AP WORLD HISTORY
Power Review Session 2
Classical Civilizations
(600 BCE – 600 CE)
EMPIRE COMMONALITIES
– Conrad Demarest Model of Empire
– Empires grow due to an expansionist ideology like
Hellenism
– Empires often expand too rapidly and cannot
defend selves adequately, leading to collapse
– Strong central authority like an emperor (Aztec,
Inca, Greek, Roman, Han, Caliphates, Gupta, etc.)
– Trade control / wealth extraction (Mongols)
– Social integration of conquered people (Rome)
EMPIRES (continued)
• Rome granted citizenship to conquered peoples (keep people
loyal as citizens)
• Mongols “allowed” conquered people to join ranks of military
• Aztecs integrated conquered people into their religious
services…hey what’s that knife for?
• Persia (Cyrus the Great) kept local officials in place and
treated conquered people well (toleration model)
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THE GREEKS
Ca. 800 BCE -to 200 BCE
City-states like Sparta and Athens
Grew to huge empire under leadership of Alexander the Great (Macedonians
conquered the other city-states like Athens)
Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta 431 BCE
Trade and colonization were necessary because of resource scarcity in Greece
Common cultural identity (Hellenism) that unified the city-states and lasted past
the end of the empire
Trade and colonization a necessity due to resource scarcity
Philosophy, arts, architecture, democracy, math and science
Slavery allowed for democracy to develop (landowning class had the free time to
vote)
Rivals with the Persians (many wars fought)
Broke up into 3 empires (Antigonid, Ptolemaic, and Seleucid)
IMPERIAL ROME
500 BCE – 476 CE
Republic then dictatorship (Caesar)
Social stratification (Patricians over Plebeians, slaves at the bottom)
Pax Romana (control of trade through force; time of economic stability)
Art, architecture, aqueducts, domes, road network for troops and trade
Polytheistic with gods based on the Greeks until Christianity in the 4th
century CE and beyond
• Codified legal system (Twelve Tables of Rome)
• Rome fought with Carthage (N. Africa) and finally became the dominant
power in the Mediterranean region
• Constantine’s conversion to Christianity changed Europe forever
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MAURYAN EMPIRE of INDIA
• Mauryan Empire 321 BCE185 BCE
• Centralized government
w/ bureaucracy
• Chandragupta Maurya –
founder, Hindu
• Strong military (conquest)
• Asoka converts to
Buddhism (non-violence)
• Asoka’s Rock and Pillar
edicts reminded the
people how to live
virtuous lives
GUPTA INDIA
• 320 CE – 550 CE
• Chandra Gupta based his empire on Mauryan Empire
and his hero Chandragupta Maurya
• Namesake of Chandragupta
• Back to Hinduism from Buddhism (women lose status
along with the caste system reinforcement)
• Math and science achievements (pi, zero)
• Child marriage became more common for girls
QIN DYNASTY CHINA
221-209 BCE
• Short dynasty
• Strong agricultural
economy
• Great Wall of China
gets connected
• Legalism was
favored philosophy
• Qin Shihuangdi was
emperor
HAN DYNASTY CHINA
200 BCE – 200 CE
• China’s golden age (expansion, unification, Confucianism)
• Civil Service Examinations for a strong bureaucracy based on
Confucian concepts
• Confucianism becomes the preferred philosophy, although Daoism
and Legalism are still present
• Silk Roads bring Chinese products to Europe and help enhance the
image of China in the world as provider of excellent products (silk,
porcelain)
WHAT GOES UP…
• MAYANS COLLAPSE by the 7th century CE probably due to systems
failure (internal collapse due to lack of resources for surging
population)
• HAN DYNASTY COLLAPSES by the 3rd century CE due to
overextension of the borders causing high taxes and conscription,
famines, floods; regional kingdoms developed for 400 years
• GUPTA EMPIRE COLLAPSES by the 6th century CE after invasions by
Huns weakened the empire; never a never strong military (theater
state)
• ROMAN EMPIRE splits in two (Byzantine will survive much longer
than the western empire)
• Greek Empire falls in the 3rd century BCE as Rome rises
MUST COME DOWN.
