Indian Dynasties Under the Maurya and Gupta dynasties, India developed

into a center of trade and had contacts with civilizations in Africa, the Middle East , Central and Southeast Asia.

The caste system, the village, and the family influencedmany aspects of Indian life( and still continue to influence Indian life today.

Brahmans = priests Kshatriya = warriors, nobles Vaishya = craftspeople & merchants Shudra = servants

The Maurya Empire The Mauryan empires was founded by Chandragupta Maurya. Maurya rulers created a strong central government.These rulers: supervised the building of roads and harbors. collected taxes and managed state-owned factories. created royal courts. created a secret police force to report on corruption, crime, and dissent, or opposing ideas. trained warriors to guard the royal palace.

Asoka Asoka (272 – 232) kept careful records of his edicts, making him the king for

which the most is known. He began an aggressive campaign to conquer the rest of the subcontinent. Asoka became so troubled by massive bloodshed of his conquests, that he

converted to Buddhism. The spread of Buddhism under Asoka greatly influenced the religious history of

Asia. It also produced the first written literature in India

Kingdoms of the Deccan People were Dravidians with different languages and traditions. Each kingdom had its own capital and magnificent temples. Rulers improved harbors to support overseas trade. Merchants traded with the Roman Empire and China. Women enjoyed high status and economic power. Deccan writers left a rich and diverse literature. Rulers were tolerant of all religions and foreign settlers

The Gupta Empire The last of the Mauryan kings was assassinated in 184 B.C. India again became a collection of unfederated kingdoms. Chandragupta I (320-335) revived the empire in the north. He revived many of Asoka’s principals of government. Later, his grandson, Chandragupta II (376-415) extended the kingdom to an

Chandragupta II empire.

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Golden Age of the Guptas

LEARNING Scholars taught many subjects at Hindu and Buddhist schools.MEDICINE: Doctors treated illnesses with herbs, performed surgery, set broken bones, and vaccinated against smallpox.MATHEMATICS: Mathematicians invented the system of numbers we use today and developed decimal system and concept of zero.ARCHITECTURE: Builders designed magnificent stone temples and dome shaped shrines called stupas.CARVING & PAINTING: Artists painted murals, or wall paintings and created carvings telling the story of the life of the Buddha.LITERATUREWriters collected and recorded fables and folk tales. Kalidasa wrote classical plays.

The Caste System and Daily Life Caste rules governed every aspect of life–where people lived, what they ate, how

they dressed, and what work they did. Life for the lowest ranking caste, the “Untouchables,” was harsh and restricted. People knew that they could not change their status in this life. However, they

believed that they could reach a higher state in a future life by fulfilling the duties of their present caste.

Each caste had its own leaders and its own occupation, and caste members cooperated to help one another.

Family Life The ideal was the joint family, in which extended family all lived under one roof. The family was patriarchal. The father or oldest male had absolute authority. Family wishes came before individual wishes. Early on, children learned family duties, such as obedience of caste

rules. This was called filial piety. Parents had a duty to arrange good marriages for their children, based on caste

and family interests. The status and freedom of women decreased over time. A woman’s

duties were to marry, obey her husband, and raise children. Suttee was the practice in which wives of prominent men who died, would throw

themselves into the funeral pyre. If they failed to killthemselves, they would be scorned

The Fall of the Gupta Empire, 550 C.E. The Gupta Empire was invaded by the White Huns in the 5th century. They held them off, but at a tremendous cost, which weakened the state. Taxes were insufficient to pay for adequate military defense. Land divisions increased the power of provincial officials. The empire finally fell to the Huns by the end of the 5th century.

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Indian Religious Beliefs, Hinduism and Buddhism are two of the major religions in the world.

Hinduism grew out of many varied beliefs of different peoples who settled in India. It has many gods and goddesses and many forms of worship. Despite this diversity, all Hindus share certain basic beliefs:

All the universe is part of the unchanging, all-powerful spiritual force called brahman.

The ultimate goal of existence is to achieve moksha, or union with brahman. To achieve moksha, people must free themselves from selfish desires. One must obey the law of karma. Reincarnation allows people to continue working toward moksha through several

lifetimes

Indian Religious Beliefs Siddhartha Gautama, a religious reformer, sought spiritual enlightenment. His teachings gave rise to a new religion, Buddhism that spread through

Southeast and East Asia. The Teachings of Buddha The Four Noble Truths:

1. Life is full of suffering.2. The only cure for suffering is to follow the Eightfold Path, a middle road between a life devoted to pleasure and a life of harsh self-denial.3. It is important to live a moral life.4. Enlightenment is achieved through meditation.The ultimate goal is nirvana, union with the universe and release from the cycle of rebirth.

The Early Greeks Greek History These periods of Greek history are important because they give you a reference for the rest of Greek history that we have talked about

Archaic Greece 3000-1600 BCE Mycenaen Greece 1600-1200 BCE Dark Ages 1200-800 BCE Greek Renaissance 800-600 BCE Classical or Hellenic Greece 600-323 BCE Hellenistic Greece 323-31 BCE

The Minoans Part of the archaic period of Greek history

Have long been seen as one of several peoples who helped to found the Greece that we are more familiar with

have been the subject of extensive archeological digs The Minoans are also part of mythological tradition The Minoans established a brilliant early civilization on the island of Crete. The Minoans traded with Egypt and Mesopotamia. They acquired ideas and

technology that they adapted to their own culture. The Minoans helped to shape the first Greek civilization.

Theseus and the Minotaur

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According to legend, King Minos ruled Athens and forced the Athenians to deliver seven youths and seven virgin maidens every nine years.

They became prey of the Minotaur in the labyrinth, and Athens escaped further sanctions through their obedience. The Minotaur was a terrible monster with the body of a man, and the head of a bull, born from the union of Pasiphae and the bull offered as a gift to Minos by Poseidon.

The sacrifices of the Athenians ended only when Theseus, son of Aegean ruler of Attica, traveled to Crete as part of the youths to be sacrificed, but once in the labyrinth he killed the Minotaur and managed to find his way out of the labyrinth with the aid of Ariadne, the daughter of Minos. Ariadne fell in love with Theseus as soon as he arrived, and gave him a ball of thread which he unraveled behind him as he walked through the labyrinthine corridors. Exiting then became a simple matter of following the thread backwards towards his freedom.

