Transcript Persian Empire - LAW TING PONG SECONDARY SCHOOL

Law Ting Pong Secondary School
The Changes and continuity of Civilizations
Part 1 – The rise of civilization
Part 1 –
Background of different civilizations
Neo-Babylon Empire
Duration : 626 B.C. – 539 B.C.
Origin : Babylonia in Mesopotamia
Form of civilization:
A settlement under the rule of
Assyrian Empire
The relationship with
neighbors:
• Babylon united and live
in peace with Median
Empire in its northern
side.
• The people wanted to be
independent from
Assyria, and thus they
warred upon Assyrian
Empire.
Major Wars involved:
The Babylonians conquered
– Assyrian Empire
– The Kingdom of Judah
To expand their empire
Persian Empire
Origin: Persian Plateau
Myth about the origin: The
mythical founder of the empire
– Achaemenes (Actually the
empire was found by Cyrus the
Great)
From of civilization: It was a
settlement under control of
Median Empire.
The relationship with
neighbors:
Persians formed an
alliance with
Babylonians. Then,
Babylon can as a buffer
state to protect the
northern side of Persian
Empire.
Major Wars involved:
They defeated their
enemies such as Median
Empire to gain
independence.
The Ancient Greece
Origin:
Near the Mediterranean Sea
Myth about the origin:
The origin of the world and the
Greece are described in the
Myths of the Greeks
Form of the civilization:
It was formed by many city
states (Polis). It included many
independent cities, which
united to fight against Persian
Empire
The relationship with neighbors:
Although there were many Polis in
Greece, Greece was dominated by
two main powers: democratic
Athens and the military oligarchy
of Sparta. Conflicts between
Greece and other countries
occurred while Greeks trade with
other cities frequently.
Persian was their major opponent.
Major Wars involved:
Greco-Persian War was a critical event in the development
of Greece. Greeks defeated Persian in this war which lasted
for 50 year and reached its golden ages.
The Ancient Rome
Origin:
Near Tiber River valley near Italian
Peninsula
Myth about the origin:
Romans think they were the descendent
of Mars (as known as the “God of War”.
Romulus and Remus are the children of
Mars who were fed by a she-wolf. When
they grew up, they decided to build a
city which was named after Romulus
(Rome). (movie)
Form of civilization:
Similar with Ancient Greece, Roman
Empire was originally formed by a
group of city states on the “seven hills”
over Italian peninsula.
The relationship with neighbors:
The Romans conquered many
countries over Italian peninsula and
over Europe. Many provinces were
set up by the Romans after these
places had been conquered.
Carthage was the major rival of the
Romans since Carthage was the
largest empire at that time.
Major Wars involved:
Punic War and Gallic War was two critical wars in the development of Roman
Empire as well as the foundation of the Roman Empire had been strengthened by
wining these wars.
Part 2 –
The reasons for the success of these
civilizations
Leadership
• Neo-Babylon:
Nebuchadnezzar II played a key
role in delivering Babylon from its
independence on Assyria and also
led his Army to conquer many
countries. (For example Babylon
allied with Medes because he
married with the princess of
Median Empire)
• Persian Empire:
Cyrus the Great contributed a
lot in the success of Persian
Empire. He led his army to
expand the empire and his
empire was the largest empire
in the ancient time.
• Ancient Greece:
Pericles led Athens
during its Golden Age.
He played an important
role in rebuilding the
Greece after the battle of
Persian War.
• Ancient Rome:
There were many outstanding
leaders in the Roman History.
Julius Caesar was probably the
best Roman General in the
History of Ancient Rome.
When he was in the office, he
carried out reforms, relieved
debt, enlarged the senate and
revised the calendar.
Also, Julius Caesar won “the
Gallic Wars”. He earned a
fortune and expanded the
territories of Roman.
Geographical
The common geographical features of Ancient Greece
and Ancient Rome:
Near the Mediterranean Sea, Most of the Greece cities were
located on a peninsula with mountains between cities.
Climate: Mediterranean climate (characterized by warm and
dry summers, mild and wet winters)
How did the geographical factors affect the development of
Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome?
