1. Rome
1.1. Culture
1.1.1. Was heavily influenced by the Greeks
1.1.2. Introduced Mediterranean civilization to western Europe
1.1.3. Throughput the history of the empire the Romans and the new Persian empires (Parthians and the Sassanid) would exchange culture through invading each other
1.1.4. Citizens were active in the government and discussed the state.
1.1.5. Writing on political theory was big in the aristocratic class.
1.1.6. Romans throughout history emphasis the importance of laws, and thought they should be changeable but not wildly
1.1.7. Liked military conquest
1.1.8. Wanted people to place the state as their first loyalty
1.1.9. Did not add anything to Greek science, but they were far more advance when it comes to architecture, and they even taught schoolchildren through textbooks.
1.1.10. Romans were great painters painting realistic portrayals of daily life
1.1.11. The Romans copied Greek architecture, but because they were Superior engineers they were able to build bigger monuments.
1.1.12. difference between the city-dwellers, and the framers
1.1.13. The upper class was not interested in the technological advancements of agriculture and manufacturing.
1.1.13.1. The upper class was not interested in the technological advancements of agriculture and manufacturing.
1.2. Human Enviorment
1.3. Economic Factors
1.3.1. One of the factors that lead to the fall of the Roman Empire was economic downturn
1.3.2. Roman imperial law governed the economy making it uniformed across the empire
1.3.3. The Romans had massive public works such as roads and harbors, and regulated the grain trade
1.3.4. There was a fight between large landlords and independent framers in both societies, but it is more prevalent in Roman
1.3.5. The soil was meant for grapes and olives not grain. This made it an expensive enterprise to farm were you need a lot of capita for food and the seed for the plant, then wait five years for the fruit to grow. This lead to large farm having an advantage due to greater ace's to materials. This also encouraged trading because of the need for grain in Africa which later was the reason why they invaded it.
1.3.6. There was also the need for high end luxury products which lead to trade with other parts of the world that had better craftsman.
1.3.7. Slaves would be the main competitor to the free farmers driving them out of business.
1.3.8. The increase of pollution and the use of lead were some of the down sides of imperial life even leading to it's downfall according to some historians
1.3.9. The empire also would defrost lands, or graze to much causing farming soil to become weaker and less aviable leading to its demise.
1.4. Political Structures
1.4.1. Rome started out as a local monarchy in 800BCE, but the aristocrats revolted and established the Roman Republic in 509BCE
1.4.2. The Romans expanded into southern Italy conquering Greek colonies
1.4.3. The Roman Republic than find it self in conflict with the Carthage, a Phoenician city in Northern Africa. This was called the Punic Wars that lasted from 264-146BCE. In these wars Hannibal invaded the Peninsula with elephants, but Carthage lost with their city being totally destroyed. This lead to the Roman controlling the western Mediterranean, including Egypt and Greece.
1.4.4. After these wars the Republic became unstable. This instability lead to the rise of Julius Caesar 45BCE and after his assassination the rise of his Grand Nephew Augustus Caesar in 27BCE and creating the empire.
1.4.5. The empire than experienced Pax Romana the 200 year time period including the Reign of Marcus Aurelius 180 CE where the empire saw peace while expanding into western Europe and parts of Germany.
1.4.6. The empire was less centralized than most, was tolerant, of local political groups with an emphasis on common law
1.4.7. Rome fell in 476BCE when Northern invading people invaded the city. There were other reasons such as instability because of over powerful general, soldiers who weren't from the empire, and a downturn in the birth rate and economy
1.4.8. Empire allowed the city sates to be somewhat independent not interfering with there affairs to much.
1.4.9. The Roman republic adopted a similar form of government as the Greeks with an aristocratic ruling class in the senate, and tribunes elected by the people to represent the plebeians. Senators were voted in by the Patricians. The senate would elect two one year term consuls to act as the executive branch.
1.5. Social Structures
1.5.1. Rome had a polytheistic religion biased of off the Greeks until Emperor Constantine in 313CE adopted Christianity as the main religion.
1.5.2. Th upper class was supposed to be active in politics and discussions about the state
1.5.3. The importance of the law took away power from heads of the family and landlords when dealing with disputes
1.5.4. Romans would legalize outsiders
1.5.5. The ease of move in the empire helped spread Christianity as well as the public executions showing christian devotion.
1.5.6. Merchants were upper class but were always in conflict with the patricians
1.5.7. Slaves would live in different conditions depending on their job. The manual labor was more demanding and Likely to kill you than the torturing.
2. Greece
2.1. Culture
2.1.1. Language was developed biased of off the Phoenician alphabet that lead to a unified culture
2.1.2. The city states had celebrations such as the Olympic Games
2.1.3. After the failed Persian invasion the Greeks had reached a cultural high point, extender their culture across the Mediterranean with Athens at the fore front of this expansion.
2.1.4. Greek culture and civilazation spread through the middle east during the Hellenistic time period.
2.1.5. Hellenistic time period lead to advancements of science and math in places such as Alexandria Egypt
2.1.6. Hellenistic time period lead to a giant cultural, philosophical, and political exchange of ideas between civilizations such as the Egyptian, Indians, Persians, and Greeks
2.1.7. The word politics comes from polis implying that politics played a large part in Greek life
2.1.8. Citizens of a city state thought that the state was theirs and they had rights, while having obligations to the state
2.1.9. Socrates taught his pupils to question conventional wisdom and to improve ones self. This lead their to be an undermining of political loyalist that led the Athenians to force him to kill himself. This was because philosophy was independent from most things.
