5/28/14

Today in class we had a test and I got a 77 on it. I studied hard and long but somehow I just got confused on a lot of questions. The thing that confused me was the dates. I feel like my grade on this test will move my grade from an 82 to a 70 something. The only thing I can hope for now is this blog and class participation.

5/27/14

Today I read the notes to the class but here are some notes.

5. Charlemagne takes center stage

1. Charlemagne- aka Charles the Great

1. Six foot four
2. Built the greatest empire since Rome
3. Fought the Muslims in Spain
4. Fought Germanic tribes
5. Spread Christianity
6. Reunited Western Europe
7. Became the most powerful King in Western Europe
8. Pope Leo III crowned him emperor in 800 AD after he defended him from unruly Roman mob
9. This signaled the joining of Germanic power, the Church and the heritage of the Roman Empire.

 

 

 

2. Charlemagne's Government

1. He limited the authority of the nobles
2. He regularly visited every part of his kingdom
3. Kept close watch on huge estates

3. Cultural Revival

1. Encouraged learning
2. Ordered monasteries to open schools

 

4. But his heirs were weenies…

1. His son- Louis the pious- was ineffective
2. Louis' three sons- Lothair Charles the bald, and Louis the German- split up the kingdom at the treaty of the Treaty of Verdun in 843 AD

5/23/14

Today in class we just took notes on some old stuff and a little bit of old stuff (mine was on a sheet of paper). The PowerPoint he showed us was about Charlemagne and more. We learned about him, his sons, and his grandson who all of which tried to make change to Europe. Some people didn't even know who he was but Charlemagne wanted to be known so he went out in the public a lot. Mr. Schick made an excellent point the other day about how we have starving people, and some people sitting on golden chairs which could be used to feed the poor people. Our test is next Wednesday and I am not ready yet. I am going to start studying on Monday.

5/20/14

 

1.  

1. 511 Ad- Clovis unites the franks into one kingdom
2. 600 AD- church plus Frankish rulers convert many
3. Fear of Muslims= spur many to convert to Christianity
4. Monasteries and convents

 

1. 520 AD- benedict wrote the rules for monks and monasteries
2. His sister Scholastica did the same for nuns in convents
3. 731 AD- the vulnerable Bede wrote a killer history of England
4. Monks opened schools, maintained libraries, and copied books \

 

4. European empire evolves

1. Franks control target European kingdom

1. The roman Province formerly known as Gaul
2. Ruled by Clovis- The Merovingian dynasty

 

2. Major domo- Mayor of the palace- ruled the kingdom
3. Charles Martel- Charles the hammer

1. Extended the Franks' reign to the north, south, and east
2. Defeated a Muslim army from Spain at the battle of tours in 732

 

4.n Charles the hammers son- Pepin the Short

1. Possible named for his unusual short haircut
2. Working for  and with the Pope. Pepin fought the Lombard's
3. Pope Stephen II named Pepin "king by the Grace of God"- beginning the Carolingian Dynasty

751-987 AD

He had two sons one named Charlemagne

 

5. Charlemagne takes center stage

1. Charlemagne- aka Charles the Great

1. Six foot four
2. Built the greatest empire since Rome
3. Fought the Muslims in Spain
4. Fought Germanic tribes
5. Spread Christianity
6. Reunited Western Europe
7. Became the most powerful King in Western Europe
8. Pope Leo III crowned him emperor in 800 AD after he defended him from unruly Roman mob
9. This signaled the joining of Germanic power, the Church and the heritage of the Roman Empire.

