Classical Societies
What was the nature of the Emperor Caligula?
Cruel and capricious, no reforms
Who created the Achaemenid Persian Empire?
Cyrus the Great
What are the basic groups that formed Spartan society?
Helots- servents citizens were equal in status served in the military perioikoi- non-citizens
Who influenced the early Greeks that we call the Mycenaeans?
Minoans
How was Augustus able to make the Roman people comfortable with his assumption of one-man rule?
Monarchy disguised as a republic. preserved traditional republican offices and forms of gov't and included members of the Roman Elite.
Who were the so-called "Good Emperors"?
Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius
What path did the Buddhists follow in order to eliminate desire and live well?
Noble eight-fold path calls for individuals to lead balanced and moderate lives; belief, resolve, speech, behavior, occupation, effort, contemplation, and meditation
Who defeated his rivals Mark Antony and Queen Cleopatra of Egypt in 31 BCE and where did he win a decisive battle against them?
Octavian (later Augustus) defeated them at the Naval Battle at Actium in Greece
What were the two orders of early Roman society?
Patricians (aristocrats) and Plebeians (commoners)
Why did the Achaemenid dynasty lose control of their Persian Empire?
Persian wars with the Greeks. The Invasion of Alexander of Macedon.
Which three offices—as compared to titles—gave Augustus a degree of political power?
Proconsul (executive), Tribune (legislative and judicial), Pontifex Maximus (highest priest)
What groups were excluded from participation in Athenian democracy?
Women, slaves, and Metics (immigrants)
What seventh-century BCE Iranian prophet called for social justice and proposed that the world was locked in a cosmic struggle between good and evil?
Zarathustra
What religion do the Gathas and Avesta refer to?
Zoroastrian
What did the Licinian-Sextian Law of 367 BCE permit?
allowed Plebeians to become consuls
As far as the audience for it was concerned, what did Paul of Tarsus believe about the message of Jesus?
called for individuals to observe high moral standards and place their faith first. God promised a glorious future for those who conscientiously observe faith.
What did the Daoists believe their notion of wuwei to mean?
chief moral virtue- disengagement from active involvement in worldly affairs, individuals refrain from advanced education and personal striving and live in harmony with nature
How, according to the lecture on the subject, is the Greek form of political organization called the "polis" best described?
community of citizens
What effect did Alexander the Great's invasion of northwestern India have and what ruler took advantage of it to build his own empire?
created a political vacuum in north-western India by destroying the existing states and then withdrew his forces. Chandragupta Maurya exploited the opportunity to expand and laid the foundation for the Mauryan empire
What two factions developed in the Roman ruling class in the wake of the reform attempts of the Gracchi brothers?
division of ruling class: populares and optimates
When they practiced ascetism (self-denial) and ahimsa, Jains believed that they were limiting the harmful effects of what?
eliminate bad karma through inaction
How was the Han dynasty bureaucracy different than the that if the Qin dynasty?
established imperial monopolies on salt and iron, Confucian educational system, educated women
What does the Christian notion of Trinity entail and when and where was it officially adopted?
father, son, and holy spirit- council of Nicea
What were the basic characteristics of the consuls who served the Roman republic?
from noble classes
What was the Silk Road?
high quality silk from china was one of the main commodities, long-distance trade route from china to Rome, included sea lanes
What was ahimsa?
principal of non-violence to other souls
What is the relationship of Thales of Miletus' conclusion that water was the "first principle" from which everything else derived to religion and mythology?
recognized one god that took form of other gods
What was the Tetrarchy?
rule by four people, two senior emperors with a junior emperor each, one ruled the east and the other the west
What was the striving of the plebeians to gain more political rights in the republic called?
secession of the Plebeians (471 BCE)- leave jobs, did not trade, collapsed economy, made their own council (Plebeian council and Tribunes of the people)
Who were the Manicheans?
spread through silk roads; Zoroastrian combined with Christian and Buddhist ideas proposed by prophet Mani; world as a cosmic struggle between the forces of light and darkness, good and evil
How did the Gupta state differ from the Mauryan state?
