REVIEW FOR THE SEMESTER

ONE MIDTERM EXAM

UNIT 1: RIVER VALLEY & CLASSIC CIVILIZATIONSUNIT 2: GREECE & ROMEUNIT 3: ISLAM & AFRICA

UNIT 4: BYZANTINE EMPIRE & MIDDLE AGES

INSTRUCTIONS: Go through the slides and answer each

question in the packet; the slide numbers are listed for each question

REVIEW FOR THE SEMESTER

ONE MIDTERM EXAM

Neolithic Revolution The Neolithic Revolution is when humans learned how to farm; farming changed

the way humans lived:

People no longer had to be roaming nomads

Food surpluses led to population increases

Farming villages became established along river valleys; the rivers offered good soil, irrigation,

and sources of drinking water

The geography of Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, the Indus River Valley, and Ancient

China affected their development

They were all located near rivers that left behind fertile soil ideal for farming; this made those four areas perfect

places to start a civilization

LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSWriting:

Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics were both pictograms and a phonetic alphabet

LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSTechnology:

Ancient Egyptian ideas included a 365-day calendar, geometry, astronomy, and the pyramids

The followers of Siddharta Gautama (the Buddha) are called Buddhists; they believe they can achieve

enlightenment and overcome their desires by following the Eight-Fold Path

LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSChina’s

Government:Like Egypt, China was ruled by

families called dynastiesRulers justified their power by

claimingMandate ofHeaven (approval of the gods)

LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSChina’s Government:

Kings could lose the Mandate ofHeaven and be overthrown by anew king; new rulers could justify

overthrowing a declining dynasty

INDIA’S LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSIndia’s

Technology:

Most houses in the well-planned cities of the Indus River Valley had advanced plumbing: toilets and private bathrooms connected to underground sewer systems

LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS OF MESOPOTAMIA MESOPOTAMIAN WRITING:

Sumerians (who lived in Mesopotamia) made the world’s first writing system,

which was called cuneiform

MESOPOTAMIA’S LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS HAMMURABI’S CODE:

Babylonian King Hammurabi created the first written law code

Hammurabi’s Code recorded the laws and displayed them for all to see

Hammurabi’s Code had 282 laws based on justice and retaliation (for example: “an eye for an eye”)

The code had different punishments for the various levels of society

CHINA’S LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSChina’s Government:

China was also ruled by the ethical system, Confucianism, which is based on the philosophy of the teacher, Confucius (born 551 BCE)

Confucianism focused on filial piety (respect for elders)

In order to gain one of the 130,000 government jobs, citizens

had to pass a civil service examExams were based

on Confucian teachings

Like the Hindus, the Buddhists believe in moksha (nirvana or enlightenment) and

reincarnation

However, the Buddhists rejected

the idea of the caste system and the idea that only Brahmins

can achieve moksha

PERSIA’S SYSTEM OF CONTROLPersia controlled their lands in a variety of ways

Persian kings were tolerant; they

allowed conquered people to keep their

languages and religions

This kept the conquered people content and less

likely to rebel

The Persians used metal coins with standardized values to help promote trade

PERSIA’S ORGANIZED EMPIRE

The Ten Commandments were the rules and guidelines for those who

followed Judaism

WRITING:–Phoenicians simplified

cuneiform to a 22 letter alphabet–Phoenician merchants

spread the alphabet throughout the Mediterranean world–The alphabet

influenced the alphabet used by Greek and Romans

Gupta Empire: Classical IndiaIndia experienced a “golden age” of art,

learning, and science during the Gupta Empire, which was known as a “classical empire”

Indian astronomers were the first to discover that the Earth is round

Mathematicians invented modern numerals, the number zero, pi, and the decimal system

Mountains covered about 75% of Greece; these barriers divided the Greek people into

separate mountain valleys and made unifying Greece nearly impossible

Differences Among Greek City-StatesSome polis like Athens had a

direct democracy, a government ruled by citizens

who vote on decisions

This system of voting would influence

future civilizations, such as Rome

ROME: AN EMPIRE OF INNOVATIONRome’s location on the

Mediterranean Sea allowed for trade and cultural diffusion

(blending of cultures) with other people and nations

The society of Sparta focused on military strength, not on freedom, art, and learning

(like Athens did)

