World History I
Mini Review
Prehistory
• The life of early hunter-gatherer societies was shaped by their physical
environment
• Homo sapiens emerged in Africa between 100,000 and 400,000 years
ago.
• Homo sapiens migrated from Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the
Americas.
Paleolithic Era (Old Stone Age)
– Nomadic, invented the first tools/weapons, learned how to make
fire, lived in clans, developed oral language, created “cave art”
Neolithic Era (New Stone Age)
– Developed agriculture, domesticated animals/plants, used
advanced tools, made pottery, developed weaving skills
• Archaeologists study past cultures by locating and analyzing human
remains, fossils, and artifacts. (carbon dating test)
• Stonehenge is an example of an archaeological site in England that was
begun during the Neolithic and completed during the Bronze Age.
River Valley Civilizations
River Valley Civilizations
• Egypt: pharaohs, pyramids, polytheism, Nile River, Hieroglyphics
• Mesopotamia: Tigris & Euphrates Rivers, Sumer (1st civ, cuneiform, ziggurats),
Babylonian Empire (Hammurabi’s Code), Phoenicians (Med. Coast, Phonetic
Alphabet, great sailors), birthplace of Judaism (1st monotheistic religion)
• India: Indus &Ganges Rivers; separated from the rest of Asia by the Himalayas
and Hindu Kush Mtns., Aryans migrated through the Khyber Pass, Caste
system, development of Hinduism and Buddhism, Golden Age during the
Gupta Empire (algebra, number system, textiles, literature, navigation)
• China: Huang He (Yellow River), Great Wall built by Emperor Qin Shi
Huangdi for protection, ruled by dynasties, Mandate of Heaven, Silk Roads
stretched from Asia as far away as Rome, Contributions = Confucianism, Civil
Service System, Paper, Porcelain, Silk, Taoism
Persia
Built on earlier Central Asian and Mesopotamian civilizations, Persia
developed the largest empire in the world.
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Tolerance of conquered peoples
Development of imperial bureaucracy
Zoroastrianism as a religion
Road system
Greece
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Aegean Sea
Athens = Democracy
Sparta= Oligarchy
Persian Wars (499-449) Athens and Sparta work together to defeat the
Persians; Marathon and Salamis are key battles
Golden Age of Athens occurs in between these two series of wars; Pericles is a
great military/political leader during this time; Parthenon built
Peloponnesian War (431-404) Athens and the Delian League fight Sparta
and the Peloponnesian League; Sparta wins; Greece declines
Who’s Who: Draco & Solon; Socrates, Plato, Aristotle; Aeschylus
&Sophocles; Homer; Herodotus & Thucydides; Phidias; Archimedes &
Hippocrates; Euclid & Pythagoras
Mythology: Zeus, Hera, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, and Aphrodite
Latin
Rome
Virgil
Colosseum
Ptolemy
Aqueducts
Arches
Forum
Pantheon
Roads
• Italian Peninsula, Mediterranean Sea, Alps to the North
• Mythology: Jupiter, Juno, Apollo, Minerva, Diana, and Venus
• 509BC Roman Republic forms; Representative Democracy; Govt consists of
two consuls, a Senate, and an Assembly; Twelve Tables created; Punic Wars
• Patricians and Plebeians make up Roman society
• Civil War over the power of Julius Caesar ends the Roman Republic; First
Triumvirate; Caesar become dictator; Caesar is assassinated in 44BC
• Augustus Caesar becomes Rome’s First Emperor; Begins Pax Romana (200
years of Peace and Prosperity in Roman Empire)
• Empire weakens overtime as it becomes too large to govern/protect; the military
and economy decline
• Constantine moves capital from Rome to Byzantium (he also adopts/legalizes
Christianity)
• Eastern portion of Roman Empire becomes the BYZANTINE EMPIRE
• Western Roman Empire falls to invaders in 476 AD
Byzantine Empire
(Eastern Roman Empire)
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Capital = Byzantium which is renamed Constantinople (ideal site for trade)
Language = Greek
Religion = Greek (Eastern) Orthodox Christianity
Emperor Justinian codified Roman law = Justinian Code
Hagia Sophia = Byzantine Domed Church
Mosaics found in public and religious structures; religion influenced art
Byzantine libraries preserved Greco-Roman knowledge
St. Cyril took Orthodox Christianity to Russia and Eastern Europe; created
the Cyrillic Alphabet for Slavic speaking peoples
Middle (Medieval) Ages
• Built on classical heritage of ROME; Christian beliefs; Customs of
GERMANIC tribes
• Feudalism = land owning kings granted land (fiefs) to vassals (landlords) who
swore their allegiance to him; vassals took care of serfs (peasants) who worked
the land in return for protection; vassals estates were called manors; manor
houses were often castles
• The Roman Catholic Church grew in importance after Roman authority
declined. It became the unifying force in western Europe.
• The Pope anointed the Holy Roman Emperors; Charlemagne was the first
Holy Roman Emperor (anointed by Pope Leo in 800AD)
• Missionaries carried Christianity to Germanic tribes.
• The Church served the social, political, & religious needs of the people.
• Frankish kings used military power to expand their territory.
• The alliance between Frankish kings and the church
reestablished Roman culture in Western Europe.
Middle (Medieval) Ages
Invasions by Angles, Saxons, Magyars, and Vikings
disrupted the social, economic, and political order of Europe.
Areas of Settlement
• Angles and Saxons from continental Europe to England
• Magyars from Central Asia to Hungary
• Vikings from Scandinavia to Russia
European Nation-States
• England: William the Conqueror (united most of England; Battle of Hastings
in 1066); Common law began under Henry II; King John signed the Magna
Carta in 1215
• France: Hugh Capet established the French throne in Paris; Hundred Years’
War b/t France and England helped define each as a nation (1338-1445,
French win); Joan of Arc (peasant girl who led French forces in the Hundred
Years’ War)
• Spain: Ferdinand and Isabella unified Spain; expelled Muslim Moors
(Inquisition); also Spanish Empire is built in the Western Hemisphere under
Philip II
• Russia: Ivan the Great threw off Mongol rule; centralized power in Moscow;
Orthodox Church influenced unification
Crusades
(1071-1291)
• Pope Urban calls for the First Crusade in a speech to French peasants
• Christians win the First Crusade; divide Holy Land into 4 Crusader States
• Jerusalem is recaptured by Saladin (Muslim leader)
• Constantinople sacked by Crusaders; church eventually splits (Great Schism)
• Effects
– weakened the power and influence of the Pope and nobles (kings gain more
power);
– stimulated trade; increased demand for Middle Eastern products;
encouraged the use of credit and banking; Arabic numerals used
– left a legacy of bitterness among Christians, Jews, and Muslims;
– weakened the Byzantine Empire (Constantinople fall to Ottoman Turks
in 1453, ending the Byzantine Empire)
• Black Death (Bubonic Plague) carried along trade routes; kills 1/3 of
the population of Europe
Renaissance
“Rebirth” 1300-1600
• Rise of wealthy Italian city-states (Florence, Venice, Genoa)
• Renaissance art focused on individuals and worldly matters along with
Christianity
• Michelangelo: Statue of David and Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
• Leonardo da Vinci: Last Supper and Mona Lisa
• Humanism: celebrated the individual; stimulated the study of ancient Greek and
Roman literature and culture
• Erasmus: Praise of Folly (critique against the Church)
• Sir Thomas More: Utopia
• Machiavelli: The Prince (supported absolute rule of monarchs; “the end
justifies the means”)
• Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable type printing
press (Gutenberg Bible)