Climate and economic:
The Mediterranean climate
favors the growth of
agricultural products,
especially for grape (for
produce wine) and Olive (for
produce Olive Oil). Both of
these were important
economic products.
Landscape and military:
For Greece, the land transportation between cities was
inconvenient. They made use of the sea around their cities as the
route for marine transportation.
The advancement in the marine transportation paved the way for
the development of a Strong Navy and such strong naval power of
Greece was critical in deciding the Greeks’ victory in the Persian
War.
For the Romans, since the
Italian peninsula is hilly and
faces the River Tiber, it is
convenient to build the
defense works. The mountains
also act as the natural barrier
to protect Romans from the
barbarians in the north. Thus,
the Roman could develop their
country under a stable
environment.
Landscape and Economic development:
Greece: Living around the sea and islands led to the advancement
in the shipbuilding and the strong navy. Therefore, Greeks can
trade with the overseas colonies.
Rome: the Latin plateau was fertile and flat and with adequate
natural resources such as timber, so the Romans can maintain a
stable supply of food and fuel for their early development.
Along with the expansion of the empire, many provinces were
established and resources from these provinces could be
shipped back to Rome easily through water transportation.
Economy
Neo-Babylon Empire:
They adopted a slavery system to maintain
enough manpower for construction work and
production. Therefore, slaves provided enough
resources for the country when the soldiers
fight outside.
Persian Empire:
Under the rule of the Darius the Great, currency had been
uniformed. This enhanced the development of the Empires’
economy.
Ancient Greece:
Greece is hilly, which
hindered trading. Then,
Greeks turned to marine
trade. The polis of Greece
could get what they need
from overseas.
Many Colonies were built by the polis as their hinterland for supporting the
source of different kinds of resources. The material support from the
colonies contributed a lot to the development of Ancient Greece.
Ancient Rome:
The City of Rome was built on the site which is lack of natural resources.
Therefore, Romans get the resources from the following ways:
The western side of Rome is near the coastal area, the Romans
trade with other countries / cities near the Mediterranean Sea.
•Romans could get what they need
from provinces.
•Provinces were countries or regions
that Rome had conquered.
•Rome had many provinces. Each was
valuable to Rome. Rome's provinces
provided manpower, taxes, food and
other resources.
•The provinces were connected to
Rome by a series of Roman roads and
all roads led to Rome.
Military Power
Neo-Babylon:
Nebuchadnezzar II was an
experienced
solider
and
general, he was capable to be
the leader of Army. Under his
leadership, Babylon allied with
Medes Empire to form a
strong army to fight against
Assyrians. Finally Babylonians
won the War by using this
strategy of allying with others.
Persian Empire:
Darius the Great built many roads over the empire therefore
enhanced the efficiency of communication within the army.
Ancient Greece:
Athens and Sparta were the polis, who led the Greece. The warriors
in those cities were good fighters. Athens had a strong navy, with
ships that were tiny and easy to control. The Spartan army was
strong and well trained. These strong armies were the major reason
for defeating the Persian.
Ancient Rome:
The Roman Army was strong because:
•Clear Mission statement:
The Army is for the prevention of foreign invasions. It became
more determined in defending their newly acquired territories.
•Good Strategies:
The Roman Army was dedicated in military strategies. For
instance, The Roman Army was good at learning others’
strengths and converting to their own techniques. For
example, The Romans learnt how to make battleship from the
Carthaginians in the First Punic War and built more powerful
battleship based on the craftsmanship of the Carthaginians.
•Rigorous Discipline:
Discipline had been emphasized in the Roman Army, the
soldiers were ordered to be diligent with their position and
applied heavy punishments and collateral punishment to those
who cannot comply with or disobey the orders. The army was
thus trained for defending and fighting for the empire.
•Adaption of Conscription system
(that means every male must enroll to the Army) to secure
human resources for the army.
Inferior Quality of Enemies
In a certain extent, these empires defeat their enemies because
their enemies were weakened due to different reasons, for
examples:
Neo-Babylon Empire:
Assyrian Empire’s power was weakened due to the frequently
occurred civil rebellion within the empire.
Persian Empire:
They conquered Neo-Babylon successfully because the people
against the king of Babylon on his religious policy opened their
gates for Cyrus and greeted him as their liberator.
End