave to the world was in
government. And this contribution was the development of a Senate. During the
republic when they wanted to make their society a democracy and give power to
the people, creating a Senate where decisions were made by hundreds of people
voting rather than just one was genius. Countries that employ a democracy,
including the US still use a Senate. Made up of 100 elected officials, the Senate
passes laws and keeps our society running smoothly, keeping power spread out
instead of just in the hands of one or two people.