Western Civ I - Midterm

Front 1

Phillip of Macedonia

Back 1

(300's BC) He was the King of Macedonia, and conquered Greece. He was a brilliant solider and statesman, and was succeeded by his son, Alexander the Great.

Front 2

Alexander the Great

Back 2

(300's BC) He was the son of Phillip of Macedon and became the King of Macedon after his fathers death. He was a student of Aristotle. He conquered Persia and spread the Hellenistic culture to Western Asia, Egypt and India.

Front 3

Constantine

Back 3

(300's AD) He was the first Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He converted to Christianity after winning a battle, and his soldiers followed suite.

Front 4

Muhammad

Back 4

(600's AD) He was the founder of Islam. He believed in one God; Allah. He began his teachings in Mecca. Before his death, he had converted most of Arabia.

Front 5

Jesus

Back 5

(30's AD) He was the founder of Christianity and the son of God. He was the redeemer of Israel, and was later crucified by the Romans because his teachings clashed with Roman and Jewish authorities.

Front 6

Cleopatra

Back 6

(50's BC) She ruled Egypt with her brother and husband Ptlomey. She later became the Queen of Egypt after her brothers death. Cleopatra was a great seductress. She seduced both Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, and almost took over Rome. She later killed herself with a poisonous snake.

Front 7

Julius Caesar

Back 7

(50's BC) He was a Roman general, who was gifted at war and politics. He later became Emperor and layed the foundation of Roman rule in Egypt. He was seduced by Cleopatra, and was later assassinated by the members of the Senate.

Front 8

Marc Antony

Back 8

(50's BC) He was a Roman politician and general, and was friends with J. Caesar. He was also seduced by Cleopatra. He was defeated at the Battle of Actium by Augustus (Octavian).

Front 9

Claudius

Back 9

(40's AD) He was a member of the Julio Claudians. He became Emperor of Rome, since half of his family had been killed off. He reconquered Britain.

Front 10

Augustus (Octavian)

Back 10

(30's BC) He was a member of the Julio Claudians. He was the first Emperor of Rome. He created the first public fire and police department which gave people security and the confidence to come back to Rome. He brought people into public works by having them repair and rebuild new roads, and theaters and stadiums. He also offered free entertainment and free bread for the poor.

Front 11

Caligula

Back 11

(40's AD) He was a member of the Julio Claudians. He was a Roman Emperor who raised taxes and accused people of treason in order to confiscate property. He named his horse a member of the Senate, and was later assassinated.

Front 12

Solon

Back 12

(600's BC) He was a statesman and lawmaker of early Athens. He reformed the economy of Athens, freed Athenian soldiers, erased debt and set the state for the rich by taking political power.

Front 13

Nefertiti

Back 13

(1300's BC) She was an Egyptian Queen, married to Akhenaten. She was experienced in politics and persuasion. She helped her husband temporarily change to a monotheistic religion; worshiping Aten as the Sun God.

Front 14

Socrates

Back 14

(400's BC) Socrates was an ancient greek philosopher who layed the foundation for modern science and democracy. He questioned everything. He was accused of being an atheist and corrupting the young, and was forced to drink poison hemlock.

Front 15

Justinian

Back 15

(500's BC) He was a Roman Emperor. He was a gambler, and raised taxes to support his gambling problem. He reformed the imperial administration and fought constant wars to expand the empire.

Front 16

Describe the Greek polis; different types, strengths and weaknesses.

Back 16

A polis is an ancient greek city-state that reached it's height from 700's - 300's BC. It consisted of a walled city which was the center of of government, justice and trade. The city was surrounded by farmland. The polis was often small and had to depend on one another to survive. Their economy rested on a base of slave labor and most public life was for men.
Athens - had the best Navy, citizenship was available to all free men.
Corinth - was a wealthy trading center.
Delphi - was a very spiritual place where they celebrated rituals.
Olympia - was where Olympic athletes were trained, and where the Olympics were held.
Sparta - had the best Army. Boys were trained at a very young age to become skilled fighters.

Front 17

Compare Hellenism to Hellenistic society; discuss the role of Alexander.

Back 17

Hellenism (700's - 300's BC) is a term used to describe the ancient Greeks language, culture and civilization. Hellenistic society (300's - 30's BC) was a combination of Hellenic (Greek) and Persian (Asian) cultures. Alexander the Great helped combine the two cultures. He had an admiration for Greek culture, and had defeated the Persian Empire. So he had ample money to spend on building projects and the arts.

Front 18

Discuss how Augustus dealt with problems of the Empire.

Back 18

Augustus (Octavian) (30's BC) was the first Emperor of Rome. He created the first public fire and police department, which gave people the security and confidence to come back to Rome. He also reorganized the Army, and replaced many of the generals with close personal friends of his. He brought more people into public works, by having them repair and build new roads, theaters, and stadiums. He also offered free entertainment and free bread to the poor, which kept morale up.

Front 19

Discuss the rise of Christianity and it's effects on the Roman Empire.

Back 19

Christianity reached it's height from 200-600 AD, which coincided with the fall of Rome (300's AD). Christianity was a non-discriminatory religion; all were welcome-men, women, rich or poor. Christianity gave hope, and promised everlasting life; no matter how bad things were here on earth. The worse things got for Rome, the more people accepted Christianity. Also, Roman soldiers began converting, which helped it spread. However, all Romans were expected to make sacrifices to the Emperor as a sign of patriosim, but the Christians believe that God was above Roman law- Rome did not like that!

Front 20

Discuss the Byzantine Empire; strengths and weaknesses.

Back 20

After the fall of Rome (300's AD), Rome divided into two empires; the East and West (300's - 1450's AD) The Byzantine Empire was an Orthodox Empire that lasted over 1000 years. Constantine was the first Emperor, who had converted to Christianity after winning a battle, and his soldiers followed suite. It was a wealthy city because of trade coming in from all sides, and easily defendable (3 sides by sea, 1 by land). It had an incredible military and stability because all government and religion flowed through one person; the Emperor. However, since it was an Orthodox Empire, all non-Christians were persecuted. It's only real downfall was that it tried to expand too far, so they pulled back and became a small and compact empire.