1-4 New Patterns of Civilization

1-4 NEW PATTERNS OF CIVILIZATION

THE WORLD OF ISLAM

n 7th century AD, Islam, a religion that followed the teachings of Muhammad, spread through the Arabian Peninsula

n Islam united the Middle East into the Arab Empire. The culture of Islam, and Arab rule, spread from Spain to the Indus Valley (India)

n Jews, Christians, and Muslims share a connection – they are all “people of the book” (the Torah)

n Unlike Christianity, Muslims think that religion and the state should be closely linked

EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION IN THE MIDDLE AGES

n 800 AD: Charlemagne, king of the Franks, went to Rome to support the Pope, who was under attack by rebellious Romans.

n The pope crowned Charlemagne the first Roman Emperor since 476

n A new civilization emerged, combining the Roman Legacy, Germanic traditions, and the Christian Church

n This civilization developed during the Middle Ages; it is seen as a transition period between the ancient and modern worlds

n The political system was feudalism.

n Feudalism is when a powerful group of nobles dominate political, social, and economic life.

n The Catholic Church was viewed as the all-embracing institution.

ENGLAND IN THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES

n 1066 – William of Normandy defeated the king of England and became the king of a combined Anglo-Saxon and Norman England

n Henry II – gave more power to the monarchy

n He gave the royal courts the power to cover criminal and property cases; a system of common law

n 1215 – nobles rebelled against King John and forced him to sign the Magna Carta

n This is a list of rights that stated the obligations between lord and vassal, and limited the power of the monarchy

n The English Parliament emerged during the reign of King Edward

n It was made up of 2 knights from each county, 2 people from each town, and all nobles and bishops.

n It was later broken into the House of Lords and the House of Commons

EUROPE IN THE HIGH AND LATE MIDDLE AGES

n 1000 -1300 = High Middle Ages

n The peak of medieval culture and politics

n Monasteries spread across Europe, making the Church a meaningful presence in the lives of peasants

n Universities and art flourished

n 1300 – 1400 =Late Middle Ages

n Black Death (a plague)

n Decline in commerce

n Constant warfare

n Political instability

n Decline of the church

THE RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION

n 1350 – 1550: a time of the rebirth of Greek and Roman culture

n Renaissance thinkers valued the potential of the individual

n Renaissance humanists questioned fundamental beliefs and the Church, leading to the Protestant Reformation

n Martin Luther, a monk, was charged with heresy. He was asked to take back his beliefs but he refused

n This was the start of the Protestant Reformation

n By the mid 16th century, 2 militant faiths (Calvinism and Catholicism) had developed

Questions for review:

n What later political movements did the Magna Carta affect?

n What term in English expresses the Renaissance ideal of a well-rounded, multi-talented person?

1-3 Roman Civilization

1-3 ROMAN CIVILIZATION

ROMAN REPUBLIC

• Romans first conquered the area around Rome, then moved on to Italy and the Mediterranean world.
• At the height of their empire stretched from North Africa to Hadiran’s Wall in England
• The Roman Empire, like the Greek Empire, has had a lasting impact on the world today

THE ROMAN STATE

• Early Rome was divided into 2 groups:

• PATRICIANS: landowners; the ruling class

• PLEBEIANS: poorer landowners, merchants, and small farmers

• The very poor peasants did not qualify for either group

• 509 B.C. - Rome overthrew the king and created a republic

• A republic is a government with no king where certain citizens can vote.

• In Rome, the patricians and plebeians could vote, but only the patricians could sit in office

PATRICIANS

- rich

- noble families

- could vote

- could hold office

PLEBEIANS

- lower classes

- merchants, farmers, artisans, and soldiers

- could vote

- couldn’t hold office

THE ROMAN SENATE

Chief Officers of the Republic:

- 2 Consuls: like the President; they ran the government and the army

- Praetor – in charge of the law (like the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court)

The Senate: 300 landowners who at first advised the officers, but became the law themselves

Other Assemblies:

- Centuriate assembly: elected chief officials

the wealthy were the majority

- Council of Plebes: created to help plebeians gain a voice in the government

THE STRUGGLE OF THE ORDERS

Conflict!

The division between patricians and plebeians caused conflict

- plebeians wanted political and social equality with the patricians

- the creation of the council of the plebes gave them some equality

-they were allowed to become consuls and pass laws by 287 B.C.

Were all people actually equal?

§ Remember, by 287 the plebeians had the power to elect consuls and make laws, just like the patricians.

§ So were they equal within the state?

– No.

– The majority of the people in the Senate and in assemblies were still patricians, and everything was done by majority rule, so the wealthy landowners maintained the power

– There was not a democracy to give everyone an equal vote

ROMAN LAW

§ The Roman system of law is one of Rome’s major gifts to the world

§ 1st law = Twelve Tables

§ Roman law only applied to citizens

§ As the Romans conquered more areas, issues about the laws as they applied to Romans and non-Romans

§ Special rules were created to address these issues

This revised law became the Law of Nations

– It became identified with natural law (laws based on reason)

– They applied to everybody (citizen and non-citizen)

Similarities to modern law

- people were innocent until

proven guilty

- people could defend themselves before a judge, who would use the evidence to make a decision

INFLUENCE OF THE ROMANS

• 502-264 B.C – Romans took over all Italy
• 264-135 B.C. – Rome conquered most of the Mediterranean
• 14 B.C.-180 A.D. – The Roman Empire
• 200A.D. – Roman power started
• to decline
• 476 A.D. – the Fall of the Roman
• Empire
• The Roman Empire was one of the largest Empires
• Their administration was adapted to effectively rule a large area of diverse people
• It influenced all areas it ruled
• People in areas Rome took over were made citizens and adopted western ways
• City layouts and aqueducts were also used all over
• Latin became the language for all educated people
• Other languages became Latinized
• The romance languages (French, Spanish..) are the result of this Latinization