In a tragic turn of events, Theseus sailed back to Athens forgetting in his elation to replace the black sails with white ones as a signal of victory. His father Aegean who was watching for the returning ships from the Sounio rock saw the black sail, and in despair for what he thought was a failed mission that resulted to the death of his son, ended his life by jumping into the sea. The sea henceforth is named Aegean sea in his memory.Minoan History

c. 3000 B.C., Crete was settled by a people from Asia Minor By 2000 B.C. they lived in cities and traded with other nations in the

Mediterranean. They had a written hieroglyphic language that evolved into a linear form. § They built magnificent palace centers at Knossos, Phaistros, and, Kato Zakros. Their government system was ruled by priests and consisted of bureaucratic

monarchies, who served as “chief entrepreneurs” or CEOs They built large navies of armored merchant ships and traded throughout Asia

Minor and Egypt. They had large multi-room homes – even the peasants. § They are the first

civilization that appears to have “leisure time”The decline of the Minoans

The concentration of wealth produced a society with social equality, which was unknown in the in ancient world.

No gender inequality seems to have existed. Palaces had no defensive works, throughout much of their history. Their concentration of economic resources on mercantilism and their generous

distribution of wealth among their people may have led to their downfall. Earthquakes and volcanoes weakened their cities. Eventually the Minoans were

conquered by the Mycenaens As historians, we are still trying to figure out exactly what happened to the

Minoans, we are also still trying to figure out why there was a decline in Minoan civilizationWomen in Minoan Civilization

Crete was a class-based society with little inequality. Women played an important role in city public life, serving as priestesses,

functionaries, & administrators. They participated in all the sports men did, including bull-jumping.

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They also participated in every occupation & trade available to men, including skilled crafts, entrepreneurs, bureaucracy, priesthood. The Mycenaens

Are another of the founding civilizations for Greece Like with the Minoans the Mycenaens have been the source of much historical,

mythological and archeological curiosity Archeologists have searched for years to the site of ancient Troy The Mycenaens conquered the Greek mainland and Crete. Mycenaen civilization dominated the Aegean from about 1400 B.C. to 1200 B.C. They traded with Sicily, Italy, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. Mycenaens absorbed Egyptian and Mesopotamian influences and passed them

on to later Greeks.Differences between the early Greeks

Most of what we know about this culture comes from Homer’s epics. The archeological sites at Troy and Mycenae indicate a strong influence on their

culture from the Minoans. There were differences. The government consisted of monarchs who ruled over

large administrations. Mycenean kings accumulated vast wealth, but it was not shared by the rest of

society. Mycenean kings were warlords, constantly ready for battle or invasion. Cities had heavy defenses.

Mycenean Religion Early Myceneans had a sky-god, who would become Zeus. Later, they adopted the Minoan goddesses. Particularly the snake goddess Offerings and sacrifices were made to the gods, and may have involved human

sacrifices.The Greek Dark Ages

Between 1200 and 1100 BC populations in cities dwindled & they could no longer support artisans and craftsmen.

Writing was abandoned leaving no history to explain it the 500 years of mystery. Greeks returned to an agricultural or nomadic life in small tribal groups. Many Greeks took to the sea and migrated to the islands of the Aegean. Dorians, invaders from the north, soon followed bringing new weapons and

tools.

Greek Civilization Ancient Greece

Greece is part of the Balkan Peninsula. Mountains divide the peninsula into isolated valleys.

Off the Greek mainland are hundreds of small islands. The geography of the region prevented the Greeks from creating a large, united

empire. Instead, they built many small city-states, cut off from one another by mountains

or water. The seas linked the Greeks to the outside world. The Greeks became skilled

sailors, traveling and trading all over the Mediterranean.The development of the City States

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The Greeks developed an alphabet based on the Phoenician’s that became the basis for all western alphabets.

Between 750 B.C. and 500 B.C., the Greeks evolved different forms of government.

At first, the ruler was a king, who exercised central power, or a monarchy. Slowly, power shifted to a class of noble landowners, who defended the king, but

in time, they won power for themselves, creating an aristocracy. As trade expanded, a new class of wealthy merchants, farmers, and artisans came

to dominate some city-states, creating an oligarchy

Athens Society grew into a limited democracy, or government by the people. Only free, native-born, landowning men could be citizens. Male citizens over age 30 were members of the assembly. Rulers encouraged trade with other city-states. Women were considered inferior. Boys received education in many areas, not just military training.

Sparta• Rulers were two kings and a council of elders.• Rulers formed a military society.• Conquered people were turned into slaves, called helots.• Rulers forbade trade and travel.• Male, native-born Spartans over age 30 were citizens.• All boys received military training.• Girls were raised to produce healthy sons for the army.• Women had the right to inherit property

Shared Greek Culture Local ties, independent spirit, and economic rivalries led to fighting among the

Greek city-states. Despite these divisions, the Greeks shared a common culture:

They honored the same ancient heroes. They participated in common festivals. They prayed to the same gods. They shared the Greek language. They felt superior to non-Greeks, whom they called “barbaroi,” or people who did

not speak Greek. Despite their cultural ties, the Greek city-states were often in conflict with one

another. The threat of the powerful Persian Empire united the Greek city states.

Greek Culture Greek culture still has an enduring legacy in the world of today

much of our language , culture and even our alphabet are inspired by the GreeksWords that we use every day that have Greek origin:Biology, Science, History, Antibiotic, Cosmic, Sarcasm, Mathematics

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English Vocabulary Derived from Greek(know the terms in bold)anti (old) – antique, antiquatedarch (first, ancient) – archetype, archangelathl (prize) – athlete, athleticauto (self) – automatic, automobile, autonomousbasi (bottom) – basicbibl (book) – bibliography, biblecentr (center) – eccentriccid (fall) – accidentceram (clay) – ceramicdoc (teach) – doctor, doctorategraph (draw, write) – graphicid, ido (shape) – idol, idolize

kudo (glory) – kudoslog (thought, word, speech) – logic, logicalmim (repeat) – mimicpar, para (beside or near) – parallel, parametersacchar (sugar) – saccharinsy, sym (with) – symbol, systemtele (far, end) – telephone, telegraph, telescopethe (put) – theme, thesis, thesauruszon (belt, girdle) – zone

The following Greek roots can be found in various scientific vocabularies.

