Na GLOBAL I READING GUIDE UNIT 1: THE SOCIAL SCIENCES Date The social sciences are the scientific fields that study different aspects of human societies. The five most popular and common social sciences are anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography and history. Social scientists use timelines to analyze when events happened. Timelines show the chronological relationship between past events, meaning the correct order in which they occurred. These social scientists also use primary sources to analyze events. Primary sources are objects created during the time period being studied by someone with firsthand knowledge of the event. Examples of primary sources are journals, diaries, personal correspondences (letters), newspapers, autobiographies (self-written life stories), photographs, speeches, and film footage. For example, a personal correspondence between King Louis XIV and his wife Marie Antoinette, film footage taken during World War I, Anne Frank s diary, or an autobiography written by Christopher Columbus about his own life are all primary sources because they were made during their real time periods. Secondary sources, however, are objects made after the time period being studied by people without firsthand information. Examples of secondary sources include encyclopedias, textbooks and biographies (life stories written by other people). Social scientists prefer to use primary sources because they reveal new information about the people and events we study from the past. Archaeologists and anthropologists study early human cultures to learn how their societies developed. Archaeologists study past cultures by examining artifacts (manmade objects). Artifacts are physical things created by human beings, such as tools, weapons, pottery, art and clothing. Archaeologists find most of their ancient artifacts through excavation (digging underground). Anthropologists, however, study early human cultures by examining their beliefs, traditions, and values to learn how they acted and thought. Anthropologists look at things like religious rituals, oral histories, cultural practices and social class structures to learn what those societies valued. Economists are social scientists that study how societies use their limited natural resources to produce and exchange goods. Economists study how resources are distributed among the people and how societies decide what and how much to produce from their resources. Economists look at issues like scarcity (lack of resources) and the availability of goods. Societies that are better at turning their resources into goods have stronger economies, more productivity and are wealthier. Economics is different from politics, which is the science relating to governments, legislation (laws). Geographers study how the Earth s topography (surface features) and climates (weather) affect human development. Geographers examine how location influences the way people live. For example, geographers examine how climate and topography affect a society s food production, population density (size), and amount of interaction with other societies. Geography is the single most important factor in influencing how a society develops and how humans live and behave. For example; few people live in areas with low population densities (such as the Mongolian Steppes, Siberian Plains, Amazon Rain Forest Basin and Sahara Desert) because their geographic features make human survival difficult there. Location near different geographic features causes societies to develop differently from each other. Examples of geographic features are archipelagos (chains of islands), peninsulas (bodies of land surrounded by water on three sides), mountain ranges, plains (flat elevated lands), rivers, seas, oceans, straits (narrow bodies of water), forests savannas (grassy plains) and deserts. Some famous peninsulas are India, Greece, Korea, Arabia, Italy, and Spain. Adaptation is the process of humans changing to survive the conditions of their environments. A society that develops in the Sahara Desert of North Africa will face very different challenges from a society in the cold tundra of Siberia, but both must adapt to survive. Early humans had to adapt frequently because they were more affected by their environments. Geographers also use maps to study the world. Physical maps show the Earth s physical topographic features, such as deserts, mountains, and rivers. Political maps show the manmade locations/borders of nations and cities.
UNIT 2: TRADITIONAL LIFE AND NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION Earth has seven continents (large land masses); Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Human life first appeared in East Africa about 7 million years ago. Human beings evolved from primates (apes) over millions of years into the current species, Homo Sapiens ( wise men ). Evolution is the process of permanent mental and physical adaptation to better survive one s environment. Homo Sapiens evolved to walk upright, use opposable thumbs, and develop larger brains than their earlier ancestors. Migration is the movement of a large group of people from one location to another for survival purposes. Homo Sapiens began migrating out of East Africa in search of better lands, climates and food sources. The Bantu Migration occurred in southern Africa when the Bantu tribe left their homelands searching for land to farm and graze cattle. The Bantu Migration led to the settlement of new parts of Africa and the spread of the Bantu language to new tribes. Other tribes migrated out of Africa too; first to Europe and Asia, and eventually all the way to Australia, North America and South America (by 10,000 BC). The belief system (religion) of early humans was known as Animism. Animists worshipped and respected the power of nature. They believed that all living and non-living objects had spirits that should be honored and remembered. Shamans (priests) practiced ancestor worship, meaning they conducted rituals and made offerings to please their deceased relatives. Animists believe there is a central force in the universe that guides actions. Animism began in prehistory, meaning the time before humans invented writing (History is the time after humans invented writing, after 4,000 BC). These earliest humans lived in traditional societies. Traditional societies were simple and closely linked to the natural environment. Early humans were nomads, meaning they migrated from place to place and had no permanent settlements. These nomads were hunter-gatherers, meaning they relied on hunting large animals (like bison and mammoths) and gathering wild plants for food. In traditional societies, children usually had the same occupations as their parents. Boys trained to become hunters while girls learned which plants were safe to gather and how to make clothing. Traditional societies formed traditional economies. This ancient economic system was based on bartering; meaning people exchanged and traded goods and services. Traditional economies were also based on hunting and gathering for food. These economies were subsistent, meaning they produced just enough food for the tribe to use on a daily basis, nothing extra. Being subsistent meant that nomads constantly had to migrate to find new food sources, making survival difficult. This is why early humans did not have the time or ability to build permanent settlements. Sometime between 8,000 and 5,000 BC the Neolithic Revolution occurred, which changed the way human beings lived forever. During the Neolithic Revolution, early humans discovered how to control agriculture (crop production) and domesticate animals (tame and train them for personal use). The Neolithic Revolution was a turning point in human history for many reasons. It marked the first time humans learned how to control their natural environments. Now that they knew how to grow their own crops, human life became safer and easier. Humans could stop living dangerous lives as nomadic hunter-gatherers and now live as farmers. Farming gave humans a more reliable food supply. Humans could now save and store extra crops (a food surplus). Having a food surplus led to longer life expectancies for people, so the human population in the world increased quickly. Since crops need irrigation (to be watered) and cultivation (to be taken care of), humans could no longer live nomadic lives. Humans now began to settle down and create the world s first permanent settlements and villages, which they built around their farms. Some of these villages grew into cities, which then formed the foundations of the first civilizations. A civilization is an organized and complex society with cities, governments, specialized jobs, writing, technology, social classes, language and an economy. The Neolithic Revolution, therefore, directly led to the birth of human civilizations. All of these changes in human life are why the Neolithic Revolution is considered a huge turning point. Had the Neolithic Revolution never happened, people would have stayed living as nomadic hunter-gatherers and civilizations would not have formed. The world s first civilizations began in river valleys (low areas near rivers) because humans needed water to irrigate their crops.
