Ancient Rome
Belief system held by Romans and Greeks prior to Christianity
What is mythology?
What is a city-state?
By the 700s BCE, Greeks began to live in city-states. These are independent states that include a
city and the land around it.
Justinian's Code
What were the laws organized and made available to the people by Justinian?
The Byzantine empire had a unique culture. It combined traditions from Greece and Rome and
Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Under Justinian, the Byzantines organized Roman law into law
texts known as Justinian’s Code. The Byzantines also preserved the literature of Greece and
Rome
The name of the structure of their social pyramid
What is feudal society?
What is the Bronze Age?
For thousands of years, most tools were made of stone. Around the 4000s BCE, some Europeans
started making tools from copper. By about 3200 BCE, Europeans were mixing copper with tin.
This produced bronze. Bronze tools and weapons were stronger and lasted longer than anything
earlier peoples had used
Sporting event began in Greece that still happens today
What are the Olympics?
What is the Great Schism?
Over time, differences developed between Christian churches in Western Europe and the
Byzantine empire. Western churches used Latin in services. The eastern church used Greek.
Eastern church leaders banned the use of icons, which are images of Jesus and the saints. They
also denied the authority, or rule, of the pope in Rome. Western church leaders allowed icons.
They also saw the pope as the leader of all Christians.
In 1054, the western and eastern churches split. The western church became known as the
Roman Catholic Church. The eastern church became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church
What is a manor?
a large estate owned by lords and vassals worked on by serfs
This is where Roman citizens met for important meetings.
What is the forum.
Name a large structure whose ruins are still standing in either Ancient Rome or Greece?
What is the Parthenon in Greece or the Coliseum in Rome?
Who was Alexander the Great?
During the 300s BCE, Greece became part of a new empire. This empire was led by the
Macedonian prince Alexander the Great. Alexander’s empire ranged from northern Africa as far
east as India. Hellenistic, or Greek, culture spread throughout this empire
Who moved the capital from Rome to Constantinople?
Emperor Constantine built a new capital for the eastern Roman empire. He called it
Constantinople. Because it was on the site of an older city called Byzantium, the empire became
known as “Byzantine.”
The name of the deadly plague spread through Europe and how it was spread
Black Death and it was spread by fleas from rats who came on ships
In 1347, a horrible
disease called the bubonic plague reached Europe. As many as one in three Europeans may have
died as a result. This deadly epidemic is known as the Black Death
The Greeks and Romans had the concept of citizenship. How were they similar?
The Greeks developed the idea of citizenship. This meant that members of a community had civil and political rights and duties. This was a new idea in the
ancient world.
In both Rome and Greece, citizens included an upper class of rulers, or aristocracy. Some citizens were
farmers who owned small plots of land. Women, people from other lands, and enslaved people
could not be citizens, though.
Greece is known for founding what type of government
What is a democracy?
What was the effect of the Crusades?
The Crusades and Their Aftermath
In the mid-1000s, Turkish invaders threatened Christians who lived in or traveled to Southwest
Asia. In response, in 1095, Pope Urban called for Christians in Europe to free the Holy Land
from Muslim rule. This led to the Crusades, a series of military campaigns to establish Christian
control over the Holy Land.
Europeans won control of Jerusalem in the First Crusade. They did not have success in later
Crusades, however. Christians were largely driven out of Southwest Asia by the late 1200s. At
the same time, Christians fought Muslims who ruled much of what is now Spain and Portugal.
The Europeans did not succeed in the Crusades. However, this conflict led to greater ties
between Europe and the Muslim world. Increased trade led to a growth of cities. Ideas and
culture were exchanged. Trade also strengthened the power and wealth of kings.
Who were the lords and who were the vassals?
Who were the serfs?
Feudal Society
The period from the fall of Rome in 476 to about 1500 in Europe is called the Middle Ages.
During this time, a system of government called feudalism developed in most of Western
Europe. Under this system, local military leaders called lords protected their people. Lords split
their land among vassals. These followers promised to fight for and be loyal to the lord. The
vassal also paid the lord money or food.
The estates owned by lords and vassals were called manors. They included the landowner’s
house and the villages, fields, and forests around it. Lords and vassals had a right to demand
work of peasants known as serfs. Serfs were required to live and work on the manor. They had to
give their lord much of the crops and livestock they raised
The story of Rome was built and came to be.
What was the legend of Romulus and Remus?
How did farming change life for early Europeans?
By the 6000s BCE, people in Southwest Asia learned to grow food. The practice of agriculture
spread across Europe by the 4000s BCE. In addition to farming, people also raised animals.
Agriculture allowed people to settle in one place. It also provided a food surplus. As a result,
population grew. Over time, people formed more complex societies. Different people did
specialized work and traded for things they did not make
What were important achievements in Ancient Greece?
The Greeks studied nature and used reason to try to understand it. This practice formed the basis
for modern science. Greek philosophers used reason to discover basic truths and to develop ideas
about good government. The Greeks created the world’s first true alphabet. Herodotus wrote
histories to try to learn why certain events of the past had happened. The Greeks made advances
in mathematics, especially geometry. Their learning helped them to build impressive structures.
How did the Byzantine Empire fall?
After Justinian died, the Byzantine empire grew smaller over time. Outside invaders seized parts
of it. These peoples included Germans, Slavs, Arab Muslims, and Turks. In 1204, armies from
western Europe sacked Constantinople. Finally, in 1453, the Byzantine empire came to an end
when Ottoman Turks captured the city
Who was Saladin? (Salahuddin)
An important figure of the Third Crusade. Muslim general who recaptured Jerusalem in 1187. The founder of the Ayyubid dynasty.