Test Returned

We got our tests back in class today and I am so happy I got an A! I got my first ding for this semester and I was so happy. It didn't seem like a lot of people got dings this time. Only a few of us did. I got a 94, Hailey got a 98 and Carly got a 100! We all reviewed together right before the test and we all seemed to know the information pretty well. I am so happy that I got a great grade on this test because I studied very hard. I made a quizlet with all the information from the past three tests so I was sure to get an A!! My next goal is to get a 100 and get a double ding! The year is winding down but Mr. Schick said that we will still have a few more tests before exams. I have to be sure to study very hard for all of my exams. Science and west civ are the classes that I am most worried about. I need to be sure to study a lot and to not cram it all in in the last couple days. If I do that I think that I will be okay! I did okay on my first semester exams so I want to be able to do even better this time!

text book notes: After Rome

AFTER ROME
 "The upheaval of the early middle ages ended not in a collapse of civilization but in its renewal. and the first two early medieval centuries set the patterns for how this renewal would later take place in western and eastern Europe."

• the two centuries after the fall of Rome were a time of turmoil in Europe that would continue for five hundred years- a half millennium that counts as the "early" part of the middle ages. 
• in the Germanic kingdoms that had taken over the western half of the roman empire
• roman institutions gradually stopped working
•  cities ceased to be centers if trade and social life
•  warfare became more important than education and culture in the lives of the upper classes 
• the roman empire's surviving eastern half contributed to western Europe's chaos by efforts at reconquest, and then itself came under attack by newly powerful neighbors 

medieval- refers to the distinctive civilization of the middle ages which developed in Europe after the disintegration of the roman empire and before the emergence of the modern west 

noble- a member of the warrior-landowner group that formed the elite of medieval Europe 

5th century - Angles and Saxons invade Britain

486- Clovis leads Frankish confederacy against Romans and rival Germanic invaders in Gaul

527-565- reign of emperor Justinian in the eastern empire

542- plague hits Egypt, then spreads throughout the Mediterranean area and much of western Europe

568- Lombard conquer most of northern Italy

570-632- life of Muhammad

595- missionaries sent by the pope begin to convert the pagans of England 

711- Muslim invasion of Spain

800- Slavs occupy almost all of eastern Europe 

Rome fades away

ROME FADES AWAY

TWO EMPERORS

Diocletian 

• he rules from 284-303
• he thinks it's cool to kill CHRISTIANS
• looked at Christianity as a real problem because they won't worship the Roman gods
• Rome needs a big army (400,000 strong)
• rome needs a big government (20,000 officials)
• solution: take Roman empire and DIVIDE it in half
• east Roman empire- had all the money/ the better side
• west Roman empire- had all the trouble
• two completely different empires 

Constantine

• rules from 306-337
• he thinks its okay and cool to BE a Christian
• conversion to Christianity 

----via across in the sky (conquer by this!)----

• 313- his Edict of Milan proclaims
• edict: law/proclamation 

----freedom of worship----

• built a new capital in the East
• Byzantium, soon to be known as Constantinople

THE STRUGGLE OF THE PEASANTS

life in the fourth century:

• country dwellers are getting bankrupt by endless tax collection
• new farming systems: peasants work for elite landlords on large farms
• peasants can avoid paying taxed, but they are getting hit just as hard by the landlords
• paying off debts and being "allowed"to live on the land, in exchange for endless back-breaking work (such a deal!)
• landowners hold local power as counts and bishops, wielding more real power that the faraway empire
• foreshadowing feudalism 
• feudalism: whose the owner of the land/ system where one manner is owned by the rich and have servants to work for them and knights to guard them
• doesn't matter who is the leader or empire 

THE WESTERN EMPIRE CRUMBLES

• romes power is decreasing, while nomadic barbarians gain power
• western empire is too poor, begins to be neglected
• huns migrate from China to eastern Europe
• Visigoths take over Spain, and actually capture and loot Rome itself in 410
• Vandals control Carthage and the western Mediterranean
• other barbarian tribes
• Ostrogoths- Italy
• Franks- Gaul
• Angles and Saxons- Britain 

END OF AN ERA

from the beginnings...

• 500 BC- the monarchy is abolished 
• 450 BC- the twelve tables are established 

through the glory days...

• 44 BC- end of the line for Julius Caesar
• 27 BC-180 AD- the Roman peace (Pax Romana)

to the bitter end...

• constant fifth century invasions by barbarian tribes left the western Roman empire shattered and crumbling
• the last emperor was a teenage boy installed in 475 by his father
• barbarians deposed Romulus Augustulus without bothering to kill him

Decline of the Roman Empire

Rise of Christianity:

• Jesus spends three years preaching, is then killed by Roman leaders
• Jesus' followers think he's the messiah and the savior who has risen from the dead
• Saul (the persecutor) becomes Paul (the evangelist), spreading Jesus' message
• that there is one true God, not roman gods
• Christianity evolves from a cult status to an established official structure
• priest, bishops, pope (Bishop of Rome) 
• Christians and Jews are monotheistic (meaning they believe in one God)
• this conflicted with roman beliefs
• persecution against both groups was common 
• Christianity appealed to the poor, and since there were many poor people, their numbers grew
• as the numbers grew, even some Roman leaders embraced Christianity 
• AD 313: Constantine has a battlefield conversion
• he issues the Edict of Milan
• a law passed that was the approval of Christianity
• made Christianity the official religion of Rome 
• not only persecution, but actual approval of Christianity, eventually making it the official religion of Rome
• the Roman Empire and Christianity are now linked in power and influence 