UNIT 3: CIVILIZATION BEGINS IN THE FERTILE CRESCENT After the Neolithic Revolution led to agriculture and the domestication of animals, the world s first civilizations began along river valleys in North Africa, Southwest Asia (the Middle East ), and East Asia around 3500 BC. The rivers that supported these early civilizations were the Nile River in North Africa, Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in the Middle East, and the Indus, Huang He (Yellow) and Yangzi Rivers in East Asia. These rivers supported the cradle (birth) of civilization because they are where the world s first permanent settlements were born. Civilizations began near rivers mainly because the soil there was arable (able to cultivate crops). Early humans also used these rivers to irrigate (water) their crops, improve transportation, travel, hunting, and provide drinking water. The oldest civilizations began in a part of the Middle East called the Fertile Crescent, because the soil in this area was fertile (rich with nutrients). This fertile soil could support the growth of crops needed to support early civilizations. The first known civilization in history began in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia ( Land between two rivers ) was a stretch of flat, fertile land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (modern-day Iraq). Mesopotamia had favorable (very good) geography because the rich soil near the rivers supported agriculture. The first society in Mesopotamia was Sumer. Sumerians were polytheistic, meaning they believed in multiple gods and goddesses (that were based on their natural environment). Sumerians lived in city-states, bartered goods and services, and built step-temples called Ziggurats. Sumerians developed social classes based on a hierarchy; meaning people were ranked in society based on their occupations (jobs). Sumerians also invented the first wheel, canals (manmade waterways), and oldest writing system, Cuneiform, in 3200 BC. Mesopotamia was also where the world s first empires formed. An empire is a large, diverse (culturally-mixed) territory under the rule of one government. Some early empires were the Persian, Assyrian, and Babylonian Empires. The Babylonian Empire is most famous for King Hammurabi, who created the world s first system of recorded laws in 1760 BC. Hammurabi s Code of laws was a major development because it recorded laws for all people to see, and it brought order to society by setting punishments for certain crimes. Hammurabi s Code, however, distinguished between social classes. Upper classes received lesser punishments for their crimes than the lower classes did. On the other side of the Fertile Crescent, a civilization began along the Nile River called Egypt. Egypt was born when Pharaoh (King) Menes united the separate kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt in 3200 BC. Egypt was called the Gift of the Nile because without the fertile soil provided by the yearly flooding of the river, the Sahara Desert would ve made civilization there impossible. Egyptians are famous for producing paper from the plant Papyrus and building massive pyramids, which they used as tombs for their mummified pharaohs. Egyptians believed in an afterlife and were polytheistic. Their gods, like Ra, Anubis, and Isis, were linked to nature. Because Egyptians worshipped their pharaohs as gods too, ancient Egypt was a theocracy. A theocracy is when a government s laws are based on religious beliefs. Egyptians worshipped their kings and queens as living gods and goddesses. Egyptian history is divided into the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. Egyptians, like the Sumerians, are known for creating an early writing system. Hieroglyphics used symbols called pictographs to keep records of events and tell the stories of the gods and pharaohs. The Hebrews created a third Fertile Crescent civilization called Canaan around 2000 BC. The Hebrews built the kingdom of Israel in Canaan, with a capital city called Jerusalem. The Hebrews are most famous for creating the belief system known as Judaism, the world s first monotheistic (one god) religion. All other religions at the time were polytheistic. The holy books of Judaism are the Torah and Talmud. The Torah is the same book that Christians call the Old Testament. Judaism is very important because it led to the world s other monotheistic religions after it, such as Christianity and Islam, which both share many beliefs and values with Judaism. The patriarch (father) of the Hebrews was Abraham. Moses was another important Hebrew leader. He led his people on an exodus (long journey) out of Egypt, where they were kept as slaves by the pharaoh. Moses did this (according to the Torah) by parting the Red Sea. Moses also received from God the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. The Ten Commandments were rules of conduct that were supposed to guide the behavior of all Hebrews and make society more stable and ethical (moral).
