5/28/14

Today in class we took a test. I thought it was challenging. Hopefully I did well.

5/27/2014

Today we reviewed for our test tomorrow

• middle ages were from AD 476 - AD 1453 
• (this is a new society) The new society has roots in:
• classical heritage of Rome 
• Beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church
• customs of various Germanic tribes. 
• 5th century Germanic invaders overrun the western half of the Roman Empire. Causing:
• Disruption of trade
• downfall of cities
• population shifts to rural areas. 
• Effects of invasion
• Tribes had oral tradition, songs. but couldn't read Greek or Latin.
• Romance languages evolve. (French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian)
• Few besides priests were literate.
• Germanic warriors' loyalty is to the lord of the manor, he provides them with food, weapons, treasure.
• Result: 
• no orderly government for large areas
• small communities. 
• Clovis rules the Germanic people of Gaul, known as the Franks (Which is where "France comes from) 
• in 496 AD he had a battle field conversion- he and 3000 of his warriors become Christians
• In 520 AD, Benedict writes rules for monks. Rules are on power point
• Scholastica wrote similar rules for nuns. 
• They operate schools, maintained libraries and copied books. 
• Church revenues are used to help poor, build roads, and raise armies. 
• This is a Theocracy. (know definition)
• Gregory's spiritual kingdom (Christendom) extends from Italy to England, from Spain to Germany.
• a descendant of Clovis, Charles Martel was also known as Charles the Hammer. 
• Hammer defeats a Muslim raiding party from Spain at the battle of tours in 732 (if he hadn't won, western Europe could have become part of the Muslim empire) 
• Charles Martel's son is Pepin the short. 
• Pepin the Short's son was Charlemagne, meaning Charles the Great (a great warrior, 6'4")
• Charlemagne 
• fought Muslims in Spain, and Germanic tribes
• was the most powerful king in western Europe. 
• His heirs did a terrible job. 
• Louis the Pious was ineffective. 
• he had three sons. they split up the kingdom into three different parts. (Treaty of Verdun in 843 AD)
• 
  

5/23/2014

Middle Ages

*All of these notes are on the power point on Mr. Schick's blog.*
Middle ages = medieval period
476-1453 AD.
started when Romulus Augustus wasn't emperor anymore.
When you don't have a strong roman empire, there is disruption of trade, downfall of cities, and population shifts to rural areas.
Decline of learning
tribes had oral tradition, songs, but couldn't read Greek or Latin.
Romance languages evolve (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian)
few besides priests were literate.

Loyalty was to the lord of the manor and your family. NOT to the king because they didn't know who he was and he didn't do anything to protect them.
King doesn't have much influence.

Clovis
Rules over Gaul, known as the franks. (French)
He had a battlefield conversion- he and 3000 warriors became Christians.
By 511 the church and the franks (and Clovis) joined together and worked together as a partnership.
died in 511

Benedict made rules for monks.
Benedict's sister Scholastica wrote similar rules for the nuns.

Pope Gregory I goes secular (worldly power).
He uses tax money to raise armies, build roads. Starts to do things that the government is suppose to do.
This is Theocracy.

Charles the Hammer
Hammer defeats a Muslim raiding party from Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732. (if he hadn't won, western Europe could have become part of the Muslim Empire).
Had a son named Pepin the Short.
Pepin was announced the king by the pope.
Pepin the Short had two sons, Carloman who died in 771 and Charlemagne (Charles the great).

Charlemagne
the most powerful king in western Europe.
Spread Christianity.
He regularly went out and visited every part of his kingdom so people knew who was running things, so they were loyal to him.

5/20/2014

Middle Ages

• Charlemagne
• helped make Christians more popular.
• Only people who knew how to read and write were people in the Church.
• Europe begins to get many different languages, not just Latin. 
• Clovis
• Franks king.
• Converts to Christianity, and so do all of his troops. 
• Has a battle field conversion. 
• Unites franks into one kingdom. 
• Fear of Muslims in southern Europe spur many to become Christians. 
• Monasteries and Convents
• AD 520 Benedict
• wrote the rules for monks and monasteries
• poverty, chastity, obedience, study
• Benedict's sister, Scholastica did the same for nuns in convents. 
• 731 AD- the Venerable Bede wrote a killer history of England. 
• Monks opened schools, maintained libraries, and copied books (Bibles, Greek texts)
• The Church and the government are almost the same, you can barely tell them apart.
• Church can use money to build armies, etc. 
• Franks control largest European Kingdom. 
• The Roman providence called Gaul
• Ruled by Clovis - the Merovingian Dynasty.
• Major Domo- mayor of the palace- ruled by kingdom. 
• Charles Martel - Charles the Hammer
• Extended the Franks' reign to the north, south, and east.
• Defeated a Muslim army from Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732 
• A European empire evolves 
• Charles the Hammer's son - Pepin the Short
• possibly named for his unusually short haircut
• working for and with the Pope, Pepin fought the Lombards.
• Pope Stephen II named Pepin "King by the grace of God" - beginning the Carolingian Dynasty 751 - 987 AD
• (So a pope can name someone a king)
• Pepin the Short had Two sons, Carolman and Charles
• Carol man died, leaving ....
• Charlemagne aka Charles the Great
• Six foot four
• built the greatest empire since Rome. 
• Fought the Muslims in Spain
• Fought Germanic tribes
• Spread Christianity
• Reunited Western Europe 
• Became the most powerful king in western Europe 
• Pope Leo III crowned him emperor in 800 AD after he defended him from an unruly Roman mob.
• This signaled the joining of Germanic power, the Church, and the heritage of the Roman Empire. 
• Charlemagne's Government
• He limited the authority of the nobles
• He regularly visited every part of his kingdom
• kept close watch on his huge estates 
• cultural revival
• encouraged learning
• ordered monasteries to open school
• opened a palace school.
• But his heirs weren't nearly as good as him. 
• His son - Louis the Pious - was ineffective.
• Louis' three sons - Lothair, Charles the Bald, and Louis the German - split up the kingdom at the Treaty of Verdun in 843 AD.