CLASSICAL ERA
RELIGIONS/PHILOSOPHIES
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Buddhism
Christianity
Legalism
Daoism
Confucianism
BUDDHISM
• Began in India/Nepal in
5th century BCE,
emerging out of
Hinduism
• Siddhartha Gautama
founded the philosophy
based on Four Noble
Truths:
– Life is Suffering
– Suffering is caused by
desire
– One can be freed of
desire
– The Eightfold Path will
lead to the cessation of
desire
BUDDHISM continued
• Nirvana is the ultimate goal (like Moksha in
Hinduism) and end the cycle of life/death/rebirth
to a state of perfect peace and harmony with the
universe
• Dislike of the caste system led to Buddhism and
led many Hindus to convert in India
• Open social structure (more egalitarian)
• Spread to China, Southeast Asia through trade
and missionary efforts
CHRISTIANITY
• Based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, circa 30 C.E. in Roman occupied
Palestine
• Emerging out of Judaism, Jesus emphasized love of God and of neighbor
• Jesus was executed by the Roman Empire after offending the Jewish leadership
of the region
• New Testament and Old Testament are sacred text (The Bible)
• Paul of Tarsus does missionary work and spreads the religion to Asia Minor and
to Europe
• Jews and Christians split around the year 90 C.E. and have never quite resumed
fellowship (divisive issue of humanity/divinity of Jesus and monotheism)
• Egalitarian nature allowed the poor and women to gain status in the religion
and helped it spread globally
• Persecuted originally by the Roman Empire, it gained widespread acceptance
after Constantine’s conversion in early 4th century CE
LEGALISM
• Founded in China during the Qin Dynasty (3rd century
BCE)
• Same time as Confucianism and Daoism
• Taught that peace and stability would only be achieved
through tight control by the government, based on a
distrust of human nature (people are essentially evil)
• Strict laws and harsh punishments used to keep order
in society
• Appreciated farmers and soldiers and had little use for
other social classes
CONFUCIANISM
• 5th Century BCE
philosopher Kong Fu Zi
espoused the
importance of filial
piety and social
hierarchy
– Honor Parents and
Family Name
– Father over mother,
elder sibling over
younger sibling, ruler
over subject, etc.
• Teachings collected in
the Analects
• Taught how to restore
political and social
order amidst the chaos
of the time period
DAOISM
• Founded by Lao-Tzu in the 6th century BCE
• Emphasis on nature and the Dao, an eternal principle governing the
world
• Government was pointless, as was education and business
• The best action is inaction (wuwei)
• Human nature is neither good nor evil
• People should balance their male and
female sides (yin and yang)
Diffusion of Belief Systems
in the Classical Era
• Buddhism spread from India to China and
Southeast Asia
• Christianity spread from Southwest Asia to
Europe
• Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism stayed
predominantly in East Asia
Trade Networks of the Classical Era
• Silk Roads connected China to Southwest Asia, Europe, and
Africa (land based trade)
• Maritime Trade in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean
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Chinese silk
Spices from Southeast Asia and India
Cotton from India
Gold and Ivory from Africa
CHANGES AND CONTINUITIES
• Religious/Belief Systems change in how the goal of the
religion/philosophy is not to appease gods to avoid destruction but
rather to find internal peace, having figured out nature…somewhat
(canals, dams, etc.)
• Continuities in building empires with conquest and trade
dominance (Greece & Mauryan); and falling empires due to
overexpansion/inability to protect borders (Rome & Han)
• Women continued to be subservient to men in most societies and
enjoy few rights (Gupta India); but some belief systems enabled
women to gain some status (Christianity & Buddhism)
• Beginning of more interdependent societies based on trade (Silk
Roads, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean)
TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATIONS
of the Classical Age
• Stirrups enabled horsemen to be more deadly archers
(allowing easier conquest)
• Dikes and canals for irrigation prevented flooding and
promoted year round agriculture
• Aqueducts carried water to cities in the Roman Empire
• Calendars
• Paper, gunpowder, windmills, wheelbarrows in Han
China
• Mauryan & Gupta India came up with concept of zero