UNIT 4: ANCIENT INDIA, HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM After civilization was born in the Fertile Crescent, permanent settlements began being built in southern Asia (modern India and Pakistan). India is called the subcontinent because it is a large peninsula that is located on the bottom tip of Asia, and it is isolated (cut off) from the rest of Asia by natural barriers. Natural barriers are things in nature that block people from interacting with each other. The natural barriers that surround India are the Hindu Kush and Himalaya Mountains in northern India, and bodies of water like the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, that surround southern India. These natural barriers isolated India from other civilizations and led to the development of a unique culture that was very different from India s neighbors, like China. Within India exists three large rivers; the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra. Each river played an important role in Indian history. The Deccan Plateau is a vast (wide) region in central India of dry plains (flat lands). Most Indians live in the Deccan Plateau today. Monsoons are the seasonal windstorms that come up from the Indian Ocean in the south and bring lots of precipitation (rainfall). Monsoons occur yearly in the summer months, between June and September. Without the monsoons, ancient India would not have been able to irrigate (water) their crops because the climate of the Deccan Plateau is too dry to support agriculture on its own. The monsoons also cool India s hot climate and provide drinking water for the people and animals. If the monsoons are too weak or too strong, though, disasters can result. Too little rainfall means not enough water for the crops and hotter temperatures, but too much means crops and towns can flood and get destroyed. The first permanent settlements in India began along the Indus River around 2500 BC. They were called Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. These cities had advanced sewer systems, streets on a grid, and public sanitation, but no one knows what happened to this Harappa civilization. The Maurya Empire (320 185 BC) was the first government to conquer and unite all of India, under the famous kings Chandragupta and Asoka. The Gupta Empire (320 550 AD) is the golden age of India because it was a time of great achievements in art, science, literature, and math. Gupta mathematicians developed the concept of zero and the decimal system. They also invented the numerals 1-9 which we use today (and call them Arabic Numerals). Gupta doctors experimented with plastic surgery, and created vaccines for deadly diseases, such as smallpox. Gupta kings helped create India s ancient system of writing (known as Sanskrit) and brought political stability. The Aryans were a nomadic tribe from central Asia that migrated into India searching for more food sources. The Aryans brought with them their holy book, the Vedas. The poems, rituals and beliefs in the Vedas would influence India s religion known as Hinduism. Hinduism developed from the polytheistic rituals of the Harappan and Aryan tribes around 1500 BC. Hindus believe in many gods, such as Brahma (creation), Vishnu (preservation), and Shiva (destruction). They believe in reincarnation (rebirth of the soul in a new body), karma (affect of good and bad deeds in life) and dharma (moral responsibility to behave within your social class). Hindus perform religious rituals in the Ganges River, which they consider holy and the giver of life. They also cremate (burn to ash) their deceased bodies and spread the remains in the Ganges. Hindus read many holy books, like the Vedas, Ramayana, Upanishads, Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita. The goal for all Hindus is to break Samsara (the endless cycle of reincarnation) and become one with Brahman (the central life force in the universe). The act of breaking Samsara and becoming one with Brahman is Moksha. The Caste System was the social class hierarchy of Hinduism. This system was very rigid, meaning there was no social mobility (movement). People could never leave their caste (class), which was determined by birth alone. The Brahmins (priests) were the top class. Below them were the Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaisyas (farmers/merchants), Sudras (servants) and Untouchables. The Untouchables were treated very poorly because they did jobs that were considered dirty or impure. Buddhism developed out of Hinduism around 500 BC when a Hindu prince named Siddhartha Gautama sought a way to end human suffering. Buddhism shares many similar beliefs with Hinduism since it developed out of it. Buddhism, like Hinduism, believes in karma, dharma and reincarnation. Siddhartha, however, rejected some of the Hindu gods and the Caste System,
because he thought it was morally wrong to treat people differently based on their social class (like the Untouchables). Siddhartha meditated and became the Buddha, or Enlightened One, when he developed his philosophy called the Four Noble Truths. The central idea of this philosophy is that humans can overcome suffering by eliminating their selfish desires for material things. Siddhartha also told people to follow his Eightfold Path, which were eight steps for living a moral and happy life. Siddhartha believed that meditation and the Eightfold Path would lead people to spiritual enlightenment, called Nirvana. Reaching Nirvana means the endless cycle of reincarnation is over and a person s soul is free to become one with the universe. The holy book of Buddhism is the Tripitaka ( Three Baskets of Wisdom ), which contains all of Siddhartha s teachings. Buddhist monks and nuns dedicate their lives to meditation, serving the poor, and reaching Nirvana. They live in monasteries (large religious homes) secluded in nature and get rid of their material things. Buddhists worship in Stupas (Buddhist temples) and follow their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. UNIT 5: ANCIENT CHINA, DAOISM AND CONFUCIANISM Civilization began in eastern China along the Huang He (Yellow) and Yangzi River valleys around 3000 BC. Civilization began in the east because the land is more favorable for building permanent settlements and the coastal climate there is more comfortable near the Yellow Sea. Western China, however, is dominated by deserts, mountains, plateaus and harsh climates, like the Himalaya Mountains and Gobi Desert. The natural barriers in the west slowed down travel and isolated China. Because mountains and deserts isolated them, the Chinese believed their culture was superior to all foreigners (outsiders). This is known as Ethnocentrism. The ancient Chinese called themselves the Middle Kingdom, or Center of the Earth, because they were so ethnocentric. Ancient China was ruled by dynasties, meaning families that pass down rule through generations. These dynasties had to claim the Mandate of Heaven, meaning that their right to rule came from god. When negative events, such as wars, floods, droughts, or rebellions occurred, the Chinese viewed it as a sign that the gods were angry at the dynasty in the power and they then lost the Mandate of Heaven. The pattern of dynasties claiming and then losing