Hst 101 exam 1

Pater familias "father of the family"

A Pater familias is the way Roman family's were structured. They were structured with the eldest male having power within the household. The eldest man also had legal powers. When a woman of a household marries, the legal responsibility gets passed down to the husband. The eldest male also has control over children.

Polis

A polis is the area within a city state that is considered to be center of Greek politics. The term polis was created during the Archaic Age where there was a lot of advancements in Greek politics. Each citizens could only be a part of one polis and they would all come together and talk about important political matters in this area. The members consisted of aristocrats, who were the richest members and the commoners, who had no real political power, but still met for meaningful discussion. The most powerful poleis in Greece were Athens and Sparta.

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great was the king of Macedonia from 336-323BCE. He is mostly widely known for reuniting Greece and defeating the Persian Empire. He was tutored by Aristotle and looked up to Achilles and is known as one of the greatest leaders of all time. He was a great warrior and his men were very loyal to him as he always actively fought in all of his battles. While he was a great ruler and often worshipped as a god, his rule was often overshadowed by the emergence of the Roman empire.

Stoicism

An ancient Greek philosophy that became popular amongst many notable Romans. Emphasis on ethics. They considered destructive emotions to be the result of errors in judgment, and that a wise person would repress emotions, especially negative ones and that "virtue is sufficient for happiness." They were also concerned with the conflict between free will and determinism. They were also non-dualists and naturalists. Stoicism was founded in Athens and was considered a Greek philosophy. Its practices were based off of personal ethics which is said to lead to wisdom. Another key concept of stoicism is denying pleasure and the fear of pain. Stoicism also preached self-control, as well as being unbiased. Stoicism was once the philosophy of choice for Roman aristocrats.

· Describe the tenets of Athenian Democracy and discuss to what extent these applied to the people living in Athens. Be sure to use specific historical evidence to support your argument.

Athens was considered a democracy because there was a voting system in place, however they do not hold many qualities of what we know as democracy. All men were able to vote as a part of the public assembly. The democracy valued public speakers who were able to sway other public people into a specific decision. The public assembly also had the power to vote for ten generals each year. These generals would then be in charge of the military. The Athenian democracy was seen as an experiment because it was the first democratic state. Despite being considered a democracy, there was much division and inequality among its people. The biggest division was between men and women. Women were not even seen as citizens of Athens and therefore could not vote. This is why the Athenian democracy is ironic because half of its peoples voices were not being heard.

· Compare Diocletian's reforms to Augustus'. Consider how growth played a role in the decision making of each ruler. How might you describe the fundamental changes in the nature of the Empire from Augustus to Diocletian?

Augustus and Diocletian had differing beliefs on the growth of an empire, but the two emperors made similar reforms to the Roman empire. When Diocletian came to power, he immediately realized that the size of the empire was going to be a disadvantage. He then divided the empire into two and named a co-emperor, Maximin. He later divided the empire once more and created a tetrarchy. Augustus on the other hand, worked to expand the roman empire and nearly doubled the size during his rule. Augustus saw a bigger empire to be a strength, while Diocletian saw it as a weakness. In terms of reforms, they made similar changes to their armies. Augustus gave soldiers more benefits including a salary and retirement benefits. Diocletian made different reforms, but they improved the overall quality of being a soldier. He improved roads used by the army, increased the size and added more commanders to the army. They also both made reforms that had to do with the wealth of the people. They both made changes that essentially made the poor more poor and the wealthy more wealthy. Overall, the two rulers made similar reforms during their times, even though they had differing opinions on the optimal size of an empire.

Augustus

Augustus was the ruler during the peak of the Roman Empire which is also known as the Pax Romana. Augustus ruled from 27 BC-14CE. He was a strong believer in republican beliefs and culture and enforced moralistic laws, created a messenger system and got rid of tax farming. The main problem with Augustus's rule is that the emperors that followed him did not have the morals he did and so the rules in which Augustus made that lead to his great rule were not followed well. The people of Rome admired Augustus so much that after he died, he was worshipped as a god.

