City-states (Athens and Sparta)

Cory Hume

·         both managed to grasp power over Greece

·         Athens, with its free speaking democracy, allied with many smaller city-states to form a powerful rule

·         Sparta, with its strong military, conquered many lands and forced them into their form of government and law

·         both eventually fell

·         Athens was the most populated

·         Every month a new set of 500 citizens were chosen to form a council to decide political matters.

·         Athens’  famous attributes: Parthenon, Socrates, Aristotle

·         Sparta wanted only expansion of power

·         Sparta's government was an oligarchy. It was ruled by two kings, an assembly of elders, and an assembly of citizens over age 30

·         Money was not used,  they didn't want anybody to be richer than another

·         Sparta did not allow trade with other countries, didn't want the people to be exposed to foreign ideas

·         All citizens focused on the military

·         Newborns, that weren't physically perfect, were left to die

·         “Nine years later, the Persians returned under the rule of Xerxes, Darius's son. This time, they would not be beaten so easily. The Athenians and Spartans fought side by side, in an all out attempt to halt the invaders. After several defeats, the united Greeks finally smashed both the Persian army and navy in one quick blow. “--- Can anyone guess the movie?

·         Athens and its allies were defeated and at Sparta's mercy.

·         Sparta was defeated be numerous revolts

Nosotro, Rit. "Athens and Sparta." 2000 25 Sep 2008 http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw4athensspartap2dz.htm

This picture is of the movie “300,” which depicts the battle of a small garrison of soldiers, including the king, fought the massive Persian army led by Xerxes. This was a battle before the massive war that included Sparta and Athens.

Direct Democracy by Brianna Kosko

• Who:  Citizens instead of representatives and legislatures; practiced by Athenians in Greece.
• What: Policy-making and law decisions
• When: 449 B.C. When Ancient Romans began citizen formulation, law passing,and vetoing laws made by legislature
• Where: Ancient Roman Republic
• Why: The Romans wanted say in their government and not just leave it up to the legislatures to govern them. They took on the idea of democracy to fit a larger area and create a Representative democracy
• How: It gives citizens the right to voice their opinions about the government and make laws without the use of a legislature

Cite: http://www.co-intelligence.org/CIpol.directdemocracy.html

 This is a picture of Constantine's baptism. He was one of the early starters of democracy in Ancient Rome.

Persian Wars (Sarah Mann)

·        Series of wars between Greek states and Persia

·        499 – 449 B.C.E.

·        Ionian Greek city-states in Anatolia came under Persian control when Darius I came to power in Persia (522 B.C.E.)

·        The Ionian revolt against Persia was unsuccessful (499 – 494 B.C.E.) and decided to punish Athens – resulting the Persian Wars

·        Support of Athens lead Darius to invade Greece (492 B.C.E.) but his fleet was destroyed by a storm

·        Darius was defeated at Battle of Marathon after assembling a bigger army (490 B.C.E.)

·        Xerxes I, the next ruler of Persia, invaded Greece but all of Greece fought together (480 B.C.E.) Sparta was the head of the army and Athens was the head of the navy

·        Spartans lead by Leonidas lost the Battle of Thermopylae and the Persians reached Athens and destroyed it (480 B.C.E.)

·        The Athens’ navy defeated the Persians in the Battle of Salamis

·        Xerxes army was defeated in the Battle of Plataea forcing him to leave Greece (479 B.C.E.)

·        Xerxes’ navy was defeated in the Battle of Mycale

·        For 30 more years periodical fighting occurred

·        Athens formed the Delian League to free the Ionians

·        The Peace of Callias ended the Persian Wars (449 B.C.E.)

Answers Corporation, "Persian Wars" 2008. Answers.com. 25 Sep 2008 <http://www.answers.com/topic/greco-persian-wars>.

Drury , Mark . "The Persian Wars 490-448 BC." Battles of the Achaemenid Empire . January 1999. 25 Sep 2008 http://members.ozemail.com.au/~ancientpersia/battles.html.

