I.Themes of Geography

  1. Location – asks, “Where is it at?”
  2. Absolute – exactly where you are at a point on earth’s surface (longitude and latitude)
  3. Relative – where something is in relation to other things
  4. Place – like location with human and physical characteristics
  5. Human-Environment Interaction – the relationship between humans and their environment
  6. Movement
  7. Pull factors – something that pulls you to another area (college campus, better housing, etc)
  8. Push factors – things that push you away from somewhere (lack of good jobs)
  9. Religion – mix of regional, political, etc. characteristics

II.Themes of History

  1. Cooperation/Conflict – cause and effect (people either work things out or fight)
  2. Revolution/Reaction – a revolution, or a change, causes people to respond, adapt, or react. Everything has a reaction
  3. Change – happens over time, can’t change it; continues
  4. Diversity/Uniformity – differences that make us who we are (diversity) but all one nation
  5. Regionalism/Nationalism – pride in where you are from; deep pride in your nation
  6. Innovation – anything dealing with technology (cultural innovation – democracy, not dictatorships) (improves quality of life)
  7. Cultural Diffusion – when one culture blends with another culture (music, food, politics, religion, etc.)
  8. Movement
  9. Pull factors (see above)
  10. Push factors (see above)
  11. Relation to Environment (see above)

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I.The NileRiverValley – 5000 BC – Egypt

  1. The Old Kingdom
  2. 2700 – 2200 BC (Egypt is ruled by Narmer)
  3. Kingship – a king (begins to rule Egypt)
  4. The Middle Kingdom (pyramids, statues, etc.)
  5. 2050 – 1800 BC (High point of Egypt)
  6. Pharaoh – “great house of the king”
  7. Decline and Recovery
  8. Aton (sun god) and Akhenton (only god in Egypt)
  9. Ramses II – Ramses the Great, pharaoh for 67 years
  10. Daily Life in Egypt
  11. Population – 5 million people
  12. Class System – three major classes are prevalent
  13. Egyptian Religion
  14. Polytheism – believe in more than one god
  15. Amon-Ra (sun god)
  16. Osiris (god of the afterlife)
  17. Afterlife
  18. Mummifications
  19. Pyramids (built as temples for Pharaohs)
  20. Writing
  21. Hieroglyphics – pictures/symbols that sound for object, idea, etc.
  22. Scribes – writers of hieroglyphics
  23. Achievements in Science
  24. (1-5) Numbers system
  25. Calculate area
  26. 365 day calendar
  27. Studied astronomy
  28. Advance in medicine
  29. Embalming
  30. Treating wounds/diseases

II. Mesopotamia – “The Fertile Crescent” – “Cradle of Civilization”

  1. Sumarian City States (3000 BC) (12 city states)
  2. Tigris-Euphrates Rivers
  3. Polytheistic
  4. Trade (with one another from city state to city state) (Barter means trade without money…one good for another)
  5. Writing (Gilgamesh – oldest story)

-Cuneiform (wedged-shaped writing)

  1. Technology (anything that makes life easier)

-Wagon wheel

-Arch

-Potter’s wheel

-Sundial

-12 month calendar (based on moon)

  1. Babylon (2000 BC) (Capital of united city states by Sargon)
  2. Hammurabi’s Code (king of Babylon) (written law code) (first time in history laws were written with crime and punishment ex. Eye for an eye)
  3. Israelites
  4. Monotheism (believe in only one God) (they were the first)
  5. Prophets (believe God speaks to you through prophets)
  6. Judaism (name of religion) (Jewish) (covenant)
  7. Egypt and Exodus (1012 BC) (enslaved by Pharaoh) (exodus means exit)
  8. Israel and Jerusalem (leave Egypt to go to Israel) (Jerusalem is the capital)
  9. Divided People
  10. Israel – north
  11. Judea – south
  12. The Persians
  13. King Cyrus II (Persia united by Cyrus II; Cyrus II doesn’t change beliefs)
  14. King Darius I (522 – 486 BC)