· How successful was Augustus at trying to bring peace to the Empire, while maintaining the ideals and values of the Republic?

Augustus was very successful at bring peace to the Roman empire while also maintaining the Republics ideals. The main ideals of the Republic were wealth, loyalty, bravery and honesty. Augustus certainly brought the Republic a time of peace as he ruled during the Pax Romana. The Pax Romana was a 200 year period of peace within the Roman empire. While Augustus did expand the empire during his rule, he also brought about many reforms which coincide with Roman ideals. One of the most notable reforms was his creation of the legions. The legions were paid soldiers, that also had retirement benefits, that fought for the republic. This made it so loyal soldiers could also make a living and support a family, which overall benefits the community of the Republic. Another value of the republic was wealth. During Augustus's reign, he created social classes based off of wealth. While this did mean the wealthy were able to keep getting rich while the poor stayed poor, the state did have some benefits that made this less detrimental to their society. For example, the state would give out free grain to every head male of the household. Overall, Augustus was a great leader and was worshipped like a god after his death. He not only maintain the values of the republic, but he enhanced them while still maintaining peace.

Cuneiform

Cuneiform is the earliest known system of writing and is thought to have been created around 3000 BCE. It was created by the Mesopotamians and they used it to keep tract of their tax records. Cuneiform consists of both pictures and symbols that relate to a sounds. Cuneiform started as a way to keep records but it eventually transformed into a way to tell stories. Cuneiform laid the foundation for future writing systems and record keeping.

Cyrus the Great

Cyrus the Great was the king of Persia from 559-530 BCE. He ruled during the Babylonian Captivity and he freed the Babylonians who were enslaved in Persia. He was known for treating his enemies nicely and because of that there were very little revolts during his rule. Cyrus later died in battle in 530BCE. His son Cambyses II took over as king after his death.

Diocletian

Diocletian ruled the Roman Empire from 284-305 CE and is known for reviving Rome. Diocletian realized that the vast size of the Roman Empire was hurting the government, he decided to have a co-emperor, Maxmian, who ruled the west side of the roman empire. Diocletian realized that this division still was not enough and divided it once more and created a tetrarchy with each emperor having a junior emperor. Diocletian's made many reforms in the government and also increased the size of their army. Although Diocletian revived the roman government, he did make some questionable decisions such as banning Christian worship and executing thousands of Christians.

Hammurabi

Hammurabi was the king of Babylon from 1792-1750 BCE. He is most widely known for his set of laws called Hammurabi's code. Hammurabi's code focused on fairness with its most known law being, "an eye for an eye". This code also gave women more rights than most other codes of the time. Hammurabi cared for his people and the economic prosperity of Babylon.

hoplite

Hoplites was the term to describe a soldier in a phalanx. They were known for their unique maneuvering which took a lot of practice to be able to master. The hoplites were unique because they were just common people who were filled with civic virtue to fight for their polis. In order to be a hoplite, one had to be a free citizen and be able to pay for their own equipment. Hoplites were rarely aristocrats and because of this, the hoplites fought for more political representation because they felt like they were not getting fair treatment.

twelve tables

In accordance to the class struggles, the plebians were frustrated and worried that the patricians were always going to be favored in legal decisions. Because of this, the plebians requested that the laws be written down and be made available to the public. In 451 BCE, the Roman government wrote the laws and made them visible to everyone and they are called the Twelve Tables. The idea of writing down laws and making them publicly available came from Athens. This is a favorable technique because it reduces the amount of corruption.

Patricians

Patricians are the roman people who have a lot of money and come from a wealthy family. There was often a class struggle in Rome because the lower class, plebeians, did not have much representation in politics. Even after the plebeians created the Plebeian Council, the wealthy plebeians and the patricians worked together to overshadow the votes of the poor plebeians. Representatives did not make a salary, so in order to be a representative one had to be wealthy, which means the poor plebeians did not have a voice in politics. The patricians heavily contributed to the class struggles because even when the Plebeians had won some representation, the wealthy plebians and patricians joined together to make the Roman Aristocracy.

