Transcript How did Persian and Greek civilizations differ in their political

Chapter 4
Margin Review Questions
How did Persian and Greek civilizations differ in their
political organization and values?
• Persians-Imperial political system built upon
previous societies-Babylonian/Assyrian
• Large geographic area-Egypt to India/35
million subjects
• Cult of Kingship
• Absolute rule
• Administrative system-Satrap-twenty-three
provinces/local leaders
• Policy of respect for the conquered
• Greeks-Political organization(?)- hundreds of
independent city-states each with 500-5000
male citizens/not an empire/colonies around
the Mediterranean and Black Sea
• Culture of popular participation based on the
ideas of citizenship-starts from wealthy to the
lower classes
• Athens most democratic-Solon-end of
Aristocratic rule/debt slavery/extends
citizenship/paid-still half of population left out
Why did semi-democratic governments emerge
in some of the Greek city-states?
• More men could afford weapons and serve in
the military
• Tyrants support the lower classes
What were the consequences for both sides of the
encounter between the Persians and the Greeks?
• Little impact on the Persians
• Pride for the Greeks-Greek freedoms were the
reason they won
• Establishes East/West divide-West represents
freedom and the East represents despotism
• Radicalized Athenian democracy-more want
full citizenship-fifty years following the GrecoPersian wars see the high point of Athenian
democracy
• Golden Age of Greek CulturePhilosophy/Architecture/Theater/Science
• Civil War (Peloponnesian War)-weakens
relationships opening the door for Alexander
the Great (Macedonian)
What changes did Alexander’s conquests bring
in their wake?
• Widespread dissemination of Greek culture to
Egypt, Mesopotamia and India
• Establishment of cities
How did Rome grow from a single city to the
center of a huge empire?
• Values:
1. Rule of Law
2. Rights of citizens
3. Upright moral behavior-keeping one’s
word
4. Political system which offers
protection to all classes
• Punic wars (with Carthage)-extends Roman
control over the W.Mediterranean.Becomes a
naval power.
• Rich get richer. Poor want to get richer.
• Location, Location, Location
• Army-well trained/fed/rewarded
• Political support for expansion
How and why did the making of the Chinese
empire differ from that of the Roman empire?
• China old/Rome new
• Preexisting traditions
How did the collapse of empire play out
differently in the Roman world and in China?
• Only Western half of Roman empire. Eastern
half continued as the Byzantine Empire.
• Invaders from the north for both, but in the
case of China, invaders adopt Chinese cultureRome-No
• China reemerges as an imperial state (Sui).
Rome- no large centralized state emerges
Why were centralized empires so much less
prominent in India than in China?
• India-failed to command the kind of loyalty
and influence the Chinese were able to.
• Cultural diversity
• Invasions
• Caste System