the Mandate of Heaven was called the Dynastic Cycle. The first dynasty to unite and rule China was the Shang Dynasty, which came to power around 1650 BC. The Shang is famous for creating China s first system of pictographic writing and for its shamans (priests) using oracle bones. Oracle bones were pieces of animal bones and shells that were heated and used to communicate with gods and ancestors. The Zhou Dynasty replaced the Shang around 1027 BC. They began the first system of feudalism in the world. Feudalism is a system where the upper class nobles and lords allow the lower class peasants to work and live on their land, in exchange for loyalty and a share of the peasants crops. The Qin Dynasty replaced the Zhou in 221 BC. The Qin Dynasty was most famous for its emperor Shi Huangdi, whose name means First Emperor of China. Shi Huangdi followed the philosophy of Legalism, which told the ruler to be strict and harsh with the people in order to create an orderly society. Shi Huangdi s legalist ways caused the peasants to overthrow him after just 15 years. Shi Huangdi did some good for China, though. He began construction of the Great Wall of China to keep out invaders from the north and he made a national coin system for China. The Han Dynasty replaced the Qin in 206 BC. The Han Dynasty is considered a golden age for China because roads and canals were repaired, new lands were conquered, the government brought stability, trade increased and many discoveries in the sciences were made. Some inventions from the Han Dynasty include paper, the stirrup (foot straps on horse saddles), fishing reels and ship rudders. In science and medicine, Han doctors developed acupuncture, anesthesia and advancements in chemistry. The most famous Han Emperor was Wudi. Emperor Wudi developed the Civil Service System, a system of standardized state tests that determined people s occupations in the government. The Civil Service System led to more qualified people in the government. Wudi also built the Silk Road, a 4,000-mile trade network that connected China with India, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The Silk Road (named after the most popular product traded on it) led to the spread of Buddhism, languages, spices, animals, and people. The spread and exchange of different cultures between places is called cultural diffusion. The Silk Road revolutionized the way civilizations interacted with each other and exchanged ideas and goods.
The earliest religion to develop in China was Daoism (Taoism). The founder of Daoism was a philosopher named Laozi, who taught that humans should live in harmony with nature and try to achieve a balance with the universe through meditation and deep thought. Laozi believed in the Tao, or the way of the universe, which acted as a unifying force in the world. He taught that there were two opposite forces in the universe called Yin and Yang, which must be in perfect balance for the universe to be in harmony. Laozi taught people to accept the Tao and not fight the nature of the universe. This is known as Wu-Wei. The holy writings are the Tao-te-Ching and the Zhuangzi. Another belief system that developed was Confucianism from the philosopher Confucius. Confucius wanted to create a set of beliefs that would bring order to society and increase the values of respect and education among the Chinese people. He developed his Five Relationships, which stated that men and elders were superior to women and children in society. Men and elders needed to set an example of moral behavior for women and children, who needed to obey and respect them. Confucius believed in filial piety, meaning deep respect for elders and maintaining family honor. Confucius believed in having compassion and empathy for all people. He also believed that education should serve as the road to advancement in society and that education increases peoples moral character and virtue. This is why the Civil Service System, the system of standardized tests used in ancient China, was based on Confucian values. Confucius believed that a ruler should serve as a role model for his people and should act in a morally honest way. The ideas of Confucius are collected in the holy book called the Analects. A scholar named Mencius is credited with spreading the ideas and values of Confucianism around China. Confucianism had a huge impact on China because its beliefs served as the foundation of Chinese society for thousand of years. Values of respect for elders, education, and male superiority still dominate China today. UNIT 6: CLASSICAL EUROPEAN CIVILIZATIONS (GREECE & ROME) The first civilization to develop in Europe was ancient Greece, around 1700 BC. There are two parts to Greece - the mainland (which is a peninsula attached to the European continent that has jagged, irregular coastlines) and the archipelago (a chain of thousands of islands off the mainland s coast). The bodies of water that surround Greece are the Ionian, Aegean, and Mediterranean Sea. Geography had a large effect on the development of Greek civilization. The mainland has lots of mountains and isolated valleys, but unlike the Fertile Crescent, India and China, there are no major rivers in Greece. The mountainous terrain (land) and lack of rivers made communication and travel difficult in Greece. Because of this, Greece developed into a collection of small, independent city-states (cities with independent laws and governments). A Greek empire never formed because it was too difficult to achieve political unity through all of the mountains. Because Greece had very little amounts of flat, fertile land, the Greeks lacked the natural resources needed to survive. They decided to build colonies around the Mediterranean world in places like Italy, Spain, and North Africa. Colonies are settlements built away from the homeland with the purpose of sending back natural resources & goods to the home country. These colonies also spread Greek culture to new lands. Since the Greek archipelago consists of over 6,000 islands, the Greeks became excellent seafarers (sailors) and fishermen. Being surrounded by water also affected the gods and goddesses that the Greeks created in their polytheistic religious beliefs. The first Greeks were the Minoans and Mycenaeans, who lived on the island of Crete. Hundreds of years later, the city-states of Athens and Sparta developed on the mainland. These city-states were very different from each other. Sparta was a warrior society where the boys and girls had to train to be physically fit. The main purpose of Sparta was to produce strong men to fight in the military. The Spartan army defeated the Persian Empire when it attempted to invade Greece in the Persian Wars. Sparta was an aristocracy, meaning a government run by wealthy male landowners only. The majority of people had very little say in the government in Sparta. Athens was completely different. Athens was the first society to practice direct democracy, meaning the citizens voted and had power in the government. Athens democracy was limited, however, because women, slaves and lower classes were not allowed to vote (these were the non-citizens ). Athens most important contribution to world history is the invention of democracy & the idea that citizens deserve power.