This is a map of where the Persian Wars took place and it shows all the campaigns.

Peloponnesian Wars- Sara Marshall

--> The Peloponnesian Wars took place from 431 to 404 B.C.

--> The Peloponnesian Wars were an Ancient Greek military conflict.

--> It was fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League. (Peloponnesian League was led by Sparta.)

--> The Peloponnesian Wars was fought in Ancient Greece.

--> The war was fought for many reasons. The main reason is because tension rose between Athens and Sparta after the Spartans chose to return home instead of continuing the siege against the Persians in the Near East. (This was during the years after the defeat of the Persians in the Second Persian War.)

--> Historians divide the war into three parts.

--> The Athen's defeated the Peloponnesian League in 404 B.C.

--> This defeat caused a lot of havoc throughout the Greek world.

--> After the wars, the King's peace was imposed on the Greek States.

"Peloponnesian Wars." Wikipedia. 2008. 25 Sep 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peloponnesian_War>.

This is a map of Mainland Greece, where one of the first wars of the Peloponnesian Wars took place. The war resulted in a Spartan victory, and there was a dissolution of the Delian League.

Alexander the Great-- Richard Monroe

• Who- Alexander the Great was the son of Philip I of Macedon. He was under the tutleage af Aristotle.

• What- After his father conquered Greece, Alexander conquered most of the known world after his father died.

• When- Alexander was born in 356BCE and he reigned from 336 until his death in 323

• Where- He was born in Macedon. His empire stretched from Alexandria to the Khyber Pass

• Why- 2 reasons: It was hos destiny to complete his father's dream of world conquest and the Greeks had just recently fended off an invasion of Persia which was located in Iran.

• How it is important- The conquest of alexander is very important to World History because not only did alexander spread his borders but he also spread Greek ideas, goods, and technology.

A bust of Alexander in the later part of his life.

Photo: Bust of Alexander, British Museum. Borrowed From www.armenian-history.com
Research: [www.armenian-history.com] & [http://wso.williams.edu/~junterek/]
 

Homer and his works (Shampa Panda)

Homer was an ancient Greek writer who is credited with having written the epic poems the Iliad and the Oddysey. There is much controversy over if Homer was a real person, and if he was if he wrote the Iliad and the Oddysey. Homer lived around 850 BC.

Iliad: The Iliad consists of twenty four books and was written in is the late 8th or early 9th century and is the oldest piece of Greek writing. It is about the war between Troy and Mycanae, and the earlier years of the war and the events that preceded it (the famous "Helen of Troy") are written about in other poems in the Epic Cycle.
Main characters: Achilles is the Greek's most invaluable fighter, Hector is the famous Trojan prince, Menaleus is the King of Sparta, Helen of Troy is the wife of Menaleus who runs away with Paris, Agamemnon is the king of Mycanae, Paris is King Priam's son and Hector's brother who fell in love with Helen and started the war.

Oddysey: The Oddysey follows the return of Odysseus home to Ithaca from the Trojan War (detailed in the Iliad). On the way home, he encounters angry gods (Posiedon, the god of the sea is one of his enemies), nymphs, captivity, and sirens. He arrives home, wins back his wife Penelope, and lives in peace after various other encounters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer

http://oldweb.uwp.edu/academic/english/canary/iliad.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey

This is an indealistic representation of Homer done during the Hellenistic period of Greek art.

Socrates and Plato Daniel Sanmartin

 This is a bust of Socrates, from my readings it said that he was not an attractive person with a stubby nose, and fat but he made up for it by his wisdom.

