Unit 3: Classical Traditions, Major Religions, and Giant Empires (700 BC-AD 500)
Unit Overview:
This unit begins around 700 BC and ends at about AD 500. Some of the major themes in this unit:
The effect of a proliferation of iron use
The spread of Judaism and rise of Christianity
Persian Civilization
Classical Greek Civilization
Conquests of Alexander and the Hellenic Period
Roman Republic and Empire
Major empires of India, China, and MesoAmerica
Unit Essay: Civilization 2.0
In order to get credit for this project you must write an essay on the following topic:
Civilization 2.0:
The philosopher Thomas Hobbes once described life in the early Bronze Age as, "Nasty, brutish, and short." Early civilizations were often characterized by massive social inequity, rigid class structures, and near constant warfare. In the Iron Age, things often got better for the common man: in many cases government improved, citizens often had rights, and many empires experienced extended periods of peace and prosperity. In many societies throughout the world, the Iron Age (1200 BC to AD 500) brought improved government and a better quality of life. Using knowledge of historical developments you have gained from the lessons in this unit, write a five paragraph essay of 600 or more words illustrating this idea.
The City State of Athens as it appeared about 500 BC.
Some civilizations to discuss in your essay:
The best way to organize this essay would be to pick three civilizations from the list above to discuss and find good things about these civilizations to list in your body para. For your analysis, ask yourself, "How did this civilization represent an improvement from life in the Bronze Age? What makes this better than what came before it?
Unit Videos:
Unit Lectures:
Primary Sources:
World History A Unit 3 Key Terms
For this project you must define the terms listed below and explain each term's significance to the unit/era being studied. Your definition should be 2-3 sentences long and may be copied and pasted from a source like Wikipedia, but the significance of the term must be in your own words and based on your own understanding. To fill out a term's significance, ask yourself, "Why is this item included in my study of this unit? Why is this term in a history book?" The answer to this question is your term's significance.
Unit 3 Key Terms:
1. Iron Age
2. New Kingdom
3. Assyrian Empire
4. Nebuchadnezzar II
5. Babylonian Captivity
6. Cyrus the Great
7. Classical Greece
8. Cleisthenes
9. Greco-Persian Wars
10. Peloponnesian War
11. The Republic
12. Alexander the Great
13. Hellenism
14. Roman Republic
15. Julius Caesar
16. Pax Romana
17. Jesus of Nazareth
18. Paul of Tarsus
19. Constantine the Great
20. Jewish Diaspora
Below is an example of a key term done with the proper format:
William the Conqueror: William I (c. 1028[2] – 9 September 1087), also known as William the Conqueror (Guillaume le Conquérant), was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II. Before his conquest of England, he was known as William the Bastard because of the illegitimacy of his birth.To press his claim to the English crown, William invaded England in 1066, leading an army of Normans, Bretons, Flemings, and Frenchmen (from Paris andÎle-de-France) to victory over the English forces of King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings, and suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the Norman Conquest.[3] (I copied and pasted this definition from Wikipedia)
Significance: William the Conqueror is significant because his conquest of England created the first nation state in Europe. His rearrangement of English feudal territories to give himself dramatically more power than the the barons and nobles around him caused him to be the most powerful monarch in Europe and eventually led to the rise of other nation states over the next few centuries. (These are my words based on my knowledge of English and European history.)