Unlike Athens, the people of Sparta had

little voice in the government

Alexander’s greatest legacy: Alexander the Great brought Greek colonists and culture to Persia

and parts of Asia, blending the cultures together; this created a new culture called Hellenism

The term “Hellenism” comes from the sun goddess Helen, which the Greeks thought themselves the children of; they called Greek culture “Hellenism”

The Influence of the Greeks and RomansThe influence that the Greeks and later on

the Romans had on Western civilization cannot be overstated

Many facets of modern American life can be traced back to the innovations of the Greeks

and Romans: things like government, language, religion, law, education, entertainment, literature, art, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, science, buildings, customs,

traditions, sports, philosophy and medicine all can trace their roots back to Greece and Rome

CHRISTIANITY BECOMES RECOGNIZED

Despite Roman efforts to suppress it, Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire

and gained popularity

In the year 312 CE, Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal after recognizing that the

Christian religion was becoming the dominant one in

his empire Rome changed to monotheistic

Christianity from their old polytheistic religion

Greece developed democracy, theater, geometry, and philosophy

Philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle questioned assumptions, quested for knowledge,

and used logic to find answers to questions

THE PAX ROMANA

Pax Romana

Augustus’ 41 year reign marked the beginning of a 207-year era of peace, wealth, and

expansion called “Pax Romana” (the “Roman Peace”) from 27 BCE to 180 CE

Muhammad and IslamMuhammad began preaching a new monotheistic religion called Islam that worshipped the same God as the God of

the Jews and Christians, but in a different way

The Decline of the Roman EmpireThe decline and fall of the Roman Empire

happened gradually, in three stages FIRST STAGE: internal problems such as economic

inflation and excessive spending, disruption of trade, weak leadership, and a disorganized military

SECOND STAGE: there was a brief period of revival as Emperors Diocletian and Constantine enacted

reforms; however, some of these reforms would help bring about the Empire’s end

THIRD STAGE: repeated invasions by Germanic “barbarian” tribes would lead to the conquest of

Rome, bringing the Roman Empire to an end

FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE

Julius Caesar’s death changed Rome; the people no longer trusted the Senate to rule the Roman Republic and this would lead to

the rise of the Roman Empire

FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM: SHAHADAH

“There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God”

FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM: SIYAM The Fourth Pillar is Siyam, or fasting

(going without food) during the month of

Ramadan

FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM: HAJJ

All adult Muslims who are able to are expected to make the hajj (a pilgrimage to the city of Mecca) at

least once in their lifetime

The Sunni-Shi’a SplitThe disagreement over who should lead Islam after

Muhammad lead to a split between Muslims

Shi’a Muslims rejected the rule of those not

related to MuhammadThe Shi’a believe that

caliphs must come directly from

Muhammad’s bloodline

Sunni Muslims accepted the rule of those NOT related to MuhammadThe Sunni believe that caliphs should follow

Muhammad’s example, but do not have to be

relatives

SHARI’A LAW

Shari’a law encourages some behaviors, while forbidding others, such as eating pork, drinking

alcohol, or gamblingShari’a also commands women to “not show

their beauty”, so many Muslim women cover

themselves to one degree or another

Islamic law is shari’a, or “path to be followed”

EAST AFRICA

Arab merchants brought their

religion with them to East Africa

Islam was introduced to the East African trade cities through the

Indian Ocean trade network

BELIEFS OF ISLAM

Because the Muslims respect parts of the

Bible and Torah, they consider Christians

and Jews “People of the Book”

Geography and Navigation

Travelers, like Ibn Battuta, recorded

information (and in Ibn’s case, wrote a book) about their

journeys to the Muslim lands and

beyond

The Ka’aba (“The Cube”) is a 43 foot high cube structure that contains altars

and works of art glorifying Islam; it is the destination of Muslim pilgrims

Mecca is Islam’s holiest city

Medicine

Muslims established the

world’s first hospitals and based their

medical knowledge on

that of Mesopotamia,

Egypt, and Greece

Doctors treated ailments through drugs, diet, and exercise; they also used stitches after performing surgeries

MathematicsMuslims based their work in math in part on the

ideas from India and Classical Greece

One scholar, Al-Khwarizmi, is called the “father of algebra”, which is used to solve problems with unknown numbers