The famous leader of Athens was named Pericles, who led Athens through a golden age of art, architecture, education and science. The Parthenon was a temple built for the goddess Athena on the acropolis (hilltop) in the center of Athens. It is still standing today and is a symbol of western democracy. Greece is the birthplace of western philosophy. The most famous Greek philosophers were Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Each man believed in using observation, logic and reason to examine human life and improve society. Socrates developed the Socratic Method, a method of discovery by asking questions, while Plato wrote the Republic, a book about the ideal state. In math, Pythagoras developed the Pythagorean Theorem to measure right triangles, while Euclid invented geometry. Greek scientists discovered the rotation and shape of the Earth and the physician Hippocrates developed the Hippocratic Oath, a promise that doctors had to make to treat patients ethically. The Greeks developed the Olympic Games to honor their gods, and the style of art known as idealized realism made their sculpture look realistic and proportional, but in their perfect forms. Greek buildings were adorned with marble columns. Greek authors wrote epic poems, such as Homer s Iliad and Odyssey poems about the Trojan War. Greek playwrights wrote tragedies and comedies, which they performed in their theaters cut into the sides of mountains. The military general Alexander the Great spread Greek culture throughout the world when he conquered Egypt, Persia and parts of India. The conquest of all these places under Alexander s empire led to the birth of Hellenistic Culture (mix of Greek, Persian, Egyptian and Indian cultures). Ancient Rome began on the peninsula of Italy off southern Europe in the center of the Mediterranean Sea. The geography of Italy helped the Romans to build a massive empire across the whole Mediterranean region. Being on a peninsula in the center of a large sea enabled the Romans to travel and conquer their neighbors easily. The Romans used the Mediterranean Sea as a highway for trade and travel, making the Roman Empire very wealthy and powerful. The Italian peninsula s lack of mountains, comfortable climate, and flat, fertile plains made travel easier within Italy. The Italians were able to conquer their neighbors and achieve political unity very quickly because there were no mountains blocking their armies. Italy has few natural barriers. The most important contributions of Rome are in the fields of law and government. The Romans developed the first republican form of government. In a republic, citizens elect officials who then vote and operate the government for them. In the Roman Republic, citizens voted for senators who ran the law-making body called the senate. The Roman Republic ended when a man named Augustus disbanded the senate and became the first emperor of the Roman Empire. Augustus rule brought a 200-year golden age of stability and trade to the Roman Empire called the Pax Romana ( Roman peace ). During the Pax Romana, the Roman army conquered land on three continents (Europe, Africa, Asia), reformed the tax system and built a vast road network to connect the different territories under Roman control. The Romans used their road network, as well as the Mediterranean Sea, to build an extensive (large) trade network. Trade made the Roman Empire wealthy. The Romans traded with the Phoenicians from Canaan. The Phoenicians are sometimes called the carriers of civilization because they traded goods and spread ideas throughout the Mediterranean world. The Phoenician alphabet is the foundation for all of the letters we use today. Roman architecture was advanced. They built stone structures called aqueducts to transport fresh water throughout their empire. They copied Greek architectural styles of domes, arches, columns and stadiums, such as the Coliseum of Rome. In the Coliseum, gladiator battles served as entertainment for the citizens of Rome. The Romans built a domed temple for their gods called the Pantheon, and they copied the Greek style of idealized realism in their sculptures. The written laws of Rome were called the Laws of the Twelve Tables, written in 450 BC. The Twelve Tables were the first recorded laws of Europe, and they influenced the development of laws in later European cultures. Romans developed the language of Latin, which poets such as Horace and Virgil used to write epic stories. After the Pax Romana, the Roman Empire was ruled by a series of corrupt and bad emperors who mismanaged the empire. The economy began to suffer because the Roman government needed to raise taxes to pay for its constant wars. Overexpansion made the empire difficult to govern because it was so large. Finally, the Visigoths and Ostrogoths were Germanic tribes from northern Europe who invaded the Roman Empire and brought its downfall in 476 AD.