-“Kingship” (Darius I taught people how to “act” around the king; he set the standards)

  1. Zoroaster and the after life (famous prophet from Mesopotamia; prophecies life is a struggle between good and evil; he taught the choice you make now affected eternal light or eternal darkness)
III. Indus River Valley
  1. Mountain Chains
  2. Hindu Kush
  3. Himalayas
  4. Major Cities (2500 BC)
  5. Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro (pretty advanced for the time period; cotton clothes, metal pottery, advanced jewelry making)
  6. Class Systems (1-4 and pariah)

Class system=”varna”; job=”dharma”

  1. Varnas:
  2. Priest
  3. Warriors
  4. Merchants and Artisans
  5. Unskilled Laborers (manual labor)
  6. Pariah
  7. “Untouchable”
  8. Animal skinner, handicap, etc.
  1. Epics (long poem or story about a god or legendary hero)
  2. Hinduism (started 3000 years ago)
  1. What they believe – all life is sacred, all living things have a soul, soul is part of a sacred spirit, promote non-violence, self-denial, fasting, and yoga, which relaxes mind and body
  2. Reincarnation (there is a rebirth of the soul and you go through several lifetimes to get it right)
  3. Karma (around someone who is in a good mood you get happy and the other way around; how you behave or live)

F. Buddhism (566 BC)

  1. Where did it come from? – Prince spent life in palace and got comforts and knew no other way of life. In his mid-20’s, he escaped from the palace and realized that people in the community are suffering. He goes to the wilderness for seven years; his understanding was called an enlightenment)
  2. Enlightenment (understanding)
  3. Budda – “Enlightened One” this is the prince’s new name after understanding
  4. Four noble truths
  5. All people suffer
  6. Suffering is caused by desire
  7. To stop suffering, stop desiring
  8. To stop desire, follow the eight fold path
  9. The Eight Fold Path
  10. Know the truth for your life
  11. Resist evil
  12. Say nothing to hurt others
  13. Respect life
  14. Work for the good of others
  15. Free your mind of evil
  16. Control your thoughts
  17. Practice meditation

(If you follow Budda and do what he says, you reach Nirvana and break the cycle of suffering)

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IV. China (Huang-He River)

  1. Strong National Identity
  2. Center of the world
  3. Oldest civilization still today (5000 BC)
  4. Shang Dynasty (1700 – 1100 BC)
  5. Mandate from Heaven (right given to you from birth by heavens to rule this country)
  6. Achievements
  7. First to invent
  8. Bronze weapons
  9. Chariots
  10. Silk
  11. Ivory
  12. Jade, etc.
  13. Zhou Dynasty
  14. Achievements
  15. Iron plow
  16. Irrigation systems
  17. Roads
  18. Trade routes
  19. Cross bow

V. Chinese Philosophies – ideas on how to act, etc.)

  1. Confucianism (551 BC) (“our lives revolve around ethical behavior”, respect, reverence for the past and traditions)
  2. Daoism – “one with nature”
  3. Yin (cool, dark, female)
  4. Yang (warm, light, male)
  5. Yin and Yang show the struggle of nature; they are opposing

I. Ancient Greece

  1. General Facts

- Mediterranean Sea

- Theatre

- Olympic games

- Architecture

- Forms of government

  1. Epic Poetry
  2. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey
  3. Religion (Polytheistic)

II. Polis (city state)

  1. Citizen – anyone who participates in government
  2. Colonies and Trade
  3. Democracy (everyone has opinion; people rule)
  4. Other forms of government
  5. Tyrant or Tyranny (one person rules tightly; they act mean)
  6. Oligarchy (select few rule everything)
  1. Sparta (most powerful military; little care for education)
  2. Athens (opposite of Sparta, focus on education)
  3. Constitution (plan of government – laws, rights, etc.)