( know the terms in bold)acro (height, summit) – acrophobiaaesthet (feeling, sensation) –- aestheticsarcheao (ancient) – archeologybaro (weight, pressure) – barometerbio (life) – biologycalli (beautiful) – calligraphycarci (cancer) – carcinoma, carcinogenchrom (color) – chromosome, chromaticdactyl (finger, toe, digit) – dactylologydino (terrible, to fear greatly) – dinosaurdys (bad, ill) – dysentery, dysplasia, dystrophyeco (house) – ecology, economicsendo (inside) – endocrineepi (upon) – epicentergeo (earth) – geology, geography, geologicalhal, halo (salt) – halogen

hel, helo (sun) – heliumhex (six) – hexagonis, iso (equal, same) – isometrickine (movement, motion) – kinesis, kinetic, kinestheticleuco, leuko (white) – leukemia, leucocyteslip, lipo (fat) – liposuctionmeaning (membrane) – meningitismeno (moon) – menopausenarc (numb) – narcolepsy, narcoticsnaut (ship) – nauticaloed (swollen) – edemapaed (child) – pediatricpath (to feel, hurt) – pathology,rhiz (root) – rhizomeschem (plan) – schematicscler (hard) – scleroderma, sclerosistechn (art, skill) – technology, technologicalxen (foreign) – xenophobiazo (animal) – zoo, zoologyzym (ferment) – enzyme

Prefixes( know the terms in bold)

a-, an- (without) – atypical

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anti-, ant- (opposite) – anticlimax, antacidhyper- (excessive) – hyperactive, hypersensitivemono- (one, single) – monologue, monosyllableneo- (new, recent) – neonatal, neoclassicalpan- (all) – pandemic, panorama

Suffixes

-ism (the act, state or theory of something) – racism, optimism, Buddhism

-ize (to make into something) – Americanize, legalize, computerize-graph (something written or drawn) – phonograph, photograph, seismograph-logy (the study of something) – biology, geology, zoology-oid (the shape or form of something) – humanoid, trapezoid-phobe, -phobia (fear or terror of something) – agoraphobia, claustrophobia-phone (something that receives or emits sound) – telephone, gramophone

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Greek Culture One thing that is a hallmark of Greekness is a common religion The Greek religion was polytheistic And did have variations overtime and also variations between the different Greek

city-states At the center of the Greek religion was the Olympian pantheon Often each city-state had its own partron god or goodesss For example Athena for Athens Olympia and Delphi became cult centers for Greek religion In addition to the Olympians the Greeks also worshiped the Titians, the musses

and also glorified the Greek heroes (Remember the charts that we looked at with the Greek Gods and how they were related to each other , also have a general idea of who was the god or goddess of what)

The birth of Athena Zeus came to lust after Metis, and chased her in his direct way. Metis tried to escape, going so far as to change her form many times; she changed into various creatures such as hawks, fish, and serpents. However, Zeus was both determined and equally proficient at changing form. He continued his pursuit until she relented. An oracle of Gaea then prophesied that Metis' first child would be a girl and that her second child would be a boy that would overthrow Zeus, similarly to what had happened to his father and grandfather. Zeus took this warning to heart. When he next saw Metis, he initially flattered her and put her at her ease. Then, with Metis' guards down, Zeus opened his mouth and swallowed her and her unborn child. This was the end of Metis, but also the beginning of Zeus' wisdom.After a time, Zeus developed an unbearable headache, which made him scream out of pain so loudly it could be heard throughout the earth. The other gods came to see what the problem was. Hermes realized what needed to be done and directed Hephaestus to take a wedge and split open Zeus's skull. Out of the skull sprang Athena, fully grown and in a full set of armour. Due to the way of her birth, she became the goddess of intelligence and wisdom.

City Life in Ancient Greece Remember the hallmarks of civilization that we discussed on the first day of class The cities of ancient Greece were planned and has spaces for living, government,

worship, business and recreation The Polis- could be defined as a small but autonomous political unit in which all

major political, social, and religious activities were carried out at one central location.

The Polis consisted of a city, town, or village and its surrounding countryside The Acropolis served as a center meeting point that could be used for defense

and was later often used for religious purposes Below the Acropolis was the Agora , or an open space that served as both a

market and a place where the citizens could assemble Poleis varied greatly in size, from a few square miles to a few hundred square

miles 9

They also varied considerably in their populations For example Athens had a population of about 250,000 by the 5th century BCE the polis consisted of : Citizens ( with political rights) Adult males, Citizens

( with no political rights) women and children, and Non-Citizens( slaves and resident aliens)

Ancient Greek DressRemember to think about how the dress of the Greeks changed over time, but also think about the elements that were consistent over time

Know the Greek philosophers and philosophies

Classical Greece The Ancient Greeks took their entertainment very seriously and used drama as a

way of investigating the world they lived in, and what it meant to be human. The three genres of drama were comedy, satyr plays, and most important of all,

tragedy. Comedy: The first comedies were mainly satirical and mocked men in power for

their vanity and foolishness. The first master of comedy was the playwright Aristophanes. Much later Menander wrote comedies about ordinary people and made his plays more like sit-coms.

Tragedy: Tragedy dealt with the big themes of love, loss, pride, the abuse of power and the fraught relationships between men and gods. Typically the main protagonist of a tragedy commits some terrible crime without realizing how foolish and arrogant he has been. Then, as he slowly realizes his error, the world crumbles around him. The three great playwrights of tragedy were Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.

Aristotle argued that tragedy cleansed the heart through pity and terror, purging us of our petty concerns and worries by making us aware that there can be nobility in suffering. He called this experience 'catharsis'.

Satyr Plays: These short plays were performed between the acts of tragedies and made fun of the plight of the tragedy's characters. The satyrs were mythical half-human, half-goat figures and actors in these plays wore large phalluses for comic effect. Few examples of these plays survive. They are classified by some authors as tragicomic, or comedy dramas.

Greek Architecture An order, in architecture, is the technical term for a column and its related

elements - in particular its top (the capital). Since Greek architecture provides the pattern of classicism, the differing

Greek styles have become standard terms in the vocabulary of architecture. The three orders which feature most frequently in classical buildings are the Doric, the Ionic and the Corinthian.

The Doric, named after the Dorian invaders who dominate most of Greece from the 12th century BC, emerges from the 7th century BC as the standard style of mainland Greece and of the Greek colonies to the west, in southern Italy and Sicily.

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A Doric column is sturdy, with a plain round top. This squashes out, like a cushion, to support a larger square slab of stone (the abacus) on which the horizontal beam (the entablature) rests.

The Ionic is named after the region in which it develops - Ionia, on the west coast of Turkey, where there are many rich and powerful Greek colonies. These cities trade with the eastern Mediterranean and are influenced by oriental styles. In Egyptian architecture the tops of columns often have carved decoration, using themes such as palm leaves or lilies.