Aristotle and the foundations of Western thought (Rishi Simha):  One of the most famous Greek philosophers, Aristotle (384-322 BCE), proposed many ideas and concepts that would shape Western thought.  Aristotle attained his education at an academy run by Plato, another renowned thinker.  Using this knowledge, he would lecture about many topics including logic, ethics, physics, and astronomy.  Aristotle taught Alexander the Great, as well.  Alexander the Great then went on to conquer a vast region and would spread his views throughout.  Since Aristotle influenced Alexander’s beliefs, Aristotle indirectly introduced his theories of logical reasoning, thinking, and science to the Mediterranean region.  Aristotle also receives credit for creating foundations in Western thought through his belief that a sphere was a perfect shape.  This led him to believe that the universe was sphere-shaped and that everything was geo-centric, or revolved around the earth.  The Church adopted this idea for around one thousand years, and the Church was definitely a big influence on Western thought.  Aristotle also impacted Western political thought.  He lectured about obligations of citizens and may have written a book in which a constitutional government is applied to a society.  All of his lectures and studying were in an attempt to find a universal method to learn everything there is to know in life.  

Source:  Kemerling, Garth. "Aristotle." Aristotle - MIE. 21 Oct 2006. philosophypages.com. 25 Sep 2008 <http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/aris.htm>.

This is a well-known sculpture of Aristotle. 

Hellenistic culture (Lauren Sink)

·         spread from Greece during the Hellenistic period or era as a result of Alexander the Great and Macedon

·         after the death of Alexander the Great, Assyrains, Jews, Egyptians, Persians, Parthians, Armenians, and other ethnic groups were Hellenized

·         Hellenistic religion is the context in which Early Christianity arose and developed

·         Hellenism was fond of astrology

·         Hellenistic schools of thought included: Platonism, Peripateticism, Cynicism, Cyrenaicism, Epicureanism, Stoicism, Pyrrhonism, Hellenistic Judaism, Neopythagoreanism, Hellenistic Christianity, and Neoplatonism

·         Greek mathematics and astronomy reached a rather advanced stage during Hellenism, with scholars such as Hipparchus, Posidonius and Ptolemy

·         A number of best known Greek arts are attached to the Hellenistic period such as Laocoön of the Vatican and Venus de Milo, as well as Winged Victory of Samothrace.

Google. 2007. 27 September 2008. <picasaweb.google.com/.../SzdBTPaGIGTtUhvwwAMWgw>.

Laocoön of the Vatican is a work of art created during the Hellenistic Era.

Pericles (Golden Age)

Crystal Tsang

                      Pericles was an influential politician, orator, and general of Athens between the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars. Descended from the powerful and influential Alcmaeonid family, Pericles is often known as "the first citizen of Athens." One of his most significant accomplishments was in turning the Delian League into an Athenian Empire. Pericles was a proud and important sponsor and supporter of the arts, and himself being one of the founding fathers of the Athenian Empire, it is only natural that Athens became the educational and cultural center of Ancient Greece.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pericles

Pericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age.

Stoics

Roman Republic-Leya Wood

• Began in 510 BCE
• STarted with the overthrowing of the Roman Monarchy
• Lasted about 450 Years.
• Died because of a series of civil wars.
• Was a republican form of government
• Led by a Constitution
• Based off of separation of powers
• Checks and balances
• Aristocracy led it first
• Then after several years, they repealed the idea of only Aristocracy
• Basis of many modern governments, suchas the American Government today

Painting of the Roman Republic

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/6/62/500px-Maccari-Cicero.jpg

Plebeians vs Patricians - Mindy Xiong

• Plebians were citizens of Rome that were not wealthy.
• Patricians were wealthy citizens of Rome.
• Patricians had slaves to do their work for them
• Plebians had to work for a living (usually as a tradesman or craftsman)
• Since they both were citizens of Rome, they were allowed to vote.
• Plebians fought in war, but had no share in wealth.
• Plebians had to pay for taxes, Patricians had rewards.
• Plebians eventually contructed rebel-like army
• Argued with Patricians about voting rights and senate problems.
• Plebians won, and lower class earned more rights.

http://www.historyonthenet.com/Romans/government.htm
http://www.mariamilani.com/ancient_rome/patricians_and_plebeians.htm
http://saschinahumanities.wetpaint.com/thread/854796/Patricians+VS+Plebians?t=anon
http://images.google.com/imgres?http://www.sbceo.k12.ca.us/~vms/carlton/RomanGovt.jpg

Since they were all citizens of Rome, both plebians and patricians were allowed to vote. But only Patrcians had right to hold any political, military or religious offices. Basically, all Patrcians held major power.