III. Wars, Glory, and Decline

  1. Persian War (546 BC)

- Ionia, the city-state, is conquered by Persia, and then they rebelled with the help of mainland Greece. The Persian War was fought between Persia and Greece; Sparta leads Greece to victory.)

  1. Peloponnesian War

- Between Athens and Sparta

- They are fighting to see who is the most powerful

- 434 – 404 BC

- 1/3 of Athens’ population dies from plague

- Sparta wins the war

  1. Decline

- Sparta is in control and they don’t focus on education, philosophy, etc.

IV. Greek Civilizations

  1. Facts
  2. Known for painting
  3. Sculptures
  4. Theatre
  5. Architecture, etc.
  6. Classical style
  7. Architecture and painting
  8. Simple
  9. Beautiful
  10. Visual Arts
  11. Athens (most beautiful city of the ancient world)
  12. Parthenon (most famous building built for Goddess Athena)
  13. Painting and Sculpture (resembled human form, usually male body)
  14. Greek Drama (built amphitheatres)
  15. Tragedies (sad, negative, person’s struggle with fate, unhappy ending)
  16. Comedies (humorous tone/theme, happy ending)
  17. Only men acted in the plays
  18. Olympic Games
  19. Held every four years
  20. Held in honor of the god Zeus
  21. Women cannot participate or watch games
  22. Winners treated as heroes
  23. Greatest honor is to win the Olympics
  24. Greek Philosophers
  25. Overview – (believed there is a reason to explain all things in life, lay foundations for history, science, medicine, and politics)
  26. Sacrates – (father of philosophy, first major one; Socratic method – taking a theory and coming to the exact truth – support theory)
  27. Plato – (student of Sacrates; focused on finding the truth)
  28. Aristotle – (focused on science, you make observations and study and draw generalizations)
  29. Greek Historians

1. First to record history as it happened and had no legends except gods and goddesses

  1. Scientists
  2. Natural Laws – what goes up must come down, etc. They said the world is based on natural laws
  3. Hippocrates – father of medicine, believed in eating healthy and exercising
  4. Hippocratic Oath – you sign this code when you are a nurse, doctor, etc.; take to be ethical; ex. Wreck on the side of the road, legally you must stop if you have signed this oath

IV. Alexander’s Empire – greatest conqueror of ancient world

  1. King Philip II – king of city-state Macedonia; conquers Greece and unites them; Goals: uniting Greece, creating large standing army, and conquer Persia (he didn’t fulfill his last goal)
  2. Alexander the Great – son of King Philip II; becomes king at age 20; respected by military; leads into every single battle; very well educated; conquers Persia; conquers Egypt and makes city of Alexandria; conquers Mesopotamia; conquers Indus River Valley = all by the time he was 33
  3. Alexander’s Goals
  4. Conquer Persia
  5. Unite Europe and Asia from Greece to Indus River Valley
  6. Blend Cultures

- Makes soldiers marry Persian women to blend cultures; created largest empire

  1. Divided Domain – contracts malaria and dies at 33; nobody keeps them united; make empire three parts and give greatest soldiers a section
  2. Hellenistic Culture – time period; mixture of middle (Persian) eastern culture and Greek culture; new dressing, new art farms, women have more freedom began reading, writing, and taking jobs
  3. Hellenistic Thinkers and Artists – paintings and sculptures focus on human beings caught in powerful emotion; scientists guessed earth’s circumference within 1%

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Rome and Early Christianity

I. The Roman Republic

  1. Facts
  2. Romans will influence our world today
  3. Found in Italy; located on the Italian Peninsula
  4. Latin language; Latin people
  5. Rome is central city
  6. Republic is a government where you elect leaders to represent you
  7. 1. Plebeians
  8. Non-Aristocrats, merchants, artisans, architect, skilled, wealthy people, can be in the military, cannot hold public office
  9. Patricians
  10. Wealthy, privileged, can vote, be in military, can hold public office, aristocrats (ruling family)