2.1.10. Th Greek need for rational explanation influenced their sciences, math, architecture and much more for better and worse. Leading to them being wrong with the formation of planets, but the creation of beautiful works of architecture.
2.1.11. During the Hellenistic time period there were advances in medicine and anatomy, but came up with the theory that the sun revolves around the earth.
2.1.12. Plays and poetry played a central rule in Greek life creating comedies and dramas.
2.1.13. The Greeks were excellent at ceramic work.
2.1.14. Much of their sculptures portrayed god and goddesses that were portrayed realistically
2.1.15. Greeks invited classical architecture such as Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian styles. These would be painted and decorated.
2.1.16. difference between the city-dwellers, and the framers
2.1.17. The upper class was not interested in the technological advancements of agriculture and manufacturing.
2.2. Human Enviorment
2.2.1. They were originally Indo-Europeans who took over the peninsula in 1700BCE
2.2.2. There was a second wave of Indo-Europeans that destabilized the region until 800BCE
2.2.3. The peninsula was divided by mountains and surrounded by islands
2.3. Economic Factors
2.3.1. Trade was sponsored by the city states
2.3.2. Hellenistic time period lead to a flourishing of trade
2.3.3. supported shipping and maritime trading
2.3.4. The soil was meant for grapes and olives not grain. This made it an expensive enterprise to farm were you need a lot of capita for food and the seed for the plant, then wait five years for the fruit to grow. This lead to large farm having an advantage due to greater ace's to materials. This also encouraged trading because of the need for grain in Africa, and lead to the colonizes.
2.3.5. There was also the need for high end luxury products which lead to trade with other parts of the world that had better craftsman.
2.3.6. Slaves would live in different conditions depending on their job. The manual labor was more demanding and Likely to kill you than the torturing.
2.4. Political Structures
2.4.1. First kingdom was made in 14000BCE around the city of Mycenae, but was destroyed by a wave of Indo-European invaders
2.4.2. Greece was split up into city states leading to stability starting at around 800BCE. They were either ruled by one person or an aristocratic councils.
2.4.3. The two most powerful city states were the Spartans and the Athenians.The Spartans were a military aristocracy dominating a slave population, wile the Athenians were commercial state that had slaves, and had a artistic and intellectual leadership.
2.4.4. The Persians tried to invade between 500-449BCE uniting the city-states against them and won
2.4.5. Pericles was an Athenian political leader who ruled the empire through wise influence and negotiate. He tried to prevent Athens from over expanding, but failed.
2.4.6. The Peloponnesian war was fought between Athens and Sparta in the years 431-404BCE. This lead to economic ruin and the depletion of resources for both side and their allies, but Sparta technically won.
2.4.7. With the city states weak the Macedonians struck invading the Peninsula with King Philip the third leading, and than his son Alexander the Great invaded the Persian empire. After his conquests he died at 33 leaving an empire that stretched from Greece to India to his generals leading to the Hellenistic time period.
2.4.8. The Athenians were more of a direct democracy with assemblies being held where all citizens can vote and discuses issues. They would have elected officials, but they had brief term, were reviewed by the assembly, and were voted in by lot. This was only for free men.
2.4.9. Aristocracies were the most popular form of government in classical civilizations in the Mediterranean
2.5. Social Structures
2.5.1. Alexander's generals setup a upper class of Greeks during the Hellenistic time period that ruled numerous states.
2.5.2. The upper class was supposed to be active in politics and discussions about the state.
2.5.3. Woman were not given the same rights, and there was a slave under class
2.5.4. Had polytheistic gods and goddesses that were human like. They would be used to tell stories and there would be temples, sacrifices, and festivals run by the sate or temple in their name.
2.5.5. These religions left people dissatisfied because of the lack of mysticism. It also didn't answer many question leading to the rise of philosophy in Rome and Greece. Cicero and Aristotle preached modernism. Other philosophers created ethical thinking like Stoics.
3. Persia
3.1. Culture
3.1.1. Was tolerant to different cultures, languages, and gods.
3.1.2. Zoroastrianism effects all major monotheistic religions today.
3.1.3. Had a distinctive style of art and architecture
3.1.4. Affected the development of most culture developing in the middle east after Alexander the Great and Hellenistic time period.
3.2. Human Enviorment
3.2.1. The empire covered land ranging from Egypt to North West India.
3.2.2. Originated in Iran
3.2.3. At height 14 million people lived in the empire
3.3. Economic Factors
3.3.1. Advance Iron technology in the Middle East
3.3.2. The highways established massive trading routes across the Middle East
3.3.3. Had major land trading networks
3.4. Political Structures
3.4.1. Was authoritarian with centralized laws and tax collection.
3.4.2. Had massive highways that would connect the empire. It also had a postal service, and rest stops along the way.
3.4.3. Had emperors who would control the government
3.4.4. There was a substantial bureaucracy built in with the militarily nobility. They would govern distant provinces, but they would also be regulated and spied on, so they could stay loyal.
3.5. Social Structures
3.5.1. Zoroastrianism was formed during this time period. It was built of off the polytheistic religion of the Sumerian, but was monotheistic. It was about individual moral choice were depending on if you were good or not you would go to haven or condemned to a world of eternal pain(hell). The God was not seen as human like.