supported Hinduism, never strongly centralized
How did the emperors of the Han dynasty (ca. 206 BCE-220 CE) elaborate on Legalist Qin policies?
they added the mandate of heaven, centralized the govt, added Confucius schools, built roads, military
What did the Roman aristocrats rid themselves of when they established a res publica (republic) in 509 BCE?
they allowed power to all citizens, could not rule for long periods
What effect did the Germanic invasions have on the western half of the Roman Empire?
they weakened the western half and eventually overthrew it, Western Rome collapsed in 476 CE
What was the purpose of Cleisthenes' invention of "ostracism"?
to outcast people that were not favored, it kept away threats to the democracy, prevented people from becoming too powerful in Athens
Who did the Romans fight in the First and Second Punic Wars?
Carthage for Sicily and then Spain area
What was the nature of the ideology of kingship developed by the Persian king Darius I?
Connected kingship to religion
Although the Senate exercised great power in the Roman republic, where did power theoretically reside?
Consuls
What do historians call the period between 235 and 284 CE that saw the Romans experience 1) political disorder caused by constant struggles for the imperial throne, 2) economic collapse marked by great inflation, and 3) military problems caused by Persian and barbarian invasions?
Crisis of the 3rd century
Who was Siddhartha Gautama?
1st teacher of Buddhism
What was the Royal Road? Where was it? How long was it?
2,575km from the Aegean part of Ephesus to Sardis in Anatolia, through Mesopotamia along the Tigris river, to Susa Iran, with an extension to Pasargadae and Persepolis
In what period of Greek history did the Greeks found settlements throughout the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions?
8th-6th centuries BCE- Greek Poleis; Archaic age
What Iranian tribal group was dominant around 600 BCE?
Achaemenids
In what sense was the Roman empire multicultural?
Allowed to worship who ever as long as they sacrificed to the gods. Certain areas worshiped certain gods/goddesses different from another area
What three dynasties succeeded to rule in the territory conquered by Alexander the Great after his death in 323 BCE?
Antigonid (Greece and Macedonia), Ptolemaic (Egypt), Seleucid (Indian/middle east area)
What are artha and kama?
Artha- pursuit of economic well-being and honest prosperity Kama- enjoyment of social, physical, and sexual pleasure
What institution best represents the establishment of a democratic government at Athens?
Assembly- allowed all citizens to vote
What happened at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE and who was involved?
Athenians fight with Persians at Marathon; Persians flee on ship towards Athens, the Athenians walk from Marathon to Athens and defeat the Persians in Athens
Who was Augustine?
Bishop of Hippo in north Africa, wrote "City of God", helped make Christianity popular
Can you name the "Four Noble Truths"? What religion are they associated with?
Buddhism: all life involves suffering, desire is the cause of suffering, elimination of desire brings an end to suffering, and disciplined life conducted in accordance with the noble eight-fold path brings elimination of desire
What religions became popular in China during the "Age of Division" that followed the collapse of the Han dynasty?
Daoism and Buddhism
Augustus (Octavian) claimed to be restoring the Roman republic after a period of civil strife. In reality he had made himself ... what?
Dictator/Emperor, he became the proconsul, tribune, and pontifex maximus
What type of Buddhism are those three things associated with?
Early Buddhism
Who and where were the Nestorians?
Emphasized human nature of Jesus- founded from Mesopotamia to China, man with divine guide
What effect did rule of northwestern India by the Indo-Greek kingdom and the Kushan Empire have on Indian trade?
Facilitated commerce between India and lands to the north, long distance trade,
Why did the Mauryan ruler Ashoka turn to Buddhism?
Found Buddhism appealing as a faith that could lend unity to his culturally diverse and far-flung realm
In what sense was the Roman empire a cultural unity?
Greco-Roman culture of the Empire's elites, indigenous cultures of the provinces, the cultures combined
Why was Alexander the Great forced to end his conquests at the borders of India?
His troops refused to proceed because they feared the Indian army across the river
What religion did the above prophet lay the foundations for?
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Which member of the First Triumvirate defeated his enemies after crossing the Rubicon in 49 BCE and thereafter established himself as the virtual ruler of Rome (dictator for life)?
