UNIT TWO: THE CLASSICAL ERA, 600 BCE – 600 CE

ORGANIZATION AND REORGANIZATION OF HUMAN SOCIETIES

Overview
The major development of the Classical period was the formation of large regional civilizations in China, India, Mediterranean, the Middle East, East Africa, and Mesoamerica. These civilizations are differed from the ones before them in many ways: Increased influence in regions outside their control, development of distinct cultural and institutional patterns and a blending of these cultures through contact (Hellenism). Religious tradition emerged in all classical civilization along with diverse forms of government and an increase in trade. The introduction of Iron, prior to this time period, coupled with larger militaries all classical civilizations expanded to some degree. / Key Concepts
Key Concept 2.1
- The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions
Key Concept 2.2
- The Development of States and Empires
Key Concept 2.3
- The Emergence of Interregional Networks of Communication and Exchange
Historical Thinking Skills
Argumentation
This is all about defending a statement. Don’t just say that I’m the best teacher, explain reasons why – back up your argument with evidence.
Make an argument (pick a side)  Write your thesis with three points of specific evidence connect it back to the original question
Change and Continuity over Time (CCOT)
What major themes are continuing over a given time period and WHY are they continuing (hint: it’s probably patriarchy or an agriculturally-based economy)? What are the major changes and HOW did they change society (hint: it’s probably something political or technological)?
Describe theme(s) at the beginning of the time period  Describe theme(s) at the end of the time period  Identify continuities and changes  Explain reasons for the continuity and change (tell me why those things changed or stayed the same)
Periodization
Historians have divided history into six different time periods. Why? What are starter events and ending events?
Explain beginning marker events and end marker events of the periods. Why did historians choose those? Explain ending marker events. Why did historians choose that date? / Themes (SPICE)
Social- empires, Confucianism and scholar gentry in China, caste system in India, class and citizenship in Athens, slavery in Rome, patriarchy, stateless societies in West Africa (the Sudan)
Political- Empires (Persian, Greek, Roman: from Republic to Empire, Qin and Han, Mauryan and Gupta), city-states, wars, rebellions, expansion
Interactions- Greek geography and settlement over the Mediterranean, Africa’s environmental limitations, Bantu migration, iron-making, engineering
Cultural- China: legalism, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, Vedas and Hinduism in India, Hellenism, cultural diffusion and spread of religions along trade routes
Economic- Commercial networks, caste economics, Indian Ocean Trade, Silk Road Trade, slave labor, pastoralism and nomadic societies
Key Terms
CHAPTER EIGHT
Warring states period, Qin, Han ,Legalism, Daoism, Laozi, Confucius, Confucianism, Shi Huangdi, Great Wall, Han Wudi, Forbidden City, scholar-gentry, free citizens, the underclass, calligraphy, yin-yang, The Analects, reciprocity, Xiao, Ren, Li
CHAPTER NINE
Aryans, Vedic Age, Vedas, Caste System, Mauryan Dynasty, Gupta Dynasty, Asoka, Hinduism, Buddhism, Upanishads, Dharma, Karma, Sanskrit, Untouchables, Steppe, Monsoon, Animism, Brahmin, Chandragupta Maurya
CHAPTER TEN
Twelve Tables, Punic Wars, Persian Wars, Pericles, Delian League, Peloponnesian War, Alexander the Great, Hellenism, Plebian, Patrician, Polis, Etruscans, Pax Romana, Phoenicians, Senate (Rome), Tribunes, Triumvirate
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Stirrup, Lateen Sail, Attila, Desertification
Essential Questions
  1. How did the sequence of dynasties in classical china build a successful empire?
  2. What were the distinctive features of China’s political system under the Han?
  3. What was the relationship between Confucianism and Daoism?
  4. How did Confucianism affect Chinese social and family structure?
  5. What were the most important complexities in classical Chinese society?
  6. How did India’s geography affect the characteristics of classical society in India
  7. What were the main political phases in classical India?
  8. Why was the state less important in classical India than in classical China?
  9. What was the relationship between Hinduism and Buddhism?
  10. What were the main features of the caste system?
  11. What was India’s trading position in the classical world?
  12. Why was the rise of Persia such an important development in the early part of the classical period?
  13. What changes occurred between the Greek and the Hellenistic periods in the eastern Mediterranean?
  14. What were the causes of Roman expansion?
  15. What are the main issues in defining the Greek and Roman political legacy?
  16. What was the relationship between Greek and Roman culture?
  17. How did the social structures of the classical Mediterranean and classical China compare?
  18. What were the main legacies of classical Mediterranean civilization, for later societies?
  19. What were the main similarities and differences between Africa and the Americas by the early centuries C.E.?
  20. What were the main differences in the process of decline in classical China and classical India?
  21. How did the organization of Christianity reflect its complex relationship with the Roman Empire?