Transcript Review II - White Plains Public Schools

 Based
on the teachings of Zarathustra
 Proclaimed that visions revealed to him by the
supreme god, whom he called Ahura Mazda
(“wise lord”)
 Influence of Zoroastrian religion can be found in
Judaism and Christianity, for example, the
concept of good and evil
 Once the religion of the Persian Empire
 A force of light and goodness and force of evil
 Cosmic struggle between good and evil
 People must choose
 Heaven and Hell
 Avesta  sacred text
 Lived
in China during the Warring states period
and sought to restore order to China
 Students recorded his teachings in the Analects
 Believed in five constant relationships ruler
and subject, father and son, husband and wife,
older brother and younger brother, and older
friend and younger friend
 The superior in the relationship had to set a
good example while the inferior had to obey
 Does
not address philosophical or religious
questions
 Wanted to end the Warring States period
 The best way to promote good government is to
hire people who were well educated and
conscientious – focused on the formation of
Junzi (“superior individuals)”
 Ren  courteousness, respectfulness, loyalty
 Li  a sense of propriety, appropriate behavior
 Xiao  filial piety, respect by children for
parents and other elders
 Moral integrity and fair judgment
 An
alternative solution to end the Warring
States period – contrary to Confucian beliefs
 Central concept Dao or “the way” or “the way
of nature”
 Humans should stop trying to achieve personal
goals and live very simply in order to achieve
harmony with nature
 Wuwei  important moral trait whereby people
remove themselves from worldly affairs
 Ideal societal structure  self-sufficient
communities
 Yin Yang  how seemingly contrary forces are
interconnected
 One
of the major philosophies that emerged
from the Hundred Schools of Thought during
the Warring States period
 Based on the goal of expanding and
strengthening the state at all costs
 Described as ruthless and efficient
 Strict laws with harsh punishments lessen
number and severity of crimes
 Notable people: Shang Yang and Han Feizi
 Used by the Qin dynasty, led by Shi Huangdi,
to end Warring States period
 Used
Legalist philosophy to restore
order and stability to China and end the
Warring States period
 Centralized bureaucracy ruled the state
 Qin expanded their empire
 Unified China
 Standardized weights and measures
 Standardized script
 Short-lived because of strict laws and
harsh punishments
 Self-proclaimed
“first emperor” of China –
reigned fourteen years, established centralized
rule through large-scale political organization
 Central bureaucracy
 Built roads to enhance and expedite
communication and movement of armies;
standardized laws, currencies, weights and
measures, and Chinese script; and built
defensive walls, including linking sections of the
Great Wall
 Executed anyone who criticized his regime –
burned 460 Confucian scholars alive for their
critical comments
 Claiming
the “mandate of heaven,”
Liu Bang centralized rule started
the longest lasting Chinese dynasty 
the Han (206 B.C.E. – 220 C.E.)
 Demand for Chinese silk in India,
Persia, Mesopotamia, and the Roman
Empire led to development of trade
routes (the silk roads)
 Building of roads and canals to
increase trade and communication
 Established examination system to
select candidates for government
service
 Han
emperor who had a problem recruiting
qualified people for government posts because
there was no uniform system of public
education
 Established an imperial university to educate
government officials in 124 B.C.E.
 Although the government was based on Legalist
principles, the university focused its instruction
on Confucianism out of necessity – it was the
only Chinese belief system developed enough to
establish a curriculum
 Policy of imperial expansion led to invasions of
northern Vietnam and Korea (had to pay tribute)
 Ignoring
the problem of inequitable land
distribution led to increased banditry and
rebellions led by disgruntled peasants
 The Yellow Turban uprising (rebels wore yellow
headgear)
 Government used the military to suppress
rebellions but the collective efforts of peasants
weakened the Han
 Factions developed in courts that effected the
central government
 This internal weakness led to the downfall of
the empire, which was divided into several large
kingdoms
 Collapsed
– divisions within the ruling elite
limited the effectiveness of the government
 Issues  land distribution, private armies,
unrest, economic decline
 Rise in epidemics late second, early third
centuries led to the Yellow Turban Rebellion
(rebels’ yellow turbans represented their
peasant status and their ties to the earth)
 Dynasty in 220 C.E. formally ended
A
classical Indian dynasty that developed out of a
political void created by the failed invasions of
Persian emperor Darius – then controlled by the
kingdom of Magadha for two centuries
 Flourished during the late 320s B.C.E., when
Chandragupta Maurya took over and laid the
foundations for a centralized, unified government
 Ashoka (ruled 268-232 B.C.E.) conquered the
kingdom of Kalinga through bloody battles but
changed as a result
 Ashoka built irrigation systems, constructed roads,
supported Buddhism, and encouraged religious
tolerance
 Ashoka’s death led to decline of empire
 Chandra
Gupta laid foundations for empire by
making alliances with powerful families in the
Ganges; he conquered many; others chose to form
tributary alliances with Guptas
 Government, both policy and administration, was
left to the locals; Gupta did not impose uniform
law; brought stability and prosperity
 Golden age of Hindu culture concept of zero,
infinity, and decimal system developed great art
and literature in Sanskrit (ancient Indian language)
 Decline caused by invasions by the White Huns
nomadic people from central Asia – dynasty
continued in name only
 The
basic beliefs and concepts of classical
Hinduism were all in place by at least 200s B.C.E.