5/19/2014

Today I missed class, so Cam sent me his notes.

Middle Ages Notes

• Germanic Kingdoms unite under Charlemagne
• Charlemagne spread Christian civilization throughout northern Europe
• Middle Ages equals the medieval  period, lasted from 500-1500 A.D. (medieval Europe is fragmented)
• Invasions changed the way things were in western Europe
• Disruption of trade- Europe's cities no longer were the center of trade and money was scarce
• Downfall of cities- Cities no longer were the center of administration
• Population shifts- Nobles retreat to rural areas and cities don't have strong leadership
• Decline of learning- many invaders were illiterate but they communicated through oral tradition, only priests and church officials could read and write, knowledge of Greek literature; science; and philosophy was almost lost
• Loss of common language- dialects develop in different regions, by the 800's French, Spanish and other Roman-based languages are evolving from Latin
• Germanic Kingdoms emerge- Roman society was loyal to the local public government
• Nobody cared about the king and nobody really paid attention to him
• Franks who were settling in Gaul had a leader named Clovis
• Clovis had a battle conversion like Constantine, he had a bishop baptize him and his 3,000 warriors after winning a key battle, the church approved of Clovis and began to support him
• A powerful alliance came into existence between Clovis and the church
• A pope named Gregory expanded the power of the pope which allows the church to use church money to raise armies, repair roads, and help the poor
• Gregory the Great begins to act like a mayor of Rome and as the head of an earthly kingdom
• the Church is more like a government at this time 

5/16/2014

• Feudalism- a political, military and economic system based on land holding and protective alliances. (the system is based on personal loyalty to people who can help you).
• Lord- "i own land; i need people to help me work and defend it"
• Vassals (middle class/tough dudes)- "there are a lot of us and we can help the rich dudes hold on to there land." 
• Pyramid- King at the top, the most powerful vassals next (nobles and bishops), then knights (mounted warriors who received fiefs (little plots of land) for defending their lords land, lastly the peasants (mostly serfs) : landless, powerless, money-less, right less. Just working the land for "the man" (their Lord). 
• Manor: the Lord's estate.
• the lords manor house
• a church
• some workshops
• 15-30 families
• all on a few square miles
• Good news: its a self sufficient community
• Bad News: it's harsh if you're a peasant. 
• Peasants are poor and pay high taxes.
• tax on grain
• tax on marriage
• church tax (tithe= 10% of their income)
• they live in crowded cottages
• live with animals and insects
• eat very simple
• The Church says this is your lot in life. God determines your place in society. 

5/14/2014

Today we took a test and then found out what we got on the test.

Page 151 Notes

• After Rome 500-700
• "the upheaval of the early middle ages ended not in a collapse of civilization but in its renewal, and the first two early medieval centuries set the patterns for how this renewal would later take place in western and eastern Europe."
• Medieval- Refers to the distinctive civilization of the middle ages, which developed in Europe after the disintegration of the Roman Empire and before the emergence of the modern west. 

5/13/2014

Today we reviewed for the test tomorrow. Things we reviewed included...

• Constantine, and the Edict of Milan. 
• Diocletian
•  Invasions of the Barbarians. 
• Visigoths take over Spain, looting Rome.
• Huns migrate from China to eastern Europe.
• Angles and Saxons in Britain. 

5/12/2014

AD 180: Rome has problems

• Economic -  trade became risky, taxes were too high, food supply was dropping.
• Military - frontiers were hard to patrol, Roman Generals fought for control, soldiers' loyalty declined and mercenaries appeared. 
• Diocletian divided the empire into two.
• Greek speaking East (had more resources)
• Latin speaking West (Rome, tradition)
• Diocletian
• Rules from 284-303
• Son of a freed slave.
• wanted to have a big army (400,000) and big government (20,000 government officials).  
• Was proclaimed emperor by his troops.
• Was the one who systematically reorganized the Augustan settlement to build a new government structure.
• last emperor to be named by his troops.
• Did not like Christians. persecuted them
• AD 324 - Constantine becomes emperor over both halves of the empire.
• Constantine
• Rules from 306-337
• Doesn't persecute Christians.
• Converts to Christianity, saw a cross in the sky that says "conquer by this!"  
• moves the capital from Rome to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople), where Asia met Europe (now turkey).
• After his death, the empire was divided again.
• Barbarian invaders (Huns, Saxons, Franks, Visigoths, etc.) overrun the empires frontiers.
• issued the Edict of Milan
• ended persecution and proclaiming complete freedom of worship thought the empire. 
• issued in 313
• Roman Empire disappears. 
• Since Rome is now gone, Barbarians took over. 
• The last emperor was a teenage boy, named Romulus Augustulus, installed by his father in 475. 

5/9/14

Today I took the test. Then we went over the answers, and then took notes on..

The Rise of Christianity

• Christianity evolves from "cult status" to establish, official structure. 
• Christian and Jews were Monotheistic (believing in one God). Romans persecuted monotheistic religions, because it conflicted with Roman beliefs. 
• Romans didn't get punished for persecuting Christians, they were encouraged to do it. 
• Christianity appealed to the Poor, there were a lot of poor people, so the numbers grew. (even some Roman leaders embraced Christianity).
• A.D. 313: Constantine has a battlefield conversation.
• Constantine issues the Edict of Milan.
• No persecution, but actual approval of Christianity, eventually making it the official religion of Rome.
• The Roman empire and Christianity are now linked in power and influence. 

Notes on Page 123

• The changing world of Rome: Emperors, Christians, and invaders, 200 B.C. - A.D. 600
• "instead of dying, the Mediterranean civilization of Greece and Rome began to spread among many still-barbarian northern peoples, until it became the Christian Europe of the middle ages."

5/7/2014

Today I missed class because of a lacrosse game. I missed a test

5/6/14

Tomorrow we have a test. Some of this will be on it.

