World History I (Before 1200 CE) Flashcards
What was the influence of geography on Ancient Egypt?
First, the predictable nature of the Nile River land the plentiful harvest it created lead Egyptians to adopt a positive outlook on life, an outlook based on the idea that if you lead a good life the gods will bless you.
Second, Ancient Egypt being surrounded by a desert provided the civilization free protect against inland military invasion. This protection allowed the civilization to last a long, long time (3000 years).
What is hieroglyphics and why is the Rosetta stone important?
Hieroglyphics is Ancient Egypt’s religious writing language.
The Rosetta stone is a decree establishing the legitimacy of some young king. The Rosetta stone is important because helped modern linguists decode hieroglyphics.
Explain Ancient Egypt’s practice of religious rulership
In Ancient Egypt, the pharaoh was both a political and religious leader. Egyptians believed that the pharaoh was god’s representative on Earth.
In fact, they believed that when a pharaoh dies, he/she gets an immortal soul (essentially, they believed the pharaoh becomes a god).
What function did the Pyramids and Valley of Kings serve?
They served as burial sites for kings and other related nobilities.
What is a polis?
A polis is a city-state. Basically, imagine Little Rock having its own independent government separate from the Federal government.
Major polis in classical Greece include Thebes, Corinth, Athens, Spartan, etc.
Contrast Spartan and Athens
Sparta was a close-off military state that discouraged trade. Spartan economy was based on agriculture produced by helot. Also by necessity, the women in Spartan had more public/economic freedom as compared to Athens.
In contrast, Athens was a imperialistic state that had a “democracy” and engaged heavily in sea-borne trade. This said, even though Athens was not a militaristic state, it had a strong navy might
List Ancient Greece major contributions (6)
Side note: most of the most significant contributions came from Athens
1) concept of citizen
2) concept of democracy
3) Ideas about medicine and mathematics
4) philosophy (thinking/explanations based reason and rationality)
5) Art, literature, and architecture
6) History (Herodotus, thy guy)
Describe Rome the Republic
The idea about Rome being a republic was mainly about its governance structure, for even when it was a republic is was already expanding its reach beyond its contiguous territory.
Rome Republic’s governance structure as follows:
1) most of the power resided in the senate, which was made up of mostly patricians
2) there were 2 consuls (i.e. 2 executive officer) who served limited terms and vetoed each other
3) consuls and the senate were selected by the censor (i.e. an electoral college-type body)
4) the censor were themselves appointed by the centuriates, a body made up of groups of 100 soldiers who voted on important matters.
Describe Rome the Empire
As an empire, all power was consolidated in the office of the emperor, and the emperor ruled over an expansive territory which had a diverse population.
Rome officially became an empire under Octavia (Augustus).
Why do states eventually create empires?
To create more wealth and a larger army
What make empires last (5)?
1) Ideology
2) culture
3) technology
4) leadership
5) weak surrounding nations
Explain the relevance of military to Rome’s economy and society
The military was central to Rome’s economy. It was its military might and sophistication that enabled Rome to conquer many well-established empires and as a result build wealth and prestige.
Similarly, in terms of society, the military was power force. To illustrate, most of those who rose to power were military generals. For example, Julius Caesar and Augustus became prominent leaders with absolute powers because they were fierce military leaders.
Explain the origin and spread of Christianity, and Constantine’s role
Christianity started off as a small sect of Judaism. After the death of Jesus, his disciplines evangelized to Jews and non-Jews (including Roman citizens). This practice and the practice of not worshiping the emperor and his gods made Christians a target for persecution.
All these persecutions stopped with Emperor Constantine who converted to Christianity, made it a legal religion, and assembled the Council of Nicaea to unify Christian ideologies.
What were the major causes for Rome’s decline (3)?
1) series of incompetent governance
2) thanks to the Huns, repeated Gothic and Vandal invasions
3) General Odoacer sacking the Western capital of Rome
What were the major causes for Rome’s decline?
1) series of incompetent governance
2) invasions
3) got sacked