Julius Caesar
Can you name three things that made Buddhism more popular after 300 BCE?
Language avoided the use of Sanskirt, recognized holy sites that served as focal points for devotion, organization of the Buddhist movement
Overall, how did India's trade improve over the classical period?
Long-distance trade connected China all the way to Mesopotamia, Sea transportation, built better roads
What three things were carried by long-distance trade between Eurasia's great civilizations?
Luxury commodities, religions, disease
What did Confucius (551-479 BCE) believe gave rise to political and social harmony?
Ren- an attitude of kindness and benevolence or a sense of humanity li- treat others with courtesy and respect Xiao- children should respect their elders
What four elements contributed to the effective government of the Persian Empire under the rule of the Achaemenid dynasty?
Royal Ideology, Administration (divided state into 23 provinces + Satrap + other administrators), Roads, respect for local institutions
What succeeding Persian empires made use of administrative institutions created by the Achaemenid Persian Empire?
Selelucus (taxation, system of administration, imperial roads, and postal service) Parthians (Iran, traditions of nomadic peoples, no central govt, clans, warriors, governed through saraphs, taxation) Sasanids (took over Parthians)
What governmental body with broad powers of governmental oversight was the most powerful entity in the Roman Republic?
Senate (Patricians only)- 300 members
Who was the pivotal figure in the development of classical Greek philosophy?
Socrates
What was the name of the aristocrat who was appointed as one-year ruler at Athens in 594 BCE in order to institute social and political reforms?
Solon
Who won the Peloponnesian War of 431-404 BCE?
Spartans
Why did the Spartans feel compelled to make their army the primary focus of their society?
Spartans grew a military in response to control the helots
What did it mean when the Bishop of Roman (aka the Pope) assumed the title of pontifex maximus in the 4th century?
The Pope was the most powerful priest
Why did prosperous Greek commoners of the Archaic Age began to gain political power in their communities?
The commoners started to become prosperous as agriculture and labor was important to the structure of the cities. There was tension created between the aristocrats and commoners. In Sparta the citizens were equal in status. In Athens citizens were allowed to hold office positions and vote.
What are the Gathas and how are they related to the Avesta?
They were hymns that Zarathustra composed in honor of the various deities. They were complied to into a holy book called the Avesta.
What is the year 146 BCE symbolic of?
This battle of Carthage in the west and Corinth in the east marked the beginning of the period of Roman domination
What would a scholar like Han Feizi, a Legalist who wrote in in the third century BCE, have believed gave rise to political and social harmony?
The states strength was agriculture and military, discouraged other careers, strict laws, severe punishment, ruled by fear, collective responsibility
What three basic areas were characteristic of the achievements or ambitions of China's first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi (r. 221-210 BCE)?
Unification, centralization, standardization, and repression
Who was the founding teacher of Jainism?
Vardhamana Mahavira
Hinduism largely grew out of the further development of ideas expressed in what earlier religious works?
Vedas
Who was Diocletian and what did he have to do with the period mentioned above?
Was able to gain control over the Roman empire, increased the military and Bureaucracy, closer imperial rule and the division of the empire into the east and west, prosecuted the Christians
What does the statement of the philosopher Protagoras that "man is the measure of all things" represent in classical Greek culture?
individual human being, rather than a god or an unchanging moral law, is the ultimate source of value. what you think is relative to you.
In Han China, who were the "mean people"?
inferior people, unskilled laborers, entertainers, had to wear a green scarf to identify themselves
What results did the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE and the diaspora of the Jews that followed the failed revolt ca. 130 CE have on the practice of Judaism?
it caused the Jews to leave and change the focus of Judaism. Jesus of Nazareth and the Kingdom of Heaven- Christians were founded
Why, in the long run, was the Hellenistic period important?
it greatly influenced the Romans and Judaism/Christianity
Who was Constantine and what was his relationship to Christianity?
last emperor of unified Rome, gained control of west and east Rome, favors Christianity and legalized it, more attention to east, built many churches, made Constantinople the capital