 Central belief all time and space is the World
Soul, or the Brahman (“Ultimate Reality”)
 All things that exist are reflections of Brahman’s
perfection
 Every living creature has its own individual soul,
known as atman
 However, the material world is an illusion (maya)
 This illusion causes suffering and prevents the
individual soul from perceiving or being connected
with the world Soul
 The goal of existence is to rejoin one’s atman with
Brahman
A
cycle of life, death and rebirth called the
wheel of life (samsara)
 According to the laws of deeds (karma), a
person’s actions in one life will have
consequences in a future life
 Good actions and spiritual discipline will reduce
an atman’s (individual soul’s) karmic debt,
leading one to a greater understanding of moral
duty (dharma)
 When a person has eliminated his or her karmic
debt and achieved a sufficient understanding of
his dharma, his or her atman gains release
(moksha) from samsara  the atman is free to
join with the Brahman
 In
addition to the Brahman, Hinduism recognizes
literally hundreds of gods and goddesses  this
makes it a polytheistic religion
 However, Hindus consider all deities to be avatars,
or incarnations of the Brahman
 One of the best known features of Hindu belief
involves the caste system (origins date back to
Aryan migration to India)
 Priests (brahmins), warriors and political rulers
(kshatriyas), commoners (vaishyas), and servants
and members of lower class (shudras)
 As time went on, category of untouchables (most
degrading tasks)
 Birth determined caste  Many subdivisions over
time  men superior to women
 Indian
belief system popularized by Vardhamana
Mahavira (“the great hero”)
 Disciples referred to Mahavira as Jina (“the
conqueror”) and called themselves Jains
 Practiced ahimsa – nonviolence to living things
or their souls
 Extremists swept ground as they walked to
avoid harming insects (souls)
 Not practical, but attractive – because if all
creatures possessed a soul, there should not be
rigid social classes (especially popular among
lower classes)
 Originating
in India  Founder, Siddhartha Gautama
(563-483 B.C.E.)
 Spread China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Korea, etc.
 Two major schools Theravada (Hinayana) and
Mahayana (with its concept of the Bodhisattva)
 When ventured outside palace, Siddhartha was
appalled by the pain and poverty he saw
renounced wealth
 After six years of self-deprivation, decided that
neither extreme fasting and asceticism or its
opposite led to insight
 While following middle way, achieved
enlightenment (became Buddha or enlightened one)
 Four
Noble Truths human existence is inseparable
from suffering, the cause of suffering is desire,
suffering is extinguished by extinguishing desire,
desire may be extinguished by following the
Eightfold Path
 The Eightfold Path know the truth, resist evil, do
nothing to hurt others, respect all forms of life,
work for the well-being of others before that of
yourself, free your mind of evil, control your
thoughts, practice meditation
 Five Moral Rules do not kill, do not take what is
not given, do not speak falsely, do not drink
intoxicants, do not be unchaste
 Nirvana means “to extinguish”, liberation from
samsara (the wheel of life, death, reincarnation)
After the Buddha’s death in 483 B.C.E., the tradition he
founded not only spread throughout Asia but split into
various denominations
 The older movement is Theravada (“Way of the Elders”)
Buddhism, also referred to as Hinayana (“Lesser
Vehicle”) Buddhism prominent in south and southeast
Asia remains closer in spirit to Buddha’s actual
teachings simplicity, meditation, nirvana as
renunciation of self and human consciousness Buddha
not a deity
 Mahayana (“Greater Vehicle”)Japan, Korea, Tibet,
and parts of China more elaborate forms and ritual
developed pantheons of deities bodhisattvas(souls
achieved enlightenment but remained in earthly realm
to help others) nirvana came to resemble a kind of
heaven as opposed to suppression of self

 Located
on the Greek mainland
 1450-1150 B.C.E.  Trading society
 Wealthy through conquest (they are best known for
fighting the Trojan War, ca. 1250 B.C.E.)
