APWH Rome and China Notes

Classical Rome & China
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
12:10 PM A Rome (509 BCE-476 CE)
In a very good geographic place, in middle of peninsula, 10 miles inland connected by a river. 1 Roman Republic: The government they come up with after overthrowing their old king.
People chose the leaders through election.
They were practical, pragmatic people. They were not afraid of change, and saw good ideas and they weren't afraid to jump on it. They learned from others and adopted all kinds of things.
Senate- Old families that had been there forever (patricians) were the senate. They kept traditions and were in charge of a lot of things. (oligarchy)
Poorer families were Plebeians an part of the assembly.(democracy) The two consuls were below the assembly. (monarchy) 1 Roman Law: The power is in the rules that are enforced or the laws. Only given power as a public servant. Romans knew it would be very affective to keep traditions and still be able to change easily.
2 Roman Citizenship: Admired what the Persians had done, and the tolerance they had. They let people become Roman citizens. 1 PUNIC WARS (264-146 BCE) a There were 3 wars, and the Romans won every time. b This war turned Rome from a small city state to an empire. When they won this war, they got land, slaves, and wealth. c This caused the Patricians to benefit greatly, but the plebeians did not. This caused a larger gap between the rich and poor. d The roman army started recruiting people and pay them for their service. This is when the Roman army shifts from a citizenship army to a Professional army. This change = very important. The USA is now a professional army too and we also have a wealth gap. We are the modern day Rome.
2 Republic in Crisis (146-31 BCE) a Patricians wanted to maintain their privileges so they wanted to support political parties that would benefit the rich. b Plebeians wanted to support ones that would help the poor. c This caused an outbreak and a loss of respect for the law (murder, and overall breaking laws) When people begin to not care about the law the republic started to fall. d Julius Caesar came from a Patrician family, but made everyone love him. He tried to help the Plebeians too. He then got himself elected Consul for life. But, they assassinated Caesar because they thought he had too much power. They thought that they were saving the Republic, but his friends and family (Octavian {nephew} and Marc Antony {friend}) They hunted down and killed everyone who was involved in killing Julius. But, Marc and Octavian hated each other, but they worked for with each other in memory of Julius. So, they broke out in a Civil war over who would have control of Rome. Octavian won, even though Marc Antony had the help of Cleopatra behind him. After he won, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. So, Octavian had it all to himself and made his own government. e Pax Romana (Roman Peace= long period of Roman Prosperity) (31 BCE-180CE)- Octavian made governors that ruled each city state and he appointed them. They eventually dominated. f The Romans built things- Arches and Concrete were what they used. Concrete was good because you could mix it on site and it was easy to make. The arch was good because the more weight at the top the more weight got funneled through the columns toward the ground which made it harder to destroy. They made aqueducts which transferred water from mountain stream to city. They had to keep it moving to keep it clean, so on flat areas they had to elevate it and have it gradually go down so it would keep moving. g They also had bath houses that they built. They were like spas with gyms, and they were segregated for women and men. Paid for by the state. h Coliseum- entertainment provided by state, the state provided so much so no one could or would complain and try to over throw them. 60,000 people could sit in the Coliseum and it has a retractable awning/roof. You could flood they floor and have mock naval battles. They used the violent acts to educate the people in the Punic Wars and promote Rome and its victories. i They also built basilicas that were like court houses that were also used for church structure on Sunday when there was no court. j Made use of the dome with a hole in the roof to give light. When it rains, there is grated floor that can funnel the water off to the side. k They built roads to connect the empire l Bridges over water which helped make everything connected. m Walls to protect the frontier. n Ceremonial arches that commemorated war victories a A level of urban life that no one had ever seen before. a When Vesuvius erupted, it preserved the city perfectly. This is good for us to help us see how life was then for them. b SLAVES- slaves had to wear a belt so you knew who they were. c Legal system believed that people were innocent until proven guilty.
2 DECLINE AND FALL- Diocletian (tried to persecute Christianity and divided the empire between and east and west. This is important because they Western Roman empire collapses but the east rises into
(180-476 BCE) a They had to satisfy the people like they had always been doing, but they over time ran out of slaves and $ to do it.
Germanic Tribes (Anglo Saxons, Franks, Goths)
Huns also swept across central Asia and invaded Central Europe which displaces may Germanic tribes.
They took advantage of this and moved in to western roman empire and took over.
Western Empire fallen

A China (475-221 BCE) a WARRING STATES PERIOD= different people trying to compete for power) 3 classical belief systems then made
Legalism- top down kind of way of looking at things.
Imagine you’re a coach of an unruly team with a bad coach before. The quickest way to whip them into shape is to give them clear rules and punishments, and it would generally work. It uses fear psychology because if people are scared then they do what you want.
The biggest proponent of this kind of government was Qin Shi Huangdi (Qin Dynasty 221-207 BCE)
Established a new way of weights and measures, currency, text and punished people severely if they used something else.
Began the great wall of China- built by slaves with staggering numbers of slaves that died.
Tomb and Terracotta Army- obsessed w longevity or not dying.
As he was dying, he had a tomb built that was in a secret place that no one at all could know.
In the tomb there were thousands of terracotta warriors with a river of mercury. It was accidentally discovered in the 20th century and is now a tourist attraction
When he died, his successor was overthrown because everyone hated the Qin dynasty, but legalism did help them to get out of the warring states period. After he died, the Han dynasty came to power (206-220 BCE)
Confucianism was the beliefs of the Han dynasty
Sports ex: I am the coach and I think that I will train us to win, I value everyone's contributions. I just expect you to work hard and so will I.
If legalism is about fear-Confucianism is about respect for each other and honor.
Capital Chang'an (Xi'an) outside is the Weiyang Palace and is one of the largest Palace complexes in the world. About 100 football fields.
Looked at emperor as son of heaven and he deserved your respect and honor
Han Chinese ruled through bureaucracy, designed by emperor Wudi, and he wanted the scholars to be government officials (civil service system). You were tested on your knowledge of Confucianism and education.
Confucianism is still alive in China as a mode of thinking of things
Paper Calligraphy is important- keeping records, collecting taxes, very well organized bureaucracy
Silk road- world's first almost global commerce, and enriched Han dynasty
DECLINE OF HAN DYNASTY BY HUNS
Next came the three kingdoms period (221-265)