Transcript T h e A m e r i c a n U n i v e r s i t y o f R o m e

The American University of Rome
HSM 201 - Survey of Western Civilization
Session 4
Building the Classical World:
Hebrews, Persians, and Greeks.
Peoples of the Mediterranean:
traditions, cultural uniqueness,
interaction and influences…
Wars, conquests and new systems
I
Q of chapter 2 for the students to discuss
• In what ways did New Kingdom Egypt differ from the Old
and Middle Kingdoms?
• What were the principal features of the Late Bronze Age
international system?
• Why did Phoenician cities prosper during the Early Iron
Age? This development would occur a bit later…900-800 BC
• What were the foundations of Assyrian imperial power?
• In what ways did the Persian empire differ from its Near
East predecessors? How would you account for those
differences?
• What developments marked the Hebrew transition from
polytheism to monotheism? Its political consequences. The
importance of the Old testament, common grounds…
The New Empires…in rapid succession
A list of Mesopotamian empires and states…
> Summerians (Ubaid + Uruk) 6000-2500 BC
> Akkadians 2300-2000 BC
Indo-European invasions: the Bronze age innovations;
Hittites in Anatolia, Mitannis in Syria, Kassites in
Babylonian… Hyksos in Egypt..
> Ammorites and the Old Babylonian Kingdom
> Assyrian Kingdom 1300-880 BC
> Neo-Assyrian Empire 880-600 BC …Egypt
New Babylonian Empire… Nabucodonossor
> Persian Empire.
The International Bronze Age
What is the character of international
relations in the Ancient World?
1900-1450
Minoan C.
>1628
Eruption of Thera –Santorini
1600-1200
Mycenaean C. + Near East I.S.
+ New K Egypt
Basis of Greek Pol.Org / Gods
1200 Collapse - The Sea Peoples
Mycenaean collapse with reverberations in the region
The birth of the Classical World
The birth of our Western Civilization?
900-800 Phoenician alphabet / Commercial
shipping
800 Renewal (migrations) and growth of
Greek populations
800 From Demos to Polis and birth of the City
State
Q of chapter 3 on the birth of the Greek Classical World
• What cultural changes marked the end of the dark Age of
Greece?
• How did the emergence of hoplite tactics affect Greek
political norms?
• How and why did the Athenian, Spartan, and Milesian poleis
differ from each other?
• How were the Greek armies able to defeat the much larger
Persian forces?
• To what extent was the culture of Athens in the Golden Age
the product of Athenian Democracy?
• How did the Peloponnesian War influence Greek
philosophy?