Classical Era Test Review
Please complete this review IN FULL (NOTHING LEFT OUT) for up to a 10 point curve on the test.
*Government systems: please be able to know the difference between each: monarchy,
aristocracy, oligarchy, direct democracy, republican democracy
Ancient Greece
Mycenaean Civilization
Minoan Civilization
Phoenician Civilization/Colonization
Classical Greece
Athens
City-state
Demos/kratien (democracy)
Hoplite
Type of government
Slavery in Athens
Female rights
Education
Pericles
Acropolis
Parthenon
Delian League
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Sparta
Helots
Female rights
Education
Type of government
Persian Wars – Ionian Rebellion, Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis
Peloponnesian War
Macedonia
Philip II
Alexander the Great
Gaugamela
Local governments in Alexander’s empire
Hoplite phalanx
Classical Persia
Medes
Achaemenids
Cyrus I
Cambyses
Darius I
Satraps
Satrapies
Persian Royal Road
Persian currency
Local officials in the Persian empire
Xerxes
Seleucids
Parthians
Parthian government
Sasanids
Persian social classes
Trade in the Persian Empire
Persian Economy
Zoroastrianism
Zarathustra
Magi
Gathas
Ahura Mazda/AngraMainyu
Heaven/Hell in Zoroastrianism
Popularity of Zoroastrianism
Influence of Zoroastrianism
Classical India
Mauryan Dynasty
Bactria
Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta’s government
Ashoka Maurya
Downfall of Mauryan Empire
Buddhism in the Mauryan Dynasty
Guptan Dynasty
Chandra Gupta (not CHANDRAGUPTA)
Downfall of the Guptan Empire
Concept of Zero
Hinduism in the Guptan Dynasty
Long distance trade in Classical India
Caste system (5 castes/job description)
Jati
Vaishya/Shudra prosperity
Jainism
Vadrhamana Mahavira
Jina/Jains
Jainist doctrine
Ahimsa
Buddhism
Siddartha Gautama
Dharma
Monasticism
Four Noble Truths
Noble Eightfold Path
Religious goal of Buddhism
Appeal of Buddhism
Ashoka
Mahayanas
Boddhisatva
Theravadas
Hinduism
Mahabarata
Vishnu
Ramayana
Bhagavad Gita
Hindu ethics
Appeal of Hinduism
Classical China
Qin Dynasty
Shang Yang/Han Feizi
Legalism in Qin China
Legalist doctrine
Basis of Qin economy
Suppression of resistance
Centralization in Qin China
Collapse of the Qin
Han Dynasty
Liu Bang
Han Wudi
Han Centralization
Legalism in Han China
Gov’t monopolies on industry
Confucian educational system
Imperial expansion
Social structure
Technological achievements
Taxation on commoners/wealthier Chinese
Problems with land distribution
Wang Mang
Collapse of the Han
Confucianism
Confucius
Key Confucian concepts
Mencius
Xunzi
Daoism
Laozi/Zhuangzi
The Dao
Wuwei
Daoism vs. Confucianism
Classical Rome
Republican Rome
Foundation of Rome
Romulus/Remus
Capitoline/Palatine Hills
Marcus Junius Brutus/The Republic
Etruscan inheritance
Roman Forum
Roman Government & Administration
The 12 Tables
Political/civil rights for citizens in Rome/outside of Rome
Colonial administration/taxation
Roman Government – structure
Office of Dictator
Basilicas
Roman Social Life
Patricians
Plebians
Clientage (Patron/Client rel.)
Struggle of the Orders
Plebiscite
Female roles in Rome
Roman Religion
Pontifex
Roman polytheism
Greek/Etruscan inheritance
Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus
Temple of Vesta
Roman Culture
Historians
Roman philosophies
Roman bloodsports – evolution
Roman economics
Battlefield success =
Roman soldier/farmer
Slave labor
Latifundia
Political stability & economics
End of the Republic
Optimates/Populares
The Gracchi’s political ambitions
Political instability
First Triumverate
Second Triumverate
Principate
Augustus’ cult of personality
Princeps
Pax Romana
Moral reforms
Virgil/Horace
Empire
Nero
Vespasian/Titus
Hadrian
Caracalla
Barracks Emperors
Tetrarchy
Diocletian
Foederati
Constantine
Constantinople
Edict of Milan
East/West split
Battle of Milvian Bridge
Senate/Popular assemblies in Emipre
Economics in the Empire
Debasement
“mare nostrum”
Imperial coinage – uses
Grain imports to Rome
Caracalla & increasing imperial revenue
Emperors & massive public buildings
Religion in the Empire
Oriental cults
Mithras/Isis & Osiris
Emperor cults
Judaism – diaspora
Christianity’s appeal
Christian Persecution
Toleration of Christianity
Christian theological councils
St. Jerome
Architectural achievements
Arches
Concrete
Pozzolano ash
Mining in the empire
Roads
Aqueducts
BIG IDEAS TO REMEMBER IN CLASSICAL CIVILIZATION
1. The Greeks became reconnected with the Mediterranean & left the dark
ages after Phoenician traders began trading throughout Greece & the
eastern Mediterranean. The Greeks also borrowed the Phoenician
alphabet & combined it with their own characters to make it their own.
