Rome_and_China

Cultures | Political | Intellectual | Religions | Art/Architecture | Technology | Economic | Social | The roman Republic | - Rivers were navigable and allowed travel for trade and military reasons- Rome was founded by Romulus in 753 B.C.E.Rome was proud to present itself as a refuge for exiles and outcasts.- Political power was primarily offered to those who had land.-Senate: or “council of elders” was created and consisted of wealthy or upper class people. - At first, Rome was a tyrannical state, but later, the tyranny was overthrown and it became a democracy. -“Republic: the period from 507-31 BCE, during which Rome was largely governed by the aristocratic roman senate.”-Had assembly of both rich and poor people. However, upper class votes counted more.- “Senate: A council whose members were the heads of wealthy, landowning families. Originally and advisory body to the early kings, in the era of the roman republic the senate effectively governed the roman state and the growing empire. Under the senate leadership, Rome conquered an empire of unprecedented extent in the lands surrounding the Mediterranean sea.”Members of the Senate served for life.- New political figures called tribunes could veto the actions of the assembly.- Empire encompassed the land around the Mediterranean sea.- Used army for expansion (much man power).- Conquered people still could have authority and rights within the empire.- Empire spread Roman culture.- Fought wars against Carthaginians.- Tried to occupy distant lands (colonize) but failed because Greeks that lived there so they just took over the surrounding area.- Most brilliant general- Julius Caesar. - Senators became governors of provinces._ Provincial administration was unsuccessful because having new governors every year did not allow the new governors to have experience or local contact. - The growing number of people in poverty who were prone to riots came to be the ruin of the Roman Republic. – The shortage of peasant farmers also reduced the military numbers because soldiers came mostly out of the peasant farmers. -Gaius Marius: promised land to people who served in the military for a 26-year term. In return, these people elected him to political office (illegal). - Important military commanders were: Sulla, Pompey, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Octavian-These commanders used their troops to expand their personal power which led to civil wars. | | - Polytheistic (some gods were Jupiter the god of the sky and Mars the god of agriculture and war). - Had priests who performed sacrifices and participated in and led rituals. - After meeting the Greeks, Greek and Roman gods were put together. | | - Etruria was rich with its iron and other metals.- Soldiers were equipped with body armor, sword, spear, and shield.- Had a military arrangement that could maneuver independently. | - Rivers were navigable and allowed travel for trade and military reasons- Although, mountainous, there was also much land suitable for agriculture. The volcanic soil was more fertile.-agriculture based economy.- Required heavy taxes of the people.- Wheat was staple food.- Because estate owners didn’t grown important grains they relied on trade. | -Social status was related to land ownership.- Common Romans were farmers.- Conflict between elite class (patricians) and poor class (plebeians) known as conflict of orders.- Basic unit of society was the family that consisted of members of family and slave.- The eldest male exercised authority over other family members.- Patron/client relationship- “In ancient Rome, a fundamental social relationship in which the patron ( a wealthy and powerful individual) provided legal and economic protection and assistance to clients, men of lesser status and means, and in return the client supported the political careers and economics interests of the patron. “- Inequality was accepted and all classes benefitted from mutual obligations.Role Of Women:-Women could not have any public role.- Women were constantly under authority of oldest male (paterfamilias) and depended on them to defend their interests.- Although women did not have many rights, they had more freedom than Greek women.Peasant farmers were most important and provided for the whole society.- Later farms were replaced by estates.- Most of the wealth that was brought in benefitted the upper classes | The Roman Participate | - Octavian changed the form of government. He claimed to be a princep or “first among equal” basically a king.- Augustus allied himself with equites which were prosperous landowners and merchants.-Augustus and equites together ran the new empire (bureaucracy).- The Emperor was no longer succeeded by his son. Instead, the former emperor would adopt the best man for the position as his son, producing better emperors because they were made out of the most capable men-To increase subject loyalty, emperors were regarded as gods after their death.-Political body consisted of the senate, assembly, judges, and legal experts.-Laws were adapted with the society.- Laws divided into three parts: persons, things and actions.-Today’s European laws were greatly influenced by the laws of the Roman Empire.-Roman politics included some autonomy (self-governance). - Elected officials were of the wealthy upper class. - People of the lower classes lived in more rural, outside areas and thus had little contact with the Roman government. -“Romanization: process by which Latin language and roman culture became dominant in western provinces.” Other people wanted the Roman culture because they saw success and advantages.- Granted citizenship (legal protection and exception from some taxation) to the people living outside of Italy that served in the military for 26 years. -“third century crisis: refers to the period from 235-284 CE, when political, military, and economic problems beset and nearly destroyed the roman empire.”