 Around 1200 B.C.E., a series of Greek-speaking
tribes invaded the southeastern tip of Europe, as
well as nearby islands
 Over time, these tribes joined together into a
single culture, the Greeks (or, as they called
themselves, Hellenes
 These years of gradual cultural union are known as
the Greek Dark Ages (1150-800 B.C.E.)
 Common language and religion but low level
political and social development
 Rugged,
mountainous terrain and the fact that
so many of the Greeks lived on islands
prevented them from creating a single nation
 Instead formed dozens of independent citystates
 It is from the Greek word city-state, polis, that
the word “politic” comes
 Sparta  a key Greek city-state
 Sparta  a rigid, slave-holding dictatorship that
created the Greek world’s most effective and
most feared army
 Slavery was common in all Greek city-states,
but most prevalent in militaristic Sparta with is
helots or Spartan slaves
 Athens
was a significant Greek polis or city-state
 Athens  became a culturally and politically
advanced city that gained wealth through trade and
power thanks to its naval strength
 Ancient Greece’s most significant political
innovation came from the city of Athens
 This was democracy, or rule by the people
 Democratic government began in Athens in 508
B.C.E.  It reached its peak under the leadership of
the statesman Pericles (ca. 461-429 B.C.E.)
 But women and slaves were excluded from Athenian
political life, and did not have the right to vote
 Yet most representative government in ancient
world
 During
the Greeks’ classical period (ca. 500-338
B.C.E.), the Greeks fought two major wars with
the Persians, in 492 to 490 B.C.E. and 480 to 479
B.C.E.
 In both cases, the Persians attempted to invade
Greece, only to be driven back, thanks mainly
to Spartan and Athenian leadership
 Afterward, competition between Sparta and
Athens for dominance over the Greek world led
to a long and devastating civil conflict known as
the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.E)
 Although Sparta and its allies won the war, the
conflict left all of Greece’s city-states
weakened
 Macedonia
was a region to the north of Greece
whose people were related to the Greeks, but not
as politically or socially advanced
 It was this Greek-Macedonian kingdom that the
ancient world’s most skilled general, Alexander the
Great (356-323 B.C.E.), launched one of the most
successful military campaigns of all time
 In less than a decade, Alexander crossed into Asia,
took over the Persian Empire, and conquered
territory all the way to the borderlands of India
 Before dying at the age of thirty-three – of
exhaustion, alcoholism, and fever – he had led an
army of 30,000 to 50,000 troops more than 20,000
miles
 Alexander spread Greek culture
 The
Greeks’ general cultural outlook is known as
Hellenism (after the Greeks’ own name for Greece,
Hellas)
 Although the Greeks worshipped a number of gods,
Hellenism tended to be more worldly and rational
than other ancient cultural traditions
 Science was important
 The celebration of life and the experience of being
human was a hallmark of Hellenic culture
 Western thought rests on the intellectual
foundation established by the philosophers
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
 Aristotle’s writings on logic, observation, and
experimentation set into place a mode of scientific
inquiry
 Greek architecture  columns
 The
city of Rome, traditionally considered to have
been founded in 753 B.C.E.
 From their homeland on the Italian peninsula, the
Romans gradually spread outward
 For several centuries, Rome was governed by a
monarchy, foreign overlords (Etruscans), but in 509
B.C.E., the Romans rebelled and formed a new
government called a republic (509-31 B.C.E.)
 During the republican period, tensions existed
between plebeian (lower classes) and patricians
(upper) classes
 Through compromise and negotiation, plebeians
gained rights
 But only patricians elected senators
 Civil
wars from 91 to 30 B.C.E.  power began
to fall into the hands of a single ruler  most
famous was Julius Caesar assassinated in 44
B.C.E.  by 31 B.C.E.  first emperor 
Octavian renamed Caesar Augustus
 Empire for approximately five centuries  31
B.C.E. to 476 C.E.
 Huge territory from Spain in west to Asia Minor
in east, from northern Africa in south to British
Isles in north
 But overextension of military and political
strength made it difficult to govern
 Asiatic and Germanic barbarians attacked
 To
begin with, the Romans who were great
admirers of Greek culture, preserved for
generations to come the Hellenic philosophy,
literature, and scientific learning of ancient Greece
 The Romans were master builders and engineers
 The ideal of Roman imperial unity was a political
concept that kings and emperors in a very
disunified Europe would attempt to live up to
during the medieval period
 Roman law remains one of the keystones of
Western legal (innocent until proven guilty, etc.)
 By making Christianity legal (313 C.E.), then
making it the official faith of empire (380 C.E.),
Romans ensured that the new religion would be a
major force for centuries to come