Lucretia, was raped by Tarquin the proud's son. Tarquin didn't do anything about it so they forced him out.
Res publica - the peoples business.
Rome moved from a monarchy to a republic, After Tarquin, the gov't became res publica or republic.
plebeian- lower class, common people, (sometimes wealthy)
patricians- upper class, land owners, powerful, lots of connections.
Senate: (like aristocracy) govt assembly of 300 unpaid patricians, appointed for life, first by kings, then consuls
Consuls: (like monarchy) two senators who led the Gov't and military for one year terms, could veto each other
Tribunes: (like democracy)leaders of the plebeian assembly
Twelve Tables: the first time laws were written down in Rome, in public displayed in forum, to protect plebeians.
The Constitution of the US and separation of powers: Senate/assemblies - US senate/ House of Reps, Consuls/Dictator - President, Senate could act like judges - like our own supreme court
Forum: Romes political center.
Octavian: AKA Caesar Augustus
Augustus- First Emperor.

• begins Pax Romana- a period of peace an prosperity
• built roads, aqueducts
• Set up civil service to take care of roads, etc.

5/5/2014

Jesus

was a Roman citizen and a practicing Jew

At 30, he began his ministry (A.D. 31-33), preaching to the poor. 

Paul

• is instrumental in telling the world about Jesus' life, death resurrection, and message
• He travels far and wide: Cyprus, Anatolia, Athens, Corinth, Macedonia, Rome, Jerusalem, and maybe even Spain and Britain.
• he writes letters to many of those he spoke to - these epistles are a part of the New Testament
• If not for the efforts of Paul, He may just have been remembered as a preacher not as the savior. 

Caligula 

• Germanicus' son, Tiberius' adopted grandson and great- nephew, putting him in line for Emperor.
• He started off well: granting bonuses to those in the military, declaring treason trials a thing of the past, and made government spending a matter of public record. 
• He began to fight with the senate. 
• He claimed to be a god, and had statues displayed in many places - including the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. (sacrilege)
• Other examples of cruelty and insanity: he slept with other men's wives and bragged about it, indulged in too much spending and sex, and even tried to make his horse a consul and a priest. 
• Assassinated by his own aides, A.D. 41 age 28

Claudius

• limp, slight deafness, possible speech impediment- Thought to be Cerebral palsy or polio.
• last adult male in his family when Caligula died. 
• conquered Britain, built roads, canals, and aqueducts
• Had an awful marriage, his wife, Messalina,  plotted to kill him and let her lover get to be the emperor, so Claudius killed them. 

Religious Troubles

• Christianity and Judaism: Monotheistic. 
• A.D. 66: a group of Jews called the zealots tried to rebel, but Roman troops put them down and burned their temple (except for one wall).
• Half a million Jews died in the rebellion.
• Romans were harsh toward those who would not worship the emperor. 
• especially Christians who were viewed as a "cult"
• often used for "entertainment" purposes in the Colosseum. 
• Christianity grew quickly by A.D. 200, around 10 percent of the people in the Roman Empire were Christians. 

5/2/2014

Assassination and Another Caesar

• In 44 B.C. Caesar secured a vote from the Senate making him dictator for life. 
• Caesars death did not restore the Republic, it produced another crop of war lords and more bouts of civil wars.
• the senate proclaimed Julius Caesar as a "divine being" (divus)
• In 31 B.C. the rulers of the two halves of Rome's empire went to war.

The Roman Peace

• Augustus's new system of government kept many features of the Roman Republic, allowed subject peoples a good deal of self-rule, and brought Rome's destabilizing expansion to a halt. The result was two hundred years of stability that modern scholars call the Roman Peace. 
• "the era of the Roman Peace was one of massive social, religious, and cultural changes that would form a new pattern of western civilization."
• Augustan Settlement 
• Princeps- "First Citizen", a traditional Roman name for prominent leaders who were considered indispensable to the Republic that came to be used by Augustus and other early emperors. 
• Reform, Reconstruction, and the End of Expansion.
• Augustus began a whole series of large-scale reforms. 
• First, he brought the system of government appointments under his personal control.
• Second, He showed respect for local institutions and encouraged provincial leaders to fulfill their responsibilities. 
• Third, Augustus reorganized the army to ensure the loyalty of the rank and file soldiers. 
• Then he brought about is single most drastic reform. Making soldiers volunteers.
• Permanent Monarchy
• caesar- the imperial title given to the designated successor of a reigning emperor. 
• augustus - The imperial title given to a reigning emperor
• Roman Peace- (Pax Romana) A term used to refer to the relative stability and prosperity that Roman rule brought to the Mediterranean world and much of western Europe during the first and second centuries A.D.
  

4/30/2014

Today during class we didn't do anything. Mr. Schick said we could have a break instead of having class.

4/29/2014

The Roman Empire.

• Octavian- Caesar Augustus. He was Julius Caesar's grandnephew.
•  begins the Pax Romana- a period of peace and prosperity.
• built roads, aqueducts (brought water to the cities)
• Set up civil service to take care of roads, the grain supply, even a postal service.
• Augustus dies at age 76 in A.D. 14, and passes power to Tiberius.
• Jesus
• was a roman citizen and a practicing Jew
• at 30, he began his ministry (A.D. 31-33), preaching to the poor (and there were lots of them) in the empire, and reaching out to outsiders.
• statements like "My kingdom is not of this world" made the Romans (and the Jews) nervous, and they began to plan his execution.
• The governor of the Roman providence of Judea, Pontius Pilate (promoted by Jewish high priests), sentences Jesus to death by crucifixion.

4/28/2014

Today I missed class because I have a virus called Herpangina, and I might also have strep throat. I will hopefully be in school tomorrow because the virus is suppose to last a week and I have had it for about a week now.

4/25/2014

Today during class we finished the projects, and then Mr. Schick gave us a lecture about..