 

 

 

2. Charlemagne's Government

1. He limited the authority of the nobles
2. He regularly visited every part of his kingdom
3. Kept close watch on huge estates

3. Cultural Revival

1. Encouraged learning
2. Ordered monasteries to open schools

 

4. But his heirs were weenies…

1. His son- Louis the pious- was ineffective
2. Louis' three sons- Lothair Charles the bald, and Louis the German- split up the kingdom at the treaty of the Treaty of Verdun in 843 AD

 

5/19/14

1. Invasions trigger changes in western Europe

1. Invasions and constant warfare spark new trends

1. Disruption of trade

1. Europe cities are no longer economic centers
2. Money is scarce

2. Down fall of cities

1. Cities are no longer centers of administration
100. Population shifts

1. Nobles retreat to the rural areas
2. Cities don’t have strong leadership

 

 

1. Invasions trigger in western Europe (cont'd)

2. Decline of learning

1. Germanic invaders are illiterate, but they communicate through oral tradition
2. Only priest and church officials could read and write
3. Knowledge of Greek (and literature, science, philosophy was almost lost)

3. Loss of a common language

1. Dialects develop in different regions
2. By the 8005, French, Spanish, other Roman based languages are evolving from Latin

 

2. Germanic kingdoms emerge

1. The concept of government changes

1. Roman society: loyal to public gov't
2. Germanic society: loyal to family

1. Germanic chief led warriors
2. During peace, he provided food, weapons, treasure, a place to live (the lords hall)
3. During wartime, warriors fought for the lord

 

100. "the king? Who's that? You want to collect taxes from me? Who the heck are you?"

4. Franks live in the Roman province of Gaul- their leader is Clovis

 

2. Germanic kingdoms emerge

2. The franks under Clovis

1. Another battlefield conversion! (just like Constantine)
2. Clovis and 3000 of his warriors are baptized by the bishop
3. The church in Rome approves of this "alliance"
4. Clovis and the church begin to work together

 

A simple mathematical equation:

Clovis' military expertise

+ the church's support and money

                       =

 

A STRATEGIC ALLIANCE BETWEEN TWO POWERFUL FORCES! WOO-HOO!

 

 

3. Germanic peoples adopt Christianity

5. (pope) Gregory I expands papal power

1. Papacy= Pope's office
2. Secular power= worldly power
3. So… under Gregory the great…

 

Papal power (power of the pope) is political power, presented from the popes palace

 

4. The church can use church money to:

Raise armies

Repair roads

Help the poor

5. Gregory the great began to act as mayor of Rome, and as head of an earthly kingdom (Christendom)

5/17/14

Friday in class we just went over the test and the answers to it. I got a 74 on the test but only because of a few minor mental mistakes that I should've gotten right. We also started our new unit which we took a little bit of notes on. The life for a slave was really rough and they had to live with animals and bugs (tragic)

5/14/14

Today in class we took a Test on Rome and I got a 76. I feel like its going to bring my average down. It's hard on the section on Rome because I didn't really study to be honest. Right now I have English and I have to go. This blog was short because all we did was take a quiz.

5/13/14

Diocletian- divided Rome east and west
Constantine was the one who let Christianity free because he saw a sign before a war
Angles and Saxons In Britain

Today in class we just studied a little bit about Rome, then Mr. Schick said we were free to do anything we want. I feel like the test is going to be hard but we will see.

5/12

DECLINE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
AD 180: Rome has problems

• economic (trade became risky; taxes were too high; food supply was dropping)
• military (frontiers were hard to patrol; Roman generals fought for control; soldiers loyalty declined and mercenaries appeared)
• Greek- speaking East (had more resources)
• Latin- speaking west (Rome, Tradition)

DIOCLETION
Diocletian (Latin: Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Augustus)^{[5][notes 1]} (245–311)^[4][6] was Roman emperor from 284 to 305. Born to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia, Diocletian rose through the ranks of the military to become cavalry commander to the Emperor Carus. After the deaths of Carus and his son Numerian on campaign in Persia, Diocletian was proclaimed emperor. The title was also claimed by Carus' other surviving son, Carinus, but Diocletian defeated him in the Battle of the Margus. Diocletian's reign stabilized the empire and marks the end of the Crisis of the Third Century. He appointed fellow officer Maximian as augustus, co-emperor, in 286.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletian

• Son of freed slave
• he didn't like Christians
• 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 invaders" (Huns, vandals, Visigoths, angles, Saxons, Franks) overrun the empire
• that's it for the Roman Empire (AD 476)
• he rules from 284 - 303
• thought that Rome needs a big army (400,000 strong)
• Rome needs a big Government (20,000 officials)

