Ap World History Chapter 4 Summary

In 1596- Abraham Ortelius took note that the coastlines of the continents seemed to be too fitting together. He initiated a theory that stated that the continents were probably joined at one point in time and were torn apart between Europe and Africa. In the year of 1912, Alfred Wegener stated that the continents were once joined in a supercontinent called Pangea.

As the Greek and Roman empires ascended immensely throughout the western world, new ideas changed the way the Mediterranean Society handled things, which were spread across the globe. “The rise of the series of city-states of classical Greece began in the ninth century B.C.E. and during the late sixth century B.C.E, Rome’s development as a republic began as Etruscan society declined”(Bentley et al, 2008 p.132, 145). The development of these empires encouraged cultural circulation, blending the culture of the two empires into the land it conquered. As Greece and Rome gained more territory within the Mediterranean society, they began to progress toward a more civilized order of humanity. How were they alike? How were they different? How did

6. What specific actions did Hammurabi take in his attempt to provide for the good order of society and the basic welfare of his subjects?

All empires sought to foster an imperial identity that transcended more local identities and loyalties.

I will be discussing the contact between various civilizations between 800 AD to 1400 AD. I will be looking closely at documents one, two, four and five. Document one discusses the trade in East Africa and the tribe the Zanj that live there. In Document four it discusses the trade goods in Gujarat India. Document two discusses the Jewish merchants. Document five is written by a Muslim traveler and he is talking about the journey from Zaya to Maqdasha. All of these documents talk about travel and trade between various civilizations between 800 AD to 1400 AD.

At this point in history, worldly events are whizzing by at an accelerated pace and the 18th century reveals some tumultuous moments that shaped world history in the Americas. At this point South American was settled by Europeans who were still fighting over boundaries and they shared a craving for power, hence the turbulent conditions fostered by Europeans lead to instabilities in South America. Spain and Portugal claimed large South American land masses, while other nations like France and England made attempts to infiltrate sections for themselves which caused further unrest. European quarrels also seeped and influenced the political atmosphere of South America, for example the French revolution interfered with the governing plans of Spain.

1. Humans first appeared on Earth during the Paleolithic Era. The evidence of burial grounds, stone tools, and other items shows a general migration path of humans out of Africa, and support the theory that these groups were nomadic hunters and foragers. Early humans were mobile and could adapt to different geographical settings from savannah to Ice Age tundra. Anthropologists infer that these bands were relatively egalitarian.

Ancient Greek and Rome started out as small city-states they both grew into large empires. From the similar roles they agree on religion, both ancient civilizations approach quite successful. Ancient Greek and Roman admit being polytheistic, adoration of many gods and goddesses. Devotions to all the gods increase importance of recognition of their honorable deeds when they were alive. Donald L. Wasson said, “At the end of the day were concerned with the relationship between the gods and humans, differing in this regard from fairytales and folktales.” They thought that performing sacrifices and rituals would satisfy their gods they would gain protection from the bad vibes.

The geography of Greek divide by mountains and valleys. Thus, they were separated several hundreds of city states and small settlements. Each of these city-states were independent and they had conflicted with each other many times. They had the large city-states were Athens, Sparta, among many others.

Greek philosophy was renowned. So much so that the Romans modeled their philosophic beliefs around great Greek philosophers such as Aristotle and “absorbed the works of the Epicureans and the Stoics” (Fiero 143). Philosophy seeped through into other disciplines such as poetry, when Lucretius “popularized the materialist theories of Democritus and Leucippus” (Fiero 143). Stoicism was used not only to enforce Roman ideals, but also influenced the minds of people such as Marcus Aurelius. The Romans produced Stoic philosophers such as Epictetus, and Seneca. Greek philosophers provided the foundation, and the Romans adapted it to fit the needs of their culture, such as to “encourage the Roman sense of duty” (Fiero 143).

First, one of the reasons why the Ancient Mediterranean had the biggest impact on Western Civilization is the inventions that they came up with. For example at the city of Knossos you see the first type of a plumbing system “The palace (and most Minoan homes) had sophisticated internal plumbing and upper floor lavatories (with toilets whose waste was channeled out of the house and into the city’s drainage system)”

the Roman god and myths are the Greek gods and myths... the Romans were enamored by all things Greek..." To me, it was understandable that Romans put Greek culture on a pedestal, because from psychological

The Greek and Roman religion was polytheistic. They believed that there were many gods to follow and be impacted by. They believed that these gods dominated the natural world around them. They would pray to the gods and hope that the gods somewhat help them in some way. “Their religious goal is known as propitiation and is what makes Greco-Roman polytheism substantially different from the currently-dominant religions of the occidental world, which are soteriological instead. The worldview that the world is, itself, alive with spirits of various kinds, is known as animism.” In the Greco-Roman philosophy, the first thing to understand is that “the attempt to understand the existence and function of the universe in natural instead of supernatural terms. The second is the desire to guide conduct by understanding the nature of reality and the place of human beings and human behavior in the greater scheme of things.” And lastly, it is critical thinking.

The Romans and Greeks both gave many things to Western Civilization. Although the Romans copied many aspects Greek culture, they also made distinct

Greco-Roman worship practices were focused on the cosmic realm. Both groups, Greek, and Romans believed that gods influenced natural phenomena.