• Proletarian - in ancient Rome, a property less but voting citizen.
• The Grachi brothers
• people that had a terrible life, without land, had to fight in the army now because they wanted to make money.
• "semi-professional" soldiers who fought largely in the hope of bettering themselves through pay, loot, promotion, and above all grants of land or money to provide them with a living when they were discharge.
• people used to fight wars to defend Rome, then they started to do it to make money.
• Many army commanders turned into what amounted to independent warlords.
• Julius Caesar
• came from an old patrician family that had come down on the world.
• entered the city's politics as a young man determined to regain the fame and power of his ancestors.
• He stuck up for the poor and middle class people even though he was in the upper class.
• He was a brilliant thinker and brilliant politician.
• in 60 B.C. he began to collaborate with Gnaeus Pompeis.
• He and  Gnaeus Pompeis formed a triumvirate ("three man board"), together with another former henchman of Sulla, Marcus Crassus, that was for a time the dominant political force in Rome.  
• Had A LOT of power.
• he fought with his guys.

4/23/2014

Today during class we did our presentations again. I presented mine with Phil and Cam. I think we did pretty well.

4/22/2014

Today during class we did our presentations. I am presenting tomorrow with Phil and Cam. We made a scale model of the ancient roman coliseum.

4/11/2014

Today we had a test. I think I did okay. I missed a couple classes because of Lacrosse games so I was not familiar with some of the questions.

4/9/2014

Since I missed class yesterday, Cam sent me his notes.

Additional Notes

• Since there was so many middle class citizens in ancient Rome a new house was made called the assembly the representatives for the common people were called tribunes
• Three parts of the Roman Republic was: Democracy, Monarchy, and Aristocracy
• The main square in Rome was called the Forum
• res publica stands for the republic in Ancient Rome
• Consuls(two of them) represents Monarchy. Like President in the U.S.A government
• Assembly represents Democracy. Like House of Representatives in U.S.A government
• Senate represents the Aristocracy. Like the Senate in U.S.A government
• The dictator who was elected for a time of crisis could only serve for 6 months max

 

Punic Wars: only on the first war not the other two

• Carthage vs. Rome
• Carthage is on the north coast of Africa
• Carthage  had control of almost all of Africa's north coast and  some of Europe like Spain
• 3 wars were fought total
• First war was a battle over the island of Sicily, Rome won
• Hannibal(Carthage army general) used elephants to fight in wars 

 

My Notes from todays class

• Roman Legion- Rome's army
• A legion is made of 5000 men. A century- 80 men.
• Infantry was foot soldiers.
• Cavalry was people on horse back.
• Carthage is located in Northern Africa

Punic Wars

• Rome VS Carthage.
• First Punic war was specifically fought over Sicily. won by the Romans
•  Second Punic war was because Hannibal wanted to get revenge after his dad died in the first roman war. Rome won.
• Third Punic war. Rome wanted to get rid of Carthage before they could get more troops again. Rome destroyed Carthage.

4/8/2014

Today I missed class because I had to leave early for a lacrosse game.

4/7/2014

1. How did geography effect the development of Rome?

Rome was in a very good location, on a river in the center of Italy. They could control all of Italy. Romans thought very highly of them selves because Italy was in the middle of the Mediterranean sea, and Rome was in the middle of Italy.

2. How did the Etruscans influence the development of Rome?

The king of Rome was a Etruscan. He grew Rome very large and wealthy. The Romans hated the Etruscan Rule, so they over threw their king and became a republic. The Etruscans came up with the grid system, streets were in rows. They also came up with gladiator fighting as entertainment.

3. Which were the main groups that competed for power in the early Roman republic?

The two main groups that competed for power were the nobles/patricians and the common people/ the plebeians. First, the nobles dominated the government, but over time the common people won more rights.

4.What is the significance of the twelve tables in Roman law?

The twelve tables was a set of rules that was the basis for the Roman law. It said that all free citizens were protected by law. It was posted in a public place for all to see.

5. How did Rome regain control of Italy after the sacking of the city by the Gauls?

 They were able to rebuild because they were in a great location, and after rebuilding their city, they went to the Gual's city and destroyed their city. Gaul was an area north of Italy. The Gaul's were the French of today.

page 95-97 notes

The Punic wars were waged on land and sea in three vicious rounds between 264 and 146 B.C.

The first phase Rome was able to force Carthage out of Sicily.
The second phase Carthage ended up being disarmed and helpless.
The third, Carthage was captured.
In 202 B.C. Rome had won control of the western Mediterranean.

4/5/2014

The Rise of Rome

• The romans not only imitated Greek civilization but also improved on it, at least so far as government and warfare were concerned.
• They arrived in a Mediterranean land with farming resources that were basically similar to those of Greece or Palestine, but able to support a larger population.
• The Indo-Europeans  settlers formed various tribal groups, among them the Latin people of central Italy. Some of the Latins settled near the mouth of the Tiber River, building a cluster of dwellings on low-lying hills along the river.
• The Etruscans were non-European immigrants who arrived in Italy from somewhere to the east about the ninth century B.C. 
• The Greek city states had begun to plant colonies in southern Italy as early as the eighth century B.C.
• Latins learned the alphabet and gained knowledge of the life of Greek city states rom the Greeks.
• The king was advised by a council of elders called the senate, meaning "old man". These men were appointed by the King, usually among the patricians or "men with fathers"
• Around 500 B.C., Rome over threw its Etruscan rulers, and the monarchy was also abolished. The government of the Roman city-state became officially the "peoples business", or Republic.
• The Greek government was a system of government that was neither a Greek style democracy nor an oligarchy, but a mixture of both.
• Plebeians - the common people.
• The "peoples business" was practically run by the senate, an assembly of about three hundred heads of patrician families. Two among the senators functioned as consuls.
• The one year terms of the consuls, and the fact that there were two of them, were a guarantee against a revival of monarchy.
• In times of an emergency the consuls, on the advice of the senate could appoint a dictator, with full power to give orders and make laws for a maximum period of six months.
• After Tarcon the Proud, the romans never wanted someone to get too powerful ever again.
• Tribunes - magistrates elected by the plebeians, who eventually gained power to initiate and veto laws.