- Plebeians go on strike because they want a “say-so” in government

- Tribunes are Plebeian representatives for government

- For the first time, Roman laws and history were written down

  1. Daily Life
  2. Borrowed a lot from Ancient Greece
  3. Polytheistic
  4. Borrowed gods from Greece
  5. Family is the center of society
  6. Father leads/rules the family; if dad dies, the oldest son takes over
  7. Strong values
  8. Promoted being truthful
  9. Taught self discipline
  10. Pride to be in Roman Republic

II. From Republic to Empire (500 – 300 BC)

  1. Roman Expansionism – Romans expanded out, very large army, divided in sections called legions, one legion was 5000 (3000 – 6000) soldiers, built many roads
  2. Punic Wars – war between Rome and Carthage, fight for control of the Mediterranean Sea and the land around it
  3. Republic in Crisis – caused by expansionism (causing huge number of poor people and few wealthy people) ones that make laws
  4. Reformers and Generals – generals try to change and improve
  5. Assassination of Reformers – political murder
  6. Julius Caesar – General rose to power in 50 BC, names himself “Dictator for Life”, poor people like him because he gave money, land, etc., assassinated on March 15th, 44 BC, “Ides of March”

III. Roman Empire (Rome is no longer Republic)

  1. 32 BC Octavian (nephew of Caesar) becomes ruler of empire, changes name to Augustus Caesar and he is the first ruler of the Roman Empire; Pax Romana during this time
  2. Emperors
  3. Augustus and Pax Romana (peace)
  4. Worst – Nero
  5. Best – Marcus Aurelius (great leader)
  6. Law and Order – large army
  7. Trade, Engineering, and Science – aqueducts, concrete
  8. Daily Life
  9. 130 holidays per year of free entertainment
  10. Coliseums were built
  11. Chariot races were very harsh
  12. Gladiators – men fight men or wild animals
  13. Language and Literature – Latin language is foundation for English, Spanish, Italian, and French

IV. The Rise of Christianity

  1. Facts
  2. Freedom of Religion – in Roman empire, early on they didn’t care, mainly Polytheistic
  3. Judaism – Jewish worship one god and don’t fully serve the emperor; becomes predominant
  4. Judea – 6 AD, becomes province of Roman Empire
  5. Messiah – still discussing Judea, Messiah is messenger from God, Jewish are waiting for one to deliver them from Rome
  6. Judea to Palestine – Judea begins to rise up against empire; Rome takes land of Judea and renames it Palestine; fight between Jews and Palestinians in today’s time started in 6 AD
  7. Jews
  8. Christianity – small group (sect) of Jewish people start Christianity because they believe they found the Messiah
  9. Jesus – Messiah, Jesus is Jew
  10. Disciples – followers of Christ, spread God’s word through messages/word of mouth
  11. Arrest/Crucifixion – Christ is arrested for being a “political rebel”, treated terribly, and crucified
  12. Spread of Christianity – word of mouth, disciples spread messages, churches/missions began to form over long periods of time
  13. Persecution – (30 – 300 AD) Rome will persecute Christians
  14. Treason – many people put to death, Christians charged with treason
  15. Constantine (312 AD) – Roman general going into battle, he has a vision of burning cross, he wins the battle, said vision helped him, when he becomes emperor of Rome he allows religious freedom for all people
  16. Theodosius (392 AD) – he makes Christianity the official religion of Rome
  17. The Early Church (100 – 500 AD)
  18. Priests, Bishops, Pope – every town would have a priest, bishops are regional, bishops only work with priest, priests work with people; 400 AD a bishop gave himself the name “Pope”, meaning papa (father); the pope is national
  19. Eastern Christian – Eastern Orthodox

V. Roman Decline – falls in on itself

  1. Weakened Army – becomes less and less powerful, people are less and less loyal to the military
  2. Weakened Economy – expansionism, gap between rich and poor
  3. Religion – Christianity takes hold, emperor is not as important

*****Breakdown of Religions*****

Judaism (Israel, Judea, “Jews”, Messiah)

Some Stay Jews

Christianity (sect broke away, Jesus is Messiah)

Roman CatholicEastern Orthodox

(Priest, Bishop, Pope)

ProtestantCatholic

(Baptist, Methodist, etc.)