In Greek architecture the carving at the top of an Ionic column is equally decorative but more formal - looking much like a pair of ram's horns, curling inwards to a point. Extending outside the column, this design provides a single broad load-bearing element - in place of the separate circle and square in the Doric model.

Ionic columns are traditionally thinner for their height than the solid Doric version. From the 5th century in Greek architecture, following the example of the Parthenon, the architects of Doric temples find it convenient to use the Ionic style for interior pillars.

The Ionic design has an intrinsic disadvantage when viewed from an angle, as happens at the corner of a building or in any interior colonnade. Its attractive curves feature only on two of the four sides. A compromise is attempted, placing the design on all four sides; but this results in an awkward jutting corner where the rams' horns meet. A more satisfactory solution is found in the Corinthian order.

The Corinthian capital in Greek architecture is developed late in the 5th century BC, at first only for interior use where the all-round aspect is particularly important. The top of the column is like an inverted bell and its surface is richly carved with acanthus leaves, curling outwards. The ornament is pleasing and consistent from all angles.

A variation on the Corinthian capital, bringing in elements of the Ionic, is sometimes referred to as a separate order under the name of 'composite'. It is a Roman development, unknown until the 1st century AD.Hellenistic Greece Greek History Be able to answer all of the questions

• Who were the early Greek Civilizations?• What do we know about them?• What is a city state?• What is a Polis?• Greek Mythology• Greek Language• Greek Culture • Greek Philosophy

Major wars in Greece• The Persian wars • The Peloponnesian wars • The conquests of Alexander the Great

The Persian Wars• Darius I invaded Greece at Marathon in 490 B.C. with a fleet containing 20,000

soldiers.11

• The Greeks waited out the Persians, attacking them as they tried to re-board their ships and won.

• Pheidippides then ran 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to tell them of the success. He told this story and died. The marathon race was added to the Olympics to commemorate the event.

• Later, Xerxes decided to attack Greece in order to take revenge for his father’s loss.The Persian Wars continued

• In 480 B.C. Xerxes took 180,000 troops and thousands of warships and supply vessels to attack Greece.

• The Greeks joined forces to repel them. • Leonidas and his Spartan soldiers led a combined Greek army against the

Persians at Thermopylae. • Athenian general Themistocles led the navy against the Persians at Salamis.• United, the city-states defeated the Persians and ended the threat of Persian

invasions. The Impact of the Persian Wars

• Victory over the Persians increased the Greeks’ sense of their own uniqueness.• Athens emerged as the most powerful city-state.• Athens organized the Delian League, an alliance with other Greek city-states.• Athens used the Delian League to create an Athenian empire.• Sparta responded by forming the Peloponnesian League.

The Peloponnesian War• Alliances of the Peloponnesian War • After the unconditional surrender of Athens, Sparta became the undisputed major

power in Greece. • The Spartan general, Lysander, replaced the Athenian democracy with an

oligarchy. • Proponents of democracy fled to Corinth and Thebes, while the Spartans ruled

with an iron fist. • The Peloponnesian War weakened the Greek city-states, making them easier to

conquer by Philip of Macedonia.Phillip II of Macedon

• Worked to unify Macedonia • Adopted the Greek Phalanx to use in warfare• Father of Alexander the Great• Was held captive in Greece at one points• Was known for his brutality • Assassinated in 336 BCE by one of his own bodyguards • Mystery still surrounds his death

Alexander the Great • Alexander was the son of Philip II of Macedon and Olympias. • He was taught first by Leonidas, who was a strict disciplinarian and later by the

Greek philosopher, Aristotle. • By age 16, Alexander had served as regent of Macedonia, put down a rebellion,

and named a city after himself. Alexander the Great

• Philip of Macedonia conquered Greece. He was assassinated before he could fulfill his dream of conquering the Persian Empire.

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• Philip’s son, Alexander, succeeded him to the throne in 336 B.C. at the age of 21.• Alexander won his first victory against the Persians at the Granicus River. He

then conquered Asia Minor, Palestine, Egypt, and Babylon.• Alexander crossed the Hindu Kush into northern India. There his troops faced

soldiers mounted on war elephants. They were forced to retreat.• While planning his next battle campaign, Alexander died of a sudden fever. Three

generals divided up the empire.The Hellenistic World

• In 334 B.C. Alexander crossed into Asia Minor to begin his conquest of Persia, the largest empire to date.

• The conquests of Alexander the Great spread Greek civilization throughout the Mediterranean world and across the Middle

• East to the outskirts of India. Greek culture blended with Persian, Egyptian, and Indian cultures to create the Hellenistic civilization, in which art, science, mathematics, and philosophy flourished.

• In 323 BC, at the age of thirty-three, Alexander fell into a fever and died in Babylon on his way back from India.

The Legacy of Alexander the Great • Although Alexander’s empire did not last, he had unleashed changes that

would ripple across the Mediterranean world and the Middle East for centuries. Alexander’s most lasting achievement was the spread of Greek culture.

• Across the empire, local people assimilated, or absorbed, Greek ideas. In turn, Greek settlers adopted local customs.

• Gradually, a blending of eastern and western cultures occurred.• Alexander had encouraged this blending by marrying a Persian woman

and adopting Persian customs.Great minds of the Hellenistic Period

• Zeno founded Stoicism, which urged people to accept calmly whatever life brought.

• Pythagoras derived a formula to calculate the relationship between the sides of a triangle.

• Euclid wrote The Elements, a textbook that became the basis for modern geometry.

• Aristarchus theorized about a heliocentric, or sun-centered, solar system.• Eratosthenes showed that the Earth was round and accurately calculated its

circumference.• Archimedes used principles of physics to make practical inventions, such as the

lever and the pulley.• Hippocrates studied illnesses and cures and set ethical standards for medical

care.

ROME

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Italy is a peninsula about 750 miles long north to south. The Apennine Mountains run down the middle but are not that difficult to cross

Italy has three important fertile plains ideal for farming, along the Po river, the plain of Latium: which is where Rome is located and in the plain of Campania

Italy’s extensive farmland allowed it to support a large population Rome came to be favorably located 18 miles inland on the Tiber River, it

had easy access to the sea but was safe from pirates, it was also easily defended because it was built on seven hills, Rome was also located on the north-south traffic route in Italy

Early Italy Indo– European people moved into Italy from about 1500 to 1000 BCE. One

group was the Latins who came to the region of Latium. They were herders and farmers and spoke Latin

After 800 BCE, the Greeks and the Etruscans moved into Italy The Greeks settled in southern Italy, giving to later Romans their alphabet

and artistic models for sculpture, architecture and literature. The Greeks also occupied parts of Sicily.