4/2/2014

• Three main groups that settled in Italy: First was The Latins, then came Etruscans and Greeks.
• Rome was on the middle of the peninsula in the middle of the Mediterranean sea, on the Tiber River.
• Tarquin the Proud was the last king that ever lead Roman. He was expelled by the citizens. They ran him out of town, and then never had a king again.
• "res publica" is Latin for the peoples business. This is where the word republican comes from.
• Republic: part democracy, part monarchy, part aristocracy.
• Instead of one leader, they had two consuls.
• Senate and house of representatives. USA copied how the Romans government was.
• house of representatives represents the little guy. The senate is much more powerful.
• democracy= house of representatives. monarchy = presidents, aristocracy = senate
• plebeians- middle class.
• patricians - very powerful, lots of money.
• slaves - little power, little say.

My group for the project is Cameron, Phil and I.

4/1/2014

Today I missed class because of an early dismissal for my lacrosse game. We play Gerstell Academy, it is a conference game. Mr. Schick also missed class, so we had a sub. I don't think that I missed much.

3/31/2014 Roman Government

            The Romans were under the influence of the Etruscans and the Greeks. This means they borrowed things from them. The Romans borrowed skills that enabled them to build their unique political institutions. First the Romans modeled the Etruscan government, powerful kings, including actual Etruscan Conquerors. The Senate, was a council of elders that advised the king. The king appointed the people in the senate, he usually chose from the Patricians, "men with fathers" (men whose fathers already belonged to the Senate). The Senate chose who the kings successor was when the king died.
          Around 500 B.C. the Etruscan rulers were overthrown, and monarchy was abolished. The Roman Government became a Republic, or the "peoples business". The Roman Republic developed  very slowly because of social struggles between aristocrats and commoners. When it was finally developed, the result was a mixture of a Greek democracy and an oligarchy.

3/26/2014

Today in class we had a test. I thought that some of the test was hard but overall I think I did okay on it, at least I hope I did. I studied last night a lot for it but I still didn't know some of the things like who Darius was, or Cleisthenes, and a couple more. Hopefully I did well.

3/25/2014

Today in class we reviewed more for the test tomorrow. We watched a video. This video talked about: Darius, Hoplites, Phidepedeus, Themistocles, and many other things. It talked about how Phidipedeus ran 26 miles from Marathon to Athens and in one version dies, and in the other doesn't die. Another version of this story is that he ran 140 miles in 2 days from Athens to Sparata, in one version he dies and in the other he doesn't. Also it talks about how Themistocles was not an aristocrat, he was just a common person and because of democracy, he became a general. Lastly the video talked about triremes and how they were the most advanced weapon of the day.

3/24/2014

Today I was late to class because of an orthodontist appointment. We went over a handout that we got a couple weeks ago, because we have a quiz Wednesday. I don't think that it is confusing but, it is hard to remember all the Greeks names, and what they did.

3/21/2014

Today during class we went over the commercials again. We got our grades for the commercials too. Other then that we really didn't do much. We have a test next week on Wednesday.

3/19/2014

Today was the first day in a while that Mr. Schick has been back in class. Today we went over the homework from the cyber day and the handout we got a while ago. We reviewed for the test that will be Friday. I still need to study a lot for the test because I don't know a lot of the stuff on the handout because all of the different names confuse me.

3/18/2014

Today during class we had another sub. Mr. Schick had to go to an academic competition. We had to finish and review our handout that was given to us a while ago and finish the questions from the Cyber Day yesterday. Since I already finished my handout and the questions from the Cyber Day, I only had to review the handout.

Cyber Day 3/17/2014

• Greece doesn't have much fertile land.
• About 3/4 of Greece is covered by mountains.
• Barbarian is a life based upon farming, warfare, and tribal organization.
• Megalithic are massive rough-cut stones used to construct monuments and tombs
• A tribe is a social and political unit consisting of a group of communities held together by common interests, tradition, and real or mythical ties of kinship.
• Tribes were governed by warrior kings or queens. 
• The first European barbarian people to make contact with civilization were the Greeks.
• China would not be considered a member of the western civilization.
• The Ionian Sea is located west of the Greeks mainland.
• The Aegean Sea is located east of the Greek’s mainland.
• The major crops the Aegean people lived on are grains, vines, and olives.
• Minoan civilization arose on the island of Crete.
• Mycenaean’s established settlements along the Greek mainland southern shore and on some islands. 
• The Mycenaean people built massive walls to protect themselves from attack.
• The Dark Age is when the population dropped, ships no longer sailed, and writing fell out of use. 
• The Greeks joined the Phoenicians.
• "c" means around, about, and circa.
• Greek city states that dotted around the coastline around the Mediterranean sea were called colonies
• Ancient Greek city-states most closely resembled counties.
•  A oligarchy is were a small group of citizens dominated, and the power of the majority was limited in various ways.
• A democracy is a form of government in which decisions were made by the majority of adult male citizens.
• A tyranny is a form of government in which a self-proclaimed dictator held power.
• A monarchy is a form of government in which power is held by a single ruler, and is often passed along from father to son.
• Spartans used oligarchy.
• Boys were taken by the age of seven to begin their military training.
• Athens was the wealthiest city-state.
• An acropolis was the high fortified citadel and religious center of an ancient Greek town.
• Sparta is located on the Peloponnesus peninsula.
• Triremes were massive fighting ships with three banks of oars, used to ram or board enemy ships.  
• Hoplite was a heavily armed and armored citizen-solider of ancient Greece.
•  The time period when the Greek population dropped, ships no longer sailed, and writing fell out of use was called The Dark ages. The Dark Ages began 1100 b.c. and ended 700 b.c.
• Homer wrote The Iliad and the Odyssey.
• The word “Mediterranean” originally meant middle of the earth.
• Prominent and long-established Athenian land-owners were called aristocrats.

3/14/2014

Today in class we watched the beginning of part two of  The Ancient Greece video. We had to work on a worksheet that went with the video. We had to watch the videos individually because we couldn't figure out how to make the projector to play sound.

3/12/2014

Today I missed class because of a lacrosse game. I think we just finished watching the commercials.