UNIT 7: THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE, CHRISTIANITY & RUSSIA Before Germanic tribes conquered the Roman Empire in 476 AD, the Roman Emperor Diocletian had divided the empire into two halves in order to make it easier to manage. While the Western Roman Empire was conquered by Germanic tribes and divided among them, the eastern section of Rome survived for another thousand years. The eastern Roman Empire that survived was renamed the Byzantine Empire, after the Greek city of Byzantium on the Black Sea. Byzantium was renamed Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Constantine. Constantinople became the capital of the Byzantine Empire and grew into a wealthy trading city because of its size and location. Constantinople was located on a strait (narrow body of water connecting two larger bodies of water) between the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The name of this strait was the Bosporus. Constantinople s location on the Bosporus allowed it control key trade routes between the seas. Its location also made it a crossroads between Europe and Asia. A crossroads is an area that many people, ideas and goods travel through. Constantinople experienced prosperity (great wealth) by controlling trade between Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It used its wealth from trade to build an advanced city with a sewer system, hospitals, sanitation, and city walls for protection. Today it is Istanbul, the capital city of Turkey. The most famous leader of the Byzantine Empire was named Justinian. Justinian is most known for his code of laws called Justinian s Code. Emperor Justinian took old laws from ancient Rome and reformed them to create his set of written laws. Justinian s Code was a huge advancement in the field of law because it served as a model for later European legal systems. Justinian ruled as an autocrat (ruler with total authority). Byzantine architecture was also advanced and borrowed elements from Greek and Roman engineering. The Hagia Sophia was a beautiful church built in Constantinople, which still stands today. The Hippodrome was a stadium modeled on the Coliseum of ancient Rome. Perhaps the greatest achievement of the Byzantine Empire was that it preserved (saved) Greco-Roman culture after the fall of western Rome. Had the Byzantine Empire not saved Greco-Roman philosophy, art, literature, architecture and science, it might have been lost forever. The preservation of Greco-Roman culture was a major achievement of the Byzantines. The religion of the Byzantine Empire was Christianity, which was founded by Jesus Christ under the Roman Empire around 30 AD. Jesus was a Jew born in Palestine in the Middle East while it was under the control of the Roman Empire. Jesus began to preach about ideas of equality, love and compassion for all people, which caused him to gain many followers quickly. He also claimed he was the Messiah (son of God) descended from Heaven to save humanity from its sins. The message and popularity of Jesus worried the Roman and Jewish leaders. Jesus was arrested, tortured and crucified by the Roman authorities, but his message lived on. His followers were called Christians. Christian missionaries spread the message of Jesus through the Roman Empire, but the Roman authorities disliked Christians because their religion was monotheistic (one god) and very different from the polytheistic Roman religion. Romans persecuted early Christians for their beliefs, meaning they attacked them for having different beliefs. They disliked the Christian message that there was only one true god, who would judge all people and determine their fate based on their faith in this god. Christians were sacrificed and killed in the Coliseum, tortured and imprisoned. The Christian missionaries Peter and Paul were executed for spreading the religion. Everything changed for Christians, however, when the Roman Emperor Constantine took power. In 313 AD, Constantine became the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity after a vision he had of a cross in the sky. He issued his Edict of Milan, which was a law banning the persecution and attacks on Christians. Constantine saved Christianity from dying out. In 392 AD, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the only official religion of Rome by outlawing the old pagan Roman gods. Christianity now became the dominant religion of Europe. Since Jesus was born a Jew, Christianity shared many similar beliefs with Judaism. The holy writing of Christianity is the Bible, which is made up of the Old and New Testaments (the Old Testament is the same book as the Jewish Torah). Christianity is monotheistic like Judaism, and Christians and Jews believe in the same god. Christians also behave according to the Ten Commandments. The main difference is
that Jews do not consider Jesus to be the Messiah, just a holy prophet of god. Christians believe in the holy trinity of the father, son and Holy Spirit. Christians believe that worshipping the holy trinity will bring salvation (eternal life) in heaven, the kingdom of god. Christians also obey the sacraments (such as baptism, matrimony and the Eucharist), which are the rituals all Christians must follow. Christianity also has monasticism, meaning monk and nun life. Christian monks and nuns live in monasteries and dedicate their lives to worshipping god and serving the poor and sick. Christianity became the dominant religion of the Byzantine Empire. The Christian religion of Constantinople was Eastern Orthodoxy. The Eastern Orthodox Church split from the Roman Catholic Church in Rome. This split between western and eastern Christians occurred because both sides disagreed over the worship of icons (holy images of Christian figures that were thought of as real people). They also disagreed about the language of the church, power of the Pope, and rights of priests to marry. The Roman Catholic Church came to dominate Western Europe while the Eastern Orthodox Church dominated Eastern Europe. Christian unity in Europe was now lost. Byzantine culture blended Greco-Roman and Christian cultures together. Eventually Byzantine culture spread north to Russia. Byzantine merchants and missionaries brought their culture to Kiev, the first capital city of Russia. Russia adopted Orthodox Christianity, built onion-shaped domes in their churches, and borrowed Byzantine styles of art, such as icons and mosaics. None of this would have been possible, though, had a Byzantine monk named Cyril not translated the Bible into the Slavic language. By creating his Cyrillic alphabet, Cyril allowed all Slavic people in Eastern Europe and Russia to read and understand the Bible, thus spreading Christianity there. UNIT 8: ISLAM AND THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE The third monotheistic world religion was founded by a man named Muhammad in 622 AD on the hot deserts of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East. Muhammad began the religion known as Islam in the city of Mecca. Muhammad claimed the Angel Gabriel from the Book of David in the Torah