The Etruscans had significant impact on the development of early Rome After 650 BCE the Etruscans controlled most of Rome and Latium, and

turned Rome from a village into a city giving the Romans their mode of dress- the toga and short cloak. And the organization of the Roman army was modeled on the Etruscan army

Rome itself was founded around 753 BCEThe Etruscans

The Etruscans lived in independent, fortified city states that formed small confederacies.

They were ruled by oligarchies that governed through a council with elected officials.

They were mostly agrarian, but had a strong military which they used to force surrounding peoples to do the agricultural labor on their farms.

They then could devote time to commerce and industry. They had an alphabet based on that of the ancient Greeks.

The Founding of Rome

According to Roman mythology, the founders of Rome were twin-brothers, Romulus and Remus.

They were sons of the god Mars and the priestess Rhea Silvia, daughter of King Numitor.

Numitor was deposed by his brother, Amulius. Amulius had the boys placed in trough and thrown into the Tigris River. When they came ashore, they were found by a she-wolf who looked after

them and suckled them. A woodpecker also helped feed them. A shepherd found them and raised them. When the boys grew up they killed Amulius and reinstated Numitor to the

throne. They then decided to build a city, had an argument and Romulus killed

Remus. So the city was named Rome after Romulus.

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Expansion in Italy By about 270 B.C., Rome controlled most of the Italian peninsula. Why was Rome’s expansion in Italy successful? Skilled diplomacy Loyal, well-trained army Treated defeated enemies fairly Gave rights to conquered people

The Roman Republic Early Rome was ruled by kings, some of whom were Etruscan. In 509 BCE

the Romans overthrew the last Etruscan king and established a republic. In a republic the leader is not a king and certain citizens have the right to vote

Enemies surrounded Rome, and so the young republic began a long period of continuous warfare.

By 264 BCE Rome had defeated the other states of Latium, the peoples of the central Apennines, the Greeks in the south, and the last Etruscan settlements in the north

Romans believed that their success was due to three virtues: duty, courage, and discipline

The Roman State The Romans distrusted kingship because of their experience with the

Etruscan kings so instead they built a different form of government Early Rome was divided into two groups, the Patricians and the Plebeians The Patricians were the large landowners who formed Rome’s ruling class The Patricians were smaller landowning farmers, craftspeople, and

merchants Members of both groups were citizens and could vole. Only Patricians could be elected to political office

The Roman State The chief executive officers of the Roman Republic were the consuls and the

praetors Two consuls ran the government and led the army into battle The praetor directed the civil law, law applied to citizens. Later another

praetor was added to handle the law as it applied to noncitizens Additionally Rome had two financial officers called, quaestors and two

censors who drew up the role of citizens in order to assess taxes The Roman Senate was especially important. About three hundred

patricians who served for life made up the original Senate, and by the 3rd century the Senate had become the force of law

The Roman State The most important people’s assembly was the centuriate assembly. It

elected the consuls and praetors, and passed laws. It was organized by classes based on wealth, so the wealthiest citizens always were the majority.

Often there was conflict between the plebeians and patricians. The plebeians wanted political and social equality, especially because they fought in the army to protect Rome.

Finally, in 471 B.C. a popular assembly called the council of the plebs was created. Officials called the tribunes of the plebs were empowered to protect the plebeians.

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By the fourth century B.C. plebeians could be counsels and in 287 B.C. the council of the plebs received the right to pass laws for all Rome. Despite these gains, a wealthy ruling class dominated political life.

The Roman State One of Rome’s most important contributions was its system of law. Rome’s

first code of law, the Twelve Tables, was adopted in 450 B.C. Later Romans adopted a more sophisticated system of civil law, which applied to Roman citizens only.

As Rome expanded, legal questions arose that involved Romans and non-Romans. A body of law known as the Law of Nations arose to handle some of these cases.

Romans identified the Law of Nations with natural, or universal, law. Its standards of justice applied to all people equally and used principles recognized today: a person is innocent until proven otherwise, the accused has a right to a defense before a judge, and judges should decide cases based on evidence.

The Roman EmpireHow Rome became and Empire

What would it take to attain and maintain an empire?Rome after Caesar

Caesar had become Dictator for life in 46 BCE and is killed by Brutus in 44 BCE Caesar’ death caused Rome to devolve into Civil War once again Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate after Caesar’s

death. Soon, however, Octavian and Antony divided the Roman world between

themselves: Octavian took the west and Antony took the east. Inevitably, they came into

conflict. Antony allied with Egypt’s queen Cleopatra VII. They also were lovers. Octavian defeated them at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C. Both Antony and Cleopatra fled to Egypt and committed suicide a year later. The civil wars and the Roman Republic ended. A new period of Roman history known as the Age of Augustus began in 31 B.C.

The Age of Augustus The Roman senate gives Octavian the title of Augustus, or Exhalted One, and

declares him first citizen. Augustus was popular even though the army was his chief source of power. The

Senate gave him the title of imperator, or commander in chief. We get our word emperor from this word.

Augustus had an army of 28 legions of 5,000 troops each. Only citizens could be in the legions. Others could serve in auxiliary forces, which numbered around 130,000 under Augustus. He also established the praetorian guard of 9,000 men to protect the emperor.

Augustus stabilized Rome’s frontiers and conquered new areas. German warriors wiped out three Roman legions, however; the defeat taught Augustus that Rome’s power was limited, knowledge that devastated him. For months he beat his head against the door and shouted, “Varus, [the defeated commander] give me back my legions!

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Roman Empire and Roman Peace Augustus laid the foundation for a stable government that would function well for

200 years. This period was called the Pax Romana.

Augustus’ reforms Created efficient civil service to enforce the laws. Opened up high-level jobs to men of talent, regardless of race. Allowed cities and provinces to govern themselves. Ordered a census, or population count, in order to make the tax system more fair. Set up a postal service and issued new coins. Employed the jobless.

The Early Empire lasted from 14 CE to 180 CE After Augustus, the emperor was allowed to pick his successor from his family,

adopted or natural The Emperors of this period were called the Julio-Claudians Tiberius was a great military leader; regulated business to prevent fraud; kept

Rome’s economy stable; was depraved and cruel. Caligula abolished sales tax; allowed people in exile to return; increased court

system’s power; was depraved and insane. Claudius build a new harbor at Ostia and a new aqueduct for Rome; conquered

most Britain; stuttered and had a limp. Nero constructed many new buildings; gave slaves the right to file complaints;

assisted cities suffering from disasters; self-professed actor; accused of burning Rome; committed assisted suicide.The Five Good Emperors

At the beginning of the second century, a series of five so-called good emperors led Rome: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius.