3/11/2014

Today during class we started to watch the commercials for Athens and Sparta.

3/10/2014

Today during class, we had another substitute as are teacher because Mr. Schick was out again. During class we worked on our storyboards and commercials to make them a little bit better, and we worked on the worksheet that we got last week.

3/7/2014

Today during class we had a substitute teacher because Mr. Schick is on the senior retreat. We had to finish our study guide for our test. We couldn't watch the movie on the screen because the sound wouldn't work. We had to watch it individually on our own computers.

3/5/2014

The past two days we have been watching a movie called Crucible of Civilization

3/3/2014

Today we had another day off of school, but we had cyberday again even though we still have extra snow days. I think if we get off again we shouldn't have cyberday because we have extra snow days. I also think teachers shouldn't make things due at 3:00 P.M. because some students help their neighbors shovel, and try to earn money, if teachers make things due at three then the students have to do their homework instead of help their elderly neighbors who can't shovel their own driveways and walkways. I don't like cyberday because some teachers give a lot more than 30 minute assignments, and we are stuck inside doing homework instead of doing the right thing and helping our neighbors shovel.

2/28/2014

Friday in class we watched a couple videos on how to make a good commercial. Now we have to make a video to attract tourists to Sparta or Athens.

2/26/2014

Review

• Athens had a very strong Navy, and Sparta had a very strong Army.
• trireme- a massive ship, 3 sections for people to row. It has a very big wooden ram that is covered in metal that would hit other ships and make them sink, damage the ship, etc.
• Sparta was isolated, barely ever traded
• Athens welcomed foreigners, traded often.
•  Phalanx- 256 guys in a formation with people in the front holding their spears out and shields in front.
• Athens was more focused on literature (learning), Sparta was more focused on war.
• Aliens- people that came from other parts of the world.
• Acropolis- a combination of fortresses and temples at the highest point of the town, near water so they could see their enemies coming.
• Monarchy- run by one person (king or queen)
• oligarchy - rule by group of people
• tyranny- when you seize power and just take over and run things.
• Democracy- people have a say, people can vote. (only adult males that are from the country, Not aliens)
• Peloponnesus- the peninsula off of Greece.

2/25/2014

• Greece
• geography
• mountainous (mountains cover 3/4 of Greece)
• a lot of islands
• location shaped culture
• skilled sailors
• poor natural resources
• difficult to unite because of because of terrain
• approximately 20% of land suitable for farming
• 1/4 of peninsula are fertile valleys
• grew grains, grapes, and olives
• lack of resources most likely led to Greek colonization
• temperature range from 48 degrees in the winter to 80 in the summer.
• Mycenaeans
•  began around 2000 BC
• Mycenae is located on a rocky ridge and protected by a 20 foot thick wall.
• Mycenaean kings dominated Greece from 1600 - 1200 BC
• controlled trade
• 1400BC Mycenaeans invaded Crete and absorbed Minoan culture and language.
• culture in decline
• known as the Dark Ages
• Around 1200 BC sea people began to invade Mycenae and burnt palace after palace.
• The Dorians moved into the war-torn region.
• far less advanced
• economy collapsed
• writing disappeared for 400 years
• Homer and Myths
• Stories were passed on by word of mouth.
• Homer lived at the end of the "Greek Dark Ages"
• stories of the Trojan war in the Iliad and the Odyssey (written 750-700 BC)
• Trojan war was probably one of the last conquests of the mycenaens.
• Odyssey was 12,110 lines of dactylic hexameter. 

2/24/2014

• Citizens and communities: The Greek City-States
• acropolis- the high fortified citadel and religious center of an ancient Greek town.
• City states and citizens
• Athenian Owl- the slang name for the coin that the Athenians used. On one side it had an owl and the other the goddess Athena.
• hoplites- A heavily armed and armored citizen soldier of ancient Greece.
• phalanx- a unit of several hundred hoplites, who closed ranks by joining shields when approaching an enemy.
• "Alongside Mesopotamia and Egypt there now appeared a third great civilization: that of classical Greece."
• Monarchy, oligarchy, tyranny, democracy
• monarchy-A state in which supreme power is held by a single usually hereditary ruler, or monarch
• oligarchy- A state in which supreme power is held by a small group.
• triremes- Massive fighting vessels with three banks of oars, used to ram or board enemy ships.
• Tyranny- Rule by a self proclaimed dictator, or tyrant.
• democracy- in ancient Greece, a form of government in which all adult male citizens were entitled to take part in decision making.
• Sparta: The military ideal
• helots- Noncitizens forced to work for landholders in the ancient city-states of Sparta.
• Ephors- (overseers) They were elected annually, a group of 5  officials usually elderly.
• took boys at the age of 7 to fight in wars.
• Athens: Freedom and Power
• Aristocrats and commoners
• Aristocrats- descendants of prominent and long-established Athenian families that had traditionally ruled the city-state.
• Athenians called them selves "the fine and noble ones". They prided them selves on being exceptionally excellent human beings.
• From Monarchy to Democracy
• two turning points in the life of Athens and the rest of Greece: the Persian wars, and the Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta.
• The workings of democracy: officials and courts
• Ostracism- Banishment for ten years by majority vote of the Athenian Assembly
• Women in Athens
• the husband could find different women if he found his wife boring
• Athenian customs: The love between men and boys.
• Aliens
• Freeborn aliens were mostly greek and were still citizens of their city states even though their families might have lived in Athens for generations.
• Slaves
• not all of them lived lives of total subjection and powerless.
• some of them got an education.
• Spartan vs Athens
• Spartans were war based.
• Athenians more on knowledge.
• Spartans kept their self from the outside world
• Athenians welcomed the outside world.
• Athenians though the way the Spartans lived was a "joke"

2/21/2014

Today in class we had auditions for who was going to teach class on Monday because Mr. Schick is not going to be here. We also went over some thing about the European Barbarians and some review about the Greeks.

