Rise and Fall of Classical Civilizations in the Mediterranean

1
Rise and Fall of Classical Civilizations in the
Mediterranean
2
Rise and Fall of Greek Civilization

• Greek civilization rose between 800 and 600
  B.C.E. due to the formation of strong
  city-states regional cities that served as
  provinces within the Greek country.
• Greece reached its pinnacle under the leadership
  of Pericles, who led Athens to a golden age.
• Greece fell into decline after the Peloponnesian
  Wars of 431-404 B.C.E., pitting Athens and Sparta
  against one another.
• Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander
  conquered the Greek mainland in 338 B.C.E, adding
  it to their empire and commencing the Hellenistic
  period.

3
Greek Political Institutions

• Athens pioneered the direct democracy- political
  decisions were made by general assemblies,
  although usually only a minority of the
  population attended.
• Women, slaves, and foreigners had no rights to
  political participation- only male citizens were
  permitted to participate.
• During the Peloponnesian Wars, Athens
  demonstrated the drawbacks of democracy, such as
  low-class citizens who encouraged a reckless
  military.
• Despite its democracy, Athens engaged in an
  age-old oligarchy.

4
Greek Religion

• Greece did not generate a major religion, but
  rather engaged in a form of polytheism
  characterized by gods who possessed human-esque
  flaws.
• Regular ceremonies to the gods had real political
  importance.
• Greek religion tended to be more earthly in its
  approach, unlike monotheism.
• However, it lacked the ability to spiritually
  satisfy the working class.

5
The Development of Philosophy

• Where the Greeks failed in religion, they
  excelled in philosophy.
• The philosopher Socrates developed the Socratic
  method- rational inquiry by means of skeptical
  questioning- which later became an imperative
  function in the heritage of Greek thinking.
• Important Greek philosophers included Socrates,
  Plato, Aristotle.
• Greek interest in rationality caused philosophers
  to classify much of the physical world.

6
Greek Cultural Contributions

• Greeks did much for the arts, including
  contributing to literature and inventing drama.
  The Athenian dramatist Sophocles developed the
  theory of the Oedipus complex.
• Epic literature flowered beneath the Hellenistic
  period, including the Iliad, the Odyssey, and
  Sophocles play Oedipus Rex.
• Greeks also contributed much to architecture and
  shipbuilding.

7
The Greek Economy

• Greece harbored a substantial population of free
  farmers who sold their crops in the largely
  agricultural market.
• The rise of commercial agriculture led to much of
  the success experienced in Greek city-states.
• Leading merchants were typically foreigners-
  citizens were often farmers.
• Slavery was a key element in the Greek economy,
  but unlike later societies, Greeks did not
  mistreat their slaves, but rather treated them as
  household servants.

8
Greek Society

• Greek society emphasized a tight family structure
  with the husband and father figure firmly in
  control.
• Women had vital economic functions, particularly
  in farming and artisan families, but were held
  inferior in law and culture.
• Few farmers actively participated in democratic
  functions or cultural opportunities such as
  festivals.
• Technological advancements made during the
  Hellenistic era paled in comparison to those of
  the Roman empire.

9
The Rise and Fall of Rome

• The Roman republic was founded in 509 B.C.E.,
  although despite the republic, the position of
  emperor was maintained.
• A strong military and a drive to conquer led to
  the attainment of vast territories that composed
  the Roman empire.
• The Roman empire lasted for over 900 years before
  its collapse in 476 C.E.

10
Roman Political Institutions

• The Roman republic encouraged citizens to gather
  in public assemblies to elect magistrates.
• The first code of law, The Twelve Tables, was
  established in 450 B.C.E. as a prelude to the
  Roman constitution.
• The Senate was the most important legislative
  body, composed largely of aristocrats.
• Two consuls shared primary executive power, but
  in times of crisis, a dictator could be appointed
  by the Senate.
• The republic developed numerous organizational
  capabilities due to the sheer size of the empire.
  
• Local autonomy was maintained in conquered
  provinces, and there was considerable tolerance
  for indigenous customs.

11
Roman Religion

• Rome began with firm support of polytheism,
  choosing to worship and rename the gods of their
  Greek ancestors while fusing them with Egyptian
  gods, as well.
• As the concept of monotheism swept Europe, the
  emperor Constantine elected Christianity as the
  state religion in 313 C.E.
• It was this upheaval between traditional and new
  that contributed to the toppling of the Roman
  empire.

12
Roman Cultural Contributions

• Where the Greeks succeeded in shipbuilding, the
  Romans excelled in engineering innovations, such
  as the aqueduct.
• Writers such as Cicero philosophized extensively
  upon government, and Virgil penned The Aeneid
  during the decadence of the Roman empire.
• The Romans expanded greatly upon Greek
  architectural advances.
• The concept of public government buildings
  flourished in Rome.

13
The Roman Economy

• The rise of commercial agriculture was one of the
  leading developments in the formation of an
  empire.
• Rome contained abundant slave labor, although
  considerably less kind than that of the Greeks.
• Rome was especially interested and successful in
  technological developments pertaining to
  agriculture or manufacturing.
• Rome imported numerous luxury goods from African
  and Chinese countries.

14
Roman Society

• Rome emphasized a strong patriarchy, and women
  had little to no economic rights.
• Early Roman law stipulated that the husband is
  the judge of his wife.
• Rome had a highly stratified aristocracy, but men
  could attain greatness through military success.

15
The Evolution of Classical Civilizations
16
Development in Africa

• During the rise of Rome, the kingdom of Kush in
  northern Africa was defeated by the kingdom of
  Axum.
• Axum would ultimately fall to another regional
  kingdom, Ethiopia.
• Axum and Ethiopia had active contacts in the
  Mediterranean until after the fall of Rome.
• The activities of Jewish merchants in Africa
  brought some conversions to Judaism.
• Greek-speaking merchants brought Christianity to
  Ethiopia.

17
Japan

• Japan developed in complete isolation, and their
  population formed sheerly due to migration.
• Shintoism flourished at this point in time, and
  it became the sole national religion in 700 C.E.
• Around 600 C.E., Japan began to make contact with
  China.

18
Decline in China and India

• Han China suffered from numerous internal
  weaknesses, and Gupta India had yet to eliminate
  the countrys tendency to dissolve into regional
  fragmentation.
• The Huns (a group from central Asia) overthrew
  the Gupta and Han dynasties, and with them
  brought plague to China..
• Daoism and its leaders (the Yellow Turbans)
  created great strife in China.
• Indian rulers were unable to regulate the
  rajputs- regional leaders whose efforts often
  undermined those of the emperor.

19
The Decline and Fall of Rome

• A disastrous plague swept the city of Rome and
  eliminated almost 75 of the population.
• Recruiting soldiers for the Roman legion became
  increasingly difficult.
• Romes upper classes steadily sought more earthly
  pleasure and neglected to participate in
  politics.
• Cultural life decayed, and religious upheaval
  between pagans and Christians sapped the empires
  energy.
• The economy declined, and tax revenues plummeted.
  
• German and Hun tribes pressured Rome until it
  fell, and the pinnacle of Roman civilization
  shifted from the West to the Eastern Byzantine
  empire in Constantinople.

20
The New Religious Map

• Buddhism expanded from India to China, where it
  was modified into the Mahayana variant, and
  Daoism took root
• Christianity flourished under the Roman empire,
  the first pope was appointed, and was
  consequently exported to Constantinople
• Islam began to form and take hold in the Middle
  East