They created a time of peace and prosperity called the Pax Romana (“Roman Peace”). It lasted for almost a hundred years. The good emperors stopped arbitrary executions, respected the ruling class, and maintained peace.

They took more power from the Senate; officials appointed and directed by the emperor ran the government. They adopted capable men into their families as successors. Some instituted programs to help the people, such as helping the poor to educate their children.

some oversaw widespread building projects of aqueducts, bridges, roads, and harborsRoman Expansion

During the Early Empire, Rome at first expanded further. Under Trajan, Roman rule went into Dacia (Romania), Mesopotamia, and the Sinai Peninsula.

Hadrian realized that the empire was getting too large to rule, however, and withdrew troops from Mesopotamia and became defensive along Rome’s frontiers. He strengthened fortifications between the Rhine and Danube Rivers. He also built a wall (Hadrian’s Wall) in northern Britain to keep out the Scots. Even so, defending the empire became increasingly difficult.

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By the second century, the Roman Empire covered about three and a half million square miles. Its population probably was over fifty million. The imperial government helped unify the empire by acknowledging local customs and granting Roman citizenship.

In A.D. 212 the emperor Caracalla gave Roman citizenship to all free people in the empire.

Roman Culture Cities were an important part of Roman life Cities were important in the spread of Roman culture, Roman law, and the Latin

language in the western part of the empire. Greek was used in the east. The mixture of Roman and Greek culture that resulted from the Roman Empire’s spread is called the Greco-Roman civilization.

The Early Empire was prosperous. Internal peace helped trade grow. Trade went beyond the empire’s frontiers, even including silk goods from China. Large amounts of grain were imported to feed the poor and luxury items came in for the rich.Roman Art, Architecture and Literature

In the third and second centuries B.C., the Romans developed a taste for Greek art. Greek statues adorned their cities and homes. Reproductions became popular. Roman sculptors added realistic, even unpleasant features to the idealized Greek forms.

In line with their practical bent, the Romans excelled at architecture. The Romans created forms based on curved lines: the dome, arch, and vault. They were also first-class engineers who built enduring roads, bridges, and aqueducts. They built 50,000 miles worth of roads throughout the empire. The city of Rome’s many aqueducts supplied one million people with water.

Latin literature’s high point was during the Age of Augustus. Its most distinguished poet was Virgil from Mantua, who wrote his epic poem the Aeneid in honor of Augustus. The character Aeneas displays the virtues of the ideal Roman—duty, piety, and loyalty. In founding Rome, Aeneas starts it on its divine mission to rule the world.The Roman Family

The Roman family was headed by the paterfamilias, the dominant male. The household also included his wife, sons with their wives and children, unmarried daughters, and slaves.

Unlike the Greeks, the Romans raised their children at home. All upper-class Roman children learned to read. Teachers often were Greek slaves because prospering in the empire required knowing both Greek and Latin.

Roman boys learned reading and writing, moral principles, family values, law, and physical training. Roman males ended their childhood at 16 with a special ceremony. They exchanged their purple-edge togas for the white toga of manhood.

Some upper class girls were educated privately or in primary schools. At the time the boys entered secondary schools, however, Roman girls were getting married.

Like the Greeks, Roman males believed the weakness of women made it necessary for them to have male guardians. The paterfamilias usually was the guardian. He also arranged the marriages of his daughters.

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The legal minimum age for girls to marry was 12, though 14 was more common. The age for boys was 14. Divorce was introduced in the third century B.C. and was easy to obtain. Both men and women could sue for divorce.

Roman Life By the second century A.D. the paterfamilias no longer had complete authority in

the family. For example, he could not sell his children into slavery or have them put to death. Women increasingly were not required to have a male guardian. Upper-class women could own, sell, and inherit property. Unlike Greek wives, Roman wives were not segregated from men in the home.

Outside the home women could attend the races, the theater, and events in the amphitheater. In the latter two places they had their own seating section, however, and women could not participate directly in politics. Slavery

No people relied on slavery as much as the Romans. Before the third century B.C., even a small Roman farmer would have one or two slaves. The wealthy had more.

As Rome conquered the Mediterranean area, large numbers of war captives were brought to Italy as slaves. Greeks were prized as tutors, musicians, doctors and artists. Slaves worked in shops, kept house, waited tables, were personal servants, and made crafts. They built roads and public buildings. Conditions often were pitiful. One Roman writer argued that it was cheaper to work slaves to death and replace them than to care for them.

Masters feared slave revolts. Punishments were harsh: the murder of a master by a slave might mean all the remaining household’s slaves would be killed. The most famous slave revolt in Italy was led by the gladiator Spartacus in 73 B.C. Seventy thousand slaves joined up with Spartacus, and they defeated several Roman armies before being defeated themselves in 71 B.C. Spartacus was killed and thousands of his followers were crucified.Daily Life in Rome

Rome had the largest population of any city in the empire, close to one million by the time of Augustus. Rome was overcrowded and noisy. Wagons and carts were banned during the day, but their noise at night made sleeping difficult. Even though Augustus organized a police force, Rome could be dangerous. One also might be soaked by the filth thrown from the windows of one of Rome’s huge apartment buildings.

The poor lived in apartment blocks called insulae. As tall as six stories, these badly constructed buildings often collapsed. Fires were a constant threat and hard to put out.

High rents forced entire families to live in one room. The apartments did not have plumbing or central heating. These uncomfortable conditions made many Romans spend most of their time in the street. Daily Life in Rome

Rome was adorned with unequaled public buildings, such as baths, temples, theaters, and markets. Beginning with Augustus, the city’s two hundred thousand poor received free grain from the emperor.

The people were entertained by grand public spectacles and entertainments. The most popular were the gladiatorial contests, in which animals, slaves, and

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condemned criminals would fight to the death. Horse and chariot races at the Circus Maximus were also popular, as were dramatic performances. Roman Religion

Augustus revived traditional Roman religious festivals and ceremonies to bring back the Roman state religion. It focused on the worship of a number of gods and goddesses—including Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, and Mars—based on the Greek Olympian deities. Beginning with Augustus, emperors often were declared gods.

The Romans believed that observing the proper rituals brought them into a right relationship with the gods, which guaranteed peace and prosperity. They also believed that their success at empire building meant the gods favored them.