appeared to him & told him to convert all polytheistic Arab people to become monotheistic. Muhammad began preaching and encouraging Arabs to worship the one true god, named Allah. Other Arabs did not like Muhammad s message of peace and equality for all people, as well as his new idea that there was only one true god. Arabs tried to have Muhammad arrested and killed, but he fled to the nearby city of Medina, which saved his life & Islam from dying. This journey became known as the Hegira. Eventually, Islam spread throughout the whole Middle East. Followers of Islam were called Muslims. They followed the teachings of Muhammad as it was written in the holy text called the Qu ran (Koran). Many Muslim countries adopted laws based on the Qu ran called Sharia laws. Women were required to wear veils and men to pray and not drink alcohol. Since the laws of these countries were based on religion, these governments were theocracies. Muhammad taught that all people deserve certain rights, such as the right to get an education and inherit property. He also allowed non-muslims to keep their own religion, as long as they paid a tax. Muhammad told his followers to obey the Five Pillars of Islam, which were five rituals all Muslims had to honor. Monotheism (faith in Allah only), prayer (five times a day facing Mecca), charity (donations for the poor), fasting (not eating during the daylight hours of the holy month of Ramadan), and the Hajj to Mecca (making a spiritual pilgrimage to the birthplace of Muhammad) were the Five Pillars that all Muslims had to follow. Muslims pray daily in temples called Mosques, where spiritual guides called Imams act as the prayer leaders. A man named a Muezzin climbs the towers next to the mosque, called minarets, and declares the time to pray five times each day. Islam is greatly influenced by Judaism and Christianity, and considers Abraham and Jesus important prophets of the holy god Allah. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all monotheistic. After Muhammad s death in 632 AD, Muslims disagreed over who should be the first Caliph ( successor to Muhammad ). Sunni Muslims believed the caliph should be a political leader chosen through a tribal voting process, while the Shiite Muslims thought the caliph should be a spiritual
guide chosen directly from Muhammad s family, such as his cousin. The Sunnis and Shiites could not compromise, and Islam was forever split into these two sects (religious groups). The Caliphate was the 300-year period after Muhammad s death when Islam expanded to North Africa, India, Southeast Asia and even parts of southern Europe. During this time, caliphs spread the religion through conquest, trade and missionaries. People were attracted to Islam s message of peace and equality. The Abbasid Dynasty (750 1258 AD) is considered the golden age of Muslim culture. During this Dynasty, Muslims made impressive advancements in math, science and medicine. Algebra was invented by al-khwarizmi, while the Numerals 1-9 were adopted from the Gupta Dynasty in India and renamed Arabic Numerals. Physicians studied diseases and human anatomy. The doctor Ibn Sina created a medical encyclopedia called the Canon on Medicine, which gathered all the medical knowledge of the world at the time. Scientists developed astronomical tables to study the universe and the earth s circumference and rotation were measured. Muslims also advanced the fields of art, architecture and literature. The Muslim cities of Baghdad, Cairo and Cordoba became great centers of Muslim education. The House of Wisdom in Baghdad contained a massive amount of Muslim learning. Artists developed calligraphy (fine handwriting) and geometric patterns in their art. Muslims copied Greco-Roman styles of domes, arches and columns in their architecture, which they used for their mosques (temples). Scholars, such as Ibn Rushd, translated and interpreted the Greek philosophers of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Muslims adopted many elements of Greco-Roman culture, especially its science, math & medicine. The most powerful Muslim empire to ever form, however, was the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire rose to power by defeating and conquering the Byzantine Empire in 1453. In that year, the Ottoman army successfully invaded Constantinople. That year was a major turning point in global history because now the Christian, Greco-Roman culture of the Byzantine Empire was replaced by the Muslim culture of the new Ottoman Empire. All of the people under the former Byzantine Empire came under the control of the Ottomans. Now, Islam became the dominant religion and cultural force in Eastern Europe, North Africa & the Middle East. Christianity was replaced. In addition, the Ottomans renamed Constantinople Istanbul & used this city s strategic location between the Black and Mediterranean Seas to grow rich and powerful in the 1500s and 1600s. The rise of the Ottoman Empire changed the course of history in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The main reason for the success of the Ottomans was location. By dominating the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and Black Seas, the Ottomans grew very wealthy through trade and conquest. The Ottomans also had superior military technology, such as the cannon and musket, which they used to overwhelm their enemies. The greatest Ottoman ruler was Suleiman the Magnificent. Suleiman ruled as the sultan (ruler) from 1520 66 and increased the power of his empire through conquest and trade. Suleiman also modernized the Ottoman army with improved weapons and strategies. Suleiman allowed Jews from Western Europe to live within the Ottoman Empire to escape the attacks they were facing in their homelands. This brought many well-educated and ambitious people into the Ottoman Empire, which improved its economy and level of education. Suleiman is also called The Lawgiver because he updated and reformed the system of Muslim laws (called Sharia). Suleiman adopted Sharia laws in his empire and made Islam the most powerful religion in the Eastern Mediterranean world. He made a bureaucracy in the government, meaning he organized it into different departments to make it easier to manage. He accepted elements of Christian, Greco-Roman and Persian cultures to blend with Islamic culture in art, literature and science. In order to keep his enemy Christians weak, however, Suleiman began the Janissary Corps. This was an elite, special army for the Sultan made up of kidnapped Christian children from the places that the Ottomans conquered. The Sultan took the strongest and smartest Christian boys & forced them to become Muslims, weakening Christianity in the process. The Ottoman Empire declined over the centuries and eventually collapsed after World War I due to weak leadership, and political instability. In addition the Ottoman economy and military failed to modernize along with the nations of Europe. The effects of World War I and the rise of nationalism in Ottoman territories caused the empire to break apart in 1923. The nation of Turkey replaced it.