Punic Wars- Alexandra Bauer

·         A series of wars fought between Rome and Carthage

·         Named the Punic wars because the Latin term for Carthaginian was Punici

·         Lasted from 264-146 BCE

·         Original conflict stemmed from the Roman advancement into Carthage dominated Sicily  

·         There were three Punic wars

·         The first war was noted for a series of naval battles and for continuous Roman victories.

·         Within the second war, the Carthaginian general, Hannibal, was defeated in the snowy mountains of Italy. Hannibal’s strategy involved hired mercenaries and African elephants that could not withstand the climate of Europe. By the end of the second war, Roman troops had pushed forward to Carthage.

·        The third war involved a siege of Carthage itself by Roman troops. The Roman general, Scipio Aemilanus embarked on a three-year siege, broke through the Carthaginian defenses and burned Carthage to the ground in 146 BCE

This is a picture of the many elephants that Hannibal brought to

Europe during the Second Punic War. This stragegy failed miserably

because of the climate.

Julius Caesar

Augustus Caesar - Kelly Best

According to the book:

• Grandnephew of Julius Caesar
• Seized power in 27 BCE following a period of rivalry after his great uncle's assasination

Other Facts

• Ruled during the time of Jesus and is mentioned in chapter two of the book of Luke in the Christian Holy Bible
  
  Sources
  Stearns, Peter. World Civilizations. 4th AP. New York, NY: Pearson Longman, 2006.
  25 Sep 2008 <http://northernblue.ca/cconline/images/rome/caesara.jpg>.

A Drawing of Augustus Caesar
Many of the depictions of Augustus Caesar show consistent and identifiable facial features. Also, he is usually depicted as a confident, strong and capable man.

Five Good Emporers--Jenny Borowski

• Nerva, Trajan, Handrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius were known as the Five Good Emporers.
• Series of emperors that ruled after the Flavin Dynasty.
• Roman rulers from 96-180 AD
• Succeeded winning the support and cooperation of the senate.

Marcus Cocceius Nerva, 96-98AD

Completed previous rulers projects. Excellent relationship with members of senate. Promised to deal fairly with senate. Adopted Trajan as heir.

Trajan, 98-117AD

Killed everyone who shamed Nerva. Named Optimus Maximus because of his respect for the senate and victory in wars. Increased free distribution of food, repaired roads, construction of forum, market, and Baths of Trajan. Adopted Hadrian as heir.

Publius Aelius Hadrianus, 117-183AD

Terminated Trajans attempts at expansion. Abandoned military conquests because of expenses and paid more attention to the provinces. He often traveled and listened to his people. Developed Secret Service and Equestrian Order who took the major burden off off the civil service. He was surrounded by fine minds who encouraged arts, literature, and culture.

Antonius Pius, 138-161AD

Refused to execute the list of people sentenced to die. Had no desire to conquer, giving him a long and prosperous rule. Restored the status of the senate. Improved bureaucratic machinery, watched the development of foreign crisis', founded the dynasty of Antoninus, and was a great builder.

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, 161-180AD

Ruled duiring a hard time filled with incessant warfare and financial suffering. There was an outbreak of plague from the East. He was part of the Marcomannic Wars of Marcomanni, Langobordi, and others. Besieged Aquileia as prelude to the invasion of Italy. His reign ended with his death on the frontier.

http://thenagain.info/webchron/mediterranean/fivegood.html

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, the last of the Five Great Rulers.

