ESSAYS FOR STUDY PREPARATION ARE INCLUDED AT THE END OF THIS STUDY GUIDE

Review Sheet for History 101, Examination #2

Dr. Michael Lewis

 

Part I: 

Minoan Civilization                   Mycenaen Civilization               Polis

Homer                                      Messenia                                  Battle of Thermopylae

Lycurgus                                  Cleisthenes                               Delian League                          

Darius I                                    Xerxes                                    Solon

Plato's Republic                        Aristotle's Politics                 The Apology

Melos                                         Pericles                                 Mytilean Debate

Persian Wars                            Peloponnesian Wars                Thebes

Phillip II of Macedonia              Hellenistic World                    Alexander the Great   

Ptolemy (Egypt)                        Alexandria                              Mahayana Budhism                                         

Zeno                                        Chandragupta Maurya              Asoka

Artha-sastra                             Siddhartha Gautama                 Battle of Kalinga

The Kush Kingdom                  Gupta Empire                           Council of Plebs

The Twelve Tables                    Julius Caesar                            Hannibal

Punic Wars                               Tiberius Gracchus                     General Marius

Pax Romana                             Univira                                     Julio-Claudians                        

Caesar Augustus                       Constantinople                          Bread and Circuses    

Tacitus                                      Isis                                            Lucretius

Epicetus                                    Marcus Aurelius                        Zoroaster

Cult of Mithras                         Zealots                                        Jesus of Nazarene

Saul of Taursus                        Council of Nicea                        Constantine

Confucius                                 Legalism                                   Daoism

Qin Shi Huangdi                       Liu Bang                                   Silk Road

Wang Mang                            Emperor Wudi                            The Huns

 

Part II: Essay Questions [honors section 033: please focus upon essays 1 and 3]

1.)  Compare the Mauryan, Han, and Roman Empires, with particular attention to their fall.  What similarities do they share?  What differences? Are there patterns that emerge across cultures, or is each empire unique in its eventual shortcomings and problems? What, if anything, does their eventual collapse suggest about empires, in general? (Please note that this essay is not looking just at environmental factors, but other factors that contribute to empires' dissolution).

2.)    As historians, we search the past in part to understand what it means to be human. In this unit, we have discussed the Greeks, the Hellenistic World, Indian, Chinese, and Roman Empires.  As you look across these different cultures, regions, beliefs, and times, what common threads do you find?  What things link these very different peoples?  What things make them different?  Is it possible to make generalizations about the human past, or only very specific and narrow conclusions possible based on specific places and times?  Be sure to use specific examples in proving your points.

      3.)  Using Greek, Roman, Indian, and Chinese examples (with particular attention to the philosophers of government), discuss what you think of as the most effective form of government? Why? USE HISTORICAL EXAMPLES as well as philosophical examples from the readings.  As you discuss the most effective form of government, I expect that you will also, in contrast, discuss what makes alternative forms of government attractive.

       4.)  Discuss the emergence of Buddhism and Christianity.  In what ways are the historical trajectories of these two world religions similar or different? 

5.)    Compare the role and freedoms (or lack thereof) of women in three of the societies that we have studied in this unit (Athens, Sparta, the Hellenistic World, the Mauryan Empire, China under the Qin and Han dynasties, and Rome).  What are the implications of what you describe? How do you explain this?

      6.)  From your study of the political structures of the great empires of this period, what lessons can you apply to contemporary US politics and government?  What does the past teach us about the profits and dangers of empire? Of democracies, republics, theocracies, and dictatorships? Of inequality of wealth among the classes?  Of political inequality between citizens and non-citizens?