• The Greeks
• Had new ideas
• Incredible art forms.
• started the democratic government
• innovation in warfare
• the European barbarians
• 3500BC built megalithic, massive rough-cut stones used to construct monuments, tombs, etc.
• 2500 BC indo European nomads migrated from the steppes in eastern Europe their language would evolve into Greek and Latin.
• Their lives centered around strength and courage, comradeship and loyalty, contests and battle.
• tribes are social and political unit consisting of communities held together by common interests, traditions, and real or mythical ties of kinship

2/19/2014

Today in class we reviewed are tests. No one in the class got an A on the test. Other than reviewing the tests we didn't do much.

2/18/2014

Today in class we played a game about building a pyramid. I couldn't beat the game in class so I beat it at home. Here is a screenshot of the finished pyramid.

The First European Civilization: The Greeks

"Within Classical Greek Civilization there appeared ideas, art forms, and types of government whose influence on Western Civilization has lasted down to the present day."

• The Greeks began as barbarian people.
• Barbarian means that they had a distinctive way of life, based on farming and warfare.
• Citadel and Shrine
• megalithic- massive rough cut stones used to construct monuments and tombs
• tribes- a social and political unit consisting of a group of communities held together by common interests, traditions, and real or mythical ties of kinship.
•  3500 BC megalithic structures constructed in Europe.
• 2500 BC Indo-European nomads from the steppes migrate into Europe; European barbarian way of life evolves
• 2200 BC Minoan Civilization takes root in Crete; Greeks arrive in southeastern Europe.
• 1600 BC Greek fortified settlements along the Aegean develop  Mycenaean civilization.
• 1400 BC Destruction of Minoan towns
• 1200 BC Mycenaean civilization falls, beginning of dark ages of Greek history
• 800 BC recovery  in the Aegean, Greek city-state forms
• 494-445 BC Persian Wars
• 460-430 BC Golden Age of Athens
• Stonehenge is the most famous of megalithic structures.
• the Greeks settled in the mainland Greece from about 2000 BC onward.
• the Greeks developed a distinctive civilization of their own, the first to emerge in Europe, and the first the counts as definitely "Western"

2/14/2014

A. Three technological innovations/inventions of the ancient Egyptians are Calendars, sailboats, and irrigation. Calendars allowed them to create a year into 365 days, they had better sense of seasonal cycles (they knew when it was going to flood and when they should plant their crops). Sailboats were used as transportation along the Nile. Lastly, irrigation allowed them to get water to their crops easier and faster.

B. Three important features of the Egyptian pyramids are burial places/tombs, hidden/false pathways, and how it was made. Pyramids were burial places for pharaohs, the pharaohs were mummified inside the pyramid. Their were many false pathways, so that people that were trying to steal things in the pyramid would get lost. Lastly, one great feature was how it was made, they has to use pulley systems to lift these heavy rocks.

Essay

Egypt is one of the oldest civilizations. It is made of  "two lands", upper and lower Egypt. The Nile river runs threw Egypt. The Nile was the major provider for the Egyptians. Their government was run by a Gog-King/Pharaoh. The Pharaoh was all powerful, and worshipped as a god. Egyptians believed in many different gods, over 2000. The Egyptian's social hierarchy was like a "pyramid".

The social Hierarchy of Egypt was looked at as a "pyramid". The Pharaohs were at the top of the pyramid, and the slaves at the bottom. The slaves and servants helped the wealthy. Farmers weren't the lowest on the pyramid but they were pretty low, they raised wheat, barley, lentils, and onions. Artisans carved statues and  reliefs showing military battles and scenes from the after life. Scribes were higher up on the pyramid, but still fairly low, they kept records,  told stories, and described anatomy, and medical treatments. Soldiers even higher up on the pyramid, fought with wooden weapons with bronze tips. The class below the pharaoh but very high on the pyramid was called the "white kilt class". These were the physicians, priests, and engineers. The pharaoh of coarse was at the top of the pyramid, because he was the religious and political leader. As you can see, people clearly had their spot in society.

The Nile river was the major provider for the Egyptians. People would make settlements as close as they could to the Nile. The only area that was prosperous in Egypt was a 500 mile strip of fertile land along the Nile. The Nile was used for transportation, people made sail boats so that could transport goods. The Nile was also used for drinking, irrigation, and bathing. Farmers used it for irrigation and used the silt it left behind because it was very fertile soil. If the Nile had little water, than the Egyptians didn't have enough drinking water, water for farming, etc. Without the Nile, Egypt would be no where close to as good of a civilization as they are now.

2/12/2013

Today in class we watched a video of some guy summarizing everything we have learned in this lesson. We also talked about how we were suppose to get a lot of snow, 6 to 14 inches. We are already off tomorrow because of it and it hasn't snowed yet. We have to do something called cyber school to make up for some of the snow days we have had. We have to do school work and home work that the teachers assign us from home so that it counts as a school day.

2/11/2014

Today in class we had a substitute teacher because Mr. Schick wasn't at school. We had to work quietly and study for our test tomorrow. I went over all of my notes in my composition book and went over all of my notes on my blog. Reviewing these notes will hopefully help me on the test.

Egypt

• Geography
• Nile river
• water for drinking, irrigating, bathing, and for transportation
• every July it floods
• every October it leaves behind rich soil (silt)
• the delta is abroad, marshy triangular area of fertile silt.
• managing the river required technological break throws in irrigation.
• pyramids
• the great sphinx of Giza
• built 2555-2532 B.C.
• it is a lion with a humans head.
• oldest monumental statue in the world
• Daily life
• people had rankings with the pharaoh at the top of the pyramid, and slaves at the bottom.
• slaves and servants helped the wealthy
• farmers raised wheat, barely, lentils, and onions.
• benefited from irrigation of the Nile.
• Artisans carved statues and reliefs showing military battles and scenes from the after life.
• money/barter system was used. (trade for grain).
• scribes kept records, told stories, wrote poetry, described anatomy, and medical treatments. (used hieroglyphics and hieratic).
• soldiers used wooden weapons (bows and weapons) with bronze tips. (bronze age)
• upper class - "white kilt class" (priests, physicians, engineers)
• pharaoh- religious and political leader.
• pharaohs
• "lord of two lands" or "high priest of every temple"
• owned all land, made law, collected taxes, defended Egypt
• Hatshepsut was a woman who was a pharaoh
• Cleopatra VII also had served as a pharaoh. (51-30 B.C.)
• Goddess and Gods
• over 2000 Gods and Goddesses
• they controlled the lives of the humans. 