CONSTANTINE

• Rules from 306-337
• says its cool to be a Christian and almost became one his self because of his vision
• conversion to Christianity (Via a cross in the sky(Conquer by this!)
• 313 his edict of Milan proclaims freedom, of worship
• Byzantium, soon to be known as Constantinople

Milan proclaims freedom, of worship

The Edict of Milan refers to the February 313 agreement to treat Christians benevolently within the Roman Empire.^[1] Western Roman Emperor Constantine I, and Licinius, who controlled the Balkans, met in Milan and among other things, agreed to change policies towards Christians.^[
1]



 LIFE OF THE FOURTH CENTURY

• country dwellers are getting bankrupt by endless tax collection
• new farming system: peasants work for elite landlords on large farms
• peasants can avoid paying taxes, but they are getting hit just as hard by the landlords
• Paying off depts. and being "allowed" to live on the land, in exchange for endless back breaking work
• landowners hold power as counts and bishops, wielding more real power than the faraway empire
• foreshadowing feudalism
• Rome's power is decreasing while nomadic barbarians gain power
• Western Europe Is too poor, begins to be neglected
• Huns might migrate from China to eastern Europe
• Visigoths control Carthage and the Western Mediterranean
• other barbarian tribes: Ostrogoth's in Italy
• Franks in Gaul
• Angles and Saxons in Britain  

END OF AN ERA

• 500 BC- the monarchy is established
• 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 barbarians 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

5/9 notes and page 123

RISE OF CHRISTIANITY

• Jesus spends three years preaching, is killed by Roman leaders
• Jesus' followers believe he is the messiah and savior who has risen from the dead
• Saul (the persecutor) becomes Paul (the evangelists), spreading Jesus' message (one true God, not Roman gods)
• Christians and Jews were monotheistic (believing in one God)
• this conflicted with Roman beliefs
• persecution against both was common
• Christianity appealed to the poor, and since there were many poor, their numbers grew
• as it grew, even some Roman leaders embraced Christianity
• AD 313: Constantine has a battlefield conversion
• he issues the Edict of Milan
• Not only no 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

5/7/14

Today in class we had a test. I di not do as good as I thought I was going to do because some of the questions confused me. I got an 88 but our class average was an 81. On the other hand the test wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. Basically it was the whole Rome test we already took and some more questions about Rome's leaders. Can't wait to see what our next unit will be about.

More notes on Rome

Today in class we just reviewed on what was going to be on the test tomorrow. I am ready because I have studied for this, plus half of the things on the test I already know. We reviewed the notes from yesterday about Caesar and the other leaders. I feel like Rome ran their government right but they just didn't have the right leaders. I wonder if we gave our presidents all that power how they would act.

5/5 notes second part of quiz

What's on second part of quiz

Monday, May 05, 2014

8:28 AM

• Caesar Augustus's real name was Octavion

 

Augustus the first emperor getting it done

• Begins the pax roma- a period of peace and prosperity
• Built roads, aqueducts (brought water to the cities)
• Set up civil service to take care of roads, the grain supply, and postal service
• Augustus dies at age 76 in A.D. 14 and passes power to…
• Paul is instrumental in telling the world about Jesus' life,  death, resurrection, and message
• He travels far and wide: Cyprus, Anatolia, Athens, Corinth, Macedonia, Rome, Jerusalem, and maybe even Spain and Britain
• He writes letters to man of those he spoke to these epistles are a part of the NT
• If not for the efforts of Paul, it is likely that Jesus remains an obscure preacher, instead of the central figure of the  world's largest religion

 

Caligula- good start

• In addition to being Germanicus' son, he was Tiberius' adopted grandson and great nephew

-putting him next to line for emperor

• He started off well; granting bonuses to those in the military, declaring treason trials a thing of the past and made government spending a matter of public record
• All in all, the first seven months of Caligula's reign were "completely blissful" (according to the historian philo)…then…
• He began to fight with the senate
• He claimed to be a God, and had statues displayed in many places-including the Jewish temple in Jerusalem
• Other examples of cruelty and insanity: he slept with other men's wives and bragged about it. Indulged in too much spending and sex, and even tried to make his horse a consul and a priest  (at least that’s what his critics said)
• Assassinated by his own aids, AD 41 (aged 28)