Pericles

Pericles was a well-known aristocrat who played an important role in politics in Athens. Pericles never took power, but he did have a lasting effects. He created a law in which public servants got paid, which increased loyalty and decreased the corruption. He also instituted a law in which only children of two Athenian parents could be given Athenian citizenship. During Pericles's time, Athens and specifically the government experienced prosperity and growth.

Plebeians

Plebian is the name given to people of lower social status. They played a vital role in the Conflict of Orders, which occurred from 500-360 BCE, in which plebians had very little political representation. To combat this issue, the government created the Plebian Council which gave more right to plebeians. These rights included plebians being able to marry patricians, banned debt slavery and said that 1 of the consul had to be a plebeian. Despite the effort to give plebians more representation and rights, the wealth plebians and patricians often teamed together to outvote the poor plebeians.

res publica (republic)

Res Publica was a legal system that extended to all Roman citizens. It secured all citizens rights and their jobs. With the res publics came the time where romans were most patriotic. They were also very tied to their traditions. The Res Publica increased roman citizens loyalty to Rome.

· Describe the manner in which the Achaemenid Persian Empire ruled its peoples? Why was this empire so successful? Do you think these policies might have influenced subsequent imperial practices (ie, Alexander's Empire, the Roman Empire)? Support your answer with specific historical examples. Was Athenian Democracy truly democratic?

The Achaemenid Persian Empire had a legacy of treating their people well, even the people of the places they conquered. Cyrus set this example when he conquered the Greeks and let them keep their culture and only asked for warriors and pay taxes. How Cyrus treated his people and conquered people was a big factor in the Persian Empires success because this reduced uprisings. Because Cyrus had expanded the Empire so much, there was a lot of reforms to the government that needed to happen when Darius came to power. He divided the empire into satrapies and had satraps in each one to ensure that the Kings rules were being enforced. This was a big reason that there was able to be peace in the Persian Empire. While the Persian Empires success could have been an example to other Empires, Athens had its own methods of expansion. Athens created the Delian League as a way to protect Greece from Persia, however Athens turned this into a way to make Athens richer. In addition, Athens was said to have been a democracy, however there were very little equal rights and its people were not happy. There was a clear divide between the right of men and women, and the fact that there were slaves does not show equality between all people. Another example of how other conquerors did not follow Cyrus's lead is Alexander, because he refused to make peace with Persia after Alexander conquered them.

Delian League

The Delian league was a defensive coalition meant to protect Greece from Persia and to free colonies under Persian rule. It was created by Athenians after the defeat of the Persians, and although it was originally meant to protect all of Greece, Athens quickly took power over it because they had the best Navy. The members of the Delian league contributed money to go into a communal navy that Is specifically for defending Greece against Persia. Athens eventually used their superior Navy to imply political control in other poleis which eventually lead to revolts and the League finally came to an end when Persia declared peace with Athens.

Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the earliest artifact of literature. The writer is unknown, but it tells stories of Mesopotamia. The Epic of Gilgamesh tells a story of a self-centered king and his friend, Enkidu, who gets killed by the gods because of their selfish nature. Enkidu's death inspires the king to search for immortality, but he realizes that everyone dies. The epic of Gilgamesh is not only important because it is the first known artifact of literature, but also because it outlines the qualities of a good king as well as the unfairness of death.

· In Describe the evolution of Israelite Monotheism-- what were some of the key influences on these religious ideas? How was Israelite monotheism different from or similar to the pagan practices of the Israelites' neighbors? Support your answer with specific historical examples.