The Romans were tolerant of local religions and worship. Many Romans were drawn to the religions of the eastern areas they had conquered. These religions gave a more spiritual experience to them, promised entry into a higher reality, and taught of a life after death superior to the present one.

Class 4 your exam stops here

The Fall of Rome The Roman Empire

• Started before Roman had an Emperor • was one of the largest and longest lasting that the world had ever seen, and would ever see• expanded under some emperors • Other emperors chose to make the empire smaller or to not seek conquest • Other times parts of the empire proved too difficult to administer or control• With the empire came a tremendous administration• What do you think it would take to administer an empire ?

The administration of an empire • government• How to pay for everything• Soldiers (how to train and maintain an army even when they are not fighting)• How to deal with peoples of many different religions, cultures, traditions • what do you do when the emperor back home is shall we say difficult ?• How to deal with new areas?

The later Roman Empire• A long period of unrest followed the death of the last good emperor, Marcus Aurelius, in A.D. 180. For a period

Rome was ruled by the Severans, whose motto was “pay the soldiers and ignore everyone else.” After their rule ended, between 235 and 284, Rome was ruled by whoever had the army to seize it. There were 22 emperors over these years; twenty died violently

• Simultaneously, the Roman Empire suffered invasions by Persians and Germanic peoples. Invasions, civil wars, and plague almost caused the Roman economy to collapse in the third century. Trade and small industry declined, and there was a labor shortage due to plague. Farm production declined on fields ravaged by invaders.

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• Money was short, but Rome needed soldiers more than ever. By the mid-third century, the state was depending on hired Germanic soldiers. They had no loyalty to Rome, nor did they understand Roman tradition

Roman Revival • After a very rough 100 years Rome experienced a revival of sorts • At the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth centuries, the emperors Diocletian and Constantine

revived Rome, founding a state called the Late Roman Empire. It had a new governmental structure, a rigid economic and social system, and a new religion—Christianity.

• Diocletian ruled from 284 to 305. Believing the empire was too large to have only one ruler, he divided the empire into four sections, each with its own ruler, including himself. His military power, however, made him the ultimate authority. Constantine, who ruled from 306 to 337, extended many of Diocletian’s policies.

• Both expanded the bureaucracy and enlarged the army to five hundred thousand troops. Expanding the civil service and the military drained the treasury. To fight inflation, Diocletian issued strict wage and price controls for the entire empire. They did not work. Both emperors issued edicts forcing people to stay in their jobs, which made basic jobs like being a baker hereditary. Small, free farmers increasingly were in debt to large landowners.

Rome of the East • In 324 Constantine became the sole ruler of Rome. His biggest project was constructing a new capital city in the

east on the site of Byzantium on the shores of the Bosporus.

• Founded for defensive purposes, the city eventually was named Constantinople present-day Istanbul). Calling it his “New Rome,” Constantine filled the city with a forum, palaces, an amphitheater, and other signs of Roman and civic glory. It became a center of the Eastern Roman Empire and one of the world’s greatest cities.

• The policies of Diocletian and Constantine were based on coercion and control. In the long run, therefore, they stifled the vitality Rome needed to revive.

The decline and fall of the Roman Empire ( focus on the decline of Rome) • The fall of the Roman empire was not a forgone conclusion • And the fall of the Roman Empire and eventually Rome itself were not just one event • Nor did it happen all at once • The fall of Rome is one of the most debated times for historians• As with the other history that we have studied there was not just one event that caused Rome to lose the power

that it had

Many theories have been proposed to explain the fall of the Roman Empire:

• Rome expanded too far • Rome grew soft( meaning that Rome was too busy trying to maintain peace that it forgot how to fight, forgot

what had made it an empire in the first place • Christianity weakened Rome’s military virtues• Roman values declined as non-Italians gained prominent positions• lead poisoning from water pipes and vessels caused a mental decline• slavery held Rome back from advancing technologically• Rome’s political system proved unworkable. Probably there is some truth in all or most of these explanations.

Threats to Rome• there were many things that began to threaten Rome in the 2nd half of the 4th century, ( the 300’s)

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• Huns from Asia moved into eastern Europe and put pressure on the Germanic Visigoths. The Visigoths moved south, crossing the

• Danube into Roman territory. Initially Roman allies, the Visigoths revolted and defeated a Roman army in 378. • More Germans crossed into Roman territory.• In 410 the Visigoths sacked the city of Rome. • In 455, another group, called the Vandals, also sacked the city. Our modern word vandal comes from the name

of this ruthless tribe. • In 476, the western emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed by the Germanic head of the army. This event

is usually taken as the fall of the Western Roman Empire. • The Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, continued on.

But did Rome Fall?• What was Rome at the End?• Had it been falling for some time?• Did any Roman traditions, laws, technologies continue after ?• What about the other parts of the Roman empire ?• What influence did Rome have?• How is Rome still impacting us today?

Class 3 your exam stops here

Ancient China In terms of where we are in history we left Rome ( or should I say early Europe at around 500 AD) We now travel half way across the world and over 2000 years in the past We are covering China now because I didn’t want to interrupt our coverage of Greece and Rome The Chinese civilization , like the civilizations that we have covered so far , has a rich, extensive, and ever

changing history Like with the other civilizations that we have covered make sure to think about the hallmarks of civilization as

we study China

China One of the greatest food-producing areas of the ancient world developed in the valleys of two rivers in China—

the Huang He (Yellow River, so named for its rich, yellow silt) and the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River). The Huang He, which flows from Mongolia to the Pacific Ocean, is 2,900 miles long. The Chang Jiang, which

stretches across central China to the Yellow Sea, is 3,400 miles long. Only 12 percent of China can be used for agriculture. Mountains and deserts cover much of the remaining

countryside. These forbidding features isolated the Chinese from other Asian people. The Mongolian, Indo-European, and

Turkish peoples who lived along China’s frontiers often warred with the Chinese.

Chinese history China is another Civilization that was originally founded on a river, like Egypt and the Mesopotamian civilizations China is however one of the more isolated ancient civilizations that we will study in the course But that does not mean that China did not have any contact with other civilizations, it just means that the

contact more considerably more limited What consequences do you think the relative isolation of China had ? Chinese history is divided into Dynasties

The Shang Dynasty Chinese history begins with the Xia dynasty, over four thousand years ago. Not much is known about this

dynasty.

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The Xia was replaced by the Shang dynasty (1750 to 1122 B.C.). An aristocracy—an upper class whose wealth is based on land and whose power is passed on from one generation to another—dominated this farming society.