Rome will later preserve the Greek legacy.
2. Greek rationality and philosophy is the basis of modern western
philosophy. The unexamined life isn’t one worth having. Emphasis on
reflection/morality/ethics/perception.
3. Greeks colonized the Mediterranean/Black Sea area for economic
reasons just after the Dark Ages and onward.
4. The Persian Empire was the largest the world had seen prior to
Alexander’s conquest of Persia and the Roman Empire. The further
local rulers were away from Persepolis (& later Ctesiphon), the more
autonomy they had – as long as they paid their share of taxes.
5. Alexander’s empire extended from Greece to India, Egypt to
Afghanistan. He did this all before he was 33, & was successful
governing by delegating power to Greek officials he placed in
conquered lands.
6. Rome started off as a small collection of tribes in the middle of the
Italian peninsula and then conquered surrounding peoples, Italy, and
then looked beyond after the Second Punic War. The empire at its
greatest length extended from Spain to Mesopotamia, Britain to
Egypt/Northern Africa.
7. Roman government was complex. It had elements of monarchic,
democratic, and oligarchic rule. The Senate was strong during the
Republic, but by the Empire had become merely symbolic. Popular
assemblies were used during the early Republic, but also became
symbolic in the Empire, when only the Emperor’s wishes mattered.
8. Roman law and republican government will be the basis for western
law & government to this day. The Romans had a complicated, but fair,
legal system. The Law of the 12 Tables was the first form of that system
that was later codified by the Byzantine Emperor Jusitinian ~530 CE.
9. Rome’s control of the Mediterranean/their roads facilitated trade.
Security by the army/political stability promoted trade, instability &
invasion killed trade. The empire will end due to economics – little
money to pay the troops, feed the people/invaders – too few troops to
guard the borders, protect the people.
10. Geography, social hierarchy, language, & varied economies led to
political disunity in India prior to the Mauryans & Guptans.
11. Both the Mauryans and Guptans saw their empires collapse because of
outside invasions. The Mauryans also dealt with the high cost of
maintaining its vast borders.
12. Women’s roles in India changed as social changes occurred. They were
more and more expected to be docile & subservient to men.
Buddhism/Jainism gave women a bit more freedom than Hinduism.
13. The Qin state was in WEST CHINA & were highly legalist & centralized.
This caused much upset within the Qin people, & the dynasty collapsed
due to much forced labor on public works & legalist policies.
14. The Han Dynasty was legalist as well. They were also centralized, but
sought foreign expansion. Confucian education was a big part of
government for the Han.
15. Much like the Zhou, the Han dynasty fell because of factions (warring
parties) in the Han court, which resulted in the fractioning of China into
separate kingdoms afterwards.
Essay questions: At least half a page for each essay. You may write out these
essay questions on a separate 3 x 5 note card to use on the essay portion of
the test.
1. Please compare and contrast the decline and fall of three of the seven
civilizations we studied in the Classical Era. Give the causes of collapse
for each civilization and then analyze their similarities and differences.
2. Why were religions like Christianity and Judaism such a perceived
threat to the Roman state religion?
3. Analyze and discuss the differences between Confucianism, Daoism,
and Legalism. You will first have to describe the principles of each
before you describe their differences.
IMPORTANT GEOGRAPHY. Identify on the following map.
Ctesiphon
Rome
Athens
Sparta
Persepolis
Gaugamela
Delos
Marathon
Salamis
Alexandria
Jerusalem
Pella
Rubicon River
Luoyang
Xianyang
Hadrian’s Wall
Constantinople
Etruria
Magna Graecia
Carthage
Macedonia
Black Sea
Hellespont