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I. Byzantine Foundation – 395 AD – Capital: Constantinople

  1. Cultural Blend
  2. Greek and Roman traditions (Roman government, speak Greek, buildings)
  3. Eastern Orthodox (Religion)
  4. Very diverse group of people; lot of different ethnic groups (culture) ex. Egyptians, Turks, Slavic, etc.
  5. Justinian’s Rule (527 – 565 AD)
  6. Corpus of Civil Law (“Justinian’s Law”) written recording of Roman law
  7. Lots of roads/road systems; Byzantine Civilization is where the east and west meet and connect the east and west through roads (fortresses, classical architecture)
  8. Church and State – church controls the society, church was center of society; Eastern Orthodox does not believe the Pope should be the head of the Church

*****Christianity*****

East = Eastern OrthodoxWest = Roman Catholic

(Italy, Britain, Western Europe, etc.)

II. Byzantine Civilization

  1. Life
  2. Theology – religious teachings, everything based on religion
  3. Levels of Society
  4. Agriculture, Trade, and Commerce are ways of making their money. No currency; use bartering, valuable things, etc.; no set money system
  5. Art – Icon (religious portrait) and Mosaics (pictures made from small broken pieces)
  6. Spread of Christianity – monasteries – monks; convents – nuns; want to draw people in; take care of sick, hurt; school people. These people dedicate their entire lives to the church.
  7. Decline and Fall – most believed it was invasion and/or constant fighting between ethnic groups

III. Slavs – Modern day Russia

  1. Kievian Rus (800 AD) – Trading route around river.
  2. DnieperRiver – invaded by Vikings who take control
  3. Principalities – towns with Prince set up by Vikings
  4. Prince Vladimer – change religion in his town to Eastern Orthodox (polytheistic to monotheistic)
  5. Rise of Moscow
  6. Mongols (1240 AD) – set up Moscow and make it main trading city along route. Russian beginnings start here.

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I. Islamic Civilization

  1. Revelation – find a common thread among them
  2. Islam (570 AD) – “Submission to the will of Allah”
  3. Allah – “god”, same God as ours only they use the name Allah
  4. Mecca – also spelled Mekkah; city where Islam begins
  5. Muhammad – has vision, he is to be the prophet or apostle of God (Allah)
  6. Quran (Koran) – holy scripture of Islam; like the bible to Christianity
  7. Five Pillars of Faith
  8. Faith
  9. Prayer – 5 times a day; facing East
  10. Alms – charity, giving
  11. Fasting – Ramadan; during 9th month of Islamic calendar
  12. Pilgrimage – Mecca; Journey one time to Mecca
  13. Hajj – pilgrimage to Mecca

III. Spread of Islam

  1. Caliph – person who leads after Muhammad dies
  2. Conquest – how Islam spread through the world (by conquest)
  3. Muslim Divisions
  4. Shiites – minority; believe the caliph should be a direct descendant of Muhammad; mostly found in Iran and Iraq
  5. Sunni – majority; believe the caliph should be any devout Muslim or great leader
  6. Islamic Life
  7. Family – center of society; man rules house
  8. Cities and Trade – mosques (churches in the cities) and bazaars (where they go to trade)
  9. Rural Areas – farming

IV. Islamic Science and Art

  1. Mathematics – Algebra and Trigonometry
  2. Astronomy and Geography – document positions of stars which helps with travel; detailed map of eastern hemisphere
  3. Chemistry and Medicine
  4. Classification – animal, mineral, vegetable
  5. Medical Encyclopedia – records illnesses and ways to cure/treat them
  6. Art and Literature
  7. Calligraphy – decorative writing

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