Decline of the Roman Empire:

AD 180: Rome has problems 

• economic (trade became risky; taxers were too high; food supply was dropping)
• military (frontiers were hard to patrol; roman generals fought for control; soldiers' loyalty declined and mercenaries appeared)
• AD 324- Constantine becomes emperor over both halves of the empire
• moves the capital from Rome to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople), where Asia met Europe (now Turkey)
• after his death, empire is divided again
• this time "barbarian invader" (Huns, Vandals, Visigoths, Angles, Saxons, Franks) overrun the empire's frontiers
• that's it for the roman empire (AD 476) 

Diocletian divided the empire into two

• Greek-speaking East (had more resources(
• Latin-speaking West (rome, tradition) 

The changing world of Rome: Emperors, Christians, and Invaders

•  the greatest single change that began among the peoples of the empire during the era of the Roman Peace was the spread of a new form of monotheistic religion, Christianity
• the new religion began as a group within Judaism at a time of division and uncertainty among the Jews arising out of their encounter with the international civilization of Greece and Rome 
• the empire helped bring changes to peoples living outside as well as inside its borders
• The Germanic barbarians of northern Europe became wealthier, more highly organized, and military stronger as a result of living as Rome's neighbors during the era of the Roman Peace 
• roman peace: Pax Romana 
• barbarians grew stronger 
• from about 200 AD, they became such a formidable threat that the emperors could them off only by building up the army, replacing self-rule by centralized government, and openly ruling as absolute monarchs- changes that, in the long run, failed to hold the empire together
• but, these changes had lasting results for the future development of the West
• the empire was still strong enough to bring about the last and greatest of the changes in civilization and took place under its rule
• As long as Rome had prospered, the emperors had taken little notice of Christianity's growth and spread; in the empire's time of troubles, they sometimes harshly persecuted it and sometimes deliberately tolerated it 
• the rulers took Christianity into partnership as the official and majority religion

Roman Test

We took our test today on Rome and Caesar. I think I did really well! I made a quizlet a few nights before the test and added a few things to it last night. I added the test questions from the previous test we took before break. I knew more than half of the answers and I feel really strongly that I got a good grade. I hope Mr. Schick will grade ours in class because I'm anxious to know if I got an A. It would be the first A I got on a test this semester! Mr. Schick looked over my notes and quizlet I took in advisory and he said they looked great and that he thought I was good to go! We had a few minutes before the test to study so I studied with Carly and Hailey. Carly quizzed me and Hailey then we just looked over the quizlet one final time. I need to bring up my grade even more so I did the best I could to study for the test. Getting an A would be awesome but even if I didn't get an A I would still be so happy if I got a high B. I hope to find out my grade either in class or in the next day or two to see how I did. I studied a lot so I really hope it pays off.

Rome/ Caesar test

Who was the first emperor? Caesar Augustus

• began the period of peace and prosperity called Pax Romana
• after Augustus died (at age 76), they went to his grand-nephew OCTAVIAN in A.D. 14 to pass on the power to him 

CALIGULA

• he was Germanicus' son (28 years old when started being "in charge"
• he was Tiberius' adopted grand son and great-nephew 
• he started off well: granting bonuses to those in the military 
• he began to fight with the senate
• he claimed to be a god 
• when you start to claim yourself as a god as a very young age...it is starting to show your crazy
• he had many statues of him everywhere
• sacrilegious
• he was cruel and insane:
• he slept with other men's wives and bragged about it
• spent a lot of money (the empires money) 
• he tried to make his horse a consul and priest (that is what critics said)
• he was assassinated by his own government officials AD 41 (28 years old)

CLAUDIUS 

• a very miserable leader (but a great one)
• expanded the empire somewhat into Britain 
• conquered Britain; he built roads, canals and aqueducts; renovated the Circus Maximus 
• critics thought he had cerebral palsy or polio
• his own family used to make fun of him because of this 
• ostracized by his own family 
• married to a women named Messalina (who "messed" around a lot)
• she had a lover named Silius 
• she thought when Claudius died her lover could become emperor 
• Claudius heard about this and got Messalina and her lover (Silius) killed

RELIGIOUS TROUBLES

• Christianity and Judaism: monotheistic
• romans had many gods, plus at times the emperor was viewed as a god
• AD 66: a group of Jews called the Zealots tried to rebel, but Roman troops put them down and burned their temple (except for one wall)
• the western wall today is the holiest of all Jewish shrines
• half a million Jews died in the rebellion 

PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS

• Romans were harsh towards those who would not worship the emperor
• especially Christians, who were viewed as followers of a new, upstart religion (cult)
• often used for "entertainment" purposes in the Colosseum (thrown to the lions ect.)
• despite the oppression, Christianity grew quickly- by AD 200, around 10% of the people in the Roman empire were Christians