The king ruled over a system of territories run by aristocratic warlords and was expected to defend the empire. There was a strong central government. The king’s importance is shown by the ritual sacrifice performed at his death; corpses of servants were placed in the king’s tomb.

The Shang Dynasty The Chinese believed that supernatural forces could help with worldly life. To get this help, priests read oracle

bones. A king’s question to the gods would be etched on a bone. The bones were heated until they cracked. Priests would interpret the meaning of the cracks. These bones are a valuable source of information about the Shang period.

Most of the Shang were peasants, with much smaller groups of artisans, merchants, and slaves. The Chinese believed strongly in life after death. This belief is the basis for the Chinese veneration of ancestors,

known in the West as “ancestor worship.” The Chinese believed that the spirits of family ancestors could bring good or bad fortune to the living family, so

they treated the spirits well. The annual festival called Qingming (“Clear and Bright”) was for the ancestors. Families cleaned the family

graves and brought food for their ancestors’ spirits. The Shang’s bronze objects are among the most admired Chinese arts.

The Zhou Dynasty The leader of the Zhou territory revolted against the Shang king and established the Zhou dynasty, which lasted

from 1122 to 256 B.C., making it China’s longest dynasty. The Zhou king continued the Shang political structure and royal duties, but the bureaucracy expanded. The king was believed to connect Heaven and Earth. Among the king’s most important duties was performing

rituals to strengthen the link between Heaven and Earth. The Chinese began to develop a theory of government. The Zhou dynasty claimed it ruled by the Mandate of

Heaven. This view stated that Heaven, an impersonal law of nature, kept order in the world through the Zhou king.

This concept became a basic part of Chinese political theory. Under the Mandate of Heaven, the king was expected to be virtuous and to rule with goodness and efficiency.

The king was expected to rule according to the proper “Way,” called the Dao. If he did, the gods would be pleased.

The Zhou Dynasty Events like a bad harvest were signs that the gods were not pleased and grounds for overthrowing the king. The

Mandate of Heaven, then, set forth a right of revolution. It also implied that the king himself was not divine. The Mandate of Heaven helped legitimate the dynastic cycles that governed Chinese history from its beginning

to A.D. 1912. Later Zhou rulers were weak and corrupt. Civil war finally broke out in 403 B.C. Thus began the period known as

the “Period of the Warring States.” Warfare had changed in China. Armies used iron weapons and were divided into infantry and cavalry. Cavalry

was armed with the powerful crossbow, which the Chinese invented. Peasants worked on land owned by the aristocracy, along with a little land of their own. Artisans and merchants

lived in walled towns. The merchants were the local lord’s property. Slaves also existed. Trade was principally local, along with importing salt, cloth, iron, and luxury goods.

The Zhou Dynasty By the sixth century B.C., farmers were using large-scale water works for their fields. Using iron plowshares increased food production because farmers could cultivate more land. The Chinese

population reached fifty million people in the late Zhou dynasty, in part due to the increased food production. Silk was one of China’s most important exports. Chinese silk from this period has been found all over central Asia

and as far as Athens, Greece.

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The Chinese had, and have, strong beliefs about the family. It was both the basic economic unit and a symbol of the social order. Most important to Chinese family life is the concept of filial piety.

Filial piety refers to the duty of family members to subordinate their needs to the male head of the family and the older generations. It is an important Confucian concept.

The Zhou Dynasty Men dominated Chinese society. Men were considered so important because they were responsible for

providing food for the family and caring for their patents later in life. Men governed society, and were warriors and scholars. Women raised children and stayed at home. Perhaps the most important cultural contribution of ancient China is the Chinese written language. It was

primarily pictographic and ideographic. Pictographs are picture symbols, called characters. Ideographs combine two or more pictographs. Each

character is associated with a sound. Generally, this step leads cultures to replace character writing with phonetic (sound) writing. The Chinese language, however, has not completely abandoned its original form.

The Chinese Philosophies From 500 to 200 B.C., three schools of thought about human nature and the universe developed in China—

Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Chinese philosophers were concerned with how to live best in this world. Confucius was known to the Chinese as the First Teacher. He was born in 551 B.C. Motivated by Chinese

society’s moral decay and violence, Confucius tried to convince those in power to follow his ideas; his followers wrote down his sayings in the Analects.Confucius tried to show the Chinese how to restore order to society.

His ideas were political and ethical, not spiritual. If people followed the Dao (Way) and acted in harmony with the universe’s purposes, people would prosper.

Confucius’s ideas of duty and humanity are perhaps his most important. Duty dictates that individuals subordinate their needs to the needs of family and community. Further, everyone should be governed by the Five Constant Relationships. Most important is duty to parents. Finally, rulers must set a good example if society is going to prosper. Confucius’s idea of humanity emphasizes compassion and empathy towards others because “all men are brothers.”

One of Confucius’s most historically important political ideas was that government service should not be the province of the rich and noble, but of those with superior talent and virtuous character.

The Chinese Philosophies Daoism was a system of ideas based on the teachings of Laozi. Daoism’s chief ideas are in the book Dao De Jing

(The Way of the Dao). It expresses the proper forms of behavior for people on Earth. Daoists believe that the way to follow the Dao is inaction, not action. People should act spontaneously and let nature take its course.

Legalism was a third philosophy. Unlike Confucianism or Daoism, Legalism believed human beings were essentially evil. Legalism’s formula for social order was having a strong ruler and harsh, impersonal laws, both of which made people obedient through fear.

The Qin Dynasty 221-206 B.C.E. The Qin dynasty emerged in 221 B.C. from China’s bloody civil wars between 400 B.C. and 200 B.C. Qin

Shihuangdi established the dynasty. The Qin dynasty adopted Legalism. Political opponents of the regime (the government in power) were

imprisoned or executed. Books that opposed the official views were burned. The Qin made the central government stronger. The government was divided into three ministries: the civil, the military, and the censorate. Members of the censorate checked on government officials to make sure they were doing their jobs. Future Chinese dynasties adopted this practice and kept this structure.

Qin Shihuangdi unified the Chinese world by creating a monetary system and a road system. He extended the empire south to modern-day Vietnam. The harsh rule of the Qin dynasty angered many people. The dynasty fell in 206 B.C.

The Qin emperor was concerned with the Xiongnu, a nomadic people who lived near the Gobi. The Xiongnu had mastered warfare from horseback. They attacked the Chinese living in the north. To protect these people, Qin

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Shihuangdi built a system of walls called the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall standing today was built 1,500 years later.

Class 2 your exam stops here

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