- Diocletian saved the empire from destruction by saving the economy by setting maximum prices- The emperor Constantine reunited the empire. -Rome had almost 1 million citizens. | | - Many roman emperors were regarded as gods after they died. - Judaea was the homeland of the Jewish religion.- Jesus was Messiah for Christianity that would save the people by dying for their sins.- The vastness and technology of the Roman Empire aided the growth of Christianity.- As Christianity grew hierarchies based on priests that were high class.- Christians were persecuted by roman officials but later accepted under Constantine. | - created civic buildings, temples, gardens, baths, - build theaters and amphitheaters to house their games and public entertainment.- Invention of arches that could support large buildings and lots of weight.- “Invented concrete: mixture of lime powder, sand, and water that could be poured into molds.”- Built defensive walls or barriers to keep invaders and intruders out. | - The skills of glass making, metal working and pottery spread through Italy because these products were major trade exports- - Built roads, fortification walls, aqueducts (“long, elevated or underground conduits that carried water from urban centers using the force of gravity”) | - The use of slaves became less common because there were only fewer and more expensive slaves, so landowners began using tenant farmers who would cultivate plots of land and were given the crops of the land in return. - The Pax Romana enhanced Roman commerce. - Because new estate owners began replacing former peasant farmers, the essential grains were no longer grown. To solve this problem, Rome participated in major trade in order to import grains. - Common exports included pottery, glass, and metal work. - Because Rome became distracted from the economy by all of the fighting and imposed too much taxation, towns and cities and eventually the entire empire became less prosperous. | - It was very common to work in the field of agriculture.- Citizenship was only granted to free adult males.- Middle ages: wealthy lords governed the working peasant population that tended their lands. | Qin Dynasty | - Known for their roughness and military strength. - Monarch was Zheng (who was called Shi Huandgdi which meant “first emperor)- The emperor had a council of legalist advisors that helped him to make important decisions.- Had a unified empire.- Extended their territory by driving nomads north.-“Xiongnu: confederation of nomadic people living beyond the northwest frontier of ancient China. Chinese rulers tried a variety of defenses and stratagems to ward off theses barbarians as they veiled them and finally succeeded in dispersing the Xiongnu in the first century CE”- Many riots do to the harshness of the Qin Dynasty. | | - All books on Confucianism were burned because they were controversial to the beliefs and customs.- Zheng was buried with his many terracotta soldiers. | - built de3fensive walls to keep warriors and other intruders away from their farms. | | - Many people were deprived of wealth by the government which made very angry and caused uprisings. | | Han Dynasty | -Gaozu: “the throne name of Liu Bangm one of the rebel leaders who brought down the qin and founded the Han Dynasty in 202 BCE.”- Gaozu had peasant qualities.- Power was given to Gauzu’s wife when he died but later passed on to Wu (his nephew) as he became older.- the capital was Chang’an- protected by hills and a 15 mile long wall-“Chang’an: city in the wei valley in eastern China. It became the capital of the Qin and the early Han Empires. Its main features were imitated in the cities and towns that sprang up throughout the Han Empire.”-The emperor Wang Mang- limited the amount of land that rich people could have and gave it to the peasants (socialist).- Wang Mang ruined the economy. - Military problems caused by Wang Mang led to the ruin of the Han | -“Sima Qian: Chief astrologer for the Han dynasty emperor Wu. He composed a monumental history of china from its legendary origins of he own time and is regarded as the Chinese father of history.” -Began the study if astrology. Mainly took observations of space. - Scholars wrote poetry, history, philosophy, and other literary works. | -Wu was charmed by charlatans that promised him immortality, magical power…- Their gods were based out of nature.- Believed In spirits of dead ancestors and ghosts.-Daoism: had magical powers; alchemy; potions- Buddhism started and became a major religion here. | | - High profit items inluded salt, iron, alcoholic beverages.- Created the watermill, made paper, created river systems, roads, and the seismometer to measure earthquakes. | - After the Qin Dynasty, the economy was very weak so the Han Dynasty made an attempt to keep costs down in order to recover the economy.- Silk road: trade route on which goods, especially silk were traded into other parts of Asia.- Population was supported by agriculture.- Taxed its people.- The downfall of the empire was primarily caused by economic disorder. | - Took a census- The most important unit of society was the family unit that contained not only immediate family members but also other generations.- The eldest male in the family had the authority over other members.Women were held responsible for basic in-home duties such as cook and care for children and the elderly.- The status of women depended on the region in which they lived.- “gentry: In China, the class of prosperous families, nest in wealth below the rural aristocrats, from which the emperors drew their administrative personnel. Respected for their education and expertise, these officials became a privileged group and made the government more efficient and responsive than in the past. The term gentry also denotes the class of land holding families in England below the aristocracy.”-Many merchants were wealthy. |