Unit 2: Ancient Empires

By Alban Hoxhaj

Democracy

• Democracy- term originating in ancient Greece to designate a government where the people share in directing the activities of the state, as d istinct from governments controlled by a single class, select group, or autocrat.

• Democracy first started in the Greek city-states. It fully began in Athens.

• A democracy like the one in Ancient Greece was only possible in a small state.

Golden Age of Greece

• The golden age in Greece began with a great win over Persia in the Persian War which took place from 546-479 BC.

• This era stopped when the the Peloponnesian War took place from 431- 404 BC.

• The Greeks realized that they had to become on country instead of separate city-states.

• The golden age in Greece made education very important. They also had sports, and music.

Mathematical advances

12 Tables

• The 12 tables was a ancient foundation of the Roman Law.

• The law of the 12 tables formed the constitution of the Roman law

TABLE 1• If someone is called to go to court, he has to go. If he doesn’t

go, a witness should be called. Only then should he be captured.

• If he shirks or flees, he should be captured. If illness or old age is an impediment, let him be given a carriage. If he doesn't want it, it should not be covered.

• When parties have made an agreement, announce it. If they don't agree, they shall state their case in the forum before noon. They shall plead together in person. After noon, let the judge pronounce. If both are present, the case shall end at sunset.

LEG of Roman Empire

Development of romance Languages

• The major romance languages are Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian.

• The languages first appeared in texts in the 9 th century.

Persian War

• The Persian War bean becausethere was to many people living in the Greek city-states and because this a lot of people were out of work. So the Greeks traveled along the Mediterranean Sea to the East and West but the land was the Persians.

Persian War• The second invasion between the Greeks

and Persians happened in the year 480 BC. The king of Persia Xerxes gathered a huge army. The Persian army attacked the Greeks at Thermopylae. Three hundred Spartan soldiers fought the huge army of Persia until the last Spartan fell. When all the soldiers died the Persians moved toward Athens. When Athens heard that that the Persians were coming they left and The persians burned down the Athens.

Persian War

• The Greeks finally defeated the Persians in a bloody Sea battle. The Spartans and the Athenians joined forces and defeated the Persians.

Peloponnesian War

• There were so many series of incidents that the war broke out in 431 between the Spartans and their allies and the Athenians and their allies.

Edict of Milan• The Edict of Milan was issued in AD 313, in the names of the Emperor

Constantine, who ruled the western parts of the empire, and Licinius, who ruled the East.

Fall of Western roman Empire • After the Pax Romana, the Roman Empire started to decline. The reasons were

political and economic, and they had problems with foreigners. After the guard killed Commudus, they sold power to the highest bidder. This led to chaos every time a leader died. All leaders became dictators, and almost all were killed by their guards. The Roman Empire had 26 leaders in the next 50 years.

• A leader had to pay his army well to keep them happy so that they would fend off invasions. This led to high taxes and inflation. Borders were left open as Romans fought among themselves. Germanic tribes invaded, Persians took Roman lands, and Gaul tried to become independent

• Vandals, a really barbaric German tribe, took Rome (came from the south). fight for Rome. These soldiers eventually overthrew the Western Roman leader Romulus The Romans had hired Germanic soldiers to Augustulus, and made the German Odoacer ruler in 476 AD. This was the end of the Roman empire in the West. The Eastern part of the empire would keep going for another 1000 years.

Development of Christianity

Pericles

Pericles was an Athenianstatesman and general. A champion of Athenian democracy, he pursued an imperialist policy and masterminded Athenian strategy in the Peloponnesian War.

He commissioned the building of the Parthenon in 447 and presided over the golden age of Athens

Julius Caesar

• 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) w

• as the first ruler of the Roman Empire,

• which he ruled alone from January 27 BC until his death in AD 14

Socrates

• Ancient Athenian philosopher.

• As represented in the writings of his disciple Plato, he engaged in dialogue with others in an attempt to reach understanding and ethical concepts by exposing and dispelling error (The Socratic Method).

• Charged with introducing strange gods and corrupting the young, he committed suicide as required.

Plato

• Greek philosopher. • A disciple of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle, he founded the Academy in Athens. His theory of “ideas” or “forms” contrasts abstract entities or universals with their objects or particulars in the material world.

• His philosophical writings are presented in the form of dialogues, and his political theories appear in the Republic.

Aristotle

• Greek philosopher and scientist. • A student of Plato and tutor to Alexander the Great, he founded a school (the Lyceum) outside Athens.

• He is one of the most influential thinkers in the history of Western thought.

• His surviving works cover a vast range of subjects, including logic, ethics, metaphysics, politics, natural science, and physics.

Alexander the Great

Jesus

• The central figure of the Christian religion.

• Jesus conducted a mission of preaching and healing (with reported miracles) in Palestine in about ad 28-30, which is described in the Gospels.

• His followers considered him to be the Christ or Messiah and the Son of God, and belief in his resurrection from the dead is the central tenet of Christianity.