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRISTIANITY

§ Christianity was born in the Roman Empire

§ It was the first official religion of the Roman Empire (even though at first it was opposed)

§ Christianity was started by the followers of Jesus

§ Jesus taught that you should love everyone and follow the one god

§ He was seen as a possible revolutionary and executed

§ At first Romans saw Christianity as a part of Judaism, but then they started to see it as treason

§ Why? The Christians wouldn’t participate in public rituals honoring Roman gods because it went against their beliefs

§ Christian persecution began with Emperor Nero

§ He blamed them for the fire that destroyed most of Rome

§ By the 2nd century A.D, Christianity was accepted

§ In the 4th Century, the Emperor Constantine became a Christian

§ The Edict of Milan was created to promote tolerance

*Theodosius the Great made it the official religion

ROMAN AND CHRISTIAN VALUES

• Encouraged virtue
• Encouraged duty to the community and the state
• Christianity had a conflict, between the duty to the Christian community and its ideals and the duty to the state
• Many martyrs died because they stood up to the state in defense of their ideals

Review Questions

• What American document promotes many of the same legal principles from the Roman Law of Nations?
• What elements of Western culture did the Romans help to shape?
• Why do you think the Romans eventually decreed Christianity their official religion?

1.1 Greek Roots of Democracy

Goal: learn how democracy developed in Athens, how Greek philosophers viewed reason, tyranny, and the rule of law, and how Greek ideas spread.

VOCABULARY:
- city-state - democracy - jury
- monarchy - tyrant - Socrates
- Sparta - legislature - Plato
- Athens - Pericles - Aristotle

The Greeks started the Classical Age.
- Their economy was based on fishing and sea trade.
- As they traded with other countries, they set up colonies in those areas and spread their ideas on literature & government.
- Because most of Greece is made up of small islands or mountainous areas, the people were isolated from one another.

Rise of the City-State
City-state: a political unit made up of a large city and the areas surrounding it.

POLIS: the Greek name for their city-states.
-they had 2 levels: Acropolis – on a hill, the temples to the gods
Main City – on the ground; homes, marketplace, buildings, and theater

Governing the Polis
750 – 500 BC – the government changed
- First: kings ruled (monarchy)
- Nobles were the army because only they could afford bronze weapons
- Then, nobles & landowners took control
- When the middle class developed, they took power

Changes in Warfare
- Iron replaced bronze as the material of choice
- It was cheaper, and regular people could afford weapons and gear – this put the power in the hands of the ordinary people.
- New fighting force: PHALANX
- Trained soldiers
- Fought in groups

Sparta
- In southern Greece
- Became a military state
- Boys were trained for the army from age 7
- Girls had to work out so they would produce healthy sons

Government: 2 kings + council of elders + assembly of the people
- Citizens were male, over 30, born in Sparta

Athens
- North of Sparta
- Birthplace of democracy (government by the people)
- Ruled by the aristocracy (nobles) until the working people wanted more rights
- Farmers were in trouble – many had to sell their families as slaves to pay debts
- One ruler, Solon, started positive changes
-Got rid of debt slavery
-More people could be involved in gov’t
- Rise of tyrants ( rulers who get power by force)
They made more changes to help the people, mostly the farmers and the poor

Council of 500 – new legislature (lawmaking body)

Athens is a limited democracy because not everyone had a say in the gov’t and there were still tyrants

Persian Wars
- The Persians had an empire that stretched from Asia Minor to India
490 – Persians invaded at Marathon and were forced to retreat
480 – 2nd invasion
- Sparta & other city states fought with Athens
- Persian fleet was destroyed and the threat of invasion was ended

Age of Pericles (460-429)
After the Persian Wars, Athens was the most powerful city-state
It started to take over other city-states and created an empire

New ruler: Pericles
-he changed gov’t to a direct democracy
-people represented themselves
-you got $ to hold office, so the poor could
get involved
- juries were created

Economic and Cultural life
- Polytheistic (many gods)
- Temples built to honor gods
- Rebuilding projects helped the economy
- Free thinking was encouraged
- Philosophy was born

Peloponnesian War
- War between Athens and Sparta
- Covered all of Greece
- Sparta won, Athens fell

Greek Philosophers
Philosopher: one who uses observation and reason to figure out why things happen
Looked at morality and ethics
3 main philosophers:
- Socrates
- Plato
- Aristotle

SOCRATES
“Socratic Method” – questioning to get deeper answers
Arrested for corrupting the city’s youth
Had to drink poison as punishment

PLATO
student of Socrates
Started a school
The Republic: described his ideal state
3 classes: workers, soldiers, and philosophers

ARISTOTLE
student of Plato
Studied government
Thought middle class should rule
His works were the basis of study at the first universities

Alexander and the Hellenistic Age
Alexander – Prince of Macedonia (North of Greece)
Tutored by Aristotle
His dad, Phillip, took over all of Greece and wanted to take Persia, but was killed first
Alex becomes king, builds an army, and starts his campaign in 334 B.C.
Conquered Persia, Asia Minor, Egypt, and Babylon

Alexander the Great”
In 7 years his empire stretched from Greece to India (2000 miles)
After his death:
-Greek ideas and culture spread
-locals took Greek culture and added it to their own
This was the Hellenistic Age
During this period, Rome became a new powerful state and replaced Greece as the dominant power