2/7/2014

• The writing of the words of God
• Earliest Egyptian writing formed in 3100 B.C. and were small pictures known as hieroglyphics.
• hieroglyphics were pictures and hieratic script was almost an alphabet.
• papyrus- paper made from wreathes that grew on the Nile. 
• Papyrus made scrolls which were books of ancient Egypt.
• calendars and sailboats
• they created a year into 365 days, which helped them know when to plant food and when it was going to flood because of seasonal cycles.
• sailboats were used as transportation on the Nile.
• pyramids and temples
• pyramids were massive stone tombs, originally covered in marble.
• the temple of Amon, the largest religious building still.
• the rhythm of Egypt history
• Egypt history is one of long period unbroken stability, punctuated with occasional periods of turmoil and distribution.  

Lands of Pharaohs: Egypt

• Egypt is made of "two lands".
• Egypt is a 500 mile strip of fertile land along the Nile.
•  Lower Egypt is wide land of the Nile delta, emptying in the Mediterranean sea.
• The Nile was the major provider for the Egyptians.
• In 3100 B.C. the two lands were united by a "pharaoh".
• government by a God-King (pharaoh)
• pharaohs were all powerful, worshiped as a god.
• Maat- harmony and balance of the universe
• pharaohs had multiple wives, sometimes even their sisters.
• women could inherit money, and land, and divorce their husband.
•  Very few women though ever had political power.
• Gods, humans and everlasting life
• gods were often portrayed with animal heads or bodies
• Egyptians believed in an after life and mummified bodies

Land of the Pharaos: Egypt

• Egyptian civilization was more stable than the Mesopotamian civilizations.
• The Narmer Palette was used for grinding make up for divine images in an upper Egyptian temple in about 3100B.C.
• Ancient Egypt grew up in a thin strip of fertile land where the Nile flows across the north African desert.
• Egypt was divided into "two lands", upper and lower Egypt. upper Egypt is a narrow strip of fertile land, it stretches alongside the river as it crosses the north African desert. Lower Egypt is many water ways that spread apart for the last 100 miles before it reaches the sea.
• Pharaohs, the rulers of ancient Egypt, were like the kings of Egypt.
• the Egyptians were polytheistic.
• "For the Egyptians, the pharaoh was to be obeyed as a man given power by the gods and venerated as a god who dwelt among men."
• Maat is universal stability and harmony.
• the sun god was the king of all of the other gods and goddesses.
• Hatshepsut was a women pharaoh that resigned at about 1500 B.C. Her name was erased off monuments, because she was a female pharaoh and that was thought to go against maat.
• The great Sphinx shows that they believe in a pharaoh as a god-king.
• the sphinx's body is a lion body, and the face is the face of king Khafre.
• the earliest Egyptian writing is called hieroglyphics. Pictures stood for words or separate sounds of words.
• Pyramids are a massive structure with sloping sides that meet at an apex, used as a royal tomb in ancient Egypt.
• Isis, Guide of souls is a tomb painting that shows hieroglyphics.
• Hyksos, Semitic immigrant tribes, were able to move into lower Egypt and the middle kingdom came to an end.
•  "I crushed a million countries by myself, on 'victory-in-thebes' mutis pleased my horse" is a scene from the battle of Qadesh.

From Prehistry to Civilization

Language, Religion, Art, Technology, Farming, Family Life, and village communities-- all these basic features of human existence originated in prehistoric times. Prehistory is the period before history was recorded through written documents. The temple of Amon was constructed in 1600 BC. This is the world largest religious building today. Paleolithic Age is the earliest prehistoric period. People started developing tools. By 8000 B.C. they had advanced so far in southwestern Asia and northeastern Africa, This was the Neolithic Age. Before people started advancing, hunting and gathering was the only way to get food. The agricultural revolution is when people started planting food, and taming animals. This began in the fertile crescent. Potery making was a major advance during the agricultural revolution. This was called the Neolithic Storage Jar. Polythiesm is when people believe in more than one God. Sumer an are between the tigris and Euphrates rivers advanced a lot during the agricultural revolution. Sorry I wasn't able to finish my notes because I am going on the ski trip this weekend.

1/28/2014

Today in class we reviewed what we learned yesterday. We learned about the worlds first epic, "Epic of Gilgamesh. It was a story about a great flood. We learned more about Sumer. And about King Hammurabi's laws. One example of these laws is law number 22, the law about stealing, I think is very harsh because it says if anyone gets caught steeling, then they are executed. I think this is harsh because stealing is a crime but I think the penalty should be less severe so that they stop stealing but still should live. Another example is if one steals a minor son of another, they shall be put to death. This law also seems harsh because I don't think that by killing them that will solve the problem. Another example is number 210, If the woman die, his daughter shall be put to death. I think this law is also wrong because the mans daughter did nothing wrong so she shouldn't get the penalty, they should give a penalty to the man that killed the woman. These laws were meant for things to be equal but I don't think they were very equal or fair.

1/27/2014

Today in western civ we learned about many things. We learned what the western world was (Europe and The Americas). We learned what prehistoric means, before things were getting written down. Some other things we learned about are the Paleolithic age (old stone age), the Neolithic age (New stone age). The Neolithic age is when people began making tools, and people were advancing. We also learned about the Agriculture Revolution, Invention of wheel and plow, Mesopotamia and Sumer.

First Day in Western Civ

Today was my first day in western civ. We learned about how to make a blog, and how we have to post blogs every day. Our class was pretty short because of the two hour delay we had this morning. We had a two hour delay because of "extreme temperature". It was very cold this morning.

Western Civ First Blog

This is my first post for my Western Civ Blog.