UNIT 9: THE MIDDLE AGES AND CRUSADES After the Roman Empire was invaded by Germanic tribes (Visigoths) and collapsed in 476, Europe entered a time period called the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages was a time period in Europe inbetween (the middle) of the collapse of the Roman Empire in 476 and the beginning of the Renaissance in the 1300s (900 years). After the Roman Empire fell, the economies, central governments, education and culture of Europe went into a decline. This is why the Middle Ages is also called the Dark Ages, or Medieval times. During the Middle Ages, strong central government in Western Europe was lost. Wars, crime, and a reduction in trade resulted. One tribe to take advantage of the situation was the Vikings. They were a seafaring tribe from Scandinavia (northern Europe) that pillaged and raided coastal cities in England and France. No government or military was strong enough to stop the Vikings at the time. The Middle Ages was an unstable time. In Medieval Europe, people were born into their classes and stuck for life. The social classes of the Middle Ages were 1 st = monarch (king/queen) 2 nd = clergy (catholic officials) 3 rd = lords and nobles (landowners) 4 th = vassals (lesser lords and nobles) 5 th = knights (warriors) 6 th = serfs (peasants). After the Frankish Empire a system called feudalism brought stability and order back to Medieval Europe. Under feudalism, the powerful lords and nobles allowed the knights and serfs to live and work on sections of their land (called fiefs ). In return, the knights and serfs had to give the lords a portion of their crops and fight for them in battles or wars. Feudalism, therefore, was a system of land for service between the upper class nobles/lords & lower class knights/serfs. Feudalism provided structure for society. Power was determined by the amount of land a person possessed. Power was decentralized and shared between the lords and nobles; kings held little power. In addition, knights had to obey a code of conduct called Chivalry. Chivalry taught knights to be loyal to their military leader, brave in battle, honest and gentlemanly to women. The economic system of the Middle Ages was manorialism. Under this system all economic activity and production took place on lords manors (estates of land). The manor included the fields, houses, workshops, and churches surrounding the lord s land. Under manorialism, the serfs (peasants) worked the fields and provided the crops for the whole community. Agriculture, therefore, was the main economic activity under manorialism. Serfs were bound to the land and lived harsh, difficult lives. Few lived past age 35, and many were treated like slaves. Since trade declined during the Middle Ages (due to a lack of stability), manors had to produce all the goods and services for the community. Manors were self-sufficient, meaning they provided for themselves completely. Farmers used the three-field system to increase crop production. Under the three-field system, crops were rotated on different fields every year to prevent the soil from being exhausted (worn out). Job organizations called guilds made sure products were made to a high standard. Under guilds, experienced craftsmen (called masters) trained the inexperienced new people (called apprentices). The masters trained the apprentices in special trades, such as tool-making, pottery, shoemaking, architecture, etc. This made sure that the apprentices learned how to do their jobs. Medieval Europe had many cultural contributions, even though it was called the Dark Ages. During this time, the Gothic style of art flourished. The Gothic style was focused on glorifying the power and honor of the Roman Catholic Church. Figures such as Jesus, the disciples, and saints were shown in dark, serious paintings. Figures looked two-dimensional and bodies were covered with clothing; the emphasis was not on the individual, but rather the Catholic Church in general. The Gothic style was completely different from the idealized realism style of Greco-Roman art. Massive stone churches called cathedrals were built to honor the glory of the Catholic Church. Stained glass windows in the cathedrals depicted Biblical scenes for the common people to understand (most people were illiterate in the Middle Ages). Cathedrals were adorned with flying buttresses, pointed arches and gargoyles. Europe s oldest universities were built during the Middle Ages and great works were written in Latin, such as Chaucer s Canterbury Tales. During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church was the most powerful institution in Western Europe. It provided stability and unity in a time when governments were unstable and chaotic. The Catholic Church forced people to obey their own laws (Canon Laws) and pay a 10% tax on their