Kush and Axum -- Matt Myers

KUSH

·        The Kingdom of Kush was an African nation located south of Egypt.

o   The Kushites first came into existence around 2000 B.C.E, by 1000 B.C.E. they were an independent nation, and by 700 B.C.E. Kush kings ruled both Kush and Egypt.

o   Kush was an important center of trade and commerce.

·        Kush was eventually defeated in 671 B.C.E. when Assyria invaded Egypt.

o   Defeated mainly because the Assyrian use of iron weapons as opposed to the Kush use of bronze.

§   Kush learned from this, and eventually became a major center of iron production.

·        Thrived for around another 100 years until they were invaded and conquered by a new power from the south, the Kingdom of Axum.

AXUM

§   First signs of existence were around 7^th century B.C.E., at its apex around the 1^st century A.D.

o   A noted figure of this civilization is the Queen of Sheba, who is mentioned several times in the Jewish Torah and the Christian Bible.

o   Axum developed into an important trading nation like Kush was.

·        Around 324 A.D., King Ezana II, an Axumite ruler, was converted to Chiristianity by his slave Frumentius (also the founder of the Eastern Orthodox Church).

o   Axum was the first major nation to convert to Christianity.

·        Declined around the 7^th century A.D. for uncertain reasons.

o   Some speculations are climate change, Jewish invasion, or simple migration.

Sources:

Bennett , Scott . "Kush and Axom." Early Africa (2000) 24 Sep 2008 <http://barney.gonzaga.edu/~sbennet3/mead/lessonplans/EarlyAfrica.htm>.

This picture shows the early African kingdoms of Kush and Axum. North of this picture is Egypt, whom Kush dominated around 700 B.C.E. Eventually, the kingdom of Axum, south of Kush, invaded Kush and established itself as a prominent force in world affairs (especially trade) for several hundred years.

Japan and Shintoism

Norther Europe-Alison Chang

Militarily the Baltic was an important key in conflicts between the

empires of Northern European history

When Europe was dominated by the Mediterranean region,

everything not near the sea was termed northern Europe, included

Germany, the Low Countries and Austria. In medieval times, the tern

Thule was used to mean a mythical place in the extreme northern

reaches of the continent.

Before the 19^th century, the tern “Nordic” or Northern” was commonly

used to mean Northern Europe in a sense that included the Nordic

countries, European Russia, the Baltic Countries and Greenland.

the blue part is considered the northern Europe

A dutch map of northern europe printed in 1601

The Americas (include the Olmecs)- Tyler Cornett

·         The Olmecs of Central America lived from 800 to 400 B.C.E.

·         The Olmecs lacked a form of writing, but built large structures.

·         This civilization disappeared for unknown reasons in 400 B.C.E.

·         The Olmec’s successors appeared in 400 B.C.E.

·         This civilization developed an alphabet and the city of Teotihuacan.

·         The new civilization suffered from regional wars and migration and, in turn, was succeeded by the Mayans in 400 C.E.

·         The Mayans were scientifically advanced and sacrificed humans regularly.

·          The Mayan empire lasted until they were invaded by the Spanish Conquistadors in the early 16^th century.

·         The Inca civilization started approximately 1,200 C.E. in modern day Bolivia and Peru.

·         The Incans too were defeated by conquistadors in the 1,500’s.

·         The Aztecs migrated to southern Mexico around 1,200 C.E., (the same time as the Incan empire began.)

·         The Aztecs were a very advanced group agriculturally and practiced human sacrifice like the Incans.

·         Just like the Incans and Mayans, the Aztecs were defeated by the Spanish conquistadors in the early 1,500’s.

"Aztecs, Mayans, Incas-Oh My!!!." library.thinkquest.org. 22 May 2007. 28 Sep 2008 <http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://library.thinkquest.org

       A map showing the ancient

       Central American civilizations.