The Judaism religion started out as a polytheistic religion similar to most of the surrounding cultures at the time. Judaism celebrated many worshipped deities, but had one main god, Yahweh, who they held to higher importance. The Prophetic Movement played a key role in people starting to believe that Yahweh should be the only God being worshipped and people being in favor of monotheism. King Josiah officially implemented the change in 621 BCE with the creation of the Torah. In the Torah, Yahweh is portrayed as always being the only God and if people believed in Yahweh they would be saved from corruption. Comparing the monotheistic religion of Judaism to its surrounding neighbors, it was originally similar to its surroundings neighbors, but monotheism soon became the norm. Before the Prophetic Movement, Assyria was similar to Judaism because they worshipped many gods but held one god to a higher importance. The Prophetic Movement occurred 750-550 BCE and during this times the belief in many gods was seen as a bad thing. Because of this, most places followed in the footsteps of Judaism and monotheism soon became very influential on Western Civilization.

Pax Romana

The Pax Romana is the name for the period of time in the Roman Empire when there was peace. This time of peace lasted from 1 CE to 200CE and the ruler of the Roman Empire during this time was Augustus. During this time it was possible to travel safely on roads from Spain all the was to Mesopotamia, which was a rare occurrence prior. While the Roman Empire was wealthy and powerful during this time, a lot of commoners and slaves would remember it as a time of oppression. During this time the Roman Empire focused on itself and only minimally expanded.

Documentary Hypothesis

The belief of many modern Biblical scholars that the Torah was compiled from four original sources. It is used to explain where the Torah came from. It essentially concludes that the Torah was not written by just one author.

· Were the changes brought about by Alexander the Great's conquests, and subsequent Hellenization of the peoples and cultures within his empire, largely positive or negative for those affected? Be sure to use specific historical evidence to support your argument.

While Alexander the Great did a good job expanding the Macedonian Empire, his overall conquests had a negative effects on the culture and people within his Empire. Alexander the Great is remembered as a very good ruler, however it did not seem like he truly cared for his people. Alexander did not learn from Cyrus's, the king of Persia, rule and how treating his people well led to greater loyalty. For example, after Alexander defeated Persia, Darius tried to make peace with Alexander and Alexander refused. Alexander conquering surrounding neighbors and then not making peace decreases Persian loyalty to Alexander and increases the chance of uprising. Also, Alexander seemed to be only concerned about conquering as much land as he could. His actions imply that he did not truly care about his people. An example of this would be after he defeated Persia he forced Greek and Macedonian men to marry Persian woman in attempts to create ties between the two cultures. While this may seem like a good idea, arranging marriage for the betterment of the empire seems counter intuitive. Essentially, Alexanders reign can be summarized by all the places he conquered, but not of how he reformed the government or made social changes. In the end after Alexanders death, possibly because there was no real loyalty, but his generals were unable to choose an heir and because of this, the empire Alexander built was divided between them.

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is a religion that was created in 1300 BCE by Zoroaster. It was created in Persia and it preaches the supremacy of a single God, Ahura Mazda, and has an emphasis on ethical behavior. Zoroastrianism is unique in that it shows more about what the Persians valued than just what they believed. Zoroastrians believe that if they live righteously then when they die they will be reunited with Ahura Mazda. Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Christianity share common beliefs including the belief of Satan.

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l 1) Neolithic Revolution 10,000 BC l 2) Invention of Writing 3100 BCe l 3) Reforms of Akhenaten 1353 BCE l 4)Destruction of the 1st Temple in Jerusalem 586 BC l 5)Solon's reforms promote Democracy in Athens 584 BC l 6)Rise of Ironworking Technology 500 l 7) Twelve Tables 451 BCE l 8)Peloponnesian War 431 BCE l 9) Rule of Alexander the Great 336 BCE l 10 ) Punic Wars 264-146BCE l 11) Reign of Augustus 63 BCE l 12) Caesar is appointed dictator with no term limit; assassinated in same year 44BC l 13) Pax Romana 27 bce l 14)Reign of Five Good Emperors 96-192 CE l 15) Reign of Diocletian 284ce