 

NEXT IN LINE: CLAUDIUS

• Ostracized  by his family because of his disabilities (limp, slight deafness, possible speech impediment- thought to be cerebral palsy or polio) he was the last adult male in his family when Caligula was killed
• He rose to the occasion: he conquered Britain; he built roads, canals, and aqueducts; he renovated Circus Maximus
• Had an awful marriage to Messalina, who was unfaithful to him, even plotting to seize power for her lover Silius through a coup- so Claudius had them killed

 

MEANWHILE- RELIGIOUS TROUBLES

• Christianity and Judaism: monotheistic
• Romans had many gods, plus at times the emperor was viewed as 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 toward those who would not worship the emperor
• Especially Christians who were cult  (trying to start a new religion)
• Often used for "entertainment" purposes in the Coliseum (thrown to lions ect. )
• Despite the oppression Christianity grew quickly by AD 200, around 10 percent of the people in the roman empire was Christians
   

5/2/14

PAGE 101

• There were a stubborn core of senators who were disturbed by Caesar's success.
• their concern deepened further when in 44 B.B. he secured a vote from the senate making him dictator for life.
• Caesar never ruled by terror like Sulla. But they both didn't want to give up their high position
• In the view of the diehard senators, Caesar had become a Greek style tyrant- and there was a traditional way of getting rid of tyrants
• Caesar appeared in the senate house unarmed and unguarded and a crowd of senators struck him to death with daggers 23 times
• Caesars death did not restore the Republic instead it produced another crop of warlords and yet more bouts of civil war.
• the main contenders were; Mark Anthony, once a commander under Caesar and now a consul; The leading assassins, Brutus and Cassius; and Caesar's grandnephew and adopted son, the youthful Octavian Caesar.
• Mark Anthony and Octavian were rival loyalist of Caesar and each used to attract some of Caesars legion which they used to fight a brutal battle war against each other in Italy
• The two then joined together to take down the assassins in Greece.
• The partners then divided the Roman world with Octavian based in Rome; Lepidus in North Africa; And mark Anthony in Alexandria
• They're cooperation soon turned to rivalry, and the balance of power began shifting to Octavian.
• Octavian pushed Lepidus out of power and began expanding Rome's frontiers northward toward Danube.
• Finally in 31 B.C. the leaders of the two halves of Rome went to war and Octavian won against Antony and Cleopatra in a naval battle near Actium
• The two then returned to Egypt, committed suicide and Octavian became the supreme warlord the one who finally managed to turn military dictatorship into legitimate and permanent monarchy

PAGE 103
"THE ERA OF THE ROMAN PEACE WAS ONE OF MASSIVE SOCIAL, RELIGIOUS, AND CULTURAL CHANGES THAT WOULD FORM A NEW PATTERN OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION.

• Augustus's new system of government kept many features of the roman republic, allowed subject peoples a good deal of self rule, and brought Rome's destabilizing expansion to a halt. The result was two hundred years of stability that modern scholars call the Roman peace.
• Roman literature and art, philosophy and la, architecture and engineering, were often inspired by Greek models. but roman achievements in these fields eventually equaled or surpassed those of the Greeks and became just as a model for future western development
• In many ways the dominant international civilization undermined the traditions of other peoples of the empire
• The era of Roman peace was one of massive social, religious, and cultural changes that would form a new pattern of western civilization.

PAGE 104-107

• The senate conferred on him anew title, Augustus ("Revered One")
• 27 B.C. the year generally accepted as the end of the Republic and the beginning of the rule of the Roman Emperors
•  Unlike Sulla and Caesar, Augustus refused the offer of a long term dictatorship and referred to himself simply as princeps ("first citizen") a name given to leaders that are considered indispensable to the Republic.
• the title he held the longest was Tribune of the people
• by arrangement of the senate in 27 B.C. Augustus became commander in chief of the armed forces and the senate supervised the city and Italy
• After he won supreme power shrines were built so people could sacrifice to Rome and Augustus because they thought that Augustus sent as a god who embodied Rome's beneficial rule.