University in Timbuktu

Timbuktu became a trade city that attracted

scholars, religious leaders, and doctors

As a result of Mansa Musa’s hajj to Mecca, Islamic learning and culture expanded in West Africa

WEST AFRICA AND ISLAM

Islam was introduced to West Africa and slowly

gained converts (people who switch their beliefs

to a new religion)Many West Africans either blended Islam

with Animism or never converted

SYNCRETISM: the blending of religious

beliefs

Arabia, the Birthplace of Islam

The Arabian Peninsula is a desert

region with little fertile soil or

farming

The harsh climate and lack

of resources forced Arabs to become traders

BELIEFS OF ISLAM

The rules and guidelines Muslims go by in regards to their religious practices are

called the Five Pillars of Islam

The Ten Commandments

serve as rules and guidelines for Jews and

Christians, much like how the Five Pillars are rules

for Muslims

TRANS-SAHARAN GOLD-SALT TRADE The societies of West

Africa and North Africa were shaped

by the Trans-Saharan gold-salt trade

West Africa had large deposits of gold, but no salt North Africa had

large deposits of salt, but no gold

The Eastern Roman Empire, now known as the Byzantine Empire, not only remained together but

survived for nearly a thousand more years

When the Roman Empire split in two, the Western side was taken over by the Germanic tribes, while the

Eastern side stayed strong

About 50 years after the fall of Western Rome, Justinian came to power in the East; he began reconquering Roman

territories lost to the Germanic tribes

ORANGE: OLD ROMAN TERRITORY THAT JUSTINIAN

ADDED TO BYZANTINE TERRITORYPURPLE: BYZANTINE EMPIRE WHEN

JUSTINIAN ROSE TO POWER

The Justinian CodeTo oversee his empire, Justinian ordered legal experts to consolidate

Roman laws into a single law code

It was called the “Justinian Code” and

served as the legal basis for criminal justice, marriage, property,

slavery, and women’s rights

The Code would serve as the basis for the Western Civilization’s legal system

The Byzantines

This trade increased Russia’s wealth and

led to cultural diffusion between the

Byzantines and the Russians

Byzantine missionaries (those

who spread religion) brought Eastern

Orthodox Christianity north to the Russians

Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians practice their religions differently:

Culture of the Byzantine Empire

Later, the Hagia Sophia (which means “Holy Wisdom” in Greek) became a mosque and today

is a museum in present-day Turkey; it remains the greatest example of Byzantine architecture

Culture of the Byzantine Empire

Citizens of the Byzantine Empire thought of

themselves as Romans; they shared some similarities with

the Roman Empire

The Byzantines kept Greco-Roman culture alive while

the Western side of the Roman Empire was plunged

into the Middle Ages

How did physical geography impact the Byzantine capital of Constantinople?

• Text

Constantinople was a crossroads for trade and business between Europe, Asia, and Africa because of its location;

this trade made the Byzantine Empire very wealthy

Lords gave piece of land to knights; in exchange, the knights gave

the lords their loyalty and

military service

Feudalism is based on

land ownership and loyalty

After the fall of the Roman Empire, a new political and social system

called feudalism developed

Effects of the CrusadesThe Crusades brought cultural diffusion and introduced new ideas into Western Europe

They increased desires for luxury goods like silk,

cotton, sugar, and spices

They introduced technologies like compass,

astrolabe, ship designs, and gunpowder

They introduced ideas like Arabic numbers, chemistry,

algebra, and telescopes

The Role of the Medieval ChurchRoman Catholicism was the dominant religion in Western Europe during the

Middle Ages The Catholic Church

filled an important role in peoples’ lives, giving

them a sense of security and the goal of

reaching Heaven; the Church provided order

and stability in Western Europe

The Role of the Medieval ChurchEach manor in medieval Europe had a

church which provided order

Western Europe in the Middle AgesMedieval Europeans lived on self-sufficient manors (the

lords’ land); the manorial system allowed peasants to farm the lord’s land in exchange for part of the food harvested

Landowning lords offer

pieces of land (called a “fief”)

to knights

In exchange, knights offer

lords their loyalty and a promise to

protect the lord and his land

IF YOU HAVE CORRECTLY ANSWERED ALL OF THE QUESTIONS

ON YOUR REVIEW PACKET, YOU WILL BE READY FOR THE SEMESTER

ONE MIDTERM EXAM