Asiatic Huns -- Michael Decker

• The originally huns were a Turkish group (although debate continues over there origin) that were famous for their strength.
• They allied with other groups to form a Hunnic Empire. Although denoted as an empire, lack of coordination made them more of a confederation of kings. They were a nomadic tribe ruled by an aristocracy.
• They are most noted for their ability as horsemen and their use of the crossbow. They were a strong military group that attacked many empires.
• They left few records of their existence, conquests, and achievements. Most of what we know from them is from poets/authors of nations who they ransacked.
• They lacked material wealth so they often attacked the Roman empire for it.
• The huns had good relations with the Western Roman Empire. Their only concern was with the Eastern Roman Empire.
• Because the Eastern Romans defaulted on the Treaty of Margus, the two empires went to war. The Huns sacked many cities. Eventually a peace treaty was signed in 411 CE. However, fighting began 2 years later. The huns came terribly close to sacking Constantinople. Thus, Theodosius the Second was forced to sign a peace treaty, giving the Huns more than their hearts’ desires of splendors of war.
• The huns are most famous for their war campaign by Attila the Hun. He took over complete control of the "empire" 2 years after the war with Rome. Soon after Attila’s death, the Hun "Empire" was defeated.

"Huns." Wikipedia. 2008. Wikimedia. 21 Sep 2008  

     <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huns>.

The huns are well known for their ability as able horsemen and archers. 

Yellow Turbans  Estefania Delgado

During the time of the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25-220) the Chinese empire flowered.

During the time of the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25-220) the Chinese empire flowered.

The 'Yellow Turbans' were secret societies, backed by Taoist theories. The revolt was suppressed but the landlords who united to suppress the peasant rebellion joined with provincial governors in creating a threat to the government and the Han dynasty fell in AD 220.

Chinese secret society whose members uprising, the Yellow Turban Rebellion (184–c. 204 ce), contributed to the fall of the Han dynasty (206 bce–220 ce). Led by Zhang Jue, a Daoist faith healer .

The rebels wore yellow headdresses to signify their association with the earth element, which they believed would succeed the red fire element that represented Han rule.

To suppress the uprising, which erupted in eastern and central China, the Han conscripted huge armies at great cost, but their efforts were hampered by inefficiency and corruption in the imperial government.

Zhang Jue became ill and died in 184 ce, but the rebellion was a continuing menace to the government for two more decades.
 

Zhang Jiao and the Yellow Turban rebels declare war against the ruling Han Empire.

"Yellow Turban Revolt." Hyperhistory. 25 Sept. 2008 <http://http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/civil_n2/histscript3_n2/yellowturban.html>.

"Yellow Turbans." Britannica. 25 Sept. 2008 <http://http://www.britannica.com/ebchecked/topic/652718/yellow-turbans/652718rellinks/related-links>.

Zhang Jiao and the Yellow Turban rebels declare war against the ruling Han Empire.

http://www.sanguoguide.com/stories/yellow_turbans.php

Constantine (Rome) - Shelly Franks

• Constantine’s real name was Flavius Valerius Constantinus.
• Ruled from 312 to 337 A.D.
• Roman soldiers elected Constantine as the emperor of the western half of the empire.
• Makentius said he was the emperor of the west.
• Constantine won and he became emperor of the western half of the empire.
• Constantine and Licinius, the emperor of the east both agreed to accept Christianity as a religion.
• Licinius expelled the Christians from his household and executed bishops which made Constantine mad.
• In 324 A.D.  Constantine Defeated Licinius and he became the emperor of the entire empire.
• Constantine set up a second capital city called Constantinople in the eastern half of the empire to regulate that part of the empire.
• The division made the western half of the empire worse because of the attempts to regulate the economy reduced economic initiative and lowered production
• Constantine believed in Constantineism – belief that the church and state should be unified.
• Was known as Constantine the Great because he defeated the Germans and made Christianity the offical language.

http://www.panoramio.com/photos/original/1349053.jpg

This is a picture of Constantine the Great.  this picture shows that he was honored many years ago and is still honored and remembered to this day.

Sassanid Empire

Polynesia